Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[progen]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Raccoons (77-79) vs. Indians (70-86) – September 23-25, 2058

The Raccoons needed to sweep their final home series of the year to obtain a split for the year with the fifth-place, threatening to be last-place, Indians, who ranked third-worst in runs scored (but we were still bottoms, so eh) and eighth in runs allowed.

Projected matchups:
Zach Stewart (13-11, 3.07 ERA) vs. Chris Kaye (6-11, 4.63 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (8-1, 3.05 ERA) vs. Matt Green (4-6, 5.40 ERA)
Justin DeRose (2-5, 5.66 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (10-11, 4.39 ERA)

The Indians had Shane Fitzgibbon (13-14, 3.83 ERA), but the southpaw had pitched on Saturday and would not get a turn in this series. There was still hope for us to catch a glimpse of John Morris on the weekend…

Game 1
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – CF O. Ramos – 1B B. Quinteros – RF Lovins – C Lefebvre – LF Abel – 3B R. Rodriguez – P Kaye
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Puckeridge – 3B Benitez – C C. Chavez – P Stewart

Lonzo singled and stole a base in the first inning, but was stranded; it was however #58 for the season, and the next one would tie him Rich de Luna on the all-time list. While that was going on, Zach Stewart put up four perfect innings with six strikeouts, and then the Raccoons actually stirred up some offense in support against Kaye, who allowed two hits the first time through, but in the bottom 4th allowed a double to Caswell and a single to Starr, and then was taken over the fence by Alan Puckeridge, who reached the lofty mark of 62 RBI and became the new team leader in that category. What a progressive feat!

The perfect game lasted five innings before Joel Starr couldn’t contain Tony Benitez’ throw on Kevin Abel’s grounder to lead off the sixth inning for Indy. Pops by Ruben Rodriguez and Kaye as well as Matt Kilday’s grounder to second base ended the inning without an advance for the unearned runner, though, and Stewart still had a no-hitter to worry about, while Starr tried to escape a good flogging with a leadoff jack to left in the bottom 6th, extending the lead to 4-0. Stewart kept chugging and retired three more in the seventh inning, getting to 9 K along the way, although his pitch count was still very manageable.

No longer manageable were Paul Labonte’s paws after an awkward slide into third base with a leadoff triple in the bottom 7th. He had to leave the game, and his replacement Bribiesca scored on Lonzo’s groundout to lengthen the score to 5-0, giving Lonzo 61 RBI. The absolute menace!

Top 8th, and Chris Lovins and Kevin Abel struck out, surrounding a pop to Benitez off Michael Lefebvre’s bat, and Stewart would enter the ninth inning on 92 pitches. Up was Ruben Rodriguez, a 25-year-old on his third September cup of coffee, who hit a wheezer to the wrong side of the mound, and then legged the bloody thing out for an infield single, upsetting not only the sparse crowd, but also made me sob passionately. Steve Thompson’s comebacker was used by Stewart to erase Rodriguez at second base, Kilday popped out, Kevin Ewers singled cleanly to center (but wouldn’t have come up if…), and then the game ended on a K to Orlando Ramos. 5-0 Furballs! Labonte 2-4, 3B; Starr 2-4, HR, RBI; Puckeridge 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Stewart 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K, W (14-11);

Yaaay, shutout, but also noooooo, the … the thing…!!

(glares upwards to the baseball gods)

Game 2
IND: SS Kilday – LF McConnell – CF O. Ramos – 1B B. Quinteros – C Lefebvre – 2B R. Vargas – RF S. Thompson – 3B R. Rodriguez – P M. Green
POR: RF Oley – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C M. Chavez – 3B Anderson – 2B Bribiesca – P Argenziano

Matt Kilday opened the game on Tuesday with a single to right, so there went Argenziano’s perfecto bid, but this time it was the Raccoons that threatened to get no-hit, reaching base only with a Rodriguez error that put Brass on base in the bottom 2nd, and he was then doubled off by Marcos Chavez. Todd Oley broke into the H column with a firm leadoff single to right in the bottom 4th, but it took until Brass’ 2-out single to get him off first base, and Starr’s fly to Orlando Ramos stranded both runners and kept the game scoreless.

Argenziano was solid, but not exactly efficient; he allowed only two hits through six innings, and no runs, and walked a pair, but also needed 103 pitches to make it that far and thus wouldn’t go any further. He still got in line for a W – Oley hit another leadoff single in the bottom 6th, stole his sixth base, and then was singled home by Lonzo, who thus got another sniff of a tie for the team RBI lead. 62, baby! 62! Cas forced out Lonzo, but stole second base then, and the bags filled up with a soft single by Brass and a walk issued to Starr. The situation was kindly defused by the local fire department as Chavez and Anderson both struck out in the most refusing way possible.

Tanizaki then had nothing better to do than to blow the lead instantly, yet slowly, in the seventh inning, loading the bases with the 6-7-8 batters and gross ineptitude, then gave up a game-tying sac fly to Matt Green. Ricky Herrera came in for Kilday, who was instead hit for with right-handed Kevin Abel. The bases then emptied on a passed ball, a balk, and a sac fly, while I was increasingly loudly gasping for air. The Raccoons, down 3-1, would get a pinch-hit single from Ben Morris in the seventh, then a single from Starr with two outs in the eighth before Chavez reached on an error by Miguel Morales to extend the inning and get the tying run on board. Jesus Martinez batted for Anderson, but flew out miserably to right. The tying runs were on again in the bottom 9th, with the score still at 3-1 Indy thanks to scoreless relief from Goldfield (!) and Rios. Bribiesca hit a leadoff single to left against Jameel Williams, who then walked Morris in the #9 hole. Brobeck was batting first after a series of double switches, singled to center, and the bags were full… with nobody out. But we had our RBI threat up! Lonzo to the dish! While he did get home a run, he did so with a grounder to Ricardo Vargas at second base, who got Brobeck out at first. The tying run got to third for Caswell, though, and a sac fly to left tied the game. Brass then singled Lonzo to third base with the winning run and two outs against new ham-and-egger Ben Akman, and the game ended on a sharp single through the hole on the right by Joel Starr. 4-3 Critters! Oley 2-4; Brobeck 1-1; Brassfield 3-5; Starr 2-4, BB, RBI; Morris (PH) 1-1, BB; Argenziano 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K;

First career win for reliever Alex Rios in 32 ABL games.

Paul Labonte was confirmed as out for the year on Wednesday, having suffered a sprained ankle that would keep him out for the last four games and then another few weeks to boot.

Game 3
IND: SS Kilday – RF Lovins – LF O. Ramos – 1B B. Quinteros – CF Oldfield – 3B McConnell – C Villafan – 2B Ewers – P B. Lawrence
POR: LF Puckeridge – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – C M. Chavez – RF Martinez – 3B Anderson – 2B Bribiesca – P DeRose

DeRose wasn’t slaughtered on sight by the five left-handed sticks atop the Indians order and instead the Coons went up 1-0 when Bribiesca singled in Marcos Chavez in the second inning. Previously, Lonzo had tried to tie Rich de Luna after drawing a walk (!) in the first inning, but was thrown out by Willie Villafan to the dismay of the crowd and his GM.

Top 4th, Orlando Ramos and Bill Quinteros reached base against DeRose to lead off. Two comebackers hit at DeRose then twice led to a force out at second base, but no double play was turned, and the tying run was instead balked in by DeRose with two outs. DeRose kept scratching, though, and held the Indians to four hits in six innings of 1-run ball. He just needed a little help from his friends now. Bottom 6th, Lonzo hit a leadoff single, and the entire ballpark expected him to go, but he didn’t get a jump while Cas was batting, and instead he was off to the races only once the 2-1 pitch was hit by Caswell over Kevin Ewers’ head. Lonzo was chugging for third base while Ewers and Chris Lovins got into each other’s comfort zone trying to field that ball, and instead Ewers kicked it further into the outfield. Lonzo turned third and scored for a 2-1 lead, and Cas reached second base. Brass and Martinez would fill the bases with walks before Joel Starr batted for Anderson and smashed the ball into a double play that kept any additional runs from being scored…

The Coons tacked on in the seventh after DeRose completed a strong 7-frame showing (at least by his standards); Oley walked batting for DeRose, and Pucks then drove another ball over the fence in right for his tenth homer and reclaiming the RBI lead for this scrappy team. Lonzo drew another walk (!), then was caught stealing again (!!) once Melvin Guerra replaced Lawrence. Sencion and Walters held on to the lead in the last two innings and completed the sweep. 4-1 Critters. Puckeridge 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Lavorano 1-2, 2 BB; DeRose 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (3-5);

Sweep! Winning record!

At least until Friday night.

Raccoons (80-79) @ Canadiens (71-88) – September 27-29, 2058

The Coons had already taken the season series, 10-5, and were now playing for a winning record this year, which would require another two wins in Elk City against the #8 offense and #10 pitching of the Continental League. At this point we had already come close to frittering away a protected first-round pick anyway…

Projected matchups:
Ramon Carreno (7-14, 4.52 ERA) vs. Luis Arroyo (8-14, 5.74 ERA)
Chance Fox (6-8, 4.88 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (14-11, 3.52 ERA)
Zach Stewart (14-11, 2.93 ERA) vs. Federico Purificao (1-5, 8.06 ERA)

Because they were *****, the Elks had used left-hander John Morris (11-11, 3.93 ERA) on short rest (!!) on Thursday, and thus we had only three more right-handers to face here. That meant that the Raccoons finished the season by facing 44 straight right-handed pitchers.

Game 1
POR: LF Puckeridge – SS Lavorano – CF Caswell – C M. Chavez – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – 3B Brobeck – 2B Anderson – P Carreno
VAN: LF D. Garcia – C S. Contreras – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – 2B K. Hawkins – 1B Rosenstiel – 3B Whittington – SS E. Solano – P L. Arroyo

Arroyo lasted only three innings on account of injury, but in that time gave up five hits and two runs, the latter all in the second inning which Chavez opened with a double to center. Starr and Brobeck also had base hits to get runs in. Of course Carreno was Carreno and nothing but sucking was expected from him; he delivered in the bottom of the third, giving up singles to nobodies Thomas Whittington and Edwin Solano, then a triple to PH Chad Walton, which already tied the game. Danny Garcia grounded out sharply to first for no greater gains, but Santiago Contreras’ RBI single, stolen base, and run scored on Damian Moreno’s 2-out hit flipped a 2-run lead into a 2-run deficit. Two more hits by the nobodies in the 7-8 holes and a 3-run homer by Victor Cruz ended Carreno’s season after four innings, trailing 7-2.

Pitching didn’t get much better, with 27 pitches from Mike Goldfield in the bottom 5th. He walked Adam Magnussen and Moreno, then struck out (in full counts) Kyle Hawkins and John Rosenstiel. Whittington finally grounded out. The Raccoons looked beaten, but a rush of singles in the seventh inning sure served to narrow the score again against a parade of Elks relievers. Brobeck singled, Anderson singled, Oley doubled, Pucks at least brought in a run with a groundout, and Lonzo hit an RBI single to get the tying run back to the dish in a 7-5 game, but Caswell popped out and Chavez struck out to pass on the opportunity. Bottom 7th, Contreras and Moreno instead hit singles off lefty Neal Hamann, who was at least soon going to be off the roster, and Tyler Lundberg’s sac fly tacked on a run for Elk City. Another run was beaten out of Brobeck in the eighth inning, but the Raccoons didn’t threaten in the last two innings. 9-5 Canadiens. Caswell 2-4, 2B; Starr 1-2, 2 BB; Brobeck 2-4, RBI; Oley (PH) 2-2, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
POR: CF Oley – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – RF Puckeridge – C M. Chavez – 2B Bribiesca – 3B Anderson – P Fox
VAN: LF D. Garcia – C S. Contreras – RF Magnussen – LF D. Moreno – 3B Lundberg – 2B M. Saunders – 1B S. Murphy – SS Hetzel – P Kozloski

There wasn’t much to say about the early innings on Saturday, as there were mostly strikeouts and lazy pops from both sides against two rather punchable pitchers. Speaking of punch, Kozloski punched Fox with a breaking ball in the fifth inning, giving the Coons a free 2-out runner. Oley and Lonzo pounced with singles, driving home the pitcher for a 1-0 lead, then pulled off a double steal, which gave Lonzo #59 on the year and tied him with Rich de Luna on the all-time list, but Starr left them stranded in scoring position as he grounded out to Manny Saunders.

Danny Garcia and Damian Moreno singles off Fox in the bottom 6th meant that the 1-0 lead wasn’t good enough, but the Raccoons at least got seven sturdy innings from a mostly struggling youngster as a high note to the end of a trying half-season for Fox. The offense chose not to reward him with a W, and the game remained tied at one through eight innings, as Ricky Herrera got around a Contreras single for a scoreless eighth. Tanizaki however had another atrocious outing in the ninth, offering a leadoff walk to Moreno and a single to PH Alex Maldonado. Even Chad Walton’s 4-6-3 grounder couldn’t stop the meltdown. Victor Cruz singled up the middle to end the game, bringing in Moreno from third base. 2-1 Canadiens. Oley 2-3, BB; Puckeridge 2-4; Bribiesca 2-4; Caswell (PH) 1-1; Fox 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K;

With one game to play, the Raccoons still had the chance to wind up with anything between the #10 and the #14 pick in the 2059 draft. The two extremes required an L or a W, respectively, with a corresponding Caps W or Warriors L, plus the luck of the draw. And then we were tied with the equally 80-81 Scorpions and Wolves.

And don’t forget Lonzo and Pucks doling it out for the team RBI title. Both entered Sunday’s season finale with 65 rib-eyes.

Game 3
POR: RF Oley – SS Lavorano – 1B Starr – LF Puckeridge – 3B Brobeck – 2B Bribiesca – CF Morris – C Stanton – P Stewart
VAN: 2B M. Saunders – LF K. Hawkins – RF Magnussen – CF D. Moreno – 3B Lundberg – 1B Rosenstiel – C A. Maldonado – SS E. Solano – P Purificao

Magnussen took Stewart deep for a solo home run in the first inning and Stewart was struggling with control early on, while the Raccoons were retired in order the first time through before Todd Oley hit a double to open the fourth inning, providing the deathmatch contenders for the team RBI crown a runner in scoring position. Lonzo popped out and Pucks walked, neither of which was an activity that helped erase the 1-0 deficit and stave off the looming sweep, with Oley left on third base in the inning. In the fifth, Bribiesca and Stanton singles were met with both disbelief and a lack of clutch. Stewart grounded out and Oley popped out to strand the runners in scoring position. It took a walk offered to Starr and Damian Moreno severely misjudging a Brobeck fly with two outs to center to get the tying run home as Brobeck got an RBI double out of the rather catchable ball once Moreno had to reverse and chase it into the deeper outfield. Stewart struggled his way through six innings, then was hit for with Jesus Martinez and one out after Ben Morris had opened the inning with a single to left. Martinez, in a perfect miniature of his extremely lackluster season in Portland, grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Hamann and Siwik held the 1-1 lead in the bottom 7th before Oley and Starr hit singles off George Youngblood to get on base in the eighth inning, although Lonzo and Pucks remained remarkably dull. One popped out, the other grounded out, and Brobeck whiffed to strand the runners altogether. Eloy Sencion got the last two outs in the bottom 8th, following Siwik, then was hit for with Caswell with Matt Stanton on first base in the ninth, having drawn a 2-out walk off Rafael Flores. Caswell socked a ball to the base of the wall in centerfield, and Stanton scored thanks to the early start, breaking the 1-1 tie. Oley singled home Caswell, and the Elks changed pitchers to right-hander Jim Woods. Lonzo still hit another single, and then Starr drove a ball into the right-center gap for a 2-run double. This gave Pucks the chance to boot Lonzo from the tie for the RBI crown, but he grounded out to second-sacker Jason Ashley to end the inning.

The Coons then tried Goldfield for the ninth with a 4-run lead, which soon came to be a 3-run lead on a Moreno single and Lundberg triple. Out with that punk, and in with Matt Walters, who conceded the second run on a single by John Rosenstiel, but then brought the season to a quick close. 5-3 Raccoons. Oley 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Caswell (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

In other news

September 23 – The Blue Sox wrap up the FL East with a 2-1 win against the Cyclones.
September 24 – The Falcons beat the Bayhawks, 5-0, on just two base hits, including a 3-run homer by CHA C/1B Alex Gomez (.239, 11 HR, 53 RBI). Bayhawks pitchers offer ten walks to supply the Falcons with plenty of runners nevertheless.
September 25 – Warriors 1B Miguel Medina (.297, 21 HR, 112 RBI) goes yard three times and drives in five runs in a 9-3 win over the Scorpions.
September 25 – The entire 2059 season of ATL CL Ruben Mendez (6-4, 4.12 ERA, 37 SV) is in actual danger after news that he has shredded a flexor tendon in his elbow.
September 27 – Crusaders SP Joel Luera (18-6, 2.76 ERA) appears to be in playoff form as he no-hits the Indians on two walks and with six strikeouts in a 1-0 New York win. This is the second no-hitter for New York in 24 months after the one pitched by Kyle Turay in Game 2 of the 2056 CLCS against the Falcons. The offense in this game is supplied on a home run by OF Sean Zeiher (.256, 20 HR, 81 RBI).
September 28 – Dallas’ 8-6 loss the Scorpions wins the FL West for the Pacifics despite their own 2-0 loss to the Wolves.
September 28 – Thunder veteran 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.336, 16 HR, 70 RBI) has put a 20-game hitting streak together with a pair of singles in a 6-5 loss to the Aces.

Complaints and stuff

Lonzo led the entire league in stolen bases, and Zach Stewart finished third in ERA in the CL, which was not necessarily expected. Nor was the team finishing an even 81-81 and in third place (and close to second), albeit 21 games behind the Crusaders.

We also finished tied with the Wolves for the #12 and #13 picks, and we know how that **** goes over at the league office. Maud, we should write an angry letter even now before they bring out the draft order. Get the red stationery, I’m in that mood!

Apart from that it’s now about frowning for the length of the playoffs and then making plans for how to fix this mess in the foreseeable future.

Somebody that can drive in more than 65 runs would be nice for a start. Can that be Joel Starr? He sure had a nice two months here…

Ah, what am I complaining about…? We didn’t even finish last in runs scored, overtaking the Indians by 10 runs at the very end there.

Fun Fact: Monday marked Zach Stewart’s first career shutout in 167 games started.

Also only his second complete game. He was used out of the pen a lot in his first few years with the Wolves (106 relief appearances), but his stamina wasn’t *that* bad…!

Clawed your way back to .500. Twenty-one games out though, ouch!

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by progen

Clawed your way back to .500. Twenty-one games out though, ouch!

That's more of a feel-good achievement, though. Ain't no actual prizes for that.

Besides another #13 pick.

Originally Posted by ayaghmour2

Lonzo being hurt this early and missing the rest of the season is quite possibly the worst thing for us fans! And the first series with him officially out is a trip to face the Elks? I don't like where this is going...

His teammates need to pick up the slack!

Given that most of the remaining infield options have the real skill set of actual sludge sweepers, this should not be too much of a problem. (looks at the stat sheet) Or so you'd think.

+++

Raccoons (18-14) vs. Stars (9-22) – May 12-14, 2059

It was a free-for-all for everybody playing against the Stars, who gave up almost six runs per game with the most troubled and troublesome pitching staff in the league, and scored merely modestly themselves while playing in the FL’s tiniest shoebox. This series took place in Portland, though, so we had every chance to be shut out three times against a team rocking a -57 run differential in the middle of May. From what lineup they had they were also missing CL veterans Rick Price and Kevin Weese. The Raccoons had lost the last two series against Dallas, two games to one each, those having been played in 2054 and 2056.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (3-0, 3.49 ERA) vs. Ray Walker (0-2, 5.71 ERA)
Justin DeRose (2-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Bobby Shenk (2-4, 5.19 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (3-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Brian Fuqua (0-3, 5.53 ERA)

The only competent pitcher on the roster by ERA was Alex Quevedo (2-2, 1.71 ERA), but he wasn’t rested for this series, having pitched on Saturday. All their starters were right-handed anyway.

The Coons meanwhile were still without Paul Labonte as of Monday, and Takenori Tanizaki had left Sunday’s game with a blister that might yet cause further trouble, but for now we tried to make it through this series without sending him to the DL for it. But we started this series with a 23-man roster.

Game 1
DAL: RF Almanza – LF Pritchett – SS Niemiec – CF Wharton – 2B Criddle – 3B D. Sandoval – C Dickerson – 1B Lettner – P R. Walker
POR: 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – 2B Gonzales – C Monaghan – SS Bribiesca – P Fox

So of course the Raccoons were dominated by Ray Walker for an unappreciable amount of time, amounting to just two base hits and five strikeouts in five innings, while Foxie Brown flashed some stuff, but also gave up some runs. Isaiah Dickerson both doubled home Dan Sandoval, whom Fox had drilled, with two outs in the fourth, and then hit a sac fly to score Tyler Wharton in the sixth inning. The latter was unearned, but the error leading to the run had been made by Fox… In a true mixed bag, he also struck out seven batters, but gave up a number of ringing doubles and a triple to Roberto Almanza in the fifth, although that runner was held on base with Chad Pritchett’s grounder to Starr and a K on Trevor Niemiec.

The Raccoons actually vaguely threatened in the bottom 6th when they got Ojeda, Cas, and Brass all on base with one out against Walker, but then again, the only real chance to score something was already in the box in Jesus Martinez, because after that the lineup fell flat on its stripey face. Martinez duly tied the game with a 2-run single to left-center, while Gonzales popped out for the second out. Walker walked (tee-hee) Monaghan, but Bribiesca got carved up for a strikeout to leave the bases loaded. The Stars responded by slapping three leadoff singles against Fox – beginning with Ray Walker – in the seventh inning to knock him out of the game. One run was already in when Reynaldo Bravo took over and got scorched some more for all the runners to score thanks to Tyler Wharton’s double to left. The Raccoons showed no discernible reaction, got only one more single from Brassfield, and he was immediately doubled up by Martinez… 5-2 Stars. Brassfield 3-4; Ornelas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

Of ******* course.

There was a roster move on Tuesday as Todd Oley came off the DL. Joey Christopher (.188, 0 HR, 1 RBI) was shunted back to St. Petersburg.

Game 2
DAL: RF Almanza – LF Pritchett – CF Wharton – 3B D. Sandoval – C Bothe – 2B Ban – SS Criddle – 1B C. Miranda – P Shenk
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Gonzales – P DeRose

DeRose kept applying for termination by filling the bags without getting an out, allowing singles to Almanza and Pritchett before walking Wharton, which was admittedly better than getting the 21-year-old to whack a 3-run homer. The Stars scored a run on Sandoval’s sac fly, but then meek-outed their way out of the inning. Ojeda walked, stole second, and was driven in by Brass in the bottom of the same frame, so the Coons tied it up immediately. The 1-1 score lingered a bit; while the Stars were busy whacking DeRose for hits, they also found their way into two inning-ending double plays with runners on the corners in the third and fourth innings, while Jesus Martinez found the batter’s eye for a 2-run homer with Joel Starr conveniently on base to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom 4th, but the two RBI knocks were the Coons’ only base hits so far. The Stars had six hits off DeRose through five innings, plus the two walks, while the Raccoons mixed up the pattern a little bit in the bottom 5th, which saw Paul Labonte leg out a 1-out triple to center and then be scored on Ojeda’s groundout, 4-1.

Ian Criddle found a 2-out gap double in right-center with Sandoval on base for the Stars in the sixth inning. Sandoval came around to score, but Criddle overshot second base and was slapped out by David Gonzales on his attempt to retreat, which ended the inning and somehow dragged a very punchable looking DeRose through six. Cortez Miranda hit a leadoff single off him in the seventh, though, and Dickerson’s groundout advanced the runner. Since Tanizaki was unavailable, the Raccoons were a bit strung for right-handed relief and had to resort to the not exactly bullet-proof Bryan Roper for the top of the order now. Almanza flew out, he walked Pritchett, but then struck out Wharton to bugger out of the inning. Ricky Herrera got around a leadoff walk to Sandoval in the eighth, in the bottom of which the Raccoons first made two outs against ex-Critter Hyun-soo Bak, then got two walks drawn by Cas and Brass before Starr reached on veteran Jonathan Ban’s error. Martinez popped out to Miranda in foul ground, though, and so Matt Walters got the ninth inning after all. Not only did Jason Lettner hit a single off him, Walters also *walked* his first batter of the year, losing Pritchett with two outs and in a full count. That rat bastard!! Wharton whiffed, however, and all was well in the final box score. 4-1 Raccoons. Brassfield 1-2, 2 BB, RBI;

Game 3
DAL: RF Almanza – LF Pritchett – CF Wharton – 3B D. Sandoval – C Bothe – 2B Ban – SS Criddle – 1B C. Miranda – P Fuqua
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Hudalla – P B. Herrera

Don’t you think about the offense finally coming out in the rubber game. They didn’t. They had six hits in five innings against Fuqua, but stranded all the runners relentlessly, either through bad contact, or bad timing, like when three singles loaded the bases in the fourth inning, but then came Bobby Herrera’s spot and there were already two outs, and he grounded out to Ban. Bother! On the hill, Herrera did better – sort of. He retired the Stars in order with three strikeouts the first time through, but then allowed a leadoff single to left to Almanza in the fourth, and conceded the run on Sandoval’s 2-out single to center. He kept at it, and held the Stars to precious little thereafter, but the ******* offense couldn’t do ******* anything, even when Bobby opened the bottom 7th with a single to left. Three piss-poor outs followed and he was left on second base. Herrera went the full nine innings on 110 pitches, and when he got his pat on the bum for an ostensibly complete-game 5-hitter, the Raccoons were still shut out on eight hits, and were bringing up the rank bottom of the order against right-hander Jon Dominguez and his 8.03 ERA in the bottom 9th. Monaghan and Konecny grounded out before Todd Oley singled in Herrera’s spot. Labonte hit another 2-out single that sent Oley to third base with the tying run. This was also the tenth Raccoons hit in the game. It was also the last one, as Ojeda flew out readily to Pritchett in leftfield. 1-0 Stars. Labonte 2-5; Ojeda 3-5; Oley (PH) 1-1; B. Herrera 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, L (3-3) and 1-3;

(puts the bloody black hat back on)

Raccoons (19-16) @ Loggers (15-18) – May 16-18, 2059

The Raccoons were up 2-1 on the Loggers this year, but right now had a bit of a mood… Milwaukee sat tenth in runs scored in the CL, a position we were racing towards ourselves, while allowing the fifth-fewest runs for a -9 run differential. They led the league in stolen bases, but had the second-worst OBP.

Projected matchups:
Zach Stewart (1-3, 3.22 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (0-5, 5.36 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (2-1, 4.56 ERA) vs. Ernesto Culver (2-3, 5.06 ERA)
Chance Fox (3-1, 3.83 ERA) vs. Cory Ellis (4-1, 2.82 ERA)

Great. More 5+ ERA pitchers… All three offerings were right-handed.

The Raccoons made a roster move, switching 26-year-old thoroughly not exciting infielders Vernon Hudalla (.231, 0 HR, 0 RBI) and Tony Benitez. The latter was hitting .240 with four homers in AAA, not like that was going to give us anything nice. Benitez was a .178 hitter in 73 major-league at-bats.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Benitez – P Stewart
MIL: LF Garmon – SS D. Miller – RF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – CF Monson – 3B Lindauer – 2B N. Roseto – P Foley

Labonte doubled and scored on Brass’ single in the top 1st, but the Loggers turned the score around immediately on a Zach Stewart that appeared **** outta whack, walked three batters in the first inning, and gave up runs on Perry Pigman’s double to left and Chris Maresh’ groundout. The next few innings were slightly less disastrous and Stewart lived to see the Raccoons flip the score again on back-to-back homers by Brass and Starr in the fourth inning. Martinez, Benitez, and Labonte loaded the bases thereafter, but Ojeda grounded out to third base to leave everybody stranded in the 3-2 game. Starr singled his way on with two outs in the fifth then, and now Martinez found a loud one and bashed a 2-run homer to left.

Stewart sucked a little less in the middle innings, but was knocked out after a leadoff double mashed to right by Nick Roseto in the bottom 7th. Reynaldo Bravo came on and escalated another counterattack by the opposing team, allowing with two outs a single to Danny Miller that scored Stewart’s run, 5-3, a walk to Pigman in a full count, and then another RBI single to Dave Robles before being shanked for Ornelas in a double switch of Konecny replacing Martinez, with the long man striking out Maresh to end the inning, but then blew the lead altogether on a Monson homer to right in the bottom 8th. (shrugs emphatically!)

The Raccoons had been mum about whether Tanizaki was available again with that blister thing resolved or nah, but everybody got their answer when he warmed up besides Eloy Sencion in the pen as the top of the ninth began. Or was it still a decoy? Perhaps we’d never know; the Loggers started the inning with Brett Lillis jr., who got Labonte, but also caught an injury bug and was replaced with Josh Costello. Ojeda singled, Caswell homered, and the tie was broken again. The Coons’ pen changed tack, the two tossing guys sat down, and they were replaced by Walters and Roper. Since Brass’ single off Roberto Alvarado was not met with more offensive enthusiasm, the Coons ended up with Walters in the bottom 9th, who nicked Corey Garmon, but then retired the next three in a row, closing out with a K on Robles. 7-5 Critters. Caswell 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Brassfield 3-4, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Starr 2-5, HR, RBI; Martinez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

The Loggers traded away MR Roberto Navarro (1-2, 3.27 ERA, 1 SV) to the Stars on Saturday, receiving two prospects in the mail.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Benitez – C Beard – P Argenziano
MIL: LF Garmon – SS D. Miller – RF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 3B Lindauer – CF Monson – 2B N. Roseto – P E. Culver

Happy homers, two for the price of one! Perry Pigman launched a moonshot right in the first inning and right after a clumsy walk to Danny Miller to put the Loggers up 2-0, and Monson fired another home run in the second inning, giving him eight for the season with ten RBI (!?), but the Raccoons were not entirely idle and picking their noses. Labonte hit a home run in the third inning, and on either side of that Brass was involved in a run being scored, once being driven in by Joel Starr after hitting a double in the second inning, and then plating Caswell’s double with an RBI single himself in the fourth. Then Joel Starr went well yard to right-center and the Raccoons had a 5-3 lead. How jumpy was the baseball? Deshawn Beard almost got one out in the same inning, flying out to the very wall in rightfield to end the inning.

Culver wasn’t back for the fifth, but the Coons scored another run anyway as Caswell doubled home Labonte with two outs to extend the lead to 6-3 against Jesus Aquino. Argenziano was a problem, though, gave up leadoff singles to Miller and Pigman, both of whom stole second base, and a sac fly to Robles in the bottom 5th, and was yanked after just 13 outs. Maresh’s groundout against Tanizaki scored Pigman and narrowed the score to 6-5 again. The rest of the lead went bust in the seventh with Pigman’s homer off Ricky Herrera, and everybody was back to square one.

Not for long, though. While the Raccoons disappeared in order in the eighth inning, Bryan Roper, who got the last out in the seventh, was obliterated by the Loggers in the eighth. Monson doubled, Nick Roseto reached on an error by Benitez (…), his second of the game (…!), and then Marcos Chavez (remember him?) slapped a 3-run homer from the pitcher’s spot. Roper was done with in Portland at this point, but was abused to finish the inning any which way, which included another two walks, two hits, and two runs. 11-6 Loggers. Labonte 2-4, HR, RBI; Caswell 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-4, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

Roper (0-1, 9.00 ERA) was disposed of in due time. The Rule 5 pick was returned to the Blue Sox after 14 abortive innings with 11 walks and three bombs.

I resisted the urge to call up Colby Bowen. Instead we declared Elijah LaBat major-league ready. The #36 pick from 2056 was a left-hander, but it’s not like we were getting anybody out regardless of paw properties. He was already 25 years old and this year finally got the walks down in AAA, even though the strikeouts hadn’t gone up.

We had a busy series in New York coming up on Monday, so Sunday was declared a rest day for everybody that could reasonably be rested. The lineup looked like I had a bet on the Loggers.

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – CF Konecny – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – C Monaghan – RF Oley – 3B Gonzales – SS Benitez – P Fox
MIL: LF Garmon – SS D. Miller – RF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 3B Lindauer – CF Monson – 2B N. Roseto – P C. Ellis

Konecny singled and stole second base in the opening frame, which for a long time was as good as it got with the Raccoons’ plundered lineup, but also threw away an easy ball in the fourth inning that allowed Nick Roseto to score on a 2-out single by the pitcher Ellis. Lots of red flags in that sentence. That particular play put the Loggers up 2-0; they had previously scored in the third inning on a leadoff walk to Corey Garmon and then singles by Pigman and Robles, who incessantly carved chunks of ham out of every Coons hurler’s buttocks they came across.

Perhaps miraculously, that wasn’t the end of the story, because Ellis offered a leadoff walk to Starr in the sixth inning and then Brass found the gap for an RBI triple. He scored on Oley’s infield single (whatever works) with one out, tying the score at two. Oley stole second base, but the Loggers ended up walking Benitez intentionally and rung up Fox to end the inning.

Fox got a no-decision after six busy innings, and Bravo barely didn’t end up on the short end of the stick in the seventh, which began with Garmon reaching on a 2-base throwing error by the last Rule 5er on the roster, David Gonzales. For once, neither Pigman nor Robles got a base knock, though Pigman walked, and the Loggers ended up stranding a pair in scoring position once Maresh grounded out to Gonzales, who didn’t dare throw away another whilst we already had the guillotine set up.

The Coons then took a lead in the top 8th through some scrappy singles from the bottom of the order. Oley got on base, advanced on Gonzales’ groundout, then scored on Benitez’ 1-out single. Caswell singled batting for Bravo, but while Danny Zepeda threw a wild pitch to move runners into scoring position, both Labonte and Konecny struck out. It was enough, however. Neither Tanizaki in the eighth nor Walters in the ninth allowed another Logger on base and the Raccoons dilly-dallied out of town with a series win. 3-2 Coons. Konecny 2-5; Oley 2-4, RBI; Benitez 2-2, 2 BB, RBI; Caswell (PH) 1-1;

In other news

May 12 – A torn labrum ends the season of Gold Sox SP Raul Ontiveros (1-2, 2.86 ERA).
May 13 – The Buffaloes send LF/RF John Kaniewski (.267, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and $1.4M in cash to the Warriors for OF/1B Raimundo Bagoim (.348, 1 HR, 17 RBI) and a prospect.
May 15 – A broken elbow means that Gold Sox CF/RF Chris Lauterbach (.218, 0 HR, 5 RBI) is likely to miss the rest of the season as well.
May 16 – The Pacifics’ OF/1B Jesus Espinoza (.395, 0 HR, 22 RBI) has put together a 20-game hitting streak. The 25-year-old reached that mark in style (though in vain) with no fewer than four singles in a 9-5 loss to the Stars. That loss doesn’t occur until the bottom of the 10th inning on a walkoff grand slam by DAL 3B Joe Freet (.188, 1 HR, 4 RBI).
May 17 – The Canadiens trade OF Kyle Hawkins (.234, 1 HR, 2 RBI) to the Wolves for 1B Jose Campos (.207, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and a prospect.
May 18 – Brazilian 1B Belchior Fresco (.288, 5 HR, 13 RBI) goes yard for the only run in the Wolves’ 1-0 win in Sacramento.

FL Player of the Week: SAC RF/CF Will Buras (.358, 5 HR, 23 RBI), batting .500 (12-24) with 3 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: TIJ OF Alfredo Mendez (.294, 3 HR, 15 RBI), slapping .435 (10-23) with 1 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Not a lot to say this week, the issues are the same as the last six weeks. We have a great set of hitters in the outfield and several serviceable infielders, but the bench is dry, there’s no production from catcher or short, the bullpen is a disaster, and the rotation could use three arms. The only nice things we have is still leading the CL in homers and the defense being among the best in the league.

I am currently sniffing around a starting shortstop on a losing team, but they want one decent young player or other and I am not inclined to sell that high. The Condors should be more reasonable!

There is a flurry of injuries on the farm, which limits our rich selection of more soft-hitting infielders to parade through the soggy regions of the lineup. Richard Anderson ended his season with a busted kneecap this week after hitting .207 with four homers in AAA, which sounds like he could have held down a regular job on the Coons for at least a couple of weeks. Daniel Amburn was also still down in AAA, and there were even more injuries in the lower minors. On Sunday we had 11 minor leaguers on the DL (and a couple more ailing), which was *a lot* for this time of the year.

Three more stations to the road trip. Next week we play four in New York, then three in Vegas, then it’s back out east to the Falcons for another three games before we finally get to go home again for all of three days. It’s not a pleasant part of the schedule.

Fun Fact: Jason Monson hit two home runs in 38 games as a Raccoon, while hitting .183.

That was in 2055 after he was acquired at the deadline for “Naughty” Joe Boese. He already hadn’t hit with the Crusaders before that, and we were his third ABL team that season. He was granted free agency after the season. Overall he has played for eight different teams now.

He *is* a power hitter, launching 103 bombs while hitting all of .228 in his 12-year career in which he was regular only occasionally, like on the 2050 Titans or 2052 Capitals. Mostly it’s been bench duty. Which is why it is the more surprising that he’s now batting .341 with 8 homers in just *16* games and is tied with Jesus Martinez for the CL lead in bombs.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (21-17) @ Crusaders (24-14) – May 19-22, 2059

New York, New York – the Crusaders were trying to get away with it yet again, currently holding a 3-game lead over the Raccoons, so maybe we should aim for at least a split to keep them near if we fancied playing pretenders a while longer. It was not an easy task – the Crusaders were tops in runs allowed and second-best in runs scored in the CL with a +38 run differential (Coons: +18). The Raccoons hadn’t seen any land against them in recent times, winning just six games from the Crusaders last year and even fewer the two years prior.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (3-1, 3.28 ERA) vs. Seisaku Taki (5-2, 2.66 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (3-3, 2.68 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (7-1, 2.95 ERA)
Zach Stewart (1-3, 3.38 ERA) vs. Jose Ortega (2-1, 5.27 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (2-1, 5.46 ERA) vs. Milt Cantrell (2-3, 2.80 ERA)

Seems like we’ve hit the “no southpaws” group of teams on the schedule. All New York starters were right-handed.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Bribiesca – P DeRose
NYC: CF Branch – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – 1B Epperson – 3B Zucal – C J. Reese – SS N. Fowler – P Taki

The Raccoons could have taken the scenic route to the ballpark because for three innings on Monday, Seisaku Taki gave his former team absolutely diddly squat, while singles by the 2-3-4 batters and a Gunner Epperson sac fly put New York on top 1-0 in the first inning. That lead didn’t hold, though, because Ojeda and Cas hit singles in the fourth and then Joel Starr stretched a gapper past the reach of Sean Zeiher for a score-flipping, 2-run double.

The defense around DeRose did a good job (and boy, did he bloody need it) until it didn’t, when Tony Rodriquez’ 2-out fly to Jesus Martinez was dropped to give the Crusaders a free 2-out runner on second base in the bottom 5th and they immediately pounced. Omar Sanchez, always an annoyance, singled home the tying run right away. That, and many a long count meant that DeRose was already over 100 pitches through six, and left the game after getting a fly out to right from Taki to begin the bottom 7th, especially when Raul Sevilla pinch-hit for Tommy Branch. Ricky Herrera took over and collapsed at once, giving up straight base knocks to Sevilla, another pinch-hitter in Andrew ******** Russ, and Sanchez, walked Zeiher, Epperson hit a sac fly, and Reynaldo Bravo walked Roger Zucal when another pitcher was deemed necessary, and only barely retired Justin Reese, who hit a spanker at Ojeda for the third out, stranding the bases loaded in a 4-2 game. Elijah LaBat made his major league debut in the same score with Nick Fowler on first and two outs in the bottom 8th, facing Jon Alade in the #2 spot, and got a groundout to finish the inning. Taki did eight, but things got icky for New York in the ninth with Zachariah Alldred on the hill, and Omar Sanchez throwing Caswell’s grounder off line to begin the inning, pulling Sevilla off the bag and allowing the tying run to the plate. Brass’ fly to center was caught by Alade in the air, but he had a rough landing and left the game with an injury. Starr singled to left, putting the tying run on base, but then the bubble burst with Kelly Konecny hitting into a 6-4-3 double play. 4-2 Crusaders. Labonte 2-4; Starr 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Benitez – P B. Herrera
NYC: CF Branch – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – 1B Epperson – 3B Zucal – C J. Reese – SS N. Fowler – P Seiter

The weather forecast for Tuesday night was decidedly meh, so Noah Caswell did the next-best thing and hit a first-inning solo home run off the routinely impressive Ben Seiter. The New Yorkers then played a remarkably iffy game. Martinez reached on a misplay and “infield single” while everybody was shaking their head at Zucal and Monaghan was nicked with an 0-2 pitch in the second inning, but we reliably found a double play to hit into. In the third, Ojeda singled, was forced out by Cas, and then Brass reached on an uncaught third strike with two outs. Seiter shrugged, got Starr to 0-2 as well, but then gave up a drive to deep left that went straight to the warning track while Rodriquez very much didn’t, then bounced off of the same and into the stands for an RBI ground-rule double, although Martinez then flew out to leave two in scoring position. Bobby Herrera, who retired New York in order the first time through, then reached when Seiter threw away his bunt in the fourth inning, allowing Monaghan and his leadoff single to second base with one gone. Actual gains were non-existent with vanilla fly outs by Labonte and Ojeda, but the Crusaders were begging to be routed off the field.

All was well for four-and-half innings. Bobby Herrera retired the first dozen without a hitch, and the Raccoons led 2-0, and then it started to ******* rain as if it was Portland any day of the year. Play resumed after a 50-minute delay before the bottom 5th, but the Raccoons let Herrera back out because he had only thrown 39 pitches so far and it was worth the bother to feel his pulse. Zeiher singled to center on his first pitch, which at least would prevent us from killing Tipsy Bobby for nine innings, but was also stranded on second base, which he stole, when Epperson, Zucal, and Reese made weak outs. Seiter also returned for the sixth, got three outs in a row, but apparently had nothing left (he had thrown 75 pitches before the rain delay) and was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the inning, while Herrera batted for himself leading off the seventh.

How long would Herrera go? Anybody’s guess. The pitching coach was on him after every inning, though. Meanwhile, Nick Fowler’s error put Brass on base with one out in the eighth and he reached third base on Starr’s single to left-center against Jason Rhodes, a 23-year-old rookie right-hander. Then Martinez found another double play to crash into, and the inning ended. Herrera retired the 6-7-8 batters in order in the bottom 8th, but something had changed – he still had been sharp up to the previous inning, but here all three counts were long, and two counts were full before the batters grounded out to a middle infielder. The Raccoons readied Matt Walters, who axed Russ, Branch, and Rodriquez without breaking a sweat, but with two strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth. 2-0 Furballs! Starr 2-4, 2B, RBI; Monaghan 1-2; B. Herrera 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, W (4-3);

Damn you, Sean Zeiher!!

Not that the league didn’t get a no-hitter on that day, although that took place in Atlanta. [see below]

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Benitez – C Beard – P Stewart
NYC: CF Branch – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – C J. Reese – 1B Epperson – 3B Zucal – SS N. Fowler – P J. Ortega

Zach Stewart threw one pitch, felt something variously described later as a “rip”, “tug”, or just a big “nope”, and left the game. Branch singled on that pitch, and Ivan Ornelas then inherited the whole disaster. Branch stole second, Sanchez singled and also stole second, and the Crusaders went ahead on Zeiher’s sac fly. Ortega loaded the bases with walks to Brass and Martinez, plus a Starr single, and nobody out in the top 2nd, so maybe we could at least take the fallen Stewart off the hook. A 2-1 lead was duly taken in discombobulated fashion when the Crusaders battery couldn’t agree who got to lob the ball to first base on a silly roller by Tony Benitez which became an infield single, and Beard shoved one into a 5-4-3 double play before Ornelas whiffed.

But Ornelas held up his end of the deal, pitching five innings of injury relief. He scattered a fair deal of runners, but the Crusaders never to solid contact. Three of their four singles off Ornelas were either bloops or infield rollers, and the Coons maintained a 2-1 lead through five innings. Because of course we didn’t tack on. Actually, we did *after* Ornelas got patted on his furry tush after the bottom 5th; Cas drew a leadoff walk from Ortega in the sixth, then scored readily on Starr’s daily double. Martinez singled him home three pitches later, the bags filled up with two outs on Beard’s single and a walk drawn by Konecny, and Paul Labonte slapped home another two runs with a sharp single past the diving Omar Sanchez for a 6-1 score, which was a bit of a relief knowing that we needed another four innings of relief. The first guy was crucial, as the newest Raccoon LaBat had to get a bunch of left-handers in the middle of that Crusaders order, and did it for only a Sanchez single in the bottom 6th. Tanizaki had a clean seventh, and Eloy Sencion threw together the last two innings as the Crusaders went down shockingly quickly. 6-1 Critters. Labonte 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Starr 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Benitez 2-4, RBI; Ornelas 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (2-1); Sencion 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

No news on Stewart before the Thursday day game, which could either be the limited time for diagnostics day game after a night game, or the “nope” being more of a “rip” than a “tug”. – Beats me, Luis Silva. Use that stethoscope thingie of yours. I’m a GM, not a doctor.

I was also scared to ******* death of having to go to a rotation that was four fifths inept / underdone / wholly inadequate for any length of time.

Game 4
POR: 2B Labonte – RF Martinez – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 3B Benitez – SS Gonzales – P Argenziano
NYC: CF Branch – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – C J. Reese – 1B Epperson – 3B Zucal – SS N. Fowler – P Cantrell

Starr’s daily double was an RBI triple, scoring Brassfield’s leadoff walk in the second inning, which he himself then came home on Monaghan’s grounder for a 2-0 lead, and Argenziano scored a run himself before giving one up, opening the third inning with a single to left. Labonte hit another single, there was a wild pitch, and then Argenziano scored on Martinez’ groundout to extend the lead to 3-0. The Crusaders went down in order (though not entirely orderly with a double play and a caught stealing involved) the first time through, but then ran Argenziano through the mincer in the fourth inning. Branch smashed a gap triple to begin and scored on Rodriquez’ groundout, which was still manageable, although things soon derailed entirely. Sanchez doubled to center, and Argenziano walked the bags full. Epperson’s groundout scored a second run, and Argenziano walked the bags full *again*, then gave up run-scoring singles to Fowler and the ******* opposing pitcher, at which point New York was 4-3 ahead. Branch finally struck out to leave the bases loaded.

And the thing was – Argenziano had to soak one. It was a cruel calculation, but the Raccoons could not empty the remainders of the pen now only to somehow wind up in a tie and extra innings. Nope, Argenziano had to lose harder, a task achieved with Zeiher’s solo homer in the fifth and an entirely ******ed run in the sixth, where Roger Zucal was at third base with two outs, Argenziano struck out Cantrell, but Monaghan lost the ball and Cantrell legged it to first base in time while Zucal scored. The Coons then only used Ricky Herrera and Bravo in the seventh and eighth, which was enough, since the offense never scratched another base hit in eight innings of Milt Cantrell and the ninth handled by Alldred. 6-3 Crusaders. Brassfield 1-2, 2 BB;

Mentally I was ready to dump Argenziano and resign Kyle Brobeck, who shockingly was a free agent, and to axe our last remaining Rule 5er, but first I needed news on Zach Stewart.

I got news on Zach Stewart on Friday. The news were not good. Torn rotator cuff. Barring miracles, he was out for the season.

Raccoons (23-19) @ Aces (22-20) – May 23-25, 2059

The Aces had been off to a start of 5-0, then 11-2, and had gone a more normal 11-18 since then despite pounding out the runs with the #1 offense and top ranks in batting average (.296 as a team!), OBP, and even bullpen ERA. But the rotation was rotten, the defense was creaky, and they had been decimated by injuries, with Aubrey Austin, Alex Alfaro, Andres Flores, and assorted auxiliaries all away ailing on the DL. We had won the season series six years running, with a 5-4 mark in ’58.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (3-1, 3.73 ERA) vs. Tony Montion (2-0, 2.08 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (4-2, 3.53 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (4-3, 2.35 ERA) vs. Larry Broad (3-2, 4.53 ERA)

This was the second career start of 26-year-old rookie Tony Montion, who was right-handed like everybody else still standing in that rotation.

The Raccoons packed Stewart on the DL, but didn’t call up a starter right away since Stewart’s next turn lined up with an off day on Monday. Instead we found ourselves a young spanking lad having a good time right now in St. Pete to reward with a weekend trip to Vegas, and when we couldn’t find anybody in this regard, called up disgraced catcher / first baseman Morgan Lathers, age 31, and hitting .295/.412/.421 in 30 games with the Alley Cats.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – P Fox
LVA: CF Ambriz – RF Laws – LF Hummel – 1B Andersen – SS Veguilla – 3B Villarreal – C K. Mathews – 2B Chairez – P Montion

It took five Raccoons getting base hits before Montion got an out, at which point we were up 4-0. The game had opened with four straight singles for the Critters, scoring one run, before Starr drove home a pair with his daily double, this one bouncing off the hard-baked warning track and into the stands again. Martinez then hit a sac fly to Scott Laws to make it 4-0. Lathers added an RBI single for a 5-0 lead before the inning ended with Chance Fox batting before he took the mound. Fox indeed batted twice before the Aces ever brought up the #9 spot, and Montion never batted, having been knocked out with a 2-run homer mashed by Martinez in the third inning. Andy Chairez’ single and stolen base in the bottom 3rd did lead to the Aces getting on the scoreboard, however, and Foxie Brown unceremoniously plated him with a wild pitch (but then gave up a 2-out single anyway…).

Fox lacked stuff, and the Aces nibbled around on him. He hit Jose Ambriz with a pitch in the fifth inning, Ambriz stole a base, and ended up scoring on Ken Hummel’s base hit, 7-2, although Brassfield’s sac fly to Ambriz with Labonte and Caswell on the corners in the sixth inning regained that run. Starr hit a 2-out single, but Chris Kaye then got out of the inning by popping out Martinez. Miguel Veguilla answered with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the same inning, however, and it didn’t look like Fox would give the pen a rest. He still batted for himself in the top 7th, though, which began with a shy Lathers single and a loud double to left by David Gonzales, putting a pair in scoring position against right-hander Jose Cintora. Fox whiffed, which was still excusable, but Labonte’s ****** comebacker and another K by Ojeda were less so. Nobody scored, and Ambriz knocked out Fox with a 1-out single in the bottom 7th before being stalled by Tanizaki.

The Aces employed left-hander Justin Rocco in the eighth inning. He got two outs, then walked Starr. Martinez scratched out a single. And Morgen Lathers scratched out a 3-run homer over the fence in right. The Coons would fill the dozen to the brim in the ninth inning with another Brassfield sac fly, this one coming off poor beleaguered Raffy de la Cruz. LaBat then closed out the game in the bottom 9th, finishing off with his first big-league K on Scott Laws. 12-4 Furballs. Labonte 2-5, BB; Konecny (PH) 1-1; Caswell 2-5, BB, RBI; Starr 2-5, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Martinez 2-3, HR, 3 RBI; Lathers 4-5, HR, 4 RBI;

Jesus Martinez took sole possession of the CL lead with his ninth homer of the year, and tied the ABL lead jointly held with Nick Nye and Mario Delgadillo in the FL.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Benitez – P DeRose
LVA: CF Ambriz – RF Laws – LF Hummel – SS Veguilla – 1B Jacinto – C Burgio – 2B J. White – 3B Villarreal – P S. Evans

The fireworks were reversed on Saturday with DeRose taking a brutal beating right in the first inning. Casey Burgio was the CL RBI leader with 33, batting .387 with six homers, and only went up from there with a 2-out RBI single that gave the Aces a 3-1 lead after they all either singled, doubled, or hit a deep fly out against DeRose out of the gate before Jim White grounded out to Ojeda. The Coons had initially taken a lead when Cas singled home Ojeda and his 1-out double in the top 1st, but that was over real fast. Starr’s daily double came as second-inning leadoff triple; Martinez struck out, but Lathers doubled him in with a drive to right, 3-2, before being left on base. The game was tied the inning after on another Ojeda single, stolen base, and then Brass’ clutch 2-out RBI single past the reaching Gustavo Jacinto.

DeRose feigned competence the second time through the Aces order, striking out three batters while still giving up plenty of fodder for Brass and Cas to sort out. Not many left-handers in that Aces order, which was why Martinez was mostly busy picking his always wet black nose. The sixth inning began with a Brass single to left. Evans threw a wild pitch, then walked Starr intentionally. The Coons were off on a terrible first pitch in the dirt to Martinez, who swung on the hit-and-run, while the Coons were credited with a double steal. Martinez ended up walking in a full count, though, and now we were right where they wanted us, having three on with nobody out and the bottom of the order batting. Lathers fanned, and Benitez did even worse, hitting into an inning-ending double play.

Bottom 7th, and still tied at three, the Aces got Burgio on with a single to center. The backstop was now hitting .394, and we he was batting sixth was a bit of a mystery. White popped out, but Tony Villarreal hit another single to center. The big bluff was then on with teetering pitcher facing pitcher that oughta be pinch-hit for with two on and one out. The Raccoons wouldn’t lift DeRose without seeing the pinch-hitter first, and the Aces weren’t gonna pinch-hit until they saw the Coons’ paw. Evans didn’t assume bunting position on the first pitch, but the corners broke in anyway for the Coons. Evans slapped at the pitch, shoving it out to Labonte, and the Coons got out of the inning on a 4-6-3 double play that almost wasn’t turned when Starr stumbled having to return to first base and narrowly beat out a herd of pitchers hustling there too.

Martinez borked into a double play after Brass and Starr reached base again in the eighth and the game remained tied against ex-Coon Geoff Sather. Raffy offered a leadoff walk to Benitez in the ninth, but Konecny first forced him out, then was caught stealing. Bravo had a clean eighth, but Sencion struggled in the ninth, hitting Veguilla and allowing a pinch-hit single to Kyle Mathews. Tanizaki got a pop from White and a groundout from Matt Manley to send the 3-3 game to an encore that didn’t last particularly long because the Raccoons still couldn’t find the sticks in the tenth, and Benitez’ error put the winning run on base right away in the bottom 10th with fast pinch-hitter Branson Mathews (no relation to Kyle). Tanizaki got a groundout from Ambriz before Scott Laws ended another game, but this time with a walkoff single. 4-3 Aces. Ojeda 2-5, 2B; Caswell 2-5, RBI; Brassfield 3-5, 2B, RBI;

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – P B. Herrera
LVA: CF Ambriz – RF Laws – 1B Andersen – C Burgio – SS Veguilla – 2B J. White – LF Thayer – 3B Villarreal – P Broad

For the second outing in a row, Bobby Herrera retired a dozen without letting anything on base, although the outs sounded a bit harder this time out. Broad walked everything with legs, but hits proved hard to come by for the Raccoons as well. We took a 1-0 lead in the top 2nd on a bases-loaded walk to Labonte, but heaven forbid we get a knock in a situation like that. We stranded seven runners on base in just four innings. Brassfield chucked a pair of doubles in the first five innings, but never with anybody on base, nor with anybody rendering outside assistance after the fact, and was also stranded twice thusly.

Also, like on Tuesday, the 13th batter proved the vexing one for Herrera as Burgio singled his way on base. Veguilla hit another single to right immediately, but Burgio was still running like a catcher and thrown out at third base by Martinez, and the inning ended without the Aces tying the game or worse. In these middle innings, Herrera also didn’t get strike three over. Lots of 2-strike counts, but no K (after four early) until Veguilla struck out in a full count to end the bottom 7th in still a 1-0 game.

In this tight spot, Geoff Sather offered a 1-out walk to Lathers in the eighth inning, and then David Gonzales surprised everyone, including himself, with a screaming RBI double to left, immediately doubling the score to 2-0, but was then left on base by Labonte and Herrera before the second-sacker. Herrera walked Thayer in the bottom 8th, but then got a double play grounder from Villarreal to bugger out of the inning, and now we wondered whether he should go for the throat this time, although he was on 102 pitches already.

Trent Brassfield’s third double of the game finally came with a runner on base after Ojeda had already hit a leadoff single against Sather in the ninth inning. He scored on the 1-out knock, 3-0, which improved Herrera’s chances for another run at a shutout. Sather walked Starr, was replaced with right-hander Andy Younge, and the right-hander gave up another 2-out RBI single to Lathers, who had now driven in six runs on the weekend, or just as many as Gonzales had in seven weeks… at least until he hit another RBI single up the middle. Herrera struck out, then returned to the hill on a batter-by-batter basis. Branson Mathews flew out to Brass rather easily to begin the bottom 9th, as did Andy Chairez in the #1 spot. Like every game this weekend, this one ended with Laws. As on Friday, he whiffed. 5-0 Raccoons! Ojeda 2-5; Brassfield 3-5, 3 2B, RBI; Gonzales 3-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; B. Herrera 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, W (5-3);

In other news

May 20 – ATL SP Vic Harman (3-3, 4.53 ERA) throws the second no-hitter of the year and the second Knights no-hitter of the decade (Kodai Koga, 2050) with a near-perfect outing against the Thunder, whiffing eight and allowing just two walks in an 8-0 win.
May 20 – Canadiens SP John Morris (4-1, 4.05 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout in a 7-0 win against the Loggers.
May 21 – The Falcons lose star RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.323, 3 HR, 15 RBI) for at least three weeks with a strained posterior cruciate ligament.
May 21 – The Condors put OF Bobby Fish (.289, 0 HR, 10 RBI) on the DL with a pretty bad concussion. He is expected to miss three months at least.
May 21 – Denver 1B Bill Joyner (.250, 1 HR, 11 RBI) would miss at least a month with a sprained thumb.
May 22 – The hitting streak of Los Angeles’ Jesus Espinoza (.394, 0 HR, 23 RBI) reaches 25 games with an RBI double and a single in a 4-2 win against the Gold Sox.
May 22 – The first home run of the season of the Knights’ luxury bench piece RF Matt Diskin (.296, 1 HR, 6 RBI) is a pinch-hit walkoff grand slam to beat the Thunder, 9-6.
May 23 – The Rebels end the hitting streak of LAP OF/1B Jesus Espinoza (.390, 0 HR, 23 RBI) at 26 games, holding him dry in three at-bats as they beat the Pacifics, 5-3.
May 24 – Knights RF Jamie Harmon (.218, 4 HR, 18 RBI) hits a pair of 3-run home runs in Atlanta’s 13-inning, 6-4 win in Boston. The rest of the Knights has only four singles, while the Titans fritter away 14 base hits without gaining a lasting advantage.

FL Player of the Week: SAC RF/CF Will Buras (.379, 6 HR, 28 RBI), poking .500 (12-24) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN OF Bobby Needham (.429, 1 HR, 9 RBI), hitting .550 (11-20) with 1 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Third career shutout for Bobby Herrera on Sunday, and the closest he had gotten to a no-hitter yet. Well, except the rain-addled eight innings of 1-hit ball on Tuesday maybe. It was also his second consecutive shutout of the Aces, who he had turned away on three hits and ten strikeouts last August.

And now he’s our only starter worth the oxygen…!

I will have to get Maud to prepare a letter to the league office, complaining that Tipsy Bobby’s 17 shutout innings this week were not rewarded with Player of the Week honors, snubbed for that stinking Elks sophomore! Pah!!

The lineup remained mostly unchanged except for the sore spot at short on Sunday, which meant that we had shooed our core competence group of the three outfielders, first base, and (sorta) second base out for the entire week, and then some days before that for most of them. Nobody asked for a day off, and it wasn’t like there was anything on the bench that warranted consideration except for whether they were compostable.

But empty bottles most of the time aren’t.

Yup, we now have two players wearing #50 whenever we can be bothered to call them up: Joe Agee, who might yet have a future, and Morgen Lathers, who didn’t even have a past before tearing down the Aces for a 6-13 weekend with a homer and six RBI.

We’re gobbling up those bonus miles, flying out to Charlotte to finish the road trip starting on Tuesday, and then we’ll be home on the weekend to host the Thunder, and only the Thunder.

Fun Fact: Morgan Lathers drove in more runs on the weekend than he did in 39 games last season.

Four RBI in 2058.

Four! Even Cam Argenziano drove in more runs (5) last year, and in far fewer at-bats…!!

[Westheim]

2059 DRAFT POOL ANALYSIS

What good things were in store for the Raccoons with yet another #13 pick in 2ß59? Head scout “Banjo” Pigg had gone through the newest iteration of a draft pool and had obediently compiled me a 139-strong shortlist. It was yet another year where the best young pitchers just sparkled brighter than the best young position players, as evidenced by the selection on this dozen-or-so players on the official Portland Raccoons Hotlist ™ (* high school player):

SP Matt Asplund (15/13/15) * – BNN #5
SP Ian Lowry (11/13/11) *
SP Tyler Spivey (13/12/11) *
SP Bobby MacDonald (13/15/10) – BNN #6
SP Brett Bebout (12/16/14) *
SP/CL Matt Martin (16/16/10) *

C/1B John Vaillancourt (10/13/10) *

INF/LF/RF Kyle Reber (14/5/8) * – BNN #2
1B Jon Herbert (8/14/10) *
SS Steve McCutcheon (11/7/12)

OF/1B/3B Dallas Baker (10/12/10) – BNN #8
OF/1B Joe Washington (10/11/13)

“Banjo” was personally not enthused by a couple of these, but they were for example quite highly rated by BNN and whatever the bobbleheads in the sports press threw up and together. There was little agreement between our hotlist and the BNN top 10 in general, although there were few real outliers, f.e. BNN’s #1, OF Brent Campbell, was just outside our hotlist and would have been on if he wasn’t so nonchalant about striking out. We knew all about it – he was playing his college ball right here in Portland, but wasn’t a local kid and actually hailed from Alabama.

Matt Martin might have the best stuff of all the pitchers in the draft, if you looked at only two pitches, which included his wipeout slider, and not three pitches, which would include his very rough changeup. Worst case, the right-hander would make for a murder closer.

None of the three high school position players was particularly adept defensively, but McCutcheon looked like a guy that could be an elite defensive shortstop with blistering speed and the ability to also actually hit his way on base. He looked like Lonzo, actually, except with some more power and a better glove.

Yes, we’re still drafting 13th.

Yes, Lonzo, I still love you very much. How’s the shoulder coming along? – (Lonzo shows his scars from surgery) – (hacks)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (25-20) @ Falcons (20-24) – May 27-29, 2059

The Coons travelled to the CL’s worst offense by batting average, although while hitting just .238 the Falcons still scored the ninth-most runs in the Continental League. They were very good at drawing walks, with their OBP 101 points higher than the batting average, but in turn tied for fewest homers in the league. Their pitching was roughly average, with the sixth-fewest runs allowed, and a -9 run differential. The Raccoons had won the 2058 season series, six games to three. The most useful weapon in their arsenal, Danny Ceballos, was on the DL, but we knew the tune of that song.

Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (2-2, 5.82 ERA) vs. Josh Doyle (2-3, 6.21 ERA)
Chance Fox (4-1, 3.95 ERA) vs. Mario de Anda (2-0, 2.43 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-1, 3.12 ERA) vs. Esteban Duran (2-5, 5.60 ERA)

We were looking at a southpaw in the middle game, but always be aware of the common off day on Monday and the Falcons’ ability to skip de Anda out of the series.

The Raccoons made a roster move, sending Deshawn Beard (.171, 0 HR, 5 RBI) to St. Petersburg and bringing up Duarte Damasceno (5-3, 2.54 ERA), a hot candidate to fil- … be thrown into the gaping hole in the rotation resulting from the Zach Stewart injury.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – P Argenziano
CHA: RF Girod – 2B Woodrome – LF K. Fisher – SS Hullander – CF Burr – C A. Gomez – 1B Wheeler – 3B K. Cox – P Doyle

Noah Caswell quickly put the Raccoons up 2-0 with a home run in the first inning and Ojeda on base (although he had forced out Labonte), but the joy was quite short-lived since Cameron Argenziano did things that had kept him mostly in AAA for the last decade and would see him back there before long, getting blown up for a 6-run second inning. Now, granted, there was an error by Joel Starr in there that made a couple of the runs unearned, but that was long after a leadoff walk to Mike Burr and then FOUR straight base hits by the bottom four batters in the Falcons order, including a go-ahead RBI double by the opposing pitcher Josh Doyle. Argenziano was yanked before the inning was over and Ivan Ornelas, entering in a very early double switch that replaced Gonzales with Benitez at short, got a groundout to end the goddamn inning. Doyle promptly walked the bags full in the top 3rd before giving up one run on Brass’ groundout, then two on Starr’s 2-out single. Martinez hit another single, but Lathers grounded out, ending the inning with a 6-5 score on the busy board.

Ornelas’ long relief was a lot less splendid than what he showed on occasion in these throwaway appearances. He put up ten outs, but was taken deep to left in the fourth with Kyle Fisher’s 2-run homer that extended the Falcons’ lead to 8-5. After Elijah LaBat put away three left-handed batters in the sixth inning, and while the Raccoons were not putting up any additional offense that actually counted besides that one inning where Brass and Starr hit back-to-back 1-out singles and Jesus Martinez then hit into another double play, the seventh and eighth innings went to Duarte Damasceno in yet more garbage relief in his Raccoons debut. He gave up a run on Kevin Cox and Marco Cruz doubles in the bottom 8th, which didn’t matter because the Raccoons had been done scoring two hours ago… 9-5 Falcons. Starr 2-4, 2 RBI;

If we were drowning in actual starting pitchers, Argenziano (2-3, 6.31 ERA) would be on the bus to Florida right now.

The Falcons made a move, sending veteran / overpaid backup outfielder Jayden Ward (.313, 0 HR, 5 RBI) back to the Capitals for two prospects, including #157 OF Morgan Landrie.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – CF Konecny – SS Bribiesca – P Fox
CHA: RF Girod – 2B Woodrome – LF K. Fisher – C L. Miranda – SS Hullander – 1B M. Cruz – CF Burr – 3B K. Cox – P de Anda

Fox had his own near-fatal accident in the second inning on Wednesday when the Falcons loaded the bases with a single from Luis Miranda, walks to Hullander and Cruz, and nobody out. Mike Burr smashed into a run-scoring double play, however, and with Cox’ inning-ending groundout they were held to that lone run. The strike zone would continue to elude the youngster for the rest of the outing, which wasn’t very long indeed. Constant long counts and a bushel more hits and walks for the Falcons, who hit into another double play and twice left a pair stranded with a deep fly out, put him at over 90 pitches in just five innings.

And the Coons? Dismal. De Anda was on a 2-hitter with five strikeouts through five innings, and Jesus Martinez had already hit into another double play in a promising situation. The top 6th showed promise with leadoff singles from Labonte and Ojeda, and this time Martinez didn’t even bang into a double play…! – Brass did. Martinez then walked, but Starr grounded out to leave runners on the corners in the 1-0 game. Cox’ bottom 6th was more of the same, with two Falcons hits through the left side and ultimately Ricky Herrera had to dig him out. The inning ended with a pinch-hit groundout to Labonte from ex-Coon Matt Knight before the Coons rather randomly tied the game in the seventh against left-hander Jose Arias. Monaghan led off with a double, advanced on Konecny’s grounder, and scored on a Bribiesca sac fly to right.

When Portland took the lead in the top 8th against Arias, then Ramon Montes de Oca, it was shockingly unearned. Ojeda had led off with a single before Brass reached on a dropped fly to Mike Burr. Martinez popped out, but Starr found left-center for the go-ahead RBI single. That potential W would go to Tanizaki for a scoreless seventh inning, but Bravo allowed hits to Kyle Fisher (forced out by Luis Miranda) and Cruz to put two on in the bottom 8th. Eloy Sencion and Caswell entered in a double switch, and the former got Cox to ground out to Labonte to end the inning. The Coons scratched out an insurance run against Adam Middleton in the top of the ninth as Labonte got on, stole second, and then rushed home on Ojeda’s 2-out double to left. Matt Walters struck out the side in the bottom 9th… never mind the 2-out singles by Woodrome and Fisher. 3-1 Coons. Ojeda 3-5, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-5; Gonzales (PH) 1-1;

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – P DeRose
CHA: RF Holder – SS Hullander – LF K. Fisher – C L. Miranda – 2B Woodrome – 1B M. Cruz – CF Girod – 3B K. Cox – P E. Duran

For the third and thankfully final time in this series, the Falcons took a lead in the second inning, this time with a leadoff double to left from Luis Miranda and two productive outs to get him around to score on Cruz’ grounder. That wasn’t all though; while the Raccoons were hitless through three innings, DeRose insisted on surrendering a leadoff single to the opposing pitcher on an 0-2 pitch in the bottom 3rd, then went on to walk Rex Holder. Hullander and Fisher made poor outs, but with two outs Miranda hit an RBI single, Ian Woodrome walked, and Cruz singled home two more, 4-0, before the inning finally ended, although the pain never did. DeRose walked five in as many horrible innings, and wasn’t seen again after that, while the Raccoons got a Caswell infield single in the fourth for no run, then a David Gonzales triple in the fifth… and still no run.

The next three innings dripped along, with LaBat and Tanizaki offering scoreless relief for Portland before Ricky Herrera stumbled and gave up a run on knocks by Fisher and Cruz in the eighth inning, as if that was going to matter. Well… maybe…! It started excruciatingly slowly, but the Coons loaded the bases against Neil Mongillo in the lefty’s second inning of work in the ninth. Martinez walked, Monaghan singled in Lathers’ spot, and then Bribiesca drew a 2-out walk in the pitcher’s spot, bringing on Middleton for the Falcons and the top of the order for the Coons. Labonte flew out to center, and it was all just a mirage. 5-0 Falcons. Monaghan (PH) 1-1;

How many starters do we have to replace now, exactly?

Raccoons (26-22) vs. Thunder (29-17) – May 30-June 1, 2059

The Thunder were good again and salivating at the prospect of winning the division and not getting bopped immediately in the CLCS by the Raccoons. They had won four games in a row and taken over the lead in the South on the back of the best rotation in the country, which when not undone by the worst bullpen by ERA was genuinely hard to upset. Their offense was more “ho-hum”, seventh in runs scored, giving them a +20 run differential. The Coons had won two of three games from them earlier this year, somehow.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (5-3, 2.07 ERA) vs. Mike Chartrand (4-3, 3.07 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Juan Juarez (3-2, 3.76 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (2-3, 6.31 ERA) vs. Aaron Harris (3-3, 4.14 ERA)

We might miss the two best starters in that rotation by ERA, Alfredo Llamas (6-1, 1.66 ERA) and Jorge Quinones (5-3, 2.36 ERA), and Quinones was the only southpaw. We’d also miss outfielder Eric Whitlow and reliever Eric Barnes, but that was due to injury.

Game 1
OCT: SS O. Lira – 3B Soberanes – CF D. Guzman – RF M. Harmon – 1B C. Santiago – C Almaguer – 2B N. Kelly – LF Weant – P Chartrand
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Konecny – C Lathers – SS Benitez – P B. Herrera

Before the Raccoons could lose another game, they lost another shortstop as Tony Benitez was upended in first-inning collision with Omar Lira at second base and hit the ground quite awkwardly before hobbling off the field with Luis Silva in visual discomfort. Bribiesca replaced him. Apart from that, things looked quite well early on, as Bobby Herrera got his ERA under two with three scoreless innings to begin the game, and the Raccoons then even took a lead in the bottom 3rd when Chartrand walked Brass and gave up a 2-out RBI double to Joel Starr. Konecny then grounded out. The lead didn’t last for any amount of time; Ed Soberanes and Danny Guzman opened the fourth with singles off Herrera, and when Soberanes went to third base on Guzman’s hit to center, Caswell threw away the baseball and allowed him to score with the tying run right away. While Herrera kept Guzman on base, the Coons offered no further offense and instead the Thunder took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning on another pair of hits by Soberanes and Cesar Santiago in the sixth.

Herrera went into the eighth, where Soberanes hit yet another single off him, struck out Guzman, and then was replaced with Sencion, who got out of the inning despite a four-pitch walk to PH Felix Martinez. The Raccoons kept getting a hit here and a hit there, but couldn’t get a ******* run across home plate. Konency f.e. hit a 2-out double in the bottom 8th, but there was nobody on base, nor was Morgan Lathers of any help and grounded out. Sencion held off the Thunder in the ninth inning, and the Raccoons would face right-hander Jerry Washington in the bottom of the ninth. Bribiesca had his third hit after not starting the game with a single to left, while Jesus Martinez batted for Sencion, but flew out to left. Labonte hit a comebacker that got the lead runner forced out at second base. Ojeda also grounded out. 2-1 Thunder. Konecny 2-4, 2B; Bribiesca 3-4; B. Herrera 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, L (5-4); Sencion 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

(groan!)

Game 2
OCT: SS O. Lira – 3B Soberanes – CF D. Guzman – RF M. Harmon – 1B C. Santiago – C Almaguer – 2B F. Martinez – LF J. Mendoza – P J. Juarez
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF J. Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Gonzales – P Damasceno

Bobby Herrera couldn’t get two runs over nine innings to take him off a hard-luck hook, but Damasceno in his Coons debut as a starter got two runs in the first. Juarez allowed hits to Ojeda and Cas, then hit Brass. Starr’s sac fly and Jesus Martinez’ RBI single then put the Coons up 2-0. Juarez redeemed himself, though, finding Santiago and Mendoza on the corners with two outs and effortlessly socked a 2-run double into the left-center gap to tie himself up with another worthless Raccoons starter. Technically, the runs were unearned because Pedro Almaguer had reached on an error by Labonte before Felix Martinez hit into a double play, but that didn’t make me gnash my teeth any less.

There were a few long fly outs by Starr and Cas in the next few innings, but ultimately everything was calm from that loud pitcher’s double through the end of five, at the end of which both teams were exactly even with two runs, three hits, and an error each. Martinez singled and Monaghan walked with two outs in the bottom 6th, and the Raccoons were sorta desperate for a run or two here and sent Konecny to bat for Gonzales. It didn’t work; he flew out to Mendoza in left. Damasceno erred his way into the seventh inning before being replaced with Ricky Herrera with a runner on base. Herrera held the tie, then got into the lead when Lathers doubled in his spot to begin the bottom 7th against Juarez, with Cas popping a 2-shot to right with two outs to knock out the Thunder starter. Bravo threatened to screw up the eighth, putting the tying runs on base: Soberanes hit a 1-out single to left, and Guzman walked on four straight balls. Eloy Sencion was thrown into the game instead, rung up Mike Harmon, and got Santiago to fly out to Brass without an overdose of panic to end the inning. It was enough – Matt Walters got three groundouts from three batters in the ninth and the Coons won the game, somehow. 4-2 Raccoons. Caswell 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Martinez 2-4, RBI; Bribiesca 1-1, 2B; Lathers (PH) 1-2, 2B; Damasceno 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K;

By Sunday, the Raccoons put Tony Benitez on the DL with a strained rib cage muscle. He might not miss any more time than the mandatory 15-day assignment, but for now his roster spot went to Vernon Hudalla…

Game 3
OCT: RF J. Mendoza – 3B Soberanes – 1B F. Martinez – C Dye – LF Weant – CF A. Lee – SS McNeal – 2B N. Kelly – P Aa. Harris
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF J. Martinez – C Lathers – SS Bribiesca – P Argenziano

The Thunder turned out the Sunday lineup, but the reduced batting prowess on offer still almost managed to polish Argenziano’s snout the first time through the order when they got two hits and two walks and were only held in check by some nifty defensive work by Brass and Labonte especially. The Thunder didn’t do much the second time through, however, and Argenziano had six strikeouts after five innings. The game then was scoreless, since while the Raccoons put out the “good” lineup, they still played like they had partied hard all through the weekend since Friday. Labonte reached on an error in the bottom 1st, but was caught stealing, and a Morgan Lathers single in the third inning aside, the team had *nothing* to show for through five innings.

Felix Martinez drew a walk off Argenziano in the sixth, but the runner didn’t get off first base before the inning ended. Andy Lee hit a deep drive to center in the seventh, but that was caught by Caswell. Harris maintained his 1-hitter, then chopped a leadoff single in the eighth, which was surely gonna be the downfall of the Coons. Jose Mendoza flew out to Brass, but timeless Ed Soberanes socked a double into the left-center gap and the go-ahead runs were in scoring position with one gone. Especially gone was Argenziano in favor of Tanizaki. The Thunder answered with Mike Harmon batting for Felix Martinez, but the lefty batter still struck out. Tanizaki then inexplicably walked the .196 batter Jonathan Dye to fill the bases. Cesar Santiago pinch-hit from the left side for Tim Weant, and the Coons couldn’t get to Sencion, who had been out three of the last four days, and instead plucked Ricky Herrera, who had seen the same number of outings, but had only thrown two pitches in anger in the last two days. He got a fly to Caswell that was easily handled, and the game remained scoreless.

The game was still being offered to the Critters on a silver platter, but my confidence was so low that I was considering sending Cristiano Carmona to pinch-hit when the pitcher’s spot next came up. He at least had some 30 career homers in his family tree, which sounded like solid odds; **** then watching him struggle around the bases in his wheelchair for 16 minutes! – Maybe we could do without that, though. Jesus Martinez opened the bottom 8th with a single to right, but then was caught stealing on an overly hysterical / desperate / botched hit-and-run, and the Raccoons were out in order, then ended up with Ivan Ornelas in the top of the ninth of a scoreless game, because otherwise options were down to overworked people or the bloody rookie. Guzman hit a pinch-hit single, then got caught stealing just as badly as Martinez in the previous half-inning. The Thunder didn’t score and a single measly run was still gonna win the Critters the ballgame against Jerry Washington in the bottom 9th, but Oley popped out, Labonte popped out, and Ojeda as the highlight of the day… grounded out to short. Extras continued with Ornelas, who got three more outs in the tenth inning, and was up to bat fourth in the bottom 10th after having been inserted in the #6 spot earlier. No pinch-hitter ever had to be bothered for a second 1-2-3 inning for Washington.

Ornelas’ third inning wasn’t quite as snazzy as the last two. Jonathan Dye singled with one out, as did Santiago. He walked the bags full with Almaguer. He then nailed Guzman to really make sure that the Thunder scored the first run of the game. Washington hit a ******* sac fly to make it 2-0, really rubbing it in now. Omar Lira popped out and stranded a pair in scoring position. The bottom 11th was then right-hander Cody Lovett and his 4.60 ERA against whatever volunteers we could array. Konecny batted for Ornelas and grounded out on the first pitch. Lathers whiffed. Gonzales batted for Bribiesca and grounded out to the right side, except that Lovett dropped Santiago’s feed for an error and the torture continued with Oley, who finally put the game in the books with a K. 2-0 Thunder. Argenziano 7.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K;

In other news

May 26 – Vancouver’s SP Andy Overy (4-4, 4.09 ERA) pitches a complete-game 6-hitter and drives in four runs himself with two hits in a 16-1 mauling of the Bayhawks.
May 27 – The Thunder get a 3-hit shutout turned by SP Jorge Quinones (5-3, 2.36 ERA) in an 8-0 win against the Loggers.
May 28 – Miners INF Alex Vasquez (.292, 0 HR, 21 RBI) finds his 2,000th base hit in a 5-1 win against the Wolves, an RBI single on the tenth pitch of an at-bat against SAL MR Ben Peterson (2-2, 5.18 ERA, 1 SV) in the seventh inning. A 3-time Gold Glover, the 33-year-old Vasquez, who made his debut at the tender age of 19 and spent his entire career with the Miners, has batted .295 with 35 HR, 605 RBI, and 602 stolen bases in his career. The latter number makes him the active stolen base leader.
May 28 – The Cyclones send SP Keith Thompson (3-3, 3.66 ERA) and cash to the Pacifics for two prospects.
May 29 – VAN OF/3B/SS Rich Kuchta (.265, 3 HR, 29 RBI) retires from baseball at age 26 after suffering a cracked skull in a game against the Bayhawks.
May 29 – Knights catcher Marco Nieto (.294, 2 HR, 18 RBI) misses the cycle by the home run in a 5-hit effort with two RBI in a 6-5 loss to the Indians.
May 29 – The Indians in turn lose OF Orlando Ramos (.254, 5 HR, 32 RBI) to back soreness, which should keep the 25-year-old outfielder out for most of June.
May 29 – It takes 12 innings for Crusaders outfielder Gunner Epperson (.325, 3 HR, 19 RBI) to single home Omar Sanchez (.341, 0 HR, 23 RBI) and beat the Condors, 1-0. Tijuana has just three base hits and as many errors.
May 30 – The Crusaders snatch SP Richard Castillo (2-4, 2.79 ERA) from the Blue Sox for two prospects.
May 30 – NYC SP Seisaku Taki (8-2, 2.08 ERA) and CL Zachariah Alldred (4-2, 2.97 ERA, 13 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter to beat the Knights, 2-0. For Atlanta, only backup infielder Mario Kempf (.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI) has a single.
June 1 – In the Aces’ 5-1 win against the Canadiens, LVA OF Ken Hummel (.301, 3 HR, 29 RBI) wins the game in the 10th inning with a walkoff grand slam.

FL Player of the Week: SAC 2B/SS Chris Navarro (.292, 0 HR, 15 RBI), batting .552 (16-29) with 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: BOS 1B Manny Rubin (.478, 1 HR, 4 RBI) in his first week since being recalled from AAA

FL Hitter of the Month: SAC RF/CF Will Buras (.372, 6 HR, 36 RBI), churning .416 with 5 HR, 28 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: VAN 3B/2B/RF Thomas Whittington (.280, 5 HR, 23 RBI), hitting .347 with 4 HR, 19 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: TOP SP Pablo Lara (7-1, 2.11 ERA), going 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA, 34 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: NYC SP Seisaku Taki (8-2, 2.08 ERA), dominating at 5-1, 1.69 ERA, 27 K
FL Rookie of the Month: DAL RF/LF Roberto Almanza (.279, 0 HR, 17 RBI), batting .254 with 14 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: NYC INF/LF Roger Zucal (.277, 2 HR, 28 RBI), hitting .294 with 1 HR, 17 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Manny Rubin hit 17 home runs in seven weeks for the Titans’ AAA Toledo team. No idea what he was doing down there. He whacked 26 big league homers last year! If they don’t want him that badly…….!

Bit of a week to reconsider your love for baseball, or at least for this team here. Everything was awful. The infield bunch already wasn’t hitting, but this week the core four joined in with enthusiasm:

Brass: .273 (6-22), 1 RBI
Martinez: .222 (4-18), 1 RBI
Cas: .200 (4-20), 2 HR, 4 RBI
Starr: .182 (4-22), 5 RBI

Ain’t no winning no games with that kinda lineup!

There’s also no hope to make. The Vernon Hudallas are all we can pluck from AAA, and the outfield options in St. Pete are just more left-handed ho-hums that haven’t hit in the majors already or aren’t going to. And I don’t see how it’s gonna get better any time soon.

Speaking of soon: next week we’re on the road in Tijuana and Indy.

Fun Fact: Five years ago today, Dallas’ Chad Pritchett star-red by hitting for the cycle against the Cyclones.

(gets a high-five from Slappy for the most basic wordplay)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (27-24) @ Condors (20-31) – June 2-4, 2059

The Condors were in last place once again and playing not particularly badly in any way – they were ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed – but were just mediocre across the board. The only major stat in which they brought up the actual rear of the CL was OBP, with a .313 mark, but then the Raccoons were only five points better than that. We had swept them in the first encounter with them this year, and now they were without three regulars from the lineup with Bobby Fish and Luis Chapa on the DL and Tim Duncan had left the Sunday game with an ailment and was not going to be in the lineup on Monday at the very least.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (4-1, 3.73 ERA) vs. Mario Clemente (4-4, 3.00 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-2, 3.50 ERA) vs. Mike Hall (3-3, 3.63 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (5-4, 2.10 ERA) vs. Jay Everett (2-3, 3.54 ERA)

Right, left, right, as far as the starters were concerned for Tijuana.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF J. Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Bribiesca – P Fox
TIJ: RF S. Moore – 1B Schaack – LF Reina – C Samuel – 3B Frasher – SS C. Ramsey – CF A. Mendez – 2B N. Cross – P M. Clemente

Offense was at a premium through four innings, in which the teams combined for a total of four base hits. One of those was a monstrous home run to right by Jesus Martinez, his tenth of the year, and gave Portland a 1-0 lead that stood up until the fifth inning when the Coons put Martinez on with a leadoff walk, Monaghan singled, Labonte walked with two outs, and Ojeda popped out to short to fritter it all away, then blatantly missed the pickup on a throw from Caswell (who got the error for some reason) on the second straight single between Alfredo Mendez and Nigel Cross with one out in the bottom 5th. As the ball went into foul ground, Mendez chugged through third base and scored the tying run, Cross went to second base, stole third base while Clemente was batting, and then scored the go-ahead run on the pitcher’s sac fly. Scott Moore and Jason Schaack hit two more singles, but Juan Reina then grounded out to Bribiesca.

Portland had the bases loaded for the second consecutive inning in the top 6th. Cas singled, Starr doubled to right, and Martinez walked with one out, bringing all .175 of Eric Monaghan to the plate. He popped out to the catcher, but Clemente lost Bribiesca on balls to force home the tying run before Fox fanned the Coons out of the inning. He held up in the bottom 6th despite a leadoff single from Nick Samuel, and Labonte opened the seventh with a triple into the rightfield corner before scoring on a wild pitch by Clemente before Noah Caswell hit his tenth homer of the season as well, a stunning 457-footer to center, 4-2. Clemente was chased when Joel Starr dropped in a single, and Hector Montenegro was not an effective replacement, getting blasted by Martinez for a 2-run homer straightaway.

Foxie Brown pitched into the eighth inning before Juan Reina chased him with a 1-out triple, but Bravo struck out Samuel before walking Eric Frasher, and LaBat got a groundout from Craig Sayre to escape the inning without that run scoring. The rookie then won the opportunity for his first career save by virtue of getting the last out with two on in a 6-2 game in the bottom 8th, but put two on himself with singles by Cross and Ramon Archuleta and had to make way for Matt Walters, who struck out Scott Moore and got Schaack out to Bribiesca to end the game, still without a run scoring. 6-2 Raccoons. Caswell 4-5, HR, 3B, RBI; Starr 2-4, BB, 2B; Martinez 2-3, 2 BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Fox 7.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (5-1);

Let’s not talk about how Noah Caswell hit a leadoff triple in the ninth and wasn’t scored. He still remained a double shy of the cycle. Martinez meanwhile now held the lead in the CL in homers by himself, and tied with Nashville’s Nick Nye for the ABL lead with 11 bombs.

Game 2
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 2B Hudalla – P DeRose
TIJ: RF S. Moore – CF A. Mendez – SS C. Ramsey – LF Sayre – C Waker – 1B Schaack – 3B Frasher – 2B N. Cross – P M. Hall

Caswell’s RBI groundout brought in the game’s first run after Bribiesca and Ojeda had opened Tuesday proceedings with a pair of base hits against Mike Hall, but Alf Mendez tied the game with a home run in the same inning. DeRose then failed the bags full in the bottom 2nd with two walks and a single to the 6-7-8 batters, then had Starr make the Play of the Week, racing in on Hall poking at the first pitch, picking the ball on the run and slashing it home to Monaghan in time to force out Schaack, and Moore then grounded out to Ojeda to leave the bases loaded for good in the inning. Neither team put together a whole lot for several innings after that. Martinez hit a double to the deep part of the park that could have been #12 in either corner, but was left for litter in the fourth inning, while the Condors scratched a run together finally with Moore and Sayre singles in the sixth to take a 2-1 lead after they had hit a couple of balls to the warning track for outs against DeRose in the previous innings. Even when trailing, the Raccoons remained apathetic; Ojeda got on base with two outs in the eighth inning, but Brass grounded out rather easily. The score was still 2-1 in the ninth inning with right-hander Cory Leonard in to face the 4-5-6 batters. Leonard had more walks than strikeouts on the season, but rung up Cas and Martinez before Starr flew out to Sayre. 2-1 Condors. DeRose 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, L (3-3);

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – LF Konecny – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – P B. Herrera
TIJ: RF S. Moore – CF A. Mendez – SS C. Ramsey – LF Sayre – C Waker – 1B Schaack – 3B Frasher – 2B N. Cross – P Everett

Singles by Lathers and Gonzales brought home Kelly Konecny and his 1-out walk in the second inning before Herrera hit into a double play to keep the lead to 1-0, but the Raccoons were right back on the corners in the third inning as Labonte doubled off the wall in leftfield and Ojeda reached base when Sayre ambled confusedly under his pop near the leftfield line until he finally dropped it. Of course nobody got another hit to keep this run going. Cas’ sac fly to left-center was as good as it got. Martinez walked, but the next two went down on strikes, stranding a pair.

Meanwhile, Tipsy Bobby didn’t do *great*. While he shut out the Condors through five innings, whiffing as many, he also scattered six singles. It felt like fewer because the Condors also found a pair of double plays to hit into, but he didn’t have all his tools available, and the Condors were just waiting to pounce. Another run or two for cushion would have been most welcome, but the Raccoons just couldn’t put anything together in the middle innings, even when Eric Frasher’s 2-base throwing error gave them a free Jesus Martinez in scoring position to begin the top 6th. Three woeful outs followed, and Martinez was stranded right there at second base… Instead, Tristan Waker whacked a solo homer to right in the bottom 6th, cutting the lead in half. It was then Herrera, of all people, to start something with a 1-out single to center in the top 7th. Labonte and Caswell hit two more singles to center, the latter scoring Herrera to restore the 2-run lead, but Martinez fly to deep left was caught by Sayre and the Raccoons couldn’t add on further.

Starr and Lathers hit a pair of singles against Dan Lawrence in the eighth innings, presenting another pair on the corners for what turned out to be the spare outfielders. When Todd Oley popped out miserably in place of Gonzales, Herrera’s day ended on 96 pitches in favor of Brassfield, who flew out to Alf Mendez on the first pitch. Bravo and Sencion combined for a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth at least, protecting that 3-1 lead for Walters to take over. Even when Labonte opened the ninth with a single against Lawrence, then stole second base, Walters never stopped tossing in the pen, because everybody rightfully deduced that Labonte would be stranded in scoring position. So Walters it was against an army of switch-hitters in the 5-6-7 spots. He struck out Waker, then walked Schaack in a full count, then felt something and called for Luis Silva. I blacked out immediately. I only learned later that Ricky Herrera got the last two outs of the game without drama. 3-1 Coons. Labonte 4-5, 2B; Caswell 2-4, 2 RBI; Lathers 2-4; B. Herrera 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (6-4);

Any *more* drama I should say.

Raccoons (29-25) @ Indians (28-24) – June 6-8, 2059

In a virtual tie for second place, but already seven games behind New York each, these teams met for the third time this year. The Coons were up 4-2 on the CL’s best offense (!!) and fifth-best pitching. We had identical +29 run differentials. And we both had lots of injuries to whinge about. The Indians were without Roberto Oyola, Randy Slocum, Orlando Ramos, and since the start of the week also Bill Quinteros. The former #1 pick, career Indian, and 17-year veteran was down with a quad strain.

Projected matchups:
Duarte Damasceno (0-0, 1.04 ERA) vs. Alberto Cuellar (3-5, 4.60 ERA)
Chance Fox (5-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (6-2, 2.96 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-3, 3.39 ERA) vs. Marcos Rivera (7-3, 2.79 ERA)

Those two left-handers we’d get on Saturday and Sunday were powering the entire otherwise lousy Indians rotation. A bit like Bobby Herrera and Zach Stewart had done for Portland before the latter’s demise onto the DL…

The Coons skipped Cameron Argenziano (2-3, 5.23 ERA) to have an extra arm in the pen. This decision was made even before the Walters injury, which Luis Silva had yet to sort out. We had another off day on Monday as well, so a fifth starter wasn’t needed again until the following weekend.

Game 1
POR: 2B Labonte – 1B Starr – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Gonzales – 3B Hudalla – P Damasceno
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – RF Lovins – CF Oldfield – LF Abel – 3B R. Vargas – 1B V. Cruz – C J. Ortiz – P Cuellar

Through three innings on Friday, Damasceno himself, Paul Labonte, and Chris Lovins each had a single and that was about that as no runs were scored until Brass whacked a leadoff jack for a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Lovins tried to answer with another single in the bottom 4th, but couldn’t get any support from his team as Damasceno was very consistent about feeding balls to the middle infielders until he wasn’t. Victor Cruz hit a single well over Labonte’s head in the bottom 5th, immediately followed by a long score-flipping home run by the #8 batter Jorge Ortiz. Cory Oldfield added a solo jack the inning after for a 3-1 Indians lead, while the Raccoons were glued to three base hits all the way to the stretch. Ricardo Vargas knocked the Coons’ starter out with a leadoff single to center in the bottom 7th, but LaBat then retired three in a row at the bottom of the order to keep that run stranded.

Todd Oley singled and stole a base out of that #9 spot in the eighth inning, but again was left in scoring position because the team collectively had forgotten how to ******* hit the baseball. Ricky Herrera had a scoreless eighth for Portland, and Ben Akman had a six-pitch ninth inning against the 3-4-5 batters to smother the Critters for good. 3-1 Indians. Oley (PH) 1-1;

The Raccoons then placed Matt Walters on the DL on Saturday with a diagnosis of biceps tendinitis, which A) sucked, but B) could have been much worse. He would perhaps be back before the end of the month, but surely before the All Star Game. Closing would in all likelihood be done by committee in Walters’ absence. Sencion for left-handers, and either Tanizaki or Bravo against right-handers?

We would have called up Alex Rios, but Rios had pitched four of five days before Saturday and wouldn’t be usable on the weekend anyway. We instead called up – and perk your fuzzy ears, everybody – the 2054 Nick Brown Memorial pick, #279 selection, Brad Loveless, age 24, from Solana Beach, Cali. He wasn’t anything special. He hardly pitched so far this year (just four outings). But we needed an arm for two days and he was rested.

Zach Stewart was shifted to the 60-day DL to make room on the otherwise full 40-man roster.

Game 2
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – LF Konecny – 2B Hudalla – P Fox
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – LF Abel – CF Oldfield – C J. Ortiz – 3B Niles – RF S. Thompson – 1B Bodkin – P Fitzgibbon

The game began with the skies ominously overcast, and a smart team would have taken a quick lead, but the Raccoons right now couldn’t hit their way out of a bag of chips, so I had no confidence in that regard. Matt Kilday’s double and Kevin Abel’s single gave Indy a 1-0 lead in the bottom 1st after the Coons went 1-2-3 in the top 1st, but then Cas singled and Martinez doubled him home to begin the top 2nd and the game was at least tied. Monaghan walked, but then the bottom three croaked noisily and the Chance was wasted. Misery continued in the third inning when Ojeda singled and was then promptly picked off by the southpaw. Brass drew a walk, though, and then Caswell cranked one outta sight in left-center for Portland to go up 3-1. And Fitzgibbon couldn’t get anybody out; Martinez walked, then scored on singles to center by Monaghan and Konecny. Only Vernon Hudalla flew out to left to end the inning.

The two pitchers then singled off each other in the bottom 3rd and top 4th, respectively, but only Fox came in to score, and that only thanks to an error by Kevin Ewers with the bases loaded and Caswell batting. The second-sacker flubbed the 1-out grounder for a free run, but then did his part when Martinez chopped into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Fitzgibbon was hit for in the fifth inning, while Fox’ day ended with the rain that everybody had been expecting since the start of proceedings. He got in six innings of 4-hit ball on 70 pitches, so he could have given us quite a bit more if weather had permitted. LaBat instead put runners on the corners in the bottom 7th, but was then dug out by Ivan Ornelas, who got a double play grounder from Ben Bodkin, the first batter he faced this week. Brad Loveless then made his major league debut in the bottom 8th, facing PH Chris Lovins in the #9 spot and Kilday at the top of the lineup unless the Indians would employ the bench some more. Loveless rung up Lovins – what a lovely pair! – but allowed a single to Kilday. Tanizaki rung up Ewers and Abel to keep the debutee’s ledger clean. The Coons couldn’t help themselves and stink some more in the top 9th, first getting Brass and Cas to the corners with two quick hits against right-hander Tim Jacoby, and then made three stinking pathetic outs that prevented even one run from scoring. Eloy Sencion finished the game for Portland, although this was not a save situation with a 4-run lead. 5-1 Critters. Caswell 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Martinez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Konecny 2-5, RBI; Fox 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (6-1) and 1-3;

Look at Foxie Brown, suddenly at six-and-one!

There was a roster move on Sunday, when the Raccoons barely managed to fly in a replacement catcher. Morgan Lathers woke up with a high fever and had to remain in bed. Vernon Hudalla (.143, 0 HR, 0 RBI) took the fall to make room for Deshawn Beard on such short notice.

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – CF Konecny – SS Gonzales – P DeRose
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – RF Lovins – LF Abel – 3B R. Vargas – 1B V. Cruz – CF S. Thompson – C J. Ortiz – P M. Rivera

Both teams hit into a double play in the first inning, with Joel Starr doing so to kill the inning after the 2-3-4 batters had steadily loaded the bases. No run was scored until the bottom 3rd when Jorge Ortiz hit a leadoff single, but was forced out on a bad bunt by Rivera. The Raccoons un-recovered from that nice break when Brass slid for a Kilday looper that he couldn’t reach and played a single into an RBI double. Ewers whiffed and Lovins grounded out to end that inning.

Jesus Martinez’ leadoff double to left-center in the fourth inning was met with stubborn ineptitude and he was stranded on that very second base. In the sixth, Ojeda drew a leadoff walk and Brass singled to left, only for Martinez to now bozo his way into a 6-4-3 double play. Joel Starr came through with a knock to left-center, though, and at least drove in Ojeda with the ******* tying run, but Monaghan flew out to Lovins.

Ricardo Vargas knocked out another starter with a leadoff single in the bottom 7th. DeRose had done just *fine* up to here, but we had an army of left-handed relievers and there would not be a right-handed batter coming up any time soon (potentially Ewers). Except that once Ricky Herrera was in the game, Nathan Niles replaced Victor Cruz, singled, and things unraveled from there. Jorge Ortiz singled in a run, and Mitch Korfhage pinch-hit for a sac fly to get Indy up 3-1. The Raccoons began the top 8th against Rich Morrall with leadoff singles and Labonte and Ojeda going to the corners. Okay, boys, but *now*…! No, they ******* didn’t. Brass brought in a run in the most useless way with another 6-4-3 double play, Martinez walked, but Starr grounded out haplessly. Ornelas got two outs to begin the bottom 8th, then allowed singles to Abel and Vargas. Sencion replaced him, walked Oldfield… and then escaped the bases-loaded jam when Steve Thompson flew out to Brassfield. The Raccoons were then faced with Akman again and this time brought the 6-7-8 batters and their collective .203 batting average to bear. Except that we didn’t. Oley batted for Monaghan, but grounded out. Konecny grounded out on a 3-0 pitch, which almost gave me an aneurysm, with Cas batting for Gonzales and grounding out on the first pitch. 3-2 Indians. Ojeda 2-3, BB; Brassfield 2-4; Martinez 2-3, BB, 2B;

(bites into his paw)

In other news

June 2 – SAC SP C.J. Harney (4-7, 3.56 ERA) shuts out the Rebels on two base hits to claim a 5-0 victory.
June 4 – Falcons CL Jose Arias (2-3, 6.43 ERA, 9 SV) gets axed from the roster and moved to the DL to get a partial tear in his UCL repaired. He’s out for the season.
June 5 – NAS 1B Andy Metz (.244, 11 HR, 33 RBI) hits three home runs over the course of a double header sweep of the Stars. The Blue Sox win 7-3 and 7-4, while Metz drives in four runs, three in the first (on two homers) and one in the second game (with a jack).
June 6 – Titans closer Josh Carlisle (3-0, 1.86 ERA, 11 SV) pitches two innings in relief, then drives home C Bruce Burkart (.240, 3 HR, 12 RBI) for the only run in a 12-inning, 1-0 Titans win against the Canadiens.

FL Player of the Week: SFW LF/RF John Kaniewski (.295, 2 HR, 17 RBI), hitting .500 (10-20) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: IND INF Matt Kilday (.347, 2 HR, 21 RBI), poking .462 (12-26) with 2 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Three homers on Monday, then barely three hits a game the rest of the week. They were just horrendous.

The Raccoons need a right-handed outfield bat in the very worst way. It’s so bad that for a moment this weekend I was toying with the thought of bringing up last year’s #13 pick, OF Isaiah Birth, from Ham Lake. Birth had started the year in single-A Aumsville, batting .280 with two homers (although power was not really his game) in 30 games, and then was hitting .298 with no homers in 24 games in AA Ham Lake. He had 16 stolen bases between those two stations. This was at the time we moved Walters to the DL. The only thing that kept me from bringing him up was that we needed a bench piece, because right now there was no way we’d sit down any between Cas, Brass, and Martinez (or Starr) for him since those were the only guys in the lineup hitting ******* anything. We certainly took note of Birth doing the baseball gods’ good work, though.

And who knows, maybe we have everyday openings in the lineup by the end of July………..

It’s so bad that right now the crushed rotation is the least of my concerns.

The Coons return home to face the Titans and Blue Sox starting on Monday.

Fun Fact: Brad Loveless (picked in 2054) is the first Nick Brown Memorial pick to pitch in the majors since in over a decade.

Going backwards from Loveless, we have to go all the way to Bruce Bowhay to even find an 11th-rounder that made it out of single-A ball for either the Raccoons or another team. Bowhay did six games in Ham Lake before washing out. Xavier Brown (2046) pitched in Ham Lake for five years before being dismissed the year Loveless was drafted. There are a couple more of these in the years before that, but none that even reached AAA until you arrive in 2037.

In 2037, the Raccoons took Matt Seltzer with the #278 pick. He made it up to Ham Lake as a starter, but then was included in a package of four players to acquire Josh Brown from the Crusaders in the winter of ‘40/’41. He pitched in AAA Lexington for a while before obtaining minor league free agency after the 2043 season. The Aces signed him to a minor league deal the following May, but he then ended up having Tommy John surgery right afterwards. The Aces hung on to him, though, and he ended up in the majors the following year, and two years after that… not for long, they were only cups of coffee, 11 games in total, all in relief. No decisions, no saves, but a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings. He retired in 2051 after another four years exclusively in the minors.

In 2030, Jon Hass was the #273 pick, but was released five years later after subpar results between Ham Lake and St. Pete. The Loggers and Gold Sox took swings at him the next two years, and then he was actually back with the Alley Cats for three years as a swingman, but never called up to the Raccoons. Obtaining minor league free agency after 2040, he signed with the Thunder, and finally got his 15 minutes in the big leagues with them, going 0-0 with an 0.90 ERA in seven outings and across ten innings. That was his major league career. He retired in 2045.

Honorable mention to 2019’s selection Joe Dale… who wasn’t technically a Nick Brown Memorial Pick. The tradition was still new at that point (started a bit by accident in 2014), and the Raccoons kinda bumbled their way into having to pick a catcher before they ran out before the 12th round selection. Dale made the majors, however, hitting .203 in 54 games between 2026 and 2027 for the Indians. He had actually been released by the Raccoons and made it to Indy by Sacramento.

But perhaps the most *we* ever got out an 11th-rounder. Jason Gurney was our #274 pick in 2026 and would spend his entire 11-year pro career in the organization. He reached the majors against the odds by 2030, making six starts that year. He was a regular in the rotation for the next two seasons on two cruddy teams, posting a winning record in ’31 with a 10-8 mark and 3.51 ERA. He is infamous though because of his 2032 season. The entire team was wretched that year, but Gurney stood out, but nevertheless made 29 starts for a 6-13 record and 6.29 ERA. He was notably removed early from his final start so that he would not complete 162 innings and put that ghastly ERA into our record books. He pitched 161.2 innings that year. Gurney got some odd callups the last two years, but then fizzled out in AAA. For his career, he went 19-28 with a 4.99 ERA in 78 games (65 starts), pitching 391.1 innings. He struck out 186.

And that is the entire list, now including Loveless, whose lone out collected on Saturday marked the 100th big league appearance of any left-handed pitcher selection made in the half-a-century-ish tradition of the Nick Brown Memorial Pick.

And we’ll pick another southpaw in the 11th round next week! Because I’m that level of stubborn.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (30-27) vs. Titans (26-28) – June 10-12, 2059

There was a lot of mediocrity about the Titans’ stats. Tenth in runs scored, fourth in runs against, and seventh in batting average, homers, starters’ ERA… and bottoms in the entire league with all of 11 stolen bases in 54 games. The Coons had won three of four games from them earlier in the season.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (6-4, 2.04 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (3-3, 3.80 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (0-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Mike Pohlmann (4-3, 5.98 ERA)
Chance Fox (6-1, 3.43 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (2-5, 4.54 ERA)

All the Titans starters were right-handed. The off day on Monday allowed them to skip Jason Brenize (2-7, 4.60 ERA) into the series, although I wasn’t sure why they would, since it wasn’t going particularly well for the former top prospect, still.

Morgan Lathers was available again on Tuesday. Deshawn Beard was returned to AAA without having gotten into a game, and the Raccoons brought up Joey Christopher in a misguided attempt to generate offense from the top of the order. Joe-Chris had a .436 OBP in St. Pete. The Coons right now would be happy with as little as .336 …

Game 1
BOS: CF Weir – 2B D. Mendoza – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – RF Y. Valdez – 3B Wilken – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Leitch – P Glaude
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Lathers – 3B Ojeda – SS Gonzales – P B. Herrera

The ploy worked at least the first time round as Christopher drew a leadoff walk. While Labonte forced him out rather quickly, an error by Diego Mendoza, a balk by Glaude, and singles by Brass and Starr somehow did lead to two first-inning runs after all before Lathers found the inevitable double play. One run was unearned, and the Coons added another unearned run in the second inning, again thanks to a Mendoza error, who threw away Juan Ojeda’s grounder for two bases. Christopher singled him home with two outs, then was caught stealing. Because all of this was going much too well, Bobby Herrera then had an inning from hell in the top 3rd. Not having allowed a hit through the first two frames, he started the third with a double served up to Alan Leitch. Hector Weir socked an RBI triple, Mendoza singled, Jorge Arviso singled, and finally Yoslan Valdez bashed a 2-out, 3-run homer to put Boston up 5-3. Those runs were all earned. Same for the three that scored on Mendoza’s 3-run homer the inning after. Tipsy Bobby had walked Leitch and Weir, and was apparently out of sorts in some way, and didn’t come back after that spectacular implosion.

That didn’t mean the tying run didn’t come back into the box, though. David Gonzales hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth and was brought in on productive outs by Oley and Christopher while LaBat and Loveless held the Titans to the eight runs they already had. The bottom 6th then saw Will Glaude unhorsed after Mendoza made his third error on the day, followed by Brass and Starr singles to get that unearned run home as well. Morgan Lathers was that tying run, batting in an 8-5 game with two on and nobody out against Mike Bell, and he singled to right to … load the bases with nobody out. Oh, shambles! Ojeda bumbled into a run-scoring double play immediately, and Gonzales made a soggy third out to derail the inning.

Maybe the Titans could *force* the Raccoons to win, though. Bell was still around in the bottom 7th, which started with a pinch-hit single by Kelly Konecny in place of Loveless. Christopher was nicked, Labonte whiffed, and Caswell dropped a roller in front of home plate that Arviso kindly flung away for two bases, allowing Konecny to score and shoveling the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position with one out. Bell walked Brass, but Starr popped out. There was no point in wasting a perfectly good home run crown challenger on the bench, so Jesus Martinez batted for Lathers… and also popped out. Three runners were left stranded and the Titans remained ahead, 8-7. Tanizaki readily ****** a run on the board in the eighth inning with leadoff singles by Randy Wilken and Matt Gilmore, and no ******* stuff to get a strikeout afterwards, either, while Juan Ojeda’s leadoff single in the bottom 8th was simply ignored by Gonzales, Monaghan, and Christopher. Bravo held the score where it was in the ninth, with Josh Carlisle coming in against the 2-3-4 batters for Boston. Labonte struck a double to right on the third pitch of the inning, presenting Caswell as the tying run. Cas ran a full count, then rushed another double to right, bringing up Brass as the winning run. Weir caught Brass’ deep fly to center, but at least Cas went to third base. Starr whiffed, which made my face go asleep. With two outs and the tying run at third base, the only remaining option for the pitcher in the #6 hole was Bribiesca.

…and he singled up the middle! That tied the game, ejected Carlisle from the proceedings for left-hander Dave Parra, and sent the game to extras, where we suddenly had neither bench players nor much in terms of relief anymore. Ricky Herrera got around a single by Jim Auld to keep the Titans in the tie in the tenth, and the Coons were on the corners with nobody out after two line drive singles by Gonzales and Monaghan to begin the bottom 10th. The game ended on a full-count single slashed up the middle by Christopher! 10-9 Critters. Christopher 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Labonte 2-5, 2B; Brassfield 2-4, BB, RBI; Starr 2-5, 2 RBI; Bribiesca (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gonzales 2-5, 2B; Konecny (PH) 1-1; Loveless 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K;

We out-hit the Titans 16-9 and they made four errors, so I am a bit relieved we somehow managed to fudge this into a W…

Hector Weir (.277, 1 HR, 24 RBI) was no longer a Titan on Wednesday, having been traded to the Gold Sox for ex-Coon Mike Lane (4-1, 2.31 ERA, 10 SV) and a prospect, #149 CL Alex Gomez.

Game 2
BOS: LF Ma. Gilmore – 2B D. Mendoza – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – RF Y. Valdez – 3B Wilken – CF Lloyd – SS Leitch – P Pohlmann
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – RF Martinez– C Lathers – 3B Ojeda – SS Gonzales – P Damasceno

Like Bobby Herrera the day before, Duarte Damasceno had the providence to give up first walks, then hit(s), allowing a first-inning run on free passes to Arviso and Rubin before Yoslan Valdez singled home a run, and a base-running gaffe by Rubin that saw him killed off in a rundown meant that the Coons got off for just one run there. They then scored two in the bottom 1st, putting their first three batters on base before Brass popped out. A wild pitch tied the game (…) and Martinez’ sac fly made it 2-1, but Lathers’ fire had cooled off and he left a pair on base.

Damasceno remained a menace and a nuisance. He walked seven batters in 4.1 innings, somehow without seeing the Titans score another run on him until after he was yanked and Ricky Herrera cocked up the – extended with a Brass homer – 3-1 lead by filling the bases and giving up a 2-run single to Yoslan Valdez, then a 4-3 lead to Boston on Wilken’s groundout.

Ornelas was inserted for long relief, but only pitched the sixth inning; his spot came up with two outs and Martinez and Gonzales on the corners in the bottom 6th. Kelly Konecny was brought in to pinch-hit, and got the job done with a clean single to right-center, scoring Martinez to knot the score at four. Gonzales raced for third base, but injured himself on the slide into the bag – but was somehow still safe. Bribiesca pinch-ran for him, but the inning ended with Christopher’s fly to left.

There were three innings to go (at least) in a 4-4 game, and the Raccoons ran out of players already. There were no infielders (outside of Starr) left on the bench, and the relief options looked dim. LaBat got the ball in the seventh and promptly croaked with a leadoff walk to Arviso, nicking Rubin, and while PH Bruce Burkart hit into a double play, Wilken gave Boston a new lead with an RBI double to left on two outs, 5-4. Lloyd walked, but Leitch grounded out to Bribiesca, ending the spook. Nevertheless, two more outs were squeezed out of the rookie southpaw in the eighth before Tanizaki was employed for four outs, which covered regulation, and without even more “funny accidents”. The Raccoons did nothing special in the seventh and eighth, then looked at former teammate Mike Lane in the bottom 9th. Starr, Christopher, and Labonte went down in order. 5-4 Titans. Gonzales 3-3, 2B; Konecny (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Next roster move. David Gonzales was not diagnosed by Thursday, but we couldn’t go with just three infielders of the zippy sort. Elijah Labat (0-1, 1.00 ERA) was handed back to AAA, and Vernon Hudalla was brought back.

Game 3
BOS: CF Torrence – RF Y. Valdez – 1B M. Rubin – 3B Wilken – 2B D. Mendoza – C Burkart – SS Leitch – LF Ma. Gilmore – P Musgrave
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – SS Bribiesca – P Fox

Single, single, double went the Titans right out of the gate, and scored three runs in the first inning off Fox, who was completely overmatched in the game and got relentlessly on snout. Two runs scored on Rubin’s double, and two nice-enough outs also got Rubin home. Fox would concede a second 3-spot in the fifth inning with some more inept tossing, then with a 2-run double by Bruce Burkart. When he wasn’t busy getting bludgeoned to death with base hits, of which he allowed seven, Fox also walked four. He was dragged through six innings just because he still had a pulse, not because I was keen on seeing more. The Coons had a Caswell single in the first, and then absolutely bloody nothing until Starr hit a single in the seventh. Brass hit a single when he pinch-hit for Sencion with two outs and nobody on base (duh) in the bottom 8th. Christopher found another single, but then Labonte made a meek out to the shortstop Alan Leitch. Joel Starr hit a double in the bottom of the ninth, but Ojeda rolled over to Randy Wilken and that completed a 5-hit shutout for Ryan Musgrave. 6-0 Titans. Starr 2-4, 2B; Brassfield (PH) 1-1;

Raccoons (31-29) vs. Blue Sox (28-33) – June 13-15, 2059

How was the Blue Sox’ second consecutive title defense going? – (sharply draws in air between his teeth) … They were ninth in runs scored and third in runs allowed with very solid pitching and the best D in the Federal League, so the problem was an offensive one. Nick Nye (.294, 11 HR, 31 RBI) was the only regular hitting better than .260-ish. The team was second from the bottom in batting average, but led the FL in home runs with 52. The Raccoons, while also racing towards the bottom in average and OBP, also still led their league in homers, having mashed 45. Both teams had a better run differential than their record would hint at; it was +24 for the Coons and +5 for the Sox. These teams had last met two years ago, with a 2-1 series win for Nashville.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.36 ERA) vs. Levi Harre (5-2, 3.99 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (2-3, 5.23 ERA) vs. Travis Baker (6-3, 3.23 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (6-4, 2.73 ERA) vs. Coby Strutz (2-4, 4.18 ERA)

Right, left, left. Harre was also going on short rest. The Sox had also played a double header on Thursday, splitting two with the Rebs, one game going extra innings, and actually missed their charter flight outta Nashville when the airport closed down at night. They had to travel in the morning and arrived at the ballpark only a few hours before game time, so maybe they were at least tuckered out and the Coons could sneak one that way.

I’d miss Southpaw Sunday, meanwhile, to attend the draft in New York.

David Gonzales (.234, 0 HR, 8 RBI) would miss the entire series and then some with a broken paw, and was placed on the DL. He was not expected back before August. Brad Loveless (3.1 IP, 3 BB, 3 K) was also optioned back to St. Pete to get new players onto the roster as we brought up Alex Rios and J.J. Sensabaugh. The third roster move involved putting Todd Oley (.206, 0 HR, 4 RBI) on waivers and designate him for assignment to get another bum infielder on the roster. As a sign that things were getting more desperate, the Raccoons brought up Jon Bean, a 24-year-old super utility, hitting .308 as a backup in AAA. He had been taken in the *12th* round of the 2055 draft and somehow had failed his way upwards. He was a left-handed batter.

Game 1
NAS: CF Sheridan – 1B Metz – SS Nye – LF Roman – C D. Johnson – 2B R. Cox – 3B Bratlien – RF Grewe – P Harre
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Lathers – SS Bribiesca – 3B Hudalla – P DeRose

First, what’s that lineup?? Second, Hudalla got his first Raccoons RBI with a 2-out single to right in the, well, second, plating Brassfield and his leadoff walk. Bribiesca had also drawn a walk. DeRose struck out, leaving on two, but at least has he kept his own bases clean, I didn’t mind. He gave up two hits and a walk the first time through, but the Sox also hit into two double plays and didn’t score. The Raccoons extended the lead to 3-0 in the third inning when Brass tripled home Labonte (single to center) and Caswell (walk). Levi Harre loved walking guys – he entered with 49 walks in 67.2 innings and the BB/9 only went up from here with five free passes in five innings – while DeRose could barely contain himself. Although, just when Rosie got three strikeouts in a row and looked semi-competent once more, Nick Nye got him with a solo home run in the sixth inning to reduce the lead to two runs.

Things quite predictably had to derail for DeRose at some point, which was the seventh inning, when he nailed not only Robby Cox, but also Bobby Grewe, and in between Jacob Bratlien whacked a single past Labonte. That gave the Sox the bases loaded with right-handed Sam Burchell batting for the pitcher with one out. The Coons’ only hope was Bravo, who gave up a sac fly to the pinch-hitter… and then 2-out RBI single to J.P. Sheridan to get the game tied again. Bravo, Bravo…!! The Raccoons just couldn’t get on the damn bases anymore, so we were now just waiting for the next bullpen screw-up to give the Sox the lead and W, which occurred in the ninth inning. Alex Rios had pitched a 1-2-3 eighth in his season debut, then allowed a leadoff single to Cox. Eloy Sencion replaced him, got a force at second from Bratlien, and then got taken deep to left by Grewe. The Raccoons brought out the pinch-hitters for the bottom third of the lineup against Jimmy Dingman in the bottom 9th. Jon Bean on debut and Juan Ojeda hit 1-out singles in the 7-8 spots, and then Jesus Martinez batted for Sencion in the #9 hole and slammed into a double play. 5-3 Blue Sox. Bean (PH) 1-1; Ojeda (PH) 1-1;

This game slipped the Raccoons to a double-digit deficit compared to the Crusaders, not that we had been in any sort of competition for some weeks now.

Game 2
NAS: CF Sheridan – 2B R. Cox – SS Nye – LF Roman – C D. Johnson – 1B Metz – RF Grewe – 3B Bratlien – P T. Baker
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 2B Labonte – P Argenziano

Portland was a bad environment for Travises, so Baker ran into a wall face-first in the third inning. Shockingly a big inning was started by a Raccoons starter (that’s where the name comes from??) and Argenziano’s 1-out single kicked off a bit of an assault. Bribiesca doubled, and Ojeda plated the both of them with a single to left-center. Brass hit another single, Cas whacked an RBI double, and Martinez brought in Brass with a groundout before the inning ended with another grounder from Joel Starr. Four runs on the board, all in the Portland line, with Argenziano, who hadn’t pitched in 13 days, starting the game a bit like DeRose had on Friday, constantly having a guy on, but getting the occasional double play, which kept the Sox under control, at least until Nick Nye homered off him as well. That was a 2-run shot to left in the sixth inning, #13 for Nye and plating Jose Gutierrez, a pinch-runner for an injured J.P. Sheridan that had hobbled all the way to second base on a double into the corner earlier in the inning. Jesus Martinez answered with his 12th home run off Goffredo Merlin, a leadoff jack in the bottom 6th, 5-2.

Argenziano also went into the seventh besides landing another base hit on the way, although that came with two outs, nobody on, and no reaction from Bribiesca or anybody else. Grewe and Bratlien, the chief troublemakers on Friday, knocked him out with a pair of 1-out singles, but Burchell then rumbled into a 4-6-3 double play against Ivan Ornelas, who then allowed his own pair of singles to Cox and Nye in the eighth inning. Ricky Herrera got Tony Roman to pop out to Labonte, while the Coons then boldly proclaimed that Tanizaki could get them a 4-out save. He entered in a double switch with Konecny for Brass, and David Johnson immediately flew out to the replacement outfielder to end the inning.

But remember the troublemakers? Bobby Grewe homered with one out in the ninth to narrow the score to 5-3, and Bratlien drew a walk. Chris Kirkwood, former Raccoon, popped out for the second out, however, so maybe we’d be fine after – *SMACK!!* – and that big old thunderclap you just heard was not the famously wonderful Portland weather suddenly turning sour, but a game-tying homer by Jose Gutierrez (NOT the ex-Coon Jose Gutierrez). The Raccoons still won the game in the bottom of the inning when right-hander Matt Pickel walked Monaghan, dropped Metz’ feed to allow Konecny on base, and then served up a walkoff knock to Bribiesca, but dear heavens, they were terrible…!! 6-5 Raccoons. Bribiesca 3-5, 2B, RBI; Ojeda 2-4, 2 RBI; Brassfield 2-4; Martinez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Argenziano 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB and 2-3;

Anybody remember that I have been trying to trade Tanizaki for a while now?

Wonder why nobody ever offers more than well wishes?

I was outta town on Sunday then, and told everybody that Chad was in charge. No outsider would genuinely be surprised by this particular baseball team being run by the glue sniffing twenty-something in the fuzzy mascot costume.

Chad promptly sent Tony Benitez on a rehab assignment to St. Petersburg that wasn’t strictly necessary.

Game 3
NAS: CF J. Gutierrez – 1B Metz – SS Nye – LF Roman – C D. Johnson – 2B R. Cox – 3B Bratlien – RF Grewe – P Strutz
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 2B Labonte – P B. Herrera

Bobby Herrera obviously hadn’t finished being terrible on Tuesday and gave up a homer to David Johnson in the second inning, although Joel Starr matched the feat in the home half of the second and the score was tied again. The Raccoons then had leadoff singles from Bribiesca and Ojeda in the bottom 3rd, which sent the odd 1-2 pair to the corners with nobody out. Brass’ whiff and Cas’ sac fly and Martinez’ non-sac fly barely got Bribiesca home with the go-ahead run, but Ojeda remained glued to first base. The Coons were back on the corners with nobody out in the bottom 4th. Starr singled, then stole second base, which he did so rarely that nobody ever paid attention to him. This was his fourth steal of the season in four attempts. Monaghan then scratched out a soft single to move him to third base. Labonte whiffed, Herrera hit into a double play, and the Raccoons didn’t get a run for their bothers.

Like the last few pitchers, Bobby Herrera went into the seventh inning, got one out, and then stuck. Johnson singled and Cox doubled to park the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position for Nashville. Sencion came in, but was met with Burchell batting for Bratlien and surrendered the lead on a sac fly. Rios then struck out Grewe for a 2-2 tie at the stretch. Coby Strutz completed seven innings without issues, and the Raccoons wound up with garbage pitcher J.J. Sensabaugh pitching in a tied game in the eighth inning, since Rios had been hit for (and would Rios *really* have been so much better?). Gutierrez walked and Metz singled with one down. Nye grounded out, moving them to scoring position, but Ricky Herrera got Tony Roman out to Cas and the score remained locked at two.

Martinez unpacked the power in the bottom 8th; finding Cas on base and Jimmy Dingman pitching, he walloped a fastball over the fence in right for a 4-2 lead. The Raccoons ended up with Bravo in the ninth inning then, since we needed a right-hander and Tanizaki had already fudged up on the weekend. The alternative would have been Ornelas, which exhausted the list of relievers still in the pen. Johnson popped out, and then Bravo struck out Cox and Ricky Carbajal to end the game! 4-2 Raccoons. Ojeda 2-4; Caswell 1-2, BB, RBI; Monaghan 1-2, BB; Bean (PH) 1-1; B. Herrera 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K;

First career save in 157 games for Reynaldo Bravo.

In other news

June 9 – The Wolves’ INF/RF/LF Jeff Buss (.320, 7 HR, 34 RBI) is out for the rest of the month at least after suffering an oblique strain.
June 11 – Nashville sends INF/LF John Webler (.211, 2 HR, 9 RBI) to the Capitals for two prospects.
June 15 – OCT OF/1B Mike Harmon (.253, 5 HR, 29 RBI) was going to miss a month with an oblique strain.

FL Player of the Week: SAL OF Chaz Kokel (.240, 3 HR, 17 RBI), batting .516 (16-31) with 2 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.285, 13 HR, 50 RBI), bashing .346 (9-26) with 3 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Just treading water now, really.

Joey Christopher’s week (makes unsure paw movement) as leadoff batter saw him hit .250/.368/.313, which was hardly inspiring, but he’d get more exposure against right-handed pitchers while we staggered around the .500 mark, dazed and confused.

I wouldn’t be shocked if one of the big bats is traded for The Future ™ before the All Star Game… Certainly not for a *now* pitcher, because you can’t fix … (moves paws around the stat sheet) … THIS with just one trade or two.

Next week: Warriors and Crusaders, which might end any conversation about October baseball rather nicely.

Fun Fact: The Jose Gutierrez that is not the Jose Gutierrez on the Blue Sox now played for the Raccoons more than 50 years ago.

2007 and 2008, which was the first exposure of the infielder to the majors. He hit .215 with no homers and 15 RBI.

He would hang on until 2029, for the most part in journeyman fashion, and collected 2,336 hits in those 23 seasons. He played for a full half of the ABL teams (including the Blue Sox for 80 games). He never won anything in a career of faithful duty but no peaks of any kind, batting .293/.357/.367 with 43 HR and 800 RBI.

There was that one year where he hit .343, and that was precisely the year he split between the Titans and Blue Sox and thus between the two leagues. He hit .336 in the CL and .349 in the FL. Still, none of those two performances would have won him a batting title in either league, but he would have been within ten points of both batting titles. The CL’s batting champ that year? Cookie Carmona, batting .344! Matt Nunley was third with a .319 clip, and in between was an ex-Coon, Adrian Quebell, then on the Condors, hitting .329. *Another* ex-Coon finished third in the FL, Yoshi Nomura hitting .342 for the Cyclones.

Ah, Honeypaws. Remember the time when we had boys that could swing the stick?

[Westheim]

2059 AMATEUR DRAFT

And here we are with the pitchers draft that was upon us in 2059… and the hope that we’d actually get a pitcher off that hotlist of ours, although I didn’t necessarily fancy our chances given that we were perpetually stuck with the #13 pick as it seemed and there were only 12 players on the vaunted hotlist (* high school player):

SP Matt Asplund (15/13/15) * – BNN #5
SP Ian Lowry (11/13/11) *
SP Tyler Spivey (13/12/11) *
SP Bobby MacDonald (13/15/10) – BNN #6
SP Brett Bebout (12/16/14) *
SP/CL Matt Martin (16/16/10) *

C/1B John Vaillancourt (10/13/10) *

INF/LF/RF Kyle Reber (14/5/8) * – BNN #2
1B Jon Herbert (8/14/10) *
SS Steve McCutcheon (11/7/12)

OF/1B/3B Dallas Baker (10/12/10) – BNN #8
OF/1B Joe Washington (10/11/13)

Going first in the 2059 draft was then Dallas Baker, selected by the Cyclones. Matt Martin was the #2 pick by the Indians, but the #3 pick was not from the hotlist, the Aces picking outfielder Jaden Wilson. The Elks continued in that vain with outfielder Brent Campell at #4, but after that it was Kyle Reber to Milwaukee and Brett Bebout to the Condors. The Gold Sox took Matt Asplund at #7. More hotlist picks were Bobby MacDonald to the Caps at #10, and Ian Lowry to the Wolves at #12.

This left one starting pitcher in Tyler Spivey, and a whole host of batters from the hotlist: Vaillancourt, Herbert, McCutcheon, and Washington. Spivey looked like a pretty solid build for a starting pitcher, but I just couldn’t help myself. I was being suckered in by Jon Herbert’s power potential. He was our #13 pick.

The Falcons then took Joe Washington with the #15 pick. The remaining players on the hotlist remained there all through the first round. The Aces finally made their pick in the supplemental round, taking Steve McCutcheon at #25. John Vaillancourt was made the #29 pick by the Warriors. And Spivey went with the very next pick to the Bayhawks, and that was it for the marvels of the annual hotlist.

+++

2059 PORTLAND RACCOONS DRAFT CLASS

Round 1 (#13) – 1B Jon Herbert, 17, from Columbia, SC – might not hit for a high average with relentless pull, but his power potential is tremendous and he’s a tough strikeout
Round 2 (#50) – SP Nick Walla, 18, from Lancaster, PA – solidly built right-handed groundballer throwing 93 with a four-pitch makeup. Stamina a bit on the low side, but not so much as to be an immediate concern.
Round 3 (#74) – SP Trevor Brewster, 17, from Charlotte, NC – very good potential on that fastball and slider combination, and if the right-hander can actually shape up his changeup he could be a tremendous starter
Round 4 (#98) – SS/3B Scott Harrison, 18, from Little Rock, AR – very agile infielder with speed that could make for a zippy middle infielder, although he somehow has never played second base before. The arm isn’t great for third base, while the bat looks like mostly singles, but with a keen eye to draw walks, so he could be leadoff material
Round 5 (#122) – 1B/C Matt Greenwood, 18, from Redan, GA – defensively creaky and without much in terms of power, he could be another OBP candidate, although unfortunately he lacks the speed to make much out of it
Round 6 (#146) – 2B/SS Mike Williams, 18, from Wichita, KS – solid singles slapping middle infielder, but not very fast on the basepaths
Round 7 (#170) – SP John Stephan, 18, from New York, NY – right-hander with a very befuddling knuckle curve, but only 89 on the heater, and not much of a third pitch to talk about
Round 8 (#194) – LF/1B/RF/3B Randy Harrop, 20, from Yankton, SD – a bit all over the place and not good in any specific area, much like South Dakota. Not a lot of power and more speed in what would inevitably be a power position, and also not a strong throwing arm, so in reality you were talking about a LF/1B.
Round 9 (#218) – MR Josh Wittrock, 21, from East Falmouth, MA – right-hander with a 91mph heater that could be driven very far, but a very nice slider, if he could get it somewhere near and not *in* the zone.
Round 10 (#242) – LF/RF Justin Garrett, 17, from Faribault, MN – from his video material he looks like he can really hit the baseball, and like he’s also allowed to park in the handicapped spot at the convenience store when you see him stumble around the outfield
Round 11 (#266) – CL Mike Bilek, 20, from Avondale, AZ – this year’s southpaw trying to replicate the raging success of Brad Loveless and whichever 11th-rounders preceded him throws it at 90 and has a neat curve, but no control over any of this.
Round 12 (#290) – LF/INF Larry Rhodes, 17, from Cannon Beach, OR – no power, no speed, no great glove, but Slappy knows a guy in Tillamook country that makes great liquor (and of course cheese, but I mind the liquor) in his backyard brewery and his nephew needs something to do after school
Round 13 (#314) – SP John Schmaltz, 18, from Chaska, MN – that 84mph fastball is gonna play, in Beer League, one day.

+++

All draft picks were assigned to Aumsville, and no, we didn’t draft an almost complete set of high school players intentionally, it just happened to be this way.

There were not that many releases at this stage because we had an epidemic of injuries in the farm system as well. Still, there’s always a few guys that you’ve seen enough of, but right now we weren’t blessed with an abundance of middle infielders in the system, so if you hit .170 in Ham Lake for the third year in a row we couldn’t get rid of you right now.

Maybe in September.

2054 fourth-rounder Justin Gee was walking everything with legs for a few years between Ham Lake and St: Pete now and was the only player released from the Alley Cats. That year’s last-rounder, southpaw Matt Gardner had held on in the low minors until now, but it wasn’t gonna get better with him, ever, and this #327 pick also went out after five years in the system. 2057 Nick Brown Memorial pick Billy Laun had less luck, getting sent away after two years, 56 innings and almost as many walks in Aumsville. 2B John Finney (2056, 10th round) was also let go along with one or two others that were washed in from the trash heap or were dragged in by the cat or scout.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (33-30) @ Warriors (35-26) – June 16-18, 2059

The Warriors were tops in the FL West, one game up after six straight wins. They had a very good defense and were tops in OBP, which helped them to second in runs scored, although their pitching was rather average. They had a +57 run differential, though. We caught them without outfielder Elmer Maldonado, but apart from that they didn’t have too many injury complaints. This was the third straight year these two teams met in the regular season. Last year, we had won two of three games.

Projected matchups:
Duarte Damasceno (0-1, 2.84 ERA) vs. Evan Alvey (2-4, 3.52 ERA)
Chance Fox (6-2, 3.73 ERA) vs. Phil Baker (6-3, 3.21 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.44 ERA) vs. Phil Nelson (5-4, 4.11 ERA)

Alvey was the only left-hander in the Warriors rotation.

Game 1
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 2B Hudalla – P Damasceno
SFW: CF J. Robinson – 3B Moriel – 1B M. Medina – RF Kaniewski – LF Bursley – 2B DeFusco – C F. Rivera – SS J. Wall – P Alvey

Josh Bursley threw out Bribiesca at the plate for the first out of the week after Bribiesca had doubled and tried to score on Ojeda’s single to left. The Raccoons still grabbed a 2-0 lead in the inning, though; Brass singled, Cas hit a sac fly, and Martinez smacked an RBI double before Starr popped out to short to end the inning. Starr left a pair his next time up with a 2-out whiff after Cas and Martinez drew walks. Damasceno didn’t allow a hit the first time through, but walked Felix Rivera. Nothing came of that, nor of Miguel Medina’s 1-out double in the bottom 4th.

Starr was back at the dish, now with three runners on base, with one out in the fifth inning. Brass and Cas had walked against the erratic Alvey, who was on six free passes already, and Martinez had whacked a sharp single to left that dropped right in front of Bursley, keeping Brass from turning the corner. Starr finally came through, dishing a single to center, and everybody buggered on by a base as the lead was extended to 3-0. Monaghan then found Josh Wall for a timely 6-4-3 double play exit to the inning. Brass’ tenth homer of the year would add a run just before the stretch, though. Damasceno remained in the groove as well. He scattered three hits and two walks, and got a couple of double plays turned as well, and pitched efficiently enough to find himself still in the game after eight innings were complete. He faced the top of the order in the bottom 9th, beginning with a strikeout against Jamel Robinson. Julio Moriel singled on the next pitch, then advanced to second on Medina’s grounder to Vernon Hudalla. The good news – Damasceno finished the game. The bad news – not until after John Kaniewski singled home Moriel on a 1-2 pitch. 4-1 Raccoons. Ojeda 3-5; Brassfield 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Martinez 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-5, RBI; Damasceno 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (1-1);

Next, ex-Coon Phil Baker pitching competentely (!?) …

Game 2
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – SS Bean – P Fox
SFW: CF J. Robinson – SS Barre – 1B M. Medina – RF Kaniewski – 2B DeFusco – 3B J. Wall – LF Tarver – C Manjarrez – P P. Baker

Chance Fox drew more ire right out of the gate with walks to Robinson and Medina, then giving up an 0-2 RBI single to Kaniewski to allow the Warriors to take the lead. Mike DeFusco hit into a double play and after that both offenses mostly went home for an extended period of time, having only three hits each through six innings. Unfortunately, one of the Warriors hits was a Devin Tarver solo jack in the bottom 5th that extended the Warriors’ lead to 2-0. Portland scratched, however, and Joel Starr hit a solo home run to right of his own in the seventh to cut the gap in half. The Raccoons then loaded the bases with nobody out with a string of singles from the 6-7-8 hitters, two off Baker, and the third off left-hander Ed Nadeau. There was simply not better spot to bat Jesus Martinez than right here for Fox, and the move took Fox off the hook once Martinez walked on five pitches, knotting the score at two. Christopher’s hard grounder to short saw the Warriors go home to force out Lathers, but Labonte’s sac fly gave us the lead, and then Cas banged in a 2-out pair with a loud double off the fence in right, 5-2. Brass’ groundout ended the inning.

After that 5-spot and a 1-2-3 inning from Alex Rios, the Raccoons tacked on a 3-spot in the eighth off Javier Cortes and Spencer Dalrymple. Starr and Ojeda got on base to begin the frame, and Martinez singled them home with a shot through the left side with two outs. Christopher walked, and Labonte hit another RBI single before Cas grounded out. Rios got five outs on eight pitches before the Warriors finally brought up a left-handed pinch-hitter against him, but instead Ricky Herrera got rid of that to complete the bottom 8th. We even got a scoreless ninth from J.J. Sensabaugh…! 8-2 Raccoons. Caswell 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Brassfield 2-4; Ojeda 2-3, BB; Martinez 1-1, BB, 3 RBI;

Game 3
POR: CF Christopher – 2B Labonte – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – SS Bribiesca – P DeRose
SFW: CF J. Robinson – 3B Moriel – 1B M. Medina – RF Kaniewski – LF Bursley – 2B DeFusco – C F. Rivera – SS B. Wilken – P P. Nelson

Wednesday’s pitchers’ duel saw the Raccoons’ DeRosiest Critter allow three hits and three strikeouts in five innings (and no runs), while Nelson gave half of that up to the Raccoons himself: only the strikeouts, none of the hits. The only Raccoon that reached base in the first five innings was Martinez by way of getting brushed with a pitch. Nelson continued with strikeouts to the 8-9 batters as the sixth inning broke, then walked Christopher in a full count. Two pitches later, Labonte singled, and was the spell broken now? Yes! On consecutive pitches Brass and Starr both drove in a run, the former on a full-count single to center, and the latter on a first-pitch double to right-center. Martinez struck out, though, but I was even more annoyed when DeRose ticked a pitch off Phil Nelson’s bum to begin the bottom 6th. The Warriors’ 1-2-3 didn’t come through, though, at all, and Nelson was stranded on second base. Kaniewski then hit a leadoff single in the seventh, but was forced out by Bursley, and then DeFusco found a double play to hit into, 6-4-3. That was on the 109th pitch for DeRose, and he was hit for to begin the top 8th, but starting with the pinch-hitter Konecny, the Coons went down in order.

It was still 2-0 on the board, which made it the more annoying when Eloy Sencion retired neither Felix Rivera (walk), nor Ben Wilken (single) to begin the bottom 8th. Tanizaki came on with Devin Tarver pinch-hitting for the pitcher in the #9 spot, getting a fielder’s choice at second base from him, then another 6-4-3 from Jamel Robinson, and somehow the Coons buggered out of that inning. All of this somewhat derailed our plans for who’d pitch the ninth inning. Instead, Bravo got the ninth inning – and on the snout, with a run-up, and spikes in the bat. Moriel walked in a full count, Medina singled, and Kaniewski erased the lead with a triple to left-center … and there was still nobody out. The Coons did bring Ricky Herrera for the left-hander, but the game ended on a sac fly by answering pinch-hitter Josh Wall. 3-2 Warriors. DeRose 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

You rarely win when you bring on four relievers, three of which don’t get anybody out.

Raccoons (35-31) vs. Crusaders (44-22) – June 20-22, 2059

If the Raccoons wanted to remain in the conversation by the dawn of July, here as a chance. Win the series and remain within ten games of the New York EZ-Squirts. That team ranked first in runs scored and second in runs allowed, but interestingly enough was hitting no homers (bottoms) and had no speed (tenth). They were only third place in OBP, either, so perhaps they scored runs by sacrificing newborn baby boys or something. The first series this year between these two teams had been a fair split in a four-game set.

Projected matchups:
Cameron Argenziano (2-3, 4.93 ERA) vs. Seisaku Taki (9-3, 2.85 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (6-4, 2.74 ERA) vs. Jose Ortega (3-4, 5.88 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (1-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (10-3, 3.17 ERA)

Only right-handers on that staff.

Matt Walters was not quite ready for the opener, but we expected him to be activated from the DL by Saturday.

Game 1
NYC: LF Deeley – 3B Zucal – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – CF Branch – 1B Epperson – C J. Reese – SS N. Fowler – P Taki
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – SS Bribiesca – P Argenziano

The Raccoons achieved no mean feat in having three singles the first time through and still bring up the minimum amount of batters in three innings against ex-Coon Taki, with Labonte being caught stealing in the bottom 1st and Cas and Lathers being doubled up in the subsequent innings. At least Argenziano didn’t blow up early and the game was still scoreless … until Argenziano got slapped on the snout in the fourth inning. Omar Sanchez started with a single, stole second, and scored on Sean Zeiher’s single. Tommy Branch hit into a double play, but Gunner Epperson socked a triple to left and Justin Reese found another RBI single to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead on four hits before Nick Fowler grounded out to Brass at first base.

The Coons got Joey Christopher on with a leadoff walk in the bottom 4th, but he was doubled up by Brass to kill that inning, and we were still bringing up the minimum against Taki through six. Poor Gunner Epperson meanwhile whacked a leadoff triple to right in the seventh inning and then was stranded when the bottom three in the order popped out and struck out twice against Argenziano. The Raccoons looked *so* constipated that it came as a bit of a shock when Caswell drew another walk in the eighth inning and then Jesus Martinez unpacked a game-tying bomb to left.

The ninth was scoreless. Tanizaki and Sencion pieced it together for Portland, while Christopher singled his way on with one out in the bottom 9th, and then there was another double play, but of the strike-em-out-throw-em-out variety… Bravo had a scoreless tenth inning, while Taki had a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the *tenth*. He threw 119 pitches over ten innings, and it wasn’t enough for a W. Ricky Herrera handled the 11th for Portland, with Zachariah Alldred beginning proceedings from the Crusaders pen, their first reliever to our fourth. After Ojeda grounded out, Alldred gave up a single to Lathers, then walked Bribiesca. Joel Starr batted for Herrera, crashed into another double play, and the Coons more or less gave up there, and put in Sensabaugh, which didn’t result in an immediate loss. Much the contrary, the Coons remained tied in the top 12th, then put Christopher and Labonte on the corners with leadoff singles against Alldred in the bottom 12th. Before the middle of the order could lay a whole basket of eggs and escalate the game into the wee hours of the morning, Alldred threw a game-ending wild pitch just so he could get back to the hotel. 3-2 Blighters. Christopher 3-4, BB; Martinez 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Lathers 2-4;

Sensabaugh (1-0, 0.00 ERA) then took his W and went back to St. Petersburg. Matt Walters came off the DL and needed a roster spot.

Game 2
NYC: 3B Zucal – C Seidman – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – CF Branch – LF Alade – 1B Sevilla – SS N. Fowler – P J. Ortega
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – SS Bean – P B. Herrera

Offense came from weird places on Saturday. The Crusaders went up 1-0 in the first on Mike Seidman’s homer, but Joey Christopher tied the game with his first career home run right away. When Sevilla and Fowler hit 2-out doubles against Herrera in the second to give New York a new 2-1 lead, the Coons got on Lathers with a single and then the first career RBI for Jon Bean, who stuffed a 2-out double into the leftfield corner in the bottom 2nd. When New York actually didn’t score in the third inning, the Raccoons did so anyway. Labonte hit a 1-out triple to right-center before Cas and Brass backfilled the bases by drawing walks. Starr gave the Coons a 3-2 lead with a sac fly, and Ojeda tacked on a run with a single up the middle, a feat soon repeated by Morgan Lathers before Jon Bean flew out to center to end the inning with two on base, but up 5-2.

But Bobby Herrera kept leaking runners… lots of long counts, lots of hits, bunch of walks… and he was done after five innings, needing over 100 pitches to make it even that far. The Crusaders made up one run against him in the fourth when Andrew Russ (gnashes teeth audibly) singled in a run as pinch-hitter for Ortega, who was thus gone even sooner.

Former Indian Jason Palladino was on the mound in the bottom 5th and gave up leadoff doubles to right to Brass and Starr, which made for a 6-3 lead, and then a Luis Silva visit at second base as Starr seemed to have tweaked something on the slide into the bag. He came out of the game; Brass moved in to first, and Konecny entered in left. The bases loaded up with Lathers nicked and Bean walked with two outs, and Jesus Martinez batted for Herrera. He singled in Konecny with a solid 3-2 drop into shallow right, 7-3. Two more runs scored on a solid line drive single to left-center by Christopher.

The Coons then wanted multiple innings from Ornelas, but got the bags full and nobody out in the top 6th. The Crusaders settled for two runs on a Seidman single, but that got them back in slam range, 9-5. His seventh was better, while the home half of that frame saw Jon Bean and Vernon Hudalla reach for the Alley Cats, but they were stranded. Then Sencion had another **** outing in the eighth. Three walks, a single, a wild pitch, and two runs for the Crusaders, and that didn’t even end the inning. Tanizaki still had to get a groundout from Justin Reese to strand the bases loaded in a 9-7 game. At least the ninth inning was no longer a draw from a hat. Matt Walters retired the Crusaders 1-2-3 and that was that…! 9-7 Raccoons. Christopher 3-5, HR, 3 RBI; Brassfield 2-4, BB, 2B; Starr 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; Lathers 2-3, RBI; Bean 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Martinez (PH) 1-1, RBI;

That was already a series win.

No Joel Starr on Sunday, though – he had discomfort in his back and would sit out at least one game. Too bad, because he would perhaps do well against the ace Seiter.

Game 3
NYC: LF Deeley – C Seidman – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – CF Branch – 1B Epperson – 3B Zucal – SS N. Fowler – P Seiter
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – SS Bribiesca – P Argenziano

After two scoreless, the Crusaders took a lead in the third inning in stupid ways. Seiter hit a leadoff single, which was already annoying the crap out of me. Chris Deeley’s infield single that was mishandled by Brassfield, and Damasceno’s outright error on a comebacker by Seidman filled the bases with nobody out. He then walked in a run against Sanchez, and Zeiher hit a sac fly, although Tommy Branch then mercifully hit into a double play. Seiter even more outrageously hit another leadoff single in the fifth, although he was then forced out by Deeley, who stole second base but was still stranded with some poor outs from the middle of the order. In the sixth it was Branch to hit the leadoff single. Damasceno threw a wild pitch, then walked Roger Zucal anyway. Nick Fowler doubled home Branch, but Zucal was thrown out at the plate. The same fate had already befallen Bribiesca a few innings earlier, contributing markedly to the face that the Raccoons were nowhere near the scoreboard in a game that 3-0 Crusaders in the middle of the sixth inning.

Nothing much changed with that. Seiter was not only smacking the living crap out of Damasceno, who was gone after six innings just so he couldn’t give up any more hits to the opposing pitcher, but was also pitching a fairly sturdy game himself, scattering the odd single here and there, but shutting out the Raccoons through the stretch and beyond. Christopher drew a leadoff walk in the sixth, but was caught stealing. Bribiesca hit a leadoff single in the eighth, but was doubled up by Hudalla. The Crusaders missed the chance to put the game away for good in the ninth inning when Alex Rios mindlessly walked the bags full but the Crusaders didn’t get an actual base hit, not that they were taking out Seiter yet. He got the chance to pitch the shutout to completion – but didn’t. He walked Labonte to begin the bottom 9th, as if a leadoff base runner was gonna do ******** anything for the Raccoons. Brass grounded out, advancing the in itself meaningless runner. Cas drove an RBI double down the rightfield line, though, and this brought Martinez – co-tying for the CL home run lead – to the plate as the tying run, and the Crusaders went to Alldred. Martinez flew out to center, advancing Caswell to third base, and Rios was in the #6 spot, so Konecny grabbed a stick. He singled to center to keep the game going, with Lathers batting for Monaghan as the winning run. He gave a 1-1 pitch a good ride to right, but not good enough. Zeiher made the catch at the edge of the warning track, and the Raccoons were denied a surprise sweep. 3-2 Crusaders. Konecny (PH) 1-1, RBI; Bribiesca 2-3;

In other news

June 17 – 11 innings and 15-13 for a final score, with the Crusaders scoring four runs in the top of the 11th and the Rebs only being able to make up two of them afterwards.
June 18 – What a difference a day makes; this time the Rebels lose in regulation to the Crusaders, and get actually flattened in a 19-1 rout. NYC OF Sean Zeiher (.256, 5 HR, 36 RBI) drives in six runs to lead the team.
June 18 – NAS INF Nick Nye (.311, 14 HR, 37 RBI) puts up five hits, a homer and four singles, with three RBI in a 10-3 win against the Thunder.
June 19 – The Pacifics acquire C Jose Cantu (.254, 7 HR, 38 RBI) from the Miners for a minor leaguer and a prospect, #189 OF Evan Mottern.
June 19 – The Gold Sox pick up infielder Ian Criddle (.304, 2 HR, 11 RBI) from Dallas for 2B Ricky Lopez (.219, 2 HR, 5 RBI).
June 19 – Knights catcher Marco Nieto (.298, 4 HR, 33 RBI) will miss a month with a sprained ankle.
June 19 – To make things worse for the Atlanta team, they also get strangled by the Thunder in a 17-2 thrashing.

FL Player of the Week: NAS INF/LF/RF Jacob Bratlien (.291, 0 HR, 20 RBI), poking .565 (13-23) with 3 RBI
CL Player of the Week: VAN 1B Jose Campos (.259, 8 HR, 30 RBI), socking .500 (13-26) with 3 HR, 12 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Not hitting a big homer in the bottom 9th cost Jesus Martinez his share in the CL home run lead, as Armando Montoya went up to 15 on Sunday. That’s just on the side, though. The Raccoons lost on Sunday, but beat the Crusaders over the weekend, so we’re somehow still relevant, and we should try and find us a pitcher and half a dozen infielders and catchers. There’s nothing good on the waiver wire, so I guess we have to part with prospects.

(gnashes teeth like Andrew Russ is somewhere within 250 miles of Raccoons Ballpark)

Road trip again, with six games in Milwaukee and San Francisco next week.

Fun Fact: For all the whining, the Raccoons are 3rd in the CL in starters’ ERA.

Some things just can’t be explained, though. Like this stat, or how the tides actually work. Or why we do everything for cats, and they do nothing but plot our demise.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (37-32) @ Loggers (26-42) – June 23-25, 2059

The Loggers were loggering around at the bottom of the division, where they hadn’t finished since 2051. This year, however, they were back to being truly woeful. Second-fewest runs scored, most runs allowed – there was not a lot that could be said about the roster if you wanted to stay nice. Their -68 run differential hinted at more trouble to come. The Coons were up 4-2 in the season series and were well advised to keep going. Their pitching staff had seen a hand grenade explode in the middle of them, with numerous pitchers including Tyler Riddle, Curt Rosato, and Brett Lillis jr. on the DL, along with ex-Coon Jason Monson, who challenged for the CL home run lead early in the season, but now was down with an oblique strain.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (7-2, 3.68 ERA) vs. Sam Webb (4-6, 4.52 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Cory Ellis (5-3, 3.83 ERA)
Cameron Argenziano (2-3, 4.55 ERA) vs. Ernesto Culver (4-6, 4.71 ERA)

The week would start with a left-handed opponent, and would continue with two right-handers and an off day.

No Joel Starr on Monday yet, but we were initially mum about whether this was still due to the creaky back or because of Webb and whether he was available to do damage off the bench.

Game 1
POR: SS Bribiesca – 3B Ojeda – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – LF Konecny – 2B Hudalla – P Fox
MIL: RF Pigman – 2B Garmon – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – CF Valenzano – 3B Pirandello – LF Wada – SS D. Miller – P S. Webb

The week started bizarro-style; Arturo Bribiesca hit a triple to right on an 0-2 pitch, then went for home on Ojeda’s fly to Perry Pigman in right-center, slid hindpaws first into – … well, the knees of Chris Maresh. Bribiesca’s left cleat was caught awkwardly and in addition to insult (he was out and never touched the plate at all), he also suffered injury and had to be helped off the field by Luis Silva and Ojeda with a sprained ankle. Jon Bean replaced him.

Also soon replaced, it seemed out of the gate, was Chance Fox, who barely retired Pigman on a 3-1 pop to begin the bottom 1st, but then walked Corey Garmon on four pitches and was instantly bombed by Dave Robles to give the Loggers a 2-0 lead that they held all the way to the stretch while the Coons scattered another three base hits in addition to the ill-fated Bribiesca’s triple to begin the game. Fox got his crap together deeper into the start and ended up putting together seven innings of 3-hit ball until his spot led off the top of the eighth inning, at which point he was still trailing 2-0. Joey Christopher drew a leadoff walk, but the 1-2-3 disappeared in a real hurry and Christopher never even got off first base. After Bravo held up in the bottom 8th, Noah Caswell at least began the ninth with a single off Danny Zepeda to get the tying run back to the dish. Martinez whiffed, though. Labonte walked in place of Monaghan, but Konecny batted for himself with the right-hander on the hill, and with one swipe took Foxie Brown off the hook, slicing a triple into the rightfield corner to tie the score at two…! Lathers then pushed an RBI single up the middle in place of Hudalla, and Joel Starr batted for Bravo, but struck out against new pitcher Josh Costello, who ended the inning before the Coons could tack on.

The Coons didn’t win it, though. Matt Walters had a stinker of a ninth inning, allowing a 1-out single to Steve Valenzano, who then stole second base, reached third on Lathers’ ****** throw, and Walters nailed the next Steve in line, Pirandello, walked Jushiro Wada, and walked Danny Miller to tie the game, still with one out. Marcos Chavez grounded hard to Jon Bean, who perhaps controversially went home rather than try to turn two, but at least got the winning run thrown out. Walters then barely struck out David Milian to send the game to extra innings.

Ivan Ornelas was then in for long relief, plus batting for himself, since the bench had been entirely vacated in the top of the ninth inning, although he also didn’t get to bat until leading off the 12th inning of an increasingly annoying game. He then drew a leadoff walk from right-hander Jesus Aquino, who had 15 walks to 8 strikeouts in 14 innings to begin his own long relief in this game. Bean forced out the pitcher, but Ojeda singled him to third base. Brass failed by popping out, but Caswell chopped a single up the middle to bring in the go-ahead run. Martinez flew out to Valenzano, though. There were no real rested relievers available at this point, either, so the Coons just stuck with Ornelas for a third inning, who started his half of the 12th just as well as Aquino, by ******* walking the pitcher leading the **** off. Milian forced out Aquino, giving me certain flashbacks, with a grounder to short. Danny Compean struck out before Milian stole second on the first pitch to Robles. Robles was then simply walked intentionally since we preferred to have Ornelas face Maresh, batting .191, if being so offered. Maresh hit a comebacker to Ornelas, whose sure throw to first base ended the game. 4-3 Blighters. Bribiesca 1-1, 3B; Ojeda 2-6; Caswell 2-6, RBI; Lathers (PH) 1-2, RBI; Fox 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; Ornelas 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, W (3-2);

Bribiesca was off to the DL with the bum ankle, but fear not; the Raccoons didn’t have to dig even deeper than Jon Bean in their AAA treasure trove for lumpy infielders, because we could still activate Tony Benitez from a phony-to-begin-with rehab assignment.

Game 2
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – SS Bean – P DeRose
MIL: CF Valenzano – 2B Garmon – LF Pigman – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 3B Lindauer – RF Kohlman – SS D. Miller – P C. Ellis

Portland got out to the early start on Tuesday. Christopher drew a leadoff walk – man, if the boy could start to hit a little on top of that OBP stuffings…! – and then scored on a 2-out double by Jesus Martinez. Starr’s and Ojeda’s singles brought in Martinez with the second run, but Lathers then struck out. Christopher drew another walk with two outs in the second inning, though, and then scored on another pair of 2-out singles by Labonte and Cas before Martinez ended the inning with a fly to right. While DeRose put up zeroes with his usual act of looking like everybody’s least-agile grandma, but it somehow aligned into regular outs, Christopher scored his third run on his third time up in the fourth inning, although that time he reached on an error by Jeremy Lindauer before stealing second base and scoring on a Labonte base knock, 4-0. Starr’s 2-out RBI single would increase that score to 5-0 before the inning was over.

The bottom 4th, where it then all went completely pear-shaped: Garmon and Pigman began with singles, but the Loggers had started the second inning just like that before Lindauer had hit into a double play. No such luck this time. While Robles flew out, Maresh doubled in two runs with a screamer to right. Lindauer singled to put runners on the corners, at least until DeRose balked on the 0-2 to Kohlman, plating one run, then gave up a single two proper pitches later, which plated another, 5-4. The 2-2 was put into left by Kohlman with Lindauer turning third base to attempt for home plate. Christopher picked the ball, hurled it in awkwardly, no play could be made on that chonker, and then sunk to his knees and held his abdomen, while I sunk deeper into my seat and held my numb forehead. Christopher came out of the game for Brassfield, who walked in the top 5th against Aquino (!) after Lathers and Bean had been bunted into scoring position by DeRose after already reaching base to begin the inning. Sharp hits for singles by Labonte and Caswell plated two and one run(s), respectively, as the Raccoons re-established slam range, before Martinez chucked one into a double play to end the inning.

The Coons saw DeRose threw the fifth when Garmon was caught stealing, then didn’t bat for him in the sixth with two on and two out, ending the inning on a K. We got exactly what we deserved in the bottom 6th: Robles and Maresh in scoring position on two loud knocks and nobody out, and now still needed 12 outs from the pen. Tanizaki replaced DeRose, but instead of restoring order gave up a booming double off the wall in left to Lindauer, and the runs scored. Lindauer was stranded at third base partially because Danny Miller drew a walk and then was also caught stealing. The defense was also helping. Tanizaki ******* wasn’t.

The Raccoons’ seventh inning began with Brass walking against lefty Sansao Tyson, who also gave up a double to right to Labonte, putting a pair in scoring position with nobody out, but the ******* knuckleheads would then pop out, be walked intentionally, and womble into a double play without scoring. Tanizaki got two outs in the bottom 7th before Ricky Herrera came on for Pigman specifically, walked him on four pitches, then gave up a single to Robles and continued to face right-handed batters because we were too much slapped stupid to make another move right now. Maresh grounded to short, but Bean flung the ******* ball away for an error and a run scored, 8-7. Lindauer then somehow popped out on a 3-1 pitch to end the damn inning. But you just knew it – they HAD to lose.

And trying to lose they did. Bottom 8th: Herrera sat down Kohlman before Alex Rios sat down him. It was a problem to begin with that a triple-A pitcher had to get crucial outs in a 1-run game in the eighth inning. Rios got one from Miller, but not the second, although Labonte had a paw in it, flicking away Milian’s pinch-hit grounder to put the tying run on base. Valenzano immediately drove in the run with a left-center gap double, then scored on a Garmon single to flip the score in the Loggers’ favor. But hold on – Konecny made a soggy out to begin the ninth against Zepeda, but then Trent Brassfield CRUSHED the living **** out of a breaking ball and the game was back to tied at nine. Labonte then socked a double to center, but Cas flew out. Zepeda walked the bases full against Benitez (the #4 spot had been repurposed for the pitcher mid-collective blow-up) and Starr. Ojeda grounded out to Lindauer on the first pitch to strand the bases loaded, though. Bravo got around a leadoff walk to Robles in the bottom 9th to see this game, too, go extra innings. Yayyy.

Neither side had much left in terms of extra players as the tenth inning dawned, so it was nice to see Bean and Konecny take to the corners with one out in the 10th. Less awesome was Brass whiffing and Labonte being retired by a sliding Perry Pigman in shallow left. Nobody scored. On to the bottom 11th, where Eloy Sencion was our last hope from the pen, but walked Pigman and allowed a single to Robles right away. Maresh hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Lindauer ran a full count, then whacked a high fly to left… but it fell into Brass’ mitten on the warning track and we had 12 innings (or maybe more!) for the second day in a row. The Coons left Lathers and Brass on the corners when they drew walks from John Norris in the 12th inning, and instead the game ended with Jushiro Wada’s pinch-hit jack off Sencion in the bottom of the 12th. 10-9 Loggers. Christopher 0-1, 2 BB; Brassfield 1-2, 3 BB, HR, RBI; Labonte 5-8, 3 2B, 3 RBI; Starr 5-6, BB, RBI; Lathers 2-6, BB; Bravo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

The #1, #2, and #5 spots went a combined 11-17 with six walks, a homer, three doubles, and we still couldn’t get in front of the ******* Loggers??

THE LOGGERS??

More good news? Christopher (.412 OBP) was off to the DL with an abdominal strain (oh yeah, he suffered an injury about 15 innings and 58 hours ago!), and since the Raccoons now had a completely bombed out bullpen, they added a garbage reliever for the rubber game on Wednesday, which on top of everything else was also to be started by Cameron “Whoopsie” Argenziano.

None of the AAA relievers on the 40-man were rested, but have you heard of Colby Bowen?

COLBY BLOODY BOWEN.

Game 3
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Benitez – P Argenziano
MIL: RF Pigman – 2B Garmon – 1B Robles – C Maresh – LF Lindauer – CF Valenzano – 3B Pirandello – SS D. Miller – P E. Culver

Wednesday in Wisconsin brought more insult, and more injury over the Raccoons. First the insult: Argenziano walked six batters inside four innings, getting his head smashed in with a 2-run homer by Maresh in the first, then an assortment of loud knocks after two free passes for three more runs in the second inning, so it wasn’t so much about contending anymore as it was about surviving. Brass hit a sac fly in the third, as if that would do anything.

Then the Coons shed another infielder when in the bottom 4th Ojeda hustled in and made a bare-pawed play on a Danny Miller grounder. He made the play, then fell down and crawled for a few more feet before resting and waiting for Luis Silva to collect him. The back. And the agony. Vernon Hudalla replaced him. After a K to Culver and a breaking ball that almost took Perry Pigman’s leg off and added a second runner to Steve Pirandello on second base with two outs, Argenziano was also yanked. Tanizaki popped out Garmon to keep the score at 5-1, whee!

Colby Bowen pitched two messy innings for an additional Loggers run in the sixth, not that it mattered anymore, because the Raccoons lineup didn’t look like it had another run in them, let alone five, although Brass and Starr would hit a pair of doubles off Costello in the seventh inning for another more or less token run. That was it. 6-2 Loggers. Ojeda 1-2, 2B; Starr 3-4, 2B, RBI; Benitez 2-3, BB;

We somehow out-hit the Loggers, 8-7. I guess Argenziano’s six walks kinda did our head in.

Juan Ojeda’s back would take at least a week to be re-arranged, and maybe two, so he was also off to the DL, and it was slowly becoming a bit dire for players with all four paws attached.

Thursday was off (ahead of 17 straight games), and the Raccoons coped as much as possible on their way to the Bay where nothing good ever happened.

Raccoons (38-34) @ Bayhawks (37-35) – June 27-29, 2059

The Raccoons had been swept already this year by the Bayhawks and I had a hunch that this might happen again, even though the Bayhawks were also in a slump. They ranked fourth in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed, and had a +4 run differential. Their rotation was in the bottom three by ERA, but they now led the CL in homers after the Raccoons had slouched off; same for Armando Montoya and the league lad in homers and RBI. He had 15 and 56, respectively.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (7-4, 2.86 ERA) vs. Mark Jacobs (6-6, 3.36 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (1-2, 2.38 ERA) vs. Eric Braley (4-7, 4.83 ERA)
Chance Fox (7-2, 3.60 ERA) vs. Jesse Connors (4-5, 3.32 ERA)

Left, right, left, and probably three on the snout.

Besides dropping Juan Ojeda to the DL, the Raccoons made further roster moves ahead of the series. Cameron Argenziano (2-4, 5.02 ERA) and Colby Bowen (0-0, 4.50 ERA) were both placed on waivers and designated for assignment. We brought up left-hander MR Adam Harris, right-handed 1B Forbes Tomlin, and right-handed 2B Bernie Ortega from AAA. Only Harris had been in the majors before, with 27 appearances out of the pen over the last three years, getting most smoked for a 5.82 ERA. Last year, though, he had only two scoreless outings before his shoulder gave out.

Tomlin, 23, and Ortega, 22, were doing *alright* for themselves in AAA, but were by no means going to help the team stop sucking. Tomlin had been a #22 pick five years ago, and Ortega had signed for just inside six figures almost six years ago to the day out of the Dominican Republic. They were fair defenders. They were here to face lefty pitching for a few days until I could either shake a trade for something, or until we were under .500 anyway and I could start to *really* shake a trade for prospects.

This was the Volkssturm approach to roster management.

Game 1
POR: 3B Benitez – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – 1B Tomlin – 2B Ortega – SS Hudalla – P B. Herrera
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – CF Tomko – RF Escalera – C Redfern – P Jacobs

Before Bobby Herrera could wonder for long what the heck he had signed up for here, Armando Montoya singled in his 57th run of the year plating Xavier Reyes in the first inning, and Herrera leaked another run on a walk to Keith Redfern and 2-out singles by Jacobs (…) and Reyes to fall 2-0 behind in the bottom 2nd, so now it was all his own fault anyway. Two singles per inning remained the norm, although the Bayhawks didn’t score in the bottom 3rd, with Montoya getting the hit, but also getting caught stealing. Two hits per inning were the total for both teams, mind; Pat Fowler had another single, and the Raccoons through three innings had diddly squat. Cas hit a single in the fourth after all. Wasn’t it nice that he was still trying?

Actually, the Raccoons manufactured some offense in the fifth. Forbes Tomlin hit a single for his first career hit, and with two outs Herrera and Benitez hit two more singles to get him around to score, 2-1, but then Brass popped out to short. Before you could get your hopes up, Herrera then filled the bases with the 1-2-3 batters to begin the bottom 5th and got bombed for three runs by a Pat Fowler double and Chris Tomko’s sac fly. The Coons were done hitting from there through the eighth, but when Jacobs reappeared in the ninth inning to complete the game, he was rather roughly met by a Caswell triple to left, and an RBI double by Martinez in roughly the same direction. This made it a 5-2 save situation and Joe Gowin got the baseball. Labonte batted for Monaghan and Starr batted for Tomlin, and both walked to have all the tying runs aboard with nobody out. More pinch-hitters! Lathers got a run in with a groundout to first base, and Konecny batted for “Peppers” Harris in the #8 spot and hit an RBI single through the right side… but now the bench was empty and we were stuck with Jon Bean batting and the tying run on third base. There, he remained. Bean grounded out to third, and Benitez grounded out to short. 5-4 Bayhawks. Caswell 2-4, 3B; Konecny (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Tomlin went 1-for-3, while Ortega drew nothing but blanks.

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Benitez – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Bean – P Damasceno
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – CF Tomko – RF Escalera – C W. Gardner – P Braley

In the fourth inning, Tony Benitez hit a leadoff double to put his furry tush into scoring position as the tying run with nobody out. Braley threw a wild pitch to even get him to third base, and the vaunted middle of the order then … struck out, struck out, and flew out lazily to Grant Anker. The score remained 1-0, courtesy of Pat Fowler’s homer to right in the second inning. And if those three guys could not get a runner home from third base with nobody out, then what were we even ******* doing here…?

Top 5th, and Lathers drew a 1-out walk, followed by Jon Bean (who?) doubling to right. This parked a pair in scoring position with one out, and then two outs, because Damasceno popped out on the infield. Labonte sent Jose Escalera to the fence with a drive to right, but that ball was also caught, while the Bayhawks then got two in scoring position with nobody out thanks to a single by Braley and a soul-stabbing throwing error by Lathers on a Xavier Reyes grounder. Runs scored on Peltier’s groundout and a Montoya double, 3-0, and while that sounded like a mild total for the three innings that Damasceno pitched, it filtered out a lot of the hard-hit balls that were outs, another hit for Braley, and just a whole lot of superficial scorebook scratchery for additional headaches that didn’t make it into the actual box score. Damasceno was hit for in the seventh inning with Vernon Hudalla, that .118 menace, who rumbled straight into a 4-6-3 double play to erase Morgan Lathers from first base. Alex Rios’ partial seventh inning wasn’t that much more atrocious except that he did it all in the open, giving up four hits, a wild pitch, and two runs, and then had Eloy Sencion wipe up all the mess he made on the carpet afterwards.

And then the Baybirds had another sudden meltdown. Top 8th, and Braley allowed leadoff singles to Labonte, who stole second, and Benitez, then a Cas sac fly, before being removed for Zane Fenlon in a 5-1 game. Fenlon walked Brass, then was replaced with Travis Davis, who threw one pitch for a 2-run single by Starr, then was yanked for Zach Johnson, who allowed another RBI single to Lathers with two outs, but Bean then grounded out to keep the Coons a run short. Konecny hit a leadoff single in place of Sencion to begin the ninth against Joe Gowin, but the 1-2-3 then croaked, and the Coons lost by a run again. 5-4 Bayhawks. Benitez 3-5, 2B; Starr 3-4, RBI; Lathers 1-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI; Konecny (PH) 1-1;

Game 3
POR: 3B Benitez – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – 1B Tomlin – 2B Ortega – SS Hudalla – P C. Fox
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – 2B A. Montoya – RF Escalera – LF Anker – 1B C. Jimenez – C Redfern – CF Tomko – P Connors

The Raccoons took a lead (!!) with a leadoff double by Benitez, Cas getting nicked, and Martinez hitting a sac fly in the first inning. While Fox couldn’t blow the lead with a leadoff walk to Reyes in the bottom 1st – the runner was caught stealing – he sure did so by allowing a leadoff double to Jose Escalera, nicking Grant Anker, and giving away an RBI single to Keith Redfern in the bottom 2nd. Tomko popped out and Connors whiffed to leave runners on the corners for San Francisco.

The Coons loaded the bases with Benitez, Brass (singles), and Martinez (2-out walk) in the third inning, but with that were also out of the part of the lineup that was vaguely competent. Eric Monaghan found something, though, taking a 1-0 pitch over the head of Montoya and into right-center for a 2-run single, 3-1, raising his batting average to a dizzying .168 before Tomlin grounded out. The Bayhawks responded with murder of Chance Fox, who didn’t retire any of the first five batters in the bottom 3rd, starting with another one of his ******* LEADOFF WALKS to Reyes. Peltier singled, double steal, Montoya doubled home two, Escalera walked, and Anker was nailed. Two sac flies followed, making it a 4-run inning and a 5-3 lead for the home team. The Coons picked up that tab with the first career single by Bernie Ortega, a walk drawn by Hudalla, a non-terrible bunt from Fox, and Tony Benitez’ 2-run single to tie the game at five, knock out Connors, and avoiding another 5-4 loss all in one go.

Not that we could have anything nice, still. Bottom 5th, and Fox tried to offer a 4-pitch leadoff walk to Montoya, but the batter grounded out on the 3-0. Escalera then singled his way on, Anker popped out, and Chris Jimenez popped one out of the confines of the ballpark for a 2-run homer. Somehow Fox avoided the mandatory L for giving up seven earned runs after getting yanked on the spot, since Jesus Martinez mashed a homer of his own with Brass aboard off Jorge Solis in the top 6th, tying the score again, now at seven. Adam Peltier, the miserable *********, answered with a 2-run double off hapless Reynaldo Bravo in the bottom of the same inning after Tomko and Fowler reached base to begin the inning. After a calm seventh inning, right-hander Travis Julien allowed a leadoff single to PH Paul Labonte and a walk to Benitez to start the eighth inning. Brass’ single made it three on, nobody out, and brought Zane Fenlon as new pitcher. Cas lobbed a single over Reyes to bring in a run, 9-8, and a new pitcher in veteran righty Sam Gibson, who got an infield roller from Martinez that saw Brass forced out at the plate, but then gave up an RBI single on a 3-1 pitch to Monaghan to tie the score. Joel Starr batted for Tomlin… and hit into an inning-ending double play.

(primal scream)

Tanizaki struck out the side in the bottom 8th of the 9-9 game, which had to be a setup for *something*, while the Raccoons sent pinch-hitters Konecny and Bean up for the 8-9 spots in the top 9th, and they went to the corners with a pair of singles off Joe Gowin, who appeared to be overworked, but I wasn’t gonna call the authorities just yet. Benitez’ sac fly to deep left broke the tie and brought in Matt Walters. Remember Tanizaki’s setup-setup? Ya. Peltier, the ******* **** womble looped a leadoff single on a 1-2 pitch over Ortega, and Montoya waited out a walk. Jose Escalera then found the 428’ sign in center with a high liner over Cas’ head, and the runners were a-go-go, Peltier scoring to tie and Montoya scoring to end the game on the ******* triple. 11-10 Bayhawks. Benitez (3-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Brassfield 3-6; Monaghan 2-4, BB, 3 RBI; Konecny (PH) 1-1; Labonte (PH) 1-1; Bean (PH) 1-1;

In other news

June 25 – The Titans beat the Crusaders in 15 innings, 10-8. Both teams score multiple runs to end up tied in the ninth, then score a run in the 12th before the Titans break through in the top of the 15th.
June 27 – Nashville INF Nick Nye (.313, 15 HR, 42 RBI) ends a 16-inning game with the Scorpions as a 3-2 win with a walkoff single against Martino Barbiusa (1-3, 4.67 ERA).
June 28 – The Indians get C/1B Alex Gomez (.187, 3 HR, 17 RBI) from the Falcons in a weird swap for outfielder Cory Oldfield (.262, 6 HR, 28 RBI) *and* a prospect, #77 SS Zach DeWitt.
June 29 – Thunder OF Danny Guzman (.240, 6 HR, 22 RBI) figures to be out for the season with a broken elbow.
June 29 – The Wolves are held to a single by OF Adam Bumpus (.250, 0 HR, 0 RBI) in an 8-0 loss to the Buffaloes. It was the 31-year-old Bumpus’ first ABL game of the year after spending three months in the minors.

FL Player of the Week: DAL OF Tyler Wharton (.281, 9 HR, 35 RBI), hitting .387 (12-31) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: OCT 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.293, 7 HR, 36 RBI), poking .500 (10-20) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Nothing good ever happens at the Bay.

We left a dozen on base in that Sunday game in addition to scoring ten runs. And if you dare to remember, losing. The Bayhawks plated 11 runs, and left TWO base runners. TWO!!!!

THAT’S FURTHER THAN ANY BLOODY PLAYER ON THIS STUPID TEAM CAN COUNT!!!

I spent several days this week trying to turn a certain unloved right-handed reliever into a shortstop that would somehow get us through the year, but the Scorpions and Gold Sox weren’t having it for Travis Edwards and Stephen Medlock, respectively. In fact, that certain unloved right-handed relievers got no offers whatsoever when shopped to all teams.

Next. Aces. Titans. No starter for Tuesday. Pain.

(assumes sobbing position)

Fun Fact: This season, too, will end.

87 more games. That’s a lot of games.

R.J. DeWeese hit more home runs as a Raccoon than that. 111! And his tenure on the roster lasted FOREVER.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (38-37) vs. Aces (35-41) – June 30-July 2, 2059

The Coons took their 5-game losing streak home and hoped that as few people as possible would witness the acceleration of sucking harder and harder. The Aces had also started fairly well but by now were in their usual death spiral. They led a lot of offensive categories, including the entire team slash line stuff, but their pitching was positively woeful and they weren’t better than 6th in any pitching or defensive team stat. Still a +15 run differential, but like the Critters, they were working their way downwards. Portland was up on the season series, 2-1.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.59 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (4-5, 3.26 ERA)
Ramon Carreno (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Ray Benner (3-3, 5.12 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (7-5, 3.13 ERA) vs. Larry Broad (5-6, 4.62 ERA)

Vegas had only right-handers to offer, and Carreno was not on the roster as of Monday. We still had to figure that one out.

Game 1
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – 3B A. Alfaro – RF Austin – LF Hummel – C Burgio – 2B Chairez – 1B Jacinto – P S. Evans
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Benitez – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – SS Bean – P DeRose

Alex Alfaro whacked a 2-run homer off DeRose, three batters into the game, which was not exactly the best start to a week, ever. The Raccoons came back quickly, though, singling Evans to death; three in the first, three in the second – hits, not runs. Runs they had three in total. Starr in the first and Labonte and Caswell in the second hit the RBI singles for it. Martinez and Lathers hit a pair of singles in the bottom 3rd before the lovely Portland summer interrupted proceedings with a 45-minute rain delay, on the other side of which Aubrey Austin singled and Casey Burgio doubled him in to tie the score at three off a very punchable looking DeRose. And if I had a dime for every time the Aces’ offered trading Casey Burgio (.365, 11 HR, 46 RBI) to us for any assorted crap in the last two years, I could afford one of those $24 hot dogs now.

Things then slowed to a crawl as neither team managed to finally topple the other’s pitcher, although DeRose was hit for (to no measurable result) in the bottom 6th. The Raccoons got four outs from Alex Rios, then another meltdown from Eloy Sencion, who walked and/or beaned the bases full in the eighth inning before yielding for Reynaldo Bravo, who was just as useless in giving up a tie-breaking 2-out, 2-run single to left to Curt Goodwin. Gustavo Jacinto filled the bases again with another single before Tony Villarreal finally ended the miserable inning with a strikeout. 5-3 Aces. Labonte 3-4, RBI; Starr 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Lathers 2-4;

Forbes Tomlin (.250, 0 HR, 0 RBI) returned to St. Pete to make room on the roster for Ramon Carreno, who had to go on short rest, but at this point we didn’t particularly care about his body parts, which was a stark thing to say about a 24-year-old, but it was also stark for a 24-year-old to already be as much scorched earth as Carreno was…

Game 2
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – 3B A. Alfaro – RF Austin – LF Hummel – C Burgio – 2B Villarreal – 1B Jacinto – P Benner
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Benitez – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Monaghan – SS Bean – P Carreno

Two walks, two hits, a wild pitch, and two runs, and that was just the top of the FIRST inning for Carreno, who was loopy from the get-go, and it never got better. Occasionally he got the defenders to stand in the right places, but then there was the fourth inning, which began with Ken Hummel getting nicked and a Tony Villarreal double to center, and then seamlessly continued with a 2-strike single to left for Jacinto, who drove in two more runs. Carreno didn’t have a strikeout yet, and wasn’t gonna get one from Benner, either, who dropped a single to left on a 3-1 pitch, which surprised even the runner from second base, who didn’t get around to score. Jose Ambriz’ groundout brought home Jacinto, and Miguel Veguilla flew out to Martinez, but it was now a 5-1 game. “1” because the Coons had scored a run on a balk by Benner, which was wholly too embarrassing to even talk about anymore…

Benner walked everything with legs and/or brains, which in our case was mostly legs. Monaghan and Labonte drew free passes in the bottom 4th, which gave Benner six walks issued on the day, but nobody could drop in a base knock and the runners were stranded on first and second. Alex Alfaro’s solo homer extended the score to 6-1 in the fifth, which was the last inning for Carreno, who was put straight on the bus to the airport. The real funny bit was how he outlasted Benner, though, who put Starr and Martinez on in the bottom 5th, including his seventh walk, then gave up an RBI single to Monaghan an was yanked before five innings were completed. Jon Bean then duly made the third out of the inning against Adam Eutsler.

And then the Coons tied the game. Bottom 6th, down 6-2, Eutsler walked Vernon Hudalla batting for Carreno, which was near-inexcusable. Labonte forced out the runner, but Benitez singled and then Cas hit one into the gap for a 2-run double. Brass whiffed, but Joel Starr socked a game-tying 2-out homer. We also stayed even in this inning and the seventh, although Jose Cintora allowed singles to Monaghan and Labonte and threw a wild pitch, but Tony Benitez struck out to strand them in scoring position. Cintora further loaded the bases in the eighth: Brass walked, Starr got brassed, and Martinez hit a scratch single to left. Monaghan was up with one out and new pitcher Andy Younge throwing righty. We fetched Konecny, who hit a sac fly, which in this situation was good enough, but Jon Bean added a 2-out RBI single for good measure before Lathers struck out. Matt Walters resisted the urge to blow up and put the game away to end a 6-game losing streak. 8-6 Coons. Benitez 2-5; Caswell 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Monaghan 2-3, BB, RBI; Bean 2-5, RBI;

Maud, who is Jon Bean again?

Ricky Herrera got the W for the last out in the top of the eighth, giving him six wins for the season. He was just one W behind Bobby Herrera and Chance Fox.

Game 3
LVA: CF Ambriz – SS Veguilla – 3B A. Alfaro – RF Austin – LF Hummel – C Burgio – 2B J. White – 1B Jacinto – P Broad
POR: 2B Labonte – 3B Benitez – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Lathers – RF Konecny – SS Hudalla – P B. Herrera

Bobby Herrera could use a mostly right-handed lineup for a bit of a bounce-back, but the beginning of the game was not necessarily promising. Audacious Alex Alfaro and alert Aubrey Austin aggressively assaulted him with sharp singles to go to the corners, but were stranded on Ken Hummel’s pop in the first, and even in the innings after that he tended to give up the odd sharp hit, but then right at defenders. The Raccoons meanwhile had nothing going in the first two innings of flailing, then got Konecny on with a leadoff walk in the third. Hudalla was nicked, which was one way to get on base if you couldn’t swing the bat, and Bobby Herrera hit a single. How many runs did the Raccoons score in the inning? Well, of course none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Konecny was caught stealing, and Hudalla was thrown out at the plate by Hummel on Tipsy Bobby’s single. The pitcher was then stranded after Larry Broad tortured him with several pickoff attempts, as if Herrera was gonna go anywhere from there. Worst thing was that it worked, with Hummel homering in the top of the fourth to put Vegas up 1-0. Brass hit a 2-out triple in the bottom 4th with nobody on and without Starr deciding to lend a paw.

After that, Herrera mostly gave up loud noise in bad counts, lasting into the seventh inning when Hummel and Burgio began with loud singles before Jim White’s double play grounder to short was tossed away by Hudalla for an error. Three on, nobody out, and Sencion coming in. He was met with switch-hitter Curt Goodwin, who fell to 2-2, and then smashed a bases-clearing triple to left. Sencion continued to explode after a pop from Broad, giving up a double to Ambriz and a homer to Veguilla before being disposed of in the Willamette, where the rest of the team oughta go as well. 7-0 Aces. Brassfield 2-4, 3B; Konecny 1-2, BB; Martinez (PH) 1-1;

(stares)

Raccoons (39-39) vs. Titans (34-42) – July 3-6, 2059

The Raccoons led the series against the Titans this year, 4-3, but we were in a giving mood right now. Boston was much the opposite of the Aces, with decent pitching and the fourth-fewest runs allowed, but the very worst offense in the league, scoring just 3.9 runs per game. They had a -16 run differential (Coons: +21).

Projected matchups:
Duarte Damasceno (1-3, 2.48 ERA) vs. Jayden Craddock (9-5, 2.05 ERA)
Chance Fox (7-2, 4.06 ERA) vs. Jason Brenize (3-9, 4.47 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.65 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (3-4, 4.08 ERA)
Craig Kniep (0-0) vs. Grant MacKinnon (3-2, 1.99 ERA)

Ya ya, I see it too…

The Titans only brought up right-handers.

Game 1
BOS: CF Torrence – 2B W. de Leon – C Arviso – 1B M. Rubin – RF Y. Valdez – 3B R. Wilken – LF Ma. Gilmore – SS Leitch – P Craddock
POR: 3B Benitez – LF Konecny – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Lathers – SS Bean – 2B Ortega – P Damasceno

The good news first: Jon Bean (who?) singled home Joel Starr for a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Now for what else was going on; Damasceno started the game with three straight full counts for a strikeout on Ethan Torrence, a walk of Willie de Leon, and then a double play grounder to short from Jorge Arviso, so that was working out well until it didn’t anymore in the fifth inning, where he walked Yoslan Valdez and Matt Gilmore (in full counts), gave up a game-tying single to Alan Leitch, and after Craddock’s bunt finally a 3-run homer to Ethan Torrence. It was the centerfielder’s first bomb of the year in 127 tries, so good for him.

Good for him.

Damasceno lasted 6.2 innings and five walks, and then still trailed 4-1 when he left the game for Sencion, who actually got a few outs without getting pummeled for the first time in a while. The Raccoons’ offense remained conspicuously absent, though, and Craddock pitched his way into the eighth inning while holding that scoreline. In the ninth it would be ex-Coon Mike Lane and his 5.23 ERA against the bottom half of the order, starting with Lathers, who lined out to Leitch. Labonte flew out to center in the pitcher’s spot, but Bernie Ortega singled. Hudalla then popped out to end the game. 4-1 Titans. Konecny 2-4; Ortega 4-4;

Ortega who? He started the season in Ham Lake, I’m told.

Game 2
BOS: CF Torrence – 2B W. de Leon – 1B M. Rubin – 3B R. Wilken – RF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – SS Leitch – LF Ma. Gilmore – P Brenize
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Bean – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – C Lathers – CF Konecny – 3B Hudalla – P Fox

Randy Wilken followed Manny Rubin’s 2-out single with a long homer to center and the Titans took a 2-0 lead on Fox in the first inning. The Coons answered (!) with Jesus Martinez tying the game, plating Labonte and Bean with a 2-run single. Labonte had reached on a scratch single, and Bean (who?) on a double to right. Lathers then walked, but Konecny struck out, stranding a pair. The Raccoons would strand another pair resulting from hits by Brass and Starr in the third inning as both Martinez and Lathers made poor outs, while the Titans took a more direct approach to scoring and reclaimed a 3-2 lead on Bruce Burkart’s solo homer in the fourth. Fox would go on to hit a double in the bottom of the inning, but was obviously the only batter doing anything in the bloody inning, then got bludgeoned out of the game in the top of the fifth with hits by Torrence, de Leon, Wilken, and Valdez. Two runs were in, and two were still on base in the 5-2 game. They remained on as Burkart popped out against Ornelas. The game then trundled along from there without much going on until the ninth, when the Raccoons sent Matt Walters into the top 9th of a game we were losing by three runs, not because we were out of cannon fodder in the pen, but to try and keep him from disconnecting from proceedings entirely in the midst of a grueling spill. It didn’t work; he walked Gilmore to start the inning and surrendered the run on a 2-out single by de Leon. 6-2 Titans. Martinez 2-4, 2 RBI; Caswell (PH) 1-1;

At this point the Raccoons were 1-9 for their last ten games and showed no sign of finding the handbrake any time soon.

Game 3
BOS: CF Torrence – LF Ma. Gilmore – 1B M. Rubin – RF Y. Valdez – 3B R. Wilken – 2B Larsen – C Burkart – SS Leitch – P Glaude
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Bean – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – 3B Benitez – C Monaghan – P DeRose

Wilken and Burkart doubles gave the Titans a 1-0 lead in the second inning against a rather pedestrian looking DeRose, so it was business as usual until the bottom 3rd when Labonte got on, was caught stealing, and then Bean got on, and then Caswell socked a 2-run homer for a change to flip the score to 2-1 Critters. I didn’t know how to react, because no such thing ever happened ‘round here anymore…!

Shane Larsen was plonked by DeRose with two outs in the fourth inning, which sounded like the start to a 5-run inning, but was instead picked off first to end the inning by an unusually alert DeRose, who also made a nifty play on Glaude’s bunt in the fifth inning to get Leitch and his 1-out single forced out at second base. Of course nothing nice ever happened to us anymore, so the Titans just piled three singles on him in the sixth inning to tie the game, with Larsen bringing in Rubin. In between, Valdez hit a ball all the way to the fence in right, but it was caught by Martinez.

DeRose got an out in the seventh, but then was lifted after Jim Auld hit a pinch-hit single. Ricky Herrera replaced him, got out of the inning, but then conspired with Tanizaki to blow the 2-2 tie in the eighth. Well, he put Ted Lloyd on base with a single. It wasn’t that bad, yet. Tanizaki came in, allowed another single to Wilken, then got a comebacker from Shane Larsen. He thought two, which would have ended the inning, fumbled the ball once, then had to turn around again, saw Larsen dashing towards the base, and then threw awkwardly from the hip and hit Larsen in the back. The ball bounced away from a helplessly onlooking Joel Starr and into foul territory, and the Titans got two bases and the go-ahead run out of it, then another run on Burkart’s groundout to second base. Leitch also grounded out, leaving Larsen on third base. The bottom 8th saw the Raccoons predictably make NOTHING from a leadoff walk drawn by Monaghan and a pinch-hit single by Bernie Ortega, and Lane had a 1-2-3 ninth. 4-2 Titans. Bean 1-2; Ortega (PH) 1-1; Caswell 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

And now, Kniep.

(giggles madly)

Game 4
BOS: SS Leitch – CF Lloyd – 1B M. Rubin – 3B R. Wilken – RF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – 2B Larsen – LF Ma. Gilmore – P MacKinnon
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Bean – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – 3B Benitez – C Lathers – P Kniep

Craig Kniep, no longer wearing his old #35 long assigned to Chance Fox, hadn’t pitched in 22 days due to being surplus to requirements in St. Petersburg and rotting on the discard pile. So much for that roster planning.

The Titans turned that into a single from Ted Lloyd and an inning-ending 6-4-3 from Manny Rubin in the first inning, while the Raccoons for the first time in a good while had three on and nobody out right in the bottom 1st with two singles to right and Caswell drawing a walk. No RBI’s were obtained – duh! – but a run scored on Brass’ 4-6-3 double play before Starr whiffed his way outta there. Martinez extended to 2-0 with a leadoff jack in the bottom 2nd, while Kniep walked Gilmore in the third inning. A bunt advanced the runner, who was then thrown out at home by Brassfield on Leitch’ 2-out single to left.

Superficially the Raccoons got a solid start from Kniep in those early innings, but the façade was brittle and bits and pieces were coming lose with time. The fifth saw the Titans get on base with a Valdez single and Burkart then drew a walk. Nobody out. Larsen’s fly to right-center advanced Valdez to third base, and a wild pitch by Kniep advanced him to score. Gilmore then walked as well, but the Titans remained a run short after a bunt and a groundout to Starr. Before you worry about poor Boston, though, they took that 3-2 lead after all in the sixth with homers by Lloyd and Wilken against Kniep, who was in the muck knee-deep.

Leitch blew their lead, though, putting Caswell on second base with a throwing error leading off the sixth inning, and even the Raccoons managed to turn that into the tying run on two productive outs. Bernie Ortega hit an unanswered double in the seventh, but Josh Carlisle retired the Coons 1-2-3 in the eighth inning as the game remained tied. Matt Walters pitched in another non-save top of the ninth, striking out two in a perfect inning. Carlisle added a second inning, giving up a 2-out single to Tony Benitez, but then popping up Lathers to send the game to extras. Because that was want everyone was lusting for – more of THIS sort of baseball… Bravo had a quick tenth inning, and the Raccoons went just as quickly in the bottom of the 10th against Mike Lane. Konecny singled to right in Bravo’s place, and then scored on a Labonte double into the gap in left-center. 4-3 Raccoons. Labonte 2-5, 2B, RBI; Ortega (PH) 1-1, 2B; Konecny (PH) 1-1;

In other news

July 1 – The Condors have consecutive 6-run innings in a 16-11 shootout win against the Canadiens. Former Vancouver and now Tijuana catcher Tristan Waker (.277, 6 HR, 29 RBI) leads all players with four RBI on four hits, including a double.
July 2 – The Warriors trade OF Elmer Maldonado (.253, 3 HR, 14 RBI) to the Blue Sox for veteran RF/LF Bobby Grewe (.320, 5 HR, 28 RBI) and a prospect.
July 3 – SAL SP Dave Robinson (8-6, 3.26 ERA) 1-hits the Gold Sox in a 3-0 shutout, allowing only a single to DEN 2B Je-ju Seul (.273, 4 HR, 39 RBI).
July 3 – The Buffaloes’ 10-run eighth inning proves decisive in beating the Miners, 17-7.
July 3 – The Bayhawks acquire SP Jeff Crowley (4-9, 5.24 ERA) and cash from the Miners for infielder Adam Hoogendoorn (.240, 1 HR, 7 RBI) and #144 prospect CF/RF Jared Matthews.
July 4 – Scorpions INF Victor Corrales (.300, 5 HR, 32 RBI) collects his 2,000th career hit in a 5-4 win against the Pacifics. The third of his three hits that day, a single against PIT MR Ryan Sullivan (4-5, 4.08 ERA), does the trick. Corrales, 32, who spent 11 seasons with the Miners before signing with Sacramento in the previous offseason, is a 2-time Player of the Year and 6-time Gold Glover hitting .312 with 189 HR and 1,121 RBI for his career. He also has a home run belt, five Platinum Sticks, and 260 stolen bases.
July 4 – Another pitcher for San Francisco; they acquire right-handed MR Hector Montenegro (4-1, 2.68 ERA) from the Condors for a prospect.
July 5 – Knights RF Matt Diskin (.308, 1 HR, 10 RBI) finds his 2,500th career hit in a 9-5 win against the Aces. The milestone is a pinch-hit RBI single against MR Chris Kaye (2-0, 2.53 ERA). The 37-year-old Diskin was a former Rookie of the Year and went to the All Star Game eighth times. Defensively deteriorated, he is used exclusively off the bench by Atlanta now. For his career, he’s a .325 hitter with 326 home runs and 1,402 RBI.
July 5 – The Crusaders deal OF/1B Jon Alade (.172, 2 HR, 20 RBI) to the Capitals for a minor leaguer and #95 prospect OF Eddie Menchaca.

FL Player of the Week: TOP SP Pablo Lara (11-3, 2.31 ERA), going 2-0 with 0.52 ERA, 10 K in 17.1 IP
CL Player of the Week: SFB LF Grant Anker (.287, 9 HR, 43 RBI) batting .462 (12-26) with 2 HR, 5 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SAC RF/CF Will Buras (.381, 11 HR, 55 RBI), hitting .398 with 5 HR, 19 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: SFB 2B/LF Armando Montoya (.284, 15 HR, 60 RBI), mashing .297 with 7 HR, 26 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: TOP SP Austin Wilcox (8-4, 3.62 ERA), at age 37 having a perfect 5-0 record with 1.85 ERA, 15 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: ATL SP Morgan Aben (6-3, 3.65 ERA), going 4-0 in 6 starts with 2.09 ERA, 37 K
FL Rookie of the Month: RIC C Ramon Lopez (.227, 1 HR, 14 RBI), hitting .278 with 6 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: SFB RF/LF/1B Jose Escalera (.273, 2 HR, 14 RBI), hitting .270 with 2 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The start of July meant that we’d soon have more prospects in the organization, one bloody way or another. For the moment, the international teenager bidding competition started and the Raccoons had their eye on a few boy wonders from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and assorted places.

No, Cristiano! Shut up! I am not signing off on any trade, unless Tanizaki is the first lukewarm body to leave town! I don’t care what we get for him, but his useless pale tush is the first thing out the door!! And Maud, I don’t care either whether we get an entire top 10 prospect list in return – HIS name comes first in the press release, to make sure everybody notices he’s ******* GONE!!

That’s all! (slams paw on the table, gets up and steams over to the walk-in closet with dusty old files, noisily closing the door behind him)

[muffled screams]

Fun Fact: Jon Bean was a #313 pick in the 2055 draft.

Who?

[Westheim]

Raccoons (40-42) @ Canadiens (35-47) – July 7-10, 2059

This was a great time for the bunch to travel to Elk City. Sometimes a period of separation rekindles the love for another… or at least I wouldn’t be able to throw them in the Willamette for the next four days. The Elks were pretty dismal, but there was a club for that, and we had a premium membership. The vile creatures from up north, who we’d play eight times this month (shivers), were ranked fourth in runs scored and eleventh in runs allowed in the CL. The rotation was barely palatable, but the bullpen carried an ERA over five. The Coons led the season series, 3-1.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (7-6, 3.20 ERA) vs. John Morris (5-6, 4.17 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (1-4, 2.89 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (6-5, 3.75 ERA)
Chance Fox (7-3, 4.31 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (5-7, 3.27 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-4, 3.59 ERA) vs. Andy Overy (7-6, 3.43 ERA)

The damn Elks had southpaws bookending this series, with two right-handers in the middle. The Raccoons’ roster would be in a state of flux this week, with several players scheduled to come off the DL.

Game 1
POR: 3B Benitez – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – 2B Ortega – SS Hudalla – P B. Herrera
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C A. Maldonado – SS Solano – P J. Morris

Bobby Herrera appeared to stop sucking, which was very nice of him, and John Morris was absolutely ghastly. After a nice enough first inning, he offered the Raccoons three walks each in the second and third innings, and the Raccoons for once pounced on the opportunity… mostly. Vernon Hudalla of all people forced in the first run of the game by drawing a bases-loaded walk with nobody out in the top 2nd, but then Herrera popped out, Benitez whiffed, and Brassfield grounded out to leave three on, however, the floodgates opened in the third inning and the Raccoons plated four more runs, loading the bags with the middle of the order and then getting straight RBI singles from the 7-8-9 batters, and a sac fly from Brass after that.

Bobby Herrera then stopped to appear to stop sucking, getting battered in the bottom 4th. Sharp hits by Damian Moreno, Mark Younce, and Adam Magnussen gave the Elks two runs, and Alex Maldonado drew a 1-out walk before Edwin Solano and Juan Aragon grounded out to strand runners on the corners. While the Coons’ offense plainly stopped once the Elks disposed of Morris, Tipsy Bobby tumbled into the sixth and gave up another leadoff single to Moreno, a double to left to Younce, and after Magnussen grounded out to Starr, another run on Maldonado’s sac fly, 5-3. The inning then would have ended there, if not for an error by another fool entirely… twice. Monaghan fumbled Solano’s grounder, and Benitez threw away Chris Hopper’s roller, allowing the Elks to score another run before Herrera regained control with a K on Danny Garcia, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. He added a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out Jose Campos and Moreno for 9 K in total at the end of his day. Bravo and Walters dragged the game over the finish line from there, but Walters didn’t nail the save down until after an infield single from Danny Garcia, a 2-out walk to Campos, and then finally getting the K in a full count against Moreno. 5-4 Raccoons. Caswell 2-5, 2B; Starr 2-2, 3 BB; Monaghan 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Ortega 3-5, RBI;

The Raccoons got eight hits and six walks in four innings against John Morris. They then got two hits and one walk in the last five innings against an assortment of otherwise terrible relievers.

Speaking of terrible, Vernon Hudalla (.104, 0 HR, 3 RBI) was sent to the Alley Cats to make room for Arturo Bribiesca between games.

Game 2
POR: 2B Ortega – SS Bean – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – 3B Benitez – C Lathers – P Damasceno
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C A. Maldonado – SS Solano – P B. Lawrence

Danny Garcia hit a homer off Damasceno after three pitches, and it wouldn’t get batter for the scratch starter any time soon. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with Thomas Whittington, Campos, and Moreno, and nobody out, and after Younce whiffed, Magnussen forced in a run with another walk. Maldonado exited the inning with a double play grounder, but by then I was screaming into the nearest pillow. The Coons then had the bags full and nobody out in the top 2nd after Starr and Martinez got free passes and Tony Benitez singled to left. Lathers popped out, Damasceno rolled into a force play at home, and Ortega plain whiffed.

Damasceno walked the bags full in the bottom 2nd and gave up a run on a sac fly, while in the next half-inning Bean drew a walk, was doubled up by Cas, and then Brass drew a walk, and was thrown out at the plate on a Joel Starr double off the wall in rightfield. I screamed into the pillow harder.

Amongst two terrible pitchers, Damasceno was yanked first, not making it out of the fourth inning after the Coons scored a run on two walks and a Bernie Ortega RBI single in the top 4th. The same Ortega then dropped a pop to begin the bottom 4th, and Garcia and Campos knocked hits to plate Lawrence (…), 4-1, and that’s when Adam Harris came out of the pen. He got a grounder to first from Damian Moreno to stall the remaining runners and a grounder to short from Mark Younce to strand them.

Adam Harris gave the Raccoons 3.2 scoreless innings of garbage relief while the offense was rather tame and didn’t exactly make up the deficit, although Joel Starr hit a solo jack in the fifth to narrow the tally to 4-2. Most everybody else was awful; once the Elks dumped their horrendous starter, the Coons again couldn’t get a paw up against the bullpen – not that they scored a lot against Lawrence, who walked SEVEN. Seven hits and eight walks amounted to a 4-2 loss, also because the universe was against the Coons. Paul Labonte drew a leadoff walk in the ninth inning against erratic Rafael Flores, but then was doubled off first base on Ortega’s liner to Campos, 3-unassisted. Jon Bean then grounded out. 4-2 Canadiens. Starr 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, RBI; Martinez 2-2, 2 BB; Harris 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Adam Harris, who had allowed one hit in nine scoreless innings, was rewarded with a trip to Florida as now Joey Christopher got off the DL.

Game 3
POR: CF Christopher – 2B Labonte – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Bean – 3B Benitez – C Lathers – P Fox
VAN: C L. Burnham – LF B. Needham – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – 3B Hopper – SS Solano – P Kozloski

The Suck continued as Chance Fox ran three three-ball counts in the first inning, walking Bobby Needham, throwing a wild pitch, and giving up an RBI single with two outs to Moreno. He then had to hit a double himself to get the tying run on base in the top 3rd, scoring on a wild pitch and Christopher’s groundout. The Raccoons took the lead in the fourth after some healthy encouragement from the Elks, who nicked Brass, put Martinez on with a Hopper error, fumbled a potential double play on Jon Bean’s grounder, and finally Kozloski hung a 3-2 to Tony Benitez that got bopped to the base of the fence in left for an RBI double, 3-1. Lathers was not pitched to with two outs, getting the K from Fox instead.

The horror show was far from over. Fox walked a pair in the fourth, but escaped with a double play grounder. In the fifth he allowed a single to Luke Burnham before Campos reached when Martinez dropped his 2-out fly for a 2-base error. Fox then walked Moreno on the open base, filling them up for Younce, but the rookie found Jon Bean on the first pitch to end the inning. Fox then offered another leadoff walk to Magnussen in the sixth (his sixth), somehow tumbled through the inning against the bottom of the order while avoiding obliteration, and then wasn’t seen again.

Kozloski was still around in the top 7th, giving up a single to Konecny in the #9 spot. Konecny stole second and scored on Labonte’s 2-out single, 4-1. Kozloski hung around until the eighth, giving up a few more singles to the Coons, who loaded the bases with Martinez, Bean, and Benitez before Morgan Lathers forced in a run, drawing a 1-out walk from righty Aaron Hain. Konecny plated another run with a fielder’s choice to short, and Hain plated yet another run with a wild pitch, then walked Christopher before finally getting Labonte out. The Elks answered with three singles and a run off a hapless Eloy Sencion, while Portland loaded the bags again in the ninth as Cas doubled, pinch-hitting for Alex Rios in the #3 spot to begin the inning, Starr walked, and Bean singled. A bases-loaded walk to Benitez and Konecny’s 2-out, 2-run single escalated the score further before Alex Lodes ended the inning from the Elks’ side. 10-2 Raccoons. Labonte 2-5, BB, RBI; Caswell (PH) 1-1, 2B; Martinez 2-5; Bean 2-5, RBI; Benitez 2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Konecny (PH) 2-3, 3 RBI;

Arturo Bribiesca didn’t get into a game before he was demoted to AAA for the first time since 2056 when Juan Ojeda came off the DL on Thursday.

Game 4
POR: 2B Ortega – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – LF Konecny – SS Benitez – P DeRose
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C A. Maldonado – SS Solano – P Overy

Aimless pitching continued in the series finale as Overy offered two walks in the first inning, but the Raccoons couldn’t score on that. Instead, DeRose walked Danny Garcia right out of the gate, then was taken quite deep by Jose Campos. The 2-0 deficit lasted into the third inning when Caswell singled home Ortega (single) and Brassfield (double) to tie the game, stole second base, but then was stranded. The fourth was uneventful, and the fifth began with Brass’ single to right. Caswell struck out now, but Jesus Martinez got a ball through between Garcia and Moreno in the left-center gap for a double, and Brass scored from first base to give Portland a 3-2 lead. That was already the end for Overy, who had been all over the place, like quite literally every single starter in this four-game set. Erik Swain walked Ojeda, but then got Monaghan on a pop to short and Konecny on strikes. Instead, DeRose waited for Brass to make a 2-out error to put Garcia on base in the bottom 5th, then exploded for an RBI double for Whittington and an RBI single by Campos, so it was now 4-3 Elks. Younce and Magnussen would reach in the sixth inning for a timely exit for the Raccoons’ starter, too, but Eloy Sencion got out of the inning without imploding, somehow.

The Raccoons entered the eighth still down by a run, but Ojeda and Monaghan went to the corners with leadoff singles against Jim Woods, so there was a chance. Carlos Torres replaced Woods, popped out Konecny, but when the Coons sent Joey Christopher to bat for Benitez, the Elks sent left-hander Blake Bouchey, who nevertheless filled the bags with a 5-pitch walk. The Elks then went back to a righty, Alex Lodes, before the Raccoons could even do anything stupid with the pinch-hitter for Reynaldo Bravo in the #9 spot. Joel Starr then batted, flew out to Danny Garcia in shallow left, and Ortega grounded out to second, and the bases remained loaded… The success against Rafael Flores in the ninth was about as rousing. 4-3 Canadiens. Brassfield 2-4, BB, 2B; Caswell 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Ojeda 2-3, BB;

Raccoons (42-44) @ Indians (42-44) – July 11-13, 2059

These teams were tied for second place in the North while the Crusaders were by now 14 1/2 games ahead, racing towards a division win only to then get like swept out of the CLCS by the Binghamton Bubblegums or whatever. Indy had lost five straight and ranked eighth in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed. They had no run differential, but a pile of injuries with Roberto Oyola, Bill Quinteros, Steve Thompson, and Orlando Ramos all out, plus the odd reliever. We led the season series, 5-4.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Alberto Cuellar (5-7, 4.45 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (8-6, 3.24 ERA) vs. Shane Fitzgibbon (7-6, 3.32 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (1-5, 3.24 ERA) vs. Josh Barbieri (1-1, 7.00 ERA)

Everything that wasn’t a southpaw just didn’t click for Indy this year. Fitzgibbon was one of them, and we’d miss Marcos Rivera (11-5, 2.30 ERA), who was filing a Pitcher of the Year application, but pitched on Wednesday and thus wasn’t in line for this series.

Game 1
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – P Kniep
IND: SS Kilday – RF Lovins – CF Abel – C A. Gomez – 3B R. Vargas – 2B Ewers – 1B Bodkin – LF McConnell – P Cuellar

The Coons fancied making outs on the basepaths while Craig Kniep was pitching, which sounded like a recipe for another loss. Labonte was caught stealing in the first inning, and when Jon Bean singled with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, he drove in Cas, but Starr was thrown out at the plate trying to get around from second base by Chris Lovins. Lovins was also involved in the first run of the game, hitting the first of three singles the Indians had in the bottom 1st to take a 1-0 lead, but that was all they got against Kniep in the early going.

Bottom 5th, starting with a strikeout to Cuellar, Kniep then ran face first into trouble. Matt Kilday and Lovins went to the corners with 2-strike singles, and Kevin Abel drew a walk in a full count. Kniep walked in the go-ahead run in another full count to Alex Gomez, Ricardo Vargas struck out, and then we fetched Alex Rios, who got an inning-ending groundout to Jon Bean from Kevin Ewers. Jon Bean showed even better paws in the seventh inning after Cuellar walked Jesus Martinez. The count ran full and then Cuellar hung a breaking ball to the 12th-rounder, who walloped the ball over the fence for his first major league home run, and a score-flipper at that. The bad news: that was the last Coons hit in the game. The good news: Ricky Herrera, Tanizaki, and Walters were almost as stingy as the Indians in the last three innings and the tying run never reached scoring position for Indy. 3-2 Coons. Bean 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;

Game 2
POR: CF Christopher – 2B Ortega – LF Brassfield – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – 1B Starr – C Monaghan – SS Benitez – P B. Herrera
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – RF Lovins – C A. Gomez – 3B R. Vargas – 1B Chilelli – CF D. Salas – LF McConnell – P Fitzgibbon

The Raccoons drew a bushel of walks from Fitzgibbon but couldn’t get their hits together. Through five innings, we had two singles, one by Bobby Herrera, and trailed 1-0 thanks to Herrera’s own leadoff walk to Blake McConnell and a throwing error by Jesus Martinez, who had the Coons’ other single for no greater good. McConnell hit a leadoff double in the bottom 5th, but was then out at third base on a terrible bunt by the Indians’ left-hander, who himself was then stranded at first base.

Come the sixth, the Raccoons loaded the bases, still without the benefit of a base knock. Martinez walked, Ojeda was nicked, and Starr walked, all with one out, bringing up the .180 menace that was Eric Monaghan. Yaaay. Monaghan popped out, Benitez grounded out, and that was the ******* inning.

Herrera’s outing ended after seven innings thanks to rain, but play resumed after a 30-minute rain delay, but still without the Raccoons actually doing ******* anything against Michael McLaughlin, who replaced Fitzgibbon and turned them away in the eighth inning. Ben Akman saw the bottom of the order in the ninth inning, still with a 1-0 score, although in reality he faced whatever the bench could launch at him. Labonte grounded out, but Bean singled, only to be forced out at second on Cas’ grounder. Akman walked Christopher, which moved the tying run to second base, but Bernie Ortega flew out to Chris Lovins. 1-0 Indians. Starr 0-1, 3 BB; Bean (PH) 1-1; B. Herrera 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L (8-7);

We had seven walks. **** walks.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – P Damasceno
IND: SS Kilday – 2B Ewers – RF Lovins – C A. Gomez – 3B R. Vargas – 1B Chilelli – CF D. Salas – LF McConnell – P Barbieri

The Coons popped out three runs in the first inning like it was nothing. Christopher walked, moved up on Labonte’s groundout, then scored on a Cas single. Brass singled, as did Starr, driving home the second run. Brass went to third base and scored on Jon Bean’s groundout, while Ojeda popped out to short. Cas got another RBI in the second inning, doubling in Monaghan, who had reached on an error by Kilday to begin that top 2nd. Labonte started from first base on that play, but was thrown out at home by McConnell to end the inning. Even more annoyingly, McConnell hit a 3-run homer off a persistently useless Damasceno in the home half of the second after Ricardo Vargas and Danny Salas had singled their way on base. The rest of the lead went away in the bottom 3rd by way of a walk to Lovins and an RBI double off the top of the wall in right for Vargas.

Perhaps Damasceno was better used in a Kyle Brobeck capacity? He drew a 2-out walk in the fifth inning, then scored on hits by Christopher and Labonte, and then avoided giving it right back to Indy in the bottom 5th after Danny Salas singled, McConnell walked, and Nathan Niles hit into a double play, followed by Kilday flying out to right. Damasceno barely survived five innings, then was hit for by Bernie Ortega, who became the newest Critter to mash his maiden home run, a solo jack to left to extend the score to 6-4. Indy drew closer in the seventh with two singles off Ricky Herrera, then an RBI single by Alex Gomez off Tanizaki with two outs. Ricardo Vargas struck out, though, and the Critters got a 6-5 lead into the eighth. Tanizaki also did the eighth and the wind blew a near-homer by Victor Cruz back into play and Caswell’s glove to keep the Coons ahead. The Coons managed to get picked off first base in both the eighth (Ortega) and ninth (Cas) innings, which was also *dandy*. Matt Walters had an All Star Game to get to, however, and retired Indy in order in the bottom 9th. 6-5 Critters. Christopher 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Caswell 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Starr 2-3, BB, RBI; Ortega (PH) 2-2, HR, RBI;

In other news

July 7 – DAL SP Alex Quevedo (4-7, 2.25 ERA) and CL Jon Dominguez (2-6, 5.93 ERA, 11 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter in a 4-0 win against the Wolves, who only get a single from SAL C Ben Newman (.246, 8 HR, 40 RBI).
July 7 – The Indians would be without 22-year-old sophomore OF Steve Thompson (.255, 5 HR, 18 RBI) for the rest of the season; he was out with a torn ACL.
July 8 – The Buffaloes acquire CF/LF Jose Ambriz (.271, 3 HR, 18 RBI) from the Aces for two prospects. The deal includes #34 prospect SP Steve Slye.
July 10 – The Indians lose yet another outfielder as OF Orlando Ramos (.262, 6 HR, 39 RBI) will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum.
July 11 – TOP SP Pablo Lara (12-3, 2.16 ERA) throws a 2-hit shutout against the Capitals, whiffing five in a 3-0 game. It’s the 24-year-old sophomore Lara’s fourth shutout in 2059, and the fifth of his career.
July 11 – NYC SP Jose Ortega (5-7, 5.42 ERA, 1 SV) throws a 1-hit shutout against the Loggers, striking out seven for the 4-0 win. The only Loggers hit is a drag bunt for a single by Jason Monson (.273, 9 HR, 19 RBI), the very first batter of the game.
July 11 – The Crusaders trade OF/1B Gunner Epperson (.311, 6 HR, 29 RBI) to the Caps for SP/MR Sean Fowler (3-1, 2.85 ERA) and #138 prospect RF/LF/1B Juan de Luna.
July 11 – WAS 2B Joo-chan Lee (.270, 0 HR, 16 RBI) would miss six weeks with shoulder bursitis.
July 11 – The Pacifics beat the Wolves, 8-7 in 17 innings. Both teams score single runs in both the 10th and 11th innings before the Wolves fail to make up a home run by LAP OF Matt McInnis (.296, 5 HR, 31 RBI) in the top of the 17th inning.
July 12 – Pittsburgh’s SP Sean Sweeton (12-5, 2.33 ERA) throws a no-hitter against the Blue Sox in a 5-0 Miners win. He faces the minimum, offering only a walk, and strikes out eight. The sole, perfecto-ruining walk is drawn by NAS 1B Andy Metz (.243, 14 HR, 49 RBI).
July 12 – The Aces score ten runs in the seventh inning to decisively overturn a 6-run Bayhawks lead and win 13-9.
July 13 – OCT 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.297, 9 HR, 53 RBI) drives in seven runs in a 16-2 rout of the Condors, including a grand slam in the Thunder’s 10-run eighth inning.

FL Player of the Week: RIC CF/RF Antonio Cruz (.329, 9 HR, 43 RBI), batting .464 (13-28) with 3 HR, 10 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB LF Grant Anker (.299, 11 HR, 49 RBI), hitting .433 (13-30) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Everybody’s gone bloody stupid now. The Raccoons – THE RACCOONS – have five All Stars. FIVE!

Okay, Bobby Herrera and Matt Walters are defensible choices. Noah Caswell and Jesus Martinez had two strong months, but now they’re sagging. Joel Starr is doing *alright*, and he’s also sagging. I don’t know how that happened. Herrera, Starr, and Martinez were selected for the first time. Walters is on his third, and third straight All Star Game if you ignore his 2058 season which started late due to injury and he missed the first two months. It’s the fourth All Star Game for Caswell, the third straight for him, and the second as a Critter.

You know who else has five All Stars? The Crusaders, who lead the division by a bajillion games. Across both leagues the Buffos have the most All Stars, though: Ben Karst, Pablo Lara, Bill Hernandez, Matt McLaren, Alex de los Santos, Zach Suggs, and Dan Martin make SEVEN.

The Crusaders are trading for prospects WHILST leading the division. Corny. (casually breaks a bat in half with his paws)

Well, it’s the All Star Game now. On the other side we’ll have a 7-game homestand with the damn Elks and the Loggers. And perhaps a few trades for prospects, because we’re 15 1/2 games out.

Fun Fact: For the second consecutive year, a Miners pitcher no-hits the opposition.

Last year Kodai Koga did the honors to the Rebels.

[Westheim]

All Star Game

The Thunder’s Ed Soberanes was the big man in the All Star Game, driving in four runs in the CL’s 7-0 win over the FL at Raccoons Ballpark, doing so with an RBI single and a 3-run homer.

Joel Starr started the game at first base, while Noah Caswell and Jesus Martinez appeared as pinch-hitters, then remained in the game. Collectively, those three Raccoons went 0-for-6 in their own den. Bobby Herrera pitched a scoreless third inning, and once I get a hold of the ******* that let Matt Walters pitch THREE INNINGS for the save, I will tear his *** all the way up to his ******* *************.

Lock the gates, Maud! Lock them!!

Raccoons (44-45) vs. Canadiens (37-52) – July 17-20, 2059

Not a lot had changed for the damn Elks since last week in Elk City. Fourth in runs scored, tenth in runs allowed, a -45 run differential, and they had been swept on the weekend before the All Star Game by the Titans, none of the games having been particularly close. We were up 5-3 in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (8-3, 4.16 ERA) vs. Andy Overy (7-6, 3.54 ERA)
Justin DeRose (3-5, 3.57 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (5-8, 3.43 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (8-7, 3.13 ERA) vs. Anton Jesus (5-8, 5.41 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (2-5, 3.60 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (7-6, 3.95 ERA)

We would only get one of the Elks’ southpaws, and it was Overy right at the beginning of the set.

Game 1
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C Burnham – SS E. Solano – P Overy
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Ortega – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – SS Benitez – P Fox

The Raccoons put their first three batters past the break on base with singles, and – lo! – scored them all with the aid of a 2-run double by Caswell and after Martinez walked a run-scoring 4-6-3 double play by Ojeda. Monaghan whiffed. None of it mattered, since Chance Fox remained atrocious and had all his four limbs plucked from his body in the third inning in which the Elks scored four runs after a leadoff walk drawn by Danny Garcia, a Jose Campos single, and with two outs, Mark Younce’s RBI single and Adam Magnussen’s long, long 3-run homer. While he fooled his way into the sixth inning, giving up nine hits, the Raccoons never got another base knock to add to the four from the first inning. After many an inning of futility, Paul Labonte drew a leadoff walk in the #9 spot in the bottom 8th, was forced out by Christopher, and the runner was then caught stealing. It took all the way to the ninth inning to get Trent Brassfield to hit a leadoff single over Edwin Solano and those change that 4 on the board into a 5. Too bad it was still a 4-3 deficit after scoreless relief from Bravo, Tanizaki, and Sencion. Cas grounded out, Martinez popped out, and Starr grounded out to fritter that away, too. 4-3 Canadiens. Brassfield 2-3, BB;

Game 2
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C A. Maldonado – SS E. Solano – P Kozloski
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – C Lathers – P DeRose

In the middle of three soggy outs, the Raccoons took a lead in the bottom 1st again with a Labonte triple and Cas’ RBI double, both to right-center, but with DeRose pitching, the tying run was never far away. While the Coons’ starter managed to face the minimum the first time through the Elks’ array of hooves and horrors, Danny Garcia then quickly dispelled the façade of competence and homered well deep to right to begin the top 4th, tying the game at one.

Just like on Thursday, the Raccoons were unable to pull a base hit out between their furry cheeks forever and ever after the first inning, although the Elks decided to tempt fate in the bottom 6th by nicking Christopher to begin the inning. This time he stole second base, then reached third on a wild pitch while Labonte was still in the box. Go-ahead run on third base and nobody out, could we please find some rinky-dink position player to get one to bloop in? That would actually be a yes, because Labonte hit his second gap triple of the game, then scored on a balk. Brass also reached base, but then we began to run out of talent. Somehow, it still was enough. The Elks poked around DeRose’s wet nose for seven innings without getting him to roll on his back and wince for mercy like every other team would, and then had even less going against a pair of southpaws in Ricky Herrera and Matt Walters in the last two innings. 3-1 Coons. Labonte 2-2, BB, 2 3B, RBI; DeRose 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W (4-5);

Game 3
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – C A. Maldonado – RF Aragon – SS E. Solano – P A. Jesus
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – P B. Herrera

Thomas Whittington singled, stole second, got another base on Monaghan’s throwing error, and then scored on a sac fly to Martinez while I was plotting how to best throw both our sucking catchers through a solid brick wall with the least amount of effort. The Raccoons responded in their inning of the week, the bottom 1st, which they also ran themselves out of when Christopher and Labonte were on to begin the inning, but Christopher was thrown out in a double steal. Cas then drove home Labonte from second to tie the game and Starr found a double play to roll into.

Now, Bobby Herrera was just off. He had four 3-ball counts (but only one walk) in the second inning, and the fourth was similarly muddled, not least because Alex Maldonado reached second base to begin it with Labonte’s bad throw that skipped past Starr for an error. Both Juan Aragon and Danny Garcia drew walks off Herrera as the inning dragged on, but he struck out Whittington to leave the bases stranded. He was already over 80 innings after just four innings, though. The Coons grabbed him a lead in the bottom 4th on a double by Caswell and Joel Starr’s homer to right, 3-1, then loaded the bases with a mixed bag of Ojeda doubling, Monaghan being walked intentionally, and Herrera hitting a single, all with two outs. Christopher pushed the first pitch he saw through the left side to get up 4-1, but Labonte then flew out to Garcia.

After throwing 82 pitches for four innings, Herrera got two more frames done on just 18 more offerings, but that would end his day. The other Herrera, Ricky, gave up a homer to Danny Garcia in the seventh inning to narrow the score to 4-2, but the Coons answered in the bottom half after PH Bernie Ortega reached on a Whittington error and then scored on 1-out singles by Labonte and Caswell, but Jesus then struck out Starr and Jesus … Martinez. Tanizaki had a clean eighth and the 3-run lead lasted into the ninth inning before things got tighty-squeezy. Walters got an out from Garcia to begin the inning, but then Whittington singled, as did Jose Campos. A run scored on Moreno’s groundout, and another run came home on Younce’s RBI single, which put the tying run on base. Luke Burnham’s fly to right was tame, however, and Jesus Martinez had no issue catching it. 5-4 Raccoons. Labonte 2-4; Caswell 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Ojeda 2-4, 2B;

Game 4
VAN: LF D. Garcia – 3B Whittington – 1B J. Campos – CF D. Moreno – 2B Younce – RF Magnussen – C A. Maldonado – SS E. Solano – P B. Lawrence
POR: LF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – 1B Starr – RF Martinez – SS Bean – 3B Benitez – C Lathers – P Damasceno

Cas kept gobbling up them RBI’s like cupcakes, getting one in the bottom 1st with a well-placed groundout after Christopher had walked, Labonte had singled, and both had advanced into scoring position on an errant pickoff throw by Lawrence. Starr walked, Martinez got an RBI single, and Jon Bean legged out an infield single to load the bases. Lawrence then lost Benitez on straight balls to push in a third run before getting Lathers to hit into a double play to get out of the inning. Two runs were added in the bottom 2nd. The 1-2-3 did the same as the inning before, walking, singling, and grounding out, but now with one out and nobody offering free bases. Joel Starr was alert, though, getting a 2-out, 2-run single to bounce over Younce and extend the lead to 5-0.

Damasceno was very good at not allowing a hit to the Elks, but not so good at not allowing them to reach base by other means. There was a Starr error, but there were especially five walks issued by DD through just that many innings. The Elks were also very good at making stupid outs, hitting into two double plays (which Lathers achieved by himself in just four frames) and having Edwin Solano thrown out trying to steal third base. Jose Campos finally hit a single in the top 6th, but was left on base. In the bottom 6th, though, Benitez walked with one out, and the battery filled the bags with shy singles. Joe-Chris lobbed another single over Younce to extend the lead to 6-0, and after Labonte struck out, Caswell singled to center for another RBI. The Elks brought another reliever, Jim Woods, who walked in a run against Starr, then gave up a bases-clearing double into the leftfield corner to Jesus Martinez, which meant we were now into double digits. Bean’s grounder to second ended the 6-run sixth.

The Elks reached the board in the eighth inning with a doubly-unearned, 2-out, 2-run single by Adam Magnussen after both of the Coons’ middle infielders had fudged a free runner on base behind Sencion and Ornelas, the latter of whom gave up the base knock. Ornelas would allow two walks in the ninth, throw a wild pitch, but consecutive pops to the catcher by Garcia and Whittington prevented the Elks from doing any more damage than absolutely necessary. 11-2 Raccoons. Labonte 2-5; Martinez 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI; Benitez 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; Brassfield (PH) 1-1; Damasceno 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K, W (3-5);

In other news

July 16 – PIT C Jorge Ortiz (.231, 3 HR, 16 RBI), whom the Miners claimed just this month on waivers from the Indians, is out for the year with a broken kneecap.
July 20 – Blue Sox RF Austin Gordon (.208, 0 HR, 1 RBI) hits a single for the only Blue Sox hit in a 12-0 defeat to the Buffaloes’ Ben Karst (7-4, 2.51 ERA) and Victor Ramirez (6-2, 2.96 ERA, 1 SV).

FL Player of the Week: PIT LF/RF Elijah Johnson (.333, 5 HR, 44 RBI), batting .500 (9-18) with 2 HR, 4 RBI
CL Player of the Week: CHA RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.365, 8 HR, 41 RBI), hitting .476 (10-21) with 2 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

You may wonder why Noah Caswell didn’t score a Player of the Week, but he actually had more RBI (7) than hits (6) this week, and topped out at 6-for-17 with no homers. Three doubles, but it wasn’t fancy enough to get past Ceballos.

David Gonzales, the Rule 5er, will come off the DL to begin the new week and will be parked at AAA for a rehab assignment for now. Maybe there will be a roster spot for him again once the trade deadline arrives.

The Raccoons signed six international free agent this month for a total of … uh… $666k. It happened by accident, but now they’re all cursed. Almost half the dosh was brought up for INF/LF/RF Victor Morales, a high-contact, low-K bat with double-digit dinger power. He doesn’t have a lot of speed and doesn’t have much experience at any of his five positions. Since his arm is much better than his range, he’s probably more of a third baseman than anything else. He also already turned 18 this June, so the young Mexican, who hits right-handed, was sent to Aumsville soon after signing.

Six figures each were also paid to right-hander Victor Chavez from Venezuela ($140k) and 2B Carlos Cervantez ($132k) from the Dominican Republic. Those two are only 16 though and won’t be in pro ball any time soon. The remaining three players collected just $69,000 between them.

I’m NOT doing it on purpose, Maud! You look at me like a Puritan from the Mayflower!

We host the Loggers next week, then travel to the Southeast for bouts with the Knights and Falcons. Those are the only remaining games before the trade deadline.

Fun Fact: The All Star Game is past and the Raccoons team lead for stolen bases is still not in double digits.

I miss Lonzo like ****. It hurts. A lot.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (47-46) vs. Loggers (35-57) – July 21-23, 2059

These teams were a combined 38 1/2 games out in late July. The Raccoons held a narrow 5-4 lead in the season series against the CL’s worst offense and third-worst pitching, with the run differential up (down?) to -95 for the Loggers, who arrived in town without a few regulars like Steve Valenzano and pitchers Tyler Riddle and Curt Rosato, all on the DL. In their lineup, they had Perry Pigman hitting .343 and apart from that a bleak, black desert.

Projected matchups:
Craig Kniep (0-0, 4.22 ERA) vs. Sam Webb (4-7, 4.75 ERA)
Chance Fox (8-4, 4.26 ERA) vs. Cory Ellis (6-4, 3.59 ERA)
Justin DeRose (4-5, 3.43 ERA) vs. Julian Dunn (7-8, 4.33 ERA)

The Loggers led with their only southpaw starter, continuing with the closest thing they had to an ace in that 11th-ranked rotation by ERA, and then the ex-Critter Dunn, both right-handers.

These games were taking place partially while I was on the good old black-lacquered rotary phone to deal whatever on the roster still had legs for shiny prospects, which was not the most successful endeavor.

Game 1
MIL: RF Pigman – 2B Pirandello – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 3B Lindauer – CF Monson – LF Franks – SS D. Miller – P S. Webb
POR: LF Ortega – 2B Labonte – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – RF Martinez – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – SS Benitez – P Kniep

However much the Loggers sucked, the Raccoons were throwing up *Craig* *Kniep*; speaking of Pigman, Powering Perry took Kniep deep to right on the very first pitch of the game, and Steve Pirandello homered yet again two pitches later, and only then did Kniep load the bases with an orgy of ineptitude, before walking in a run against Jason Monson, another ex-Critter on the roster. Scott Franks hit a sac fly, Danny Miller singled to fill the bags again, but Webb hit a fly to Jesus Martinez that saw Jeremy Lindauer thrown out at the plate in a 9-2 double play, so the worst offense of the league was successfully held to four runs in the first inning, and I briefly tried to eat the earpiece of the phone while actually talking to the Buffos’ GM, which caused some confusion.

The Raccoons would hit into two double plays after getting the leadoff man on base in the first three innings, but actually also scored some runs, like when Bernie Ortega led off the first with a double to left and scored on productive outs by Labonte and Brass, if nothing else. In the third inning, Brass and Cas racked back-to-back jacks after Labonte had regrettably doubled up Ortega and his leadoff walk, but the score was down to 4-3, so that gave Kniep motivation to suck even harder. Franks and Webb hit doubles off him in the fourth, 5-3, and he was dismissed after another single given up to Pigman, who stole his 30th base of the year once Alex Rios replaced Kniep. Rios whiffed Pirandello, but then walked Dave Robles, and surrendered Kniep’s remaining runners on a bases-loaded, 2-out, 2-run single by Chris Maresh, otherwise hitting .200. Which was still more than Eric Monaghan packed, but at least the Raccoons’ misguided catcher import brought home Juan Ojeda after the latter’s leadoff triple in the bottom 4th with a stellar … groundout. Tony Benitez then got on base, was bunted over by Rios, and scored on a Bernie Ortega single, 7-5, before Labonte grounded out to end the inning.

The tying runs were on the corners with one out in the bottom 5th after Webb walked Cas and Martinez hit a single to right. Juan Ojeda ended up drawing a walk in a full count, filling the bases, before Monaghan landed the single biggest knock he’d had in four months with the team, tearing a gashing wound in Loggers fans’ hearts with a bases-clearing double into the left-center gap. That was the end of Sam Webb for this game, and an 8-7 lead for the Critters. Jesus Aquino would fill up the bases with 2-out walks to Starr and Ortega, but Labonte grounded out to strand the whole lot. Monaghan stranded another pair in the sixth before Dave Robles homered the game tied, 8-8, with a shot off Reynaldo Bravo in the seventh.

After the stretch, the Raccoons loaded the bags yet again. Josh Costello walked Joey Christopher and Paul Labonte around an Ortega single, all with one out, and bringing up the big bats. Before the 3-4-5 batters could do no damage – Brass popped out and Cas grounded out to second – Costello threw a wild pitch, though, that re-established a 9-8 lead for Portland. That lead was immediately blown by Tanizaki then, giving up a leadoff double to left to Danny Miller, and an RBI single to Pigman. The game remained tied in the bottom 8th with Monaghan and Benitez taking to the corners with a 2-out walk and single, respectively, but then Jon Bean, our secret 12th-round weapon, struck out against Danny Zepeda. The Furballs then squeezed a ninth inning out of Ivan Ornelas, who had thrown 35 pitches on Sunday, but the Loggers went down in order, while we restarted the bottom 9th at the top of the lineup against the righty Zepeda, who was prone to walk everything that held still for long enough. Bernie Ortega lined out on the first pitch, of course. The Loggers then went to lefty Sansao Tyson, who actually surrendered a double to Labonte. Brass and Cas reached by way of an intentional walk and a fastball into the ribs, respectively, which gave the bags stacked to Jesus Martinez – who struck out. As did Ojeda.

The Raccoons were nearly out of personnel by the tenth inning. Eloy Sencion and Kelly Konecny entered in a double switch that removed Martinez, but at least Sencion got three outs in quick order in the top 10th before the Loggers brought another former Raccoon, Brett Lillis jr., for the 7-8-9 batters. The Coons went down on seven pitches. Sencion remained stingy despite a 2-out walk to Robles in the 11th, and his 2-inning outing won the game together with Lillis putting Ortega and Labonte on base to begin the bottom of the 11th, combined with the booming 3-run homer that Trent Brassfield romped over the fence in left. 12-9 Furballs! Ortega 3-4, 3 BB, 2B, RBI; Labonte 2-6, BB, 2B; Brassfield 2-6, BB, 2 HR, 5 RBI; Caswell 4-5, HR, 2B, RBI; Ojeda 2-4, 2 BB, 3B; Benitez 3-6; Sencion 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W (1-4);

Craig “Bad Idea” Kniep (0-0, 7.71 ERA) was back on waivers and DFA’ed for assignment by Tuesday, and the Raccoons bluntly needed somebody able to eat a few innings on Tuesday, and shipped in former Nick Brown Memorial pick Brad Loveless for the second time. He had thrown 3.1 scoreless innings his first time around.

Game 2
MIL: RF Pigman – LF Garmon – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 3B Lindauer – CF Monson – 2B Pirandello – SS D. Miller – P C. Ellis
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Lathers – P Fox

Foxie Brown divined to give up a first-pitch homer to Pigman on Tuesday, just like Craig “Deep to Right” Kniep, who was currently on a 38-hour bus trip to St. Petersburg. It didn’t get much better for Fox from there. Pigman was usually involved, like when he walked him in the top 3rd and then gave up an RBI double to Corey Garmon. Lindauer doubled and Monson hit an RBI single the inning after, but Fox compensated by beaning Pirandello out of the game. D.J. Belman replaced him.

Nobody replaced the constantly terrible w/RISP Raccoons, who didn’t score in the first few innings, but not for a lack of reaching second base, f.e. Ojeda getting on base with a throwing error in the bottom 2nd and then being picked off second base by Ellis. Ojeda was involved in another dumb out in the fourth, reaching base by forcing out Joel Starr, then gaining a base on a wild pitch. He went to third base when Bean flew out to center for the second out, and Monson then threw out Ojeda for the third, 8-5 style. The Critters only scored in the sixth inning on Caswell’s triple to center and Brass’ sac fly, getting the score down to 3-1. It was then 3-2 in the seventh when Lathers hit a leadoff double to right-center and scored on Konecny’s groundout and a wild pitch. Eh, whatever works!

Loveless had the eighth inning after six innings of Brown and one of Bravo. It wasn’t a great display of pitching – he walked the bags full, but then Pigman popped out to short for the third out and the Loggers didn’t score. The Raccoons were back up against Sansao Tyson in the bottom 8th. The left-hander walked Labonte to begin the inning, then served up a *huge* 2-run homer to right to Noah Caswell, which flipped the score Portland’s way and got Matt Walters going in the pen. Walters would put the Loggers away in three batters to finish the game. 4-3 Raccoons. Christopher 2-4; Caswell 3-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI;

Game 3
MIL: LF Pigman – RF Wada – 1B D. Robles – 3B Lindauer – CF Monson – 2B Compean – C Howie – SS D. Miller – P Dunn
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Lathers – P DeRose

DeRose managed to keep Pigman in the park for a change, and instead a Joel Starr homer made it 1-0 in the second. The Raccoons then filled the bases with Lathers, Labonte, and Laswell, but Lassfield laned out to Robles to strand the entire set in the bottom 3rd. The Loggers then woke up against a Raccoons starter that lacked stuff and was ready to get pushed over. Hits by Jushiro Wada and Monson tied the game in the fourth, and in the fifth he fooled the bags full before issuing a bases-loaded walk to Robles, and then for good measure forced in another run home by nailing Lindauer with a 1-2 pitch. The inning ended with a K to Monson.

The Raccoons kept getting chances and kept doing nothing with them. Ojeda and Martinez, pinch-hitting for Alex Rios, went to the corners with singles in the seventh, but then Christopher rolled over to Robles at first base to end the inning. Dunn then issued a leadoff walk to Labonte in the bottom 8th and Caswell had his pop dropped by Danny Miller to put the tying run on base with nobody out. Brassfield got a fat 2-0 pitch and strung it to left for an RBI double, and *now* we appeared to be in business! Down by one, and the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with nobody out! Starr grounded out poorly to keep the runners pinned, Ojeda whiffed, and Bean grounded out to first base again. The tying run remained on third base. (bites into clenched fist) …and then the Coons exploded for a 3-run ninth inning. Tanizaki got two outs on the hill before **** hit the fan. Pigman (who else?) singled, stole second, and Wada walked. Robles hit an RBI single to center, Garmon’s fly to right was botched for an error by Christopher to allow Wada to score, a walk to Monson filled the bases, and a wild pitch to Danny Compean got another runner home before the second-sacker popped out.

Bottom 9th, and Sansao Tyson was back at it. Lathers singled and Christopher doubled, after which the ball and the pair in scoring position went to Lillis. Labonte’s groundout got a meaningless run home, but Caswell’s 2-out double plated Christopher and brought the tying run to the plate. Lillis issued four Brass balls, then gave up a sharp grounder to left to Joel Starr. Miller dove and stopped the ball, but couldn’t get up and throw to any base in time – the infield single loaded the bases! Since Jesus Martinez had already been used as pinch-hitter, Ojeda batted in this crucial spot. He grounded out to Garmon… 6-4 Loggers. Caswell 2-5, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-5, HR, RBI; Lathers 3-4; Martinez (PH) 1-1;

This team knows how to make a dramatic exit.

Raccoons (49-47) @ Knights (51-44) – July 25-27, 2059

The Knights were just half a game out in the South and could use some more wins against the Raccoons, who they had swept in the first meeting of the year. Overall, they didn’t look like much of a winning team, though. Starting with the -19 run differential, resulting from being in the bottom half in both runs scored and runs allowed, and continuing with ham-fisted defense, no power, no speed, and a porous pen, one wondered what washed them up the top of the division after all. We met them without perhaps their best player, 3-time Player of the Year Willie Acosta, who had been lost to Tommy John surgery in April, and also relievers Nick Hamlin and David Hardaway. The offense was now led by ex-Coon Josh Abercrombie (.344, 7 HR, 60 RBI).

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (9-7, 2.99 ERA) vs. Morgan Aben (8-3, 3.74 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (3-5, 3.19 ERA) vs. Jose Villegas (2-6, 4.11 ERA)
Chance Fox (8-4, 4.27 ERA) vs. Jeremy Fetta (4-8, 3.93 ERA)

Southpaw on Saturday here.

The Raccoons could go without a fifth starter thanks to another off day on Monday, but we’d need somebody on the weekend. Or maybe three starters. The deadline was coming closer. Who knows what was up with – oh wait a sec. Yes, “Banjo”, what is it? – Maud is on the phone? – Gimme-gimme! – (wrestles the head scout’s mobile phone away) Yes, Maud? – The broth is spicey? – Do it! Yes, call them right away. I’ll kick the two lunkheads out of the clubhouse immediately.

Interlude: Trade

Just before game time on Friday (K)night, the Raccoons swung a trade with the Pacifics, acquiring two ranked prospects. Los Angeles received OF/1B Jesus Martinez (.267, 16 HR, 57 RBI), the team home run leader, perpetually unloved fifth-year Raccoon Takenori Tanizaki (5-2, 2.51 ERA), and AAA SP Ramon Carreno (1-1, 4.32 ERA) in the trade.

In return, the Raccoons got a pair of 24-year-olds, the #49 and #123 prospects: 1B/CF Jack Kozak and C Angel Perez. Both had seen the majors for a cup of coffee in 2058, but neither had been able to get off the AAA Loganville Bombardiers roster for this season yet.

And wasn’t that nice? We gave L.A. a whole gift basket with something of value, something I tried to get rid of for years, and something weird, as in a 24-year-old scorched-earth starting pitcher with 54 big league starts and a 13-24, 4.79 ERA stat pile, no stuff, and awful catapult properties.

Trading Jesus Martinez opened up rightfield – his best position – for Joey Christopher, just as he was emerging to be a pretty decent leadoff man. In 36 games with Portland so far this year, the 23-year-old had a .422 OBP, after a .436 mark in 44 games with St. Pete. His nine games in ’58 were awful, but he had already reached base at a .400 clip with the Miners when he was *21* two years ago, then across 60 PA. As of now, he had exactly 200 career PA with a .272/.395/.346 slash.

The trade occurred so close to game time in Atlanta that we didn’t even manage to bring in replacements with St. Petersburg just a couple of hours away. We played with a 23-man roster in the opener.

Raccoons (49-47) @ Knights (51-44) – July 25-27, 2059

Back to baseball then?

Game 1
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Lathers – P B. Herrera
ATL: SS Moya – 1B Callaia – LF Abercrombie – RF J. Harmon – CF del Toro – 3B Triplett – C J. Torres – 2B Vanover – P Aben

Bobby Herrera’s struggles continued unabated, and it was the three ex-Coons in the Knights lineup that all got base hits in the first inning: Gaudencio Callaia and Josh Abercrombie hit singles, and Juan del Toro whacked a 3-run homer, which he never did in Portland. Del Toro got a fourth RBI in the bottom 3rd with a run-scoring groundout after Callaia and Jamie Harmon went to the corners with yet more singles. To my dismay, del Toro’s shenanigans were pretty much the entire ballgame. The Raccoons had nothing going against Aben, who went eight innings and gave up just an unearned run along the way when Doug Triplett committed an error that put Ojeda on base. Ojeda stole second and scored on a single by Morgan Lathers. Herrera went six and two third and Eloy Sencion punched out a bunch to complete eight, while the Raccoons got a leadoff single from Brassfield against Ryan Dow in the ninth inning. Starr swiftly hit into a double play, but Dow tried blowing the game once more. He walked Konecny batting for Ojeda, allowed a single to Jon Bean, and then finally got Lathers to hack himself out to end the game. 4-1 Knights. Brassfield 2-4; Bean 2-4;

After this game, the Raccoons assigned their new acquisition Jack Kozak to St. Petersburg, but Angel Perez, the new catcher, went on the major league roster, where he won the starter’s job going forwards merely by merit of not already having annoyed me for four months / years.

Which of our extant catchers went away?

Interlude: Trade

The Raccoons dealt C/1B Morgan Lathers (.239, 1 HR, 13 RBI) to the Wolves over night, receiving a right-handed batting outfielder, 32-year-old OF/2B Manny Cooke (.206, 1 HR, 4 RBI), who had spent most of the year in AAA. In that way, him and Lathers were very much the same. Both players were on a minimum deal.

With this, Angel Perez and Manny Cooke were assigned to the roster. Kozak would likely join in September. The last remaining roster spot went to our 2056 third-rounder, right-hander Bobby Sneeze (gesundheit!), who was 1-1 with a 3.90 ERA in swingman duty in St. Petersburg, but also had missed some time on the DL. He might actually end up in the rotation by next week…

Raccoons (49-47) @ Knights (51-44) – July 25-27, 2059

Game 2
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – 3B Ojeda – 1B Brassfield – LF Konecny – CF Cooke – C Perez – SS Benitez – P Damasceno
ATL: SS Moya – 1B Callaia – LF Abercrombie – RF J. Harmon – CF del Toro – C J. Torres – 3B N. Fox – 2B Vanover – P Villegas

It was another 4-1 Knights game before two innings were over, and that was with the Coons taking the first lead when Brass doubled home Ojeda in the first inning. It was straight downhill from there, though. Joaquin Moya was doubled in by Callaia in the bottom 1st, and Jamie Harmon then soon whacked a homer, and in the bottom 2nd the 7-8-9 for the Knights all reached base on singles, some of the infield variety, before Damasceno plated a run with a wild pitch, then got an 8-6 double play when Moya flew out to Cooke in center, and Villegas failed to return to second base in time, and rung up Callaia to finish the inning.

The next three innings saw mostly double plays hit into before the sixth featured Kelly Konecny socking a 2-run double and jamming his own leg into his chest and chin when he caught a spike sliding into second base. Luis Silva had to drag his limp body off the field before he was replaced with Bernie Ortega going out from second base. Jon Bean took over second base in more ways than one, advanced to third on Cooke’s groundout, then scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Knights reliever Eli Dupuis.

The seventh was uneventful, but the eighth saw the tie broken with a long homer to left-center that Brass whacked off Matt Weber. That gave him 14 on the year, which were ten more than all other Raccoons in the lineup at that point had combined for the year. The potential W would be on Ricky Herrera, who got three outs in the seventh and two in the eighth before Alex Rios put Jose Torres on with a single and tried to give up a gap double to Nick Fox, but Joey Christopher mad-dashed into the gap and plucked that thing out of the skies to maintain the Raccoons’ lead; Joe-Chris added on with an RBI double to left in the top 9th, following a pinch-hit double by Noah Caswell in the #9 hole. Matt Walters then took care of things. 6-4 Furballs. Brassfield 4-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Caswell (PH) 1-1, 2B;

Angel Perez went 1-for-3 in his Critter debut. Manny Cooke went scratch-for-four.

Ricky Herrera went up to 7-3 on the year, third on the team in wins, and second among Herrera on the team in wins.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – SS Bean – C Perez – 3B Benitez – P C. Fox
ATL: CF del Toro – SS Moya – C M. Nieto – LF Abercrombie – RF J. Harmon – 3B Triplett – 1B Callaia – 2B N. Fox – P Fetta

Angel Perez got his first runner thrown out as a Raccoon in the first inning, erasing Joaquin Moya trying to nip second base, then got his first Raccoons RBI in the top 2nd with an RBI single to center. It was the fourth straight base hit to begin the inning after a Brass single, Starr double, and Bean RBI single, but that was then enough fun and the inning ended with Tony Benitez flying out to left and Chance Fox hitting into a double play. Brass singled home Joe-Chris with a 2-out run in the third inning, though, 3-0, after Christopher drew a leadoff walk.

Chance Fox meanwhile was pitching treacherously well in the early going. He was quick, he was efficient, and he did so without giving up stray homers, expending 50 pitches on five shutout inning of 2-hit ball against Atlanta to begin his Sunday. He struck out three that far, The Knights made three poor outs in the sixth, and three more in the seventh, with Moya being retired on a strong defensive play by Foxie Brown, who pounced on a roller near the first base line and managed to sling it around the running batter to Starr in time. Jamie Harmon began the eighth with a gapper, though, reaching base with a leadoff double. Gabriel Mendez flew out to left, Gaudencio Callaia grounded out to first, and then Fox out-foxed Fox and … drew a full-count, 2-out walk. Matt Kempf popped out to short as the tying run, though, and it looked like Foxie would also get the ninth inning, although the Raccoons had Walters and Bravo up in the pen in the top of the inning. Fox batted for himself whilst Perez, Benitez, and Christopher slowly loaded the bases in the top of the ninth against Dupuis, then Ryan Dow. Labonte batted with two outs, ran the count to 2-1, and then punched a bases-clearing triple through a diving Callaia, and off the sidewall in rightfield rather awkwardly to fool Harmon, a light defender at the best of times, allowing the ball to escape into the deep right-center gap. That sure sat down Walters. Bernie Ortega batted for Caswell and hit a RBI double. Brass walked, but Starr then flew out to left.

Then returned Fox, up 7-0 with a 3-hitter, but the top of the order up to bat in the bottom 9th. Del Toro singled to left to begin the inning, but was forced out when Moya grounded out to Bernie Ortega at second base. The game ended on the next pitch, which Marco Nieto slung at the shortstop Bean, and the Raccoons went 6-4-3 to end the game. 7-0 Furballs! Ortega (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 3-3, 2 BB, RBI; Perez 2-4, RBI; Fox 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W (9-4);

In other news

July 21 – The Condors swap SP Mike Hall (6-7, 4.09 ERA) to the Blue Sox for #121 prospect Sergio Silva.
July 21 – All games on this Monday go extra innings, although the schedule entirely consists of the Raccoons’ 11-inning, 12-9 win against the Loggers and the Aces beating the Condors, 5-4 in 10 innings.
July 22 – Dallas OF Tyler Wharton (.262, 10 HR, 43 RBI) would miss about three weeks with a sprained ankle.
July 24 – Miners 2B/SS Ryan Spehar (.235, 7 HR, 39 RBI) could miss the rest of the year after suffering a partially torn labrum.
July 24 – Cyclones closer Willie Cruz (1-5, 4.19 ERA, 18 SV) is down with an oblique strain and will be out for a month.
July 25 – BOS SP Ryan Musgrave (5-10, 4.16 ERA) throws a 1-hit shutout against the Falcons for a 5-0 win. He collects 22 outs before Falcons UT Ricky Carbajal (.250, 2 HR, 7 RBI) hits a double in the eighth inning.
July 25 – Buffaloes CF/LF Jose Ambriz (.275, 3 HR, 18 RBI) would miss a month with a broken thumb just 17 days after being acquired from the Aces.
July 27 – The Loggers send left-hander CL Brett Lillis jr. (2-3, 2.78 ERA, 18 SV) to the Bayhawks for a pack of prospects.

FL Player of the Week: SAL INF/RF/LF Jeff Buss (.326, 11 HR, 50 RBI), hitting .393 (11-28) with 3 HR, 8 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR LF/RF/1B Trent Brassfield (.318, 14 HR, 52 RBI), pushing .583 (14-24) with 3 HR, 10 RBI

Complaints and stuff

First career shutout, first career complete game for Foxie Brown, age 25 years and 20 days on Sunday. It came in his 39th career start. So far he’s 15-12 with a 4.28 ERA, and recently the form curve has been pointing upwards again, which won’t mean that he won’t do something that will make me go and want to throw him clear through a brick wall his next time up…

Trent Brassfield has a 10-game hitting streak, including 6 multi-hit games, and four of those in a row. He hasn’t been retired since Friday when he struck out in the sixth inning. Since then: 8-for-8, a double, a homer, three RBI, and two walks to boot. That’s how you gain 19 points of average in a week in late July! This was his first Player of the Week award. Finally something new for the mantelpiece after he got a ring in ’54 as a 21-year-old hangers-on.

We have Monday off, then a 3-game set in Charlotte still inside the trade deadline. August will begin with just a weekend stay at home against the Condors. The Raccoons will spend the entire month of August on their side of the Rockies, though: the only road series are a trip to San Francisco after the Condors series, and then another hop down I-5 to the Wolves later in the month. Apart from that we have 22 home games.

Fun Fact: Angel Perez and Noah Caswell were once traded for another.

The Wolves sent their #83 prospect (with SP Brian Goldsmith) to the Pacifics for Noah Caswell and cash three days from the deadline in 2056. They almost were dealt for another again, but we then figured out a way for Cas to hang around and for Martinez to be the main piece in the deal that brought in Perez now.

But who knows, there’s a few more days to the deadline!

[Westheim]

The Raccoons began the week by putting Kelly Konecny on the DL for a fracture in his foot. He would probably return in September. 27-year-old Carlos Solorzano was brought up from AAA to sit on the bench for a while. Solorzano had not made it to Portland in ’58 after three straight years of some sort of bench service, batting .238 with 1 HR, 33 RBI, and 11 SB in 134 games from ’55 to ’57.

Raccoons (51-48) @ Falcons (51-46) – July 29-31, 2059

Despite the Knights’ series loss to the Raccoons on the weekend, they had made it past the Falcons into first place in the South by now because Charlotte had dropped four straight games, which was never a smart thing to do in a four-way battle for the division. They had the #9 offense and #7 pitching in the CL, a -6 run differential, and maybe one day we’d find a team with a positive run differential in the South. They had the very worst D in the league, and they had half a pitching staff on the DL, with Art Schaeffer, Mario de Anda, and a bunch of relievers all fallen by the wayside, although Schaeffer (8-4, 3.15 ERA) was working his way back. The Raccoons had lost two of three games to the Falcons so far this year.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (4-6, 3.46 ERA) vs. Esteban Duran (7-6, 3.74 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (9-8, 3.11 ERA) vs. Adam Middleton (7-6, 3.99 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (3-5, 3.44 ERA) vs. Neil Mongillo (3-5, 3.88 ERA)

Righty, righty, lefty, although with this many injuries you never know…

Game 1
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Perez – SS Bean – P DeRose
CHA: LF K. Fisher – 2B Woodrome – RF D. Ceballos – CF Oldfield – C L. Miranda – 1B M. Cruz – 3B Carbajal – SS Hullander – P E. Duran

While the Raccoons took the early lead on hits by Brassfield and Perez in the second inning, the Falcons made noisy contact with DeRose’s offerings right from the start, and it was only a matter of when they would actually do damage. Turns out, offering four walks in an inning to them in addition to not being able to miss their bats was quite adverse to maintaining a 1-0 lead, and DeRose first failed the bases full in the bottom 3rd, and then started to give up actual RBI knocks. Luis Miranda singled in a pair, and Ricky Carbajal drew a bases-loaded walk before Joe Hullander hit into an inning-ending double play.

Somehow DeRose retired eight in a row from there, then was taken deep by Hullander for a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, at which point the Raccoons had only collected a Joel Starr double in addition to their pair of knocks from the second inning, and were still held to a lonely run by Duran. Brad Loveless followed DeRose and pitched just as badly, giving up a run in the seventh on Kyle Fisher’s leadoff double, Danny Ceballos’ RBI single, and for good measure added two 2-out walks and required rescue by Alex Rios, who got Carbajal to end the bottom 7th, but also whacked around for two runs in the bottom 8th. 7-1 Falcons.

The best thing about this game was that it eventually ended.

Game 2
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Perez – SS Benitez – P B. Herrera
CHA: LF K. Fisher – 2B Woodrome – RF D. Ceballos – CF Oldfield – C L. Miranda – 1B M. Cruz – 3B Carbajal – SS Hullander – P Middleton

Herrera remained out of sync with himself, which was a terrible thing to say about a $6M man, but the Falcons soon took the lead with Luis Miranda and Marco Cruz doubles to left in the second inning for one run, then a walk to Fisher, who stole second, and Ceballos’ RBI knock for another run in the bottom 3rd. The Raccoons had their hits as well, but frittered away a spectacular amount of runners before finally scoring. We had five hits and two walks through five innings for nothing on the part of the board that mattered, which was due to a variety of failings like Labonte being caught stealing here and Herrera bunting into a force out at third base there…

But the team eventually found the scoreboard in the sixth inning, beginning with straight hits – all singles – from Cas, Brass, Starr, and Ojeda to tie the game at two. Angel Perez then stuffed a stringer through Ricky Carbajal for a go-ahead RBI double to left. Middleton had to put Tony Benitez on intentionally, then was yanked for lefty Yoshinari Kuroiwa, who gave up an RBI single to Tipsy Bobby, but then retired the top of the order convincingly and without allowing any more runs. Well – until Brass got him for a leadoff jack to left in the seventh at least. The Raccoons tacked on more in the eighth; Herrera reached base leading off on an error by Hullander, got to third while Joe-Chris and Labonte made outs, and then scored on a Caswell single to center against Jim Larson. Bobby Herrera was much better in the last few innings than in the first few and got into the bottom 8th before a 1-out double by Fisher knocked him out. Ricky Herrera took over, walked Ian Woodrome, but then got flies to center to kill the inning from Ceballos and Cory Oldfield, while the Raccoons tacked on two more runs in the ninth inning against a parade of pitchers. Tony Benitez singled home a run, and Manny Cooke brought in another with a groundout.

The bottom 9th then brought about the major league debut of third-rounder Bobby Sneeze. We hoped for a quick inning as a tune-up to a start on Saturday. He retired Luis Miranda, Craig Sayre, and Ricky Carbajal on five pitches. 8-2 Critters. Caswell 3-5, RBI; Ojeda 2-4, RBI; Perez 3-5, 2B, RBI; Benitez 3-4, BB, 2 2B, RBI; B. Herrera 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, W (10-8) and 1-4, RBI;

No lefty on the final day of the month, as the Falcons got Art Schaeffer back and plonked him straight into the spot.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Monaghan – P Damasceno
CHA: LF K. Fisher – 2B Woodrome – RF D. Ceballos – CF Oldfield – C L. Miranda – 1B M. Cruz – 3B Carbajal – SS Hullander – P Schaeffer

Schaeffer started with four balls to Joey Christopher, which soon morphed into an early run on Brass’ 2-out RBI single. Starr also walked, but Ojeda’s fly to deep right ended up with Ceballos and the inning ended. The Raccoons’ offensive ambitions mostly ended there while Damasceno as usual fooled nobody and slowly turned the lead into a deficit by getting taken deep by Luis Miranda in the second inning for one run, and then gave up three singles to Oldfield, Marco Cruz, and Carbajal in the bottom 4th to load the bases before Hullander’s sac fly gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead. That was still the score in a dull game in the bottom 7th when Hullander got on board with a leadoff walk. Sayre and Fisher made outs before Loveless was brought in struck out Woodrome to end the inning. Loveless and Bravo kept the Falcons close in the eighth inning, but the Coons just couldn’t get going. Jon Bean drew a walk off Brian Goldsmith in the ninth inning, but the tying run never got off first base. 2-1 Falcons. Christopher 1-2, 2 BB; Bean 2-3, BB; Damasceno 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, L (3-6) and 1-3;

Raccoons (52-50) vs. Condors (45-55) – August 1-3, 2059

The Condors were bottoms in the South, but closer to first place (9 1/2 GB) than the Raccoons (12 1/2) in the North. They were tenth in runs scored, fourth in runs allowed, had a -22 run differential, and were also not the team with the positive run differential in the South. The Coons had already won the season series for the sixth straight season, having taken five of the first six games with Tijuana this year.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (9-4, 3.97 ERA) vs. Marco Clemente (7-6, 3.22 ERA)
Bobby Sneeze (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Edgar Mauricio (6-8, 4.58 ERA)
Justin DeRose (4-7, 3.59 ERA) vs. Miguel Batista (8-10, 4.27 ERA)

Only right-handed opposition this week! But the Coons would not have a day off again until the 14th, so we’d cycle in an off day or two even for the regulars that were already in the lineup cards when they came from the printers.

Game 1
TIJ: RF S. Moore – 1B Schaack – LF T. Duncan – C Samuel – 3B Frasher – SS C. Ramsey – CF Asencio – 2B N. Cross – P M. Clemente
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Benitez – P Fox

Coming off his first career shutout on Sunday, Foxie Brown was stringing up zeroes on the board again on Friday in the series opener – but it wasn’t nearly the same game as he had pitched against the Knights. In fact, he was pretty awful. He scattered five actual base hits in the first five innings, but the Condors reached scoring position in four of the innings, and he gave up numerous long drives, that just happened to not go out of the park and most of them were caught by the roaming outfielders. Only Casey Ramsey got a ball to drop in for a double; the other hits were singles. He also hit Mario Asencio with a 1-2 pitch and had only two strikeouts while wobbling along through five, *and* he bunted into a double play while the rest of the brown horde amounted to one base hit the first time through (and Joe-Chris got himself caught stealing on that…); in short, we were just waiting for everything to collapse into a 5-spot for the Condors and mark down the L in the schedule. I had the red pen ready.

The Condors just couldn’t get going, though. Nick Samuel had another deep fly out in the sixth. Ramsey hit a single, stole a base, but was stranded on second. Fox fooled forwards into the seventh, where Scott Moore finally knocked him out with a 2-out single. Jason Schaack hit another single off Alex Rios, but Tim Duncan struck out and the game arrived at the stretch without a score. Rios had a quick eighth, and Matt Walters struck out three while walking Nigel Cross in the ninth inning. Marco Clemente carried a 3-hitter through eight innings, but could go no further, and lefty Joe Cash replaced him for the bottom 9th, retiring Joe-Chris, Ortega, and Cas in order to send a zip-zip game to extras. The Raccoons dropped in Ivan Ornelas, who wasn’t very sharp, but at least got a double play grounder whenever needed in extra innings, of which there were three. The Condors could not break through against Ornelas, but the Raccoons finally managed to get a stray walkoff shot from Caswell off Dan Lawrence in the bottom of the 12th… 1-0 Blighters. Ornelas 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, W (4-2);

Game 2
TIJ: RF S. Moore – CF Asencio – SS C. Ramsey – LF T. Duncan – C Waker – 1B Schaack – 3B Frasher – 2B L. Chapa – P Mauricio
POR: RF Christopher – 3B Ojeda – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 2B Ortega – SS Ban – C Monaghan – P Sneeze

Sneeze got three quick outs in the first, and two more in the second, and then **** hit the fan. The Condors loaded the bags with the 6-7-8 hitters with a walk drawn by Schaack and singles from Eric Frasher and Luis Chapa, then got an RBI single from their pitcher to take a 1-0 lead. Sneeze then walked in a run against Scott Moore and allowed another RBI single to Mario Asencio before Ramsey finally struck out… It didn’t get better from there. The Condors had the bases loaded with nobody out in both the third and fourth innings; they didn’t score in the third, with Frasher’s fly into a 9-2 double play and a pop by Mauricio after an intentional walk to Chapa, but the 1-2-3 were right on it again in the fourth, and Tim Duncan’s sac fly made it a 4-0 game… but then Tristan Waker whiffed and Schaack flew out to center. Asencio would later hit a solo homer off Sencion in the sixth inning. Asencio… Sencion… Asencion…? – Yes, Maud, I will be a good boy and take my pills now. (washes them down with some Capt’n Coma)

The Raccoons did NOTHING before the stretch and quietly trailed 5-0 before Brass and Starr hit 1-out singles and Bean reached on an error by Schaack with two outs in the bottom 7th, which technically loaded the bases, albeit only for Eric Monaghan, so I didn’t see a reason to get excited. Monaghan, batting .172 at this point and awaiting his papers to be handed to him at the end of the season, dutifully struck out. Solorzano walked and Ojeda singled in the bottom 8th to put runners on the corners with one out then. Caswell, who had been drilled quite violently by Mauricio earlier in the game, packed all his anger into a … sac fly. And that was it. 5-1 Condors. Starr 2-4;

Game 3
TIJ: RF S. Moore – CF Asencio – SS C. Ramsey – LF T. Duncan – C Waker – 3B Frasher – 1B Churricho – 2B L. Chapa – P M. Batista
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – 3B Ojeda – 1B Starr – LF Ortega – C Perez – CF Solorzano – SS Benitez – P DeRose

One pitch by DeRose was enough to trail 1-0 on Sunday as Scott Moore immediately punched a 430-footer to center. While the Raccoons made up the deficit quickly in the bottom 1st as Christopher singled, stole second, and was singled home by Labonte, DeRose remained woeful. The 6-7-8 batters all singled their way on base in the top 2nd before being stopped by a Batista K and Moore’s pop to short, but 22-year-old rookie Querubim Churricho (!) from Venezuela remained a problem, singled again in the fourth, stole second, and then came around to score on a Chapa single, and the inning after there was a Ramsey triple and a really quick wild pitch to extend the Condors’ lead to 3-1. The Raccoons remained offensively challenged; Angel Perez had three base hits through seven innings (and one baserunning blunder to turn a single into an out rather than a double, but who’s counting by now…), and the rest of the team had just as many combined. The game remained close even as DeRose pitched into the eighth inning, then followed by Loveless and Bravo. The Condors got eight full innings out of Batista before sending Dan Lawrence against the 3-4-5 batters in the bottom of the ninth. Ojeda led off with a single to left, bringing the tying run to the dish right away, but Starr whiffed. Cas batted for Ortega and hit a soft single to bring up the unretired Perez as the winning run, and this was perhaps stupid but the Coons were banking on the 3-run homer. Well. We sure got him to end the game. Grounder to Ramsey, to Chapa, to Churricho. 3-1 Condors. Caswell (PH) 1-1; Perez 3-4;

In other news

July 28 – The Crusaders get relief help with Cory Leonard (3-6, 4.87 ERA, 13 SV), who is imported from Tijuana for two prospects.
July 29 – Thunder OF Bernardin Martaranha (.323, 1 HR, 19 RBI) has put together a 20-game hitting streak with three base knocks in a 2-1 win against the Loggers. The “streak” consists of three separate stints in the majors interrupted by brief assignments to AAA for the 24-year-old left-handed hitter.
July 31 – Drab day on the league scoreboard: in six games played only 27 runs are scored, a paltry 2.25 markers per team. The most runs to be had by an individual team and in a game as a whole are a 4-3 win by the Titans over the Aces.
August 1 – BOS SP Jayden Craddock (12-5, 2.05 ERA) and CL Mike Lane (4-5, 4.77 ERA, 25 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter against the Thunder, who only get a sixth-inning double from 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.295, 9 HR, 61 RBI). The effort also kills the hitting streak of OCT OF Bernardin Martaranha (.313, 1 HR, 19 RBI) ends at 21 games as the youngster goes 0-for-4.
August 3 – 22-year-old rookie NAS RF Austin Gordon (.236, 2 HR, 9 RBI) has four base hits, all for extra bases in three doubles and a homer, and drives in four runs in the Blue Sox’ 16-4 rout of the hapless Stars.

FL Player of the Week: NAS OF Elmer Maldonado (.267, 7 HR, 29 RBI), batting .448 (13-29) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: SFB INF/LF Xavier Reyes (.332, 4 HR, 40 RBI), poking .462 (12-26) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: SAC RF/CF Will Buras (.373, 15 HR, 69 RBI), whacking .348 with 4 HR, 14 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: CHA RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.353, 9 HR, 46 RBI), hitting .404 with 5 HR, 21 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: WAS SP Troy Ratliff (11-7, 3.52 ERA), going 5-1 with a 2.04 ERA, 24 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: BOS SP Will Glaude (8-4, 3.34 ERA), being a perfect 5-0 with a 1.36 ERA, 21 K
FL Rookie of the Month: PIT RF/LF Elijah Johnson (.321, 6 HR, 45 RBI), batting .378 with 4 HR, 12 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: POR 2B/LF Bernie Ortega (.373, 1 HR, 5 RBI), hitting .408 with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Five times this week the Raccoons scored exactly one run. Somehow they won two games. We’re down to eighth in runs scored in the CL, but we somehow still have a +33 run differential.

Let’s just say it was a slow month for rookies in the CL. Bernie Ortega collected just 49 at-bats in the month.

Jesus Martinez started slow for L.A., batting under .200 through the weekend, but on Saturday hit a 3-run walkoff homer to beat the Caps, 9-6 in 13 innings. He’ll probably be fine.

Zach Stewart suffered a setback in recovery from the torn rotator cuff. There had previously been a long chance that he might return for a few innings at the end of the season, but that’s out the window now. Speaking of potentially crippling injuries, the Raccoons made an offer to Lonzo this week, who had been in a contract year. Lonzo probably hoped for a long-term deal, but even if I love him with all my heart, I have to see that his body is still in one piece before shelling out that 6-yr, $45M deal on a 32-year-old shortstop with a career 90 OPS+.

Cristiano, when you write it down like this it sounds really, really dumb. Give it to Maud to have it reworded. She managed to still sell season tickets after ’32, she can spin this one into a W!

We’re off to San Fran for a 3-game set starting on Monday, and then it’s a 7-game homestand with the Crusaders and Elks.

Fun Fact: Lonzo has 29.5 career WAR while having earned $9.5M in salaries.

See, Cristiano. Boy needs that $45M deal!

What do you have, Maud? – I need to take another pill?

[Westheim]

Raccoons (53-52) @ Bayhawks (55-50) – August 4-6, 2059

San Francisco was scoring the second-most runs in the Continental League, but they were also giving up the fourth-most and had only a +17 run differential. Then again, they had beaten the Raccoons in all games played so far this year, and nothing good ever happened at the Bay. Woe is us!

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (10-8, 3.07 ERA) vs. Jeff Crowley (6-11, 5.67 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (3-6, 3.38 ERA) vs. Garrett Giustino (9-6, 3.80 ERA)
Chance Fox (9-4, 3.78 ERA) vs. Joe Byrd (3-3, 5.04 ERA)

Only right-handed pitching to be seen here.

The Raccoons began the week by rather reluctantly recalling David Gonzales from his AAA rehab assignment. Tony Benitez was sent to St. Petersburg to make room for the Rule 5er.

Game 1
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – 1B Brassfield – SS Bean – 3B Gonzales – LF Cooke – C Monaghan – P B. Herrera
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – CF A. Walker – C Redfern – RF Tomko – P Crowley

The Raccoons took the lead in the third inning when Caswell singled home Christopher from second base after previously having ended the top of the first with a double play grounder to Armando Montoya, the CL home run and RBI leader, batting .279 with 19 HR and 84 RBI. Caswell scored himself on a Brass double and Crowley’s subsequent balk for a 2-0 lead. Crowley then also beaned Bean, but struck out David Gonzales to escape the inning. Bobby Herrera didn’t put much of a paw wrong in the first four innings, but then blundered into another Tipsy Bobby inning in the bottom of the fifth, which began with loopy singles by Keith Redfern and Chris Tomko, and continued with Crowley’s RBI double to left. Redfern scored, Tomko was thrown out at the plate, but the Bayhawks still got the tying run to score with Xavier Reyes’ single that sent Crowley to third base, then a groundout by Adam Peltier, who else. Not much else happened offensively; the Raccoons were completely hopeless against another pitcher with an ERA over five, as Crowley went eight innings and struck out ten Critters. Bobby Herrera only lasted six innings after the long bottom 5th, with Rios, Ornelas, and Ricky Herrera then adding two scoreless innings after that to keep the game tied. The Bayhawks then sent Brett Lillis jr. into the ninth inning. He also gave up a pair of loopy singles to Bean and Gonzales, then with two outs a booming, pinch-hit, 3-run homer to Joel Starr! Matt Walters would then take care of the 4-5-6 batters in order. 5-2 Raccoons. Brassfield 2-4, RBI; Gonzales 2-4; Starr (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI; Perez (PH) 1-1;

Game 2
POR: 2B Labonte – LF Ortega – CF Caswell – RF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P Damasceno
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – LF Anker – 2B A. Montoya – 1B P. Fowler – CF A. Walker – C Redfern – RF Tomko – P Giustino

In his first go on Tuesday, Angel Perez mashed his first career home run, a solo shot to left in the second inning. This did not give the Raccoons the lead, because the other half of the battery had been busy noisily drowning in the bottom of the first. DD walked Peltier, then allowed sharp hits to Grant Anker, Armando Mongoya, and Aaron Walker, who drove in a total of three runs. It got better with him in the following innings, but it took the Raccoons a while to scramble and make up the difference. Angel Perez hit a leadoff double in the fourth inning, then scored on Ojeda’s sac fly to inch the Critters closer, and when Starr socked another longshot in the sixth inning, we were finally even at three. The inning wasn’t over, though, because Jon Bean got on base with one out and stole second base. Ojeda’s grounder moved him to third base, but the Raccoons forewent sending a pinch-hitter with the go-ahead run on third and two outs. Why a pinch-hitter? For what? Duarte Damasceno slapped a single to center, Bean scored, 4-3, and the Bayhawks mutteringly changed pitchers. Labonte then grounded out.

Damasceno had a scoreless sixth despite Aaron Walker getting on base and stealing second, while the Bayhawks had another mess on their claws in the seventh inning with Zane Fenlon pitching. He allowed a single to Bernie Ortega, who advanced on Cas’ groundout. San Fran wanted no piece of Brassfield and walked him intentionally, but then Fenlon balked and they had to walk Starr intentionally as well, bringing … whom to the plate? Angel Perez – the youngster drew a walk in a full count to push home another run. Manny Cooke batted for Bean against the left-handed Fenlon, but struck out, and then Ojeda grounded out to leave the bags full. The bags were left loaded the inning after that as well when Starr flew out to Grant Anker after Christopher and Labonte had drawn walks and Brass had singled.

Eloy Sencion tried to blow the 5-3 game in the bottom 8th, nicking Anker – his own fault for catching that fly ball! – and then conceding a single to Pat Fowler, the other lefty batter he saw. He didn’t see any batter after that at all, with Reynaldo Bravo storming in beating up Walker and Keith Redfern with strikeouts to strand runners on the corners. Three runs in the ninth then blew the doors off. Gonzales doubled and scored on an Ojeda single, Labonte got on, and Bernie Ortega hit a 2-run double into the gap with two outs. The Bayhawks then tried to blow the doors back on in the bottom 9th against Brad Loveless, but only managed to put Reyes and Peltier on the corners with two 2-out singles before Anker struck out to end the game. 8-3 Critters. Ortega 2-6, 2B, 2 RBI; Brassfield 2-4, BB; Perez 2-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Bean 2-3; Gonzales 1-1, 2B; Damasceno 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (4-6) and 2-3, RBI;

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P C. Fox
SFB: SS X. Reyes – 3B Peltier – 2B A. Montoya – CF A. Walker – LF Anker – 1B C. Jimenez – C Redfern – RF Tomko – P Byrd

Both teams had only one runner each in the first two innings, but the top 3rd then got bizarre right away. Juan Ojeda hit a leadoff single, which was still within the realm of possibilities, but then scored on a stolen base attempt, Redfern’s throwing error, and then a balk by Byrd. Joey Christopher then also reached base, stole second, reached third on another throwing error by Redfern, and was singled home by Bernie Ortega. It was certainly ONE way to go up 2-0.

Meanwhile Chance Fox did his royal best to give up a run for the first time in a while. He had already walked Anker in the second, then walked Chris Tomko and Xavier Reyes in the third inning. Then he threw a wild pitch. The runners were in scoring position with one out, but Peltier popped out where he could do no harm (!!!), and Montoya grounded out to Joel Starr. Fox did run out of stupid luck in the fourth, though, giving away leadoff knocks to Walker and Anker, then a sac fly to Chris Jimenez. Redfern hit another sharp single, but Anker was thrown out at the plate by Brassfield on that one. Tomko then flew out to shallow left to keep the Coons up 2-1.

The next two innings didn’t see a lot of excitement, and the seventh didn’t begin overly promising with a groundout by Bean, but then Ojeda hit another single. Fox’ bunt was thrown away by Byrd for two bases, and the Raccoons had another pair in scoring position with less than two outs. The Bayhawks didn’t bother with Joe-Chris, who was walked intentionally, because he looked really menacing with that .227/.394/.297 slash line. Even worse: it worked. Bernie Ortega struck out, and Caswell grounded out to Montoya…

Fox was gone after Reyes’ 2-out single in the bottom 7th. Ornelas replaced him, was met with pinch-hitter Pat Fowler (as if anybody could conceivably do more damage to the Raccoons as Adam Peltier did with his eyes closed), and got a groundout to second to end the inning. Ornelas and Sencion combined for a 1-2-3 eighth inning to keep the 2-1 lead together. Juan Ojeda hit a leadoff single against Lillis in the ninth, but was forced out by Manny Cooke and the Raccoons failed to tack on, leaving Walters to his own devices against the 6-7-8 batters. Keith Redfern promptly homered the game tied, and eventually we went on to extra innings. The top 10th began with Zane Fenlon walking Caswell before Montoya butchered a Brass grounder for the fourth Bayhawks error of the game. Starr’s soft single loaded the bases with nobody out, oh-oh. Angel Perez was so far hitless in the game, but broke the stalemate with a clean single past third baseman Brendan Mayer, 3-2. Bean then popped out, but Ojeda remained unretired and doubled home a pair with a shot to right. Jorge Solis replaced feckless Fenlon, conceded a run with a wild pitch, and another one on Labonte’s sac fly.

The Coons then put in Loveless and leaned back. Maybe they leaned back a bit too much. Reyes led off the bottom 10th with a double to left, and then Ojeda threw away Mayer’s grounder for two bases and a run. Montoya walked, there was a wild pitch, but then a K on Walker. Grant Anker grounded out first, and now Starr completely fudged a play. Mayer scored, two were on the corners, and the tying run was at the plate with one out. The Coons brought Bravo, who walked the bags full against Chris Jimenez, but then struck out Redfern and had Tomko ground out to short… 7-4 Raccoons. Ojeda 5-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

Juan Ojeda had more hits than the rest of the team combined (four).

…which is good, because so far I don’t see how he wants to merit that $2.35M salary for this season…..

Raccoons (56-52) vs. Crusaders (69-40) – August 7-10, 2059

Nope, it wasn’t happening. Even with a sweep of the Crusaders, we would still be 8 1/2 games behind. They were third in runs scored and allowing the fewest runs in the CL, and were looking to get their +99 run differential into triple digits on the weekend. Somehow we led the season series, 4-3.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Sneeze (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. Joel Luera (7-6, 2.05 ERA)
Justin DeRose (4-8, 3.58 ERA) vs. Seisaku Taki (14-4, 3.27 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (10-8, 3.07 ERA) vs. Jose Ortega (8-7, 4.36 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (4-6, 3.42 ERA) vs. Ben Seiter (14-4, 3.06 ERA)

Only right-handers coming up here.

Game 1
NYC: CF Branch – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – 1B Sevilla – C Seidman – SS N. Fowler – 3B Zucal – P Taki
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P Sneeze

Taki what? Joel Luera was a late scratch with a tight neck and Taki had to suddenly go on short rest, who avoided trouble in the first inning, but Brass and Starr started the bottom 2nd with singles and Angel Perez’ single to center gave the Coons a 1-0 lead before Jon Bean struck out, but Juan Ojeda made it 2-0 with a sac fly for Bobby Sneeze (gesundheit!), who had already avoided deserved damage in both of the first two innings when the Crusaders ran themselves out of the first inning when Omar Sanchez doubled and was thrown out at home on Sean Zeiher’s single, or in the second, when Roger Zucal spanked a ball into an inning-ending double play after Mike Seidman and Nick Fowler had both hit singles. This couldn’t go well forever, and it didn’t. The Crusaders two hits in the third inning were homers by Tommy Branch (solo) and Sean Zeiher (for two), the latter picking up Sanchez having drawn a walk.

While Portland then had Ortega and Ojeda hit into double plays to kill their third and fourth innings, Tommy Branch at least got what he deserved in the fifth, where he hit a leadoff single to center. Tony Rodriquez grounded to short, and Bean’s throw to Ortega was poor and to the first base side. Ortega reached and fell onto the sliding Branch, who hurt his shoulder in the process and was replaced with Chris Deeley; and he was out too, because there’s not much sliding to be done anymore when you’re pinned under a second baseman. Sanchez then hit into a double play to end the inning, 4-6-3. Mike Seidman’s 2-run homer in the sixth created some distance then, putting New York up 5-2, while Brass and Starr drew walks off Taki in the bottom 6th to bring Angel Perez to the plate as the tying run – and he hit into yet another double play.

Taki was gone after six, just like Sneeze, who still didn’t quite fight the veteran to a draw. Kyle Turay was pitching for New York in the seventh. The disgraced starter allowed a single to Bean, and then a 2-out homer to left to Joe-Chris, which suddenly narrowed the score to 5-4 again. But Ortega made the last out of the inning, and the 3-4-5 disappeared without a trace against Medardo Regueir and Richard Castillo in the eighth inning. Instead, New York’s backup catcher Justin Reese hit a home run off Alex Rios in the ninth… Zachariah Alldred then put the Raccoons away for good. 6-4 Crusaders. Starr 1-2, 2 BB; Perez 2-4, RBI;

Game 2
NYC: CF Zucal – SS N. Fowler – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – 1B Sevilla – C Seidman – LF Makino – 3B Russ – P J. Ortega
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Gonzales – C Monaghan – P DeRose

Joe-Chris walked, stole second, and scored on two productive outs, so that was a nice enough start to the Friday game. Monaghan’s sac fly made it 2-0 in the second with a deep fly to left after Starr drew a leadoff walk and Ojeda singled. Ortega offered more leadoff walks to Christopher and Labonte in the bottom 3rd. Cas’ grounder advanced them into scoring position, but Brass only got another walk from Ortega, filling the bases. …except that Ortega kept not finding the zone and walked Joel Starr as well to force in a run. Ojeda’s groundout was good enough to bring in a fourth run, but Gonzales then popped out to strand a pair on base.

So now it was mostly about waiting for DeRose to implode, but the Crusaders seemed to have taken the day off. They had only two hits and one walk to their credit through five innings. They got another single from Fowler, and Sanchez walked with one out in the sixth. This time, they came through with a 2-out, 2-run double to the base of the wall in rightfield, cutting the Coons’ lead in half. In fact, at that point, the Crusaders had two runs on four hits, and the Raccoons had four runs on two hits. Seidman’s groundout on the next pitch ended the inning.

That pattern went with a single for Andrew Russ (hiss!!!!) in the seventh inning, but DeRose still managed to get out of the inning on his own, while Ricky Herrera was less lucky in the eighth and filled the bases with a bushel of runners before Rios shoveled him out of a three on, nobody out situation while conceding one run on Zeiher’s groundout, but then popped out Reese and grounded out Seidman to Labonte to still elope with a skinny 4-3 lead. The Raccoons remained stuck on three hits despite the best attempts to windmill a baseball onto the green grass out there. Russ drew a walk off Walters in the ninth inning, but didn’t get around to score a fiendish tying run before Roger Zucal grounded out to Starr to end the game. 4-3 Blighters. Christopher 1-2, 2 BB; DeRose 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (5-8);

Thankfully there’s no grades on style in baseball…

Game 3
NYC: CF Zucal – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – RF Zeiher – 1B Sevilla – C Seidman – SS N. Fowler – 3B Russ – P Seiter
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P B. Herrera

Seiter moving up due to Luera’s locked neck meant that this game featured the two CL pitchers with the best WAR this season.

Tipsy Bobby allowed Zucal and Sanchez on base with singles in the first inning – the first being of the infield variety – but the runners were stranded and Herrera then struck out half a dozen without allowing another base runner until Nick Fowler hit a 1-out single in the fifth inning, and yes, of course the Raccoons did nothing offensively the entire ******* time and why waste any more breath on them? Russ and Seiter struck out meanwhile to complete the fifth inning for New York in an utterly scoreless game. Even Zeiher dropping a fly by Angel Perez in shallow right to begin an inning couldn’t get the Critters on the horse, and then it was of course Zeiher to hit a 2-run home run to right just after Sanchez’ 2-out single to center in the sixth.

Joel Starr hit a stray homer in the bottom 7th to get the Raccoons on the board, but that only shortened the score to 2-1. Jon Bean got on base, then nowhere in the same inning, while Big Bobby completed eight innings on the hill on 111 pitches, but was still on the hook. Seiter retired the 1-2 to start the bottom 8th, then nicked Caswell on base. Brass hit a sharp grounder to left that Fowler intercepted, but had no play on, and the infield single moved Cas to second base, which was just where he needed to be to score on Joel Starr’s 2-out single to left-center on a 3-2 pitch. Perez’ fly to Zucal ended the inning, though, and left Herrera with a no-decision. Walters then struck out two in a quick ninth inning to keep the game tied, while Seiter completed nine innings for his own no-decision. Ivan Ornelas pitched a scoreless tenth inning for Portland in anticipation of this game going to take a couple more hours, but the Raccoons actually made a quick end to it in the bottom 10th after Christopher grounded out; Labonte walked, Cas singled him to third base, and Brass ended the game with sac fly deep to Deeley to finish this one. 3-2 Blighters. Caswell 2-3, BB; Starr 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; B. Herrera 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 11 K;

Why can we hold our own against the Crusaders (barely), and still can’t go anywhere in the standings? (shakes magic #8 ball)

Fine, I’ll ask again later.

Game 4
NYC: CF Zucal – LF Rodriquez – 2B O. Sanchez – 1B Sevilla – C Seidman – SS N. Fowler – RF Deeley – 3B Russ – P Cantrell
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P Damasceno

Luera was still a no-go, so we got to see Milt Cantrell (10-8, 2.38 ERA) on Sunday. He was up against Damasceno, who made 33 pitches’ worth of a mess in the first inning, allowing a single to Zucal, a walk to Sanchez, and an RBI single to Sevilla before eventually loading the bases by fowling Nicker. Chris Deeley grounded out to Labonte in a 3-2 count to leave the bases loaded and keep the actual damage to one run. Not that it got better afterwards; leadoff walk to Russ (growl!) in the top 2nd, and Zucal doubled home that runner after a good bunt by Cantrell. Rodriquez drew another walk, and then Sanchez and Sevilla both knocked an RBI single before the inning fizzled out with Seidman’s fielder’s choice grounder and Fowler rolling over to Bean.

The Crusaders had their 4-0 lead, and the Raccoons had only three base knocks in the first five innings against Cantrell, who a couple winters back really, really, really hadn’t wanted to become a Raccoon and was now feasting on them, although Christopher doubled home Ojeda in the bottom 3rd to at least make up one of the runs. Zucal’s 1-out single in the sixth was the end for Damasceno, with Brad Loveless finding a way out of the inning despite Tony Rodriquez’ single. Sanchez struck out and Sevilla flew out, and then Cantrell also didn’t get out of the sixth. He offered a leadoff walk to Labonte in the bottom 6th, but two poor outs and a Starr single later the Raccoons were still only on the corners, yet the Crusaders moved to get Turay. Angel Perez, the tying run, hit an RBI single to left-center, but Jon Bean grounded out to strand a pair on base. Turay retired Ojeda and Ortega in the bottom 7th, then didn’t go very skillfully after Joe-Chris’ infield roller and conceded an infield single. That one came back to lay eggs, though, as Labonte zinged a double into the leftfield corner to drive home Christopher, 4-3, then scored when Caswell flicked an RBI single into shallow center. That one was a true howler, a help-me swing on an 0-2 pitch that Cas shoveled out of the bottom of the zone. It also tied the game ahead of a Brass single and a K to Starr that ended that bottom 7th.

Then Reynaldo Bravo had his day to decompose on the hill in plain sight. He allowed a leadoff single to Russ in the top 8th, then walked the bags full with Mark Seeley and Zucal. The Raccoons shrugged, but didn’t know better than to bring in Sencion, who was right away met with a righty pinch-hitter, Reese, and gave up a deep sac fly. A second run scored on Omar Sanchez’ groundout before Sevilla flew out to Brass. 6-4 became 6-5 in the bottom 8th with Perez’ double off Medardo Regueir, a wild pitch, and Bean’s grounder to second base, but in the end we met Alldred again in the bottom 9th. Christopher grounded out, but in the #2 hole, which now held the pitcher after some switcheroo, Carlos Solorzano pinch-hit and dropped a single into left, just in time to bring up the big boys as the winning runs. Eiji Kinoshiita in right caught Cas’ fly for the second out, but there was no catching Brass’ drive to deepest part of centerfield, where it fell for a game-tying RBI double, knotting the score at six! Starr walked. Perez hit a roller on the infield and three Crusaders fell over each other trying to play it. The infield single loaded the bags with two outs for … well… 12th-rounder Jon Bean then… and he popped out to second base, sending the game to overtime.

A very tired Ricky Herrera found three outs from the New Yorkers in the top of the tenth inning, after which we faced right-hander Richard Castillo in the bottom 10th. Ojeda and Ortega made quick outs before Castillo walked Christopher and Cooke. Caswell struck a 2-1 pitch into shallow right, but while the single filled the bases, Christopher couldn’t head for home since Kinoshiita was right on the ball. Brass grounded out sharply to Fowler to leave the bags full yet again. In the 11th, Bean and Ojeda hit 2-out singles, Seidman offered a passed ball, and then Ortega fouled out to still strand a pair in scoring position.

The Crusaders then scored the go-ahead run with … Ben Seiter…? …in the top of the 12th, the second inning for the much-abused Ornelas. Nick Fowler drummed a leadoff double to left, but also sheared off a leg sliding into second base and was out of the game. Since the Crusaders had no more bench pieces available, Ben Seiter entered as pinch-runner and scored the go-ahead run on a Kinoshiita single before Ornelas regained control. The Raccoons then brought the 1-2-3 to the dish against… still Castillo in the bottom 12th. When Joey Christopher drew a leadoff walk, Ornelas was not hit for – and with what? Monaghan?? – and instead was asked to bunt, getting the tying run into scoring position successfully. Cas grounded out to Sanchez, which sent Christopher to third base. Brass was the last guy up and grounded to short, and by the way, did I mention that the Crusaders were out of bench players? It was Seiter out there, and he fumbled the baseball for an error, and Christopher scored the tying run from third base…! The madness! But that wasn’t all yet, because Joel Starr was next to bat, and ran a full count against a gassed Castillo. It was hard to see who could still pitch for the Crusaders though – there was no starting pitcher available to throw in, either! The good news for them? They didn’t need no pitching anymore. Joel Starr socked a 420-footer to send them home! Walkoff home run!!! 9-7 Furballs!! Christopher 2-5, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Labonte 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Solorzano (PH) 1-1; Starr 2-6, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Perez 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Ojeda 3-6;

In other news

August 4 – Vancouver SP John Morris (7-7, 3.96 ERA) shuts out the Knights on three hits in an 8-0 win.
August 4 – CIN SP Joe Chalmers (4-8, 5.14 ERA) pitches 23 outs of no-hit ball against the Pacifics before the bid is broken up by the #8 hitter, OF/1B/2B Jimmy Hartgrove (.305, 0 HR, 8 RBI) with a 2-out triple in the eighth. Cyclones right-hander Justin Ball (0-0, 3.45 ERA, 1 SV) ends up finishing up the 5-0 Cincy win as a combined 1-hitter.
August 5 – Thunder 3B/RF Ed Soberanes (.294, 9 HR, 61 RBI) could be out until the end of the regular season after breaking his wrist.
August 6 – SFB SP Eric Braley (6-10, 4.67 ERA) is out for the 2059 season and questionable for the start of 2060 with a torn labrum that requires surgery.
August 6 – The Capitals lose INF/LF John Webler (.273, 6 HR, 18 RBI) to a broken ankle. The 28-year-old is out for the season.
August 7 – RIC 1B Mario Delgadillo (.309, 22 HR, 64 RBI) hits a home run to beat the Miners, 1-0.

FL Player of the Week: SAC OF/1B Israel Santiago (.276, 6 HR, 40 RBI), hitting .625 (15-24) with 1 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: POR 1B Joel Starr (.297, 14 HR, 59 RBI), whacking .348 (8-23) with 4 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Joel Starr is efficient as heck. Also, just like Noah Caswell earlier he had more RBI than hits in his week. He also drew seven walks and struck out just one, which I am sure will make one know-it-all in the room (looks over to Cristiano Carmona) all giddy inside again.

12 games in, Angel Perez is batting for a 203 OPS+ still. I wonder when the euphoria will wear off, and when it does, where he’ll stop plunging.

The best news of the week was that Lonzo signed that $1.5M contract extension for 2060, so we can have another go at a stolen base title with our increasingly aging shortstop that is above and beyond any discussion right now. – (Cristiano begins to race his voice) – I know how those wheels get unscrewed, Cristiano!! – (Cristiano chooses to remain silent)

Next week: home series against the damn Elks, and while Maud will then try to open the windows and get the vile northern stench out of here, we’ll be frolicking around at the Wolves’ place on the weekend.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons are 7-4 against the Crusaders this year.

That’s already more wins, with seven games to spare, than we got against them in any of the last three seasons. We had only one season series win against them this entire decade so far, which was a sturdy 10-8 effort in ’54.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (59-53) vs. Canadiens (47-65) – August 11-13, 2059

The Raccoons were up 8-4 on the damn Elks this year, which didn’t man they smelled any more or less of the sewers than they always did. Their mere presence was always revolting! They also had the #3 offense in the Continental League, which usually only worked out for being 18 games under .500 by having your pitching entirely delivered from sweat shop in a run-down warehouse on the interstate, and the Elks were no exception, giving up the second-most runs, with the very worst bullpen anywhere around. The rotation was ninth by ERA, so not exactly innocent.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (9-4, 3.67 ERA) vs. Bill Lawrence (9-8, 4.26 ERA)
Bobby Sneeze (0-2, 6.75 ERA) vs. Andy Overy (8-9, 4.25 ERA)
Justin DeRose (5-8, 3.53 ERA) vs. Jeff Kozloski (6-11, 3.92 ERA)

Just in time to prevent anybody from asking questions whether southpaws existed, Andy Overy would present himself on Tuesday. Apart from that, righties. The Elks arrived without regular third baseman Thomas Whittington, who was on the DL with a bone bruise in his wrist.

Game 1
VAN: LF D. Garcia – CF Scarpa – 1B J. Campos – 2B Younce – C L. Burnham – 3B Hopper – RF Needham – SS E. Solano – P B. Lawrence
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P Fox

Foxie Brown struck out three around a Steve Scarpa single in the first inning, then got spotted a 2-0 lead when Joe-Chris singled to open the bottom 1st and Noah Caswell hit a 2-run homer to right, his 16th of the year, tying Jesus Martinez’ Portland output. The Elks got three more singles off Fox in the top 2nd, though, all with two outs and through Bobby Needham, Edwin Solano, and Bill Lawrence. Thankfully for Fox, Needham already scored on Solano’s single after having stolen second base, much like Scarpa stole second base in the prior inning. Fox at least got a K on Lawrence when it mattered with two outs in the fourth, when the Elks had Luke Burnham and Solano on the corners with another single and a 2-out walk, respectively. Before that, in the bottom 3rd, the Raccoons had loaded the bases on 2-out walks drawn by their 4-5-6 batters, but Jon Bean had then flown out harmlessly to right on an 0-2 pitch. The bags were fulla Coons again in the bottom 4th; Ojeda led off with a single, Christopher singled him to third base, and Labonte walked in a full count. Cas brought in a run with a groundout, but Brass flew out to center to keep it at that, and the score was 3-1 after four.

Fox was done after five and a third innings and 105 pitches. He got increasingly into long counts from the third inning and by the fifth was almost exclusively in full counts. Worse, Danny Garcia drew a leadoff walk and scored on Scarpa’s double to narrow the score to 3-2, and Burnham also drew a walk in a full count in the inning before Chris Hopper stranded a pair with a fly to Caswell. He got Needham to begin the sixth, then was replaced in a double switch with Alex Rios, with David Gonzales replacing Ojeda at third base. Lawrence also was gone after 5.1 innings, allowing a single to Christopher on the way out. Joe-Chris stole second against Carlos Torres, then reached third base on Hopper’s error that put Labonte on. This time Cas didn’t get the job done, whiffing in a full count, but Brass got a 2-out RBI single against Torres, 4-2, before Starr grounded out to Jose Campos. Angel Perez, who entered with a 13-game hitting streak (!), socked a leadoff jack in the seventh, and that inning continued with Gonzales singling and Joe-Chris walking with two outs, followed by Labonte sticking a ball into the leftfield corner for a 2-run double, which marked the endpoint for offense in the game. Jim Woods then restored order for the Elks, while the Raccoons got 3.2 scoreless innings from Rios and Loveless on the way to a W in the series opener. 7-2 Raccoons. Christopher 2-3, 2 BB; Perez 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Ojeda 2-3; Loveless 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Game 2
VAN: LF D. Garcia – CF Scarpa – RF D. Moreno – 1B J. Campos – 2B Younce – C A. Maldonado – 3B Hopper – SS E. Solano – P Overy
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – C Monaghan – SS Gonzales – CF Cooke – P Sneeze

The Raccoons went up 1-0 in the first when Overy packed the bases with the first three batters on a walk, single, walk sequence, and then Starr rumbled into a double play, which counted for a run but wasn’t ideal, and Ojeda flew out to center. After that, there were a lot of strikeouts, with Sneeze ringing up half a dozen – gesundheit! – in just four innings while also allowing some meaty base hits and fly outs. Overy whiffed four before entering the bottom 4th before having another lapse. Ojeda singled and Monaghan walked, then advanced on Gonzales’ groundout, which marked the second out of the inning. Manny Cooke had not gotten a base knock since being acquired from the Wolves, but was walked intentionally anyway, and then Overy most embarrassingly fell to 3-1 against Sneeze, and the scratch starter flicked a 2-run single over Mark Younce to extend the lead to 3-0. Christopher then flew out to center on the very next pitch.

On the one paw, Bobby Sneeze would only go six (shutout!) innings in this game, but on the other paw he rung up *11* Elks, which seemed implausible after he had struck out just four in his prior three outings (two starts). One of those 11 strikeouts reached base when Eric Monaghan fumbled the ball away, but nobody scored for the Elks on Sneeze’s watch. No need for tissues!

The bottom 6th then saw the end of Manny Cooke’s persistent futility; following a Gonzales single, he lobbed apparently effortlessly a 2-run homer over the fence in right, 5-0. The Raccoons meanwhile saw Sencion trying to lay another egg with two walks in the seventh. Bravo replaced him, got out of the inning, and pitched the eighth, while Matt Walters got a non-save situation in the ninth inning and retired the Elks in order, since after two extra-inning games to end last week and two shorter outings by starters to begin this week, the Raccoons were getting a bit thin in the bullpen. 5-0 Critters. Gonzales 2-4; Sneeze 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K, W (1-2) and 1-2, 2 RBI;

This was the first game of the season in which Noah Caswell did not appear. He was in the on-deck circle to pinch-hit for Bravo in the bottom 8th, but Cooke grounded out to end the inning.

Game 3
VAN: LF D. Garcia – CF Scarpa – RF D. Moreno – 1B J. Campos – 2B Younce – C A. Maldonado – 3B Hopper – SS E. Solano – P Kozloski
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P DeRose

The sky looked cloudy to begin the game, but the weather forecast said that there was totally not gonna be rain on Wednesday, so of course it rained by the end of the first inning and by the middle of the second inning we had a rain delay of over a ******* hour. Both starters continued – DeRose had thrown 20 pitches for six outs – and nobody reached base for either team the first time through the order. The first base runner of any sort was Damian Moreno with a 2-out single in the fourth inning, but he was left on with Jose Campos whiffing. Joe-Chris hit a leadoff single in the bottom 4th, but that runner never got off first base, either.

DeRose looked increasingly gassed by the middle innings, though, and was removed from the game after just 76 pitches and five innings of 2-hit ball – the good old Portland summer weather! Ricky Herrera replaced him in the sixth; the old wins lecher had a scoreless inning, then got the lead again in the bottom 6th. Bernie Ortega’s pinch-hit leadoff single ended Kozloski’s day, and Ortega scored on Christopher’s gap double in right-center against Carlos Torres. Christopher advanced on a groundout by Labonte, then scored on Cas’ sac fly to Scarpa. Brass singled, stole second, and then scored on a Starr single, 3-0, before Jim Woods got a groundout from Angel Perez to end the inning.

The Elks made the board in the seventh with Alex Maldonado’s home run off Ivan Ornelas, but there was nobody on base for that, and Eloy Sencion had a 1-2-3 inning against the same part of the lineup that deeply troubled him the day before. Since the Raccoons didn’t find a way to tack on, Walters now pitched in a save situation in the ninth inning and removed the Elks in order, finishing the swep with a strikeout on Mark Younce. 3-1 Critters. Christopher 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Ortega (PH) 1-2; DeRose 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Ricky Herrera improved his record to 9-3, just one win behind Chance Fox and Bobby Herrera.

Starters, y’know.

Raccoons (62-53) @ Wolves (56-57) – August 15-17, 2059

Both teams were roughly ten games out, but had a winning streak going, with four straight for the Wolves and six straight for the Critters. The Wolves had the worst batting average in the FL, and scored the fourth-fewest runs, and showed up with utterly solid pitching, but still had a -9 run differential (Coons: +58). They also didn’t steal bases at all. This was the fourth straight year in which we crossed paths, with last year’s series having been a sweep of the Raccoons by our southern neighbors.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (10-8, 3.03 ERA) vs. Gabriel Casanova (4-7, 3.86 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (4-6, 3.62 ERA) vs. Dave Robinson (9-8, 3.89 ERA)
Chance Fox (10-4, 3.66 ERA) vs. Blake Sparks (8-8, 3.92 ERA)

Not one, but two left-handers lined up to begin this series!

Game 1
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – LF Brassfield – CF Caswell – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – 1B Starr – SS Gonzales – P B. Herrera
SAL: 2B E. Stevens – CF Kokel – SS Buss – 1B Fresco – C Newman – LF K. Hawkins – RF Bumpus – 3B Crist – P Casanova

Getting taken deep by Jeff Buss for a solo jack in the first inning was one thing, but Bobby Herrera found ways to actively annoy me going forwards, like a pair of leadoff walks to Tom Crist in the third and fifth innings. Crist would come around to score twice, first on a Chaz Kokel single, and then in a true meltdown of the entire battery. First Angel Perez threw away Casanova’s bunt to put a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out in the bottom 5th, and then Tipsy Bobby, after getting a foul pop for an out from Erik Stevens, threw a wild pitch to plate Crist, and then saw Casanova score on another Kokel groundout. It was 4-0 Wolves at that point, with the Raccoons on four hits, and a double play and six-hundred-fifty-two fielder’s choices hit into. I counted.

Ortega and Brassfield found leadoff hits, a single and a double, in the top 6th to score on a pair of productive outs at least, which gut the gap in half. Joel Starr had a single in the seventh, but was stranded, while Herrera completed seven innings of weirdly effective 3-hit ball from the Wolves’ side, who still held a 4-2 lead despite being out-hit more than two-to-one. Caswell was nicked by lefty Bob West in the eighth inning, but that with two outs and Raul Medrano retiring Perez in due order. Right-hander Jason Posey entered the ninth inning with a miniscule ERA of 0.67, so hopes were marginal. Ojeda, Starr, and Gonzales were retired in order accordingly. 4-2 Wolves.

Game 2
POR: RF Christopher – 3B Ojeda – 1B Brassfield – CF Caswell – C Perez – 2B Labonte – SS Gonzales – LF Cooke – P Damasceno
SAL: 2B E. Stevens – CF Kokel – SS Buss – 1B Fresco – C Newman – LF K. Hawkins – RF Bumpus – 3B Crist – P D. Robinson

Stevens, Buss, and Ben Newman loaded the bases in the bottom 1st against a wobbly Damasceno, who offered first two singles, then a walk to the catcher, but got Manny Cooke to catch Kyle Hawkins’ fly to left and nobody scored. Cooke then singled in the top 2nd to fill the bases with Coons after Labonte and Gonzales had already reached base ahead of him. That brought up the pitcher with one out, but DD managed to sneak a ball through the left side, just past a reaching Jeff Buss’ glove, and drove home the middle infielders for a 2-0 lead. Christopher however blundered into a double play to end the inning.

The Wolves then created a chance out of truly nothing in the bottom of the second inning. Labonte’s throwing error put Adam Bumpus on base before Damasceno walked the opposing pitcher to make my fur turn even grayer. Somehow the Wolves failed to exploit this; Stevens hit into a fielder’s choice to Starr, who took an aggressive out at second base, and Kokel grounded out to Labonte. On to the top of the fourth, where the Raccoons again loaded the bases with the 6-7-8 batters and one out, although this time Cooke only got on thanks to an error by Robinson on a bouncer that could have ended the inning, 1-6-3, if handled correctly. Damasceno this time grounded over to Stevens, the Gold Glover bungled the ball, and the Raccoons managed to all move up a base. It was 3-0, with 3 RBI for the furry pitcher. Not that the Wolves were quite done ******* up yet; Christopher hit a fly to left that Hawkins caught near the line. Gonzales went for home from third base and looked as dead as disco on a decent throw, but Hawkins’ throw was way off line and Newman had to scurry after it while Gonzales slid in unmolested. This was the fifth error in the game, the fourth for the Wolves, and it wasn’t even halftime yet. To really rub it in good, Juan Ojeda chose exactly *this* moment to hit his first home run as a Critter, bombing poor Dave Robinson for a 3-piece to left.

Robinson was gone after the inning, but Damasceno didn’t last much longer with his persistent urge to fill the bases. In the bottom 5th he allowed a leadoff double to relief pitcher Jonathon Scales, which in itself merited corporal punishment, but then also allowed a few more drives. Kokel, Belchior Fresco, and Newman all found sharp base hits, and two runs scored for the Wolves before the inning ended on Hawkins’ deep fly to Christopher. That was also the last inning for Damasceno. The game then calmed down A LOT with the two starting troublemakers gone, and the Raccoons used Ornelas for two innings and Loveless and Rios for one inning each while holding the 7-2 lead. The Wolves’ pen was similarly effective. 7-2 Raccoons. Ojeda 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Labonte 2-4; Ornelas 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

Ojeda made an error in the late innings for a total of six errors in the game. All but one of the seven runs on Robinson were unearned, but Damasceno actually deserved everything he got.

Game 3
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Monaghan – P Fox
SAL: 2B E. Stevens – RF Bumpus – SS Buss – 1B Fresco – LF Kokel – CF K. Hawkins – C Fiore – 3B Crist – P Sparks

Chance Fox looked very hittable again, and the Wolves would put three singles into the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Crist, Buss, and Fresco did the honors, although the 1-out to Stevens also aided them. Kokel was then only retired on a sliding catch by Christopher in rightfield. The Raccoons hadn’t done much the first time through, but then got Labonte on base with a leadoff triple in the fourth inning, and the runner scored right away (!!) on a Caswell single. Caswell was running on a sharp grounder by Brassfield up the middle that Buss first intercepted, then managed to awkwardly fling into centerfield while taking it out of his glove, which allowed the tying runner, Cas, to reach third base with nobody out. Joel Starr obliged and dropped a clean single into right-center, and we were even at two. Ojeda then hit into a 6-4-3, but Jon Bean suddenly showed a pulse again and hit the go-ahead RBI single into center, then was caught stealing to end the inning. Another error by Labonte put Hawkins on base in the bottom 4th, and I started to wonder what was in the water in this bloody town. (sniffs his bottle) The *wine* smelled and tasted nice enough…

The Raccoons scored more messy runs in the top 5th; Monaghan hit a single, which in itself was wicked, was bunted to second, and reached third on a passed ball before Christopher inched out an 8-pitch walk. Labonte then grounded to second for an out on Christopher, but Monaghan ambled home from third base, 4-2. Sparks balked Labonte into scoring position, then gave up an RBI single to Caswell on the next pitch.

Almost as infuriating as the Wolves’ approach to defense was that Chance Fox then had the guts to fail the bags full with a hit and two walks in the bottom 5th. Those were the tying runs with one out, but Chaz Kokel flicked a ball right at Ojeda, who started a 5-4-3 double play to bugger outta there. The sixth saw Monaghan hit into a double play (sigh) and Tom Crist took a Fox fastball over the wall in left to narrow the score to 5-3.

And then the Raccoons managed to lose the game after all, with a prior announcement, a big run-up and no defensive shenanigans involved. The Wolves saw 44 pitches in the bottom 8th, none of them helpful. Ricky Herrera allowed a leadoff single to Kokel, but Hawkins flew out. Matt Fiore then walked in a full count, and Crist hit an RBI single, 5-4, in another full count. Rios replaced Herrera, got a first-pitch out from Danny Ramirez, but then blew the lead on Stevens’ single, 5-all. He then got Bumpus to 0-2 before having three 0-2’s fouled off. The fourth 0-2 ended up in the right-center gap for a 2-run triple, and four balls to Jeff Buss later, he was yanked as well. Eloy Sencion then needed just two pitches to give up a loud 3-run homer to Belchior Fresco. 10-5 Wolves. Christopher 1-2, 3 BB; Caswell 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Starr 2-4, 2B, RBI; Solorzano (PH) 1-1;

In other news

August 12 – Season over, due to a torn labrum, for CHA SP Art Schaeffer (9-4, 3.04 ERA).
August 14 – 36-year-old SAC 1B/LF/RF Omar Gonzalez (.220, 0 HR, 9 RBI) finds his 2,500th base hit in a 2-for-3 day as the Scorpions beat the Gold Sox, 3-2. DEN SP Juan Mercado (7-7, 3.67 ERA) gives up the milestone on a single. Gonzalez, while relegated to reserve duties this year, is a former batting champ and three times led the FL in triples, while also grabbing five Gold Gloves and a ring with the 2048 Stars. He is a career .300 hitter with 70 HR, 841 RBI, and 493 SB.
August 14 – The scoreboard won’t stop flashing in the Blue Sox’ game against the Buffaloes, which features 39 base hits and 33 runs, and ends with a 20-13 Blue Sox win. Both of Nashville’s OF Elmer Maldonado (.275, 8 HR, 40 RBI) and INF Nick Nye (.316, 22 HR, 63 RBI) get five base hits – Nye with a homer and Maldonado with a double and triple – to lead all players, while Maldonado drives in six runs from the leadoff spot.
August 17 – Blue Sox OF Tim Burkhart (1-for-9, 0 HR, 1 RBI) retires from baseball due to complications from surgery to repair a torn labrum. The 35-year-old Burkhart appeared in only 18 games, mostly as defensive replacement, this year. The former #8 pick batted .244 with 54 HR and 309 RBI for his 12-year career.
August 17 – CHA RF/LF Danny Ceballos (.346, 9 HR, 53 RBI) could miss the rest of the season with an oblique strain. It’s the 2057 CL Player of the Year’s third and likely final trip to the DL this season.
August 17 – Bayhawks swingman Joe Byrd (4-3, 4.32 ERA, 1 SV) throws a 3-hit shutout against the Cyclones, who go down 4-0.
August 17 – Even with ten base hits per side, it takes 12 innings to score a single run in the Thunder-Capitals game. The Caps then walk off on a leadoff single by OF/1B Gunner Epperson (.299, 11 HR, 53 RBI) and then three walks, the last of them to C Jose Luna (.253, 5 HR, 16 RBI).

FL Player of the Week: NAS INF Nick Nye (.317, 23 HR, 65 RBI), hitting .467 (14-30) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
CL Player of the Week: BOS OF/1B Matt Gilmore (.295, 7 HR, 39 RBI), batting .560 (14-25) with 3 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Fourth straight season series win against the damn Elks, and with a set to spare! (giggles) I don’t care whether the team loses all remaining games – beating THE DAMN ELKS is always worth turning up for!

I wonder how far this team could go with a few proper hitters on the infield (or Lonzo!), because Christopher’s .404 OBP plays nice enough atop the order, and Lonzo would still slide in nicely at #2. Cas, Brass, and Starr are all doing well, and they are all signed or under team control through at least 2062. That is a sturdy core, now it’s about finding a rotation that’s not completely hunchbacked, and those two additional bats. And, well, pitchers, because the pitching staff, which has Tipsy Bobby on one end and Matt Walters on the other, both also signed through at least ’62, can use a lot of filling out.

Eh, at least we still have Cam Argenziano and Colby Bowen as jokers with the Alley Cats… (opens another bottle of Capt’n Coma)

Yes, Cristiano, Joey Christopher is doing nice. – He has 1.5 WAR, fifth among batters on the team despite only playing half the games? – My, isn’t that nice for him. – No, I am not discussing Lonzo batting second again next year.

Four-team homestand coming up now against the Caps, Titans, Loggers, and Aces to finish out the month. Both Mondays will be off.

Fun Fact: Only one Raccoons reliever has won more games in a season than Ricky Herrera has with six weeks to spare this year.

Nate Norris won ten games in his first year with the Raccoons in 2044. Norris, a righty, had two separate stints with the Critters, with three years in Denver in between. He went 20-7 as a whole with the team and 51-36 for his career while never making a start.

Norris is also notable for being acquired with Derek Baskins from the Buffaloes 16 winters ago for – among others – Shuta Yamamoto, who is still torturing us whenever he comes across us…

The full list of relievers that got at least eight wins in a season with their record that year (only as a Raccoon, obviously) is below. Only occasional spot starts (marked *) are allowed; the final parenthesis shows the pitchers rank amongst all pitchers on the team that year if at least tied for fifth):

Nate Norris (2044) … 10-3 (t-4th)

Marcos Bruno (2008) … 9-0 (5th)
Juan Martinez (1992) … 9-1
Kevin Hitchcock (2055) … 9-1 (t-3rd)
Antonio Alfaro (2053) … 9-2 (5th) ***
Lawrence “Law” Rockburn (2009) … 9-3 (5th)
Ricky Herrera (2059) … 9-4 (3rd)
Wally Gaston (1984) … 9-5 (2nd)
Kevin Surginer (2026) … 9-6 (t-5th)

Alex Ramirez (2018) … 8-1 (4th) ^
Noah “Bloody” Bricker (2022) … 8-1 (t-1st)
Takenori Tanizaki (2057) … 8-1 (4th)
Lawrence “Law” Rockburn (2008) … 8-3
Ricardo Huerta (2005) … 8-4 (t-2nd)
Ron Thrasher (2012) … 8-4 (4th)
Casey Moore (2036) … 8-4 (t-3rd)
Nelson Moreno (2044) … 8-4
Jackie Lagarde (1991) … 8-5 (5th)
Richard Cunningham (1985) … 8-6 (5th)

Law Rockburn is the only pitcher on the list twice, and Marcos Bruno is the only reliever to do the deed while undefeated. They’re also one of two pairs of relievers to achieved the feat in the same season (2008) along with Nate Norris and Nelson Moreno in 2044.

“Bloody” Bricker tied with three different starters, none of whom made more than 20 starts, as Jonny Tonner was felled by injury, Rico Gutierrez only made his debut that year mid-season, and “Tragic” Travis Garrett was … just that. The Raccoons had nine different starters make 10+ starts that year.

^ That is the first Alex Ramirez, the righty closer that was on the team for the three years from 2017 to 2019 that we always won the division and went out in the CLCS. He was from New Jersey. In the 2040s we had another Alex Ramirez, an international free agent from Cuba, also right-handed, that didn’t close games, though, and never won more than five in a year.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (63-55) vs. Capitals (60-58) – August 19-21, 2059

Last Federal League games for the season, and the opponent were the Capitals, who were sixth in runs scored and ninth in runs allowed in the FL. They were well done for the season, 19 games behind the stampeding Buffaloes. Regulars John Webler and Joo-chan Lee were on the DL. The Raccoons had won two of three games from Washington when these teams had met last season.

Projected matchups:
Justin DeRose (5-8, 3.41 ERA) vs. Adam Freedman (6-8, 5.23 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (10-9, 3.01 ERA) vs. Troy Ratliff (12-9, 3.50 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (5-6, 3.62 ERA) vs. Hironobu Hanzawa (4-10, 6.14 ERA)

These were all right-handers, but Ratliff was also questionable with a sore wrist that kept bothering him.

Game 1
WAS: SS Sherrick – RF Epperson – 1B J. Rogers – 2B Ang. Flores – CF Alade – C C. Gowin – LF van de Wouw – 3B Law – P Freedman
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – P DeRose

Neither team was able to put much offense together in the early innings, although the Raccoons did get Christopher and Labonte on base with two outs in the bottom 3rd, only for Cas’ fly to left to be picked by Neville van de Wouw on the warning track. In turn, Jay Rogers took DeRose deep to right in the fourth, putting the Caps up 1-0.

That was pretty much all the gameplay we got in before the rain delay that broke in the top of the fifth inning for a bit of Portland summer rain. It lasted roughly an hour and knocked out both starters, DeRose after 4.2 innings of 3-hit ball. The Raccoons took him off the hook in the bottom of the inning thanks to a leadoff triple by Joey Christopher. Labonte failed by whiffing, but Cas hit a sac fly to tie the game – only for Angelo Flores to answer with a homer off a completely unhinged Eloy Sencion to give Washington a new 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth… The Coons went on to have leadoff singles from Joel Starr in the sixth and Bernie Ortega in the seventh, neither of whom was brought even to third base, but the Caps weren’t any better, getting pairs of walks from Brad Loveless in the seventh and Reynaldo Bravo in the eighth, but never a base knock to do damage with those. The Caps even loaded the bases in the ninth inning; Jose Luna singled off Bravo, while Ricky Herrera put on Brian Nowak with a 2-out walk and Angelo Flores with another single. Jon Alade then struck out in a full count to leave the whole group stranded on base. The bottom 9th saw Ben Lussier – a constant source of implosions with the Crusaders last year – against the bottom of the order. We got our single per inning from pinch-hitter David Gonzales in the #8 hole, but that was it for a rally. 2-1 Capitals. Gonzales (PH) 1-1; Ortega (PH) 1-2; DeRose 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K and 1-2;

Ratliff was not available on Wednesday; Hanzawa moved up, allowing him to still start on regular rest, but the Caps would not have an established starter for the third game to go on regular rest due to a double-header they played on Sunday.

Game 2
WAS: SS Sherrick – RF Epperson – 1B J. Rogers – 2B Ang. Flores – CF Alade – C C. Gowin – LF Briggs – 3B Law – P Hanzawa
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – SS Gonzales – P B. Herrera

Tipsy Bobby got the ol’ ERA under three with a scoreless first inning, then kept it there in the second inning, when he exploded for four runs – all unearned. Chris Briggs reached when Caswell bobbled his 2-out fly to center with nobody on base, and Herrera had a bit of a seizure from there. I silently patted Honeypaws while the initial runner scored on Bryant Law’s single to left, but Hanzawa then socked an RBI double to left, and Jamie Sherrick homered to center. Gunner Epperson got another single in before the derailment finally stopped with Rogers. Herrera remained off – he didn’t have any strikeouts for five full innings, and there was a lot of first-pitch contact into play, but the Caps now found defenders rather consistently.

The Raccoons made up a run in the fourth inning after another first time through the order we could just as well have skipped entirely. In the fourth, Brass singled, stole a base, and was brought in by Joel Starr before the inning ended with Perez flying out. The bottom 5h saw more commotion with leadoff base runners Ojeda and Gonzales, whom Herrera bunted into scoring position. Christopher hit a duck snort single to center to plate Ojeda, which put the tying runs on the corners with one down. Hanzawa, who also didn’t have a strikeout yet, then ran a full count on Labonte, whom he lost to a walk, and he walked Caswell with much less drama, issuing the free pass on four pitches, none of them close. And then Brassfield couldn’t contain himself and clanged into a double play to Bryant Law, 5-4-3, keeping the score at 4-3.

Herrera ended up going seven innings – without a strikeout *or* a walk issued. Hanzawa walked three in six innings, also not whiffing anybody. Willie Valdez walked David Gonzales to begin the bottom 7th, then struck out Solorzano, so it seemed like the home plate umpire was at least knowing the signal for the punchout. Labonte’s 2-out single moved the tying run to second base, but Cas popped out and the inning ended up with nothing. Vince Vandiver suppressed the Coons in order in the bottom 8th, and the bottom 9th saw us just where we had been the day before: down by one, Lussier on the hill, and the 7-8-9 coming to the plate… Juan Ojeda reached on an error by Law, which was *something*, then advanced on Gonzales’ groundout. Bernie Ortega batted for Ricky Herrera (!), who got the last two outs in the top 9th for the second day in a row, singled to right very cleanly, and this allowed Ojeda to go full-barrel while the ball was still in mid-air. He scored the tying run, not that Epperson didn’t try to throw him out, but all that did was allowing Ortega into second base with the winning run and one out. After Joe-Chris was blown away on strikes, we sent Eric Monaghan to bat for Labonte to get another righty stick in there (and not because we trusted in Monaghan’s .165 bat in principle). The silly plot worked perfectly, as while Monaghan fell to 1-2, he then chopped a single up the middle, and Ortega easily scored before Jayden Ward could get a throw to the plate from centerfield. 5-4 Critters. Monaghan (PH) 1-1, RBI; Gonzales 2-3, BB; Ortega (PH) 1-1, RBI;

And here it is – Ricky Herrera’s tenth win of the season, tying Nate Norris for most by a Raccoons reliever all-time.

And the other Herrera and Foxie Brown for the team lead this year…

The Raccoons put Carlos Solorzano, batting just 2-for-14 off the bench, on waivers and designated him for assignment after this game and brought up Forbes Tomlin for a few days. The right-handed first-sacker Tomlin had been in three games earlier this year, batting 2-for-8.

Game 3
WAS: SS Sherrick – RF Epperson – 1B J. Rogers – 2B Ang. Flores – CF Alade – C C. Gowin – LF Briggs – 3B Law – P Jon Reyes
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – P Damasceno

The Raccoons went up 1-0 in the first inning after Reyes filled the bases with walks to Labonte and Cas, a Brass single, and then gave up a sac fly to Joel Starr, but Perez grounded out and then it was about waiting for Damasceno to do something stupid, which occurred in the fourth. He faced the minimum the first time through, whiffing three after getting around a leadoff walk to Jamie Sherrick with Gunner Epperson’s double play grounder. He was less lucky the second time he walked Sherrick to begin an inning. Epperson forced out the shortstop with a grounder to Ojeda, but Jay Rogers singled. Again there was an out at third base, where Epperson slid in safe, but twisted his foot and had to leave the game, replacement coming from van de Wouw. Angelo Flores’ sac fly to left saw Brassfield commit a throwing error that allowed Rogers to second base, from where he was singled home by Jon Alade for a 2-1 Caps lead. Former Furball Chris Gowin walked, but Chris Briggs finally flew out to end the inning.

At least the Raccoons answered; Starr and Perez both socked doubles to begin the bottom 4th, tying the game. Ojeda was brushed with a breaking ball to get on base, and Jon Bean filled the bases with a single and nobody out. DD gave himself the lead by means of a sac fly to right, but Joe-Chris grounded out and Labonte merely walked onto the open base. Jon Reyes then plonked Caswell quite solidly with a 3-2 pitch to force in a run before Brassfield ended his day with a 2-run single to center, 6-2. Replacement Sam Heisler got Starr to ground out on the first pitch then, ending the inning.

That lead, too, didn’t last, and Damasceno didn’t get out of the fifth inning after giving up the second wholly unearned 4-spot of the week. The inning started stupidly but innocently with a 1-out error by Labonte that put Heisler (of all people) on base. Sherrick flew out, but then van de Wouw and Rogers started to flock onto base as well. Damasceno now ran a 2-out full count on Angelo Flores, but came right down the ******* middle with the 3-2, and Flores – not a great power hitter by any means – smashes a grand slam over the wall in leftfield to knot the score at six.

When the Caps were done circling the bases, Brad Loveless and Forbes Tomlin entered in a double switch that sat down Joel Starr, but while fourth-string left-hander Loveless got out of the fifth, he was taken deep to left himself by Chris Briggs in the sixth inning to fall behind by a run. Bottom 6th, and the bases were loaded, because weren’t they always? Heisler nicked Christopher, Cas singled and Brass was plonked, but that was already with two outs. Joel Starr batting fifth would come in nicely now, but he was gone, and we had to make do with scrappy singles slapper Bernie Ortega to pinch-hit for Loveless – which couldn’t have gone much better, because Ortega sliced a ball past a diving Jay Rogers and all the way down the rightfield line for a bases-clearing, score-flipping triple! Heisler was yanked, and Matt Shapira retired Perez on a grounder to short to keep the score at 9-7. Because this game was wicked, Eloy Sencion then pitched two scoreless innings to get the Raccoons through eight and set up Matt Walters. Dan Mullen, Sherrick, and van de Wouw went down in order, and the Raccoons grabbed the series. 9-7 Raccoons. Caswell 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Brassfield 2-4, 2 RBI; Starr 1-2, 2B, RBI; Ortega (PH) 1-1, 3B, 3 RBI; Bean 2-4; Sencion 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K;

The win was on Brad Loveless’ ledger, and it was a special one: the 7,000th regular season win for the Raccoons!

Raccoons (65-56) vs. Titans (65-55) – August 22-24, 2059

Wanna pretend you’re still relevant in chasing down the Crusaders? Then you better sweep this series. Both teams were within 8 1/2 games of New York on Friday morning. The Titans had won eight games in a row and were 14-6 in August (Coons: 13-6), and both teams were in the top three in runs allowed in the CL, but at best average in scoring runs. Boston had a +71 run differential, while the Raccoons were at +58. The season series was led by the Titans, 6-5.

Projected matchups:
Chance Fox (10-4, 3.67 ERA) vs. Will Glaude (11-4, 3.18 ERA)
Bobby Sneeze (1-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. Jayden Craddock (15-5, 1.88 ERA)
Justin DeRose (5-8, 3.36 ERA) vs. Jason Brenize (7-13, 4.00 ERA)

Everybody was still waiting for Brenize to finally click and become dominant. In the meantime I was pretty certain that Jayden Craddock had been on the trade table at *some* point (potentially when a Scorpions prospect) but that I had declined the invitation to take him on grounds the memory of which I have luckily boozed away already. All three starters scheduled for this series were right-handed.

Game 1
BOS: CF Torrence – 2B W. de Leon – 1B M. Rubin – 3B R. Wilken – RF Lloyd – LF Y. Valdez – C Burkart – SS Leitch – P Glaude
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Monaghan – P Fox

Chance Fox was once again chancing our chances by walking everything with legs, f.e. Yoslan Valdez and Bruce Burkart in the second inning, after which Alan Leitch hit an RBI single for a 1-0 Boston lead. This was after the whole inning had started with Ted Lloyd singling and being caught stealing. The Raccoons had their own run with runs in the bottom 2nd, though, opening the inning with straight base knocks from Brass (single), Starr (double), Ojeda and Bean (RBI singles), and then even a 2-run double to left-center by much-maligned Eric Monaghan. Fox whiffed and Christopher grounded out, but Labonte added an RBI single before the inning ended for good, and now we had a 5-1 lead.

Fox offered another walk in the third, but then calmness descended over the ballpark for three innings before a Manny Rubin single and Randy Wilken’s all-out-swing homer to left cut the lead in half in the sixth inning. Fox finished the inning, but then was hit for with Tomlin for no great effect in the bottom of the inning. The Raccoons then patched the next two innings with a combo of Rios, who struck out Leitch, Ricky Herrera, who got three outs, and then Ornelas, getting two outs from right-handers while allowing a single to Wilken to complete eight innings. The bottom 8th also saw a pair in scoring position for Portland – or the first bigger stir since the 5-run second inning – after Ojeda and Bean reached base against lefty Gabe Hill to begin the inning. Monaghan’s grounder got them to second and third, after which pinch-hitter Manny Cooke was given directions to first base right away. Christopher popped out on a 3-1 pitch, which was always nice, but Labonte contained himself and laid off the garbage and drew a bases-loaded walk, 6-3. Caswell’s RBI single added a run and took off the save opportunity, and also brought a new Titans pitcher in right-hander Xavier Caston, who merrily gave up a 2-run single to Brass and walked Starr before Ojeda flew out to Ted Lloyd to end the inning with three on base. Instead of Matt Walters, Eloy Sencion then got a 1-2-3 ninth from the Titans’ 6-7-8 batters. 9-3 Furballs! Caswell 2-4, BB, RBI; Brassfield 3-5, 2 RBI; Bean 3-4, RBI; Monaghan 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Chance Fox upped his record to 11-4, thus taking control of the very “interesting” battle for the W lead on the team. We also took second place from Boston, now 7 1/2 games back from New York, who lost in Elk City.

Game 2
BOS: SS Leitch – 2B W. de Leon – 1B M. Rubin – C Arviso – 3B R. Wilken – RF Y. Valdez – CF Lloyd – LF Ma. Gilmore – P Craddock
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – C Perez – SS Bean – 1B Tomlin – 3B Gonzales – P Sneeze

Because baseball is wicked and knows no mercy, Bobby Sneeze (gesundheit!) allowed a single to Jorge Arviso to lead off the second inning, but otherwise struck out six Titans the first time through the order, for which there was no rational explanation. Now, he appeared to be in trouble in the fourth inning, nicking Manny Rubin to lead off and walking Arviso, but Randy Wilken jammed into a double play to David Gonzales, 5-4-3, and then Valdez grounded out easily to Labonte. In a perfect world, the Raccoons would have scored a couple by now, but Craddock actually lived up to his billing and allowed only a scrap single to the Rule 5er Gonzales the first time through, and the Titans finally broke through in the fifth inning, getting a soft single to left from Matt Gilmore with one out, and after a bunt by Craddock, a 2-out RBI single to left from Alan Leitch, who was then caught stealing to end the inning. The Coons’ starter then sneezed every lefty batter on base in the sixth inning as Willie de Leon singled, Arviso walked, and Valdez singled again, filling the bases with two outs and bringing on a double switch with Bravo taking the hill and Starr going in at first base. Bravo got the K on Ted Lloyd to strand the whole array of runners, but we were still down 1-0.

Bottom 6th, and the Raccoons loaded the bases. Joel Starr hit a 1-out double to extend a hitting streak to 12 games, Christopher singled softly to left, and Labonte drew a walk from Craddock. Three on, one down for Caswell, and I wouldn’t have wanted for anybody else – maybe Tetsu Osanai! – to bat in this place. But Cas fell to 1-2, then hit a poor roller to second base that could be two if they hurried – but de Leon hurried too hard, flubbed the ball, then threw poorly and pulled Leitch off the bag. The error allowed everybody to move up a base and tied the game, taking Sneeze off a hard-luck hook. Unfortunately Brass struck out in a full count, bringing up the rookie Perez to stare down the barrel of Craddock’s gun. He didn’t wait around for strike three – he flicked the first pitch he saw into left-center where it dinked in for a go-ahead, 2-run single…! (high fives with Slappy)

After Jon Bean ended the inning with a fly to center, Bravo had a scoreless seventh. Bernie Ortega then batted for him to begin the bottom 7th, doubled to left, and then scored on Gonzales’ single to right that Valdez overran for another error and run. It was 4-1 Coons and we had to score an earned run *yet*. Starr walked then and Christopher singled, which loaded the bases with nobody out (and made the Ortega run earned), and the beast was now slain, because the Titans hooked Craddock for Gabe Hill, who struck out PH Cooke and Cas, and got Brass to ground out to not allow any more runs. Loveless then retired de Leon and Manny Rubin in the eighth before being taken deep by Arviso, which reduced the lead to 4-2. Rios came in to retire Wilken then, and Matt Walters granted no quarter in the ninth. 4-2 Raccoons! Christopher 2-4; Ortega (PH) 1-2, 2B; Gonzales 2-3, RBI; Starr 1-1, BB, 2B; Sneeze 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K;

The damn Elks laid low on Saturday, so the gap remained at 7 1/2.

What is this, Honeypaws? Are we suddenly scoreboard-watching??

Game 3
BOS: SS Leitch – 2B W. de Leon – 1B M. Rubin – C Arviso – 3B R. Wilken – RF Y. Valdez – CF Lloyd – LF Ma. Gilmore – P Brenize
POR: RF Christopher – SS Bean – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 2B Ortega – 3B Ojeda – P DeRose

Jason Brenize started his day by walking the bags full before Brass popped out and Starr grounded back to the mound for an easy second out at home in true three-on, no-outs form. Another walk to Angel Perez got at least one run home, but Ortega then grounded out to Leitch. Christopher drew another walk in the second, but was caught stealing, while the first base hit of the game was then a leadoff single by Brenize in the third inning. While DeRose wobbled, he didn’t fall and worked his way out of the inning despite a walk to de Leon. Rubin then found a double play to hit into.

Through four, Brenize offered seven walks, putting Starr on base to begin the bottom 4th and being ordered to walk Ojeda intentionally with two outs before whiffing up DeRose. No base hits for the Raccoons so far because Brenize was plainly not hittable – it was more advised to take cover somewhere near the dugout. When Portland did break into the H column it was because Joe-Chris legged out an infield single to begin the bottom 5th. He scored two pitches later on Jon Bean’s double into the corner. Cas reached on an error by Leitch, but Brass whiffed. A third Coons run came home, though, on Starr’s groundout to Wilken. Brenize finished his day with a K on Perez, his fifth of the day, and was not brought back after that.

While we were mostly concerned of broken skulls from wayward fastballs with Brenize on the hill, we were too busy to notice that DeRose carried a 1-hitter rather unmolestedly into the seventh inning before he was taken deep to left for a solo shot by Randy Wilken there, narrowing the score to 3-1. Caswell returned the favor with a solo homer off Mike Pohlmann after the stretch, though. Brass hit a double to the base of the wall in left right afterwards, but was stranded. DeRose went into the eighth, got grounders from Gilmore and PH Bruce Burkart, and then was patted on the bum. Brad Loveless threw a single pitch and popped Leitch out to Ojeda to finish that frame, and Walters was getting ready, but the Raccoons started the bottom 8th with Perez drawing a walk from Mike Bell, and then an Ortega double to left, putting a pair in scoring position with no one out. Ojeda’s poor grounder prevented Perez from bidding for home, and so Loveless was hit for – we would have kept him if the fourth run had already been in – with Labonte, who struck out. Christopher also struck out, and the chance was wasted. Matt Walters then wasted the Titans’ 2-3-4 batters, finishing the sweep with a K on Arviso. 4-1 Critters! DeRose 7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-8);

We had only five base hits in this game, and only one walk from the Titans relievers after Brenize was removed for his own good.

In other news

August 18 – The only run in the Pacifics’ 1-0, 10-inning win against the Condors scores on a sac fly by RF/LF/1B Jesus Martinez (.257, 20 HR, 68 RBI).
August 19 – The Scorpions will be without OF/1B Israel Santiago (.279, 6 HR, 42 RBI) for a month; the 27-year-old is out with a strained rib cage muscle.
August 20 – BOS SP Ryan Musgrave (7-12, 4.09 ERA) shuts out the Cyclones on three hits to claim an 8-0 win.
August 21 – Miners 2B/SS Ryan Spehar (.235, 7 HR, 39 RBI) is out for the season with a partially torn labrum.
August 22 – The Capitals’ spot starter Jaden Williams (2-0, 1.11 ERA) and two relievers pitch a combined 1-hitter in a 7-0 win against the Cyclones, who only find a single from CIN 3B Matt Ruskin (.316, 14 HR, 46 RBI).
August 23 – Sacramento rookie SP Tom Delaney (5-1, 1.80 ERA) fires a 3-hit shutout against the Pacifics, claiming the 5-0 win in his eighth career start.
August 23 – The Knights’ C Marco Nieto (.314, 5 HR, 46 RBI) hits a walkoff single to give the Knights a 6-5 win against the Aces in the 16th inning.

FL Player of the Week: SAL UT Jeff Buss (.333, 17 HR, 72 RBI), batting .462 (12-26) with 1 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: NYC UT Omar Sanchez (.315, 0 HR, 44 RBI), slapping .522 (12-23) with 1 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons had trailed the Crusaders by 15 1/2 games at the All Star Game. Since then we’ve gone 23-11 and scrubbed the lead down to 6 1/2 games, and all that with the middle of the order not really playing the power game anymore. – Cristiano, if you say one peep about Joey Christopher I will push you down the stairs.

The Crusaders didn’t do worse than 16-12 in any month prior to August, were they are 10-12 so far after going 6-7 in the second half of July. They had headed into the All Star break on an 11-1 run, so maybe rest was hurting baseball players after all.

Wouldn’t it be funny if we finally got back at them for 2007, when we led by 10 1/2 on June 26 and fudged it? That was long before any of our players were even born, but the older ones among us still remember!! (noisily clanks bottle of Capt’n Coma on the table next to the trusty brown couch)

…or Keith Ayers, in 2009! Keith Ayers – out at home! (screams, rolls into a ball, and shivers)

Kelly Konecny started a rehab assignment in St. Pete on the weekend. It’s safe to assume that he’ll be held over until rosters expand after the upcoming week and then return to the Raccoons. We play the Loggers and Aces in the meantime.

Fun Fact: Brad Loveless is the first Nick Brown Memorial pick to take part in a milestone win for the Raccoons.

I guess Nick Brown isn’t a Nick Brown Memorial pick himself?

Jason Gurney, while spending five seasons with the Raccoons (in bits and spurts), never started, let alone won one of these.

The full list of the Raccoons’ wins of a full hundred games over and over again below in a separate post, because it’s chonkier than a well-fed Raccoon. (Foxie Brown burps with both front paws in his food bowl in the other corner)

[Westheim]

This is unedited from the last time I posted this, except for the distinction of which Brett Lillis we're looking at (since we had both father and son for extended periods) and the new entries of course.

+++

MILESTONE FRANCHISE WINS

Exact dates before 1993 are mostly unavailable because Chad spilled his cocoa over the notes, rendering them illegible, and I can’t reconstruct happenings otherwise.

#100 – (June 1978) – No clue at all. Kevin Hatfield saved a 2-1 win against the Loggers.
#200 – (May 2, 1980) – One of relievers Bill Craig (unlikely), Tony Lopez, Paul Cooper. A 6-5 walkoff falls into the Raccoons’ paws when Ralph Nixon is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom 11th in a game against the Crusaders.
#300 – (August 1981) – Carlos Morán is torn up by the Loggers who lead 6-0 in the fourth inning, but the Loggers suffer a 6-run implosion, capped by a Daniel Hall grand slam in the bottom 7th before Mark Dawson walks off the Raccoons with a ninth inning RBI double, handing the win to Wally Gaston.
#400 – (April 1983) – In his debut for the Raccoons, free agent acquisition Shayne Nealon does not allow a run over six innings while the Raccoons won 6-0, with two RBI’s apiece by Matt Workman and Mark Dawson, and Jason Short walks three times.
#500 – (April 1984) – Jerry Ackerman went seven innings in a 2-2 tie in Vancouver when Cameron Green provided the margin of victory in the 3-2 win with a solo home run in the top of the eighth; Ackerman won only two games the entire season, and only 33 in his career;
#600 – (May 1985) – With Logan Evans departed after six innings, Victor Castillo and Eddie Gonzalez slap back-to-back RBI doubles off the Indians’ Alex Miranda in the eighth inning, with long-time reliever Wally Gaston earning the win for the Raccoons.
#700 – (June 1986) – Miranda and the Indians again: Odwin Garza’s major league career had few highlights, but his RBI triple was the first blow against Alex Miranda in a 5-run second inning for the Raccoons. Vicente Ruiz gives up all the Indians’ runs in an 8-3 Raccoons win.
#800 – (July/August 1987) – Kisho Saito cruises for five innings before getting roughed up, but by then the Raccoons had already scored eight runs including big home runs by Daniel Hall and Tetsu Osanai in a 10-4 win over the Aces.
#900 – (August 1988) – The Raccoons are out-hit 11-7, commit three errors, but the Canadiens leave 16 runners stranded in a 5-2 Raccoons win. Jerry Ackerman is chased trailing 2-1 in the top 6th, but a 2-run homer by Tetsu Osanai flips the score in the bottom of the same inning and gives the win to Emerson MacDonald.
#1,000 – (September 1989) – Right-hander Jason Turner has trouble all day, but somehow keeps the Loggers from scoring in a 4-0 victory in Portland, with Tetsu Osanai and Bobby Quinn driving in runs;
#1,100 – (April 1991) – David Brewer ruins Jason Turner’s day with two hits and 3 RBI that keep the game tied into the ninth inning in Vancouver before Neil Reece smashes a grand slam off pitcher Alejandro Lopez that hands the 7-3 win to reliever Roberto Carrillo.
#1,200 – (April 1992) – Raimundo “Pooky” Beato holds down the Falcons for five innings with a 5-0 lead before getting torn to shreds in the sixth inning. The Raccoons still hold on to win 6-4.
#1,300 – (May 1, 1993) – Boston’s Santiago Perez gives up four runs in the middle innings while Miguel Lopez goes seven shutout innings before being routed out of the eighth, but the pen holds the Titans to two runs in a 4-2 win.
#1,400 – (May 18, 1994) – After two blowout losses in the first two games in the series, the Raccoons hold the Titans tied long enough to force an extra inning escapade that is favorably resolved when Grant West’s two scoreless innings coincide with an errant pickoff throw giving Alejandro Lopez an extra base in the bottom 12th. Matt Duncan scores Lopez with a single, and the Raccoons walk off with a 6-5 victory.
#1,500 – (June 9, 1995) – All is well for Scott Wade in a matchup with the Scorpions’ young phenom Steve Rogers in this series opener, at least through eight innings. His shutout blows up in a hurry in the ninth inning, and besides Wade, Grant West, Daniel Miller, and Tony Vela are all tagged with runs as the Scorpions score a half dozen in the inning only to fall short, 7-6 Raccoons.
#1,600 – (June 23, 1996) – Somehow the Raccoons managed to work a 4-game losing streak into their 108-win campaign in 1996, and it ended with a 12-3 crushing of the Thunder (never mind the 14-2 crushing to the Raccoons in the series opener). Jose Rivera barely manages to go five innings and is hit for in the sixth, with the go-ahead run scoring just in time on a Vern Kinnear sac fly to net him the W.
#1,700 – (July 24, 1997) – Also known as Miguel Lopez’ near-no-hitter, the left-hander whiffs eight in a complete game 1-hitter that is only soiled by the Crusaders’ Armando Diéguez’ home run with one out in the eighth inning. The Raccoons win 5-1.
#1,800 – (September 18, 1998) – With the Raccoons and Knights, two desperate teams were playing out the stretch for a very long time: no scoring in the 11th inning. When Neil Reece draws a pinch-hit bases-loaded walk off the Knights’ Yosuke Memoto, 1-0, the win falls into the lap of Gabriel De La Rosa, who had pitched two innings, whiffing four.
#1,900 – (May 30, 2000) – While Randy Farley plates the winning run himself on a groundout that brings home Daniel Richardson, most of the damage in a 4-2 win over the Aces, also ending a 5-game losing streak, is done with home runs by Conceicao Guerin and Clyde Brady.
#2,000 – (August 26, 2001) – Ralph Ford pitched seven innings of 3-run ball on the final day of a dreadful homestand, as the Coons squeezed out a 4-3 win over the Aces, the winning run scoring in dramatic fashion on a Conceicao Guerin liner to center that Dick Bell appeared to catch before it bounced in, but the umpires called it a trapped ball regardless, allowing Brent McLaughlin to score the winning run;
#2,100 – (May 3, 2003) – Although Felipe Garcia gives up all four runs the Canadiens plate in this game, and actually trails 4-1 after six innings, but two Jerry Dobson errors and an Al Martin home run in the bottom 6th pull out the game as the Raccoons win this one 6-4.
#2,200 – (June 6, 2004) – A 7-4 win in a Sunday rubber game against the Crusaders only briefly interrupts the Raccoons’ general mid-season collapse. The Raccoons chase NY’s Kelly Fairchild early while Ralph Ford holds off his own demise long enough to net the win.
#2,300 – (September 3, 2005) – Brad Sheehan’s RBI double is the lone tally in the early September game against the Indians, which gives the win to Ralph Ford, who pitches seven scoreless innings.
#2,400 – (April 22, 2007) – Two roughed up starters and a lot of mid-game madness produce a clogged scoreboard in a Sunday game with the Knights. Raúl Fuentes is chased early, but the Raccoons rally from a 6-1 deficit and score ten unanswered runs to get away with an 11-6 win that is credited to Lawrence Rockburn, who pitches two innings in relief.
#2,500 – (May 2, 2008) – Ten strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings isn’t enough for Kelvin Yates to win the big milestone, since he only got one small ball run in support. Lawrence Rockburn picks up the 2-1 win over the Loggers in relief when Nelson Chavez plates Matt Pruitt with a PH single.
#2,600 – (May 13, 2009) – Javier Cruz is struggling badly in an interleague game against the Stars, walking five in 5.1 innings. However, some early extra base magic with a Jose Correa triple and home runs by Adrian Quebell and Luke Black scratch out enough runs, combined with good defense and poor RISP hitting by the Stars, for the Raccoons to win 4-2.
#2,700 – (May 13, 2010) – Exactly one year after Cruz locked down #2,600, it was on Nick Brown to notch the next 100 on the road. Not only did he strike out seven and allowed only four hits and one unearned run against the Stars, no, he also had two base hits and an RBI for full participatory credits in the Coons’ 5-2 win over Dallas. This would also be the last of eight consecutive starts he won from Opening Day on that year.
#2,800 – (May 24, 2011) – The final line didn’t exactly tell much about how the Bayhawks whacked Jong-hoo Umberger from left to right in this game, being consistently robbed of their hard-hit balls by the Raccoons defense. Umberger made it into the eighth inning and allowed a lone run in the 3-1 Raccoons win.
#2,900 – (June 15, 2012) – Struggling offensively, the Raccoons required a ninth-inning home run by Jason Seeley off Indy’s Helio Maggessi to put this one into the W column on Draft Day. The 2-1 win went to Pat Slayton, pitching in relief.
#3,000 – (July 7, 2013) – On the last day before the All Star break, Hector Santos overcomes Melvin Dunn’s second-inning homer to eventually grab the W on seven innings of 3-hit ball against the Titans, with the Raccoons producing just enough to squeeze out another 2-1 win.
#3,100 – (August 10, 2014) – Again, Nick Brown does it all: not only does he hold the Indians to four hits and a single run over eight innings, no, he also strikes out nine and hits a bases-clearing double to procure his own 4-1 victory, and the 3,100th for the Coons.
#3,200 – (August 29, 2015) – It was only the third career start for Jeff Magnotta, and he lasted only five and a third innings, and left the game with the bases loaded in the sixth, but Ron Thrasher somehow managed to get out of the mess and protect a 2-1 lead. The Raccoons would eventually beat the Knights, 3-1.
#3,300 – (October 2, 2016) – The milestone goes under a bit as Jonathan Toner strikes out *18* Titans in an otherwise meaningless 9-0, 4-hit shutout on Closing Day. Neither team finishes within single digits of the first-place Crusaders.
#3,400 – (April 13, 2018) – Jonathan Toner is at it again on Friday the 13th, but takes advantage on big offense in a messy 8-5 win over the damn Elks, allowing four runs in six innings and change. Ronnie McKnight and Joey Mathews hit big homers for the offense, in the case of the latter pretty much the only hard hitting he’d ever do as a Raccoon.
#3,500 – (April 19, 2019) – Tadasu Abe whiffs 11 Knights, but is already out of the game when the Raccoons take a 3-2 lead they will not surrender anymore on Jayden Maness’ bases-loaded walk to Mike Denny. The game is actually more memorable for the near-meltdown in the ninth inning, and with the game ending with Cookie Carmona’s tumbling, blatant rob of Kyle Mims in the depths of centerfield, stranding the bases loaded and saving the W for right-hander Jeff Boynton.
#3,600 – (May 5, 2020) – It’s Jonathan Toner again, this time in the middle of a 3-game sweep of the damn Elks. Pinch-hit for after six laborious innings of 1-run ball, Jonny takes his third milestone win in the 6-2 game. Manny Fernandez and R.J. DeWeese lead the offense with three hits each.
#3,700 – (May 31, 2021) – Brett Lillis sr. takes the W in relief on a bullpen day triggered by Hector Santos lasting only two outs for a tweaked hammy. The Raccoons then out-slug the Knights for a 7-5 win. Lillis goes two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
#3,800 – (July 5, 2022) – Josh Stevenson and Cookie Carmona lead the offense with three hits and 2 RBI apiece as the Raccoons whip the Loggers, 9-3, behind rookie Rico Gutierrez. The lefty allows all runs, two earned, in 6.2 innings of work to better his record to 3-1 and the Coons’ to 43-40. It’s only downhill from there for either of them.
#3,900 – (September 22, 2023) – ”Tragic” Travis Garrett only has to hold out for five innings in a 16-2 whomping of the Crusaders, but actually goes seven in one of his more decent efforts, and contributes 3 RBI himself. Elias Tovias drives in six with two homers, and Manuel Cardona plates four runs, or almost half of all the RBI he ever got as a Raccoon before being wrapped up in the trade for Ryan Corkum after the season.
#4,000 – (May 16, 2025) – Mark Roberts has one of the more forgettable outings of his triple crown season, getting roughed up for three runs early and not lasting past the fifth inning against the Loggers. Omar Alfaro’s 3-run homer in the sixth flipped the score and handed the milestone to Ricky Ohl, and Alfaro had an age named after him pretty much for that dinger alone, which stood up in a 6-5 victory.
#4,100 – (May 27, 2026) – Jarod Spencer doubles home Alberto Ramos in the ninth inning of a heretofore scoreless game against the Falcons, the only run in the game as it turns out. Dan Delgadillo went seven scoreless for no reward, with the W in relief going to Kevin Surginer.
#4,200 – (July 9, 2027) – Kyle Anderson delivered the definition of a quality start, six innings for three runs, against the Loggers, and drives in the go-ahead run himself with a single that scores Colombian Yeshiva Rambam High School alumnus Juan Magallanes.
#4,300 – (June 26, 2028) – Another milestone started by Mark Roberts that didn’t get into the books easily. Roberts leaves trailing after allowing four runs to the Thunder, but eighth-inning homers by Tim Stalker and Abel Mora first tie the game, then give the Raccoons the lead. Ricky Ohl gets another milestone for a scoreless top 8th in the 5-4 win.
#4,400 – (July 15, 2029) – It is mostly an offensive effort that staves off a 4-game sweep to the damn Elks in the first series after the All Star Game as the Raccoons crumble from contention. Matt Nunley has four hits, but nobody has more than Tim Stalker’s two RBI in a 9-6 win. Rin Nomura is supplied with eight runs, but can’t make it out of the sixth before a cascade of sub-par relief almost allows that game to get out of control, too…
#4,500 – (August 28, 2030) – Another Mark Roberts start, but again no cigar, although he holds his own in 7.1 innings of 5-hit ball in what turns out to be a combined shutout of the Knights, but takes 11 innings to complete. Matt Nunley drives in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th, with the 2-0 win credited to Matt Stonecipher.
#4,600 – (May 18, 2032) – Playing out the string in May, far under .400, the Raccoons win a wild one from the Indians, 11-9. Tom Shumway is torched for seven runs before the Raccoons get a single runner, but then they rally forcefully with Tim Stalker, Nate Hall, Wilson Rodriguez, and Justin Marsingill all chipping in multiple RBI. John Hennessy gets the W rather randomly.
#4,700 – (July 3, 2033) – Travis Coffee pitches two shutout innings out of the pen for the 6-4 win. Rico Gutierrez is dismal for four innings. Tom Hawkins, Alberto Ramos, and Justin Marsingill stick their heads together for a bunch of singles against the Indians to make Coffee a winner. It is the last W of his major league career.
#4,800 – (July 31, 2034) – A 4-3 win over the Thunder after an 0-6 week sees newly-acquired Kurt Wall hit a 2-run single in the first, getting a mediocre Raffaello Sabre support early. Sabre doesn’t get past five innings, but it’s enough to scratch the W.
#4,900 – (September 5, 2035) – 7.2 innings, nine strikeouts, two runs - Gilberto Rendon has a good one against the damn Elks, Justin Marsingill has three hits and 2 RBI, and Jimmy Wallace drives in as many, going unretired with a homer. It’s the week after Wallace was Player of the Week batting 10-for-19 and two weeks after he ended an 0-for-33 rot.
#5,000 – (September 18, 2036) – A 7-6 win over the Loggers; Chris Wise blows the lead belonging to Jared Ottinger, then gets the W himself when Manny Fernandez plates Tim Stalker with a sac fly in the ninth inning.
#5,100 – (September 29, 2037) – Jared Ottinger allows no runs and only one hit in six innings, still not enough for a milestone win thanks to a bullpen meltdown. Ed Hooge drives in the first two of three runs in the bottom 8th that give the Raccoons a 6-3 win with a pinch-hit double in place of Dennis Citriniti.
#5,200 – (April 8, 2039) – Reliever Travis Sims goes to 2-0 in the Coons’ fourth game of the season with a scoreless inning while the Raccoons get two runs on Elijah Williams’ single to win 5-3.
#5,300 – (May 23, 2040) – Raffaello Sabre goes seven ninths of the distance in a combined 6-hit shutout with Brent Clark and Francisco Pena completing the job in the middle game of a sweep over the Condors. Jeff Kilmer drives in one run in the 4-0 win while quirkily missing the cycle by the single.
#5,400 – (June 29, 2041) – In the middle of a collapse and another rough handling by the surging Loggers, the Raccoons have to scratch for 11 innings to get a W into the books. Josh Brown lasts only five innings before five relievers pitch scoreless ball at the end, including two innings by Chuck Jones for the win. Nick Lando is the last bat off the bench and singles in Manny Fernandez to complete a 5-4 walkoff win.
#5,500 – (August 13, 2042) – The Raccoons inadvertently hand the division to the damn Elks by sweeping the Loggers, with the milestone completing that 3-game set. Nelson Moreno goes six decent innings, allowing the only Loggers run in a 4-1 win. Van Anderson hits his first major league home run in this game.
#5,600 – (September 19, 2043) – Jake Jackson pitches a confused six innings of 2-run ball in an 8-2 win over the Aces. Sal Ayala hits two home runs to drive in half the Coons’ runs, and September call-up Matt Waters rips two doubles on a 3-hit day.
#5,700 – (September 23, 2044) – Victor Merino pitches four shutout innings against the Canadiens before being drilled by former Coons farmhand Lazaro Cavazos in the fifth and having to leave the game. Bob Ibold is assigned the likely W with the Raccoons up by nine runs at that point, partly on a Gene Pellicano grand slam. Ibold ironically allows the only run in the Raccoons’ 9-1 win.
#5,800 – (October 1, 2045) – Deploying a fractional lineup in a meaningless game on Closing Day, the Raccoons still require the help of Manny Fernandez, pinch-hitting to single home Arturo Carreno with the winning run from third base in the bottom of the eighth inning. The 2-1 win over the Titans completes a slow sweep (7-1 total runs) and is credited to Brent Clark, by then a failed starter and struggling reliever again, getting a single out to end the top of the inning.
#5,900 – (April 6, 2047) – Gene Pellicano and Matt Waters miss the cycle by the triple and single, respectively, as the Raccoons drum down the Aces, 13-0, on the first Saturday of the season. Waters drives in five runs, most on the team, while the very well pitched season debut of Bubba Wolinsky goes almost unnoticed. The second-year pitcher delivers seven shutout innings on four hits and seven strikeouts.
#6,000 – (September 29, 2047) – For the first time the Raccoons post two milestones in the same season, courtesy of a 104-58 that concludes with #6,000 on Closing Day. Carlton Harman, otherwise the bad caricature of a pitcher in various spot start assignments, goes eight innings of 1-run ball in an 8-1 win over the Indians to get the big 6k in. Jesus Maldonado, Matt Waters, and Ken Mills all have multiple RBI’s in the game.
#6,100 – (April 18, 2049) – The second game of a Sunday double-header sees hardly any meaningful offensive action, and the only run scores without the benefit of a base hit altogether. Armando Herrera walks, steals second, reaches third base on an error by Chris Jimenez, and scores on a wild pitch by David Barel. Bubba Wolinsky, who pitches seven shutout innings of 1-hit ball, is the beneficiary of the 1-0 win.
#6,200 – (June 9, 2050) – Willie Cruz blows a lead held by Jason Wheatley in the ninth inning and the Raccoons have to go to extra innings against the Canadiens. It takes until the 12th inning for Ricky Lamotta to take Ruben Mendez deep for a 6-4 walkoff, and give the win to Bob Ibold.
#6,300 – (July 22, 2051) – All runs score in the eighth inning in a 2-1 win over the Knights. The win goes to rookie Juan Mercado, who pitches eight innings for seven hits and whiffs five. The Raccoons prevail on little more than an Alan Puckeridge homer, Ken Crum triple, and Jesus Maldonado single in the top of the eighth.
#6,400 – (September 10, 2052) – Rafael de la Cruz starts this game, but only goes six innings. Dave Saldivar retires a single batter in the top of the ninth inning to take advantage of a Raccoons comeback in the bottom of the ninth against the Loggers, first filling the bases, and then getting a tie with a single by Mitch Sivertson, then the win when Ed Crispin draws a bases-loaded walk for a 3-2 walkoff.
#6,500 – (September 20, 2053) – Victor Salcido allows just two hits in eight innings, though one of them is a 2-run homer for Bobby Ortega, to claim victory in an 11-2 rout of the Aces. The game is a non-contest early, as the Raccoons score nine runs in the first inning alone.
#6,600 – (April 9, 2055) – Seisaku Taki has a tedious first inning but adds five shutout frames after that against the Titans in his season debut, striking out seven for the Coons’ third win in their third game. Offense is scattered, nobody getting more than one RBI in the 5-1 win, but Chris Gowin goes unretired, 3-3 with a walk and an RBI on the way to a Player of the Week award.
#6,700 – (April 4, 2056) – He Shui takes the win on Opening Day with six messy shutout innings, as the Coons beat the Crusaders, 2-0, on little more than an RBI single by new catcher Matt Fiore and a sac fly by Anton Venegas right after that.
#6,800 – (May 24, 2057) – Sean Sweeton pitches six innings of 2-run ball in a rather average 4-2 win over the Condors. Gaudencio Callaia, Lonzo Lavorano, Kyle Brobeck, and Danny Espinoza each drive in a run.
#6,900 – (July 24, 2058) – The Raccoons almost blow a 6-run lead in the ninth inning, but persevere eventually to get a 7-5 win against the Knights over the line. Ramon Carreno went 7.2 innings of 9-hit, 1-run ball for his first W in nearly two months.
#7,000 – (August 21, 2059) – 2054 Nick Brown Memorial pick Brad Loveless pitches four outs in relief after Duarte Damasceno blows a 6-2 lead with a grand slam served up to the Capitals’ Angelo Flores and grabs the W when the Raccoons come from behind on a 2-out, pinch-hit, score-flipping, bases-clearing triple by Bernie Ortega for the final runs in a back-and-forth, 9-7 win.

+++

Ralph Ford and Jonny Toner hold the record for milestone wins with three apiece.

Only eight other pitchers have picked up pairs, including four full time relievers: Nick Brown, Wally Gaston, Bob Ibold, Miguel Lopez, Ricky Ohl, Law Rockburn, Raffaello Sabre, and Bubba Wolinsky.

The list of players with one milestone win is long: Jerry Ackerman, Kyle Anderson, Raimundo Beato, Jeff Boynton, Ramon Carreno, Roberto Carrillo, Dennis Citriniti, Brent Clark, Travis Coffee, Javier Cruz, Gabriel De La Rosa, Randy Farley, Felipe Garcia, Travis Garrett, Rico Gutierrez, Carlton Harman, John Hennessy, Jake Jackson, Chuck Jones, Brett Lillis sr., Brad Loveless, Emerson MacDonald, Juan Mercado, Nelson Moreno, Shayne Nealon, Rin Nomura, Jose Rivera, Vicente Ruíz, Kisho Saito, Victor Salcido, Dave Saldivar, Hector Santos, He Shui, Travis Sims, Pat Slayton, Matt Stonecipher, Kevin Surginer, Sean Sweeton, Seisaku Taki, Jason Turner, Jong-hoo Umberger, Scott Wade, Grant West, aaaand Chris Wise;

[Westheim]

Raccoons (68-56) vs. Loggers (45-79) – August 26-28, 2059

The Loggers had lost six in a row at this point, and quite a lot of games in general so far this season. They had a chance to punch in a losing record in this midweek series. They ranked second from the bottom in runs scored, allowed the most runs, and had a horrendous -183 run differential. The only thing they weren’t **** in was stealing bases, in which they SOMEHOW led the Continental League despite never being on base to begin with. Also somehow, the Raccoons were barely ahead of them on the year, 7-5.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Herrera (10-9, 2.89 ERA) vs. Ernesto Culver (7-10, 4.51 ERA)
Duarte Damasceno (5-6, 3.63 ERA) vs. Roberto Alvarado (1-5, 5.60 ERA)
Chance Fox (11-4, 3.70 ERA) vs. Adam Foley (3-15, 5.66 ERA)

Right-handers galore; somehow Adam Foley was .167 for the year, and I was convinced he would beat Foxie Brown on Thursday.

Game 1
MIL: LF Pigman – CF Valenzano – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – SS Carrera – 2B Garmon – RF Monson – 3B Sostre – P E. Culver
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – P B. Herrera

Bobby Herrera put the leadoff men on base in the first inning – a not concerning 4-pitch walk to Perry Pigman at all – and the second inning, when Fidel Carrera hit a single, but worked around both runners and was on a 3-hit shutout with six strikeouts when rain started to fall in the middle of the fifth inning. He had also scored the only run of the game so far, hitting a 1-out single in the bottom 3rd, followed by a Christopher single to left and Noah Caswell’s 2-out RBI double to left, after which Brass ended the inning by striking out. There was a very brief rain delay in the bottom 5th, but Herrera soldiered on against no help from above – neither the baseball gods nor the eight spots above him in the lineup seemed to cooperate much with his bid for a W – into the seventh inning, where the Loggers finally got another leadoff man on base with Chris Maresh’s single. Carrera added a double, put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, and two productive outs, David Milian’s sac fly and Jason Monson’s groundout, flipped the score in Milwaukee’s favor against the Portland Lame Ducks. The Coons went in order with Ortega, Joe-Chris, and Labonte in the bottom 7th, but at least Trent Brassfield took Herrera off the hook with a game-tying homer off Culver in the bottom 8th. Fidel Carrera, in his 14th major league game at age 20, kept stirring with an infield single against Alex Rios in the ninth inning, but was left on first base, while the Raccoons got a leadoff single from Jon Bean in the bottom 9th, then nothing but garbage from Forbes Tomlin and the 1-2 batters, and Bean was stranded in scoring position, sending the game to extra innings.

Trent Brassfield suffered a similar fate in the bottom 10th, but then only after forcing out Noah Caswell to get on base in the first place; Caswell had hit a leadoff single off Josh Costello. The Coons went 1-2-3 in the 11th inning, which ended with Ivan Ornelas, with whom we were playing the long game now. Ornelas worked four scoreless innings from the 10th to the 13th in relief, allowing just two base runners, but they both came in the 13th and went to the corners as Bill Sostre walked and Perry Pigman singled, putting the go-ahead run on third base with one out. Steve Valenzano found Jon Bean for a 6-4-3 double play, though. Costello also pitched the same four innings in scoreless fashion for the Loggers, who had more luck with Reynaldo Bravo in the 14th inning, but that was also due to an error by Juan Ojeda leading off the inning and allowing Dave Robles on base. Base hits by Carrera (…) and the ex-Critter Monson brought in the tie-breaking run before Sostre flew out to Brass. We had the bottom of the order up in the bottom 14th, still against Costello (who was a former starter), which started with an Ojeda single (and boy, did he have things to make up), and the bases filled up with more singles by Bean and Christopher. Labonte with three on and one out – sharp grounder to Danny Miller at short, who wasted no time and fired the ball home, and Ojeda was out at the plate. Gah!! Worse yet, Cas’ fly to deep left was caught by Pigman on the warning track. 3-2 Loggers. Brassfield 2-6, HR, 2B, RBI; Ojeda 2-5, BB; Bean 2-6; B. Herrera 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K and 1-2; Ornelas 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

Gee, thankfully we didn’t waste our long man for the rest of the week…

Forbes Tomlin (.143, 0 HR, 0 RBI) was sent back to AAA. Nothing special coming up, though, just Tony Benitez…

Game 2
MIL: LF Pigman – CF Valenzano – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – SS Carrera – 2B Garmon – RF Monson – 3B Sostre – P R. Alvarado
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – SS Benitez – P Damasceno

Fidel Carrera showed up in the box score early on Wednesday, but with an error that allowed Joey Christopher to score the game’s first run after he had begun the bottom 1st with a single and a stolen base. In another sloppy game, Damasceno allowed a leadoff single to Maresh in the second, but the runner was doubled up, while in the fourth inning Dave Robles reached base on an error by Benitez while leading off. Two wild pitches advanced the runner before Carrera drew a 1-out walk, and then DD, without a doubt short for dumb ****, got a most fortunate 4-6-3 double play grounder from Corey Garmon to bugger out of the tight spot.

The Raccoons had nothing outside of christopher’s leadoff base hit in the first inning all the way through four. In the fifth, Ojeda, Benitez, and Christopher drew a bunch of walks against Alvarado to load the bases – and still nobody could grab a ******* twig and drop in a single. Labonte grounded out to Carrera to strand all the runners for good.

The Loggers then turned DD into dog’s dinner in the sixth inning. Valenzano singled, stole second, and was driven home by Robles to tie the score at one. Chris Maresh’s homer then swiftly gave them a 3-1 lead. Carrera got on, was caught stealing, and then Garmon hit another single with two outs, and DD was ddisposed of. Loveless got the last out of the inning. At least falling behind finally woke up the team; they began the bottom 6th with a Cas single to center, and then a no-doubt-about-it, game-tying homer to left-center by Trent Brassfield, tying Cas with 17 for the year. They then made it a 3-spot and a 4-3 lead with Starr’s single to right and a 2-out RBI double into the left-center gap by returnee Tony Benitez.

That lead was blown in the top 7th without making an out, and without MUCH contribution by Reynaldo Bravo. He allowed a leadoff single to Sostre, which wasn’t great. But D.J. Belman’s pinch-hit grounder was then fired over Starr’s head for two bases by Angel Perez, and then Pigman’s grounder to short was ALSO fired over Starr’s head for two bases by Tony Benitez, flipping the score. Maresh whacking another 2-run homer with two outs buried the Raccoons three deep.

Bottom 8th, and Ojeda, Benitez, and Monaghan all reached base at the bottom of the order against Jesus Aquino and Sansao Tyson, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with one out. The left-hander Tyson truck out Christopher, after which the Raccoons panicked and sent Manny Cooke to bat righty in place of Labonte. He popped out foul. Matt Walters had to pitch a dead inning in the ninth, before the Raccoons brought up the 3-4-5 batters against Danny Zepeda. Cas and Brass hit poor grounders… and both reached base on an error by Zepeda, dropping a throw from Belman, and then another error by Belman himself. What was going on!? Nothing much. Starr lined out to short, Perez flew out to center, and there were two outs before Zepeda lost Ojeda in a full count to keep the game going. The bases were now loaded again, but Tony Benitez was up and the bench was largely depleted. Benitez grounded out to second. 7-4 Loggers. Caswell 2-5; Benitez 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Monaghan (PH) 1-1;

No Adam Failey on Thursday, either, the Loggers going straight for the throat with Cory Ellis (7-6, 4.42 ERA).

Game 3
MIL: RF Pigman – CF Valenzano – 1B D. Robles – C Maresh – 2B Sostre – SS D. Miller – LF Monson – 3B Belman – P C. Ellis
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Ortega – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Gonzales – P Fox

Valenzano hit a single in the first, stole two bases while Dave Robles batted, then scored on a sac fly, but Joel Starr flipped the score with a 2-out, 2-run single in the bottom of the inning, driving in Christopher and Bernie Ortega. Leadoff batters reaching was a topic for Fox then; while Danny Miller was caught stealing after his leadoff walk in the second, Pigman in the third drew another leadoff walk and was brought in by Robles without much fuss. The Coons reclaimed the lead when Cas was nicked, Brass walked, and Angel Perez – sliding steeply in the average column now – scratched out a 2-out RBI single through the right side to grab a 3-2 lead. Bean then popped out.

Bottom 4th, Gonzales got on base with a leadoff single against Ellis, but Fox struck out bunting… Christopher then zinged a double to right, but since Gonzales hadn’t gotten the base on the bunt, he was only getting to third base on the play, and Ortega struck out for the second Coon down. Cas fell to 1-2… but then came through, as was usual for him this year, and hit a solid single through the left side that brought in both of the runners to extend the lead to 5-2. Brass then grounded out to short.

Fox failed to bunt *again* in the bottom 6th after Gonzales had been nicked by Aquino to begin the inning. He sucked his way to 0-2, then we called the run-and-hit. Just *go*. Go-nzales went, just as Fox pushed the 0-2 through the right side for a single, and Gonzales reached third base. He scored on a wild pitch, but otherwise the Raccoons failed to capitalize on the situation. Fox also kept leaking runners, but the Loggers made two outs on the base paths; Pigman was thrown out going first-to-third on a single in the sixth inning, and the seventh saw hits from Miller and Monson, but Miller was thrown out at the plate by Christopher, trying to score from second, which he had stolen, on a double. That was the sort of shenanigans that got Fox to the stretch at all… He faced one more batter in the eighth, seeing Pigman ground out to second before the rest of the outs was collected by Rios and Sencion without any more funny accidents. 6-2 Raccoons. Christopher 1-2, 2 BB, 2B; Gonzales 2-2, BB;

That was probably not a series a wannabe playoff team should have lost… The Crusaders swept the Titans while we were being busy being dumb.

Raccoons (69-58) vs. Aces (59-68) – August 29-31, 2059

Just the other way round now, the Aces had the *best* offense in the league, but still paired that with horrendous pitching to find a way to the bottom of the division, although their run differential was +15, so it wasn’t *all* terrible for them. Just most of it. The season series was even at three. Regular Jim White and reliever Andres Flores were the only players on the DL for Vegas.

Projected matchups:
Bobby Sneeze (1-2, 3.80 ERA) vs. Felix Castano (7-6, 4.28 ERA)
Justin DeRose (6-8, 3.25 ERA) vs. Scott Evans (9-10, 3.59 ERA)
Bobby Herrera (10-9, 2.88 ERA) vs. Ray Benner (7-4, 5.09 ERA)

We had apparently reached another one of those stretches without any left-handed starters at all. The Aces only had right-handers to offer up.

Game 1
LVA: CF Thayer – RF S. Laws – 1B Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – C Burgio – SS Veguilla – 2B Villarreal – P Castano
POR: RF Christopher – 2B Labonte – CF Caswell – LF Brassfield – 1B Starr – 3B Ojeda – SS Bean – C Monaghan – P Sneeze

Bobby Sneeze (gesundheit!) got whacked by the middle of the order in the first inning, giving up a wallbanger double to Aubrey Austin, an RBI single to Alex Alfaro, and another hard RBI double to Ken Hummel for an early 2-0 hole before Casey Burgio lined out to Labonte. Sneeze then lined up a few zeroes after that, but this was mostly due to the Aces hitting into a pair of double plays, and the defense going all out so that the Brownshirts, who had two base hits in four innings, could get noticed at all. That was how the Raccoons’ season ended in the fifth inning: all-out defense, as Joey Christopher chased down a fly to right, just barely foul, by Castano, and chased it all the way into the sidewall. The catch was made, the inning ended, and Christopher collapsed on the ground clutching his side and wincing. While Luis Silva and the stretcher crew hustled out there, I calmly opened a bottle of Capt’n Coma and called Stu, who had that lovely hut upstate to confirm my reservation for the second week of October. Manny Cooke replaced him, batting for the first time in the bottom 5th with two outs after Bean and Monaghan had somehow erred on base. He masterfully popped out to Tony Villarreal.

Labonte and Cas took to the corners with leadoff hits in the bottom 6th, and somehow those were the tying runs in a game that felt a lot more like a 6-0 game than a 2-0 game. Then Brass popped out. Starr hit a comebacker and got Cas forced out at second base. And then Castano, trying to out-dumb the Portland Dumbos, threw a wild pitch and gave up a score-knotting gap double to Juan Ojeda after all. Jon Bean then duly popped out to second again. Cooke hit into a double play in the bottom 7th. Instead, Ricky Herrera entered a tied game and appeared to puch the decision, a loss in this case, by allowing Curt Goodwin on base with a pinch-hit single, Andy Chairez with his own error, and then conceded the runs on a 2-run double by Austin. Not that the tying runs (Cas and Brass) weren’t on base in the bottom 8th – but Starr whiffed and Ojeda rolled out embarassingly to short. Bottom 9th, still down 4-2; Jon Bean led off with a single to right against righty Alex Flores. Monaghan as the tying run whiffed, but Angel Perez drew a pinch-hit walk, putting the tying run on base, and the winning – oh ****, GET COOKE OUTTA THERE!! Bernie Ortega pinch-hit for the feckless outfielder, hit a terrible dead ball on the infield near the first base line… and somehow legged it out to fill the bases with an infield single…! Labonte ran a full count before drawing ball four to push home a run. Flores, discombobulated then offered straight balls to Caswell, tying the game. Brass failed with a pop, but Starr’s 2-out grounder up the middle escaped the middle infielders and allowed the Coons to walk it off…! 5-4 Blighters. Ortega (PH) 1-1; Ojeda 2-4, 2B, RBI; Bean 2-3, BB; Sneeze 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

Alex Rios got the win, his second of the year; Ricky Herrera had to stay contend with ten.

Joey Christopher ended on the DL with a strained rib cage muscle and probably a cracked rib, and … (points at the X-ray) what’s that dark stuff around the lungs, Luis Silva?

Anyway, the Coons’ near-.400 OBP leadoff man was on the DL, was unlikely to return before the end of September, and we had no replacement for him at all. Kelly Konecny returned early from his holdover rehab assignment to St. Pete.

Game 2
LVA: SS Veguilla – RF S. Laws – 1B Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – C Burgio – CF Mathews – 2B Huddleston – P S. Evans
POR: 2B Labonte – SS Bean – CF Caswell – RF Brassfield – 1B Starr – LF Konecny – C Perez – 3B Ojeda – P DeRose

Neither team had a base hit the first time through on Saturday, and DeRose retired 11 straight Aces before Austin and Alfaro had a pair of singles and were stranded on a Hummel groundout in the fourth inning. Then, though, Casey Burgio singled and Phil Huddleston, of all people, hit a 2-run homer in the fifth to give Vegas a 2-0 lead. The Raccoons were still hitless against Evans, who had walked a pair, but was otherwise untouched. Konecny would hit a liner to left for a leadoff single in the bottom 5th to get into the H column, then was doubled up by Ojeda to end the inning…

Vegas made it 3-0 in the sixth with Burgio’s sac fly, cashing in on a leadoff single by Austin and a walk offered to Alfaro by DeRose, and starting with Evans the Aces hit three straight singles for another run in the seventh inning. The Raccoons remained absolutely useless and were held to that lone Konecny single through seven innings before the Aces exploded for a 6-spot on DeRose, who gave up a leadoff single to Hummel in the eighth, and wickedly useless Eloy Sencion in the top of the eighth. Sencion just kept getting whacked and whacked and whacked, and Scott Evans kept dealing and dealing and dealing and finished a 1-hit shutout. 10-0 Aces.

Dead.

Game 3
LVA: CF Thayer – RF S. Laws – 1B Austin – 3B A. Alfaro – LF Hummel – C Burgio – SS Veguilla – 2B Chairez – P Broad
POR: 2B Labonte – LF Ortega – CF Caswell – RF Brassfield – 1B Starr – C Perez – SS Bean – 3B Ojeda – P B. Herrera

Larry Broad (8-10, 4.63 ERA) got the assignment in the rubber game on Sunday, and a 1-0 lead to begin with thanks to Scott Laws’ single and Aubrey Austin’s double, plus another Alex Alfaro single – all hits to right – but on that one Austin was thrown out at home by Brassfield, who had his bearings despite the unfamiliar corner (3,041 innings in left, 658 in right). Ortega reached on an error in the bottom 1st, but that was that; the bottom 2nd began with Starr and Perez singles to right, but Bean hit into a fielder’s choice to send Perez packing. Ojeda’s grounder to second base didn’t look like two, but Andy Chairez fumbled it altogether for another error, and that scored the tying run just the same. Bean was then picked off second base by Broad while Herrera was batting. Frustratingly, Herrera then singled, but Labonte grounded out to strand a pair after all…….

The Aces took the lead back in the top 3rd. Herrera wasn’t fooling anybody, really. Nick Thayer’s leadoff single, a walk drawn by Laws, and an Alfaro single gave Vegas the 2-1 lead. Burgio drew a 2-out walk but Miguel Veguilla grounded out to Labonte to leave the bases loaded. The Coons tied it again with a pair of leadoff doubles to left from Ortega and Cas in the bottom 3rd, and the rest of the big boys in the middle at least managed two productive outs to bring in Caswell with the go-ahead run, 3-2. Perez then hit a 2-out single, but was stranded by Bean.

The Raccoons then couldn’t get ******* anybody out in the fifth inning. Herrera had been **** from the start, but the house of cards *really* came down after a leadoff single by Austin when Labonte threw away Alfaro’s grounder for an error. The 5-6-7 all whacked base hits then, three runs were in, the score was 5-3, two in scoring position and nobody out, and Herrera was yanked, having given up ELEVEN base hits in four-plus innings. Ornelas replaced him and got out of the inning while keeping one of the inherited runners on base, which was as much success as we were gonna have, except for a forlorn Joel Starr RBI knock some innings down the road. The Raccoons got near-perfect relief from Ornelas, Loveless, and Bravo for the last five innings, but the damage had already been done. 6-4 Aces. Caswell 2-4, 2B, RBI; Starr 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Perez 2-4; Ornelas 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Bravo 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

In other news

August 26 – The Capitals will have to do without closer Ben Lussier (2-2, 2.44 ERA, 29 SV) for a while; the 32-year-old lefty is out with a sprained ankle and will not return until late September.
August 27 – With the game tied, Falcons reliever Franklin Mendoza (3-2, 2.45 ERA, 3 SV) nicks Thunder C Jonathan Dye (.266, 4 HR, 17 RBI) with a 1-2 pitch and the bases loaded in the bottom 11th to end the game as an 8-7 loss for the Falcons.
August 29 – The Bayhawks’ SP Mark Jacobs (8-10, 3.79 ERA) 3-hits the Loggers in a 7-0 win.

FL Player of the Week: DEN C Andre Monroe (.275, 12 HR, 62 RBI), hitting .476 (10-21) with 3 HR, 7 RBI
CL Player of the Week: LVA 1B/RF/LF Aubrey Austin (.301, 12 HR, 63 RBI), batting .435 (10-23) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: NAS RF Austin Gordon (.279, 9 HR, 31 RBI), bashing .327 with 8 HR, 27 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: LVA 3B/1B/RF Alex Alfaro (.332, 12 HR, 59 RBI), hitting .402 with 2 HR, 21 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: PIT SP Bubba Wolinsky (10-7, 3.17 ERA), hurling a perfect 6-0 with 1.62 ERA, 19 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: BOS SP Jayden Craddock (15-7, 1.88 ERA), going 4-2 despite an 0.97 ERA, 24 K
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS RF Austin Gordon (.279, 9 HR, 31 RBI), see above, and at 22 years old
CL Rookie of the Month: VAN C Alex Maldonado (.255, 11 HR, 56 RBI), hitting .344 with 4 HR, 17 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Maud, we have to write an angry letter to the league office that they can cram their award selections up their furry tushes.

We lost a very inconvenient series to lose to the Loggers. The Loggers…! And that was before the Aces came to down and took the rest of the pie away.

And before Joey Christopher ran into that sidewall. He’s not replaceable, and the season is over, because just look at how terrible the Raccoons were before Christopher came up. We have no #1 hitter, and perhaps not even a #2 hitter. (clutches plus-sized framed photo of a smiling Lonzo with a black band draped over one corner and rocks back and forth)

Rosters expand on Monday. One player that would have come up was 1B Joe Agee, but he had just gone on the minor league DL with plantar fasciitis and was done for the year.

Great to see Bubba Wolinsky having a late-career resurgence after a few trying years in Dallas and Sacramento after he left Portland in the terrible trade for Juan del Toro in the winter of 2051-52. He was 37 years old now and on his sixth big-league team. For the last few seasons he had persistently put up seasons in the mid-3 ERA region, although he was prone to the odd injury and only once in the last four years had pitched 30+ starts. For his career he was 134-106 with a 3.62 ERA and 1,399 strikeouts. With the Coons he had gone 58-42 with a 3.77 ERA in 149 games (148 starts). Strangely for such a steady starter, he had only one career shutout, a 3-hitter against the Logger (the Loggers…!) in the brown shirt in 2050.

We have three more road trips; one is just a weekend trip to Elk City, but we’re off to Atlanta and New York next week, and we finish the year on the road with a 3-city road trip to Milwaukee, Boston, and Indy.

Fun Fact: Sunday’s loss ends our 6-year streak of winning the season series from the Aces.

But fear not, we still have an extant 6-year streak against the Condors, who we have no more games against this year. The next-longest active streak of season series wins against a CL team? Against the damn Elks, four years running, already extended this season, and with a 3-game set to spare!

Damn Elks!!