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Westheim · 05-26-2025, 02:35 PM

Raccoons (33-48) @ Loggers (33-49) – July 5-8, 2066

The bottom feeders of the CL North would meet for eight of their next eleven games, with a 2-2 tie so far in the season series. The Coons couldn’t score, and the Loggers couldn’t pitch, but they were second in runs scored in the league, somehow, and had just a -41 run differential. The Raccoons, after getting utterly destroyed by the Crusaders in the last four games, had their run differential blasted all the way down to -111. Loggerland was without a battery’s worth of Nick Waldron and Tommy Guitreau; Waldron was out for the year, but Guitreau should be able to return for the back end of the four-and-four in Portland after the All Star Game.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Luis Palacios (5-4, 3.95 ERA)
Juan Sanchez (4-8, 4.22 ERA) vs. Jonathan Vale (4-7, 4.93 ERA)
Nick Walla (9-5, 3.61 ERA) vs. Julio Robles (1-3, 5.52 ERA)
Shoma Nakayama (4-9, 3.78 ERA) vs. Girolamo Pizzichini (6-7, 5.11 ERA)

Palacios was the only southpaw we would meet in the series, their other left-handed starter Ignazio Flores (2-6, 3.15 ERA) having been out to pitch on Sunday. With that, Rich Monck, Joel Starr, and Malcolm Spicer would get their last day off before the All Star Game, but we only had six right-handed batters, so Jaden Wilson and Manny Arredondo played anyway.

Game 1
POR: CF Wilson – RF Arantes – C Lopez – LF Branch – 1B Spink – 3B Tallent – 2B Caballero – SS Arredondo – P Gaytan
MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – 3B Reber – RF D. Wright – C Chinea – P L. Palacios

The Coons started the Monday opener with three straight hits by Wilson (single), Leon Arantes (double), and Ramon Lopez (RBI single on which Arantes was thrown out at the plate…), but unfortunately Gaytan had nothing in his second career start. The Loggers had five lefty sticks at the top of the order, and put the leadoff man on base in every inning to begin the game. They fell short with some defensive heroics by Caballero and Branch in the first two innings, then had Scott Franks caught stealing in the bottom 3rd, but Gaytan lost both Jonathan Merrill and Cesar Ramirez on balls, and then surrendered the tying run on a double steal and Fidel Carrera’s groundout. Tim Goss then popped out to leave the go-ahead run on third base. Kyle Reber and Dave Wright drew two more walks from Gaytan to begin the bottom 4th, but a pop, a bunt, and another pop from Franks to Tallent in foul territory kept those runners stranded. Merrill hit a leadoff single in the fifth, but was also caught stealing to keep us tied at one – which in itself had to be considered a success after the complete demolition and despoilment of all things holy we had witnessed the Crusaders do to the Critters on the previous weekend…

After some mellow innings, the Raccoons then exploited an error by Goss that put Arantes on base to begin the sixth inning. Ramon Lopez romped a homer to left for a 3-1 lead, and Gaytan FINALLY got a leadoff batter when Reber grounded out to short to begin the bottom 6th – then immediately walked Wright and was taken well deep by Jerry Chinea…

The Coons saw themselves forced to go back to Gaytan in the bottom 7th, but he walked Merrill and Ramirez and was yoinked. Garvey fared little better, giving up a single to PH Dave Robles on which Merrill was thrown out a the plate, then the go-ahead groundout from Goss to Caballero. Cullum replaced him, which the Loggers answered with the left-handed Carlos Dominguez with two outs, and the pinch-hitter singled home a tack-on run. Cullum then got Wright out.

The Coons were not dead quite yet, though. Palacios retired Arantes to begin the eighth, but then walked Lopez and gave up a double to Branch. That put the tying runs in scoring position, and Randy Birnbaum replaced the lefty starter. With a righty on the hill, the Coons unleashed their regulars; Monck batted for Spink, but grounded out very poorly, but in Tallent’s spot Joel Starr bashed a game-tying double to right-center! Caballero then struck out. Now Cullum issued a leadoff walk, but ached his way around that to keep the game tied through eight. But Portland didn’t score in the top of the ninth, then ended up with Matt Schmieder in the bottom of the inning. Schmieder allowed a double to Goss to get going, walked the bases full, and took the L on Chinea’s sac fly. 6-5 Loggers. Wilson 2-5; Lopez 3-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Tallent 2-3; Starr (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

Again, Raccoons tossers walked 11 batters. This time they struck out only TWO (both by Gaytan, who walked SEVEN).

In other words, another day at the office… although putting the leadoff man on base in every inning but ONE was perhaps even worse than usual…

Game 2
POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Corral – 2B Arantes – SS Arredondo – P Sanchez
MIL: 3B Reber – CF Merrill – LF C. Ramirez – 1B D. Robles – RF C. Dominguez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – C Chinea – P Vale

The Tuesday game began with Jaden Wilson walking after 12 pitches from Jonathan Vale, then stealing second on the 13th pitch. Spicer grounded out, but Lopez made it 1-0 with a single to left. He gained a base on an errant pickoff throw by Vale, then scored on Monck’s single to right. Starr singled, Corral walked the bags full, and Arantes hit a sac fly for a 3-0 lead before Arredondo was struck out to leave two on. Three Loggers singles off Sanchez right away scratched off one run in the bottom 1st, and Cesar Ramirez’ homer in the third narrowed it down to 3-2. Robles and Dominguez then went to the corners with 2-out hits, but Carrera grounded out to short to keep the Coons on top a little longer.

So, no, Juan Sanchez was not any good, either. He wasn’t walking everything with legs at least, but he scattered TEN hits through five innings, which made it almost astonishing to see the Raccoons still ahead, 3-2 on their four meager base knocks. Sanchez was on 92 pitches through five, and was wrung out for 16 more and three more outs in the sixth, allowing one more hit to Reber, a 2-out single. He left with the lead, though, with the gap being doubled to two runs on Jaden Wilson’s solo homer that chased Vale in the top 7th.

The pen then immediately buckled. McMahan walked Robles with one out and gave up a double to Carrera with two outs in the bottom 7th, putting the tying runs in scoring position for righty PH Dave Wright. Carrington walked him on four pitches, then gave up a very high drive to deep right to Chinea – but it came down in a waiting Corral’s glove on the edge of the warning track to end that inning… Aiden Shaw was then actually taken deep by Monck to begin the eighth, 5-2, and walked Starr, who was doubled home by Arantes. Shaw was replaced with starter-turned-mopup guy Oliver Graham, who conceded Shaw’s run on a pinch-hit double by Branch, batting for Josh C with two outs. Wilson flew out to end the inning, but the Coons were now up by five and squinted, then gave the ball to Sensabaugh, who had been ATROCIOUS in all caps in his last two outings. Scott Franks popped out, but the 1-2-3 batters loaded the bags with two singles and a walk. Robles’ sac fly made it 7-3, and then he walked Dominguez to fill the bases yet again. The Coons pulled the emergency parachute, which was Jesse Dover, who couldn’t help himself either and blew the lead entirely on an RBI single to Carrera, a bases-loaded walk to Devin Willoughby, and a 2-run single by Chinea. Only then did he get the final ******* out. The Raccoons were then out of pitching again in the bottom 9th, and Dover proceeded to **** up the rest of the game – along with Arredondo, who made an error – with a leadoff double to Reber and eventually a walkoff sac fly for Dominguez. 8-7 Loggers. Spicer 2-5; Monck 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Arantes 2-3, 2 RBI; Branch (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

Alright, more roster moves!

The Coons sent down Manny Arredondo (.145, 0 HR, 2 RBI) and placed J.J. Sensabaugh (0-2, 5.26 ERA), who all of a sudden had turned turds again, on waivers and designated him for assignment. Infielder Joe Gardner returned (sigh), and we had absolutely no idea who to still give a ball to in terms of pitchers. Sean Thomas, age 23, was a former fifth-rounder that had been released by the Rebs and signed to a minor league deal by the Raccoons some years ago. The left-hander had only appeared in nine AAA games. Whatever. Keep throwing them at the wall until one sticks.

Game 3
POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Corral – 2B Arantes – SS Tallent – P Walla
MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – 3B Reber – RF D. Wright – C Chinea – P J. Robles

I was begging Walla on my knees for seven innings before the game, and I had very bad knees, and it hurt very much. It didn’t *really* work; he started very nicely in the first two innings, which were scoreless and quick, but beginning with the third inning he ran long counts, offered leadoff walks in the third and fourth, and it was generally hard to watch. The Loggers only got one hit through five and didn’t score, although Wilson also made two running catches in the depths of centerfield to keep them contained. He threw 81 pitches through five.

The Coons had the leadoff man on in the first, when Starr ended up flying out to leave Wilson and Lopez on the corners, and the second, when Corral was doubled off; Wilson was on base again with a leadoff walk in the third, Spicer doubled, and Lopez’ groundout was good enough to bring in the game’s first run, and Monck matches his output for a 2-0 lead. An unearned run was added in the fourth when Arantes singled to get going, and Tallent reached on an error by Reber that sent Arantes to third base. Walla hit a sac fly to extend his own lead to 3-0, but Wilson and Spicer left Tallent at third base. That remained the score through five innings.

Walla began the bottom 6th with a walk to Merrill, his fourth walk against no strikeouts in the game. He was talked to on the mound by everybody that felt entitled to still give a ****, and then got a double play grounder to second from Cesar Ramirez. Carrera grounded out to Monck, completing six, and Walla then got another three grounders on four pitches to actually complete seven shutout innings. He then returned for the eighth and Chinea, gave up a single, and was immediately mothballed for Garvey, who had nothing ******* better to do than to allow singles to Dominguez and Franks, walk in a run against Merrill, allow another on a sac fly by Ramirez, and then walked Robles, too. Goss popped out, and with two outs and righty sticks up, the Raccoons handed the 3-2 lead with the bags full to Josh Carrington, who wasted no time to give up a score-flipping double to Reber, walked Wright, and then was taken very deep for three more runs by Chinea. 8-3 Loggers. Wilson 2-4, BB, 2B; Corral 2-4; Walla 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K;

Useless *****.

On Thursday I was just wandering the cheap seats until I found a pair of fifth-graders who were opening packs of baseball cards. I tried to trade for a couple of their relievers with the promise of a hot dog for both of them, but then found out that I didn’t have any coins with me, and had to walk away crying.

Game 4
POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Colter – SS Arantes – 2B Gardner – P Nakayama
MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – RF C. Dominguez – 3B Reber – SS Willoughby – 2B Brantly – C Chinea – P Pizzichini

The Coons took a 1-0 lead again, this time on a home run to right by Joel Starr in the second inning, then waited for somebody to blow it, which Nakayama, after some sturdy innings to begin the game, did in the fourth, where Cesar Ramirez hit a leadoff double off him, and then scored on Willoughby’s 2-out single. The Raccoons got Arantes on with a single in the fifth; the where-did-he-come-from infielder stole second, reached third on a shy single by Nakayama with one out, but then Wilson whiffed and Spicer grounded out to short to keep them on the corners.

Top 6th, and straight 1-out singles by the 4-5-6 batters loaded the bases for Portland. Arantes hit a grounder to second, but the Loggers could only get the out at first base and Monck scored with the go-ahead run. Joe Gardner was walked intentionally with two outs, but Nakayama burned the Loggers with an RBI single to right! And Wilson whiffed again… That left three runners stranded in the 3-1 game.

At this point we hoped that we could get Nakayama to the end of the game, but he ran out of glue in the eighth inning, ran a bunch of long counts, walked Ramirez with two outs, but got a K on Dominguez to get out. However, he was now over 100 pitches, and his spot led off the ninth inning, so the Coons gave in to temptation and batted for him in a vain attempt to get a bigger lead to blow in the ninth. Angelo Ramirez allowed a single to Corral in Nakayama’s spot, then walked Wilson before getting replaced with lefty Vincent Hernandez. Spicer hit into a fielder’s choice, but Lopez found the gap for a 2-run double, 5-1. He was left on, and the 4-run lead then went to … the only rested right-hander in the pen, which was Schmieder. The Loggers had Reber lead off, the first of four righty sticks, but there was southpaw action going behind Schmieder, who got two groundouts before allowing a double to Chance Brantly and then nicked Chinea. McMahan got the ball against Goss in the #9 hole, gave up an RBI single, but then resisted the urge to be taken deep by Dave Robles, who pinch-hit for Franks, and flew out to center. 5-2 Raccoons. Lopez 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Monck 2-5, 2B; Starr 2-4, HR, RBI; Corral (PH) 1-1; Nakayama 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (5-9) and 2-3, RBI;

Raccoons (34-51) @ Indians (40-45) – July 9-11, 2066

The Coons were up 7-2 in this season series, which had to end at some point. These two teams were bottoms in runs scored in the CL – but the Indians still outscored the Raccoons by a depressing 59 runs. They ranked fourth in runs allowed, with a +18 run differential and had the second-best defense. Their only injury right now was infielder Matt Martin on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Duarte Damasceno (4-8, 5.64 ERA) vs. Joe Napier (5-8, 3.77 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (0-0, 6.55 ERA) vs. Mike DeWitt (6-4, 2.24 ERA)
Juan Sanchez (4-8, 4.14 ERA) vs. Vince Ellison (7-6, 4.45 ERA)

DeWitt was the last southpaw before the All Star Game for these rancid Critters.

Game 1
POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – RF Corral – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – C Spink – 2B Tallent – SS Gardner – P Damasceno
IND: CF E. Ramirez – 2B Falcon – RF Dowsey – 1B Starwalt – C Atencio – LF T. Torres – SS B. Ellis – 3B DeRosia – P Napier

Wilson walked to begin the series, but was caught stealing; however, the Coons still scored a pair in the opening inning as Spicer singled and both Corral and Starr socked RBI doubles on Ramon Lopez’ night off, which meant Spink ended the inning with a groundout. DD immediately gave a run back on Eddy Ramirez’ leadoff double and Danny Starwalt’s RBI single with two outs, walked Vinny Atencio, threw a wild pitch, and then somehow coaxed Tony Torres into hacking himself out to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Portland answered with a Tallent leadoff single and a 2-out RBI knock from Wilson, 3-1, and the next inning had Corral on – at least until he was picked off – and then got Starr on with a 2-out single. He advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on a soft single by Spink, 4-1. Randy Tallent then socked a homer, adding two more runs to the tally!

So that was 6-1 in the third inning, but there was still DD on the hill and the seven square pegs trying to fit into round holes in the bullpen, so things were almost guaranteed to remain interesting. At least the Damasceno problem disappeared quickly… sorta. He got swamped in the bottom 3rd with two walks, two hits, and two runs from the top five in the Indians order, then left the game with a bleeding thumb and that was that. Josh C got the ball, walked the bags full, but got the last two outs in the bottom 3rd and the Raccoons were still up 6-3 while Cullum readied himself for long relief, which he began by giving up a homer to right to former starter, now garbage reliever Steve Hawkins in the bottom 4th… Cullum got him back for half with a double in the sixth, except that there was nobody on base when he did that and nobody could be bothered to drive in Cullum either.

Cullum nursed the 6-4 game through six, after which we’d have to come up with a new idea. Garvey gave the Raccoons a scary seventh with two long fly outs, but pulled through, while Joel Starr then smacked his tenth homer of the year off Justin Esch to tack on a run in the eighth, 7-4. Garvey struck out to end that inning with Gardner on base, then allowed a leadoff walk to Torres in the bottom 8th and was whisked away anyway. Dover struck out Ben Ellis and got a double play from DeRosia – who had saved the Indians from getting no-hit in Boston just 24 hours ago – to escape. McMahan was up for the ninth. Matthew Parker flew out before he walked Ramirez, got another fly from Miguel Falcon, but then Justin Dowsey singled, and he lost Starwalt with a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. That loaded the bases with the tying runs and two outs. Right-hander Oscar Aredondo came out to pinch-hit for Atencio, but the only remaining relievers in the pen were Schmieder and Thomas, who had not actually appeared in a game yet. FINE. We’ll die with McMahan this time! – But Tallent caught a pop on the infield, and the Raccoons boogied away with that one. 7-4 Raccoons. Corral 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Starr 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Tallent 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Arantes (PH) 1-1; Cullum 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K and 1-1, 2B;

Josh C got the W, the first of his career. DD was expected to live, but would only be seen again on the other end of the break.

Game 2
POR: RF Corral – 2B Arantes – C Lopez – 3B Monck – CF Branch – LF Tallent – 2B Caballero – 1B Spink – P Gaytan
IND: CF E. Ramirez – SS Aredondo – RF Dowsey – 1B Starwalt – C Atencio – LF T. Torres – 2B Falcon – 3B DeRosia – P DeWitt

Eddy Ramirez punched a Gaytan pitch over the wall to begin the bottom 1st, although it got a bit less sticky for the rookie afterwards. He allowed just three hits in the first four innings, although that third hit was another homer by Atencio in the fourth that made it 2-0 Indians. The Coons had no hits the first time through until Corral singled his second time up, which led nowhere. The Indians then got Falcon and DeRosia on with a walk and a single to begin the bottom 5th, but Gaytan pounced on DeWitt’s bunt and got the lead runner at third base, then went on to escape the inning when Ramirez grounded sharply to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Gaytan went off to have his own first ABL hit with a sixth-inning leadoff singles, but was also doubled off by Arantes to end the inning. He then got around an Aredondo double in the bottom 6th, and completed seven basically competent innings with only those two homers for blemish. That 2-0 lead was still standing up, and we didn’t get on base until Corral singled with two outs in the eighth. Justin Esch then struck out Colter, batting for Arantes, turning away the threat. Schmieder managed to pitch a complete inning without stepping on his own tail in the bottom 8th, but Cody Kleidon eviscerated the Raccoons’ 3-4-5 batters in the ninth to put the game away. 2-0 Indians. Corral 2-4; Gaytan 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, L (0-1) and 1-2;

First decent start for Gaytan, and also the first L.

Baseball loves no one, good luck for following or playing it.

Game 3
POR: CF Wilson – RF Corral – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – SS Arantes – LF Spicer – 2B Caballero – P Sanchez
IND: CF E. Ramirez – RF T. Torres – 1B Starwalt – LF Dowsey – SS Aredondo – 2B Falcon – C J. Edwards – 3B DeRosia – P Ellison

The rubber game began with a walk to Wilson and a Corral double, putting a pair in scoring position for Ramon Lopez, who cranked a ball to deep left-center, but saw Dowsey warp there and make a catch; it was still a sac fly, however. Monck was robbed of an RBI when Ellison plated Corral with a wild pitch before Monck singled. Starr singled as well, but Arantes and Spicer made outs to leave them on. Sanchez then immediately failed the bags full before striking out Dowsey and getting a double play from Aredondo for no Indians runs in the bottom 1st. Two calm innings followed before Arantes reached on a 2-base error by Aredondo and then scored on Spicer’s single to center, 3-0. Sanchez was still 1-hitting the Indians when he flicked an RBI single to drive in Arantes again in the sixth inning, getting Ellison with two outs to extend his lead to 4-0.

Sanchez took the shutout into the bottom 7th (though with a questionable pitch count) before giving up singles to Dowsey and Falcon. Dowsey went to third base on the latter, then scored on John Edwards’ sac fly, 4-1. Sanchez struck out DeRosia to leave Falcon stranded, then got a double play from Ramirez after Wil Martinez’ infield single to begin the eighth and struck out Tony Torres to finish that inning off as well…! The Coons left Corral and a 1-out double on base in the ninth inning, and Sanchez had thrown 102 pitches already, so we went to Dover in the bottom 9th. He struck out Starwalt, got a grounder from Dowsey to Monck, then walked Aredondo with two outs. However, Falcon popped out, and that was the first half of the season suffered through successfully. 4-1 Critters. Corral 2-4, BB, 2 2B; Monck 2-5; Spicer 2-4, RBI; Sanchez 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-8) and 1-4, RBI;

In other news

July 8 – BOS SP Jason Brenize (14-1, 1.61 ERA) strikes out 11 Indians in eight no-hit innings, but is well over 100 pitches with a skinny 1-0 lead and replaced with CL Tyler Gleason (2-4, 2.82 ERA, 25 SV), who saves the game, but blows the (combined) no-hit bid with a single allowed to IND UT Philip DeRosia, who goes 1-for-3 in his season debut.
July 8 – OF Elmer Maldonado (.235, 3 HR, 17 RBI) is sent from the Scorpions back to the Miners for SP Austin Cross (8-6, 3.47 ERA).
July 8 – SP Goffredo Merlin (6-4, 4.78 ERA) is dealt from the Buffaloes to the Falcons in exchange for outfielder Dan Geiger (.211, 2 HR, 13 RBI) and a prospect.
July 8 – The Indians deal 1B Alex Mendez (.278, 3 HR, 17 RBI) to the Capitals for a prospect.
July 8 – The Capitals crunch the Rebels, 19-5, with a pair of 6-spots. Everybody in the Capitals lineup has at least one base hit.
July 9 – Dallas INF Adam Yocum (.354, 1 HR, 33 RBI) is expected to be out until late August with a strained hamstring.
July 9 – The Titans need 16 innings to beat the Canadiens, 4-3. Vancouver infielders Carlos Castro (.276, 2 HR, 27 RBI) and Hsi-chuen Yue (.262, 3 HR, 31 RBI) both had 4-hit days, while nobody on Boston has more than two hits.
July 11 – The Condors acquire CL Javier Arocho (5-3, 3.61 ERA, 12 SV) from the Pacifics for the #29 prospect, INF Leo Ventura.
July 11 – Blue Sox OF/1B Tony Roman (.253, 22 HR, 53 RBI) was expected to miss two weeks with a knee contusion.
July 11 – The Crusaders and Loggers work overtime for a 15-inning, 7-5 New York win on the Sunday before the All Star Game. Both teams already scored a run in the 12th inning.

FL Player of the Week: LAP LF/RF/1B Brady Terrell (.296, 6 HR, 41 RBI), batting .440 (11-25) with 3 HR, 11 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC 3B/SS Ben Wilken (.266, 7 HR, 56 RBI), hitting .382 (13-34) with 1 HR, 10 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons have no All Stars. Big shock. I can’t contain myself.

This week the Coons tried to sign free agent veteran reliever Hector Estevez, age 36, to fill out the pen for the rest of the year, but couldn’t scratch enough pennies together to make him get off his arse. We were then able to get 27-year-old Japanese reliever Manabu Yamauchi, who had come over in 2064 only to go unsigned ever since. He had sat at a bus stop in San Francisco ever since and was glad to sign for the promise of minor league meal money. He was assigned to AAA.

The Raccoons also went from “we got no arms!” to calling up Sean Thomas and then not using him at all for five straight days. Please keep on watching after the break, I promise we know what we’re doing.

International free agent glory this year was limited to a pair of Dominican switch-hitters with some vague promise of hitting for contact. They cost less than $100k in total, but we were over budget as things were anyway.

It will be four games with the Loggers to resume baseball on Thursday, after which we’ll have another three games with the damn Elks before the next road trip to Charlotte and San Francisco.

Fun Fact: The Titans have seven All Stars.

Bell, Brenize, Taylor, Arviso, Humphries, Marcotte, Washington, and deary me, will this list ever end.

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The forum is absolutely refusing to attach pictures right now (or work much at all). Been trying for hours, it won't work. Standings and stats will come when the good people at OOTP flick the internet switch back on...

05-26-2025, 02:35 PM	#4671
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,649	Raccoons (33-48) @ Loggers (33-49) – July 5-8, 2066 The bottom feeders of the CL North would meet for eight of their next eleven games, with a 2-2 tie so far in the season series. The Coons couldn’t score, and the Loggers couldn’t pitch, but they were second in runs scored in the league, somehow, and had just a -41 run differential. The Raccoons, after getting utterly destroyed by the Crusaders in the last four games, had their run differential blasted all the way down to -111. Loggerland was without a battery’s worth of Nick Waldron and Tommy Guitreau; Waldron was out for the year, but Guitreau should be able to return for the back end of the four-and-four in Portland after the All Star Game. Projected matchups: Tony Gaytan (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Luis Palacios (5-4, 3.95 ERA) Juan Sanchez (4-8, 4.22 ERA) vs. Jonathan Vale (4-7, 4.93 ERA) Nick Walla (9-5, 3.61 ERA) vs. Julio Robles (1-3, 5.52 ERA) Shoma Nakayama (4-9, 3.78 ERA) vs. Girolamo Pizzichini (6-7, 5.11 ERA) Palacios was the only southpaw we would meet in the series, their other left-handed starter Ignazio Flores (2-6, 3.15 ERA) having been out to pitch on Sunday. With that, Rich Monck, Joel Starr, and Malcolm Spicer would get their last day off before the All Star Game, but we only had six right-handed batters, so Jaden Wilson and Manny Arredondo played anyway. Game 1 POR: CF Wilson – RF Arantes – C Lopez – LF Branch – 1B Spink – 3B Tallent – 2B Caballero – SS Arredondo – P Gaytan MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – 3B Reber – RF D. Wright – C Chinea – P L. Palacios The Coons started the Monday opener with three straight hits by Wilson (single), Leon Arantes (double), and Ramon Lopez (RBI single on which Arantes was thrown out at the plate…), but unfortunately Gaytan had nothing in his second career start. The Loggers had five lefty sticks at the top of the order, and put the leadoff man on base in every inning to begin the game. They fell short with some defensive heroics by Caballero and Branch in the first two innings, then had Scott Franks caught stealing in the bottom 3rd, but Gaytan lost both Jonathan Merrill and Cesar Ramirez on balls, and then surrendered the tying run on a double steal and Fidel Carrera’s groundout. Tim Goss then popped out to leave the go-ahead run on third base. Kyle Reber and Dave Wright drew two more walks from Gaytan to begin the bottom 4th, but a pop, a bunt, and another pop from Franks to Tallent in foul territory kept those runners stranded. Merrill hit a leadoff single in the fifth, but was also caught stealing to keep us tied at one – which in itself had to be considered a success after the complete demolition and despoilment of all things holy we had witnessed the Crusaders do to the Critters on the previous weekend… After some mellow innings, the Raccoons then exploited an error by Goss that put Arantes on base to begin the sixth inning. Ramon Lopez romped a homer to left for a 3-1 lead, and Gaytan FINALLY got a leadoff batter when Reber grounded out to short to begin the bottom 6th – then immediately walked Wright and was taken well deep by Jerry Chinea… The Coons saw themselves forced to go back to Gaytan in the bottom 7th, but he walked Merrill and Ramirez and was yoinked. Garvey fared little better, giving up a single to PH Dave Robles on which Merrill was thrown out a the plate, then the go-ahead groundout from Goss to Caballero. Cullum replaced him, which the Loggers answered with the left-handed Carlos Dominguez with two outs, and the pinch-hitter singled home a tack-on run. Cullum then got Wright out. The Coons were not dead quite yet, though. Palacios retired Arantes to begin the eighth, but then walked Lopez and gave up a double to Branch. That put the tying runs in scoring position, and Randy Birnbaum replaced the lefty starter. With a righty on the hill, the Coons unleashed their regulars; Monck batted for Spink, but grounded out very poorly, but in Tallent’s spot Joel Starr bashed a game-tying double to right-center! Caballero then struck out. Now Cullum issued a leadoff walk, but ached his way around that to keep the game tied through eight. But Portland didn’t score in the top of the ninth, then ended up with Matt Schmieder in the bottom of the inning. Schmieder allowed a double to Goss to get going, walked the bases full, and took the L on Chinea’s sac fly. 6-5 Loggers. Wilson 2-5; Lopez 3-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Tallent 2-3; Starr (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; Again, Raccoons tossers walked 11 batters. This time they struck out only TWO (both by Gaytan, who walked SEVEN). In other words, another day at the office… although putting the leadoff man on base in every inning but ONE was perhaps even worse than usual… Game 2 POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Corral – 2B Arantes – SS Arredondo – P Sanchez MIL: 3B Reber – CF Merrill – LF C. Ramirez – 1B D. Robles – RF C. Dominguez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – C Chinea – P Vale The Tuesday game began with Jaden Wilson walking after 12 pitches from Jonathan Vale, then stealing second on the 13th pitch. Spicer grounded out, but Lopez made it 1-0 with a single to left. He gained a base on an errant pickoff throw by Vale, then scored on Monck’s single to right. Starr singled, Corral walked the bags full, and Arantes hit a sac fly for a 3-0 lead before Arredondo was struck out to leave two on. Three Loggers singles off Sanchez right away scratched off one run in the bottom 1st, and Cesar Ramirez’ homer in the third narrowed it down to 3-2. Robles and Dominguez then went to the corners with 2-out hits, but Carrera grounded out to short to keep the Coons on top a little longer. So, no, Juan Sanchez was not any good, either. He wasn’t walking everything with legs at least, but he scattered TEN hits through five innings, which made it almost astonishing to see the Raccoons still ahead, 3-2 on their four meager base knocks. Sanchez was on 92 pitches through five, and was wrung out for 16 more and three more outs in the sixth, allowing one more hit to Reber, a 2-out single. He left with the lead, though, with the gap being doubled to two runs on Jaden Wilson’s solo homer that chased Vale in the top 7th. The pen then immediately buckled. McMahan walked Robles with one out and gave up a double to Carrera with two outs in the bottom 7th, putting the tying runs in scoring position for righty PH Dave Wright. Carrington walked him on four pitches, then gave up a very high drive to deep right to Chinea – but it came down in a waiting Corral’s glove on the edge of the warning track to end that inning… Aiden Shaw was then actually taken deep by Monck to begin the eighth, 5-2, and walked Starr, who was doubled home by Arantes. Shaw was replaced with starter-turned-mopup guy Oliver Graham, who conceded Shaw’s run on a pinch-hit double by Branch, batting for Josh C with two outs. Wilson flew out to end the inning, but the Coons were now up by five and squinted, then gave the ball to Sensabaugh, who had been ATROCIOUS in all caps in his last two outings. Scott Franks popped out, but the 1-2-3 batters loaded the bags with two singles and a walk. Robles’ sac fly made it 7-3, and then he walked Dominguez to fill the bases yet again. The Coons pulled the emergency parachute, which was Jesse Dover, who couldn’t help himself either and blew the lead entirely on an RBI single to Carrera, a bases-loaded walk to Devin Willoughby, and a 2-run single by Chinea. Only then did he get the final ***** out. The Raccoons were then out of pitching again in the bottom 9th, and Dover proceeded to ** up the rest of the game – along with Arredondo, who made an error – with a leadoff double to Reber and eventually a walkoff sac fly for Dominguez. 8-7 Loggers. Spicer 2-5; Monck 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Arantes 2-3, 2 RBI; Branch (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Alright, more roster moves! The Coons sent down Manny Arredondo (.145, 0 HR, 2 RBI) and placed J.J. Sensabaugh (0-2, 5.26 ERA), who all of a sudden had turned turds again, on waivers and designated him for assignment. Infielder Joe Gardner returned (sigh), and we had absolutely no idea who to still give a ball to in terms of pitchers. Sean Thomas, age 23, was a former fifth-rounder that had been released by the Rebs and signed to a minor league deal by the Raccoons some years ago. The left-hander had only appeared in nine AAA games. Whatever. Keep throwing them at the wall until one sticks. Game 3 POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Corral – 2B Arantes – SS Tallent – P Walla MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – SS F. Carrera – 2B Goss – 3B Reber – RF D. Wright – C Chinea – P J. Robles I was begging Walla on my knees for seven innings before the game, and I had very bad knees, and it hurt very much. It didn’t really work; he started very nicely in the first two innings, which were scoreless and quick, but beginning with the third inning he ran long counts, offered leadoff walks in the third and fourth, and it was generally hard to watch. The Loggers only got one hit through five and didn’t score, although Wilson also made two running catches in the depths of centerfield to keep them contained. He threw 81 pitches through five. The Coons had the leadoff man on in the first, when Starr ended up flying out to leave Wilson and Lopez on the corners, and the second, when Corral was doubled off; Wilson was on base again with a leadoff walk in the third, Spicer doubled, and Lopez’ groundout was good enough to bring in the game’s first run, and Monck matches his output for a 2-0 lead. An unearned run was added in the fourth when Arantes singled to get going, and Tallent reached on an error by Reber that sent Arantes to third base. Walla hit a sac fly to extend his own lead to 3-0, but Wilson and Spicer left Tallent at third base. That remained the score through five innings. Walla began the bottom 6th with a walk to Merrill, his fourth walk against no strikeouts in the game. He was talked to on the mound by everybody that felt entitled to still give a **, and then got a double play grounder to second from Cesar Ramirez. Carrera grounded out to Monck, completing six, and Walla then got another three grounders on four pitches to actually complete seven shutout innings. He then returned for the eighth and Chinea, gave up a single, and was immediately mothballed for Garvey, who had nothing *** better to do than to allow singles to Dominguez and Franks, walk in a run against Merrill, allow another on a sac fly by Ramirez, and then walked Robles, too. Goss popped out, and with two outs and righty sticks up, the Raccoons handed the 3-2 lead with the bags full to Josh Carrington, who wasted no time to give up a score-flipping double to Reber, walked Wright, and then was taken very deep for three more runs by Chinea. 8-3 Loggers. Wilson 2-4, BB, 2B; Corral 2-4; Walla 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K; Useless *. On Thursday I was just wandering the cheap seats until I found a pair of fifth-graders who were opening packs of baseball cards. I tried to trade for a couple of their relievers with the promise of a hot dog for both of them, but then found out that I didn’t have any coins with me, and had to walk away crying. Game 4 POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – RF Colter – SS Arantes – 2B Gardner – P Nakayama MIL: LF Franks – CF Merrill – 1B C. Ramirez – RF C. Dominguez – 3B Reber – SS Willoughby – 2B Brantly – C Chinea – P Pizzichini The Coons took a 1-0 lead again, this time on a home run to right by Joel Starr in the second inning, then waited for somebody to blow it, which Nakayama, after some sturdy innings to begin the game, did in the fourth, where Cesar Ramirez hit a leadoff double off him, and then scored on Willoughby’s 2-out single. The Raccoons got Arantes on with a single in the fifth; the where-did-he-come-from infielder stole second, reached third on a shy single by Nakayama with one out, but then Wilson whiffed and Spicer grounded out to short to keep them on the corners. Top 6th, and straight 1-out singles by the 4-5-6 batters loaded the bases for Portland. Arantes hit a grounder to second, but the Loggers could only get the out at first base and Monck scored with the go-ahead run. Joe Gardner was walked intentionally with two outs, but Nakayama burned the Loggers with an RBI single to right! And Wilson whiffed again… That left three runners stranded in the 3-1 game. At this point we hoped that we could get Nakayama to the end of the game, but he ran out of glue in the eighth inning, ran a bunch of long counts, walked Ramirez with two outs, but got a K on Dominguez to get out. However, he was now over 100 pitches, and his spot led off the ninth inning, so the Coons gave in to temptation and batted for him in a vain attempt to get a bigger lead to blow in the ninth. Angelo Ramirez allowed a single to Corral in Nakayama’s spot, then walked Wilson before getting replaced with lefty Vincent Hernandez. Spicer hit into a fielder’s choice, but Lopez found the gap for a 2-run double, 5-1. He was left on, and the 4-run lead then went to … the only rested right-hander in the pen, which was Schmieder. The Loggers had Reber lead off, the first of four righty sticks, but there was southpaw action going behind Schmieder, who got two groundouts before allowing a double to Chance Brantly and then nicked Chinea. McMahan got the ball against Goss in the #9 hole, gave up an RBI single, but then resisted the urge to be taken deep by Dave Robles, who pinch-hit for Franks, and flew out to center. 5-2 Raccoons. Lopez 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Monck 2-5, 2B; Starr 2-4, HR, RBI; Corral (PH) 1-1; Nakayama 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, W (5-9) and 2-3, RBI; Raccoons (34-51) @ Indians (40-45) – July 9-11, 2066 The Coons were up 7-2 in this season series, which had to end at some point. These two teams were bottoms in runs scored in the CL – but the Indians still outscored the Raccoons by a depressing 59 runs. They ranked fourth in runs allowed, with a +18 run differential and had the second-best defense. Their only injury right now was infielder Matt Martin on the DL. Projected matchups: Duarte Damasceno (4-8, 5.64 ERA) vs. Joe Napier (5-8, 3.77 ERA) Tony Gaytan (0-0, 6.55 ERA) vs. Mike DeWitt (6-4, 2.24 ERA) Juan Sanchez (4-8, 4.14 ERA) vs. Vince Ellison (7-6, 4.45 ERA) DeWitt was the last southpaw before the All Star Game for these rancid Critters. Game 1 POR: CF Wilson – LF Spicer – RF Corral – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – C Spink – 2B Tallent – SS Gardner – P Damasceno IND: CF E. Ramirez – 2B Falcon – RF Dowsey – 1B Starwalt – C Atencio – LF T. Torres – SS B. Ellis – 3B DeRosia – P Napier Wilson walked to begin the series, but was caught stealing; however, the Coons still scored a pair in the opening inning as Spicer singled and both Corral and Starr socked RBI doubles on Ramon Lopez’ night off, which meant Spink ended the inning with a groundout. DD immediately gave a run back on Eddy Ramirez’ leadoff double and Danny Starwalt’s RBI single with two outs, walked Vinny Atencio, threw a wild pitch, and then somehow coaxed Tony Torres into hacking himself out to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Portland answered with a Tallent leadoff single and a 2-out RBI knock from Wilson, 3-1, and the next inning had Corral on – at least until he was picked off – and then got Starr on with a 2-out single. He advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on a soft single by Spink, 4-1. Randy Tallent then socked a homer, adding two more runs to the tally! So that was 6-1 in the third inning, but there was still DD on the hill and the seven square pegs trying to fit into round holes in the bullpen, so things were almost guaranteed to remain interesting. At least the Damasceno problem disappeared quickly… sorta. He got swamped in the bottom 3rd with two walks, two hits, and two runs from the top five in the Indians order, then left the game with a bleeding thumb and that was that. Josh C got the ball, walked the bags full, but got the last two outs in the bottom 3rd and the Raccoons were still up 6-3 while Cullum readied himself for long relief, which he began by giving up a homer to right to former starter, now garbage reliever Steve Hawkins in the bottom 4th… Cullum got him back for half with a double in the sixth, except that there was nobody on base when he did that and nobody could be bothered to drive in Cullum either. Cullum nursed the 6-4 game through six, after which we’d have to come up with a new idea. Garvey gave the Raccoons a scary seventh with two long fly outs, but pulled through, while Joel Starr then smacked his tenth homer of the year off Justin Esch to tack on a run in the eighth, 7-4. Garvey struck out to end that inning with Gardner on base, then allowed a leadoff walk to Torres in the bottom 8th and was whisked away anyway. Dover struck out Ben Ellis and got a double play from DeRosia – who had saved the Indians from getting no-hit in Boston just 24 hours ago – to escape. McMahan was up for the ninth. Matthew Parker flew out before he walked Ramirez, got another fly from Miguel Falcon, but then Justin Dowsey singled, and he lost Starwalt with a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. That loaded the bases with the tying runs and two outs. Right-hander Oscar Aredondo came out to pinch-hit for Atencio, but the only remaining relievers in the pen were Schmieder and Thomas, who had not actually appeared in a game yet. FINE. We’ll die with McMahan this time! – But Tallent caught a pop on the infield, and the Raccoons boogied away with that one. 7-4 Raccoons. Corral 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Starr 3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Tallent 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Arantes (PH) 1-1; Cullum 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K and 1-1, 2B; Josh C got the W, the first of his career. DD was expected to live, but would only be seen again on the other end of the break. Game 2 POR: RF Corral – 2B Arantes – C Lopez – 3B Monck – CF Branch – LF Tallent – 2B Caballero – 1B Spink – P Gaytan IND: CF E. Ramirez – SS Aredondo – RF Dowsey – 1B Starwalt – C Atencio – LF T. Torres – 2B Falcon – 3B DeRosia – P DeWitt Eddy Ramirez punched a Gaytan pitch over the wall to begin the bottom 1st, although it got a bit less sticky for the rookie afterwards. He allowed just three hits in the first four innings, although that third hit was another homer by Atencio in the fourth that made it 2-0 Indians. The Coons had no hits the first time through until Corral singled his second time up, which led nowhere. The Indians then got Falcon and DeRosia on with a walk and a single to begin the bottom 5th, but Gaytan pounced on DeWitt’s bunt and got the lead runner at third base, then went on to escape the inning when Ramirez grounded sharply to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Gaytan went off to have his own first ABL hit with a sixth-inning leadoff singles, but was also doubled off by Arantes to end the inning. He then got around an Aredondo double in the bottom 6th, and completed seven basically competent innings with only those two homers for blemish. That 2-0 lead was still standing up, and we didn’t get on base until Corral singled with two outs in the eighth. Justin Esch then struck out Colter, batting for Arantes, turning away the threat. Schmieder managed to pitch a complete inning without stepping on his own tail in the bottom 8th, but Cody Kleidon eviscerated the Raccoons’ 3-4-5 batters in the ninth to put the game away. 2-0 Indians. Corral 2-4; Gaytan 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, L (0-1) and 1-2; First decent start for Gaytan, and also the first L. Baseball loves no one, good luck for following or playing it. Game 3 POR: CF Wilson – RF Corral – C Lopez – 3B Monck – 1B Starr – SS Arantes – LF Spicer – 2B Caballero – P Sanchez IND: CF E. Ramirez – RF T. Torres – 1B Starwalt – LF Dowsey – SS Aredondo – 2B Falcon – C J. Edwards – 3B DeRosia – P Ellison The rubber game began with a walk to Wilson and a Corral double, putting a pair in scoring position for Ramon Lopez, who cranked a ball to deep left-center, but saw Dowsey warp there and make a catch; it was still a sac fly, however. Monck was robbed of an RBI when Ellison plated Corral with a wild pitch before Monck singled. Starr singled as well, but Arantes and Spicer made outs to leave them on. Sanchez then immediately failed the bags full before striking out Dowsey and getting a double play from Aredondo for no Indians runs in the bottom 1st. Two calm innings followed before Arantes reached on a 2-base error by Aredondo and then scored on Spicer’s single to center, 3-0. Sanchez was still 1-hitting the Indians when he flicked an RBI single to drive in Arantes again in the sixth inning, getting Ellison with two outs to extend his lead to 4-0. Sanchez took the shutout into the bottom 7th (though with a questionable pitch count) before giving up singles to Dowsey and Falcon. Dowsey went to third base on the latter, then scored on John Edwards’ sac fly, 4-1. Sanchez struck out DeRosia to leave Falcon stranded, then got a double play from Ramirez after Wil Martinez’ infield single to begin the eighth and struck out Tony Torres to finish that inning off as well…! The Coons left Corral and a 1-out double on base in the ninth inning, and Sanchez had thrown 102 pitches already, so we went to Dover in the bottom 9th. He struck out Starwalt, got a grounder from Dowsey to Monck, then walked Aredondo with two outs. However, Falcon popped out, and that was the first half of the season suffered through successfully. 4-1 Critters. Corral 2-4, BB, 2 2B; Monck 2-5; Spicer 2-4, RBI; Sanchez 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-8) and 1-4, RBI; In other news July 8 – BOS SP Jason Brenize (14-1, 1.61 ERA) strikes out 11 Indians in eight no-hit innings, but is well over 100 pitches with a skinny 1-0 lead and replaced with CL Tyler Gleason (2-4, 2.82 ERA, 25 SV), who saves the game, but blows the (combined) no-hit bid with a single allowed to IND UT Philip DeRosia, who goes 1-for-3 in his season debut. July 8 – OF Elmer Maldonado (.235, 3 HR, 17 RBI) is sent from the Scorpions back to the Miners for SP Austin Cross (8-6, 3.47 ERA). July 8 – SP Goffredo Merlin (6-4, 4.78 ERA) is dealt from the Buffaloes to the Falcons in exchange for outfielder Dan Geiger (.211, 2 HR, 13 RBI) and a prospect. July 8 – The Indians deal 1B Alex Mendez (.278, 3 HR, 17 RBI) to the Capitals for a prospect. July 8 – The Capitals crunch the Rebels, 19-5, with a pair of 6-spots. Everybody in the Capitals lineup has at least one base hit. July 9 – Dallas INF Adam Yocum (.354, 1 HR, 33 RBI) is expected to be out until late August with a strained hamstring. July 9 – The Titans need 16 innings to beat the Canadiens, 4-3. Vancouver infielders Carlos Castro (.276, 2 HR, 27 RBI) and Hsi-chuen Yue (.262, 3 HR, 31 RBI) both had 4-hit days, while nobody on Boston has more than two hits. July 11 – The Condors acquire CL Javier Arocho (5-3, 3.61 ERA, 12 SV) from the Pacifics for the #29 prospect, INF Leo Ventura. July 11 – Blue Sox OF/1B Tony Roman (.253, 22 HR, 53 RBI) was expected to miss two weeks with a knee contusion. July 11 – The Crusaders and Loggers work overtime for a 15-inning, 7-5 New York win on the Sunday before the All Star Game. Both teams already scored a run in the 12th inning. FL Player of the Week: LAP LF/RF/1B Brady Terrell (.296, 6 HR, 41 RBI), batting .440 (11-25) with 3 HR, 11 RBI CL Player of the Week: NYC 3B/SS Ben Wilken (.266, 7 HR, 56 RBI), hitting .382 (13-34) with 1 HR, 10 RBI Complaints and stuff The Raccoons have no All Stars. Big shock. I can’t contain myself. This week the Coons tried to sign free agent veteran reliever Hector Estevez, age 36, to fill out the pen for the rest of the year, but couldn’t scratch enough pennies together to make him get off his arse. We were then able to get 27-year-old Japanese reliever Manabu Yamauchi, who had come over in 2064 only to go unsigned ever since. He had sat at a bus stop in San Francisco ever since and was glad to sign for the promise of minor league meal money. He was assigned to AAA. The Raccoons also went from “we got no arms!” to calling up Sean Thomas and then not using him at all for five straight days. Please keep on watching after the break, I promise we know what we’re doing. International free agent glory this year was limited to a pair of Dominican switch-hitters with some vague promise of hitting for contact. They cost less than $100k in total, but we were over budget as things were anyway. It will be four games with the Loggers to resume baseball on Thursday, after which we’ll have another three games with the damn Elks before the next road trip to Charlotte and San Francisco. Fun Fact:** The Titans have seven All Stars. Bell, Brenize, Taylor, Arviso, Humphries, Marcotte, Washington, and deary me, will this list ever end. +++ The forum is absolutely refusing to attach pictures right now (or work much at all). Been trying for hours, it won't work. Standings and stats will come when the good people at OOTP flick the internet switch back on... __________________ Portland Raccoons, 92 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.