[Westheim]

Raccoons (11-13) vs. Titans (13-11) – April 30-May 3, 2057

The Titans had dropped from 13-5 to here. They were allowing the fewest runs in the CL, but also scored the third-fewest. That still worked out to a +20 run differential… and a 6-game losing streak. Even with the best pitching in the league, there was a clear chasm between the #1 rotation and the bullpen that was getting blasted to the tune of a 6.15 ERA – worst in the league. The Raccoons had gone 5-13 against Boston last season.

Projected matchups:
Kennedy Adkins (1-4, 3.19 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (1-2, 4.03 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (1-3, 3.98 ERA) vs. Kenneth Spencer (2-2, 5.03 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (3-0, 3.41 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (2-2, 1.59 ERA)
Roberto Oyola (1-3, 6.75 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (2-2, 2.76 ERA)

Right, left, left, right – at least until tremendous rains washed out the Monday opener and moved the game to a May 1 double-header. At least the Raccoons were less concerned about a rainout and double-header without an off day to buffer after the series. With Kyle Brobeck and Ivan Ornelas there were two starter options on the roster to reset everybody to regular rest.

Since the Titans split handedness for their starters between the two Tuesday games, the Raccoons spread out their lineups as far as possible – everybody would get a start on Tuesday.

Game 1
BOS: RF I. Santiago – 3B B. Andrews – C Burkart – SS Sowell – LF Y. Valdez – CF Ma. Gilmore – 2B J. Watson – 1B M. Navarro – P Musgrave
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – CF Solorzano – P Adkins

Adkins saw the minimum the first time through, striking out four while giving up a single to Brent Andrews, who was then doubled up when Bruce Burkart grounded to short for a 6-4-3; the Raccoons also took a lead for him in the second inning, where Kyle Brobeck stretched a leadoff double beyond the reach of Israel Santiago, then came around on Allred’s grounder and Marcos Chavez’ sac fly. Brobeck came to the plate in the bottom 3rd with two outs after Abercrombie singled and Pucks drew a walk, but his fly to left was tracked down by Yoslan Valdez. Brobeck came up with two out and two on again in the bottom 5th – after Abercrombie had singled home Callaia for a 2-0 lead – and then grounded out to Jonathan Watson.

On the other side of the box score, Santiago opened the fourth with a single to right that then hit Pucks in the wrist on the bounce and got away for an extra base and an error charged on the Critter. Adkins took care of the problem himself, though, and struck out the next three batters that came up – what was this? Was Adkins finding back to form after all? Prior to this game, he had struck out only 13 batters in 31 innings, and now 7 K in four innings! He got only one K in the next two innings, and that was on Musgrave, but hit a sixth-inning, 2-out single after Solorzano drew a walk, allowing Gaudencio Callaia to come up and flick an RBI single to center. Lonzo flew out to center, keeping the score at 3-0. No more strikeouts after that for Adkins either, but he kept it together and scattered five hits through eight innings of shutout ball, and I would merrily take that! Matt Walters completed the shutout with three strikeouts of his own … buuuuut not without walking Santiago and Burkart in the ninth inning to bring the tying run to the plate… 3-0 Critters. Abercrombie 3-4, 2B, RBI; Adkins 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, W (2-4) and 1-3;

Walters was the only reliever used by either side in the game; Musgrave pitched a complete-game 8-hitter in a losing effort.

Game 2
BOS: 2B J. Watson – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Sowell – RF Y. Valdez – 3B B. Andrews – CF A. Cruz – C Arviso – 1B M. Navarro – P K. Spencer
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 2B Bribiesca – 1B Puckeridge – C Zamora – 3B Espinoza – P Taki

The Titans then immediately put the hurt on Taki, who walked Matt Gilmore, then gave up a single to Ken Sowell and a 2-run double into the corner to Valdez. Portland answered with one run on two singles by Lonzo and Abercrombie in the bottom 1st. The first three Critters in the bottom 2nd all reached; Pucks walked for the third time on the day, and then scored the tying run on singles by the struggling Ruben Zamora and Daniel Espinoza, the latter getting his first RBI of the season. Taki bunted badly then, getting Zamora thrown out at third base by Spencer, but Royer singled home Espinoza for a 3-2 lead with a ball into left-center. The throw to the plate allowed the trailing runners to reach scoring position. Lonzo missed the RBI chance with a pop to Watson, but Trent Brassfield stuck a 2-out, 2-run single into right-center. Abercrombie appeared to be grounding out, but that ball was thrown away. Bribiesca ended the inning with a fly to center instead.

And now, Taki again – it wouldn’t be the first time that five runs wouldn’t be enough for him, but he would get through five innings on 66 pitches, conceding just two more base runners, and one of them on an error by Lonzo, and no runs. Andrews was put on base in the sixth on catcher’s interference, but also stranded. The score remained 5-2 into the bottom 7th when Pucks drew yet another walk off lefty Donovan Little, and then Zamora crunched a 2-run homer to create some more distance.

Taki faced three more batters in the eighth inning. Watson singled, and Lonzo fumbled Gilmore’s potential double play ball for his second error of the evening. Sowell struck out, but then the Coons went to Sencion. Valdez grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Andrews struck out, and the Titans didn’t score. Sencion and Mancilla combined for the last three outs in the ninth inning. 7-2 Raccoons! Royer 1-2, 3 BB, RBI; Brassfield 2-5, 2 RBI; Zamora 3-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Espinoza 2-4, RBI; Taki 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (2-3);

Zamora’s start to the season however had been so rotten that even a 3-3 day now only got him up to an even .200 clip.

Game 3
BOS: CF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Sowell – RF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – 2B J. Watson – 3B W. de Leon – 1B M. Navarro – P Regueir
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – RF Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Brobeck – 1B Callaia – C Chavez – P Sweeton

First time facing back-to-back left-handers on the year, the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on consecutive 2-out doubles by Brass and Abercrombie. That remained the score through the early innings, with Sweeton scattering three hits and a balk, but no runs through four frames for Portland. Regueir got outs from the first two batters in the bottom 4th, but then conceded soft singles to Bribiesca and Brobeck. The ball that Callaia then drove into the right-center gap was considerably less soft; it ran all the way to the fence, both runners scored, and Callaia reached third base with a stand-up triple. Chavez was walked intentionally, but Sweeton plopped a 1-2 pitch into play so softly that Willie de Leon from third base couldn’t reach it in time to make a play – it became an RBI infield single! Royer ended the inning with a fly to right. The Raccoons tacked on a run in the fifth when Regueir glitched out and walked three, including Brobeck with the bases loaded, before Callaia chopped a ball into an inning-ending double play.

Retiring the 6-7-8 in order in the fifth got Sweeton’s ERA under three. It remained under there when the Titans scored in the seventh inning because they did so in unearned fashion. Whilst Valdez and Burkart reached base with singles, it was Lonzo to throw away de Leon’s grounder with two outs, allowing Valdez to score. Mario Navarro then popped out to strand a pair in the 5-1 game. That was the only run Boston got off Sweeton, who lasted eight inning on just over 100 pitches. He was hit for in the bottom 8th after right-hander Xavier Caston walked Marcos Chavez. He also walked Solorzano in the pitcher’s spot, then Pucks batting for Royer, filling the bases with one out and giving Lonzo a chance to put the game to bed. He grounded a 1-0 pitch to the left side. Sowell dove and contained it, popped up and then had it flub out of his hand before he could throw it. He was charged an error for that, while a run scored. Brassfield put an RBI single into center, while Abercrombie hit a fly to center that Santiago caught. Pucks went for home, Santiago threw the ball away, and the trailing runners also advanced on that error. The inning then fizzled out, and Ivan Ornelas finished the game with the worst scoreless inning ever witnessed, nailing leadoff man Sowell, throwing a wild pitch, offering a walk to Burkart, and giving up two rockets that were caught with a paw’s reach from the fence… but somehow the Titans stranded them on the corners. 8-1 Critters! Brassfield 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Sweeton 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (4-0) and 1-3, RBI;

Oyola would get the ball on Thursday, which was getaway day from both teams. One player was not at the ballpark at all; Kennedy Adkins had caught a stomach bug overnight and was trapped in his bathroom as it came out alternatingly through one hole or another. He was questionable to make his next scheduled start on Sunday now – but the Raccoons could just as well use Taki in Sioux Falls.

I know, Ken, I know. It’s always the 15th donut that’s somehow rotten, huh?

Game 4
BOS: CF I. Santiago – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 3B B. Andrews – 2B J. Watson – 1B M. Navarro – P Glaude
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – P Oyola

Oyola was as good a chance as ever for the Titans to stave off the sweep, but they didn’t get a base hit off him in the first three innings, only Burkart drawing a walk in the second, and when they did get Gilmore on base with a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, the struggling Eric Whitlow doubled him off right away with a grounder to Allred. The Raccoons didn’t score either in the first two innings, getting two shy singles, and nobody into scoring position. That changed in the bottom 4th when Abercrombie hit a ball into the rightfield corner to begin the inning, but he mis-stepped around first base, twisted his knee, and more hobbled than ran to second base after that, giving everybody a good ******* scare. Luis Silva checked him out and he was removed from the game for Solorzano, but we soon got the news that there didn’t seem to be any great damage. A grounder by Brass and Pucks’ sac fly to Gilmore got Solorzano around to score for a 1-0 lead, so the pain hadn’t been all for nothing.

Brassfield singled home Lonzo and his 1-out double to double the lead in the second inning, while Oyola was somehow still holding a 1-hit shutout against Boston. In the seventh, Sowell and Burkart made meek outs on the first pitch, and Andrews floated to shallow right and Pucks for the third out. When the Titans then got to him, they got to him quick. Watson opened the eighth with a single, Navarro whacked a screaming double to right and Watson scored, and Oyola was yoinked as soon as Yoslan Valdez popped his head out of the dugout to pinch-hit for Glaude with the tying run in scoring position. Sencion came in, struck out him and Gilmore, and barely survived an in-between drive by Santiago to the warning track in left that Brassfield snatched. The Raccoons would not answer with an insurance run in the bottom 8th. Lonzo hit a 2-out single off Bryan McDuffie and stole his first base in 11 days, but was left on by Solorzano. Whitlow then struck a leadoff double to left against Walters in the ninth and I waved the sweep goodbye. But, how inconsiderate of Walters’ abilities of me! He struck out Sowell, popped out Burkart, and then carved Andrews for bacon with high heat for another strikeout, that one completing the four-game sweep! 2-1 Critters! Lavorano 3-4, 2B; Oyola 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (2-3);

Raccoons (15-13) @ Warriors (15-12) – May 4-6, 2057

The Warriors were sixth in runs scored and runs allowed in the FL, but after the Titans had presented the worst pen in the CL, the Warriors had the best relief corps in the FL. Their starting pitchers were more middling, although we’d see their ace Ricardo Montoya to begin the series. Their offense produced the most stolen bases in the league. These teams last met three years ago, when the Raccoons won two of three games in the regular season, and four of the five in the World Series. The Coons had won the last five sets in a row, not including the World Series.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (1-1, 4.28 ERA) vs. Ricardo Montoya (2-3, 2.72 ERA)
Kyle Brobeck (1-1, 19.29 ERA) vs. Jay Gunderson (1-1, 5.47 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (2-3, 3.69 ERA) vs. Bubba Wolinsky (2-2, 4.60 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday with Bubba! He was not the only former Raccoon in that rotation; they also had Victor Salcido (3-3, 4.33 ERA) and Phil Baker (1-1, 3.93 ERA), but those had started their last two games with the Wolves and were not available.

Kennedy Adkins did not travel to Sioux Falls (and Monday afterwards would be off). Josh Abercrombie was principally available, but would sit on Friday to nurse the bum knee, so we’d have to try and win one with a 23-man roster.

Game 1
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Callaia – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Allred – 3B Bribiesca – C Zamora – P Kniep
SFW: 2B DeFusco – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – LF Marroquin – 3B Dilly – CF E. Maldonado – C Sanches – RF N. Fox – P R. Montoya

Pucks had drawn quite a few walks against the Titans, but when Callaia and Brass drew 2-out walks ahead of him in the first inning, he knew that something else was needed and brushed a 3-run homer over the edge of the fence in right-center for a rather quick 3-0 lead, all of which would be fudged away by Kniep in the bottom 1st. You never knew what you’d get from Kniep on any given day, and this Friday the Coons got horse **** from him. He walked three and gave up two singles in a pathetic first inning, giving up three runs before Nick Fox finally struck out on the 33rd pitch of the inning. The Warriors then took a 4-3 lead two innings later on a long homer by Jose Marroquin, and Mike DeFusco’s triple and a Julio Moriel single with two outs in the fourth added another run for the Warriors.

That was all for Kniep, also thanks to an hour-long rain delay, as if his pitching hadn’t been awful enough. Ornelas got the ball in the bottom 5th, then with the deficit down to one run after a Royer triple and Lonzo sac fly, both to centerfield, in the top 5th. Ornelas walked Medina, Marroquin singled, and runs scored on Steve Dilly’s groundout and Elmer Maldonado’s double to right. Herrera and Tanizaki threw scoreless innings in their first appearances of the week, while the Raccoons killed one inning when Callaia hit into a double play, and another when they had two on, but couldn’t bat for either Allred or Zamora and choked between the 6-7-8 batters in the top 8th. Finally, Josh Wall singled and Mike Allen homered off Mike Lane in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away for good. 9-4 Warriors. Puckeridge 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Bribiesca 1-2, 2 BB; Espinoza (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – P Brobeck – 2B Allred – C Chavez – 3B Espinoza
SFW: LF Marroquin – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – 3B Dilly – 2B DeFusco – CF E. Maldonado – C F. Rivera – RF M. Allen – P Gunderson

Lonzo walked (!) and stole second base, then scored on a Brassfield single in the first inning for a quick lead, but a 1-0 lead with Brobeck felt like a 3-run deficit. To be fair, Brobeck had only thrown 4.2 innings out of the pen so far, so yes, his stats were all outta whack, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cut that ERA in half with a semi-decent outing. All that waffling, and then he went out, threw 27 meatballs in the first inning, and gave up two runs on shy singles to Moriel and Dilly, a Mike DeFusco double with two outs, and finally a wild pitch to Elmer Maldonado, and that was with Abercrombie racing back to track down the actual loud knocks by Marroquin and Medina… Perversely, his ERA went down by nearly a quarter of a run… It did the same in the second inning, but the Warriors wrecked him for another two runs on three mostly loud hits. The Coons *tried* to keep up; Callaia, Abercrombie, and Brassfield socked three hits, two singles surrounding a double, and the latter two got RBI’s to narrow the score to 4-3 in the third inning. Brobeck gave up another two hits in the bottom 3rd, and was disposed of thereafter, having thrown nearly 70 pitches, not one of them decent.

The funny bit was that he got a no-decision once Ornelas held the Warriors away in the fourth and the Coons loaded the bags against Gunderson in the fifth. Espinoza, Lonzo, and Abercrombie all reached, and with one out, Brassfield’s sac fly to Maldonado tied the score at four. Pucks flew out to right to end the inning, while Ornelas then doubled to lead off the sixth… and was stranded on three consecutive measly outs from the bottom of the order. A ground-rule double mashed by Maldonado and a pinch-hit 2-out knock by Alvin Huerta gave the Warriors a 5-4 lead to put Ornelas on the hook instead in the bottom 6th. Another futile attempt was made in the eighth inning. Right-hander Levi Harre saw Pucks reach on an error, then walked Royer in the #6 spot, but Allred killed the inning grounding into a double play. Top 9th, Zack Stahl struck out Chavez to begin the inning. Solorzano batted for Espinoza and flicked a single into center, however, then advanced on a wild pitch to put the tying run into scoring position. Callaia hit the very next pitch through the right side for a single, and Solorzano had been going early and scored easily when Mike Allen’s throw remained with the cut-off man. Tied game! …but strikeouts to Lonzo and Abercrombie ended the inning, and the Raccoons sent Ricky Herrera back out after a scoreless eighth inning, and it didn’t end well at all. Mike Allen singled. Esteban Sanches walked. Marroquin grounded out, moving the winning run to third base with one out, and Josh Wall’s clean single to left ended the game. 6-5 Warriors. Callaia 2-5, RBI; Abercrombie 2-5, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-2, BB, 3 RBI; Solorzano (PH) 1-1;

(sigh!)

Game 3
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 1B Callaia – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Espinoza – P Taki
SFW: LF Marroquin – SS Moriel – 1B M. Medina – 3B Dilly – 2B DeFusco – CF E. Maldonado – C F. Rivera – RF Huerta – P Wolinsky

Pucks doubled home Brass and once again the the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Taki even held up for the first two innings, not allowing a base runner, and the Coons then managed to tack on when Bubba brushed Lonzo with a pitch, then threw away a pickoff attempt for an error that sent Lonzo to second just in time for a Brassfield single to right-center, on which he scored to extend the lead to 2-0. Chavez hit another single in the inning, but Callaia found a 4-6-3 double play inning-ender.

Taki threw just 27 pitches in three innings, then brittled into bits and blew the lead in the fourth inning. Dilly’s 1-out double, a DeFusco triple in the right-center gap, and Maldonado’s groundout were enough to tie the game at two. With his evil work done, Taki settled in again and had two clean innings afterwards. Lonzo socked a double to left in the fifth, but was stranded, then fouled out himself to strand Royer’s 2-out double in the seventh inning. Fine, thought Taki, if you’re not winning it, I’m at least not hanging around. After Felix Rivera drew a leadoff walk in a 3-2 count in the bottom 7th, he threw away Huerta’s grounder for a 2-base error, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Andy Hudson’s grounder and Jose Marroquin’s sac fly to right both plated a runner and the Warriors went up 4-2.

The Raccoons managed to get a leadoff double from Brassfield, and then did that one very annoying trick again and made three outs against three relievers, who didn’t even match ******* handedness with the batters, to choke that runner all to ******* death at second base. Our problem? We were trying to do it without Josh Abercrombie. That would change in the ninth, where Zack Stahl first put Ryan Allred on base to begin the inning when Allred batted for Bribiesca, retired Espinoza, but then faced Abercrombie batting for Eloy Sencion in the #9 spot and got blasted some 425 feet to dead center to tie the game…!

Just like on Saturday, however, a lead was not in the cards, and so Matt Walters remained in the pen and instead Mancilla got the ball for the bottom 9th. Sanches, Huerta, and Allen all grounded out, giving us extra innings for the first and only time this week. Levi Harre had gotten the final out in the ninth, but offered a leadoff walk to Brassfield in the top 10th. Chavez walked with one out, and Callaia hit a scratch single that DeFusco came quite close to as it flew over the bag into centerfield, so Brass had to dive back into second base initially, and then could only make it to third. Allred batted with three on and one out, struck out, and Espinoza flew out to Huerta to waste all the runners. Marroquin grounded out on a 3-0 pitch by Mancilla to begin the bottom 10th, after which Harre – Sioux Falls was out of bench bits – singled to left. I sighed loudly, but Miguel Medina then found a double play to hit into and the game went on.

It got worse for the Warriors then when Abercrombie led off the 11th inning with a deep drive to left. Marroquin made a running catch, leaping into the wall to save an extra-base knock – which he did! …but then he also crumbled onto the warning track and finally rolled on his back. He had to leave the game with an apparent injury (a strained rib cage muscle as it turned out later that night), and now the Warriors had to put Friday’s starter Ricardo Montoya in leftfield to make up the numbers. When play resumed, Ruben Zamora batted for Mancilla in the #1 hole and drew a walk off Harre, and Lonzo singled to center. The Choke remained on, though, with a K to Brass and Pucks’ fly to right being easily taken by Huerta.

There was not much left in that pen of Portland now. Walters could go two innings from here, but all leftover relievers (Tanizaki, Ornelas, Herrera) had thrown in both of the last two games, and only Tanizaki looked like he had an inning left in him. We’d be dry by the 14th at the latest, Adkins was not in town, and so Sean Sweeton, Wednesday’s starter – this week and next, we hoped – went down to the pen between innings. Not that the Warriors were in a better situation – they clung to Harre in the 12th, because they only had Brian Shan left in the pen and after that it was probably Victor Salcido or a forfeit. Shan was in the game after a leadoff walk to Chavez in the top 12th, and the Raccoons never made it past first base in the inning. The starting pitchers never got in the game. Nick Fox drew a leadoff walk from Walters in the bottom 12th, then advanced on a bunt by Montoya. Shan *also* bunted, but Walters fumbled that one for an error, putting runners on the corners with one out. Medina then ended the misery with a single over the head of Allred. 5-4 Warriors. Lavorano 2-5, 2B; Brassfield 2-4, 2 BB, RBI; Abercrombie (PH) 1-2, HR, 2 RBI; Mancilla 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

In other news

April 30 – Gold Sox OF Jake Frederick tearfully announces his retirement after struggling to recover from post-concussion syndrome. The 26-year-old batted .318 with 17 HR and 167 RBI after making his debut in 2052, when he got a ring for appearing in 24 games when the Gold Sox ended up winning the championship.
May 1 – LAP SP Chad Shultz (3-0, 1.88 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout against the Scorpions. He strikes out seven in the 1-0 squeaker.
May 1 – Incumbent CL Player of the Year ATL 2B/SS Willie Acosta (.256, 0 HR, 12 RBI) has his slow start to the season get even slower – he would miss two weeks with a case of shoulder tendinitis.
May 1 – The Loggers beat the Crusaders, 13-3. The margin of victory just fits into the 10-run fourth inning the Loggers unleash on the New Yorkers.
May 2 – Six weeks on the DL is the prescribed cure for SFB RF/CF Aaron Walker’s (.321, 2 HR, 10 RBI) case of shoulder soreness.
May 4 – ATL LF/RF Tony Rodriquez (.322, 1 HR, 17 RBI) will be out for six weeks with a groin strain.
May 4 – MIL RF/LF Perry Pigman (.400, 6 HR, 28 RBI) is so raging hot and the Loggers so notoriously unlucky that nobody is particularly surprised that he has to hit the DL with a strained hamstring and will miss six weeks.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B Steve Wyatt (.309, 5 HR, 16 RBI), mashing .455 (10-22) with 3 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA SP Josh Clem (3-1, 1.99 ERA), going 2-0 with 17 scoreless innings, 10 K

FL Hitter of the Month: TOP INF Alex de los Santos (.378, 2 HR, 16 RBI)
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL RF/LF Perry Pigman (.387, 6 HR, 26 RBI)
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAC SP C.J. Harney (5-0, 1.79 ERA)
CL Pitcher of the Month: VAN SP Bruce Mark jr. (4-0, 1.80 ERA)
FL Rookie of the Month: SFW 1B/C Felix Rivera (.309, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
CL Rookie of the Month: VAN INF/RF/LF Jacob Goldstein (.545, 0 HR, 8 RBI)

Complaints and stuff

The highest highs and the lowest lows were lived through this week with a sweep of the Titans (20-4 in runs scored!), and then a complete choke job on the weekend, going 0-for-3 in Sioux Falls. That we were outscored only 20-13 was little consolation then.

No idea what’s wrong with Brobeck pitching, but as long as he’s hitting .310/.372/.488 he maintains some sort of job on this roster… really, **** pitching, and **** defense, if he can hit for a 138 OPS+ and get replaced with Espinoza in the last inning or two on a regular basis, I’ll buy into that.

Two weeks at home coming up. After an off day on Monday, we’ll play 13 straight with the Cyclones, Elks, Loggers, and Aces.

Kennedy Adkins should have stopped barfing by now; at least we didn’t hear any live updates past Saturday, so he’s either good now or dead… Let’s just say his spot in the rotation for the Cincy opener is written with pencil.

Fun Fact: It was not a great month for Lonzo Lavorano…

Only eight stolen bases and six errors in the field. The eight bags in five weeks were enough to overtake both Martin Ortiz and Alex Adame (who stole two, including one off the Critters), and to move from 16th to 14th on the career steals leaderboard. The pair of Scorpions around Lonzo was also not inactive: Omar Gonzalez also took two bags by force and remained 12th, while Chris Navarro scooped five and moved into a tie with Cookie Carmona for 19th place.

9th – Hugo Acosta – 476
t-10th – Jesus Banuelas – 474
t-10th – Jon Ramos – 474
12th – Omar Gonzalez – 461 – active
13th – Diego Rodriguez – 460 – HOF
14th – Lorenzo Lavorano – 458 – active
15th – Martin Ortíz – 457 – HOF
16th – Alex Adame – 454 – active
17th – Alex Torres – 445
18th – Chance Bossert – 437
t-19th – Ricardo “Cookie” Carmona – 428
t-19th – Chris Navarro – 428 – active

New on the horizon was Hugo Acosta, who played until very recently and looked like a shoe-in Hall of Famer once he’d appear on the ballot. He hit .333 with 30 HR, 1,141 RBI, and 3,055 base hits in his career. In over 10,000 plate appearances, he struck out just 371 times. Four batting titles with the Stars in his 20s, and two stolen base titles in his age 22 and 23 seasons. He set the single-season record for 76 stolen bases in the latter season (2038), which Lonzo came close to two years ago with 73 bags, but couldn’t quite reach.

So with the slump of form Lonzo wasn’t going to make the top 10 by the end of May either – he turned 30 this week – but he could still get as high as 7th this year. That wouldn’t even mean 500 SB for his career yet.

Only one active player was in the top 10th, Alex Vasquez with 570 stolen bases, but he had taken just two bases in April before hitting the DL with a shoulder ailment and wasn’t expected back before June. He currently tied Rich de Luna for fifth.