[Westheim]

All Star Game

The Federal League beats the Continental League, 5-2, in the annual All Star Game, taking a 3-1 lead in the first inning on NAS 1B Andy Metz (.327, 14 HR, 56 RBI) hitting a 3-run homer off NYC SP Ben Seiter (11-4, 3.36 ERA) and never looking back. Metz wins MVP honors for these early heroics.

As far as the Raccoons are concerned, Noah Caswell hits a pinch-hit single and spends a few innings in the field, while Reynaldo Bravo pitches a scoreless inning, but Eloy Sencion allows a solo home run to RIC 1B Mario Delgadillo (.341, 15 HR, 50 RBI) in the sixth inning.

Raccoons (41-48) @ Titans (50-39) – July 11-14, 2058

The Raccoons had evened out the season series with three of four games won in Portland the week before, and now got to travel to Boston, where nothing good ever happened, for a rematch. The Titans had dropped out of first place, trailing the Crusaders by a game and a half. They were sixth in runs scored and third in runs allowed now, with a +28 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (7-4, 3.03 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (5-4, 3.18 ERA)
Zach Stewart (6-8, 3.03 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (10-4, 2.46 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (4-0, 2.20 ERA) vs. Jason Brenize (4-8, 4.52 ERA)
Chance Fox (1-3, 6.20 ERA) vs. Mike Pohlmann (6-5, 3.84 ERA)

Glaude had taken the only W against Portland the prior week, but had then faced Stewart. Only righty opposition coming up here. Ramon Carreno was surplus to requirements and could optionally be skipped on the coming Monday, which was an off day for the Critters, could be used in long relief, or start Tuesday in Milwaukee. It was all up in the air and we’d make **** up as we went on a daily basis.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – C M. Chavez – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – RF Martinez – 1B Imai – P B. Herrera
BOS: CF Weir – LF Ma. Gilmore – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – 2B W. de Leon – SS Leitch – 3B D. Mendoza – RF J. Harris – P Glaude

The Coons had three singles in the first, plus the benefit of an error by Willie de Leon and a wild pitch by Glaude, and scored a total of one run, thanks to Lonzo doubling up Labonte right away. Cas and Chavez hit singles again, Pucks reached on the error, and the run scored on the wild pitch… Bobby Herrera in turn started with two full counts, and Hector Weir and Matt Gilmore reaching the corners on a leadoff walk and a single, two strikeouts to Jorge Arviso and Manny Rubin, and then gave up a score-flipping wallbanger double to de Leon on a 1-2 pitch in the bottom 1st, so there was already plenty of reasons to be grumpy within 15 minutes of the All Star break ending.

Labonte reached on an error in the third inning, then was doubled up by Caswell, while Herrera, the very expensive piece of ****, went into the fourth with a leadoff walk to de Leon, who stole second at some point, but was on third base with two outs and Jonathan Harris, a dangerous .122 hitter, batting. Harris of course doubled on a 3-2 pitch, driving home a run to make it 3-1, and Herrera went on to walk Glaude in a full count, threw a wild pitch, and then walked Weir in a full count. Gilmore flew out to Caswell on an 0-1 to leave the bases loaded, which should be an automatic demotion to single-A. Herrera sucked his way to the showers by the sixth inning, while Glaude was pitching a 3-hitter with ten strikeouts on a relatively decent pitch count, 75 offerings through six innings. He struck out Chavez and Pucks to begin the seventh, reaching a neat dozen, then allowed a soft single to Brobeck and a harder single to Martinez, but Toushi made a quick third out to the top 7th. While the Titans got an extra run off Ivan Ornelas in the bottom 8th, the Raccoons got the tying run to the plate thanks to Alex Diaz offering 2-out walks to Pucks and Brobeck in the ninth inning. Martinez grounded out to short on the first pitch, and that was the end of that day’s agony. 4-1 Titans.

No honorable mentions. Everybody sucked.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – C M. Chavez – RF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – LF Brassfield – 1B Imai – P Stewart
BOS: 2B W. de Leon – SS Leitch – 1B M. Rubin – C Burkart – RF J. Harris – CF Ma. Gilmore – LF Weir – 3B D. Mendoza – P Musgrave

Friday’s heroics included a third-inning leadoff double by Zach Stewart in a scoreless ballgame, which was met by Labonte whiffing and consecutive pops by Lonzo and Caswell, leaving the rather dismayed looking pitcher stranded at second base. Boston took a lead the inning after on Alan Leitch’s leadoff jack in the bottom 4th, and that threatened to remain the only score of the game as the Raccoons remained exceptionally feckless even by their standards, and the Titans didn’t seem to get too much off Stewart either. The Raccoons’ least-awful left-hander needed 92 pitches through seven innings, with the bottom 7th ending on a 9-5 double play when Pucks caught Ethan Torrence’s pinch-hit fly to shallow right and used it to strike down Bruce Burkart trying to go from second to third on the play.

Caswell and Chavez hit back-to-back singles off Musgrave in the eighth, which made a full pawful of hits for the Critters in the game, but the unfazed Boston starter rung up Pucks and got a cozy grounder to short from Brobeck to end the inning. Stewart offered up seven more pitches to do the bottom 8th, which would reward him with a complete-game 4-hitter (and a loss) unless the Dumpster Gang made a stir in the ninth inning against Alex Diaz. Brassfield flew out to Harris in deep right on the first pitch, but Toushi walked on four pitches. Royer ran for him and Martinez batted for Stewart, then launched an out-of-the-blue 2-run homer over the fence in left…! The complete game was off for Stewart, but suddenly a win was on the table! Lonzo reached on a Leitch error with two outs and stole second base, but was left on by Caswell. Matt Walters got the ball for the bottom 9th. Leitch doubled with one out, but Walters quelled the rising with two strikeouts to get only his fifth save of the year. 2-1 Blighters. Martinez (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; Stewart 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (7-8);

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 1B Royer – RF Martinez – C C. Chavez – P Argenziano
BOS: CF Torrence – SS Leitch – 1B M. Rubin – C Burkart – LF Y. Valdez – RF J. Harris – 2B W. de Leon – 3B D. Mendoza – P Brenize

Were the Titans concerned that their platinum prospect Jason Brenize had the same number of wins than infinitely-often waived Cameron Argenziano, who had spent half the year as garbage reliever in triple-A? Probably. The Coons also loaded the bases right out of the gate as Torrence’s error put Labonte on base, Lonzo doubled to left-center, and Caswell walked. Pucks, the good boy, hit an RBI single ahead of three rapid and mostly soggy outs, Brobeck popping to second, Royer whiffing, and Martinez at least sending Harris backwards as he flew out to strand a full set of runners. The bases were loaded with nobody out *again* in the third inning, then with the 2-3-4 batters on. Lonzo and Caswell singled, the former also stole a base, and Pucks was nicked on a 3-1 pitch. Brobeck at least hit a sac fly this time, 2-0, but Royer popped out. Martinez walked to refill the bags, and Cortez Chavez came through with a 2-run single to center, leaving Argenziano to end the inning. The Titans didn’t have a base hit through all of this against *Cameron Argenziano*, although Leitch singled in the fourth, but was also left on first base. Harris singled in the fifth, but was caught stealing.

Bottom 6th, still 4-0, and the Titans loaded the bases in facepaw fashion. Hector Weir flew out to left hitting for the luckless Brenize, but Argenziano then walked the 1-2 batters and nicked Burkart with two outs. Yoslan Valdez grounded out in a full count – but not until after Argenziano threw a wild pitch to concede a run at 1-1, ruining his sub-2 ERA. Yes. Sub-2. Briefly.

The top of the seventh saw another instance of three on, nobody out for the Raccoons, as Dan Lawrence walked Cas and Brobeck around a Pucks single. Royer popped out, but Martinez drew a walk in a full count to push a run home. Cortez Chavez then got himself a 4-RBI day with another 2-run single to center, knocking out Lawrence for Dave Parra, who regained control of the situation. Argenziano finished seven innings of work for four hits and a run, but the Raccoons’ pair of All Stars then exploded for two runs in the bottom 8th as Bravo walked a pair and Sencion conceded the runs on Yoslan Valdez’ double to right. Tanizaki’s 1-2-3 ninth put the game away, though. 7-3 Raccoons. Lavorano 2-5, 2B; Puckeridge 2-3, BB, RBI; C. Chavez 2-4, BB, 4 RBI; Argenziano 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (5-0);

Cameron Argenziano!?

Game 4
POR: 1B Royer – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – C M. Chavez – 3B Brobeck – RF Martinez – LF Brassfield – 2B Bribiesca – P Fox
BOS: CF Torrence – SS Leitch – 1B M. Rubin – C Burkart – RF J. Harris – 2B W. de Leon – LF Weir – 3B D. Mendoza – P Pohlmann

The Raccoons didn’t get a hit off Pohlmann the first time through on a dark Sunday, but Fox gave demotion to St. Pete an honest effort right out of the gates, walking Torrence before giving up three quick runs on a Rubin triple and Burkart’s homer to left. He then faked competence for a few innings before having another outburst in the fifth inning. This time Rubin hit a 3-run blast after Torrence’s infield single and a walk to Alan Leitch. Another walk to Burkart led to Fox’ disposal. Siwik replaced him, fudged around the lower half of the Titans’ lineup until he gave up a 3-run homer of his own to Diego Mendoza, and the Raccoons scrapped the whole concept of pitchers pitching and sent out Brobeck for the sixth. He showed flashes of casual competence in a 9-0 deficit, and actually completed the pitching duty for the day in the hopelessly lost game, giving up just one unearned run in three innings. Just ignore the two hit batters, and the two errors behind him by Lonzo and Sheilds, and it was almost like we were using an ordinary pitcher and were an ordinary team. Pohlmann was never threatened in a complete-game 6-hit shutout, whiffing nine Raccoons. All the hits he gave up were singles. 10-0 Titans. Caswell 2-4; Puckeridge (PH) 1-1; Brobeck 3.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K;

In other news

July 8 – The Canadiens trade INF Shane Larsen (.299, 6 HR, 26 RBI) to the Falcons for a prospect.
July 8 – Recurring back spasms put Thunder OF/2B Eric Whitlow (.339, 16 HR, 63 RBI) on the DL for up to six weeks.
July 9 – The Thunder are involved in two separate deals on the day of the All Star Game. The Buffaloes acquire 1B David Worthington (.268, 13 HR, 63 RBI) from the Thunder for RF/LF/1B Cesar Santiago (.313, 9 HR, 41 RBI), while they send OF Raimundo Bagoim (.255, 1 HR, 10 RBI) to the Warriors for veteran catcher Luke Burnham, who spent all of 2058 in the minors so far, but was with the Thunder from 2049 through 2056.
July 11 – The 20-game hitting streak of Sacramento’s Andrew Russ (.254, 0 HR, 19 RBI) does not survive the All Star break as he goes hitless in four at-bats in a 9-3 loss to the Wolves.
July 12 – The Miners beat the Cyclones, 9-8 in 10 innings. A dozen runs score in the eighth inning alone, which sees the Cyclones turn a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead before squandering the whole of it in the following half-inning, and eventually the game as a whole.
July 14 – PIT SP Kodai Koga (6-10, 5.89 ERA) lightens up a stinker of a season with a 3-hit shutout of the Cyclones, whiffing eight batters in a 6-0 win.

FL Player of the Week: TOP LF/RF Dan Martin (.298, 16 HR, 86 RBI), batting .421 (8-19) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL 1B Dave Robles (.294, 14 HR, 62 RBI), hitting .500 (8-16) with 2 HR, 3 RBI

Complaints and stuff

What’s wrong with Cameron Argenziano, and can we somehow bottle it and force-feed to the younger Critters that are actual prospects?

Will Kyle Brobeck actually win his valiant fight against the 9.00 ERA mark? Tune back in next week when we will certainly see more garbage relief behind some overwhelmed young ‘un…

The Raccoons spent a total of $125k on international free agents, signing all three of the youngsters they were after for cheap. Right-hander Melvin Luco cost $61k to sign. Second basemen Frank Vasquez and Ricardo Manzanarez each cost $32k to sign. They’re all 16, with the first two from the Dominican Republic, and the latter one from Venezuela.

Next week: Loggers, Thunder on the road.

Fun Fact: Lonzo had two hits and stole three bases this short week, which is decidedly in the “mixed” bag of emotions.

Then again, he has now rallied away (almost) a huge deficit he had on Perry Pigman in the stolen base race in the CL. Pigman is on 36 bags taken, and Lonzo has nearly caught up with 34. Xavier Reyes sits in between with 35.

There’s no reason for regular updates on the career leaderboards in stolen bases this year, since it was always a bit of a longshot to even make up one position this year, but Lonzo is now up to 545 stolen bases, 25 behind 6th-place Rich de Luna, and 36 behind the Miners’ Alex Vasquez, the active leader, who slowed down greatly this year and has only six stolen bases so far.