Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

The Raccoons were off on Monday and used that spare time to cry over Jesus Maldonado, who landed on the DL with a badly sprained ankle. Dr. Padilla guessed that he most likely would be out until the All Star Game, sticking a rusty knife right into my black little heart.

The Raccoons were extremely tempted to call up Arturo Carreno to play second base, with Cosmo to be shifted to third base. Carreno had been quite ho-hum last year in AAA, hitting .245/.329/.338, but this year he was up to hitting .310/.388/.428; of course there was competition, f.e. Nick Lando. (cough) We could always go back to the platoon at second base that had hit for about negative eleven runs in April.

There were other options, too. There was 2036 ninth-rounder Eric Cox, hitting .344 in 28 games (96 AB) in AAA, and he’d fill third base very competently. The other option was to pull de Wit in to play some third base, and bring up a capable defensive outfielder. Van Anderson, Jordan Gonzalez, and Stephon Nettles were all hitting precious little in AAA, however. Nettles was even the best of the bunch, batting .250.

In the end, we started with the last option. If de Wit crashed and burned after a week of regular play, we could still go the Carreno route. Nettles netted the promotion.

Raccoons (18-19) vs. Crusaders (21-15) – May 20-22, 2042

The first meeting of the year with the Crusaders was up. We had lost the season series two years in a row, both times 10-8, and were behind them in the division again. They were 3 1/2 games out, half of what the Raccoons were trailing first place by, and had the second-best offense and fourth-best counteroffense in the CL. Also, no injuries, which always helps, I hear.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (2-2, 4.11 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (2-4, 4.88 ERA)
Rich Willett (5-3, 2.28 ERA) vs. Juan Garcia (0-4, 3.50 ERA)
Josh Brown (4-1, 2.26 ERA) vs. Aaron Hickey (4-0, 2.64 ERA)

Monday was off for everybody, so who knew what would become of that right-left-right order…

Game 1
NYC: SS Adame – LF Besaw – C Alba – 2B Briones – CF Salek – RF Platero – 3B Sifuentes – P J. Johnson – 1B Rudd
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 3B de Wit – 2B Trevino – C Kilmer – P Jackson

The Crusaders popped up over the infield three times in the second inning, throwing away Mario Briones’ leadoff double and a walk to Jose Platero that came with one out. But while the inning died with the pitcher in the #8 spot, Tom Rudd then drew a leadoff walk in the third inning. A grounder to short replaced him with Alex Adame, who stole second and reached third on a shoddy throw by Jeff Kilmer. Joe Besaw plated him with a sac fly for the first run in the game, but Portland countered in the bottom 3rd. Cosmo hit a leadoff double, and Jackson reached with a harmless 1-out grounder that Rudd nevertheless managed to fudge into an error and runners on the corners. Berto tied the game with a sac fly, and Romero gave the Coons the lead with a homer to left, 3-1…!

Jackson allowed only one hit through five innings, but he sure continued to walk people. Ramon Sifuentes got a leadoff walk in the fifth, but was stranded, and Briones walked with two gone in the sixth. Rich Salek dropped a single into shallow right, and Briones dashed for third base, which he reached safely because Reyna’s throw from shallow right beaned him in the helmet. He seemed confused afterwards and was replaced with Kenny Elder as pinch-runner. Platero grounded out to de Wit to strand the tying runs on the corners. Top 7th, Sifuentes whacked a leadoff double to left, then was out at third base when he got a poor read on Jeff Johnson’s even poorer bunt, and the Crusaders failed to score again. The Coons then chimed in, stranding Cosmo after his leadoff double in the bottom of the inning… Jackson then got stuck in the eighth, giving up a homer to Fernando Alba, narrowing the lead to a skinny run, but Chuck Jones got out of the inning for him. Bottom 8th, Tony Hunter reached base, stole his 9th bag, and then saw Manny Fernandez walked intentionally. Miguel Reyna took it upon himself to put that wrong right and mashed a 3-piece to right-center that would hopefully teach the Crusaders (not), ending the day of Jeff Johnson. But despite a 4-run lead, the Raccoons managed to get Wyatt Hamill involved in the ninth inning, when Jon Craig allowed a hit to Sifuentes and walked Devin Phillips. Hamill got a double play grounder from Rudd to end the game. 6-2 Raccoons. Hunter 2-4, 3B; Trevino 3-4, 2 2B; Nettles (PH) 1-1; Jackson 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W (3-2);

Six in a row!

…and barely back to .500

Game 2
NYC: SS Adame – LF Besaw – C Alba – 2B Briones – CF Salek – RF Platero – 3B Sifuentes – P Hickey – 1B Rudd
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 2B Trevino – 3B de Wit – RF Cortes – C Wilson – P Willett

Another game against a righty on Wednesday, but first Willett got unwanted attention for drilling Adame out of the game right at the start of the game. Randolph Nash replaced him. Willett walked Besaw, then gave up a double steal by falling asleep and a 2-run single to Alba. Briones also walked, but then the Crusaders started to make outs, finally… But Willett remained wonky and seemed to have one of those off starts again…

The Raccoons took him off the hook, though, despite a slow start Jeff Wilson hit a solo jack in the third inning, cutting the gap in half, and Manny, Cosmo, and de Wit all snapped singles with one out in the fourth, tying the game. Platero’s throw to the plate was late, allowing the trailing runners to both reach scoring position. Hickey’s first pitch to Carlos Cortes then was wild, bringing in Cosmo with the go-ahead run, 3-2. Cortes popped out, Wilson walked walked intentionally, and Willett made the third out to Briones after that. But while Willett had held up for a couple of innings, he exploded in the sixth inning. Briones with the leadoff double, Salek with the score-flipping homer, and then another double right away by Platero. Bitterly, it was Hickey to land an RBI single to extend the Crusaders’ lead to 5-3, and when Rudd singled, Willett was yanked and thrown into the Willamette in disgust. Josh Rella retired Nash and Besaw without conceding another run, though, so the Raccoons still had a chance to extend the streak, but they didn’t get on base in the bottom 6th, and Brent Clark had nothing better to do than to stuff the bases with Alba, Briones, and Phillips and nobody out in the seventh. Lambert replaced Clark, got a pop from Platero, and allowed one run on a Sifuentes sac fly before the Crusaders croaked with the pitcher batting eighth again. Alas – the Raccoons were now down by three, and still weren’t getting on base. Manny Fernandez tripled, but that was with two outs and nobody on in the eighth, and Cosmo grounded out to strand him. Andy Hyden was up for the Crusaders in the bottom 9th, with 25 K in 19.1 innings. The Coons didn’t get further than a 1-out single by Cortes. Wilson popped out. Omar Gutierrez grounded out to second. 6-3 Crusaders. Fernandez 3-3, BB, 3B; Sims 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

None in a row…

Game 3
NYC: SS Nash – CF Besaw – 3B Sifuentes – RF Platero – 2B Briones – C D. Phillips – 1B Monge – P J. Garcia – LF Graf
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 3B de Wit – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – 1B Cortes – P Brown

The Coons stranded two in the first, one in the second, and got Cosmo on to begin the third, but Romero forced him out with a grounder. Hunter hit a single after that, and they pulled off a double steal just before Manny Fernandez dumped a single into right-center. Both runners scored, and Platero’s throw home allowed Manny to reach second base, from where Jay de Wit singled him in, for his 10th RBI of the year and his likeness being ordered to be printed on stamps back home in Aruba! The inning fizzled out after that, but Brown had a 3-0 lead, and was allowing only 2.14 earned runs per nine, with six to go, so maybe we could chill the rest of the way, huh?

Nothing ill occurred towards the linescore in the fourth and fifth as far as New York was concerned. In the bottom 5th, Romero walked and Hunter whipped a double, putting both of them into scoring position with nobody out for Manny, just like last time through. This time Manny struck out in a full count, and de Wit was walked intentionally to load the bases for Reyna, then raked a 2-0 pitch to right for a 2-run single. Kilmer flew out to center, advancing de Wit to third base, from where Cortes plated him with a single, 6-0. Garcia was yanked, and Brown struck out against Mike Gutierrez to complete five innings.

No shutdown inning was in the books though, with Nash hitting a triple off Brown in the sixth. Brown then scored him with a wild pitch, 6-1. That was the only run New York would get out of Brown, who lasted eight innings on 100 pitches – just ignore the Crusaders being on the corners and stranded when Besaw lined out to complete the eighth inning. The Coons weren’t done offensively, though – Cosmo reached base with two outs in the bottom 8th, drawing a walk from Todd Lush, then scored when Romero hit a home run to left. Lambert sat down New York in order in the ninth. 8-1 Raccoons. Romero 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; Hunter 2-4, 2B; Fernandez 2-4, 2 RBI; Cortes 2-4, RBI; Brown 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (5-1);

One in a row!

Raccoons (20-20) vs. Bayhawks (20-21) – May 23-25, 2042

Here was another fourth-place team to conclude the short homestand. The Baybirds were sixth in runs scored and second from the bottom in runs allowed, with a creaky rotation and a pen that was even worse. Here was a chance for the offense to continue raking! We had won the season series for seven straight years, including a 6-3 performance last year.

Projected matchups:
Angelo Montano (1-2, 3.26 ERA) vs. Rick Haugh (4-1, 2.81 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (2-4, 6.31 ERA) vs. Garrett Sutherland (3-5, 3.73 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-2, 3.69 ERA) vs. Jose Moreno (1-4, 4.18 ERA)

All right-handers; their only southpaw, Noe Candeloro (2-2, 3.38 ERA) was in action on Thursday.

Game 1
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – CF M. Hall – LF M. Castillo – RF D. Martinez – C J. Hill – 1B Haertling – 2B Bennett – 3B Deming – P Haugh
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 2B Trevino – 3B de Wit – RF Cortes – C Wilson – P Montano

The Coons scored first, getting Cosmo on with a leadoff walk in the second, after which he stole a base and scored on two productive groundouts. Montano scattered three runners the first time through and mostly pitched behind in the count, so I was bracing for impact, grabbing Honeypaws with one paw and Slappy’s arm with the other, and for good reason. Jorge Gonzalez and Mike Hall were retired in the top 3rd, but then Mel Castillo singled on the infield and Dave Martinez reached on a Berto error. And then it made a lot of noise after that. John Hill hit an RBI single to center. Ed Haertling doubled in two (and tweaked a hammy, getting replaced with Chris Russell), and T.J. Bennett hit another RBI single in loud and hard fashion. Sonny Deming singled, and the inning only ended with Haugh, with the Bayhawks up 4-1. All runs were unearned, but GOOD LORD…!! Montano put Gonzalez and Hall on the corners to begin the fourth, then gave up a sac fly to Castillo, 5-1. Martinez hit into a double play.

Montano was yanked after the fifth; his spot came up just after Jeff Wilson had doubled home Cortes and nobody out. Nettles singled up the middle in the spot, which brought up the top of the order and also the tying run. Berto singled in Wilson and sent Nettles to third base with a ball to center, and then got picked off… Romero whiffed, but Hunter found a 2-out RBI single to get to 5-4, but Manny grounded out to end the inning. The Baybirds stuck with Haugh, who would eventually tie the game for the Coons. He walked Cosmo to begin the bottom 6th, with the runner advancing on the outs made by de Wit and Cortes before a wild pitch cashed him in to tie the game at five before Jeff Wilson could strike out. Jon Craig had already pitched the sixth, but was yanked after 1-out walks to Castillo and Martinez in the seventh. Rella replaced him and struck out Hill and Russell to get out of the inning. The pen kept trying to keep its claws on it – Brent Clark walked Bobby Hennessy in the #9 hole in the eighth, but then retired Gonzalez to keep the game tied, but the Raccoons couldn’t cobble anything together offensively at this point. The ball went to Hamill in the top 9th of a 5-5 tie, and proceeded to untie the game swiftly. Hall and Castillo singled up the middle, and Hill and Russell whacked a double and a homer to put four on the board for San Francisco. My grip on Slappy’s black and blue arm loosened as I slumped into the cushions. But the Raccoons would get the tying run to the plate in the bottom 9th – Cortes, Nettles, and Ramos all hit singles, getting a run in and a pinch-hitter up in the #2 hole, infected by Hamill, Jeff Kilmer with two outs. He raked a double off Jeremy Mayhall, getting one run in, 9-7, and the tying runs into scoring position for Hunter. And Tony Hunter hit a comebacker to kill the game. 9-7 Bayhawks. Ramos 3-5, 2 RBI; Kilmer (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Cortes 2-4, RBI; Nettles (PH) 2-3;

(mumbles into pillow) No thanks Maud, I need nothing. Just kill the lights when you go home.

(Maud kills the lights, leaving the GM in utter darkness)

Game 2
SFB: C J. Hill – CF M. Hall – RF Oshiita – 1B Haertling – 2B S. Pena – SS Bennett – LF C. Russell – 3B Deming – P Sutherland
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 1B Cortes – C Kilmer – 3B Nickas – P N. Moreno

Moreno was the first Critter to reach base with a single in the bottom 3rd, and by that point was 1-0 behind after a leadoff jack by Ed Haertling in the second inning. He also had spent quite some time behind in the count, so no improvements were immediately visible, although at the conclusion of four innings the ERA at least dropped down into the fives. We’re such winners. (pops a bottle of Capt’n Coma)

The second time through was a bit better for Moreno, allowing a double to Deming with two outs in the fifth, but little else, and he got the out from Sutherland. The Raccoons had only their second hit of the game when Cortes snapped a leadoff single in the bottom 5th. He advanced on a balk and a grounder before Steve Nickas shoved a ball past Sergio Pena for a game-tying single and his first RBI of the year. Nickas was bunted over by Moreno, but then was stranded when Trevino grounded out.

…and then the Bayhawks chewed him up anyway. John Hill and Dick Oshiita, Sergio Pena, and T.J. Bennett all whipped singled off Moreno in the sixth inning. Two runs were in and two runners on the corners with two outs when he was yanked. Rella struck out Russell to keep the score at 3-1. Portland would not reach in the bottom 6th, but Reyna drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. Cortes was the tying run, but hit a quick bouncer to Deming that would have been two if Deming hadn’t filed it past the reach of Pena at second base, turning two out and nobody on into two on and nobody out. Kilmer singled, loading the bags and spelling doom at the same time, but Berto took one for the team when he hit for Nickas in the fat spot, narrowing the gap to 3-2 as the hit-by-pitch forced home Reyna. Jay de Wit hit for Rella and grinded out a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Cosmo dropped a shy single in front of Mike Hall, plating another run to take a 4-3 lead. Romero squeaked out *another* bases-loaded walk, and only now the Bayhawks went for a lefty reliever, Josh Heckman. It didn’t help – Tony Hunter opened them like a bag of candies with a gapper in right-center, emptying the bags with a 3-run double! Seven runs without making an out – although they then made three outs without scoring another run. Manny flew out, Reyna walked, and Cortes insisted on hitting into a double play and finally ******* did.

So it was 8-3 Coons with six outs to collect. Chuck Jones got three, but surrendered a run on singles by Oshiita (infield variety) and Pena (with two outs). Travis Sims got the ninth, but made it a save opportunity by putting two runners aboard with two outs. Brent Clark got the ball against Hall after Hamill’s pointless waste of oxygen and perfectly good baseballs the day before. He walked Hall and also Hennessy, forcing in a run and loading the bags with the tying runs. Castillo then flew out to Nettles in left-center… 8-5 Coons. Nickas 1-2, RBI; Ramos 0-0, RBI; de Wit 0-1, BB, RBI;

We had only six hits and five walks in this game and had really no business winning it… Still, back to .500 for the third time this week.

Game 3
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – C J. Hill – RF Oshiita – 1B Haertling – LF M. Castillo – 2B S. Pena – CF C. Russell – 3B Deming – P J. Moreno
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 3B de Wit – 2B Trevino – C Kilmer – P Jackson

The Raccoons found their way into anothermiserable inning, this time the third frame of the rubber game. Errors by Ramos and Jackson and an assortment of hits by the Baybirds plated three runs for San Francisco. Deming drew a leadoff walk before Berto fudged Moreno’s bunt. Hill hit an RBI double, with Moreno thrown out at the plate, Oshiita an RBI single, and Haertling another single that saw Oshiita reach third base. That’s when Mel Castillo tried to end the inning with a grounder to first, but Jackson dropped Berto’s throw to concede the third run. All were unearned, but they all made me unhappy. Sergio Pena eventually grounded out. The Raccoons were casually interested bystanders as the Bayhawks cruised on, then got the bags full with one out in the top of the fifth, on the excruciating sequence of ball four, nicked batter, infield single. Castillo was next, grounded out, but got a run home. Pena popped out, but down 4-0 the Raccoons had to show something, anything now.

Moreno left the game with an injury in the fifth, and maybe that would help with breaking through, although in the bottom 5th the Coons stranded a pair when Berto popped out with two aboard. Romero hit an infield single to begin the sixth, though, and while Hunter hacked out, Manny hacked a baseball out of the park for his sixth homer of the year. That shoveled half of the earth from the hole they had dug back into it, but the inning ended quickly after that. Lambert retired the 1-2-3 batters in order in the seventh, and right-hander Carlos Garcia walked Kilmer and Berto to present Romero with the tying runs in the bottom of the inning, but with two already out. Romero lined to left at 3-1, but Castillo caught the damn thing. Chuck Jones tried hard to give up a 2-run homer after a leadoff walk to Haertling in the eighth, but Manny Fernandez and Carlos Cortes foiled all his attempts, while the Coons went down in order against lefty Miguel Alvarado – so much for the middle of the order. Sims retired three in a row in the ninth, bringing in righty Josh Wilkes against the 6-7-8 batters with two to tie, three to win. Not one of them reached base. 4-2 Bayhawks. Kilmer 1-2, 2 BB;

In other news

May 19 – The Cyclones beat the Capitals, 2-0, on two home runs by INF Cody St. Peter (.350, 6 HR, 14 RBI).
May 19 – IND SP Manuel Herrera (3-1, 2.20 ERA) 2-hits the Titans for a 2-0 shutout win.
May 19 – Aces rookie SP/MR Mike Nett (0-0, 1.17 ERA) might be out for the season with radial nerve compression.
May 21 – Season over for NAS 2B/SS Billy Bouldin (.290, 0 HR, 13 RBI), who is out with a broken knee.
May 22 – SAC C Manichiro Toki (.210, 6 HR, 11 RBI) hits three home runs, all solo deeds, in the Scorpions’ 10-5 win in Dallas.
May 22 – A single home run comes up big in the Gold Sox’ 1-0 win over the Warriors. INF Ronnie Thompson (.252, 1 HR, 8 RBI) hits it in the first inning to decide the game for good.
May 23 – PIT OF/1B Rusty Dirks (.324, 2 HR, 13 RBI) makes two record lists at once in the Miners’ 17-2 smashing of the Stars in Dallas. The 23-year-old rakes the Stars for six base hits, including three singles and every extra-base hit once, and drives in four runs. This is the third cycle in Miners history, after Jesus Ramirez (2020) and Omar Lastrade (2030).
May 23 – The Falcons beat the Indians, 3-1, despite landing only five base hits in the 15 innings for which the game drags on.
May 23 – Sacramento and Richmond play nine scoreless before the former walk off for a 1-0 win in the 10th inning, courtesy of a single by Jesus Banuelas (.253, 3 HR, 20 RBI).
May 24 – VAN OF/2B Justin Simmons (.422, 4 HR, 18 RBI) has five hits in the Canadiens’ 13-4 rush of the Thunder. He misses the cycle by the home run and the 6-hitter when he walks in the ninth inning.
May 24 – New York’s Mario Briones (.283, 4 HR, 26 RBI) will miss three weeks with a back strain.
May 25 – The Capitals cruised to a 13-1 win after a 10-run second inning over the Gold Sox turns their Sunday game into a laugher quickly.

FL Player of the Week: PIT OF/1B Rusty Dirks (.349, 2 HR, 13 RBI), hitting .577 (15-26) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN OF/2B Justin Simmons (.430, 4 HR, 19 RBI), batting .667 (16-24) with 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Lousy week. We tied up our season record with a win three times, and will get a fourth chance in Vegas on Tuesday. I don’t want to go into actually getting *over* .500…… The Aces have also somewhat recovered from being absolutely unwatchable, so the games there are no freebies. Although, with this team here, nothing’s a freebie. It will be the Falcons on the weekend.

We already went a bit into our prospects on the hitting side, at least in AAA. Further down in Ham Lake, Matt Waters is struggling, and so are Matt Sowden and Ben Southall. That Japanese pickup Shuta Yamamoto, who is 22, is hitting .271 with seven homers, so that is something.

As far as starting pitchers are concerned, 2041 first-rounder Bubby Wolinsky and 2038 last-rounder Jim Stone were promoted from Aumsville to Ham Lake. Wolinsky had an ERA under two, and Stone struck out 10.7 per nine innings in his fifth year with the Beagles. Merino, Negrete, Arias are all doing *alright*. The closest eye is still on Jason Wheatley in AAA, who is 5-2 with a 3.69 ERA and 27 walks to 40 strikeouts in 68 innings with the Alley Cats. BABIP is slightly up, if anything, at .309; but I don’t think he’s ready yet.

Although we could use some competent pitching…

Fun Fact: Much has been made about the Dallas shoebox, but Toki’s 3-homer game on Thursday was the first time a player has hit three bombs outta there since 2006.

Back then it was L.A.’s Yohan Bonneau, and that was also the only prior instance where the Stars pitchers gave up three homers to one guy in one night.

Fun Fact (Bonus Round): Pittsburgh’s Rusty Dirks is the first ever ABL player to have six base hits and hit for the cycle in the same game!

There are several players who achieved both feats (f.e. Armando Herrera of the Wolves), nobody has ever done it in the same game before. It took only something like two million position players starting an ABL game in the lineup (65+ seasons times 24 teams times 162 games times 8 guys with two arms and legs) for those two feats to be achieved at once by one of them.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (21-22) @ Aces (14-29) – May 27-29, 2042

The Aces had at one point flirted with the .200 mark in early May, but had been playing more like .500 ball in the last few weeks. They still had smelly stats, sitting ninth in runs scored, and bottoms in runs allowed. Their run differential was -42. They were also last in starters’ *and* bullpen ERA, both over 4.50, and they were allowing just over five runs per game. They were the last CL team that we had to face for the first time this year, and we had taken last year’s season series, 6-3.

Projected matchups:
Rich Willett (5-4, 2.82 ERA) vs. Josh Henneberry (0-2, 8.07 ERA)
Josh Brown (5-1, 2.11 ERA) vs. Leonhart Becker (1-2, 4.20 ERA)
Angelo Montano (1-2, 2.96 ERA) vs. Ricardo Sanchez (3-5, 5.30 ERA)

(whiskers twitch aggravatedly) Sauerkraut!! … My archenemy would be the only southpaw we’d encounter here, unless they juggled their rotation with a Monday off day. But if they didn’t skip Henneberry – why start doing it now?

Game 1
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 3B de Wit – 2B Trevino – C Kilmer – P Willett
LVA: RF Gurney – C Prow – 1B S. Ayala – 3B Rossi – 2B D. Richardson – SS J. Byrd – LF Caldwell – CF Greer – P Henneberry

Doubles by Pat Gurney and Nate Rossi, and in between an RBI single by Sal Ayala, gave the Aces a 1-0 lead in the first inning, although Willett at least stranded the two latter runners with a K to Doug Richardson and a fly to right against John Byrd. But the Raccoons still had a chance to take a badly struggling pitcher and stuff him down the nearest drain pipe by taking Henneberry by the collar and doing ugly things to him… but they didn’t do it. They had Berto and Hunter on in the first, stalled, and didn’t return to the bases until Hunter ripped a leadoff triple in the fourth. Manny grounded out to first base, but Reyna dropped an RBI single into left. Cosmo reached on an Ayala error, Kilmer hit a 2-out single, but Willett struck out to leave the bases loaded. The sixth also ended with Willett after de Wit had hit a double down the line in rightfield and the Aces had sneakily put on Kilmer intentionally, keeping the score at 1-1 while we were out-hitting the Aces, 8-3. The Aces didn’t find another base hit after their three in the bottom 1st until the bottom of the sixth, with Nate Rossi sneaking a single past Cosmo into rightfield, but Doug Richardson then popped out. Berto hit a leadoff single in the seventh, but was doubled off by Romero, and the Raccoons just kept being **** against a **** pitcher. Willett finally gave up a second run in the bottom 8th, Kevin Hale hitting double in Henneberry’s spot and coming in to score on a single by Pat Gurney, who was then caught stealing. Top 9th, Aces closer Aaron Duval had a 6.16 ERA, but at this point I was sure of defeat. Kilmer flew out to right. Cortes pinch-hit and grounded out to short, the wimp. Berto refused to lose and singled to right, bringing back Tony Romero. And Tony Romero grounded out. 2-1 Aces. Ramos 3-5; Hunter 2-4, 3B; de Wit 2-4, 2B; Willett 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L (5-5);

First career win for the 30-year-old Henneberry. Is the mob still running this ****** place? Can I insult someone’s ugly sister to get disposed of in the desert?

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – 1B Wilson – P Brown
LVA: 3B Montes de Oca – SS J. Byrd – 1B S. Ayala – LF Rossi – 2B D. Richardson – RF Gurney – C Lunde – CF Greer – P Becker

I was not on speaking terms with the miserable team anyway on Wednedsay, but they managed to fall behind in the first inning again. Angel Montes de Oca drew a leadoff walk for Vegas, reached third on Ayala’s single, and then scored on Nate Rossi’s sac fly. Rossi hit a single for the next Aces hit in the fourth, then was doubled off, while the Raccoons were just not doing anything worth writing Aunt Sylvia about.

Top 5th, the pair of Jeffs tasked with catching the sometimes fine, but ultimately reliably deserted pitching staff, opened the inning with a pair of singles. Brown bunted both the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, where they were stranded when Cosmo hit a comebacker and Romero struck out. The Aces fared about the same, getting their 7-8 on base with singles by John Lunde and Chad Greer and one out in the bottom 5th; Sauerkraut bunted them over, but Montes lined out to Tony Hunter to strand them. The Coons then tied the game, actually, with two outs in the sixth. Carlos Cortes whacked a fluke triple in the gap where Chad Greer and Nate Rossi converged, but both missed be two feet at most, then was plated when de Wit snapped a single to left to tie the game at one. Kilmer then doubled, but de Wit was thrown out at home by Pat Gurney. Not quite Keith Ayers-deflating, but quite deflating nonetheless.

Brown lost his touch, laboring through four long at-bats in the bottom 6th without allowing a runner into scoring position, then struck out Gurney to begin the seventh in another long at-bat that got him to 103 pitches on the day, and what was deemed enough. Jon Craig logged outs from the next five Aces hitters, while Portland remained crummy as ****. They did nothing against Duval for the second time in a row in the ninth, then got Chuck Jones on to allow a leadoff single to Sal Ayala in the bottom 9th. Chris Whalen ran for Ayala, while the Raccoons got Rella from the pen. He walked Richardson, threw a wild pitch, and with one out was then surrounded with an intentional walk to .300 lefty Pat Gurney, bringing up Lunde, hitting .218 from the right side. Lunde grounded to de Wit on the first pitch, resulting in a *fine* play and force out at home plate. Brian Fox had hit for Greer earlier, a .231 hitter with two homers. Rella walked him on four pitches to end the game. 2-1 Aces. Cortes 2-4, 3B; Kilmer 2-4, 2B; Brown 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K;

(is approached by Jeff Kilmer for some thing or other, but violently hisses the catcher away)

Game 3
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 3B de Wit – C Wilson – 2B Gutierrez – P Montano
LVA: 3B Montes de Oca – SS J. Byrd – 1B S. Ayala – LF Rossi – 2B D. Richardson – RF Gurney – C Lunde – CF Greer – P R. Sanchez

Romero and Manny reached on walks in the first inning and were moved into scoring position with a passed ball, but Cortes grounded out to third base to piss another chance away. Two more were stranded in the second inning when Gutierrez and Montano both hit 2-out singles, but Berto grounded out to Richardson. Hunter (walk) and Manny (single) were on with one down in the third inning, and the Raccoons became more aggro, going for the double steal, and pulling it off successfully. Cortes lined out to Byrd, de Wit struck out, and nobody scored again. The next inning Jeff Wilson hit a solo homer to left, ACTUALLY PUTTING A ******* RUN ON THE BOARD.

To anybody’s surprise it was the first of the game. Montano had allowed only one hit and one walk the first time through. But the Aces made it to the corners with one out in the bottom 4th, getting hits from Byrd and Rossi, and Richardson tied the game with a sac fly to right. Gurney hit a single to right after that, but Cortes threw out Rossi going to third base, keeping it 1-1 through four. The Coons came back with the bases loaded in the fifth, putting the 4-5-6 on with one out by means of a Manny infield single, Cortes getting drilled, and de Wit dropping another soft single in front of Gurney. Wilson came up with the fat chance, but was held to a sac fly, 2-1. Gutierrez grounded out to end the inning, stranding the fourth Portland pair of the game. Lunde took it all away with a leadoff jack in the bottom of the inning, and Montano then stupendously walked the bases loaded before getting yanked with one gone. Brent Clark had nothing better to do than to walk in the go-ahead run against Ayala, struck out Rossi, and somehow Richardson’s sharp grounder was contained by de Wit to end the inning down “only” 3-2.

Portland set their fans up for more disappointment with leadoff singles by Nettles and Berto in the sixth inning. Nettles made for third base on Berto’s hit, drew a late throw, and Berto snuck into second behind him. And then? Comebacker from Romero, pop from Hunter, and grounder to short by Manny – and nobody scored. While unexpected competent relief from Cory Lambert kept the Aces painfully close, the Raccoons got another pair aboard in the eighth against Sal Lozano, who yielded singles to Cosmo, hitting for Gutierrez to lead off, and Berto with one out. The two were on the corners for the pitcher’s spot; Reyna pinch-hit against right-hander Francisco Pena. He struck out, and so did Hunter, making for SIX pairs of runners left for dead on the bases in this ******* game. Sims pitched a scoreless eighth, getting left-hander Ernie Ashcraft involved for the ninth inning. It was Ashcraft’s first appearance of the year, and the sixth of his career. Fernandez flew out to left, but Cortes singled. De Wit flew out to center. Wilson popped out. 3-2 Aces. Ramos 2-5; Fernandez 2-4; Gutierrez 1-2, BB; Trevino (PH) 1-1; Nettles (PH) 1-2; Lambert 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

And people wonder why I never smile.

Raccoons (21-25) @ Falcons (23-24) – May 30-June 1, 2042

The Falcons were bottoms in batting average and on-base percentage, but somehow scored the eighth-most runs in the CL. They were hitting a few dingers, sure, but were only fifth in that category, either. A mystery! I only ever know how to not score! Their pitching was so-so, with the fourth-most runs allowed between a crummy rotation and a strong bullpen. We had swept them the first time around this year, but I had no hopes anymore.

Projected matchups:
Nelson Moreno (2-4, 6.13 ERA) vs. Jose de Lucio (3-4, 4.69 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-3, 3.47 ERA) vs. Corey Booth (3-3, 5.75 ERA)
Rich Willett (5-5, 2.75 ERA) vs. Oscar Flores (3-2, 3.36 ERA)

All right-handers. Not that it matters. ****** Coons can’t score against right-handers, left-handers, or no-handers.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ramos – 2B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – CF Reyna – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – P Moreno
CHA: 2B Shay – LF Watt – SS Aparicio – C Kokoszka – 3B Farfan – RF C. Robinson – CF Case – 1B Sarro – P de Lucio

De Lucio got settled for 2.2 innings’ worth of no-decision ball before getting felled by a blister. He departed with Berto and Cosmo on base, but Hunter fanned against reliever Chris Watson to keep the game scoreless. The Falcons were less polite, starting with ******* Chris Watson, who hit 1-out double in the bottom 3rd, then scored on Adam Shay’s double. Matt Watt came up with an RBI single to put the Coons in a 2-0 hole. Dan Sarro added a 3-run homer in the fourth after Chris Robinson and Seth Case reached base. Nothing was seen of Moreno after that inning, just like the Coons’ offense, who caused just barely enough trouble to amount to double plays hit into by Cortes in the sixth and Kilmer in the seventh, which was not a whole lot offense when the whole was five runs deep. 5-0 Falcons. Fernandez 3-4, 2B; Reyna 2-4; Nettles (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: 1B Ramos – 2B Trevino – CF Romero – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 3B de Wit – C Wilson – SS Nickas – P Jackson
CHA: 2B Shay – LF Watt – SS Aparicio – C Kokoszka – 3B Farfan – RF C. Robinson – CF Case – 1B Sarro – P Booth

Two singles, two walks, and two stolen bases in the top 1st amounted to … two runs for Portland, somehow. Berto and Cosmo got on initially, while Romero put the lead on the board with a run-scoring fielder’s choice. He stole second, was singled in by Manny, who also stole second, but things slowly fizzled out after that. The Falcons didn’t wait long to score, with Case singling home Chris Robinson (leadoff double) in the second inning. The Raccoons only scattered two more hits through the fifth inning, while Jackson looked wobbly, and the lead was almost erased when Chris Kokoszka flew out to Manny at the fence with Matt Watt on base in the bottom 3rd. Kokoszka got it done the next time around, singling to left with Shay on third base and two gone; Shay had reached on an infield single to begin the bottom 5th.

Jackson was done after six, leaving in a 2-2 tie unless a major miracle would break out starting with, well, Steve Nickas. He struck out, Cortes grounded out, and Berto kept trucking along with a 2-out walk, but he was pretty much alone on the team with trying. Booth got Cosmo to whiff to end the inning. Craig delivered a scoreless seventh for the Raccoons, who then got another runner into scoring position when Manny reached base on a 2-base throwing error by Shay with one out in the eighth. Reyna flew out to left, de Wit struck out, and it was all for nothing. Pinch-hitter Mitch Cook reached third base against Brent Clark in the bottom of the eighth, but was stranded when PH Tyler Miles grounded out to Nickas, who was used to bunt when Jeff Wilson floated a leadoff single to center in the ninth against closer Marcus Goode. Once at second base, Wilson was replaced with Stephon Nettles to pinch-run. Cortes had remained in the #9 hole and at first base, with Berto out of the game, so he was next, and gave the Critters a ******* lead with a single to right, scoring Nettles from second to go up 3-2. Kilmer quickly wrapped up everybody in a double play when he hit for Brent Clark in the #1 spot. Wyatt Hamill had retired three in a row in a pointless inning the day before, but came close enough to replicating the feat in the bottom 9th – he hit Tony Aparicio with two outs, but got a grounder from Kokoszka to end the game anyway. 3-2 Coons. Berto 0-1, 3 BB; Trevino 2-4; Cortes (PH) 1-2, RBI;

Even when they win, they make noises like a dying snail. Huh!

Game 3
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 2B Trevino – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – P Willett
CHA: CF M. Martinez – RF C. Robinson – SS Aparicio – 3B Farfan – 1B Sarro – C M. Cook – LF Case – 2B Shay – P O. Flores

Coons loaded the bases in the second inning with Cosmo, de Wit, and Kilmer, but also with one out. Willett fanned, and Berto flew out to center to keep everybody stranded. Singles by Fernandez and Cortes with two outs did nothing in the third inning, but Seth Case leaked on base for Charlotte and they scored two runs with a Miguel Martinez double and Chris Robinson getting a single, both with two outs, getting a 2-0 lead before Aparicio grounded out. Aparicio singled in the sixth, though, Farfan doubled behind him, and Willett threw a wild pitch to add another run to the tally. The Raccoons had done nothing whatsoever in the meantime. Willett saw them go down in order in the sixth, seventh, and eighth, the last inning occurring after he had already gotten his “oh shucks” pat on the bum. Cory Lambert pitched a scoreless inning after Willett, while the Falcons sent Flores, on only 93 pitches and still with a 4-hitter, into the ninth inning against the 5-6-7 hitters. Cortes lined out to Shay. Cosmo popped out to Farfan. Reyna hit for de Wit and grounded out to Farfan. 3-0 Falcons.

In other news

May 26 – BOS 1B Mario Duenez (.258, 0 HR, 15 RBI) slaps the Condors for five hits, two doubles and three singles, and four RBI in a 13-4 Titans win.
May 28 – TOP SP Carlos Vasquez (3-3, 2.99 ERA) 3-hits the Gold Sox for a 6-0 shutout win.
May 28 – VAN OF Jerry Outram (.404, 3 HR, 26 RBI) is listed as day-to-day with a quad strain.
May 28 – The Knights’ Bill Nichol (3-5, 3.16 ERA) and Rico Sanchez (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 15 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Indians. Only IND C Sal Mordino (.230, 6 HR, 21 RBI) manages to hit a single off Nichol.
June 1 – The Scorpions would be without LF/RF Joreao Porfirio (.252, 3 HR, 16 RBI) for a month. A herniated disc was to blame.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 1B Danny Santillano (.304, 7 HR, 25 RBI), hitting .571 (12-21) with 2 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: TIJ RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.355, 9 HR, 22 RBI), batting .462 (12-26) with 3 HR, 8 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SAC LF/1B/RF Eddie Moreno (.327, 12 HR, 30 RBI), hitting .308 with 10 HR, 24 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: POR OF Manny Fernandez (.358, 6 HR, 27 RBI), batting .365 with 5 HR, 23 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: TOP SP Josh Bourgeois (10-0, 2.09 ERA), tossing 6-0 with a 2.36 ERA, 41 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: MIL SP Sal Chavez (8-2, 2.47 ERA), twirling 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 25 K
FL Rookie of the Month: SFW C/1B David Pinedo (.267, 3 HR, 25 RBI), hitting .278 with 3 HR, 15 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: BOS 2B/SS Jonathan Thennes (.301, 2 HR, 11 RBI), who made his ABL debut just this month

Complaints and stuff

I’ll try and use fewer words than we scored runs this – oh, nope, already over.

I think the denial and anger phases are over now, and we are going to see a lot of bargaining with the baseball gods for a week or two. Also, depression, although … (pops another bottle of Capt’n Coma) … that’s a constant state with this team. Acceptance might take until the end of June.

…although the damn Elks, up on the weekend of the following home week (beginning with the Knights), will probably try their darndest to bring acceptance about sooner…

Fun Fact: …!

(GM has fallen off the couch, with Honeypaws now stuck under the bottle of Capt’n Coma)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (22-27) vs. Knights (27-23) – June 2-4, 2042

The Portland Slowpokes returned home, only to find the Knights waiting for them, so there was no time to hide in shame after a 6-game week in which the Coons scored all of seven runs – baseball was back on the menu as early as Monday. Atlanta was in second place in the South, 3 1/2 games back. They were in the bottom three in runs scored and many offensive categories, but they had conceded the fewest runs in the league, and there was but little hope that the Raccoons would break out of their offensive funk any time soon. Atlanta led the season series, 2-1.

Projected matchups:
Josh Brown (5-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Bill Nichol (3-5, 3.16 ERA)
Angelo Montano (1-3, 3.45 ERA) vs. Jose Medina (3-1, 2.90 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (2-5, 6.53 ERA) vs. Kurt Olson (4-3, 3.86 ERA)

Medina was the only left-hander in the Knights’ rotation.

Game 1
ATL: RF Hester – 1B Jam. King – 2B Crim – CF B. Oliver – SS McKoy – C Raymond – LF Kristoff – 3B Lusk – P Nichol
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 3B Trevino – RF Cortes – C Wilson – 2B Gutierrez – P Brown

While Josh Brown scattered three hits the first time through the order, but didn’t concede a run in the first two innings and thus dropped his ERA to below two, the Raccoons wasted a Romero double in the first before getting a Cortes single with one out in the second inning. Jeff Wilson popped out, but Omar Gutierrez hit his first major-league home run, a 2-out 2-piece to right for the first markers on the board. The Knights kept singling, but Joe Crim in the third and Tyler McKoy in the fourth both hit into double plays to erase singles by Billy Hester and Brian Oliver, respectively. Bryant Raymond hit another single with two outs, but was stranded, but the Knights were on the corners in the fifth after singles from Kyle Lusk and Hester, bringing up certified slugger Jamie King, but King had always been weak against left-handers and had mostly murdered right-handers. He hit the first pitch he got to Gutierrez for the third straight double-play rally killer.

Nichol allowed five hits through four innings, but didn’t walk anybody until giving back-to-back 1-out free passes to Berto and Romero in the bottom 5th. Hunter flew out to Hester in deep right, but Manny slapped an RBI single to go up 3-0. A throw to home plate that was ultimately nowhere near the goal allowed the trailing runners to advance into scoring position, which cost the Knights when Cosmo dropped a ball into shallow right-center for a 2-out, 2-run single, 5-0. Cortes struck out to end the inning. Brown continued into the seventh before finally running out of luck and giving up a run on back-to-back hits by Justin Kristoff, who stole second, and Lusk. Marc DeVita also singled, putting the Knights on the corners with one out, but our old aversion of replacing lefty with lefty struck again and Brown remained in to see Hester, who struck out, and King, who grounded out to Gutierrez again, keeping the Coons up 5-1. Portland loaded the bases against ex-Coon David Fernandez in the bottom 7th, with the 3-4-5 reaching with two outs, but Cortes grounded out to short. The Coons dragged Brown further – despite 11 hits allowed through seven, his pitch count was only in the eighties – and a quick eighth inning got him into the ninth, too. Kristoff hit a 12th knock off Brown with a 1-out single to center, but it wasn’t a save opportunity yet and Brown still had some left on 95 tosses. He threw four more to Lusk, who ended the game with another 4-6-3 grounder. 5-1 Coons. Hunter 2-4, 2B; Fernandez 2-4, RBI; Brown 9.0 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (6-1);

Brown was one of three qualifying pitchers with a sub-2 ERA (1.92 precisely) at this point, and the only one in the CL. The others were Mark Holliday (1.89 on the Stars!), and … oh, just Ryan Bedrosian (1.77) in Salem.

Game 2
ATL: RF Hester – 1B Jam. King – 2B Crim – CF B. Oliver – SS McKoy – C Raymond – LF DeVita – 3B Lusk – P J. Medina
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – 1B Wilson – P Montano

Montano was dealt a couple of blows in the first inning, giving up five hits to the Knights, including 2-run bombs by Joe Crim and Tyler McKoy that put the Raccoons into an early deep hole. Bryant Raymond would add a third 2-run blast (all to left) before the third inning was over, and Montano was silently hit for in the bottom of the third inning and never talked about again. The Raccoons were hitless through three, with only Romero reaching base with a walk and a stolen base the first time through, and there was no point pretending. Travis Sims got the ball – although he also had a 3-ish ERA, we well knew he was a 5-ish ERA player, and this was the game to prove it. Sims staved off expectations with three scoreless innings, hitting a single in the bottom 5th to show up the position player corps (although Hunter had landed a double in the fourth that had led nowhere nice). Cortes tripled in Hunter in the bottom 6th with two outs, the first run for Portland, then scored on a single by de Wit up the middle, but Jay de Wit barely made it back to .240 with that hit and the writing was on the wall that his time as a starter was ending. Kilmer struck out to end the inning. The Knights got a run tacked on in the eighth with a McKoy homer off Jon Craig, who put two more runners on base before yielding to Brent Clark. PH Jose Garcia hit a 2-out single to load the bases, but Clark rung up Hester to end the inning, curtailing the last time a team had a scoring opportunity in this game. 7-2 Knights. Hunter 2-4, 2B; Sims 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K and 1-1;

With this blasting of Angelon Montano, the Raccoons fell to 10 games out in the division for the first time this year. They would probably stay there.

Also, a two roster moves were made. Montano (1-4, 4.83 ERA) was sent back to AAA to bring back Corey Mathers (0-4, 8.06 ERA), who had turned **** around very well in St. Pete. The other dismissal was Steve Nickas, hitting .207, with Arturo Carreno arriving from AAA to begin his major league career. He was hitting .291 in AAA at this point. The righty hitter was 22 years old and had been signed out of the Dominican Republic for $60k in 2036.

Game 3
ATL: RF Kristoff – 1B Jam. King – 2B Crim – CF B. Oliver – C Horner – LF Hester – SS McKoy – 3B Lusk – P Olson
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – 3B Trevino – C Kilmer – P Moreno

Meanwhile, Moreno gave up the leadoff jack to Kristoff in the rubber game. Like Montano the day before, Moreno kept getting whipped, allowing three more hits and an RBI double to Adam Horner, plating Crim with two outs. Portland tied the game with a Manny 2-piece in the bottom 1st after Ramos and Romero reached, and Hunter hit into a double play. Moreno, who knew he had to be inches from demotion for an underdone Jason Wheatley, buttoned up in the next few innings, allowing only a single in the third inning, at the end of which the Coons had an unearned lead. Romero and Hunter had gotten on with two outs, but Manny flew out to Kristoff – who dropped the ball, allowing Romero, going hard with two outs, to score and the remaining Critters into scoring position. Kristoff then handled Reyna’s fly to strand them there.

It was still 3-2 in the bottom 4th with Cosmo and Kilmer hitting back-to-back 1-out singles, bringing up Moreno. The Coons rolled the dice and had him swing away on his .278 average, getting a double play for their bothers, but that got Berto to lead off the bottom 5th with a single. He advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on Romero’s double in the right-center gap, 4-2. Hunter flew out, Manny was walked intentionally, and then removed on a fielder’s choice, bringing up Carreno with runners on the corners and two outs. He had started his career 0-for-2 with two grounders, but now snapped a single to left that scored a run, and the ball was overrun by Hester to put two runners in scoring position for Cosmo, who slashed a first-pitch single to center to plate both of them, knocking out Olson in the process. Kilmer popped out against David Fernandez, keeping it a 7-2 game through five.

So that shifted attention to Nelson Moreno, who at this point had a 6.27 ERA and at best three claws on his job. Hester and Lusk hit singles off him in the sixth inning, but were stranded on a pop by PH Juan Garcia, and Moreno came back to retire the 1-2-3 in order in the seventh to finish out his day, securing his job for another week. The Raccoons would maintain the lead with Chuck Jones and Josh Rella, while Jeff Kilmer hit a solo homer in the eighth for the final score. 8-2 Raccoons. Ramos 2-5; Romero 1-1, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; Trevino 2-4, 2 RBI; Kilmer 2-4, HR, RBI; Moreno 7.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (3-5);

Raccoons (24-28) vs. Canadiens (34-20) – June 6-8, 2042

Oh boy. The damn Elks led the season series, 5-1, and they also led the CL in scoring, hitting .285 as a team, and with considerable power. They were fourth in runs allowed. In the division, they were tied with the Loggers for first place. The Raccoons were in for trouble…

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (3-3, 3.43 ERA) vs. David Arias (4-4, 4.41 ERA)
Rich Willett (5-6, 2.85 ERA) vs. Paul Medvec (3-2, 3.27 ERA)
Josh Brown (6-1, 1.92 ERA) vs. Alexander Lewis (5-3, 3.30 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday? Both Lewis and Matt Sealock (8-0, 2.45 ERA), a righty, had pitched in a double-header on Tuesday, so things were *possible*.

Game 1
VAN: C Clemente – 1B J. Lopez – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – LF M. Hernandez – 3B G. Ortiz – RF V. Vazquez – SS R. Johnston – P D. Arias
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 2B Carreno – 3B Trevino – C Kilmer – P Jackson

The damn Elks loaded the bases to start the game, with a double from Timóteo Clemente, Johnny Lopez getting hit, and a shy single by Jerry Outram, hitting about .400 as the series began. They got one run on Dan Schneller’s sac fly, but then hit into a fielder’s choice with Melvin Hernandez, while Greg Ortiz struck out. The Elks stranded two more in the second inning, while the Raccoons moved a pair into scoring position with two outs in the bottom 2nd with a Cortes single and a Cosmo double – but Cosmo also limped after a bumpy slide into second base and came out of the game with a bruised ankle. Jay de Wit replaced him. The damn Elks pitched to Kilmer with first base open, but he flew out to Outram to end the inning and I slumped deeper into the cushions. Instead, an Ortiz sac fly cashed Outram in a 2-hit top of the third, and the damn Elks moved out to a 2-0 lead. There was help on the way, though, with Berto reaching base with one out in the third inning, just before Tony Romero whacked a game-tying homer to left.

Jackson did not help the cause though by hitting batters. He nailed Ryan Johnston in the fourth, which led nowhere, then Melvin Hernandez in the fifth with Outram already on the base, then walked Ortiz for three on and one out. Victor Vazquez hit the go-ahead RBI single to right, Johnston struck out, but Jackson walked in a run against the ******* opposing pitcher, and that was the axe for him. Craig replaced him, got a comebacker from Clemente, but ****** up the play and the damn Elks got another run on the error as the game went down the drain. Lopez flew out to left, ending a 3-run inning in which only Outram had actually landed a base hit. Schneller instead tacked on a run with a homer off Craig in the sixth, 6-2. The Raccoons did get the tying run to the plate in the bottom 6th, though, stacking Carreno (who was forced out by de Wit), Kilmer, and Reyna with two outs. Gilberto Castillo arrived to face Berto, who did what he did best and grinded out a walk to force home a run, 6-3. Romero grounded out to third to strand the tying runs, all of them. The Raccoons did nothing the next few innings while the pen at least held the damn Elks reasonably close with scoreless ball from Lambert, Clark, and Sims. The bottom 9th brought Josh Boles against Miguel Reyna in the #9 hole, who had replaced Berto in the field earlier, and singled. Wilson hit for Sims in the #1 spot, the only righty bat on the bench, but flew out to left. Romero singled to bring the tying run back to the plate, but was out on a fielder’s choice on Hunter’s comebacker. Manny did something countable, hitting a 2-out single through the right side, keeping them on the corners with a chance to win for Carlos Cortes, hitting all of .224 – and he grounded out to short. 6-4 Canadiens. Ramos 2-3, BB, RBI; Romero 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Trevino 1-1, 2B; Reyna (PH) 1-1, BB;

Maud, can you make an appointment with Dr. Zwiebelkopf for Monday morning? I will need it.

Cosmo Trevino was day-to-day with the bum ankle and not in the lineup at least for Saturday, giving another start to Jay de Wit.

Game 2
VAN: C Clemente – 1B J. Lopez – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – LF M. Hernandez – 3B G. Ortiz – RF V. Vazquez – SS R. Johnston – P Medvec
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 3B de Wit – P Willett

There were no base hits through three innings in the middle game, and only three walks were drawn, all by Critters, who nevertheless got nowhere with them. The damn Elks first reached base when Willett walked Lopez after retiring 10 straight, which of course turned into a run on a ******* double by Dan Schneller with two outs. That was the only damage incurred by Willett through five, although he did force out Jay de Wit on a bad bunt in the bottom 5th after de Wit had dropped in the Coons’ first single with one out. Then Berto singled, which MIGHT have been good enough for the tying run if de Wit had been at second base rather than the pitcher at first base… although the Coons still tied the game on a sharp single to right-center by Romero. Medvec then ran a full count to Hunter, and not wanting to face Manny with the bases loaded, through a fastball that Hunter turned into an RBI single to center, good enough for a 2-1 lead. Manny grounded out.

The lead lasted for the time being at least. While Lopez hit a 2-out single off Willett in the sixth, Outram’s hard liner to right was caught by Reyna on the run to spoil the damn Elks’ bid to tie the game. Carreno hit a single with one out in the bottom 6th, then was moved on by a wild pitch. Kilmer then was walked intentionally with the count 2-0, bringing back de Wit, who had started the rally in the bottom of the previous inning, and kept this one going with an RBI single between Outram and Vazquez. Willett’s bunt this time was good – in fact so good that the Elks had no play at all and Berto came up with the bases loaded, but he popped out and Romero whiffed to waste a perfectly good scoring chance, which made me cover my googly black eyes with my paws again when Willett came out for the seventh with a 3-1 lead, but got three grounders for outs from the 4-5-6 batters. Vazquez struck out to begin the eighth, but Johnston hit a double to center. Justin Simmons dropped a single on 2-2, with Johnston scoring and Simmons racing to second on the throw to home plate. Rella replaced Willett at that point, got to 0-2 on Clemente before the ball was put in play and de Wit fumbled it for an error. Rella walked Lopez to fill the bases, then was yanked for Clark against Outram. The count was 1-2 when Outram cracked a liner, but right at Carreno for the second out. Craig then came in for Schneller, who also put the 1-2 in play, but flew out easily to Manny and kept the Coons afloat but narrowly, 3-2. The Coons would have singles from Carreno and Cortes in the bottom 8th against John Roeder, but Berto grounded out to leave them on. So we took the protective dust cover off Wyatt Hamill for the first time in forever. He saw righty pinch-hitter Derek James to begin the ninth inning, getting a groundout on the first pitch. Ortiz struck out. And so did Vazquez! 3-2 Critters! Carreno 2-4; de Wit 2-4, RBI; Cortes (PH) 1-1; Willett 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (6-6) and 1-3;

Maud, I’ll need a towel. That was tense!

No Southpaw Sunday – the damn Elks went with Matt Sealock, who was undefeated. Oh boy.

Game 3
VAN: LF Mann – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF V. Vazquez – 3B G. Ortiz – 1B M. Hernandez – SS R. Johnston – P Sealock
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 2B Carreno – 3B de Wit – C Wilson – P Brown

The Coons scored first with a leadoff jack by Manny Fernandez in the second inning, but the lead disappeared fast with a leadoff walk to Hernandez, a Johnston single, a bunt, and a sac fly by Jeremy Mann in the top of the third, and things came apart entirely in the fourth for Brown. Schneller doubled, Vazquez hit an RBI single, and Ortiz hit a crusher over the fence in left, taking the damn Elks to a 4-1 lead. I sighed and resorted to numbing the senses, the usual escape mechanism…

It didn’t get any better, either. Brown was chewed up after six innings, while the Raccoons amounted to all of two hits other than the Fernandez homer through six innings, which included a Hunter single that also saw Hunter caught stealing. The damn Elks put the game away in the seventh then, getting Clemente on before Cory Lambert was burned with back-to-back homers by Outram and Schneller. The Raccoons poked a little bit late, but too late; Berto hit a double in the eighth and was singled home by Tony Hunter, but that still left a 5-run gap. Travis Sims pitched a scoreless ninth, walking Outram and Schneller while striking out every other hitter he faced, while Sealock was still going in the bottom 9th. Cortes flew out to center. Carreno singled to center, and Reyna singled to right in de Wit’s place. Wilson popped out, but with two outs in the inning the damn Elks sent lefty reliever Ryan McConnell to replace Sealock against Stephon Nettles. Nettles grounded out meekly. 7-2 Canadiens. Hunter 2-4, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, HR, RBI; Reyna (PH) 1-1;

In other news

June 3 – The season of LVA SP Chris Crowell (5-3, 3.41 ERA) might be over with news of ruptured finger tendons in his dealing hand.
June 4 – SAL CF Armando Herrera (.382, 1 HR, 28 RBI) chips in six base hits in an 11-8 Wolves win over the Miners, contributing a double and five singles plus an RBI.
June 5 – BOS 3B/SS Antonio Gil (.233, 0 HR, 12 RBI) might be lost for the year with a badly broken ankle.
June 6 – DAL 2B/SS Hugo Acosta (.370, 1 HR, 35 RBI) has three hits in a 5-1 win over the Warriors, giving him a 20-game hitting streak.
June 8 – NYC SP Juan Garcia (1-7, 4.11 ERA) breaks into the W column in style, 1-hitting the Indians in a 5-0 shutout. IND 1B/C Mike Sawyer (.250, 1 HR, 2 RBI) hits a double in the fifth for the only entry into the Indians’ hit column.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.358, 14 HR, 39 RBI), hitting .462 (12-26) with 2 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL LF/CF Bill Reeves (.369, 8 HR, 36 RBI), batting .481 (13-27) with 3 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Well, at least they scored some runs again. It only came out for a 3-3 week, but at least they scored four runs per game. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s more than SEVEN IN A WEEK. Pitching gave up 25 runs, so the 3-3 tally is probably fair. I am just angry because they keep losing to the damn Elks and I HATE LOSING TO THE DAMN ELKS.

No off day for a while now – we won’t be off again until the 26th. We’re off to Boston for four games now, then will return home to play the Stars, then go back east for three more series in Cincy, New York, and Indy, which makes no sense.

The draft will also be next Sunday, so I have to go out of town again even earlier than the rest of the team. Woe is me.

Bad news on the prospects front, with #14 Tony Negrete out for the year, needing elbow surgery to remove bone chips from there. I hear it’s creaking and cranking whenever he does as little as eat his breakfast fries. He was 4-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 11 starts for the AA Panthers, whiffing 6.4/9 against 4.9/9 walks.

Fun Fact: Armando Herrera is the second ABL player to land a pair of 6-hit games, a feat previously only achieved by Bartolo Hernandez.

Hernandez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, being elected in 2019. He had a 19-year career starting with the 1995 Loggers, for whom he played for most of his time in the majors, until 2009. He led the league in hits three times and in stolen bases once, and won five Gold Gloves, all consecutively from 2003 through 2007, for his defensive work at second base. Some say he was a compiler, hitting for an .800 OPS only three times in his career, but he was definitely an elite leadoff hitter, just without any sort of power. For his career he piled up 2,849 hits, including only 65 dingers, while hitting .308/.354/.385, and he stole 344 bases. He won a Platinum Stick in 2003, but never won a championship.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (25-30) @ Titans (20-34) – June 9-12, 2042

Two teams parked on the far end of the shunting yard, and it was barely June. Also, the Raccoons were routinely crap in Boston, no matter how crummy the Titans played. So even though they had lost four in a row (and eight of nine) and were in the bottom four of both runs scored and runs allowed, and the Coons were up 2-1 in the season series (but that had been in Portland), this series had the potential for tremendous sadness.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (0-4, 8.06 ERA) vs. Jerry Hodges (1-2, 3.18 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (3-5, 6.05 ERA) vs. Michael Donovan (1-5, 3.18 ERA)
Jake Jackson (3-4, 3.71 ERA) vs. Philip Wise (2-5, 5.67 ERA)
Rich Willett (6-6, 2.82 ERA) vs. Jamal Barrow (2-4, 4.47 ERA)

Donovan was the only lefty we expected to meet, with the other southpaw in their rotation, Mario Gonzalez (3-4, 3.86 ERA) having pitched on Sunday.

The Titans also had some injuries, most notably reliever Jesus Rodarte and infielders Antonio Gil and Jonathan Thennes. The latter had been Rookie of the Month in May, but had since torn an abdominal muscle and was out until September. For Portland, Cosmo Trevino was still laboring on a limp paw and was again not in the lineup on Monday.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – P Mathers
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – RF M. Avila – CF Vermillion – C Kuehn – 3B Freeman – 2B Amos – SS J. Rodriguez – P Hodges

Mathers started his day with a 1-0 lead, courtesy of Manny Fernandez’ double that plated Berto in the top of the first inning, got through the first inning alright, but gave up a home run to right to 30-year-old replacement infielder David Amos – the first career bomb for Amos, who had made it into 34 games with the ’39 Buffaloes and nothing else before getting the call with the Titans the week before. Thankfully, Jeff Kilmer had also homered in the top 2nd, and the Coons were up 2-1. Mathers proceeded to bean Moises Avila out of the game with a fastball that struck him in the shoulder *and* helmet. Justin Nelson replaced Avila, then tripled in the tying run in form of Danny Liceaga with two outs in the bottom 5th. Mark Vermillion popped out to strand the go-ahead run…

Instead, the Raccoons took another lead in the seventh. Kilmer hit a 1-out single that knocked out Hodges, with mathers retained for bunting purposes. Berto squeezed a 2-out grounder through Alex Zacarias for a single, and the reasonably quick Kilmer – for a catcher anyway – scored from second base to make it 3-2 Coons before the inning fizzled out. Mathers got one out from PH Mario Duenez on his 99th pitch in the bottom 7th, then was removed for Chuck Jones, who allowed hits to Liceaga and Zacarias, but Liceaga was caught in a rundown between second and third to ease the Critters through the inning. There was no easement in the eighth inning, though. Cory Lambert allowed 2-out singles to Ben “Nine Fingers” Freeman and Amos, and Josh Rella got whipped for a 2-run double by Juan Rodriguez, plunging the Raccoons into the trailing position, 4-3. Willie Vega, hitting a paltry .197, popped out to short in the #9 hole to end the inning. Portland proceeded to put the tying run on second base with nobody out in the ninth when Kilmer doubled to left against Ryan Kinner. Cosmo struck out, but Berto singled home Kilmer again with a ball into shallow center, tying the score at four. Berto advanced on not one, but TWO wild pitches before Kinner walked Tony Romero. Tony Hunter clipped the go-ahead single, and Kinner was replaced with lefty Gabe Butler. Hunter was caught stealing, Manny grounded out, and Wyatt Hamill squeaked out a save despite a 1-out walk to Zacarias in the bottom 9th… 5-4 Raccoons. Ramos 4-5, 2 RBI; Hunter 2-5, RBI; Kilmer 3-4, HR, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 1B Wilson – P Moreno
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – RF M. Avila – CF Vermillion – C Kuehn – 3B Freeman – 2B Amos – SS J. Rodriguez – P Donovan

Tuesday saw another early Coons lead, this time with Arturo Carreno reaching base with a walk in the second inning and stealing his second big-league bag before being singled home by Jeff Wilson with two outs. This was after a Hunter double had dissipated in the first inning, and before Nelson Moreno pissed it all away with a Freeman double and Amos triple in the bottom 2nd. Rodriguez grounded out to Hunter to keep it 1-1, but it was again Amos, the 30-year-old nobody (aren’t THEY always IT?) to undo the Raccoons’ bidding in the bottom 5th. Not that Portland had taken another lead – no, but Moreno was just too easy to undo. Amos singled, stole second, and scored on a Rodriguez single to get Boston on top, 2-1.

The Coons began the sixth with the Tony Brigade on base, but Manny hit into a double play and Cortes, uselessly, struck out. Carreno opened the seventh with a single, then was doubled up by Kilmer. While Moreno kept scratching for himself and kept the Titans to what they already had through seven innings – two runs on four hits – the Raccoons got a Cosmo single off Butler and a Romero double against Seth Green to put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one down in the eighth. Green lost Hunter in a full count, then yielded for right-hander Danny Tirado with three aboard and Manny up. Manny flew out to shallow center, keeping Cosmo pinned, and Cortes, the ******* sucker, struck out. Instead, Moreno gave up a leadoff triple to Rodriguez in the bottom 8th, and Brent Clark was no help in keeping that runner on base, allowing a single to Mario Duenez and a walk to Moises Avila, and stopped just short of a general meltdown. Kinner was back at it in the top of the ninth and gave up a homer to Jeff Wilson to reduce their lead to one run again… but that was with two already out and Carreno and Reyna not having gotten on base. Stephon Nettles pinch-hit for Clark and hit a liner into the gap, where it eluded the Gold Glovers Vermillion and Avila for a 2-out triple. Cosmo walked in a full count as two bad teams conspired to drag out the sadly inevitable for as long as feasible. Romero then flew out easily to Avila. 3-2 Titans. Hunter 2-3, BB, 2B; Wilson 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Nettles (PH) 1-1, 3B;

Game 3
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – 3B Trevino – C Wilson – P Jackson
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – RF M. Avila – CF Vermillion – C Kuehn – 3B Freeman – 2B Amos – SS J. Rodriguez – P P. Wise

Another day, another early Coons lead, this time on a solo shot to right by Tony Hunter in the first. Jake Jackson allowed a single the first time through the Titans’ order and struck out nobody, but then got three to begin the second time through, again for one base hit. In between, the Raccoons singled Wise almost to death in the fourth, getting four hits and three runs before Jackson lined out to Zacarias to strand a pair. Hunter hit a single in that fourth inning, then clubbed a 2-out double with nobody on in the fifth, getting to within a triple of the cycle, but for the time being was stranded when Fernandez’ gapper was tracked down by Avila to end the inning.

Rain then interfered five innings in, with the Raccoons still up 4-0, but they had to critically eye Jackson after a 35-minute delay. Wise was out after the delay, with Green walking Cosmo with two outs in the sixth, then falling to 3-0 on Wilson. Jeff Wilson ripped away and hit a double off the fence, with Cosmo surprised, but still scoring from first base to run the lead to 5-0. Jackson struck out to end the inning, then returned to the mound on 59 pitches. Liceaga hit a leadoff single, but was doubled up by Zacarias. Jackson nailed Avila at 0-2, which got the pen stirring in earnest. Vermillion singled, Paul Kuehn hit an RBI double, and here came Jon Craig, getting “Nine Fingers” Freeman to fly out to Romero to stop the Titans before they could get closer than slam range. Green was still in for the top 7th, walking Ramos and Romero to begin that inning. It took two outs before Reyna dropped an RBI single, 6-1. Carreno walked as Green kept melting, and Cosmo hit an RBI single. Wilson struck out to strand the full set left on, but that was convenient enough as it let us keep Craig in the game for another inning. Never mind that he allowed two singles and only didn’t give up a run because with runners on the corners, Rodriguez was caught stealing… Hunter came back looking for a triple in the eighth inning with two outs and Berto on second, but hit a ball off the fence so hard that he barely got an RBI double out of it – woe is us! Manny dropped to 0-for-5 in ending the inning, then got the rest of the game off, with Nettles staying in after pinch-hitting for Craig. 8-1 Raccoons. Hunter 4-5, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Trevino 3-5, 2 RBI; Wilson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Jackson 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (4-4);

We were in a long string of games, and Manny Fernandez and Tony Romero were having no fun this series. Both got a day off on Thursday.

Game 4
POR: 1B Ramos – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – CF Nettles – LF de Wit – C Kilmer – P Willett
BOS: 2B Amos – LF W. Vega – RF M. Avila – CF Vermillion – C Kuehn – 3B Freeman – 1B Duenez – SS Rodriguez – P Barrow

Boston scored first for the first and only time in this series, but the run was unearned after a fumble of a double play grounder by Willett himself, botching a potential 1-6-3 after Vermillion’s leadoff single in the bottom 2nd. Paul Kuehn thus reached base, but was doubled up by Freeman, 6-4-3, instead. Duenez dropped a 2-out single to get Vermillion home, though, before Rodriguez struck out. Top 3rd, Barrow walked Kilmer to begin the inning, then threw away Willett’s bunt for a second runner on base. Now Berto was doubled up, 6-4-3, and Cosmo popped out… Instead it was 2-0 in the fourth, when Duenez singled home Vermillion (leadoff double) *again*…

Never mind the leadoff double that Jamal Barrow ripped off Willett, who went up in flames entirely in the fifth inning and was whacked around for four hits and three runs by Boston – but Barrow also pitched a no-hitter through five because the lousy Critters couldn’t get bat to ball. Tony Hunter banished the specter of getting no-hit by the last-place Titans, doubling to left with two outs and nobody on in the sixth. Reyna flew out gently to strand him, but the game was out of paw anyway at 5-0… That double remained the Coons’ only hit through seven, while Chuck Jones faced four batters and retired none in the bottom of that inning. Left-handers Vega and Vermillion singled, right-handers Avila and Kuehn walked, the latter with the bases loaded. Josh Rella replaced him and got out of the inning for one run only… which perversely resulted from Duenez getting hit with a pitch with one out… The Raccoons stumbled into a run in the eighth, Cosmo singling home Omar Gutierrez, but that was it… 7-1 Titans. Gutierrez (PH) 1-1;

If you can’t even beat these Titans……..

Raccoons (27-32) vs. Stars (30-30) – June 13-15, 2042

Home, sweet home… although it’s not like we’re winning a lot here, either. The Stars were seventh in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed in the Federal League. Their run differential was -15 (Coons: +4), and despite playing in a shoebox they were more about hitting for average and stealing bases, which seemed like a waste of time to me… This was the third straight year of these teams meeting. Portland had taken two of three in ’40, but lost two of three in ’41.

Projected matchups:
Josh Brown (6-2, 2.22 ERA) vs. Orlando Leos (4-5, 3.78 ERA)
Corey Mathers (0-4, 6.91 ERA) vs. Daniel Hernandez (4-3, 3.05 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (3-6, 5.79 ERA) vs. Alfredo Vargas (1-6, 6.03 ERA)

All right-handers here. Bernie Chavez (2-3, 4.72 ERA) was in the building, but would not get a start in the series.

Game 1
DAL: 3B J. Rivas – SS Villacorta – 2B H. Acosta – C Torreo – RF Cecil – 1B Riley – LF R. Correa – CF Sedillo – P Leos
POR: 1B A. Ramos – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 3B Trevino – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Brown

Hugo Acosta arrived with a living 26-game hitting streak and wasted no time getting it to 27 with a single in the first inning. A wild pitch and a Pacio Torreo single gave the Stars a 1-0 lead almost as quickly, and Dan Riley’s leadoff double in the second inning was backed up by two long fly outs and a Mario Sedillo sac fly to extend the lead to 2-0. Not all was lost yet – while Carlos Cortes reliably bummed his way into a double play after Fernandez’ leadoff walk in the bottom 2nd, Carreno drew another leadoff walk in the bottom 3rd. He stole second, then came across on Brown’s single to center. Romero walked with two outs, and Hunter hit a game-tying double to left-center. Ricky Correa then denied Manny Fernandez in the gap to end the inning, but Cortes began the bottom 4th with a jack to left that came sort of unexpected.

Brown grinded out the next two innings, but was yanked when he walked Leos with one out in the seventh inning. Jon Craig allowed a 2-out single to Leo Villacorta, but got an easy fly from Acosta to get out of the inning with the 3-2 lead still in one piece. Insurance came in the bottom of the inning. Leos put Cosmo on base, then hung one to Reyna when the latter pinch-hit for Craig. Reyna bolted the ball over the fence, stretching the Coons lead to 5-2! Brent Clark struck out the side in the eighth for a nice follow-on. Wyatt Hamill was markedly less successful in the ninth. Correa opened with a single, and pinch-hitting in the #9 hole Jon Ramos ripped a 1-out RBI triple. Sean Calais legged out an infield roller for a single in the #1 spot, with Ramos having to stay put after being shooed back by Jeff Kilmer. Villacorta added an RBI single, with runners staying on the corners, and by now I had no doubt that this would end up another soul-devouring loss. Acosta hit a grounder that brought in the tying run, and Torreo smacked a 2-run homer to give Dallas the lead on Hamill, the ******* *********. Facing righty Matt Simmons in the bottom 9th, the Raccoons got Cosmo and Carreno on with leadoff singles. De Wit hit for Kilmer, who had another hopeless day, but flew out to right. Reyna’s grounder for a fielder’s choice at second base scored Cosmo from third base, but the tying run remained on first. Jeff Wilson flew out to end the game. 7-6 Stars. Trevino 2-4; Carreno 2-3, BB; Reyna 1-2, HR, 3 RBI; Brown 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K and 1-2, RBI;

There is no point pretending any longer…

Saturday already started depressingly, with Maud having invited a couple of local sponsors that insisted on shaking paws with me. I bluntly asked them why they were even wasting their hard-earned money on having their businesses and logos displayed on the outfield fence. All that got them was fringe exposition on hostile homers. Maud looked unamused, but that was nothing to the screaming blackness inside my guts that kept commanding me to throw myself into the Willamette with a bag of baseballs around my neck immediately.

Then we waited for hours for rain to subside, which it never did. The Saturday game was vacated and we got a double header on Sunday, so the Raccoons got their two forfeiture starters to go on the same day.

Brilliant.

I saw both Sunday games from New York, where the draft would take place the same day, though not until the second game was well underway.

Game 2
DAL: 3B J. Rivas – LF R. Correa – 2B H. Acosta – 1B Riley – C Torreo – CF Cecil – SS J. Ramos – RF Calais – P D. Hernandez
POR: 1B A. Ramos – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – CF Reyna – RF Cortes – C Kilmer – 2B Gutierrez – P Moreno

Straight singles loaded the bags with nobody out for the Raccoons in the bottom 1st, which was never a good sign. Manny was walked with four balls by Hernandez, Reyna still hit a sac fly, and then the dam holding back all the suck broke again and Cortes popped out on the infield, while Kilmer grounded out to Acosta. To anybody’s surprise that 2-0 lead would last Moreno through five innings. He gave up only three base hits, one of which was unfortunately a fifth-frame solo jack by Sean Calais, so it was 2-1 after the top of the fifth. The Raccoons had twice put Omar Gutierrez on base, without doing anything with him. Bottom 5th, Hunter singled, stole a base, and came in after singles by Manny and Reyna, though. Hernandez continued to founder and walked Cortes to fill the bases for Kilmer, who was about to hit into a double play, 4-6-3, but Jon Ramos had a slight bobble at second base and that cost the Stars the third out. Kilmer was barely safe, with Fernandez scoring another run. Gutierrez remained unretired, snapping an RBI single to center, 4-1, before Moreno grounded out to short to end the inning.

The 27-game hitting streak of Hugo Acosta was none of our business, but by the sixth inning it was actively threatened by Nelson Moreno’s stubborn semi-excellence. Acosta was already 0-for-2, then grounded out to Gutierrez to remain hitless. Nelson Moreno remained too tough to chew for the Stars’ lineup and grinded out an eight-inning 4-hitter before being hit for to begin the bottom 8th on account of 105 pitches thrown. Nettles singled in his spot, but was stranded. Chuck Jones sat down the Stars in the ninth to put the first game of the day into the books as a W. 5-1 Raccoons. Hunter 2-5; Reyna 2-3, 2 RBI; Gutierrez 2-3, RBI; Nettles (PH) 1-1; Moreno 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (4-6);

Acosta grounded out against Jones, which killed his hitting streak at 27 games.

Game 3
DAL: 3B J. Rivas – SS Villacorta – 2B H. Acosta – 1B Riley – CF Cecil – LF R. Correa – C J. Herrera – RF Sedillo – P A. Vargas
POR: 2B Carreno – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Reyna – RF Nettles – C Wilson – 3B de Wit – P Mathers

Acosta started a new hitting streak in the second game on Sunday, hitting an infield single to score Jose Rivas in the first inning. Mathers leaked another single to Riley, a walk to Tylor Cecil, and a sac fly to Ricky Correa, falling behind 2-0 early. He allowed another four hits for two runs in the second inning, and I called Maud from New York to throw all his **** into a bag and put him out the door, but let him exhaust his pitch count first unless he would do harm to our chances. That looked like only a remote possibility after two dry innings for Portland to begin the game, but in the bottom 3rd they cobbled hits together from de Wit, Carreno, and Romero, and together with a gross error by Cecil scored three runs to get within one of Dallas. Rivas hit a leadoff single in the fourth, Juan Herrera hit a 2-out single in the fifth, but Mathers hung onto the edge of the cliff with a single claw and kept the Raccoons in a 4-3 game. He was then pinch-hit for to begin the bottom 5th. Berto walked, but was forced out by Carreno, who stole second instead. Vargas was digging himself out, though, getting Romero to pop out and whiffing Hunter … except that the ball got away from Herrera and Hunter reached base on the uncaught third strike, extending the inning. Manny was having a rotten week, though, and grounded out, stranding the tying run at third base.

The score remained 4-3 as both sides futilely poked away at each other for the sixth and seventh innings. The Coons paraded Lambert, Hamill (disgraced!), Rella, and Clark in to keep the Stars where they were through the top of the eighth, without the offense ever connecting for something tangible for the home team. Reyna and Nettles hit 2-out singles in the eighth, but Wilson lined out, keeping Portland short. Clark struck out the side in the ninth to allow for a comeback against Simmons. De Wit grounded out. Cortes whiffed. Carreno whiffed. 4-3 Stars. Reyna 2-4; Nettles 2-3;

In other news

June 9 – SAC SS/3B Josh Jackson (.313, 2 HR, 8 RBI), in his third cup of coffee, tears his labrum and will miss the rest of the season.
June 10 – SAL SP Julian Ponce (4-2, 3.87 ERA) 3-hits the Warriors in a 5-0 shutout, whiffing eight batters.
June 10 – Falcons C/1B Chris Kokoszka (.225, 1 HR, 24 RBI) will miss six weeks with a broken wrist.
June 11 – DAL 2B/SS Hugo Acosta (.366, 1 HR, 36 RBI) extends his hitting streak to 25 games with a third-inning single in a 4-2 loss to the Pacifics.
June 11 – A trade sends SP Derrick Forbes (3-5, 4.02 ERA) from the Rebels to the Condors. Richmond receives backup INF Jonathan Santos (.317, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and a prospect.
June 13 – Lost for the season is SAC SP Josh Vercher (5-4, 5.22 ERA), who is shut down with chronic shoulder soreness.
June 13 – An intercostal strain will sideline LAP OF Juan Benavides (.321, 7 HR, 37 RBI) for at least a week.
June 15 – Torn ankle ligaments rule out Canadiens LF/1B/RF Melvin Hernandez (.348, 6 HR, 28 RBI) for the rest of the season.

FL Player of the Week: PIT 3B/2B Jonathan Iverson (.303, 8 HR, 34 RBI), batting .577 (15-26) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: ATL INF/RF Joe Crim (.278, 5 HR, 28 RBI), hitting .533 (16-30) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons’ bargain bin is open for business. There is no point denying it any longer, the team is entirely **** and sucks *****, and the only way out is to sell as many individual pieces as possible. Burn the entire ******* **** to the ground.

However, nobody wants Manny Fernandez, still.

Nobody wants Wyatt Hamill, the despicable **** stain, either.

That Sunday game was what we have always seen in Nelson Moreno and why he hasn’t been purged through the harsh days of April and May (although he was one rancid start away from AAA at one point). There is a very good pitcher somewhere in that sometimes confused looking 23-year-old right-hander! Not of the strikeout-galore type, but of the finesse type. He just has a hard time finding that finesse… He is 2-1 in his last three starts with a 2.42 ERA, allowing six runs (two homers) in 22.1 innings. He struck out ten and walked a pair.

Next week: road trip starts to Cincy, New York, and Indy. Tony Hunter will probably get a day off rather soon. But first we actually have to conduct a draft.

Fun Fact: 28 years ago today, Danny Flores of the Rebels hit for a natural cycle in a 7-5 win over the Bayhawks.

Flores was a singles slapper that had a 16-year career almost entirely in the Federal League, only appearing briefly for the Aces and Titans at the tail end. He spent 12 years with the Rebs, winning a championship with them in 2017. He was also a speed demon, stealing 413 career bases while hitting .292/.359/.398, including the most in the Federal League every year from 2013 through 2017. The 413 SB are still 14th on the all-time leaderboard.

That leaderboard also looks like Pablo Sanchez (721 SB and retired) will weather the storm of all of Cosmo (692), Berto (676), and Guillermo Obando (685), none of whom is too fleet of foot anymore.

Cookie Carmona (428 SB) dropped out of the career top 10 at the end of last year, passed by Chance Bossert.

[Westheim]

Players of the Week have been added above

+++

2042 ABL DRAFT

While another season was uselessly flowing down the Willamette, the Raccoons at least got to draft in the thick of it in the 2042 edition of the country’s bestest baseball boys offering up their services for indentured servitude at less than minimum age, so that we could waste away their youth until they were in their late 20s and no good for nothing no more, like Travis Sims or Nick Lando.

Scout guy and me were armed with almost four picks in the top 40 (our third supplemental round pick was #42) and five inside the top 60, with a top selection of #16. Also the usual hot list (players with * are high school players):

SP Sean Fowler (13/13/12) * - BNN #9
SP Gary Perrone (13/14/12)
SP Jim White (13/13/12) – BNN #6
SP Lance Parent (12/12/9) – BNN #7
SP Jeremy Chaney (11/17/13) – BNN #8

CL Sam Gibson (17/13/8)

C Ray DeFrank (11/11/17) * - BNN #4

INF Nathan Whitehurst (14/9/11) *
3B Seth Lyon (13/6/13) *
SS/2B Jonathan Ban (14/5/11)
INF Billy Canning (9/11/10)

OF/1B Billy Quinteros (10/13/17)
LF/RF Justin Griffith (12/8/10) *
LF/RF David Sanders (12/5/11)

But first we had to play the patient game, while scout guy had me take peeks on his dumbphone at the score of our ongoing second leg of the double header against Dallas in Portland (not that it was going so well…). The Indians had the first selection. They went with outfielder Bill Quinteros. Gary Perrone was the first pitcher taken, #2 by the Gold Sox. The Rebels continued with Nathan Whitehurst.

I was already hissing at GMs to steer the heck clear of our hotlist, but to no avail. The Knights took Chaney at #4, and while the Titans went with shortlisted pitcher David Barel, the Aces dared to grab Ray DeFrank at #6. The Caps took Sean Fowler at #7, and that second catcher that didn’t quite make the hotlist, but was certainly on our mind, Blake Mickle, was the #8 selection by the Warriors followed by Jonathan Ban going to the Thunder. L.A. made Jim White the #10 choice. The Buffos picked Sam Gibson at #13.

That left five hotlist options for the Raccoons with their #16 pick, of which Lance Parent was the only pitcher. There was the pair of defensively challenged corner outfielders in Griffith and Sanders, plus the infielders Canning and Lyon. The Raccoons went with solid – and took Lyon, a rock-steady defensive third baseman with a hitting profile reminding one of Matt Nunley: good contact, *some* power, but not a whole lot, and a tough time for the pitcher, able to battle out long at-bats. No speed here, but you can’t have everything. The outfielders probably had higher upside, but with their limited defense also certain pitfalls…

As far as the hotlist was concerned, Lance Parent ended up the #21 pick by the Scorpions. Justin Griffith also went in the first round, the Loggers picking him with the #24 selection. The Thunder then got Canning at #28, but Sanders fell to the Coons with their first supplemental round pick – we had made the selection on the board a while ago, picking him now was a no-brainer.

+++

2042 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#16) – 3B Seth Lyon, 17, from Simi Valley, CA – sturdy defensive third baseman with high contact abilities, tough to strike out, a bit of power.
Supp. Round (#32) – LF/RF David Sanders, 20, from New York, NY – limited power abilities, but good contact and eye potential, also some speed. His first step off contact in the field is slow though, and he might be a defensive liability. Very good throwing arm, though.
Supp. Round (#39) – CL Brad Barnes, 21, from Southlake, TX – right-handed groundballer with a 92mph sinker and a really good changeup
Supp. Round (#42) – OF Ken Mills, 20, from Reisterstown, MD – very good outfield defense, potential to be a prolific base stealer, source of power for Towson College, and able to draw walks, too … that he has fallen this deep in the draft is mostly due to concerns whether he can make contact consistently against professional pitchers with good breaking stuff.
Round 2 (#58) – SP Sean Belisle, 18, from Oxnard, CA – right-hander throwing 92 with a cutter, and adding three breaking pitches, most notably a befuddling slider. Some concerns about character, like eating teammates’ lunches, which could become a problem on the Raccoons’ farm…
Round 3 (#82) – SP Rich Haynes, 18, from Chula Vista, CA – right-hander throwing a 93mph cutter and a hitter-freezing knuckle curve… unfortunately he has yet to find a third pitch that he can throw for anything else but bombs away. Everything else would be in place.
Round 4 (#106) – C Rich Rabe, 22, from Detroit, MI – switch-hitting catcher with tremendous defense, but hitting like a 1980s defensive shortstop…
Round 5 (#130) – 1B Ryan Stella, 20, from Pelham, NY – he is mainly about power potential and will likely strike out in droves; good defender at first base, though, possessing good range, but a lack of throwing arm power will keep him on the right side of the infield no matter what.
Round 6 (#154) – SP Ian McGuire, 19, from Doral, FL – right-handed flyball pitcher with a mix of four pitches, none convincing so far. The fastball tops out at 90mph.
Round 7 (#178) - SS Josh Floyd, 20, from Ridgway, PA – supremely gifted defensive shortstop, but like our fourth-rounder he hits like a 1980s defensive shortstop, and there’s no speed to speak of either.
Round 8 (#202) – 1B/LF/RF Evan Van Hoy, 20, from Solon, OH – lefty hitter with unimpressive batting profile, but with some power potential; also fairly speedy for a corner guy with mediocre glove abilities.
Round 9 (#226) – OF/1B Jonathan Babcock, 19, from Massapequa Park, NY – right-handed hitting, decent defensive outfielder with some speed, but no power whatsoever; mostly a singles slapper, and he stems from Neil Reece’s corner of the world.
Round 10 (#250) – SP Ricky Baez, 18, from Ponce, Puerto Rico – left-handed soft-tosser (86mph) and a neat knuckle curve, but little else of note.
Round 11 (#274) – MR Drew Sidwell, 21, from Merrimack, NH – lefty (of course!) baseball rat with a 91mph fastball and a curveball. Unfortunately his passion for the game is in no way matched by his skill set.
Round 12 (#298) – INF/RF Tim Rogers, 18, from Normandy, MO – our scouting department says he has excellent on-base potential, but OSA hates him, and the fact that we get him just ahead of the mercy picks for the one-legged and paraplegic players gives me thoughts that OSA might be right.
Round 13 (#322) – C Bobby Christenbury, 20, from Aberdeen, MD – little glove, no bat, no speed, no power, and not even a throwing arm that can throw out one of those one-legged players…

+++

All our picks were assigned to Aumsville.

The minor leaguers set free included three relievers in Aumsville, including 2039 ninth-rounder Josh Fuller and 2041 13th-rounder Brian Willard. In terms of position players, 2037 ninth-rounder C Chad Field and outfielder Jared Roe (2036, 12th round) had their suitcases put in front of the door in Ham Lake. A pair of 2040 infielders, Ken Lenihan (5th round) and Jason Hannah (12th round) were released from Aumsville. The Beagles also released last year’s 12th-rounder, LF/RF Bryan Hardy.

One notable promotion also took place, that of 1B Shuta Yamamoto from Ham Lake to St. Pete. The 22-year-old Japanese import had batted .276/.366/.504 in 64 games with the Panthers, hitting 13 homers along the way. This also created a roster squeeze with Art Goetz and Damian Salazar in AAA. Since all three were also on the 40-man roster, the Raccoons maybe would want to get rid of one of them or play one of them in the majors… Goetz had hit .232 with 6 HR, 34 RBI with the ’41 Coons. Salazar had been up with the ’40 Coons, flailing his way to a .214 average with 1 HR and 11 RBI in just slightly fewer at-bats, but was out-hitting Goetz in AAA now. Goetz was already 27, and Salazar would turn 27 in July, so neither was very high up our rankings anymore.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (28-34) @ Cyclones (32-28) – June 16-18, 2042

The Raccoons from their split double-header with the Stars in Portland and me from the draft in New York met somewhere in the middle, converging on Cincinnati to play the first set of our three-city road trip on the road to be forgotten. Cincy were third in the FL East, 1 1/2 games back, third in runs scored, and third in runs allowed. We had taken two of three from them in a meeting last year, but I had no confidence in the team anymore.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (4-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Chris Turner (6-1, 2.76 ERA)
Rich Willett (6-7, 3.05 ERA) vs. Leborio Valdevesso (2-3, 3.34 ERA)
Josh Brown (6-2, 2.27 ERA) vs. Carson Jarvinen (5-3, 4.94 ERA)

“Tuba” Turner was the only southpaw we would encounter in this series – literally. The Cyclones did not even carry a left-hander in their bullpen as of Monday.

We would continue to dole out days off to players. Manny Fernandez had a really rotten week behind him and was not in the lineup on Monday against the lefty.

Game 1
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Reyna – RF Cortes – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 1B Wilson – P Jackson
CIN: 3B Jes. Burgos – C R. Rodriguez – 1B Santillano – CF Mathes – LF Lockwood – RF Ju. Brito – SS Copeland – 2B Gould – P C. Turner

The Raccoons scratched out a run in the opening frame, getting Cosmo on with a leadoff walk, and while Hunter eventually forced him out, he stole second base and came around on a 2-out double by Miguel Reyna. After that the Coons’ offensive ambitions were mostly limited to getting a random bobblehead on base, and have another random bobblehead ground into a double play, like Romero did in the third and Wilson in the fifth. Jake Jackson held on to the lead through four innings thanks to allowing no base runners whatsoever, but all good things must die eventually and Dan Mathes opened the bottom 5th with a double down the rightfield line. I sighed and accepted my fate. Jayden Lockwood’s grounder advanced the runner, Juan Brito walked, and Sebastian Copeland tied the game with a groundout. Thomas Gould flew out to Romero to keep the go-ahead run on second base.

Miguel Reyna to the rescue – the sixth saw the Tony Brigade take up positions on the corners with one out. Miguel Reyna seized the opportunity and whacked a 3-piece off Turner into the leftfield stands, giving Portland a new 4-1 lead on just four base hits, which sounded totally un-Coons-like. The Cyclones didn’t get a second base hit until Lockwood singled in the seventh, but that was with two outs and the inning ended quickly. Jackson retired the 7-8-9 in order in the eighth, and while the Raccoons never tacked on, Jackson was suffocating the Cyclones so thoroughly that he was sent into the ninth with a 4-1 lead and on 95 pitches. Who else would be entrust with the inevitable blowup? Wyatt Hamill? Jesus Burgos promptly hit a leadoff single to center. PH Mike Gibson popped out, which brought a string of lefty bats to the dish. But we had picked our poison. Jackson would face serial Player of the Year Danny Santillano, hitting a modest .295 with 8 homers, for sure (never mind Chuck Jones tossing in the pen). He also walked Santillano, bringing in Chuck Jones for real. Cincy countered with righty PH Mike Gray, who grounded to third to advance the runners, and Rico Leyva in place of Lockwood, who walked. Nobody batted for Juan Brito, a .341 poker from the left side. Jones, like a class act, balked in a run at 2-0, then conceded the other two runs on a single on the next pitch, tying the game, and after a Copeland K, sending it to extras. I felt dizzy.

Once in extras, the Raccoons loaded the bases with nobody out, or rather Steve Bailey did. He nicked Cosmo, Romero singled, and Hunter walked. Reyna whiffed, and Manny Fernandez entered the fray hitting for a listless Carlos Cortes. He was kind of angry for having to leave his barrel of crackers in the dugout, but the move was very efficient. A long shot to right – GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!

After Travis Sims put Dan Rollin and Jesus Burgos into scoring position with one out in the bottom 10th, Hamill entered the game after all, then got to face righty PH Alfonso Madrid with a 3-for-10 stick. A grounder to Cosmo made him 3-for-11. Santillano flew out to Romero to end the game. 8-4 Raccoons. Reyna 2-5, HR, 4 RBI; Fernandez (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI; Jackson 8.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K;

Game 2
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Nettles – RF Reyna – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – 1B Cortes – C Wilson – SS Gutierrez – P Willett
CIN: 3B Jes. Burgos – SS Copeland – 1B Santillano – CF Mathes – LF Lockwood – RF Ju. Brito – C Rollin – 2B Gould – P Valdevesso

Valdevesso was blitzed for three runs in the first inning; Nettles doubled Reyna singled him in, and Manny whacked a 2-piece to right, making him the first Critter to double-digit homers this year (and probably the only one, as things were going…). But the baseball gods giveth and they taketh it away – Jesus Burgos’ single and Copeland’s loud homer to left gave Cincy two of their own in the bottom 1st, and Mathes and Brito singled as well before Dan Rollin, hitting less than Kilmer, struck out to strand them. So Willett looked unconvincing, but the Raccoons at least added on, dropping four singles for two runs in the third inning, going up 5-2 on knocks by Nettles, Fernandez, Carreno, and Cortes. The two veterans got the RBI’s.

Through five, the score remained 5-2, with Valdevesso pinch-hit for in the fourth inning, and Willett never stopping the wobble. He scattered seven hits and a walk through five, and didn’t look like a bet to last nine innings… He also had his bunt thrown away by Dan Rollin in the sixth inning, giving the Coons Omar Gutierrez and the pitcher in scoring position with nobody out against righty Jeff Horstmeier. Cosmo and Nettles both hit RBI singles, 7-2, Reyna hit a sac fly, and with two outs rookie Arturo Carreno swatted an RBI triple off Juan Burgos, 9-2. Cortes’ liner up the leftfield line fell for a double and gave the Coons double digits before Wilson grounded out to end the 5-run onslaught. None of this helped Willett, who gave up a homer to Lockwood in the sixth before being pinch-hit for in the seventh. Travis Sims took over and had another abortive appearance, facing four batters and retiring none of them in the bottom 7th. He was lifted for Brent Clark with the bases loaded in a 10-4 game, Dan Mathes batting. The Cyclones hit two hard fly balls off him, but Manny held Mathes to a sac fly, and Lockwood was also caught on the warning track by Reyna, and Clark nursed a 10-5 lead out of the inning. Santillano would take Jon Craig deep in the ninth inning, but that was with one out and nobody on and didn’t lead to a major meltdown anymore. 10-6 Coons. Trevino 2-5, RBI; Nettles 3-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Fernandez 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Carreno 2-5, 3B, RBI; Cortes 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Stephon Nettles went unretired? The guy that hit .197/.242/.217 in 203 AB last year? He was now hitting .500 (in 24 AB), which was decidedly a small sample size, but with that performance you can force your bum into the lineup for another day or two…!

Game 3
POR: 1B Ramos – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 2B Carreno – RF Cortes – CF Nettles – C Kilmer – P Brown
CIN: 2B Gould – LF Lockwood – 1B Santillano – 3B Copeland – CF Mathes – C R. Rodriguez – RF Leyva – SS St. Peter – P Jarvinen

On the thid day in Cincy, the offense died – at least the Coons’. And while Brown retired the first six in order, the Cyclones then got Rico Leyva and Cody St. Peter on base to begin the bottom 3rd, and after a bunt got both of them in with a Gould single and a Lockwood sac fly to take a 2-0 lead. Both teams had only three base hits through five innings. The Raccoons got a fourth when Cosmo hit a 1-out triple in the gap in right-center, but Hunter popped out and Fernandez flew out to Lockwood to keep him stranded. In turn, with two outs in the bottom of the frame, Copeland doubled to right and scored on a soft single by Mathes in no man’s land to get Cincy up 3-0. The Raccoons only made the board in the seventh; Cortes and Nettles hit back-to-back singles, and Kilmer’s fly to left was good for a sac fly. Reyna then grounded out when he batted for Brown, ending the inning.

Top 8th, David Torres got a grounder from Berto to begin things, then allowed a single to Cosmo Trevino. Pedro de Leon replaced him with the tying run in the box, but gave up a screaming triple to Tony Hunter, which narrowed the score to 3-2 and presented Manny Fernandez with the tying run on third base and one out. Manny slashed de Leon’s first offering up the middle for an RBI single, levelling the score, three-all. He then stole second base, moved up on a Carreno groundout, and scored when Cortes dropped a single into shallow left with two down, and suddenly the Coons had surged into the lead…! Nettles flew out to keep it 4-3, a lead the Chuck Jones maintained in the bottom of the inning. A lack of imagination put Wyatt Hamill into the bottom of the ninth, which would begin with Rollin hitting for Mathes, and also with a strikeout. Ricky Rodriguez popped out to short. Leyva doubled to center. That brought up St. Peter as the winning run – he had missed the first two games with a nagging injury and was actually a .336 switch-hitter that was acute danger. He also had the pitcher behind him, but the Cyclones’ bench was still well-manned and there was no point in putting him on intentionally. The game ended with St. Peter – he hit a fly to center, Romero hardly had to move, and the catch completed the most-unexpected sweep. 4-3 Critters. Trevino 3-4, 3B; Fernandez 2-4, RBI; Cortes 2-4, RBI;

The Raccoons had ten hits in the game, eight singles and, wickedly, two triples.

Raccoons (31-34) @ Crusaders (33-30) – June 19-22, 2042

This looked like the battle for third place in the division (unless we could find a way to lose our way to the depths of the Arrowheads and Titans). The Crusaders were fifth in runs scored, but allowed the fewest runs in the Continental League, so our lineup was in for a challenge. They had a +36 run differential (Coons: +15). We led the season series, 2-1.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (0-5, 6.95 ERA) vs. Juan Garcia (1-7, 3.70 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (4-6, 5.28 ERA) vs. Dave Hils (6-5, 3.48 ERA)
Jake Jackson (4-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (5-5, 3.69 ERA)
Rich Willett (7-7, 3.14 ERA) vs. Aaron Hickey (7-2, 3.27 ERA)

Southpaw to begin the series, while we’d miss their second lefty, Casey Pinter (4-1, 3.92 ERA).

The Raccoons would have sent Mathers – who despite repeated threats to get his striped tail removed was still here – into the opener on short rest since he was going to get pummeled regardless of the situation. He was going to be piggy-backed with Cory Lambert, who had not appeared at all in the Cyclones series. All of this sounded like a recipe for a big fat L on the pocket schedule.

…and then it rained on Thursday and no baseball was played after all. The teams instead got a double-header scheduled for Friday, which changed things a little bit at least. The Crusaders changed assignments and put Hils into the opener now. The Raccoons acknowledged that Moreno had done well his last time out, but didn’t match the move and stuck with the Mathers-Lambert piggyback for the opener – now not necessarily because of pitch count (everybody would go on regular rest), but because nobody seriously expected Mathers to go past five innings anyway.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Nettles – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 2B Trevino – RF Cortes – C Wilson – 3B de Wit – P Mathers
NYC: SS Adame – CF Besaw – C Alba – RF Platero – 2B Briones – LF Zimmerman – 3B Nash – 1B Rudd – P Hils

While New York made solid contact off him, Mathers did not allow a hit for two innings, but singled himself to begin the top of the third. Nettles would plate him with a triple for the first run in the game, then scored on Hunter’s sac fly for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Cortes would tack on a solo jack in the fourth to get to 3-0. The Crusaders didn’t get a hit through three innings, then got three hits in the fourth, and also a run. Joe Besaw hit a leadoff single, stole second, and came around on Mario Briones’ 2-out single. Jason Zimmerman also snapped a single, but Randolph Nash flew out to end the inning. For spectacle, Stephon Nettles hit ANOTHER triple in the fifth inning, this time with nobody on base, and Hunter plated him again with another sac fly, 4-1.

Surprisingly – or shockingly? – Corey Mathers not only lasted five, but even six, and even got to bunt into a double play in the seventh inning… Still up by three, he just kept pitching for the time being, with the pen on yellow alert the whole time. The Crusaders didn’t reach in the seventh inning, and made two more outs in the eighth before Besaw grinded out a 2-out walk, and that was the end for Mathers, who had thrown 106 fairly good pitches after some early wobbles. Chuck Jones got Fernando Alba to ground out, concluding the eighth inning. The Critters got Wilson (forced out by Omar Gutierrez) and Reyna (pinch-hit single) on base in the ninth against Andy Hyden, but stranded them when Berto grounded out, then went to Josh Rella for the save opportunity in the bottom 9th with nothing but right-handers coming up. The ploy worked for a grounder by Jose Platero, a pop by Briones … and then Zimmerman homered to center. Nash singled, bringing in Hamill to face Tom Rudd, but instead got righty pinch-hitter Danny Monge. The ex-Coon struck out. 4-2 Raccoons. Nettles 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Reyna (PH) 1-1; Mathers 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, W (1-5) and 1-3;

Not ideal, having to use three relievers to get four outs for the first half of a double-header… At least we still had Lambert, should Moreno fall and not be able to get up…

Game 2
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – 1B Wilson – P Moreno
NYC: SS Adame – CF Besaw – RF Platero – 2B Briones – 3B Sifuentes – LF Zimmerman – C Monge – 1B Rudd – P J. Garcia

…which was what happened. After getting out Adame and Besaw, Moreno probably had a stroke or something. He walked Platero, Briones singled, they advanced on a balk that didn’t matter because Ramon Sifuentes walked anyway, and then Zimmerman emptied the bags with a double in the gap in right-center. Monge singled him home. Rudd walked, and the inning only ended with Garcia and a 4-0 score and general despair and me checking my New York travel guide which bridge was particularly popular for suicides. After an uneventful second inning, the Coons got Wilson on base with an error in the third. Moreno bunted into a double play, then gave up another two runners and one more run on a Monge sac fly in the bottom of the inning. Hitless through three, the Coons began the fourth with singles to center from Cosmo and Romero, and Garcia fiendishly walked Hunter to give them three on and nobody out, knowing they’d croak instantly. Manny promptly hit a pathetic infield roller … but it was so pathetic that the Crusaders had no play on any of the four fast runners with flying striped tails on the base paths and Manny had an RBI single. Cortes came up as the tying run, but was held to a sac fly. Garcia then walked Carreno on four pitches to reload the bases. Kilmer – stuck in a black hole with no way out – whiffed, but Jeff Wilson dropped in a 2-run single, 5-4. Nettles hit for Moreno, snapped a single, and drove in Carreno to tie the game…! A Cosmo grounder ended the inning.

After this circus performance, Cory Lambert appeared, and since only Clark, Craig, and Sims were otherwise left over for the Raccoons, they were sort of stuck with him for better or worse. He allowed two singles in the fourth, but wiggled out, then got the lead when Romero was doubled in by Cortes (!) in the fifth inning, which ended Garcia’s day. Lambert pitched three innings, but managed to come out on the short end thanks to a leadoff double allowed to reliever Mike Gutierrez in the bottom of the sixth… Besaw and Platero both chipped in RBI base hits and reclaimed a 7-6 lead for New York. Hunter in the seventh and Wilson in the eighth both reached base, but both were stranded when nobody else could find a hit in their bats. Sims and Clark pitched scoreless innings to keep the deficit to one run, while the Crusaders brought back Hyden for his second appearance on the day in the ninth inning. He faced the top of the order. Cosmo grounded out, Romero and Hunter flew out, and the Coons’ hitting streak ended at four games. 7-6 Crusaders. Wilson 2-4, 2 RBI; Nettles (PH) 1-1, 3B, RBI;

Sigh.

Game 3
POR: CF Nettles – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Jackson
NYC: SS Adame – CF Besaw – C Alba – RF Platero – 2B Briones – 3B Sifuentes – LF Graf – 1B Rudd – P J. Johnson

Jeff Jackson? Jake Johnson? Which one was which even? One had the bushy chin, and one had the bushy cheeks – no wait, that’s not helping, the Raccoons are all bushy. But apparently the Raccoons’ guy gave up two singles and a Platero sac fly in the first inning and thus fell 1-0 behind. The Raccoons tied it up fast, though, with Cortes and Reyna reaching the corners with leadoff singles. Carreno knotted the score with a grounder to short that became an RBI fielder’s choice. But the bottom 2nd began with a Hunter error and by the time there were two outs, Jackson had issued two walks and the bases were loaded for .311 hitter Joe Besaw, who hit a comebacker to strand everybody. Portland took the lead in the third inning because Nettles just kept raking. Leadoff single, stolen base, throwing error by Alba, and a sac fly by Cosmo, voila, 2-1.

But Jackson just had a ****** day, and there was no working around him. Alba hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the third, advanced on a grounder, and scored on Briones’ double, tying the game. Briones reached third when Sifuentes grounded out, then came across home plate on a wild pitch to Joe Graf. The Coons went on to put the tying run on third base, but not across home plate. Kilmer hit a leadoff single in the fifth and was left 90 feet from home, and so was Manny Fernandez after a 1-out double in the sixth. At least Jackson ceased the slow bleed of runs and kept the Crusaders to their 3-2 lead through six innings. Kilmer hit another leadoff single in the seventh and was bunted to second again by Jackson. Nettles singled to right, but Kilmer could not be sent around against Platero’s arm, so Cosmo had runners on the corners with one out and spanked a ball at Briones for a 4-6-3 inning-ender. The tying run only reached second base before stalling in the eighth inning – Manny singled with one out, while Cortes and Reyna did nothing of note. Jackson and three relievers – Jones, Craig, Hamill – kept the Crusaders to their early runs through eight. Then Andy Hyden appeared for the third time in two days in the ninth inning. The bottom of the order was up, although that included Berto batting ninth already after a double switch. Romero hit for an 0-for-3 Carreno to get the inning underway and singled to right. Kilmer hit into a double play. Berto singled to right again, and so did Nettles. Well, maybe we should have bunted… Cosmo flew out to Besaw, leaving me with a metallic taste in my mouth from biting into a decorative pole on the concourse until an attendant asked me kindly not to. 3-2 Crusaders. Nettles 3-5; Fernandez 2-4, 2B; Cortes 2-4; Romero (PH) 1-1; Ramos 1-1;

We out-hit them 13-7.

That is all I’m gonna say.

Game 4
POR: RF Nettles – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – CF Romero – C Wilson – 2B Gutierrez – P Willett
NYC: SS Adame – LF Besaw – C Alba – RF Platero – 2B Briones – 3B Sifuentes – CF Zimmerman – P Hickey – 1B Rudd

Nettles opened the game with a single, stole second, and was stranded. Fernando Alba doubled and Jose Platero homered off Willett instead, giving New York a 2-0 lead, in other words – ballgame. Tony Romero had something against my defeatism, though, socking a 2-piece of his own after Cortes reached base to begin the top 2nd, so we were tied at two. *Fine*. I’ll watch the rest of the game instead of putting my head into the nearest gas oven.

Hickey lasted only two innings before departing with a woeful oblique, giving the Raccoons access to the Crusaders’ pen, although all that was good for was three stomach-twisting scoreless innings from ex-Coon Dusty Kulp before Sifuentes broke the tie with a jack to left in the bottom 5th. The Raccoons left Nettles in scoring position in the fifth, Romero in the sixth, then saw Willett singled to death in the bottom of the sixth inning. Four Crusaders hits for two more runs, and I was going back to the oven now, and nobody could stop me – except the pizza vendor that had to use the oven for pizza. *Fine*. I’ll wait until you have served all the customers, Sir.

The tying run came to the plate in the seventh of a 5-2 game, with Gutierrez hitting a leadoff single and Reyna walking against Luis Villagomez. Nettles, already batting a stupid .537, singled to right, filling them up for Cosmo. And yes, with nobody out. But Cosmo hit a 1-1 pitch to left for a run as everybody advanced 90 feet on the single. Hunter struck out, Manny hit into a force at home plate, but CORTES came to the rescue, slapping a single into left-center to tie the game at five…! Romero popped out to keep it at five… Sims retired the Crusaders in order in the bottom of the inning before Reyna and Nettles reached the corners with singles and two outs in the eighth… and Cosmo grounded out to strand them. Instead, Brent Clark allowed a leadoff double to Besaw, a single to Alba, and was yanked without getting anybody out in the bottom 8th. Jon Craig inherited an impossible situation, and gave up a single at 1-2 to Briones for the Crusaders lead before retiring three straight for no further advance by the runners…

Apparently, Andy Hyden’s arm had fallen off by now, because the Coons got Mike Gutierrez and his 2.53 ERA in the ninth inning. We also carted up the meat of the order. Hunter reached with a walk in a full count to begin the inning, but Manny and Cortes both struck out. Berto batted for the pitcher in Romero’s deserted slot. And he also struck out. 6-5 Crusaders. Nettles 4-5; Cortes 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Reyna (PH) 1-1, BB;

In other news

June 16 – CHA SP Jose de Lucio (4-5, 4.12 ERA) pitches a 3-hit shutout over the Stars in Dallas. The Falcons win 3-0.
June 18 – The Buffaloes stampede a band of Indians, 13-1, despite getting only nine base hits. Ten walks issued by hapless Indians pitching contribute to the massacre.
June 19 – The Stars are dealt a blow with SP Mark Holliday (6-1, 1.97 ERA) out for the season to have bone chips removed from his elbow.
June 19 – The Capitals trade SP Al Scott (4-6, 4.00 ERA) to the Pacifics for LF/CF Jamie McGuigan (.302, 2 HR, 12 RBI).
June 19 – The Loggers pick up SP Chris Lulay (5-6, 5.31 ERA) from the Blue Sox for a prospect.
June 20 – CHA SP Oscar Flores (6-3, 2.64 ERA) 1-hits the Knights while the Falcons pile on 20 hits in a 9-0 win. ATL RF/LF Billy Hester (.271, 3 HR, 23 RBI) hits a single in the fifth to stave off the no-hitter.
June 20 – SAL C Morgan Kuhlmann (.200, 9 HR, 36 RBI) will miss six weeks with a hamstring strain.
June 22 – WAS C Nate Evans (.311, 4 HR, 34 RBI) lands his 2,000th hit in a 9-5 win against the Cyclones. The #11 pick from the 2027 draft singles off SP Leborio Valdevesso (2-5, 4.25 ERA) for the milestone. Evans is a career Caps player with one Gold Glove and seven All Star nominations. He won the World Series with them in 2035 and a batting title the year before. For his career he is hitting .311 with 145 HR and 989 RBI. He even stole 43 bases, a rarity for a catcher.

FL Player of the Week: CIN 1B Danny Santillano (.309, 11 HR, 39 RBI), hitting .393 (11-28) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR OF Stephon Nettles (.558, 0 HR, 3 RBI), swatting .682 (15-22) with 3 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Sad week, starting with four wins and ending with three one-run defeats, especially when you wildly out-hit the opposition twice in those games. Ugh. This team.

No idea what is right or wrong with Stephon Nettles. He is now hitting .558 for a 1.308 OPS. Yes, small sample size. He also hit .250/.290/.304 in AAA to begin the year and was a .197/.242/.217 rally killer in 203 AB with the ’41 Coons. I guess this will wear itself off without us having to do much, but for now he’s raked himself into a spot in the lineup, squeezing out one between Romero, Reyna, Cortes, and Berto, who had previously shared three spots. And who knows, maybe he breaks a leg before sucking his way down to .211 – staying positive is important in this business…

Jason Wheatley has his ERA down under three with his last start in AAA, seven shutout innings against the Ostriches. He has not allowed a run in four of his last seven outings (but allowed ten runs in the other three, combined). Not sure whether he will replace Mathers or Moreno. Maybe he should replace both of them.

Jake White wants to stay relevant, too, but has a 3.80 ERA and 4.5 BB/9. Victor Merino – age 21 like Wheatley – is struggling quite a bit.

Two other pitchers that nobody has talked about much in the system are AAA SP Tony Cristobal, who was a scouting discovery out of the Dominican Republic in 2036 and has since silently worked his way to the Alley Cats. He was never ranked as a prospect, but he has a solid mix of four pitches with a 94mph heater and a nasty curve as the main attractions. He is however a flyball pitcher and control is a real issue. He walks 4.4/9, which is especially troublesome for a right-hander. And then there is last year’s #12 pick Bubba Wolinsky, who was promoted after starting the year 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA in Aumsville. He now has a 1.25 ERA in six starts with Ham Lake. Well, he also got a .231 BABIP in his favor… He has 22 walks to 23 strikeouts in 43 innings. Maybe he should turn 20 before we promote him to the Bigs…

Next week: conclusion of the road trip in Indy, a day off (yes!), then the Condors at the start of the pre-All Star Game rush with another 17 games without a day off. We will also host the Bayhawks before our season will definitely go entirely into the toilet after that, with a 15-game stretch from July 3-20 that will give us a 4-game set *in* Boston (doom, automatically), the four-and-four with the Loggers, and a 3-game series with the damn Elks.

I’d say a 3-11 split with a rainout in that string would already see us come out ahead …

Fun Fact: The mid-week sweep bettered our all-time record against the Cyclones to 53-52*, leaving only three teams against whom the Raccoons have an all-time losing record.*

That’s one Federal League team – the Warriors – which we haven’t beaten in 20 years and are now 35-46 all-time against (they will also not come up this year). The other two are obvious.

The Titans are routinely embarrassing the Raccoons and we’re a whopping 56 games under .500 against them (556-622) … although we won that one game that mattered, the 1995 tie-breaker for the division.

It’s close with the damn Elks, with the Raccoons having entered the year .500 against them, but we now have sagged to 587-592.

Of note: we’re 48-48 all-time against the Gold Sox.

*in regular-season play (cough!) 2010. (cough!)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (32-37) @ Indians (30-39) – June 23-25, 2042

The Raccoons moved on to Indy to finish their road trip with three games there, with the season series between the two teams standing at 4-2 in the Coons’ favor. The Indians were average when it came to pitching and defense with a rather sturdy rotation, but couldn’t score runs at all, sitting bottoms in the CL with not even quite 3.6 runs per game. They were even third in home runs (51) and stolen bags (51), but were hitting a pathetic .240 as a team.

Projected matchups:
Josh Brown (6-2, 2.41 ERA) vs. Manuel Herrera (5-2, 2.60 ERA)
Corey Mathers (1-5, 5.88 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (4-6, 4.93 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (4-6, 5.66 ERA) vs. Orlando Altreche (2-7, 4.68 ERA)

The Indians had only right-handers to throw at us.

Game 1
POR: 1B Ramos – RF Nettles – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – CF Romero – 3B Trevino – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Brown
IND: SS Russ – 3B Hutson – C Mordino – RF Sanderfer – 1B Sawyer – CF D. Gonzales – LF D. Rivera – 2B Huber – P M. Herrera

Never mind the scouting report – but after the Coons went down in order in the first, including the impossibly hot Stephon Nettles, they scored a run without making an out in the bottom 1st. Andrew Russ doubled to left, then scored on Dan Hutson’s single. Sal Mordino hit into a double play. Tony Romero tied the game with his seventh shot of the year in the top 2nd, in which the Critters also cleared the bottom of the order with a 2-out triple by Jeff Kilmer that saw Carreno walked intentionally and Brown getting whiffed. The Indians also brought the pitcher to the plate with two on and two out – Danny Rivera had singled and Adam Huber, batting .137, had been walked by Brown – only to have Herrera rush the gap for a 2-run double. Oh, baseball! Never change!

The tying runs were on the corners with no outs in the third inning; Berto walked, advanced on a wild pitch, and then a single by Nettles (!), with Rivera’s murder arm keeping him honest at third base. Hunter singled to right to get a run home and Nettles to third base and stole second afterwards, which was crucial to take the lead down the road after Manny lined out hard to Dan Hutson. Romero’s grounder to second tied the game, and another wild pitch by Herrera made it 4-3 Coons with two outs. Unfortunately the lead wasn’t made to last – Brown remained awful and conceded the lead to the bottom of the order again in the fourth inning. Rivera singled, stole second, and then was driven in by the .137 hitter behind him… Keith Thomson pinch-hit for Herrera and lined into a double play, so at least that ended the inning, the score even at four.

Huber’s error behind Bill Drury filled the bases with nobody out in the fifth; Nettles and Hunter had led off with singles, and Huber botched Manny Fernandez’ grounder. Romero vouched for the lead with a sac fly, 5-4, after which things got chewy, although Drury did leak a walk to Kilmer to fill the bags again with two outs. Carreno hit a roller between the mound and third base line, Hutson had been playing fairly deep for the situation, and nobody had a play – infield single, and a run home …! Drury was knocked out when Brown singled to center to tack on a third run, 7-4, Berto grounding out in a full count against Willie Gonzales instead. Brown lasted another five outs before conceding a run on a 2-out RBI triple by Rivera, then got yanked before the former .137 hitter Adam Huber could burn him again. Instead we got to see Brent Clark and Jeff Kilmer fall asleep as Romero stole home to make up another run. Huber struck out eventually… The Coons maintained the 7-6 lead through eight, with Clark getting one out to begin the seventh inning before Josh Rella sat down five Indians in a row. Top 9th, Hunter drew a leadoff walk from Vincenzo Battaglia. He stole second, leading to an intentional walk to Manny, then four erratic pitches to Romero that filled the bags for Cosmo. Come on, boys. At least one! Give the old GM at least ONE. Cosmo answered my pleas with a solid RBI single to Rivera’s feet, tacking on an insurance run. Reyna hit for Kilmer and plated another run with a sac fly. Carlos Cortes hit for Rella at #8 and hit into a fielder’s choice against new righty Allen Garner. Omar Gutierrez flew out to right. Wyatt Hamill then retired the 6-7-8 without getting undressed by the once-upon-a-time .137 hitter Adam Huber. 9-6 Critters. Nettles 2-5; Hunter 2-4, BB, RBI; Trevino 3-5, RBI;

Corey Mathers was again scheduled to pitch on short rest and to be piggybacked with Cory Lambert, much like last time when another rainout gave him another double-header with Nelson Moreno, and since Mathers pitched very well while Nels got whacked again, Lambert ended up in long relief for Moreno…

Game 2
POR: RF Nettles – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – CF Romero – 1B Cortes – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Mathers
IND: CF Crocker – RF M. Ochoa – 3B Hutson – LF D. Rivera – C Mordino – 2B Sanderfer – 1B J. Diaz – SS Russ – P A. Flores

Danny Rivera hit a 2-piece off Mathers in the first inning, plating Mario Ochoa, so there was that. The Coons had Romero and Kilmer on base in the second inning when Carreno’s grounder was thrown away for two bases and a run by the Gold Glover Hutson, which presented Mathers with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position and one gone. He struck out, and Nettles grounded out, falling to an outrageous 0-for-2. The score did get flipped the following inning, though – Manny singled, Romero homered again, and it was 3-2 Coons. Mathers celebrated by shedding a leadoff single to the opposing pitcher as soon as he could, but the 1-2-3 went down poorly.

Both teams only had four hits in five innings, despite what seemed like ample traffic and chances. Flores walked two and there was the Hutson error, while Mathers walked one batter. In the sixth, Cortes hit a double to left-center that led to nothing, while Rivera hit a 2-out single off Mathers and stole second, but that was it. Mathers was then pinch-hit for to begin the seventh inning after 75 pitches and six acceptable innings. Berto grounded out in his spot as the Coons went down 1-2-3. Lambert still came in despite the slim lead. Jeff Diaz hit a 1-out single in the bottom 7th, but was doubled up by PH David Gonzales. Alex Flores and Chuck Jones traded 1-2-3 innings in the eighth, and the Indians’ lefty Aaron Curl did another 1-2-3 on the Coons’ 6-7-8 in the ninth inning. The Raccoons went to Jon Craig in the bottom 9th, facing the meaty bit of the order, where 32 of the Indians’ homers resided – Hamill had been out three of four days and was also routinely shaky. Hutson and Rivera both hit long flies to center that Romero remained the master of before Sal Mordino hit a dying quail to shallow right to reach with a single. The next pitch saw Alex Sanderfer ground out, ending the inning. 3-2 Critters. Mathers 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (2-5);

Nettles hit 0-for-4, which was probably the beginning of the end.

Game 3
POR: RF Nettles – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Reyna – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – 2B Gutierrez – P Moreno
IND: CF Crocker – RF M. Ochoa – 3B Hutson – LF D. Rivera – C Mordino – 2B Sanderfer – 1B J. Diaz – SS Russ – P Altreche

After two uneventful innings, the Raccoons loaded the bases with soft singles by Moreno, Nettles, and Hunter in the third inning, bringing up a struggling Manny Fernandez with one out. He grounded to second for maybe two, but at least one for sure, but actually none, Sanderfer misfiling the throw to Russ for an error and the first run of the game. Whatever works! Reyna fell to 1-2 against Altreche, but then clipped a single to center, 2-0, and even foundering Jay de Wit slapped a 2-run single to right, lifting all of Aruba out of weekslong agony. Kilmer drew a walk before the inning ended with a pop and a grounder, Nels batting twice in the 4-run frame. All that was needed now was some solid pitching from the once-sterling prospect. He allowed two hits and rung up three the first time through, although the double served up to Altreche in the bottom 3rd certainly annoyed me, even when it didn’t lead to a run. Ochoa hit a single off Moreno in the fourth, but was doubled up in the second line drive double play of the week, Rivera’s rocket snatched by Reyna to end the inning, 3-unassisted.

Except for K’s to Russ and Altreche in the bottom 6th, the middle innings saw Moreno pitch behind in the count a lot, but the Indians couldn’t get any other runners off him and he needed 80 pitches to complete six – certainly not the pace for a shutout, if that was even on our mind. In my head, I was begging the baseball gods merely for decency for him right now, so I did not have to read the Agitator clamor for his expulsion every five days. It was enough to read the Agitator clamor for MY expulsion EVERY day. Bottom 7th, 2-out singles by Rivera and Mordino made things uncomfortable. Moreno remained in to face the .216 hitter Sanderfer, who was a righty hitter. A lengthy mound conference left Moreno with just enough wisdom to coax an inning-ending grounder to short from Sanderfer, then got a pat on the bum in the dugout – we’d settle for seven shutout innings here! Between Sims and Jones we spilled another two runners in the bottom 8th, although Ochoa grounded out to short to sort out that mess, too. Lambert got the ninth; Mordino hit a 2-out single, but Sanderfer popped out to complete the sweep. 4-0 Raccoons. Moreno 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, W (5-6) and 1-3;

We had eight hits. Every guy in the lineup had one, except for Omar Gutierrez. That also means Nettles is 1-for-9 over his last two games.

Thursday was off, the only off day in a sea of 37 games in 38 days…

Raccoons (35-37) vs. Condors (34-38) – June 27-29, 2042

Down 2-1 in the season series, the Raccoons would host the Condors, who were fourth in the South, but with some big issues highlighted by stats. While only four games under .500, they had a stark -49 run differential, being in the bottom four in both runs scored and runs allowed. Their rotation was 10th by ERA, and they had the worst pen in the league. Now, if only we could muster some offense…!

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (4-5, 3.56 ERA) vs. Edward Flinn (5-7, 5.71 ERA)
Rich Willett (7-7, 3.41 ERA) vs. Jeremy Truett (3-6, 4.40 ERA)
Josh Brown (7-2, 2.82 ERA) vs. Derrick Forbes (6-5, 3.97 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday! Forbes would be the only lefty presented to the Critters this week.

Game 1
TIJ: LF S. Martin – 1B Willie Ojeda – CF Phinazee – RF R. Phillips – 2B Matos – 3B Lorensen – C T. Morales – SS Rose – P Flinn
POR: RF Nettles – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – 3B Trevino – C Kilmer – 2B Carreno – P Jackson

The Condors started with a triple to center by Scott Martin on an 0-2 pitch before stranding the runner on a pop, a K, and a grounder to Carreno. Portland got a leadoff walk drawn by Nettles, then two outs before Manny singled to center and Cortes rushed a double down the leftfield line for two runs. Cosmo grounded out, ending the bottom 1st with a 2-0 score, and for the time I’d only nibble the crackers, not the rusty nails in the separate bowl, too. Maud insisted on the separate bowl, given that we all wanted some crackers. *Fine*.

Straight singles by the 6-7-8 hitters, Ryan Lorensen, Tony Morales, and Chris Rose, gave the Condors a run off Jackson in the second inning though, so there was no reason to be confident. Instead, Jackson singled and got to run the bases in the same inning, then gave up a homer to Mal Phinazee in the third to tie the game, and two more hits to Ryan Phillips and Ryan Lorensen to fall 3-2 behind. He bled two more singles in the fourth to Rose and Willie Ojeda. Tony Romero threw out Chris Rose at home plate to end the inning. All in all, Jackson gave up two pawfuls of hits in five innings before being sent for the showers in a dismal outing, but nevertheless departed with a shot for the W thanks to Portland rallying in the bottom of the fifth. Nettles reached, but was force out by Romero. Tony Hunter hit a triple to tie the game, then scored on Manny’s sac fly to get the home team up 4-3. Travis Sims then got three outs on three pitches in the sixth, which was either very good or very lucky. Probably futile, though, given that Brent Clark walked Martin and allowed a single to Ojeda to have the Condors set up on the corners to begin the seventh inning. With more lefty hitters up, Clark remained in the game to sort out his own mess – which he did! Phinazee struck out, Phillips popped out to Manny in shallow left, and Matos grounded out to Carreno! Phinazee left the game in the same inning with a probable oblique strain, replaced by Dylan Ragsdale. Rella went 1-2-3 on the Condors in the eighth, and the Critters scratched out an insurance run in the bottom of the inning. Cosmo reached base to begin the inning, stole second, then advanced on Kilmer’s grounder. Carreno was hit for by Berto against the righty Jose Colon, but the full-count walk Berto drew was only medium-helpful. Reyna batted for Rella, grounded behind first base, and the Condors only got Berto at second, while Cosmo scored for the extra run. Nettles singled, but Romero grounded out, handing the ball to Wyatt Hamill. He got three outs on FOUR pitches, one more than Sims, which was also either really good or really lucky, but in any case was the Coons’ fourth win in a row again. 5-3 Raccoons. Nettles 2-2, 3 BB; Cortes 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

With this win and the Loggers and Elks not exactly winning every game right now, the Raccoons got out of double digits in terms of games back again. Was there hope for the season? I mean, beyond the false hope the baseball gods love to sprinkle around?

Game 2
TIJ: RF S. Martin – 1B Willie Ojeda – C McCullar – 2B Matos – 3B Lorensen – SS Ragsdale – CF Coca – LF C. Boles – P Truett
POR: 1B Ramos – CF Nettles – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Reyna – 3B Trevino – 2B Gutierrez – C Wilson – P Willett

Through three innings, both teams had one hit and one error. Berto and Ragsdale were involved in both errors, dropping Hunter’s feed to put Ragsdale on base in the second inning, but then having his own grounder thrown away for two bases by Ragsdale in the third inning, scoring Omar Gutierrez, who had landed a leadoff single in the bottom 3rd. Martin had the Condors’ single, a 2-out hit in the top of the third inning before being caught stealing to end it. Bottom 4th, Hunter opened with a single to center, stole his 18th base, and the Condors added Manny Fernandez to the basepaths for free. Two outs later, Truett nailed Gutierrez, then gave up a 2-run single to center to Jeff Wilson, stretching our lead to 3-0. Willett lifted his .121 average with a sharp RBI single to right-center even, Berto walked to fill the bags, and Stephon Nettles drove the stake right into Truett’s chest with a bases-clearing double to right…! Hunter singled off Matt Schwartz before the inning ended with Manny flying out to left, but the Critters had plated six in the inning and were up by seven, and boy, was I feeling comfortable now.

…until about Willett walked Lorensen to begin the fifth, but Tony Coca, the ancient curse – 42 years old! – hit into a double play to help him out of the inning. Schwartz was charged with two runs of his own in the bottom 5th, having two on and two out before walking Willett and Berto, AND throwing a wild pitch. Nettles struck out to keep it 9-0. The Condors took those two runs back with three hits whacked off Willett in the sixth, however, so the shutout was off the table. But Willett completed seven, Sims completed two, and the Raccoons would enter Southpaw Sunday undefeated on the week and back at .500…! 9-2 Furballs! Hunter 3-4, BB; Willett 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (8-7) and 1-1, BB, RBI; Sims 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Condors had signed Tony Morales for six years and over $13M just this winter, but traded him before the end of June, off to the other league. The Buffos received the original member of the Tony Brigade and $1.35M in cash for #51 prospect CL Brian Shan and a rundown 32-year-old outfielder in Greg Dowden. Certainly not overpaid for them.

Game 3
TIJ: 2B Matos – LF S. Martin – C McCullar – 1B Willie Ojeda – SS Ragsdale – 3B Lorensen – CF Coca – RF R. Phillips – P Forbes
POR: RF Nettles – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – CF Romero – LF Cortes – 1B Wilson – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Brown

Brown got raided for four singles and two runs in a depressing first inning, and I was already kissing a winning record goodbye... and fought Maud over the good piece of rope. The Raccoons made up a run in teh bottom 1st when Cosmo tripled, Hunter walked, and Romero hit a sac fly, but Brown kept putting men on base and would not be in this game for long. The Raccoons stranded pairs in scoring position in the second and third innings, wasting a Brown double in the former, with Nettles grounding out to end the second and Wilson lining out to Lorensen to close the third. Carreno opened the fourth with a double to right, while Kilmer’s groundout both moved him to third base and got Jesus Matos out of the game when he tweaked his hammy on the play. Elijah Williams, ex-Coon (2038-39), replaced him, while Forbes struck out both Brown and Nettles to strand the tying run on third base for the third straight inning. Oh yes – this game was definitely going to be a big fat red L …!

But not before the Condors would be reduced to a band of cripples – Willie Ojeda doubled with two down and nobody on in the fifth, but also stood around on the infield then, holding a leg with a painful expression. Chris Rose replaced him after a trainer visit. Ragsdale grounded out to end the inning, but Forbes hit a 2-out RBI single to score Lorensen in the sixth and tack on a run for the Condors. That was the 11th and final hit off Brown, who had gotten a good waffling in this game. Jon Craig got a grounder from Williams to end the sixth… Jeff Wilson and Scott Martin then exchanged solo home runs to move the score to 4-2.

Natanael Abrao then filed a comeback invitation to the Coons in the bottom 8th, walking the first two batters he saw in the inning, thus presenting Carlos Cortes with the tying runs aboard and no outs. The poorly judged offseason acquisition hit straight into a double play, 6-4-3. Despaired, the Raccoons batted Manny Fernandez for Jeff Wilson, drawing the attention of lefty reliever Bob Thomson, who secured a groundout to kill another inning. Chris Rose instead drove in an unearned run in the ninth inning against Josh Rella. Cosmo’s throwing error had given the Condors a chance in the first place, putting Scott Martin fatly on base. Down three and facing Phil Harrington, the Raccoons brought up the bottom of the order in the ninth. Gutierrez hit for Carreno and grounded out. Kilmer walked. Reyna hit for Rella, but grounded out, moving Kilmer to second. Nettles grounded out, stranding another guy in scoring position. 5-2 Condors. Trevino 2-4, 3B; Wilson 2-3, HR, RBI; Rella 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K;

In other news

June 23 – Dallas’ SP Alfredo Vargas (3-6, 5.05 ERA) blanks the Wolves in a 4-0 Stars win, with the Salem team getting no-hit until the eighth, when INF Donovan Bunyon (.244, 0 HR, 5 RBI) chips a lone single to leave Vargas with a 1-hit shutout.
June 23 – SFB SP Jose Moreno (3-5, 4.12 ERA) is likely to miss a full calendar year with otherwise unspecified elbow ligament damage. On the same day the Bayhawks also announce that the season of rookie MR Jeremy Mayhall (2-0, 5.11 ERA, 2 SV) was over due to bone chips in his elbow.
June 23 – Capitals RF/LF Eduardo Avila (.324, 3 HR, 34 RBI) has suffered a dislocated shoulder on his throwing arm and might be out for two months.
June 25 – VAN OF Jeremy Mann (.250, 1 HR, 18 RBI) drives in five runs from the #8 spot in an 11-2 creaming of the Titans.
June 26 – Gold Sox INF Ronnie Thompson (.277, 1 HR, 15 RBI) would miss a month at least with a broken finger.
June 27 – The Canadiens beat the Knights, 5-3 in 15 innings. Despite the protracted game, VAN OF Jerry Outram (.402, 8 HR, 38 RBI) goes unretired, hitting 4-for-4 and drawing three walks, including a triple and an RBI.
June 29 – SFB 1B Danny Cruz (.188, 2 HR, 14 RBI) finds his 2000th base hit in a 6-4 win over the Loggers, a first-inning RBI double off SP Chris Lulay (5-7, 4.81 ERA). Cruz spent all of his career as a .274/.369/.464 hitter with the Thunder before arriving in San Francisco at age 36 and finding himself struggling. He was the Player of the Year in 2039 and has five home run crowns to his name, having hit 332 homers in his career, driving in 1,129 runs.
June 29 – Thunder corner utility Jesse Stedham (.234, 8 HR, 28 RBI) smashes three home runs and drives in half their run total in a 10-6 win over the Titans. He is the third player this year to hit three homers in a game (BOS Alex Zacarias, SAC Manichiro Toki), and all have achieved the feat on the road.
June 29 – PIT SP Jonathan Dykstra (7-5, 3.98 ERA) 2-hits the Warriors in a 6-0 shutout.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.329, 10 HR, 47 RBI), hitting .409 (9-22) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: TIJ RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.341, 11 HR, 38 RBI), batting .522 (12-23) with 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Word is that Player of the Week Willie Ojeda is out for two weeks with a groin strain now, but the Condors made no formal announcement on Sunday. The news are expected for Monday.

So where are we now? We’re a game under .500, fourth in runs scored (although they sure come in fits and bursts and droughts), and sixth in runs allowed. Right now they look really solid again and like they could actually squeeze themselves into a serious deadline conversation, especially if we can make up at least a few games in July with its 11 games against the top two teams in the division. The beauty of it all is that if we go under in those 11 games (all consecutively), we can start dealing away stuff on July 21.

Cooled off: Stephon Nettles, who hit 7-for-26 this week with that one big bases-clearing double that put the game on Saturday away. He walked three times (all on Friday). For the week he was .269/.345/.308, which is a lot more in line with his career numbers, so we can probably stop hitting him leadoff or second soon. Was nice while it lasted though.

And Nelson Moreno? He’s not walking anybody. He isn’t even allowing a ton of hits (.289 BABIP and 1.06 H/9). 11 homers in 83 innings isn’t great, but nowhere near outlandish. A 1.26 WHIP is *fine*. I don’t know why his ERA is way up there…

In AAA, Victor Merino strained a hammy and would be out until mid-July. Wheatley got bobbled for four runs in his last start and his ERA is up to 3.06 again.

Next week: home set with the Baybirds, then off to the first half of an 8-game road trip in Boston and Milwaukee.

Fun Fact: The last player to hit three home runs at home was Portland’s Troy Greenway in 2038.

That was in an 11-0 rush of the Titans in August of that season, and actually the second 3-homer game in a row taking place in Raccoons Ballpark. The other was New York’s Greg Ortiz’ though… (although the Coons won both those games)

Greenway smashed 42 that year for the CL power throne, then sagged to 23 the next season and EIGHT by July of the year after, eventually leading to his dismissal to Salem, and now Topeka. It’s almost July again and he sits on eight homers once more, although batting .304 rather than .200 this time. Looks like his power stroke is gone at age 31.

For his 4-city career (he came to us from Sacramento in a deal that peculiarly included current Critter Jeff Wilson) he is a .277/.367/.481 hitter with 193 HR and 639 RBI.

[UltimateAverageGuy]

I’d love if sometime you could show us all time leaders in the major categories

Hits, homer’s, RBIs, wins, Ks, you know, the good stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by UltimateAverageGuy

I’d love if sometime you could show us all time leaders in the major categories

Hits, homer’s, RBIs, wins, Ks, you know, the good stuff!

I knew I had forgotten something... will come later / tomorrow.

+++

Raccoons (37-38) vs. Bayhawks (37-37) – June 30-July 2, 2042

The Baybirds were eight games out and in third place in the South, but how they had maintained .500 was a bit of a mystery (although the ’41 Coons were a good example for that). They were in the bottom four in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a -50 run differential. There was an opening here … but we were also 1-2 against them so far this year.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (2-5, 5.51 ERA) vs. Miguel Alvarado (5-6, 4.69 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (5-6, 5.18 ERA) vs. Rafael Pedraza (3-4, 4.74 ERA)
Jake Jackson (5-5, 3.66 ERA) vs. Rick Haugh (6-4, 3.92 ERA)

We’d get one of their two southpaws in the opener, then two right-handers. They had a number of pitchers on the DL, foremost starter Jose Moreno and closer Jon Salls, but Josh Wilkes (4-3, 2.75 ERA, 20 SV) was doing fine replacement duty for the latter one.

Game 1
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – LF Haertling – RF Oshiita – 1B D. Cruz – CF M. Hall – 2B S. Pena – C Pasko – 3B Deming – P M. Alvarado
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Mathers

Jeff Kilmer at least hit something against a lefty, knocking a 2-out RBI single in the bottom 2nd to score Manny Fernandez for the first run of the game. Mathers struck out to strand a pair, but at least had yet to get blown into individual limbs and pieces by the Baybirds, but he sure enough surrendered the 1-0 lead as quickly as feasible, walking leadoff batter Sonny Deming in the third and conceding the run after the bunt on Jorge Gonzalez’ single. That remained the score through five in an unlikely pitching duel; 1-1, with the Bayhawks outhitting the Raccoons, 3-2. Mathers’ day ended soon after in the sixth and after only 76 pitches. He walked Ed Haertling and Danny Cruz, and they reached scoring position with two outs and lefty Sergio Pena up. The Raccoons, struggling against Alvarado, wished not to concede any runs here and brought in Chuck Jones. They then conceded runs on an infield single … and a wild pitch….

The Raccoons would get the tying runs on base again, doing so in the seventh with Cortes and Carreno singles. Kilmer had struck out the last time, but Alvarado hung around, giving up a single that filled the bases when it dropped in front of a rushing Mike Hall. Berto pinch-hit for Jones, ran a full count, but then popped out. Cosmo grounded out to Deming to keep them all stranded. The game then swiftly got out of paws in the eighth. Jon Craig allowed three singles, Mark Pasko driving in a 2-out run, then walked Deming. When right-hander Dave Martinez pinch-hit for the pitcher, the Raccoons switched to Josh Rella, who got Martinez to 0-2, then conceded a monstrous grand slam to put the game in the books. 8-1 Bayhawks. Carreno 1-2, BB; Kilmer 2-3, RBI;

No, thanks, Maud. No Cake. Just the rat poison.

Game 2
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – LF Haertling – RF Oshiita – 1B D. Cruz – CF M. Hall – 2B S. Pena – C J. Hill – 3B Deming – P Pedraza
POR: 1B Ramos – 3B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – RF Cortes – CF Nettles – 2B Gutierrez – C Wilson – P Moreno

Here was to hoping that Nelson Moreno would stop alternating good and bad outings NOW and only have good outings from here on out. He faced the minimum the first time through, which was a nice start. Two Bayhawks reached – Danny Cruz on a leadoff walk and Sonny Deming on an error by Berto, but both were doubled up. The Raccoons scattered four hits in the first three innings, scoring a run on a Hunter sac fly in the bottom 3rd after Berto and Cosmo reached the corners with singles. Jorge Gonzalez took off the no-hitter with a single to right to begin the fourth inning, but was stranded on second base, while the Critters put Cortes and Wilson on base with singles in the bottom 4th, but then came Moreno with two outs and grounded out harmlessly. Hall (leadoff single) and Deming (intentional walk) were stranded when Gutierrez made a nice lunging grab on a Pedraza bouncer in the fifth, which also saw Berto draw a leadoff walk and get stranded in the bottom half.

Through six, the Raccoons remained up 1-0 while I was increasingly queasy because Moreno kept putting the leadoff man on base. Danny Cruz hit a single to start the top 7th. Mike Hall lined out, Berto with a sprawling catch on the line… then remained on the ground with some sort of injury. He was lifted for Miguel Reyna, while Cortes moved in from right to first. Pena grounded out, John Hill flew out easily to Manny to end the inning. Nelson Moreno went on to get Jeff Wilson (leadoff single) forced out on a bad bunt in the bottom of the inning, which also ended up going nowhere. Moreno remained unscored upon through eight, throwing 97 pitches, but there was not enough trust to let him go nine against the lefty part of the order with only a 1-run lead. Not that Wyatt Hamill generally enjoyed much trust around here, either… Manny then hit a solo jack to right against Pedraza in the bottom 8th. So what do we do at 2-0 …!? And what about 3-0? Carlos Cortes went back-to-back with Manny, smashing a blast to center for another home run! When the ninth inning dawned, Nelson Moreno was on the mound. He imploded immediately. Ed Haertling doubled to right-center, Dick Oshiita singled him in, and the tying run was at the plate. And here was Hamill, a little late, and non the wiser. Cruz singled right away, but then Mike Hall and Chris Russell flew out to center. Two outs and John Hill batting, the tying runs were on the corners… until Hamill balked in a run on 0-1. Hill ran the count full and walked. Here was Dave Martinez then, pinch-hitting for Deming, with me sucking on my thumb for comfort. Hamill had him 1-2, then gave up the game-tying single anyway. Next, he was yanked to hell. Rella came out to face Graciano Salto in the #9 hole, struck him out, inning over, but that didn’t dry the tears off my fuzzy face, either.

Brent Clark did a scoreless 10th on the Bayhawks after the bottom of the ninth yielded only more sadness. Cosmo then opened the bottom 10th with a single. Tony Hunter popped out, but Cosmo stole his seventh bag off Josh Wilkes with one out. It turned out to be the winning move – when Manny Fernandez dropped a single into right center, Cosmo scored with an aggressively cut corner at third base. 4-3 Coons. Trevino 3-5; Fernandez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Cortes 2-4, HR, RBI; Wilson 2-4; Moreno 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K;

(pats Nelson Moreno’s shoulder while the young pitcher stuffs himself with ice cream, crying) I know. I know.

Game 3
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – LF Haertling – RF Oshiita – 1B D. Cruz – CF M. Hall – 2B S. Pena – C J. Hill – 3B Deming – P Haugh
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Nettles – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Jackson

A Gonzalez throwing error got the Raccoons on the horse early in the rubber game; Romero reached second base on the bad throw in the bottom 1st. Hunter singled to put them on the corners, and Manny’s groundout plated Romero before Cortes hit a double to left to get Hunter in. Nettles flew out then, keeping it 2-0, both runs unearned. The Raccoons were not going to add earned runs to that any time soon, getting only one more hit in the next three innings. Jake Jackson came up with one out in the bottom 5th – and casually hit a jack to left to get to 3-0! …!!! Maud! Did you see that!? Jackson homered to left!!

And that was nowhere near his best body of work through five in that game. Despite an on-and-off drizzle annoying everybody at the ballpark, the main course of delight was that the Bayhawks at this point had yet to put a guy on base. They did so in the sixth – Rick Haugh taking his grim revenge by hitting the absolute worst blooper we had seen this year, but it dropped between Hunter, Romero, and Fernandez anyway for a single. At least Danny Cruz did us a favor and hit another single in the seventh, also with two outs and leading nowhere, so that the pitcher’s duck snort would not stand alone in the end… The rain was getting worse though; the bottom 7th began with Kilmer whiffing. Jackson then hit a double to center that would have been a single, except the wet ball eluded the grasp of Mike Hall initially. The umpires got the cue and sent the game to a rain delay from which it never emerged, leaving Jackson with a rain-shortened shutout. 3-0 Furballs! Jackson 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, W (6-5) and 2-3, HR, 2B, RBI;

What a win for Jackson!

Raccoons (39-39) @ Titans (29-47) – June 30-July 2, 2042

This 4-game set in Boston had – like all 4-game sets in Boston – tremendous potential for sadness. They were last in the North, not that their last place reduced the number of landmines the Raccoons would have to tread lightly around here. They were eighth in runs scored, bottoms in runs allowed, and had a -54 run differential … but then again we had just helped the Baybirds out with theirs. We were up 4-3 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Rich Willett (8-7, 3.35 ERA) vs. Philip Wise (3-8, 6.28 ERA)
Josh Brown (7-3, 2.92 ERA) vs. Jamal Barrow (4-5, 4.29 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-6, 5.43 ERA) vs. Mario Gonzalez (5-5, 4.38 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (5-6, 4.93 ERA) vs. Michael Donovan (3-7, 4.23 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday! …and Southpaw Saturday, too!

The Titans also had a myriad of injuries, including long-time regulars Moises Avila and Antonio Gil in addition to some pitchers. The Coons were still without Maldonado, also without Berto, who was still being processed, but it was hard to scan that spherical body for broken or torn stuff, Dr. Padilla said.

Game 1
POR: 3B Trevino – CF Romero – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Nettles – 2B Carreno – C Kilmer – P Willett
BOS: RF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – LF W. Vega – CF Vermillion – 3B Freeman – C Kuehn – 2B Amos – SS J. Rodriguez – P P. Wise

The Coons’ 3-4-5 hitters all hit singles for one run in the first, and could have had more if Romero, who drew a walk, hadn’t been caught stealing before Hunter singled. Willett returned to his old hunting grounds, put Alex Zacarias and Willie Vega on in the first inning, but they were stranded on a K and a pop. Romero did steal second base successfully his next time up in the third, then advanced on a grounder and scored on a sac fly to left by Manny, 2-0. From there, Wise shuffled the bags full with Cortes (double in right-center), Nettles (single to center), and Carreno (walk), then ran a full count to Jeff Kilmer before bouncing the 3-2 to force in a run. Willett struck out, but allowed only one hit in four innings, and threw away a pickoff attempt against Mark Vermillion in the fourth inning, but then got a groundout from Ben “Nine Fingers” Freeman to end the inning with Vermillion left on second base. Juan Rodriguez was left on second base when Danny Liceaga struck out in the fifth.

Manny Fernandez reached 50 RBI for the year with a 2-out RBI double, cashing Romero, in the seventh inning, extending the lead. Cortes singled him home with a drop into left-center, further extending the Coons’ lead to 5-0 while the Coons out-hit Boston 12-2. The Titans didn’t get any other hits off Willett in this game… but Rich Willett had also not been economical enough. He needed 111 pitches through eight innings, and the Raccoons would not force it here. Cory Lambert got the ball for the ninth inning, the score still being 5-0. He struck out Zacarias and Vega. Vermillion was retired by Manny Fernandez in sliding fashion near the line in leftfield. 5-0 Raccoons! Romero 3-4, BB; Fernandez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Cortes 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Kilmer 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Willett 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W (9-7);

Turned out Alberto Ramos had knocked his head badly when his fat leg fell on it mid-tumble. He would miss two months with a concussion…

Off to the DL he went. The Raccoons called up 3B/SS Eric Cox, a 26-year-old righty hitter that had been taken in the ninth round in 2036. He was hitting .295 with 2 HR and 32 RBI in AAA. He would probably not last long, given that Jesus Maldonado was about to return to the team.

We were also giving out some more off days with 10 games left until the All Star break. Hunter and Cortes were not in the lineup on Friday.

Game 2
POR: 3B Trevino – RF Nettles – CF Romero – LF Fernandez – 1B Reyna – 2B Carreno – SS Gutierrez – C Wilson – P Brown
BOS: RF Tortora – 1B A. Zacarias – C Kuehn – LF J. Nelson – CF Vermillion – 3B Freeman – 2B Arnett – SS Amos – P Barrow

Cosmo doubled to open the game and scored on two productive outs. Brown started out being behind in the count by everybody, but the Titans stranded guy on the corners in the bottom 1st when Vermillion lined out to Gutierrez. Omar Gutierrez was nicked the next half-inning after a Carreno double, all with one out, but the battery was no help and the inning ended, and Cosmo and Manny were stranded on the corners in the third inning when Reyna grounded out. Cosmo was back on base in the fifth, drawing a 1-out walk, and that time was doubled in by Romero, 2-0. Manny then flew out; it was four hits for Portland against two for the Titans, who after getting close to Brown’s pelt in the first had receded to not being a major threat in the innings after that, at least until Brown walked “Nine Fingers” Freeman to begin the bottom 5th, then conceded an infield single to James Arnett. David Amos poked a 3-1 pitch into a double play, though, and Barrow grounded out to short.

The Raccoons pitchers’ 22-inning scoreless streak then ended in the sixth with Cullen Tortora and Alex Zacarias whacking hits to begin the inning, both to left and up the line. Tortora doubled, then scored on Zacarias’ single, but Brown grinded it out and stranded the tying run on base. The Coons then got a free runner out of a throwing error by Freeman – a tenth finger would have helped – that put Jeff Wilson on second base. Brown, on 87 pitches, hit for himself and dropped a single to center, putting runners on the corners for the top of the order. Cosmo lined out to first, with the pitcher barely scrambling back on base, before Nettles hit an RBI single to left-center, getting his otherwise sharply dropping average back to .400; Romero and Manny then both fanned…

Brown did seven innings, then was done. Jon Craig and Chuck Jones almost unravelled the lead entirely, with back-to-back doubles by Zacarias and Paul Kuehn narrowing the lead to 3-2 before Jones came in for Vermillion, pinch-hit for by Mario Duenez, who wacked the first pitch to deep center – where Romero snatched it on the run, stranding the tying run. Portland could not add anything to their lead against Ryan Kinner in the ninth inning, and then the ball went to Hamill, who had already blown a save this week… Freeman immediately led off with an infield single, then advanced on consecutive grounders. Mario Guadaloupe (.205, 0 HR, 2 RBI) pinch-hit in the #9 hole with the game on the line. He tied it with a single to center. I was nauseous for a bit, but I think Tortora popped out to end the inning.

Extra innings began with the Raccoons going down 1-2-3 against Justin Johns in the 10th. Eric Cox then made his debut, entering the bottom 10th with Travis Sims in a double switch. Sims had not pitched all week, and would not register an out. He walked Zacarias on four pitches, then gave up a single to right to Kuehn. Zacarias made for third base, Stephon Nettles threw the ball away, and Zacarias turned around and scored to sink the Coons. 4-3 Titans. Trevino 2-4, BB, 2B; de Wit (PH) 1-1; Brown 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K and 1-3;

BOSTON.

BOSTON!!!!

Game 3
POR: CF Romero – 2B Carreno – SS Hunter – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – LF de Wit – C Kilmer – 3B Cox – P Mathers
BOS: RF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Vermillion – 3B Freeman – C Kuehn – 2B Amos – LF Tortora – SS J. Rodriguez – P M. Gonzalez

Eric Cox got an RBI on his first time at-bat in the majors, singling home Miguel Reyna with two outs in the second inning. Reyna had hit the second of back-to-back leadoff doubles in the inning, and the score was 2-0 when Mathers grounded out. Even better – with Cortes and de Wit on the corners and two out in the fourth, Eric Cox hit *another* RBI single to center. 2-for-2 with 2 RBI – what a career he’s had!

Mathers didn’t allow a run through three innings, but conceded a leadoff single to Liceaga in the fourth, a double to Vermillion that barely bounced fair in rightfield, and then a run on a Freeman groundout. He struck out Kuehn in a full count to maintain a 3-1 lead, though. The Coons then added a comical run in the fifth inning. Romero led off with a single to right, and Liceaga overran the ball for an extra base. After Carreno popped out, Hunter singled to center, Vermillion – a Gold Glover at least – overran the ball for another error, and the Raccoons got a run and maintained their presence on second base, where Hunter was dutifully left by Cortes (F7) and Reyna (pretty dismal K).

Up 4-1, Corey Mathers did not get the W, because he did not get out of the fifth inning. David Amos opened the bottom 5th with a single, and then Mathers struck out two, raising his total to eight with no walks in the game! …and then he walked the ******* pitcher. Liceaga hit an RBI single, 4-2, and Zacarias drew another walk. Three on, two outs, Mark Vermillion up next, the Coons sought out Brent Clark, who insisted on walking in a run before Freeman hacked out to strand three. Sigh. Portland countered with leadoff singles by de Wit and Kilmer in the sixth, bringing back unbeaten terror Eric Cox, who hit a sac fly for an insurance run – which Paul Kuehn scratched back for Boston with a homer off Clark in the bottom of the inning. The next inning Liceaga lined a leadoff double off Rella, then went for home on Vermillion’s single to center – but was thrown out by Romero. Freeman hit another single. In despair, we threw in Lambert against Kuehn, getting a strikeout to bail out of the mess. Chuck Jones retired Boston in order in the eighth – never mind some sharply sliced balls right at de Wit and Cox. A tack-on chance then arose against Chris Haskell, right-hander with a 1-ish ERA, in the ninth inning. Hunter hit a 1-out single. Cortes doubled to left, and two were in scoring position for Reyna, who was ahead 3-1, poked, and hit a roller near the mound, but away from Haskell, and Freeman had played back and couldn’t rush the ball in time – infield single, 6-4! Jay de Wit lined out, Kilmer whiffed, and the Raccoons hung with Chuck Jones in the ninth. Mario Duenez grounded out to Omar Gutierrez, now at second base. Liceaga whiffed. Zacarias singled. Vermillion grounded up the middle, Gutierrez rushed over, stepped on the bag just before Zacarias could slide in, and the ballgame was in the books…! 6-4 Coons. Romero 2-5; Cortes 4-5, 2 2B; Reyna 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; de Wit 2-5; Cox 2-3, 3 RBI; Jones 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (1);

Brent Clark got the win and Eric Cox got half the RBI in his first proper game. I like Cox!!

Game 4
POR:– CF Romero – 2B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Nettles – C Wilson – 3B Cox – P Moreno
BOS: RF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – LF W. Vega – 3B Freeman – C Kuehn – 2B Amos – CF Tortora – SS J. Rodriguez – P Donovan

Basic mojo for Nelson Moreno – keep that damn ERA under five now. Also, don’t blow the 4-0 lead the team gave you. Romero led off with a jack, and Cosmo, Hunter, Cortes, and Wilson raked further hits, including two doubles by the C guys, to get four runs in overall against Donovan in the first. The early signs were not *great*; the Titans whacked him for four singles the first time through – but no runs. They were stranded on the corners in the first inning, Juan Rodriguez was caught stealing with runners on the corners and one out in the second, and Donovan then popped out, too. Rodriguez went on to hurt himself on defense in the third, and was replaced with Justin Nelson.

The bags were full with one gone in the fourth inning for the Critters. Wilson singled, Cox reached on an error by Donovan, and Romero walked after the bunt. Cosmo popped out, Hunter grounded out, and nobody scored. I could already feel the roaring Titans comeback kicking into gear. Kuehn and Amos hit 1-out singles in the bottom 4th, and Tortora ripped a double to the base of the wall to get them on base. That was good for one run, but Nelson struck out ahead of Donovan, who stranded another pair with a pop. In short, no, Nelson Moreno’s pitching was hardly great in this game… The Titans had the runners back in scoring position immediately in the bottom 5th. Liceaga hit a loud single to right. Zacarias whacked a screaming double to left. Mound conference to get the kid on the hill working again – fruitless effort though. Willie Vega bombed the game tied on the next pitch. A Freeman single knocked Moreno out, and then Sims retired nobody once more, conceding a single to Kuehn, a walk to Amos to fill them up (with nobody out), and another walk to Tortora to get the go-ahead run home. Nelson and Donovan struck out before a Liceaga pop created chaos on the infield when Sims ran into Cortes and the ball hit Cortes in the head. To add insult to headache, Cortes was charged with an error as a run scored. Sims nailed Zacarias to force in another run, then was yanked. Brent Clark came on. He allowed a 2-run single to Vega, then a 3-run homer to Freeman. Paul Kuehn struck out, ending an 11-run (8 earned) nightmare inning.

Deflated, the Raccoons lay unconscious for a while, before the Titans invited them back into the game in the eighth inning. Omar Gutierrez had reached the #9 hole in a double switch earlier, then hit a 2-run double plating Wilson and Cox off Seth Green, who was soon removed. Tony Romero reached on a throwing error by Amos that scored Gutierrez, and new pitcher Chris Haskell conceded Romero’s run on Cosmo’s single, which unfortunately brought up … Cory Lambert. Anticipating a listless loss, Tony Hunter had been removed in the double switch. Reyna pinch-hit, but grounded out, ending the inning, and the Raccoons entered the ninth still trailing by four. Manny flew out to left. Cortes singled to center. Nettles grounded out. And so did Wilson. 12-8 Titans. Trevino 2-5, RBI; Cortes 2-5, 2B, RBI; Wilson 3-5, 2B, RBI; Gutierrez 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI;

In other news

July 2 – SFB SP Joe Robinson (3-5, 4.50 ERA) no-hits the Buffaloes at Warriors Ballpark, conceding three and whiffing six in the effort. One of the walks comes around to score, the final tally being 7-1 Warriors. This is the third-ever no-hitter for the Warriors after those pitched by Juan Muniz (2029) and Pat Okrasinski (2033).
July 2 – WAS 2B Logan Arnold (.339, 5 HR, 35 RBI) is out for the year with a broken elbow.
July 3 – CIN LF/CF Jayden Lockwood (.297, 9 HR, 44 RBI) has three hits and 5 RBI as the Cyclones douse the Buffaloes, 13-1.
July 4 – The Capitals send SP Bryce Sparkes (5-8, 4.73 ERA) to the Thunder for a prospect.
July 5 – Salem super utility Bob Mancini (.317, 8 HR, 45 RBI) will be out for a month with a sprained ankle.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.347, 13 HR, 57 RBI), hitting .484 (15-31) with 3 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN 2B Dan Schneller (.305, 13 HR, 65 RBI), batting .519 (14-27) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: CIN 1B Danny Santillano (.323, 12 HR, 43 RBI), batting .356 with 6 HR, 20 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: VAN OF Jerry Outram (.386, 8 HR, 38 RBI), hitting .367 with 5 HR, 12 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAL SP Justin Roberts (9-5, 3.28 ERA), throwing 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA, 30 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: OCT CL Roland Warner (5-1, 0.76 ERA, 22 SV), slamming the door 2-0 with an 0.64 ERA, 9 SV, 14 K
FL Rookie of the Month: SFW 1B Justin Garthright (.291, 8 HR, 27 RBI), hitting .254 with 4 HR, 14 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: CHA OF Miguel Martinez (.343, 1 HR, 12 RBI), all of that coming in June

Complaints and stuff

FL Rookie of June Jordan Garthright is 29 years old. That is rather late for having a spring. Leaves little time for a summer. He only made his debut last year, batting .325 with no homers, 6 RBI then. By contrast, the CL Rookie is a tender *19* years old. They discovered him while he was a streetsweeper apprentice in the Dominican Republic, throwing trash into a bin up to 250 feet away. Apparently he can also hit!

Jesus Maldonado started a rehab assignment on Wednesday. He will rejoin the team on Monday.

Wyatt Hamill’s gotta ******* go. I don’t care what we get back for him. Doesn’t have to be pretty. Doesn’t have to be useful. Because I understand the market, and he’s ******* neither.

The last Coons closer that was not an utter piece of turd was probably Josh Boles, and he tore his labrum in ’30 and was never the same after that (although he is still closing for the damn Elks). We haven’t had a guy that put ONE good season together since *2029*…

The window for international free agent signings has opened. The Raccoons have already snatched up three teenagers for a total of $60k, but there is one starting pitcher we’re after that will cost a lot more than that.

Fun Fact: Joe Robinson is the third pitcher in league history to give up a run in his no-hitter.

That previously happened in 1998 to Portland’s Manuel “Bam Bam” Movonda, who won a 2-1 no-hitter. The other pitcher is Dallas’ Mark Holliday, who is the only pitcher in the league to lose a no-hitter, 1-0, coincidentally to the Warriors, in 2037.

[Westheim]

Some career stats!

BASE HITS
1st – Pablo Sanchez – 4,476 – retired just a couple of years ago, playing until his age 45 season
2nd – Victorino Sanchez (HOF) – 4,083
3rd – Dale Wales (HOF) – 3,673
4th – Cristo Ramirez (HOF) – 3,625 – part of that was first great Loggers team c.2000 that never won anything thanks to the Titans being even greater
5th – Jeffery Brown (HOF) – 3,582 – with the Capitals during the time we met in three straight World Series, 1991-1993
6th – Sonny Reece (HOF) – 3,294 – still the only guy to hit two Game 7 walkoffs in the same season (for the Thunder)
7th – Guillermo Obando – 3,288 – active, sitting on the Falcons bench at age 42
8th – Antonio Esquivel (HOF) – 3,263
9th – Martin Ortíz (HOF) – 3,220 – half of the Crusaders’ Martin Brothers, who were not actually brothers
10th – Alberto Rodriguez (HOF) – 3,172

Cosmo Trevino is the player with the third-most hits among active players! He sits 27th on the list with 2,852 – only CIN Danny Santillano (3,108), who is 11th overall, is ahead of him in addition to Obando. The highest-ranking player that was actually a Raccoon is Yoshi Nomura, 13th with 3,050 hits, followed by Ron Alston (t-18th, 2,933) and Juan Barrón (21st, 2,937). All three are in the Hall of Fame, but only Yoshi went in with the brown hat.

HOME RUNS
1st – Ron Alston (HOF) – 475 – spent a few seasons with the Raccoons, but went into the Hall as an Arrowhead
2nd – Danny Santillano – 422 – active at age 36, and it looks like only a broken neck can stop him from beating Alston to the throne
3rd – Raúl Vazquez (HOF) – 416 – was also prominently on the Indians, but made the Hall as Rebel
4th – Gil Rockwell (HOF) – 412 – finished his career with the Raccoons, hitting 19 homers in his final season (2022) with the Critters
5th – Dan Morris (HOF) – 408
6th – Shane Sanks – 379 – the disgusting skunk weasel is not yet eligible for the HOF and I won’t vote for him either!!
7th – Martin Ortíz (HOF) – 377 – still not related to Stanton Martin
8th – Mike Rucker – 376 – also an Indian, mostly, and the highest-ranking player on the list that didn’t make the HOF
9th – Will Bailey (HOF) – 375
10th – Stanley Murphy (HOF) – 371 – hit 22 home runs in a year and a half with the Coons, doing what all certified sluggers do with Portland… nothing.

Tied for 16th is Hugo “Tiger” Mendoza, another one of our love-hate-but-mostly-hate relationships with big bat imports. He hit 336 bombs in his career, 144 of those with the Coons, but went into the Hall as a Star. Don’t get me started on R.J. DeWeese (t-24th, 318). There is no other active player even remotely near the 300 mark, with bit player Graciano Salto sitting on 233 home runs, soon to be passed by Dan Schneller (231).

RUNS BATTED IN
1st – Will Bailey (HOF) – 1,714
2nd – Pablo Sanchez – 1,688
3rd – Martin Ortíz (HOF) – 1,670 – Stanton Martin called, they’re really not related
4th – Ron Alston (HOF) – 1,598
5th – Danny Santillano – 1,596 – active and eyeing that top spot, too
6th – Bakile Hiwalani (HOF) – 1,592 – also part of that c.2000 Loggers dynasty that was no dynasty for a lack of hardware
7th – Dan Morris (HOF) – 1,578
8th – Dale Wales (HOF) – 1,557
9th – Dennis Berman (HOF) – 1,551
10th – Jeffery Brown (HOF) – 1,545

There is quite some overlap with the homer list here; Stanley Murphy is 11th with 1,533 RBI, Hugo Mendoza is 28th with 1,327. Santillano aside, the next-highest active player is t-66th Danny Cruz with 1,130 RBI.

STOLEN BASES
1st – Pablo Sanchez – 721
2nd – Enrique Trevino – 694 – Cosmo is still trying to clamber up there
3rd – Guillermo Obando – 685 – old age has rendered him unable to steal any more bases
4th – Alberto Ramos – 676 – his fat *** has rendered him unable to steal any more bases
5th – Oscar Mendoza – 494 – also still active, age 35, but also reduced to bench duties at this point
6th – Moromao Hino – 485 – the top player on the list that actually already was on a Hall of Fame ballot… and didn’t get elected
7th – Diego Rodriguez (HOF) – 460
8th – Martin Ortíz (HOF) – 457 – is this getting old?
9th – Alex Torres – 445
10th – Chance Bossert – 437 – another active player, career Blue Sox, and 34 years old

Cookie Carmona, as mentioned a bit ago, dropped out of the top 10 thanks to Bossert and is now 11th with 482 bases. In 20th place is Alex Majano (361), who was briefly a Raccoon a few years back.

WINS
1st – Tony Hamlyn (HOF) – 308 – with all these great all-time Indians, how do the Titans, Crusaders, Raccoons, and damn Elks (in roughly that order) have all the trophies?
2nd – Martin Garcia (HOF) – 292 – Loggers ace that was just unbeatable on those c.2000 Loggers
3rd – Aaron Anderson (HOF) – 286
4th – Woody Roberts (HOF) – 279
t-5th – Juan Correa (HOF) – 272 – “Mauler” Correa won 11 games with the 1990 Raccoons, his final season in the majors
t-5th – Craig Hansen (HOF) – 272
7th – Jose Lerma – 269 – active, but unemployed, going 9-15 with the 2041 Condors at age 42
8th – Bastyao Caixinha (HOF) – 262 – in the Hall as Pacific despite spending more time with the Falcons
9th – Javier Cruz (HOF) – 256
10th – Brad Smith (HOF) – 254

The franchise’s biggest folly (or at least in the top 3), Dennis Fried, is 16th with 240 wins. Kisho Saito won 238 (t-18th), Nick Brown (225) sits 24th, while Jonny Toner is down in 70th place with 183 wins thanks to a brief if furious career. All of them are in the Hall of Fame, one of them as a Blue Sock. Tops among actives that are actually on a major league roster Phil Harrington with 219 wins (tied with Randy Farley!). The former Wolves ace missed all of ’41 on the DL, and is now the Condors closer.

STRIKEOUTS
1st – Tony Hamlyn (HOF) – 3,952
2nd – Jose Lerma – 3,844
3rd – Martin Garcia (HOF) – 3,783
4th – Rod Taylor (HOF) – 3,473 – Elks ace in the 2000s/2010s, but I never really hate on the great players… only the Ted Del Vecchios.
5th – Brad Smith (HOF) – 3,411
6th – Woody Roberts (HOF) – 3,313
7th – Pancho Trevino (HOF) – 3,238
8th – Aaron Anderson (HOF) – 3,225
9th – Carlos Castro (HOF) – 3,198
10th – Nick Brown (HOF) – 3,166 – BROWNIE!!

Brownie ekes out fellow Hall resident Javier Cruz by two whiffs for 10th place. Depending on how long Phil Harrington will continue to close before retirement, he won’t hold on much longer. Harrington is up to 13th with 3,074 K. In 18th and 19th are Mark Roberts and Matt Huf with 2,859 and 2,848 K respectively. The latter was in the package with which the Raccoons acquired the former as the ace for a team that amounted to rings in 2026 and 2028. Neither are yet eligible for the HOF ballot. 21st is held by Kisho Saito with 2,800 strikeouts exactly, ahead of Kel Yates with 2,773. Kisho is of course in the Hall, but Kel is not. Name-dropped recently but a Raccoons only in passing, “Bam Bam” Movonda is 26th with 2,663. Jonny Toner’s surge was derailed at 2,549 K, good for 31st place.

ERA (while trying to filter out pitchers that spent most of their career as closers)
1st – Phil Harrington – 2.104
2nd – Juan Correa (HOF) – 2.436
3rd – Salah Brunet – 2.488 – was already 33 years old when the ABL started play, but pitched a no-hitter in the brief time he had. Pitched just over the 810 IP required for this list
4th – Tony Hamlyn (HOF) – 2.627
5th – Ralph Hoyles – 2.821 – was also over 30 in the inaugural season, but pitched 1,917 innings anyway, mostly for the Thunder
6th – Curtis Tobitt (HOF) – 2.822 – another Indians great.
7th – Joe Ellis – 2.824 – Falcons starter from the inaugural season that pitched until ’92 and was somehow snuffed by the Secret Ninja Committee for Hall of Fame induction
8th – Nick Brown (HOF) – 2.888 – BROWNIE!!
9th – Jonathan Toner (HOF) – 2.892 – JONNY TONER!!
10th – Matt Sealock – 2.901 – the current ace of the damn Elks, or maybe co-ace with Eric Weitz.

Bob “Butcher” Haines has a career 2.702 ERA, but falls foul of the “most of the career as closers” part, but he DID pitch a no-hitter as a starter.

SAVES
1st – Andres Ramirez (HOF) – 770 – you know, it was him or Daniel Hall for the Raccoons in the first ever draft in 1977, and we took Daniel Hall. Still not regretting it!
2nd – Angel Casas (HOF) – 641 – Raccoons Hall of Famer #1 on this list
3rd – Pedro Alvarado (HOF) – 624
4th – Lawson Steward (HOF) – 593
5th – Grant West (HOF) – 522 – Raccoons Hall of Famer #2 on this list, and ONE reason we didn’t regret not picking Andres Ramirez
6th – Jim Durden – 519 – more Indians stars on these lists, and not even in the Hall of Fame
7th – Salvadaro Soure (HOF) – 499 – could have been Raccoons Hall of Famer #3 on this list, but was traded as prospect for Ramiro Cavazos. Who?
8th – William Henderson – 498
9th – Rick Evans – 496
10th – Robbie Wills (HOF) – 489

Before long there should be Josh Boles (11th, 482) on this list, and he might make the Hall of Fame too, but probably not as a Critter. Also, he is with the damn Elks right now, so I am contractually obligated to root against him as hard as I can. 38th with 355 saves is Dan Nordahl, who was utter frustration as a Raccoon, but became a fringe Hall of Famer with the Warriors.

[Westheim]

The Raccoons began the new week by optioning Arturo Carreno back to AAA and bringing back Jesus Maldonado from three games’ worth of rehab. We figured that Carreno needed regular at-bats and would not get them right now; Eric Cox could sit on the bench just the same.

Raccoons (41-41) @ Loggers (49-33) – July 7-10, 2042

This was a pairing that consistently not worked out for the Raccoons for a few years now, and it really had to *now*. But the Loggers were second in runs scored, fifth in runs allowed, had a +61 run differential, and half a game of deficit on the first-place Elks, so they really could not afford to waste much time here. The season series was tied at two – we’d add four games to that tally both this week and next week after the All Star Game.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-5, 3.41 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (8-3, 3.10 ERA)
Rich Willett (9-7, 3.12 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (12-4, 3.31 ERA)
Josh Brown (7-3, 2.82 ERA) vs. Chris Lulay (6-7, 4.66 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-6, 5.46 ERA) vs. Joe Hicks (7-6, 3.45 ERA)

Lulay was the runt of the litter, and also the only southpaw. But now the good news: persistent coonskinner Ted Del Vecchio was on the DL with a painful foot contusion, and I felt like this was exactly what the Raccoons needed to make a breakthrough here! He would definitely miss all of this series, and if we were lucky his foot was still hurting like ****** next week and we’d avoid him altogether for eight games!

(gleans skywards with black googly eyes) You heard that up there, didn’t you?

Game 1
POR: CF Romero – SS Hunter – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – P Jackson
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS McNelis – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – LF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – 2B V. Acosta – P Piedra

I didn’t calculate for one thing – Del Vecchio’s replacement being just as much of a barbed hook in the bottoms as the pest himself. Eric McNelis was a 28-year-old sophomore… and hit a homer to make it 1-0 Loggers in the bottom of the first. The Loggers followed that up with singles by Aaron Brayboy, Bill Reeves, and Daniel Hertenstein to tack on a second run right away against a hapless looking Jackson. The rest of the team was just as bad, amounting to one base hit against Piedra through five innings, while the Loggers sat back and pondered their next moves against Jackson, who followed up on that dismal first inning with four hitless frames, tossed in vain. Piedra offered a leadoff walk to Jeff Kilmer in the sixth – yes, that was the first move actually worth mentioning on offense. He was bunted over, reached third base on a wild pitch, then was stranded when Romero grounded out piss-poorly and Hunter struck out. Aaron Brayboy, the dismal ****, celebrated with a leadoff homer to right in the bottom of the inning. The Coons had a Manny Fernandez single in the seventh, then nothing else as long as Piedra was in the game. Right-hander Kurt Crater and his 2.89 ERA (but with 22 walks in 37 innings) took over in he ninth inning against the top of the Coons’ mostly absent order. Romero struck out. Hunter popped out. Maldonado grounded out to short. 3-0 Loggers.

Game 2
POR: CF Romero – SS Hunter – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – 2B Trevino – RF Nettles – C Wilson – P Willett
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS McNelis – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – C Sicco – LF Borchard – 2B V. Acosta – P S. Chavez

Three scoreless in Milwaukee saw the Raccoons strand Hunter and Fernandez on the corners in the first inning when Cortes flew out, but he made it up the next time around when he hit a homer to left, of course a solo job. The Loggers had runners on the corners thanks to Adam Borchard and Victor Acosta singles in the bottom 3rd after Willett had retired the first six batters in a row, but then choked to the tune of an inning-ending double play hit into by Tim Cannizzard. No such luck in the fourth; after Brayboy and Paul Reeves hit the corners, Jared Paul brought in the tying run with a soft grounder to short on which a double play was never in the cards. Valentino Sicco flew out to center to end the inning.

Willett retired two more to begin the bottom 5th, then inexplicably gave up a 2-out single to Sal Chavez before walking Cannizzard. When McNelis doubled into the corner and brought in a pair, I looked skywards again and shrugged as the poor sinner I was. I was getting the hint. I wouldn’t do it again! Can this please stop now?

Manny Fernandez tied the score with a homer off Chavez in the sixth after Maldonado had reached with a leadoff single, so maybe the answer was yes. Cortes whacked a double into the gap after that, but was stranded as the inept bottom of the order struck again. Willett battled his way through six, but used 105 pitches to make it even that far and wouldn’t be back. He was left with a no-decision when the seventh inning was mostly about Maldonado – getting on base, stealing a base, getting stranded on base, then putting McNelis on base with an error … none of which led to a run in the 3-3 tie.

The eighth began with Cortes ripping a ball to the deepest depths of centerfield and legging it out for a leadoff triple – he now sat a single shy of the cycle. The Loggers defended by bypassing Cosmo Trevino to get to Nettles, who was still hitting .368 on paper, but hadn’t gotten anything done in at least a week, and the Loggers knew it, too. But they didn’t even go through the motions to bring on a southpaw for him, instead keeping Chavez around for Jeff Wilson, presumably. They got burned for it – Nettles singled up the middle, Cortes scored, and Cosmo went to third base as the Coons took a 4-3 lead! Reyna batted for Wilson and hit a sac fly before de Wit ended the inning with a double play roller to short… Bottom 8th, Sicco and Borchard reached the corners with two line drive hits off Josh Rella .One out, left-handed batter Jonathan Fleming coming out to pinch-hit for Acosta, and with Chuck Jones already expended in the seventh inning, the Raccoons went to Brent Clark. He threw one pitch, getting a double play out of it, 4-6-3…!

The Raccoons brought up Cortes with two outs in the ninth inning. Maldonado had just doubled in Tony Hunter to go up 6-3. The Loggers didn’t bite – they walked Cortes intentionally to deny him the chance for a cycle! Would we take that lightly!? Nope – Cosmo doubled home a pair with a shot into the right-center gap for a neat conversation starter, taking off the save chance and bringing in Travis Sims for a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. 8-3 Raccoons. Romero 2-4, BB; Maldonado 3-5, 2B, RBI; Cortes 3-4, BB, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI; Nettles 2-5, RBI;

There you go!! And we will remember that intentional walk for a while!!

Game 3
POR: CF Romero – 2B Trevino – SS Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – 3B Cox – P Brown
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS McNelis – 3B Paul – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – C F. Gomez – CF Borchard – 2B V. Acosta – P Lulay

Josh Brown came to bat before he pitched, popping out to short to end a 4-run first inning for the Raccoons, who got three straight hits out of the 2-3-4 spots, Maldonado driving in Cosmo (double), a walk drawn by Cortes, a run on Reyna’s groundout to first base, and two runs on Kilmer’s single to center. Eric Cox walked to clear the pitcher’s spot. Said pitcher then walked three Loggers in the first inning and gave up a 3-piece to Aaron Brayboy somewhere in between… Brown walked two more the next inning, faced Brayboy again, and this time the ******* ******* shot a ball up the line for a 2-run double and a 5-4 Loggers lead. Oh, the bitter sadness of baseball…

Without doing anything on offense, the Raccoons dragged Brown’s sorry bum through five innings. Brayboy hit a single in the bottom 5th and was stranded, so he was now casually a triple away from a cycle. Hunter hit for Brown in the sixth, but made an out in between singles Cox and Romero hit off Lulay. Cosmo whiffed to end the inning. Cory Lambert came out for the bottom 6th and was turned inside out immediately. Borchard singled, Brad Simon doubled him home, scored on a McNelis single (…) and Jared Paul ripped an RBI double. Brayboy was next, got nailed to reach the conspicuously open base, and some staring and hissing went on between the two teams. Jon Craig replaced Lambert, gave up an RBI double to Daniel Hertenstein, and the game was pretty much over by now. Felipe Gomez flew out to center to end the inning, but who cared at this point…

The bottom of the order, maybe. They crowded Tony Fuentes to load the bases with one out in the eighth inning. Kilmer reached on an error (whatever works…), and Cox and Gutierrez hit singles to fill then up for the top of the lineup and new right-hander Cesar Perez. Romero popped out, Cosmo grounded out, and nobody scored… 9-4 Loggers. Maldonado 2-5, RBI; Fernandez 2-5; Cox 2-3, BB; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1;

We out-hit them 12-10. Maybe it was the NINE WALKS we doled out that broke our back here…

Game 4
POR: CF Romero – SS Hunter – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – C Wilson – 2B Gutierrez – P Mathers
MIL: RF Cannizzard – C Sicco – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – SS Simon – LF Fleming – 2B Lira – P Hicks

Unless the Raccoons secured a split behind Corey Mathers – which was unlikely in the best of times – they were pretty much done with the division (which was not even led by the Loggers…). Corey Mathers responded with two walks to begin his day, with somehow Cannizzard being stupid enough to get thrown out trying to steal third base when the pitcher on the mound had enough explosive potential for another 9-run game for them. The CS killed their inning and they didn’t score, but Cannizzard and Sicco were on base again in a scoreless contest in the third inning, this time with a pair of 1-out singles. Brayboy had struck out the first time up against Mathers, but the Raccoons wouldn’t get that lucky twice. He had since learned his lesson and barfed a 3-run homer to right.

Portland reached the board in the fourth, albeit only for one run and that was unearned, too. Maldo walked, Reyna singled, Cannizzard frittered a ball away to get Maldo across. Wilson then flew out to Fleming to strand Reyna. Omar Gutierrez was left in scoring position in the fifth, and while Maldonado hit a leadoff single in the sixth, he never got off first base. Mathers pitched 5.2 innings on 101 tosses, remaining 3-1 behind. Jones and Nettles entered the game in a double switch then, and Nettles hit a 2-out doublein the seventh, but then was also stranded on a sad Romero fly to left. Maldonado both hit another double in the eighth inning *and* tweaked a hamstring and had to come out of the game, which was such good news to a beaten team that had no hope left. De Wit ran for him, but had to stop at third base when Manny Fernandez singled to left. Those were now the tying runs with one down for Carlos Cortes, who shoved a ball through Jared Paul for an RBI single, 3-2. Kilmer batted for Jones in the #6 hole, also hit a grounder through Paul, and that one stretched for a game-tying RBI double! The Loggers reacted with an intentional walk to Wilson, yanked Hicks for Cesar Perez, and the Raccoons sent Cosmo to bat for Gutierrez, since this was a spot of utmost importance and we’d like an actual major league hitter to bat in this spot! …and while Cosmo grounded to first for a fielder’s choice at second base – no throw to first was attempted – he at least got the go-ahead run across! Nettles flew out to left to end the inning.

So now what? We were up 4-3. We needed six outs. And the Loggers had a lot of left-handers batting in the eighth inning. The Raccoons would try to be clever (do I hear dramatic music building in the background?) and would sent Wyatt Hamill to hold the fort in the eighth inning, then close the game with Jon Craig or Brent Clark in the ninth inning! A pop, a grounder, and a K retired the Loggers’ 1-2-3 batters in the bottom 8th, and that was certainly unexpected… even to Hamill, who twirled his moustache in deep thought on the way back to the dugout…! Jon Craig got the ninth after the Coons went in order against Crater in the top of the inning. The Loggers were scheduled to send switch-right-left, so there was no correct solution to the problem anyway… Brent Clark was in reserve though. Bill Reeves singled to center… (deep, deep breath) When Paul popped out, there was an itch to send Clark against the left-handed Simon and Fleming, but the Loggers had ample options from the right side on the bench, and then Clark would be on his own. Instead Craig got some mound counseling. Brad Simon then popped out on an 0-1 in foul ground. And Jonathan Fleming ended the game with a walkoff homer to right. 5-4 Loggers. Maldonado 2-3, BB, 2B; Cortes 2-4, RBI; Kilmer (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Gutierrez 1-2;

Crushed.

Mauled.

Emotionally dismembered.

Oh good, the damn Elks come to town to deliver the final blow.

Raccoons (42-44) vs. Canadiens (52-33) – July 11-13, 2042

There was no way this wasn’t going to end very, very badly. The damn Elks had a +93 run differential on the #1 offense and #3 defense in the league. They were up 7-2 in the season series. The Raccoons didn’t know which of their ends was up and which was bottoms, but chances were the damn Elks – who had lost Melvin Hernandez and Justin Becker for the season, but still had plenty of Outram and Schneller to beat us – would show them…

Projected matchups:
Nelson Moreno (5-7, 5.19 ERA) vs. Matt Sealock (11-1, 2.87 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-6, 3.47 ERA) vs. Mike Mihalik (10-7, 3.62 ERA)
Rich Willett (9-7, 3.19 ERA) vs. David Arias (5-9, 4.75 ERA)

Three right-handers. Not that it matters. Jesus Maldonado had a limp paw *again* and was day-to-day for this series (but would recover over the All Star break). He was not in the lineup on Friday at least.

Steve from Accounting, I have a question. Can we fit both that 16-year-old pitcher we’re after *and* *this* into the budget space? (shows Steve from Accounting a flyer of some product) – It’s a disembraining machine, on a $65,000 special offer, and I think I could really make good use of it.

Game 1
VAN: LF Mann – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF V. Vazquez – 1B J. Lopez – 3B G. Ortiz – SS R. Johnston – P Sealock
POR: CF Romero – 2B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – 3B Cox – P Moreno

Tony Romero hit a leadoff single and stole two bases in the first inning to get in on a Manny Fernandez sac fly. Tony Hunter walked, moved to third base on Manny’s sacrifice, and came home when Carlos Cortes singled, giving Portland a 2-0 lead against Matt Sealock. Moreno had put two on in the first, and added two more in the second inning, both times with a single and a walk, but so far the damn Elks didn’t get anybody across. Nels hit a sac fly himself in the bottom 2nd, getting Kilmer in. Kilmer had walked, stolen his first base of the year, and had reached third on Eric Cox’ single. Romero struck out, but the bags filled up on two singles by Cosmo and Hunter, bringing Manny to the plate in a fat spot. Sealock challenged him – and was beaten! A screamer up the rightfield line, and it would empty the bases, 3-run double for Manny Fernandez, and the crowd went bonkers!! … No, Maud, we won’t throw out this flyer for the disembraining machine just yet. I saw things in Milwaukee…!

Cortes flew out to end the inning, getting Nelson Moreno back on the mound. When the Raccoons needed a shutdown inning, he walked Timóteo Clemente to begin the third. Jerry Outram, however, rolled into a double play. Dan Schneller walked, Victor Vazquez singled, and now there was some serious talk with the young hurler on the mound, and I think I saw Cosmo slapping him in the back of the head to get him to stop messing up. He still gave up a run on Johnny Lopez’ single on a 3-1 pitch, then was 3-1 against Greg Ortiz before Cosmo got hold of Ortiz’ grounder to FINALLY end the damn inning. Moreno had a 1-2-3 fourth, then hit a leadoff single in the same inning. Romero walked, Cosmo reached when he was nicked by reliever Jordan Antonio, and there were three on base with nobody out. Tony Hunter lined out to Schneller on 3-2, Cosmo had been in forwards mode and couldn’t engage the rear gear fast enough and was doubled off, but Manny came through again, singling to right to score two runs!! … and yet, the Coons couldn’t get ******* Nelson Moreno through five innings OR avoid major explosions. Those explosions? A 2-run homer by Dan Schneller… and a 3-run homer by Ryan Johnston, which meant the end of ******* Nelson Moreno after 4.2 absolutely ******** ****** innings.

The Raccoons needed length from somebody now and turned to Cory Lambert, who batted for himself after getting out of the inning, singled, stood around uselessly for a bit, then was stranded, resumed pitching, and with two outs in the sixth and Clemente aboard gave up a game-tying blast to Schneller. Elks 8, ********* 8. Some of them were still resisting, but the loss was already in my scorebook. I guessed 14-9, although it wouldn’t matter. I also ordered Maud to order TWO disembraining machines, just in case the first one didn’t work, and I couldn’t wait for the second one if we ordered it THEN. Bottom 6th, though, righty Juan Dias (not related to the lefty Juan Diaz of three wild pitches in one at-bat infamy) walked Hunter and allowed a single to Manny with one down. Cortes flew out. Reyna grounded out. Nobody scored. Except for Ryan Johnston, who by the seventh joined Dan Schneller in having a 2-homer game, hitting a 2-out solo whack off Lambert to take the lead. The Coons then pissed away singles by Kilmer and Romero in the bottom 7th, with Cosmo popping out to strand a pair. Vazquez singled home a run against Travis Sims in the eighth, but did we actually still care…? Well, technically that was the game decider once Cortes went deep in the bottom of the inning, but with nobody aboard… The damn Elks brought a new pitcher in Gilberto Castillo to hold the 10-9 lead. He walked PH Omar Gutierrez in Sims’ place, and also Kilmer and Cox. Nettles was in the #9 hole and batted against a new righty with three aboard, Matt Fries and his 11 walks in 11.2 innings. He also had 12 strikeouts. Nettles lined out to Johnston long before he could get close to either one. And that stranded another three runners. After a scoreless ninth from Brent Clark, Josh Boles came out for the bottom of the inning, facing the 1-2-3 hitters, and, look, Josh Boles is *fine*… but we needed to see him walk off the mound sulking or I had to strangle the first thing that I’d get into my paws (looks at Cristiano). Romero struck out. Cosmo flew out to Outram. Hunter flew out to Vazquez. 10-9 Canadiens. Romero 2-5, BB; Fernandez 3-4, 2B, 6 RBI; Cortes 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Cox 2-4, BB;

…or maybe I’ll choose to lie face down in these pillows until tomorrow… and if the baseball gods have mercy, they will strike me with lightning at some point in between.

…

zzzzz

….

What is it, Maud? – First pitch?

Rats.

Game 2
VAN: LF Mann – C Clemente – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – RF V. Vazquez – 1B J. Lopez – 3B G. Ortiz – SS R. Johnston – P Mihalik
POR: CF Romero – 2B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Nettles – 3B Cox – C Wilson – P Jackson

The Coons scored first again on Saturday, not that I could get worked up much anymore about it. Nettles singled, stole second, and came around on Cox singling to center in the second inning. Oh well, the table has been set – now we’ll watch Jackson get raided for five in the next inning. – No, Maud, I want no cookie. – I also want no calming tea. – Well, can I have my blanky?

Jackson hit a single to lead off the third inning, which already made him be a baserunner more often than he had conceded to the damn Elks the first time through, but of course he was also stranded. Clemente was the first Elks runner, walking in the fourth. Outram legged out an infield single, but Schneller popped out for the second out and maybe this time we – oh, no, **** it, Vazquez just parked one in the cheap seats in right…

Not much else happened through five; Jackson got to run the bases again when Schneller’s error put him on in the bottom 5th, only to have Romero also ground to Schneller, who this time held on for a 4-6-3 inning-ender. Schneller then opened the sixth with a single, Lopez walked, and when Jackson was yanked, Josh Rella conceded a run on a sharp 2-out single by Ryan Johnston. The Coons then got free runners on errors by the Elks. Jeremy Mann dropped a liner to put Manny on base in the sixth, which led nowhere. Cox then reached base when Ortiz threw his grounder away in the seventh, and Jeff Wilson snuck a single through the right side to put runners on the corners. When the Elks sent lefty Jordan Antonio to relieve Mihalik, the Raccoons countered with Maldonado to pinch-hit as the tying run. He grounded the first pitch he got to short, but the Elks only got the out at second while a run scored and Romero got another chance, singling to center. Cosmo flew to right, no trouble for Vazquez, and the tying runs were stranded. From here, Travis Sims pitched two scoreless innings, whiffing four, keeping the Elks in striking distance. The Raccoons, however, put nobody on base in the eighth, and arrived at the bottom of the order – and Josh Boles – in the ninth. Nettles struck out. Cox grounded out to short. And Wilson flew out to Mann. 4-2 Canadiens. Sims 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

When your only hero is Travis ******* Sims, you better go home.

Maud, activate the beacon that transmits our willingness to sell to everybody with prospects.

Sunday brought the All Star Game rosters and a scratch for the Raccoons, with Rich Willett wiped from the Sunday start – not because of a trade, but because he had made the All Star Game. We would send Josh Brown (7-4, 3.09 ERA) on short rest and piggyback him with some dimwit or other. (Brent Clark and Cory Lambert stop stuffing their snouts in the far corner and blink)

Game 3
VAN: LF Mann – 3B G. Ortiz – CF Outram – 2B Schneller – 1B J. Lopez – C James – RF Jorgensen – SS R. Johnston – P D. Arias
POR: CF Romero – 2B Trevino – SS Hunter – LF Fernandez – 1B Cortes – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – 3B de Wit – P Brown

The Elks loaded the bases to begin the game, getting an infield single from Jeremy Mann, a fumbled Ortiz grounder from Brown, and a proper single to left by Jerry Outram. Schneller lined into a 6-4 double play and Lopez grounded out to keep them off the board. Outram came through next time round for them, though, singling home Mann from third base with two outs. Mann had doubled to center against an ineffective Josh Brown, who fooled absolutely nobody, and was whacked around for another pair of runs in the fifth inning before being yanked. Johnston singled, was driven in by Mann, and Outram hit a 2-out RBI double. Before Miguel Reyna hit a solo home run to right in the bottom 5th, the Raccoons were struck on one base hit against the Elks’ worst starter, but while Kilmer and Gutierrez (hitting for Brown) singled in the inning, Romero grounded out to strand the tying runs.

Cory Lambert pitched two innings, having a run on three hits beaten out of him to deepen the chasm to 4-1, but the Raccoons got the tying run back to the plate against a carousel of relievers in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cosmo and Manny were aboard for Cortes against Gilberto Castillo, with two outs. Cortes grounded through the left side for an RBI single, bringing on Matt Fries as the Elks spent their pen in an attempt to get the last out. They got it from Reyna, who grounded out. Jon Craig held the damn Elks at bay in the ninth, but we had the bottom of the order up against Fries in the ninth, and Jesus Maldonado had already pinch-hit and was out of the game. Kilmer scorched a liner to begin the inning. the ball was hit so hard, it took Schneller’s glove off and rolled away for a single. Nettles hit for de Wit, but popped out. Cox hit for Craig, but grounded to short with Kilmer getting forced out on the play. Cox was safe at first. Romero flew to left, Mann didn’t have to move, and made the final out. 4-2 Canadiens. Trevino 2-4; Cortes 2-4, RBI; Reyna 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Kilmer 2-4; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1; Craig 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

In other news

July 7 – New York acquires pitching help with SP Tony Galligher (4-11, 3.85 ERA) from the Warriors, sending two prospects to Sioux Falls.
July 7 – SAL SP Ryan Bedrosian (8-3, 1.70 ERA) 2-hits the Scorpions for a 5-0 victory, striking out 13 Sacramento hitters in the effort.
July 7 – The Wolves acquire LF/RF Benito Mendoza (.272, 1 HR, 13 RBI) from the Buffaloes for INF Alex Castillo (.261, 6 HR, 27 RBI).
July 8 – The Gold Sox’ SP Adrien Calabresi (6-3, 3.01 ERA) pitches a 2-hit shutout against the Stars, whiffing only three in a 5-0 win.
July 8 – The Titans leave 1B Mario Duenez (.277, 0 HR, 24 RBI) to the Gold Sox for SP Matt Peterson (2-5, 4.11 ERA).
July 9 – The Cyclones’ season derails with 1B Danny Santillano (.323, 12 HR 47 RBI) leaving a game against the Miners with a knee injury that turns out to be a strained medial collateral ligament that would put him out of action until late August.
July 9 – The disintegrating Warriors trade CL Chris Henry (3-2, 2.45 ERA, 18 SV) to the Blu Sox for four prospects.
July 9 – The Titans win a 3-1 game against the Crusaders despite being out-hit 10-3. They strand only two of the five runners they get in the entire game.
July 10 – His first save for the Blue Sox is the 400th of Chris Henry’s (3-2, 2.39 ERA, 19 SV) career. The 2040 Reliever of the Year, 34 years old, is with his sixth team (seven stints) and has no intention to not reach 500 saves next.
July 11 – Sacramento’s Jesus Banuelas (.268, 4 HR, 39 RBI) could be out for the year with a particularly bad hamstring strain.
July 11 – PIT SP Israel Mendoza (7-7, 3.46 ERA) throws a 3-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Nashville.
July 13 – The Thunder trade C Rick Urfer (.217, 2 HR, 11 RBI) and cash to the Warriors for MR Brad Blankenship (0-2, 2.35 ERA) and a prospect.

FL Player of the Week: RIC 1B Manny Liberos (.250, 15 HR, 48 RBI), batting .400 (12-30) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC OF Rich Salek (.269, 6 HR, 30 RBI), hitting .577 (15-26) with 3 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Rich Willett and Tony Hunter made the All Star Team, Hunter apparently as injury replacement for Ted Del Vecchio, whom I hate with all my heart. It is Hunter’s first All Star Game, while Willett makes it there for the sixth time, making the show five times with Boston.

None of this makes me happy. None of this can make me happy.

We have lost the season series against the damn Elks – never mind that there are six games to spare. And it’s only 3-5 against the Loggers, but I’ll chalk that up as an L too. The second 4-game set doesn’t even matter anymore. The Raccoons are 13 1/2 games out and don’t matter. They just don’t matter. They’re a bunch of nothing.

Everything is nothing…

Fun Fact: “Things will totally be better this year. The black hole at third base has been stuffed, and the rotation got some real gems inserted. Cortes also isn’t lousy. The Raccoons have a genuine shot at the division this year but it might be tight. We can’t afford many injuries. And the rotation could actually hold together for once… The Raccoons will be in the race, and will win the division or maybe not. But 93 wins don’t sound outrageous.”

Win the division my ***.

Maud, where did you put the flyer for crystal balls? – Because I have to smash the old one.

[Bigfish1287]

I just wanted to say thank you for writing for all these years. I have been reading this dynasty since my first year in high school and now I am out of university. Go Raccoons!

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Bigfish1287

I just wanted to say thank you for writing for all these years. I have been reading this dynasty since my first year in high school and now I am out of university. Go Raccoons!

Has it been this long?

Yes it has.

The Raccoons want to thank you for your loyal commitment over all those mostly lean years. Dr. Padilla also recommends to get your head checked out when there's so many good teams to follow instead.

[Westheim]

Monday began in the gutter behind the ballpark, hungover and with banana peels stuck all over in my fur. Scout guy and Dr. Padilla carried me inside and Maud brushed me off, but I refused food and drink and insisted that the end had arrived.

Well, it definitely had arrived for the Raccoons that had attempted to win 93 and would probably not come close to winning even 79 now. By mid-day I assembled the brain trust of Cristiano, Slappy, and Chad to decide whom to give the axe – if another team would take them at all. At Maud’s insistence, Steve from Accounting and scout guy were allowed to join, too, even though we voted 3-1 against that. Maud explained that this was not a matter of democracy, and we had to act like big boys now.

Alright, alright, Maud! *Fine*!

There were few reservations about whom to trade and whom to keep this time. The Raccoons had a pile of free agents in Willett, Hamill, Reyna, Romero, Berto, and Cosmo. Cortes had a player option and if he was any sane at all would skip town, too. There were longer contracts made only with Brown and Kilmer (through 2046) – and nobody would take Kilmer right now – as well as Maldonado (2045) and Manny Fernandez (2044). Everybody else was under team control, including Tony Hunter.

Now, several guys could not be traded – Hamill sucked the cover off the baseballs, Berto was on the DL, and Cosmo immediately showed his red card that identified him as holder of 10/5 rights. But everything not nailed down firmly was very much available – except for whatever young personnel of the future we had of the Arturo Carreno quality.

Trade #1

RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.279, 8 HR, 40 RBI), who had suffered through a wretched first two months before heating up considerably in the last few weeks, was out of town even before the All Star Game. He was dangled to several teams on Monday, and the Bayhawks snatched him up first thing Tuesday morning. The Raccoons made out like robbers with the #26 prospect, RF/1B/LF Jose Casas, a 22-year-old Panamanian switch-hitter currently batting .247 with six homers in AAA.

Casas’ general makeup would also allow for him to shift to third base – except that he was a left-handed thrower, ruling out that option. He *did* have a murder arm, so should be able to handle rightfield just fine, despite limited overall range.

All Star Game

The Federal League beats the Continental League, 8-3, in the 2042 edition of the All Star Game, but the Aces’ Pat Gurney goes 2-for-4 with two solo home runs off Kevin Stice and Rich Kappel to win MVP honors. The suspense is out of the game early, with the Knights’ Brad Santry giving up four runs in the opening inning, and the Elks’ Alexander Lewis conceding three more in the second.

Tony Hunter comes off the bench with a pinch-hit single and scores the only CL run not hit over the fence buy Gurney. Rich Willett pitches a scoreless inning.

It was the last time Willett wore the Coons’ cap.

Trade #2

The Loggers were already in town when the Coons dealt away much of what could be considered a legit major league rotation. The Aces received SP Rich Willett (9-7, 3.19 ERA), SP Josh Brown (7-5, 3.18 ERA), and OF Tony Romero (.238, 9 HR, 33 RBI) in a frontpage news trade. The Raccoons loaded up on more high-minors talent in #40 prospect SP Generos de Leon, RF Justin Waltz, and CL Preston Porter. The two pitchers were 21 years old and in AA (de Leon would be moved to AAA by the Coons), while Waltz was 23 in AAA.

Trade #3

In one final trade before actually playing the Loggers, the Raccoons dumped CL Wyatt Hamill (1-3, 5.02 ERA, 13 SV) on the Buffaloes, but the main piece going over there was SS Tony Hunter (.258, 4 HR, 32 RBI). The Raccoons picked up another two prospects from the AA level, 23-year-old OF Gene Pellicano and 21-year-old right-handed CL Bob Ibold. The latter was the bigger potential here with a 93mph fastball and a scoopy curve, but Pellicano was actually ranked, even though only at #183.

Picking up the pieces

Decimated to the tune of six major league players after last week’s 1-6 massacre, the Raccoons had to make some adjustments and restock from AAA, with only three starters left, no closer, and as the Loggers series began only two healthy outfielders (Manny, Reyna), as Nettles was out with a bout of diarrhea.

No deal for Manny Fernandez materialized, and Maldonado was requested by some teams, but only wrapped into other deals, and not for a top prospect in his own right. They were without a doubt the best two position players left on a windswept, barren roster. On the pitching side there was not much beyond Jake Jackson, the two lefty relievers, and maybe Josh Rella that was worth talking about.

First, there was an off day on Monday after the Loggers series, so we did not need a fifth starter right now, and then would need only one spot start by somebody the rest of the month, with another off day on the 31st.

Cory Lambert was moved to the rotation from the pen to make four starters against the Loggers. Josh Rella was anointed closer for the time being. His career save total so far was zilch.

The Coons then returned Zack Kelly and Ryan van Campenhout from AAA – the former had performed for a 6.75 ERA earlier this season, but was doing fine in AAA. The latter had not pitched for the Coons since 2040, running up a 10.22 ERA, but was still rotting on the 40-man roster. To make a dozen tossers, right-hander Alexis Cortes would be added as extra reliever. The 22-year-old had cost $22k in the 2036 July IFA period. He was absolutely nothing special, so he should fit right in here – it probably wasn’t for long, either, since there was some waiver claim we were working on.

Three position players were called up. Switch-hitting LF/CF Jordan Gonzalez, 26, and lefty-batting OF Van Anderson made returns from prior seasons. Gonzalez got a new number, going from #70 to #29. The last spot went to 1B Shuta Yamamoto, who had been signed out of Japan and had so far hit 16 homers with a .282 clip between AA and AAA, blasting past Art Goetz and Damian Salazar on the depth chart.

Raccoons (42-47) vs. Loggers (54-35) – July 17-20, 2042

The Loggers were second in runs scored, fourth in runs allowed, and could not wait to sweep the Raccoons’ own ground with them. They were up 5-3 in the season series, having taken three of four the prior week in Milwaukee.

Projected roster:
Jake Jackson (6-7, 3.62 ERA) vs. Joe Hicks (7-6, 3.46 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-6, 5.40 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (12-6, 3.53 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (5-7, 5.49 ERA) vs. Bobby Freels (8-4, 3.85 ERA)
Cory Lambert (0-2, 4.30 ERA) vs. Sergio Piedra (10-3, 2.89 ERA)

All the Loggers’ righties lined up for this one.

Game 1
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS McNelis – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – LF Hertenstein – C Sicco – 2B V. Acosta – P Hicks
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Anderson – C Kilmer – SS Gutierrez – P Jackson

The Loggers went up 2-0 in the first inning, both runs being unearned around a walk drawn by Eric McNelis and a 2-run single by Jared Paul when Shuta Yamamoto introduced himself by bungling the first play coming at him in the majors, an Aaron Brayboy grounder, for an error. It wasn’t the last grim error of the game – with Joe Hicks and Tim Cannizzard on the corners in the second inning, McNelis’ grounder was thrown away for two bases by Jeff Kilmer, and then a disenchanted Jackson, shoulders sagging, threw a wild pitch to get Cannizzard across. He walked Brayboy before Bill Reeves struck out. Four runs in for Milwaukee – ALL unearned. The third inning saw another error by Yamamoto, dropping a Cosmo feed to put Valentino Sicco on base with two outs, and WHAT THE **** WAS GOING ON?? Victor Acosta flew out to right to end the inning, while Omar Gutierrez drew a leadoff walk in the bottom 3rd, then was doubled in by Reyna. Maldonado flew out to keep it 4-1 through three.

More scratching took place in the fourth. Manny opened with a double to right, and Yamamoto walked for his first time on base in the Bigs. Van Anderson whipped an RBI single to center, so the tying runs were on now. Kilmer struck out before a wild pitch advanced the runners, upon which the Loggers used the open base for Gutierrez, pulling up Jackson with three on and one out. Jackson had a homer and six RBI this year, but poked a 2-2 pitch to short for a double play to kill the rally. Jackson lasted 5.2 innings thanks to all the extra pitches needed to compensate for three errors and lots of sadness, with Zack Kelly taking over. He got a first-pitch groundout from Cannizzard, and then Jeff Kilmer took Jackson off a totally undeserved hook with a 2-run homer to left, cashing Yamamoto, who had walked again in the bottom 6th. Kelly struck out the side in the seventh, then got in line for the W when Cosmo doubled and Reyna singled him home in the bottom 7th. Reyna stole second, then came around on a Maldonado single. Craig and Clark combined for the eighth around a Daniel Hertenstein single, while Portland scratched out another run in the bottom of the inning, with Gutierrez, de Wit, and Cosmo all reaching with one out. Reyna scored one with a grounder before Maldonado popped out. Then came Josh Rella’s first save chance – it didn’t go so great. He walked Cannizzard with one out, got McNelis, but then allowed singles to Brayboy and pinch-hitter Jonathan Fleming with two outs, the latter driving in a run and putting them on the corners for Jared Paul. He ended the game with a pop to first. 7-5 Coons. Reyna 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2B; Gutierrez 2-2, 2 BB; de Wit (PH) 1-1; Jackson 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K; Kelly 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, W (2-0);

Oh good. Now they win.

Game 2
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS Del Vecchio – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – C Sicco – LF Borchard – 2B V. Acosta – P S. Chavez
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – CF Gonzalez – SS Gutierrez – P Mathers

Both teams had one hit and no runs through three innings as Corey Mathers held up quite well the first time through… but not the second time through. Leadoff walk to Brayboy, then singles by Reeves and Paul to load the bags with nobody out. I sighed and accepted my fate. The Loggers only got one run, though. Sicco, crucially, struck out, while Adam Borchard hit a sac fly to right. Acosta grounded out. The Raccoons would get leadoff singles twice in the middle innings, Manny in the fourth and Cosmo in the sixth, but Yamamoto and Reyna, respectively, hit into double plays and the team continued to trail 1-0 through six. Mathers held up for seven remarkable innings, allowing only four hits, all in vain, since the Raccoons had yet to reach scoring position.

Yamamoto at least got his first trophy, a 1-out single in the bottom 7th for his first major league hit. He reached second base when Sal Chavez nicked Jordan Gonzalez. With two outs the count ran full on Omar Gutierrez, who then hit a liner into the gap that went all the way to the fence for a score-flipping 2-run triple…! And NOW Mathers was in line for the win! Van Anderson hit for him and singled home Gutierrez for a 3-1 score. Cosmo also singled, but Reyna flew out easily. Chuck Jones came out for the eighth, giving up a leadoff double to right to Cannizzard – except that the Logger was fisted out by the umpire when Yamamoto called for the ball, got it, and tapped first base. The first base ump dutifully punched out Cannizzard, who had never touched first base on his hustle “double”…! Jones put the next three batters on anyway, nailing the repulsive Ted Del Vecchio, before giving up hits to Brayboy and Reeves. That made it 3-2, with runners in scoring position and one stupid out. Travis Sims conceded the lead and the tie by giving up a screamer for two runs to Sicco. Alexis Cortes pitched the ninth for his debut, walking Felipe Gomez before whiffing Cannizzard and without allowing a run or hit. Down 4-3, the Coons had the bottom of the order up against Kurt Crater in their half of the ninth. Gonzalez and Gutierrez grounded out before Anderson, who had remained in the game over Reyna, hit a 2-out single to right. Cosmo ran a full count before swinging over a pitch in the dirt, ending this game. 4-3 Loggers. Trevino 2-5; Fernandez 2-4; Gutierrez 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; Anderson (PH) 2-2, RBI; Mathers 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K;

Game 3
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS Del Vecchio – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – C Sicco – LF Fleming – 2B V. Acosta – P Freels
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Anderson – C Wilson – SS Gutierrez – P Moreno

There were four Loggers runners in the first three innings, two of which Moreno put on base, and two of which Cosmo put on base with a pair of errors. The Coons had only one runner the first time through, Jeff Wilson going yard for the only tally in the first three innings. Paul opened the fourth with a single, was doubled off by Sicco, and then Fleming reached when Moreno dropped the feed from Yamamoto at first base… Say, Maud, did anybody take some of my Capt’n Coma? – Because they play like they’re completely knackered!

Moreno held on to a 1-0 lead longer than one would expect, but straight singles from the 2-3-4 hitters did him in by the fifth inning, as the Loggers tied the game with two outs before Paul rolled over to Maldonado. Wilson answered with a double to right to begin the bottom 5th. Gutierrez walked, both were bunted over, and Cosmo was intentionally walked to get to Reyna, who hit a fly to center for a sac fly. Freels uncorked a wild pitch, which led to Maldonado getting intentionally walked. Manny had none of that crap and singled through the left side for drive in a pair, 4-1, before the inning ended with a Yamamoto grounder to third base.

Moreno squeaked through six innings on 103 pitches, also battling errors, but also his own long counts in the middle innings. Chuck Jones held the fort in the seventh after taking the loss on Friday, and Reyna reached base on an Acosta error with one out in the seventh. When Reyna stole second base, Maldonado was put on intentionally *again*. The Loggers *really* hated pitching to him, preferring Freels to face the left-handed Fernandez *again*. He hit into a fielder’s choice, putting runners on the corners for PH Jay de Wit in a big tack-on spot and with Yamamoto off to a 1-for-9 start to his career. De Wit never saw a pitch, with Manny picked off by Freels without a count, ending the inning, until the eighth, then hit a leadoff single over Del Vecchio. Jeff Wilson continued his big day – a triple shy of the cycle, he instead hit a second home run to left-center. Gutierrez went back-to-back with him, hitting one to right off Adam Giovenco. Zack Kelly had gotten the last out in the top 8th, then was retained to hit for himself, grounded out, then went out and got a wicked 4-out save for himself with a scoreless ninth. 7-1 Raccoons. Maldonado 1-2, 2 BB; de Wit (PH) 1-1; Wilson 4-4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBI;

So the Coons got two different relievers to collect their first career save in the same series.

What a wicked bunch.

Interlude: waiver claim

Sunday saw another reliever added in right-hander Derek Barker (1-5, 5.28 ERA, 1 SV), claimed off waivers by the Aces. The 38-year-old was a Raccoon for the second time, having spent half the 2037 season with the team, pitching to a 1.32 ERA then. He was clearly arriving at the end of his career with a loss of velocity and plummeting strikeout ratio, but this was all about getting to the end of the season…

The Raccoons returned Alexis Cortes to AAA after one scoreless inning.

Raccoons (42-47) vs. Loggers (54-35) – July 17-20, 2042

Game 4
MIL: RF Cannizzard – SS Del Vecchio – 1B Brayboy – CF Reeves – 3B Paul – LF Hertenstein – C Sicco – 2B V. Acosta – P Piedra
POR: 2B Trevino – 1B Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Wilson – CF Anderson – RF Nettles – SS Cox – P Lambert

The Coons went up 1-0 in the first, Maldonado bringing in a run with a grounder after Cosmo and Reyna reached the corners with base hits, but the Loggers got two on a shoddy Cory Lambert in the second inning. He had no command, no stuff, put four runners on base, and conceded two of them in the inning, then was lucky enough that Nettles got to a Cannizzard blooper on the run to strand Sicco and Acosta in scoring position. Brayboy took him deep in the third inning, 3-1, and Hertenstein and Acosta roped hits for another run in the fourth. Del Vecchio and Reeves landed more hits in the fifth inning, and Lambert was yanked with two in scoring position and one out in the inning. Derek Barker got a soft liner to left from Paul to get the runners to hold, then conceded them when Hertenstein landed a 2-out blooper for two ****** runs…

The game was well out of paws at that stage, with ten Loggers hits to two measly base knocks for the Raccoons, and none since there were no outs in the bottom 1st. Yamamoto filed a pinch-hit single into the H column in the bottom 6th, but with two outs, and for no greater gains. There was no other Raccoons hit until the eighth, when Omar Gutierrez landed a pinch-hit double, again with two outs. Cosmo singled him home, though, shortening the gap to 6-2, stole second, and came around on Yamamoto’s single to right-center. Maldonado, suddenly pitched to, grounded out to conclude eight. Brent Clark held the Loggers in place, and they sent Kurt Crater to do the same for them in the bottom 9th. Manny, Wilson, and Anderson went down in order. 6-3 Loggers. Trevino 2-4, 2B RBI; Reyna 1-2; Yamamoto (PH) 2-2, RBI; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1, 2B; Van Campenhout 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

In other news

July 15 – The Knights will be without 1B Jamie King (.279, 7 HR, 36 RBI) for three weeks. The 27-year-old 2040 Player of the Year is out with a bruised wrist.
July 18 – The Bayhawks score 15 runs on 15 hits as they beat the Knights, 15-8, with SFB 1B Danny Cruz (.201, 5 HR, 22 RBI) chipping in two homers and 4 RBI.
July 18 – SAC OF/1B/3B Phil Rogers (.225, 17 HR, 39 RBI) will miss six weeks with a broken finger.
July 20 – The Titans trade 3B/2B Ben “Nine Fingers” Freeman (.285, 3 HR, 29 RBI) to the Scorpions for 2B/SS Oscar Aguirre (.182, 1 HR, 6 RBI).

FL Player of the Week: DAL C Pacio Torreo (.296, 17 HR, 59 RBI), batting .529 (9-17) with 4 HR, 9 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB C John Hill (.277, 4 HR, 42 RBI), whacking .625 (10-16) with 1 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

What is there to say? Not “maybe next year”, because not all of the newly acquired young talent will be ready for 2043. This is more of a 2044-ish project now. With most free agents after this season traded away except for Cosmo (10/5 rights exercised), Berto (DL, but probably would have 10/5-ed us too), Reyna (no interest), and technically Barker, who arrived on Sunday and is a free agent after the year too, and some of the other salaried personnel, too, the Raccoons now have all of THREE guaranteed contracts left: Manny for 2-yr, $5M (including a team option), Maldo for 3-yr, $6.6M, and Kilmer for 4-yr, $8M (including a team option). Literally everybody else is arbitration-eligible at most.

We may have as many as 11 top 100 prospects at this point – all but three of them pitchers. So there will be a need for some free agent additions this winter, most notably at second base, where a black hole will open up. The three top 100 position players include Sandy Casaus, who was ranked #30 and even at age 25 isn’t hitting in AAA, so he has to be written off as a bust now, which doesn’t make things easier.

You may wonder why we are now using Cory Lambert to piss away games in the early innings, when we could catch a glimpse of Jason Wheatley instead. He is at a 2.99 ERA with the Alley Cats, but we’re still eyeing those BB/9 and K/9 values and are not quite pleased. However, a September cameo is entirely in the books at this stage.

We will be at home for another week, delivering cringey baseball against the Indians and Thunder, before hitting the road for three series with CL South teams. The only road trip fully contained within August will be a quick weekend trip down I-5 to Sacramento; otherwise we’ll play 16 at home in August. Maybe we’ll even win a few.

The spot start on Saturday probably goes to Brent Clark – there won’t be a need for a fifth starter until August 5, however, so we’re not getting one up until then. Clark has made 198 career appearances so far, all in relief, for a 11-12 record and 3.60 ERA with 9 saves. He does throw three pitches, but has control issues (consistently 5+ BB/9), so we don’t think of him as a valuable starting asset.

We signed our big acquisition target for the July IFA period, 16-year-old right-hander Victor Salcido, for $485k this week. He projects to be a groundballer with four pitches, a fastball currently clocked at 87, plus fine curves and sliders and a complementary changeup. Maybe more of a finesse type, but those are great as long as you have a shortstop with two sound legs.

SP Victor Salcido - $485,000 - SIGNED
SP Israel Chavez - $27,000 - SIGNED
OF Arturo Romero - $21,000 - SIGNED
1B/LF/RF Jaime Sanchez - $12,000 - SIGNED

TOTAL OFFERED: $545,000
TOTAL SIGNED: $545,000
SOFT CAP: $568,000

Fun Fact: Ryan Van Campenhout has his career ERA down to 8.79 …!

(listlessly stirs in his food bowl)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (44-49) vs. Indians (37-56) – July 22-24, 2042

After a common off day on Monday, the decimated Raccoons would host the fifth-place Indians, who had not had any fun all year, either, and especially not against the Critters, who led the season series, 7-2. Indy were bottoms in runs scored and in many individual categories, too, and eighth in runs allowed, with a -69 run differential (Coons: +22, somehow).

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-7, 3.45 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (4-9, 4.22 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-6, 4.99 ERA) vs. Ayden Cobb (7-4, 2.58 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (6-7, 5.26 ERA) vs. Orlando Altreche (6-9, 4.32 ERA)

Neither team had a left-handed starter available at this stage – although the Raccoons would preserve Brent Clark for a potential spot start on Saturday. He would be available in the first two games, though.

Game 1
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – 2B Sanderfer – CF de Santiago – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – P A. Flores
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – CF Nettles – SS Gutierrez – P Jackson

Nick Crocker belted Jackson’s first pitch of the game over the fence in right, so that was a nice start. (picks up both Honeypaws and a bucket with fudge bars for comfort) The Raccoons erased the deficit in the same inning, though, getting their first bunch of batters on base. Flores walked Cosmo, who scored on singles by Miguel Reyna and Jesus Maldonado. Manny whiffed, Kilmer walked, loading the bases, Flores went 3-1 on Shuta Yamamoto, who then shot a grounder into a double play to kill the effort. Jackson gave himself the lead in the second inning, finding Stephon Nettles and Omar Gutierrez on the corners and hitting a sac fly to go up 2-1. Cosmo then forced out Gutierrez with a grounder, but Reyna reached, and Maldonado crushed a 3-piece to left-center to extend the gap to four runs, 5-1. After two uneventful innings, Jackson would piss away all of that lead in the fifth inning, getting whacked around for six hits and four runs; Andrew Russ was thrown out on the bases, but otherwise the comeback was capped by a 2-out, 2-run homer by Danny Rivera, that Nettles didn’t even run after because it was so obviously outta here. Dan Hutson singled up the middle, knocking out Jackson after 4.2 innings. Travis Sims replaced him, gave up a double in left-center to Alex Sanderfer, but Manny Fernandez hammered out Hutson at home plate to end the bedeviled inning.

Then it became about double plays – Jeff Kilmer killed the bottom 5th with two on and a 6-4-3, and the Indians had two on against Brent Clark in the seventh, ended when Hutson chopped a bouncer into a 5-4-3 double play. Facing right-hander Mike Iannone in the bottom 7th, Van Anderson drew a pinch-walk in the #9 hole, then raced for third base on Cosmo’s single. Well, Honeypaws, that looks like a fat chance! (proactively shoves another fudge bar in his snout) Reyna popped out, Maldo hit a sac fly to go up 6-5, and then Iannone walked the bags full before bringing up an 0-for-3 Yamamoto. We were tempted to pinch-hit, then remembered that we weren’t playing for wins anymore. We were just playing for the last 69 games of the year to somehow go into the record books, and besides, the kid’s gotta learn! The kid got the count to 1-1, then hit a loud, high liner to left that seemed to rise and rise and rise even more and it rose and rose until it was ******* outta here…! GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!

Ryan Van Campenhout then got whacked around a bit as the Indians made up a run on two hits and a walk in the eighth, but with Jeff Diaz and Andrew Russ aboard, one run in, and two outs, Zack Kelly came on and struck out PH Keith Thomson. With more lefty hitters atop the order, Kelly just remained in for the ninth inning then. He retired Crocker, Rivera, and Hutson in order to put the game away. 10-6 Raccoons. Reyna 3-4, 2B; Maldonado 2-2, BB, HR, 5 RBI; Yamamoto 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Kelly 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, SV (2);

Game 2
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – 2B Sanderfer – CF de Santiago – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – P A. Cobb
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Nettles – SS Gutierrez – C Wilson – P Mathers

Maldonado hit a jack for the second day in a row to give Portland a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st. While Mathers struck out four and allowed one hit the first time through, the offense gave him another run in the bottom 3rd. Cosmo reached base leading off, and Manny Fernandez slapped him in with a 2-out double to centerfield. Yamamoto also hit a long fly to center, but his was caught by Carlos de Santiago, a 24-year-old rookie and .070 hitter.

Then Mathers imploded – with help from his friends. Rivera and Hutson went to the corners to begin the fourth, Gutierrez bombled a 6-4-3 by Sanderfer to get no out at all, while Rivera scored, 2-1. Mathers then walked de Santiago to load the bases with nobody out, then went about unloading them, starting with a wild first pitch to Jeff Diaz that tied the game. Diaz struck out, but Roger Custello lined a 2-run single to left. Andrew Russ doubled, Cobb hit a sac fly, and Mathers hit the bunk after 3.0 good and 0.2 outlandish innings. Derek Barker replaced him and got a soft fly to Reyna to end the dismal inning, now down 5-2. The gap only grew from there with two innings’ worth of Ryan Van Campenhout, who had a scoreless fifth, then walked three in the sixth inning, all of whom came around some way or other. The details were grim, the Indians led 8-2 on five hits for either team, and I was more concerned that Honeypaws was eating more than his due share of the precious fudge bars…! The Raccoons’ offense went into slumber mode, and the bullpen had to piece it together somehow. The Indians added a run in the ninth inning against Chuck Jones, but it was unearned thanks to a Maldonado error. The Raccoons countered with an earned run, Eric Cox hitting a single as pinch-hitter and scoring on a 2-out double by Reyna… but that meant we still lost by six. 9-3 Indians. Maldonado 2-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Cox (PH) 1-1; de Wit (PH) 1-1;

Van Campenhout (7.71 ERA) was sent back to AAA after the game. The Raccoons recalled left-hander Jake White for long relief – or if Cory Lambert had another clunker on Friday to slide into the rotation. White had clunkered himself with the ’41 Coons, going 0-2 with a 6.41 ERA in five games (three starts), walking 14 batters in 19.2 innings. White was not available on Thursday, though, having started as late as Monday.

Game 3
IND: RF Crocker – LF D. Rivera – 3B Hutson – CF Sanderfer – 1B J. Diaz – C Custello – SS Russ – 2B Peets – P Altreche
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – CF Anderson – SS Gutierrez – P Moreno

Like a church choir boy, I naively kept hoping for decency with Moreno on the mound, but my little world was dashed as early as the first inning, and it wasn’t even Moreno’s fault for the most part. Throwing errors by Cosmo AND Maldonado led to a run even before Moreno put somebody on himself, but then they got him for an RBI double (Diaz) and an RBI single (Custello) with two outs to go up 3-0 – all runs unearned. The two runs the Indians beat out of Moreno in the second inning on three sharp hits were earned, though, and now it was 5-0, and I looked skywards and I wondered whether I should just go for a walk to the nearest bridge over the Willamette and hug a concrete slab before casting myself into the cold, unloving floods.

The Indians had three more runners and another run in the third inning, extending their lead to 6-0, and I kept wondering why exactly I had thought that Nelson Moreno would be even a borderline useful pitcher in the major leagues, because he wasn’t that – and whether his pelt could be a borderline useful doormat. Because that was Option B at this point. Cosmo tripled home Gutierrez for a token Portland run in the bottom 3rd, before it was back to Moreno, who tumbled through to the fifth, loaded the bags with one out there, and was yanked after Altreche made it 7-1 with a sac fly. Zack Kelly punched out Crocker to stop the bleed. He’d get the Coons through the seventh inning of a pointless game, in which the offense didn’t even fake a pretend-rally. The Indians’ Orlando Altreche made it into the ninth inning before being knocked out with two outs to go thanks to loud extra-base knocks by Manny and Yamamoto that scored the Coons a *second* run. Jay de Wit flew out. Eric Cox singled home Yamamoto. Jordan Gonzalez popped out to end the misery. 7-3 Indians. Trevino 2-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 3B; Yamamoto 2-4, 2B, RBI; de Wit (PH) 1-2; Cox (PH) 1-1, RBI; Kelly 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

Raccoons (45-51) vs. Thunder (56-41) – July 25-27, 2042

The Thunder topped the South and had a 2-1 edge in the season series. Second in runs scored and sixth in runs allowed, they had a +40 run differential, but their rotation was actually rather wobbly with an ERA quite a bit over four. Their pen, though, was the best in the game.

Projected matchups:
Cory Lambert (0-3, 5.35 ERA) vs. Bryce Sparkes (7-9, 4.42 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-2, 2.57 ERA) vs. Raymond Pearce (1-5, 5.06 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-7, 3.68 ERA) vs. Eunice Suyumov (7-8, 4.94 ERA)

Be so kind and ignore the Raccoons’ botch job of a rotation. Turn your attention instead to the joys of Southpaw Sunday!

Game 1
OCT: 2B C. Vega – RF Wade – C Adames – CF Kinder – LF E. Moore – SS O’Keefe – 3B Martell – 1B Stedham – P Sparkes
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – RF Nettles – CF Anderson – P Lambert

Former Raccoon Bryce Sparkes gave up a run in both of the first two innings, and on the same pattern – first a double (Cosmo, Nettles), then an RBI single (Cox, Anderson). Lambert didn’t allow a base hit the first time through the order, then surrendered five straight 2-out knocks in the third inning to further annoy people with his mere presence. Adrian Wade and Jesus Adames singled, Matt Kinder tied the game with a triple, scored on Ethan Moore’s single, and Chris O’Keefe dumped another single before Al Martell mercifully popped out. Ugh, Cristiano – *you* could have gotten a hit off Lambert in that sequence!

Sparkes wouldn’t be able to hold on – Jeff Kilmer got him for a leadoff jack in the bottom 4th to get the teams even at three. The score remained three-all into the seventh inning. Lambert was turned through the meat mincer for 111 pitches, ending his day on a 2-out walk to Jesus Adames. Derek Barker and Miguel Reyna entered in a double switch – Yamamoto was out – and Barker walked Kinder before getting Moore to ground out, ending Lambert’s day with a no-decision. Outside that dismal third inning, he allowed only four runners. Sparkes was still going, got around a leadoff single by Van Anderson in the bottom 7th, but not around Manny getting on base in the bottom 8th. Kilmer hit his second homer of the day to left, breaking that 3-3 tie, and the Raccoons continued to file no base afterwards, with Sparkes being knocked out. Anderson, Reyna, and Cosmo were on base with one out, with righty Brad Blankenship facing Eric Cox, who shoved a single through the right side to tack on two runs…! Oh, what a clutch hit! I like Cox! – What is there to giggle, Cristiano? … Maldonado singled in a run and the inning dragged on for Kilmer to get back to the plate, but he was denied a third homer and instead made the third out. But somebody had to leave a sour taste in the snout after a 6-run rush, and it was Chuck Jones, coming out for the ninth inning. He retired all the left-handers he faced… but the problem was that all the right-handers that came up really bobbled him. Ex-Coon Matt Kilgallen singled, Adames doubled him in, and Kinder smacked a homer with two outs in the ninth… 9-6 Coons. Trevino 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Cox 2-5, 3 RBI; Maldonado 2-5, RBI; Kilmer 2-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Nettles 2-4, 2 2B; Anderson 2-3, BB, RBI;

Cristiano, stop laughing! What’s so funny about Cox??

Game 2
OCT: 2B C. Vega – 3B J. Allen – C Adames – CF Kinder – SS O’Keefe – LF E. Moore – RF Heskett – 1B Kilgallen – P Pearce
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – C Kilmer – 1B Yamamoto – RF Nettles – CF Gonzalez – P Clark

200th career appearance, first start for Brent Clark, who retired the Thunder in order in the first two innings before walking Brian Heskett and the opposing pitcher (!) in the third, but bailed out on grounders by Carlos Vega and Jim Allen. O’Keefe drew a third walk in the fourth inning, but the Thunder couldn’t get anything to fall in, while the Raccoons scattered four hits in four innings, and couldn’t do anything with those. Clark stretched his no-hit bid into the sixth inning – still in a scoreless game – until Adames flicked a 2-out single to center. Kinder walked, the fourth free pass given up by Clark, but O’Keefe fanned to end the inning. That was all for Clark, who threw 97 pitches and struck out six in his first career start. No W came even near him, with Maldo, Manny, and Kilmer making outs in order in the bottom 6th, keeping the game scoreless. Instead Jake White got lined up for the W in the seventh, retiring the Thunder in order before the Coons got an extremely unearned run gifted to them in the bottom 7th, Nettles reaching on a 2-base throwing error, advancing on Gonzalez’ groundout, and scoring on a 2-out wild pitch. Jon Craig put two on in the eighth, but got out of the jam himself, while the Coons put Maldo and Manny aboard with two outs in the bottom 8th, but Kilmer struck out. The 1-0 lead went to Josh Rella, who allowed a leadoff single to O’Keefe. Moore struck out, Heskett grounded to second base for a force on the lead runner, and Cosmo also handled PH Adrian Ringel’s grounder for the final out. 1-0 Raccoons…! Yamamoto 1-2, BB; Nettles 2-3; Clark 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K;

To exact revenge on our naughty ways, the Thunder called off Southpaw Sunday and instead sent right-hander Alan Fleming (9-1, 2.97 ERA) into the Sunday game.

Game 3
OCT: RF Wade – 3B J. Allen – C Adames – CF Kinder – LF E. Moore – SS O’Keefe – 2B Kuhn – 1B Stedham – P Fleming
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Reyna – CF Anderson – C Wilson – P Jackson

Fleming also drove in a run his first time up, singling home Jimmy Kuhn with two outs after Kuhn and Moore had already hit a pair of doubles in the second inning. This made it 2-0 Thunder in the second inning. The Thunder doubled that with another three hits in the third inning, “Mastodon” Allen getting it started with a double, and Moore, who stole second, and O’Keefe landing a pair of 2-out RBI singles. So, Jackson had another rancid day, and the offense also hadn’t showed up. The Coons were still being shut out by Fleming when Jackson concluded his day with 101 pitches in five confused innings, allowing eight hits for four runs, but also whiffing seven and walking nobody.

Fleming allowed only two hits through five, while the Thunder reached five when Jesse Stedham in his old hunting grounds hit a homer off Derek Barker in the sixth. The Coons also got on the board in the inning, PH Stephon Nettles getting nicked, reaching third base on a Cosmo single, and scoring when Cox went hard and deep to left – but was caught by Moore. That sac fly stood alone in the Coons’ R column, while the Thunder managed their lead, only tacking on another run in the ninth inning with three hits off Kelly. The Raccoons, it has to be assumed, conserved runs for next week… 6-1 Thunder.

In other news

July 21 – The Canadiens’ SP Alexander Lewis (11-3, 2.59 ERA, 1 SV) throws a 1-hitter in a 5-0 shutout over the Titans. The only Boston hit is a single by 1B Alex Zacarias (.265, 10 HR, 40 RBI).
July 23 – The Bayhawks pick up 3B/1B Ramon Sifuentes (.284, 8 HR, 44 RBI) from the Crusaders, who receive 2B Sergio Pena (.305, 1 HR, 27 RBI) and #65 prospect OF Eddie Baker.
July 23 – The Wolves are obliterated in Dallas, 16-0, despite being out-hit only 12-8.
July 24 – The Capitals trade for INF Cody St. Peter (.331, 7 HR, 36 RBI) from the Cyclones, parting with INF Chris Strohm (.280, 2 HR, 28 RBI) and a prospect.
July 24 – Recent Bayhawks acquisition RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.292, 10 HR, 46 RBI) goes 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBI in a 13-5 takedown of the Condors.
July 24 – The Knights and Aces play another for 15 innings before Atlanta squeezes out a 3-2 win.
July 26 – The Stars pick up SP Marcos Nabo (7-5, 3.58 ERA) from the Falcons, who receive two prospects, including #19 SP Carlton Harman.
July 26 – Another Charlotte starter is dealt to Washington, as the Caps receive SP Corey Booth (7-7, 4.28 ERA) for 1B Mark Cahill (.291, 7 HR, 48 RBI) and a prospect.
July 26 – NYC INF Randolph Nash (.239, 3 HR, 25 RBI) has a big day with three hits and six RBI in a 13-1 trouncing of the Bayhawks.
July 26 – As the Aces whip the Canadiens, 14-1, six runs are drive in by OF/3B Nate Rossi (.272, 8 HR, 55 RBI), and another five by 3B/2B Doug Richardson (.237, 6 HR, 37 RBI).
July 27 – The Falcons deal another starter, with SP Ernie Quintero (.312, 10 HR, 36 RBI) and a prospect off to New York for MR Mike Gutierrez (3-4, 3.07 ERA, 1 SV), LF/CF Joe Besaw (.312, 10 HR, 36 RBI), and cash.

FL Player of the Week: PIT CF/LF Kevin Burch (.283, 11 HR, 45 RBI), hitting .579 (11-19) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: MIL 3B/2B Jared Paul (.300, 1 HR, 29 RBI), poking .522 (12-23) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Ho-hum week. Some ups. Some downs. Some wins. Some losses. Nelson Moreno keeps getting beaten like a sandbag. Jake Jackson filed two depressing starts. The highlight of the week was thus probably Brent Clark having two appearances, a start and a relief outing, and pitching seven innings of 1-hit ball (never mind the six walks) without allowing a run, and taking a win (but not in the start). Clark allowed five runs in a wonky April, and has since conceded only five runs total, most recently on July 6 in the game with the 4-0 lead against Boston that with a little help from Sandbag Moreno and a multitude of relievers turned into a 12-8 loss.

Eddie Baker was also offered to the Raccoons in the Carlos Cortes trade, but we preferred Casas – so of course Baker will have the better career, and maybe torture the Raccoons by next season…

In the minors, Matt Waters went on the DL with a sprained elbow this week. Our assumed shortstop of the future isn’t hitting at all in AA, and now he’ll miss most of the rest of the minor league season. Great. We might try out Justin Waltz in rightfield soon-ish. He just turned 24 this week and is hitting .298/.397/.459 combined between two minor league systems.

Fun Fact: 24 years ago today, Dave Garcia hit for the cycle in the Bayhawks’ 14-0 rush of the Crusaders.

The often injured Garcia made the Hall of Fame after all, wining two Player of the Year awards, a batting title, and a home run crown, hitting .287/.353/.478 with 338 HR and 1,320 RBI in his career.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (47-52) @ Aces (40-58) – July 28-30, 2042

The Raccoons were horrible, and the Aces were probably worse – last place in the South was theirs, and they were well in the bottom half in both runs scored and runs allowed, and yet they had swept the Critters the first time these teams met in this season. Oh well. We’ll work it out, I guess.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (2-7, 5.11 ERA) vs. Oscar Valdes (6-7, 3.01 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (6-8, 5.37 ERA) vs. Steve Huffman (1-4, 4.80 ERA)
Cory Lambert (0-3, 5.13 ERA) vs. Josh Brown (8-6, 3.40 ERA)

Right, right, and a lefty that was on our team only a few weeks earlier.

Game 1
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Reyna – CF Anderson – RF Nettles – C Kilmer – P Mathers
LVA: CF T. Romero – 2B Sprague – 1B S. Ayala – C Prow – LF Hale – 3B D. Richardson – RF Dustal – SS Byrd – P O. Valdes

Mathers continued to make meal money by stinking, issuing four walks in two innings-plus, somehow without allowing a run. The Raccoons were up from the second inning when Van Anderson doubled home Miguel Reyna with a ball off the wall in right-center, then quickly settled into familiar old crummy and didn’t score another run. They still took the lead, usually with disastrous consequences. Sal Ayala hit a 1-out double in the fifth of ballgame devoid of highlights, then scored on consecutive botched grounders hit by Kevin Prow (flubbed by Cosmo) and Kevin Hale (taken a dump on by Miguel Reyna) to tie the game. Doug Richardson grounded to Cox for a double play to end the inning, which seemed anticlimactic to say the least – this inning felt like the Coons were due to give up a 5-spot at the very least.

Instead they retook the lead in the sixth when Nettles singled home Manny Fernandez with one gone in the seventh. Van Anderson, intentionally walked, was also on base. Kilmer popped out unhelpfully as his rotten season was about to complete its fourth month, and then the Raccoons went in to roll high, batted Shuta Yamamoto for Mathers – and he struck out to end the inning. The Raccoons then pooled together scoreless innings from their diminished, but somehow resilient pen, staving off the Aces through eight with a combo of Barker, Kelly, and White, before arriving in the bottom of the ninth still up 2-1, because hitting a few dingers from time to time was too much asked, and sent Jon Craig in to close it out, since Josh Rella had been active two days in a row. John Byrd opened with a K … which Kilmer lost and couldn’t find before the leadoff man reached first base. No problem, though, because Angel Montes de Oca grounded sharply at Maldonado, who contained the ball and threw it … wildly past Trevino at second base. So, that was a tying run on an uncaught third strike, and a throwing error, so we were just missing a 520-foot walkoff blast – could the ex-Coon deliver it? No, but Romero’s grounder advanced the runners. Glenn Sprague singled to left-center, tying the game, but Montes held back at third base against Manny Fernandez’ arm. Ayala popped out, which meant any old out from Kevin Prow would do. Uh, what was it that we said about the 520-foot walkoff blast again…? 5-2 Aces. Nettles 2-4, 2B, RBI;

It was only 350 and tickled the foul pole as it went out, but they all count the ******* same. All but one of the runs on Craig were unearned as the Coons made four errors against five base hits.

Interlude: Trade

The Raccoons parted with 1B/C Jeff Wilson (.243, 8 HR; 21 RBI) on Tuesday, trading him to the Blue Sox for right-hander MR Tim Hale (1-4, 5.00 ERA, 10 SV), a flamethrower that had fallen on hard times after years of decent services for three Federal League teams. Hale made a lot of dosh for having a 5 ERA, but if he continued to do badly with the Critters, he’d have the common decency to disappear for free agency after the season.

Jake White and his 1.2 scoreless innings were returned to AAA (we did not need four lefty relievers), while 2036 tenth-rounder Sean Sieber was promoted from AAA to play second fiddle to sub-.200 poker Jeff Kilmer. Sieber was hitting .240/.321/.360 with the Alley Cats in his fourth year there, but he was really only 24, having been drafted out of high school.

Raccoons (47-52) @ Aces (40-58) – July 28-30, 2042

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Reyna – C Kilmer – CF Gonzalez – P Moreno
LVA: CF T. Romero – 2B Sprague – 1B S. Ayala – RF N. Rossi – C Prow – 3B D. Richardson – LF Dustal – SS Byrd – P Huffman

The Raccoons scored their two daily runs in the second inning; Reyna tripled home Yamamoto, then scored on a groundout. Nelson Moreno busied himself giving it all back even when Nate Rossi was thrown out trying to steal third base in the bottom 2nd. Prow, the trailing runner, reached second base on the play, then scored on Jonathan Dustal’s single to center with two outs. Byrd grounded out, maintaining a 2-1 Critters lead at the end of two. Sprague and Ayala hit 2-out singles off Moreno in the next inning, but were stranded when Reyna warped out of nowhere to track down a Rossi drive in the gap.

More rank stupidity from brown-clad players occurred in the fourth inning, when Manny and Yamamoto were on the corners with one out. Kilmer flew out to Tony Romero in center – but Yamamoto had grossly misread the play and had gunned it to score on the perceived double. Instead of a tack-on run on a sac fly the Raccoons got an 8-3 double play and some good chuckles from the ranks. The despaired and talent-deprived Critters made a coward move in the bottom of the same inning with Doug Richardson and Jonathan Dustal in scoring position after a pair of saucy hits and one out. Byrd was walked intentionally to have the opposing pitcher hit with forces all over. Problem was, Huffman hit a fly to decently-deep center, and the Aces tied the game on the sac fly anyway. One wild pitch later, Romero grounded out, stranding a pair in scoring position.

Straight hits from the 3-4-5 batters loaded the sacks in the sixth inning and promoted Reyna to the dish with one out. He grounded to the left side, Yamamoto being forced out at second, but Maldo scored with the go-ahead run. Kilmer then flew out to Romero to strand another two runners. Moreno took back the mound for the bottom 6th, allowed three singles with nobody out, including one to Dustal that didn’t even reach the infield dirt, and then was yanked from that sticky situation. The Raccoons went to Kelly for the switch-hitting pinch-hitter Hale, who tied the game with a sac fly to right. Sims then got the ball, while the Aces took off for a double steal. Kilmer threw the ball away, conceding the go-ahead run and moving Byrd to third base. Sims then cocked up another two hits and the insurance run as the Raccoons went under with the full orchestra still playing. The Aces squirted out another run on three hits and a walk issued by Craig in the seventh, and another run on three hits off Chuck Jones in the eighth. Reyna hit a solo homer in the ninth, but that was not enough to stink up to the Aces anymore. 7-4 Aces. Fernandez 2-4, 2B; Yamamoto 2-3, BB; Reyna 2-4, HR, 3B, 3 RBI;

(claps paws) … and that’s the season series!

(sigh)

There was a roster move before the Wednesday game, with Jordan Gonzalez dumped to AAA again. He was hitting 0-for-16. Listen, Jordan, it’s nothing personal. You just suck.

The Raccoons brought up LF/RF Sandy Casaus, their #30 prospect, who was weeks from turning 26 and could not hit AAA pitching even in his third full year at the level. He was a right-handed hitter for what it was worth, the only one among our five outfielders.

Game 3
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – RF Casaus – CF Anderson – P Lambert
LVA: CF T. Romero – 2B Sprague – 1B S. Ayala – RF N. Rossi – C Prow – LF Hale – 3B D. Richardson – SS Byrd – P J. Brown

Cosmo opened the game with a jack, his first of the season, giving the Coons a 1-0 lead that Lambert was all too desperate to get rid of. He walked Ayala, and allowed singles to Rossi and Prow in the bottom 1st, with the inning ending when Manny Fernandez threw out Ayala at the plate. The next run scored in the third inning, and it was another home run by a Raccoon … if you had fallen comatose at the start of July and had yet to wake up – Tony Romero’s solo shot was his first for the Aces and tied the game. While Casaus landed a single in the fifth for his first major league hit, that base knock went nowhere in particular in the greater context. Homers were the name of the game on Wednesday, and Lambert put two more on a stick in the bottom of the same inning. Doug Richardson hit a solo shot to left-center, and Tony Romero romped a 2-piece to left to give Vegas a 4-1 edge. Tim Hale then pitched the seventh inning in his first Coons appearance, nearly giving up Romero’s third circuit blast of the game, but Tony had to settle for a double off the fence and getting stranded instead.

Brown got crowded in the eighth… or crowded himself, really. Cosmo hit a single, and Maldonado was hit with a fastball and grumblingly trudged to first base. Both runners scored when Manny zinged a double into the leftfield corner and parked himself at second base with the tying run. Yamamoto grounded out, ad Kilmer struck out – against ex-Coon Francisco Pena. The tying run was on second base again in the ninth, Angel Montes de Oca throwing away Jay de Wit’s 1-out grounder for two bases – still enough batting heroics for celebrations in the streets in Oranjestad. Nettles hit for the pitcher in the #9 hole, advancing de Wit with a grounder, but Cosmo grounded out and the Coons were swept. 4-3 Aces. Trevino 2-5, HR, RBI; Fernandez 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Thursday was an off day and I remained near a telephone, just in case we had something else to trade away. Nobody ever called.

Raccoons (47-55) @ Knights (55-47) – August 1-3, 2042

Second in the South, fifth in runs scored, and fourth in runs allowed, the Knights were looking forward to meeting the Raccoons. The season series were tied at three, and this was the last meeting between these teams.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-8, 3.82 ERA) vs. Brad Santry (10-8, 3.79 ERA)
Corey Mathers (2-7, 4.78 ERA) vs. Javy Santana (4-1, 2.34 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (6-9, 5.52 ERA) vs. David Farris (7-9, 3.05 ERA)

All right-handed opponents here. Slugger Jamie King was still on the DL, but it wasn’t like this would save the Critters from more embarrassment.

Game 1
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Casaus – SS Gutierrez – C Kilmer – P Jackson
ATL: SS McKoy – 2B Crim – C Horner – CF B. Oliver – LF Montes – 1B Hester – RF DeVita – 3B Lusk – P Santry

Santry retired the first eight Critters in order, whiffing five, before allowing a scratch single to Jackson, which broke him. He walked the bags full, but Maldo’s bid for the fence was denied by the wind and a leaping Andy Montes, snatching the fly off the top of the wall to strand three runners in the scoreless game. Instead, Atlanta took the lead in the bottom 3rd with a leadoff double by Kyle Lusk and Tyler McKoy’s RBI single, both to leftfield. Portland had the bases loaded to begin the fourth with singles by Manny and Yamamoto, then a walk drawn by Casaus. Gutierrez popped out, Kilmer grounded to short, but the Knights could not turn two and the tying run scored on the play. Jackson then roped a liner up the rightfield line for an RBI double, giving himself a 2-1 lead and Santry a quiet moment on the mound, wondering what it was all for. Cosmo grounded out, stranding two in scoring position to reassure him of his calling, and the Knights tied it up for him in the bottom 4th with three 2-strike hits by lefty batters. Adam Horner and Brian Oliver singled, Montes hit into a double play, but Billy Hester cashed Horner with a triple before Marc DeVita grounded out to first.

The seventh saw Cosmo reach base with a 1-out single, then be caught stealing. This came up expensive, since the Raccoons loaded the bags anew with two outs against a crumbling Santry, then brought Yamamoto to the plate. He lined out to McKoy, and nobody scored, again… Jackson continued to pitch in the seventh, putting Andy Montes on base to begin the inning, but got two outs while keeping the go-ahead run on first base… only to then crumble for a pair of 2-out RBI doubles by Jose Garcia and Jake Evans, pinch-hitters. Sims replaced him, gave up another RBI double to McKoy, before Joe Crim mercifully popped out to keep it 5-2. The Raccoons finally got Jeff Kilmer on base in the eighth inning by means of a 2-out single… then saw him struck by a ball batted by Stephon Nettles to end the inning.

Chuck Jones kept the Knights three away in the eighth inning before the Coons got the tying run to the plate in the ninth when Cosmo singled off Rico Sanchez (hah!!) and Maldonado got nicked. Manny came up with one out, struck out, and left the spot to Yamamoto, who grounded out to left. 5-2 Knights. Trevino 2-4, BB; Nettles (PH) 1-1;

At this point in the week, Jesus Maldonado had been hit four times and was amply sore. He got a day off on Saturday. It would also the major league debut for Sean Sieber, who had spent three games watching Jeff Kilmer do nothing but nonsense.

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – RF Reyna – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Anderson – C Sieber – 3B de Wit – P Mathers
ATL: RF Kristoff – 2B Crim – C Horner – CF B. Oliver – LF Montes – 1B Hester – SS McKoy – 3B J. Morales – P J. Santana

The Raccoons amounted to one base hit the first time through, and the Knights to not a whole lot more, but they got Santana (single) and Crim (walk) on base in the third inning, and then got Adam Horner to clang one off the fence for a 2-out, 2-run double to take the lead against Mathers. They tacked on another run in the fourth, Billy Hester sending a double into the corner and scoring on a McKoy single. Jose Morales drew a walk before the inning fizzled out with a bunt and a Justin Kristoff strikeout. Sean Sieber hit a single in the fifth inning in his second attempt at the plate, but was stranded as the Raccoons remained shut out, while Joe Crim hit a leadoff jack in the bottom 5th to get up to 4-0.

Somehow Mathers dragged his bum through six innings of 9-hit, 2-walk baseball without getting completely obliterated, but he still trailed an uninspiring 4-0 through six innings, with the hapless Critters on four base knocks, all singles. Then they suddenly hit three singles in a row between Yamamoto, Anderson, and Sieber in the seventh. Jay de Wit grounded to the right side, where Crim knocked the ball down – but had no play! Four singles in a row, and finally a run! Maldonado pinch-hit with the tying runs sprawled out before him, singled to left, and brought in Anderson with the second run. The Knights scrambled for relief, but could not get somebody ready – Santana had been cruising and nobody was up when the singling began – until Cosmo hit a run-scoring fielder’s choice, cutting the gap to 4-3. Then left-hander Aaron Curl came out for Gutierrez, who was hit for with Eric Cox – who struck out to end the inning. Three more singles then loaded the bags AGAIN with Reyna, Yamamoto, and Anderson in the eighth, putting Sean Sieber in the spotlight with one out and new reliever Rich Ray, a righty, on the mound. Nettles pinch-hit for him, but popped out, which brought up Jay de Wit, with all of Oranjestad watching as he sent a deep fly to right and GONE! GRAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!

Brent Clark had a scoreless eighth, turning it over to Josh Rella in the ninth inning, still with a 3-run lead. Jose Garcia grounded out to Cosmo. Kristoff flew out to right. And Joe Crim grounded up the middle, but Cosmo got there, too, and made the play to end the game and stop all the losing. 7-4 Coons. Reyna 2-5; Yamamoto 2-4; Anderson 2-4; Sieber 2-3; de Wit 3-4, HR, 5 RBI; Maldonado (PH) 1-1, RBI; Kilmer (PH) 1-1;

Game 3
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Reyna – SS Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Nettles – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – P Moreno
ATL: RF Kristoff – 2B Crim – CF B. Oliver – LF Montes – 1B Hester – SS McKoy – C Raymond – 3B Lusk – P Farris

Maybe the word “pitching duel” was a bit much for what was going on in the rubber game (and the game that would decide the season series), but there was next to no offense in five innings. Reyna hit a triple in the first, but was stranded with poor outs delivered by Maldo and Manny, and the Raccoons were held to two base hits in five. Moreno gave up three hits, which did not account for a couple sharp screamers that were caught by Maldonado and de Wit before they could carom around in the leftfield corner. For proper accounting: Bryant Raymond hit a homer to left, the only run on the scoreboard through five. Hester then knocked a single through the right side in the sixth and Moreno walked Raymond with two outs, but the inning ended with Lusk grounding out to Maldo at short. The Coons doubled their hits output in the seventh, Manny and Yamamoto singling, but that was with two outs and before Nettles could ground out softly to first base to toss it all out with the bathwater. Ultimate depression then set in with David Farris hitting a leadoff homer to right off Moreno, who allowed another single before being yanked after 69 pitches in 6.1 innings, striking out only one batter. Chuck Jones got a double play grounder from Brian Oliver to get out of the inning. Farris allowed a leadoff single to de Wit in the eighth, then walked Kilmer. The Raccoons retained Jones to bunt the tying runs into scoring position, with de Wit scoring on Cosmo’s fly to center – but Kilmer also reached third base on an errant, late throw to home plate by Oliver. Reyna was down 1-2 before getting nicked, bringing up Maldo with runners on the corners and two outs, but grounded out to McKoy…… Jones and Hale pitched around a Yamamoto error in the bottom 8th to keep the Knights only one run away before Rico Sanchez would see the 4-5-6 hitters in the ninth. Manny struck out. Yamamoto struck out. Nettles … did not strike out! He grounded out. 2-1 Knights.

In other news

July 28 – PIT 3B/2B Jonathan Iverson (.296, 13 HR, 49 RBI) is out for the year with a broken kneecap.
July 29 – The Pacifics get Cincy’s SP Chris Sulkey (7-8, 3.14 ERA) in a deal for four prospects.
July 30 – The Canadiens pound the Bayhawks for 13 runs in the third inning alone in their 16-9 win. Teams combined for 37 hits in the game, with three different Vancouver players having four each. VAN OF Jerry Outram (.385, 16 HR, 62 RBI) has the best day, going unretired, 4-for-4, with two walks, two homers, and three RBI.
July 30 – The Titans get utility player Matt Kilgallen (.292, 2 HR, 20 RBI) from the Thunder for MR Chris Haskell (1-3, 2.15 ERA, 1 SV) and a prospect.
July 30 – The Crusaders acquire OF Chris Levy (.269, 4 HR, 14 RBI) from the Capitals for #85 prospect OF Bobby Gama.
July 31 – IND SP Drew Johnson (6-7, 2.62 ERA) and CL Vincenzo Battaglia (2-5, 2.52 ERA, 20 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter for a 3-1 win over the Knights. Only ATL OF Brian Oliver (.331, 19 HR, 70 RBI) finds on base by way of a single.
July 31 – SFB SP Garrett Sutherland (8-10, 3.84 ERA) is out for the year with a partially torn labrum.
August 1 – It was a month on the DL for NYC 2B/1B Mario Briones (.286, 5 HR, 36 RBI), who was out with a tear in his hamstring.
August 2 – TIJ RF/LF/1B/3B Bryce Toohey (.290, 10 HR, 38 RBI) will miss a month with a broken rib.
August 3 – PIT 3B/2B Jose Cruz (.286, 5 HR, 42 RBI) reaches 2,000 career hits with a single in a 1-0 loss to the Wolves (on a walkoff home run by SAL Jose Rivera (.247, 6 HR, 22 RBI)). Cruz’ seventh inning single off Salem’s Eric Weitz (12-3, 2.36 ERA) is the milestone; for his career he is .285/.355/.392 with 92 HR and 832 RBI. This is his first season for a team outside of California, having played for the Bayhawks and Pacifics since 2029.

FL Player of the Week: DEN INF/RF Ronnie Thompson (.297, 3 HR, 19 RBI), hitting .550 (11-20) with 2 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN 1B Johnny Lopez (.246, 11 HR, 52 RBI), batting .500 (10-20) with 2 HR, 13 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.353, 19 HR, 77 RBI), batting .426 with 9 HR, 30 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: POR/SFB RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.327, 5 HR, 14 RBI), swatting .385 with 8 HR, 24 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: CIN SP Chris Turner (11-2, 3.11 ERA), tossing for 5-0 record with 1.79 ERA, 38 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: SFB SP Jeff Draper (8-1, 4.57 ERA), twirling it for a 5-0 mark with 1.21 ERA, 15 K
FL Rookie of the Month: RIC C Kyle Duncan (.246, 8 HR, 33 RBI), hitting .253 with 6 HR, 12 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: CHA LF/CF Matt Watt (.246, 1 HR, 14 RBI), poking .354 with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

After a week’s worth of stepping on our own tails and only being rescued once thanks to a Jay de Wit grand slam – I hear Aruba will hold a national holiday week for it – we arrive within another week’s worth of scuffle of last place. 18 1/2 games out and plunging.

There isn’t much to say. Jackson’s in a funk. Mathers and Moreno are routinely crummy, and Lambert is not a major league starter to begin with. The pen, mostly composed of no-name refuse candidates, is overperforming, if anything. I mean, there is no personnel in this pen that had any sort of potential even when they were drafted. It’s made up of waiver claims, garbage deal acquisitions, and umpteen-times-cleared-waivers guys. They were drafted in the third round (Hale), fourth round (Kelly, Rella), fifth round (Clark), tenth round (Sims) … the other three came in the supplemental round – they are all failed starters. Chuck Jones once was a #31 prospect, then plunged down the ladder for three years before ending up a specialist reliever that can’t get any right-handed batter out. They are doing too well for their credentials.

We shopped Manny Fernandez one last time on the 30th, and the only offer was Ruben Esperanza, a similar hitter on a similar deal. Nobody wants Manny Fernandez, or at least not for his remaining contract. *Fine*! We’ll keep him!

Which gets us to the offense, which is pieced together by the guys nobody wanted (Manny, Maldo, Reyna – Kilmer wasn’t even offered), two scoopfuls of rookies and debutees (Sieber, Yamamoto, Gutierrez, Cox, Casaus, Anderson *all* count as rookies), elder statesman Cosmo Trevino, random weirdo Jay de Wit, and a perplexing headcase in Stephon Nettles. The first four are probably the foundation of what we have to rebuild around now – none of the others seem like much of a staple going forwards at this point.

Next week, Condors and Crusaders. Depending a bit on the Arrowheads, maybe already fifth place.

Fun Fact: Chuck Jones threw three complete-game shutouts in single-A in 2032.

Weird. Could he get right-handers out back then?

[Westheim]

Raccoons (48-57) @ Condors (50-55) – August 4-6, 2042

Both teams were out of the race by double digits and in fourth place in their divisions. The season series was even at three, but at least the Raccoons’ random assortment of hitters would get to tee up against the worst pitching in the Continental League, with the Condors allowing a creepy 4.8 runs per game. Rotation and pen were equally bad for them. They were sixth in runs scored and had a -64 run differential (Coons: +7).

Projected matchups:
Cory Lambert (0-4, 5.24 ERA) vs. Tommy Kubik (4-9, 4.71 ERA)
Angelo Montano (1-4, 4.83 ERA) vs. Edward Flinn (7-10, 5.57 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-9, 3.96 ERA) vs. Derrick Forbes (9-6, 4.49 ERA)

Southpaws would booked the series for the Condors here, with only one right-hander in the middle.

The Coons placed Travis Sims on waivers to begin the week and brought back (reluctantly) Angelo Montano for the fifth spot in the rotation. Sims’ ERA might have been under three, but his actual performance had not been…

Game 1
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – RF Casaus – CF Nettles – P Lambert
TIJ: LF S. Martin – 1B Willie Ojeda – CF Phinazee – C McCullar – 2B J. Matos – RF R. Phillips – 3B Lorensen – SS Espinoza – P Kubik

The Condors loaded the bags with nobody out against Lambert in the second inning after a double by Ethan McCullar and two walks issued to Jesus Matos and Ryan Phillips. A comebacker by Ryan Lorensen led to a force play at home, and only Ricky Espinoza got a run in with a sac fly to Stephon Nettles in center. When the Raccoons tied the game at one in the fourth inning, they did so on Sandy Casaus’ first career RBI, driving home Manny Fernandez (single and stolen base) with a 2-out single to center. Manny then gave the Coons the lead with two outs in the fifth, finding Cosmo and Maldo on base and hitting a 2-out RBI single to left-center himself. Yamamoto then popped out to end the inning.

It came as a decent surprise then that the Condors could not do anything else against Cory Lambert, who was not exactly overwhelming, but generated lots of soft contact for comfy outs from the Condors lineup. They remained stuck on two base hits, while the Raccoons added a run in the eighth inning when Kilmer doubled home Maldonado, also with two outs. Lambert pitched a surprising 7.2 innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball before being lifted when Willie Ojeda, hitting .340 with 15 homers from the left side, was at the dish again. Chuck Jones came out, issued a full-count walk, then two singles that scored Ojeda, and was yanked without getting anybody out. Tim Hale struck out Matos to finally end the inning. The Raccoons answered with a 2-out rally in the ninth inning against right-hander Natanael Abrao. With two out and nobody on, Eric Cox (0-for-4) was hit for with Omar Gutierrez, who doubled to right. Maldonado was walked with intent, and Manny chipped another 2-out RBI single to get an insurance run on the board. Miguel Reyna batted for Yamamoto (just as bad as Cox), but whiffed, giving the ball and a 2-run edge to Josh Rella, who conceded pinch-hit screamers to Greg Dowden and Chris Rose to have the tying runs in scoring position with two outs and Scott Martin back at the dish. One run scored on a wild pitch, 4-3, before Martin grinded out a walk. Teeth-gnashingly, the Raccoons went to get a left-hander, Brent Clark, but now it was Kilmer, who bobbled a ball and had to chase it to the nearest dugout, and the tying run scored on that play. I forgot about pride and swallowed the worm, dead and adrift in my drink, before Ojeda’s grounder to Cosmo sent the game to extras, where a leadoff hit by Mal Phinazee began the bottom 10th, he advanced on a groundout by Ethan McCullar, and then scored on Matos’ single to right-center. 5-4 Condors. Trevino 2-5; Gutierrez (PH) 1-1; Maldonado 2-3, 2 BB; Fernandez 3-5, 2 RBI; Lambert 7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K and 1-3;

Not quite sure how they can take Lambert’s fundamentally decent start and then cock it up so badly.

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Reyna – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Casaus – C Sieber – SS Gutierrez – P Montano
TIJ: 2B J. Matos – LF S. Martin – C McCullar – RF Willie Ojeda – SS Ragsdale – 3B Lorensen – CF Coca – 1B Phinazee – P Flinn

Angelo Montano batted and made the last out in the first inning before he pitched, taking the mound with a 4-0 lead spotted on six hits. Manny drove in a run with a single, Yamamoto plated two with a homer, and Gutierrez had an RBI double to get guys plated. Then the bases were loaded with Condors before they made an out, on a bone-twisting sequence of walk, walk, single by the top three hitters in the lineup. Willie Ojeda’s sac fly was all they got, though, with Dylan Ragsdale whiffing and Lorensen grounding out. The Raccoons then lost Reyna when he was hit by a Flinn pitch in the second inning and replaced with Nettles, while Montano walked Phinazee in the bottom 2nd and conceded that run on a Matos single, 4-2. The newest arrivals then countered with a run in the third inning; Sandy Casaus hit a triple into the corner and scored on a soft floater dinking in for a single hit by Sean Sieber for the Critters’ fifth run – that was Sieber’s first career RBI in his second game. And yet, Montano was yanked from the game well before five innings were completed, loading the bases with more inept tossing in the fourth inning before giving up a 2-run single with two outs to Ojeda. McCullar was struck down in a rundown for the third out of the inning, but Montano would be excused from further participation after 90 ****** pitches in four innings and blowing most of a 5-run advantage – it was 5-4 after four.

Top 6th, the Coons had three aboard with nobody out against reliever Matt Schwartz. Cosmo singled, Cosmo reached when Matos dropped a pop, and Maldonado was nailed outright. Manny popped out in foul ground and Yamamoto and Casaus both whiffed miserably to keep the runners precisely where they were at all times, and Derek Barker blew the lead in his second inning of work on a 2-out RBI double by Scott Martin, getting teams even at five through six innings… Sieber and Gutierrez led off the seventh with singles, but neither scored., while another Raccoons tosser gave the Condors three on with nobody out in the bottom 7th. The 4-5-6 reached against Zack Kelly on two hits and a walk, and the ancient fossil Tony Coca, who belonged in the British Museum for all I cared, whacked a gapper for a 2-run double to give the Condors the lead. A third run would score on a groundout, while another Matos error put Manny Fernandez on base in the eighth, swifltly followed by another Yamamoto homer off Abrao, reducing the gap to one run. Casaus and Sieber hit soft singles, new left-hander Bob Thomson walked Gutierrez, and PH Jay de Wit tied the game with a sac fly to center. Right-hander Gabriel Lara walked Cosmo in a full count, refilling the bags for Nettles, who predictably flew out to Ojeda to strand the next full set.

That game, too, went to extras when the Raccoons could not get anything off Phil Harrington, future Hall of Famer, in the ninth inning. Jon Craig held out for Portland, while Jeremy Truett was on the mound for Tijuana to begin the 10th. Casaus flew out, after which Truett walked Sieber, who – in his second start! – sat on five base hits somehow. Gutierrez walked as well, while Van Anderson batted for Craig. He was the last guy off the bench, flew out to center, and Cosmo’s grounder to second ended the inning. The Condors then ended the game on straight hits off Hale from their 1-2-3 hitters in the bottom 10th… 9-8 Condors. Trevino 3-5, 2 BB; Maldonado 2-5, 3B; Yamamoto 2-5, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Casaus 3-6, 3B; Sieber 5-5, BB, RBI; Gutierrez 2-4, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Craig 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Sean Sieber 5-for-5 with a walk. Baseball sometimes makes no sense.

Game 3
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – RF Casaus – CF Anderson – P Jackson
TIJ: LF S. Martin – 1B Willie Ojeda – CF Phinazee – C McCullar – 2B J. Matos – RF R. Phillips – 3B Rose – SS Ragsdale – P Forbes

Jake Jackson hit for more bases (2) the first time through than the Condors’ lineup, which amounted to a Chris Rose single and absolutely nothing else, yet the score remained equally goose-egged on both sides, and through five innings the Raccoons tallied four base hits for no runs, while the second time through Rose hit another single of Jackson, was forced out on Ragsdale’s grounder, and the Condors also politely remained off the board through five altogether. Cox singled for Portland in the sixth, then was doubled off by Maldonado, and Mal Phinazee hit a 2-out single for the Condors, but was stranded when McCullar popped out to conclude six.

The end encroached on the Critters in the eighth. Still in a scoreless game, PH Greg Dowden led off the inning with a single from the #9 spot. Martin reached on a Cosmo error, putting two on with nobody out, and Ojeda’s grounder only got Martin out at second base, but the go-ahead run was at third with one gone. A mound conference felt the pulse of Jackson, who was on only 81 pitches and determined to be just fine. He then threw pitch #82, which was barfed out of the stadium with great noise by Phinazee to break the scoreless tie. Jackson finished the inning, but Harrington finished off the Critters altogether in the ninth inning and completed the sweep. 3-0 Condors. Cox 2-4; Jackson 8.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L (6-10) and 1-2, 2B;

Raccoons (48-60) vs. Crusaders (55-51) – August 7-10, 2042

The Raccoons returned home to find the Crusaders eager for some free wins to get back into the division race, and also the Agitator’s front page sporting a shot of Sandy Casaus looking after the Phinazee homer with fists in his sides under the headline “******* HOPELESS”. There was no arguing with that.

New York in turn were third in the division, 10 1/2 games out. They were giving up the fewest runs in the CL, but were tenth in scoring, hardly a mix that could get them by the damn Elks long-term. They led the season series, 4-3.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (2-7, 4.87 ERA) vs. Ernie Quintero (5-10, 3.42 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (6-10, 5.39 ERA) vs. Jeff Johnson (9-9, 3.62 ERA)
Cory Lambert (0-4, 4.67 ERA) vs. Juan Garcia (4-9, 4.00 ERA)
Angelo Montano (1-4, 5.30 ERA) vs. Tony Galligher (6-13, 3.15 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday was back with Galligher, and the Raccoons would get another lefty in Garcia, but didn’t know quite when – him and Johnson had both pitched on Monday in a double header, and the Crusaders had yet to make up their mind about who’d go first between them.

The Crusaders had a few injuries to position players, most notably Mario Briones and Jose Platero. The Raccoons placed Miguel Reyna on the DL with a broken claw; he’d be out until the middle of September. We went out and grabbed right-handed hitter Justin Waltz from AAA, who had arrived in a trade with the Aces in July, and had since hit .338/.442/.465 with the Alley Cats, but had not hit a home run. There was a lot of things to like about that player, but he had only a centerfielder’s power potential while otherwise being a perfect fit for rightfield. He would make his debut right away, while we marked Friday for “bench players’ day”, intending to give allll the regulars a day off in that game.

Game 1
NYC: 1B Rudd – C Alba – RF Melendez – 2B S. Pena – LF Zimmerman – SS K. Elder – CF Levy – 3B Nash – P E. Quintero
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – C Sieber – SS Gutierrez – P Mathers

Waltz ended the first inning with a fly to right, stranding two, but the Raccoons were up 1-0 on a home run by Stephon Nettles. Sieber upped his average to .889 with a leadoff double in the bottom 2nd, then scored on a Cosmo single to get to 2-0, and reached the vaunted .900 level when he opened the fourth with a single past Kenny Elder, but was stranded. While the Coons’ backup catcher continued to make no sense, their makeshift starter #3 also was something of an enigma to the Crusaders, who amounted to a grand total of one base hit and no runs through five innings. But he also struck nobody out and if we knew anything then that defensive positioning fortitude could give, and take it away again in an instant. For early signs of trouble, Sieber made an out in the bottom 6th, indicating that the end was near – but Mathers got another three groundouts in the seventh inning and continued to be unbothered by the Crusaders. He batted for himself in the bottom 7th (nobody reached anyway), then continued in the eighth on only 76 pitches. Chris Levy popped out, but Randolph Nash singled to center. Now what? PH Devin Phillips hit a fly to center, it was caught by Nettles, and inexplicably Nash went to second base on a ball that was not quite as deep as he thought it was, and was thrown out there in an 8-6 double play. Shuta Yamamoto hit his third homer of the week in the bottom of the inning, a 2-out solo jack to left off ex-Coon Josh Livingston, and Mathers returned to the ninth inning because our bullpen was porous like a bucket peppered with a machine gun. Tom Rudd flew out to left. Fernando Alba singled to right. Bill Melendez grounded out, runner to second. And Sergio Pena hit a liner to right, Waltz was right there, and the snag ended the game. 3-0 Raccoons. Nettles 2-4, HR, RBI; Yamamoto 1-2, BB, HR, RBI; Sieber 2-3; Mathers 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, W (3-7);

Need I say that this was Mathers’ first career shutout?

Good for you, Corey. Good for you. I will reserve the right to hitch convoluted schemes to replace you with an actual pitcher, though.

(walks away mutteringly while Mathers looks after him confused, both paws digging in the big food bowl with a W printed on it)

We got the lefty Garcia on Friday, which changed plans slightly – only Manny Fernandez and Cosmo Trevino got their day off on Friday, while Maldo remained in the lineup and would instead get Saturday off.

Game 2
NYC: SS Adame – C Alba – RF Melendez – 2B S. Pena – CF Salek – 1B Rudd – LF Rico – 3B K. Elder – P J. Garcia
POR: CF Nettles – SS Cox – 3B Maldonado – 1B Yamamoto – LF Casaus – RF Waltz – C Kilmer – 2B de Wit – P Moreno

While Waltz had gone 0-for-4 with a K in his debut, he flexed the murder arm for the first time on Friday, throwing out Alex Adame for the very first out of the game as Adame tried to go first-to-third on Fernando Alba’s single, and yes, Nelson Moreno was having early meltdowns again… Waltz, though, hit a single his first time up on Friday, moved to third on Kilmer’s double, and scored when Jay de Wit clonked a bouncer off Garcia’s leg for a curious 1-4-3 putout.

The bottom of the order was also involved the next time the Raccons came to scoring, with Casaus getting hit with one out by Garcia, who also didn’t retire any of the next bunch of Critters. Waltz walked, Kilmer hit an RBI single to go up 2-0, and de Wit singled to load the bases for … Moreno. He grounded to short, 6-4-3, and sometimes I wish they’d just take the 2-2 pitch for a strike and give somebody else a poke at it. As it was, the double play ended the inning, and brought back Moreno to the mound, with his eight best friends trying to keep harm away from him. Danny Rico hit a leadoff single in the fifth inning, but was stranded on soft contact for easy outs, while Nettles opened the bottom 5th with a triple to right. He did not score on Garcia’s watch, with the left-hander yanked once the bags were full with two outs, having walked Maldonado and Casaus. Aaron Hickey, right-hander with a 2.94 ERA, took over for Waltz, who ran a full count before having to poke at a borderline pitch and grounding out to waste all the effort. Bill Melendez then took half the lead away with a solo homer to left in the sixth…

Moreno completed seven innings on 90 pitches, with the first few innings more burdensome on the defense than the last two or three, meaning that after this proper decent outings, he’d have three **** ones for the rest of the ******* month. Chuck Jones found his way through the eighth, while the Raccoons put Waltz and Kilmer on with two outs, but de Wit flew out to Rico to leave Josh Rella with no cushion in the ninth. Danny Monge grounded out to short. Danny Rico flew out to plenty deep center. Jason Zimmerman singled. I grew restless. But Nash grounded out pinch-hitting in the pitcher’s spot. 2-1 Coons. Waltz 2-3; Kilmer 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Moreno 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (7-10);

Game 3
NYC: SS Adame – C Alba – RF Melendez – 2B S. Pena – CF Salek – 1B Rudd – LF Levy – 3B K. Elder – P J. Johnson
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – SS Gutierrez – C Kilmer – 3B de Wit – P Lambert

Adame opened with a triple to left off Lambert, but was stranded by the Crusaders on a pop to Kilmer, Melendez’ bouncer to de Wit, and a grounder to Yamamoto. In the second inning the Crusaders loaded the bags on a single and two walks, then had Johnson slap a grounder into an inning-ending double play without scoring. Hey! Stop imitating us! That’s our brand! … Almost on cue, the Raccoons loaded the bags with two walks (Waltz, de Wit) sandwiching a Gutierrez double in the bottom of the second inning. Lambert struck out, but Cosmo shoved a ball through the right side for a 2-out, 2-run single, the first markers on the board. Nettles added an RBI single, as did Manny, one to right and one to left. The inning ended with a Yamamoto K, but with Portland up 4-0. But my whiskers twitched. I didn’t like how Lambert tossed, and I felt a Crusaders comeback crawling up on me.

And yet, the Coons kept tacking on. Waltz hit a leadoff single to left in the bottom 3rd, stole second, and was brought in when Lambert singled with runners on the corners and two outs. The 5-0 score came up big in the fourth inning, with Pena and Rudd in scoring position, two outs, and Nash at the plate. We had a hunch that Johnson would be hit for in a big spot, but walked Nash intentionally anyway. Indeed, Danny Monge stepped into the box instead, but lined out to Omar Gutierrez to end the inning. Lambert remained on the mound for another three innings before getting a pat on the bum after seven shutout innings on a 7-hitter, but 98 pitches expended and no shutout within reach. The Raccoons never scored after the third inning, but got a scoreless eighth from Zack Kelly before turning the ball over to Derek Barker for the ninth. The shutout ended with a Devin Phillips single and the 2-out RBI double by Alba, while Nettles then fudged a Melendez fly into a 2-base error and another run that wouldn’t be charged to Barker. With three left-handed hitters up and a 5-2 lead, the Raccoons turned to Chuck Jones, who’s first pitch went to center for a cozy, two-handed snag by Nettles to end the game. 5-2 Raccoons. Trevino 3-5, 2 RBI; Nettles 3-5, 2B, RBI; Gutierrez 2-4, 2B; Lambert 7.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (1-4) and 1-3, RBI;

Second save of the year for Jones, and so unexpected…

Meanwhile both Waltz and Gutierrez stole their first career bases in this game.

And thus Sunday arrived and the Raccoons would go for the throat and a 4-game sweep with … Angelo Montano. Oh well, you can’t win all of them…

Game 4
NYC: SS Adame – C D. Phillips – RF Melendez – CF Levy – LF Zimmerman – 1B Monge – 2B K. Elder – P Galligher – 3B Nash
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – C Kilmer – SS Gutierrez – P Montano

Montano walked three batters in the second inning, and a Cosmo error contributed to a huge mess. The Crusaders scored three runs in the inning, two of them on Devin Phillips’ scratch 2-out single, while the Raccoons scattered six hits through three innings, and scored their only run on a wild pitch by Galligher…

Montano was done after five completely chaotic innings, despite allowing only three hits and three walks and all the runs from the second inning being unearned. There were all the long counts, multiple mound pep talks, and in the end he needed 101 pitches to even make it *that* far. Jon Craig inherited the 3-1 deficit and pitched two scoreless innings, with the only runner he put on base being Galligher, who was offered a leadoff walk in the seventh inning….. Yes, it was one of those utterly unbelievable games that begged belief. The Raccoons, out-hitting New York 7-3, could cobble nothing together despite also being offered the occasional walk, like to Cosmo with one out in the seventh, by Galligher, who infuriatingly hit eighth in their order. The Cosmo walk was their last base runner. Dreary weather turned to drizzle in the seventh and to rain in the eighth, and after the tarp chased Tim Hale off the mound with two outs in the top 8th and an hour of waiting time had passed, the umpires correctly deduced (correctly) that the Raccoons had no more rally in them and called the game due to bad weather. 3-1 Crusaders. Maldonado 2-4; Craig 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

In other news

August 4 – The Falcons will be without C/1B Chris Kokoszka (.220, 1 HR, 25 RBI) for the remainder of the season. The 24-year-old is out with a broken hand.
August 5 – SFB RF/1B/LF Carlos Cortes (.290, 14 HR; 58 RBI) will miss a month with a broken rib.
August 5 – Veteran SFW SS Mario Colon (.226, 9 HR, 27 RBI) is out for a month with a broken thumb.
August 7 – CIN 1B Victor Chavez (.421, 2 HR, 11 RBI) hits a single for the Cyclones’ only base hit in a 4-0 loss to the Capitals. WAS SP Chris Inderrieden (5-10, 4.44 ERA) and Dennis Citriniti (0-1, 4.84 ERA) combine for the 1-hit shutout.
August 8 – TOP 3B/SS/RF Marshall Greer (.263, 11 HR, 51 RBI) could be out until the second half of September with a strained hammy.
August 10 – CIN RF/LF Dan Meyer (.750, 1 HR, 5 RBI), the #41 prospect in the game, goes 4-for-4 with 4 RBI and misses the cycle by the triple in his second major league game, a 14-1 rout of the Capitals.

FL Player of the Week: LAP OF Juan Benavides (.353, 23 HR, 90 RBI), batting .333 (10-30) with 4 HR, 12 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA SS Tony Aparicio (.295, 12 HR, 63 RBI), hitting .448 (13-29) with 4 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Losing week. And yes, there will be many more of those. We have some bits together for a future contending team, but lack others… like, uh, most of a functioning rotation and bullpen. A catcher that can hit (Sieber doesn’t count as of now). And mind that the only remaining veteran wisdom next year might be that of Manny and Maldo (and that non-hitting catcher). The former two might still be traded. The latter will definitely not.

Yes, Maud. Jason Wheatley will be promoted … soon-ish. You can get the shirts printed. We basically want to maintain his rookie eligibility for ’43, so it’s a bit of a math problem from here on out. Our experts are on it. Chad? How’s it going with calculating when we can – … apparently not so well.

(cut to the weeping Raccoons mascot in a corner, covered in paper rolls from a mechanical calculator)

With all the highly-ranked SP prospects we have, it is apparently only a matter of time until we have a strong pitching staff together. But I have been in this loveless business long enough to know that bubbles bust and arms fall off. Not that this helps me one scratch with the curious case of Nelson Moreno.

Nels has four pitches, of which two are very good to great and two are mediocre. The newest wicked thought is to convert him to a closer. Is 23 too young to give up on a starting pitcher?

Arturo Carreno hit the DL with an elbow sprain that will cost him the rest of August, but he should be available for an early-September call-up still. He was hitting .301/.383/.386 in AAA right now, including nine multi-hit games in his last 14 outings. 2B prospect John Castner hit .302 in Aumsville and .290 in Ham Lake, but is currently laid up with an undiagnosed injury, so it looks like Nick Lando might return for depth in September.

Next week: Loggers, Scorpions.

Fun Fact: According to our latest scouting update, Eric Cox should better not play shortstop at all.

That’s good to know, Scout Guy. Thank you for that information.

Sigh.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (51-61) vs. Loggers (63-50) – August 11-13, 2042

The Loggers had slipped to 6 1/2 games out behind the damn Elks, so they needed the wins. On most days, the Raccoons were happy to give them away, so their chances weren’t all bad. They sat third in runs scored, seventh in runs conceded, and had a +50 run differential (Coons: still +7), which hardly screamed out greatness. The season series was at 7-5 in their favor.

Projected matchups:
Jake Jackson (6-10, 3.93 ERA) vs. Chris Lulay (10-8, 4.69 ERA)
Corey Mathers (3-7, 4.40 ERA) vs. Joe Hicks (7-11, 3.81 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (7-10, 5.16 ERA) vs. Sal Chavez (14-7, 3.66 ERA)

We would open the series against a left-hander, then get right-handers. The Loggers had no injuries to speak of, so there was that.

The Raccoons waived and DFA’ed Angelo Montano to begin this week, bringing back right-hander Alexis Cortes, who had so far made one appearance out of the Coons’ bullpen.

Game 1
MIL: CF Reeves – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – SS Del Vecchio – 3B Simon – C F. Gomez – 2B V. Acosta – P Lulay
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – C Sieber – SS Cox – P Jackson

Nobody scored for three innings, despite ample runners. Jackson gave up four hits to the Loggers, none of which scored, while the Raccoons had the bases loaded in the bottom 1st, aided by an error by the hateworthy Ted Del Vecchio, but Justin Waltz’ fly to center ended up with Bill Reeves to end the inning. The ice was broken by Brad Simon (who?) in the fourth, hitting a 2-out solo homer to right on an 0-2 pitch. A Chris Lulay single to begin the fifth inning then signalled trouble. Reeves also singled, and the runners were on the corners with two outs when Jackson threw a pickoff past Yamamoto to allow Lulay to score with the game’s second run. Ah, it was always a relief to see the basics working well with a team! (pours some rust remover into his Capt’n Coma)

Jackson scampered on into the seventh inning, spilling a total of nine hits to the Loggers without conceding additional runs. Two Loggers being caught stealing also helped out. Zack Kelly replaced him after 116 pitches, conceded singles to Aaron Brayboy (who already had a 15-game hitting streak extended in this game) and Daniel Hertenstein, but saw Nettles catch up with a Del Vecchio drive to end the inning. In terms of hits, it was 11-3 Loggers, and it felt like the score was about 11-0, but was still really only 2-0. The shock effect was thus tremendous when the Raccoons haphazardly put Sieber and Cosmo Trevino on base in the seventh inning and Lulay faced Stephon Nettles with two outs. Now, Nettles had two singles off the left-hander in this game, but nobody was prepared for a crushed, score-flipping, 3-run homer to right-center that suddenly put the Raccoons in the driver’s seat. I asked Maud to pinch me, which she did, and it hurt, so it had to be real life. The Raccoons tacked on a run in the eighth on a single by Manny Fernandez, Justin Waltz getting nailed, and Jay de Wit slapping a 2-out RBI single in place of Cox. Derek Barker had pitched a quick eighth, and while Josh Rella leaked walks to Tim Cannizzard and Brayboy with two outs in the ninth inning, he struck out PH Jonathan Fleming to end the game. 4-2 Raccoons. Nettles 3-4, HR, 3 RBI; Fernandez 2-4; de Wit (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Let’s just say we totally stole that one.

The Loggers moved Sal Chavez into the middle game.

Game 2
MIL: CF Reeves – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – SS Del Vecchio – C Sicco – 3B Simon – 2B V. Acosta – P S. Chavez
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – SS Gutierrez – C Kilmer – P Mathers

First time through, Brayboy extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single off Mathers, and Brad Simon was tossed for barking on a strike three call that ended the second inning for the Loggers. He was replaced by Jared Paul. Nobody scored the first time through, however, with neither team amounting to more than a sole single. The Loggers broke through in the fourth inning, with Brayboy reaching with another single off Mathers, who looked decent enough until he served up a mile-long bomb with two outs to Valentino Sicco.

Mathers didn’t make it through five innings, though not necessarily because he didn’t pitch well enough for more. He did not allow more than the pair of Brayboy singles and the homer to Sicco, trailing 2-0, but came up in the bottom 5th with the tying runs on the corners after Waltz and Gutierrez singles and one out. Jay de Wit grabbed a stick and slapped an RBI single off the bench for the second time this week, causing more frenzy on Aruba. Cosmo dropped a single in a full count, tying the game because Gutierrez got the early start, but Nettles grounded out. With first base then open, the Loggers elected to walk Maldonado with intent, getting up a recently slumping Manny Fernandez with three on and two outs. This affront met the punishment it deserved, Manny poking a ball into left-center for a 2-run single, which gave him 69 RBI for the year and the Raccoons another 4-2 lead. Yamamoto ended the inning with a grounder to third base, and Mathers was in line for the W until he wasn’t anymore… Chuck Jones had a clean sixth, walked Del Vecchio to begin the seventh, but removed Sicco after that before being replaced with Tim Hale, who conceded a sharp single to Paul, and with two outs an even sharper double to the ******* opposing pitcher, which caromed around long enough in the leftfield corner to allow both runners to score and tie the game, too.

Tied at four in the bottom of the seventh, the Raccoons did some accumulating again. Cosmo got on, and so did Nettles. Maldonado struck out. Two down, Manny walked to fill the bases, bringing up Yamamoto, who had hit three homers and little else in the last week-or-so. He did not hit a slam, but he beat Bill Reeves to the fence in centerfield, hitting a double off the wall to empty the bags and stake Hale (ironically) to a 7-4 lead. The Raccoons refilled the bags with walks drawn by Waltz and Sieber, but Jeff Kilmer flew out against Marvin Verduzco to end the inning. The Raccoons went to Brent Clark for the eighth inning, where he made rather short work of the Loggers’ meat of the order, then stuck to him in the ninth with the left-handed Sicco leading off. He struck out, too, and Clark just remained in there to finish the game with a 2-inning save. 7-4 Raccoons. Waltz 2-3, BB; de Wit (PH) 1-1, RBI; Clark 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, SV (2);

Game 3
MIL: CF Reeves – RF Cannizzard – 1B Brayboy – LF Hertenstein – SS Del Vecchio – C Sicco – 3B Simon – 2B V. Acosta – P Hicks
POR: 2B Trevino – 3B de Wit – SS Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Casaus – C Kilmer – CF Anderson – P Moreno

This was a scheduled implosion start for Nelson Moreno after a decent time his last outing, but while he scattered a hit and two walks the first time through, the Loggers didn’t get to him early at least. Hicks meanwhile with the extra day off saw the minimum the first time through. Yamamoto drew a walk, and Sandy Casaus hit into a double play for Portland. Cosmo would get into the H column for Portland with a leadoff single in the fourth inning, and Hicks lost de Wit in a full count. Reeves then lost track of Maldonado’s fly ball, which fell for an RBI double, the first run on the board. Manny popped out, Yamamoto hit a comebacker, and it looked like the Raccoons would strand a pair in scoring position until Casaus hit a grounder up the middle that escaped the reach of Del Vecchio for a 2-run single and a 3-0 score, while Moreno completed a fifth scoreless inning to dip his ERA under five once again, and Van Anderson hit a leadoff jack in the bottom 5th for his first career homer, extending the lead to 4-0.

Top 6th, Moreno back on the mound, and the walls started to crumble. Brayboy led off with a single to right, extending his fiendish hitting streak to 17. Hertenstein singled, putting runners on the corners. Mound conference, while I consulted with Honeypaws whether I should bother Maud with the good rope or just throw myself out the window right away. Del Vecchio was gone on a sac fly, 4-1, which besides the shutout ended Moreno’s sub-5 ERA. Sicco struck out, but Simon hit a 2-out single. With his pitch count creeping up, the Raccoons wanted to get Moreno at least through this inning – and he struck out Victor Acosta to do so…! The Coons loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning then, bringing up Kilmer, who popped out, and Anderson, who whiffed. Justin Waltz hit for Moreno, who was on 102 pitches anyway, and grounded out to short to piss away a great chance to put the sweep in the books. Instead, the pen got involved, first with two outs from Cortes, who was then replaced with Kelly to face Cannizzard. Kelly retired four in a row, but remained in the game with the score still 4-1 and more left-handed bats up in the ninth inning. He walked Sicco, got a grounder from Simon, then was replaced with Josh Rella, who got grounders from Acosta and Fleming to complete the sweep after all. 4-1 Coons. Trevino 3-4; Yamamoto 1-2, BB; Moreno 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W (8-10); Kelly 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

A sweep …!

Waiver claim

On Thursday, the Raccoons were awarded the contract of INF/RF David Harroun, a 30-year-old right-handed hitter that had been waived by the Stars. Harroun had last played in the majors in 2040, then hitting .219 with 1 HR and 10 RBI for Dallas, and was a .248 hitter for his career with 19 HR and 141 RBI. He took the roster spot of Eric Cox (.246, 0 HR, 9 RBI) for some more flexibility in the infield.

Raccoons (54-61) @ Scorpions (58-54) – August 15-17, 2042

Sacramento still harbored playoff hopes, eight games out in the FL West, but the Raccoons had become routine ruiners of all hopes and dreams recently, having started with their own of course. They ranked sixth in runs scored and third in runs allowed in the Federal League. They were in the bottom three in OBP, but led the Federal League in homers with 132 bombs in 112 games, which made me slightly uncomfortable to have them around. They were also ravaged by injuries, lacking SP Josh Vercher and a whole host of position players, including Jesus Banuelas, Mike Preble, and Phil Rogers, as well as multiple backups and replacements. We had last met them in 2040, then taking two of three games from them.

Projected matchups:
Cory Lambert (1-4, 4.13 ERA) vs. Craig Czyszczon (10-4, 2.97 ERA)
Jake Jackson (6-10, 3.87 ERA) vs. Danny Orozco (8-12, 4.64 ERA)
Corey Mathers (3-7, 4.36 ERA) vs. Melvin Lucero (8-8, 3.03 ERA)

Orozco was another southpaw we’d encounter here, while Lucero had been included in the package for Troy Greenway many years ago, along with their current closer, Lazaro Cavazos (3-6, 5.36 ERA, 32 SV).

Game 1
POR: 2B Trevino – CF Nettles – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – C Sieber – SS Gutierrez – P Lambert
SAC: CF A. Cedillo – SS Laughren – LF Porfirio – 1B E. Moreno – RF Ito – C Toki – 2B Freeman – 3B Zeltser – P Czyszczon

Stephon Nettles lasted one at-bat and a double before leaving the game with a strained hammy. He was replaced with Casaus, and Manny Fernandez moved to centerfield for the time being. Before he ever arrived there he hit a 2-piece to left-center off Cz- … Sz- … Maud told be it’s pronounced like “shone”, in the sentence “Manny’s homer shone a light straight into my heart”. We’ll just call him “their hurler”. Their hurler allowed another run in the second inning on straight 2-out singles by Gutierrez, Lambert (!), and Cosmo, but then struck out Casaus to escape the jam, while Lambert’s first runner was Eddie Moreno on a leadoff single in the bottom 2nd. Rikuto Ito, hitting .255 with 15 homers, hit into a double play. Lambert conceded an unearned run in the bottom 3rd, when Maldonado threw away a grounder by another former Critter, Bob Zeltser, to put him and “Nine Fingers” Freeman into scoring position with nobody out. Their hurler made a poor out, but Alfonso Cedillo amounted to a sac fly, shortening the score to 3-1, before Paul Laughren whiffed.

The first two were on again for Sacramento in the fifth inning, this time on a single by Manichiro Toki and Ben Freeman drawing a walk. Zeltser hit into a fielder’s choice at second base, their hurler bunted badly for another fielder’s choice at second base, and the tying runs remained stranded when Cedillo popped out to Omar Gutierrez at short. Which was also about where Lambert’s lucky streak ran out. Laughren and Joreao Porfirio opened the sixth with doubles to left, Eddie Moreno singled to move the tying run to third base, and Ito took it out on the team that had traded him in the misguided attempt to build a winner rather than a future, and belted a 3-run homer to left to rub it in. 5-3 was the score, and the Raccoons went for a new hurler themselves. Derek Barker would finish the inning. The Coons then did nothing to make up the 2-run gap in the next two innings, but got Justin Waltz to open the ninth with a single off Cavazos. Sieber struck out, while Cavazos moved Waltz to second base on a very wild 2-2 pitch to Gutierrez, who singled on a lame duck pitch down the middle to put the tying runs on the corners. The Scorpions hauled in Cavazos for concerns about an injury, replacing him with another former Raccoons farmhand, Fiorenzo DeSanctis, who had gone over to them in the trade for Chuck Jones. Jay de Wit batted for Zack Kelly and struck out, and so did Cosmo Trevino to end the game. 5-3 Scorpions. Nettles 1-1, 2B; Fernandez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Gutierrez 3-4;

Nettles would be day-to-day until early next week, Dr. Padilla opined, and best not bothered for the rest of the weekend.

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Waltz – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – SS Harroun – CF Anderson – P Jackson
SAC: CF A. Cedillo – 3B Laughren – LF Porfirio – 1B E. Moreno – RF Ito – SS D.J. Mendez – 2B Freeman – C Toki – P Orozco

Manny Fernandez gave the Coons another first-inning lead, this time with a single that scored Cosmo from third base. Cosmo and Waltz had both hit singles to begin the game, but Maldonado had already rolled into a 6-4-3 disappointment. Also disappointing: the quick disappearance of the 1-0 lead. Cedillo opened the bottom 1st with a triple and scored easily on Laughren’s groundout. Cedillo then paired with Orozco to hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom 3rd, taking a 2-1 lead, which quickly became 4-1 on Porfirio’s MONSTER home run to right.

Jackson would last through six innings, allowing more hard fly balls, most of which ended up with an outfielder rather than a fan with a beer cup in his claws. We would have sent him back out, but the seventh inning saw Harroun hit a single for his first Critters hit, while Van Anderson reached on an Orozco error, all with two outs. Casaus batted for Jackson in this imperative situation and ripped a double over Ito’s head to score both runners! Cosmo singled to center swiftly, with Casaus sent around third base and sliding in safe just ahead of Cedillo’s throw, tying the game with the third run of the inning – all unearned, but well deserved on Orozco. And it was not over quite yet – with the throw to home plate having advanced Cosmo to second base, Waltz took advantage and hit a single to right-center to drive him in for his first career RBI, and the Coons took the lead, 5-4, before a slumping Maldonado grounded out.

Clark had a good seventh inning and got one more out in the eighth before walking Laughren for the tying run on base. Jon Craig replaced him, gave up a 2-out single to Eddie Moreno, and the tying and go-ahead runs were on the corners now. Left-handed hitter Juan Brito – .312 with 11 homers – pinch-hit for the right-handed Ito, so the Raccoons also made another change and brought on Chuck Jones in a double switch that removed Yamamoto. He gave up a fly to right that Waltz caught with at most medium trouble, and the inning ended with Portland still ahead by one. Top 9th, righty Omar Benitez allowed 1-out hits that put Anderson and de Wit on the corners. Cosmo like a veteran slapped a ball over Freeman for an RBI single, 6-4, and Waltz was a fresh rookie, but also singled up the middle to load the bases for the struggling Maldonado – but Maldonado had replaced Yamamoto at first base and there were no other options there anymore. He promptly chomped the ball into an inning-slaying double play… The Raccoons, having rediscovered back-end flexibility by necessity, remained with Chuck Jones to begin the bottom 9th, with left-handed D.J. Mendez leading off. He flew out. Freeman, a righty batter, grounded out to first. That left another lefty bat in Toki, who grounded out to de Wit on the first pitch to end the game. 6-4 Coons. Trevino 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Waltz 4-5, RBI; Casaus (PH) 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI; de Wit 1-1; Jones 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, SV (3);

Game 3
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – RF Waltz – C Sieber – 1B Casaus – CF Anderson – P Mathers
SAC: CF A. Cedillo – 3B Laughren – LF Porfirio – 1B E. Moreno – RF Ito – SS D.J. Mendez – 2B Freeman – C Toki – P Lucero

Both pitchers allowed one hit and struck out three in the first three innings, leading to no score on the board. That changed in the fourth, which was led off by Omar Gutierrez, and foremost led off with a jack to right. The score was still 1-0 when Gutierrez was at the plate again, then with Cosmo on second after a single and a stolen base. Gutierrez found the hole on the right side for an RBI single, and also reached the .300 mark with that single, which nobody quite had seen coming when the Raccoons had signed the 27-year-old rookie off the trash heap before the season. Maldonado walked after that, but the inning fizzled out quickly after that.

…and Mathers? After a good showing the first time through, the Scorpions had started to make fatter contact in the second run through the order, but still for little gains. They broke through in the bottom 6th, however, with a 2-out jack to right smashed by Porfirio, narrowing the score to 2-1. Moreno grounded out, while Casaus singled in the seventh, and then was swiftly picked off. Instead, Rikuto Ito tied the game with another revenge homer to lead off the bottom 7th. Before we knew how to react – except with dismay – Mendez hit *another* homer to right, thus giving Sacramento the lead, 3-2. The Raccoons went on to concede a run on something other than a homer in the eighth. Laughren tripled off Kelly, and Craig conceded the run on a groundout by Porfirio. Thus, the Coons were down 4-2 in the ninth, now facing left-hander Brad Lindeman and his 4.96 ERA. He offered a leadoff walk to Gutierrez, struck out Maldonado, who just looked lost at this point, but a Manny single put the tying runs on the corners for a hitless Waltz. He remained hitless, accepting a 4-pitch walk, loading the bases for Sean Sieber, who had been 9-for-11 last week, now was 1-for-10 this week. He still was a righty hitter, though, and … he struck out anyway. Casaus was in the box with the game on the line, having had a wholly invisible game in a first start at first base. He grounded out to second to end the game. 4-2 Scorpions. Gutierrez 3-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Fernandez 2-4;

In other news

August 11 – DEN SS/1B/LF Ryan Cox (.232, 4 HR, 43 RBI) will miss at least a month with a torn meniscus.
August 15 – A concussion puts Knights OF Brian Oliver (.327, 20 HR, 73 RBI) out for the rest of the season.
August 16 – Games in Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Dallas are all rained out on Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday, cramming the schedule to the tune of 15 games.
August 17 – PIT CF/LF Kevin Burch (.279, 11 HR, 50 RBI) should be out for a month with a tear in his hamstring.
August 17 – NYC OF/3B Joe Graf (.274, 3 HR, 17 RBI) has four hits and as many RBI in a busy 16-10 win over the Stars.

FL Player of the Week: WAS C Nate Evans (.302, 9 HR, 63 RBI), batting .519 (14-27) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB SS Jorge Gonzalez (.311, 1 HR, 46 RBI), splasing .485 (16-33) with 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Nick Valdes sent a thank you message after being wired the hard numbers by Steve from Accounting. The deconstruction trades in July saved him almost $4M of his precious dosh, which he wrote would come in handy to restock that police union slush fund and to bribe those two judges blocking his motion to build oil wells in Crippled Tree National Park up the Willamette. (looks up from the papers in his paws) I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud, Steve from Accounting, was I? (Steve from Accounting shakes his head)

So, with this sweep of the Loggers we have pretty much made the damn Elks kings of the North, which is such a pleasing thought to have in my head. (reaches for barf bucket)

If you use the concept of an “established major leaguer”, a guy that is, say, in his third full season, or at least nearly third full season, the Raccoons have – ignoring the bullpen – only six of those. Manny, Maldo, Kilmer, Cosmo, Jackson, and Moreno as being right on the cut-off. Of course there’s another pawful of veterans in the pen. There is a lot of rookie faces on this team, and there are more in the pipeline.

Angelo Montano – an established major leaguer in the very worst way if at all – arrived in AAA unmolested by waiver claims, which is good, since we might still require his services for garbage innings for the rest of this season and certainly the next.

We will return home for a 9-game homestand, hosting the Caps, Titans, and Indians after an off day on Monday. We will need a fifth starter only once more this month – against Boston on Saturday – and we might just use Brent Clark again. This delays the arrival of Jason Wheatley to September. Wheatley is 14-8 with a 2.83 ERA in AAA, with 66 BB and 114 K in 178 IP. That works out to 3.3 BB/9, which is just over half of his walk rate from last year in AAA, when he had a 4.66 ERA and 6.2 BB/9.

Adam Capone also has a sub-3 ERA for the Alley Cats, but his peripherals don’t match up. He has more walks than strikeouts (both just under 5 per 9 innings), and not really in the cards for September. Victor Merino and Generos de Leon down in AAA are having more trouble altogether and are not candidates for a September cup of coffee. Deeper down in the minors, the Coons released 2040 11th-rounder Joel Ray this week owing to his 7.27 ERA in Aumsville.

Then there is the curious case of #13 prospect Matt Waters, shortstop of the future. He is still in AA, and hitting .173 with 8 homers for the year. That isn’t the entire story, though. His BABIP is *.214* …! That is an impossible amount of bad luck in 323 at-bats, but it is what it is. He also strikes out quite a bit, so that doesn’t help, but he is nowhere near the usual rancid .173 bloke and the Raccoons are still not entirely discouraged from the thought of him being the future at short. He’s also only 21 and having noticeable power *and* some speed. He has only six steals this year, but it’s hard to get one off when you’re never on base…

Fun Fact: Nelson Moreno’s W on Wednesday was the 5,500th regular season victory for the Raccoons.

Not too unfitting for #5,500 to be won by somebody who ended the day with a 5.00 ERA. Hey, it was at least not a 55.00 ERA….

It was his first milestone win and maybe also the last one if we follow through on our plans to move him to the closer’s spot down the road.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (55-63) vs. Capitals (44-74) – August 19-21, 2042

Last interleague series of the year for the Raccoons (unless they had a 44-game winning streak in them to surge past the damn Elks still), featuring the worst team in all the lands, the .373 Capitals, a team we had played both of the last two years and never won a game. The last W against Washington came in ’38, when we took two of three. Seventh in runs scored in the Federal League, the Capitals were bottoms in runs allowed, giving up almost exactly five runs per game. Their rotation was already pretty bad, but their pen was even worse, pushing an ERA of five, and they also ranked bottoms in defense.

Projected matchups:
Nelson Moreno (8-10, 5.00 ERA) vs. Chris Inderrieden (5-10, 4.35 ERA)
Cory Lambert (1-5, 4.34 ERA) vs. Jon Pereira (7-12, 4.32 ERA)
Jake Jackson (7-10, 3.96 ERA) vs. Corey Booth (7-10, 4.42 ERA)

We would only face right-handed starters in this set. Stephon Nettles was still day-to-day when this series began on Tuesday. Jesus Maldonado was totally fine, but ice cold (4-for-29, 5-for-37) and got a second day off in addition to the idle day on Monday to think about what the heck he was doing.

Game 1
WAS: SS Clevidence – 3B D. Myers – C N. Evans – 1B Levis – CF McGuigan – RF Weinstein – LF Carr – 2B St. Peter – P Inderrieden
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – LF Fernandez – RF Waltz – 1B Yamamoto – 3B de Wit – C Kilmer – CF Anderson – P Moreno

The Raccoons stormed out of the gate, getting Gutierrez and Fernandez on base before Justin Waltz and Jay de Wit both whacked double to score one and two runs, respectively, for a quick 3-0 lead. That was not nearly enough to make anybody feel comfortable, though, since Nelson Moreno had a muddled start – wasn’t he due for one? – and kept piling up Capitals. Through three innings he allowed four base hits and a walk, and struck out nobody as the defense did all the heavy lifting, including turning a double play on ex-Coon Dave Myers in the first inning after a leadoff single by Doug Clevidence. Thankfully, the offense kept doing the good work, and after Omar Gutierrez hit a leadoff single in the bottom 3rd and stole second, Shuta Yamamoto came through with a 2-run homer to left-center, the fifth of his career, and running the tally up to 5-0.

And yet there was the basic problem of Nelson Moreno being more or less awful once again. Jim McGuigan and Kyle Weinstein hit leadoff singles in the fourth, pulled off a double steal, and scored on Jim Carr’s groundout and Cody St. Peter’s single, respectively. The Raccoons scored in the bottom 4th on that aforementioned league-worst defense; Van Anderson and Cosmo Trevino were on base (against ex-Coon Raffaello Sabre) when Manny Fernandez grounded to short with two outs, but Clevidence threw the ball away for a 2-base error and a free run. Waltz socked a ball into right-center for a 2-run single, 8-2, and all those runs were unearned on Sabre, who had a 7+ ERA anyway as his career had fallen completely apart the second he left Portland. The 6-run lead allowed the Raccoons to stick to Moreno through seven innings and a pair of leadoff walks that got bogged down on the base paths, and Moreno was still up 8-2 when he ended the seventh just over 100 pitches and was done for the day. A Yamamoto jack off John Snider ran the tally to 9-2 to begin the bottom of the seventh inning, and while both Zack Kelly in the eighth and Alexis Cortes in the ninth put a pair of runners on base in their innings, the Caps never broke through and lost by a bunch. 9-2 Raccoons. Gutierrez 4-5, 2B; Waltz 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Yamamoto 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Anderson 2-4;

Game 2
WAS: SS Clevidence – 3B D. Myers – C N. Evans – 1B Levis – CF McGuigan – RF Weinstein – LF Carr – 2B St. Peter – P J. Pereira
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – RF Waltz – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Maldonado – 3B de Wit – C Sieber – P Lambert

Lambert had a so-so start to the game, scattering three hits in three innings, as well as a leadoff walk to the opposing pitcher in the top of the third. When Sieber singled to begin the bottom 3rd, Lambert bunted into a force at second base, but a Cosmo double and a Gutierrez groundout actually moved Lambert around to score the first run of the game and the only one of the inning. We reached 2-0 in the fourth; Manny Fernandez hit a leadoff double, his second double of the day, and scored on a groundout and a balk by Pereira. Lambert kept lining up zeroes, despite putting Pereira on base again in the fifth, then with a single. Lambert would go six scoreless in total, but that was also all the Critters would get out of him – he had pitched messily after all and needed exactly 100 pitches for six innings of 5-hit, 3-walk ball.

Bottom 6th, Gutierrez, Waltz, and Manny all reached base to begin the inning, loading them up for Yamamoto, who tacked on with a single through the left side, getting Gutierrez home, 3-0. Maldo had two strikeouts at that point, but got somewhat back on the horse with a clean RBI single to right, 4-0, and while de Wit hit a bad roller in front of home plate, the Caps were unable to do anything with that grounder, which became another RBI single. New pitcher Francisco Trejo struck out Sieber and Casaus, but allowed another RBI single to Cosmo, and a 2-run single to Gutierrez before the inning ended with a K handed to Waltz. Six runs had been tacked on for an 8-0 lead. The Raccoons proceeded to get scoreless relief from Derek Barker and Brent Clark before Jon Craig got slapped for three straight hits by Ryan Carr, Cody St. Peter, and Jose Salinas in the ninth inning, giving up one run before ending the game. 8-1 Coons. Trevino 3-4, 2B, RBI; Harroun (PH) 1-1, 2B; Gutierrez 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Fernandez 2-3, BB, 2 2B; Anderson 1-1; Lambert 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, W (2-5); Barker 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Yes, Maud, tell Nick Valdes on the phone that we’re totally gonna win another 42 straight.

Game 3
WAS: SS Clevidence – 3B D. Myers – C N. Evans – 1B Levis – CF McGuigan – RF Weinstein – LF Carr – 2B St. Peter – P Booth
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – RF Waltz – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – 3B Maldonado – CF Nettles – C Kilmer – P Jackson

The Coons were without a base hit on Thursday when the Caps took their first lead in the series, slamming Jake Jackson for four runs in the third inning. Doug Levis hit a 3-run homer to make sure we remembered him; he was hitting .259 with 19 homers and 56 RBI once that moonshot was completely outta here and into the Willamette, and base hits by McGuigan and Weinstein tacked on another run after THAT. – No, Maud, I am not taking that phone. – No, Maud. – No, Maud. – No, I have to take THIS call here. (holds Honeypaws to his ear like a phone)

Cosmo singled, stole a base, and came home on Manny Fernandez’ sac fly in the fourth to get Portland on the board at least. Jackson however was off the board after five innings, offering two walks, a wild pitch, and another run on Weinstein’s groundout to the Caps in the fifth inning to fall 5-1 behind. The Coons countered with an unearned run in the bottom 5th, Maldonado reaching on St. Peter’s 2-base throwing error and scoring on two well-enough groundouts, but the Raccoons would gift that unearned run back in the eighth, when Gutierrez threw a ball away to put Weinstein on base against Chuck Jones, and that runner also came around in unearned fashion, deepening the hole to slam distance. The tying run came to the plate in the bottom 8th, though; Kilmer led off with a single, and Gutierrez hit another single with two outs. Booth hung around, gave up a gapper to Justin Waltz with two outs that plated two, and Manny Fernandez grounded out to end the inning. Josh Rella, largely unemployed for a while, had a 1-2-3 ninth to keep the Caps near. They sent Ray Andrews, right-hander, into the bottom 9th. He retired Yamamoto, Maldonado, and Nettles in order to end the game. 6-4 Capitals. Gutierrez 2-3, BB, 2B; Cortes 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

Raccoons (57-64) vs. Titans (48-73) – August 22-24, 2042

Here was a rare chance to take a season series from the Titans; the Coons were up 6-5, with seven to play – all in Portland, and none in their den of broken dreams. Boston were eighth in runs scored and bottoms in the CL in runs allowed, and we had just done fairly well against the FL’s most porous team. The Titans were conceding 4.9 runs per game. They also had a host of injuries, being without Willie Vega, Antonio Gil, Justin Nelson, Oscar Aguirre, and a few rookies (on the hitting side), and Gabe McGill in the pen.

Projected matchups:
Corey Mathers (3-8, 4.33 ERA) vs. Jamal Barrow (8-8, 4.64 ERA)
Brent Clark (4-3, 2.11 ERA) vs. Matt Peterson (4-9, 4.26 ERA)
Nelson Moreno (9-10, 4.88 ERA) vs. Philip Wise (8-12, 5.39 ERA)

Looks like we’ll stalk around their pair of southpaws, although they had been off on Thursday and could make it a Southpaw Sunday by sending Mario Gonzalez (7-8, 4.51 ERA) on regular rest in the last game of the set.

Game 1
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – RF Hooge – CF Vermillion – 3B I. Lugo – C Kuehn – 2B Kilgallen – SS Castaneda – P Barrow
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – RF Waltz – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – 3B Maldonado – CF Nettles – C Kilmer – P Mathers

Danny Liceaga and Alex Zacarias opened the game with singles; longtime Coons backup outfielder Ed Hooge found a grounder to short for a fielder’s choice at second, leaving runners on the corners for Mark Vermillion, who lined out to Yamamoto with Hoogey astray of first base tagged out, 3-unassisted, to end the inning. The Titans scratched out a run anyway in the second inning, Jose Castaneda (who?) singling home Ivan Lugo (who?). Former Critter Matt Kilgallen had also been plunked, so Mathers had his share of issues in this game… and so did the Coons, getting a leadoff triple from Yamamoto in the bottom 2nd and stranding him on third base on three ****** outs. When Zacarias hit a leadoff triple in the fifth, he scored on a Vermillion double. That only made it 2-0 through the middle of five, despite eight hits, a walk, a hit batter, and two wild pitches poured out by Mathers in an outing that was largely useless for our 2042 highlight video. Harroun hit for him in the bottom 5th, an inning in which the Coons went 1-2-3, but the tying runs reached the corners in the sixth against Barrow. Waltz walked with one gone, stole second, and scooted to third on a soft single lobbed by Manny. Yamamoto’s sac fly got the Critters on the board, Manny stole second, but was stranded when Maldonado, stuck in the muck, popped out on a 3-1 pitch. Barrow put Nettles, Cosmo, and Gutierrez on base to stack them up for Waltz with two outs in the seventh, but Vermillion caught his fly to center to strand a full set. Barker, Kelly, Hale, and Jones would combine for the last four innings of regulation, holding the Titans not only scoreless, but also hitless (with only Kelly walking a pair), but the Titans still held their 2-1 lead in the ninth inning with righty Ryan Kinner on the mound after losing his spot in the rotation early in the season. The Coons had the bottom of the order up, with de Wit already in the #9 hole after an earlier double switch. Nettles, Kilmer, and him were retired in order to finish the game. 2-1 Titans. Yamamoto 1-2, 3B, RBI;

Boys, this isn’t Boston. You ARE allowed to score in these games!

Game 2
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – CF Vermillion – 3B I. Lugo – C Kuehn – 2B Kilgallen – SS Amos – RF Castaneda – P M. Peterson
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – RF Waltz – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – 3B Maldonado – CF Nettles – C Sieber – P Clark

Clark struck out six in the first three innings, which kept the Titans at bay, while the Raccoons took a 1-0 lead in the bottom 2nd, Sieber singling in Nettles, who had stolen second base on the previous pitch. Manny doubled in Gutierrez and Waltz in the third to extend the lead to 3-0, then was stranded when Yamamoto and Maldonado struck out. That remained the score through five innings, with the Titans still under Clark’s spell. He walked two and allowed two singles, but he also struck out nine guys flailing to send their blue helmets flying, which also ran up his pitch count rather quickly. A leadoff walk to Zacarias in the sixth didn’t help his pitch count, and he added Vermillion with a pitch to the elbow. Lugo grounded out to advance the runners, and Paul Kuehn hit a sac fly to get Boston on the board. Clark plunked Kilgallen next, which put the tying run aboard, and the Raccoons would have him face David Amos, but then pull the plug. Amos struck out, the 10th K victim for Clark in the game, and the Raccoons would try to fiddle the remainder of the game with the other relievers. Hale had a scoreless seventh, a performance matched by Craig in the eighth, even though both shed a runner. The Coons had them on the corners in the bottom 8th. Omar Gutierrez led off with a single off Peterson and advanced on a groundout by Waltz and when Kilgallen had Manny’s liner pop out of his glove for an error. Up came Yamamoto and ended Peterson’s day with a screaming 3-run homer to left, no doubt right off the bat, and doubling the Coons’ output in the game.

Then Josh Rella got the ninth inning anyway because he never got any work around here right now – and he exploded. Up 6-1, he issued three walks, two hits, and was shanked with the bases loaded with the tying runs and two runs across on Vermillion’s 2-out single. Kuehn was in the box, a .258 switch-hitter, and the Raccoons went to veteran Derek Barker. He gave up a howler to deep, deep left, Manny back to the fence, leaping – AND HE PICKS IT! Game over…! 6-3 Raccoons. Gutierrez 2-4; Yamamoto 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Clark 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K, W (5-3);

Now the good news – Mario Gonzalez was switched into the rubber game, meaning Southpaw Sunday had arrived!

Game 3
BOS: LF Liceaga – 1B A. Zacarias – RF Hooge – CF Vermillion – 3B I. Lugo – C Kuehn – 2B Kilgallen – SS J. Rodriguez – P M. Gonzalez
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Waltz – 3B Maldonado – CF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – C Kilmer – SS Harroun – LF Casaus – P Moreno

Bottom 2nd, bases loaded on hits by Yamamoto and Kilmer, plus a walk drawn by the waiver claim Harroun, pulling up Sandy Casaus with three on and one out. Like David Harroun, Casaus was making his first start of the week, but had gone 0-for-4 pinch-hitting. When Gonzalez came inside on 2-2, he stuck his bum out and took it in there like a man, forcing Yamamoto across with the game’s first run. – Cristiano, why are you giggling again? … Like a kindergarten in here! … Then came Moreno, whacking a ball into the gap for extra bases, and emptying the bags of all previous runners with a 3-run double…! Cosmo singled, but Waltz and Maldonado made poor outs to keep the score at 4-0. That was still enough for us to expect Moreno to even his record at 10-10 eventually, so the pressure was on. He had a creaky fourth inning, giving up a leadoff single to Zacarias, who was doubled up by Hoogey. Then a Trevino error put Vermillion on base, Lugo walked, and somehow Kuehn grounded out after all, but the inning had escalated a previously neat pitch count for Moreno. However, the Titans remained shut out through five innings, which was certainly something we enjoyed to see.

Portland tacked on a fifth run in the fifth inning as Maldo singled with two outs, then raced around on a Manny triple into the rightfield corner. Moreno lost the shutout in the sixth, though, giving up a double to Vermillion – who extended a hitting streak to 24 games with this knock – and an RBI single to the pesky Lugo, all with two outs as well. Kuehn grounded out to first to end the top 6th. Juan Rodriguez walked and was caught stealing to aid Moreno through seven, and he retired another pair before Hoogey rammed a double off the fence on his 103rd pitch to end Moreno’s day. Chuck Jones got Vermillion out on a soft liner to first base, ending the Boston half of the eighth.

Manny and Yamamoto were on base in the bottom 8th. Kilmer struck out for the second retirement against righty Danny Tirado. That brought up Harroun, and it was tempting to send Gutierrez instead, but even a waiver claim needed the occasional attention. Harroun paid us back with a first-pitch single to left, getting Manny around to score, 6-1. That was Harroun’s first RBI as a Critter. Casaus *was* hit for with Van Anderson, who flew out to end the inning. Alexis Cortes got the ninth inning, putting Kuehn on with one out. Kilgallen was retired, but then Juan Rodriguez and Nigel Gordon hit back-to-back gappers for RBI triples…! Zack Kelly replaced Cortes, who was charged with his first major league runs, and got Liceaga to fly out to Manny in leftfield to end the game. 6-3 Raccoons. Fernandez 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Yamamoto 2-4; Moreno 7.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (10-10) and 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI;

In other news

August 19 – BOS CF Mark Vermillion (.313, 6 HR, 61 RBI) has a 20-game hitting streak with two hits in an 8-7 loss to the Miners.
August 19 – Warriors and Thunder grind away at each other for 16 innings before the former get away with a 4-3 win. SFW 3B/SS Andy Pryor (.322, 1 HR, 37 RBI) has four hits – all singles – and two RBI in a game, or as many base hits as the Thunder can cobble together in all of 16 innings.
August 20 – SAC 1B/LF/RF Eddie Moreno (.305, 24 HR, 74 RBI) will miss a month with a sprained ankle.
August 21 – Knights RF/LF/1B Billy Hester (.263, 8 HR, 54 RBI) hits an RBI single in the second inning for the Knights’ only hit of the night – and also the game winner in a 1-0 squeaker over the Stars.
August 21 – Six leads are taken and blown in the Thunder’s 13-12 walkoff win over the Warriors, which – perhaps fittingly – ends on a wild pitch by Sioux Falls’ Paul Peters (0-1, 7.76 ERA).
August 22 – VAN OF/2B Justin Simmons (.343, 8 HR, 38 RBI) hits a come-from-behind, walkoff grand slam off Andy Hyden (4-6, 2.38 ERA, 27 SV) to beat the Crusaders, 9-6.
August 23 – Nobody finds an extra-base hit for 15 innings in the Scorpions-Gold Sox game on Saturday, and nobody scores until the Scorpions squeak one out in the top of the 15th, taking a 1-0 win on 1B Craig Hollenbeck’s (.319, 2 HR, 22 RBI) RBI single.

FL Player of the Week: SFW 3B/SS Adam Pryor (.338, 1 HR, 43 RBI), hitting .577 (15-26) with 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: IND RF/LF Mario Ochoa (.265, 13 HR, 51 RBI), swatting .409 (9-22) with 5 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Cosmo has a 14-game hitting streak, doing excellent work in the leadoff spot. Since he was a full-time player at age 19 in ’27, he will conclude his 16th full season along with his contract with the Raccoons, who will not resign him, and will turn 35 years old on Monday. We spent $22.8M on the 6-year deal, got two stolen base titles and a solid above-.300 bat. That the Raccoons ultimately went nowhere in his tenure was not Cosmo’s fault. We will likely still get his 700th career stolen base (he needs one more), but we will not get his 3,000th base hit, from which he is still 96 removed.

In turns of rotten BABIPs like Matt Waters’ (still in the .210s), we have two more candidates up here. One is Kilmer, .217 for a nearly full season, and the other is Yamamoto, who sits at .231 on balls put in play. That he’s still carrying a 113 OPS+ is due to all the homers he’s hit in just 34 games. He’d hit over 30 prorated to a full season!

Yes, Honeypaws, I also feel like he’ll strike out 165 times and hit .198 with three homers next season, as the first base job in 2043 pretty much defaults on him.

Not that we want to complain too hard about BABIP overall – Manny, Waltz, Anderson, Nettles, Gutierrez, and Cosmo are all well over .300, and some in the .340s.

Fun Fact: Cosmo Trevino once had a 27-game hitting streak, all the way back in 2029 with the Capitals.

He was 21 years old back then and that year hit .322 and led the FL in base hits (221) for the second straight year.

[Westheim]

Started this week Monday, but ran out of time before I had to go zzz. Finished it on Tuesday AND played another week, then had no internet connection once again and couldn’t post it.

Yes, I try to win the lottery, to devote myself full time to the old Fuzzballs in the future. And pay for three separate internet contracts in the vain hope that at least one ******* works at any one time…

+++

Maud, why are there two municipal employees digging holes and planting young trees behind first base? – This is NOT a city park!! – What city ordinance? – I see, Maud, every green space bigger than 250 square feet is now a public city park.

(grabs blunderbuss to shoo away the municipal employees) This town drives me crazy.

Raccoons (59-65) vs. Indians (55-69) – August 25-27, 2042

Last in runs scored, seventh in runs allowed, and perhaps just as confused as we were about a few young trees growing on the right side of the infield were the Indians, who sat fifth in the division and like the Raccoons were out of it by many games and at least a couple of months. We were up 8-4 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Cory Lambert (2-5, 3.98 ERA) vs. Orlando Altreche (9-11, 4.21 ERA)
Jake Jackson (7-11, 4.11 ERA) vs. Drew Johnson (8-7, 2.54 ERA)
Corey Mathers (3-9, 4.30 ERA) vs. Alex Flores (6-11, 4.50 ERA)

We would get all right-handers here in this series, and also a very interesting matchup of a former Indian going for the Raccoons and a former Raccoon going for the Indians in the middle game on Tuesday.

Game 1
IND: CF Crocker – RF M. Ochoa – 3B Hutson – LF D. Rivera – 1B J. Diaz – 2B E. Vargas – C Custello – SS Russ – P Altreche
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – CF Nettles – C Kilmer – P Lambert

The Indians put runners in scoring position on a Nick Crocker single and a Mario Ochoa double to begin the game, while the Raccoons would have three on and nobody out from their 4-5-6 batters in the bottom 2nd. A grand total of one run was scored from those situations, Jeff Kilmer barely beating out the return throw from second base on a grounder to short to allow Manny Fernandez to score the first run of the game. Portland tacked on a run an inning later, which began with Cosmo and Omar Gutierrez reaching the corners with a pair of singles, and Maldonado plating a run with a sac fly. Lambert did not put another earned runner on base until two outs in the fifth, when he walked Crocker and Ochoa singled with two outs – they were stranded on a groundout by Dan Hutson – but in between the trees at first base interfered with the Raccoons twice on defense, leading to a pair on hard-luck errors on Yamamoto and Gutierrez for bad throws and unpicked bounces, but even those didn’t concede any runs to the Indians, who trailed 4-0 through five; the Coons doubled their run total in the bottom 5th on RBI base hits by Gutierrez and Yamamoto, although inexplicably the Indians intentionally walked Jesus Maldonado in his absolute death slump after Gutierrez doubled home Cosmo.

While the counts on Lambert grew longer in the middle innings, running up his pitch count, the Coons got Nettles on base to begin the bottom 6th. He stole second, then was plated on a screaming single by Kilmer before Lambert bunted into a double play. Gutierrez added a leadoff homer off right-hander Tony Correa in the seventh, while the Raccoons though to themselves, to heck with it, and just kept Lambert in the game. He threw 92 pitches through seven, then had an 8-pitch eighth, and with a 6-run cushion was brought back for the ninth, with some semblance of relief soft-tossing in the bullpen. Jeff Diaz grounded out to short, but Enrique Vargas walked in a full count that grinded on forever. When Lambert also walked Roger Custello, he was lifted two outs short of a shutout. Jon Craig replaced him and retired Andrew Russ and David Gonzales without much fuss to maintain a clean pitching line, though. 6-0 Raccoons. Trevino 2-5; Gutierrez 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Maldonado 0-1, 2 BB, RBI; Lambert 8.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, W (3-5) and 1-4;

The grounds crew worked all morning to remove all the trees before the middle game. Maybe that would cut down on our errors on defense…

Game 2
IND: CF Crocker – RF M. Ochoa – 3B Hutson – LF D. Rivera – 1B J. Diaz – 2B E. Vargas – C Custello – SS Russ – P D. Johnson
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – CF Nettles – C Kilmer – RF Casaus – P Jackson

The bags were full against Johnson in the bottom 1st after Cosmo stretched a hitting streak to 16 games with a leadoff single, Maldonado got nailed, and Manny singled right into the guns of Danny Rivera and his plus arm in leftfield. Yamamoto flew out to deep-ish leftfield for the second out, Cosmo went for home and mostly scored on Rivera’s hard, but off-line throw, and the Coons took a 1-0 lead. The remaining runners were stranded when Nettles grounded out to Russ, but the Coons tacked on three more runs in the second inning, which weirdly enough featured Maldonado getting hit *again*. Kilmer and Jackson hit singles to go to the corners before being tripled in by Cosmo line-hugger that stopped dead in the rightfield corner. Gutierrez’ sac fly made it 4-0.

Jackson retired ten Indians in a row to begin the game before Ochoa hit him for a single and Hutson followed up with a double in right-center. The Indians also waved Ochoa around third base and saw him thrown out at home plate, keeping them shut out in the series. Jackson also hit another single in the bottom 4th, then scored on a 2-out single by Manny Fernandez to extend the lead to a pawful. Jeff Diaz (single) and Enrique Vargas (walk) reached base to begin the fifth. Custello hit into a double play, while Russ was walked intentionally. The Indians lifted Johnson for a pinch-hitter, Mike Sawyer, who struck out to end the inning. The bottom of the inning saw Nettles reach base on a Vargas error; the Indian threw a grounder away when he stepped into a not quite properly filled former tree hole.

After a few bumpy innings, Jackson kept the Indians to precious little in the next frames, and completed eight innings on 93 pitches. Like Lambert, he batted for himself in the bottom of the eighth. He hit another single, which led to a lengthy on-base presence as the bags slowly filled up against right-hander Chris Volk, only for Manny to ground out to end the inning with nobody scored and Jackson stranded on third base. Top 9th, Dan Hutson flew out to deep center. Jackson lost Danny Rivera on balls, then got Diaz on a fly to right before running a full count to Enrique Vargas, who singled. Custello, hitting .227 with no homers, would be his final batter (after which we’d have a save situation and Josh Rella coming in), but Custello popped out to end the game. 5-0 Raccoons. Trevino 4-5, 3B, 2 RBI; Maldonado 1-2, BB; Fernandez 2-5, RBI; Jackson 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K, W (8-11) and 3-4;

Fourth career shutout for Jackson, and the second this year and for the Coons. He had already tossed a 2-hitter against the Bayhawks in July.

This was also the season series in the bag.

Game 3
IND: CF Crocker – RF M. Ochoa – 3B Hutson – LF D. Rivera – 1B J. Diaz – 2B E. Vargas – C Custello – SS Russ – P A. Flores
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – CF Nettles – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – 3B de Wit – C Sieber – P Mathers

Just like on Tuesday, it took the Indians an 11th batter to even get on base in Wednesday’s contest, then with an Ochoa double in left-center. Ochoa was also immediately dutifully stranded on a grounder and a strikeout by Dan and Danny, Hutson and Rivera. The Raccoons were up 1-0 at that point, courtesy of singles by Sieber, Cosmo, and Gutierrez in the third inning. But the Indians would not remain shut out forever – they plated four runs in the fifth inning, and while Corey Mathers certainly had a paw in the meltdown, all the runs were unearned, scoring with two outs in an inning that had notably begun with a throwing error by Omar Gutierrez – never mind the four hard whacks for base hits that followed.

Cosmo singled and stole second base in the bottom of the fifth, which despite a 4-1 disadvantage on the board led to congratulations and a standing ovation by the (thin) crowd, since it was his 700th career stolen base, a mark only reached by one other player in league history. Nettles scored him with a single after all the handshakes and backpats, Manny added another single, and Yamamoto drunkenly fell face first into the wedding cake by hitting into an inning-ending double play. That was mostly the game right there, because Mathers allowed another run on a Russ RBI triple in the seventh inning before being replaced with Chuck Jones, who stranded Russ, but it was now a 5-2 game. David Harroun hit for Jones to lead off the bottom 7th and doubled, then scored on Gutierrez’ single, but that merely got us back to two runs down. There were a few innings left, though, and Alexis Cortes and Zack Kelly held the Indians to the five runs (four unearned) they already had. Unfortunately the same was true for the Indians’ Willie Gonzales and Vincenzo Battaglia, who refused to let Critters on base in the eighth or ninth innings. 5-3 Indians. Trevino 3-4; Gutierrez 2-5, 2 RBI; Fernandez 2-4; Harroun (PH) 1-2, 2B;

Raccoons (61-66) @ Bayhawks (62-64) – August 29-31, 2042

This series would also decide a season series locked at three wins per side. The Bayhawks were reasonably out of it, 8 1/2 games behind and in fourth place in the CL South. They were eighth in runs scored despite having the second-highest team batting average, and were in the bottom three in runs allowed, with a creaky rotation and the worst bullpen. Their pitching however had also been completely ravaged by injuries, putting six pitchers on the DL in addition to July acquisition Carlos Cortes (have we heard of him?) and Dick Oshiita.

Projected matchups:
Nelson Moreno (10-10, 4.69 ERA) vs. Bobby Waters (2-3, 2.97 ERA)
Cory Lambert (3-5, 3.57 ERA) vs. Jeff Draper (8-4, 5.61 ERA)
Jake Jackson (8-11, 3.89 ERA) vs. Noe Candeloro (7-7, 4.81 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday! … also another left-hander on Friday, with the 27-year-old rookie Waters, which was the state of the Bayhawks’ pitching with a casualty list that rivalled the 1918 Argonne’s in length.

Game 1
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Waltz – 3B Maldonado – CF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – SS Harroun – C Kilmer – LF Casaus – P Moreno
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – RF Haertling – 3B Sifuentes – 1B D. Cruz – CF M. Hall – LF M. Castillo – C Pasko – 2B C. Russell – P B. Waters

Waters didn’t retire any of the first six Coons he faced, issuing four singles for a run before allowing a bases-loaded walk to Yamamoto and a 2-run single to Harroun before the bottom of the order made three frighteningly poor outs. At least Nelson Moreno made the game competitive by coming onto the mound still ashamed for making the final out and giving up four singles himself for two runs when a shutdown inning would have been the classy thing to do. The bottom 2nd only got worse, with a leadoff single by Chris Russell, an RBI single by Ed Haertling, a clumsy walk to Ramon Sifuentes, and finally a score-flipping triple smashed by old and slow Danny Cruz, putting San Francisco on top, 5-4. Man – and the blunderbuss was in Portland…!!

Moreno was yanked and hopefully beaten to death by the coaches without me having to get involved after giving up a leadoff triple to Mel Castillo in the third inning. ******* sucker, not good for ******* anything!!! Derek Barker conceded the run (and two more on top of that) on three hits and a walk in the bottom 3rd as the gross meltdown continued. Cortes pitched in the fourth, walking three and giving up two hits for one run. Manny Fernandez threw out a runner at the plate, and stranded three more when he chased down a Haertling drive in deep center to get the elusive third out. Brent Clark gave up a run in the fifth, but also singled and set up an RBI single for Cosmo (driving home the otherwise mostly useless Sandy Casaus) in the top of the sixth, the first Coons score since the opening frame, which had been so delightful, and after the Baybirds had scored ten unanswered runs. Clark then began the bottom 6th by hitting relief pitcher Jose Lerma, which was such a good way to start an inning, loaded the bases without getting anybody out, and conceded another four runs as the cascade of runs continued, two of them unearned thanks to an error by ****wit David Harroun. The Raccoons trailed by … a lot through six innings.

By the seventh, things got outright ugly. Maldonado reached base, somehow, then was caught stealing, displaying an appalling lack of situational awareness. Worse yet, with David Hale pitching in the bottom 7th, Graciano Salto landed a pinch-hit single, then stole second base with a lead of 250 runs on the board. Jorge Gonzalez singled him home, while Ramon Sifuentes took a ball to the shoulder that didn’t look like it had just “gotten away” from Hale. Cruz made the third out, trying his darndest to hit a homer. The Coons’ quest for a scoreless pitching inning derailed early in the eighth, with Mike Hall reaching second base on Hale’s throwing error. Mel Castillo singled, stole second (!), and Mark Pasko hit an RBI single. Castillo was also sent, but thrown out at home plate and hit in the face with his glove by Sean Sieber, who had replaced Kilmer at this point. No 11-run rally came forwards in the ninth (nor a base runner), as the series opened with a rout. 16-5 Bayhawks. Trevino 2-4, RBI; Waltz 2-5, 2B; Harroun 2-4, 2 RBI;

Three runs were unearned. Not that it made that much of a difference after that rancid starter set the tone in the first inning. (swipes away Nelson Moreno’s food bowl, which shatters against the wall in the visitors’ clubhouse) You feckless *****!!!

(Moreno stares watery-eyed at the GM, corners of the snout twitching)

Game 2
POR: 2B Trevino – RF Waltz – 3B Maldonado – CF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – SS Harroun – LF de Wit – C Kilmer – P Lambert
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – RF Haertling – 3B Sifuentes – 1B D. Cruz – CF M. Hall – LF M. Castillo – C J. Hill – 2B C. Russell – P Candeloro

Southpaw Sunday was also off with Candeloro moved up into the Saturday game, although it couldn’t have been for the first left-hander having worked out so brilliantly for the Bayhawks (Waters notably did not last long enough to get the W). The Bayhawks would score for a ninth straight inning in the series, getting a leadoff walk issued to Jorge Gonzalez, who stole his 35th base and came around on two productive outs, although Portland flipped the score in the second. Kilmer drew a 2-out walk, Lambert doubled him in (!), then scored himself on a Cosmo single that extended Trevino’s hitting streak to 19 games. The lead stood up through the bottom 2nd as the Bayhawks only got a Castillo single and a Russell walk, but no run(s). What a great success for Portland Raccoons baseball!

Portland Raccoons baseball tacked on an unearned run in the third on two singles and a Gonzalez error, then an earned run in the fifth on doubles by Yamamoto and Kilmer, 4-1. The Bayhawks had runners on base, though, all the time. Gonzalez was on base every time he came up, and also stole second base every time he was on, reaching 37 stolen bags by the bottom 5th, which was swiftly followed by a Haertling homer to right that narrowed the lead to 4-3. That was the last inning for Lambert, who had been ground down for six hits, four walks, and the three runs. Derek Barker blew the lead in the sixth instead, an inning in which Jorge Gonzalez hit a triple and didn’t steal a base for a change… That wasn’t his last ******* triple in the game. Gonzalez hit another one off Jon Craig that broke the tie in the eighth inning, driving home Russell with two outs.

Mark Pasko grounded out to Cosmo to end the inning, but the Raccoons faced right-hander Jon Salls in the ninth inning now with a 1-run deficit. Waltz struck out to begin the inning, but Maldonado doubled to right. Manny walked, putting the go-ahead run on base, too. They both scored when Yamamoto overcame Salls with a huge 3-run homer to left…! That would give Josh Rella something to do in the bottom of the ninth inning – he hadn’t been off his bum since shadowing Jake Jackson on Tuesday, but hadn’t actually gotten into that complete-game shutout. The tying runs reached after a Sifuentes strikeout when Cruz hit a comebacker that Rella fumbled for an error, then issued a walk to Hall. Castillo flew out, moving Cruz to third base. John Hill popped out to Cosmo to end the game and even the series. 7-5 Raccoons. Trevino 2-5, RBI; Maldonado 2-3, BB, 2B; Fernandez 2-4, BB; Yamamoto 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; de Wit 3-5, RBI;

This is not a pleasant series.

Game 3
POR: 2B Trevino – SS Gutierrez – 3B Maldonado – LF Fernandez – 1B Yamamoto – RF Waltz – CF Nettles – C Sieber – P Jackson
SFB: SS J. Gonzalez – 1B J. Diaz – 3B Sifuentes – RF C. Cortes – CF M. Hall – LF M. Castillo – C J. Hill – 2B C. Russell – P Draper

Both teams’ first run scored in the same fashion on non-Southpaw Sunday, getting a guy to hit a single and having said guy tripled in afterwards. The singles were hit by Carlos Cortes in his return to the lineup in the bottom 2nd and Cosmo to extend his hitting streak to 20 games in the third inning. Mel Castillo and Omar Gutierrez provided the RBI triples, respectively, and neither of them scored. More offense came by way of Manny Fernandez, who hit a leadoff single and stole second base in the fourth inning for no greater good, but in the fifth found Cosmo and Gutierrez on base and belted a tie-breaking 3-run homer to right. The Raccoons, truly elite in their chosen profession, went on to piss away two runs right away in the bottom 5th which would be unearned on Jackson. Chris Russell doubled and scored when Maldonado threw away Jeff Draper’s bunt. Draper scored on a 2-out single by Sifuentes. At least Manny raced in to catch a Cortes bloop to end the damn inning, still up 4-3…

Jackson was chewed up after six innings thanks to the defense being no more help than a can opener in keeping his pitch count down, but would not bid the Baybirds adieu without clipping a 2-out RBI single to score Justin Waltz (leadoff walk) in the top of the sixth, then holding the 5-3 score until his departure. Draper was also gone, with replacement Jose Lerma, the washed-up, once-great starter, putting Gutierrez, Maldonado, and Fernandez on base with nobody out in the seventh inning. Yamamoto grounded to short for a force out at home plate, but Waltz grinded out another walk that pushed home a run. Sieber would add an RBI single with two outs, in between hopeless outs by pinch-hitters Casaus and de Wit, so the Coons were up by a slam with nine outs to collect. Cortes doubled in one run against Jon Craig in the bottom 7th – that, too, was unearned, with Sifuentes having reached on a Yamamoto error… At least Kelly and Rella were less unfortunate and would get the game into the books without more sabotage by the eight-headed wrecking crew around them… 7-4 Coons. Trevino 2-5; Gutierrez 3-5, 3B, RBI; Fernandez 3-5, HR, 3 RBI;

In other news

August 26 – Tijuana RF/1B/LF Willie Ojeda (.338, 15 HR, 58 RBI) reaches 2,000 career hits at age 30 with a 3-for-5 day in a 7-5 loss to the Bayhawks. Ojeda, who debuted with the Condors at age 18 in 2030, is an 8-time All Star and 2-time hitting champion in the Continental League and batting .319 with 153 HR and 882 RBI for his career. He also has 299 stolen bases. The milestone is a double off San Fran’s Rafael Pedraza (5-5, 5.97 ERA, 1 SV).
August 26 – CIN SP Chris “Tuba” Turner (13-2, 3.18 ERA) is expected to miss 10 months with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, rendering him out until the middle of the 2043 season.
August 26 – The hitting streak of BOS CF Mark Vermillion (.308, 6 HR, 64 RBI) ends at 24 games after a hitless appearance in a 9-3 win over the Canadiens.
August 27 – TOP SP John Kennedy (7-13, 4.84 ERA) 3-hits the Miners in a 7-0 shutout.
August 28 – Pittsburgh’s rookie OF Archie Turley (.285, 7 HR, 37 RBI) drives in five runs on three hits, two singles and a home run, in a 15-0 rout of the Buffaloes.
August 31 – RIC SP Ryan Person (10-9, 3.52 ERA) would miss two weeks with an abdominal strain.

FL Player of the Week: NAS LF/RF/1B Sean Ashley (.290, 10 HR, 56 RBI), hitting .524 (11-21) with 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: IND RF/LF Mario Ochoa (.281, 15 HR, 55 RBI), batting .522 (12-23) with 2 HR, 4 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DEN INF/RF Ronnie Thompson (.316, 3 HR, 29 RBI), batting .402 with 2 HR, 13 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: CHA SS Tony Aparicio (.297, 17 HR, 80 RBI), slamming .357 with 10 HR, 32 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAC SP Craig Czyszczon (13-4, 2.99 ERA), pitching to a 5-0 record with 3.09 ERA, 30 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: VAN SP Mike Mihalik (15-8, 3.38 ERA), hurling for a 4-0 tally with 2.58 ERA, 23 K
FL Rookie of the Month: PIT OF Archie Turley (.288, 7 HR, 38 RBI), hitting .329 with 5 HR, 19 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: POR INF/LF Omar Gutierrez (.337, 4 HR, 21 RBI), flicking .466 with 2 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Snuffed for Player of the Week was 20-Game Hitting Streak Trevino, batting .536 (15-28) this week with 4 RBI. I will have Maud call League HQ to complain.

I don’t know what’s up with Omar Gutierrez, our 27-year-old Rookie of the Month. I don’t know how that happened. He’s eating weird stuff, bananas and yogurt, and green things, and very little steaks and chicken drums. We’ll call our behavioral therapist, Matt Nunley, to get him straightened out.

If you saw the Indians and the Bayhawks hitting this week, you might have been excused for wondering aloud whether those two even belonged to the same species, let alone both of the groups being professional baseball players being paid for their craft. The Indians were shut out twice and scored only one earned run in three games. The Raccoons then did plenty of stepping on their own tails, but the Bayhawks also manhandled the Raccoons enough that at times I thought we’d take the field in Oklahoma on Monday with a 5-run deficit from surfeit baseball buttsex.

(Cristiano breaks into laughter and rolls in a circle around the GM, who stands somewhat drunk in front of the Ballpark at the Bay)

Cristiano, if you don’t behave, you’re not gonna be taken on another road trip any time soon!!

…although I *do* love the merits of wheelchair parking at the ballpark. – I know you know that, Cristiano. – I always park in your wheelchair parking spot back home in Portland.

Speaking of wheelchairs, morbidly obese Berto started a rehab assignment on Sunday and would not make the expanded roster right away on Monday. We’d have him get warm for a few days with the Alley Cats first after missing about two months. Miguel Reyna would spend another week on the DL before we could consider activation. Fortunately there was no lack of marginal talent in AAA to stuff the major league roster with in the meantime.

Fun Fact: 35 years ago today, Craig Bowen hit FOUR home runs in a 14-2 rout of the Loggers!

Which is still an achievement that has never been matched, let alone exceeded, in the entirety of the league. The Raccoons still have the greatest single-bomber game in all of baseball!

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Also attached, a taste of what’s to come.