[Westheim]

Monday was the last day of August, and the Raccoons would contend their opener against the Thunder with a 23 1/2 man roster when Jesse Dover was diagnosed with a sore hamstring that would require him sitting his furry tush down for at least the Thunder series. So we were a guy short in the pen, and we were still not being able to do more with Malcolm Spicer than pinch-running. Roster expansion on Tuesday should alleviate these ills.

Raccoons (54-76) @ Thunder (68-61) – August 31-September 2, 2065

Said Thunder were still trying to get back to the playoffs, but were only sixth in runs scored and third in runs allowed. The season series was even at three. They also had injury issues, mostly Mike Weber and Coby Thore for batters and Brian Fuqua on the pitching side.

Projected matchups:
Shoma Nakayama (6-16, 3.86 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (9-7, 4.38 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-6, 3.32 ERA) vs. A.C. Stebbins (5-6, 3.57 ERA)
Chance Fox (8-8, 3.97 ERA) vs. Aaron Harris (15-7, 3.05 ERA)

Remember left-handed starters? Here were two of those in ex-Coon Riddle and Stebbins! (looks at the confused stare from the remaining Coons batters) The boys haven’t seen a southpaw starter in 13 days. Which doesn’t mean I was tolerating getting shut out.

Game 1
POR: SS Novelo – 3B Morales – C Burkart – 1B Vargas – CF Garmon – RF Tallent – LF Bentley – 2B Bonner – P Nakayama
OCT: RF Almanza – 1B I. Stone – LF Laity – C Bohannon – 3B Bonilla – SS Palominos – CF D. Garcia – 2B Curiel – P Riddle

23 1/2 players became 22 1/2 in just the second inning on Monday when Martin Bohannon, always good for an offensive surprise, led off with a triple, then went home on an Alberto Bonilla fly to Randy Tallent. The throw home was in time, but the two catchers collided forcefully, and Bruce Burkart and the ball went flying in different directions, rendering Bohannon safe with the game’s first run and Burkart holding his forearm and being taken out of the game in favor of Marcos Arellano, who struck out in a thick spot in the top 3rd after Nakayama and Novelo led off with singles and reached scoring position on Vic Morales’ groundout. Alex Vargas’ groundout to Bonilla left the runners stranded for good. Instead Bohannon got another hit, a single, and Bonilla did too, in the fourth inning, and Jose Palominos extended the Thunder’s lead to 2-0 with a well-placed groundout before Danny Garcia flew out to right.

Top 5th, Nakayama and Novelo led off another inning with a pair of singles. Vic Morales grounded out again. Arellano whiffed again. But then came the difference to the third inning, when Vargas did not ground out to third base, but instead – struck out. Nakayama, done with this team and living in general from his facial expressions, got singled to bits by the Thunder in the bottom 5th. He gave up four hits, three runs, got yanked for Mello, and had his 17th loss of the season as good as guaranteed. The offense didn’t do anything, and the bullpen suffered another explosion in a 4-run eighth inning. One run was on Tyson, a leftover from the seventh, and then Cruz Madrid got beaten over the head relentlessly for another three runs. Bonner opened the ninth with a single, Joel Starr hit into a double play, and Riddle finished a 7-hit shutout. 9-0 Thunder. Novelo 3-5;

Well, Bruce Burkart was a bit bruised but should be good with a day of rest or two. But what nobody knew on Monday night except for Coons personnel was that the roster actually shrunk to 21 1/2 usable players because Cruz Madrid had an arm complaint after his outing, too, but right now we were stacking them up so fast that Luis Silva didn’t know what to do first…

With rosters expanding, the Raccoons recalled SP Jeff Crowley from his rehab assignment, and also added some more arms in right-handers John Nesbitt, Juan Soriano (who were both on the 40-man), and this year’s #31 pick Josh Carrington (who wasn’t). Since the 40-man roster was full, room was made by putting Isaiah McDaniel, who had suffered a triceps injury recently while pitching in AAA, on the 60-day DL.

The third catcher job went to Miguel Guinea, the fourth catcher on the 40-man roster, after Scott Lawson’s shudderworthy performance in the summer. The only other stick added on September 1 was Carlos Matas.

That made it 31 guys on the expanded roster, some of them even usable. Crowley still pitched on Monday in rehab and thus was not going to appear before Saturday at the earliest.

With the roster expansion, the Thunder realigned their rotation and we were no longer facing a second southpaw, instead going up against righty Jose Ortega (8-5, 3.75 ERA) on Tuesday.

Game 2
POR: RF Corral – SS Novelo – 3B Morales – 1B Starr – LF Bentley – C Arellano – CF Matas – 2B Gardner – P Walla
OCT: RF Almanza – 1B I. Stone – C Bohannon – 3B Bonilla – SS Palominos – CF F. Gomez – LF D. Garcia – 2B Curiel – P J. Ortega

Walla was taken deep to right by Ian Stone in the first inning to fall 1-0 behind right away, while the Coons remained pathetic. Starr and Matas hit singles in the top 2nd, but were left on the corners by Joe Gardner, while Walla led off the third inning with a single, but was then doubled off by cursed Jose Corral. Walla then got his snout beaten in, as Stone singled with one out in the bottom 3rd before he walked the bases full. Palominos clocked a bases-clearing double, then scored on a 2-out single by Garcia, 5-0. The Raccoons’ immediate response was for Morales to draw a leadoff walk in the top 4th, and then Starr immediately doubled him off.

Walla came back out for the fourth inning, but barely got Ortega out on strikes before Roberto Almanza reached on a single and he walked Stone. Carrillo replaced him and dutifully waved in an inherited runner with Bonilla’s 2-out single to left, 6-0. The world kept turning even when the Raccoons appeared frozen in time until the top of the fifth, when they finally answered the Thunder’s 15 runs scored in 12 offensive innings in this series. Arellano and Gardner went to the corners with one out, and while Vargas whiffed batting for Carrillo, Corral and Novelo went on to hit a pair of 2-out RBI singles before Morales grounded out to Ernesto Curiel to end the inning. The Thunder answered with a run off Nesbitt in the bottom 5th, the useless pelt of a reliever putting the 6-7-8 batters on base before Ortega hit into a run-scoring double play and Almanza flew out to Matas. In turn, the Raccoons used Spicer to run for John Bentley after a 1-out single in the top 6th. Spicer stole second base and scored on an Arellano single, 7-3, but did not remain in the game to play the field, with Corey Garmon taking over the spot.

Josh Carrington’s ABL debut came in the bottom 7th against the 2-3-4 batters. He struck out Ian Stone before Bohannon doubled to left and Bonilla reached base on ball four in a full count. Palominos hit a grounder that Morales fudged for an error and the bases were loaded, but Felix Gomez’ grounder to short was taken for a double play, 6-3, by Novelo, and Carrington bailed out without being charged a run, earned or otherwise. Ricky Baca was less lucky, being taken deep by Curiel in the seventh, while Soriano got the last four outs from the Thunder, the fourth being a pickoff of Palominos from first base. 8-3 Thunder. Novelo 2-4, RBI; Arellano 2-4, RBI;

The Coons used 20 players in that game. The Thunder got by with just 11.

Luis Silva then reported that Cruz Madrid was out with elbow ligament damage – he was shoved off to the 60-day DL to make room for another tosser, which turned out to be the umpteenth coming of Rich Read, who had a 1.62 ERA in St. Petersburg this year, but there were zero doubts that given a chance he’d build on that career 5.05 ERA in the majors.

Game 3
POR: RF Corral – SS Novelo – 3B Morales – 1B Starr – C Burkart – LF Bentley – 2B Tallent – CF Garmon – P Fox
OCT: RF Almanza – LF Deisinger – CF F. Gomez – SS Palominos – 3B Blackshire – C R. Lopez – 1B Kozak – 2B Bonilla – P Aa. Harris

The Awfulcoons amounted to a hit and a double play in the first three innings, and Fox amounted to a waffling in the bottom 3rd. Bonilla and Almanza went to the corners with singles and one out spent before Jamie Deisinger drove in the first run of the game with a single. Gomez’ triple and Palominos’ single plated another three runs for another deep hole to rot in, 4-0.

Novelo and Burkart doubles got the Coons on the board for one run in the fourth inning, while the fifth saw 1-out hits for Fox and Corral before Novelo popped out and Morales grounded out to leave them stranded. Fox pitched through six innings, but allowed another run on hits by Palominos and Jack Kozak in the sixth before departing from the 5-1 game. Rich Read pitched two innings of adequate garbage relief after that, which was all to the game, eight innings of meager pitching. What, did you actually exist for the lineup to finally wake up…??

Harris pitched into the ninth, allowing a leadoff hit to Burkart, who was run for with Spicer. The rookie stole another base, then was driven in by Tallent, 5-2, which ended Harris’ outing. Tetsu Kurihara replaced him, and the Coons still had a couple of buttons to press. Matas batted for Garmon against the right-hander and singled narrowly past Palominos, but Vargas made a poor out batting for Read. Corral was the tying run – and actually tied the game with a first-pitch, 386-foot homer to right, tying the score at five…! Brian Doster replaced Kurihara, walked Novelo and allowed a single to Morales that sent Novelo to third base as the go-ahead run. Joel Starr struck out before anybody could try and get Spicer to the plate. Bottom 9th, and the new battery was Kody Mello and Miguel Guinea. The Thunder piled left-handed pinch-hitters on Mello, but to no avail, and the game went to extras. Doster was still pitching and gave up a leadoff double to Guinea. Bentley walked and was forced out by Tallent’s grounder, although Tallent then stole second base. That turned out not to matter for the outcome of the inning as Carlos Matas barreled a 3-run homer to break the tie. Alex Vargas hit another single off Willie Mendoza, but was left on base, while the Portland Slim Pickings sent Juan Carrillo and his 4.91 ERA into the bottom 10th to get three outs, preferably before giving up three runs. Palominos struck out, but Dave Blackshire walked and Jorge Caballero singled to put them on the corners. Kozak popped out foul to first baseman Vargas, and PH Bill Ramires grounded out to short in a full count. 8-5 Critters. Corral 2-6, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Burkart 3-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Guinea 1-1, 2B; Matas (PH) 2-2, HR, 3 RBI; Read 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Raccoons (55-78) @ Crusaders (78-55) – September 3-6, 2065

New York had crept to within 3 1/2 games of the Titans and needed more wins. How convenient for them that the lackluster Lackoons were lustering into town! New York was smashing the season series, 9-2, with their #3 offense and #4 pitching.

Projected matchups:
Angel Alba (6-14, 4.41 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (7-2, 4.26 ERA)
Juan Sanchez (10-12, 4.68 ERA) vs. Jerry Washington (13-6, 2.86 ERA)
Shoma Nakayama (6-17, 4.02 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (9-10, 4.47 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-7, 3.62 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (16-5, 2.86 ERA)

Fitzgibbon was the only southpaw coming up against the Raccoons here. The only New Yorker on the DL was swingman Curt Rosato.

Game 1
POR: SS Novelo – CF Garmon – 3B Morales – C Burkart – 1B Vargas – LF Tallent – RF Corral – 2B Bonner – P Alba
NYC: CF Box – SS O. Sanchez – 3B Dilly – RF A. Romero – C Reyna – 2B Cline – LF Jose Alvarez – 1B Duhon – P Fitzgibbon

Fitzgibbon held the Raccoons hit- and runnerless through the early innings, but the #3 offense had yet to show up against Alba, who put the leadoff man on base three times out of the first four innings, but the Crusaders never gained traction. Their best chance early was a leadoff double by Bryant Box in the first inning, but he was left stranded on base just like everybody else in the first five innings.

The Coons still did not get on base in the middle innings, while Alba allowed a leadoff single to Victor Reyna in the bottom 7th, then lost Jake Cline on balls. Consecutive left-handed pinch-hitters only did damage to their own team’s chances then as Kazuhide Takeuchi hit into a double play and Eddie Menchaca floated out to Jose Corral. The eighth began with Fitzgibbon getting Burkart to ground out to first and Vargas grounded one over to Steve Dilly, whose throw to first base was poor and skipped, but Mike Velazquez – a Gold Glover in the FL – contained it to keep the Coons off base. Randy Tallent lined out to Omar Sanchez on the first pitch, ending the eighth inning. Alba meanwhile still kept the Crusaders off the board in the bottom 8th – and then the Crusaders did the unthinkable and removed Fitzgibbon from the game for hyperinflation closer Ricardo Montoya, because THE BOOK SAID SO. Jose Corral unceremoniously singled to right, and then was stranded on first base, while Alba, who popped up a bunt in the top 9th, walked a pair in the bottom 9th, but still didn’t break and the game went to extras scorelessly.

The top of the tenth inning saw Montoya give up a leadoff triple into the rightfield corner to Corey Garmon. Morales legged out an infield single, but Garmon had to hold, before Joel Starr batted for Burkart in the vain hope to stay out of a double play. Starr singled to left and brought in Garmon, but the inning then came to a screeching halt just the same, and a 1-0 lead was eventually handed to Garvey. The Crusaders would get the tying run to second base with pinch-hitters Antonio Rodriguez walking and Marco Nieto singling, but Omar Sanchez was not hit for and smacked into a game-ending double play. 1-0 Blighters. Starr (PH) 1-1; Alba 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K, W (7-14);

I can’t imagine Shane Fitzgibbon went to bed happy that night.

Game 2
POR: RF Corral – LF Spicer – 3B Morales – 1B Starr – C Arellano – CF Matas – 2B Tallent – SS Gardner – P Sanchez
NYC: LF Menchaca – 2B Cline – SS O. Sanchez – 1B Dilly – RF Takeuchi – C Reyna – CF Jose Alvarez – 3B B. Wilken – P Jer. Washington

Straight hits from their 4-through-7 batters to begin the second inning gave the Coons a 2-0 lead in the Friday game, as Carlos Matas drove in Joel Starr, and with the bases loaded Joe Gardner hit a sac fly to bring home Marcos Arellano. The inning fizzled out between Sanchez and Corral, and the Crusaders got on the board in the bottom 3rd with a double by Menchaca and a 2-base throwing error by Tallent on Jake Cline’s grounder. An inning later, Reyna and Ben Wilken slapped their way on base and were in scoring position with one out for Washington, who had to be retired in that spot, but Sanchez allowed another sharp single, which tied the game. Menchaca popped out foul, but the inning didn’t end until Cline singled home the go-ahead runner Wilken with two outs. Sanchez then flew out to right.

The next two innings were calm and nothing changed about the 3-2 score. Sanchez was removed when his spot was up to lead off the seventh inning, but Bentley grounded out in his spot. Corral singled and Spicer reached on an error by Washington, two tried to start a rather ambitious 1-6-3 double play and ended up zinging the ball to centerfield, but Morales popped out and Starr struck out to leave those runners on base. Instead, Soriano and Tyson allowed an insurance run between their appearances in the bottom 8th, conceding three singles to fringe personnel, the RBI going to September call-up Chris Duhon. Montoya then retired the Coons in quick order to end the game. 4-2 Crusaders. Arellano 2-4; Tallent 2-4; Gardner 1-2, RBI; Garmon 1-1;

Malcolm Spicer was finally back in the lineup and promptly went 0-for-5.

Game 3
POR: RF Corral – LF Spicer – 3B Novelo – 1B Starr – C Burkart – CF Matas – SS Tallent – 2B Bonner – P Nakayama
NYC: CF Box – SS O. Sanchez – 3B Dilly – RF A. Romero – 2B Cline – C D. Cruz – LF Takeuchi – 1B Duhon – P Kozloski

The Raccoons again scored first on Saturday, getting a run in the first inning when Spicer tripled and … well, Novelo’s pop was dropped by Omar Sanchez, and then Starr was walked. Burkart then lined into a 3-U double play with Starr being caught off base by Duhon. The Coons then scored another run in the second with all the aches and pains that took. Nakayama got the RBI in sac fly fashion after Matas and Bonner reached base and pulled off a double steal. Corral and Spicer then filled the bases with two outs, but Novelo grounded out to Steve Dilly to leave everybody on. The Crusaders pulled that run back, also with a sac fly hit by Takeuchi after Alex Romero and Cline reached base to begin the inning, but then left a pair stranded.

The Coons killed Kozloski when they burst out for a 4-run, 4-steal fifth inning. Two of the steals were Spicer’s, with Starr nicking one in his wake before Burkart doubled both of them home. The inning continued long enough for Tallent to drive in Burkart with two outs, steal a base himself, and get plated on a Bonner single, 6-1. The Crusaders got another leadoff double from Box in the bottom 6th, but again failed to move him around to score. Nakayama would strand him at third base, then pitched another inning, allowing only two base hits in seven innings, but somehow managing to be over 100 pitches through seven anyway. After Ricky Baca struck out the side in the bottom 8th, Randy Tallent blew the lid off the game with a 2-out, 3-run homer off Rafael Mendoza in the ninth inning, which emboldened us to use Rich Read in the bottom 9th with an 8-run lead. He allowed three hits, a walk, and a run, and was eventually bailed out by Garvey getting a bases-loaded strikeout of Mike Velazquez to end the ballgame. 9-2 Furballs! Spicer 4-5, 3B; Burkart 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Tallent 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Bonner 3-5, RBI; Nakayama 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (7-17);

Game 4
POR: SS Novelo – LF Spicer – 3B Morales – 1B Starr – LF Bentley – CF Garmon – 2B Bonner – C Guinea – P Walla
NYC: CF Box – SS O. Sanchez – 3B Dilly – RF A. Romero – C Reyna – LF Jose Alvarez – 2B A. Acevedo – 1B Duhon – P Seiter

Walla’s demise continued with a 34-pitch first inning in which he walked three and gave up a hit to Sanchez in between; Jose Alvarez drew a bases-loaded, 2-out walk to force home the game’s first run before a K on Andres Acevedo made the pain end temporarily. The Coons answered swiftly; Joel Starr socked a leadoff double in the second inning, and while Bentley made a poor out, the 6-7-8 batters all slapped singles. Garmon drove in Starr, stole second, and scored after Guinea’s single to right that also sent Bonner to third. Walla struck out against Seiter, but the veteran was then taken apart with an RBI double by Novelo and Spicer’s 2-run single, which was the last piece in the 5-run attack before Morales grounded out.

The lead didn’t live, and Walla didn’t make it through even three innings. In the bottom 3rd, Dilly led off with a single, Romero walked, Reyna and Alvarez both hit singles, Duhon walked, and Box tied the game with a 2-out, 2-run single. And you hadn’t seen nothing yet. The Coons went to Carrillo, the useless ****, who walked Sanchez, walked Dilly, walked Romero, and gave up a single to Reyna, the last three plate appearances each resulting in another run, then was taken away for beheading. Soriano replaced him, was taken deep by Alvarez, and by now New York had an 11-spot.

Alex Vargas took Seiter deep when he batted for Soriano in the fourth, which narrowed the score to 12-6, and led to Seiter being hit for himself in the bottom of the inning. Another run was taken off with a pinch-hit RBI single by Corral in the sixth, the third straight 2-out single for the team against Pedro Mendoza in that inning, but at that pace we’d never make up the deficit, even with scoreless innings from Mello, Tyson, and Carrington starting in the fourth. Top 7th, Jose Robledo came in for New York. Spicer was nicked and stole second out of spite, and Morales also reached base on a soft single. Joel Starr then cranked a 3-run homer, and suddenly it was a 12-10 ballgame. Nesbitt pitched a scoreless inning with some dashing help from Spicer in the left-center gap, a favor that was then returned by Jose Alvarez half an inning later when he retired Vic Morales with a sliding grab to rob him of an RBI double *and* end the inning without the Coons getting any closer in real terms. Garmon cranked out his back on a defensive play behind Jesse Dover in the bottom 8th and was replaced with Matas, while the Coons’ 4-5-6 batters would face Montoya in the ninth. Starr, Bentley, and Matas went in order. 12-10 Crusaders. Starr 2-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Garmon 2-4, RBI; Bonner 3-3, BB; Guinea 2-4, RBI; Vargas (PH) 1-1, HR, RBI; Corral (PH) 1-1, RBI;

In other news

August 31 – DAL INF Adam Yocum (.318, 0 HR, 37 RBI) had a broken thumb and was out for the remainder of the regular season and highly questionable for the playoffs.
August 31 – Condors outfielder (.271, 0 HR, 23 RBI) was out for the season and questionable for Opening Day in 2066 after tearing his UCL.
September 1 – The Miners pick up CL Jon Dominguez (3-9, 5.90 ERA, 26 SV) from the Capitals for three prospects.
September 1 – Loggers SP Carlos Rodriguez (11-5, 3.24 ERA) was out for the season with a partial tear in his labrum.
September 5 – Canadiens INF Matt Kilday (.280, 0 HR, 48 RBI) was done for the season with a quad strain.
September 5 – L.A. INF Adan Yniguez (.265, 6 HR, 35 RBI) goes deep for the only run in a 1-0 victory against the Gold Sox.
September 6 – Canadiens LF/RF Nick Vaughn (.301, 19 HR, 77 RBI) socks five hits and drives in six runs, while missing the cycle by the triple, in a 15-1 thrashing of the Loggers.
September 6 – The Indians beat the Titans, 1-0, although it takes ten innings to do so.

FL Player of the Week: SAL 3B Phil Macomber (.265, 9 HR, 58 RBI), batting .545 (12-22) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: OCT SP Tyler Riddle (11-7, 3.92 ERA), throwing 16 scoreless innings for a 2-0 mark and 11 K

FL Hitter of the Month: DAL CF Tyler Wharton (.358, 26 HR, 102 RBI), bashing .368 with 7 HR, 33 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL RF/LF Carlos Dominguez (.370, 9 HR, 59 RBI), rushing .423 with 3 HR, 12 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: DAL SP Ray Walker (16-6, 2.97 ERA), going a perfect 5-0 with 1.88 ERA, 42 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: NYC SP Ben Seiter (16-5, 2.70 ERA), posting a 4-0 mark with 2.02 ERA, 32 K
FL Rookie of the Month: PIT INF/LF Edgar Gonzales (.300, 9 HR, 57 RBI), batting .297 with 5 HR, 19 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: MIL RF/LF Carlos Dominguez (.370, 9 HR, 59 RBI), rushing .423 with 3 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The magic number for mathematical elimination was down to three after this weird week. Of course the team had been emotionally eliminated from October considerations in April…

There was really only Malcolm Spicer to watch now; he finally made it back into the lineup this week and quickly turned on the afterburners. He was now up to 45 stolen bases for the year, leading the whole league by four over Adam Yocum, and the CL by seven over Vic Lorenzo, who was firmly stuck to 38 bags and hadn’t taken another one in 18 days. Spicer winning the stolen base title in his rookie season would of course only invite more Yoshi Yamada comparisons…

The whole team was a mess of course. There were only two qualifying batters at this point. Vic Morales led the competition with a 99 OPS+ (and slumping) over Spicer (85 OPS+).

Cruz Madrid was expected to miss the entire 2066 season, for which he’d be paid the final $1.5M left on his contract, which was another one of those genius moves I’m prone of making here.

The nagging sort of injuries continues as well, as Corey Garmon is expected to be day-to-day with a barking back for a week and we were tempted to bring up one more outfielder now. That would then be to contend with the Indians and Elks next week.

We would go to a full 6-man rotation for the rest of the season, with Jeff Crowley getting the ball for the next scheduled game on Tuesday.

Fun Fact: Rich Monck is still the team home run leader with a pathetic 12 dingers.

He will also be on the DL for another week at least. Second is Jack Kozak with 10 bombs, and he hasn’t been part of the team for almost two months now. Vic Morales then held the fort with nine homers in third place.