[Westheim]

Raccoons (71-72) @ Loggers (78-65) – September 11-13, 2057

The Loggers were in second place… but the ship had sailed, really, since they were 11 1/2 games out with three weeks to play. The #5 offense and #4 pitching in the CL had not been enough. Well, compared to the Crusaders; they had roughed up the Raccoons for a 12-3 record so far. They had lost a few pitchers along the way now, including ex-Coons Julian Dunn and Brett Lillis jr., who were both out for the season.

Projected matchups:
J.J. Sensabaugh (2-2, 4.19 ERA) vs. Seisaku Taki (13-9, 3.74 ERA)
Craig Kniep (4-5, 5.51 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (12-11, 3.04 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (4-6, 4.35 ERA) vs. Roberto Alvarado (3-8, 5.87 ERA)

Riddle was the left-hander in that set.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – LF Johnson – C Chavez – CF Oley – P Sensabaugh
MIL: C Dye – 3B Gaxiola – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – SS Wartella – RF Bishton – CF Konecny – 2B Sostre – P Taki

Sensabaugh fought Seisaku to a draw for three innings, which already felt like a moral victory, but then Todd Oley klopsed a simple Perry Pigman fly in shallow center for a 1-out runner in the fourth inning. Sensabaugh then walked Dave Robles, the pair pulled off a double steal, and Matt Wartella’s grounder plated an unearned run. Ryan Bishton then also grounded out, ending the inning. Sensabaugh’s bottom 5th then was worse in an earned way; Kelly Konecny singled to left, Bill Sostre drew another walk, and then Jonathan Dye pumped a 3-run homer to right. Sensabaugh crapped completely, offering two more walks and getting nobody out (Taki aside) in the inning. Tanizaki had to dig the Critters out of that muck, getting two pops from Robles and Wartella to complete the fifth inning.

Colby Bowen failed another run on the board in the bottom 7th, while Taki was maintaining shutout pace into the eighth, scattering four Raccoons hits through seven. In the eighth, however, it came apart a bit. Chavez and Aaron Wade (!) hit singles to reach the corners with two outs, which also meant that a double play, which had ended both of the previous innings on Lonzo’s and Brobeck’s paws, respectively – was no longer in the cards. Paul Labonte instead drove a ball all the way to the warning track in centerfield, beating Konecny for a 2-run triple. Lonzo grounded out to Gaxiola to end the inning, however. Sostre tripled off Alex Rios in the bottom 8th, but nobody else reached base for Milwaukee, and we drew Ramon Montes de Oca for the ninth inning. Abercrombie hit a leadoff double, but Montes de Oca struck out the next two and Johnson grounded out to short to end the game. 5-2 Loggers. Abercrombie 2-4, 2B; Royer (PH) 1-1; A. Wade (PH) 1-1;

The Loggers…!

This game also spelled mathematical elimination from postseason contention for the Critters. As if…

Game 2
POR: CF Royer – SS Lavorano – 1B Brassfield – LF Abercrombie – 3B Brobeck – C Zamora – RF Griggs – 2B Bribiesca – P Kniep
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Callaia – C Mi. Gilmore – SS Sostre – 3B Gaxiola – P Riddle

Kniep tossing pretty much assured me that we’d grow our losing streak to eight games, even when Brobeck drove home Lonzo (single) and Brass (double) for a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Kniep resented the urge to bobble that right away, and the Raccoons tacked on bigly in the second inning. Griggs led off with a bloop single, then scored on Bribiesca’s double into the rightfield corner. Royer hit a scratch single, Lonzo an RBI single to left, double steal, and then Brass plated the pair with a drop single in front of Perry Pigman near the leftfield line. Abercrombie also singled before Brobeck found the shortstop for a 6-4-3 inning-ender, but we were now up 6-0, and the thing that worried me most was that Kniep had that challenge-accepted face on. However, the Loggers amounted to one hit and five strikeouts in three innings, so maybe we’d be fine this time ‘round!

Kniep started to show cracks in the fourth, allowing a single and a walk before Gaudencio Callaia hit into a double play to bail him outta there, but in the fifth Mike Gilmore led off with a loud double, Sostre singled, and Kniep plated a run with a wild pitch – although apart from that, Gaxiola, Konecny, and Steve Valenzano went down without much success. Mike Gilmore drove home Perry Pigman in the sixth as Kniep lost all cohesion before being dragged out of there by the defense, and by his tail. 102 pitches through six after being spotted six didn’t exactly scream ace…

Not that it got any better. Gaxiola pumped a jack off Ricky Herrera in the bottom 7th, and Wartella singled in the #9 spot. The lefty left the game without retiring anybody, and John Scott allowed another hit to Valenzano. Cory Garmon grounded out, moving the runners into scoring position, but Pigman’s hard grounder to Brassfield prevented the runners from going, and Robles also grounded out, ending the inning with Portland still up by three runs. Pinch-hit singles by Labonte and Johnson to begin the ninth against Roberto Navarro didn’t lead to a run thanks to Royer whiffing, Tony Benitez hitting into a fielder’s choice, and Brassfield grounding out to Gaxiola. A well-rested (cough!!) Matt Walters then retired Bishton, Valenzano, and Garmon in order to end the spill. 6-3 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-4, RBI; Brassfield 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Griggs 2-4; Labonte (PH) 1-1; Johnson (PH) 1-1; Kniep 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-5);

No-no, Lonzo is fine! But I am struggling to work both Brobeck and Tony Benitez into the lineup.

Without Brobeck making starts, at least, although he’ll probably make a spot start in the upcoming Falcons double-header.

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – RF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – LF Johnson – C Chavez – CF Oley – P Carreno
MIL: C Dye – 3B Gaxiola – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – RF Callaia – SS Wartella – CF Garmon – 2B Sostre – P R. Alvarado

The Raccoons couldn’t score Lonzo from him hitting a triple in the first inning, so that was a nice start to the rubber game, but Carreno nailed Gaxiola, who was forced out by Pigman; however, Perry Pigman stole second and scored on Robles’ 2-out single for a 1-0 Loggers lead. Kyle Brobeck hit a leadoff double in the top 2nd and scored on Oley’s sac fly to tie the game, and the two teams then took air swings at each other for a few innings before Dave Robles hit a *bomb* to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead to begin the bottom of the fourth. Carreno then pitched like liquid arse from there, failing Garmon and Sostre on base. At 1-1 to Alvarado and two outs, he threw a wild pitch to advance the runners into scoring position, which was still better than the RBI single he gave up on the next ******* pitch, immediately followed by three more runs on smoked doubles by Dye and Gaxiola, then Carreno’s exit. Useless piece of ****. Same for Adam Harris, really, who gave up two more singles to Pigman and Robles and another run before Callaia finally grounded out to Lonzo.

Colby Bowen was then brutalized for three more runs in the fifth inning, giving up four hits and two walks without even getting outta there without the help of Ricky Herrera, and then the left-hander only did so after Callaia grounded out on a 3-1 pitch with the bases loaded and two outs. It wouldn’t be a real 2057 Coons rout, though, without Mancilla taking a few more in the snout while covering the last 2.2 ******* innings; Corey Garmon got him for a 2-run single in the eighth inning. The Coons offense justifiably played dead and conserved their energy for the next game, except for Elijah Johnson’s triple and Aaron Wade’s RBI groundout against Dan Bell in the ninth inning. 12-2 Loggers. Chavez 2-3;

(blows)

Raccoons (72-74) @ Condors (69-77) – September 14-16, 2057

The Raccoons had yet to lose a game against the Condors this year, but there was a first time for everything, maybe even for Ramon Carreno pitching a decent ******* game. Carreno at least couldn’t hurt me anymore this weekend, but maybe the league’s #9 offense and #5 pitching could with their -15 run differential (Coons: +1).

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (2-3, 4.37 ERA) vs. Jose Salazar (8-2, 2.53 ERA)
Ryan Wade (0-2, 6.23 ERA) vs. Juan Juarez (12-11, 3.50 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (2-3, 4.40 ERA) vs. Marco Clemente (1-3, 5.93 ERA)

Only right-handers to see here. Also, no outfield pair of Tim Duncan and Jamie Harmon for the Condors, both of whom finished the year on the DL along with pitchers Miguel Batista and Zach Johnson.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – 1B Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – RF Griggs – CF Solorzano – P DeRose
TIJ: CF Fish – 2B D. Mercado – 1B Ramsay – C J. Morales – SS N. Fowler – RF Reina – 3B Frasher – LF L. Chapa – P J. Salazar

DeRose threw four pitches in the game. Bobby Fish hit a homer to right on the second, and he hit Domingo Mercado with the fourth, and it was on right away. Mercado and DeRose were both ejected and the Raccoons could try and pick nine innings from their bullpen now. Matt Cook replaced Mercado, while the Raccoons brought in Alex Rios, who threw a wild pitch, walked Harry Ramsay anyway, gave up a run on Nick Fowler’s single, and then got a double play grounder from Juan Reina while I wondered whether a dozen relievers would be enough to finish the season. Brass’ double and Brobeck’s RBI single made up a run in the second, and Chavez also reached base on a walk. Griggs and Solorzano made poor outs, and then Rios was not batted for, but instead ran a 3-0 count… and then poked and grounded out, the ******* *****. And they say that an actual brain was a requirement for life…

Somehow, even two more innings from Rios didn’t hurt the Raccoons’ chances significantly. Scoreless innings from Sencion and Bravo kept the game close until Brobeck hit a game-tying jack off Salazar in the sixth inning, evening the score at two. Griggs and Solorzano hit a pair of 2-out singles to go to the corners, but Elijah Johnson grounded out poorly to pass on that chance. Adam Harris, the dork, failed the bases full in the bottom 6th, walking Eric Frasher with two outs, followed by a Luis Chapa single and another walk to Raul Villalba, but then Fish flapped himself out to strand a full set of runners and keep it 2-all. Harris allowed two singles to begin the bottom 7th then, and Jerry Morales’ double off John Scott led to two Condors runs in the inning.

It was not an L though, because the Raccoons got singles from Chavez and Griggs against a cavalcade of Condors relievers in the eighth inning. Solorzano popped out, and Bribiesca pinch-hit with two down against new pitcher Sam Turner. The righty threw a wild pitch to move the tying runs into scoring position, then fell to 3-1 against Bribiesca, who then poked a ball to the shortstop. Nick Fowler just made the error of throwing the ball completely past Rickey Hamelin at first base and into the Coons’ dugout, allowing the tying runs to score. Labonte walked after that, but Lonzo flew out to Bobby Fish in center, and the inning ended. Just the failure didn’t end: Lane gave up a leadoff double on the first pitch he threw in the bottom 8th, and Luis Chapa was brought around to score by Fish on a 1-out single. Cody Sears then put the silly Critters away in the ninth, pitching around a Brass single. 5-4 Condors. Brassfield 2-5, 2B; Brobeck 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Griggs 2-4;

Justin DeRose was slapped with a 6-game suspension by the league, and that will be nothing against what I will slap him with. (calmly fills pawfuls of AAA batteries into one of Maud’s sturdy knitted socks)

Ivan Ornelas returned to the team on Saturday after having his elbow scraped of bone chips. Normally he would have spent a few weeks in rehab in AAA, but that season had just ended, and he only could return to the Critters now.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – LF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – 3B Brobeck – C Chavez – CF Royer – 1B A. Wade – P R. Wade
TIJ: 3B Villalba – 2B L. Chapa – 1B Ramsay – C J. Morales – SS N. Fowler – RF Reina – CF Fish – LF M. Cook – P J. Juarez

The Raccoons’ 3-4-5 batters all reached with two outs in the first inning, and Brobeck drove in Abercrombie with a single for a quick lead, but Chavez then grounded out to strand a pair. Ryan Wade then immediately walked Villalba, threw a wild pitch, and somehow didn’t give up the tying run because the Condors, when allowed to poke, poked poorly, and Villalba was left on third base. Juan Reina walked and Bobby Fish singled in the second inning, but they were left in scoring position on Cooks’ pop and Juarez’ fly to left. Tijuana made it 3-for-3 with runners left at third base in the third inning; Chapa hit a 1-out infield single, stole second, reached third on Chavez’ crappy throw, Ramsay walked, and Morales hit into a double play. They finally got on the board in the fourth, Cook singling home Fowler, who had also singled, and Fish had drawn a walk as Wade conceded four hits and four walks in as many innings… Chapa and Fowler drew yet more walks in the bottom 5th before Wade was yanked. Sencion struck out Reina to end the inning and keep the game tied.

The top of the sixth began with Lonzo and Abercrombie singles, the pair taking position on the corners. Brass walked in a full count, dooming the effort by making it three on, no outs. Brobeck’s hard grounder to short was thrown home by Fowler to take out Lonzo at the plate, but Juarez then walked in a run against Chavez and Royer’s sac fly made it 3-1 before Aaron Wade grounded out. Chavez got another RBI his next time up, doubling home Brobeck with two outs against lefty Matt Wilke in the eight. By then, Sencion, Lane, and Tanizaki had held the lead nicely enough, and John Scott got three soft outs in six pitches in the bottom 8th, lining up Walters for the ninth. The Condors didn’t reach base, and Walters struck out two to get to 80 K for the year. 4-1 Coons. Chavez 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI;

Brobeck wasn’t in the lineup on Sunday then, a pretty good indicator for who was going to make the extra start on Monday. Meanwhile the Condors went to Travis Odon (7-8, 3.60 ERA), another right-hander, for this rubber game.

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Abercrombie – RF Brassfield – LF Johnson – C Zamora – 3B Benitez – 1B A. Wade – P Sensabaugh
TIJ: 3B Villalba – 2B L. Chapa – 1B Ramsay – C J. Morales – SS N. Fowler – RF Reina – CF Fish – LF Groom – P Odon

There were three base hits total in the first four innings on Sunday, which sounded off with Sensabaugh going out to the hill for every single one of those frames. Elijah Johnson gave the Raccoons a lead with a solo homer in the second inning, but Juan Reina’s triple and Fish’s groundout tied the game up again in the fourth. Tony Benitez hit an infield single in the fifth, which led exactly nowhere, and Sensabaugh barely got through six innings on 102 pitches, walking Ramsay and Reina in the bottom 6th before Fish grounded out to end the inning.

Ivan Ornelas then threw seven pitches in the seventh inning. Micah Groom singled to left, but was doubled up on John Rosenstiel’s grounder to short. Villalba then flew out to Johnson. Luis Chapa swatted a double to left off Mancilla to begin the bottom 8th, but three poor outs stranded him and the game remained tied at one, neither team able to squish out a run. Lonzo hit a single off Sears in the ninth, but was caught stealing, and the Raccoons went down on the minimum. Ricky Herrera got the bottom 9th with three lefties scheduled for the inning. The Condors sent three pinch-hitters instead, but Herrera retired them all, and the game went to extra innings. There, Sears gave up 1-out singles to Johnson and Zamora, after which Brobeck pinch-hit for Benitez, but grounded into a double play. Tanizaki’s scoreless bottom 10th moved the game along, and Espinoza reached base on a throwing error by Villalba in the top 11th. Hector Montenegro then gave up a zinger to right to Labonte that fell for an RBI triple. The Raccoons made it a 2 on the board with a Lonzo sac fly, and Matt Walters had another 1-2-3 inning to put the game away. 3-1 Blighters. Johnson 2-4, HR, RBI; Sensabaugh 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K;

In other news

September 10 – Pacifics 3B Randy Wilken (.250, 26 HR, 85 RBI) bashes three home runs, and a single, and drives in half the runs in L.A.’s 12-2 win over the Warriors. Wilken had already achieved this feat two months earlier against the Stars.
September 11 – NYC SP Ben Seiter (18-8, 2.87 ERA) whips the Indians for 11 strikeouts against three hits in a 2-0 Crusaders win.
September 12 – Denver’s 3B/2B Ivan Villa (.286, 34 HR, 106 RBI) punches his 400th career home run at the start of a 5-run, ninth-inning rally leading to a 6-4 win over the Scorpions. Villa, 35 and in his 15th year with the Gold Sox, is on pace for his seventh FL home run title, and has also led the FL in RBI three times, winning three Player of the Year wards along the way along with four rings and numerous other accolades. He had a .292/.320/.497 career slash with 2,312 hits, 1,467 RBI, and also 322 stolen bases.
September 13 – CIN SP Hector Estevez (10-6, 4.39 ERA) could miss time well into next season with a badly torn rotator cuff.
September 14 – Rebels 3B Danny Espinosa (.272, 14 HR, 67 RBI) was out for the year with torn ligaments in his thumb.
September 14 – A fourth-inning triple by RF/CF Peter Bivens (.258, 15 HR, 53 RBI) is the only hit the Miners muster in a 1-0 loss to the Scorpions’ Michael McCaffrey (16-6, 1.51 ERA) and Justin Round (8-4, 2.20 ERA, 36 SV).
September 15 – Rebels UT Alex Murillo (.275, 3 HR, 47 RBI) singles for the only Richmond hit in an 8-0 loss Sioux Falls’ Ed Nadeau (3-2, 2.76 ERA) and Matt Weber (2-0, 3.52 ERA).
September 16 – The Crusaders clinch the CL North with a 4-3 win over the Thunder.
September 16 – A torn back muscle ends the season of SFW SP Victor Salcido (9-12, 3.92 ERA).

FL Player of the Week: NAS RF/LF Tony Ontiveroz (.301, 9 HR, 36 RBI), batting .500 (13-26) with 2 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN INF/RF Rick Price (.289, 10 HR, 46 RBI), powering .367 (11-30) with 4 HR, 13 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Another week ticked off. We’re awful, and we’ll be awful for another two weeks.

Ornelas came off the DL after four months out with the elbow thing, but Pucks will not quite return anymore this year.

Monday’s double-header against the stomping Falcons will be interesting, if only from a standpoint of how many ham-and-eggers the Falcons will be able to rough up in a single day. We’ll have four with them, then close out the home schedule with a 3-game set against the damn Elks on the weekend.

Fun Fact: Randy Wilken is the first player to hit two 3-homer games in the same season.

…however, Stanley Murphy did also pound three home runs in two separate games inside 12 months for the Pacifics, putting three on the Stars on June 18, 2011, and another three on, well, the Raccoons on June 9, 2012.

He was of course a Raccoon two years later, being acquired mid-season at age 34. Wilken is also 34, so I should perhaps start to work something out.