[Westheim]

Raccoons (77-79) @ Indians (92-64) – September 25-27, 2062

Indy would clinch the division with us in the house unless we managed to sweep them. Unfortunately it seemed like the team had emotionally checked out of the hotel for the year, so I wasn’t overly confident. Indy had scored the most runs in the CL, had allowed the fifth-fewest, and had so far run up a 9-6 tally in wins against the Critters in ’62. They had not been to the postseason since *2030*. The most notable DL dweller was Matt Kilday, who was thus denied having a go at Lonzo for the CL stolen base title.

Projected matchups:
Angel Alba (10-11, 3.07 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (2-4, 4.50 ERA)
Chance Fox (10-10, 3.36 ERA) vs. Justin DeRose (5-6, 4.54 ERA)
Tyler Riddle (4-4, 1.72 ERA) vs. Mike DeWitt (13-9, 2.96 ERA)

A southpaw was coming up in the finale here, and ex-Coon DeRose in the middle game, who was actually on a nice run at this junction after getting bombed when he initially went over to the Indians in the middle of the year.

Game 1
POR: LF Kozak – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – 2B White – CF Gonzalez – RF Corral – 3B N. Fox – C Robertson – P Alba
IND: CF E. Ramirez – RF Brassfield – 1B Starwalt – LF Lovins – 2B M. Weber – C Atencio – 3B C. Jones – SS Zucal – P Foley

The Raccoons jumped on Foley for three runs in the first inning, beginning with an infield single for Kozak and a walk drawn by Lonzo before White, Gonzalez, and Fox all came up with RBI singles before Robertson grounded out to leave two Critters stranded. Kozak whacked a home run to left to extend this lead to 4-0 in the second, his seventh homer with just 14 RBI, and the bashing of Foley continued in the third inning, in which Jim White hit a single before a pair of RBI doubles by Tony Gonzalez and Jose Corral tacked on additional runs. Steve Thompson would bat for Foley in the bottom 3rd and singled, and Danny Starwalt’s 2-out homer got Indy on the board, 6-2. Alba was all over the place in those early innings and walked a man in each of the first two. Things got a little easier for him in the middle innings though… which also turned out to be the late innings. It started to rain in the fifth and it started to really throw it down in the sixth inning, to the point where the umps called a rain delay in the bottom of the sixth. The game never resumed after that, with Alba getting a really cheap 16-out complete game. 6-2 Raccoons. Kozak 2-4, HR, RBI; Lavorano 1-2, BB; White 2-3, RBI; Gonzalez 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; N. Fox 1-2, RBI;

The Titans and Crusaders both won their Monday games, keeping the division mathematically open.

Game 2
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Kozak – 2B White – RF Corral – 3B N. Fox – C Guinea – P C. Fox
IND: CF E. Ramirez – 3B Blackshire – C A. Gomez – 1B Starwalt – RF Brassfield – LF Abel – 2B Ewers – SS C. Jones – P DeRose

Chance Fox faced an all-right-handed lineup and had an all-new hole torn into his furry tush right away. Dave Blackshire, long-forgotten former Raccoons quad-A infielder, Alex Gomez, and Danny Starwalt hit straight singles for a quick first-inning run, with Brassfield’s sac fly and another single for Kevin Abel adding another two runs. Indy went up 4-0 in the third a wallbanger double for Gomez and Starwalt hitting another RBI single. In between, Fox bunted into a double play for the complete package of disaster.

Through four, the most offense the Raccoons could muster was Lonzo drawing a walk and stealing his 51st base of the year, but DeRose then shuffled the bags full with the 5-6-7 batters to begin the fifth inning, putting the tying run in the box, and leaving me wondering where in the world I had seen that before, about 25 times. Miguel Guinea brought in a run in the worst way, hitting into a 4-6-3 double play, while Fox was yanked for Tony Gonzalez to pinch-hit and slap an RBI single to right. Morris, pried off the stretcher once more, struck out to end the inning, Portland down 4-2.

The Coons got a scoreless inning from John Nesbitt in the fifth before Erickson got whacked around for a 2-run homer by Brass in the sixth, 6-2. The Raccoons never contented again on offense, while Sensabaugh pitched two scoreless against the Indians at the tail end. 6-2 Indians. Campos (PH) 1-1; Corral 2-4; N. Fox 1-2, BB; Gonzalez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Sensabaugh 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

Kinda depressing, when J.J. Sensabaugh is the best reliever in your pen…

Xavier Reyes stole his 49th base on this day, remaining two behind Lonzo.

Game 3
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – 2B White – 3B N. Fox – LF Campos – RF Moreno – C Arellano – P Riddle
IND: CF E. Ramirez – LF B. Johnston – C A. Gomez – 1B Starwalt – RF Brassfield – 2B M. Weber – 3B J. Humphries – SS C. Jones – P DeWitt

11 Raccoons went down without a squeak before Joel Starr hit a single in the fourth inning against DeWitt, only to be left on when White grounded out to Mike Weber. The Indians had seen a pair on base in the bottom 1st, but Bryan Johnston and Alex Gomez had been left stranded, and Riddle didn’t yield much to the Indians after that through the end of five. Riddle then saw the bags fill up in the bottom 6th. Johnston hit a leadoff single, Starwalt worked a walk, and Brassfield hit another shy single to load them up for Weber with one out. Riddle’s season ended by taking four runs to the face as Weber hit an RBI single to center, he walked in a run against Joe Humphries, and Chris Jones knocked in another pair of runs before DeWitt and Ramirez were carved up for the last two outs.

DeWitt went into the eighth inning before shaken off the mound by … well, Humphries made an error that put Marco Campos on base, and then Jorge Moreno hit a bloop single, all with one out. Juan Carrillo, right-hander, came in, struck out Arellano and Corral, and that was that. 4-0 Indians.

Raccoons (78-81) @ Loggers (71-87) – September 29-October 1, 2062

The Loggers had seven straight, some in dramatic fashion [see below] and had punched their last-place ticket for another season. The Raccoons needed to sweep them to avoid a losing season, which didn’t seem likely given Milwaukee’s 10-5 season series dominance. They had allowed the very most runs in the CL, and had scored an average amount of runs for a -99 run differential (Coons: +2).

Projected matchups:
Freddy Castillo (3-5, 4.30 ERA) vs. Girolamo Pizzichini (5-8, 5.68 ERA)
John Bollinger (7-4, 3.45 ERA) vs. Jesus Hinojosa (11-13, 5.69 ERA)
Angel Alba (11-11, 3.08 ERA) vs. Vincent Hernandez (4-7, 4.82 ERA)

Two right-handers, then a southpaw to close out the season here in Milwaukee.

Both Malik Crumble and Nick Fowler returned from the DL ahead of this final series of the year.

Game 1
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Kozak – 3B Fowler – RF Corral – 2B Bean – C Arellano – P Castillo
MIL: LF Franks – RF D. Wright – 1B D. Robles – SS D. Miller – 3B Lange – C Merrill – C M. Reed – 2B Wall – P Pizzichini

Lonzo was nicked and caught stealing in the first inning while Castillo offered a walk in each of the first two innings, but the Loggers couldn’t push those runners around. The third inning began with Morris hitting a single before being forced out by Lonzo. Starr walked and Kozak put something on the board with an RBI double to center. Pizza Zucchini or whatever his name was balked in a run and allowed another on Nick Fowler’s welcome-back RBI single, 3-0. Corral drew a walk before the inning fizzled out with the bottom of the order. The fourth saw another threat with one out after Castillo reached on Danny Miller’s throwing error, Lonzo singled and stole second (#52), and Starr drew a walk. Pizza balked in ANOTHER run, taking away the double play on Kozak’s otherwise room-service two-for-one grounder to Josh Wall, thus conceding another run. Fowler singled to center with two outs to get Starr in and Zucchini out, left-hander Tony Espinosa replacing him and whiffing Corral to end the Coons’ second straight 3-spot. To counter, Castillo offered a leadoff walk to Dave Robles in the bottom 4th, then was taken deep by Miller, who had to do penance for three unearned runs. The Coons replied with a run on Bean and Arellano hits, with a generous fielding error by Jonathan Merrill in centerfield to allow Bean to score on the Arellano single.

Castillo would put the leadoff man on base in the fifth and sixth, but eloped, and in the seventh, when Mark Reed singled, was forced out by Wall, and Willie Martinez added another 1-out single. Scott Franks popped out before the Coons went to Pohlmann for the right-handed batters. Dave Wright struck out, closing Castillo’s ledger. Pohlmann also retired the Loggers on just four pitches in the eighth inning. Top 9th, righty Alex Diaz put Corral on with a leadoff walk and then Bean smashed a double to right. Malik Crumble grabbed a stick in Arellano’s place and raked a 3-run homer over the fence in left! The Loggers replaced Diaz with southpaw Dave Burnett, who retired nobody between Campos, Morris, Lonzo, and Starr, until Starr pulled a groin on mashing an RBI double and was replaced with Suriel to pinch-run while Kozak would man first base in the bottom 9th, but before that he hit a fly to center that Merrill then dropped for another runner and Lonzo coming in to score. Jorge Moreno batted for Fowler, hit a fly to left-center that Merrill actually caught, but then threw the ball all across the infield to nobody in particular as Suriel scored on the sac fly; this error allowed Kozak to second base. Nevertheless, for the cost of seven runs, the Loggers had finally collected an out! New pitcher Ryan Rigby allowed a single to Corral, then an RBI single to Bean. The inning just didn’t want to stop…! Actually it did, on a pair of pops by Crumble and Campos, after Portland put up EIGHT runs. Bottom 9th, Brad Loveless entered, threw one pitch for a groundout by Merrill, then left with an injury concern. Erickson replaced him and warmed up on the mound while the stadium was emptying and got the final two outs without issue. 15-2 Critters!! Morris 2-6; Lavorano 3-5, RBI; Starr 2-4, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Fowler 2-5, 2 RBI; Bean 4-6, 2 2B, RBI; Crumble (PH) 1-2, HR, 3 RBI;

Joel Starr’s tweaked groin would leave him day-to-day for the last two games of the year, and he would not make another start, but was available to pinch-hit. Kozak would hold down first base for the last two contests. No word on Loveless on Saturday, but I was confident we could manage just fine without him.

No steal for Reyes on Friday, so Lonzo was now up three. He was also not in the lineup on Saturday. Nothing wrong with him, but Bean deserved another start after that 4-hit game. Besides, maybe we could be sneaky and insert Lonzo as pinch-runner!

Game 2
POR: CF Morris – 2B White – 1B Kozak – LF Crumble – RF Corral – C Arellano – SS Bean – 3B Suriel – P Bollinger
MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B D. Robles – C Waker – 3B Lange – SS Reber – RF Whetstine – 2B Loftis – P Hinojosa

Bollinger retired the first two in the bottom 1st before Robles, Tristan Waker, and Ralph Lange loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, and Kyle Reber then singled in a pair before the inning ended with Lange caught in a rundown. The Raccoons tied it right back up, though, getting a pile of singles from Crumble, Corral, Bean, and Suriel to get even in the top 2nd. Bollinger swung and grounded out, advancing the runners to where Morris could plate both of them with a single to right, 4-2, then stole second and scored on another single to center by Jim White! Kozak flew out to end the 5-run battering for Hinojosa. The Loggers answered by getting Chad Whetstine and Jeremy Loftis on to begin the bottom 2nd, and then a bunt, a sac fly, and a Merrill single plated two runs for them, 5-4, before Merrill was caught stealing.

Hinojosa was hit for in the fourth inning but Bollinger settled down for a bit, getting into the sixth inning before Whetstine and Loftis were back on base with 1-out singles in what was still a 5-4 game. The Coons went to Murdock, who got a fly to center from PH Willie Martinez, then Ricky Herrera in a double switch that put Nick Fox at third base, with the #9 spot leading off the next half-inning for Portland. Ricky ended the inning with a K – but not to Franks, but rather Merrill after Franks tied the game at five with a single to right…

Pohlmann held the game tied in the seventh before Corral doubled off Ramon Montes de Oca with one out in the eighth. Arellano grounded out, and Bean’s scratch single put runners on the corners with two outs for the new pitcher’s spot. Joel Starr was well enough to pinch-hit here, but grounded out after running a full count against Montes de Oca. Matt Walters got the bottom 8th then and was peppered with right-handed pinch-hitters, of whom Danny Miller socked a game-deciding 2-run homer. 7-5 Loggers. White 3-5, RBI; Crumble 3-4; Corral 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Bean 2-4;

Once more, with passion and mostly balking joints.

…but not until Monday. The game on Sunday was actually rained out. It was alright. The same happened to the Titans-Crusaders game one time zone over, and even before that there were already two other makeup games scheduled on Monday.

What it did was hand the stolen base title to Lonzo when Xavier Reyes was held to one stolen base in the Bayhawks closer to the season. He topped out at 50, with Lonzo already on 52.

We did get a right-hander on Monday, though, as Bob Ruggiero (9-6, 3.61 ERA) would get the ball by Loggers management.

Game 3
POR: CF Morris – SS Lavorano – LF Crumble – 1B Kozak – 2B White – RF Corral – 3B Fowler – C Robertson – P Alba
MIL: LF Franks – RF C. Ramirez – 1B D. Robles – C Waker – SS D. Miller – CF Merrill – 3B Benitez – 2B Reber – P Ruggiero

Hot dog vendors and ushers came close to outnumbering paying customers that Monday afternoon as the game was made up with little to no offense in the early going. Alba would plonk ex-Coon Tony Benitez in the fifth inning and surrender that run on a Franks RBI single with two outs to get something, anything on the board. Lonzo reached base with a single in the sixth and stole another base for ***** and giggles, but got stranded. Alba went seven innings before hitting triple digits on the pitch count, but continued to trail 1-0 through seven as the Raccoons could not gain any traction, nor ground on Ruggiero – until Ben Morris socked a leadoff jack to left in the eighth. Lonzo slapped a double to left right afterwards, but was stranded by the middle of the order. Walters pitched a scoreless (!) bottom 8th, keeping the game tied at one.

Fowler’s double to lead off the ninth against Diaz certainly made it interesting, but when Tony Gonzalez singled to center, Fowler was sent around from second and thrown out by Merrill, who had regained his aim by now, apparently. Starr pinch-hit for Walters, but was walked intentionally and then run for with Campos because we had no interest and him getting extended time on the base paths. Morris whiffed, but Lonzo slapped a ball through the left side for a single, and Tony Gonzalez scored from second base to break the tie! The runners then did a double steal before Malik Crumble unfolded a 3-run homer to left against Alex Diaz, who was replaced with lefty Michael McLaughlin. Kozak grounded out. Nesbitt and Arellano were the new battery for the bottom 9th, trying to hold a 4-run lead. Tony Benitez hit a 2-out single, but a K to Wall ended the season for those two miserable teams. 5-1 Raccoons. Morris 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Lavorano 3-5, 2B, RBI; Crumble 2-5, HR, 3 RBI; Fowler 2-4; Gonzalez (PH) 1-1; Alba 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K and 1-3, 2B;

In other news

September 26 – Season ends early for Pacifics CL Roberto “Boo Boo” Ramirez (6-4, 2.74 ERA, 27 SV), who is out with a strained oblique.
September 26 – In a bad day for closers, the Falcons’ 22-year-old Manny Gutierrez (5-6, 4.47 EA, 21 SV) has flayed an elbow ligament and will miss the rest and all of next season while repairs are made.
September 26 – The Pacifics beat the Gold Sox, 2-0, the only runs scoring on a home run by LAP OF/1B Jesus Espinoza (.282, 10 HR, 62 RBI).
September 27 – The Blue Sox clinch the FL East with a 4-2 win over the Rebels.
September 27 – Another fallen closer: BOS CL Jason Posey (4-6, 4.11 ERA, 41 SV) is headed for Tommy John surgery for a partially torn UCL and could miss all of next year.
September 27 – The Crusaders score nine runs on nine hits to beat the Loggers, 9-8, all New York runs coming in a seventh-inning rally out of an 8-0 hole.
September 27 – A solo homer by VAN 1B Jose Campos (.237, 24 HR, 85 RBI) beats the Titans, 1-0.
September 30 – The Thunder smash the Condors, 11-5, to clinch the CL South with a game to spare.
September 30 – Devastating news for the Stars, who on the eve of the playoffs lose DAL OF Tyler Wharton (.373, 36 HR, 131 RBI) to shoulder tendinitis. He was ruled out for all of October.
October 1 – SAC RF Will Buras (.277, 9 HR, 88 RBI) would spend the offseason recovering from a broken fibula.

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL OF/1B Tommy Pritchard (.352, 13 HR, 149 RBI), dishing .370 with 5 HR, 40 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: LVA 1B/3B Alex Alfaro (.284, 27 HR, 102 RBI), hitting .340 with 6 HR, 23 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: PIT CL Justin Round (8-6, 2.25 ERA, 42 SV), going 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA, 8 SV, 25 K, in 15 games
CL Pitcher of the Month: BOS SP Jason Brenize (22-5, 1.79 ERA), going 5-1 with a 1.29 ERA, 48 K
FL Rookie of the Month: CIN 1B Steve Jordan (.284, 9 HR, 55 RBI), batting .318 with 4 HR, 16 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: TIJ C/1B Mike Brann (.268, 15 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .250 with 7 HR, 16 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Lonzo actually led all of the ABL in stolen bases, with nobody in the FL getting beyond Jose Ambriz’ 50 either. At age 35!

Jason Brenize beat the Crusaders and allowed only one run to wrap up that triple crown, 22-5 with a 1.79 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 236.2 innings.

The Raccoons have a lot to clean up over the winter. But I am already on getting us some experts for assistance. (points at two middle-aged guys wearing glasses, with silvery metal suitcases wearing protective plastics over their shoes and head hair) These guys have a lot of experience in picking through crime scenes, surely they will find out what’s fishy with this roster!

Fun Fact: The Indians were only lugging around the third-longest playoff drought in the league before clinching.

Longest active postseason droughts (with last year of playoff ticket):

Scorpions – 2025
Aces – 2027
Titans – 2036 (won title)
Loggers – 2041 (won title)
Wolves – 2042 (won title)
Cyclones – 2046
Rebels – 2049
Canadiens – 2052

Listed are only teams with a drought of at least ten seasons. The Stars would have been on this list with their previous playoff appearance coming in 2048.