[Westheim]

Raccoons (42-40) vs. Titans (36-46) – July 2-5, 2057

Last week before the All Star Game, and the Raccoons would begin it by hosting the last-place Titans in the first half of this year’s four-and-four. Boston ranked second from the bottom in runs scored with a pathetic .235 team batting average, and sixth in runs allowed. Somehow that added up only to a -17 run differential. The key to scoring was to get their starters out of the game, since their pen was basically a collection of holes and fireworks, with an ERA almost a full run worse than the starters. The Raccoons had swept the Titans in the first meeting of the year, four games to zip.

Projected matchups:
Sean Sweeton (8-4, 2.73 ERA) vs. Kodai Koga (7-6, 3.02 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (8-6, 2.81 ERA) vs. Victor Scott (2-3, 6.45 ERA)
Seisaku Taki (7-7, 3.58 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (5-7, 4.31 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (0-1, 4.67 ERA) vs. Medardo Regueir (6-6, 3.07 ERA)

Scott and Regueir were left-handed pitchers, just to mix it up a bit.

Game 1
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – CF Weir – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 1B I. Santiago – 2B B. Andrews – P Koga
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – 3B Anderson – P Sweeton

While Sean Sweeton faced the minimum the first time through despite giving up two singles – Ethan Torrence got himself caught stealing and Brent Andrews was doubled up by Koga swinging with two strikes – the Raccoons would score 2-out run(s) in each of the first three innings against Koga, beginning with Brassfield’s RBI triple to drive in Abercrombie in the first inning. In the second, Chavez and Labonte got on base with leadoff singles and Gaudencio Callaia drove in Chavez with a 2-out single, while in the third it was three quarters of a natural cycle with two outs as Pucks singled, Chavez doubled him home, and then Labonte ripped another 2-out RBI triple to extend the lead to 4-0. Boston walked Richard Anderson intentionally, and Sweeton grounded out.

Through four, Sweeton had hardly any trouble, then spontaneously walked the bases full with Hector Weir, who stole two bases, Ken Sowell, and Bruce Burkart. But last-place teams are gonna last-place, huh? Israel Santiago popped out to Pucks in shallow right, and then both Andrews and Koga went down on strikes to strand all the runners. Koga responded with leadoff walks to Chavez and Labonte in the bottom 5th, and the Raccoons made a 2-out run from that with another RBI single by Callaia, but Lonzo grounded out, getting to 0-for-4 in just five innings as his slump deepened radically. The Coons kept scoring regardless; Koga was knocked out after a leadoff single to center by Abercrombie in the sixth, and against Jim Peterson the runner stole second and then came home on a Brassfield double, 6-0. Walks would however not quite leave the Coons staff alone in this game; Sweeton would offer five in total across seven shutout innings, and Ricky Herrera walked Eric Whitlow and Weir with two outs in the eighth. Mike Lane replaced him, fell to 3-1 against Sowell, but the shortstop then flew out to the warning track in leftfield and Abercrombie. 6-0 Raccoons! Callaia 2-5, 2 RBI; Abercrombie 2-4, BB; Brassfield 3-4, BB, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI; Chavez 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Labonte 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Sweeton 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K, W (9-4);

Game 2
BOS: LF Weir – 3B B. Andrews – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 2B J. Watson – 1B Ma. Gilmore – CF Torrence – P V. Scott
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – RF Royer – P Adkins

Brobeck came close to a 3-run homer in the first inning, but Whitlow noisily crashed into the fence in rightfield and made the catch to end the inning, and instead the Titans went up in the top of the second, getting straight singles from their 8-9-1 hitters against Adkins, who had already been wonky in the first inning, went on to nick Andrews, and then barely escaped when Whitlow popped out to Callaia in foul ground to end the inning. Arturo Bribiesca homered the game tied in the bottom 2nd, but the Titans scored two unearned runs in the top 3rd. Adkins not having it was one thing, but Brobeck starting the entire inning with a 2-base throwing error to put Ken Sowell on second base led to a bit of a cascade and RBI singles for Jonathan Watson and Ethan Torrence. Adkins would only pitch five innings, taking 105 pitches to make it that far, and had the bases loaded again in the fifth before Scott stranded everybody with a pop to Bribiesca. Adkins gave up seven hits and three walks against three strikeouts in a forgettable outing.

Bottom 5th, 1-out singles by pinch-hitter Richard “Dean” Anderson and Callaia put runners on the corners. Lonzo obliged to at least get a run home with a grounder to second base, but full counts to Brassfield and Caballero after that yielded only a walk and a strikeout and no decisive breakthrough. It was still a 3-2 game when Caballero came up with two outs again in the bottom 7th, this time with Callaia doubling and Brass drawing another walk against Scott, who was still pitching to Caballero, but this time gave up a game-tying single on a 2-2 pitch, which ended his day. Southpaw Matt Otte then rung up Brobeck to end the inning.

Tanizaki got five outs and Sencion collected four more in the meantime to hold the game close, and the latter got in line for the victory in the bottom 8th. Otte retired Chavez on strikes, but gave up a single to Bribiesca. Sencion was batting eighth and replaced with Abercrombie, who grounded out, but Pucks, inserted earlier into the #9 spot in a double switch, snuck a single through the right side to send Bribiesca home to score from second base. Matt Walters then had little trouble to end the game in the ninth inning. 4-3 Coons! Callaia 2-4, BB, 2B; Bribiesca 2-4, HR, RBI; Anderson (PH) 1-1; Puckeridge 1-2, RBI;

Game 3
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – CF Weir – SS Sowell – 1B I. Santiago – RF J. Harris – C Arviso – 2B J. Watson – P Musgrave
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Bribiesca – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – P Taki

Abercrombie’s 2-out triple in the bottom 1st came with nobody on and without Brassfield doing anything with it, and then Taki was torn an entirely new ******* in the second inning as the Titans opened with Jonathan Harris and Jorge Arviso singles, got a run on Watson’s groundout for a 1-0 lead, but didn’t stop there at all. Musgrave doubled for a 2-0 lead for himself, Torrence hit a sac fly, and Gilmore and Weir whacked even more RBI doubles before Sowell scored from second base on a throwing error by Zamora on his stolen base attempt. Sowell struck out, ending a 6-run frame. Taki returned for the third inning, gave up a 2-run homer to Watson, and was then disposed of in the dumpster behind the ballpark.

The Coons scored three in the bottom 3rd with a leadoff single by Bribiesca, Abercrombie reaching on an error, and a 2-run double to right by Brassfield, who then scored on productive outs, getting home on Brobeck’s sac fly to center. But the Raccoons were still down five and had six innings to pitch. Brobeck was not available on two days’ rest, so we picked one inning from Ricky Herrera when the fourth aligned perfectly with the left-handed bats in the 1-2-3 spots of the Titans order, and then went to Mancilla, who pitched three fine innings in garbage relief, giving up only one base hit, but that was of course to the opposing pitcher…

No rallying took place on Mancilla’s watch, while Musgrave went seven-plus, only getting knocked out when Abercrombie drew a leadoff walk and Brassfield singled in the bottom 8th. Otte came on with nobody out, popped out Pucks, but walked Brobeck in a full count. We weren’t keen on hitting for Labonte, since Lonzo had already pinch-hit for Herrera earlier, and the only infielder left would be third-sacker Richard “Dean” Anderson. But it wasn’t like we were leading the game or anything. What was there to lose? Caballero pinch-hit for Labonte, with right-hander Bill Drury replacing Otte. Caballero singled up the middle on the second pitch, and everybody advanced 90 feet, making Ruben Zamora the tying run in the box. He struck out. Marcos Chavez then batted for Scott in the pitcher’s spot – and struck out. Oh well, we tried…. 8-4 Titans. Brassfield 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Caballero (PH) 1-1, RBI; Mancilla 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Taki, Taki, Taki…

Game 4
BOS: 3B Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – RF Whitlow – SS Sowell – C Burkart – 1B I. Santiago – CF J. Harris – 2B J. Watson – P Regueir
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – RF Royer – P Carreno

The Titans got a run on Torrence, Whitlow, and Burkart singles in the first inning, while Brobeck’s second-inning thumper to left-center tied the game at one, and that was basically all the hits through the middle of the fifth inning, not that either pitcher looked particularly strong. Carreno was in long counts all the time and walked a pair between the second and fifth, while Regueir gave up a number of long flies besides the Brobeck home run, but those were all caught. He walked Chavez in the bottom 5th, but Bribiesca popped out for the second out. Steve Royer to the rescue – he tripled into the left-center gap to chase home Chavez and give the Coons a 2-1 lead before Carreno popped out.

Carreno then collected five more outs, which was already more than I had dared to wish for; three groundouts in the sixth, then a pop from Burkart to second to begin the seventh inning. Israel Santiago grounded out, but Jonathan Harris legged out an infield single with two outs, and with the left-handed Willie de Leon having replaced an injured Jonathan Watson earlier, the Raccoons jumped on the chance and replaced Carreno (98 pitches anyway) with Eloy Sencion. The Titans answered with Brent Andrews to bat for de Leon – he walked in a full count – but then didn’t bat for Regueir and he grounded out to Lonzo. (blinks confusedly)

Both Sencion and John Scott gave up hard drives to left in the top 8th, but both somehow ended up with Abercrombie on the warning track, and the Raccoons dragged their 2-1 lead onwards. Bottom 8th, Abercrombie hit a 1-out single off Regueir from the #9 hole, having entered in a double switch earlier. He was in motion when Callaia pushed a ball into the left-center gap for an RBI double, 3-1. That was the last run of the game; Lonzo and Brass made outs, and the Raccoons hung with John Scott for the ninth and he retired the three right-handed batters in order. 3-1 Raccoons. Brobeck 2-3, HR, RBI; Abercrombie 1-1; Carreno 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1-1);

First career W for Ramon Carreno!

Raccoons (45-41) vs. Indians (40-45) – July 6-8, 2057

Three more games and then we had the break upon us. Indy had been a sore for the Raccoons in recent years, but this time we led the season series, 6-3. The Arrowheads had lost four in a row, and ranked tenth in both runs scored and runs allowed, for a -52 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (0-1, 1.59 ERA) vs. Fernando Salazar (5-7, 5.49 ERA)
Sean Sweeton (9-4, 2.55 ERA) vs. Marcus Wilkins (2-2, 4.63 ERA)
Kennedy Adkins (8-6, 2.77 ERA) vs. Jeremy Fetta (5-7, 4.50 ERA)

Should Adkins make the All Star Game, Kyle Brobeck (2-3, 5.96 ERA) would be tapped for the start on Sunday, so he wouldn’t be in the lineup on Saturday. The Indians had no such worries with their three right-handers.

Game 1
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF Oldfield – P F. Salazar
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Labonte – P Argenziano

Well, those were our best-laid plans at least. Everything went out the window when Argenziano’s forearm tightened up after five pitches and a Matt Kilday single on Friday. The ninth-string starter left the game, and the Raccoons ended up having Mike Lane pitch in the first inning. Lane, who had thrown only 25 innings so far this year, was not exactly a long guy. We hoped for three innings from him, and then would sniff the air to see which way the wind would blow by then. But we didn’t get even that much from Lane, who threw 31 pitches in two perfect fine innings, and then got axed in half when the third inning began. Salazar doubled, Kilday and Dan Mullen both tripled, and Bill Quinteros chipped in an RBI single. Lane was yanked with nobody out, down 3-0, then was dug out by Tanizaki, who popped out Kevin Abel, allowed a soft single to Antonio Rios, and then got a 5-4-3 double play from Will McIntyre. Brobeck started that, and while the ball was still flying from Paul Labonte to Callaia dashed out to the Coons bullpen to hurriedly get warmed up for as long as possible – at least the bottom 3rd began with Labonte batting, so Brobeck wouldn’t bat until warm, and in fact not at all since Labonte, Anderson, and Callaia went down 1-2-3 against Salazar.

The Raccoons made no attempts to rally in the near future. The closest we came to a run through five innings was about five feet, which was the margin by which Pucks was short and thrown out at home at to end the bottom 5th by McIntyre after trying to score from second base on Labonte’s single to right. It took four shutout inning from Brobeck (!) until Abercrombie hit a leadoff jack to right against Salazar in the bottom 7th. The tying runs were on the corners with one out as Salazar walked Pucks and gave up an 0-2 single to the busy bee Brobeck. Chavez struck out and Labonte popped out foul on a 3-2 pitch to render the effort moot. Brobeck pitched into the eighth, got Rios out, but then lost both McIntyre and Willie Villafan in full counts. Herrera came in when Rick Price was announced as left-handed pinch-hitter, got a grounder from Price and then survived a loud Bernie Bahena fly to right which Pucks caught.

Bottom 8th, Anderson dinked a flimsy single over Antonio Rios’ glove and into shallow left against Bill Dewan. Callaia’s grounder to second forced Dean out at second base. Right-hander Dave Corrao came in for Lonzo, but gave up a howling RBI triple down the leftfield line, and suddenly the tying run was at third base with one out. Righty Matt Green replaced Corrao, and both Abercrombie and Brassfield made ****** outs, leaving Lonzo destitute at third base and the Raccoons a run short.

With the game not tied, Matt Walters did not come into the ninth inning, and the Raccoons did not keep the game close. Herrera allowed a single to Matt Kilday and a homer to Bill Quinteros, and when John Scott entered on his third straight day he walked Abel and gave up a smoked RBI double to Rios. 6-2 Indians. Abercrombie 2-4, HR, RBI; Brobeck 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 2 K and 1-3;

**** my furry tush!! (noisily clonks half-empty bottle of Capt’n Coma on the table)

Luis, I don’t care whether Argenziano will be fine to pitch again in five days!! Who’s gonna ****** PITCH TOMORROW???

Still foaming from the mouth on Saturday, I had Argenziano dumped on the DL to free up a bitterly needed roster spot, and the first rested thing with an attached arm on the 40-man roster was recalled from AAA, which turned out to be Colby Bowen. Brobeck, who had thrown 84 pitches in relief, was of course no longer available to start on Sunday, either, so we had to play this one by fuzzy ear.

Best case, Sean… (pats starter on the back) …you pitch a complete game.

Game 2
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – LF Abel – C A. Lara – P Wilkins
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – 2B Labonte – C Zamora – 3B Anderson – P Sweeton

Sweeton threw 19 pitches in the first inning, Kilday reaching on an infield single before stealing second, advancing on a wild pitch, and somehow Sweeton also fit in a four-pitch walk to Oldfield without giving up a run, stranding the runners on the corners when Rios flew out to Brass in left. Callaia’s leadoff jack in the bottom 1st gave Portland the lead, but Sweeton wasn’t pitching like he’d make it through nine or even seven, and we were constantly on edge. In the third inning, he started with 3-1 counts to both Wilkins and Kilday, who both ended up grounding out. The fourth was disturbingly smooth, and the fifth then saw Kevin Abel whack a 1-out double to left. Angel Lara’s grounder to third was bungled by Anderson, putting runners on the corners, but Wilkins was kind enough to strike out trying to bunt for the second out. After a huddle on the mound, Sweeton struck out Kilday swinging, getting through five on 70 pitches and with a 1-0 lead.

But the offense kept failing forward through the innings, and the skinny 1-0 lead went bust in the sixth on another 1-out double by Quinteros, who was then singled home with a ball over Lonzo’s head by Rios. Bottom 6th, Brass and Pucks reached base to begin the inning and were stranded on first and second with nothing but misery on display from the 6-7-8 batters. Instead, Orlando Ramos drew a leadoff walk as pinch-hitter for Abel in the seventh inning, then was doubled home by Kilday with two outs in Sweeton’s last inning. Herrera and Tanizaki put a scoreless eighth together despite an error by Labonte. The Coons went in order in the seventh and eighth innings, then resorted to Matt Walters in the top 9th of a losing game to make ends meet, somehow. All for nothing – Randy Slocum retired Caballero, Anderson, and Bribiesca in order in the bottom 9th. 2-1 Indians. Brassfield 2-4;

(looks like three days’ rain)

Finally, Kennedy Adkins did NOT make the All Star Game. If he had gone, we might have been derelict enough to put in Colby Bowen for the start…

Game 3
IND: 2B Kilday – SS Mullen – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Abel – 3B A. Rios – RF McIntyre – C Villafan – LF O. Ramos – P Fetta
POR: 1B Callaia – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – CF Caballero – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – P Adkins

…but unless Adkins went seven, there were solid chances that Colby Bowen would pitch in the game anyway. Rios homered and Adkins walked the pair right after that in the second inning before buggering out of the inning against Orlando Ramos and Fetta, while the Raccoons got Pucks and Caballero on base to begin their half of the second, then at least got the tying run home on successive groundouts by Brobeck and Chavez. Adkins wasn’t great by any stretch of the imagination, but Fetta was perhaps worse. Callaia drew a 1-out walk in the bottom 3rd after a 10-pitch battle, stole second, and Lonzo walked in another full count behind him. After a double steal, Brass’ sac fly plated Callaia and we took a 2-1 lead. More walks then, with Pucks and Caballero getting more free passes, four in the inning now, to load the bases. Brobeck walked, pushing a run home, and the same for Chavez! SIX walks in the inning from Fetta…!? He ran a full count on Bribiesca, but Bribiesca swung and missed on another 3-2, the *53rd* pitch of the inning. He returned briefly in the fourth, gave up two singles, and was yanked. Juan Vasquez surrendered three runs on Brass and Pucks singles to give the Coons a 7-1 lead.

…which was great, given that Adkins had thrown 71 pitches in four innings himself. He gave up a solo homer to Quinteros in the sixth, but the Raccoons answered with two runs against Vasquez and Jeff Caldwell in the bottom 6th, Caballero hitting an RBI single and Brobeck bringing home Pucks with a groundout. Adkins *did* finish seven innings on 104 pitches, which made it much easier to just plonk Colby Bowen on the hill for six more outs, please. Lonzo added a tenth run with a groundout in the bottom 7th, getting Bribiesca and his leadoff single off Tim Jacoby home. Bowen gave up a walk to Quinteros in the eighth and a single to McIntyre in the ninth, but no runs. 10-2 Critters. Brassfield 2-4, 2 RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, 3 BB, 2 RBI; Caballero 2-4, BB, RBI; Adkins 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (9-6) and 1-2; Bowen 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

Ten singles, nine walks. Could just as well have ended 3-2 if Fetta hadn’t bunched six walks into one inning.

In other news

July 2 – Nashville LF/CF Malik Crumble (.308, 11 HR, 26 RBI) whacks three solo home runs in his first three at-bats against CIN SP Cory Ellis (5-9, 5.24 ERA) to lead the Blue Sox to a 5-2 win over the Cyclones. Crumble is the fourth Blue Sock with a 3-homer game, joining Jeffrey Matthews (2011), Jose Cantu (2049), and Alejandro Ramos (2052).
July 2 – The Crusaders beat the Loggers, 3-2 in 17 innings. Funnily enough the Loggers first take a lead in the top of the 17th inning, but the Crusaders walk off on two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
July 3 – NYC CL Ross Mitchell (2-1, 4.19 ERA, 11 SV) collects his 300th career save as he ends the Crusaders’ 5-4 win over the Loggers. Mitchell, 33, was new to the Continental League, but had won two Reliever of the Year awards with the Cyclones in 2047 and 2051, and had a career 3.19 ERA with a 97-68 record, also having worked two full seasons as a starting pitcher to decent success, winning 16 games once.
July 4 – The only base hit for the Thunder in their 4-1 loss to the Bayhawks is the second-inning RBI double by 1B Eddie de la Roca (.181, 2 HR, 12 RBI). SFB SP Milt Cantrell (8-4, 3.02 ERA) and CL Dave Lister (2-4, 5.71 ERA, 17 SV) combine for the 1-hitter.
July 4 – The Aces get smothered by the Knights, 20-6. Every starting position player on the Knights has at least one hit and scores at least two runs. Marco Nieto (.330, 2 HR, 41 RBI) and Chris Morris (.256, 1 HR, 17 RBI) lead the team with four RBI each.

July 5 – OCT SP Tan Brink (5-6, 3.22 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout against the Bayhawks, who lose 2-0.
July 5 – Condors catcher Nick Samuel (.232, 16 HR, 55 RBI) is expected to miss the entire month of July with a strained rib cage muscle.
July 5 – The Thunder get MR Dan Lawrence (0-1, 3.98 ERA, 2 SV) from the Canadiens for infielder Mike London (.313, 2 HR, 9 RBI).
July 5 – Rebels 3B Danny Espinosa (.243, 6 HR, 26 RBI) singles home C Henry Howie (.223, 7 HR, 33 RBI) to walk off the team in the bottom 10th of a gluey 1-0 win over the Capitals.
July 6 – DAL INF/RF Joe Humphries (.210, 4 HR, 16 RBI) hits a solo home run against Pacifics right-hander Omar Vargas (1-1, 2.54 ERA); it is the only Dallas hit in a 3-1 loss to the Pacifics, the swingman Vargas combining with Gustavo Chapa (3-4, 2.60 ERA, 3 SV) for the win.

July 7 – Condors SP Jay Everett (8-3, 2.83 ERA) spins a 3-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over the Aces, who strike out a staggering 13 times against the 24-year-old right-hander.
July 7 – The Crusaders lose key player INF Zach Suggs (.322, 14 HR, 53 RBI) to a broken kneecap; the 31-year-old slugger will miss the rest of the season.
July 7 – SFB LF Grant Anker (.290, 9 HR, 24 RBI) could be out for six weeks with a hamstring strain, derailing a solid rookie campaign for the 20-year-old.
July 7 – OCT 3B/SS/RF Ed Soberanes (.252, 9 HR, 32 RBI) goes yard to beat the Knights, 1-0.

July 8 – Another 3-homer game! LAP 3B Randy Wilken (.212, 14 HR, 49 RBI) misses the home run cycle by the grand slam as he socks three dingers for six RBI in an 11-0 rout of the Stars. This is the sixth 3-homer game for the Pacifics, and the first since Mark Cahill’s in 2045.
July 8 – PIT SP Jeff Crowley (6-9, 4.46 ERA), MR Cruz Madrid (5-4, 3.26 ERA, 1 SV), and CL Mike Lynn (5-2, 2.06 ERA, 15 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter against the Rebels for a 1-0 win. The only hit for Richmond is a single by SS/2B Matt Knight (.346, 4 HR, 29 RBI) off Crowley.
July 8 – The Wolves pound five home runs in a 14-0 rout of the Gold Sox, two of them by SAL 1B Belchior Fresco (.279, 8 HR, 48 RBI). SAL SP Blake Sparks (5-5, 2.68 ERA) also has the fireworks going, striking out seven in a 3-hit shutout.
July 8 – The Thunder beat the Knights, 8-7 in 12 innings, when Knights MR Eli Dupuis (1-4, 6.50 ERA) balks home the winning run home for a walkoff with two outs and two strikes in the inning.

FL Player of the Week: TOP 1B Eddie Moreno (.387, 6 HR, 13 RBI), swatting .393 (11-28) with 5 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL 1B/2B Jeff Wheeler (.282, 2 HR, 32 RBI), poking .448 (13-29) with 1 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Four All Stars on this team: Sean Sweeton, Takenori Tanizaki, Matt Walters, and Josh Abercrombie.

Abercrombie made his first All Star roster as a Continental Leaguer, but had twice been nominated with Pittsburgh. Similarly for Sweeton, who had once been a Scorpions All Star, but this was his first time as a Critter. It was the first nomination outright for Tanizaki, but Walters made his second consecutive (and overall) team.

Our four-game set with Boston was the only one in the CL North that didn’t end in a sweep; the damn Elks brushed the Indians away for four, and the Crusaders swept the Loggers in slow motion, three of the games being decided by one run. This doubled New York’s lead over the Loggers to eight games on Thursday night.

The International Free Agent signing window had opened last Sunday and the Raccoons offered a crisp $2,134,000 to a selection of six teenagers from the Americas’ soft underbelly in the initial going. Steve from Accounting turned slightly pale in the face, given that this was a multitude of the $737k soft cap and would come with a $1,397,000 tax payment and would lock us almost entirely out of next year’s IFA pool, and what would Nick Valdes say, and what would the Agitator say…!? I shrugged him off, because since when do those 16-year-old Dominicans that are usually the only hope of their remote mountain village to ever enter the civilized world of indoor plumbing settle for the first offer?

The first international to sign was SP Daniel Benitez, an 18-year-old Dominican right-hander that took $240k and then was assigned straight to Aumsville rather than the international complex in Santa Banana. I kept bidding on the rest, with Steve from Accounting begging me to be cautious because his books were well balanced so far and I was about to push the entire stack off the table.

By the weekend we added two more players, SP Victor Herrera and 2B Javier Banuelos, both more on the budget side. In total those three players cost $362k, while the Raccoons still had around $2M in the offers for three others. Steve from Accounting was constantly wiping his forehead with an equally wet handkerchief at this stage.

Three days off, then it’s back to the grindstone with the pokey black nose with four games in Boston. It will be the start of a 10-game road trip, also leading to Elk City and Oklahoma.

Fun Fact: Two 3-homer games in a week was rare, but twice before two 3-homer games occurred on the same day.

On May 8, 2014, SFW Jamie Wilson went deep three times against the Scorpions in an 11-2 win, and ATL Gil Rockwell (later a Coon) pounded out three deep balls in San Francisco, but the Knights lost that game anyway, 6-5.

On August 2, 2024, the Raccoons were involved, getting struck three by Alex Torres in a 6-5 loss in Portland. That wasn’t even the only 3-homer game by a damn Elk against Portland that season, as John Calfee would renew the feeling later in September that year in Elktown. Torres shared the spotlight with Boston’s Adam Braun, though, who whacked three longballs in a 9-1 win against the Indians on the same day that Torres showed the Coons’ future Hall of Famer, but certified launchpad, Mark Roberts, Jimmy Lee, and David Kipple around their own ballpark. Calfee also homered in that game, as did Ryan Holliman. Did I mention Mark Roberts was involved? That year was the first time he led the CL in bombs away (30), and he gave up 332 for his career.

It's not displayed that prominently on that gilded plaque of his, though.