Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Charlie Hough

No, I think THIS one takes the accolades:

Yeah, that's a really good one too.

[Charlie Hough]

14 days now. It might truly be over.

[Questdog]

He has 'quit' before and taken months to regain his senses.....

[Westheim]

I have needed some distance from this %$§@B$ game. Read your comments, appreciated them, but couldn’t come up with a statement after rage-quitting a month ago. In a way, it hurt more than that infamous 19-walks game back in the days that had me rage-quit for TWO months. We set our focus to WIN NOW before the season, and it is obvious that it won’t happen. The pitching staff, and especially the bullpen, is a burning train wreck, and the offense is not up to the task either.

Just for a catch up, we have four players on the DL, three of which will return within a week, plus Itchy, who’s a story in himself.

The possibility of me rage-quitting very soon again is highly likely. I’m more or less coming back since I can’t find something to play with for my life – it’s annoying. I was less choosy ten or even five years ago. I’m getting old (going hard on 27) and old people are constantly grumpy … well … that’s life.

Ah.

Raccoons (23-23) @ Thunder (21-27)

Scott Wade opened the series for the Coons, falling to a homer by SS Tom Nicks in the first inning, which got the Thunder moving. They kept adding from there, and Wade was knocked out with force in the seventh. David Jones was unsuitable to keep runners left on by Wade from scoring and the Thunder took a commanding 5-0 lead in the inning. It was all the more commanding since the Raccoons didn’t get a runner on third base at all until then. Mark Dawson belted a solo home run in the ninth, breaking up Wilson Cordova’s shutout with one out, to become the only Furball to progress past second base. Raccoons lost shamefully, 5-1. Dawson 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2 2B;

Daniel Hall had overcome his back issues and was back on the team for game 2. Billy Mitchell was sent packing.

Lefty Alejandro Venegas was on the mound in the middle game and fell behind in the first inning as well, but this time Tetsu Osanai was to blame, botching an easy grounder which could (and should) have been the third out. The error derailed into an unearned run eventually after two singles off Venegas. The first two Coons got on in the third, but were left right there. In the fourth, two singles and an error loaded the bags with Brownshirts and nobody out, but Venegas came to bat. He grounded to 1B Hector Roman, but still scored a run. Thompson got the Raccoons ahead with an RBI single, before Armando Sanchez rolled into an inning-ending double play. Bottom 4th: walk, two singles, bases loaded with Thunders and nobody out, and they took their two runs right back. The Raccoons had their next chance in the seventh with their first two men on, but the 3-4-5 batters then flailed in the most flailing ways imaginable. The Thunder sealed the deal in the bottom of the inning. Venegas left two on with one out, and Bentley waved them in, and the eighth wasn’t any better. Thunder rolled over Raccoons again, 7-2. Thompson 2-3, 2 BB, RBI; A. Sanchez 2-5;

In addition to all the other misery, Dani Perez suffered an elbow sprain in the game and would be out for a week. Way to go.

Game 3 had Carlos Gonzalez and Billy Robinson, two pitchers that had had great seasons before, but now combined for a 12.00 ERA. This game could only develop one way: two no-hit bids intact the first time through the lineup! The Coons struck first in the top 4th. Armando Sanchez walked ahead of Daniel Hall. On an 0-2 count, Sanchez was set in motion to at least take a shot at second base, but Hall unexpectedly connected, and well so, for a massive home run to dead center. It was the first of four straight hits for the Raccoons, who added two more runs in the inning. Gonzalez struck out to end the inning, then was shelled himself, and walked three in the bottom 4th, but a grounder to Thompson ended the inning with only one run in and the bases loaded. Hall came back to homer again in the top 5th, this time a 2-out solo shot. Bottom 5th. Error by Jose Sanchez, a walk to Jeff Wagner, and an error by Thompson to load the bases with one out. Gonzalez managed to run himself out of a 5-1 game with a 4-pitch walk to Dave Browne. Tim Moss came in, faced three batters, and three runners scored. Tied game, bases loaded, one out. Two more runs scored against Dirk Campbell. Thunder won, 9-5. Hall 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Raccoons (23-26) vs. Condors (29-21)

Could Logan Evans get something going against a mightily powering team? NOPE. Three walks and a wild pitch in the first inning alone helped the Condors to an early 2-0 lead in the series opener. Evans had no control whatsoever over his pitches and walked six in an outing that ended in the fourth inning. Bottom 4th: Osanai singled, Dawson singled, Dumont singled, bases full, nobody out. Jose Sanchez flew out to right and Osanai managed to get himself thrown out at the plate. The Coons still managed to tie the game on an infield RBI single by David Vinson, and a pinch hit RBI single by Kelly Weber. Weber pinch hit for Bentley, who had been penciled in to cover innings, but now was out and Wally Gaston was sent out for long relief. He pitched two perfect frames, seeing the Coons take the lead on back-to-back doubles by Armando Sanchez and Daniel Hall in the fifth. Gaston’s third inning was bumpy and the Condors filled the bags with two down. Gaston to John Fleury – strikeout! Big Wally of old? Cunningham choked in the eighth and Grant West (who had pitched a pointless inning the day before, which came to bite now) entered for a 4-out save opportunity with runners on the corners and a 1-run lead. He got Jeremiah Carrell to ground back to West and the out was made at first base. West even had to bat in the bottom 8th with two down and Jose Sanchez on third base. He grounded behind first for an easy play that was still blown between Carrell and reliever Bob “Butcher” Haines (he of no-hit fame), West was safe and Sanchez scored. West put two on in the ninth, but saved it, 4-2, to end a 6-game skid. Hall 2-3, 2B, RBI; Weber (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gaston 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (2-0); West 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, SV (13) and 0-1, RBI;

Sergio Martinez came off the DL and Joe Jackson was returned to AAA ball.

So much winning, so much joy, so much rebound by the Condors, who socked Kisho Saito for five runs in the second inning in the middle game, aided by four walks, and he was chewed up for good in the fourth. Great, more strain on the pen. Bentley struck out Bergeron and Sakaguchi with the bags full to at least get on with life, albeit 6-0 down. It was game over there already. Winston Thompson drove in a run sometime along the way to another smelling 7-1 defeat. Hall 2-4, 2B; Bentley 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K;

Marcos Costello returned from a broken hand and Daniel Dumont went to AAA.

That left Scott Wade to be blasted once more before a much-needed off day. Wild John Douglas was his opponent, and while Douglas opened his first inning with a walk to Winston Thompson, Wade had to watch Sergio Martinez bobble an easy grounder before that in the top 1st. Still, the game remained scoreless through four, before Tijuana got a run off a quickly working Scott Wade – maybe a bit too quick at times. Bottom 5th. Kelly Weber singled to start the frame, bringing up Wade. He bunted the 1-1 pitch foul, getting into a hole. Weber was set in motion on the 1-2, which Wade took for a ball. Weber was safe at second and Wade went on to work a walk against Douglas. But Douglas rebounded, K’ed Thompson and Armando Sanchez and then Hall rolled to short. Wade gave up another run in the seventh and was removed when the Raccoons batted in the bottom 7th. A leadoff walk by Weber looked wasted, before Sanchez singled with two down. Hall came up and singled through on the left and Weber dashed home, where the Condors couldn’t make the play, and the runners moved up. Osanai to the plate. Any hit ties the game and possibly means the lead. He rolled out as harmless as possible. That was it. Raccoons lost, 3-1, with another run on Tim Moss. A. Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Dawson 2-4, 2B; Weber 1-2, 2 BB;

In other news
May 27 – The Indians’ Pepe Acevedo (4-2, 2.18 ERA) zeroes in on the Bayhawks and 3-hits them in a 1-0 shutout.

Complaints and stuff

No, it has not been fun. Daniel Hall’s performance was heart-warming, but apart from that it was no fun. Not a bit.

[Questdog]

Glad you are back......

Personally, I like winning, but what I love more about the game is the players and becoming attached to them......even in times when wins are scarce, there are always the players who are growing or shrinking.....that is why I hardly ever make trades or sign free agents, except to fill the occasional hole that I have no legitimate prospect to fill or to find a place for a beloved player who has lost his berth on our team.....

And if you are old and crotchety at 27, you'll just be spitting on everybody you see when you are my age (50)......

[Westheim]

The Raccoons had an off day before the start of the series against the Indians, but what good are off days when your pitching is too bad to ever get exhausted?

Raccoons (24-28) vs. Indians (31-23)

We ran out Venegas in the opener despite the conveniently placed off day. The less I see of Carlos Gonzalez, the better.

While Venegas quickly fell behind 1-0 in the first after an R.J. Stinton triple, the Raccoons’ first ten men up all made outs, before Armando Sanchez singled his way on in the fourth. Daniel Hall followed that up with an RBI triple, but was starved at third by Osanai and Dawson and the Raccoons trailed 2-1. The Indians broke the game open in the fifth. A leadoff double and subsequent bunt by Terry Reynolds was followed by back-to-back infield RBI singles by Jorge Salazar and Stinton, then a 3-piece by Forest Hartley. The Raccoons just have no pitching at all. They brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth after *some* offense displayed by the heart of the lineup, but then still trailed 6-4. Moss came into the game in the next inning, blew it, and Wally Gaston added a run with a wild pitch with one strike to go in the eighth and the Raccoons lost 8-4. J. Sanchez 2-4, RBI;

Back to the top of the rotation. Gonzalez, Evans, Saito, and Wade all have four wins (and some have four wins for a long time already). Will any of them make it five this time through? The Raccoons have dropped nine of their last ten, going from average-at-best to can’t-watch-it-my-eyes-are-bleeding.

Carlos Gonzalez was up in the middle game, living on the brink of demotion to AAA (he has an option left). We tried a new lineup with both Sanchezes (Armando and Jose) leading off ahead of Hall, Osanai, and Dawson. One of them had had an oomph week, Dawson had an 11-game streak, and Osanai was nothing but causing trouble. The Sanchezes singled in the bottom 1st and Hall scored Armando on a fielder’s choice for the Coons to take a lead. Gonzalez almost gave it all back with what almost was a 3-run homer to pitcher Jesse Carver (who had less than half Gonzalez’ ERA) in the top 2nd, but Armando Sanchez caught the flyer just in time. Still, this was merely delaying what everybody saw coming, and Gonzalez coughed up two runs in the third. It remained 2-1 for some time, with the Coons leaving runners in scoring position twice. Gonzalez was removed in the seventh. With two out and a runner on third he wanted to go after Salazar, but walked him. David Jones then came in to face Angelo Duarte, but surrendered a tomb-sealing RBI single to Duarte. A leadoff double by Dadswell in the bottom 7th was wasted when Thompson, Costello, and Quintanilla failed to move him an inch, let alone 180 feet. After Moss struck out the side in the top 8th, Jose Sanchez and Hall singled their way on to start the bottom 8th. Osanai up. Flew out. Dawson up, his hitting streak in danger after going 0-3 so far. Carver was still in to face him and Dawson buried a fastball in the left field bleachers, and suddenly the Raccoons were ahead. Grant West was happy to turn in a 1-2-3 save. 4-3 Raccoons. J. Sanchez 2-4; Dawson 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2B; Moss 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, W (1-2);

Dani Perez was back to ready for the rubber game, but was left on the bench for another day.

The Furballs took a first inning lead on a bad throw by Raúl Vazquez from right field, trying to get Jose Sanchez, who tagged upon Tetsu Osanai’s flyout to Vazquez. Logan Evans spent his time behind in the count again. He fell behind 2-1 in the fourth, but batted for an RBI groundout in the bottom of the inning to tie the score again. Alex Miranda was the opposing pitcher, entering with a 3-8 record and a horrid 6+ ERA, but he held the Raccoons short enough. He started the top 5th with a single to short right – but made the mistake to keep running and was hammered out at second base. Osanai returned them the favor by not stopping at second on a 2-out double in the bottom 5th – and was hammered accordingly. Evans loaded them up in the sixth and one run scored against Bentley on a sac fly, Raccoons down 3-2. Hall singled first up in the bottom 8th and was brought around by the rest of the team to score on a 2-out single by Winston Thompson to tie the game again. Cunningham held the Indians short to give them a chance to walk off, but the 8-9-1 hitters were up in the bottom 9th and were blanked by Jim Durden. Campbell put two on, but then escaped in the top 10th. Jose Sanchez popped out foul in the bottom 10th, Hall struck out, and Osanai grounded to 1B Gilberto Alaniz, who botched a simple pickup. Osanai was safe. Dawson came up, 0-4, but with a red glimmer in his eyes. He went to 1-2 against Durden, then killed him with a massive home run to left! 5-3 Raccoons! Hall 2-5; Dawson 1-5, HR, 2 RBI; Thompson 2-3, BB, RBI;

Back-to-back game winning home runs by Mark Dawson are at least something to write positively about.

Raccoons (26-29) @ Crusaders (24-31)

This was a 4-game set on a short cross-country trip before an interleague week starting at home.

Saito was up against Travis Newton (2-4, 3.48 ERA) in the opener – the 11th straight righty the Raccoons faced. The remaining three days in New York were scheduled to be against lefties then. Mark Dawson quickly extended his hitting streak to 14 this time with the latter of a pair of RBI doubles (the other by Osanai) in the top 1st. Saito gave one run right back with an RBI triple to Pedro Villa in the bottom 1st, but settled in after that, while the Raccoons piled on Newton. It was 5-1 after two, and 6-1 after four. Newton filled them up with nobody out in the fifth and Saito up. Down 1-2, Saito made contact into a double play, but at least brought a run in, 7-1, and got Newton out of the game. The Raccoons led 8-1 into the bottom 8th. Now one for the ages. Saito walked the first man up and was removed. Two straight walks by Jason Bentley filled the bags, nobody out. Wally Gaston came in, and faced three batters, while four runs scored. Enter Moss: pitch to Lorenzo Gomez’ hip, then a flyout by PH Seitaro Ine. Now, Grant West was warm, with all righties to come and the tying run at the plate already. 1-1 to Raúl Castillo, West threw a wild pitch to put the two runners into scoring position. Castillo singled to left for two runs to score, and West gave up another single to Sam Richmond, which put the go-ahead run on. West was screamed at on the mound by the pitching coach, then walked Diego Rodriguez, which brought up Pedro Villa, the most dangerous bat the Crusaders had. He singled to left for two runs. Raccoons lost, 9-8.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?? How can you be SERIOUS about this, this … ah-da…… HHRWAAAAHH!!!

I preferred to spend game 2 in the silent isolation of my hotel room. I missed Scott Wade turning in a very fine outing over seven innings and some early offense for a 6-2 lead through eight. Cunningham came in for the ninth, got two quick outs, then loaded the bases, before getting a grounder by Lorenzo Gomez to second that Dani Perez converted for the final out. Mark Dawson went 0-4 to end his hitting streak at 14 games. 6-2 Raccoons. Hall 2-3, BB, HR, RBI; Vinson 2-4; Wade 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W (5-3);

Game 3. The Coons batted through the order in a 5-run first inning, including a 2-out bases-clearing double by Gustavo Quintanilla, in support of Venegas. All were unearned. The same Venegas then gave three runs right back in the bottom 1st, making me wish back to the hotel room. From there, Venegas tumbled through seven frames with some good defense and a few infield popups around him, while the Coons left the bags full in the fifth, leaving the score at 5-3. The Crusaders lost Pedro Villa early on to injury, making things perhaps a bit easier. Dawson became the first Coon this year to double-digit bombs with a solo home run in the eighth. Up 6-3, Grant West (last time out: 0.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB) came into the bottom 9th. Three hits and two runs later he left again. 6-5, tying run on second base, nobody out. Edward Snyder bunted the runner, Seitaro Ine, over to third and was out at first. Gaston walked Raúl Castillo, then struck out John Beach. Diego Rodriguez was walked intentionally to create a force at home and get Sam Richmond, Villa’s replacement at 2B, up. Soaring flyer to deep center, Kelly Weber running, running, runniiiiiiiiiing – catching. 6-5 Raccoons.

Despite facing lefty Francisco Vidrio in game 4, we fielded four left-handed batters in the lineup, plus switch-hitter Vinson. So many righties were struggling right now. Pedro Villa was back in the lineup for New York with a sore back, which didn’t bother him too much: he homered off Carlos Gonzalez in the first inning. The Crusaders put seven runs on Gonzalez in another horrible outing, while Vidrio held the Raccoons at bay easily. Out of bullpen to use, West was sent into the lost game in the bottom 8th. The first two Crusaders reached again, before Dawson managed to make a play for an out, and West actually STRUCK OUT somebody (Vidrio…). The Coons were soundly defeated, 7-1, in a complete game outing by Vidrio, and only scored a run because the Crusaders went for the sure out at third base against Dawson back in the fourth inning, letting Armando Sanchez score on a long Jose Sanchez single to right. A. Sanchez 2-4; Dawson 1-2, BB, 2B;

In other news

June 2 – LAP Greg Cain (5-3, 4.09 ERA) 3-hits the Capitals in a 2-0 win for the Pacifics.
June 4 – TOP SP Johnny Brown (6-5, 4.50 ERA) is out for the season with bone chips in his elbow.

Complaints and stuff

This update seemed way too long, but now that I have edited out the obscenities and most of the crying.........

Ten straight batters Grant West had faced reached base. Two questions. A) Why? and B) WHY???

A couple of our AAA guys:
SP Jason Turner 8-1, 2.98 ERA, 107/36 K/BB
MR Emerson MacDonald 1-2, 2.43 ERA, 3 SV, 30/4 K/BB
1B Billy Mitchell .322, 15 HR, 34 RBI
OF Glenn Johnston .313, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 3/3 SB
OF Daniel Dumont .386, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 1/2 SB

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

This update seemed way too long, but now that I have edited out the obscenities and most of the crying.........

Ah, but this is what we love about you.

Welcome back!

[Westheim]

Potential top picks of the 1988 draft:

SP Angel Romero (17/15/16)
MR Peter Hughes (20/19/14)
MR William Henderson (20/16/14)

1B Pascal Salviati (14/20/13, but movement-impaired and a defensive burden)
INF Jesus Garcia (12/15/20)
1B/2B David Brewer (18/4/13 with very good defense)

LF Edgar Morris (20/17/17)
RF Sam Green (20/15/15, also bad defense)
LF/RF Tom Stephens (17/12/15, terrible defense)

The Raccoons pick 20th in every round, but have none of the 49 supplemental picks. Which is not a good thing.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (28-31) vs. Wolves (28-32)

Here comes a new addition of the Oregon Brawl. We are 7-8 lifetime against the Wolves, but took the last two editions of the series, 2-1 in 1986, and with a sweep in 1984. You can estimate how badly we fared before that.

Game 1. We threw on our walk machine, Logan Evans, who managed to get the bags full in the top 1st, but escaped with a double play. Bottom 1st. Thompson singled, Sanchez walked, Hall singled, Osanai slammed to right, 4-0 Coons. Salem’s starter Vicente Torres left a few batters later with an injury. Evans loaded the bags again in the fourth, and again got through it unharmed, and the Coons added a run on a wild pitch in the bottom 4th. Evans needed 104 pitches through five and didn’t get through six at all. Dirk Campbell ended the sixth and Moss and Jones completed the shutout for the Raccoons. The 5-0 win masked a bit that they were wholly inefficient against any pitcher other than Torres that day. Hall 2-4; Osanai 2-4, HR, 4 RBI; S. Martinez 2-3; Jones 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Daniel Hall’s pair of singles meant a 12-game hitting streak for him.

Kisho Saito struggled in the middle game, falling behind 2-0 in the top 2nd. Bottom of the inning: Osanai, Dawson, and Dadswell reeled off three straight singles. Bases loaded, nobody out, they got one run on a 1-out single by Costello, then popped up twice, but compensated with a 3-spot in the bottom 3rd with a 2-out RBI single by Dawson and a subsequent 2-run homer by Dadswell. Kisho Saito had a dominant stretch afterwards, retiring nine straight, with five K’s included, but was exhausted after 6.1 innings and 127 pitches. CF Tien Dung Nien homered off Cunningham in the top 8th, cutting the 2-run lead in half. Daniel Hall came up first in the bottom 8th, and 0-3 on the day. Hitting streak in danger! Lawrence Mills pitched to him carefully and went to 3-0. Hall smelled it coming down the middle and drilled it for a double into the right corner, but was stranded. The Wolves did not pitch to Osanai, and Dawson instantly grounded into a double play. Top 9th. West got one out, then allowed a single, and then drilled Pancho Pacheco on an 0-2 pitch. Wolves threatening, he struck out Pablo Perez, which brought Ambuvica Talip to the plate as a pinch hitter. West struck him out. 4-3 Raccoons! Dawson 2-4, RBI; Dadswell 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Saito 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-5);

Final game of the series, and for the second time in the series the Raccoons bashed a grand slam in the first inning, this time Mark Dawson. Osanai hit a solo thing in the third, 5-0, while Scott Wade breezed through the early innings. The bottom 4th further deconstructed Salem pitching. Wade hit a leadoff double and the Wolves never regained control from there. Hall had a 3-0 swing base hit for back-to-back days in this inning, and Mark Dawson came up again with two on and one out. CRUSHED to left, over the fence, over the bleachers, over the outer fence, and over everything beyond it!! 10-0 Raccoons at this point. The rout was on, and it was 14-0 after five. Raccoons fans began to wait for the collapse. It started innocently enough in the top 6th, with an error by Winston Thompson. The Wolves quickly filled the bags, but only got one unearned run off Wade. Wade surrendered single earned runs the next two innings while going 7.1 frames. The big collapse never came, and the Raccoons rushed the Wolves out of the town with a 15-3 clobbering. S. Martinez 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Hall 2-4, BB; Osanai 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Dawson 3-5, 2 HR, 8 RBI; Quintanilla 2-5, 2B; Wade 7.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (6-3) and 3-4, 2B;

Mark Dawson’s eight RBI’s tie a mark set by Daniel Hall in 1984 for a 9-inning game, although Hall had a ninth RBI when that game went to extra innings.

Raccoons (31-31) @ Cyclones (31-29)

The Cyclones’ offensive output was not exactly intimidating, but they certainly knew how to play their cards and caught the Raccoons off guard early on:

CF Pedro Ortiz hit an inside-the-park home run in the first inning of the series opener, right to the base of the 427’ wall, from where it bounced happily away from Armando Sanchez. While Alejandro Venegas struck out the 7-8-9 batters in the bottom 2nd, he was quickly overwhelmed in the next two innings and left in the fourth with six runs, five earned, against him. Things didn’t get better after shortening the gap to 6-2 in the sixth, since Wally Gaston started the bottom 6th with two walks and Campbell ended up giving up a 3-run triple to Leo Smith. Still, the Raccoons brought the tying run to the on-deck circle in the top 8th, down 9-4, bases loaded, one out. Jose Sanchez hit a sac fly for the only run they’d add here. 9-5 Cyclones. Hall 2-4, RBI; Dawson 2-3, BB, RBI; Thompson (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Carlos Gonzalez was due up in the middle game. At 4-7, 5.81 ERA and an option he doesn’t have many chances left. But apart from that we made a roster move nevertheless, and sent Gustavo Quintanilla to AAA to call up Glenn Johnston. Daniel Dumont and others could follow soon. And then we did this:

Early in the morning on June 14 (the day before the draft), the Raccoons traded for BOS MR Ed King, 35, a gutsy veteran lefty. We sent over MR Tim Moss, so this was lefty for lefty. Moss’ ERA is over eight, but he still has a few more years left than King, who will be a free agent at the end of this season. King is 2-1 with a 1.65 ERA this season. King spent 11 seasons with the Bayhawks and ended up in Boston only this season. He has appeared in 642 games and has 355 saves with a 2.34 ERA. He will be 36 in July.

King arrived just in time for the game that night with Carlos Gonzalez pitching. Old Bob Hillier opposed him (2-4, 3.74 ERA), and was roughed up in a 3-run first inning. With the score 6-0, Hillier was pinch-hit for in the bottom 3rd, and the Raccoons piled them on, 8-0 after four, and 10-0 after five, aided by misplays and a balk by reliever Francisco Roman. Gonzalez clicked off batters and innings at alarming speed. He came to bat with Jose Sanchez on second base and two down in the ninth and was left in to bat. He hit an RBI single to make it 11-0, then stepped on the mound for the bottom 9th. Up until then, the Cyclones had landed only two hits against him, and while Robert Harris singled to short left in the inning, Gonzalez ended the game with a strikeout to Jesus Galindo. A shutout out of the blue!! 11-0 Raccoons! A. Sanchez 2-6, HR, 3B, 2 RBI; Hall 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Osanai 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; J. Sanchez 3-4, BB, 2B; Johnston 2-4, 2B; Gonzalez 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, W (5-7) and 1-4, RBI;

All starters had at least one hit in the game in an impressive hitting display. With the middle of the order, Hall, Osanai, Dawson, and even Dadswell all mildly warm to really hot, this is a run machine. The pitching has to become more reliable. In any case, this was Carlos Gonzalez’ first big league shutout!

Another game left in Cincy, on the day of the draft. Logan Evans went out, facing Jim Harrington. While the Furballs went up 1-0 early, it was also apparent early on that Evans was out of whack again, unable to get ahead in the count, and the Cyclones tied the game in the bottom 1st. A key moment came in the bottom 3rd, the game still tied. Leadoff hitter Miramao Hino singled to left and then engaged in a long string of pickoff tries by Evans, who held him close enough so that when Hino finally set out to steal, he was thrown out by Dadswell. Osanai and Dadswell worked together for the go-ahead run in the top 4th and Dadswell punched out another stealer in the bottom 4th to keep it at 2-1. But Dadswell did not get Hino when he was the leading engine in a successful double steal in the bottom 6th. Hino scored on a sac fly by Santiago Gonzalez to tie the game. That was it for Evans, but Dirk Campbell let the runner on second score and Evans was on the hook, but not for long. With one out in the seventh, Dadswell and Jose Sanchez hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game again. Ed King made his Raccoons debut along the way, getting the final out in the bottom 8th. Still at 3-3, Dawson hit a leadoff double in the ninth. Dadswell was waved through and Jose Sanchez was supposed to bunt, but failed, then hit an 0-2 single off Harrington. Bases loaded, nobody out. And didn’t score! Johnston got Dawson forced at home with a grounder, PH Martinez popped out, and Armando Sanchez flew out to center. Cunningham forced extra innings, which gave Daniel Hall (0-3, BB) and his hitting streak new life, since he was up second in the top 10th. Thompson singled his way on ahead of him, and Hall lobbed a really weak ball into short center, where it found a way to drop safely. Dadswell drove in Thompson with two outs to bring out Grant West with a 4-3 lead. Osanai was pulled for defense with Perez in at second and Thompson moving to first – and that move was gold. Bob Strickland sent a fast grounder up wide of first that Osanai in all likelihood would not have gotten, but the agile Thompson did. Strickland was out. West turned in a 1-2-3 save, 4-3 Raccoons! Osanai 2-5, 2B; Dawson 2-5, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 3-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; J. Sanchez 2-5, 2B, RBI; Gaston 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

So, Dannyboy’s streak at 17; we have played Cincy three years straight, and went 2-1 three years straight, and we are FINALLY back in the winning zone at 33-32.

The Raccoons sent Marcos Costello to AAA and called up Daniel Dumont.

The draft will happen right here, but will be analyzed in the next post. Here we will complete the road trip into Vancouver and Milwaukee.

Raccoons (33-32) @ Canadiens (34-29)

For the opener, Armando Sanchez got a day off, which put Dumont right into things in right, and Weber in center. We still had seven games (four here) to play before an off day. Daniel Hall and Mark Dawson were earmarked for off days, too, possibly in game 2. Everybody else but Tetsu Osanai was cycling through things pretty regularly anyway.

A Dani Perez sac fly got the Coons ahead in the top 2nd of the opener of the 4-set. Kisho Saito came up with runners on the corners and two down, but singled in another run. Jose Sanchez, batting leadoff today, singled to fill the bags, and Dumont walked on a full count. Daniel Hall also went to a full count, and also walked! Carlos Lozano then punched out Osanai, who had started the inning with a single. Saito looked locked in early on, and probably was, but was taken deep with solo home runs by RF Miguel Guzman in the fifth and 2B Hector Atilano in the sixth. But Saito struck out the side (nicking a batter in between) in the seventh before yielding to a pinch hitter in the eighth. The Raccoons left them loaded there, and two on in the ninth, but Cunningham and West held the Canadiens short to save the 4-2 win. Osanai 2-4, BB; Weber 3-4; Saito 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W (6-5) and 1-3, RBI;

Daniel Hall extended his hitting streak with a single in the sixth, but was left on.

Hall and Dawson were both left out of game 2. Dadswell batted third and Glenn Johnston fifth to start with five lefties and six in total against right-hander Tia Fa. Scott Wade fell behind 1-0 in the second, but what is so likeable at Wade is that he can kick it up a notch at times. The Canadiens put two in scoring position with one out in the third, and Wade punched out Atilano, not a guy to K easily, before surrendering Art Garrett on a pop to short. The Raccoons left guys in scoring position in most innings. In the fifth then, Armando Sanchez singled to start things of. He stole second (10th bag on the season and second in the game), then advanced on a wild pitch with Winston Thompson still at the plate. Thompson scored Sanchez with a sac fly, 1-1 tied game. Then they left two in scoring position. Wade had to take matters into his own hands at the plate, doubling in Daniel Dumont in the sixth for a 2-1 lead, and the Coons then added two runs with a freak double between everybody by Dadswell and a passed ball to Carlos Gonsales, 4-1. That was cut back to 4-3 by Brian Adams’ 2-run homer in the bottom 6th, though. It was 5-3 going to the bottom 9th. West was unavailable and we went with Wally Gaston to close out the game. He collected an out, a walk, and hit batter, and was removed for David Jones to face lefty Pedro Mora, but Vancouver countered with Ramón Carrillo, a .229 righty. Jones punched him out on a full count, but that brought up Teo Colón, who already had a triple in the game. Campbell and a still sweaty Cunningham in the pen – Jones went after Colón. Colón homered to center, and the Canadiens walked off. 6-5 Canadiens. A. Sanchez 2-4, BB; Johnston 2-5; J. Sanchez 2-5; Dumont 2-5, 2B;

This bullpen … this bullpen …!

Game 3 saw the Raccoons 1-0 up in the second. The run was unearned as Ramon Gonzalez dropped Tetsu Osanai’s flyball for a 2-base error to lead things off. Venegas was taken very deep by Adams in the fourth with a runner on, but Daniel Hall tied it in the fifth with a double. Two on, two out, Osanai up, he fell ten feet short of the fence and instead made the final out. Bottom 6th, two down, runner on third for the Canadiens, Venegas was replaced with Bentley with righty Carlos Gonsales up, but Bentley gave up a single and the run. It was the winning run. The Raccoons drew a few more walks, but all fly balls to the outfield were caught and they ended up 5-hit. 3-2 Canadiens. Hall 2-4, 2B, RBI;

This was the 300th career save for Rick Evans. I was not able to feel much joy for him.

Hall got the hitting started early in the final game, a 1-out single in the first inning, which brought his streak to 20 games, tying the longest streak in the ABL this season (now jointly held with the Indians’ Jorge Salazar). They still didn’t score, because Osanai grounded into a double play with perfect accuracy. An error by Jose Sanchez at short scored an unearned run for the Canadiens in the bottom 2nd to put Carlos Gonzalez behind. Dawson tied the game when he scored on a 2-out single by Vinson, before the Coons left the bases loaded in the fourth, preceding a 3-run inning by the Canadiens that chopped Gonzalez apart, as he surrendered ten hits over five frames. Bottom 6th, and Jones loaded the bags with one out. Great, really. Campbell got two strikeouts from the Canadiens, but not before throwing a wild pitch to score another run. David Vinson hit his first big league home run in the losing effort in the ninth. 6-3 Canadiens. Dawson 2-4, 2B; Perez 2-4; Vinson 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

That killed the last chance in the division. The Indians were going strong and now were already nine games away. Also, Ed King left with a severy fingernail injury. Oh, greatness.

Raccoons (34-35) @ Loggers (31-38)

The Loggers were on fire, with four wins in a row and a huge jump back into the middle of the division in the last month. 1B Isto Grönholm was on a 16-game hitting streak, right on Daniel Hall’s heels.

The opener was the second big league start for Ray Burnett (0-1, 15.00 ERA). The Raccoons – not unsurprisingly – failed to get a bat on him early on. 1-1 through three, the game saw them load the bags on an error by Burnett and two singles, and nobody out, in the top 4th. Logan Evans was up and flew out to short left, forcing Jose Sanchez to hold. Thompson, batting leadoff came up and with Burnett having bad control, we were hoping for a walk, but he singled to left to the same effect, but that was it in the inning. Evans started the bottom 4th with a triple to 3B Jesus Jimenez. Next up, Jordan Archer flew out to Armando Sanchez in short right. Jimenez made for home, but Sanchez got in a perfect throw to Dadswell, who planted himself in the way of Jimenez, who knocked him over, but Dadswell held on to the ball and Jimenez was OUT!! While the Raccoons were unable to hurt Burnett, Evans was blown up in the sixth, putting four men on (and logically one man in) without getting an out. The Coons got behind, and they stayed there, losing 5-4. A. Sanchez 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-4, HR, RBI; Johnston 2-4;

While Isto Grönholm got a hit to destroy Logan Evans in the sixth, Daniel Hall was hung out dry by Burnett and the rest of the pack to end his hitting streak at 20 games. Oh, greatness.

We ran into Judd Montgomery in the middle game. Him and Kisho Saito were trading little ovals through five and a half. On the way there, Saito bunted into double plays twice, erasing two of the three base runners the Furballs had, and ending both innings. Montgomery in turn singled in the bottom 6th and the Loggers broke up Saito in the inning with a run. An RBI double by Osanai tied the game again in the top 7th. Bottom 8th, still tied. Vinson threw out a runner for the second out. Jim Wood then rolled to Thompson, who threw to Osanai, who dropped the ball. Next: Grönholm. Home Run. 3-1 Loggers, Raccoons 5-hit. Johnston 2-3; Saito 8.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, L (6-6);

The Raccoons led 3-1 in the bottom 4th when a throwing error (on, granted, a very difficult play) put two runners in scoring position with nobody out, and the lead evaporated away from Wade. But if Dawson doesn’t try to make the play, the runners hold on first and second, and their two sac flies score only one. But misery is miserable, and so the game was tied, 3-3, until Osanai broke it up with a 2-out RBI single in the seventh. The Coons could have scored so much more, hadn’t Armando Sanchez hit into a double play ahead of Osanai. Grönholm came up with two out and one on in the bottom 7th. Wade was removed for Cunningham, who was singled off, but then retired Jimenez. Mr. Moustache pitched the eighth and West saved it with two K’s for a 4-3 win. Thompson 1-2, 3 BB; Johnston 2-5; A. Sanchez 2-5; Osanai 2-5, 2 RBI; Dadswell 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI;

In other news

June 20 – SFW LF/RF Alex White (.333, 3 HR, 14 RBI) goes down for the second time this season, this time for good with a fractured elbow.
June 20 – Las Vegas’ Mark Allen (.335, 11 HR, 48 RBI) will miss about two weeks with a strained hamstring.

Complaints and stuff

I had planned with Moss to be the utility lefty, but he was not cutting it this season after an outstanding 1987. At that point we were 6.5 games out and I thought that King would give us necessary consolidation in the bullpen. He will be allowed to move on at season’s end in all likelihood.

At one point during the road trip, the once fearsome Engjell Vulaj was placed on waivers. The Buffaloes tried to get rid of him. They had signed a dangerous powerful .280 hitter at age 32 for 5-yr, $3.3M, but now they had a 33-yr old .230 hitter who couldn’t find the fence with binoculars.

Daniel Hall was above Tetsu in terms of average for half a game, but since then has been silenced entirely, going 0-9 against the Loggers.

Strange occurrences: MIL Jesus Jimenez failing to bowl over Sam Dadswell decisively enough to score in that game came about ten minutes after NYM Daniel Murphy failed to slam MIA Rob Brantly into the dust enough to walk off the Mets in the 12th. That game is now in the 18th and I am pretty tired.

[Westheim]

1988 AMATEUR DRAFT

The Raccoons’ first pick will be at #20, the next won’t come until #93! That’s bad, and makes the first one the more important. The interesting players have been outlined before, but I find it odd that the #1 draftee according to BNN, SP Orlando Blanco, isn’t on my list at all.

With their first pick the Pacifics selected SP Angel Romero, who would have been my first choice as well. Oh, well. 18 more next-first picks to lose before we can pick. Blanco was selected 12th overall by the Falcons. His career will be interesting to follow, if there will be one.

The Raccoons picked the following players:
Round 1 (#20) – LF Edgar Morris, 17, from Odessa, TX – not much in the way of agility, but is projected to develop into a killing batter – by our scouts. OSA says he should become an accountant in order not to starve.
Round 2 (#93) – INF Steve Caddock, 18, from North Little Rock, AR – high contact and gap power, plus very good defense and all infield positions covered, the only things missing are home run power and speed, where he is scouted about average.
Round 3 (#117) – MR John Smith, 17, from Pueblo, CO – truly ugly stuff with a devastating curveball, has closer potential.
Round 4 (#141) – C Freddy Lambert, 20, from Blacksburg, SC – excellent behind the dish, less optimal besides it, his hitting could keep him away from the bigs.
Round 5 (#165) – LF/RF Chih-tui Jin, 18, from Tainan, Taiwan – not much in the way of athleticism or range, but a promising bat.
Round 6 (#189) – LF/RF Jose Garcia, 20, from Cordoba, Mexico – future as a batter is reported as bleak, but I see a tiny sliver of silver lining in there, and his defense is good and he also has some speed.
Round 7 (#213) – SS Pedro Galván, 17, from Mexico City, Mexico – very talented defensive shortstop, but he doesn’t play other positions, and while he makes contact occasionally, he’s basically blind at the plate.
Round 8 (#237) – SP Jesse Novak, 19, from San Diego, CA – four pitches, all quite raw
Round 9 (#261) – MR Jesus Lizaso, 18, from Cumana, Venezuela – promising curveball, horrible control
Round 10 (#285) – SP Sterling Burns, 20, from Paradise, NV – four pitches, all raw, arm power is there, but the movement is rather weak.

All players were assigned to the A level team. I'm not very happy with this class.

[Westheim]

We have another string of right-handed starters opposing us for this homestand. This puts Dani Perez in a dangerous spot. A one-position righty struggling with the bat, and with options …

Raccoons (35-37) vs. Bayhawks (31-41)

We skipped back to Carlos Gonzalez to start the series thanks to an off day. Venegas had not done much in his last few starts. The Bayhawks sent out Chris O’Keefe (1-0, 8.56 ERA), who was handed a 2-0 lead fabricated by the Bayhawks offense, Gonzalez, and Sam Dadswell in about equal parts in the top 1st. With the bases loaded in the bottom 1st (three walks by O’Keefe), Mark Dawson hobbled a 3-1 pitch to short for an inning-ending double play. Gonzalez’ day lasted only into the third inning, when the heavens came down for a delay of more than one hour. The Bayhawks added six runs in the fifth, five on Gaston, the latter three of which were given up by Ed King with a Jack Jackson grand slam. I cried the rest of the way in the 11-3 nightmare, in which the Raccoons didn’t score until the ninth, a 3-run homer by Dadswell. Dawson 2-4; Martinez (PH) 1-1; Dumont (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Ed King left the game with a girly-girl injury again, this time a finger blister. Venegas pitched the last two innings in the game (still better than rotting on the bench), but surrendered three runs. Both him and Gonzalez will be culled at the deadline.

In fact, we made the following move right now: Carlos Gonzalez was demoted to AAA for Jason Turner to come up. He was 9-2 with a 3.38 ERA in AAA ball, and deemed ready. Turner would either start the last game in this series or the first against the Falcons.

We also demoted Wally Gaston (6.43 ERA), who waived his 10/5 rights, to bring back Juan Martinez.

Game 2, Logan Evans starting. The walk machine was on, and Evans spent his whole outing behind in the count, surrendering four runs (three earned) over 5.2 innings. The Raccoons left one or two runners in scoring position or grounded into killing double plays in four of the first five innings, and in six overall in the game. They accordingly went down, 6-2, again. Johnston 2-5, 2B, RBI; J. Sanchez 3-4; Dadswell 2-4;

Throwing a stop on the Bayhawks with Kisho Saito failed early on, too. Four hits in the first two innings, yet scoreless, were followed by a 3-run third with a homer to Cesar Cruz and a 2-out error by Jose Sanchez that went on to cost two runs. Striking out eight didn’t help him a bit, he was crushed again in the seventh inning. Armando Sanchez threw out a runner at the plate to keep the score at 4-0 in that inning. Fans left when the Bayhawks added three on Jason Bentley, who ended the seventh, but had all four batters he faced in the eighth reach base, including three walks, as they had given up on these 1988 Raccoons. They lost 7-2, the only runs stemming from a Mark Dawson homer in the eighth. Osanai 2-3, BB; J. Sanchez 2-4;

That’s 24 runs against a last-place team. 13 were against starting pitching in 16.1 innings. 11 came against the bullpen in 10.2 innings.

They scored seven. In 27 innings.

Raccoons (35-40) vs. Falcons (39-35)

Now for a team that actually has a winning record.

Jason Turner made his major league debut for a team that was in full disintegration mode in the opener of this series. It was an uncelebratory debut, the ballpark was half empty, and I wasn’t blaming Monday night for it. Osanai’s homer in the bottom 2nd pulled him even with Dawson for the team lead with 13, and gave Turner a 1-0 lead, but the Falcons jumped on him in the third with three runs, and was broken for good in the sixth. His line read a sad 5.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, and he took the loss despite batting for an RBI double in his first big league AB. The Falcons won, 5-3, and the Raccoons were 5-hit. Dumont (PH) 1-1;

The Raccoons are 1-9 again for their last ten games.

A leadoff jack by Armando Sanchez had the Raccoons sniff the smell of leading for half an inning, before Scott Wade was rolled up for two in the second. Charlotte starter Joe Ellis was out of control for a while and the Raccoons scored three in the bottom 2nd, but left the bases loaded. After the early trouble, Scott Wade settled in and went eight innings with little problems, but also without great stuff, and the defense had to make a few nice plays behind him. The Coons missed a chance to break it up in the bottom 7th, leaving runners on the corners, and did the same in the eighth. Grant West came in with the 4-2 lead, having pitched in the losing effort the day before. He punched out two in a perfect inning. 4-2 Raccoons. A. Sanchez 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Thompson 0-1, 4 BB; Dawson 2-5; Osanai 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Dumont (PH) 1-1; Wade 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (8-3) and 1-3;

One more at home before hitting the road, which at least improves things a bit: if the home team is actually *winning* people don’t throw their half-eaten hot dogs at your rightfielder.

Venegas went out for the last goodbye, was shelled for three early, and had his ticket to St. Petersburg already booked by phone. The Coons had the bags loaded against young phenom Ricardo Medina (4-5, 2.20 ERA; how record and ERA could fit together was also part of the phenom) in the bottom 2nd with no outs. All runners scored on a wild pitch and two groundouts to second base. An error by Osanai got the Falcons started in the third, but Venegas contributed most heavily to the nightmare. Bases loaded with one out, he walked a run in, and after a foul popout to Osanai, he walked Medina for another run. That was it for him, his suitcase was already packed. Dirk Campbell got the final out to keep the score 5-3 Falcons. Then there was the Daniel Hall story. Since his 20-game hitting streak he was performing as well as a 220 pound bag of molded apples. He left two on in the third. Winston Thompson’s RBI single made it a 5-4 game in the fifth and Hall came up with two on and two out. He grounded out very poorly. Bottom 8th. The team trailed 7-4, Osanai drew a leadoff walk, and Hall was up. Armando Davala drilled him to safe Hall from another embarrassment. Sam Dadswell reached on an infield single. Nobody out, go-ahead run coming to the plate, but Glenn Johnston had gone 0-3 in the game and was matched by the lefty Davala. But I had a hinch that he would to great things. It became an RBI groundout. I have to analyze my hinches more thoroughly. Perez made another out before Jose Sanchez pinch hit for Juan Martinez. Sanchez singled into short left aided by poor defense. 7-6, two on, two out for Armando Sanchez. He grounded to Emmanuele Bedeschi at third for the final out. Cunningham pitched a scoreless ninth and Thompson reached on an error to start the bottom 9th. Tying run at the plate, Dawson, Osanai, Hall up. But wait, Hall never came up. Dawson grounded into a double play, and Osanai flew out harmlessly. 7-6 Falcons. Osanai 3-4, BB; Dadswell 2-3, BB; J. Sanchez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Campbell 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; J. Martinez 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

In other news

June 23 – LAP SS Mike McCain (.283, 2 HR, 30 RBI) suffered a broken hand and will be out until August.
June 24 – MIL 1B Isto Grönholm (.316, 10 HR, 40 RBI) gets his hitting streak to 20 games with a 4th inning single against the Knights in a 7-6 loss.
June 27 – Grönholm’s hitting streak ends at 22 games in a 4-3 loss to Oklahoma.

Complaints and stuff

Just as the fans have given up on this team, everybody should. They suck. THEY SUCK. It HAS to be spelt in capital letters, because they SUCK.

We will now be looking for trades for all players in the mid-to-end phase of their career. I’m still debating with myself whether there should be a few exceptions.

Oh, yeah. Wally Gaston has 2.1 scoreless innings in AAA. Carlos Gonzalez’ first start: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K;

[Charlie Hough]

Welcome back! It's good to know that Wally Gaston's career will continue. And please keep us updated on Sterling Burns. Since he has four pitches and some velocity, it will be interesting to see if he can develop as a longshot prospect and become a solid starting pitcher.

[Westheim]

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

DO NOT COPY

Players to be shipped off for prospects / rookies:
OF Armando Sanchez
INF Sergio Martinez
INF Jose Sanchez
INF Winston Thompson
C Sam Dadswell
SP Carlos Gonzalez
SP Alejandro Venegas
MR Richard Cunningham
MR Jason Bentley
MR David Jones

One of the following to be included:
SP Kisho Saito
SP Logan Evans

Up to two of the following to be included:
OF Daniel Hall (best leadership)
INF Tetsu Osanai (best production)
CL Grant West (most popular)
INF/OF Mark Dawson (best combo)
- Inclusion depends on weighing leadership and production values against return values; every young team needs *some* kind of backbone.

Rotation can be filled with ageless Jerry Ackerman and another AAA pitcher (several options), bullpen options, esp. from the right side, are aplenty in AAA. Might need to acquire an experienced big league infielder (all four pos.) or retain Winston Thompson (quite cheap for high OBP and top defense)

Goal: win the division in 1991 without committing suicide along the way.

CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT COPY!!

[Charlie Hough]

The Raccoon fan base has been writing letters to the editor of the local sports page and calling into the sports talk programs on the local AM radio station to demand that the team focus less on defense and more strictly on offense and pitching in the future. Let's get more power in the lineup, some more bats, some good starting pitchers, and not worry so much about the defense in the field!

An above average five-tool player probably isn't going to help the cause as much as a great power and gap hitter with a good eye at the plate but mediocre defense and speed. At least that's what some fans are saying.

[Westheim]

There are as many people calling in to compare them to the score-lots-cant'-defend Trail Blazers of recent times.

Well, at least the Trail Blazers make the playoffs every year.

[blazertaz13]

Originally Posted by Westheim

There are as many people calling in to compare them to the score-lots-cant'-defend Trail Blazers of recent times.

Well, at least the Trail Blazers make the playoffs every year.

Well, since I live near Portland, I can back this up. It was a true until about 7 years ago, then things went south. I believe they have had only two trips in the past seven seasons.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by blazertaz13

Well, since I live near Portland, I can back this up. It was a true until about 7 years ago, then things went south. I believe they have had only two trips in the past seven seasons.

Well, I questioned Wikipedia about stuff inside and outside of Portland. I don't know a single thing about professional basketball anyplace (although actually the district I live in actually has *two* teams in the top level German league, and that district only ranks top in emptiness, loneliness, and patheticness...)

I heard, in basketball the scores tend to be a bit higher than in baseball. Is that actually true?

-----

On the field, we had three more series before the All Star Game, including consecutive 4-sets on the East Coast, and then three at home against the #1 in our division. Yay, looking forward…

Raccoons (36-42) @ Crusaders (31-46)

Game 1. Logan Evans and Francisco Vidrio were two lefties just over 3.50 in ERA, but they performed on opposite ends of the scale. Evans settled in after a shaky (and almost catastrophic) first inning, while Vidrio was bombed for six runs through four. Evans held the 6-1 lead through seven innings, going out with a K to Raúl Castillo. Cunningham and Jones both were shaky in their innings late in the game, but the Crusaders came up short both times. 6-1 Raccoons. Hall 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Dawson 2-4, 2B, RBI; Evans 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (6-7);

Kisho Saito went in game 2. While the Raccoons blew all their chances to score early, Saito was perfect into the fourth, until Mark Dawson’s error put the first Crusader on. Saito then walked two straight and finally surrendered a long 2-run single to left. Mark Dawson momentarily tied it with a huge home run in the fifth, but Saito fell behind again the same inning after a wild pitch moved a runner to third and he scored on a the next single. In the top 6th, Sergio Martinez hit a leadoff double and with one out, Kisho Saito hit an infield single. Thompson tied the game with a 2-out single, but they left two more on, and Saito fell behind yet again in the bottom 6th. The Crusaders dropped good chances to score against the bullpen, while the Raccoons didn’t get anybody up in the late innings. 4-3 Crusaders. Thompson 2-5, RBI; Dawson 3-4, 2 RBI; S. Martinez 2-4, 2 2B;

David Vinson had played the last two games, had not even remotely made contact, and was demoted to AAA, batting .190 now. Andy Reed was called up for a last hurrah.

Jason Turner made his second start in the third game, pitching behind in the count almost all the time. For that, he evaded heavy damage a long time. The Raccoons first put a 4-spot (three earned) on Travis Newton in the third, and led 5-0 after four. The Crusaders scored one run in the sixth on equal parts uncontrolled tossing and Dadswell being unable to stop merely decent base stealer Pedro Villa from going from second to third (which he did for the second time in the series). That was all the Crusaders put on Turner, despite being walked five times. The bullpen held up and the Coons added two in the ninth for a 7-1 win. Thompson 2-5; Osanai 2-3, RBI; Perez 1-2, RBI;

Game 4 was Andy Reed’s first in the Bigs since 1985, and he started off by working hard to break a 1-0 lead to Scott Wade in the bottom 2nd, throwing wildly for an error on a steal attempt. Wade was able to wiggle through the mess still ahead. Through seven innings, the Raccoons had merely two hits against Yasuhiko Eida, and Wade did what he could. Great help on defense came from Glenn Johnston, Daniel Hall, and Mark Dawson, who if not hitting, at least all made great inning-ending plays with men in scoring position. Eida finally came apart in the eighth. Kelly Weber singled to start the inning, but with two out was still only on second. Daniel Hall drove him in with a single, and the Coons soon loaded the bags drawing walks. They scored two, leaving the bags full. Wade also ran out of steam, unable to get the final out in the eighth. One run scored and the tying run came to the plate. Ed King came in to face the lefty Edward Snyder. A passed ball on Reed didn’t make things easier. The next pitch was wild, the runner scored, and then Snyder doubled. I had enough, King and Reed were both removed from the game. Too late. Cunningham gave up the game-tying double to Diego Rodriguez. One out in the top 9th, two walks and a single filled the bags with Brownshirts. Winston Thompson, the greatest walker of them all, came up. He walked, and Osanai added a 2-out 3-run double. 7-3 Raccoons, a win tainted by inability. Thompson 0-2, 3 BB, RBI; Weber 3-4, RBI; Wade 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K;

The last at-bat heroic by Osanai just in time extended a blossoming hitting streak to 13 games.

Raccoons (39-43) @ Titans (39-44)

Alejandro Venegas and Bob MacGruder went up in the opener, two pitchers with 5+ ERA’s, who to everybody’s surprise traded zeroes for a while. The Raccoons squeezed in one run on a sac fly by Dawson in the top 4th, then had two on with Venegas batting and nobody out in the fifth. Venegas bunted up the left foul line, and 3B Kelly Carpenter blew the play, everybody was safe. Thompson came through with a 2-run double and Jose Sanchez scored another run with a groundout, 4-0. Of course, Venegas collapsed the instant he came out for the bottom 5th, tumbled into the sixth, but was removed there. Hall made a monster play to collect the final out there, holding on to a 4-3 lead. Dawson upped it with a solo shot in the seventh, and the bullpen almost blew the 5-3 lead in the bottom 8th. Cunningham held on to it with two runners in scoring position already. West pitched a perfect ninth. 5-3 Raccoons. Thompson 2-4, 2B, BB, 2 RBI; Hall 2-5; Johnston 2-4; Dadswell 2-4, 2B;

Osanai’s hitting streak ended here, being blanked out, 0-4.

In Jorge Valdes (12-1, 2.11 ERA) the Raccoons would have a tough nut to crack in the second game. Logan Evans held the game at 1-1 through four, and Valdes was removed in the fifth due to viciously ill control elevating his pitch count quickly. Four walks and two nicked batsmen were included in the package. Evans contributed equally well at the plate, going 3-3, including driving in two runs in the fifth. In the bottom 5th, he left with an injury. Shock. Juan Martinez and Bentley went long ways in relief and held on to a 6-2 win, but an injury to Logan Evans would foil our plans in plenty of ways. Osanai 4-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Perez 2-5, 3B, 2B, RBI; Evans 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K and 3-3, 2B, 2 RBI; J. Martinez 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-0); Bentley 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Dawson had gotten rest in the last game, Hall got in the next. Armando Sanchez was being benched infrequently right now for a hitting slump. But we had those promising youngsters in the outfield, and they needed space to play.

Opposing the Coons in game 3 was Charles Young, who was about as erratic as back in 1985, when we chased him away. He walked Thompson and Johnston to start the game. Dawson singled to left. Then they popped up until the inning was over. Agony. They failed to hit Young for like forever and with Kisho Saito as good as one can be, the game remained scoreless until the sixth, when the Titans chewed up Saito with three straight 2-out singles. Saito was pinch-hit for to start the eighth. Weber singled to right, and Thompson drew a walk to put pressure on Young. Then they ****ed up – AGAIN. They left two on in the eighth and two on in the ninth and ended up shut out by no other crapshoot pitcher than Charles Young. Unbelievable. 1-0 Titans. Saito 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, L (6-9);

I may or may not have thrown a little tantrum there.

Game 4. Get it over with and back to the nice coast. Boston sported another ex-Coon, Kinji Kan, now 36 and with a shocking 6.67 ERA. Glenn Johnston used the opportunity to smash his first big league home run in the first inning, giving Jason Turner an early 2-0 lead. The bottom 1st became an instant nightmare. The Titans got their runs back and hit Turner every which way they pleased, socking him for six runs (two homers) in three innings. Still, he did not lose the game, since the Coons came back against Kan and a game-tying 2-out 2-run single by Dadswell knocked out Kan and tied the game at six in the fifth. David Jones covered FOUR innings in relief against a predominantly lefty lineup, needing only 42 pitches, and not allowing any damage. Tim Moss was brought in by the Titans in the eighth, and of course pitched in and out of trouble unharmed. Cunningham came in the bottom 8th and was socked off the mound right away. Closer Vicente Rubio walked the bases loaded in the top 9th. Of course they fell one run short and left the bases loaded. 9-8 Titans. Johnston 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Osanai 2-3, 2 BB; Dadswell 2-4, 3 RBI; Dumont (PH) 1-1, RBI; Jones 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Ugly.

More ugly below.

In other news

July 1 – The Indians will have to make do without middle infielder Angelo Duarte (.348, 3 HR, 32 RBI) for a while. The 26-year old is out with a strained oblique.
July 1 – SAL Vicente Torres (6-6, 3.81 ERA) 2-hits the Warriors in a 7-0 Wolves win.

Complaints and stuff

Tetsu Osanai was Player of the Week of the week ending July 2, going 12-26 with 1 HR and 6 RBI.

The latest news from the breakup front? Mark Dawson is vetoing trades. Gah. I was after Dallas infielder Matt Higgins, but can’t get the deal done without Dawson. Other talks are stalling, too. Nobody actually WANTS these suckers.

We also received an injury diagnosis for Logan Evans. Radial nerve compression. Season over.

Shoot me. $12.

[Westheim]

Welcome to The Culling

Step 2 in unloading your old veterans for young talent is identifying which players you want to go after.

DAL INF Matt Higgins
DEN C Tom Oliver
NAS CF Stan Williams
BOS SP Ryan Childs

Those are very interesting players to us. All are among the Top 50 prospects in the ABL.

But things are complicated. With Logan Evans out for the season, we can’t trade Saito anymore, since we still have to somehow get through the season. Venegas is to be dealt, but we have also lost two of our AAA starters. Luis Herrera is out for the season, and Kiyomitsu Sano won’t come back until September. Even trading Venegas will stretch us way thin. In AA, Miguel Lopez is out until September.

For Evans, Carlos Gonzalez was called up again. He had gone 1-2 with a 4.82 ERA in three starts in AAA, so we knew what to expect.

By the way, Daniel Hall of course also has 10/5 rights. So he will stay along with Dawson, which shoves Osanai and West towards the door.

We have an offer at the moment: Armando Sanchez for Tom Oliver (see above). But Sanchez could be a type A free agent. Could I be better off trying a 2-for-1 for Oliver with other players and let him go as a free agent after the season?

To make me cry even more, Matt Higgins was hurt just before the All Star break and could not be traded anymore.

In any case I decided not to strike any deals before the All Star game (after the next series), just for the vanity to have these guys as Coons in the game (if any make it). Vanity kills.

Ah, so many problems!!

Raccoons (41-45) vs. Indians (52-34)

The Indians were by now far, far ahead of the Raccoons. The outcome of this series was not to significantly change anything. Carlos Gonzalez had last started a game three days before the series opener, fitting him right into Evans’ slot and making him the game 3 starter after Wade and Venegas (unless the latter would be traded before his start).

The Raccoons left the bases loaded in the first inning of the opener, before Hall and Dawson doubled in the third for a 1-0 lead. An error by Dumont cost that lead in the sixth, while Scott Wade was pitching his heart out. Wade came to bat with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom 6th, batting some .270 was left in, and struck out, then brought in the go-ahead run for the Indians with a throwing error in the seventh. Osanai’s sac fly in the bottom 7th tied it again. Wade pitched through the eighth. Can we buy this boy some offense, please? The bottom 8th started well with an error by 2B Enrico Lopez. Dadswell was removed for Sergio Martinez to pinch-run (and you know how rarely I do that), but he was left at second, when starter Jesse Carver struck out Dumont and Johnston to end the inning. The game went to extra innings, where the Indians overwhelmed Dirk Campbell and defeated the Coons, 4-2. Hall 2-5; Dawson 2-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Wade 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K;

We did not get a trade together in time for Venegas, so he went out to face Robert Vazquez, who had half his ERA. He fell behind in the second, where RF Raúl Vazquez stole second with Reed making a bad thrown, and third with Reed making no throw. 1-0 Indians, and a ticket on waivers for Reed. Venegas went six, gave up four runs, and the Raccoons were dominated by Vazquez, who struck out eight in a 3-hitter through seven. Johnston led off the bottom 8th with a single. Weber added a single. Perez pinch hit for the pathetic Reed and walked. Bases loaded, no outs, tying run to the plate, which was Armando Sanchez pinch hitting in the #9 spot. He popped out. Thompson struck out, both on a full count. Vazquez was pulled for Tim Hess, a righty, so we pinch hit Dadswell for Jose Sanchez. Dadswell struck out and the Raccoons were defeated, 4-1. Osanai homered in the ninth, which was meaningless. Osanai 2-4, HR, RBI; Weber 2-3; J. Martinez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Daniel Hall homered in the first to give Gonzalez a lead, which evaporated in the fourth. Osanai made two errors early on and was pulled to get him out of the way. Gonzalez went eight innings and didn’t get a decision. The game again went to extra innings at 2-2. Jones pitched two innings in relief here, and the Coons loaded them up in the 11th against Hess. Dumont up with one out, but the Indians sent righty Josh Bridges. Both Dumont and Thompson popped out. Bottom 12th, Armando Sanchez with a leadoff double. The Indians walked Hall and Dawson intentionally, getting to Bentley with one out. Weber struck out for him, and Vinson popped out. Left the bases loaded with one out in extra innings at home – TWICE NOW. The next inning, they lined out thrice, and never progressed past first base anymore. Grant West lost in his third inning, the 15th overall, 4-2 Indians, swept. Thompson 2-6, BB, 2B; A. Sanchez 3-7, 2B, RBI; Dadswell 3-4, BB, 2B; Gonzalez 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K; Jones 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

What to do with such a team but shoot them, or cry, or both?

1988 All Star Game

The Raccoons had three position players in the mix, 1B Tetsu Osanai, 3B Mark Dawson, and CF Armando Sanchez. No pitchers, no surprise. Scott Wade (8-3, 3.03 ERA) was certainly closest to making it.

The Indians had five players in the game, the Canadiens four. In the FL, the Stars led with five, the Rebels had four.

The Continental League won 9-6 in 10 innings. No Coon started the game. Only Mark Dawson got a hit, going 1-2. He hit a leadoff homer in the 10th for the winning run.

Trading

On the day of the All Star game, the Raccoons dealt INF Jose Sanchez to Washington for AA SP Roberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 20, was a 10th round pick by the Stars in 1985, but has been developing very well since being picked up by the Capitals.

The night leading up to our home 4-game set against the Titans, we got another deal done, for the #1 name on the wish list. We acquired AAA INF Matt Higgins, 23, the 1985 11th overall pick, from Dallas, after he had overcome a bruised ankle. Higgins has great speed, great defense, plays all over the infield, never strikes out, and bats for high average and quite a few extra bases.

The prize was steep: MR Richard Cunningham, INF Sergio Martinez, and C Andy Reed.

Higgins goes to our big league roster right away. He’s ready. I think. He’s hitting .342 with 12 homers in 78 games in AAA.

In addition, INF Juan Ramirez, 31, international free agent acquired last winter, and MR Pedro Vazquez were moved up to the big leagues. Winston Thompson may now be our everyday shortstop and will be retained on the roster for the moment.

We’re not done selling.

Raccoons (41-48) vs. Titans (43-47)

Kisho Saito and Kinji Kan contested the Japanese Championships among (former) Coons here in game 1. Saito clearly emerged as winner from the duel, as the Raccoons put five on a struggling Kan with a few big doubles. 3B Kelly Carpenter drilled the Titans back into the game a few times in the game with three extra base hits, including a 2-piece for the only damage Saito allowed. The Raccoons jumped on reliever Holden Gorman for three more runs in the seventh and won, 8-3. Thompson 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI; A. Sanchez 2-4, RBI; Dawson 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Weber (PH) 1-2; Saito 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W (7-9) and 1-2, 2B, RBI;

Matt Higgins’ big league debut went a sad 0-3.

And here came the next…

Trades

After game one against Boston, the Raccoons finalized a deal with the Buffaloes, sending over MR David Jones and two minor leaguers for outfield prospect Neil Reece and veteran outfielder Jose Pacheco.

We had to take up Pacheco since the Buffaloes were over-budget. He has no place in the big leagues anymore. Aged 35, he’s done, and in the final year of a huge contract. Reece is the prize in here. But even better! We got on the line with the Stars yet again, and struck the following deal:

Outfielder Jose Pacheco is sent to Dallas for AAA SP Toru Fujita; this gives us much needed depth in starting pitching again, as Fujita will continue to report at the AAA level. And saves us some money.

Mike Shaw replaced Jones on the major league roster.

Raccoons (41-48) vs. Titans (43-47)

Game 2. Scott Wade dipped his ERA below three for a second, before surrendering two runs in the top 3rd. The Coons countered in the bottom of the inning. Weber, batting second for a day, singled. The next three batters all worked full counts. Hall walked, Osanai walked, Dawson doubled to right to tie the game. Johnston’s RBI single put the Coons on top. But Wade was not up to the task, surrendered five runs in five innings, and was only spared the loss because the Raccoons did the same to his opponent, Jorge Valdes. After that, the offenses were pathetic. The game remained tied, 5-5, and a 1-out double by Osanai in the bottom 9th was left unused when Vicente Rubio struck out the other three batters the Coons sent up. Vinson led off the bottom 10th with a double against Jose Ramirez. Higgins lined to 2B Manny Mora and Vinson was picked off the base. Killer. The Titans left them loaded in the top 11th against Bentley, while the Coons found another killing double play and THEN left two on in the bottom 11th. Top 12th. Walk from Bentley, runner stole second, then a BALK, and another WALK. I fell unconscious, missed Dirk Campbell (the last guy left in the pen) working through Bentley’s mess, getting into and out of another mess in the 13th, and Mark Dawson walking off the Coons happy in the 14th with a 2-run homer. 7-5 Raccoons. Osanai 4-6, BB, 2B; Dawson 2-7, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Johnston 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Vinson 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Shaw 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K; West 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Campbell 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, W (3-1);

The Raccoons ended a 14-game hitting streak owned by Zahid Mashwanis in this game.

Game 3, and Charles Young came our way again. Before he ever took the mound, Carlos Gonzalez threw 16 pitches, nicked a batter, fell behind, and left with an injury (or was not in the mood to continue, we’ll see). Venegas took over, pitched six innings of 1-run ball, and still couldn’t get in line for a W. Young stifled the Furballs again, leading 2-0 into the seventh. Dadswell broke up the SHO with a homer here, and Dumont came up with a pinch-hit RBI double to tie the game. Bottom 8th, Young to Armando Sanchez – leadoff triple! Hall didn’t mess around and singled him in. Osanai bombed Young into submission with a home run, and two reached before Perez came to bat. We brought Juan Ramirez to give the 31-year old rookie his first big league at bat. THREE-RUN HOME RUN TO LEFT!!! The park was silent for a moment, then rocked. Madness. Pedro Vazquez was raffled a bit in the ninth, but the Coons won, 8-4. Osanai 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Dadswell 2-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Ramirez (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; Dumont (PH) 1-2, 2B, RBI; Venegas 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K;

Game 4 was the major league debut of Boston’s Ryan Childs (who should have become a Coon if things would’ve gone my way) against our own struggling youngster Jason Turner. While Childs had the Coons under control, Turner was shelled and yanked in the fifth inning. The damage had been done and the Raccoons failed to come back. Puzzled by old wild knuckleballers, fooled by little kids. They lost 6-2. Dawson 3-4, HR, RBI; Dadswell (PH) 1-1, 3B; Shaw 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

And for more bad news, Carlos Gonzalez will miss a month with elbow inflammation.

In other news

July 10 – BOS SP Eric McCullough (4-6, 4.39 ERA), a 31-yr old ex-Coon, will be out until next season with a torn rotator cuff.
July 17 – SFW SP David Castillo (8-7, 2.71 ERA) is out for the season with a torn triceps.
July 18 – Shock in Pittsburgh, as SP David Burke (7-9, 3.69 ERA) goes down with a torn UCL and will miss at least a full year. The 33-yr old is the all-time leader in shutouts with 35.
July 18 – Atlanta’s postseason hopes are dealt a blow as well with Carlos Asquabal (14-3, 1.88 ERA) hitting the DL with a herniated disc. He may be able to return this season.

Complaints and stuff

Don’t even ask how much my heart his bleeding.

Rich Cunningham is gone. The Stars actually refused to take Grant West, whom I offered first. Anyway, Matt Higgins is a nice replacement for Cunningham in terms of hideous moustaches. Profile below, OSA ranks him much better, and his performance at AAA really makes me think that he could end up around 16/6/14 (OSA).

I was after either Ryan Childs from the Titans system or another AA starter of theirs, but with McCullough going down, they shut down talks and Childs got the callup.

Mark Dawson is currently leading the CL in homers and ribbies. Ha. That guy knows why he refuses a trade, ain’t no home run park like Portland’s (or very few at least). He has 239 career dingers, first overall by 48 over Gabriel Cruz. But the latter didn’t make the majors until 1981 and is catching up. For your information, Tetsuuuuu isn’t better than 16th overall and 5th among all-time Coons on the list with 133 dingers. Ben Simon (retired in ’86) is 5th with 156 homers, Daniel Hall t-8th with 145, Armando Sanchez t-10th with 144, and then Osanai.

Sam Dadswell was the CL Player of the Week, going 6-9 with 1 HR and 1 RBI.

And then there’s Juan Ramirez, our Puerto Rican international free agent. He hit one dinger in 315 AB in AAA ball, and how special is a 3-run homer for your first major league at bat?? Heart-warming!

So my heart is bleeding warmly, apparently.

[Orcin]

It will be interesting to see how Higgins develops. I like the switch-hitting ability, versatility on defense, and speed. It looks like the intangibles are good too. He hits AAA pitching better than I would expect from his ratings. He doesn't strike out much, which seems to contradict his relatively ordinary 12/11 contact/eye potential. He is going to get a lot of infield hits by making contact and beating out the grounders. Let's see if he can learn to lay off the inside pitch instead of pulling everything.

[Westheim]

Next was a stretch of nine games, including six more at home, and then the start of a road trip to three CL South teams. And more culling, if possible.

Also, with Carlos Gonzalez hurt once again, we had to dig deeper into our (bleeding) system, and called up Jerry Ackerman once again. Ackerman, now 29, was 7-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 25 games (12 starts) at AAA, and also had two saves. Ackerman was to take over the spot vacated by Gonzalez, pitching the last game of the Loggers series.

Raccoons (44-49) vs. Loggers (38-55)

Kisho Saito went out to start the series, and was broken up in a messy fifth inning, the Raccoons dropping another early 1-0 lead. Judd Montgomery went eight for the Loggers, and while the Raccoons never trailed by more than two, Montgomery’s dominating performance made it feel like a 9-0 game by the sixth. Pedro Durán closed it out for Milwaukee, and the Raccoons lost, 4-2. Osanai 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Dumont 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Scott Wade turned in a gem in his start in the middle game, going eight frames of 3-hit, 1-run ball. He took the loss. A Tetsu Osanai double was all that stood between Neil Stewart and a no-hitter, and the Raccoons lost, 1-0. And it was a burning loss.

Jerry Ackerman had already spent parts of four seasons with the Raccoons. He was 23-27 with a 4.37 ERA in 90 games (65 starts) overall. Unless he could turn in a shutout, he would go to 23-28 in game 3. Too bad, he was behind 2-0 almost as soon as he took the mound. Ackerman’s start was not too bad, seven innings with four runs, but no walks, but that was enough to trail by four. Glenn Johnston’s 2-run homer in the bottom 7th gave the Raccoons some life they didn’t even deserve against a magnificient John Fowler. Then came the bottom 8th, and Hall led off with a pinch-hit single. Thompson added a single, and suddenly the tying runs were aboard. Armando Sanchez was punched out, and Mark Dawson found a way to collect the last two outs. They also put two on, with two out, in the bottom 9th against Durán. Kelly Weber pinch hit for Ramirez and singled to left to score Osanai. Winning run on first base. Grant West had pitched the ninth and was pinch hit for with Matt Higgins, who was 0-10 in his major league career. He struck out, the Raccoons lost (4-3), and were swept by the Loggers. Weber (PH) 1-1, RBI; Hall (PH) 1-1;

Raccoons (44-52) vs. Aces (49-48)

Venegas and Las Vegas’ Jarrod Schroeder were 0.07 apart in terms of ERA, which with ERA’s over five could make for an interesting outcome. Both teams started playing crapball of messy offense and defense at the same time. The Raccoons trailed 2-1 after the top 5th, but Mark Dawson hit the gong with a 2-run homer in the bottom 5th and they added three more runs off Schroeder in that inning. It was enough to win the game, 6-2. Hall 2-4; Dadswell 3-4, 2B; Dumont 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI;

The Aces did not put up a single right-handed bat (except for pitcher Jou Hara) in the middle game against Jason Turner. Hall made a pair of great plays early on to hold a 1-1 tie for Turner. He also filled the bags with a 2-out full count walk in the bottom 3rd. Kelly Weber grounded slowly up left, and 3B Ira Houston couldn’t make any play for an infield single and the Raccoons taking the lead. Hall made another great grab leading off the top 6th, still up 2-1, on a flyer just short of the base of the ball sent by “Icon” Allen. Turner went into the seventh before jamming, and Ed King got him out. The Coons added some more runs late in the game, and won 6-1. Thompson 2-4, BB; Sanchez 2-5, 2B; Hall 1-2, 3 BB, 2 RBI; Weber 2-5, RBI; Dadswell (PH) 1-1; Turner 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2-2);

The Raccoons did something strange in the last game, having a .000 batter in the leadoff spot. Andy Higgins went there, playing second base, with a .350 OBP. He broke that oh-for with a leadoff double, his first big league hit in 21 trips to the plate. Higgins was brought in to score and the Raccoons added two in the fifth, while Kisho Saito performed top notch. He held the Aces at bay into the ninth, where the shutout was broken up with two outs by Craig Knapp. Grant West collected the final out to save the win, 3-1. Higgins 2-3, 2B; Dadswell 2-4, 2B, RBI; Osanai 1-2, 2 BB; Sanchez (PH) 1-1; Saito 8.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (8-10);

In other news

July 20 – ATL SS Eddy Bailey (.279, 7 HR, 37 RBI) will miss time until early September with a groin strain.
July 20 – New York’s Domingo Alonso notches his 300th save in a 3-2 win over the Indians.
July 22 – Nashville’s SS Manuel Flores (.305, 0 HR, 29 RBI) has torn his ACL and won’t be back until next season.
July 24 – DAL SS Claudio Ayala (.337, 10 HR, 62 RBI) has pieced a 20-game hitting streak together.

Complaints and stuff

Matt Higgins’ unfortunate K with the winning run on base in the final game against Milwaukee not only dropped him to 0-11 in his career – it also dropped the Raccoons to 878-1,000 overall. They were the second team to go *there* after the Loggers, narrowly beating out the Titans (998 losses), Aces (995), and Pacifics (989).

We made an offer to Steve Walker, who was currently unsigned, since being let go as a free agent by the Knights. Yes, that Steve Walker. With all hope gone, and Higgins struggling in the Bigs, I want Walker to help us get through the season. He signed the contract on the morning of the final game against Vegas, and was placed with the AAA team for a few days to get warm – he hasn’t played professionally this season at all.

No culling this week, we couldn’t get trades for Sam Dadswell and a few others together. Armando Sanchez won’t be traded, I want the draft picks for next year. Ed King and Wally Gaston will also not be re-signed, but won’t be compensation eligible.

And they were swept by the Loggers, then swept the Aces? I will never understand baseball.