[Westheim]

Raccoons (10-15) @ Titans (10-14) – May 2-5, 2061

Neither team had gotten the start they wanted, with the Titans simply being cruddy in all regards, allowing the fourth-most runs and scoring the fifth-fewest runs so far. Their rotation was chasing an ERA in the fives, they had neither speed nor defense, and were being without Eddie Marcotte and Jonathan Watson due to injury. Boston had beaten the crap out of the Raccoons, 12-6, last year.

Projected matchups:
Nick Robinson (1-2, 3.82 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (3-1, 1.52 ERA)
Angel Alba (2-2, 7.94 ERA) vs. Jayden Craddock (1-3, 4.91 ERA)
Justin DeRose (1-3, 4.34 ERA) vs. Mike Bell (2-0, 2.13 ERA)
Chance Fox (1-1, 1.87 ERA) vs. Grant MacKinnon (2-2, 7.61 ERA)

These were all right-handers. The Raccoons missed golden boy Jason Brenize, who was not so much of a boy, nor golden, anymore, and off to an 0-4, 6.04 ERA start even without getting pummeled by the Critters.

Game 1
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – C Perez – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – RF Christopher – P Robinson
BOS: RF Lloyd – 2B W. de Leon – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – CF A. Lee – 3B D. Mendoza – LF Y. Valdez – SS Bratlien – P Glaude

A leadoff walk to Ben Morris, who stole second base, and a 2-out single by Brassfield gave the Raccoons a quick 1-0 lead to begin the four-game set, although Robinson had that fumbled by the second inning, when he could not retire any of the 6-7-8 batters with two outs and Jacob Bratlien singled home Diego Mendoza to tie the game. It was also raining by the third inning, and pretty soon the game went to an hourlong rain delay in the baseball god’s petty attempt to further derail the Raccoons’ pitching staff.

When play resumed, two Nicks and a Joey loaded the bases to begin the top 4th, bringing up another Nick with three on and nobody out against Glaude, who went to a full count on the opposing pitcher, then lost Robinson to a tie-breaking, bases-loaded walk. It was Glaude’s sixth free pass of the game. He rung up Morris, but gave up a run on a Lonzo single and another on Starr’s groundout. When he walked Brass with two outs, he was yanked for Adam Gardner, who got Angel Perez to pop out to Willie de Leon to end the inning. Robinson got through five rain-addled innings with the 4-1 lead, which Joel Starr extended to 5-1 with a homer off Gardner, his long-awaited second circuit blow of the year, in the top 6th. Reynaldo Bravo then stumbled into a bases-loaded situation in the bottom 6th before striking out Bratlien and getting a groundout from PH Matt Gilmore to leave three Titans stranded. Starr narrowly missed a second homer in the eighth inning, while LaBat and Mendez followed Bravo with competent relief, while the Titans’ Andy Younge and Gabe Hill exploded for four runs in the ninth inning. Younge first put Brass and Nye on base, then gave up a 2-run double to Nick Fowler, which was swiftly followed by Jack Kozak banging a pinch-hit 2-run homer off Hill. 9-1 Raccoons! Ayala (PH) 1-1; Lavorano 2-5, RBI; Starr 2-5, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Brassfield 2-3, 3 BB, RBI; Fowler 2-5, 2 RBI; Christopher 1-2, 2 BB; Kozak (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI;

Game 2
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – C Perez – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – RF Christopher – P Alba
BOS: SS Lloyd – RF Y. Valdez – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – CF A. Lee – LF Ramires – 2B D. Mendoza – 3B Bratlien – P Craddock

Pretty soon, Angel Alba was only in the game to cover some more innings before his inevitable demotion to St. Petersburg. Manny Rubin took him deep his first two trips to the plate, and he offered three walks just the first time through the order, two of which scored: Ted Lloyd ahead of Rubin’s first jack, and Bill Ramires on a hit by Bratlien in the bottom 2nd. It was 3-0 after two, then 4-1 after three with Rubin’s second homer mingling with Ben Morris’ driving home of Joe-Chris, who got a bigger appearance in the box score in the fourth inning. Demoted to the #8 hole for simply neither hitting nor walking, Christopher came up with Perez and Fowler on base and two outs, and cranked a 425-footer over the fence in right, tying the score at four.

That tie didn’t survive another plate appearance by Rubin in the bottom 5th, where he doubled home Yoslan Valdez with the go-ahead run, then scored himself on a triple by Andy Lee, 6-4. That was the shambolic end for Alba, yanked for Brad Loveless, who was pretty much in line to be sent to AAA right along with him *either* for going long *or* failing to do so. He struck out Ramires, though, which at least ended the fifth inning, and then Diego Mendoza to begin the sixth before the inning degenerated into a clown show with two walks offered by Loveless in between two errors committed by him and Christopher. Somehow the Titans scored only one run before Rubin struck out to leave the bases loaded in the 7-4 game.

Christopher, Fowler, and Morris loaded the bases with the tying runs in the top 7th ahead of Lonzo, who stepped into the box with one out and with Craddock still hoarding the baseballs. Lonzo’s grounder to short was briefly bungled by Lloyd, which cost the Titans the double play. One run scored, while Morris was out at second base. Starr then popped out to Lloyd to leave the tying runs on the corners. The eighth was uneventful, and the ninth began with Jason Posey nicking Christopher to invite Kozak to the plate as the tying run, batting for Mike Lane. Kozak grounded into a fielder’s choice to remove Christopher from the bases, but Posey then nicked Morris as well. Lonzo, however, grounded to short again, and this time Lloyd had all his hands under control and the Titans did get the 6-4-3 double play to end the game. 7-5 Titans. Morris 2-4, RBI; Bean (PH) 1-1; Christopher 2-3, HR, 3 RBI;

Around this time Noah Caswell suffered a setback with his knee sprain and he would be out until the second half of May, and then probably need a rehab assignment, so things could not have been going much wickeder indeed.

Both Angel Alba (2-3, 8.72 ERA) and Brad Loveless (0-0, 3.68 ERA) were booted from the roster after the Tuesday game and replaced with two right-handed relievers, Bryan Erickson and Paul Barton, the latter making his ABL debut. He had posted a 2.08 ERA in St. Pete after initially being demoted there after he had signed a big-league contract at the end of the offseason.

Yes, we’d need a starter on Sunday. But we also only needed that fifth starter twice in the next 20 games, and would manipulate the roster rules a bit to get the most out of that 13th pitcher’s spot for the time being.

Game 3
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – 2B Nye – RF Christopher – C Fuller – 3B N. Fox – P DeRose
BOS: SS Lloyd – RF Y. Valdez – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – CF A. Lee – 2B D. Mendoza – LF Caron – 3B Bratlien – P M. Bell

Joey Christopher *really* wanted that spot atop the order back, even though he went about it in weird ways with his second 3-run homer in two days. This time he took Bell out of the ballpark in the second inning after Brass had reached on an error and Nye singled, for a quick 3-0 lead. Nick Fox then doubled and was singled home by DeRose for a 4-0 lead in the same inning. Tim Fuller added another run with a 2-out single that scored Brassfield in the third inning. This time Brass singled and Christopher walked before both pulled off a double steal. DeRose meanwhile wasn’t helping with the overworked bullpen issue and threw a staggering 61 pitches in three innings – without giving up a run. But he was behind everybody, walked two and nailed one, gave up two hits, and somehow the Titans couldn’t get ahead of this guy…

DeRose threw six shutout innings on 107 pitches in the end, holding a lead that grew to 6-0 with Tim Fuller’s first Coons homer in the sixth inning. And as soon as he was gone, the bullpen stepped on another rake that hit them full in the snout. Erickson came in, allowed three straight singles and a run on Lloyd’s groundout, then yielded for Ricky H., who struck out Valdez, but then was taken deep for a 3-piece by Jorge Arviso… The Raccoons would also have their first three batters on base against foundering Art Schaeffer (12.00 ERA) in the top 8th with straight singles for Nye, Christopher, and Fuller. Schaeffer walked in a run against Nick Fox, then another one against Kozak, then was yanked for Andy Younge, who put the pillow firmly on the snouts of the 1-2-3 batters and prevented the Coons from getting another run, let alone a hit with the bases loaded…

Bottom 8th, the Titans also put three on with nobody out against Bravo. Mendoza led off with a single and Bravo then walked the bags full against Anson Caron and Bratlien, at which point I was getting slightly annoyed with the lot of them. Alex Abecassis struck out, but Ted Lloyd singled home a run and Bravo was yanked straight for Matt Walters, who was faced with PH Isaiah Dickerson, but oversaw the right-handed batter grounding straight into a double play to kill the inning. Top 9th, and for the fourth straight half-inning a team filled the bags with nobody out. Brass doubled against Mike Pohlmann, who walked Nye, then threw a wild pitch before the intentional walk was doled out to Christopher. Again, no runs were scored from three on and nobody out, as Tim Fuller grounded into a force at home, Fox grounded out, and Kozak whiffed. At least Walters retired the Titans in order in the bottom 9th… 8-5 Raccoons. Brassfield 3-5, 2B; Nye 2-4, BB; Christopher 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 3 RBI; Fuller 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Walters 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (6);

Can we get just ONE well-pitched game in Boston…??

Unrelated, Lonzo got the day off on Thursday, along with Morris.

Game 4
POR: RF Christopher – CF Ayala – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – 2B Nye – C Perez – SS Fowler – 3B N. Fox – P C. Fox
BOS: RF Lloyd – 2B W. de Leon – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – 3B D. Mendoza – LF Y. Valdez – CF Caron – SS Bratlien – P MacKinnon

The three on, nobody out parade continued on Thursday. The top 2nd saw Brass on with a hit before Nye reached when Bratlien dropped his pop behind short, and Perez hit a scratch single. Finally, though, some mook broke through with a nock, and it was Fowler with a 2-run double to left, the first markers on the board in the game, and Nick Fox repeated the feat with a 2-run double to *right* immediately afterwards. Foxie Brown struck out before Christopher singled home Foxie Nick, 5-0, but the inning ended with an Ayala pop and Christopher being caught stealing. In a perfect world, Chance Fox would then have pitched a shutdown inning, but instead he gave up howling doubles to Rubin and Mendoza in the bottom 2nd, and surrendered the second run on a grounder and Anson Caron’s sac fly… The same area of the lineup gave Fox bothers again in the fourth inning when Arviso and Rubin hit leadoff singles against him. He then got two outs, but walked Caron, prompting a mound conference. Luckily Bratlien would chop a comebacker right at Fox, and he would take it to Starr to end the inning, still ahead 5-2, but Bratlien would bat again with two outs and two on in the sixth inning and then singled home Mendoza with another Boston run. Andy Lee would ground out to end the inning then, and it was also the end of Chance Fox’ outing.

Meanwhile, the Raccoons hadn’t done a lick on offense in the past four innings. MacKinnon lasted five after getting beaten bloody in the top 2nd, but by the seventh the Titans were back with Art Schaeffer, and whatever was wrong with him was deeply, deeply wrong, because in the blink of an eye the bases were full with nobody out yet again. Lonzo batted for Chance Fox here and got drilled, which got a run home and me grumbling, but Lonzo eventually dragged himself to first base in one piece. Christopher struck out, but Ayala got home a run with a groundout. The Titans hooked Schaeffer and went to Gabe Hill, but Starr romped a rocket through Rubin for a 2-run double against the southpaw, extending the score to 9-3. Brass grounded out to end the inning.

Paul Barton made his ABL debut for good in the bottom 7th, allowing a single to de Leon and a walk to Arviso, but got out of his own mess without making the score interesting again. The eighth was quiet, while the ninth saw Hill take more abuse by the Raccoons. Nick Fox singled, as did Christopher. Ayala hit an RBI double, and Starr’s grounder brought in a second run. Bean batted for Brass, and bashed an RBI single over the second base bag into centerfield before Ruben Mendez put the lid on. 12-3 Critters! Christopher 2-5, RBI; Bean (PH) 1-1, RBI; Perez 2-4, 2B; N. Fox 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (13-16) @ Miners (14-14) – May 6-8, 2061

The Raccoons had not seen the Miners the last two years, but had won the last four regular season meetings with them, each time two games to one. Of their six Rule 5 picks made last December, four were still on the roster, but somehow they were holding it together somewhat nicely in the FL East. They were fifth in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed in the Federal League, with a -6 run differential (Coons: -8), although the bullpen was bleeding runs at a 5.58 ERA, and that was where three of the four remaining Rule 5ers were in, the other being catcher Danny Wallet. An ex-Coon, Takenori Tanizaki, was on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (1-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. Juan Juarez (1-1, 2.12 ERA)
Nick Robinson (2-2, 3.53 ERA) vs. Cory Ritter (3-2, 1.88 ERA)
J.J. Sensabaugh (0-0, 12.60 ERA) vs. Sean Sweeton (3-2, 5.35 ERA)

No southpaws this week, missing Mike Jacobs (2-2, 5.30 ERA) by a day. And yes, Sensabaugh on Sunday, because the Raccoons had nobody else that would merit a callup and getting waffled for his debut.

Game 1
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – RF Christopher – C Perez – 3B N. Fox – 2B Bean – P B. Herrera
PIT: 2B A. Vasquez – SS Mayer – 1B K. Price – C N. Dingman – CF A. Cruz – RF McIntyre – LF Kaneshiro – 3B A. Duncan – P Ju. Juarez

Lonzo was nicked and stole his 11th base out of spite in the first inning, but was left on base, while the only active guy he trailed on the all-time stolen base table, Alex Vasquez, was on the other side of the box score, leading off, but had only ONE stolen base on the year, and Lonzo was now only *six* bags behind him. But overall offense was slow out of the gate with only one hit per team through three innings, and no runs on the board. The Raccoons would take a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on an unearned run as Brass reached second base on a throwing error by Brendan Mayer before being singled home with two outs by Angel Perez.

Bobby H. had four strong innings, then stumbled and couldn’t get up in the bottom 5th. Antonio Cruz drew a leadoff walk, then stole second and reached third on Perez’ throwing error. Will McIntyre singled him home to tie the game before a slow and excruciating process began of Herrera painstakingly loading the bases with an Adam Duncan single and a full-count walk drawn by Vasquez. However, Mayer grounded out to Lonzo to end the inning and the score remained 1-1.

The Coons then couldn’t score from Joel Starr’s leadoff walk in the sixth, but got a leadoff double from Nick Fox in the seventh for another shot at the board. He was never advanced from there while Bean popped out, Herrera whiffed, Morris was plonked, and Lonzo flew out to Tomokazu “Tom” Kaneshiro. Instead, the Miners went up 2-1 in the same inning thanks to a pinch-hit leadoff triple by Angel Angulo, and a sac fly by another pinch-hitter, Mike Velazquez.

Top 8th, and three different Miners relievers put three Raccoons on base without retiring any of them in the interim. Starr and Brass singled, Kozak walked, and then Josh Doyle inherited that whole mess. Perez’ deep fly to center was caught by Cruz, but deep enough to tie the game at least. Fox lined out and Bean grounded out to fumble the rest of the runners into oblivion. Vasquez then hit a leadoff single off Bobby Herrera in the bottom 8th, made no motion to steal a base, and was doubled off by Mayer. A fly to center by Kevin Price ended the inning. The Coons then had Nick Nye hit a leadoff single in Bobby Herrera’s spot to begin the ninth inning, but Nye was caught stealing, and Ricky Herrera’s scoreless bottom 9th sent the game to extras, and extended the game in the tenth, in which nobody reached base on either side. In the 11th, Perez hit a single and was doubled off by Fox. The Miners got Price and Angulo on with singles against Ruben Mendez in the 11th, but were left on the corners when Kaneshiro struck out. The Miners could not even overcome Erickson in the 12th even when their battered Rule 5 reliever Ivan Rodriguez reached with a bloop single. Speaking of battered Rule 5 reliever, Rodriguez at that point had already pitched two scoreless innings. Rodriguez walked Kozak to begin the 13th, and Velazquez made an error at third base to add Perez to the bases with nobody out. Fox’ fielder’s choice grounder moved the go-ahead run to third base, and Jon Bean finally got the go-ahead run home with a sac fly to right-center…! An Ayala single in Erickson’s place put runners back on the corners, but Morris struck out to end the inning. Walters then put the Miners away rather briskly, for he still had dinner reservations. 3-2 Critters. Perez 2-5, 2 RBI; Bean 2-5, RBI; Nye (PH) 1-1; Ayala (PH) 1-1; B. Herrera 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K; R. Herrera 2.0 IP 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Playing 13 innings without an extra-base knock usually does make for some chewy scoring…

Game 2
POR: RF Christopher – SS Lavorano – CF Morris – LF Brassfield – C Perez – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – 1B Kozak – P Robinson
PIT: 2B A. Vasquez – SS Mayer – 1B K. Price – CF A. Cruz – RF McIntyre – 3B A. Duncan – C Wallet – LF Daniels – P Ritter

The Raccoons had four hits in the first, including a 2-run homer for Brassfield for the early lead, and then two 2-out singles by Perez and Nye, who were stranded on Fowler’s flyout. The 6-7 Nicks would hit a pair of singles in the fourth, but were stranded by Kozak and Robinson, and Christopher’s leadoff walk in the fifth went by way of Lonzo hitting into a double play. The Miners would have four hits off Robinson scattered across the first four innings, getting nowhere in particular with that, but then beginning with Ritter – of all people – began a four-hit onslaught against Robinson that would tie up the game. Ritter advanced on a wild pitch after his 1-out single, then scored on a Vasquez single. Mayer and Price also singled to bring in Vasquez with the tying run before Cruz grounded out and Will McIntyre whiffed.

In total, Robinson gave up nine hits in six innings, but held the 2-2 tie. The Miners also could not take the lead in the seventh when Fowler made a throwing error for two bases on Mayer’s grounder with LaBat pitching. Ex-Coon Juan Ojeda, batting .372 in limited action, got the PH assignment in place of Antonio Cruz, and the Raccoons brought Mike Lane against the righty stick, who popped out to Fowler to end the inning.

Top 8th, and the Raccoons got Ben Morris on as the leadoff man when he was brushed by Jim Reynolds. He stole second, but Brass walked behind him anyway. Perez’ grounder moved the two runners into scoring position, putting the go-ahead run on third base with one out for Nick Nye, and then Nick Fowler after an intentional walk was issued. Fowler grounded sharply up the middle where Mayer knocked down the ball on the lunge. A double play was not on the plate, but when Mayer dropped the ball from his glove, the Miners got nobody at all, and the Coons still had them loaded with a 3-2 lead. Starr batted for Kozak and dished a sac fly to deep center. Reynolds walked Ayala with two outs, but Christopher flew out to leave three on base. Paul Barton then retired three right-handed batters competently in the bottom 8th to hold the 4-2 lead, and Matt Walters fanned the side in the ninth inning to put the Miners away. 4-2 Raccoons. Brassfield 2-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Nye 2-3, BB;

One game away from getting back to .500 … and now we bring in Sensabaugh.

Weak move.

Erickson (1-0, 8.31 ERA) was sent out to make room on the roster.

Game 3
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – RF Brassfield – 2B Nye – 3B Fowler – C Fuller – LF Ayala – P Sensabaugh
PIT: 2B A. Vasquez – SS Mayer – 1B K. Price – C N. Dingman – CF A. Cruz – LF Daniels – RF Kaneshiro – 3B A. Duncan – P Sweeton

The hope was not for a W. The hope was to get five innings, somehow, anyhow, out of Sensabaugh and then yoink him off the roster again right away. He walked two in the first, one more in the second, and somehow got a 2-0 lead on Ben Morris’ homer with Fuller on base in the third inning… after he almost bunted into a double play. He proved hard to hit though, as the Miners continued to struggle with and didn’t know what to do with his whiffleballs. They didn’t have a base hit through four innings, then saw Sweeton be surrounded by Critters on Ayala getting knocked and Morris drawing a walk, then Lonzo reaching on an error by Adam Duncan, Gold Glover, to make it three on and one out for Starr. Joel Starr began to have better swings and the balls were flying further than in April, but he didn’t get all of the first-pitch assault here and flew out to Kaneshiro near the warning track – but that was good enough to get Ayala home with a sac fly. The inning ended with Lonzo being caught stealing, keeping it a 3-0 game.

A Tom Kaneshiro double in the bottom 5th signaled that Sensabaugh might be in season now, and he walked the bags full against Duncan and Vasquez. After a mound conference, he managed to strike out a hitting-eager Mayer to get out of that jam, somehow. Sensabaugh would return for the bottom 6th, walking Price and getting Brassfield to track down a Nick Dingman drive, but then was lifted. LaBat entered with Nick Fox in a double switch that sent Fowler home and worked out of the inning against the 5-6 batters. He walked Duncan in the bottom 7th, but finished that inning, too.

Still up 3-0 in the eighth, the Raccoons tried to tack on against their former teammate Sweeton, who got Morris to strike out to begin the inning, but then allowed a Lonzo single and a Starr double, both to center, but the Miners’ Antonio Cruz’ throw in shooed Lonzo back to third base. Brass ran a 3-1 count, but fancied himself an RBI and strung a liner to shallow center for an RBI single, 4-0, and that knocked out Sweeton. Nye hit a sac fly off Ivan Rodriguez to get to 5-0. The Raccoons then sent in Barton for the bottom 8th again. He got two outs, then was plonked for three straight singles by Dingman, Cruz, and Nathan Daniels, and gave up his first ABL run. Ricky H. then rescued him, striking out Kaneshiro to get out of the inning. Rodriguez then began the top 9th by walking Fuller before allowing a single to Angel Perez, pinch-hitting for Ayala, and another walk to Fox. Three on and nobody out, thusly, for the umpteenth time – I counted! – this week. Morris drew a bases-loaded walk, but Lonzo then hit into a run-scoring 6-4-3 double play. Starr hit another ball hard and to an outfielder, leaving Fox on third base. The Coons were then trying to get Ricky H. the save he was in line with despite the 6-run lead. He did get it by finishing the game – but not without giving up a run on hits by right-handed batters McIntyre, who doubled to left, and Mayer, who hit a 2-out RBI single to right. 7-2 Raccoons. Morris 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 3 RBI; Lavorano 2-5; Fuller 2-3, BB; Perez (PH) 1-1; LaBat 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

In other news

May 2 – A ligament tear in his thumb will cost ATL C Marco Nieto (.345, 0 HR, 4 RBI) at least a month on the DL.
May 5 – The Capitals have a 5-run rally in the bottom 9th to beat the Buffaloes, 7-6. The comeback is capped by an RBI single hit by WAS OF/1B Gunner Epperson (.364, 5 HR, 21 RBI).
May 8 – Scorpions INF Victor Corrales (.348, 4 HR, 32 RBI) misses the cycle by the homer in a five-hit, four-RBI effort during the Scorpions’ 16-12 slugfest win against the Bayhawks.
May 8 – The Crusaders acquire OF/1B Hector Weir (.278, 0 HR, 2 RBI) from the Gold Sox, along with a prospect, for catcher Curt Goodwin (.333, 3 HR, 13 RBI).
May 8 – Wolves C Ben Newman (.214, 5 HR, 14 RBI) hits a 2-run walkoff shot for the only scoring in the Wolves’ 2-0 win against the Condors.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B Jay Rogers (.339, 5 HR, 22 RBI), batting .400 (12-30) with 1 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC UT Omar Sanchez (.347, 0 HR, 11 RBI), hitting .517 (15-29) with 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well, well, back to .500 after a 6-1 week! Also in runs scored: 139 for the fuzzy Critters, and 139 for all the mean guys out there.

This comes with the second-worst team batting average in the FL, the third-worst OBP, but upper-third ranks in homers and stolen bases. For sure there was room for improvements in the lineup, but not necessarily in the budget.

There were three players in AAA that were potential fill-ins at third base that were having an OPS+ over 100 in that league, and we knew all of them by name: Tony Benitez, David Gonzales, and Armando Suriel.

Prospects among the lot: zero.
Big-league PA’s between them: 1,003
Collective OPS for them in those: .585

Sensabaugh walked six in 5.1 innings of 1-hit ball, and didn’t allow a run on Sunday. I can’t decide whether we send him back to St. Pete or to Morrison’s, by favorite butcher in town.

The Coons will be in the Northwest next week. We will host the Warriors for three games, then play in Elk City on the weekend to start a grueling 4-city road trip that will see a 3-timezone trip after every station, all the way until they’ll be back home at the end of the month.

Fun Fact: 47 years ago today, two players both had 3-home run games.

The Warriors’ Jamie Wilson bombed the Scorpions for three homers in an 11-2 game in Sioux Falls, while the Knights’ Gil Rockwell – later a Critter – hit three home runs in a losing effort against the Bayhawks, who won the game 6-5.

This happened twice in the league. The other time it happened, on August 2, 2024, the Raccoons were involved, getting clobbered three times by the damn Elks’ Alex Torres.