Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

So what made Portland take Speed over OSA /BNN #3 overall Pokorski?

Good pass on Pile who you’d be kicking yourselves over taking at #7 when you got him at #27. It’s rare I take a 1B in round 1 unless the prospect is just too good. I like starting pitchers and up the middle positions in rd 1.

Hopefully Speed works out but it will be interesting or maybe painfully to keep tabs on Pokorski.

Now I remember that I wanted to compile the misery of all the first-round first-sackers we took, but I didn't want to interrupt the draft for it.

Maybe later!

Speed / Pokorski was almost a coin toss (which is why they went behind each other in #7/#8 in the end). Speed has 16/15/13 from OSA and Pokorski has straight 14s, but is a leader; Speed has low leadership, but isn't one of those pricks that burn the whole team to the ground. Critters went with the more promising talent.

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Now I remember that I wanted to compile the misery of all the first-round first-sackers we took, but I didn't want to interrupt the draft for it.

Maybe later!

Speed / Pokorski was almost a coin toss (which is why they went behind each other in #7/#8 in the end). Speed has 16/15/13 from OSA and Pokorski has straight 14s, but is a leader; Speed has low leadership, but isn't one of those pricks that burn the whole team to the ground. Critters went with the more promising talent.

Makes sense as the OSA numbers weren’t quite showing the upside as much.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Makes sense as the OSA numbers weren’t quite showing the upside as much.

Nah, the ones I always give in the posts are from the Raccoons' scouts, and Semchez is one of those misanthropes that likes nothing and nobody under 23. In the end I always go back and forth between both sets before making top picks.

Also, this week of games below took too long, but I want to put that first base draft history together at some point this week.

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Raccoons (37-25) @ Capitals (25-37) – June 15-17, 2071

The Caps had the most ineffective offense in the Federal League, scoring just 3.8 runs per game, while having average pitching. They had a -47 run differential, no speed, creaky defense, but a fairly sturdy bullpen, so you had to get them early. Third baseman Rick Healey was on the DL. These teams had last met in 2067, when the Caps won two of three from the Critters, who had not won a series between these two teams since ’63.

Projected matchups:
Gabriel Rios (3-7, 3.86 ERA) vs. Ken Nielsen (4-3, 4.46 ERA)
Vinny Morales (3-1, 3.47 ERA) vs. Nick Robinson (5-2, 1.44 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (7-1, 2.75 ERA) vs. Bobby MacDonald (5-5, 4.54 ERA)

42-year-old Nick Robinson had only made 26 relief appearances and no starts so far this season, but the Caps had nobody else lined up after waiving and DFA’ing Tom Kies (2-6, 4.48 ERA) and Kevin Butte (2-7, 5.80 ERA) on Friday. Kies had been claimed by the Miners, and Butte had been sent to AAA Modesto. Robinson was the only left-hander in sight.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – RF Wilson – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Rios
WAS: CF Chenette – 2B Goss – 1B A. Curiel – LF Streng – C Willhite – RF McKenna – 3B Frasher – SS Gilliam – P Nielsen

Sharp singles by Tyler Chenette, the former Elks scourge upon the land, and Armando Curiel, and a meaty sac fly to right by Ian Streng, gave the Caps a 1-0 lead in the first inning. They continued to hit Rios well after that, but hit it into the teeth of the defense a lot, and in the fourth inning Rios issued two walks and struck out two others, and was bailed out of the inning by Tyler Wharton going back with pace to catch a drive by Tyler Gilliam to end the inning. The Coons were not really appearing on the map in those first four innings, putting out two hits, one of which auto-removed himself from the bases when Alejandro Olivares overran second base on a double and was tagged out. Jaden Wilson’s single, Hernandez getting brushed, Rivas’ groundout, and a free pass to Brian McFarland then put three runners on base for Portland in the fifth inning… but with Rios batting and one out. Rios ran a full count before whiffing against Nielsen, but Humph slapped a ball up the middle and through for a score-flipping, 2-out, 2-run single. Yocum grounded out, and the bottom 5th began with a K to Nielsen before Chenette drove a ball to the wall in right that Wilson caught, but also tumbled to the ground afterwards, and eventually received the attention and assistance in leaving the field of Luis Silva. Jamie Colter replaced him and crashed into a double play after leadoff singles by Olivares and Wharton in the top 6th. Pete McKenna picked Hernandez’ fly to right to end the inning.

Curiel and Streng singles and a walk to McKenna loaded the bases in the bottom 6th, and switch-hitter Eric Frasher tied the game with another sac fly to center. Holzmeister and Morentin entered in a double switch for Rios and Hernandez, with McFarland moving to third base, and a pop off the bat of Gilliam ended the inning and kept the game tied at least. The Coons again started the seventh with runners as Rivas singled and Nielsen plunked McFarland. Morentin singled to center, and the bases were full with nobody out – whee. But Humph was again on the call and slapped a 2-run single through the left side now, giving the Coons a 4-2 lead. Streng’s throw home allowed the trail runners into scoring position even, but Yocum’s infield roller that he legged out for a single prevented any bid at the plate by Morentin, and we were back to three on, nobody out. Olivares’ RBI single to left knocked out Nielsen, but right-hander James Bilodeau also allowed an RBI single to Wharton, even though that ball didn’t even reach the infield dirt on the right side. Colter brought in a run with a groundout, 7-2, Holzmeister was sent to the plate and whiffed, but Rivas drove in two more runs with a single to left-center. McFarland hit *another* infield single, but Morentin grounded out to end a 7-run assault…!

Holzmeister got around two singles in the seventh, and in the eighth Noah Newhard made his ABL debut. He gave up a leadoff double to Chris Willhite, walked PH Jay Lawyer, threw a wild pitch, but then struck out Frasher. Gilliam hit a 3-run homer and Alex Romero singled and Newhard left his first career game with the head hanging pretty low. McMahan was used to get out of the inning, and chronically unemployed Pedro Valentin got the ninth inning in a 4-run game, then made it a sweater by allowing hits to Willhite and Jonathan Gutierrez, and Morentin’s error put Frasher on, loading the bags with one out. Gilliam struck out, and Mike Meyer with two outs slapped a single through the right side. Willhite scored, and Gutierrez went for home – but was thrown out at the plate by Jamie Colter…! 9-6 Raccoons! Humphries 3-5, 4 RBI; Yocum 2-5; Olivares 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; T. Wharton 2-5, RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1, 2B; Rivas 2-4, BB, 2 RBI;

A Crusaders loss left the Coons with sole possession of first place again.

Unnoticed initially in the immediate postgame ruckus that included the Coons infielders holding paws and dancing around home plate while the Caps ferociously beleaguered the home plate umpire to protest the call at the plate was that Pedro Valentin did not join celebrations but instead sought out Luis Silva’s company.

While Valentin turned out to be suffering from a mild abdominal strain that would leave him in day-to-day limbo for at least the rest of the series, but on the roster, Jaden Wilson hit the DL on Tuesday with an oblique strain and was out of the question until August…

The first thought was to fill up the pen with the open roster spot, but our bench was already way too thin and we needed a stick, and a glove that could fill some positions, including center. Batting .368 since his return to AAA, Benito Otal was recalled despite having hit .140 in his fill-in earlier this season.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Morales
WAS: CF Chenette – 2B Goss – 1B A. Curiel – LF Streng – 3B McKenna – RF Lawyer – C J. Gutierrez – SS Gilliam – P N. Robinson

A sac fly by Tyler Wharton, unearned because of a 2-base throwing error by McKenna, gave the Coons a 1-0 lead in the first, bringing home Yocum and his 1-out single from third base, but Olivares would be left on base; and then Vinny Morales had a 43-pitch, 5-run meltdown in the bottom 1st when the Raccoons were down an arm in the pen… Chenette made the first and third outs in the inning, but in between Morales retired almost nobody, allowing four hits and three walks. He walked in two runs against McKenna and Lawyer, plated one with a wild pitch, and Gilliam actually singled home two runs. Tim Goss started the bottom 2nd with an infield single, but was doubled up by Armando Curiel to buy the Coons at least a few more outs from Morales, who got through three innings at least, before the Raccoons loaded the bags on Olivares and Wharton hits, *another* error by McKenna, and nobody out in the fourth inning, so van Otterdijk was the tying run with nobody out. He singed a diving Gilliam’s glove with a sharp RBI single up the middle, 5-2, but Sam Brown’s soggy roller in front of the mound was an easy out at home even for a 42-year-old pitcher. McFarland snapped an RBI single, and the Coons had Woodley bat for Morales, getting a sac fly to left, 5-4. Humph grounded out, leaving two on base.

Dan Graham pitched an inning, allowing sharp singles to Robinson (…) and Goss, but no runs in the bottom 4th. Yocum opening the fifth with a double to center put the tying run in scoring position against Robinson, who walked Olivares, but struck out Wharton and got a double play grounder from Hernandez, who was then double-switched out for the second time in two days to get Rismiller into a situation where he could pitch multiple innings, with Jamie Colter at third base. Rismiller got six outs on 19 pitches, but the Coons couldn’t get through against Robinson, and then Chenette led off the seventh with a double off the wall in left and Goss reached on an error by Colter. Hot corner, huh? Brad Fails came in, struck out Curiel, walked Streng, struck out the pinch-hitter Meyer, and got a pop from Lawyer to bugger out of the inning.

The Coons got Wharton on base with a 1-out single as the Caps churned relievers in the eighth inning. Morentin grounded out, batting for the pitcher and advancing the runner, and van Otterdijk’s 2-out double off Jason Rhodes to right tied the game up after seven innings of clawing. Brown flew out to center, ending the inning. Newhard was right back in, facing the bottom of the order, but blew up again, walking two batters that Goss drove in with a 2-out double, walked Curiel as well, and then somehow had Streng fly out. Jon Dominguez saw off the Coons in order in the ninth and so Newhard punched the L. 7-5 Capitals. Yocum 2-4, 2B; T. Wharton 2-3, RBI; van Otterdijk 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Rismiller 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K;

Newhard (0-1, 27.00 ERA) also punched a return ticket to AAA, partly because of four walks and five runs in 1.2 innings pitched, and partly because of the roster crunch, despite a day off on Thursday.

Harrison Hunt (8-1, 2.22 ERA in AAA) was recalled, but for the time being was added to the pen as a long option.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – C Rivas – SS Morentin – P J. Wharton
WAS: CF Chenette – 2B Goss – 1B A. Curiel – C Willhite – RF McKenna – 3B Frasher – LF M. Meyer – SS Gilliam – P MacDonald

The first time through the lineup was rather calm for both teams in this rubber game, but Humph and Yocum hit 2-out singles in the top 3rd and Olivares chucked an RBI double to right-center for the first run of the game. Wharton drew a walk and as usual drove in no runs, nor did Hernandez grounding out and leaving three men stranded. Jamie Colter’s leadoff double in the fourth was immediately wasted, and the Raccoons then looked a bit dead from the waist up until Jimmyboy ran into a wall in the bottom 6th and allowed a leadoff double to Curiel, a game-tying triple to Willhite, and singles to McKenna and Frasher, and then somehow still worked his way out of the inning.

Humphries hit a single that led nowhere in the seventh, and Colter was again stranded in scoring position in the eighth, hitting a single and advancing on a wild pitch by David Carlson before Rivas grounded out. Graham and Holzmeister kept the Caps to their 2-1 lead, but Jon Dominguez also retired Morentin and van Otterdijk without issue to begin the ninth inning before Humph valiantly tried poking and singled to center. And Yocum grounded out. 2-1 Capitals. Humphries 2-4, BB; Olivares 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Colter 2-4, 2B;

The Coons remained a game up because the Crusaders got themselves swept in Sacramento, and the Miners took the series from the Titans (more on that below), so Boston remained 2 1/2 behind. New York and Boston would now go head-to-head for four games while the Coons had a day off and then were headed to Milwaukee, which was hardly a comfortable series. The Crusaders would take that opener, 10-3 with an early pummeling of Ryan Musgrave.

Raccoons (38-27) @ Loggers (28-37) – June 19-21, 2071

The Raccoons needed a good series against the Loggers, which had been a struggle spot for them for a long time now. The vaunted Loggers offense was a bit off right now, though, and they were only fourth in runs scored while giving up the second-most runs and carrying a -34 run differential this season. Their rotation was mediocre, and their pen was dynamite, getting hammered for a 5.69 ERA, by far the worst in the league. One of the big sticks, Cesar Ramirez, was on the DL for the weekend. This series was even at two entering Friday.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (6-3, 2.27 ERA) vs. Julio Robles (2-3, 4.88 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (3-6, 2.90 ERA) vs. Kevin Bennett (7-4, 5.02 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-7, 3.81 ERA) vs. Ramon Carreno (1-4, 4.91 ERA)

Bennett was the only left-hander in that rotation.

We also had the opener of the series rained out and a double header instituted on Saturday. On the plus side, Valentin felt better by then, so maybe we had the full pen available for that. In the meantime, the Titans clawed one back on Friday, so it was nice to see the blue and purple teams take wins off each other.

The Loggers changed pitching assignments and put Bennett, the southpaw, into the opener of the Saturday twin bill. On two days’ off, the Coons would not be so shy to send out the regulars for both games, and only tried to leverage some platoon advantage.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Walla
MIL: 2B Van Leeuwen – 3B Vic. Morales – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – SS F. Carrera – CF Parrish – LF Alaniz – 1B Starwalt – P Bennett

Walla struggled in the early going, giving up a few long fly balls and put a pair on base in each of the first two innings, although the Loggers didn’t plate any runs. Instead, Steve Humphries homered to left with McFarland on base for a 2-0 lead in the third inning. This provided little help for Walla, who had a 1-2-3 third, but was right back on the struggle bus in the fourth. Mario Alaniz hit a homer, and Danny Starwalt and Kevin Bennett hit 2-out singles after that, but Sean Van Leeuwen’s pop to third base ended another inning with two Loggers left aboard. Walla’s pitch count was exploding rapidly and he needed *93* pitches through five innings…

He still got through the sixth despite walking John Parrish, but was totally done after that, and the score was still 2-1, both teams sitting on five hits. A bullpen explosion on the Portland side followed as McMahan came in for the bottom 7th and immediately gave up a double to the ******* opposing pitcher. Ex-Coon Vic Morales tied the game with a single, Carlos Dominguez doubled, and Brad Fails replaced McMahan, but got churned for a 2-run single by Manuel Rodriguez, walked Fidel Carrera, allowed another single to Parrish, and another run on Roberto Soto’s pinch-hit groundout. Starwalt ended the 4-spot with grounding out.

Top 8th, Morentin batted for the forsaken #9 spot and singled. Bennett also put Humphries on base, and Yocum hit an RBI single, 5-3, and the tying runs were on the bases with nobody out. Olivares squeezed out a walk in a full count, loading the bags and evicting Bennett off the hill, and left-hander Joe Cash came in to see Tyler Wharton, a … spirited choice even given the absolute state that Wharton was in. The well-paid bum popped out, Hernandez’ sac fly didn’t cut it, and van Otterdijk’s fly out to left kept the Coons a run shy. Another ex-Coon, Angel Alba, and his 6.04 ERA got the ninth; and Gabe Rivas got a leadoff single. Otal ran for him, got second on a wild pitch, third on McFarland’s groundout, and scored on Sam Brown’s pinch-hit barrel of a double to right, tying the game. Humph was walked intentionally and Yocum and Olivares made poor outs to stall the rally out there, and now the Coons were running out of pitchers and used “long man” Harrison Hunt, who inserted in the #1 slot while Otal stayed in the game. He had Rodriguez at 0-2 before nearly giving up a walkoff homer to right. Van Otterdijk slammed off the wall making the catch and like Wilson on Monday remained on the ground afterwards. This time there was blood involved, and a lengthy break ensued as both teams’ trainers evaluated him and eventually got him carted off the field. Colter replaced him. Hunt walked PH Mark Fullmer and saw Yocum make an error on Soto’s grounder with two outs, but ex-Coon Rich Monck grounded out batting in the #8 hole to end the inning and send the game to extras. Oh joy! – But extras did not take long. The Coons drew blanks in the tenth inning, and hits by Wally Leggett and Dominguez walked off the Loggers, as usual. 6-5 Loggers. Yocum 2-5, RBI; Rivas 2-4; Morentin (PH) 1-1; Brown (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI;

The Otter was placed on the DL later that evening when he was found out to have a broken cheekbone. He was also out until August to get his face mask repaired. No replacement was available for the second game of the double-header, either for him or for the not-so-long long man Hunt, because none had been ordered from St. Pete to begin with.*

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 3B Hernandez – CF T. Wharton – 1B Woodley – C Brown – RF Colter – SS Morentin – P Gaytan
MIL: 2B Van Leeuwen – 3B Vic. Morales – RF C. Dominguez – SS F. Carrera – CF Parrish – LF Alaniz – C Fullmer – 1B Starwalt – P Carreno

So Gaytan went out and **** the cherry on top and gave up five runs in the first inning in the second game of the day. Van Leeuwen doubled and Carrera homered, and with two outs, Parrish walked, Alaniz singled, Fullmer drew another walk, and Starwalt pushed home a run drawing ANOTHER ******* WALK, before Carreno slapped home two singles with a bouncer past Morentin. Van Leeuwen eventually flew out. And the Coons had no pitchers.

Carreno was gonna have to figure out his ******* body or eat it, and responded by bunting into a double play in the third inning before a leadoff triple by Yocum in the fourth eventually led to a run… after Hernandez grounded out to third base to keep him pinned, when Wharton hit a sac fly to left. Bottom 4th, Gaytan got Starwalt out, then allowed another stupid single to Carreno. The stupid continued, as Morales singled, Dominguez got hit with two outs and as many strikes, and Carrera then emptied the bags with a grand slam to right-center, 9-1. Gaytan ***** his way into the bottom 5th, putting Alaniz and Starwalt on base, Carreno struck out bunting in vain, and with two outs the Coons pulled the plug and put in Dan Graham, hoping for long relief. For a start, he at least got Van Leeuwen to ground out to Woodley to end the bloody inning.

Signs of collapse included Graham being left in to allow three runs in the bottom 7th – all unearned as they came with two outs and after the Loggers had been invited to score more by an error that Woodley made to begin the shenanigans. Valentin then got the assignment for a true garbage inning in the bottom 8th and proceeded to issue not one by TWO leadoff walks to Carrera and Parrish before a grounder, a pop, and a K on Starwalt ended the inning. Carreno however went the distance on a complete-game 7-hitter, allowing one more run in the ninth on pinch-hit appearances by McFarland (base on balls) and Rivas (single), and an RBI single by Woodley. Not that it mattered. Not that anything mattered. 12-2 Loggers. Yocum 2-4, 3B; Rivas (PH) 1-1; Woodley 2-4, RBI;

Absolute ***********.

The Titans won another game, so they were now within a game of the Coons, with the Crusaders halfway.

The Raccoons needed *a body* and called up Jack Hamel, not that he deserved a brown hat, while we were waiting out Katz to finish his rehab assignment in St. Pete. Hamel might only be up for a day. He wore #51 after having worn #5 in his first stint with Portland, two years ago.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Brown – RF Morentin – SS McFarland – 3B Colter – P Rios
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – 3B Vic. Morales – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 2B F. Carrera – LF Alaniz – CF Parrish – 1B Starwalt – P Ju. Robles

Rios was just as useless as Walla and Gaytan had been. He allowed a walk and an infield single in the first, and the same in the second – before Van Leeuwen singled home a pair with two gone, and Vic Morales landed another single before Dominguez lined out to Yocum. Top 3rd, Colter hit a leadoff single past Starwalt, got bunted to second, and Humph walked. A passed ball moved the tying runs into scoring position, and Yocum cranked a ball down the rightfield line for extra bases, a triple actually once it bounced away from Dominguez. Olivares firmly singled to right to give the Coons a 3-2 lead, and Wharton actually found the wall – not to hit one over, but for a double off it, which almost counted as progress. Sam Brown raked another double off Robles, driving in two runs, 5-2, but the inning ended when Morentin whiffed and McFarland flew out easily. And Rios had nothing better to do than issue a four-pitch walk to Manuel Rodriguez once he was back on the mound, but the defense kept the runner on base for the time being.

Robles did not return, and Nick Walters allowed a leadoff single to Colter again in the fourth, but that runner was also left on base. Rios put the 1-2 hitters on base in the fourth, but Dominguez flew out; he was then yanked in the fifth getting only one out for a Rodriguez single, a walk to Carrera, and a 1-out RBI double by Parrish. Brad Fails came in, gave up a long sac fly to Starwalt, walked the bags full with Josh Bursley and Van Leeuwen, and then somehow got the third out when Morales grounded out to McFarland with the ******* bases loaded.

Raul Salas managed to allow a counter-run in the sixth when McFarland got on and he conceded the run on a pinch-hit 2-out double by the .133 hitter Otal, which extended the lead again to 6-4. Humph popped out, though. McMahan and Rismiller then pitched scoreless innings while Tyler Wharton got on base and was picked off first in the top 7th…

Top 8th, Brown hit a leadoff single against Joe Cash, while Morentin drew a walk. McFarland struck out before Hernandez batted for Colter against the southpaw and slapped an RBI single to center. Parrish going home and not getting Brown allowed the trail runners into scoring position, while Hamel pinch-hit for Rismiller and grounded out to third. But this time Humph came through – raking a 3-run homer to left with two outs…! That put the game to bed, minus Harrison Hunt getting abused for another two innings to finish out the game and looking at a bus ticket back to St. Petersburg after that. 10-4 Coons. Olivares 2-5, RBI; Brown 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Colter 2-3; Hernandez (PH) 1-1, RBI; Otal (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Hunt 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K;

In other news

June 16 – PIT SP Brian Jones (10-4, 2.84 ERA) throws a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a 15-0 blowout of the Titans! The Boston batters draw a couple of walks, but Jones himself goes 3-for-5 and drives in two runs, while former Titan LF/RF/1B Justin Dowsey (.263, 7 HR, 45 RBI) hits two doubles, a single, and drives in five runs.
June 17 – The Thunder beat the Gold Sox, 3-2 in 15 innings. Both teams previously scored a run in the 12th inning.
June 19 – The Rebels mincemeat the Cyclones’ pitching staff in a 19-6 riot, scoring 5+ runs in three separate innings. Five different Rebs drive in 3+ plus, with Richmond outfielder Rick Atkins (.276, 5 HR, 42 RBI) tying for the game-highs in hits and RBI’s with four each, hitting a homer and three singles.
June 19 – San Francisco beats the Thunder, 7-6 in 16 innings. Before SFB INF Mario Flores (.210, 0 HR, 10 RBI) chips a walkoff single, neither team had scored for ten innings.

Player of the Week (FL): CIN 1B Mike White (.363, 13 HR, 48 RBI), clipping .565 (13-23) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): LVA C/1B Chris Haynes (.319, 15 HR, 51 RBI), churning .522 (12-23) with 3 HR, 11 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Crusaders and Titans splitting the series on the weekend barely kept the Coons in first place by themselves. Overall, this was a horrible week, posting a 2-4 record against two heavily losing teams while also shedding a couple of outfielders and having the pitching staff spiral completely out of control. Hernandez was also in a slump now, in addition to all the other problems that were burying the team. Not a fun time in Portland.

On the plus side, Katz might be back on Monday. There’s no shortage of roster spots for him to take.

The 24-41 Blue Sox fired their manager and GM on Thursday. They had the worst record in the league at that point.

The Thunder are also a RARE sight in last place. They were a rancid 4-14 in June. They had won the South for EIGHT straight years from 2062 through 2069, for only one title in ’67 (so they were the most recent team not from Cincy to claim rings), and the last time they had finished bottoms in the South had been all the way back in 2037. In total they had won the division almost half the time since then, 16 out of 33 years (for only two rings).

We’re home for only three games against the damn Elks starting on Monday and then have a hard-to-explain single-series trip to Charlotte on the weekend. The off day on Thursday is the last one before the All Star Game, 17 consecutive games to be played from then on, including both of the closest chasers in the division.

Fun Fact: The Brian Jones no-hitter on Tuesday was the eighth in Miners history.

Only two teams have more: the Coons (11!) and the Crusaders (9), while the Baybirds are tying them for third place with another eight. A Raccoon is on the Miners’ list, as Sean Sweeton pitched their most-recent no-no before Jones’ feat, turning away the Blue Sox for no hits in 2059. That was Sweeton’s first no-hitter, but his second was with the Knights, and not the Coons.

Kodai Koga also split his two no-hitters between the Miners and Knights, but in reversed order. His Miners no-hitter came a year before Sweeton’s.

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*House rules.

[Westheim]

Portland Raccoons and their wicked history of taking first basemen in the first round

For the purposes of this exercise, we will consider the supplemental round in addition to the first round, partially because the draft history tab shows it as first round, keeps no order between picks of what it considers the same round, and I’ll be too tired too soon of writing up 50 words on some toss-off only to then realize that, oooh, he was a number twenty-SEVEN pick…!

Also, we will include players that played other positions alongside first base, especially the corner outfield. Three- or four-base infielders (so players capable of playing up the middle) will not be considered, nor will primary-position catchers that made only token appearances (if any) at first base.

+++

1982 – Pick #2: OF/1B Alejandro Lopez (my draft post from back then does not list first base as position, but I was not very thorough in many aspects at the time)
Was named a #18 prospect before being traded to the Blue Sox in a trade for chiefly outfielder Raúl Herrera in the winter of 1983-84. Peaked as #7 prospect. Did decently good for some years with the Sox with a pair of rings in 1986-87 before being brought back to Portland as *minor league* free agent in 1993, where he landed himself a third ring before his career trundled out with the Elks in 1995 at just 31 years of age.
1,215 games of hitting .258/.305/.408 with 1,069 hits, 106 homers, 564 RBI, and 71 SB.
3x World Series
Yes it will absolutely get worse.

1985 – Pick #10: 1B/3B Joe Jackson
Corner infielder that peaked as #35 prospect and appeared in only 29 games for the 1988 Raccoons before being traded to the Falcons, where he spent the rest of his career. Won two Gold Gloves at first base, but never hit for much of anything, and consequently was a backup infielder for much of his career, hanging on until 2001.
1,234 games of hitting .244/.315/.355 with 1,033 hits, 51 homers, 485 RBI, and 78 SB.
2x Gold Glove

1985 – Pick #33: 1B Gabriel Ramirez
First one already to never make the majors despite going as high as #11 in the prospect rankings. Was traded to the Cyclones for Glenn Johnston, who lost us the 1989 World Series in ’86, and then spent the rest of his days in AAA Glendale.

1996 – Pick #61: INF/LF Carlos Gómes
Suffered a career-ending tear to his labrum just 15 months after being drafted and so I’ll ascribe that one to rotten fate.

1999 – Pick #11: LF/RF/1B Darwin Tyler
Never played first base in the majors and roamed the corner outfield instead, but was definitely considered also a first baseman at the draft. He also never played a lot at all in the majors, making it into 45 games with the rotten 2004 Raccoons, hitting nothing, and then surfaced for a brief stint with the Buffos a few years later, but his last big-league game came at age 27.
105 games of hitting .197/.259/.277 with 42 hits, 4 homers, 19 RBI, and 1 SB

1999 – Pick #33: 1B Matt Love
Local boy that briefly surfaced with the 2003-04 Raccoons, hit nothing, and then was quickly forgotten and never signed with another organization.
32 games of hitting .235/.286/.255 with 12 hits and 2 RBI

2000 – Pick #5: 1B/3B Daniel Sharp
Famously made his ABL debut just a month after being drafted and thus never featured on a prospect list. He soon enough became the cornerstone at third base for the decade, and played first base only occasionally; other teams would use him up the middle later in his career. Left as free agent after 2007, signed with the Miners, was claimed back off waivers by the Coons, traded to the Indians at the deadline in 2008, along with another top 5 pick, Jimmy Eichelkraut, to get hold of Ron Alston, signed with the Buffos the following winter, got claimed off waivers by the Coons AGAIN, but then was let go for the third straight season. He then remained a frequent flyer for the rest of his career, playing another seven stints with six teams before retiring in 2015. Never a power threat or a defensive asset, but he hit reliably for a long time before tailing off in his mid-30s. Only about 20% of his career at-bats came at first base, though.
1,875 games of hitting .276/.355/.376 with 1,801 hits, 76 homers, 635 RBI, and 2 SB
1x World Series

2001 – Pick #2: LF/RF/1B Chris Beairsto
Played most of his time in leftfield, but was advertised as first-sacker to begin with. Peaked as #62 prospect and made his debut in 2002 for a team that had few things going for it and lots of opportunities for cheap youngsters. Didn’t hit outside of a very good half-season in 2003 (well, .241 with 17 homers, which gave the Decade of Darkness Coons an unreasonable amount of hopium), and soon washed out and was traded to the Bayhawks, and later got claimed off waivers by the Buffos, who also didn’t get anything outta him. Retired in 2012 after five years in the minors.
406 games of hitting .237/.303/.398 with 308 hits, 49 homers, 171 RBI, and 18 SB

2007 – Pick #32: 1B C.J. Vanderwall
Never ranked, and only played 12 games at the AAA level before washing out altogether, retiring from baseball at the ripe old age of 26.

2009 – Pick #43: 1B Jonathan Marsh
Never ranked, and got released by the Raccoons after three years in the low minors, but got picked up by the Warriors, who then traded him to the Scorpions in 2013. He had a bit of a career as a quad-A first baseman with them until 2020, and then spent another EIGHT years in the minors before retiring. Somehow owns a World Series ring from his final year with Sacramento, despite batting .205 as pinch-hitter and never starting a game that year.
283 games of hitting .263/.296/.448 with 186 hits, 24 homers, 112 RBI, and 15 SB
1x World Series

2011 – Pick #45: RF/LF/1B Daniel Price
Never a ranked prospect and never appeared in the majors, bouncing around the minors for 11 years. The Raccoons traded him for outfielder Luis Reya in 2015, which at least netted us one season of somebody hitting or league average…

2011 – Pick #48: LF/RF/1B Matt Fox
Another one that never ranked as prospect and never appeared in the majors. Obtained minor league free agency in 2017, then bounced through three more organizations before retiring.

2015 – Pick #22: 1B/LF/RF Brian Perakis
Never a ranked prospect, but actually *did* appear in the majors after SEVEN years in he minors, appearing for a cup of coffee with the directionless 2022 Raccoons. Got released in ’24 and never signed another contract of any kind.
19 games of hitting .171/.205/.293 with 7 hits, 1 homer, 6 RBI

2015 – Pick #31: 1B Michael Wilkerson
Quelle surprise, another one that never ranked. He was included in a trade for SP Bobby Guerrero and had a brief and uninspiring career as backup / quad-A reserve with the Falcons, but last appeared in a major league game at 26 and retired before hitting 30.
192 games of hitting .245/.291/.384 with 56 hits, 4 homers, 36 RBI, and 4 SB

2017 – Pick #15: 1B Ruben Santiago
Listen, we don’t draft first base prospects here that end up ranking, okay? Santiago had a good career, though, although for somebody else. He was part of a 6-player trade that sent him with Tadasu Abe and others to the Blue Sox in 2021, bringing in Billy Brotman and especially Tim Stalker, who would have a long Coons career in turn. Santiago made his ABL debut with Nashville the following year and then was their starting first baseman for five-and-a-half seasons before becoming a backup at age 30. Also had stints with the Buffos and Indians at the end and in the end had a 13-year career in the majors, but never won anything or led the league in anything.
1,282 games of hitting .278/.337/.419 with 1,023 hits, 111 homers, 500 RBI, and 3 SB

2027 – Pick #22: 1B Eric Clarke
Never ranked as prospect or appeared in the majors, obtaining minor league free agency at the first opportunity and bouncing through another three organizations on his way to an accounting job.

2029 – Pick #37: 1B Ryan St. Pierre
Never ranked, never suited up in the majors. The Raccoons traded him to Tijuana for outfielder Juan Camps in ’33, and he obtained minor league free agency and retired after 2035. Camps played only 40 games with the Raccoons, but then was then spun off in a package for SP Gilberto Rendon, who had a couple nice seasons as the Raccoons reached their unringed, but notable mid-30s peak.

2031 – Pick #15: 1B/LF/RF Will Luna
Actually ranked as #58 prospect the year after being drafted, and then quickly turned bust from there. He did amount to a cup of coffee for the 2036 Coons, playing mostly first base, and a few years later was released and then retired without joining another outfit.
12 games of hitting .182/.229/.273 with 6 hits and 3 RBI

2046 – Pick #21: OF/1B Adam Samples
Never ranked as prospect and would spend 16 years as a professional ballplayer, and yet last appeared in the majors at age 24 in 2052. Couple of cups of coffee with Portland, and ever wore a major league uniform thereafter.
68 games of hitting .199/.260/.253 with 33 hits, 1 homer, 17 RBI

2054 – Pick #22: 1B Forbes Tomlin
Appeared at #41 in the prospect rankings in the year after he was drafted, but lingered in the minors for a long time before seven games with Portland in 2059, and some longer stints in 2061-62. He actually hit modestly well in 2061, but didn’t repeat that feat, and eventually was traded to Sacramento for Tom Delaney. Only hung around the Stingers for a year and a half, and then had a wild single-game showing with the Warriors in 2067. Disappeared for good then and retired last year.
242 games of hitting .267/.300/.406 with 119 hits, 10 homers, 65 RBI

2056 – Pick #24: 1B Joe Agee
Never ranked as prospect and had two cups of coffee with the Raccoons before being traded in a bigger deal that brought in Jim White from the Gold Sox in ’62. Made only 22 pinch-hitter appearances for Denver and then disappeared. Retired in ’65.
37 games of hitting .167/.222/.333 with 11 hits, 2 homers, 8 RBI

2059 – Pick #13: 1B Jon Herbert
Herbert was actually highly ranked at first, appearing at #26 in the first prospect rankings after he was selected, but stalled between AA and AAA and was taken by the Thunder in the Rule 5 draft in 2064, but returned when the season began, then obtained minor league free agency. Spent time in the Condors system before landing a gig with L.A. for some cups of coffee from 2067-69. Still active and with the Pacifics’ AAA team in Loganville.
70 games of hitting .282/.312/.324 with 20 hits and 14 RBI

2060 – Pick #19: LF/RF/1B John Bentley
Never ranked and had all sorts of injuries, including breaking his kneecap at the end of a fairly impressive half-season he played as a 25-year-old rookie with the Coons in ’65. Scarcely appeared the year after, then was traded to Indy with Malcolm Spicer to bring in Gabriel Rios (still here) and Justin Dowsey. The Indians used him semi-regularly in ’67, but he didn’t hit (at all), and some more the year after (still nope). He has since obtained minor league free agency several times and is currently in the Scorpions organization.
195 games of hitting .263/.308/.412 with 104 hits, 11 homers, 55 RBI

2068 – Pick #21: 1B Oscar Gaitan
Ranked as the #20 prospect in his first spring and has gradually slipped back. Has yet to appear above AA, but that’s not our problem anymore since he was wrapped up in a bundle to the Wolves to obtain John Katzman. Jury is still out here, but it doesn’t look like he’ll turn the corner.

2069 – Pick #36: 1B Justin DiMartino
Not ranked, and has hit for power in the minors, but at the expense of a batting average. Currently with the Panthers in AA, batting .191 with six homers.

No reason to slide Kyle Piel a week after he’s been drafted. Boy’s got feelings, too.

This is a total of 25 players, although if you exclude the recent picks that have not had a chance to wash out completely yet, it’s 23 players. Depending on what your definition for a solid first-round or supplemental-roudn pick is, the Raccoons have probably failed 80% to 90% of the time here. Besides Alejandro Lopez (1982), Joe Jackson (1985), Daniel Sharp (2000), and Ruben Santiago (2017), we have not selected players that appeared for at least 1,000 games in the majors, and the fifth-most-appearing player in the group is actually Chris Beairsto (2001), and those that lived to see the Decade of Darkness were not impressed by his act. Sharp and Lopez are probably the only ones you can give a B+ to the team for picking them where we did. And only if you’re charitable.

It gets only WORSE when you only look at “true” first basemen with no other positions. Of those, we drafted 13 (15 including Gaitan and DiMartino, but let’s not for now), and Santiago’s 1,282 career games account for the vast majority of their output. Six of the others never played in the majors, and the other six combined for 868 games in the majors. Santiago hit 111 homers, the other six combined for a snorty forty.

Of the 10 players that also played other positions, all reached the majors except for Carlos Gómes, who suffered the career-ending injury in the low minors.

What a crass display of a century of failure.

Additional tidbit: found out our longest-ago first-rounder still active is INF Dave Blackshire, who is hanging on in the Indians minor league system at age *43*. Blackshire was drafted in 2048, four months and four days before AAA 1B Danny Huckaby, who played in 19 games with the Critters last year and will in all likelihood play for them again in the future, was even born. Huckaby was a second-rounder, by the way.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (39-29) vs. Canadiens (28-41) – June 22-24, 2071

First-place Elks were dangerous, but nothing was more dangerous than last-place Elks, especially when the Raccoons were trying to be something other than mediocre. This was true especially when the Coons were so far up 6-0 in the season series. Elk City ranked ninth in both runs scored and runs allowed, with a -41 run differential. The rotation was a particular weak spot, and they were not in the top three in any major category in the CL. No injuries, though; however – the Raccoons got John Katzman back for this series! Benito Otal (.152, 0 HR, 2 RBI) was removed from the roster to AAA.

Projected matchups:
Vinny Morales (3-1, 3.95 ERA) vs. Juan Rosado (3-8, 6.58 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (7-2, 2.76 ERA) vs. TBD
Nick Walla (6-3, 2.22 ERA) vs. Dallas Samson (3-6, 4.07 ERA)

Rookie Esteban Ferrer (1-5, 5.66 ERA) had been in the open spot in that rotation, but the Elks were assumed to replace the 21-year-old, although it wasn’t clear yet who would take a spot start or be called up. All starters on the roster were right-handed.

Game 1
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – CF D. Moore – RF Bustillos – LF Lozada – 2B Ratliff – 3B Eggert – C Ma. Lopez – P J. Rosado
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – P Morales

Vinny Morales came out and got beaten up, issuing a leadoff walk to Roberto Barraza before giving up hits to Malcolm Spicer, John Bustillos, and Andy Ratliff. The latter two each drove in a run, and Morales plated Barraza himself with a wild pitch for the game’s first run. After getting that quick 3-0 lead, Rosado allowed a leadoff single to Humphries, nicked Yocum, and walked Katz to fill the bases for the overpaid bum. Wharton whiffed, Olivares flew out to shallow left, and Hernandez popped out … only Jamie Colter drew another bases-loaded walk to drive in a singular run. Yocum and Katz would be on base again to begin the fourth inning, hitting a pair of singles before Wharton gracefully grounded to third base. Dan Eggert picked the ball on the run, but flubbed it briefly when he tried to take it out of the glove, then rushed a terrible throw to first that skipped right past Spicer for a 2-base error, allowing Yocum to score and the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position with nobody out. Olivares’ grounder up the middle tied it, and Colter’s RBI single made it 4-3 Coons. Hernandez also singled, but Gabe Rivas’ double play grounder to second ended the inning.

Mario Lopez’ 2-run homer in the fourth, with Eggert on base, flipped the score right back to the Elks, as Vinny Morales remained *useless*. A walk to Spicer to begin the fifth and then drilling Dan Moore vacated the mound for Dan Graham, and potentially a spot in the rotation for Harrison Hunt in the long run, but in the immediate aftermath the Elks got an extra run and a 6-4 lead on Bustillos’ and Roberto Lozada’s groundouts before Andy Ratliff whiffed.

To anybody’s surprise, Katz’ leadoff double to left in the bottom 5th was then briskly followed by Tyler Wharton’s SECOND home run of the season, a no-doubter to left, leading to both pitchers being yanked after 4+ innings of 6-run ball (but only Morales’ had all been earned). The Coons then got two innings from Holzmeister and then abused brittle Brad Fails, who didn’t fail, pitching on the third straight day in the eighth inning, all while the game remained tied at six, on nine hits a side. And we were running out of pitching *rapidly* … the only other pitcher in the pen that had not pitched on both of the last two days was Pedro Valentin, and after that it would be Jimmyboy and chaos. Valentin got around a Barraza single and stolen base with two outs in the ninth inning, while the Coons had the 2-3-4 batters up against Guillermo Arzola, southpaw, in the bottom 9th, but made straight outs. Valentin had a 1-2-3 tenth when the game went to extras before Arzola walked Olivares to begin the bottom 10th. Colter then singled to right, and Olivares chugged it all the way to third base as the winning run. After two double switches, Jesus Morentin was batting seventh, and the option on the bench was Jack Hamel, so Morentin batted, but grounded out most poorly, holding the winning run at third base, and Rivas whiffing and McFarland grounding out wasted the opportunity.

The Coons pressed a third and final inning out of their closer in the 11th, and his spot led off the bottom of the inning, batting first after, well, double switch shenanigans galore. Arzola also went a third scoreless inning, allowing a 2-out double to Katz, but Wharton flew out to center. And then we burned Jimmy Wharton… He had a quick 12th, and Arzola was still pitching for the Elks in his fourth inning. He was about to get the Coons 1-2-3 before the second 2-base throwing error by an Elks third-sacker in the game, this time Juan Terrazas putting Morentin on with two gone. Rivas grounded out. Jimmy Wharton held the store closed in the 13th and hit a single, but nothing came of that, either, and in the 14th Olivares hid a good drive to deep right off Danny Nava, but Bustillos made the catch at the fence. Colter gave a ball a fly to ride, but that one was also caught on the warning track by Lozada.

Dan Moore broke the bloody tie with a 2-out homer in the 15th inning instead, taking Jimmyboy to deep left after 3.2 innings of scoreless ******** relief. Bustillos and Lozada both singled after that, but Ratliff grounded out to Yocum. Bottom 15th, and Esteban Ferrer appeared for a save chance, so wasn’t gonna start on Tuesday (kinda like Jimmy Wharton…). It only got worse (than losing!) for the Coons, as Rivas hit a 1-out double, but McFarland in the #9 hole remained useless, and now Jimmyboy in the #1 hole was the final out of the game – and Jack Hamel was still on the bench. We could not make the final out with the pitcher while having a batter on the bench. Hamel was sent to pinch-hit, SMASHED a double to left, and we were tied again! Yocum’s infield roller became a single, putting bodies on the corners for Katz, and Katz slapped a 2-1 pitch up the middle and into centerfield for a walkoff single…!!! 8-7 Furballs!! Hamel (PH) 1-1, 2B, RBI; Yocum 2-6, BB; Katzman 4-7, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Olivares 2-6, BB, RBI; Colter 2-6, BB, 2 RBI; Holzmeister 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K; Valentin 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K; J. Wharton 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (8-2) and 1-1;

Kaaaaaaaatz!!

Oh god, our pitching is so ****** now…! (whines!)

The Raccoons had to get a starter onto the roster somehow for a spot start on Tuesday, for which Jesus Morentin (.180, 0 HR, 5 RBI) got optioned. However – Val Centeno was not ready. Victor Chavez was not ready. In terms of prospects, Crispino D’Urso had pitched on Monday AND had tweaked his ankle and was day-to-day. So the Raccoons ended up bringing 2068 supplemental-rounder and #40 pick Jaquan Riggs. The right-hander had made ONE start in AAA, getting stuffed for five runs in as many innings. He had made 59 starts in Ham Lake before that. Control was off. But he was the only warm body we had.

Benito Otal ended up on waivers to make room on the 40-man roster.

And it wasn’t like we had a lot of bullpen available behind Riggs, either.

Game 2
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – CF D. Moore – RF Bustillos – LF Lozada – 2B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 3B Terrazas – P C. Torres
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – C Brown – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – P Riggs

Both starters made their first appearance in the 2071 season, although Carlos Torres was 38 years old and just hanging on. He had pitched with the damn Elks before and also with the Crusaders. Riggs got two outs to begin the game before a Moore double, Bustillos’ RBI single, another single by Lozada, a walk to Ratliff to load the bases… and then finally Mario Lopez would ground out to Hernandez. Olivares tied the game with a solo homer in the second inning, but Moore smacked another double to begin the third and scored on productive outs by Bustillos and Lozada, who hit a sac fly to give the Elks a 2-1 lead. Riggs and Humphries drew 1-out walks in the bottom 3rd and Torres threw a wild pitch, then walked Yocum to fill the bags. Katz grounded out for an out at home, though, and Wharton whiffed dramatically, leaving the bases loaded.

Double plays kept Riggs alive in the following innings as the Elks almost constantly had a presence on base. Humph got on base to begin the bottom 5th, but was caught stealing. Yocum and Katz then splashed singles to go to the corners for Wharton, who drew a walk, which once more didn’t get a runner home from third base. Olivares then crashed into a 5-4-3 double play.

Riggs kept going, allowing singles to Ratliff and Terrazas in the sixth, but he also struck out Mario Lopez and Torres in the inning, the latter to end it. The Coons pressed Riggs for seven innings on 113 pitches, and he allowed another run in the seventh as Malcolm Spicer doubled, stole third base, and then came home on Moore’s sac fly to deep right. The Coons failed to score when Humphries drew a leadoff walk against Travis Davis in the bottom 7th, getting forced out by Yocum, and Katz hit into a double play altogether. Davis continued and walked Olivares with one out in the bottom 8th. Sam Brown smashed an RBI double to left, shortening the score to 3-2. Elijah LaBat replaced Davis, lefty for lefty, but allowed a single up the middle to Jordan Hernandez. Moore had played too deep on the play, and Brown managed to come home to score. Moore’s desperate wild throw gave Hernandez second base as he carried the go-ahead run. Hamel slapped a single that dropped in front of Lozada and Hernandez had to be held at third base. Josh Woodley then pinch-hit for McMahan, who had put out a scoreless eighth, and CRANKED a 3-run homer just inside the foul pole to take the lead…!

There were not a lot of options for the 3-run save in the ninth inning. Valentin was obviously not an option after the long outing on Monday, and we ended up going with Rismiller. He walked the leadoff batter Dan Eggert in the #9 hole. Barraza flew out, but Spicer singled sharply. Moore flew out to Humph. We almost went to Graham with Bustillos drawing up as the tying run, but then stuck with Rismiller – and he got it done, getting a first-pitch bouncer to Yocum for the last out. 6-3 Raccoons! Hernandez 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1, HR, 3 RBI;

No victory for Riggs on debut (that one went to McMahan), but he at least held his ground for a 3.86 ERA. He gave up nine hits, three walks, and struck out four, and was off the roster before midnight. LF/CF Jesus Guerrero replaced him. He had hit .197 in 30 games with Portland last year, and right now was at .246 with 8 homers in AAA.

Game 3
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – CF D. Moore – RF Bustillos – LF Lozada – C Ma. Lopez – 2B Eggert – 3B Terrazas – P Samson
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Woodley – C Rivas – 3B Colter – RF Hamel – P Walla

The Elks again scored first on Wednesday, socking doubles with their 3-4 hitters against Walla, and then Lozada chipped an RBI single to make it 2-0. Walla lost Lopez on balls before getting Eggert on strikes. He spent 34 pitches on the first inning; Samson threw 11. Another 12 pitches by the Elks right-hander loaded the bags though on three singles by the Coons’ 4-5-6 batters in the bottom 2nd. The Coons didn’t score (…) as Colter fanned, Hamel popped out, and Walla floated out to Lozada.

Everything that could find a hole against Walla, though, found that hole. The Elks chipped nine hits off him in four innings, and scored another run on two singles and a sac fly in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. The Coons had three on and nobody out AGAIN in the bottom 4th, then after Woodley and Rivas singles and a walk drawn by Colter. Hamel klutzed into a double play (which scored a run) and Walla fanned to end the inning… Bustillos’ leadoff double and two productive outs then pulled the run right back in the fifth inning. Barraza would knock him out in the sixth with a 2-out double, the *twelveth* hit off Walla in the game. Dan Graham struck out Spicer to end the inning.

Four outs by Graham and three supplied by Holzmeister got the game to the bottom 8th, Portland still down 4-1, but stumbling into the next scoring opportunity with nobody out, this time with the top of the order. Yocum slapped a leadoff double off Samson, who then lost Katz on four pitches. Wharton was the tying run, but grounded out on a 3-1 pitch, which made me audibly facepaw. The Coons only got one run on Woodley’s groundout, and Rivas floated out to Lozada. Samson went on to pitch a complete game 6-hitter, and the Elks put out 15 hits and scored two more runs on a very tired Raccoons bullpen in the ninth inning. 6-2 Canadiens. Woodley 2-3, RBI; Rivas 2-4;

Indy took two of three games from the Crusaders, so the Coons’ lead grew to 1 1/2 games. Both teams were then off on Thursday. In fact, the entire North was idle on that day.

Raccoons (41-30) @ Falcons (33-39) – June 26-28, 2071

The Falcons had the second-fewest runs on the board and were giving up the fifth-most for a -35 run differential. The Coons had a 2-1 lead this yest against a team that was at the bottom of the league in home runs, and almost at the bottom for stolen bases. The only thing they were kinda good at were defense. Yay, more double plays to hit into. For injuries, starter Jack Moses and first baseman Kevin Huffman were out.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (3-7, 3.67 ERA) vs. Howard Peek (2-1, 2.61 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-7, 4.04 ERA) vs. Edgar Mauricio (5-6, 3.64 ERA)
Harrison Hunt (0-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Randy Rautenstrauch (2-3, 4.53 ERA)

Peek was a 30-year-old southpaw pitching in the majors for the first time in five years. The others were right-handed, and if the Coons didn’t put at least five runs on Rated-R Rautenstrauch, I was gonna ******* murder them all.

Hunt got the starting assignment over Vinny Morales, who had the fewest innings pitched and some of the worst (but not all of the worst) stats of the five starters on the roster since Opening Day.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – C S. Brown – RF Hamel – P Gaytan
CHA: 2B J. Brown – 3B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – CF L. Collins – SS Tr. Taylor – 1B Terrell – LF Bakker – RF Bazua – P Peek

Humph walked, reached third on Yocum’s single to center, and watched in disbelief as Katz popped out on a 3-0 pitch. Wharton hit a sac fly at least, for his well-earned 20th RBI of the season. Yocum stole second, but was left on base as Olivares flew out to right. The Falcons tied it up right away with a leadoff walk drawn by Josh Brown, whom Sam Brown failed to throw out upon stealing second, and ultimately Landon Collins’ RBI double with two outs.

Top 3rd, another lead as Humph drew a 1-out walk and Yocum got brushed. Katz’ RBI single made it 2-1 Critters, and Wharton hit another sac fly to left, but this one was real robbery by Matt Bakker, dashing into the corner to take away what looked like a sure RBI double, but a run still came home as Yocum scored from third base. Peek hit Olivares, but Hernandez grounded out, and Gaytan blew the 3-1 lead immediately, giving up a homer to Oscar Matos, and then two more hits and a walk in the same inning to get the game tied…

The Coons wasted doubles by Hamel in the fourth and Wharton in the fifth while Gaytan kept giving up fly balls to try and wear down the outfielders. Bakker finally came through for a 1-out double to left in the bottom 6th, and then went home when Raul Bazua singled to center – but Wharton threw him out at the plate. Gaytan struck out Peek to complete six messy, messy innings and then was swiftly hit for to begin the next inning. Guerrero did nothing in the spot, Yocum and Katz hit 2-out singles, and then were left on when Wharton grounded out…

Brad Fails failed in the bottom 7th, allowing a leadoff single to Josh Brown, who stole second, advanced on Alex Rodriguez’ groundout, and then scored… on a wild pitch. That gave the Falcons the lead, and it gave me throbbing veins in the temples. Top 8th, and the Coons loaded the bases, Olivares singling and Peek walking the bags full with the 7-8 batters before getting yanked and replaced with right-hander Dan Speake. Woodley batted for Fails and failed straight into a double play, and nobody ******* scored. McMahan held the game close before Orazio Cecere came out to see the top of the Coons’ order for the ninth inning. Humph struck out in a full count, but he walked Yocum to put the tying run on base. Katz fell to 0-2 before spanking a fly into the right-center gap that dropped, but was cut off by Adam Campbell from rightfield, and the Coons threw the anchor on Yocum, who had to hold at third base. With the infielders in, Wharton obviously grounded out to the ******* shortstop who shooed Yocum back to third, and Olivares flew out to center. 4-3 Falcons. Yocum 2-3, BB; Katzman 3-5, 2B, RBI;

Dimwits.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – SS McFarland – RF Colter – P Rios
CHA: LF J. Brown – 3B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – CF L. Collins – SS Tr. Taylor – 1B Terrell – RF E. Mullen – 2B Bazua – P Mauricio

On Saturday, the dimwit was on the hill again as Rios got a 3-0 lead spotted in the second on homers by Olivares and Colter (with Rivas aboard) and then blew it utter dunce cap fashion in the third inning, allowing leadoff singles to Eddie Mullen and Bazua, who got bunted into scoring position. From there, it got ugly as Brown hit an RBI single and Rios then walked FOUR BATTERS IN A ROW, three in full counts, and as many with the ******* bases loaded, to fall 4-3 behind. Brady Terrell then hit into a double play on a 3-1 pitch, because every time had twats like that.

After Humph flipped the score to 5-4 Coons with a 2-out, 2-run double up the leftfield line, driving in McFarland and Colter in the fourth, Rios almost got yanked after walking Bazua in the bottom 4th, but then got outs from the next two batters; Mauricio was already hit for here. Instead, he gave up a game-tying homer to Rodriguez in the next inning, and through five the teams were even at … five.

The sixth was uneventful, and in the seventh Brad Fails ruined another ballgame, giving up a leadoff double to Brown, and then homers to Matos and Taylor to bury the Raccoons, three runs deep. Almost immediately the Raccoons hit two 1-out singles with their 5-6 hitters in the top 8th, bringing the tying run to the plate. And immediately after that McFarland smashed into a ******* double play. Sam Brown hit a double in the ninth against Cecere, but he was quite alone in doing anything that close to dinner time. 8-5 Falcons. Olivares 2-4, HR, RBI; Rivas 2-4; Colter 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

I feel like I’m gonna scream very soon.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – 1B Olivares – C S. Brown – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – CF Guerrero – P Hunt
CHA: LF J. Brown – 3B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – CF L. Collins – SS Tr. Taylor – 1B Terrell – RF E. Mullen – 2B Bazua – P Rautenstrauch

The Coons left the bases loaded with Humphries, Yocum, and Brown right in the first inning on Sunday, getting two walks and a single from Rated-R, but no R-Runs. Hunt put a pair on base in the first inning as well, but the Falcons didn’t score there either. But, boy, did they score in the third inning. Leadoff walk, on four pitches, to ******* RANDY RAUTENSTRAUCH, and then the Falcons went off: double, double, walk, double, sac fly … four runs scored in a hurry, and the inept Raccoons were basically already swept.

That didn’t mean the Falcons would let off Hunt, who was admittedly beyond **** and allowed a leadoff single to Bazua in the bottom 4th. He walked the bags full with the 1-2 hitters, a run scored on a fielder’s choice, and Collins doubled in two more. That was the end for Hunt, but that didn’t mean that braindead pitching was over. Mullen tripled in a run against Holzmeister in the fifth, and Rismiller was completely outta whack in the sixth and allowed two runs (one earned) on a hit, two walks, and an Olivares error. The Raccoons had basically nothing. Sam Brown batted in a pathetic run at some point or other, not that anybody cared. 10-1 Falcons.

In other news

June 23 – The Capitals send 3B/RF Eric Frasher (.256, 1 HR, 16 RBI) to the Buffaloes for INF Tony Gaines (.292, 3 HR, 32 RBI) and a prospect.
June 23 – In a separate deal, the Capitals also acquire LF/CF/2B Darby Laybolt (.238, 1 HR, 9 RBI) from the Rebels for RF/LF Alex Romero (.412, 0 HR, 2 RBI) and #42 prospect CL Alex Tabares.
June 23 – The Falcons beat the Thunder, 5-4 in 14 innings.
June 24 – Indians SP Mike DeWitt (7-2, 2.03 ERA) puts together a 2-hit shutout against the Crusaders to claim a 4-0 win.
June 26 – Boston would be without OF Eddie Marcotte (.226, 12 HR, 32 RBI) for a month as he had a pinched nerve in his back.
June 26 – Denver acquires SP Jesus Alcantar (4-9, 5.78 ERA) from Nashville in exchange for #102 prospect OF/2B/3B Jose Lucero.
June 27 – The Canadiens lose INF/LF/RF Juan Terrazas (.249, 0 HR, 13 RBI) for a month due to a bruised wrist.
June 27 – The Condors win a 5-4, 15-inning game from the Loggers.
June 28 – PIT SP Brian Jones (12-4, 2.43 ERA) throws eight no-hit innings and strikes out 14 Stars, but runs out of glue before he can complete the deed. PIT CL John Faughnan (3-1, 2.08 ERA, 26 SV) blows the no-hitter by allowing a single to DAL C Steve Varner (.299, 11 HR, 33 RBI), but at least nails down the 1-0 win.
June 28 – As the Knights crunch the Titans, 16-4, ATL SP Scott Triebwasser (3-4, 7.41 ERA) pitches a complete-game 8-hitter and drives in five runs on a bases-clearing double, an RBI single, and an RBI groundout in the game.

Player of the Week (FL): WAS OF Tyler Chenette (.261, 10 HR, 36 RBI), batting .448 (13-29) with 3 HR, 10 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): IND OF Jose Hilario (.354, 9 HR, 33 RBI), hitting .600 (15-25) with 1 HR, 4 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Pathetic. Terrible. Embarassing. Can’t hit. Can’t pitch. Can’t field. Don’t exactly smell of roses.

Since the Crusaders also got swept by the Thunder on the weekend, the Raccoons remained in first place in a division that was beginning to cuddle, now with four teams within a series’ worth of games of first place.

Benito Otal went unclaimed and was assigned back to AAA. Oh miracle of miracles. Who’d want anybody too useless to play on THIS rancid team??

Keep in mind that there’s no money to fix it, so nobody’s gonna trade for the scum of the earth here, so all we can do is play .400 to the finish from here and maybe a fire a few people, or drown them in the Willamette.

The ******** would continue with a 7-game homestand against the Baybirds and Titans. In fact, after the San Francisco series we’d play 15 straight games against the other teams in the top four in the division, plus three against the Elks on the far end. If that wasn’t enough to enter a tailspin, nothing was.

Fun Fact: Jaquan Riggs posted the best starter’s ERA on the team this week.

Lock them in a box and throw the key away.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (41-33) vs. Bayhawks (36-38) – June 29-July 1, 2071

The foundering Raccoons and their 4-game losing streak returned to home to play a set with the Baybirds, who had the fourth-most runs in the CL, and were apart from that rather average. Both teams had a bottom 3 bullpen by ERA, though. We had swept them in the first series played this year.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (8-2, 2.74 ERA) vs. Gabe Molina (2-3, 5.82 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-4, 2.45 ERA) vs. Jarod Morris (4-5, 4.66 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (3-7, 3.72 ERA) vs. Billy Thompson (5-3, 3.01 ERA)

Molina was the only left-hander in the Bayhawks’ rotation.

Game 1
SFB: 2B Ma. Flores – 1B Catano – RF J. Ward – CF Redding – C H. Valdez – SS Bruce – LF Solares – 3B K. Ball – P G. Molina
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF Hamel – P J. Wharton

The Coons scored first by getting Katz on with a 2-out walk in the bottom 1st, and around on a pair of singles by Tyler Wharton and Olivares, before Hernandez flew out to right. Jordan Hernandez would leave another pair on base with a similar fly ball in his second attempt in the third inning. But the lead lasted zero outs before Ryan Redding tripled off Jimmy Wharton and scored on a single to right by Hugo Valdez in the top 2nd. The Bayhawks continued to get the leadoff batter on base in every inning, which eventually was bound to give them the lead, and they took it in the fifth on Keith Ball’s leadoff single, Molina bunting, and then another single by Mario Flores.

Humph now tied the game immediately with a leadoff jack to left in the bottom 5th, and also tied Katz for the team lead in homers with a puny ten just before the midpoint of the season. Jimmyboy could NOT get a ******* leadoff batter out, and Redding doubled to left to begin the sixth, got a base on a wild pitch, and scored again on Valdez’ single, now to left. Jimmy then retired the next three as usual, but was down 3-2 again.

Bottom 6th, and the Coons loaded the bags with Olivares, Hernandez, and Gabe Rivas, which already required a clumsy error on Flores’ part on Rivas’ grounder. And oh, nobody out. Jack Hamel promptly fell to 0-2, but narrowly avoided being the first top 5 pick to be released by the Raccoons before being brought back and back and again and again for five years, by slapping an RBI single through the left side and tying the game. Jimmy popped out, Humph’s sac fly made it 4-3 Coons, and Yocum was nicked, but Katz’ clutch had remained on the DL and he flew out to Tony Solares without drama. At least Jimmy pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.

Reliever Juan Betancourt struck out Big Cheque Wharton in the bottom 7th before allowing singles to Olivares and Hernandez, and nicking Rivas to load the bases again. Colter batted for Hamel against the right-hander, but popped foul behind the dish, and Woodley batted for Little Cheque Wharton and flew out to center, scoring nothing and nobody. Holzmeister got paws on the ball and immediately allowed a double to Jake Ward in the eighth, but Ward held on a grounder from Redding to Katz for the first out, and that prevented him from scoring on Valdez’ long fly out to Colter in right. Ryan Bruce’s groundout ended the inning. Humphries put his leadoff tush on base in the bottom 8th, but was forced out by Yocum, and Yocum was left on first base. The 4-3 lead passed to Pedro Valentin, who got two outs from Brett Haus and Keith Ball before giving up a pair of singles to PH Josh Kovach and Mario Flores. At 2-2, Jose Catano hit a foul pop on the third base side, near the stands. Hernandez climbed onto the tarp and fell into the laps of a pair of gigging busty ladies in the first row – BUT HE MADE THE CATCH!! … 4-3 Critters. Olivares 3-3, BB, RBI; Hernandez 2-4;

The Crusaders began the week with a day off, while the Titans won their opener, playing the Aces, so the Titans took over sole possession of second place, a game and a half back (and on the way to Portland).

Game 2
SFB: SS Kovach – 2B Bruce – RF J. Ward – CF Redding – LF Haus – C H. Valdez – 1B Catano – 3B K. Ball – P Jar. Morris
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – C Brown – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – P Walla

Walla’s doldrums continued with a shoddy second inning in which he allowed a single to Redding, a wild pitch, a walk to Valdez, an RBI single to Catano, and then nicked Jarod Morris with two outs before Kovach flew out to Colter to strand a full set of runners. Kovach and Bruce had already flown out deep to right to Colter in the first inning. Singles by Wharton, Brown, and Hernandez, who got the RBI, tied the game back up immediately in the bottom 2nd, but just as quickly Ward took Walla deep to left in the third inning for a 2-1 San Fran lead. Walla then immediately allowed two singles and threw another wild pitch, and somehow didn’t allow a run in the inning as the Bayhawks made poor outs after that. Morris singled in the fourth and was out on a baserunning blunder on Bruce’s 2-out single, conveniently ending the inning, but there was no arguing around the fact that Walla looked DREADFUL. He allowed a run on another hit batter (…!) and Valdez’ RBI single in the fifth inning, and then was replaced with Vinny Morales. Hey-ho…

Morales gave up a 2-run homer to Bruce before long in the sixth inning, and the Raccoons hadn’t been seen in a good while, but then appeared on the bases in the bottom 6th against reliever Kerry Sheats, who followed Morris. Katz singled and Sheats walked the bags full for nobody out in the inning, bringing up Sam Brown as the tying run. He struck out, Hernandez hit a sac fly, and Colter bounced out, but the Bayhawks crapped another two runs onto the board against Morales in the seventh.

It looked like the Raccoons would silently trundle towards another incompetent loss, but the bottom 9th began with Aaron McClair and Brian McFarland hitting a leadoff single off the lefty, pinch-hitting for Colter. Rivas and Humphries reached with walks, and suddenly the bases were loaded again with nobody out (doom!) in a 5-run game. Brad Yoxall replaced McClair, offering a right-hander to the Raccoons’ limp-sticked middle of the order. Yocum kept the line moving with an RBI single on 2-2 up the middle, and Katz was now the tying run – and smashed into a 3-6-3 double play. A run scored, but **** that run. And Wharton flew out to center anyway. 7-4 Bayhawks. Yocum 2-5, RBI; Brown 2-4; McFarland (PH) 1-1;

The pitching was rancid, the offense was rancid, and the Titans were already within half a game, and virtually guaranteed to lead the division on Sunday night.

Katz and Humph got a day off on Wednesday to have them at full strength for the Titans series coming up. Not that we weren’t doomed either way.

Game 3
SFB: SS Kovach – 2B Bruce – CF Redding – RF J. Ward – LF Haus – C H. Valdez – 1B Catano – 3B Ma. Flores – P B. Thompson
POR: RF Colter – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – SS McFarland – LF Guerrero – P Gaytan

Lo and behold, Tyler Wharton hit a homer for the first run of the game, leading off the home half of the second inning…! The Coons even got a second run in the inning when McFarland walked with two outs, got a base on a wild pitch, and then was driven in by Guerrero with a single. Guerrero stole second, but Gaytan struck out, but kept the Bayhawks away, and the Coons then began with three on and nobody out in the bottom 3rd again. Wharton drove in Colter and his leadoff walk with a sharp single to left. Hernandez’ sac fly made it 4-0, and Sam Brown drew a walk, but K’s to the 7-8 batters ended the inning.

The innings then passed quickly. Gaytan made it to the stretch allowing only two base hits and getting a double play grounder and five strikeouts on a very manageable pitch count, and the Coons though they were good on a 4-run lead or whatever was going on at any given time in those peanut-sized brains. But the shutout was taken off in the eighth on a Valdez double and Flores’ RBI single, and Gaytan then walked PH Daniel Aguilar before extricating himself on a pop to Brown in foul ground off the bat of Kovach. The Coons didn’t score in their half of the eighth and the Coons figured that Gaytan could at least put a guy on before we’d bother the pen ahead of a 4-game set with the Titans. No bothering was ever done as the Bayhawks went down on two groundouts and a K to Ward. 4-1 Raccoons. T. Wharton 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Gaytan 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (4-7);

Boston lost to finish that Aces series of theirs (despite out-hitting Vegas 12-4, they went down 4-2), so the gap remained a game and a half (the Crusaders lost their first two games and were sagging).

Raccoons (43-34) vs. Titans (42-36) – July 2-5, 2071

Portland was narrowly ahead in the season series, 4-3, and would have to continue to do so in order to keep the lead by the end of the week (although 1-2 with a rainout in the series would technically work, we’d like to not operate under premises that sketchy). Boston was sixth in runs scored, ninth in runs allowed, had a -24 run differential (Portland: +47), and … what was going on here? They also had a pile of injuries, including Ryan Musgrave, Tyler Gleaason, Vic Lorenzo, and Eddie Marcotte, and were bottoms in steals AND defense even in the best of times. Had the most homers in the CL, though.

Projected matchups:
Gabriel Rios (3-7, 4.32 ERA) vs. Mike Bell (4-2, 3.41 ERA)
Harrison Hunt (0-2, 9.82 ERA) vs. Tyler Riddle (5-7, 7.30 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (9-2, 2.82 ERA) vs. Adam McDonald (7-6, 4.60 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-5, 2.58 ERA) vs. Jesse Cruise (4-4, 4.09 ERA)

More southpaws awaited on Friday, which looked like bloodsports would break out by those ERA’s, and Sunday, hooray…! The Coons also had three southpaw starters lined up in a row at this point, but had no wiggle room for switcheroos until after the All Star Game, and the Titans were bringing a heavily right-handed lineup. Oh goodness!

Game 1
BOS: SS E. Gonzales – LF M. Garcia – 3B D. Miller – C Goodwin – 1B H. Moreno – RF M. Ford – CF R. Moreno – 2B Jer. White – P M. Bell
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – P Rios

Rios struck out five batters in the first three innings… and also gave up five runs as the series IMMEDIATELY tilted in Boston’s favor. Hector Moreno hit homers in the second – a solo job – and the third – a 2-piece with two gone – and in between Curt Goodwin had already doubled home a pair in a third inning that started with a single hit by the pitcher Bell. If there were any bright sides to be had after that beginning it was that Rios pitched another three innings without accidents, somehow struck out nine, and then was still down by five because Bell was shutting down the Raccoons hard – at least for six innings.

Tyler Wharton led off the bottom 7th with a single to center. Olivares singled to right, and Rivas singled to center again, plating Wharton for the brown team’s first run of the game. It looked a little late, and after Hernandez crashed into a 6-4-3 double play, it looked a little too late, and too little. Bell mishandled Colter’s comebacker for an error, though conceding an unearned run. Woodley pinch-hit and doubled, but the pair in scoring position was left over on a running catch by Raul Moreno on Humph’s fly to right-center. Bell went eight innings, was hit for against Dan Graham in the ninth for no gains, and Jerry Washington got the ball in the ninth against the 5-6-7 hitters. Olivares struck out in a full count, but Rivas singled to left. Brown pinch-hit and grounded out. Colter slapped a scratch single that brought up … well, a pinch-hitter as the tying run, and Woodley had already been used, so we were left with the weeds, in this case Jack Hamel. He flew out lazily to left to end the game. 5-2 Titans. Yocum 2-3, BB; Olivares 2-4; Rivas 2-4, RBI; Colter 2-4; Woodley (PH) 1-1, 2B;

The Woodley double was the only extra base hit for the Coons, while the Titans were banging out doubles and homers.

Game 2
BOS: SS E. Gonzales – LF M. Garcia – 3B D. Miller – C Goodwin – 1B H. Moreno – RF M. Ford – CF R. Moreno – 2B Jer. White – P Riddle
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Hamel – P Hunt

The Coons scored first on an unearned run in the first inning as Humph got on base with a walk and Katz on Danny Miller’s error. Wharton’s groundout plated Humph, but the inning went nowhere from there. While the 39-year-old ex-Coon Riddle was all over the place and fighting his own body half the time, and nicked Sam Brown in the bottom 2nd, not that we went anywhere nice from there, Hunt retired the Titans in order the first time through … but not without some long flies that were shagged by Wharton and Hamel. It looked like the Coons could get a bigger lead here, and Yocum and Katz hit 1-out singles in the bottom 3rd. Yocum went to third on the Katz hit, and when he drew an ill-advised throw from Matt Ford, Katz zoomied into second base behind him. Wharton very helpfully and majestically popped out to Miller, and Riddle plunked Olivares to fill the bags for Hernandez, who was down in a 2-2 count before barreling a ball to deep center, over the glove of Raul Moreno, and cashed a bases-clearing double for a 4-0 lead! Brown fanned to end the inning, and Hunt nicked Miller after retiring 11 in a row, but got Goodwin on a grounder to stay clean on the scoreboard.

A Ford double and Raul Moreno’s RBI single got Boston on the board and took the no-hitter away in the fifth inning, not that I had expectations with Hunt. Tyler Wharton humped a homer in return in the bottom 5th, re-establishing slam distance immediately. Edgar Gonzales in the sixth, and Curt Goodwin in the seventh, then hit leadoff singles against Hunt, but both ended up being doubled off. Humph drew a leadoff walk against Dave Parra in the bottom 7th and was doubled to third base by Katz after a pop by Yocum. Wharton tacked on another run with a sac fly, but Katz was stranded by Olivares. Harrison Hunt went eight innings, allowing six hits in the end, and the Coons sat down Humphries and Yocum before the ninth inning, because what could go wrong with a 5-run lead?

Well, Jason Holzmeister happened, and three singles to load the bags with Goodwin, Ford, and Raul Moreno, before three outs were made. Valentin came in with two outs, struck out Jeremy White, and the Coons barely got away with that one. 6-1 Critters. Katzman 2-4, 2B; Hunt 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W (1-2);

Game 3
BOS: CF R. Moreno – LF M. Garcia – 3B D. Miller – C Goodwin – 1B H. Moreno – RF M. Ford – SS Jordan – 2B Jer. White – P McDonald
POR: RF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – C Brown – 3B Colter – LF Guerrero – P J. Wharton

Raul Moreno opened the game with a single, but was stranded on third base after three mediocre outs, and nothing much else happened until Jesus Guerrero broke out a solo homer to left for the Coons’ first base hit and the first run in the contest in the bottom 3rd. This remained the Coons’ only hit for a good old while; at the same time Wharton had another one of those games where the leadoff man seemed to be on base all the ******* time, and in the fifth the Titans finally came through and tied the game with hits from Steve Jordan and Raul Moreno.

The damn Coons weren’t hitting, and the damn Titans were continuing to get on base, as in the seventh with a leadoff double by Jordan. They didn’t waste anybody’s time then, and Jeremy White doubled home the go-ahead run, then scored on another Raul Moreno RBI single to give Boston a 3-1 lead. McDonald made it 6.1 innings before giving up a second hit, as Olivares singled sharply to left. Brown found the hole on the right side for another single. Colter and Guerrero both flew out to Raul Moreno to kill the inning…

Jimmy put Miller as the leadoff man (…) on base in the eighth and departed. Brad Fails gave up a homer to Hector Moreno to put the game to bed. Or so we wished. McDonald entered the bottom 8th, but after McFarland pinch-hit and grounded out, gave up 1-out singles to Humphries and Yocum. Katz struck a double to left, driving in a run, and McDonald from the game – but also came up limp and also left the game with Luis Silva. (facepaws deeply) Hamel ran for him, while Tyler Wharton was batting as the tying run against righty Juan Dominguez. He hit a grounder to short that got a run home, but that wasn’t really helping at this point. Olivares’ RBI single did put the tying run on base at least, but the Titans sent lefty ex-Coon Juan Sanchez against Brown. Hernandez pinch-hit, fell behind 1-2, and then sent a grounder to Jordan at short to end … no, he threw it away, and the ball went into the dugout for two bases! The tying and go-ahead runs were in scoring position … but the Coons had no more right-handed sticks to hit for Colter with. He flew out to Manuel Garcia, and the Coons got a scoreless inning on nothing but full counts from McMahan to keep the game tight. Jerry Washington got Rivas and McFarland out to begin the bottom 9th, but then walked Humph. Yocum singled in a full count to left-center and Humph hustled the tying run to third base…… buuuut with Jack Hamel batting in Katz’ spot. He flew out to right…… 5-4 Titans. Humphries 1-2, 3 BB; Yocum 3-5; Olivares 2-4, RBI;

Katz hit the DL with an oblique strain on Sunday, and was likely to miss the entire ******* month. I confided to Honeypaws that I had no hope for the Raccoons to somehow win the division from here.

Needing a middle infielder quite badly, the Raccoons fell back on 26-year-old 2B/1B Wout Sleutjes. The Aruban had signed for $32k during the *2061* July IFA window. Ten years of lingering in the minors, he was now up as Plan G or something. I think the pronunciation guide says “wowed s-loo-chess”, which was a thing in itself. Dan Gomez ended up being placed on waivers and DFA’ed to make room on the 40-man roster this time.

Game 4
BOS: SS E. Gonzales – LF M. Garcia – C N. Dingman – 1B H. Moreno – RF M. Ford – 3B D. Miller – 2B Jer. White – CF J. Hawkins – P Cruise
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – P Walla

Hamel klotzed Hector Moreno’s fly to right for a 2-base error instead of the third out, and the Titans got a pair of runners (Nick Ding(er)man included) in scoring position ahead of Matt Ford rushing a gap double for an early unearned 2-0 lead in the Boston bid to take first place on the way outta town. But Walla wasn’t helping either and kept giving up doubles, conceding another run on extra-base hits by Garcia and Miller in the third inning. That one counted on the old ERA… Jeff Hawkins hit another double to lead off the fourth inning and was brought around to score on two productive outs by Cruise and Gonzales… and then Garcia hit a homer to left. That made it 5-0 against the witless Raccoons, who had collected one lonely single the first time through the feckless lineup. That one had come from Olivares, and him and Yocum hit a pair of singles to begin the bottom 4th, but then Wharton whiffed again. Hernandez slapped an RBI single to right, 5-1, and Rivas flew out to right. Olivares scored on a sac fly on which Ford appeared to tear up his arm; he left the game and was replaced with Justin Beck. Hamel grounded out.

Walla needed over 80 pitches through five rancid innings, then hit an infield single with one out in the bottom 5th. Cruise walked Humph, bringing up Yocum as the tying run. He grounded into a force at second, but the Titans didn’t get two, and Cruise lost Olivares on four pitches, loading the bags for Wharton, who, well… struck the **** out.

Walla retired the bottom of the order in the sixth and looked done for the day, while Hernandez and Rivas put out singles against Cruise to begin the home half of the inning, and that also brought the tying run back to the plate once more. Hamel grounded underneath a reaching Cruise, over the mound, and behind the second base bag, where the Gold Glover Gonzales intercepted the ball on the dive – but had no play, as Hamel rushed up the line for an RBI infield single. When McFarland popped out it was time to bat for Walla. Unfortunately the bench was just pathetic at this point. Sam Brown was perhaps the best option, but we didn’t want to use the second catcher so early, and ended up going with Guerrero instead. And Guerrero gunned it into a double play.

The game effectively ended when Rismiller got into the seventh, put the first two batters on base and then gave up a booming 3-run homer to Hector Moreno. The Coons got a run on a groundout by Hernandez in the same inning, but that was it for heroics and rallies, and being in first place. 8-4 Titans. Yocum 2-5; Olivares 3-4, BB; Hernandez 3-4, 2 RBI;

In other news

June 30 – The Crusaders pick up SP Colt Long (6-3, 3.88 ERA) from the Loggers for a prospect.
June 30 – Torn ligaments in his thumb would keep Vegas INF Koji Hatakeyama (.303, 1 HR, 33 RBI) off the field for at least two months.
July 1 – CIN OF Fernando Cruz (.351, 8 HR, 22 RBI) celebrates his FL Hitter of the Month award by hitting a home run for a 1-0 win against the Wolves. Cincy only has two hits in the game.
July 1 – ATL SP Adam Lunn (8-5, 2.62 ERA) is going to miss at least a month with a PCL strain.
July 1 – Rebs closer George Kehoe (1-4, 3.34 ERA, 19 SV) is out for the season, suffering from radial nerve compression.
July 2 – MIL 1B/RF/LF Cesar Ramirez (.305, 5 HR, 19 RBI) was going to miss a month with a strained hammy.
July 2 – The Loggers acquire MR Javier Arocho (1-3, 4.17 ERA) from the Capitals for two prospects.
July 3 – WAS 1B Armando Curiel (.322, 12 HR, 36 RBI) is taken out for the rest of the month with a strained hip muscle.
July 4 – CIN SP Blake Anderson (7-0, 2.85 ERA) will miss the rest of the season after tearing a back muscle.
July 4 – Cincy picks up Thunder CL Steve Keller (2-2, 1.54 ERA, 14 SV) for four prospects, including #19 SP Josh Olsen.
July 4 – The Crusaders beat the Canadiens, 5-4 in 14 innings.

Player of the Week (FL): PIT 2B Matthew Selep (.323, 4 HR, 47 RBI), squirreling .517 (15-29) with 5 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): BOS 1B Hector Moreno (.304, 14 HR, 38 RBI), bashing .407 (11-27) with 5 HR, 13 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: CIN OF Fernando Cruz (.354, 7 HR, 21 RBI), batting .374 with 4 HR, 16 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: LVA C/1B Chris Haynes (.327, 19 HR, 62 RBI), thundering .402 with 8 HR, 29 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SFW SP Harry Poteat (11-2, 2.15 ERA), going 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA, 43 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: IND SP Mike DeWitt (7-2, 1.93 ERA), dominating at 5-0 with an 0.21 ERA, 35 K
FL Rookie of the Month: SAL INF/LF/CF Ray Olin (.270, 3 HR, 28 RBI), poking .243 with 8 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: SFB 1B Jose Catano (.324, 2 HR, 25 RBI), batting .337 with 1 HR, 16 RBI

Complaints and stuff

I could cry some more now about our horrible pitching and our horrible hitting, but Honeypaws is all wet already, and it’s not gonna get any better. Katz going back on the DL after merely 13 days on the roster drives the dagger in. The rest of the team just can’t do anything. There was also no depth to begin with, and we’re now digging through upper-20s Aruban infielders just to fill the bench.

Cursed, doomed, dead.

Thanks to blowing millions on SP Jose Espino, who had debuted to a 1.69 ERA in two starts in Aumsville at this point, the Raccoons had maximum restrictions on signing international free agents this summer, not being allowed to sign any Latin-American (mostly) teenager for more than $75k. We’re thus not likely to land many gems, but we’re bidding on a couple. So far we managed to sign Australian outfielder Marco Renshaw for a cute $32k.

Our journey to .500 and beyond will continue with 14 more games in division, including a 7-game road trip to New York and Indy ahead of the All Star Game, and of course four more with New York right afterwards.

Fun Fact: It’s been ten years since the Raccoons went to the postseason.

And it’s gonna be ten more with this roster.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (44-37) @ Crusaders (42-38) – July 6-9, 2071

The Raccoons so far were up 2-1 in the season series against the Crusaders, but things were much a-crumbling around the brown-hatted team now. New York had the second-fewest runs scored, but also allowed the fewest runs in the CL, so the Raccoons were as dead as disco. Both teams had four players on the DL, with New York mainly missing outfielder Willie Ospina and pitcher Dennis Marck.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (4-7, 3.48 ERA) vs. Paul Egley (6-6, 2.34 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-8, 4.52 ERA) vs. Danny Ortiz (6-1, 2.94 ERA)
Harrison Hunt (1-2, 5.28 ERA) vs. Russell Anderson (5-4, 3.01 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (9-3, 2.97 ERA) vs. Nate Freeman (3-6, 4.17 ERA)

Anderson was the only one of the New York starters to throw left-handed, and they had no left-hander in the pen… not that it was gonna hurt them much against the Coons, who struggled to put up a left-handed batter besides the backstop.

Or Jamie Colter, batting fifth by now for some stupid reason. There was probably another off day coming for most regulars this week, and it wasn’t gonna be the Anderson start.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Gaytan
NYC: RF Ledesma – SS Joe King – CF Griffin – 2B McNulty – 3B Reber – 1B R. Ortiz – LF Merrill – C T. Medina – P Egley

The week began with two singles, a walk to Olivares, and the bases loaded with nobody out. Tyler Wharton immediately pounced and hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Colter’s RBI single made it 2-0, and Hernandez grounded out. Wharton hit an RBI double to drive in Yocum his next time up, then re-establishing a 2-run lead after Gaytan had been taken deep for a solo job by Chris McNulty in the bottom 2nd. Olivares had also extended that inning with an error, so Gaytan’s pitch count went up early with this and some long counts. He allowed only three hits through five innings, though, so at least he was keeping the Crusaders reasonably short.

Olivares opened the sixth with a single. Wharton flew out, Colter walked, and Olivares rushed home from second base on Hernandez’ single to left. Jonathan Merrill threw home, but late, and the Coons’ trailing runners reached scoring position for it. Gabe Rivas’ fat single up the middle scored both of them, and Tony Griffin hurt himself on his own late throw to the plate, and was replaced with Chris Duhon. McFarland knocked out Egley with a triple to right, then scored after Gaytan popped out when Humph singled to left against right-hander Matt Topp. Topp walked the bags full, but then got Wharton to fly out to center and end a 5-run inning, Portland now up 8-1. Gaytan celebrated by giving up a 2-run homer to McNulty in the bottom 6th… and then gave up another run on two hits in the seventh, getting the Crusaders back within slam range. The Coons pulled that one back on singles by Guerrero, batting for Gaytan, and Yocum in the eighth. Brad Fails had a clean inning in the eighth, but McMahan gave up a run by walking not one, but two batters to begin the bottom 9th before finally getting the door shut. 9-5 Raccoons. Humphries 3-4, RBI; Yocum 3-4, BB, RBI; Guerrero (PH) 1-1;

Boston lost to Indy on Monday, so the Critters jumped back into first place, but this was surely gonna be temporary.

Olivares and Yocum then got Tuesday off. After two days on the bench, Wout Sleutjes would make his ABL debut as a starter at second base.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – SS McFarland – 1B Woodley – 2B Sleutjes – P Rios
NYC: CF Lacatelli – SS Joe King – LF Griffin – 1B R. Ortiz – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – 3B Reber – C Marty – P D. Ortiz

The Crusaders carted up an all-right-handed lineup against Rios, who immediately crashed and burned, issuing two walks and two hits in the first inning, including a 2-run double to Robert Ortiz. Ryan Marty’s leadoff double and an RBI single by Miguel Lacatelli tacked on a run in the second, and in the end, rain finished off Rios before the Crusaders could, bringing on a delay of over an hour after four innings, in which Rios had already thrown 66 pitches. He departed a 3-1 game, the Raccoons having scored on a solo homer by Tyler Wharton in the fourth inning. Sleutjes had also chipped his first career single by that point.

Rismiller pitched a scoreless fifth before the Coons came up against Nick Ellis in the sixth – Danny Ortiz also having been washed away – and loaded the bases with straight singles chipped by the 1-2-3 hitters and nobody out. Wharton doubled home the tying runs … before the Coons choked again, Rivas popped out, and McFarland and Woodley both fanned, leaving a pair in scoring position. Rismiller pitched a second inning before being hit for with Yocum, who flew out easily after Sleutjes had led off with another single. Humphries based a drive to deep left that went just over the fence, gave the Critters a 5-3 lead, and also marked the first Coons batter to get beyond ten homers for the season in their 83rd game.

Tony Griffin hit a sac fly in the bottom 6th, 5-4, after Dan Graham walked Josh Roza and allowed a single to Lacatelli. Holzmeister replaced the southpaw and struck out Robert Ortiz, ending the inning, then got three straight outs in the eighth. The Coons did nothing offensively in the last couple of innings, then gave the ball to Pedro Valentin, who IMMEDIATELY blew the game by giving up a pinch-hit homer to the leadoff man Bryan Johnston. Roza singled again, stole not one but TWO bases, and then scored on Joe King’s single through the right side. 6-5 Crusaders. Humphries 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; T. Wharton 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Sleutjes 2-4; Rismiller 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K;

Useless.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – P Hunt
NYC: CF Lacatelli – 3B Reber – LF Griffin – 1B R. Ortiz – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – SS Roza – C Marty – P R. Anderson

Yocum singled, stole second, and came home on a 2-out infield single by Wharton for a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. A similar recipe brought another run in the second inning as Jack Hamel singled, stole second, and then scored on groundouts by the 8-9 batters. On the hill, Hunt had a lot more issues, being constantly behind in the count and had to rely on the defense very heavily. Anderson however walked the 2-3 batters to begin the third inning, and then gave up a solid RBI double to left off Wharton’s stick that showed signs of blossoming after half a season of pretty much nothing. And then of course the Coons left runners on second and third as Hernandez lined out to Ortiz, and Brown and Hamel had pathetic groundouts.

Bottom 3rd, and the Crusaders got leadoff singles from Lacatelli and Reber, but also lost Lacatelli to injury and had to replace him with Joe King. Anderson walked Ortiz after Griffin lined out to Olivares, and Raul Ledesma’s grounder was only good for one out as the pinch-runner King scored, 3-1. Roza flew out to right to leave runners on the corners.

Top 6th, still 3-1, and the Coons were still lusting to strand more runners. Hernandez and Brown opened with singles, Hamel forced out Brown, and then McFarland legged out his infield roller, but not without Hernandez getting chased back to third base by Anderson, who was then lifted for Ellis. At least Hunt, batting for himself, produced another RBI groundout, going up 4-1. Humph lined out to Reber to strand another pair. Hunt then issued leadoff walks to Ortiz and Ledesma in the bottom 6th, worked his way out allowing “only” one run, but was then sent to the showers after six innings of FIVE walks and NO strikeouts.

Ellis walked Yocum and Olivares singled, putting runners on the corners with nobody out in the seventh inning. Wharton didn’t get a run home by grounding out to Reber, but Olivares moved to second, and then Jordan Hernandez lined a single to right-center, driving in two to get to 6-2. He was then caught stealing. The bases were then loaded in the eighth as McFarland doubled, Woodley singled, and Humph drew a walk, all with one out against Fernando Chacon. Yocum then smashed into a double play…….

Borderline foolishness then continued with Vinny Morales being sent into a 4-run game, but he had a 1-2-3 eighth, and then the Coons stacked four more runs on top as the Crusaders’ pen fell apart for good in the ninth. Hamel (bases-loaded walk), McFarland (RBI single), and Humph (2-run single) cashed in the runs before Morales, who struck out in the inning, was sent back out. He gave up a single to Ryan Marty, but apart from that slammed the door. 10-2 Critters. Olivares 2-4, BB; T. Wharton 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Hernandez 2-3, BB, 2 RBI; McFarland 3-5, 2B, RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1; Morales 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K;

Humph and Big Wharton got the finale off.

Game 4
POR: 2B Yocum – LF Colter – 3B Hernandez – 1B Olivares – C Brown – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – CF Guerrero – P J. Wharton
NYC: 3B Reber – SS Joe King – LF Griffin – 1B R. Ortiz – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – CF Houser – C Marty – P N. Freeman

After the third game had dragged on and on, the series finale breezed through four innings until Raul Ledesma’s homer in the bottom 4th gave New York a 1-0 lead. The Coons then got Hamel and Guerrero singles in the fifth, but Yocum struck out to leave the pair in scoring position, which was definitely what this ******* team did best. No, Jimmy Wharton had to tie the game himself, singling home McFarland from second base after two outs had been made in the seventh inning. Yocum’s bloop single and a walk to Colter loaded the bases, but Hernandez popped out to King, and then inning ended rather deflatingly again.

McNulty’s leadoff single in the bottom 7th was followed by outs being made by Blake Houser and Ryan Marty, and then Freeman returned the favor to Wharton and hit a 2-out RBI single to grab the lead back. Kyle Reber homered, 4-1, and the Coons were pretty much beaten now. We only got Sam Brown on base on an error in the eighth inning and left him at first. Humph batted for Guerrero to begin the ninth, but struck out against Christopher Tinari, who was replacing Freeman after eight strong innings. Sleutjes drew a walk in the pitcher’s spot, and Tinari hit Yocum, and suddenly the tying run was at the plate. Tyler Wharton pinch-hit and singled to center, loading the bases, and Hernandez singled up the middle to move everybody on for 90 feet, 4-2. And then Olivares smashed into a double play. 4-2 Crusaders. T. Wharton (PH) 1-1; Hamel 2-4;

The Titans, who had matched our result for the last two days, retook first place by splitting their own series against Indy, but finishing with a W.

Raccoons (46-39) @ Indians (43-44) – July 10-12, 2071

Once again the Coons were drowning against the Indians, 2-7 so far in 2071. Indy ranked tenth in runs scored and third in runs allowed, with a +5 run differential. They had the best rotation, which was probably our main issue. Their list of injuries was long, however and included Jorge Flores, Tim Tennant, Justin Esch, Alex Gomez, Matt Rogers, and Fernando Valadez.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (6-6, 2.68 ERA) vs. Miguel Lopez (5-4, 4.45 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (5-7, 3.59 ERA) vs. Victor Perez (9-6, 2.24 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-8, 4.61 ERA) vs. Pablo Apodaca (7-9, 3.84 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday!

Jordan Hernandez meanwhile got a day off on Friday.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Brown – RF Hamel – 3B Colter – 2B Sleutjes – P Walla
IND: 1B Schimke – 3B M. Martin – CF Hilario – RF T. Torres – LF W. Griffith – 2B Richmond – SS Masterson – C Mrazek – P Mi. Lopez

The pitching remained a problem for Walla, who couldn’t get a strikeout the first time through the order, but smacked a leadoff double to right-center to begin the third inning in a scoreless game. Humph and Yocum singles brought him around to score the first run, and Lopez then plunked Olivares to fill them up with nobody out. Wharton added an RBI single to center, Brown hit a sac fly, 3-0, and then Hamel and Colter made outs to leave a pair on base.

Walla had to pitch around a Colter error in the third inning, and then walked Torres to begin the fourth. The floodgates soon opened as he just couldn’t ******* get anybody out. Wade Griffith grounded out to second, but Walter Richmond and Scott Masterson hit singles to get Griffith home, Ray Mrazek hit a sac fly to left, and then he breathtakingly lost Lopez to a 2-out walk. Ryan Schimke’s infield single in a full count loaded the bases for Matt Martin, the LAST guy we wanted up with the bags full in this lineup. He ran another full count, then grounded out to Yocum. Walla’s pitch count was at 75 after this ********, and the lead down to 3-2. He would be gone after just five innings, allowing a double to Torres in the bottom 5th, but somehow not the tying run to score.

Dan Graham’s scoreless inning was followed by Yocum getting on base and stealing second in the top 7th. Olivares barreled a 2-run homer to left-center to create some breathing room, 5-2, and knocked out Lopez in one go. Holzmeister then got around a walk to Jose Hilario in the seventh, and the Coons faced lefty Felix Morales to start the next inning. Hamel and Colter went to the corners with leadoff singles, but Sleutjes whiffed and Hernandez grounded to short for a 6-4-3 double play… And true to form, the Raccoons then blew the lead altogether in the same inning, as Rismiller allowed three singles and a run, and Valentin gave up the game-tying double to Hilario as soon as he materialized form the pen. Torres struck out to end the bottom 8th, as if that was still gonna be of use to ******* anybody.

The Coons loaded the bases with ease in the top 9th against Ryan Croft, who nicked Olivares in between conceding 1-out singles to Yocum and Wharton, but Sam Brown’s sharp grounder to second was fired home by Richmond to kill YOCUM at the plate…….. It was simply impossible what this ******* team was doing with the bases loaded! Jack Hamel then DID come through somehow for a 2-out, 2-run single over Masterson’s glove, which confused me greatly. Colter flew out to Torres, and Valentin failed to blow another lead before three outs were made… 7-5 Coons. Humphries 2-5, 2B; Yocum 3-5, RBI; Olivares 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; T. Wharton 2-5, RBI; Hamel 2-5, 2 RBI; Colter 2-5;

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – P Gaytan
IND: 1B Schimke – 3B M. Martin – CF Hilario – RF T. Torres – LF W. Griffith – 2B Richmond – SS Masterson – C Mrazek – P V. Perez

Portland took a very quick 1-0 lead as Humph doubled and scored on a Yocum single, but Yocum was then left on base. Ryan Schimke answered with a leadoff double in the bottom 1st, but Gaytan would give up not only that run, but FOUR on a pair of 2-run homers mashed by Tony Torres and Walter Richmond, all with two outs…

The funny part about it was that Perez would be the first starting pitcher to be yanked, despite still leading in the fifth inning. He gave up a solo homer – and first career bomb – to Jack Hamel in the fourth inning, 4-2, then put Yocum on base in the fifth with one out. Yocum stole second and scored on Olivares’ single, and that was the end for Perez, still up 4-3. Rodolfo Zea allowed an infield single to Wharton, Hernandez flew out, and Rivas drew a walk to fill the bases for, well, Hamel. He bounced out to Masterson…

Gaytan finished five innings, but gave up another homer to Hilario and departed in a 5-3 hole. The Coons clawed one back in the sixth, which McFarland opened with a double to right. Woodley an Humphries got him home with productive outs, but the rally fizzled out after that, now 5-4 behind. Olivares, Rivas, and Hamel loaded the bases in the seventh, but were all stranded on McFarland’s groundout to third base.

We longed for length from Vinny Morales at this point, and he got around a Hilario single in the bottom 7th, after entering the game in a double switch with Colter, who then led off the eighth with a single to center. Humph doubled to left, and there were once more runners in scoring position with nobody out, now against ex-Coon Josh “C” Carrington. Before the Raccoons could choke, Walt Richmond did, getting a grounder from Yocum and firing it away quite badly for a 2-base error that flipped the score…!! Olivares hit a deep fly out to right, and Wharton was walked intentionally. Hernandez popped out and Rivas grounded out to kill the inning without piling on… After Morales pitched another inning, the Coons then batted for him for no gains in the ninth and sent Valentin into the bottom of the final inning. Schimke hit an infield single, Martin hit a proper single, and the tying and winning runs were on the ******* bases. (buries face in paws). Hilario grounded to Yocum, but the Raccoons only got an out at second base from that play. Torres tried to end the game with a knock, but ended up whiffing for the second out. The game ended with Griffith, grounding to short, and McFarland handled the ball well and threw to first easily and in time. 6-5 Critters. Humphries 2-5, 2 2B, RBI; Olivares 2-5, RBI; Hamel 2-4, HR, RBI; McFarland 2-4; Colter 1-2; Morales 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, W (4-1);

The Titans were rained out against the damn Elks on this day, temporarily giving the Raccoons a lead of a full game.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – P Rios
IND: 1B Schimke – C A. Morris – CF Hilario – LF W. Griffith – RF T. Torres – 3B M. Martin – 2B Richmond – SS Masterson – P Apodaca

For novelty, the Raccoons turned a TRIPLE PLAY in the first inning after Rios fooled Schimke on base with a full-count walk and Andy Morris singled. Hilario cleaned up the plate really good with a sharp 5-4-3 three-for-one! That aside the Coons had nothing going for them early on, getting just one hit on a Hamel single the first time through, and Rios still managed to mess up in the third inning when he gave up a leadoff single to Masterson and then threw away Apodaca’s bunt for two bases. The Indians got an unearned run home in the inning on a Morris single, but Schimke made a poor out in the air, and Hilario smashed into a double play with runners on the corners. When an error by Richmond put Olivares on base in the fourth inning, it was Wharton to find the double play to erase the runner again. Masterson and Schimke put singles together for another (earned) run in the fifth inning, but the Coons were down 2-0 through six and looked a bit dead.

Olivares and Wharton hit soft singles to begin the seventh to suddenly put the tying runs on base, and casually tripling the team’s hits output on the day. When a wild pitch advanced the runners, the sneaky southpaw Apodaca just threw another one in the dirt to walk Hernandez and trap the Coons, three on and nobody out. We tried to get cute and sent Guerrero to bat for Rivas, but he hit into a (run-scoring) double play anyway, and Hamel fanned…….

Rios held up for seven and Rismiller pitched a scoreless inning after that, presenting Croft with a 1-run save and the 2-3-4 batters in the ninth inning. Yocum grounded to short, but Schimke dropped Masterson’s throw for an error. Olivares flew out, Wharton hit into a fielder’s choice, and the game was running away from the Coons. Hernandez singled, but there was no hitting for Brown in the #6 hole, who was our last catcher, but weak against the left-handed Croft. He grounded out. 2-1 Indians. Hernandez 1-2, 2 BB; Rios 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, L (3-9);

In other news

July 6 – Sacramento and Denver take a scoreless game to extras, but the Scorpions then soon win the game, 1-0 in ten innings.
July 7 – The Buffaloes would be missing outfielder Jose Banuelos (.321, 10 HR, 39 RBI) for the rest of the month, as the 25-year-old had suffered a sprained wrist.
July 8 – TIJ SP Bryan Farris (2-8, 4.66 ERA) puts a shutout together, 3-hitting the last-place Thunder for a 6-0 win.
July 8 – Boston 1B Hector Moreno (.299, 15 HR, 41 RBI) hits a ninth-inning home run to beat the Indians, 1-0.
July 9 – Thunder SP Chris Monahan (3-5, 5.40 ERA) returns the favor to the Condors in style, firing a no-hitter to beat them 2-0. The right-hander strikes out eight batters and walks and plunks one each.
July 9 – LVA 3B/2B/RF Matt Rodewald (.251, 4 HR, 38 RBI) has three hits, including a grand slam, and drives in five runs total, but ends up on the short end of a 13-12 ruckus game won by the Bayhawks.
July 9 – The Titans acquire OF Jake Evans (.230, 1 HR, 20 RBI) from the Stars for a prospect.
July 9 – L.A. picks up OF Matt DeForge (.318, 3 HR, 24 RBI) from the Wolves for a prospect.
July 10 – Los Angeles also acquires MR Shamar King (2-3, 3.42 ERA, 2 SV) from the Canadiens for two prospects, including #112 SS/3B/RF Ramon Herrera.
July 11 – MIL SP Kevin Bennett (9-4, 4.60 ERA) 1-hits the Crusaders and strikes out nine batters for a 5-0 shutout. The only New York hit is a single by LF/RF/1B Bryan Johnston (.217, 2 HR, 12 RBI).
July 11 – The Condors acquire outfielder Eddie Campos (.222, 1 HR, 7 RBI) from Vancouver for MR Harry Facteau (5-1, 4.54 ERA, 1 SV) and a prospect: #48 C Marty Weaver.
July 11 – The Gold Sox beat the Wolves, 5-4 in 14 innings.

Player of the Week (FL): NAS RF Austin Gordon (.318, 14 HR, 44 RBI), smashing .500 (14-28) with 4 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): ATL 1B Kris DiPrimio (.316, 7 HR, 55 RBI), hitting .519 (14-27) with 1 HR, 8 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Raccoons had a pair of All Stars, none of whom had a winning record, as Nick Walla got the nod for being 6-6 with a 2.72 ERA, and Alejandro Olivares was challenging in the batting title race for some reason. This was Nick Walla’s *and* Alejandro Olivares’ FIRST All Star Game, somehow.

Also odd: the Raccoons sent out identical lineups against a right-hander and a left-hander in the final games before the All Star break. We have *that* many options left.

Nick Luebbert started a rehab assignment in AAA on the weekend and should be back after the break, because we need more .220 hitters.

The Titans split their Sunday double header, meaning the Raccoons ended up on top by half a game at the All Star Game, but by no means or meaning looked like the real deal. And it wasn’t like we had found $3M to make acquisitions at the deadline. We had prospects to offer for sure, but we’d need a Katz-like impact player on a manageable salary.

Three days off, then a 4-game set at home against the Crusaders. Right after that will come a road trip to Elk and Oklahoma Cities.

Fun Fact: The Coons have only one 3-game winning streak in the last seven weeks.

Counting from the end of a 7-game rush that stretched into the seventh week (the last week of May), so it’s 47 days to be precise. Hard to maintain momentum this way (and the baseball gods know we haven’t). Since May 27, the Raccoons are 19-24.

And somehow first.

[Westheim]

Bit of a weird situation today, as I don’t know how far I’ll play to begin this week, owing to the All Star Game, the general annoyance of the roster, the need to trade for more bodies, not having any dosh, and also knowing that I won’t play tomorrow as I have a stupid work thing in the evening and can’t be arsed. Will it be one series or two or three? Let’s find out.

+++

All Star Game

Alejandro Olivares, the Racoons’ 1-year rental, won All Star Game MVP honors … but the Continental League lost the game, 9-8 in 11 innings. Olivares enters the game as replacement of Chris Haynes at first base, and in his time bashes out a pair of RBI doubles and draws a walk.

Nick Walla pitches a scoreless inning behind Indy’s Mike DeWitt, the CL’s starting pitcher.

Trade

The Raccoons and Thunder exchanged four pitchers on the day after the All Star Game, as the Critters sent 26-year-old SP Harrison Hunt (2-2, 4.64 ERA) and 32-year-old MR Brad Fail- … Fales (4-3, 4.85 ERA) to Oklahoma City for a pair of right-handed relievers: Brian Doster (2-2, 3.90 ERA, 1 SV), who was 34 and born in Portland, and 25-year-old Cameron Jackson (1-0, 1.40 ERA), who got traded for the second time this year.

Doster was a workhorse, abused for 84 appearances last year, but when used in moderation was still very effective, even though he was also a bit expensive, and had a contract for ’72. Jackson made the minimum as a third-year player. The Coons invested more than half of their $930k in budget space to get this deal done.

The Thunder would also have made the trade for non-ranked prospect SP Angelo Resendiz, but we had gotten wind of OSA upgrading his outlook tremendously, even though he was struggling in single-A right now. Besides, we had to get rid of some bodies anyway, the Fales dice roll had come up snake eyes, and Hunt was issuing more walks than strikeouts. Vinny Morales slid back into the rotation for now.

Another roster move was made as Wout Sleutjes (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI) was returned to AAA and Nick Luebbert came back from rehab to begin the back half of the season.

Raccoons (48-40) vs. Crusaders (44-43) – July 16-19, 2071

The restructured Raccoons then hosted the Crusaders for the backend of the four-and-four, now with a 4-3 lead in the season series. The Crusaders had gotten swept on the weekend before the All Star Game, and still couldn’t score… but they also still allowed the fewest runs in the CL, for a -3 run differential. Pitchers Dennis Marck and Dave Hyman, and outfielder Bill Davidson were on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (9-4, 3.12 ERA) vs. Paul Egley (6-8, 2.80 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (5-7, 3.82 ERA) vs. Danny Ortiz (6-2, 3.24 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-6, 2.72 ERA) vs. Nate Freeman (4-6, 3.95 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-9, 4.39 ERA) vs. Russell Anderson (5-5, 3.23 ERA)

Anderson was the only left-handed starter on the New York team.

Game 1
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – C Marty – LF Griffin – 1B R. Ortiz – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – SS Reber – CF Ospina – P Egley
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Colter – SS Luebbert – P J. Wharton

Ryan Marty doubled off Jimmy Wharton in the first inning, and Wharton walked the pair of Chris McNulty and Kyle Reber, and conceded a run on a sac fly in the second inning, but at that point I was still partial to his outing, since he – used to having to be his own offense – also doubled home Nick Luebbert and his 2-out single with a streak of a double into the leftfield corner in the same inning. However, he shoveled the bases full in the third inning again and then gave up a bases-clearing double to Reber, never put a clean inning together, and eventually departed in the sixth inning with two outs, Reber and Willie Ospina in scoring position, and 112 pitches thrown, most of them for no good outcome at all. Holzmeister struck out Miguel Lacatelli to get out of the inning. The Raccoons, down 4-1, got Sam Brown on base by a walk in the bottom 6th, which became the second inning in the game where Brown was doubled off by a Jamie Colter grounder to second baseman Chris McNulty. Holzmeister struck out three in a row before filling the bases with Robert Ortiz, Raul Ledesma, and McNulty in the seventh inning. When Jonathan Merrill batted for Reber, Dan Graham countered and got a grounder to Yocum to end the inning.

Cam Jackson made his Coons debut with a scoreless eighth (never mind the pair of purple-shod runners that was on base CONSTANTLY in this game) before the Coons loaded the bases out of nowhere in the bottom 8th as Yocum led off with a single, should have been doubled off on an Olivares grounder to short that Tony Griffin bungled for an error, and then Egley walked Big Wharton, meaning the tying runs were all assembled. And there was nobody out. Jordan Hernandez smashed into a double play to score a costly run, and Brown bounced out to first base. Brilliant. 4-2 Crusaders. Humphries 2-5; Luebbert 1-2, 2 BB;

Game 2
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – SS Joe King – LF Griffin – 2B McNulty – RF Ledesma – 1B R. Ortiz – CF Ospina – C Marty – P D. Ortiz
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Colter – SS Luebbert – P Gaytan

Lacatelli singled, Griffin got hit, Ledesma drew a walk, and Olivares couldn’t contain Robert Ortiz’ soft looper that fell for a 2-out, 2-run single in the first inning. Humphries then had to rush to shag another looper by Willie Ospina before it could dink in for more damage. The Raccoons had an Olivares single the first time through. Period. Humphries drew a 2-out walk in the bottom 3rd and ended the inning by being caught stealing. And Yocum opened the bottom 4th with a single, and ended the inning by being caught stealing.

(heavy breathing)

Gaytan at least kept the game close and the pitch count low, and the Coons had the tying runs on the corners to begin the bottom 5th as Ortiz walked Hernandez, who then made it to third base on a Brown single to right-center. Colter slapped an RBI single to center, Luebbert singled to left, and the bases were loaded for Gaytan, who had won a Platinum Stick in 2069, but had hit .110 since. Him and me and Honeypaws all settled for a sac fly to at least get the game even, then hoped for more goodness from the top of the order, but Humph and Yocum both flew out to center. The Coons however still took a 3-2 lead… on a wild pitch that scored Colter from third base, which he had reached on Humph’s fly out to Ospina.

Ospina then also got caught stealing in the seventh inning after hitting the first of three singles off Gaytan in the inning, the remaining runners getting stranded on the corners to uphold the Coons’ 3-2 lead at the stretch. Colter reached on a throwing error by McNulty, getting second place with one out for free, then scored when Luebbert shanked a fastball up the rightfield line for an RBI double…! Gaytan whiffed, Humph walked, and Adam Dochterman replaced Danny Ortiz… but conceded a run on a sharp Yocum single through the left side before K’ing Olivares to get out of the inning. Gaytan got through the eighth inning despite a Ledesma double, and Valentin created similar drama in the ninth inning, allowing a double to Ospina and a 1-out walk to Reber, pinch-hitting in the #9 spot. Josh Roza, since inserted into the #1 spot, hit into a fielder’s choice as the tying run, and Joe King struck out. 5-2 Critters. Yocum 2-4, RBI; Luebbert 2-3, 2B, RBI; Gaytan 8.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (6-7);

Game 3
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – SS Joe King – LF Griffin – 2B McNulty – RF Ledesma – 1B R. Ortiz – CF Ospina – C Marty – P N. Freeman
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – RF Hamel – 3B Luebbert – SS McFarland – P Walla

Nick Walla hadn’t won ANY of his last six starts, and gave up a triple to Joe King in the first inning, but Griffin’s grounder to third base and McNulty popping out actually kept the runner on base. Olivares and Wharton reached on an error and walk in the bottom 1st, but Gabe Rivas flew out to right for no gift runs. Walla struck out three in his first run through the Crusaders lineup, then hit a leadoff single in the bottom 3rd. He advanced on a groundout by Yocum and then scored from second on an Olivares single to grab a skinny 1-0 lead. Wharton grounded out to end the inning.

McNulty went down injured on a defensive play an inning later and got replaced by Reber, who soon drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. After the Crusaders had not gotten any hits since the King triple at the start of the game, they then piled four singles onto Walla in the sixth inning, as had happened again and again throughout his winless streak. Marty and Lacatelli got on initially, and Griffin and Reber drove in a run each to flip the score to New York, before Ledesma grounded out. Tyler Wharton tied the game back up with a solo homer in the bottom 6th, and Rivas singled but got doubled up by Hamel’s grounder to short.

Top 7th, and the Crusaders put their first three ******* batters on base on Robert Ortiz’ single, a walk drawn by Ospina, and Marty legging out an infield roller for a single, but at least he tore his ******* leg out doing so and was replaced with Tony Medina. The Crusaders didn’t bat for Freeman, who popped out, but would then bat for Lacatelli, sending Jonathan Merrill. McMahan and Colter entered in a double switch, Merrill grounded to short, and the Coons turned the 6-4-3 to kill the inning… but Winless Walla had his streak of victorylessness extended to seven games.

Freeman didn’t get a W either, as he issued 1-out walks to McFarland and Colter in the bottom 7th before Dochterman was sent in for relief. He issued a walk to Humph to load them up, and then Yocum’s scratch single advanced everybody 90 feet and the Coons took a 3-2 lead. Olivares struck a bases-clearing triple (!), the Crusaders walked Wharton and took a double play grounder from Rivas to end the inning, but Portland was now up by four. Brian Doster’s Raccoons debut consisted of striking out King, Griffin, and Reber in the eighth. Rismiller however put two on with two down in the ninth inning. Dan Graham went out to meet the left-handed pinch-hitter Bryan Johnston, and ended the game for a cheap save with a fly to Colter. 6-2 Raccoons. Olivares 2-4, 3B, 4 RBI; T. Wharton 1-2, 2 BB, HR, RBI; Rivas 2-4; Walla 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K and 1-2;

And yet, that night, the Coons were just two runs behind the Loggers for tops in the Continental League. Although it seemed like we weren’t ever scoring, and surely not enough.

Luis Silva shook his head though when I mused that it would really help to get Katz and/or Jaden Wilson back soon, like, this month.

Game 4
NYC: CF Ospina – SS Joe King – LF Griffin – C T. Medina – RF Ledesma – 1B R. Ortiz – 3B Roza – 2B Reber – P R. Anderson
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – P Rios

Ospina flew out on a 3-0 pitch to begin the Sunday game, which was a bit of a break with King and Griffin reaching on a single and walk, respectively, right afterwards, and Rios got around Medina and Ledesma without allowing a run, but then gave up a solo homer to Josh Roza in the second inning. The score flipped in the second inning without as much as a Portland hit: Anderson issued leadoff walks to the 7-8 batters, who stole two bases before Rios struck out, Humph’s grounder brought in Hamel to tie the game, and Anderson did the rest with a wild pitch… Whatever ******* works!

Rios didn’t loading the bases with the 4-5-6 batters and allowing two runs to flip the score right back when Roza also singled, but Reber grounded out and Anderson and Ospina struck out to keep two runners on base. Down 3-2, the Raccoons then put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position by means of a Wharton single and Rivas double in the bottom of the fourth, but that meant Hamel was batting and there were already two outs. The New York pitching staff kept helping out though – Anderson walked Hamel… AFTER throwing another run-scoring wild pitch…! McFarland got rung up, though.

Rios was nearly taken deep by Griffin in the fifth and Ortiz in the sixth, but in fact departed still in a 3-3 tie with two gone in the seventh inning when Lacatelli pinch-hit in the #1 spot. Cam Jackson and Woodley entered in a double switch, and Lacatelli brought on the stretch by popping up on the first ball that came his way. Jackson got four outs, and Valentin struck out three around a Roza single and stolen base in the ninth inning, but the game was still tied. Leo Garcia, right-hander, faced the 5-6-7 batters in the bottom 9th. Rivas hit a single, but that was as good as it got, and the game went to extras. The Raccoons got a quick inning from McMahan in the tenth before Leo Garcia got a comebacker from Josh Woodley to begin the bottom 10th… and filed it into the dugout for a 2-base throwing error. The winning run was thus on second base with nobody out. Humph’s grounder to third base helped zero, but Yocum’s scratch single moved Woodley to third. From there, Colter pinch-ran for Woodley, and Guerrero batted for the pitcher… and lined out to short. The Crusaders, despite second base being open, elected not to put Wharton on base intentionally, and paid for it with a walkoff single. 4-3 Critters. T. Wharton 2-5, RBI; Rivas 2-4, 2B;

Thanks to a walkoff double by Curt Goodwin on Sunday night, the Titans split their second consecutive 4-game set against the Indians, so the Coons extended their lead in the standings to a game and a half. Nobody else was within five games on Sunday night. Now, how to best lay a giant egg from here?

Raccoons (51-41) @ Canadiens (41-52) – July 20-22, 2071

The Raccoons had an 8-1 lead in the season series, which was treacherously good, and the Elks, who were never up to any good to begin with, had certainly done nothing but to plot how to RUIN our season for the past month, and then I had to be angry from 300 miles away on top of everything else…! Elk City ranked seventh in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed. They had a -52 run differential, a torrid defense and rotation, but they were good in hitting homers, and we liked to give them up by the bushel. Oh, I didn’t have a good feeling at all.

Projected matchups:
Vinny Morales (4-1, 4.40 ERA) vs. Carlos Torres (2-1, 2.49 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (9-5, 3.28 ERA) vs. Dallas Samson (6-7, 4.21 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-7, 3.72 ERA) vs. Juan Rosado (5-9, 6.20 ERA)

Only right-handers to that rotation. Vinny had made five relief appearances since his last start on June 22, giving up four runs in nine innings. Hey, that was even an improvement! He had last pitched on the Thursday right out of the All Star Game.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Brown – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – SS McFarland – P Morales
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – CF D. Moore – RF Bustillos – LF Lozada – 2B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 3B Terrazas – P C. Torres

Morales got knocked over for three runs almost immediately, allowing singles and stolen bases to Roberto Barraza and Malcolm Spicer to begin his day, and Roberto Lozada and Andy Ratliff added RBI knocks with two outs in the inning. To anybody’s surprise, the Coons matched the output in the top 2nd with a leadoff single by Brown, a double by Hernandez, and, after a Colter sac fly and some faffing around, RBI knocks by Humph and Yocum with two gone to get even. Olivares’ fly to deep center was run down and caught by Dan Moore, though.

The Raccoons then wasted a Brown double in the third, and McFarland’s leadoff single and stolen base in the fourth inning without getting even near scoring. The Elks had no qualms to murder Morales on sight in the bottom 4th, though. The 5-6-7 batters loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, and Morales nailed Juan Terrazas to force in the go-ahead run. Torres struck out, Barraza popped out… and then Spicer knocked in two runs and Morales out of the 6-3 game. Doster had to clean up, and got four outs, followed by Rismiller in the sixth inning.

The score was still 6-3 when Guerrero batted for Rismiller and hit a leadoff single off Torres in the seventh inning. Humph’s single to center put the tying run in the box, and now we had to hope that Adam Yocum wouldn’t do something stupid, like emptying the bases by hitting into a triple play. Emptying the bases he did – but with a 3-run homer to left, his first longball of the season, and that one tied the ballgame!! Torres got replaced with Allen Tinsley, who K’ed Olivares, but walked Wharton, who stole second and then got singled home by Sam Brown for a 7-6 lead. Hernandez hit into a double play to end the inning. Dan Graham loaded the bases with Moore (single), John Bustillos (walk), and Lozada (sledgehammered), and back home in Portland I covered my face with Honeypaws’ fluffy belly. Dan Eggert popped out before Holzmeister and Luebbert replaced the pitcher and Hernandez in a double switch against Mario Lopez, who grounded out to Luebbert on the first pitch thrown by Holzmeister, and the Elks stranded all their runners. Luebbert then promptly made an error in the eighth inning, but Holzmeister chucked his wood around that, and the Elks remained behind by a run.

Top 9th, and Yocum hit a leadoff single off Danny Nava. Olivares fanned, Wharton reached on an error by Terrazas, and Brown lined out to Eggert at second. It didn’t look like an insurance run was in the cards, but then Woodley batted for Holzmeister and shanked a 2-out RBI single up the middle…! After Colter flew out to left, Valentin got the ball, got two quick outs from Bustillos and Lozada, and then walked Eggert and allowed singles to Lopez and Terrazas to load the bases. The Elks here moved to pinch-hit with the left-handed Jose Alvarez and the Coons blinked and sent McMahan into his third straight game. It didn’t help. Alvarez singled up the middle, the ******* game was tied, and back in Portland, I peppered an empty bottle against the wall for some new additions to the glass shards on the floor.

Extras were upon the Critters, facing right-hander Harry Facteau. He issued 1-out walks to Luebbert and Humphries, and a double steal was executed to force the issue, but both Yocum and Olivares hit ****** groundouts, and the runners were ******* stranded in scoring position. McMahan then retired ******* nobody between Spicer, Moore, and Bustillos, who went double, single, infield single to load the bags with nobody out. Cameron Jackson was the last face in the pen and came in to face Lozada. He got him to 1-2, then gave up another ******* walkoff single. 9-8 Canadiens. Humphries 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Yocum 3-6, HR, 4 RBI; Brown 3-5, 2B, RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1, RBI; Guerrero (PH) 1-1;

Utter ******* piece of **** ******* **** team.

The middle-of-the-order pair that went 0-for-10 with 8 LOB in this ********* game found itself on the bench on Tuesday. – Yeah, I don’t ******* care, Cristiano, whether Woodley does not project to be a #4 batter! Neither do you!!!

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – C Brown – 1B Woodley – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – SS McFarland – CF Guerrero – P J. Wharton
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – LF Lozada – RF Bustillos – CF D. Moore – C Ma. Lopez – 3B Gallo – 2B Terrazas – P Samson

The Elks scored first on Tuesday, scratching out a run on Lopez and Terrazas singles against Jimmyboy in the second inning, while the Coons had only one base hit the first time through. Yocum erred on base with a leadoff single in the fourth inning and ended up scoring… on not one but TWO wild pitches by Dallas Samson. Woodley walked, but got doubled up by Hernandez to end the inning, and Guerrero smacked into a double play in the following frame. This was just PATHETIC.

When the dismal Antlerfolk didn’t chip singles, Jimmy created his own traffic with a throwing error in the fourth inning, and in the bottom 6th, Brown chipped in a throwing error on Bustillos’ stolen base attempt that gave him third base, from where he promptly scored on Moore’s 1-out single to left-center, putting **** City up 2-1 again. Lopez popped up a 1-1 pitch in foul ground that Brown dropped for ANOTHER ERROR, although Wharton ended up ringing up both Lopez and then J.P. Gallo to end the inning. Terrazas and Barraza singles nevertheless put another run together for the Stinkheads in the seventh. Bustillos tacked on further with a home run off Rismiller in the eighth. The Raccoons were ******* woeful and never put another threat together. 4-1 Canadiens. Yocum 3-3, BB; Hernandez 2-4;

The Titans, idle on Monday, tied the division on Tuesday by winning a game against the Loggers.

Totally new concept, the boys should try that **** some time.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – SS McFarland – P Gaytan
VAN: SS Barraza – 1B Spicer – CF D. Moore – RF Bustillos – LF Lozada – 2B Ratliff – C J. Richmond – 3B Terrazas – P Ju. Rosado

The good thing about the series finale was that I was already mildly bssss by the time the broadcast on NWSN began, and cussed and sneered when the Raccoons’ lineup was shown. I may have called the cleanup man “Wusserton”, and the rightfielder “Choker”, giggled uncontrollably when the broadcasters fawned about Gaytan’s alleged stuff, but when the game actually began became more whiny and clingy and held on to Slappy’s arm along with Honeypaws. It didn’t help that the Raccoons loaded the bases in the top 1st, but only scored on Rivas’ sac fly, but Gaytan gave it right back allowing four straight singles in the bottom 1st. Or that McFarland tripled in the second, but there was nobody on base, nor was there anybody going to come up to get that runner home from third. Gaytan popped out, and Humphries struck out.

Portland had the bases loaded once again in the third inning with a leadoff walk to Yocum, a Wharton double, and an infield single for Rivas, and one out. Hernandez lined out to Lozada in shallow left, and Choker colted one over to short for the third out. For consolation, the damn Elks also left the ******* bases loaded against Gaytan, who allowed yet more singles to Spicer and Moore (forced out by Bustillos), before unfurling that vaunted “stuff” and DRILLING Lozada with an 0-2 pitch. Somehow Andy Ratliff hacked himself out and Josh Richmond’s floater to left-center was shagged by a running Humphries to end the inning.

In the fourth, both hopelessly and recklessly inept teams had their shortstop caught stealing, and Gaytan also couldn’t get a ******* bunt down, striking out instead. Once Yocum and Olivares led off the fifth with singles against Rosado, Big Bucks Wharton gloriously struck out. Rivas and Hernandez made outs no less disheartening, and nobody ******* scored. A Bustillos double in the bottom 5th also led nowhere, and through five innings both teams scored a single rancid run off eight hits per side. Breathtaking!

By the sixth I was shaking with angry tears when McFarland singled his way on base once more and Gaytan bunted into an inning-ending double play. The Elks stranded another pair in their half of the sixth, then got Spicer on for the 700th time in the series and knocked out Gaytan in the seventh. Rivas picked Spicer off first base, but McMahan quickly supplied a replacement runner before the damn Elks hit enough pops for even the Inepticoons to get out of the bloody inning.

The game’s 21st ******* base hit brought home the third run when Big Blows Wharton socked a leadoff homer that graced the left foul pole on the way out of the torpid den that disdain of a ballclub called a baseball stadium. Hernandez got on and was stranded, while McMahan and Doster put a 1-2-3 eighth together. Jack Hamel batted for Doster to begin the ninth and got plunked by Rosado, who was somehow still fudging around the mound with his speckled hooves. Humph singled to center and Yocum socked a double to right, driving home Hamel. Olivares fanned, Big Balls Wharton whalked, and Rivas’ single and Hernandez’ sac fly each brought in another run before reliever Paul Wolk finally ended the game. Holzmeister retired the Elks in order in the ninth inning to get out of that ****** place with at least one win. 5-1 Blighters. Yocum 3-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Olivares 2-5; T. Wharton 2-3, 2 BB, HR, 2B, RBI; Rivas 2-4, 2 RBI; McFarland 3-4, 3B;

In other news

July 17 – Sioux Falls SP Mike Mingione (11-4, 2.66 ERA) flusters the Stars, who strike out ten times and have only two hits in a 10-0 shutout.
July 17 – A single by ATL C Justin Hart (.316, 11 HR, 53 RBI) is all the Knights get in a 3-0 loss handed to them by CHA SP Edgar Mauricio (6-6, 3.76 ERA) and three relievers that combine for the 1-hitter.
July 17 – SFB SP Austin LaRosa (6-5, 2.97 ERA) pitches 7.2 no-hit innings before allowing a single to Aces UT Jimmy Williams (.282, 2 HR, 40 RBI) and being removed from the 1-0 game. Two relievers for the Bayhawks hold the line for the combined 1-hitter and 1-0 win.
July 17 – The Wolves send LF/RF Danny Perez (.289, 5 HR, 15 RBI) and $3M to the Aces for a prospect.
July 21 – NYC 2B Chris McNulty (.275, 6 HR, 32 RBI) was expected to miss a month with a knee sprain.
July 21 – DEN OF Chris Tuck (.323, 11 HR, 55 RBI) parks a walkoff home run in the stands for a 2-0 victory against the Warriors.
July 23 – Salem OF Jesus Garza (.271, 3 HR, 25 RBI) has a 5-hit day and is a home run away from the cycle while driving in two runs in a 14-12 shootout win against the Stars.

Player of the Week (FL): DEN OF Chris Tuck (.321, 10 HR, 53 RBI), hitting .500 (11-22) with 5 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): ATL C Justin Hart (.316, 11 HR, 53 RBI), clipping .450 (9-20) with 2 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Titans split the last two games with the Loggers on Wednesday and our off day on Thursday, so the gap was back to half a game on Thursday night.

The Raccoons could use a lot more pitching, hitting, defense, and composure. Some magic beans might help. I’m sure we could trade for some A-lister with the prospects we have, except that we don’t have any money to pay any more salaries. Thanks, Adam Valdes.

The Coons would be in Oklahoma City on the weekend. Next up after that was a week at home, hosting the Knights and Condors, and the trade deadline would be on the Friday next week.

Fun Fact: Nick Walla is 0-3 with a 4.28 ERA in his winless streak.

He also hasn’t pitched longer than the 6.1 innings he put out on Saturday against the Crusaders.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (52-43) @ Thunder (39-55) – July 24-26, 2071

A week after exchanging a quartet of pitchers (more on that in a second), the Coons and Thunder met again for a 3-game series. The Thunder were still in last place, sixth in runs scored and bottoms in runs allowed, for a -53 run differential (Coons: +61). The Portlanders had a 2-1 advantage in the season series. Oklahoma was in the bottom three in homers, defense, and starter’s ERA, but in the top three in OBP, stolen bases, and bullpen ERA in the league. It was … a confusing team for sure. The Thunder had four players on the DL, including pitchers Danny Baca and Harrison Hunt, who had gone down to shoulder inflammation six seconds after putting their hat on, and notable first baseman Ian Stone. Sticky ex-Coon Carlos Gutierrez was day-to-day with a twisted ankle.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (6-6, 2.73 ERA) vs. Ray Rath (5-7, 6.01 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-9, 4.37 ERA) vs. Randy Nichols (0-0, 7.20 ERA)
Vinny Morales (4-1, 4.82 ERA) vs. Chris Monahan (4-5, 5.27 ERA)

Rath and Monahan looked like the only right-handed starters they had, although with injuries and the trade, and demotions and what-all, the Thunder rotation was in a state of flux, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a spot starter or two.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Brown – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – SS McFarland – P Walla
OCT: RF J. Reyes – C Bohannon – 1B Bonner – SS Palominos – LF Ambriz – CF Thore – 2B C. Gutierrez – 3B T. Santiago – P Rath

Humph singled, Wharton walked, and Brown got drilled, but the Raccoons failed to score in the first inning thanks to Hernandez grounding out to Jose Palominos in due time, stranding all three runners. No other player reached third base in the early innings; Walla allowed a single to long-ago Critter Ryan Bonner in the first inning, but nobody else got on base, and he struck out three Thunder in the first three innings, then came up to bat with Hernandez on third base (having stolen second earlier), McFarland (intentionally walked) on first, and two outs, and realized that he had to be his own ******* offense once more. A single to left gave him a 1-0 lead. And then Humph whiffed.

Palominos singled and was caught stealing in the fourth, and Jose Ambriz and Gutierrez hit a pair of singles in the fifth to put two on with one out. Tony Santiago’s grounder to short was too slow to turn two and get out of the inning, but we got Gutierrez at second, and Winless Walla then struck out Rath to bail outta there. However, Walla’s run ended in the bottom 6th with another leadoff single by Jon Reyes, who stole his 39th base of the year and scored on a Bonner single to tie the game. Walla then struck out the next two in frustration to get out of the inning. But the leadoff singles didn’t stop (much like the Coons making outs), and Coby Thore got on with a leadoff knock in the seventh and then was run for by zippy Eduardo Zambrano. Walla turned away the bottom of the order nicely enough, though, including Bobby Birdwell (who?) batting for Rath, who had held the Coons to four hits in seven innings. Sam Brown singled off Luis Ramirez in the eighth, but with two outs, and with no help from Hernandez behind. The Thunder 1-2-3 went down in order against Walla in the bottom 8th to keep the game tied.

But that was as far as Walla got, and Hamel, McFarland, and Woodley disappeared without a trace against Jon McGinley in the ninth inning, so that was another no-decision for him, who was at the fringe of an ERA race again, but surely not up anywhere in the W column… Holzmeister meanwhile took the game to extras by retiring the Thunder in order in the bottom 9th.

The tenth then started with Humphries, striking a triple off McGinley into the leftfield corner. Yocum hit an inglorious sac fly to break the tie. Olivares then singled, Wharton got brushed, and Brown browned out of the inning with a 4-6-3 double play grounder. Valentin hit Shaun Patton with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but at least didn’t blow the skinny win apart altogether… 2-1 Blighters. Humphries 2-5, 3B; Walla 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K and 1-3, RBI;

(looks no more or less unhappy than Walla after that one)

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Rios
OCT: RF J. Reyes – LF Ambriz – 1B Bonner – SS Palominos – 2B Patton – C Bohannon – CF Zambrano – 3B T. Santiago – P Nichols

Jon Reyes and Jose Ambriz hit singles off Rios to begin the bottom 1st and groundouts brought in Reyes with the game’s first run. It didn’t get much better from there, as the Coons had no base knocks the first time through, and the Thunder got a leadoff single from the pitcher Nichols to begin the bottom 3rd, and Ambriz cranked a homer to extend their lead to 3-0.

When Humph got on with a leadoff walk and Yocum hit a bloop single to begin the fourth, there was a brief flicker of hope, but Olivares fanned, Wharton hit into a fielder’s choice, and Hernandez grounded out to flush another inning down the toilet. Hamel singled and got doubled off by Rivas in the fifth, and Rios entered that inning and just walked the bases full with the 2-3-4 batters and nobody out before getting yanked after four-plus innings. Doster replaced him against this old team, gave up a grand slam to Shawn Patton, and that was this game spoken for then. The rest of the bullpen held up nicely after that, but the Thunder never blinked. Nichols pitched seven shutout innings before being hit for with Coby Thore, and Luis Ramirez then axed the Coons for another two innings after that. 7-0 Thunder. Yocum 2-4; Hamel 2-3;

Those four hits were all we had.

Oh, and the Titans went into first place again.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – RF Hamel – CF T. Wharton – 1B Woodley – C Brown – SS McFarland – 3B Luebbert – P Morales
OCT: RF J. Reyes – C Bohannon – 1B Bonner – SS Palominos – LF Ambriz – CF Thore – 2B C. Gutierrez – 3B T. Santiago – P Monahan

Humph walked, advanced on a groundout, reached third on Hamel’s soft single, and then scored on a sac fly by Big Bucks Wharton, which gave the Raccoons a rousing 1-0 lead in the first…! Woodley singled up the middle with two outs, and Monahan lost Brown in a full count. McFarland batted with the bases loaded and held perfectly still while Monahan threw straight balls to walk in a run. Luebbert did not hold still and slapped a ball over Tony Santiago, just fair inside the leftfield line, and into the corner for a bases-clearing double…! ****, even Vinny Morales hit an RBI single, 6-0, before ever taking the mound! Monahan threw a wild one, walked Humph, but Yocum grounded out, making the first *and* third out in the inning.

Vinny then managed to allow a leadoff double to Reyes on an 0-2 pitch, although Reyes also managed to get himself caught stealing third base in this rubber game in Stupidtown. Ambriz hit a 1-out double in the second, but was left on, and Morales then allowed a single to reliever Jason Stine in the third inning. Reyes forced him out with a grounder, stole second, but then ran out of support there, so the score remained 6-0 for the time being.

The Coons then tacked on in the fourth with Yocum reaching on a Bonner error and scoring on Hamel’s double to left. Tyler Wharton socked a homer, 9-0, and Stine was yanked for Brad Fails, who gave up a couple of singles to the 7-8 batters, but apart from that escaped the game unharmed. Morales meanwhile continued to litter runners that somehow all didn’t score, as the defense turned double plays behind him in the fourth, fifth AND sixth innings. Bonner hit into a 6-4-3 after a messy leadoff walk to Martin Bohannon (who had done uncharacteristically little against the Coons in this series), and Morales’ pitch count was reaching its upper bounds slowly but inevitably. Walking Palominos, too, didn’t help, but Ambriz popped out. He got a K from Thore to begin the seventh, but was knocked out by Gutierrez’ single on his 102nd pitch of the game. Rismiller entered and got out of the inning against Santiago and Birdwell. Yocum and Wharton were taken off their legs in the eighth inning as the Coons still nursed a 9-run lead. Rismiller ended up collecting five outs, and Dan Graham got the last three to complete a messy combined 7-hitter for the series win. 9-0 Critters. Humphries 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; Hamel 2-5, 2B, RBI; McFarland 2-4, BB, RBI; Luebbert 2-4, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Morales 6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K, W (5-1) and 1-4, RBI;

The Titans lost to the Falcons on Sunday and Portland ended the week half a game up after all.

Raccoons (54-44) vs. Knights (54-45) – July 27-29, 2071

The Raccoons returned home to face the Knights, who were in a similarly tough fight for the lead in the CL South, currently one game behind the Aces. The Knights had taken the lead in runs scored, although nobody was currently even close to five runs a game, and the Atlanteans were putting out 4.8 markers per game. They had middling pitching and a creaky defense. Starter Rob Wilkinson was on the DL. Portland had a 2-1 lead in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (9-6, 3.24 ERA) vs. Erik Lee (8-5, 3.47 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-7, 3.61 ERA) vs. Justin Kent (5-7, 4.20 ERA)
Nick Walla (6-6, 2.63 ERA) vs. Brett Bebout (6-6, 3.87 ERA)

Only one left-hander around, which was Kent.

Game 1
ATL: CF J. Soto – SS Guangorena – C Hart – RF D. Mendoza – 1B DiPrimio – 2B J. Munoz – LF Troxel – 3B Schomer – P E. Lee
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – RF Colter – SS McFarland – P J. Wharton

Jimmyboy had four long counts in the first inning and walked Justin Hart, but nothing came of it for Atlanta, while the Raccoons peppered Lee with five hits and three runs in the bottom 1st, starting with a Yocum double to left. The other four hits were straight 2-out singles by the 4-5-6-7 batters, all but Rivas getting an RBI out of it. The long counts for Jimmy Wharton continued, however, and the in the second inning he allowed hits to Jorge Munoz and Tom Troxel, walked Jon Schomer, and conceded a run on Lee’s groundout. He needed 47 pitches to get through two innings, the second ending with Jorge Soto grounding out to Yocum to strand the tying runs on base. Humphries hit a home run in the bottom 2nd, but the Knights got doubles from David Mendza and Kris DiPrimio to pull the run back right afterwards.

It took Jimmy Wharton 102 pitches to get through five absolutely messy innings, but at least he held the 4-2 lead. Lee didn’t make it through five, being hauled in after allowing a run on straight hits by Tyler Wharton, Rivas, and Hernandez in the bottom 5th, before Mike Rocheford put an end to the inning. Cameron Jackson pitched in the sixth inning and began by conceding singles to Jorge Munoz and Tom Troxel. Munoz was thrown out at third base by Colter on the Troxel hit, but joke was on Colter, who came up and out of the game with back pain, and got replaced with Jack Hamel. Hart and Mendoza hit a pair of 2-out singles against McMahan in the seventh, but Doster then came in to face DiPrimio and got him to ground out, leaving runners on the corners.

Jordan Hernandez then hit a 3-run homer to ostensibly put the game away in the bottom 7th. Francisco Tello was taken deep after walking Olivares, then getting out Tyler Wharton, before the Knights decided that Gabe Rivas should be intentionally walked. The 3-piece made Hernandez the first Critter on the season to have 50 RBI, and it was not even quite August yet. The inning continued against ex-Coon Evan Alvey, who allowed hits to Hamel and McFarland, and then conceded those runs on Humphries’ 2-out single. Yocum also singled, but the pair was left on base, and in the bottom 8th the Raccoons started with straight singles from the 4-5-6 hitters to get another run on the board against Alex Dominguez. McFarland got an RBI double in the inning, and that marked the final run in the game. 12-2 Raccoons! Humphries 3-6, HR, 3 RBI; Yocum 2-5, 2B; T. Wharton 3-5, 2B, RBI; Rivas 3-4, BB, 2B; Hernandez 4-5, HR, 6 RBI; McFarland 2-5, 2B, RBI;

Jamie Colter hit the DL with a herniated disc and was expected to miss two weeks. The Raccoons were churning rightfielders this year, and while both Jaden Wilson and George van Otterdijk were about to come off the DL, they would both be sent for rehab, and wouldn’t be here before the end of the week. Katz was just a little bit further behind them. Jesus Morentin was recalled.

Game 2
ATL: CF J. Soto – 1B DiPrimio – C Hart – RF D. Mendoza – LF Troxel – 2B J. Munoz – 3B Baxley – SS Guangorena – P Kent
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Gaytan

Tom Troxel’s treacherous triple, followed by Munoz’ run-scoring groundout, put the Knights ahead in the second inning, after the Raccoons had not done anything with 1-out singles from Yocum and Olivares in the first. Wharton was in fact robbed twice by Jorge Soto in his first two at-bats, taking a pair of extra-base knocks away, but there was no taking away David Mendoza’s 400-footer of a 2-run homer in the fourth inning, which came just after Hart had singled.

It looked a lot like the Raccoons had used up all their ammo on Monday, and now they could not score from solid chances. McFarland hit a leadoff double to center in the bottom 5th, for example, and Gaytan did his best to stay away from Kent, but was still brushed by a pitch to put a second runner on, but then was forced out on Humphries’ grounder to short, and Yocum hit into a double play altogether.

Gaytan struck out seven in as many innings, but looked like he was headed for a loss, given the lack of offensive vigor on the brown team. They suddenly did get on the board, though, with Jack Hamel’s leadoff jack (duh!) in the bottom 7th, and now the gap was only two runs. The next three Coons were turned away by Kent, though, and then Dan Graham entered the eighth inning and retired precisely nobody, issuing walks to Soto and DiPrimio, an RBI single to Hart, and another single to Mendoza before being yanked with the bags full. Cam Jackson then got 3-0 behind on PH Joel Ehlers, who poked and bounced to Òlivares, who nearly lost the play before getting the out at second base, which Ehlers then tried to steal – unsuccessfully. Munoz grounded out, so Jackson allowed only one of the three inherited runners to score. The Raccoons nevertheless disappeared silently into the night. 5-1 Knights. Yocum 2-4;

That was also the series, thanks to the annual thunderstorm and lightning preventing gameplay on Wednesday, and the Knights had places to be on Thursday. This gave the Raccoons consecutive days off before the Condors waltzed in. A Titans loss to the Condors on Wednesday gave up a full game lead.

Meanwhile, Jaden Wilson, out on rehab for two days, broke his foot in a triple-A game and went right back on the DL for another month.

Raccoons (55-45) vs. Condors (54-47) – July 31-August 2, 2071

The Condors were only 3 1/2 games out of first place in the South, but were behind 4-2 against the Coons this year. They had no offense whatsoever, sitting bottoms with 3.7 runs per game, and a .239 team batting average. On the other claw, they had the best pitching, but even while allowing the fewest runs, they still had a -22 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (6-6, 2.63 ERA) vs. Jorge Villalobos (3-2, 2.18 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-10, 4.68 ERA) vs. Jason Brenize (12-6, 2.64 ERA)
Vinny Morales (5-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Ryan Mann (8-9, 3.27 ERA)

The Condors had two southpaw starters… but we’d not get either of them in this series.

Game 1
TIJ: LF E. Campos – 3B Forrest – 1B D. Cline – CF Rugar – C R. Alvarez – SS C. Vazquez – RF Rafferty – 2B Barrientos – P Villalobos
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Morentin – SS McFarland – P Walla

David Cline and Josh Rugar hit homers off Walla in the first inning, and the Coons at least hit into a double play with Yocum to get Humph off the bases… There would be more fly balls to the warning track as Walla was clearly not up to snuff for this start, but after a bit of incompetent shuffling-about and another double play hit into by Brown, the Coons got McFarland on base in the bottom 3rd. Walla bunted him to second with the second out, and then Humph’s RBI double and Yocum’s RBI single tied the game. Olivares then raked a homer, and Portland was quite suddenly up 4-2.

With the lead, the Coons’ right-hander looked a bit better for a few innings, but Cline singled in the sixth inning and Robert Alvarez nearly hit one out to tie the game, but had to settle for an RBI double off the top of the wall to shorten the score to 4-3. Corey Vazquez grounded out to end the inning. Walla got around a single by Barrientos in the seventh, and that was his final inning, as he left the game at stretch time. Holzmeister struck out Adam Forrest, Cline, and Robert Alvarez in the eighth, getting around a double by Rugar. The Raccoons also left a runner on base in the seventh and eighth innings, Hamel and Wharton respectively, both reaching on a 2-out walk. Pedro Valentin then retired the Condors in order in the ninth. 4-3 Raccoons. Humphries 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Game 2
TIJ: LF E. Campos – C R. Alvarez – 1B D. Cline – CF Rugar – RF Rafferty – SS C. Vazquez – 3B Matthews – 2B Barrientos – P Brenize
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Rios

The Raccoons went down in order in the first, then got Wharton and Hernandez on base with base knocks to begin the bottom 2nd. Hamel and Rivas then made poor outs on the infield, and McFarland struck out altogether, and nobody scored. Rios (who didn’t allow a hit in the first three innings) and Yocum hit singles in the third inning, but Olivares and Wharton now hit groundouts to short and nobody scored once more. Rios then issued two walks to Robert Alvarez and David Cline to begin the fourth, but Rugar spanked a ball into a 5-4-3 double play and Dusty Rafferty flew out to center. Rios issued another two walks to begin the fifth, and Vazquez ended up scoring after *Brenize* got a single for the Condors’ first hit to load the bases, and then Eddie Campos managed a sac fly to center to put Tijuana up 1-0. Alvarez grounded out then.

The Coons tied the game in the bottom 5th with a Yocum double and Olivares’ RBI single, but Wharton also singled before Hernandez grounded out. The game was tied 1-1 through five, but the Coons had enjoyed (?) eight hits to the Condors’ one. Cline made it two with a single in the sixth, but didn’t get past third base… and Rios didn’t get past the sixth inning, owing to five walks exploding the pitch count.

The Condors then broke through against Rismiller in the seventh: Forrest doubled, Barrientos and Alex Barnes hit singles, and then they somehow choked from there, only getting the go-ahead run home while Campos grounded out to third, Alvarez whiffed, and McMahan then rung up Cline to keep a pair in scoring position.

Yocum found the gap for a leadoff triple in the bottom 7th and was again singled home by Olivares to tie the game, for the second go-around in a row. Left-hander Harry Petrillo then retired the 4-5-6 batters without much noise. The eighth was uneventful and Doster then retired the Condors efficiently in the ninth inning before the Raccoons brought the top of the order to the plate against lefty Eric Fracassa, who only struck out Humph before being replaced by Tyler Reed. The right-hander gave up a single to Yocum. Olivares flew out easily, but Wharton hit another single. Hernandez’ groundout to second sent the game to extras. Holzmeister retired the Condors 1-2-3 in the tenth, while Hamel led off the home half with a single to center. A *single*, not a double as Hamel thought, and he was thrown out at second…….. Rivas then singled (…!), got balked to second (!), and advanced on McFarland’s groundout. Brown pinch-hit with the winning run on third and two outs, but grounded out.

Valentin put Rugar and Ken Frank on base to start the 11th inning, which was … not ideal. However, he came through with a pair of strikeouts before Chris Schreiber hit a high pop to shallow right that Hamel caught. The third baseman Schreiber then suffered an injury in the bottom 11th. The Condors, out of bench players, had to put pitcher Ryan Mann at the hot corner, but made it out of the inning for the time being.

The game went to the 13th with two scoreless from Dan Graham, whose spot came up with nobody out and Rivas and McFarland on the corners after a leadoff walk and a single to right, respectively, against righty Juan Arguelles. Luebbert pinch-hit, but grounded out and Rivas held. The Condors walked Humph intentionally to set up a force at home, but Yocum ended the game with a sound single to center. 3-2 Blighters. Yocum 5-7, 3B, 2B, RBI; Olivares 2-6, 2 RBI; T. Wharton 3-6; Hamel 2-6; Rivas 2-5, BB; Graham 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, W (3-1);

17 hits to score three runs in 13 innings…!

For Sunday, George van Otterdijk returned from rehab and Jesus Guerrero (.167, 1 HR, 2 RBI) got optioned.

Game 3
TIJ: 3B Matthews – LF E. Campos – 1B D. Cline – CF Rugar – C R. Alvarez – RF Rafferty – SS B. Robinson – 2B Barrientos – P Mann
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF van Otterdijk – SS Morentin – P Morales

The Critters went ahead in the first inning by means of Yocum singling and stealing second before Olivares drew a walk, and Big Bucks Wharton then snapped an RBI single over the head of Brian Robinson. The trailing runners advanced on Josh Rugar’s late throw home, then both scored on Hernandez’ single to left-center. Hernandez also got to second on Eddie Campos’ throw to the plate, then scored when Sam Brown bounced a ball through the right side for another single, 4-0. Van Otterdijk hit a double, Morentin got a sac fly for a fifth run, and Morales concluded the inning with a K. Vinny then continued to put people on base; Cline had already been stranded in the first inning, and Alvarez and Robinson hit singles in the second without scoring, and another pair got on and was left on by the Condors in the third.

Tyler Wharton doubled off the wall to begin the bottom 3rd, but was caught stealing third base. Hernandez walked, then scored on a Brown double to left. Mann got out of the inning against the bottom of the order, but then was hit for and removed from the 6-0 game in the fourth inning. The Condors got a pair on base again in the top 5th, but Rugar hit into a 5-4-3 double play to fiddle that one away, and in response the Otter socked a solo homer in the home half of the inning. Top 6th, Alvarez drew a leadoff walk in a full count, but got doubled up by Rafferty. However, the rush hour traffic around him had already elevated Morales’ pitch count and it was nearly bedtime for him. Brian Robinson singled on his 90th pitch, but was left on when Barrientos popped out.

Bottom 6th, and Yocum, Wharton, and Hernandez loaded the bases with one out before Brown hit a hard grounder at Barrientos, but the Condors couldn’t turn two and Brown got another RBI on the fielder’s choice as Yocum scored. The Otter flew out, while Morales got two more outs after a leadoff walk to Vazquez in the seventh, then departed. McMahan got the last out of the inning, Wharton and Hernandez were taken off their legs by the time the inning was out, but Rismiller then got slapped around for four hits and two runs by the Condors in the eighth. Juan Arguelles then put Yocum on base through a leadoff single in the bottom 8th. Scarcely used Josh Woodley batted for Olivares, and cranked a 2-run homer to right…! Cam Jackson completed the sweep with a scoreless ninth. 10-2 Critters! Yocum 2-4, BB; Woodley (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; T. Wharton 3-4, 2B, RBI; Hernandez 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Brown 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI; van Otterdijk 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI; Morentin 1-2, BB, RBI; Morales 6.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K, W (6-1);

In other news

July 25 – CHA SS/3B Trent Taylor (.239, 5 HR, 44 RBI) could be out until mid-September after suffering an oblique strain.
July 27 – The Condors send SP Luis Renteria (5-8, 5.05 ERA) to Vancouver for infielder Adam Forrest (.135, 0 HR, 5 RBI).
July 28 – DAL SP Alex Quevedo (4-9, 4.07 ERA) takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a blowout against the Rebels, but gives up a pinch-hit leadoff triple to Jared Robichaud (.288, 2 HR, 19 RBI) without getting an out in the ninth. The run scored against the bullpen, and Quevedo has to settle for the W in the 10-1 game.
July 28 – The Indians deal LF/RF Wade Griffith (.270, 7 HR, 34 RBI) to the Loggers for three prospects.
July 28 – The Gold Sox acquire 1B Ryan Bonner (.322, 0 HR, 39 RBI) from the Thunder for a prospect.
July 29 – Capitals SP Bobby MacDonald (9-7, 3.78 ERA) and SV Jon Dominguez (2-2, 2.58 ERA, 22 SV) pitch a combined 1-hitter for a 2-0 victory against the Warriors, who only get a single from catcher David Johnson (.283, 15 HR, 57 RBI).
July 29 – In a hard-to-explain transaction, the Miners trade SP Steven Fenstermacher (9-6, 3.67 ERA) to the Stars for two prospects, including #43 SP Kevin Anderson.
July 30 – SFB OF/1B Ryan Redding (.263, 3 HR, 52 RBI) was headed to the DL with a separated shoulder, and was not expected back before mid-September.
July 31 – A ruptured medial collateral ligament ends the season of Denver 2B/3B Matt Kilday (.304, 0 HR, 40 RBI) and threatens the start of the next.
August 1 – The Loggers trundle towards a 1-0 loss against the Aces before catcher Manuel Rodriguez (.264, 18 HR, 63 RBI) socks a walkoff grand slam for a 4-1 Milwaukee win.

Player of the Week 16 (FL): SFW RF/LF Steve Millen (.374, 14 HR, 71 RBI), smashing .500 (12-24) with 4 HR, 6 RBI
Player of the Week 16 (CL): ATL C Justin Hart (.334, 12 HR, 58 RBI), poking .619 (13-21) with 1 HR, 5 RBI

Player of the Week 17 (FL): WAS OF Tyler Chenette (.293, 16 HR, 59 RBI), hitting .500 (14-28) with 2 HR, 6 RBI
Player of the Week 17 (CL): TIJ 1B David Cline (.303, 8 HR, 46 RBI), poking .455 (10-22) with 2 HR, 4 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: NAS RF Austin Gordon (.316, 16 HR, 54 RBI), hitting .374 with 7 HR, 19 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: MIL RF/LF Carlos Dominguez (.349, 14 HR, 64 RBI), bashing .427 with 5 HR, 19 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SFW SP Harry Poteat (16-2, 2.05 ERA), going a perfect 5-0 with 1.76 ERA, 47 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: SFB CL Brad Yoxall (5-4, 4.27 ERA, 26 SV), hurling for a 4-1 mark with 2.25 ERA, 9 SV, 10 K
FL Rookie of the Month: NAS 2B/OF Gordie Warner (.436, 2 HR, 7 RBI), chucking .455 with 2 HR, 7 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: SFB 1B Jose Catano (.325, 7 HR, 39 RBI), hitting .327 with 5 HR, 14 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The rained-out Knights game would be made up in a double-header in September, but in Atlanta, where the Raccoons would be the official home team for one of the games.

Boston lost two of three to the Baybirds, meaning the Critters now had a 3-game lead, the largest in a long time.

There was not another trade at the deadline because what we had (prospects, honestly) wouldn’t help with the fact that there was no budget space left to take on any contracts.

Next up was a quick but no less silly trip to Charlotte for a 3-game set, and then an immediate return to home base for consecutive sets of four games against the Loggers and Crusaders.

Fun Fact: The last Portland winning streak of more than three games was all the way back in May.

The Raccoons beat the Loggers, Baybirds, and Knights seven straight games from May 20 to 26. Since then it’s been three “streaks” of three wins, including the on-going one consisting solely of a Condors sweep.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (58-45) @ Falcons (47-58) – August 3-5, 2071

The Raccoons took a 3-game lead on the road to Charlotte for a wicked single-city trip across the continent and back. The Falcons sat 12 games out in the South, fifth overall, and had the fourth-slowest offense and average pitching for a -30 run differential. But they also had a 4-2 edge in the season series against the Critters. Jack Moses and Trent Taylor were on the DL for the team that sat bottoms in homers (45!) in the league, but I’m sure our tossing staff was gonna help them out some.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (10-6, 3.25 ERA) vs. Jason Fick (1-2, 3.05 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-8, 3.62 ERA) vs. Howard Peek (4-4, 5.57 ERA)
Nick Walla (7-6, 2.69 ERA) vs. Scott Bickerton (10-4, 2.56 ERA)

The Raccoons were up against left-handers in the last two games of the series. Katz was still on rehab on Monday, but was expected back any day now.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – RF van Otterdijk – SS Morentin – P J. Wharton
CHA: 2B Houkes – 3B A. Rodriguez – C O. Matos – CF L. Collins – RF Terrell – SS J. Brown – LF A. Campbell – 1B Madden – P Fick

The Falcons went up 2-0 really quickly on Jimmyboy, who allowed a walk to Alex Rodriguez and a double to Oscar Matos in the bottom 1st before runs came home one at a time on Landon Collins’ groundout and Brady Terrell’s RBI single to center. Josh Brown then grounded out to end the inning. The Coons answered with three on and nobody out as Hernandez and Rivas singled and the Otter walked in the top 2nd. Jesus Morentin bravely took a wayward pitch to the hip to force in a run, Jimmy struck out, but Humph drew a walk in a full count and the game was tied… and the bases still loaded! Yocum grounded sharply to third base, where Rodriguez picked the ball, went back to force out Morentin and tried for the 5-3 double play, but Yocum beat out the throw by a whisker to allow van Otterdijk to score with the go-ahead run. Olivares’ groundout ended the inning then.

Jimmy’s start turned out rather mediocre because of control issues. He walked Rodriguez every time the #2 hitter came up, and a couple more, and was consistently behind in the counts. When the Falcons had two on and two outs in the bottom 4th, even Fick took him to a full count and then only popped out to Olivares in foul ground. Wharton needed 88 pitches just to get through five innings, at the end of which either team had three base knocks.

Gabe Rivas singling up the middle to begin the top 6th was the fourth Critters hit in the game. The Otter grounded out, but Morentin chucked a double to left-center to get Rivas around to score, 4-2. The Falcons lifted Fick for Gary Peoples, who promptly gave up an RBI single to center to Jimmyboy, who then did make it through another inning for six full frames of work, but I would be lying if I claimed to be thrilled by the performance. Peoples did not have a good day either; he gave up a leadoff homer to Olivares in the seventh, then a single to Big Wharton, whom he balked to second base, and then conceded another run on a Hernandez single and Rivas’ groundout before being yanked.

Suspense returned with Cam Jackson having a stinker of an outing in the bottom 7th, giving up singles to PH Eddie Mullen and Rodger Houkes, a walk to Rodriguez (four in the game now), and then a sac fly from Oscar Matos to Humphries. Dan Graham and Brian McFarland double-switched in for him and Morentin, but after Collins grounded out, Graham surrendered the two runners to a Terrell single, and suddenly it was 7-5. Josh Brown grounded out to short. Jimmy Madden singled his way on in the eighth against Graham, and Valentin came in for a (hopefully) 4-out save. Houkes singled off him and Rodriguez finally made an out, the third of the inning, by flying out to van Otterdijk on the warning track… Victor Cabrera struck out the 3-4-5 batters for the Raccoons in the ninth, so Valentin took a 2-run lead back to face the opposite-handed home 3-4-5. He got a groundout from Matos, then a visit from Luis Silva after the trainer noticed him rotating his shoulder oddly. Valentin tried to talk himself into staying in the game, but was dragged off the field by his fuzzy ear when he wouldn’t obey. The Coons sent McMahan out for his third straight outing to face Collins and Terrell, with Doster getting up as backup. McMahan drilled Collins at 0-2, then allowed a double to Terrell, putting the tying runs in scoring position. Terrific! Doster struck out Brown, and Adam Campbell, formerly a stinking Elk, popped out to Yocum to end the game. 7-5 Raccoons. Hernandez 2-5; Rivas 2-4, RBI;

Pedro Valentin was out with a mild shoulder strain – allegedly only for a few days, but the pen was now one body short, and there was no off day coming, either.

At least the Titans lost to grow the lead to four games.

Katz returned from rehab for the Tuesday game, replacing Brian McFarland (.252, 0 HR, 8 RBI).

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – RF Hamel – C Rivas – P Gaytan
CHA: 2B Houkes – 3B A. Rodriguez – CF L. Collins – 1B Terrell – LF Bakker – SS J. Brown – C A. Johnson – RF Mullen – P Peek

Katz immediately singled home a run, plating Humph from second after his leadoff single and Yocum’s groundout, then was doubled up on Tyler Wharton’s grounder to short; and the Falcons also got their leadoff man Houkes on with a single, and around to score, which involved a throwing error by Rivas and a sac fly by Collins. Both teams then put a pair on base and stranded them with a K on the pitcher in the second inning before the Coons got another lead as Yocum and Katz got on base and Wharton hit a sac fly in the third inning. The Falcons tied it up even faster this time, with a leadoff walk to Houkes, who nipped second and scored on Rodriguez’ single to left.

The Raccoons needed a long outing from Gaytan, and they weren’t gonna get it with every leadoff man reaching base and over 60 pitches in just three innings. He’d be at 89 through five innings, and also 3-2 behind on an unearned run thanks to a Hernandez error and then Kevin Huffman’s RBI double – Huffman being the replacement for an injured Brady Terrell. He left after trailing after six shoddy innings, the Raccoons sitting on three base knocks once again. The Raccoons then pressed Holzmeister for two scoreless, if not exactly perfect innings, as the Falcons had a guy on base for most of those two innings, but they still weren’t able to get the sticks up. Entering the ninth, they were still on three base hits, and now faced closer Orazio Cecere and his 1.12 ERA. Wharton, Olivares, and Woodley struck out in order. 3-2 Falcons. Katzman 2-4, RBI; Rivas 1-2, BB; Holzmeister 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K;

That one sucked, but at least it reset most of the pen for the rubber game. The Titans also beat the Knights to get a bit closer again.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Hamel – 3B Luebbert – C Rivas – P Walla
CHA: SS J. Brown – 2B A. Rodriguez – CF L. Collins – LF Bakker – 1B Huffman – 3B Bazua – C A. Johnson – RF A. Campbell – P S. Bickerton

Nick Walla was also behind a lot in the first inning, but the Coons scored first, getting Wharton on base with a single to begin the second. An error by Collins allowed him into second base, he advanced on Olivares’ groundout, and then scored on Hamel’s sac fly, but Luebbert also reached and was then doubled in by Rivas before the inning ended with a K by Walla. Huffman came close to a homer in the bottom 2nd, but the Coons loaded the bases in the third with a Humph double, Yocum single, and Katz walking, and nobody out. Bickerton lost Wharton on straight balls to force in the Raccoons’ third run of the game, then got a 6-4-3 double play grounder from Olivares that made it 4-0. Hamel grounded out to Raul Bazua.

This was all well and dandy, since Walla looked like one of those “sudden and unexpected” 4-run innings was just around the corner. Stuff was absent, and the Falcons chipped three hits against him the first time through, but also found two double plays. Matt Bakker hit a 2-out double in the fourth, but Huffman then actually hacked himself out.

Yocum singled and Katz reached on an error in the fifth, but the 4-5-6 batters browned out and no further runs were scored. Walla issued a leadoff walk in the bottom 5th, putting Bazua on base, but then struck out the 7-8 batters in looong counts before Bickerton popped out. The Coons battery then hit a pair of 1-out singles in the sixth, Walla’s coming on 0-2 after a pair of foul bunts. Again, no runs scored as Humph forced out Walla on a fielder’s choice grounder, Yocum walked, and Katz rolled one over to Bazua to leave everybody on base.

Things then finally DID go wrong in the bottom 6th, but not in the way I had anticipated, as Josh Brown grounded out and Alex Rodriguez hit a fly ball to center. Quite deep, actually. Wharton went back, further back, further back yet, made a jumping grab at the fence, and then came down awkwardly, and broke his foot on the landing. He was carted off and replaced by Morentin, and the NWSN broadcast of the event showed an uninterrupted, uncommented, 47-second sequence of me sitting in one of the suites, facepawing and frozen in time.

Luebbert made it 5-0 in the seventh, driving in Olivares with the third of three straight singles, while Walla gave up a leadoff triple to Bakker, a sac fly to Huffman, and then two walks and an RBI single to Mullen before being yanked with two outs and Brown appearing in the box as the tying run. Rismiller came in, insisted on giving up an RBI single, 5-3, and then got Morentin to catch a fly by Rodriguez. Katz answered with a solo homer off Dan Speake in the eighth, and Morentin and Olivares went to the corners with a pair of singles, only for Hamel to whiff and end the inning. Speake continued in the ninth and got two outs before the Coons chased the lefty sticks off the bench. Woodley and Sam Brown both hit a single with two outs, and Yocum snapped an RBI single to left-center to extend the lead again. Freddie DeWitt replaced Speake and gave up another two runs on a Katz knock, but Morentin flew out. Cam Jackson pitched the final three outs, but got beaten up again, allowing two runs on a single, triple, and sac fly… 9-5 Raccoons. Yocum 3-5, BB, RBI; Katzman 2-5, BB, HR, 3 RBI; T. Wharton 1-2, BB, RBI; Olivares 2-5; Rivas 2-5, 2B, RBI;

Tyler Wharton was going to miss the rest of the month, and with a little luck would be back just after the roster expansion. This team just couldn’t catch a ******* break, especially with outfielders, and with the four expensive guys at the top of the ******* lineup…!!

Raccoons (60-46) vs. Loggers (52-56) – August 6-9, 2071

The Loggers were nine games out in the North to begin this four-game set and held a 4-3 lead this year against the Critters. They continued to be the team of much offense, being second (tied with us to begin the set) in runs scored and tenth in runs allowed, for a -15 run differential. They were second in homers, but near the bottom in speed and defense, and outright worst for bullpen ERA, though we were giving them a run for their money. At least one piece of the lineup (Cesar Ramirez) was on the DL for this go-around.

Projected matchups:
Gabriel Rios (3-10, 4.52 ERA) vs. Julio Robles (2-6, 4.15 ERA)
Vinny Morales (6-1, 4.21 ERA) vs. Matt Crist (7-7, 3.73 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (11-6, 3.24 ERA) vs. Colt Long (10-6, 3.87 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-9, 3.53 ERA) vs. Cory Ritter (5-10, 3.94 ERA)

One more left-hander in this series, Long on Saturday, but we’d miss Kevin Bennett (11-6, 4.69 ERA), their other southpaw.

The Raccoons had brought back Jesus Guerrero to fill out the roster.

Game 1
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – LF W. Griffith – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B Metcalf – 2B F. Carrera – 3B Vic. Morales – CF Parrish – P Ju. Robles
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF van Otterdijk – CF Guerrero – P Rios

The Coons dove into the deep water right out of the gate when Olivares dropped Katz’ throw on Sean Van Leeuwen’s grounder on the first play of the game. The error got the Loggers going, and they then beat Rios up for three runs (one earned) on four hits. Wade Griffith hit one of the singles, but left the game with an injury in the same inning, hurting himself catching a drive by Hernandez in the bottom 1st. Olivares’ double and a Katz RBI single gave the Critters a run in the inning. Down 3-1, and nothing happening in the second, the Coons then saw three Loggers on base and nobody out in the third inning as Josh Bursley – Griffith’s replacement – and Carlos Dominguez singled and Manuel Rodriguez drew a walk, but Rios then got yelled at by the pitching coach and responded with getting Travis Metcalf to pop to short and then struck out Fidel Carrera and Victor Morales. But Rios filled the bases up AGAIN in the fourth, allowed two more runs, including one he balked in, and was disposed of after four innings of 5-run ball, and having tossed 108 pitches.

Dan Graham got four outs before he suffered an injury and left the game, Doster finishing out the sixth instead. Doster’s spot then came up in the #7 hole (Rios had been double-switched out and Hamel was in right) with Katz on second and two outs in the bottom 6th. Doster grounded one over to Vic Morales, but the former Critter skipped a low throw past Metcalf for a 2-base error, Katz scored, and then Doster scored on Jesus Guerrero’s single to right, but Hamel struck out to end the inning, Portland down 5-3.

The Coons got Humphries on base in the bottom 7th, at least until he was doubled up by Olivares, and then Rismiller got beaten around for three more runs, one earned, thanks to a Yocum error before the Loggers unpacked another three hits to beat him into submission. The Loggers got another unearned run off the recuperated Pedro Valentin in the ninth inning, and that one was ALSO unearned thanks to ANOTHER Yocum error. 9-3 Loggers. Katzman 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; van Otterdijk 1-2, 2B;

Why in the ******* world can we not maintain even a shred of decency against the Loggers????

There was no immediate diagnosis available on Dan Graham, but the Raccoons needed another pitcher and put him on the DL anyway. The Raccoons brought up Antonio Pacheco, who had going for him that he was a left-hander, and who wouldn’t have been selected if the Loggers weren’t such a heavily left-leaning team with their lineup. Pacheco was out of control even in AAA.

Game 2
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – 1B Metcalf – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 2B F. Carrera – LF Bursley – CF Parrish – 3B Vic. Morales – P Crist
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF van Otterdijk – CF Hamel – P Vin. Morales

I was a bit surprised that it took Vinny Morales 2.2 innings to load the bases with the 2-3-4 batters before getting a pop to short from Carrera, but it wasn’t like the Loggers hadn’t put anybody on base before that. Nobody had scored yet, though Jordan Hernandez had thrown away a grounder already, and Hamel had already spanked one into a double play to go on my nerves. Humph then drew a walk in the bottom 3rd and was doubled up as well, but through his own stupidity, going hard on a Yocum liner that was unfortunately caught by Travis Metcalf, who tapped the base for a 3-U double play while Humph stood in a completely different zip code.

Morales then ran a bunch of full counts in the fourth, walking Bursley and getting taken well deep by John Parrish for a 2-0 Loggers lead. After Olivares got on base and was doubled off by Hernandez in the bottom 4th, Metcalf opened the top 5th with a single. Morales threw a wild pitch, walked the bags full, plated Metcalf with a wild pitch, saw Carrera pop out to Humph in shallow left, and then walked Bursley to fill the ******* bases once again. He was then disposed of. Holzmeister gave up a sharp RBI single to Parrish, plating Dominguez while Rodriguez was thrown out at the plate by Hamel, and Vic Morales struck out to leave two in scoring position, but the Loggers now already led 4-0.

The Coons sent Pacheco into the sixth, which the #9 spot led off. Crist fell behind 1-2, then cracked a sharp single to right. He was forced out on a Van Leeuwen grounder, and Metcalf hit into a double play, but oh deary me. Pacheco would go two innings, and the second one wasn’t much less wicked and wild, but again the Loggers didn’t score, and then the 6-7-8 batters hit straight 2-out singles off Crist in the bottom 7th to bring the tying run to bat. The situation was dire enough (and Woodley had already been used) that Rivas batted in the *seventh*, and he also struck out. Crist not only extricated himself on three pitches here, he also slapped a double off Cam Jackson in the eighth, but was left on base. Doster got the ball for the ninth inning, and Hernandez ****** another grounder for an error, followed by another four-hit, four-run assault by the relentless Loggers lineup that the Raccoons couldn’t even hope to barf up against. 8-0 Loggers. Humphries 1-2, 2 BB; Olivares 2-4; van Otterdijk 2-3, BB; Pacheco 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

By now, the Titans had won twice against the Crusaders and were back within ONE game.

You just can’t win a flower pot with this feckless roster… (facepaws even harder)

Game 3
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – 3B Vic. Morales – C M. Rodriguez – 1B Metcalf – 2B F. Carrera – LF Alaniz – RF R. Soto – CF Parrish – P C. Long
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – CF Morentin – 3B Luebbert – P J. Wharton

The Saturday game BEGAN with a ******* error by Yocum, but two grounders around a K on Rodriguez got Jimmy Wharton out of the inning. Long loaded the bases in the bottom 1st as Humph singled, he nicked Yocum, and after a groundout, Katz drew a walk in a full count. Van Otterdijk, however, bobbled into a 6-4-3 double play, and that was that. Instead, the Loggers scored first after all, getting a Mario Alaniz double and an RBI single from Roberto Soto in the second for a 1-0 edge. From there, Jimmyboy remained stingy, though, and while Van Leeuwen got on base again in the third and fifth innings, unhelpful outs stranded him both times even while he stole second in both go-arounds. The Raccoons, though? Absolutely useless: two hits through five innings, and not even a threat of scoring after the first.

When Katz doubled in Olivares and his 2-out single with a ball that barely got past Soto in right in the bottom 6th, it tied the game, and came almost as a shock after four innings of coma. The Otter popped out before we could accidentally get a lead, and Jimmy was already near 100 pitches, got around a leadoff single by PH Randy Fisher in the seventh, but that put him at 108 pitches and he was done for the day. He got a no-decision, as Luebbert reached base on an error in the bottom 7th, but Hamel then pinch-hit and flew out to center to leave him stranded.

The Coons put Holzmeister into the eighth inning for the right-handed 2-3-4 batters. Holzmeister put nobody on base… but Katz and Luebbert did with YET MORE ******* ERRORS. (pours the whole bottle of Capt’n Coma into his snout) Carrera grounded to Yocum, but the Coons only got Metcalf on second and no double play. Alaniz flew out to the Otter, though, ending the inning and not giving the Loggers a doubly-unearned lead. Bottom 8th, Humph doubled off the wall in left, and the Coons had the go-ahead run in scoring position with nobody out. Yocum’s grounder advanced him, and Olivares got him home with a single over Van Leeuwen’s glove. Two more groundouts ended the inning and brought out Valentin. Parrish drew a 1-out walk to get the tying run on base, but the rest of the Loggers coming up drew blanks against the closer and the Coons somehow nibbled together a win. 2-1 Blighters. Humphries 2-4, 2B; Olivares 2-4, RBI; J. Wharton 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K;

Good about that W, because the Titans got one, too as the Crusaders collapsed out of competition. Boston beat their heads in by a dozen on Saturday.

Couple of guys got days off on Sunday, and Humphries was due one as well, but that would have to wait til Monday.

Game 4
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – CF Parrish – RF C. Dominguez – 2B F. Carrera – 1B Metcalf – 3B Monck – C Bergeron – LF Alaniz – P Ritter
POR: LF Humphries – RF van Otterdijk – SS Katzman – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – 1B Woodley – 2B Luebbert – CF Guerrero – P Gaytan

Gaytan was beaten up for four runs right out of the gate, as Van Leeuwen bunted his way on, Dominguez walked, Carrera hit an RBI single, and then Metcalf chucked a 3-run homer. It didn’t get better after that; Alaniz legged out an infield single in the second, but was left on, yet in the third inning, the Loggers just tore Gaytan to bits again, getting singles from Metcalf and former Critter Rich Monck, another RBI single from Don Bergeron, and finally a 2-run triple from Alaniz. Ritter popped out, and then Pacheco popped out … of the pen, replaced Gaytan after a 7-run pounding in 2.2 innings. Pacheco couldn’t have been more useless if he tried, giving up a near-homer to Van Leeuwen that Humph caught while caroming off the wall in left, then two actual runs on a Dominguez homer in the fourth inning. In between, Humph had actually extended the mark on the Coons’ team lead for homers to a sodden 13, of course with a solo shot.

Bottom 4th, Hernandez and Guerrero hit singles to go to the corners with two outs. Yocum batted for breathtakingly superfluous Antonio Pacheco and scratched an RBI single, and a walk drawn by Humph loaded the bases. The tying run was still somewhere near the rack of ribs in the dugout, and van Otterdijk’s lazy fly out to Alaniz moved the line back to the changing room.

Doster pitched two frames, giving up the Loggers’ tenth run of the game, and 28th of the series on a leadoff triple by Parrish and Dominguez’ sac fly in the sixth. Josh Woodley hit a double to right to begin the bottom 6th and scored on two groundouts, which reduced the gap to a skinny seven. Huzzah. (unscrews another bottle of Capt’n Coma)

Monck homered off Rismiller in the seventh, 11-3, and McMahan somehow loaded the bases with lefty batters before getting an inning-ending double play grounder from Metcalf that nobody even tossed away for the six-BILLIONTH error in this ******* series. The Coons then piled singles onto Joe Cash in the bottom 8th, getting four in a row from their 5-6-7-8 batters to get a run home and load the bags before Olivares batted for McMahan, Cash threw a wild pitch to score a run, and then Olivares grounded out to third an halted the advance. Humph drove in two with another single, knocking out Cash for the remains of Angel Alba, who finished the inning, Portland still down by plenty. It remained like that. 11-7 Loggers. Humphries 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; van Otterdijk 2-5; Rivas 2-5; Hernandez 3-5; Woodley 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Guerrero 2-4, RBI; Yocum (PH) 1-1, RBI;

We even out-hit the Loggers in this game, 15-13, and still got our stupid skulls smashed in.

In other news

August 5 – LAP 1B Juan Gutierrez (.298, 15 HR, 52 RBI) drives home half his team’s runs in a 14-1 thrashing of the Capitals. Gutierrez hits two homers and a double for the deed.
August 8 – The season of Canadiens outfielder John Bustillos (.266, 14 HR, 59 RBI) ends with a torn labrum.

Player of the Week (FL): TOP INF/LF/RF Matt Young (.295, 3 HR, 31 RBI), hitting .407 (11-27) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): VAN OF Dan Moore (.315, 17 HR, 67 RBI), batting .517 (15-29) with 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

When Tyler Wharton went back on the DL, the Raccoons’ big our sticks had already missed a combined 85 games this season. Not as bad as last year. YET. Speaking of injuries, Dan Graham was down with a herniated disc and would probably also not return before September. Those news came around on Sunday, but we had of course already placed him on the DL earlier.

The Titans lost on Sunday, sparing the Raccoons a tie for the division at week’s end, although I was sure they’d zoom past soon.

The Raccoons can’t do anything. They can’t pitch, they can’t hit with runners in nice places, they can’t field when the Loggers are around, they can’t keep the bloody thing in the park, and they can’t stay off the ******* DL.

Four more with New York at home next, and then we’re off for a weekend trip to Sacramento.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons are playing .428 ball (74-99) against the Loggers since the start of the 2062 season.

That murder lineup came together soon after that, and while they’ve never had pitching, we’ve always been prone to making gifts, like SEVEN errors in a four-game set when the other team was already beating every pitcher’s head in.

Carrera has been around since 2059, and Ramirez (who wasn’t even in this series!!) debuted in 2062. Dominguez joined in 2065. And that passes over a whole set of players that tortured the Raccoons for years, but that has since moved on like Jonathan Merrill (who also made his debut in 2062, when our performance against them went forcefully into the toilet), Tim Goss (debut in 2065), Dave Wright (2060), Dave Robles (2055 and already retired), Tommy Guitreau (2063), and Kyle Reber (cups of coffee from 2061, but for real in 2064).

Good job, team.

Good job!! (pets Honeypaws quite angrily)

Not that the .428 mark is the worst against any CL North team in the last ten years. We’ve been playing .410 ball against the Titans in the same timeframe. But they at least also had Jason Brenize and Mike Bell for most o it……

(depressed sobbing noises)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (61-49) vs. Crusaders (55-55) – August 10-13, 2071

The Crusaders were lumbering along with the second-worst offense in the Continental League and had a -28 run differential with the fourth-best pitching unable to keep up. They had some speed and defense to help out, but just weren’t getting on base and not hitting homers either. Well, maybe this week. They came in without regulars Ryan Marty, Kyle Reber, and Chris McNulty, as well as reliever Dave Hyman. Portland had a 7-4 upside in the season series.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (8-6, 2.76 ERA) vs. Paul Egley (8-11, 3.43 ERA)
Gabriel Rios (3-11, 4.59 ERA) vs. Nate Freeman (7-8, 3.77 ERA)
Vinny Morales (6-2, 4.37 ERA) vs. Danny Ortiz (7-6, 3.98 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (11-6, 3.14 ERA) vs. Russell Anderson (7-6, 3.53 ERA)

Russell Anderson was the only left-hander in the rotation. He was also serving a suspension that prevented him from starting the first three games, and so far it didn’t look like the Crusaders had a plan to get around that without sending everybody else out on short rest.

Game 1
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – SS Wildman – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – 1B R. Ortiz – 2B Dickerson – LF Ospina – C R. Stephens – P Egley
POR: 2B Yocum – 3B Hernandez – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – C Rivas – LF van Otterdijk – RF Hamel – CF Morentin – P Walla

Nick Walla looked just as bad as last time out in the early innings with no stuff and lots of behind-in-the-count lobbing and hoping for the defense to catch it, especially against the top half of the lineup. Bill Davidson’s double and Raul Ledesma’s RBI single in the first were definitely not caught, but Ledesma at least got himself caught stealing by Gabe Rivas to end the inning. The Coons did little in the early going, but Olivares smacked a game-tying homer to lead off the bottom 4th. Katz popped out, but Rivas drew a walk and van Otterdijk doubled to put a pair in scoring position with one gone. Former #5 pick Jack Hamel, who was getting more chances than merited with so many injured outfielders, popped out to short in this fat spot, and the Crusaders waved Morentin, batting .195 on base, to get to the .178 hitter Walla instead, who snapped a 2-run single through the left side to give himself a 3-1 lead. Adam Yocum then went into the gap for a triple and a 5-1 score before Jordan Hernandez popped out foul.

With the lead, Walla went a little smoother, but gave up a solo homer to Davidson in the sixth inning. The Crusaders otherwise stayed largely off base after the Coons took the lead, except for Willie Ospina, who hit a single and got himself caught stealing to end the inning. Walla got Miguel Lacatelli and Bobby Wildman out to begin the eighth, but didn’t face Davidson anymore, as Valentin and Luebbert got double-switched in for him and Katz for a 4-out save. Valentin got the job done by retiring four batters in order, three by strikeouts. 5-2 Raccoons. Yocum 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; van Otterdijk 2-4, 2B; Walla 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (9-6) and 1-3, 2 RBI;

The brown team had only one hit after the 5-run outburst. The Titans meanwhile were hosting the Indians and scratched out a 3-2 win to begin the 3-game set, so the gap for now remained at one game in the Raccoons’ favor.

Jesus Morentin (.203, 0 HR, 8 RBI) returned to AAA after this game, being replaced with Jamie Colter, returning from the DL. Yay, *a* left-handed stick!

The Crusaders send Josh Jackson (4-4, 6.23 ERA) as spot starter on Tuesday. The right-hander would at least untangle their rotation a bit. Meanwhile, Gabriel Rios had last won a game in May, 13 starts ago, and the Agitator claimed to know that Val Centeno was going to take his rotation spot before September. I wasn’t gonna say anything about these wild speculations!

Game 2
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – 2B Joe King – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – LF Griffin – SS R. Ortiz – 1B B. Johnston – C T. Medina – P Jo. Jackson
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – CF Hamel – C Brown – 3B Luebbert – P Rios

Humph, Olivares (who got forced out by Katz), and Colter loaded the bases in the bottom 1st only for Hamel to pop out foul, while Rios put Tony Griffin and Robert Ortiz on base to begin the top 2nd, but then struck out the bottom of the lineup in order… while also running three straight full counts. New York got the bags full on a leadoff walk to Lacatelli, a Davidson single, and ANOTHER walk to Griffin, and this time Robert Ortiz knocked in two runs with two outs before Bryan Johnston flew out to left to end the inning. Rios struck out seven in three innings, and also threw over 70 pitches. He was rightly a complete mess.

Rios got abused for 114 pitches in six innings, striking out ten batters in the end, and left the game mid-inning with a 2-2 tie. The Raccoons hadn’t done *a lot* on offense in five innings against a spot starter with a 6+ ERA, but eventually Humph had gotten on base, gained 90 feet on a bad pickoff attempt, and then Yocum and Olivares bashed RBI knocks to get the Coons even in the bottom 5th. It became, however, the 14th straight winless start for Rios, since the Coons had a Brown single and literally nothing else in the bottom 6th.

Rismiller put in a scoreless seventh against the 9-1-2 batters before Holzmeister took the hill for the meat of the order and got beaten up. Jonathan Merrill’s pinch-hit single, a Tony Griffin RBI double, and another RBI single for Ortiz meant the Crusaders zoomed out to a 4-2 lead before a strike-em-out-throw-em-out with Johnston and Ortiz ended the inning. The Raccoons had Humph on in the seventh and did nothing with it, then made two outs against Christopher Tinari in the bottom 8th before Colter slapped a single. Adam Dochterman replaced Tinari, and there was the urge to pinch-hit Woodley for Hamel against the fresh righty that couldn’t be replaced now, but we had already used Guerrero to bat for Rismiller earlier and didn’t want to send Humphries to center after using up Hamel, so Hamel was let go to bat rather begrudgingly, and only knocked a 2-run homer to tie the ballgame.

McMahan then held the Crusaders away in the ninth with a 1-2-3 inning, then was hit for by Woodley to begin the bottom 9th, still facing Dochterman. The Rule 5er grounded out, but Humph singled. Yocum grounded out, moving the winning run to second, and then Dochterman walked the bags full, bringing up Colter, who took a couple of clumsy pokes and soon found himself in a 1-2 hole. I prepared myself for extras and ached off the couch to visit the bathroom with the at-bat still going and was almost at the door to Maud’s office when everybody started screaming. Hurrying back to poke my nose around to see the TV, I caught the last glimpse of a baseball before it disappeared in the shrubbery behind the centerfield wall. WALKOFF!! GRAAAAAND!!!! SLAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!! 8-4 Furballs!! Humphries 2-3, 2 BB; Yocum 2-5, RBI; Colter 2-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; Hamel 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

Well. Glad we didn’t send Colter on rehab. Wouldn’t want him to waste that one on the Selma Shuckers or whatever they had down there in AAA.

Ricky McMahan nabbed his seventh win in relief, which put a RELIEVER alone in third place for victories on this bloody team. Only Jimmyboy (11) and Nick Walla (9) had more.

Wednesday then saw Alejandro Olivares very sick and dizzy and not in shape to play, so Josh Woodley was in the lineup for at least a couple of days.

Game 3
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – 2B Joe King – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – LF Griffin – 1B R. Ortiz – SS Roza – C R. Stephens – P N. Freeman
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 3B Hernandez – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 1B Woodley – CF Hamel – C Brown – P Morales

Neither side had a hit, although there were walks by both pitchers and an error made by the Crusaders, until Jordan Hernandez’ leadoff single to center in the bottom of the fourth on Wednesday. But with the lid popped off, the Raccoons *popped off*: Katz, Colter, Woodley, and Brown ALL smashed doubles in the inning now, with two RBI for Colter and one each for Woodley and Brown. Hamel whiffed and Morales grounded out, and with two outs Humph walked and Yocum snapped an RBI single. Hernandez’ groundout to short capped a very sudden 5-spot. New York remained hitless in the fifth, but the Raccoons got another Katz double, a Woodley single, and an RBI single from Brown to extend the lead to 6-0 before Vinny made the final out.

The Crusaders went calmly in the sixth, but Hernandez made a dive to catch Joe King’s liner to begin the seventh. Davidson popped out, but that was where Morales no-hit bid ended, as Raul Ledesma then hit a clean single through the left side, even though both Katz and Hernandez were diving for it, and neither came within six feet with his glove. In the bottom 7th, Crusaders reliever Matt Topp issued three walks, but allowed no runs, as Hamel hit into a double play and Morales received a K to end the inning.

The Coons batted through the order in the bottom 8th to shred the Crusaders’ pen some more. Katz doubled in Humph and Hernandez, scored on a pinch-hit single by Guerrero, but Colter, Guerrero, and Brown were left on base when Morales struck out, but that also meant he was allowed to try for the shutout, entering the ninth on 95 pitches and then running into a full count against Merrill before he grounded out to Katz. Lacatelli flew out. There was a check on Morales after that, but he claimed he had one more out in him. King popped out to short on the 107th pitch of the game to make it happen. 9-0 Furballs! Humphries 0-1, 4 BB; Hernandez 3-5; Katzman 3-5, 3 2B, 2 RBI; Woodley 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; Guerrero (PH) 1-1, RBI; Brown 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Morales 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, W (7-2);

First career shutout for Vinny Morales at 30 years old!

The Titans lost the last two games of their Indians set, so the gap was now three games again.

Game 4
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – 2B Joe King – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – LF Griffin – SS R. Ortiz – 1B B. Johnston – C T. Medina – P D. Ortiz
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – 1B Woodley – C Rivas – CF Guerrero – P J. Wharton

The Crusaders then stormed out of the gates with straight hits from their 1-2-3 batters on Thursday, Davidson driving home Lacatelli, and King scoring on a Ledesma sac fly, before Jimmyboy sorted himself out and got out of the inning. Danny Ortiz then issued leadoff walks to Humph and Yocum, and a Katz single loaded the bases in the bottom 1st. Extremely out of shape, Ortiz walked Colter on four pitches to push home a run. Hernandez managed to hack himself out, but Woodley flipped the score with a 2-run single to center. Davidson’s attempt on Katz at the plate allowed the trailing runners into scoring position, but Rivas fanned and Guerrero’s fly was shagged on the warning track by Griffin to end the inning.

Davidson tied the game with a homer in the third, all even at three, while the Coons got a Colter double and Hernandez single in the same inning, but Colter was thrown out at the plate by Griffin to keep the game tied. Amid all the carnage, which included Lacatelli departing with an injury and being replaced with Josh Roza, Jimmy Wharton struck out eight Crusaders in four innings… and then was taken deep AGAIN by Davidson in the fifth, giving New York the lead back at 4-3. Jamie Colter, vaunted slugger, replied to that with a game-tying homer to right of his own in the bottom of the fifth! The inning continued with Hernandez lining out for the second out, and then Woodley doubled to right and scored on a Rivas single to left-center, and now Portland was back on top, 5-4. Tony Griffin’s romping leadoff jack to left in the sixth corrected that, however, and Wharton hung around to give a double to Tony Medina and pinch-hit RBI single to the left-handed hitting Ospina, and then departed down 6-5 still.

Another run fell out of Doster in the seventh after a Ledesma double and a pinch-hit RBI single by Merrill, 7-5, while Colter and Woodley hit singles in the bottom 7th, but Rivas found a double play to hit into. Dochterman then walked Brown and Yocum in the eighth inning, but Katz fanned to leave the tying runs on base. Right-hander Leo Garcia was up with a 2-run lead in the bottom 9th. Colter and Hernandez grounded out and Woodley flew out to deep center to end the game. 7-5 Crusaders. Colter 3-4, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Woodley 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI;

Raccoons (64-50) @ Scorpions (50-61) – August 14-17, 2071

These teams met for the third straight year, and the Raccoons had dropped both of the last two meetings, two games to one each time. In Sacramento, they had long abandoned this season from their hearts, as the Stingers were 25 games out in their division. They had a 5-game winning streak going, but still ranked third from the bottom in runs scored and fifth from the bottom in runs allowed in the FL. Power was largely absent from this team, but they were good base stealers. Rightfielder Aaron Warner was the only player on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (6-10, 3.90 ERA) vs. Luis Briseno (3-11, 4.49 ERA)
Nick Walla (9-6, 2.73 ERA) vs. Shane Utting (5-13, 6.07 ERA)
Val Centeno (0-0) vs. Kevin Schure (7-6, 4.20 ERA)

Nothing but right-handers. And YES: Gabriel Rios (3-11, 4.52 ERA) was out of the rotation. Val Centeno had traveled to Sacramento from Florida, but was not on the roster yet to begin the series. He would however make his season debut on Sunday in Rios’ spot.

Katz needed a day off, being sore top to bottom, and Olivares was still recovering from two days on the toilet and arrived in Sacramento on a later flight than the rest of the team. He was at least in uniform for the opener, but not in the lineup again. So neither ended up being in the rather thin looking lineup on Friday.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – RF Colter – 3B J. Hernandez – 1B Woodley – C Rivas – CF Hamel – SS Luebbert – P Gaytan
SAC: LF D. Johnson – SS J. Schmidt – C R. Rogers – RF Pinault – 1B Savalli – 2B Philpot – 3B Li – CF T. Rivera – P Briseno

Humph started with a double and Yocum walked, but Colter smacked into a double play and the Raccoons left a runner on third once Hernandez grounded out in the first inning. While the Raccoons didn’t get another base runner until Woodley singled to begin the fifth inning, the Stingers had a guy on base in three of the four first innings, but never made it past second base on two singles and a Woodley error. A sharp single by Rivas to right moved Woodley to second base in that fifth inning, but Hamel grounded into a fielder’s choice at second, although he then stole that second base. At that point, Nick Luebbert, already ahead in the count, got directions to first base, and Gaytan batted with three on and one out, shoving a sharp bouncer past Tuo-zhou Li for a 2-run single and a lead for himself. Both the 1-2 batters then grounded out poorly to prevent further runs from scoring; and Ryan Philpot’s double and Tony Rivera’s RBI single got Sacramento on the board in the same inning, but they remained 2-1 behind for now.

A pair of singles hit by Woodley and Rivas led to no runs, coming with two gone in the sixth and Hamel whiffing after the fact, but Gaytan had a meltdown for three walks and in between an RBI double by Philpot to tie the game. The bases ended up being loaded, and the Scorpions did not bat for Briseno with two outs for some reason. Gaytan also didn’t strike him out, but allowed a fly to left that required some movement from Humphries to catch, and so Gaytan departed in a 2-2 tie after six, although when Luebbert drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, Gaytan hung around and bunted him to second base. Humph then got walked intentionally, and Yocum hit into a double play…

When Woodley and Rivas reached base once more with two gone in the inning in the top 8th, the Raccoons moved some levers and Katz batted for a hitless Hamel, but his fly to right was caught by Mike Pinault. Guerrero then resumed in centerfield. The Coons’ pen then came unglued in the bottom 8th, and even though only one run scored between three hapless appearances of relievers, it was the go-ahead run. It was charged to Rismiller, who had gotten the last two outs in the seventh, but now allowed a leadoff single to Pinault. Humphries overran the ball for an error, but McMahan balked the runner to third and then walked PH Francisco Roviva in a full count, and immediately was replaced with Holzmeister, who allowed the run to score on a Philpot single, threw a wild pitch, walked PH Jeremy Jenkins, and then had another pinch-hitter, Emilio Vidrio line out to Luebbert. Both PH Greg Munoz and Dan Johnson struck out with the bases loaded. Right-hander Gustavo Vega struck out Luebbert, Brown, and Humphries in order to win the Stingers’ sixth straight game. 3-2 Scorpions. Woodley 2-3, BB; Rivas 3-4;

The Titans got blown out by the Stars by a tenner, which ensured the Coons would remain tops in the division by the end of the week.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B J. Hernandez – C Rivas – CF Hamel – P Walla
SAC: LF D. Johnson – SS J. Schmidt – C R. Rogers – RF Pinault – 2B Philpot – 3B Li – 1B J. Jenkins – CF T. Rivera – P Utting

Olivares returned to the lineup on Saturday, and right away thumped a 2-run homer with Yocum aboard to put the brown team in front. It didn’t last. Walla allowed singles to Dan Johnson and Ryan Rogers in the first inning, but John Schmidt had by then hit into a double play, and Walla escaped the inning. No such luck in the second, where the Stingers got a 1-out walk to Li, and then a single, an RBI double, a pop out on a 3-1 pitch by Utting, and then a 2-run single from Johnson, flipping the score. Schmidt doubled and Johnson was stopped at third base, and Rogers’ long fly to center was run down by Hamel to end the inning.

Walla’s outing turned out to be entirely forgettable. He allowed eight hits and four walks in just five innings before being squeezed from the game. The Stingers left at least one runner on in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings, and the defense worked overtime to get Walla *that* far. Nevertheless, he departed with a lead, courtesy of a 2-run homer by much-maligned Jack Hamel in the fifth inning that made it 4-3 Coons. Pitching didn’t improve much with Pacheco, who allowed two singles between three batters faced in the bottom 6th and then had his mess cleaned up by Cam Jackson, who then got hit for with Woodley when his spot came up in the seventh after a pair of 1-out singles by Rivas and Hamel, and a fielding error by Tony Rivera on the latter, putting the pair in scoring position. Woodley slapped a 1-2 pitch through the hole on the right side for an RBI single, 5-3, but Hamel was stopped at third base because Pinault had one of the meanest arms in the league. Humph added a run by means of an RBI double to center, but Yocum and Olivares made two poor outs to keep a pair in scoring position.

Holzmeister cobbled an inning together before the bags filled up against Robbie Hernandez in the eighth inning as Katz, Jordan Hernandez, and Rivas reached on a walk, error, and single, respectively. Hamel batted with one out, but found a double play on the first pitch – but so did the Scorpions’ Ryan Rogers after McMahan had allowed two singles to Justin Savalli and Johnson in the bottom 8th. J.P. Knox held the Raccoons to their 3-run lead in the ninth, and Valentin faced the 4-5-6 batters in the bottom of the inning. Pinault doubled, Philpot singled, Li singled, and the tying runs were on base with one already home. For crying out loud! Jenkins’ groundout advanced the tying runs into scoring position, and Rivera’s groundout plated a run and moved Li to third base. Roviva pinch-hit … and struck out. 6-5 Critters. Rivas 3-4; Hamel 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1, RBI;

Antonio Pacheco (0-0, 3.60 ERA) got sent back to St. Petersburg after this game to open a roster spot for Val Centeno, who had pitched to a 3.99 ERA in AAA this year, which was at least a run and a half better than last season when he came back from Tommy John. I expected at least that much improvement compared to his major league ERA from last season, which was … oh… 7.10?

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – 3B J. Hernandez – C Brown – RF van Otterdijk – CF Hamel – P Centeno
SAC: LF D. Johnson – SS J. Schmidt – C R. Rogers – RF Pinault – 1B Savalli – 2B Philpot – 3B Vidrio – CF T. Rivera – P Schure

Humph and Yocum singled, stole a pair of bases, and scored on a throwing error by Rogers and a Katz single, respectively, so Centeno got a 2-0 headstart as well. He didn’t get a strike past any of the first four batters and issued a four-pitch walk to Rogers, but got out of the first inning, then bunted van Otterdijk and Hamel onwards in the second, enabling a Humph sac fly to extend the lead to 3-0, although Yocum then popped out. Centeno continued to struggle, but struck out the battery in the bottom 3rd… while in between Johnson and Schmidt both reached base. Pinault, however, grounded out to Yocum, leaving runners on the corners.

The Coons infield worked overtime and was going to demand hazard pay because they shoveled a fair amount of sharp grounders in the following innings, but at least kept runners off base, besides those that Centeno walked. Rogers got a leadoff walk in the bottom 6th, but Pinault hit to Katz for a 6-4-3 double play, for example. Savalli then singled into no man’s land, but Philpot flew out conveniently to Humphries.

Centeno’s day ended in the seventh and with *another* leadoff walk to Emilio Vidrio. Rivera singled, and he then received Schure’s bunt, which went to the right side. Olivares was right on it, but Vidrio was inexplicably bumbling and was thrown out at third base! Rios then replaced his replacement, bafflingly walked Johnson on four pitches to load the bases with the tying runs, and was immediately dismissed for Jackson. Schmidt hit a sac fly, and Rogers got nailed to refill the bases, but Pinault, the Scorpions’ home run leader with 18 chucks, got nothing on a fly to left and the inning ended in Humph’s glove. Jackson also did the eighth, getting around a walk of his own, and setting up Valentin for more drama, surely.

By the way, the Raccoons *were* taking their turns at tee, they just couldn’t hit it. Schure finished nine innings on a 6-hitter, and still 3-1 behind. Valentin then faced Jenkins leading off in the #9 spot, getting a fly to center that Hamel caught leisurely. He then walked Johnson in a full count, and ran another full count on Schmidt, who whiffed eventually as Johnson stole second base. Rogers K’ed to end the game. 3-1 Raccoons. Yocum 2-4; Jackson 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K;

In other news

August 10 – DAL UT Carlos Fumero (.328, 3 HR, 52 RBI) knocks five hits, including a homer, and gets two RBI in a 10-6 victory against the Warriors.
August 15 – NAS LF/RF Dustin Schmidt (.198, 7 HR, 30 RBI) hits a walkoff RBI double to beat the Falcons, 6-5 in 16 innings.

Player of the Week (FL): DAL UT Carlos Fumero (.329, 3 HR, 55 RBI), clipping .448 (13-29) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): VAN LF/RF Roberto Lozada (.298, 16 HR, 89 RBI), bashing .455 (10-22) with 2 HR, 7 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Nice to see Vinny Morales finally putting that shutout together he had nibbled on a couple of times in the last seasons. He had pitched a complete game last year, but his first shutout came in the 114th start of a career that started really late, considering that he only did some late-season garbage duty in ’66, going 0-5 with a 5.01 ERA in ten games (six starts), and then didn’t appear for the Critters at all in the following season. He only got back on the team early in ’68 after tumbling through the door when the Critters disposed of “Rated-R” Rautenstrauch and his 8.50 ERA.

The Titans got swept by the Stars, who held a ninth inning rally for a come-from-behind walkoff on Sunday, so the Raccoons now had a considerable 4 1/2 game lead in the North. The final nail in the blue coffin on Sunday was a walkoff single by ex-Coon Carlos Fumero!

I’d like to announce that we have a few more aces up our sleeves for reinforcements (by September 1 perhaps), but there really isn’t a lot. Righty relievers we can add a couple with no issues once rosters expand in two weeks. But there’s not much in terms of impact bats available. Danny Huckaby is hitting .290 with 13 homers in AAA, but we already have a left-handed first-baseman-only on the roster. When it comes to the bench, things look extremely dire otherwise, though, also because injuries have currently taken out five different AAA hitters that we might have wanted to add (back): infielders Brian McFarland, Ramon Mata, and Roberto Pena; as well as outfielders Eddy Valdez and Dave Falquez. Only Mata and McFarland were expected to be ready by expansion day.

Jaden Wilson was going to start another rehab assignment to AAA next week. Maybe this one would go better, with fewer broken bones.

The Raccoons had the Buffaloes at home next, and then started a 4-city road trip in Boston on the weekend. All the good places where nothing good ever happens were on that trip…

Fun Fact: Jack Hamel and Josh Woodley combined have more home runs than Tyler Wharton this year – in fewer at-bats.

There are no words.

Tyler Wharton: 262 AB, 8 HR
Jack Hamel: 112 AB, 4 HR
Josh Woodley: 126 AB, 5 HR

There are a couple more fringers that, when put together in pairs with those two get you an equally as, or more powerful combo in terms of home run rate (and staying on the ******* field) than Wharton:

Jamie Colter: 150 AB, 4 HR
George van Otterdijk: 164 AB, 6 HR

Those four faces – funny story – all make the minimum. They are altogether barely $7,484,000 cheaper than Big Bucks Wharton.

[DD Martin]

Just remember who called this team a winner back at the start of the season. The guy from across the river who doesn’t have a team because Salem of all places stole Seattle’s team.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Just remember who called this team a winner back at the start of the season.

Bold words just before a road trip to all the places where nothing good ever happens.

Originally Posted by DD Martin

The guy from across the river who doesn’t have a team because Salem of all places stole Seattle’s team.

I mean, for the folks from up north there's always the damn Elks to root for.

(picks up blunderbuss as Cristiano Carmona closes the door to Maud's office and parks himself in front of it, so the visitor to the office can carefully consider his options)

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Bold words just before a road trip to all the places where nothing good ever happens.


I mean, for the folks from up north there's always the damn Elks to root for. (picks up blunderbuss as Cristiano Carmona closes the door to Maud's office and parks himself in front of it, so the visitor to the office can carefully consider his options)

But this season good things happen all the time!

If it was the Vancouver directly across the river from Portland maybe. But not the one way up north.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (66-51) vs. Buffaloes (50-67) – August 17-19, 2071

The Buffaloes were also merrily awaiting the end of the season, as they were 24 games out in their division. This was the worst offense in the Federal League, and they brought average pitching along with it. It all added up to a -64 run differential, and the only area they excelled in was defense. They also had a lot of injuries, including three starting pitchers: Ian Lowry, Vince Ellison, and Dan Jennings were all out, along with infielder Matt Young. The Coons had lost the last two meetings between these teams, both two games to one, most recently in 2069. Our last series win had come in ’64.

Projected matchups:
Vinny Morales (7-2, 4.03 ERA) vs. Alfredo Picun (9-8, 4.06 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (11-7, 3.38 ERA) vs. Angel Suarez (5-6, 3.99 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-10, 3.87 ERA) vs. T.J. Herbert (12-7, 3.40 ERA)

Only right-handers coming up in this series.

Game 1
TOP: LF S. Alvarez – RF Banuelos – CF J. Velazquez – 3B Frasher – 2B D. Cox – C Cohen – 1B Ferrari – P Picun – SS A. Medina
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – C Rivas – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – CF Guerrero – P Morales

The worst offense in the Federal League went up 1-0 in the first inning when Morales walked Jose Banuelos and surrendered the run on Eric Frasher’s 2-out RBI single following Javier Velazquez’ groundout. Starting with Sandy Alvarez, the Buffos then lobbed three singles to center to begin the top 3rd, loading the bases. Frasher grounded into a fielder’s choice at 3-0, plating a run, and Dustin Cox singled home another, but Pat Cohen and former Coons farmhand Tom Ferrari made poor outs and stranded a pair of runners. The Raccoons had another slow start before Yocum singled home Guerrero with two outs in the bottom 3rd to at least get on the board.

#8 hitters cracked extra-base hits in the middle innings, which included the pitcher Picun for the Buffos doubling in the fourth and being stranded (no wonder they were the worst when they batted the pitcher eighth!), but Guerrero hit a homer to left for the Coons leading off the bottom 5th, 3-2.

Morales got stuck in the sixth, putting Ferrari and Alberto Medina on the corners and departing with two outs to be replaced by Rios, who struck out Alvarez to bugger out of the inning. He would be around a bit longer owing to three left-handed and three switch-hitting batters in that Buffos lineup, while the Coons got even in the bottom of the inning, despite Olivares and Katz’ getting on base being followed by Rivas hitting into a 4-6-3 double play. Jamie Colter tied it up with a single to right, though, but Jordan Hernandez flew out to right. Doster then held the game tied in the eighth, while the Critters’ Olivares and Rivas hit long fly balls in the bottom 8th against Picun, but couldn’t get either one over the wall… or even to fall in. Rismiller kept it tied, retiring the Buffos in order in the ninth, and the Raccoons brought up the 6-7-8 against Picun, who was still going. He struck out Colter, but Hernandez got hold of one and buried it in the right-center gap for a 1-out triple! The Buffos wanted nothing more to do with Guerrero and walked him intentionally, after which van Otterdijk batted for Rismiller – Woodley had already been used and Sam Brown smelled too much like a double play. Instead the Otter ended the game with a sac fly to right, even though Eric Frasher gave it his all to throw out Hernandez going home, but the only thing he threw out was his own arm. 4-3 Raccoons. Guerrero 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;

The Titans did not play on Monday, extending the Raccoons’ lead to five games. Frasher was diagnosed with a forearm cramp and was listed as day-to-day by the Buffaloes.

Game 2
TOP: 2B D. Cox – CF J. Velazquez – 3B Frasher – C Cohen – LF Grulke – 1B O. Reyes – SS Dutcher – RF Banuelos – P A. Suarez
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – C Rivas – RF Colter – CF Guerrero – 3B Luebbert – P J. Wharton

Frasher didn’t seem to be suffering too much as he doubled in the first inning. He scored on a 2-base throwing error by Rivas on Pat Cohen’s grounder in front of the plate, so we’d play another one from behind. FAR behind. After Kyle Grulke grounded out to end the first inning, Orlando Reyes, Jeff Dutcher, and Jose Banuelos hit straight singles to begin the second inning. Angel Suarez then DOUBLED, two runs scored, and Banuelos scored on a groundout after that. The Coons had Humph on base in the bottom 1st, at least until he was doubled off by Olivares, but Colter hit a solo homer in the bottom 2nd to get the Raccoons on the board.

The Coons then left an unearned pair on base in the bottom 3rd when Olivares struck out with Humph (error) and Yocum (walk) on base and two gone, and then had to wait for a 2-out single by Jimmyboy to get another paw on base in the bottom 5th. Humph also singled, putting runners on the corners, but Yocum grounded out to Jeff Not-Just-Dutch-but-Dutcher.

Jimmy held out for eight innings after the early barrage. The Buffos had a couple more singles, but twice cleaned up behind themselves with a double play grounder to short, and the traffic was rather light overall in his final six frames on the mound. However, the offense couldn’t kick it in gear and didn’t score again until the bottom 8th when Katz from first ran through a stop sign on third base and scored no Rivas’ 2-out double to left-center. That one knocked out Suarez, replaced with southpaw Jason Bair. Hamel batted for Colter and walked, but Guerrero then whiffed and the tying runs were left on base. Rismiller then pitched another ninth inning and held the 2-run line before righty Alvaro Garza got the ball for the save. Hernandez and Woodley pinch-hit and were turned away before Humph worked a 2-out walk. Yocum singled on a 3-1 pitch, which brought up Olivares, who was 0-for-4 with six million gazillion runners left on base in this game. But once again the smartest other option was Sam Brown. Olivares batted, grounded out, and that was that. 4-2 Buffaloes. Humphries 2-4, BB; Rivas 2-4, 2B, RBI;

Alejandro Olivares looked like consecutive days off could do no further damage indeed.

Game 3
TOP: LF L. Vazquez – RF Banuelos – CF J. Velazquez – 1B O. Reyes – 3B Frasher – 2B D. Cox – C Cohen – P Herbert – SS A. Medina
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 1B Woodley – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – CF Guerrero – P Gaytan

Offense was absent to begin the rubber game, as Gaytan struck out five Buffos in the first three innings, while allowing two singles, one of them to the opposing pitcher T.J. Herbert. Topeka didn’t get anything more off him through five, an inning the Raccoons entered on one meager base hit, but Woodley singled to left, and then Hernandez hit a looper to shallow left that Luis Vazquez dove or, but only trapped, and now there were two on base with nobody out. Brown (didn’t I talk about double plays recently) hit into a double play, Guerrero was declined by the Buffos, and Gaytan grounded out, keeping the game scoreless. Vazquez’ leadoff jack then instead gave the Buffaloes the lead in the top 6th.

Katz hit into another double play with Humph on base in the bottom 6th, and Colter led off the next inning with a single. Herbert turned away Woodley on a pop, but walked Hernandez. Brown at least made only one out this time, and then Guerrero *was* pitched to, and singled to center to tie the game with two gone.

Gaytan pitched nine innings on 95 pitches, conceding only three base hits, but the game was still tied into the bottom 9th, Herbert also getting the green light to bid for nine complete innings. Hernandez hit a 1-out single, but that was as good as it got. Guerrero struck out to send the game to extras, leaving the winning run on first base. The Critters got cute and sent Gaytan back out for the tenth inning. Dustin Cox hit a single, but Gaytan worked through it and got a couple of pops to get out of the inning himself. That was it though, as Olivares batted for him to begin the bottom 10th and grounded out. Humph also didn’t get on against Alvaro Garza, but Yocum singled. He then stole second, his 30th theft of the year, and Pat Cohen’s throw got into centerfield for an error and Yocum eloped to third base, but now the Buffos declined to deal with Katz any longer, and instead sent him to first and turned to Jamie Colter, who also ended up walking. Woodley, meanwhile, ran a 3-0 count, and needed to take just ONE more ball to win the game… and then ******* poked and grounded out to second. The penalty for that was being sent for the showers, as Olivares remained in the game. Instead, the Buffos broke the tie against Valentin in the 11th, as Vazquez doubled and Velazquez singled the runner home with two outs and two strikes, and Garza just choked the side to finish the game. 2-1 Buffaloes. Colter 2-4, BB; Hernandez 2-4, BB; Gaytan 10.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K;

The Titans beat the Caps on Tuesday and Thursday, meaning they were 3 1/2 games out as we headed to Boston by Friday.

Raccoons (67-53) @ Titans (64-57) – August 21-23, 2071

There were seven games left between these two teams, with the first three of them to be contested over the weekend. Boston … they probably didn’t know how they were just three-and-a-half games out themselves. They had a -34 run differential on the #8 offense and #9 pitching, and the rotation was pretty terrible with a 4.48 ERA. Bottoms in speed and defense, but tops in homers! Also: a myriad of injuries: Tylers Riddle and Gleason, Edgar Gonzales, Jay Krenek, and a couple more bench warmers and replacements were on the DL. Boston was up in the season series, 6-5.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (10-6, 2.82 ERA) vs. Mike Bell (7-4, 3.23 ERA)
Val Centeno (1-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. Ryan Musgrave (6-13, 4.62 ERA)
Vinny Morales (7-2, 4.07 ERA) vs. Jesse Cruise (9-6, 3.91 ERA)

Southpaw Sunday!

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – CF Hamel – C Rivas – 3B Luebbert – P Walla
BOS: LF Lorenzo – CF Marcotte – C N. Dingman – RF M. Garcia – 1B H. Moreno – 2B Jer. White – 3B D. Miller – SS Cutright – P M. Bell

Another game with no early scoring, and for the Raccoons it was kinda hard to score given that Bell struck out everybody in order, six total, from Olivares to Luebbert the first time through, before Walla rallied to ground out. Walla had just two strikeouts, against two hits, in the first three innings.

In the fourth, Bell got two more strikeouts from the 1-2 batters and remained perfect, while the Titans struck straight singles to begin the inning with Nick Dingman, Manuel Garcia, and Hector Moreno, who drove in the game’s first run, and Jeremy White added a sac fly for a 2-0 score. Jack Hamel’s infield single got the Coons *on base* in the first inning, but Rivas then grounded out, and the Coons instead melted down on all fronts in the bottom 5th. Bell started it with a 1-out single, and Vic Lorenzo and Eddie Marcotte hit two more right away. Hamel threw away the Marcotte ball, allowing two runs to score, but they would have come home anyway on Garcia’s 2-out double. While Bell struck out ten Coons in six innings, Walla conceded ten hits to the Titans and was well defeated in the game.

The Titans then went after Cam Jackson, who boldly gave up another single to Bell, walked Marcotte, and eventually gave up a 3-run bomb to Garcia in the bottom 7th. Doster was not touched in the eighth inning, but Bell also didn’t allow anything to the Raccoons and finished a 3-game shutout with a full dozen strikeouts. 8-0 Titans. Hamel 2-3;

That was my hope for a W in this series.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – CF Hamel – P Centeno
BOS: LF Lorenzo – CF Marcotte – C N. Dingman – RF M. Garcia – 1B H. Moreno – 2B Jer. White – 3B D. Miller – SS Cutright – P Musgrave

The Raccoons scored, and scored first, and scored in the first on Saturday, although it was only a Katz sac fly after Humph (forced out by Yocum) and Olivares reached, and the second runner was stranded even after Colter drew a walk, when Hernandez grounded out to Danny Miller. The Titans took zero time to turn that around, as Moreno tied the game with a homer in the bottom 2nd, and then a 2-base throwing error by Hernandez put White on base. Miller doubled in the run, Centeno balked, then conceded the run on a 2-out single by Musgrave…..

When the Portland Shamblers put a couple hits back together, it was the fourth inning and the bottom of the order. Hernandez and Brown hit 1-out singles, and Hamel knocked an RBI double to left, which moved the tying run to third base and the go-ahead run to second base… and the pitcher into the box. It was too early to bat for Centeno, and he bravely took his K, but Humphries shot a ball through the left side with two outs and got both runners home to flip the score…! Humph also stole second, but was then left on base by Yocum. But the lead was blown immediately and stupidly. Centeno nailed Moreno to begin the bottom 4th, and the runner was on second with Bruce Cutright batting. He hit a 1-2 pitch to right, Colter came on, reached, and dropped the ******* baseball. The error allowed Moreno to score, and all was even at four … at least until Musgrave romped an RBI double into the right-center gap.

Like Walla, Centeno ended up going six innings of 5-run ball, but four of his were unearned through sabotage. The Coons were also sitting on twice the Titans’ hits total through six innings (8-4), and were still losing. Yocum hit a leadoff single in the seventh and never got off first base, but Rismiller walked a pair and gave up a run on Eddie Marcotte’s 2-out RBI single in the bottom 7th…… This was the final run of the game; Cody Kleidon and Jerry Washington nailed the Raccoons against the wall in the last two innings. 6-4 Titans. Humphries 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Hernandez 2-4; Centeno 6.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, L (1-1);

(stone face)

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF van Otterdijk – CF Hamel – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – P Morales
BOS: 2B Jer. White – CF Marcotte – C N. Dingman – RF M. Garcia – 1B H. Moreno – 3B D. Miller – LF J. Evans – SS Cutright – P Cruise

Humph doubled to left and Yocum singled to right to drive him home, and then the inning died quickly and miserably. And Marcotte homered off Morales right away to tie the score at one. The Titans loaded the bases with their first three batters in the bottom 2nd as Moreno and Miller singled and Jake Evans drew a walk, but Morales got a pop to Yocum from Cutright, and then a grounder to Yocum from the pitcher Cruise, and the Coons turned that one for a 4-6-3 double play, denying Boston the lead. Yocum then tripled in the third inning, with one out and nobody on, and went for home when Olivares lined out to left. He was thrown out by Evans, and I wanted to disappear into the aether. Katz and the Otter hit singles to begin the fourth, but now the Coons found the double play with Hamel, and Hernandez was also useless and flew out to Evans. Miller hit into a double play in the same inning, erasing Moreno’s leadoff single off the hittable Morales.

Vinny Morales also lasted only six innings, but at least didn’t trail, as the 1-1 score stood through the end of the sixth inning. Rios then pitched a scoreless inning against the heavily right-handed lineup, so it was hard to find spots for him and McMahan – neither of them had so far pitched in the series. Guerrero pinch-hit for Rios to lead off the eighth and strung a double to left that bounced *on* the leftfield line, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position for a change. The reaction was rather subdued, as Humph fanned, Yocum walked, and Olivares hit a grounder that almost ended the inning, but White’s relay throw to first was not precise and Olivares beat it out on the bounce, so the inning continued with runners on the corners and two outs for Katz… and he grounded out to short.

Cam Jackson got the bottom 8th, at least until Marcotte singled and he walked Nick Ding(er)man with one out. Holzmeister then replaced him, and on his first pitch got a double-play grounder from Garcia to end the inning. Hernandez also smashed into a double play after Hamel’s 1-out single in the ninth. Brilliant, just simply brilliant. Bottom 9th, and Holzmeister returned, striking out Hector Moreno, striking out Miller, and … giving up a 2-out triple to Raul Moreno. Oh well, only the .189 rookie, 26-year-old Cutright coming up, who … yes, hit a walkoff single to left. 2-1 Titans. Yocum 2-3, BB, 3B, RBI; Katzman 2-4; Guerrero (PH) 1-1, 2B;

In other news

August 19 – ATL OF David Mendoza (.274, 15 HR, 70 RBI) goes to the DL with a broken thumb and was expected to miss the rest of the regular season, with potentially coming back for the playoffs, should the Knights make it without him.
August 20 – The Blue Sox beat the Loggers, 10-9 in 15 innings.
August 22 – Rebs SP Jayden Beck (13-5, 2.69 ERA) 2-hits the Blue Sox in a 2-0 shutout.
August 22 – PIT SP Brian Jones (16-6, 2.61 ERA) finishes a key 3-hit shutout of the Cyclones, who strike out ten times and lose 3-0 to the first-place Miners.
August 23 – Miners SP Aldomiro Campion (12-9, 3.72 ERA) makes it back-to-back shutouts of the thrice-defending champions from Cincy with a 2-hit shutout and 10 K in a 6-0 Pittsburgh win.

Player of the Week (FL): DEN OF Chris Tuck (.329, 15 HR, 74 RBI), hitting .550 (11-20) with 1 HR, 3 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): CHA INF/RF Raul Bazua (.269, 2 HR, 25 RBI), snapping .615 (16-26) with 1 HR, 2 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Cyclones aren’t gonna win another one this year. Nor will the Coons, who turned a 5-game lead into a .5-game lead in just six days.

Can’t hit. Can’t field. Can’t pitch. Just how ****** up is this division??

I made a gentle attempt at a contract extension for Ricky McMahan this week, but was reminded by Steve from Accounting that we were projected to be overbudget and Adam Valdes had categorically forbidden any additional expenses before we had saved money elsewhere.

I don’t know, would it help if I freed up my salary by drowning myself? The Willamette’s right there next to the ballpark…!

Everything is horrible.

The road to perdition would lead the Raccoons to Elk City, the Bay of Horrors, and then Oklahoma City from here.

Fun Fact: The only teams with a positive run differential in the CL North are the Raccoons and the Indians.

That’s +71 for the brown team and a +9 on Indy. The Loggers are near even enough that they can still get there just by seeing us on the schedule.

[Westheim]

The week started decidedly not well. First, I was still moping when I arrived back in Portland on Monday, while the team travelled on to Elk City, and when I went to the ballpark to hang around the office for no good reason, given that the team wasn’t starting their series up North until Tuesday, Maud just ominously said that we had a visitor. I shrugged and mumbled casually whether we also had donuts, when suddenly a short guy in a suit poked his head around the door frame. “Is this him?”, he asked Maud, who began to answer positively, but before she could say more than “yes”, he already stepped right next to me at impressive speed and handed me his card, only to also tell me what stood on the card in plain black letters: Oswald Finkelstein – Certified Public Accountant.

Still hoping for donuts, I just quipped that he apparently already knew who I was. Soon enough I also learned what he was doing here, as Adam Valdes was concerned with the spending habits in the operation and how we couldn’t get by on the “very generous budget” he had granted for running the team. Finkelstein was supposed to audit the books.

Yes, but, Maud – I just can’t do anything if I haven’t had my 24-box of donuts with sprinkles in the morning…! Almost at once, Finkelstein began to scribble things with a tiny pencil on a notepad.

Before long he found the account for entertainment expenses, and all the boxes of donuts that we had on there. Apparently $32,547 was “too much” to spend on donuts in three quarters of a season…!? (confused look). He also refused coffee or even tea and insisted on drinking tap water. I shivered and had Maud bring me a coffee as usual: half a cup, and I’d fill up the rest with Capt’n Coma.

Finkelstein kept scribbling.

Oh, and the Titans tied up the division by bashing the Loggers for 13 runs on Monday. Excellent!

Raccoons (67-56) @ Canadiens (57-67) – August 25-27, 2071

The last-place Elks were just waiting to trip up the Raccoons, despite being eighth in runs scored and having the worst pitching. Their rotation had an ERA well over five, the defense was creaky, and they didn’t really excel in any category imaginable. Except maybe a balanced budget, I don’t know. The Raccoons were up 9-3 in the season series, so were probably due an extension of their 5-game losing streak.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (11-8, 3.38 ERA) vs. Carlos Torres (3-3, 5.13 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (6-10, 3.68 ERA) vs. Nick Waldron (11-7, 4.19 ERA)
Nick Walla (10-7, 2.99 ERA) vs. Luis Renteria (6-10, 5.88 ERA)

The Elks had only right-handed starters. And Finkelstein had his nose in the books again as the first game of the series began. To celebrate this series falling on this year’s summer in the frozen tundra, the series began with a day game! Huzzah, festivities! …but Finkelstein cared mostly for why we were paying for the ultimate package of NWSN to watch the games on TV, when half of them were clearly visible just by looking out the big window front behind my desk. – Yes, Oswald, but the trusty brown couch doesn’t fit in front of that window. I think those $199 a month are most well spent!

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – CF Hamel – P J. Wharton
VAN: SS Barraza – 3B Terrazas – CF D. Moore – RF Lozada – 1B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 2B Eggert – LF Dille – P C. Torres

NWSN Ultimate for 199 doubloons a month undoubtedly came in handy when it came to watching a game taking place in another country entirely, not that it allowed us to see any offensive heroics by the most stumbling team a “very generous budget” could buy in the early innings. At least Jimmyboy struck out four and got around two hits without allowing runs in the first three innings, and the game remained scoreless.

While Finkelstein tried to interrogate Cristiano Carmona in the meantime, mulling over whether he was worth his $250k advisor salary if my roster construction practices left room for the interpretation that I wasn’t listening to any advice that sage anyway. He landed that point just as Jordan Hernandez bowled into an inning-ending double play with Olivares and Katz on base in the fourth inning. While Cristiano brought some receipts and showed Finkelstein what he did in evaluating players all day on his laptop, and Finkelstein wondered out loud why the photos of position players in their batting stance seemed to consist entirely of crotch shots, I wailed out loud as the damn Elks cobbled together the game’s first run on singles by Kevin Dille and Roberto Barraza in the bottom of the fifth.

Still not satisfied with Cristiano Carmona’s $250k salary as roster construction advisor and scribbling down a recommendation of termination, Cristiano – of course wheelchair-bound ever since his brother Cookie had brought him to town years ago – then turned Finkelstein’s attention to Oregon Statue §2794, requiring every enterprise with more than 30 employees to hire at least one disabled employee on a full-time basis, at the threat of a $100k fine per year. And where would we otherwise find a disabled employee? There weren’t many one-legged baseball players around! Finkelstein looked up at the screen just as Olivares struck out to complete the sixth inning and almost fell flat on his face from swinging so hard, remarking dryly that he wasn’t so sure we weren’t already employing some seriously handicapped players. Cristiano drew a snoot, then announced that he’d show him something else, and then rolled over the whimpering Finkelstein’s foot with one of his wheels, immediately apologized, and then rolled back over the same foot again, insisting again on how sorry he was.

The team was still playing baseball in the meantime, and Katz and Hernandez went to the corners with one out in the seventh inning against Torres, bringing up Sam Brown in a prime double play situation, but he actually singled home Katz with a ball past Dan Eggert, and tied the game. Hernandez went to third on the play, then scored on another single by Jack Hamel, and the Raccoons had a 2-1 lead! Jimmy’s bunt was then taken aggressively by Torres to third base – but late, and the bases were loaded now. And then Humph whiffed and Yocum popped out to Dille in shallow left…

Wharton got another four outs, including a K on Josh Richmond to begin the bottom 8th, then was relieved by Cam Jackson for the top of the order, having thrown 100 pitches. He issued a 2-out walk to Juan Terrazas, but Dan Moore then grounded out. Former Critters Elijah LaBat and Danny Nava held the Raccoons short in the late innings, and then Ricky McMahan – who we couldn’t extend the contract with because of the “very generous budget” – got the ball for the bottom 9th against the switch-hitter Roberto Lozada and the lefty-hitting Andy Ratliff and another ex-Coon, Malcolm Spicer. He turned them away in nine pitches and without drama. 2-1 Blighters. Colter 2-4; J. Wharton 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W (12-8);

So the losing streak had ended for the moment, but the stupid questions didn’t. Like, how we could blow all the money on four position players, and then fill up the roster with Rule 5ers. – I don’t know, Finkelstein, maybe that budget isn’t ******* generous enough?

The Spanish Inquisition moved on to Steve from Accounting on Wednesday. They spent hours upon hours going through the most menial transactions, like a bag of baseballs here, and $90k for a new dugout spit for roasting a piglet during games there.

Plus $50k for piglets of course. All of which we had accounted for under “player maintenance and exercise”.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – CF Hamel – P Gaytan
VAN: SS Barraza – 3B Terrazas – CF D. Moore – RF Lozada – 2B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 1B Dille – LF Jose Alvarez – P Waldron

Jamie Colter singled home an unearned run for a quick 1-0 lead in the first on Wednesday, as Yocum had reached base fair and square, but Olivares did so on an error by Terrazas, allowing Yocum to second base to begin with. Unfortunately Gaytan then was immediately taken to town and gave up singles to Terrazas, Moore, and Lozada to tie the game, and Andy Ratliff knocked in the go-ahead run with their fourth straight hit of the inning. Mario Lopez whiffed and Dille flew out to right then, stranding a pair.

The next few innings brought little offense from either team, but Finkelstein kept nagging about the piglets and also the extraordinary amount of money we were paying to plumbers. Just listening to it made me feel constipated and I was trying to combat the drudgery with another gobful of Maud’s muffins until Humph and Olivares finally put a pair of singles together in the fifth inning to get the game tied. Olivares stole second even, but Katz then flew out to Jose Alvarez; and then Gaytan right away gave up another run by hitting Barraza, walking Terrazas, and allowing an RBI single to Moore in the bottom 5th … and all with two outs. – No, Mr. Finkelstein, I don’t know how much more signed baseballs we could sell if Gaytan wasn’t giving up all those souvenirs into the stands. Please don’t tell me more.

While Finkelstein and Steve from Accounting squabbled along about whether my collection of classic bobbleheads should be classed as an asset, the Raccoons actually tried to claw their way back into the game. Jack Hamel hit a leadoff double off Waldron in the seventh inning, and while Gaytan struck out, Humph drew a walk. The runners then pulled off a double steal, moving the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, and with one out. Waldron lost Yocum on balls, loading the bases, and then stared down Olivares in the batter’s box, but the real drama unfolded in the office, where Finkelstein and Steve from Accounting couldn’t agree on anything and eventually they both stepped back from the desk and took up accountants’ battle stance. The ordinarily plain white wall behind them began to vibrate and flash in all the colors of the rainbow while they slowly levitated off the ground, both screeching for an extended period of time – and then they suddenly sat back down at the desk and began to furiously tap on their calculators until Steve from Accounting slammed his down and yelled “I WIN!!!”. Slappy, Cristiano, Maud, Honeypaws, and me all stared in amused disbelief, and what’s this commotion on the TV after all?

GREAT!! Because of you two bobbleheads I have now missed Alejandro Olivares’ GRAND SLAM!!!!

This was the end of Waldron, but Gaytan got only one more out as well before packing Jose Alvarez and Josh Richmond on base and being replaced with Holzmeister, who surrendered a run on a Terrazas single before getting out of the seventh inning with a 6-4 lead. The eighth was uneventful, and LaBat turned away the Critters again for no tack-on run in the ninth inning, after which Valentin got the ball. He struck out Alvarez, and Richmond and Barraza made easy outs to put another W in the books. 6-4 Furballs. Olivares 2-4, BB, HR, 5 RBI;

Olivares’ come-from-behind grand slam impressed Finkelstein less than I would have hoped for, and he vowed to return on Thursday morning for more auditing.

And this time he’d go after me.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – CF Guerrero – P Walla
VAN: SS Barraza – 3B Terrazas – CF D. Moore – RF Lozada – 1B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 2B Eggert – LF Dille – P Renteria

The first couple of innings were mostly uneventful, except that I got questioned about the amount of hard liquor we seemed to be consuming at Raccoons Ballpark. I feigned ignorance and stuffed my freshly opened bottle of Capt’n Coma deeper between the cushions.

The Critters then put out three singles from their 9-1-2 batters to begin the third inning, loading the bases for “Slammo” Olivares. He fell to 0-2, hit a comebacker to the mound, and Renteria casually tossed the ball to the plate for a force out on Walla that was just too easy. I moaned and reached for Honeypaws for comfort. Finkelstein was taken aback and demanded to know what I was doing. – What does it look like, I’m squeezing Honeypaws? … Finkelstein furiously typed on his laptop and then looked up aghast, asking whether this was the same Honeypaws that was on the payroll for a $15k monthly salary. – Of course he is! Can’t you see that he’s an essential member of the team!?

Nobody really noticed that Katz drew a walk to force in the game’s first run with one out in the inning, while Finkelstein’s voice slipped up an octave or two; whether we were indeed paying $180k a year in salary to a TOY?? – I don’t know what you mean, Finkelstein. Certified public accountant here, certified public accountant there. Honeypaws was a CERTIFIED EMOTIONAL SUPPORT RACCOON…!! ……plushie toy… Look! He even has a card like yours! I picked up a card from the desk next to the couch that indeed read Honeypaws’ name, position, and had a pawprint on it.

Finkelstein stammered that this was outrageous, all of this, and that Mr. Valdes would hear all about it in his report, then packed up his laptop and stormed out of the office. I dryly high-fived Cristiano, Steve, and Maud, in that order, for printing out the card first thing in the morning, then clanked bottles with Slappy, but was still annoyed when Colter lined out to Eggert and Hernandez flew out to Moore and no further runs were scored in the inning.

Nick Walla then ran into one of those godforsaken innings and gave up four straight hits for two runs and a 2-1 deficit, and with two outs and against the 5-through-8 batters in the fourth inning. Olivares got on base and was left stranded in the fifth, and the Raccoons had Colter reach base on a 2-base throwing error by Lopez to start off the sixth inning, but couldn’t bring that bloody run around to score. Instead, Lozada doubled to lead off the bottom 6th and was brought in by the same Mario Lopez to extend the Elks’ lead to 3-1. Walla loaded the bases, got out against Renteria, returned for the seventh, but allowed a hit to Barraza and nailed Terrazas and was yanked. Jackson conceded a run on Andy Ratliff’s 2-out RBI single, 4-1, burying the Raccoons even deeper. Katz drew a leadoff walk in the eighth, but got doubled up by Hernandez, and the Raccoons then looked at Nava in the ninth inning. Rivas, Woodley, and Brown made straight outs to lose the game for good. 4-1 Canadiens. Yocum 2-4;

The Titans had split the last two of their games with the Loggers before being off on Thursday, so in the grand scheme of things we were back to a half-game lead … and heading to the Bay of Horrors.

Raccoons (69-57) @ Bayhawks (65-61) – August 28-30, 2071

The season series was already ours at 5-1, but these games of course still counted for the real standings. San Francisco ranked fourth in runs scored and eighth in runs allowed, but their +30 run differential hinted that they were out of the doldrums they had spent most of the 2060s in. They had the best defense and one of the worst bullpens. Not much in terms of power, but everybody was a slugger against *this* team. Ryan Redding was the only notable injury.

Projected matchups:
Val Centeno (1-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Billy Thompson (8-7, 3.62 ERA)
Vinny Morales (7-2, 3.95 ERA) vs. Gabe Molina (6-5, 5.49 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (12-8, 3.28 ERA) vs. Austin LaRosa (8-8, 3.12 ERA)

Molina was one of two left-handed starters with awful ERA’s on the team, the other being Mark Mills (5-7, 5.17 ERA).

And always remember that nothing good ever happens at this Bay.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – 3B Colter – RF van Otterdijk – C Brown – CF Hamel – P Centeno
SFB: 2B M. Flores – SS Bruce – RF J. Ward – CF Haus – C H. Valdez – 1B Catano – 3B Efird – LF D. Aguilar – P B. Thompson

The Otter and Brett Haus scored on sac flies hit by Hamel and Hugo Valdez, respectively, in the second inning for the first two runs in the Friday opener. Otter’s leadoff double had been topped by Haus’ leadoff triple. The third inning saw Colter hit a 2-out double to right and Katz getting thrown out at the plate by Jake Ward for the audacity to try and score from first base, while Val Centeno struck out the 9-1-2 batters in order, which was a new development for sure… and then the Baybirds smacked him around for three doubles and as many runs in an abortive fourth inning. Haus, Valdez, and Daniel Aguilar smacked the extra-base knocks, and Ray Efird also reached base and scored as San Fran went up 4-1. Like I said, nothing good ever happens at this dismal Bay… Take the fifth inning, where Humphries began with a single, but Yocum popped out. Olivares singled, but Katz fanned. Colter singled, and now the bases were merely loaded with two down. We still needed to get something from George van Otterdijk, who swung at the 1-0 pitch, and – a clonk! – and that ball soared some 420 feet and over the fence…! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!!!!

While Thompson was knocked out after a single by Sam Brown, whom Kerry Sheats then stranded on base, Centeno would go six innings and strike out eight batters in total, holding on to the 5-4 lead. Rismiller got the seventh, and barely made it around a leadoff walk to PH Keith Ball, Humph having to track down a drive by Ryan Bruce. McMahan had a quick eighth, but the Raccoons couldn’t score despite putting a pair on base against lefty Aaron McClair in the ninth inning. Yocum and Katz reached base safely, but Guerrero batted for Colter and hit into a fielder’s choice, and van Otterdijk flew out too easily. The 1-run lead then went to Valentin, who swiftly gave up a leadoff single to Josh Kovach, pinch-hitting in the #7 spot. Aguilar popped out. Tony Solares flew out to Humph in deep left. And Mario Flores went down on strikes. 5-4 Critters. Olivares 2-5; Colter 2-4, 2B; van Otterdijk 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Brown 2-4;

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF van Otterdijk – CF Hamel – 3B Hernandez – C Rivas – P Morales
SFB: 2B M. Flores – SS Bruce – RF J. Ward – CF Haus – 1B Catano – 3B K. Ball – C Inestroza – LF Solares – P G. Molina

The Coons left Yocum on base in the first inning, but Mario Flores’ single and Ryan Bruce’s double very quickly led to a 2-0 Bayhawks score in the bottom 1st as Ward plated a run with a groundout and Haus hit a sac fly to the Otter. The Raccoons teased with straight singles from the 5-6-7 batters to load the bags with nobody out in the second, then had Rivas pop out, Morales line out to first, and Humph ground out to short. Brilliant.

San Francisco scattered more hits in the next two innings, then got a 3-0 lead on Keith Ball’s homer to left in the fourth inning. Morales looked outclassed once more and was dragged through five innings by the defense before being dropped. For the second time this week the Raccoons couldn’t get on the bloody horse facing a pitcher with an ERA north of five, who put up seven shutout innings before van Otterdijk clipped a 2-out knock to drive in a run in the eighth inning, getting Yocum home after all.

Rios, Doster, and Jackson held the Bayhawks to the three runs they already had before the 3-1 lead went to Brad Yoxall in the ninth inning. Hernandez fanned, but Rivas drew a walk and then Colter pinch-hit and singled past Bruce to get the tying run on base. Humph, however, whiffed, and Yocum’s fly to center was tracked down and caught by Haus. 3-1 Bayhawks. Yocum 2-5; Olivares 2-4; van Otterdijk 2-4, RBI; Hamel 3-4; Colter (PH) 1-1;

The offense.

Game 3
POR: CF Hamel – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – RF Colter – 1B Woodley – LF van Otterdijk – C Brown – 3B Luebbert – P J. Wharton
SFB: SS Kovach – 3B K. Ball – RF J. Ward – CF Haus – C H. Valdez – 1B Catano – 2B Bruce – LF Solares – P LaRosa

Rubber game, a Hamel double, and Yocum’s single to right-center, and just like that the Raccoons had a 1-0 lead without making an out. And then made three outs without getting Yocum off first base. And then Jimmy managed to trail 2-1 in just seven pitches, allowing a double to Kovach and a homer to Ward. Brilliant.

The Coons lineup had no hits and piled up eight strikeouts after the early 1-2 punch through to the end of five innings, while Wharton whiffed up one, and instead issued 2-out walks to Ward and Haus, and an RBI double to Valdez in the bottom 3rd to fall 3-1 behind. Yocum and Katz hit singles with two already gone in the sixth inning, and LaRosa lost Colter on a close 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Sheats replaced him despite the left-hander Woodley coming up… but the left-hander Woodley also whiffed.

Jimmyboy somehow pitched seven innings despite having next to nothing, and hit a single in the top of the seventh… not that it got the Coons anywhere nice. Top 8th, Katz singled with one out against McClair, and Olivares batted for Colter, which drew right-hander Pat Bidwell out of the bushes. Olivares walked, and Bidwell got replaced with another righty, Jarod Morris, who walked Woodley on four pitches to fill the bags in the 3-1 game. Ricardo Orta was the FOURTH pitcher of the inning, got the Otter to 1-2, and then gave up a screamer to center that fell for a single. Olivares went full beans from the get-go, which allowed him to score, and which also would have doubled him up if Haus had reached the ball, but for now the game was tied and lessons were for later. Woodley reached third base on the throw to the plate, then scored the go-ahead run on Sam Brown’s sac fly to Solares.

After Luebbert grounded out, Holzmeister crapped out as usual in a big spot in the bottom 8th, getting one out before walking Ward, drilling Haus, and walking Valdez and then having his useless pelt evicted from the game. McMahan replaced him, and immediately and thoroughly **** the bed by allowing four singles and FIVE runs in a relentless Bayhawks assault at the bloody ******* Bay of Curses. Jorge Solis got the ball with a 4-run lead in the ninth, allowed a pinch-hit knock to Guerrero and a hammer to Homel, but that only narrowed the score to 8-6. Yocum’s groundout helped nothing, but Katz’ single brought the tying run to the dish, which turned out to be Humphries, who had entered the game in the #4 spot after the Olivares cameo. Him and Woodley both fanned miserably. 8-6 Bayhawks. Hamel 2-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Yocum 2-5, RBI; Katzman 3-5;

In other news

August 24 – OCT CL Jon McGinley (2-4, 2.08 ERA, 12 SV) saves his 300th game in a 3-1 win against the Falcons.
August 24 – The Pacifics beat the Scorpions in 17 innings by a score of 5-4.
August 25 – A strained hammy will keep NAS INF Jordan Sellman (.285, 14 HR, 77 RBI) out for three weeks.
August 25 – The Warriors rally to a 15-7 win against the Gold Sox with a 10-run eighth inning. SFW RF/LF Steve Millen (.353, 19 HR, 88 RBI) hits two homers and drives in five runs, including a grand slam in the eighth.
August 28 – Warriors OF David Jankowski (.343, 10 HR, 74 RBI) has connected for a base hit in 20 straight games after a first-inning single in a 4-0 win against the Miners.
August 28 – LVA SP Ricardo Montoya (9-5, 3.46 ERA) hits the DL to have bone spurs removed from his elbow at 41 years of age. He was out for the season.
August 28 – Scorpions 1B Justin Savalli (.369, 4 HR, 21 RBI) was also done for the season due to a torn calf muscle.
August 30 – The Condors take 12 innings to beat the Crusaders, 1-0.

Player of the Week (FL): DEN OF Chris Tuck (.337, 16 HR, 81 RBI), hitting .556 (10-18) with 1 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): LVA C/1B Chris Haynes (.299, 31 HR, 95 RBI), mashing .450 (9-20) with 6 HR, 16 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Coons gained a game this week thanks to the Aces sweeping the Titans. Apart from that our performance was again rather lackluster. Offense sad. Pitching sad. Sometimes defense sad. GM – always sad.

(spots novelty troll doll with a bat and hair in Baybirds-red for a fiddy in one of the shops on the concourse) Well, I really can’t resist this temptation – I shall buy three!

Really not sure what Finkelstein’s on about.

The Raccoons have three more games in Oklahoma City, and rosters will expand on Tuesday. We will see the returns of Jaden Wilson and Dan Graham from rehab, but Big Expense Wharton is a little further behind yet. Also more expensive.

After the Thunder series we’ll have a 6-game homestand with the Loggers and Indians coming to visit.

Fun Fact: With three games to spare, the Raccoons had 11 wins against the damn Elks, the most in 11 years already!

And we last won 12 games against them … 12 years ago! 13 games? All the way back in 2047.

14? Literally never.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (70-59) @ Thunder (59-69) – August 31-September 2, 2071

The last-place Thunder had been good for a 4-2 Coons lead in the season series with their average offense, strong pen, and absolutely ghastly rotation, running a -30 run differential.

Projected matchups:
Tony Gaytan (7-10, 3.76 ERA) vs. Harrison Hunt (3-3, 3.10 ERA)
Nick Walla (10-8, 3.09 ERA) vs. Danny Baca (3-12, 5.08 ERA)
Val Centeno (2-1, 2.95 ERA) vs. Jose Aguilar (6-8, 4.91 ERA)

The Thunder ran four left-handed starters, and we’d be getting a full dose of them.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – CF Hamel – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P Gaytan
OCT: CF J. Reyes – C Bohannon – SS Palominos – 1B I. Stone – RF Talavera – 2B C. Gutierrez – LF Thore – 3B T. Santiago – P Hunt

The Coons got three hits from Humph, Katz, and Hamel in the first inning, but Olivares hit into a fielder’s choice and then was thrown out at the plate by Coby Thore in an overall rather abortive attempt at scoring early. Van Otterdijk and Rivas then went to the corners with a leadoff walk and another single in the second inning. The 8-9 hitters didn’t help, popping out and whiffing, in that order, but Humph got a single through the left side to finally bring home the Otter with the game’s first run. Yocum hit another RBI single, but Olivares flew out to his best friend Thore. Hunt, traded from Portland to Oklahoma City just seven weeks earlier, continued to give up the hits after that; in the third inning, Katz singled and Rivas hit a 2-run homer to double the score.

Gaytan meanwhile gave up just two hits in the first five innings, one being an infield single by Jon Reyes, and the other being a solo home run hit by … Coby Thore. That one left the score at 4-1 after five innings. Gaytan also didn’t get a K until fanning PH Eduardo Zambrano in the #9 spot in the bottom 6th.

The Raccoons were not tacking on, and instead quietly watched Gaytan working himself into “a situation” in the bottom 8th, which Thore led off with a single before Gaytan added Tony Santiago by drilling him. Jose Ambriz hit into a fielder’s choice, then advanced on a Reyes grounder. With the power bats coming up as the tying run, the Raccoons double-switched in Holzmeister and Colter – but Holzmeister, ever useless, still gave up the inherited runners on Martin Bohannon’s sharp 2-out single, but then ended the inning on Jose Palominos’ groundout. Offensively ineffective, the Raccoons then went to Valentin for the bottom 9th after all. Ian Stone flew out to center. Victor Talavera flew out to left, after Humph gave that ball a hustle. Former Critter Carlos Gutierrez popped out. 4-3 Raccoons. Humphries 2-5, RBI; Katzman 2-4; Hamel 2-4, 2B; Rivas 3-4, HR, 2 RBI;

The Titans ended their month with a 4-1 win against the Falcons, so the gap remained a game and a half as rosters expanded.

First of all, Dan Graham returned from a short rehab assignment for the pen, to which we also added Todd Sullivan and Noah Newhard, as well as Edgar Gutierrez – so no entirely new faces. For batters, Tony Spink was added as third catcher (leading to Wout Sleutjes getting waived and DFA’ed to make room on the 40-man roster), although not hitting a lick in AAA, but I specifically wanted a right-handed catcher on the roster. The Coons also added Danny Huckaby, batting .292 with 13 homers in AAA, to have not one but TWO left-handed first-sackers, and also Brian McFarland and Jesus Morentin.

And Jaden Wilson? No, not Jaden Wilson.

Jaden Wilson *for the second time* had gotten hurt on rehab and was in limbo on Tuesday morning once again.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – CF Hamel – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P Walla
OCT: CF J. Reyes – C Bohannon – SS Palominos – 1B I. Stone – RF Talavera – LF Ambriz – 2B Patton – 3B J. Moore – P D. Baca

Katz’ first homer in a month came with Yocum on base and made for a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Thunder had four runners the first time through, only one of whom – Jay Moore – reached on a base hit. Walla clipped Bohannon in the first, but the catcher didn’t make it past first base; while in the bottom 2nd, Ambriz reached on an error by Katz, and Shawn Patton drew a walk before Moore filled the bases with his single. One out and 2-0 behind the pitcher, Walla lucked out of the inning when Danny Baca lined out to Yocum and Patton was doubled off second base in a close call.

The Thunder got on the board in the bottom 3rd after all, as both Reyes and Palominos hit singles and stole second base, for their 53rd and 36th stolen base of the year, respectively. Palominos’ single also scored Reyes from second. Top 4th, Jordan Hernandez led off with a double to left-center, and Walla snapped a single to put runners on the corners. Humph getting four balls and not biting made it three on and nobody out. The next three Coons all got a run home by various means, and were the last three batters Baca faced as he walked in a run, conceded another one on Olivares’ double play grounder, and then gave up an RBI single to Katz, 5-1. Right-hander Luis Laboy replaced him, walked Hamel, and then gave up an RBI single to the Otter. Rivas then flew out to Reyes. The inning after, the Raccoons scored another run by getting Humph to second base, and when he tried to steal third, Bohannon’s throw got past Moore and allowed Humph to get home and extend the lead to 7-1.

Laboy gave up another run in the sixth as Rivas doubled home Katz, while none of this made Walla’s labored pitching better. He had only one strikeout in five innings, needing 73 pitches, and then spent another 28 pitches in the sixth inning, almost exclusively behind, allowing a wallbanger double to Ambriz, a walk to Patton, and after getting a full count and a K from Patton for the second out, gave up a pinch-hit single to Gutierrez in a 3-1 count. Ambriz went home from second, but was thrown out by Jack Hamel to end the inning – and also Walla’s rather unpalatable outing.

Noah Newhard, who had been awful in his first two games months earlier, got three outs in the seventh without walking the bases full, which already counted as progress. Two more call-ups, Sullivan and Graham, then finished the game without making much fuss. Former Critter Brad Fails pitched the last THREE innings for the Thunder, who clearly had no regards for that reclamation project. 8-1 Raccoons! Humphries 2-3, 3 BB; Katzman 5-5, HR, 3 RBI; van Otterdijk 2-3, BB, 2B, RBI; Rivas 2-5, 2B, RBI;

The Titans also had another W, but lost Eddie Marcotte to an injury for a few weeks, which couldn’t possibly help their lineup.

Tyler Wharton started a rehab assignment on Wednesday, and Jaden Wilson went on the DL *again*, now for a sprained wrist…!

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – CF Hamel – RF Morentin – 3B Luebbert – C Spink – P Centeno
OCT: CF J. Reyes – C Bohannon – SS Palominos – 1B I. Stone – RF Talavera – LF Ambriz – 2B Patton – 3B J. Moore – P Jo. Aguilar

No runs in the first innings on Wednesday, as the Coons scattered three runners rather inefficiently, while Centeno retired the first eight Thunder before conceding a single to the opposing pitcher. Jon Reyes then grounded out. Centeno didn’t allow any hard contact in those three innings, then didn’t finish the fourth inning, where he allowed hardly any contact at all, starting with a leadoff walk to Bohannon. He would walk FOUR batters in the inning, plus an RBI double to Palominos *and* drilled Ambriz in a total meltdown. The Thunder scored three runs, including their 8-9 batters (!) drawing bases-loaded walks with two gone, and then Centeno was gone. Rismiller got Reyes to fly out to Morentin in right to end the dismal inning.

Van Otterdijk pinch-hit in the #9 hole in the fifth and singled, and Humph’ double put a pair in scoring position with one out. Yocum’s groundout to third didn’t help one toot, but Olivares slapped a single past Patton for two runs to score after all. Katz singled and Aguilar threw a wild one, but the runners remained in scoring position when Hamel bounced out to third base then. Hamel was then replaced as Morentin moved over and van Otterdijk stayed in right, and Edgar Gutierrez pitched two scoreless innings in his spot. The Otter reached on an error by Patton to start off the seventh inning, then advanced on a grounder. Yocum’s clutch remained off, but Olivares thumped a double to left and got the Otter home to tie the game at three. Katz grounded out to leave the go-ahead run on second base.

The go-ahead run was on base in the eighth inning after Morentin singled, but then was doubled off by Luebbert, whose average had plunged under .200 at this stage and was still a-plunging. The Thunder also got the go-ahead guy on… and also scored him. Ambriz drew a walk, and pinch-runner Zambrano scored on Patton’s 2-out double off Brian Doster, the former Thunder, to give the Thunder the lead. Top 9th, and Jon McGinley, another former Critter now with a 1.95 ERA, allowed a leadoff single to Guerrero in Spink’s spot. Guerrero stole second as the Otter struck out. Humph worked another walk, and Yocum was still completely off, and barreled into a double play to end the game. 4-3 Thunder. Olivares 2-3, BB, 2B, 3 RBI; Katzman 2-4; Guerrero (PH) 1-1; Gutierrez 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K;

The Titans lost their finale as well, and they were also off on Thursday, so nothing moved in that division race for the time being.

Raccoons (72-60) vs. Loggers (63-70) – September 4-6, 2071

Third in runs scored, eleventh in runs allowed, and the scale was tilting towards the bottom of the table for the Loggers now. Their lineup as ageing, and their pen was getting mauled. Not that the rotation deserved any points. Or the defense. Oh yeah, no speed, too. Walks and 3-run homers for this team only. It was however good enough to lead the Coons, 7-4 this year. Fidel Carrera was on the DL, so one tooth was missing from that lineup.

Projected matchups:
Vinny Morales (7-3, 4.00 ERA) vs. Colt Long (12-8, 3.79 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (12-8, 3.31 ERA) vs. Cory Ritter (8-12, 4.04 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (8-10, 3.75 ERA) vs. Kevin Bennett (11-10, 4.91 ERA)

We might get FIVE left-handed starters this week, with only Ritter in there as right-hander. But Milwaukee had also been off on Thursday, so they could still bring in Julio Robles (5-8, 4.27 ERA) as second righty on Sunday instead.

Game 1
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – 3B Sowards – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – CF Parrish – LF Alaniz – 2B R. Fisher – P C. Long
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Hamel – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – CF Guerrero – P Vin. Morales

Vinny Morales right away got whacked around for a single by Sean Van Leeuwen, who stole second as always, walked Carlos Dominguez, and conceded a run each on a groundout by Manuel Rodriguez and Cesar Ramirez’ 2-out single. Ramirez hit another one of those in the third inning, again driving in Dominguez, and Morales responded by walking John Parrish and giving up a 3-run homer to Mario Alaniz. Randy Fisher and Colt Long then both reached, and Morales was taken out of an already derailed 6-0 game to get a severe beating behind the clubhouse.

The Loggers…!

Dan Graham pitched seven outs after the early escalation, but it was obviously in vain as the Raccoons had ONE hit in five innings against Long. The Coons got scoreless innings from Sullivan and Newhard, but didn’t do anything from Jordan Hernandez’ single in the sixth. Come the seventh, Guerrero hit a single, stole second base, and then Humphries hit a homer to at least get on the board. But McMahan gave that back with a 2-piece mashed by Dominguez in the eighth. On the bright paw, the second runner was a pinch-runner, Jon Fish, who entered when Van Leeuwen legged out an infield single… and his own leg. Rismiller replaced McMahan, walked a pair, and it was just disgusting to watch all in all. Long went long, eight innings in total, before B.J. Butrico got the 6-run lead in the bottom 9th. Brown opened with a loopy single to center, then was almost overtaken, but did score on Guerrero’s RBI triple to dead center. Colter pinch-hit for a sac fly, 8-4, but Butrico also put Humph and the pinch-hitting Huckaby on base, and that made it a save situation for Javier Arocho. Olivares prevented any escalation with a game-killing double play grounder. 8-4 Loggers. Humphries 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Huckaby (PH) 1-1; Guerrero 2-4, 3B, RBI; Graham 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K;

The Titans came from behind in the ninth inning to beat the Crusaders, 4-3, in walkoff fashion, closing to within half a game.

Game 2
MIL: SS Vic. Morales – 3B Sowards – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – LF Alaniz – CF Parrish – 2B R. Fisher – P Ritter
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – RF Colter – SS Katzman – CF Hamel – 1B Huckaby – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P J. Wharton

Cesar Ramirez hit a long fly to left with two Loggers aboard in the first inning, but the ball came down for Humph on the warning track to end the inning. Humph then opened the bottom 1st by walking and stole his 22nd base, Colter singled, and Katz jumped the same fence that had denied Ramirez for an early 3-run homer! Better yet, Hamel went back-to-back with Katz for a 4-0 edge!

And then the offense went to bed. Which for the time being wasn’t the worst, given that Jimmyboy allowed just two base hits (and nailed another pair of batters…), but didn’t allow any runs in five innings. It wasn’t until the bottom 5th that the Coons got another hit when Yocum singled, but he was left on base, reaching second only on an errant pickoff attempt.

The Loggers instead got a run on three straight 2-out runners in the sixth as Rodriguez singled, Ramirez walked, and Alaniz slapped an RBI single to right to shorten the score to 4-1. Parrish struck out to finally end the inning, and suddenly Jimmy’s pitch count was up at 87. Bottom 6th, a Huckaby walk, Joe Cash’s balk, and then a Rivas roller for a shy single put runners on the corners with one gone. Hernandez restored the 4-run gap with a sac fly, but Jimmy singled to continue the inning. Cash, who had gotten more than one beating from the Coons this year, walked the bags full with Humphries, gave up two more runs on a Yocum single, and then was replaced with Ramon Carreno.

Wharton, after that long sixth inning, then got six more outs in just 12 pitches, as the Loggers made hasty and ineffective contact in the seventh and eighth, none of them reaching base. The Raccoons were still up by six into the ninth inning, where Rios got the ball and made a mess, walking Ramirez, giving up a double to Alaniz, and then getting two outs from Parrish and Fisher, but after another walk to Michael Kiger, the Coons sent Cam Jackson. Vic Morales flew out to deep left to end the game. 7-2 Critters. Humphries 0-1, 2 BB; Yocum 2-4, 2 RBI; J. Wharton 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (13-8) and 1-3;

The Titans lost on Saturday, so the Coons would keep the division lead through the weekend. Tyler Wharton was not called up for Sunday, as he had yet to get a hit in AAA. I’d like at least ONE hit in AAA….

Game 3
MIL: SS Vic. Morales – 3B Sowards – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – CF Parrish – LF Alaniz – 2B R. Fisher – P Bennett
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – CF Hamel – RF van Otterdijk – 3B Hernandez – C Spink – P Gaytan

Offense was scarce in the rubber game, as the Raccoons had just three singles in five innings, one of them hit by Gaytan. That matched the output of Vic Morales off Gaytan, but Morales had no support and had been stranded on base three times already while Gaytan struck out seven in five frames. Things then nearly derailed for him in the top of the sixth as he lost both Ramirez and Parrish on balls. Alaniz’ grounder moved them into scoring position, and the .300 hitting lefty Randy Fisher got directions to first base with two out. Gaytan then rung up Bennett to bail out of the inning, which had thoroughly ruined his pitch count.

The Coons bypassed Olivares’ leadoff double and didn’t score in the bottom 6th, and Gaytan departed after another walk to PH Jon Fish leading off the seventh inning. McMahan came in but was ineffective again, and conceded the run on a Dominguez hit. Tony Spink led off the bottom of that inning with a single and was run for with Guerrero, while Morentin batted for McMahan, but flew out to center. Humph remained golden, though, and socked a double to right that ran to the wall. Guerrero got a great jump and scored to tie the game, Dominguez’ throw home allowed Humph to third base, and the Loggers yanked Bennett for the right-handed Butrico. Yocum shot a single to left-center on his first pitch to give the Portlanders a 2-1 lead. Olivares fanned and Katz flew out to center to end the inning.

Graham and Rivas were the new battery for the eighth inning, but Parrish hit an infield single, Alaniz hit a single to center, and Fisher’s groundout put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. The Coons then sent Holzmeister, who struck out pinch-hitters Travis Metcalf and Steven Wright… but the tying run was let home by Rivas on a ******* passed ball. But – Jack Hamel led off the bottom of the inning by bombing a homer off Angel Alba! That grabbed the lead back, but the Loggers were still the Loggers, and loggered Pedro Valentin a new log in the ninth; two actually, since Dominguez singled and Rodriguez hammered a 2-log homer to left, and that flipped the score back to Milwaukee. Ramirez singled before Valentin got out of the inning, and Arocho then had the save chance in the bottom 9th. Morentin and Humph grounded out before Yocum poked at a 3-0 pitch for some stupid reason … but singled. Olivares grounded out to short. 4-3 Loggers. Yocum 3-5, RBI; Hamel 2-4, HR, 2B, RBI;

In other news

August 31 – The season over Dallas’ RF Dave Wright (.288, 11 HR, 54 RBI) could be over following the 32-year-old suffering a hip strain.
August 31 – In doubt was also the season of Wright’s teammate, UT Carlos Fumero (.330, 3 HR, 64 RBI), who was shut down with chronic back soreness.
August 31 – Definitely over is the season of WAS SP Kevin Butte (7-12, 4.92 ERA), who has bone chips removed from his elbow on this Monday.
September 2 – Warriors OF David Jankowski (.345, 10 HR, 75 RBI) extends his hitting streak to 25 games by going 3-fo-4 in a 3-2 win against the Cyclones.
September 2 – The same game also sees a combined 1-hitter by SFW SP Alex Diez (16-5, 2.87 ERA) and CL Matt Guadagno (3-5, 3.70 ERA, 34 SV), the only hit being an RBI single by CIN OF Adam Seybert (.308, 3 HR, 49 RBI).
September 2 – Recently-minted FL Pitcher of the Month SAC Bobby O’Connor (13-9, 3.01 ERA) ends up on the DL with a sprained thumb, which ends his season.
September 3 – Romping DEN OF Chris Tuck (.337, 17 HR, 86 RBI) misses the cycle by a single as he drives in four runs in a 7-2 win against the Stars.
September 5 – The Cyclones have only two hits, but beat the Rebels, 3-1, thanks to a 3-run homer by catcher Lorenzo Marquez (.416, 9 HR, 29 RBI), who somehow has only 77 at-bats on the season.
September 5 – Season over also for NAS SP Eddie Gonzalez (2-9, 5.37 ERA) thanks to a torn labrum.

Player of the Week (FL): WAS RF/2B/LF Tim Goss (.311, 7 HR, 38 RBI), bashing .500 (13-26) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): POR INF John Katzman (.297, 13 HR, 46 RBI), knocking .455 (10-22) with 2 HR, 6 RBI

FL Hitter of the Month: DEN OF Chris Tuck (.337, 16 HR, 82 RBI), batting .394 with 5 HR, 23 RBI
CL Hitter of the Month: BOS CF/LF Eddie Marcotte (.264, 23 HR, 54 RBI), cranking .306 with 10 HR, 20 RBI
FL Pitcher of the Month: SAC SP Bobby O’Connor (13-9, 3.04 ERA), going 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA, 27 K
CL Pitcher of the Month: ATL SP Adam Lunn (14-6, 2.55 ERA), hurling 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA, 32 K
FL Rookie of the Month: SAC OF/1B Tony Rivera (.284, 5 HR, 26 RBI), hitting .330 with 2 HR, 16 RBI
CL Rookie of the Month: SFB SS Josh Kovach (.278, 2 HR, 23 RBI), clipping .365 with 1 HR, 9 RBI

Complaints and stuff

The Titans socked the Crusaders for an 8-3 win on Sunday, meaning they ended up half a game behind in the standings at the end of the week. Things promised to stay interesting a little while longer in Portland. Below the BNN analysis of the situation with strength of schedule and playoff odds.

POR (73-62) – IND (6), ATL (4), BOS (4), MIL (4), LVA (3), NYC (3), VAN (3) – .507 – 46.1%
BOS (73-63) – VAN (6), NYC (4), POR (4), IND (3), MIL (3), OCT (3), TIJ (3) – .486 – 51.8%
NYC (67-68) – MIL (7), BOS (4), VAN (4), CHA (3), IND (3), POR (3), SFB (3) – .492 – 1.8%
IND (66-72) – POR (6), BOS (3), MIL (3), NYC (3), OCT (3), TIJ (3), VAN (3) – .503 – 0.1%
MIL (65-71) – NYC (7), POR (4), BOS (3), CHA (3), IND (3), SFB (3), VAN (3) – .499 – 0.2%

I’m of course as pessimistic as ever. We’re probably gonna finish LAST.

Tyler Wharton *will* be back after getting two hits for the Alley Cats on Sunday.

What about Jack Hamel, leaving the whole #5 pick situation aside? He had hit .152 in his first cup of coffee two years ago and had not appeared for the Critters at all last season. Instead he had been back in Ham Lake after batting .171 with one homer in 57 AAA games. Also some injuries. This year he played in 31 games in AAA, batting .246 with one homer, and had some injuries, but since his call-up has made it into 59 major league games, hitting .294 with seven homers and now has a 128 OPS+.

I am getting such Jose Corral vibes. Also a right-fielder, and he hit .291 with ten homers in his first full season. For five of his first six full seasons he batted for a triple-digit OPS+, with injuries aplenty, and then regressed to nothingness before hitting 30. This year he had been in only 41 games with the Buffos, batting .162 with one homer. Hamel certainly wasn’t a scouting favorite. Semchez now gave him 8/10/6 potential, which screeched bust. OSA found no reason to disagree. But right now I saw him hanging around through his team control years, if only because he made the minimum and could play all three outfield positions well enough (but had not much of a throwing arm).

Another three home games with Indy coming up, and then we’ll be on a 3-city, 11-game road trip to New York, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, which is probably gonna put us five games out.

Hey, we’re not the Portland Swoons for nothing!

Fun Fact: Humph leads the entire league in bases on balls – and it’s not close.

He has drawn 117 walks so far this season. The only other CL player in triple digits was Loggers catcher Manuel Rodriguez with exactly 100.

Pacifics outfielder Mike Hulett had 103 walks on his ledger, like Humph in 132 games played. He was the only one in triple digits in the Federal League.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (73-62) vs. Indians (66-72) – September 7-9, 2071

Indy was running laps around the Critters once again this year, having won eight of a dozen games played so far, and we needed to better ourselves with the Titans just half a game behind to start the week. The Arrowheads had the third-worst offense, but were also just allowing the fourth-fewest runs, for a +5 run differential. They didn’t have any injuries to worry about.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (11-8, 3.04 ERA) vs. Jorge Flores (2-0, 2.37 ERA)
Val Centeno (2-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Willie Castellanos (9-6, 3.28 ERA)
Vinny Morales (7-4, 4.32 ERA) vs. Pablo Apodaca (13-12, 3.38 ERA)

One more southpaw coming up in the series finale on Wednesday. Maybe we’d finally get our right-handed lineup to do something…

Indy would play both of the Coons and Titans this week. The Titans opened the week with Monday off, then would play three in Elk City before heading to Indy.

Also: Tyler Wharton was once again back from injury, having so far missed just 62 games this season and not having done anything worth $9M in the 73 games he had made it to.

Game 1
IND: 1B Schimke – SS Valadez – CF Hilario – LF T. Torres – 3B Ma. Martin – 2B W. Richmond – C Sciutto – RF C. Rawlins – P Jo. Flores
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Colter – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – P Walla

Walla opened the game by giving up a double to Ryan Schimke, but then retired the next three Indians quite stingily, stranding the runner on third base. Yocum drew a walk and was doubled up by Katz in the bottom 1st, but the Coons then loaded the bases with nobody out in the second as Wharton walked and Olivares and Colter hit singles. Hernandez whiffed, but Sam Brown slapped a single over Walter Richmond for the game’s first run, and while Walla grounded out, he managed to stay out of a double play, getting Olivares home. Humph singled and scored Colter, Yocum drew another walk to fill the bags, and Katz also edged out a walk to get Walla home. Wharton ended the 4-spot by grounding out to short.

Nick Walla took the lead and ran with it, allowing just one more single to Jose Hilario, who was caught stealing, through the fifth inning, in which the Coons loaded the bags again with their 3-4-5 batters and one out. Colter popped out to first and Hernandez flew out to Chris Rawlins to score nobody. Rawlins then singled in the sixth and Schimke reached on Yocum’s error, but Walla got Fernando Valadez to float out to center, and Hilario to ground out to short. Richmond had a single in the seventh, but Walla got around that, and was still relatively easily cruising through eight innings. Bottom 8th, Hernandez got home a tack-on run by hitting into a double play with Olivares and Colter on the corners, which gave him zero style points, and then Walla went back out with a 5-run lead for the ninth, ringing up Valadez to begin the inning. Hilario grounded out to Yocum on the first pitch, and on the 99th pitch of the game he struck out Tony Torres to put the thing into the books himself! 5-0 Furballs! Olivares 2-3, BB, 2B; Colter 2-4; Walla 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, W (12-8);

This was the seventh shutout of Nick Walla’s career, and the second this season after a 4-hitter against the Titans in June.

Game 2
IND: 1B Schimke – SS Valadez – CF Hilario – LF T. Torres – 3B Ma. Martin – 2B W. Richmond – C Sciutto – RF Layell – P W. Castellanos
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Hamel – C Rivas – SS McFarland – P Centeno

Centeno continued to put up zeroes for Indy, although it didn’t look as light and easy as with Walla on Monday. The defense had some work to do, and the Arrowheads left a runner on third base twice in the first three innings. The Coons scattered four singles without scoring the first time through, which included Yocum being caught stealing and Centeno hitting into a double play after Hamel and Rivas reached, ending the bottom 2nd. Humph and Yocum started the third inning with another pair of singles then, and this time the team kept at it. Katz singled the bags full, Tyler Wharton hit an RBI single, Olivares got a bases-loaded walk, and after two fruitless outs from the 6-7 batters, McFarland got a 2-out, 2-run single to fall into right-center. Centeno, hitless in ten at-bats so far, remained hitless by flying out to rightfielder Brian Layell, and that ended the inning.

Hilario opened the fourth with a single, but Centeno got Torres on strikes and then a double-play grounder from Matt Martin to clean up. The Indians then didn’t get on base again until Valadez hit a 2-out single in the sixth, and was left on by Hilario. Centeno opened the seventh with a walk to Torres, but then got Matt Martin to spank into a 5-4-3 double play. Richmond then drew the next walk, Aaron Sciutto singled to right, but Layell grounded out to Olivares to end the first long inning in a while. Schimke drew another walk in the eighth and Centeno threw a wild pitch, but then rung up Valadez and got Hilario to fly out to center to keep the runner on second base. It wasn’t *pretty*, but it was just enough to embolden us to send him back out for the ninth inning. He struck out Torres in a full count, then got a pop from Martin. Richmond batted with two outs, ran a full count, looked at a borderline 3-2… and got punched out! 4-0 Furballs!! Yocum 2-4; Katzman 2-4; T. Wharton 2-3, BB, RBI; Centeno 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-1);

Val Centeno with his first career complete game and shutout in his 14th major league start…! Okay, I’m paying attention now. What else has he got!?

The Titans routed the Elks for a tenner, so the gap remained at one game, while the Crusaders had lost a pair already to the Loggers and were rapidly fading from contention.

Maud, I’m just jinxing us into getting swept in New York on the weekend, aren’t I? – Good idea, I’ll put this entire tray of muffins into my snout, that way I’ll stop talking.

(choking noises)

Game 3
IND: 1B Schimke – SS Valadez – CF Hilario – LF T. Torres – 3B Ma. Martin – 2B W. Richmond – C Sciutto – RF Layell – P Apodaca
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF van Otterdijk – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P Morales

Jose Hilario went deep to right in the first inning to get the Indians on the board real quick after consecutive shutouts by Walla and Centeno, while the Coons had no hits the first time through the lineup, but drew three walks, all with nobody out. Humph was doubled up by Katz in the first, but Rivas and Hernandez got on in the bottom 3rd and were bunted into scoring position by Morales, who had four strikeouts since the Hilario homer. Humph drew another walk to load the bases, but Yocum grounded out to third, where Matt Martin looked home, but then decided on the safe out at first base, allowing the Coons to tie the game. Katz’ long fly to center was then tracked down by Hilario to leave a pair on base.

The Indians regained the lead in the fifth inning with a homer by Walter Richmond, 2-1, after which Morales struck out two, then gave up a single to the pitcher and an RBI triple to Schimke. Valadez then struck out, so Vinny had 7 K through five innings, but also plenty of damage on the board. He then also got the Coons’ first hit with a single in the bottom 5th, but it led nowhere nice.

Vinny struck out nine in seven innings, but left trailing 3-1 when Jesus Morentin batted for him and hit a 2-out single in the bottom 7th. Humph also singled, but Yocum left the tying runs aboard with a lame groundout to Valadez. By contrast, Apodaca issued SEVEN walks in seven-plus innings, being replaced with Rodolfo Zea after a free pass to Katz to begin the bottom 8th. Wharton whiffed, but Woodley batted for Olivares and singled, putting the tying runs on the corners. The Indians moved on to Justin Esch, and Danny Huckaby batted for van Otterdijk, but lined out. Left-hander Matt Dore then came in for Rivas, but we sent Jack Hamel instead, who popped out to Schimke behind first base to end the inning. The Coons’ pen, engaged for the first time in 72 hours, kept the game close at least, with Rios handling the eighth before giving up a leadoff single to Torres in the ninth inning. Rismiller then replaced him and rizzed Martin, Richmond, and Sciutto in order for three strikeouts.

Bottom 9th, and Hernandez led off with a single against lefty Ryan Croft. Morentin had remained in the game over Humph earlier and popped out. Guerrero batted for Rismiller and singled to center, so the tying runs were aboard again, but Yocum whiffed for the second retirement. Katz then hit a long fly to center – and Hilario didn’t get that one! The ball got onto the green, then the brown, and both runners scored on Katz’ double to tie up the score! Tyler Wharton then bashed another long fly to center, but Hilario played deeper on him and made the catch, sending the game to overtime. McMahan got the ball for the tenth and found out just how many right-handed pinch-hitters were left on the Indians’ bench. Alex Gomez hit a double, but jammed his hand sliding into second base and was pinch-run for by Chris Rawlins for the trainer to have a look. McMahan threw a wild pitch, walked PH Jamel Robinson, but then got a double-play grounder from Valadez to bail out of the inning. The Critters went in order in the tenth, then had Hernandez and Luebbert singles in the eleventh, but one was doubled up by Morentin and the other left on by Yocum, whom he then replaced in the field. Valentin and Graham then added scoreless innings in the 12th and 13th, while Indy ran Kao-Kan Ngui in long relief. He gave up a leadoff single to Sam Brown in the #6 spot to begin the bottom 13th, but the Coons were running short on bodies and didn’t run for him. Hamel popped out, but Hernandez hit a liner to right that fell in. The ball ran up the line, and Rawlins failed to cut it off! He had to chase it back down the line, while a huffing and puffing Brown got – much to his dismay – windmilled around third base by the coach there, kept chugging to the best of his abilities towards the plate, while *finally* Rawlins got a throw back to the infield together, but it was not precise, pulled the catcher Sciutto into foul ground and off the plate, and Brown slid in safely to end the game, and was still on the ground panting while his teammates piled onto him…! 4-3 Critters! Humphries 1-1, 3 BB; Guerrero (PH) 1-1; Luebbert (PH) 1-1; Rivas 1-2, BB; Hernandez 3-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Morales 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K and 1-1;

Crucially, the Titans lost their game in Elk City, 10-5, and the Coons’ lead was up to two for a night before the Titans won another rout on Thursday, our off day, to establish one-and-a-half as the marker entering the weekend.

Raccoons (76-62) @ Crusaders (67-71) – September 11-13, 2071

The Crusaders had been rained out on Thursday after having already lost three games to the Loggers to begin the week, which meant that by now Milwaukee was actually back in third place in the division and the New York was nine games out. That didn’t mean they were a freebie, even though the season series stood at 10-5 in Portland’s favor, and we also weren’t shy to give up runs to terrible offensive teams – the Crusaders sitting in eleventh place in runs scored in the CL. They had a -35 run differential, and really only excelled in defense ratings. Kyle Reber and Dave Hyman were notable names on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (13-8, 3.21 ERA) vs. Nate Freeman (8-10, 3.68 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (8-10, 3.67 ERA) vs. Paul Egley (8-15, 3.72 ERA)
Nick Walla (12-8, 2.89 ERA) vs. Russell Anderson (9-6, 3.03 ERA)

Due to the rainout, the Crusaders had the option to skip a pitcher. Right now, the southpaw Anderson was lined up for Sunday.

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Huckaby – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – P J. Wharton
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – SS Joe King – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – LF Griffin – 2B McNulty – 1B Parry – C Marty – P N. Freeman

Nate Freeman began his day by walking two of the first three brown-hatted batters, then gave up an RBI single to Tyler Wharton. Colter flew out, but Danny Huckaby sent his first career homer well outta rightfield, a huge 3-run blast that immediately established a 4-0 lead! Jimmy Wharton meanwhile was up against an entirely right-handed lineup. He gave up a leadoff single to Miguel Lacatelli in the bottom 1st, and the runner stole second, but the rest of the Crusaders made poor outs and kept him stranded at third. Freeman got bopped for another four singles and two runs, both driven in by Katz with two outs, in the second inning, and in the third the Coons got their 6-7-8 batters on base with nobody out, although Chris McNulty made an error to get Brown aboard. Jimmyboy got home a run by hitting into a double play on a 3-1 pitch, which led to the removal of Freeman before Matt Topp walked the bags full, but then got Tony Griffin to catch a fly ball hit by Katz to end the inning.

Jimmy wasn’t pitching in good counts at all, and the Crusaders finally got to him in the fourth inning on a leadoff triple by Raul Ledesma, Griffin’s RBI double, and McNulty hitting a single. Bob Parry got a second run home with a sac fly before the bottom of the order laid down to end the inning. His pitch count through four innings was already over 60. Josh Jackson in turn gave up a single to Jimmy, a double to Humph, and a sac fly to Yocum in the fifth, 8-2. Lacatelli and Joe King landed hits to begin the bottom 5th, Bill Davidson hit a sac fly, and then Ledesma cranked a homer to make it 8-5, and the pen was up in earnest behind Jimmy Wharton. Griffin and Parry singles knocked him out before five innings were complete. Ryan Marty flew out against Rismiller to keep them on the corners and let the Coons get away with an 8-5 lead after five.

It didn’t get better, and by the bottom 6th the Coons had blown the lead altogether. Rismiller struck out PH Bryan Johnston, but then allowed another hit to Lacatelli, who stole second as King fanned, but then Davidson hit an RBI single and Ledesma cranked another homer, this one to get all even at eight. Griffin then reached on an error by Huckaby as everything crumbled into a heap. Cam Jackson relieved Rismiller, got a grounder from McNulty to Yocum – and Yocum threw the ball away for two bases and allowed a doubly-unearned run to score to give New York a 9-8 lead. Parry then flew out to center…

Top 7th, and Brown led off with a single against righty Adam Dochterman. Jackson was retained to bunt, and Marty peppered away that ball for a 2-base error, presenting the top of the order with the battery, and the tying and go-ahead runs, in scoring position. Before more stupid **** could happen, Dochterman tied the game with a wild pitch, then walked Humph. Yocum’s poor groundout advanced only the back runner, but Katz shot a vicious bouncer past Lacatelli and over the bag for the go-ahead, 2-run single! Dochterman and Fernando Chacon then split duties in walking the bags full with Tyler Wharton and Colter, and Chacon also walked Huckaby to force in another run, 12-9, and then Hernandez jammed into a wicked 5-2-3 double play……

Jackson then got three straight outs in the bottom 7th before Holzmeister got involved and threatened to lay the next egg, conceding a leadoff single to King and walking Davidson in the bottom 8th. Ledesma, who had already made sound contact a few times in this game, made sound contact again, but had the angle all messed up and spanked a 4-6-3 double play grounder to Yocum before Griffin grounded out to Katz more calmly, leaving a runner on third base. No tack-on runs in the ninth meant that Pedro Valentin got the ball for the bottom of the ninth. Bob Parry hit a 1-out single, but got forced out by Marty, and Esteban Gallegos then grounded out to end this wild game. 12-9 Critters. Humphries 2-3, 3 BB, 2B; Katzman 2-5, BB, 4 RBI; T. Wharton 2-4, BB, RBI; Guerrero (PH) 1-1, 2B; Huckaby 2-2, 3 BB, HR, 4 RBI;

Boston lost a 5-1 game to Indy, so the gap became 2 1/2 games and the Coons once again were assured to keep first place through the end of the week.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – 3B Luebbert – P Gaytan
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – SS Joe King – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – LF Griffin – 1B Parry – C R. Stephens – P Egley

The Raccoons scattered five singles in the first three innings without scoring, partly because long fly balls by Colter and Olivares were both caught near the fence by Tony Griffin. Gaytan meanwhile retired the first seven in order before allowing a single to Roy Stephens, then walked the bags full with Lacatelli, King, and two outs in that bottom 3rd, but got Bill Davidson to ground out to Nick Luebbert. Ledesma singled and got caught stealing by Rivas in the fourth inning.

The game was still scoreless when Humph hit a leadoff single in the fifth inning. Yocum had not done much good so far this week, but here suddenly unloaded a 2-run homer to left to give the Coons the lead! A Katz double, a walk to Wharton, and a shy Colter single then filled the bases, still with nobody out in the inning. Egley walked in a run against Olivares, Rivas hit a sac fly, but Luebbert and Gaytan made the last two outs in meek fashion, keeping the score at 4-0. Roy Stephens then nearly took Gaytan deep in the same inning, but had to settle for a double off the wall in left and being stranded.

Tyler Wharton extended the lead to 5-0 with a sac fly to plate Yocum in the sixth inning, while Gaytan kept a 4-hit shutout through seven innings, but ran up a pitch count of 103 and then got hit for with Huckaby to begin the eighth inning. Humph and Katz were also hit for in the inning – Morentin getting a pinch-hit single in the #1 spot, and Wharton got replaced with Hamel after McFarland made the third out. Woodley batted for Olivares in the ninth, while Graham, Sullivan, and Newhard collected the last six outs, with the last in line issuing two walks before bailing out on a double play grounder. 5-0 Critters. Morentin (PH) 1-1; Yocum 3-5, HR, 2 RBI; Katzman 3-4, 2B; Colter 2-5; Gaytan 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, W (9-10) and 1-3;

The Titans lost again on Saturday, further extending the Coons’ lead in the standings.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Hamel – 3B Hernandez – C Spink – P Walla
NYC: 3B Lacatelli – 1B Parry – CF B. Davidson – RF Ledesma – 2B McNulty – LF Griffin – SS Wildman – C Marty – P R. Anderson

Katz’s 14th homer tied for the team lead (…) with Humph and Olivares, and also gave the Coons an early 1-0 lead on Sunday. That lead didn’t last for stupid reasons, such as Walla retiring the first eight batters he faced before giving up a double to the pitcher Anderson, and then an RBI single to Lacatelli to bottle the lead…

Hamel hit a 2-out single in the fourth, but was left on base. The fifth then began with a single by third catcher and afterthought Tony Spink, who got bunted to second by Walla, made it onwards on Humph’s groundout, and then scored when Yocum singled through the left side for a fresh 2-1 lead. Yocum then got caught stealing by Marty, who in turn hit into a double play after Walla walked Bobby Wildman in the bottom 5th.

Katz reached base to start the sixth, but was forced out by Wharton. Olivares’ groundout advanced the runner, and Jack Hamel buried a ball in the right-center gap for an RBI double, 3-1. Davidson rushed down Hernandez’ soft fly to shallow center to stop the Raccoons right there. While Walla seemed fine after some hiccups in the third and fourth innings, the Raccoons frittered away more base runners, as Humph and Yocum got on base with two gone in the seventh, but were left on by Katz. In the eighth, Wharton and Hamel hit singles, but Colter batted for Hernandez against right-hander Danny Ortiz and jammed into a double play to kill that chance, and the score remained 3-1. Wildman promptly hit a leadoff double to right in the bottom 8th. Walla remained in the game for now, partly because his pitch count was fine, and partly because I didn’t trust any right-hander in that pen right now. Marty grounded out, and Chris Duhon popped out with Wildman at third base. Lacatelli hit a high pop to shallow right that Hamel meandered under for a while before it finally came down and got caught for the third out of the inning.

Of note, Walla batted for himself in the ninth inning as Leo Garcia retired the battery and Humphries in order, then retook the mound on 85 pitches, with Willie Ospina leading off the bottom 9th. He flew out to Humph, while Davidson hit a floater to shallow center that Wharton rushed in to catch. Ledesma went down on strikes, and after just 95 pitches, Nick Walla had his second complete game of the week! 3-1 Critters! Yocum 2-4, RBI; Hamel 3-4, 2B, RBI; Walla 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (13-8);

In other news

September 7 – Warriors OF David Jankowski (.354, 11 HR, 81 RBI) continues his hitting streak with three extra-base bashes and two RBI in a 7-4 win against the Scorpions. It’s the 30th straight game in which Jankowski has put up a base hit.
September 8 – It ends at 30: the Scorpions hold SFW OF David Jankowski (.352, 11 HR, 81 RBI) hitless in a 3-1 Sacramento win and end his hitting streak.
September 9 – The Warriors’ chances take a hit with news that OF Jordan Lopez (.288, 21 HR, 72 RBI) was moved to the DL for a herniated disc, with the hope that he’d be available at playoff time. The Warriors were up 17 1/2 games in the FL West and wrapping up the division was a mere formality at this point.
September 9 – SFB SP Austin LaRosa (9-9, 2.99 ERA) takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Falcons, but with a 6-0 lead gives up a leadoff double to CHA OF Adam Campbell (.221, 5 HR, 47 RBI) and is removed for SP/MR Jarod Morris (8-7, 4.37 ERA, 1 SV), who gives up two more hits and two runs before closing the door on the 6-2 game.
September 11 – The Indians acquire MR Jason Rhodes (3-3, 4.85 ERA), cash, and a prospect from the Capitals for CF/1B Ryan Schimke (.246, 3 HR, 26 RBI) to go to Washington.
September 11 – The Buffaloes beat the Miners, 4-3, as all of Topeka’s runs score on a grand slam by catcher Pat Cohen (.262, 14 HR, 58 RBI).
September 12 – CIN SP Shoma Nakayama (11-11, 4.21 ERA) ends his season on the DL due to a sprained thumb on his pitching hand.
September 12 – Caps and Rebs play 15 innings before the North prevails by a 5-4 walkoff.

Player of the Week (FL): PIT 3B/2B Carlos Castro (.273, 3 HR, 47 RBI), clipping .522 (12-23) with 1 HR, 5 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): OCT OF/1B/2B Jon Reyes (.308, 4 HR, 50 RBI), slapping .520 (13-25) with 1 HR, 6 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Bam!! 6-0 week!! Look at us!!

Tah!!

Better yet, the Titans got swept in Indy, so the gap suddenly ballooned to 4 1/2 games. The Loggers (also 6-0 this week) were the only other team vaguely in contention at this point, having demolished the Elks on the weekend. Guess who’d they demolish next (again) …

POR (79-62) – ATL (4), BOS (4), MIL (4), IND (3), LVA (3), VAN (3) – .514 – 89.3% (+43.2%)
BOS (75-67) – NYC (4), POR (4), MIL (3), OCT (3), TIJ (3), VAN (3) – .496 – 10.4% (-41.4%)
MIL (71-71) – NYC (4), POR (4), BOS (3), CHA (3), IND (3), SFB (3) – .504 – 0.3% (+0.1%)

After a spongy month or so, Nick Walla has shown up third on the CL ERA board again, but 34 points behind Adam Lunn of Atlanta, and with perpetual Jason Brenize in between. He’s also third in pitcher WAR again, after leading the category early in the season, now behind Mike Bell and Brenize.

Brian Doster and Edgar Gutierrez didn’t pitch at all this week, thanks to three complete games and two shutouts by the starters. Valentin, Jackson, and Rismiller are the only relievers that were engaged even twice this week.

The Raccoons had an 8-game week coming up against the Loggers and Knights, latterly thanks to a rainout earlier in the season. The double-header would be on Friday, and we’d go find a spot starter somewhere. Rios wasn’t really being considered. The ABL debut of Crispino “Crispy Bear” D’Urso was unlikely given scheduling and the Alley Cats still in contention for the AAA playoffs, although 3 1/2 out with six to play. Jaquan Riggs was unlikely for the same reason.

Fun Fact: CL Player of the Week Jon Reyes had a chance to break the single-season record for stolen bases in the future.

The 22-year-old Reyes had so far taken 60 bags in 83 attempts. Just three weeks to play was perhaps not enough time for him *now* given that the record by Hugo Acosta stood at 76 bags. But he was making quite a stir for a rookie for sure. His was only the 40th 60-bag season in league history. Getting just four more would already give him a top 20 effort for stolen bases.

The upper end of the single-season table for stolen bases is littered with Critters (in bold):

1st – Hugo Acosta (2038) – 76
t-2nd – Enrique „Cosmo“ Trevino (2027) – 74
t-2nd – Alberto “Berto” Ramos (2030) – 74
t-2nd – Alex Vasquez (2048) – 74
t-5th – Alex Vasquez (2052) – 73
t-5th – Lorenzo “Lonzo” Lavorano (2055) – 73
7th – Lorenzo “Lonzo” Lavorano (2051) – 71
8th – Chance Bossert (2033) – 70
9th – Alex Vasquez (2047) – 69
10th – Chance Bossert (2032) – 68

Lonzo had four more 60+ seasons, and Berto had one more. And Cosmo of course played for the Raccoons later on in his career.

And yes, stealing has been more of a thing in the last 50 years of the league. Nobody stole 60 in a season until 2006. Progression of the single-season record:

1977 – Francisco Rodriguez – 48
1981 – Tony Barr – 52
1986 – Andrés Serna – 55
1998 – Moromao Hino – 58
2006 – Javier Rodriguez – 60
2015 – Danny Flores – 61
2020 – Nando Maiello – 66
2027 – „Cosmo” Trevino – 74
2038 – Hugo Acosta – 76

Additional tidbit: in the earliest years of the league, the season-high for stolen bases was sometimes as low as in the mid-20s, leading to Daniel Hall winning a stolen base title for the Raccoons with just 26 bags in 1979, where (in)famously nothing else clicked for a team that lost 107 games. In 1980, Portland’s Ken Clark stole 25 bases, being beaten by just one bag by Boston’s Lonnie Rice.

Cristiano, why are almost all of the fastest base stealers from Latin America? *You* are from Latin America, and you’re not very fast at all in your wheelchair. – Cristiano, why are you looking at me like that? – (yowls as Cristiano drives over his hindpaws)

[Westheim]

Raccoons (79-62) @ Loggers (71-71) – September 14-17, 2071

On one paw, the Loggers were 8 1/2 games out with just 22 to play, but on the other paw… well, the Raccoons just couldn’t win against them. Milwaukee led the season series, 9-5, and had a prime chance to reduce the gap to 4 1/2 games by Thursday night, and with 18 to play that would still be possible to make up (keeping in mind the Titans in between there). They had a -1 run differential thanks to the league’s best offense and a just as “spectacular” pitching staff.

Projected matchups:
Val Centeno (3-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. Colt Long (14-8, 3.57 ERA)
Vinny Morales (7-4, 4.30 ERA) vs. Ramon Carreno (6-5, 3.78 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (13-8, 3.38 ERA) vs. Cory Ritter (9-13, 3.97 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (9-10, 3.54 ERA) vs. Matt Crist (10-10, 3.54 ERA)

Long was one of the two southpaws in that rotation, and the only one we’d face.

Always keep in mind that we had a double header on Friday with Nick Walla and the Mystery Man pitching. No, that’s not a nickname. We literally don’t know what’s gonna happen with that start. Bullpen day? (shivers!)

Game 1
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Hamel – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P Centeno
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – LF W. Griffith – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – 2B F. Carrera – CF Parrish – 3B Sowards – P C. Long

Hits by Humph and Katz and a passed ball gave the Raccoons a first-inning run they wouldn’t have scored on their own, and the Raccoons would only get one base hit from there until the fifth inning, which wasn’t a lot if you wanted to tack on to help out the poor kit on the hill. The poor kit, though, did reasonably well. Jesse Sowards hit the only long fly the first time through the order, and Jack Hamel tracked that down for a running catch, and so ultimately Centeno gave up just three base hits through five innings as well. The third of those was a leadoff triple in the left-center gap by the recovered Fidel Carrera, whom we had missed the last time ‘round against the Loggers (not that it had helped us much), and so the tying run was at third base with nobody out in the bottom 5th. Centeno popped out John Parrish, Sowards grounded out to Jordan Hernandez, and then Long hit another lazy fly, and Carrera headed back to the dugout without touching home plate after all…!

Yocum opened the sixth with a more modest single to right, and Katz flew out to center. Wharton singled to left, though, and then an Olivares double clanked off the leftfield wall just out of Wade Griffith’s reach to get home the game’s second run. Unfortunately, Hamel whiffed and Gabe Rivas flew out to Carlos Dominguez near the line, keeping a pair in scoring position. In response, the always annoying Sean Van Leeuwen shot a double to center, and Griffith and Dominguez made loud outs. Manuel Rodriguez was also loud … hitting a 2-run homer to left, and the game was tied. Jack Hamel then ran into the sidewall to catch a Cesar Ramirez fly, banged up his knee, and ended up being carted off the field and replaced with George van Otterdijk…

Long gave up more runners in the seventh, which began with Hernandez’ leadoff single. Centeno bunted him to second, but the Loggers walked Humph intentionally. It didn’t *really* work, since Yocum hit an RBI single to left and the Coons had the lead back. A Katz walk loaded the bags for Big Bucks Wharton, who mashed a 2-1 pitch into a 4-6-3 double play and killed the inning dead. Centeno pitched another inning against the 6-7-8 batters, then got hit for after the Otter, Rivas, and Hernandez loaded the bags again on a double and two walks in the top 8th. Jamie Colter came out to bat for him against ex-Coon Angel Alba – and cranked a long one! Oh, that one was very long…! And outta here!! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!!

Todd Sullivan got the ball in the eighth, but allowed a run on a walk to Van Leeuwen and a 2-out triple by Dominguez; however, Rodriguez grounded out to end the inning before it could get really sticky, and the Coons were still up by a slam. The Coons scattered a few more runners in the ninth, but Gabriel Rios then slammed the door shut on the Loggers. 7-3 Raccoons! Yocum 2-5, RBI; T. Wharton 2-5; van Otterdijk 1-1, BB, 2B; Colter (PH) 1-2, HR, 4 RBI; Centeno 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (4-1);

Jack Hamel’s season ended with a knee sprain. He was not replaced on the roster at this point (although a later addition was possible once the AAA season ended).

The Titans and Crusaders got rained out on Monday, so the gap was now five games.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – 3B Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Huckaby – SS McFarland – C Rivas – P Vin. Morales
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – LF W. Griffith – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – 2B F. Carrera – CF Parrish – 3B Sowards – P Carreno

After a couple of calm innings to begin the game, the Raccoons loaded the bases with zero outs and zero base hits in the third inning. Rivas walked, Morales’ bunt was thrown away by Sowards, and Humph coaxed another walk out of former Critter Ramon Carreno. No decisive knock was to be had as Yocum hit a sac fly, Katz hit into a fielder’s choice, and Tyler Wharton drew another walk to refill the bases. But Carreno ran a full count on Colter, then lost him, too, forcing in a second run. Danny Huckaby then flew out to John Parrish. Vinny Morales got three groundouts in the bottom 3rd, and Carreno then drilled Brian McFarland on base to start off the fourth. The runner stole second and scored on a Rivas double, 3-0. Morales flew out to Griffith, but Humph doled a double down the leftfield line to extend the lead further, but he ended up being left on base.

Vinny toed his way around a pair of runners in the fourth, but the Raccoons kept on scoring, getting a solo homer, the second of his career, from Danny Chuckaby (still working on that nickname) in the fifth, and that also knocked out Carreno in a 5-0 game. But Morales kept softening on the hill; he brushed Sowards on base in the bottom 5th and then gave up a hit to Van Leeuwen before Griffith hit a mighty long fly to left – but too high and too short, and Humph got leather on it right against the fence to end the inning…!

A Dominguez homer to lead off the bottom 6th and then a full-count walk to Rodriguez signalled that it was time to engage the pen. Dan Graham gave up the inherited runner on Parrish’s 2-out double, 5-2, but got out of the inning. In turn, Katz smacked a leadoff double to left in the seventh. Wharton got walked with intent, Colter hit a long fly out to center, but Julio Robles – not in the rotation anymore – then plated Katz’ run with a wild pitch. *Huckaby* then got an intentional walk extended to him…! The Loggers paid for the audacity with consecutive RBI singles by McFarland and Rivas, but then Olivares pinch-hit and stuck the ball into an inning-ending double play at 8-2.

Bottom 7th, and Rismiller got an out from Jonathan Wright before drilling the 1-2 batters back-to-back. McMahan replaced him, got a K on Dominguez, but then we sent Rodriguez and his 22 homers’ worth of right-handed stick to first and chose to go after Cesar Ramirez instead with the bases loaded and two outs. He flew out to Wharton. The eighth was calm, and the Loggers’ pen loaded the bags with Huckaby, McFarland, and Rivas in the ninth. Woodley, a bit forgotten on that bench, slapped a pinch-hit, 2-out, 2-run single to center. Morentin grounded out in place of Humphries. Katz and Wharton were also removed ahead of the final inning, the ball going to Noah Newhard, who continued to suck and gave up four hits and three runs, although only one was earned since Chuckaby also hucked in an error to give the Loggers some hope. Cam Jackson had to come in and get the final out. 10-5 Raccoons. Humphries 2-4, BB, 2B, RBI; Huckaby 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; McFarland 2-4, RBI; Rivas 3-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; Woodley (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI;

The Titans played a double-header against the Crusaders… and got swept! 3-1 and a 5-4 walkoff in ten innings, and the Titans were now buried 6 1/2 games deep against the Coons.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – P J. Wharton
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – 2B F. Carrera – RF C. Dominguez – C M. Rodriguez – 1B C. Ramirez – 3B Sowards – LF Alaniz – CF Parrish – P Ritter

Humph stuck a triple in the leftfield corner to begin the third game of the series, then scored on Katz’ sac fly after Yocum popped out. The lead was immediately surrendered by Jimmy Wharton, who nicked Carrera, the runner stole second, gained third on a wild pitch, and then scored on Dominguez’ single to left. Next time around Carrera tripled into the opposite corner, and again scored on Dominguez’ single, taking a 2-1 lead for the Loggers in the third inning. For a left-hander, Jimmyboy always struggled quite a bit against the lefty-leaning Loggers lineups…

Triple Time continued with Triple Paycheck Wharton, who hit a three-bagger behind Dominguez with one out in the fourth inning, then scored on a Colter single, that Dominguez overran for an extra base, tying the game. Olivares grounded out to third, Hernandez hit an infield single to put bodies on the corners, but Sam Brown struck out. That stranded a pair, but the Raccoons soon got their THIRD triple of the game, which Yocum used to drive Humphries home with in the fifth inning. Yocum scored on a wild pitch, 4-2, and Wharton and Colter hit 2-out singles, but Olivares fanned to keep another pair on base.

Top 6th, and the battery went to the corners through a pair of base hits with one out. Humph walked to fill them up against Omar Vences, but Yocum grounded to short – however, Van Leeuwen bobbled the ball and the Coons got a run on the error. Katz fanned, but Wharton singled home a pair before Colter flew out to Dominguez; however, Jimmyboy gave those two runs back in the bottom 6th, conceding leadoff knocks to Dominguez and Rodriguez, one run to score on Cesar Ramirez’ groundout, and another on Mario Alaniz’ RBI single, 7-4. Parrish then flew out to Humph to end the inning.

Top 7th, and Olivares led off with a homer to left, 8-4. Two outs were made before Huckaby batted for Jimmyboy – and got hit in the head by Julio Robles. The whole park gasped, I gasped, and I guess Danny’s mom also gasped. He sat in the batter’s box for a while, talking to Luis Silva, and then eventually picked himself up and walked off the field under his own power to undergo concussion tests. Guerrero ran for him, stole a base, but was ultimately stranded. This was also the last gasp in the game – the Raccoons scattered a few more runners against the Loggers pen, while Rios, Holzmeister, and Valentin (who needed work) each put up a scoreless inning to put the game in the books. 8-4 Raccoons. T. Wharton 4-4, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; Colter 2-5, RBI;

Danny Huckaby was found to have indeed suffered a concussion and went to the DL. He was also not replaced, since we did not suffer a shortage of first basemen. There was a chance for him to come back at the end of the season.

The Titans lost *again*. (big eyes) The Elks also ended up being eliminated mathematically on this day.

The Raccoons then grabbed a chance to rest a couple of regulars on Thursday: Katz and Humph got the day off ahead of the double-header.

Game 4
POR: 2B Yocum – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – SS McFarland – LF Morentin – P Gaytan
MIL: SS Van Leeuwen – CF Parrish – RF C. Dominguez – 1B C. Ramirez – 2B F. Carrera – LF J. Wright – C Bergeron – 3B Sowards – P Crist

The streak ended at nine W’s in a row. Tony Gaytan retired NOBODY. Of seven batters he faced, he walked three, gave up a single, Yocum fudged in an error, and then Jonathan Wright and Don Bergeron hit back-to-back bombs. Todd Sullivan replaced him, fumbled Crist and Parrish on base, and then gave up a 3-piece to Dominguez, making it 10-0 before the inning was over.

Sullivan, though useless in general, *did* get the first eight outs of the game, and the Raccoons were keen on using as few pitchers as possible here, with the double header in Atlanta looming. Graham got four, and Newhard got through the right-handed 7-8-9 batters without more explosions in the bottom of the fifth at least. The Raccoons had three hits and no runs through five, so weren’t even faking a rally. Come the sixth, Crist gave up singles to Wharton, Rivas, and McFarland, loading the bases with one out. He walked in a run against Morentin, and then Katz pinch-hit and tumbled straight into a double play…

Brian Doster then got the ball in the hope for multiple innings, and logged two frames for another Dominguez homer, a solo shot. Olivares in turn drove in Yocum for an unearned run in the seventh, not that it mattered much. Cam Jackson did the eighth and final pitching inning for the Coons in this rout. Sam Brown’s pinch-hit double and Tyler Wharton’s RBI single in the ninth off Angel Alba only hurt Alba’s already terrible ERA over six, and helped nobody. 11-3 Loggers. Brown (PH) 1-1, 2B; T. Wharton 3-5, RBI;

Our W9 was dead, but the Titans’ losing streak reached L7 as the Crusaders finished off a four-game sweep. Three of the four games ended 5-4 in New York’s favor (Thursday’s in *17* innings!), but losing by one or losing by eight meant the same in the standings. Fortunately.

Raccoons (82-63) @ Knights (82-63) – September 18-20, 2071

Portland and Atlanta had the same record, but the Knights were half a game behind first place in the South. They needed the wins more, and they’d get four chances to beat up on the Coons, who had a 3-2 lead in the season series, thanks to a rainout in Portland earlier in the season. The Raccoons thus officially functioned as home team for the first game of the Friday double-header. Atlanta had the #2 offense with the highest team OBP (.356), but the pitching was middling, and the defense was rather mediocre. They also had no speed. Starter Rob Wilkinson and outfielder David Mendoza hogged the DL.

Projected matchups:
Nick Walla (13-8, 2.81 ERA) vs. Justin Kent (9-10, 4.13 ERA)
Edgar Gutierrez (0-0, 4.37 ERA) vs. Erik Lee (11-11, 3.61 ERA)
Val Centeno (4-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. Brett Bebout (10-10, 3.98 ERA)
Vinny Morales (8-4, 4.28 ERA) vs. Adam Lunn (16-6, 2.46 ERA)

Kent was the only southpaw we saw coming here, assuming there was no surprise spot starter popping up.

Gutierrez had not pitched in Milwaukee and got the spot start since D’Urso and Riggs had by now pitched in AAA – but the Alley Cats had failed to rally and had finished second to the Lubbock Flame (MIL). All paws were on deck for the first game on Friday, and we tacitly were ready to punt the second one.

Game 1
ATL: SS Guangorena – 1B DiPrimio – CF Jo. Soto – C J. Hart – 3B J. Munoz – RF Troxel – 2B Ehlers – LF Schomer – P Kent
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF van Otterdijk – 3B Hernandez – C S. Brown – P Walla

And guess what – the weather was fuzzy to begin even the first game. Conveniently it only started to rain *after* Walla nailed Joel Ehlers and gave up a homer to Jon Schomer after retiring the first six batters in order, and the Knights took a 2-0 lead. There was a 40-minute rain delay in that third inning, after which a Humph double and a Yocum triple produced a 2-out run in the bottom 3rd, but Katz lined out to Tomas Guangorena to end the inning. Brown had actually reached base to begin that inning, but Walla had bunted into a double play…

The fourth saw Justin Hart single hard past Yocum but getting doubled off on Jorge Munoz’ grounder, and then the Coons flipped the score with a pair of solo homers by Wharton and van Otterdijk in the bottom 4th, but Walla gave it right back in the fifth, which the Knights began with a pair of the ********* singles ever seen back-to-back, as Ehlers hit a duck snort between the Otter and Yocum for a single, and then Schomer legged out an even softer hit infield single. Proper singles by Kris DiPrimio and Jorge Soto then tilted the scales back in Atlanta’s favor, 4-3 in the middle of the fifth.

Walla drowned in runners for good in the sixth inning, as Munoz hit a soft single, and Tom Troxel reached when Walla pounced on his grounder, but went to second – late. He then did it again, getting Munoz at third base on Ehlers’ comebacker, but walked Schomer to fill the bags. Kent whiffed, and Holzmeister came out to face Guangorena, and nearly gave up a bases-clearing double in the gap, but Humphries caught the ball going FULL STEAM and running all the way to second base before slowing down, the inning having ended. The Otter and Brown then somehow got on base in the bottom 6th, prompting a 2-out pinch-hitting appearance by Guerrero, but he fanned miserably.

Alex Dominguez smacked a leadoff double off Rismiller in the top 7th, but was left on base somehow, and Rismiller held the 4-3 score for two innings. The Raccoons still poked around, although they got their chance in the bottom 8th against Tetsu Kurihara by holding still and taking a leadoff walk (Wharton), and another free pass with one out (Otter). Colter batted for Hernandez and ran a 3-1 count before grounding out… Sam Brown didn’t wait around at all and slapped a single past Guangorena right away, and that tied the game! Rivas grounded out, though, batting for Rismiller.

The Coons then went to Valentin in the tied game in the ninth. He got three quick outs from the top of the order, and then the Coons’ top of the order had the rare chance, against righty Mike Rocheford, to hit a walkoff homer in Atlanta. It didn’t happen – the homer, I mean. The walkoff happened, and in this inning, although Humph opened by whiffing. But Rocheford walked Yocum, Yocum stole second, and Katz bolted a double to the centerfield fence to end this charade. 5-4 Critters. Yocum 2-4, BB, 3B, RBI; van Otterdijk 3-3, BB, HR, RBI; Brown 2-2, 2 BB, RBI; Rismiller 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;

Big Wharton and Yocum then got the second game off. Yes, we were punting it *that* hard.

Game 2
POR: LF Humphries – CF Guerrero – 1B Olivares – SS Katzman – RF Colter – C Rivas – 2B McFarland – 3B Luebbert – P Gutierrez
ATL: SS Guangorena – 1B DiPrimio – CF Jo. Soto – 3B J. Munoz – RF Troxel – 2B Ehlers – C P. Brown – LF Schomer – P E. Lee

Gutierrez struck out a pair in the first inning, and then quickly got under the wheels as Munoz, Troxel, and Ehlers hit rockets for three hits and two runs off him to begin the bottom 2nd. The bottom of the order Browned out, leaving Ehlers on base. Meanwhile the Coons had no hits the first time through. Guerrero broke into the H column with a single in the fourth, but was doubled off by Olivares. Katz hit a solo homer to shorten the score to 2-1.

The Knights answered with more knocks by Guangorena and Munoz in the bottom 5th, pulling a run back for a 3-1 lead; but the Coons had the tying runs on base with nobody out in the sixth: Humph drew another walk, and Guerrero snapped a single to center. Olivares was down 1-2 against Lee, but then RAMMED a double off the wall in leftfield. It was actually hit *too hard*, forcing Guerrero and the tying run to stop at third base behind Humph, who scored to make it 3-2. Katz walked, Colter hit into a force out at home, but Rivas’ groundout brought in the tying run after all, somehow. McFarland stranded runners on second and third by popping out behind the dish on a 3-2 pitch.

Gutierrez was done after 96 pitches in five innings, and we somehow got Newhard through the bottom of the order again without fireworks. Nick Walker was on the mound for Atlanta in the tied game in the seventh, got an out from Luebbert, and then conceded singles to pinch-hitters Jesus Morentin and Tyler Wharton, who had been entered in place of Humph to hit a homer, but not so. Guerrero grounded to Munoz, who tapped the base for an out on the lead runner Morentin, who remained in the game in left after Olivares whiffed to score precisely nobody. Instead the Knights socked Cam Jackson around for three hits and two runs in the bottom 7th, and Dan Graham similarly gave up two more runs on three hits in the bottom 8th, and that’s how we ended up losing this game – even though Yocum landed a pinch-hit 2-out single in the top 9th, and then Guerrero’s RBI double and Olivares’ RBI single brought the tying run to the plate once more. Katz struck out. 7-5 Knights. T. Wharton (PH) 1-1; Yocum (PH) 1-1; Guerrero 3-5, 2B, RBI; Olivares 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Colter 2-3, BB; Morentin (PH) 1-2;

The Titans took out a week’s worth of frustration on the Condors for a 15-3 rout and a W, which put the gap at seven games by midnight. Even then, Boston suffered injuries to Ryan Musgrave and Danny Miller, so even when they won, they lost.

Game 3
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – RF Colter – C S. Brown – 3B Hernandez – P Centeno
ATL: SS Guangorena – 1B DiPrimio – CF Jo. Soto – C J. Hart – 3B J. Munoz – RF Troxel – 2B Ehlers – LF Schomer – P Bebout

Katz homered for a 1-0 lead in the first – after Yocum had doubled up Humph’s leadoff single. Wharton then also hit a single, but was left on base. Centeno then pitched a 20-pitch bottom 1st… while facing the ENTIRE lineup. DiPrimio and Soto bashed back-to-back 1-out doubles to tie the game, and then a barrage of singles erupted. The Knights got SIX hits off Centeno before Bebout lined out to Yocum to strand the bases loaded in a 3-1 game. Top 2nd, and the Coons began with a Colter double, and Brown and Hernandez snapped singles, the latter driving in Colter to make it 3-2. Centeno bunted the runners over, but Humph lobbed one softly to Munoz for an out in the air. Yocum was ahead 3-0… poked…! ...and singled, plating both runners and flipping the score to 4-3 Portland…! Bebout then lost Katz on straight balls, and Wharton grounded out on a 3-0 pitch in his infinite wisdom.

Centeno blew the lead allowing another two hits and a walk in the bottom 2nd, as Hart drove in DiPrimio to even the score at four. Did Centeno even know how little bullpen we had…?? Olivares and Colter led off the third with hits and went to the corners. Brown fanned, but Hernandez’ groundout gave the Coons a lead, 5-4. And Centeno blew that one, too! Ehlers doubled, Schomer singled, and John Baxley batted for Bebout and brought in the tying run with a groundout. That was also the end of Centeno. Doster entered and ****** up the score further, giving up an RBI single to Guangorena and an RBI double to DiPrimio, and the Knights led 7-5 after three innings.

Once again, Doster at least got eight outs while doing tremendous damage to his team’s chances, while the Coons left Olivares and Brown on the corners in the fifth. Humph walked and Yocum singled with one gone in the sixth against long man Ramon Ruiz. Katz grounded out, advancing the runners, and Tyler Wharton then singled to center and they both scored, getting even at seven…!

The Raccoons got two innings from Gabriel Rios to hold that 7-7 tie, striking out three and stranding Ehlers, who walked and stole a base in the bottom 7th, at third base. McMahan struggled against the not very lefty-friendly lineup in the bottom 8th, and put DiPrimio and Soto on base with singles to begin the inning… but then struck out Hart, Munoz, and Troxel in order…! The Raccoons were then up against Erik Swain in the ninth inning, which usually didn’t hint at great outcomes, but Katz started the inning with a single. He advanced on Wharton grounding out, but Olivares popped out. Colter bounced a ball through the right side, past a diving Ehlers, and Katz didn’t need to be invited twice to make for home, especially against Troxel’s… not great arm, and he scored to break the tie…! Brown grounded out, then got to receive Valentin against the bottom of the order. Ehlers hit a high fly that Humph caught and Schomer struck out, but Valentin walked Pete Brown and gave up a single to Guangorena, putting the tying and winning runs on the corners. Rafael Murcia pinch-hit in that spot, and hit his first triple of the year into the left-center gap to end this ******* game. 9-8 Knights. Yocum 2-4, BB, 2 RBI; Katzman 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; T. Wharton 2-5, 2 RBI; Colter 3-5, 2B, RBI; Brown 2-5; Rios 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K;

At least the Titans keep losing. (sour look)

Sunday’s game was for the season series and rights to feel a bit better about a series that was messy as ****.

Game 4
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Woodley – 3B Hernandez – C S. Brown – P Morales
ATL: SS Guangorena – 1B DiPrimio – CF Jo. Soto – C J. Hart – 3B J. Munoz – RF Troxel – 2B Ehlers – LF Schomer – P Lunn

Portland got singles from their 2-3-4 hitters, but also Yocum thrown out at home by Schomer from leftfield, before Lunn plated Katz with a wild pitch. These were first-place teams? REALLY? Morales survived Knights on the corners on a hard groundout by Schomer in the bottom 2nd, then allowed a leadoff single to Lunn in the third inning. Guangorena hit into a fielder’s choice, drew three pickoff attempts and still looked thievish, and then DiPrimio singled to left, getting him to second conventionally. Guangorena then took off for third base – and was thrown out by Brown! Soto then ended the inning.

Morales finally blew the lead in the fourth, nailing Munoz with one out and giving up a double to right to Troxel, followed by a 2-run, score-flipping single by Ehlers, who stole a base and got all the way to third before Lunn grounded out to leave him on. Hernandez then jacked a ball over the fence in right on the first pitch of the fifth inning, tying the game. The battery then made outs, but Humph doubled past Soto in center with two gone. Yocum singled to right, Troxel’s throw didn’t beat Humph, and the Coons took a 3-2 lead. Katz then grounded out, but Vinny at least got three calm outs in an inning for once to complete five.

Vinny held on to the skinny lead through six, but Rismiller blew it at first sight, giving up a pinch-hit single to Baxley and an RBI double off the wall in right to PH Phil Mower in the bottom 7th. All even at three – until Katz uncorked another homer to left, two gone and nobody on in the eighth. Tyler Wharton then doubled, but was left on by Colter. Okay, fine, maybe we can hold a *4-3* lead! Holzmeister had a 1-2-3 inning afterwards, getting a grounder from Munoz and then struck out a pair, but the Raccoons’ 6-7-8 didn’t get on base against Kurihara in the ninth inning. The Raccoons then went to McMahan for the bottom 9th despite zero lefty batters in sight, since Valentin had already pitched two straight days and had gotten blown up on Saturday. Schomer hit a single to center leading off, but PH Santiago Valdez grounded to short, and Katz and Yocum turned the double play! Also, Guangorena was gone, having been double-switched out at some point and Vincenzo Romboni (who??) was the potentially final batter of the game. And McMahan punched him out! Yocum 2-4, RBI; Katzman 2-4, HR, RBI; T. Wharton 2-4, 2B;

In other news

September 14 – The Bayhawks beat the Thunder, 4-3 in 13 innings. Both teams get a run in the seventh inning, and the remainder is all scored in the final inning.
September 19 – The Warriors sew up the FL West by beating the Capitals, 3-0.

Player of the Week (FL): DAL LF/CF Matt Little (.344, 10 HR, 49 RBI), batting .550 (11-20) with 2 HR, 7 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): ATL OF/2B Joel Ehlers (.316, 2 HR, 36 RBI), slapping .552 (16-29) with 1 HR, 10 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Thanks to the Titans DYING in sixth gear, the Raccoons had an 8-game lead with 13 to play after a week with eight games and quite a few struggles, but ultimately a 5-3 record while the Titans won ONE game all week long.

POR (84-65) – BOS (4), IND (3), LVA (3), VAN (3) – .500 – 99.9% (+10.6%)
BOS (76-73) – POR (4), MIL (3), OCT (3), VAN (3) – .493 – 0.1% (-10.3%)

Wellllll, that 4-game set there is still… I mean, you know me, I tend to be cautious. (Honeypaws snickers) Trending towards panicky?

Lamentable that Jack Hamel’s season ended with the bad knee, but he surely but his ugly nose on the map again by hitting .296 with seven homers in 65 games, and maybe won’t be simply non-tendered at the first opportunity.

The 40-man roster is full, and I don’t wish to make any more changes there. So the only additions we can still make would be guys already on it. And we don’t need to rush “Crispy Bear” now – his AAA stint wasn’t THAT brilliant, which is not an indictment for a 22-year-old. Due to injuries, then, the ONLY potential addition still in AAA is lousy lefty Antonio Pacheco. Jaden Wilson remains in DL hell and is unlikely to return in any helpful capacity before the end of the regular season, but might come back for the playoffs (yay?). Huckaby should come back on the final weekend, if the noggin stays on.

Next week is a home week, hosting the Aces (also battling for the title in the South), and then the heinous Elks. Off day – last one of the regular season (cough) – on Thursday.

Fun Fact: The Raccoons look like they might make the playoffs for the first time in TEN years.

2062-2070, at nine seasons, is ACTUALLY the second-longest playoff drought of the franchise. The longest was of course the 13-season span from 1997-2009, including the Decade of Darkness from ’97 to 2006, where the team couldn’t even hack a winning record. These are the only droughts longer than six seasons in franchise history.

[Westheim]

Raccoons (84-65) vs. Aces (84-65) – September 21-23, 2071

The Aces and Knights entered this week tied for the lead in the South, and the Raccoons entered the week an almost obscene eight games up on the imploding Titans. Vegas ranked fourth in runs scored, but had the best pitching and a +101 run differential (Coons: +99). The Aces were running like crazy, sitting on 162 stolen bases for the year already. The season series was tied at three, and the Aces were down three pitchers including starter Ricardo Montoya, and outfielder Jason Robinson.

Projected matchups:
Jimmy Wharton (14-8, 3.46 ERA) vs. Alex Duarte (15-9, 3.60 ERA)
Tony Gaytan (9-11, 3.82 ERA) vs. Luis Ortiz (11-8, 3.79 ERA)
Nick Walla (13-8, 2.91 ERA) vs. Tim Henderson (10-12, 4.19 ERA)

Only right-handers facing the Raccoons for this set.

Game 1
LVA: 2B J. Williams – 1B A. Jones – C Haynes – CF Phelps – 3B Rodewald – SS McGrew – LF Harmsen – RF Joe Jackson – P A. Duarte
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – 3B Luebbert – P J. Wharton

The Raccoons got four hits and three walks in the first three innings and somehow managed to not score between Yocum hitting into a double play in the first, Tyler Wharton hitting into a double play in the third, and Yocum also lining out with the bases loaded to end the second inning. Matt Rodewald instead singled home Adam Jones with the first run of the game in the top of the third inning, as Jimmy Wharton littered almost as many runners, giving up four hits and two walks on a whopping 60 pitches in three innings. He issued a leadoff walk to Joe Jackson in the fourth, and while Jackson was forced out on a bad bunt by Duarte, Jimmy Wharton got torn up by being plainly awful. He allowed a single to Jimmy Williams, a wild pitch, another walk to Jones, a sac fly to Chris Haynes, and finally a 2-run double to Josh Phelps…… and then ANOTHER walk to Rodewald. Tyler Wharton ran down Luke McGrew’s long drive to end the inning, and Jimmy Wharton wasn’t seen again thereafter. Newhard allowed a run in the fifth on two more ******* walks and an RBI single by Jones, and Sullivan scattered even more runners in the sixth and was only held together with two wicked running catches by Humphries in left. Dan Graham also got overrun for two runs in the seventh, while the Raccoons’ offense remained utterly useless. The brown-hatted numpties got only one more base hit after the third inning, and Olivares bowled that one off the bases with a double play grounder. Alex Duarte pitched a 5-hit shutout *and* knocked out two base hits himself for good measure. 8-0 Aces. Katzman 2-4, 3B; Colter 2-4;

There was however comfort in knowing that the Titans had no glue left, and got shut out by the Thunder themselves on Monday. This reduced the magic number in the division to five.

Game 2
LVA: SS McGrew – 1B A. Jones – C Haynes – CF Phelps – 3B Rodewald – 2B Corpus – LF A. Rosado – RF McFadden – P L. Ortiz
POR: LF Humphries – RF Colter – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – C Rivas – 1B Woodley – 3B Hernandez – 2B McFarland – P Gaytan

But the Raccoons got a good jump in the Tuesday game, as first Gaytan sat down the Aces in order in the first inning, and then Humph walked and stole a base, Katz hit an RBI single to left, and Gave Rivas socked a homer to right-center for a quick 3-0 lead. Gaytan had four strikeouts after two innings, and also a 2-out single and a run scored thanks to Humph tripling into the rightfield corner. Colter’s RBI single made it 5-0 after two frames.

The Aces got to Gaytan eventually, and Chris Haynes drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning before being scored by Rodewald’s and Alex Corpus’ pair of singles. Alfredo Rosado and Jon McFadden left a pair on the bases, however. But Gaytan issued *another* leadoff walk to PH Kazuhide Takeuchi in the fifth, McGrew singled, and Jones hit a fly to right that Colter caught – and then used to throw out Takeuchi at the plate. Despite two outs for the price of one, Gaytan still managed to give up a run on Haynes’ double, and Phelps only ended up retired on a risky sliding catch by Humphries in shallow left.

Tyler Wharton hit his tenth homer of the season – whee… – in the bottom 5th, getting the lead to 6-2. Gaytan gave the run right back on a Corpus double, wild pitch, and Rosado sac fly, and somehow ended up on 108 pitches after six innings, and the same four strikeouts he had already piled up by the second inning. Against ex-Coon Cam Bridges in the bottom 6th, the Raccoons then put McFarland, who stole a base, and PH Jesus Morentin on the corners with nobody out. Humph’s grounder and Colter’s single (on which he got himself tagged out at second) extended the Portland lead again to 8-3.

But the ******* stupid Raccoons couldn’t ******* stop to put ******* runners on base. Rios appeared in the seventh and gave up a single to John Harmsen and a walk to Haynes before being yanked for Holzmeister, who only got the final out of the inning on Phelps’ lining out to a jumping Katz, then **** the bed for three hits and as many runs in the eighth, at least once McMahan also got romped for three hits. The tying runs were on base in McGrew and Jones, and two outs, when Valentin came out of the pen against 35 homers’ worth of Chris Haynes. He got him to 0-2 … and then actually finished him off on strike three. In the ninth, he nailed Rodewald, but then got a double-play grounder from Alex Corpus to end the game. 8-6 Coons. Colter 3-5, 3 RBI; Katzman 2-5, 2B, RBI; Rivas 2-3, HR, 2 RBI; Morentin (PH) 1-2;

Boston beat the Thunder, 4-1, but the magic number was reduced to four.

But Maud, I can’t help but feel a 7-game losing streak of our own coming.

Honeypaws, hold me tight…!

Game 3
LVA: 2B J. Williams – RF A. Jones – CF Phelps – SS Hatakeyama – LF Harmsen – C Preston – 3B Corpus – 1B McFadden – P T. Henderson
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – RF Colter – CF T. Wharton – 1B Olivares – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – SS McFarland – P Walla

Adam Jones took Nick Walla deep to left for the game’s first run just two batters into the rubber game, but a Wharton double and a throwing error by Koji Hatakeyama tied the game up at one in the bottom 2nd. Jones, by a pair of singles with McFadden, gave the Aces a new lead in the third inning then, as apparently none of our starters could retire any of the Knights *or* Aces. Steve Preston ran the score to 3-1 with only his second homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Not only Walla looked really unimpressive, but the offense only had one hit besides the Wharton double in the first five innings to remain 3-1 behind. Yocum did begin the bottom 6th with a sharp single to left, stole second, and scored on a 1-out single by Wharton that fell in front of Jones in right. And then Olivares found another double play to hit into…

Walla pitched seven super underwhelming innings before being hit for with van Otterdijk with McFarland on first and two outs in the bottom 7th, and the Otter readily flew out to end the inning. Cam Jackson in turn allowed a single to Phelps on his first pitch in the eighth, then a stolen base and an RBI double to Hatakeyama. He got purged for Rios, who allowed another two straight hits to Harmsen and Preston, and a second run, before the Aces ran themselves out of the inning. The Raccoons then got precisely nowhere when Humph drew a walk to lead off the bottom 8th, and Olivares then drew another leadoff walk in the bottom 9th against righty Adam Molloy. Katz batted for Hernandez and fanned, and Sam Brown chucked a bouncer to short for a game-ending double play. 5-2 Aces. T. Wharton 2-4, 2B, RBI;

That’s gonna be a brief postseason.

The Titans overcame an early deficit against the Thunder to grab their rubber game, 7-6, and thus the magic number remained four until Friday, as both teams had their last off day on Thursday. The Loggers got mathematically eliminated on Wednesday.

Raccoons (85-67) vs. Canadiens (67-85) – September 25-27, 2071

Beware of the last-place Elks that have nothing to lose. They might be cruddy on offense and have the worst pitching (head-to-head battle with the Loggers, really), but even with a -124 run differential, they were our worst enemies. Perhaps even more so now that the Coons had already taken the season series, 11-4. That had been 8-0 at one point, and we were 3-4 against them since. Starter Juan Rosado and outfielders John Bustillos and Dan Moore sat on the DL.

Projected matchups:
Val Centeno (4-1, 3.79 ERA) vs. Austin Cross (2-4, 7.26 ERA)
Vinny Morales (8-4, 4.23 ERA) vs. Dallas Samson (8-14, 5.57 ERA)
Jimmy Wharton (14-9, 3.57 ERA) vs. Carlos Torres (5-4, 4.91 ERA)

The entire rotation was battered right-handers that had gotten battered.

Beware.

Game 1
VAN: SS Barraza – 2B Terrazas – LF Lozada – 1B Ratliff – 3B Gallo – RF Dille – C Ma. Lopez – CF Box – P A. Cross
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – 1B Woodley – 3B Hernandez – C Brown – RF Morentin – P Centeno

The Robertos (Barraza and Lozada) spanked a double and an RBI single before you could spell Val Centeno’s first name on Friday, and Andy Ratliff added another single before J.P. Gallo and Kevin Dille flew out to leave a pair on base. Two frames later, Gallo joined Juan Terrazas in hitting solo homers against his former team, extending the damn Elks’ lead to 3-0. And the Raccoons? Useless as usual, with Humph getting on base to begin both the first and third innings, and not being scored either time around.

It took five innings for the Critters to get a run home, and it happened on three 2-out singles by the 2-3-4 batters, and even that required Yocum to leg out an infield single. Woodley then flew out to the sad remains of Bryant Box, but it was enough to deny the Raccoons with runners on the corners… Top 6th, Ratliff singled and Gallo doubled, and Centeno was chased with nobody out. McMahan struck out Dille, but Mario Lopez’ sac fly extended the ******* Elks’ lead to 4-1 before Box also went down. Same inning, the Raccoons again loaded the bases… and again only with two outs as a single by Morentin chased Cross, and Guillermo Arzola conceded another single to Olivares and then walked Humph on base. Yocum grounded out to Barraza. As if anybody had expected anything different…

Feckless Cam Jackson instead gave up another two runs to the Elks, who could take him with them after the series for all I ******* cared. Also, the lineup, which disappeared into the woods without much of a wheeze against a pitcher with an ERA over seven and a rancid bullpen. 6-1 Canadiens. Yocum 2-5; Katzman 2-5; Olivares (PH) 1-1;

The Titans won their opener against the Loggers and began to increase their size as an object in the rear-view mirror. Was this the right time to mention that we’d play them for FOUR games IN BOSTON next week?

I wish the baseball gods made a quicker end of me. But mercy wasn’t one of the core skills of Igor, the littlest and meanest of the baseball gods…

Game 2
VAN: SS Barraza – 2B Terrazas – LF Lozada – 1B Ratliff – 3B Gallo – C Ma. Lopez – RF Craig – CF Jose Alvarez – P Samson
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P Morales

For something new, the Raccoons loaded the bases with *nobody* out in the bottom 2nd as Wharton and Colter worked walks against Samson, and Olivares snipped a single to right. For once, there was not a lot to complain about from there, as Rivas’ double and Hernandez’ sac fly brought in three runs in total, although Vinny and Humph would leave Rivas on second base. Vinny conceded only one hit the first time through, and then the lead got increased in the bottom 3rd. Yocum singled and was caught stealing, and then Katz singled and Wharton homered to left, 5-0. Colter and Olivares then got on base and both scored on a Hernandez double with two outs that knocked out Samson before the third inning was over. Vinny then chucked an RBI single off reliever Mario Rivera, 8-0!

The Elks got two hits off Vinny in the fourth, but then had Gallo end the inning in 4-6-3 style. They then piled up three hits and Lozada singling home Terrazas in the sixth inning to get on the board, but after Ratliff singled, Gallo now struck out to keep them on the corners. The Raccoons put their 3-4-5 batters on base, collectively and with two outs in the bottom 6th, but Olivares grounded out and nobody scored. Humph and Wharton then got the rest of the day off from there and were replaced with the Otter and Guerrero. A single by Rivas, not one, but *two* errors, and van Otterdijk’s sac fly then presented a rather cheap and dirty tack-on run in the seventh. Woodley drove in a tenth run batting for Olivares and singling, having Katz and Colter on the corners, in the bottom 8th. Vinny lasted seven and two thirds innings of 1-run ball, and Sullivan then did the rest. Katzman 2-4, BB, 2B; T. Wharton 2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI; Colter 2-3, 2 BB; Olivares 2-3, BB, 2B; Woodley (PH) 1-1, RBI; Rivas 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Hernandez 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Morales 7.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (9-4) and 1-4, RBI;

Crucially, the Titans lost 3-1 to the Loggers, halving their magic number, and suddenly opening up Sunday as Elimination Day for them. The Indians and Crusaders both were indeed eliminated on Saturday.

The Elks changed terrible right-handers for Sunday, sending in Luis Renteria (8-14, 5.15 ERA) instead.

Game 3
VAN: 3B Terrazas – RF Dille – SS Barraza – LF Lozada – 1B Ratliff – C Ma. Lopez – 2B G. Marshall – CF Jose Alvarez – P Renteria
POR: LF Humphries – 2B Yocum – SS Katzman – CF T. Wharton – RF Colter – 1B Olivares – C Rivas – 3B Hernandez – P J. Wharton

Jimmyboy seemed to give up a single in every inning, but that was also it for the Elks, they only got the single and then usually left the runner at second base. The Coons got ahead on Big Bucks Wharton’s leadoff homer in the bottom 2nd, and put singles from their 2-3 batters as well as Yocum’s 38th steal of the year together for another run in the third inning.

That was the extent of the brown offense though for the time being, and we were thus anxiously watching Jimmy Wharton having the tying run either on base or in the box for most of the time until the sixth inning, when he finally put a 1-2-3 inning together, only to begin the seventh with a free pass to Mario Lopez. George Marshall hit into a double play, though, and Jose Alvarez fanned to bring on the stretch. Jimmy had another scoreless inning for eight total, but reached 106 pitches doing so and wasn’t invited back for the ninth then. He had conceded five hits, one by one, in the first five innings, but the Coons only got six hits off Renteria before giving the ball to Valentin. He popped out Barraza, then popped Lozada in the hip so he could also pitch with the tying run in the box. Ratliff and Gallo both popped out, though, and the Raccoons squeezed out the victory. 2-0 Blighters. T. Wharton 3-4, HR, RBI; J. Wharton 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, W (15-9);

In other news

September 21 – NAS INF Jordan Sellman (.285, 15 HR, 82 RBI) misses the end of the season after breaking his hand.
September 22 – As the Miners beat the Gold Sox, 9-1, the Cyclones’ streak of three consecutive championships officially comes to an end, as they are eliminated from playoff consideration, and the Miners clinch the FL East for the year.
September 24 – Cincy SP/MR Hector Velazquez (9-9, 4.58 ERA) is headed for non-Tommy John elbow ligament reconstruction surgery and is expected to miss the entire 2072 season.
September 25 – Thunder OF/1B/2B Jon Reyes (.310, 4 HR, 53 RBI) has connected for a 20-game hitting streak with a pair of singles on Friday, even though the Thunder lose their game against the Falcons quite heavily, 12-5.
September 26 – IND CF/LF/3B/1B Matt Martin (.263, 8 HR, 85 RBI) ends up on the DL due to a broken foot.
September 26 – In a division battle for the ages, the Aces beat the Knights, 14-13 in *18* innings in a game with 48 total base hits. Vegas’ Jimmy Williams (.285, 2 HR, 65 RBI) goes a long 3-for-11, while ATL 1B Kris DiPrimio (.310, 11 HR, 95 RBI) has five hits, three doubles, two walks, and five RBI, and still finds himself on the losing end.
September 26 – The Crusaders beat the Indians, 3-1 in 15 innings.

Player of the Week (FL): CIN OF Melvin Avila (.297, 23 HR, 88 RBI), swatting .391 (9-23) with 4 HR, 9 RBI
Player of the Week (CL): ATL OF/2B Joel Ehlers (.337, 2 HR, 39 RBI), dishing .519 (14-27) with 3 RBI

Complaints and stuff

Playoff time! The Loggers’ Matt Crist (12-11, 3.33 ERA) furnished a 6-hit shutout of the Titans on Sunday, backed by no fewer than four homers from the Loggers’ torture crew lineup, and that, combined with Jimmyboy’s sharp outing of eight scoreless, nailed down the division by Sunday night!

The real mystery is how Crist is 12-11 with that ERA and that offense.

Anyway, this is the first Raccoons playoff appearance in TEN years! I don’t even know how playoffs work anymore…!!

Also, now the panic sets in that we have to survive another week without crippling injuries…

Four games in Boston and three with the Indians are left. I think we’d want Nick Walla to be the first one out in the CLCS, so he’ll make his last regular season start on Tuesday and we’ll need another spot starter at some point. Jimmyboy looks like the #2 choice.

Fun Fact: The last time the Raccoons made the postseason…

…Lonzo Lavorano was still active and stole 47 bases at age 34

…they did it with two Foxes (Chance and Nick) rather than two Whartons

…Jose Corral made his first appearances at 20 years old

…Joel Starr led the team with a paltry 15 homers

Zero 2061 Critters are still with the team, although we saw a few pitchers this week (Angel Alba, Elijah LaBat) that were. The longest-ago Raccoon on the roster is Nick Walla, who appeared in a single game in 2064. The second-longest-ago Raccoon on the roster? You’ll never guess that one. It’s actually Jamie Colter, going up and down the elevator since 2065.

Jose Corral was the last survivor of the 2061 playoff team, getting traded away the previous winter, one year after Joel Starr left by free agency.