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1947 Draft: Round 4
4th Round, 61st Overall: LHP Mike Emerson
School: Jamesville Bullets 1946: 11-0, 116.2 IP, 1.08 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 21 BB, 150 K Career: 29-1, 315.2 IP, 1.14 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 67 BB, 431 K After just one selection in a stretch of 39, this started a run of 4 selections in 17 picks. The first of two fourth rounders, we also grabbed our first pitcher, 17-year-old southpaw Mike Emerson. "Crawdad" will be 18 on draft day, and will be completing his fourth season at Jamesville. He's been one of the best prep pitchers so far, going an impressive 29-1 with a pair of perfect seasons. His best was arguably as a freshman, when he went 9-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 19 walks and 141 strikeouts. He set bests for ERA, WHIP, FIP (0.98), K/9 (13.9), K/BB (7.4), and FIP- (24). His junior season was pretty similar, as he put together a personal best 11-0 record in another high 116.2 innings. He also added new bests for strikeouts (150), BB/9 (1.6), and WAR (6.2). The skinny lefty has really good stuff, with his four pitch repertoire headlined by a tough changeup. His curve and mid 80s cutter are quality pitches as well, but his slider leaves something to be desired. His command is pretty solid too, as he won't leave mistakes over the plate, and it's hard to get a quality launch angle against his pitches. He's not the most exciting pitching prospect, but after the top three or five guys, the pickings get slim. Emerson has the tools to fill the back of a rotation, but I think he can push further then that. With some more strength added, he could reach the 90s, and I think that can push him into a mid-rotation role. 4th Round, 64th Overall: SS Roy Gass School: Council Grove Braves 1946: .456/.562/.722, 108 PA, 7 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 23 SB Career: .448/.546/.726, 321 PA, 21 2B, 14 3B, 7 HR, 78 RBI, 66 SB Another pick, another high schooler! If Dixie Marsh had his way, Roy Gass would have been one of the first 40 or so players selected. Instead, we'll get his 31st ranked position player with the 64th pick. Set to be a four year starter for Council Grove, Gass hasn't had the greatest prep career, but what sets him apart from some of our other picks is his personality, as not only is he very intelligent like Garland Phelps, but his work ethic is second to none. Gass basically lives on the diamond, as he's spent countless hours perfecting the shortstop position. His defense is elite, as he can range all across the dirt for grounders and has the arm strength to complete the plays. He's a professional hitter who can work the count, and it should lead to a high average. He puts the ball in play frequently and he can beat out a slow roller, and he's always look to take the extra base. As mentioned, Marsh is a huge fan, and predicts that he'll "unleash his obvious talent both on the field and at the plate." Gass comes with plenty of risk, as he won't be 18 until August, in fact, on the exact same day as Garland Phelps. He won't sniff the majors for a long time, but his glove is impressive and he could be a solid hitter. Like a Skipper Schneider lite! |
1947 Draft: Rounds 5 and 6
5th Round, 70th Overall: LHP Ray Paulson
School: Forest Park Foresters 1946: 8-1, 91 IP, 1.09 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 16 BB, 110 K Career: 16-1, 172.1 IP, 1.20 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 37 BB, 234 K The 5th Round was almost a carbon copy of the 4th. We had two picks in both, and each time I selected a high school lefty pitcher and a 6'2'' high school shortstop. The high school lefty is Ray "Half-Pint" Paulson, who as you might expect, is not very tall. Just 5'8'' and only 145 pounds, Paulson isn't your typical pitcher, but he pitches like he's the scariest guy on the field. The kid has "it" if you can call it that, and gives off Duke Bybee type vibes. Paulson could quickly become a captain and he has high leadership, work ethic, and intelligence, and seems to come up best when the game is on the line. He's lost just one game in his high school career, working to a 1.20 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He made significant strides in year two, as despite picking up his first loss, he set personal bests for innings (91), WHIP (0.87), ERA (1.09), BB/9 (1.6), and K/BB (6.9). A three pitch pitcher, Paulson doesn't throw too hard, but he seems to have mastered the art of pitching. He places his pitches well and allowed just a single homer in each of his two first seasons. His stuff is never going to break, so keeping the ball in the park will be crucial to him. A good defense can make up for a lot of his shortcomings. It will be tough for him to carve out a starting spot, but his makeup is perfect for the late innings. We're getting closer and closer to relievers becoming somewhat valuable, giving him a solid fallback option if his stuff doesn't get much better. 5th Round, 77th Overall: SS Buddy Jenkins School: Whitman Panthers 1946: .434/.515/.663, 102 PA, 8 2B, 4 3B, HR, 21 RBI, 29 SB Career: .438/.517/.704, 204 PA, 22 2B, 7 3B, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 48 SB There were a lot of guys I was looking at for this pick, but I think the name Buddy Jenkins is what finally made me go with another young shortstop. The next pick will definitely be a college guy, but Jenkins marks the seventh high school prospect we have selected so far. It might have been a reach in the 5th, but he has the perfect mold of a utility infielder with some upside to become a starter. His stats weren't great his first two seasons, but Dixie Marsh seems to like him a whole lot better then Tom Weinstock did. Whether this is due to differences in opinions or a significant stride in the offseason (Tom last scouted him in June), Jenkins is line for an important senior season. Marsh likes his speed, discipline, and glove, projecting him to be "an above average, everyday player." I think this might be a bit generous, but OSA feels the same way. What makes me feel that ways is a drop from 19 extra base hits to just 12 without any improvement in his contact or on-base abilities. What works in his favor is his size, as he's 6'2'' and has time to put on muscle. Any sort of power with his glove is crucial, as Jenkins has excelled at second, third, short, center, and right. His speed would allow him to effortlessly move to the outfield, and if short doesn't work center may be the next try instead of second or third. I do think he has the range to stick at short, but it's hard to tell until he starts playing minor league games. Even if he doesn't develop into an above average starter, his versatility almost guarantees himself a chance in the big leagues. I expect him to fill a Jim Mako role in La Crosse after he signs, giving him playing time all over the field. You can never have too many good shortstop prospects, and even though we only have one (Bob Stout, 190th) in the top 200, there are five more rank in the next 150. I think Jenkins will join that group if he's willing to sign, something that may be an issue with so many prep picks. 6th Round, 93rd Overall: CF Ed Sutton School: College of Cairo Pharaohs 1946: .277/.370/.432, 311 PA, 11 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 32 SB Career: .273/.368/.434, 585 PA, 22 2B, 11 3B, 12 HR, 87 RBI, 66 SB Hey, look! A college kid! They do exist! After seven picks from the prep ranks, we grabbed an outfielder nearby from the College of Cairo, a pretty solid baseball program from Cairo, Illinois. Sutton himself is not form Illinois, he was born in Higginsville, Missouri, but the soon-to-be 21-year-old is ready for his third season for the Pharaohs. A very talented outfielder, both OSA and Dixie Marsh are high on the righty, with OSA going as far to declare him a potential "first division starter." That may be wishful thinking, but there are plenty of exciting tools here. An extra base machine, Sutton hits the ball hard, although he doesn't always elevate it. He hits plenty of balls down the line, and recorded 23 extra base hits as a sophomore after 22 as a freshman. Along with the extra base pop, he has a great feel of the strike zone, laying off tough pitches and fighting off close ones when he's down in the count. He doesn't have the hit tool of someone like Jerry Smith or Garland Phelps, but he could hit around .270 or .280 in the big leagues. He also has blazing footspeed, swiping 66 bases in 84 attempts, and he has well above average defensive skills out in center. He's spent some time in the corners as well, but I'm pretty convinced that center will be his final spot. As a college kid, he seems likely to skip La Crosse and is expected to rise quickly up our system. |
Cuban Winter League: Week 11
Last one! All in all, the inaugural season of the Cuban Winter League was a success, even if the Santa Clara Stallions came short. They finished 20-22, tied for third and two games out of first, behind both the Havana Sharks and Cienfuegos Crocodiles. Not sure why no play-in game occurred, but the Havana Sharks will now take on the 25-17 Manzanillo Palms in a one game final. They won their division by three, with the Santiago Scorpions sitting at 22-20 just like the Sharks.
3B Otto Christian (#50 Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 13th Overall (1941) AA: .277/.339/.400 (106 OPS+), 519 PA, 19 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 65 RBI CWL: .264/.384/.554 (159 OPS+), 177 PA, 2B, 14 HR, 39 RBI It truly was a tale of two months for Otto Christian, who had a terrible December followed up by a dominant January. In those17, Otto hit a pitiful .188/.278/.297 (60 OPS+) with a double, 2 homers, 9 RBIs, 8 walks, and 8 RBIs. Otto then decided to wallop in January, slashing an astronomical .339/.474/.823 (257 OPS+) in his next 18 games. Even crazier, he launched 10 homers and drove in 22 runs while walking 16 times. John Fast (11) was the only other CWL player to hit more then 10 homers total, and when you include the seven November games, Christian launched 14 and drove in 39 to go with a 163 WRC+ in 177 trips to the plate. This offensive explosion is hard to ignore, as the former 1st Rounder made a legitimate attempt to secure the starting third basemen job. Known for his power, the discipline show was impressive, as he walked 29 times while striking out in just 19 of his at bats. It's his best ratio since his last stint in C ball where he drew 76 free passes while striking out just 22 times. His 2.0 WAR in 42 games was less then a win shy of his tally in 124 AA games, and if it wasn't for Sailors starting center fielder Billy Forbes (.362, 5, 27, 10), Otto probably would've won an MVP had their been one. I wouldn't say Otto is the odds on favorite to join Forbes in FABL, but I'm much more comfortable giving him a shot then I once was. This kid has all the tools to be an All-Star and home run leader, but he's never had the drive to make it seem like a guarantee. 1947 is shaping up to be huge for him, as it could be the beginning of a highly prolific slugging career. LHP Duke Bybee (#8 Overall) Acquired: Via Draft: 4th Round, 49th Overall (1940) AAA: 14-6,175.1 IP, 2.05 ERA (190 ERA+), 1.12 WHIP, 40 BB, 100 K CWL: 3-6, 78 IP, 3.58 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 18 BB, 46 K He wasn't his dominant self, but there was plenty to be impressed with when watching Duke Bybee attack CWL hitters. Bybee showed he can go deep into games, topping 100 pitches in 8 of his 9 starts, including more then 150 on two occasions. His 3.58 ERA (108 ERA+) was a bit above average, but his 2.63 FIP (68 FIP-) was nearly a full run lower. He led the league in innings (78) and K/BB (2.6), was second in BB/9 (2.1), 4th in WHIP (1.22), and tied for 4th in WAR (2.5). Set to open the season as our #6 starter, Bybee pounds the strike zone, and since his pitches have wicked movement, don't expect to hit anything that isn't a mistake. His stuff is superb, his command elite, and his fastball and cutter can reach 97. The towering 6'4'' southpaw is as intimidating as a presence as you'll face, and he has the poise and confidence you need to beat the best in the world. His presence in the clubhouse is unmatched, and he'll join a very strong leadership group in Chicago. The goal for Bybee this season is 15-20 starts, as I don't want to overwork him, but he could pitch a little out of the pen in weeks we don't have many games. If any of our starters (well, not Pap of course), start to slip and he's looking good, I'll pitch him more often. But for now we will ease him into the big leagues as he gets comfortable pitching more frequently. |
1947 Draft: Rounds 7 and 8
7th Round, 109th Overall: RHP Marty Czyzewski
School: Waterville Shockers 1946: 9-2, 121.2 IP, 1.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 24 BB, 127 K Career: 28-4, 340.1 IP, 1.80 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 78 BB, 379 K When making my 4th Round pick, there were three high school pitchers I had my eye on. The first was the eventual selection, Mike Emerson. The second was 5th Rounder Ray Paulsen. And the third? That would be the polish born Marty Czyzewski. Born in Gdansk, Poland, Czyzewski's family immigrated to the Pacific Northwest while he was a kid, so he's spent most of his life in Washington. He became fond of the game of baseball, and has pitched in each of his first three years enrolled at Waterville. The overall results haven't been the best, as his 1.80 ERA in 45 starts isn't all that great, but there's a lot to like about the stuff, and he showed improvements going from a sophomore to a junior. He was striking out a few less hitters (10.2 to 9.4), but he sent personal bests in ERA (1.63), WHIP (0.98), and innings (121.2). A four pitch pitcher, Czyzewski is best known for his curveball, which is his go-to for strikeouts. He's not the hardest thrower, sitting in the 84-86 range, but if he can a few miles to his fastball and sinker, expect his strike out numbers to go up. Neither of those pitches are that good now, his change is the #2, and it's hard to survive without a good fastball. The harder he throws, the better he's going to be, but even now Dixie Marsh is a fan. He thinks he could be a "back of the rotation starter" which is about all you can ask from later round picks. Sure, Harry Parker was a 7th Rounder and he's been amazing, but he was one of the more polished high school arms you'll ever see. Marty has a lot of work and a very low floor, but in a class that doesn't look very deep on the mound, I was very happy to get him, as the pickings for high school arms was very slim. 8th Round, 115th Overall: RHP Fred Terry School: Yellowhammer State Panthers 1946: 6-7, 130.2 IP, 4.13 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 50 BB, 94 K Career: 12-18, 296.2 IP, 4.52 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 129 BB, 193 K Our first college arm selected, the now 22-year-old Fred Terry was actually on my draft list for last season, but myself and the fifteen other GMs passed on him in each of the first eight rounds. He was later selected in the AI portion by the Washington Eagles in the 14th Round, but they decided to let him return to Yellowhammer State for his senior season. His overall college numbers haven't been great, but the hard working righty has improved his wins, ERA, FIP, starts, innings, BB/9, K/9, K/BB, FIP-, and WAR in each of his first three seasons. Does this mean he'll be even better as a senior? Let's hope! But even if its a similar season to this, he may improve the ERA once more. His 3.65 FIP (91 FIP-) was much better then his 4.13 ERA, so a little more luck in his favor could lead to a strong senior season. Despite being a college arm, his stuff isn't that great, as he's just a current "Strictly Bullpen" guy. His 86-88 sinker is really his only good pitch right now, but the movement he generates on it is impressive. His splitter and change have plenty of downward movement as well, but they're too hittable at this moment. I'm betting on his work ethic, as he's the first guy in and the last one out, but his future may just be as a guy who can eat minor league innings and teach the younger guys to work hard. Organizational players like that are crucial to minor league success, so even if he can't start games in the big leagues or even upper minors, he can help unstill the right work habits on some of our young guys. Garland Phelps, I'm looking at you! 8th Round, 125th Overall: SS Johnny Dickinson School: Pasadena Vikings 1946: .455/.531/.664, 131 PA, 13 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 12 SB Career: .455/.531/.664, 131 PA, 13 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 12 SB This will not be the last pick (thanks Stats Plus!) as this year we are returning to doing the first ten rounds live, with the remaining 15 rounds coming in June through the game. We used our second of two 8th Rounders on another high school shortstop, Johnny Dickinson, a native of LA. He didn't play varsity until his junior season, and he filled in all around the diamond, spending time at second, third, right, and his natural position of shortstop. He hit pretty well too, batting .455 with 13 doubles, 2 homers, 30 RBIs, and 12 steals in 131 trips to the plate. OSA and Dixie Marsh think he has the chance to start in the big leagues, but it's going to take some time for him to polish his skills. His bat is a bit more exciting then the glove, as I'm not sure short is his final landing spot, but his versatility will allow him to find a spot somewhere else if needed. A lefty swinger, he has a very good approach to his at bats, as he'll draw a ton of walks and most of his at bats will end with a walk or ball in play. His speed will allow him to take the extra base or beat out some slow rollers, and he's seemingly perfected the in-between liner that lands between the second basemen and right fielder. He won't hit for much power, but the rest of his game should make up for it. He honestly might be better then Buddy Jenkins, who we grabbed a few rounds earlier, but Jenkins glove was hard to pass up, and we were still able to add both. |
1947 Draft: Rounds 9 and 10
9th Round, 131st Overall: CF Harley Dollar
School: Nutley Maroon Raiders 1946: .473/.523/.718, 128 PA, 13 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 22 SB Career: .473/.523/.718, 128 PA, 13 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 22 SB Harley Dollar? That's an A-Plus name! Taking him is "Easy Money!" Easy Money happens to be Harley Dollar's very fitting nickname. Our first of two ninth rounders, OSA is a huge fan of Dollar, who didn't start playing varsity baseball at Nutley until he was a junior. They expect him to be "an elite hitter" and "draw 70 walks each year." That's encouraging projecting for the 18-year-old outfielder, and far more then Dixie Marsh expects. He's still a big fan of his swing and plate discipline, and while OSA views him as a capable starter, Dixie thinks he's better as a supplemental tool then a star player. That's still plenty of value from the ninth round, as we got a potential utility outfielder with the bat to hit himself into a starting role. It may take him a while to get his career off the ground, but I like his tools and I think he could work his way into a starting role. 9th Round, 141st Overall: RHP George Carter School: Bluegrass State Mustangs 1946: 8-5, 122.1 IP, 3.60 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 39 BB, 100 K Career: 15-9, 224.1 IP, 3.65 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 77 BB, 185 K Bluegrass State is one of the most prestigious baseball universities, and we added another one of their products with righty George Carter. The Illinois native has been an important part of their rotation for the past two seasons, going 15-9 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 77 walks and 185 strikeouts. After his freshman season he improved his wins, ERA, FIP, starts, innings, WHIP, HR/9, BB/9, K/BB. FIP-, and WAR. The four pitch pitcher isn't a very hard thrower, sitting in the mid 80s with his fastball and sinker, and he still has some issues with the homer. His changeup is his best pitch, but the stuff needs a lot of work. OSA thinks he can be a back-end starter, but I'd be happy if he develops into a swingman. He could be a decent inning eater at the back of a rotation, but he could end up nothing more then roster filler until something better comes along. 10th Round, 157th Overall: SS Willie Watson School: Evansville Eagles 1946: .468/.527/.638, 110 PA, 13 2B, HR, 23 RBI, SB Career: .472/.530/.649, 357 PA, 37 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 82 RBI, 20 SB We finished things off with another Illinois native, taking shortstop Willie Watson from Evansville. Set to be a four year starter, Watson isn't the greatest hitter, or the quickest runner, but he's an outstanding defender. He has the range for short and the arm for third, and I'm sure he could transition to the outfield if he needed to. At the plate, he won't offer much, but he puts the ball in play all the time. Unfortunately, the ball bounces on the dirt more often then it should, and he's not going to hit many homers. He only stole one base as a junior after 9 as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore, but I'm hoping it was a fluke and not a drop in speed. I'd love for him to be able to beat out a few grounders or take the extra base, as that could make him somewhat useful at the plate. His floor is high as a capable bench guy, but I'm not sure his ceiling is much higher. |
Trade News!
With the acquisition of Jim Jenkins, and the emergence of up-in-coming youngsters like Otto Christian and George Sutterfield, there really wasn't much room for the 37-year-old and 7-Time All-Star Hank Barnett. He's not a bad hitter by any means, as for some .236/.313/.357 (93 OPS+) isn't terrible, but we want to win a title, and there's just not much upside with the veteran, who has more then earned a guaranteed starting spot. He'll get that, at least in year one, with the Kings, who are looking to improve on a 63 win season where they overperformed their expected record by 10 games. Brooklyn will be Barnett's fourth team, as he finished three years as a Cougar by hitting .278/.358/.405 (123 OPS+) with 42 homers and 234 RBIs.
In return, we'll get a pair of young pitchers in Zane Kelley and Andy Felton. Kelley, a now 21-year-old righty, is someone I've had my eye on since he was a member of he 1944 draft class. The Pennsylvania native was a 7th Round selection by the Kings, and he was dominant in A Springfield as a 20-year-old. Kelley went 13-7 with a 1.99 ERA (183 ERA+) and 1.04 WHIP in 185.2 innings pitched. The numbers back up a lot of his production, as his 2.41 FIP (66 FIP-) is elite and he struck out (103) over three times as many hitters (3.3) as he walked (31). The righty was worth 6.0 WAR in his 22 starts, before making 5 with the AA Knoxville Knights. He wasn't nearly as dominant, but a 3.68 ERA (97 ERA+) and 1.36 WHIP are more then respectable for someone his age. I think he'll start in Mobile for us, but don't expect him to pitch in Milwaukee as we have a decent amount of more experienced arms in front of him. His command is elite, something a lot of our youngsters struggle with, and while he's not a high upside starter, he seems to have a low floor. He's a dependable innings eater who will keep you in the game, and he gets outs by outsmarting opposing hitters, not overpowering them. Felton, 19, was not someone I've looked into much, but there is a decent amount to like about the young lefty. He's a hard worker and former 15th Rounder who split time between the C Marshalltown Maples rotation and pen. I think initially he'll pitch out of the Lions pen, as he's raw and has struggled so far, but I think he'll eventually put it together and work his way into a rotation spot. Maybe not a big league one, but his stuff is really exciting. He struck out 45 hitters in 58 innings, and has a pretty nice curveball. Unlike Kelley, his command isn't great, but Dixie Marsh thinks that is something that will improve as he gains more experience. If he can limit the hard contact, he could surprise, but he hasn't yet shown the ability to pitch deep into games. It could be a pitch count thing, as other then his first start this season he hasn't gone past 90 pitches (maybe 85 was his max set by the manager), and he completed six innings on just one occasion. Felton is a lottery ticket who will have to fight to earn his spot in the organization, but you can never bet against a hard worker like him. |
Start of Spring Training
Us FABL GMs got some wonderous news this morning; two extra weeks of Spring Training! That means the long awaited return of baseball is here earlier then expected! We don't have many battles in camp, but there are a few exciting ones to watch as we prepare for Opening Day.
Before touching on those, I forgot to announce that former Cougar John Lawson was officially inducted to the Hall of Fame, joining Pete Layton, T.R. Goins, George Melvin, and Charlie Firestone. Each GM got five votes, and I voted for all except Firestone, instead giving my last vote to arguably the best defensive second basemen of all time, John Cook. Firestone was somewhat controversial, as while he was no doubt elite (132 ERA+, 75.6 WAR, 76 FIP-, 210-103, 1,881 K), he only pitched eight seasons, and the eighth was pretty awful (11-14, 69 ERA+). We don't have a 10 year minimum, which would keep Firestone out of the MLB hall, but I get why people voted for him. During the four years from 1914 to 1917, he led the league each season in WAR and FIP- while also leading in wins ('15-'17), ERA ('15-'16), strikeouts ('16), WHIP ('15-'16), K/9 ('14-'15), and BABIP ('16). For that period, Firestone went 126-43 with a 1.87 ERA, 970 strikeouts, and a whopping 51 wins above replacement in 1,626.1 innings pitched. But enough about Firestone, let's talk about Lawson. One of, if not the best, third basemen of the early human era, "Jack the Ripper" made 1,204 appearances as a Star and 1,051 more as a Cougar before enlisting in the Navy and retiring after the 1942 season. Initially a 4th Round selection of the Pioneers back in 1923, he spent just one season in their farm before being cut prior to the 1925 Opening Day. He spent time with the independent Portland Maroons and the Philadelphia Sailors before the Cougars signed him to be Lawson's fourth organization during the 1925 season. He didn't spend too much time in Chicago, as I made the ill-fated trade that sent him and Joe Snider to the Stars for the talented, yet oft-injured Johnny Douglas to upgrade our awful rotation. He had a solid season in the Stars farm before cracking the top 100 prospect list at 98 before the 1927 season. That was his debut year, as he got a 13 game cup of coffee that saw him go 8-for-27 in 13 games. That was one of just two times Lawson failed to make 500 plate appearances, and he surpassed 600 in all others excluding his last season. Lawson quickly established himself as a star, and he would have been named Rookie of the Year if it existed back then. The 25-year-old third basemen was worth exactly 8 wins above replacement, and slashed .344/.404/.518 (155 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. He also posted a matching 155 WRC+, the first of 12 seasons where he produced a value of 140 or higher. Lawson appeared in 150 or more games in each of the next five seasons, winning three batting titles ('30-'32), and leading the league in hits ('30-'32), doubles ('32), RBIs ('32), and WAR ('30-'31). That 1932 season is one that haunts Cougars fans, as they had to watch their former prospect will the Stars to the postseason, preventing the Cougars from repeating as champions. Lawson failed to win his third consecutive Whitney, but slashed a deserving .377/.417/.557 (166 OPS+) with 49 doubles, 19 homers, and 150 RBIs. He was edged out by a deserving winner in Lou Kelly, who hit .355/.423/.637 (184 OPS+) with the Cannons, leading the league in homers (40), slugging, OPS (1.060), WRC+ (184), wOBA (.450), and WAR (8.6). But it was Lawson who got the title, the only one in his Hall-of-Fame career. Despite his dominance, Lawson seemed to fall out of favor with the Stars, as he started just 136 games in 1934 before a career low 94 in 1935. It's not like he wasn't hitting, he had a WRC+ of 137 and 140, but the new Stars GM did not seem to use the superstar in the correct manner. This led Lawson to request a trade, and being the benevolent general manager I am, I knew I had to rescue the then future Hall of Famer. The Cougars weren't the high powered team they are now, coming off a 68 win season, so we looked to add a superstar as our youngsters were getting ready to make an impact. Righting the past wrong, we sent Chink Stickels, Dick Earl, Frank Gordon, and George K. Brooks (not the really good one on the Keystones) to the Big Apple for the 2-Time Whitney Winner. He didn't have much support in the lineup, as the 1936 Cougars were just 63-91, their worst record (including the present) since 1929 (62-92). This didn't effect his production too much, as Lawson posted a 5.3 WAR while hitting .330/.391/.491 (133 OPS+), appearing in all but one of the Cougars 154 games that season. He also hit 20 homers for the first time since 1930 (28) while walking (60) more then he struck out (56). This was the last time in his career Lawson would finish on a team below .500, as Lawson and a supporting cast of Ollie Page (27), Ray Ford (25), Doc Love (30), Leo Mitchell (24), Carlos Montes (21), Mike Taylor (31), and Rich Langton (25) won 83 games. Lawson took home his fourth and final batting title, slashing .327/.371/.495 (140 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 25 homers, and 108 RBIs. From that point on, Lawson was a crucial part of some really good teams, winning a Whitney in 1940 where he led the league in hits (210), doubles (48), and RBIs (111) with 17 homers, 7.1 WAR, and a 150 WRC+ as a 37-year-old. He also helped us secure the 1941 pennant, batting .315/.368/.515 (143 OPS+) with 29 homers and a league high 129 RBIs. Unfortunately for Lawson, that was his last above average season, as he finally failed to surpass a OPS+ and WRC+ above 100 at 39 in 1942. It ended up being his last season, as he hit just .274/.314/.353 (98 OPS+) with 8 homers and 62 RBIs in 140 games. That's when he decided his calling was protecting his country, not the hot corner, ending his career with 2,255 games, 269 homers, 1,608 RBIs, and 91.1 WAR. He hit .339/.391/.500 (143 OPS+) with a 145 WRC+ throughout his 15 year career, and currently ranks as the Stars all-time leader in average (.358) while ranking top five in OBP (2nd, .408), slugging (2nd, .521), and OPS (2nd, .929), trailing Bill Barrett in each category, and he'd rank there for counting stats if he wasn't outside the top ten in games played. He also shares the Cougars All-Time lead in homers with Bill Ashbaugh, although with Leo Mitchell just 17 homers away (he's at 119 in a Cougar uniform), that doesn't look like it will last much longer. All in all, Lawson is one of the greatest to play the game, and deserves to be recognized for it. He ranks 11th All-Time in batting average (.339), 16th in slugging (.500), 20th in runs (1,431), 12th in hits (3,060), 9th in total bases (4,511), 6th in doubles (558), tied for 10th in homers (269), and 5th in RBIs (1,608). Had he not enlisted, we would not have traded for Hank Barnett, which would have given him at least one more season to improve on the counting stats. If he spent more time with us, I'd have retired his number, but I expect him to go in as a Star, where his #7 is already hanging in the rafters. -- Turning our attention back to the current Cougars, here is who will be in camp for the next month plus: LHP Fritz Bach RHP Bill Ballantine RHP Jimmy Ballard RHP Joe Brown* LHP Duke Bybee* RHP Charlie Everett LHP Ed Fisler LHP Floyd Frost RHP Jack Hale LHP Red Hampton LHP Bob Hobbs RHP Donnie Jones* LHP Johnnie Jones* RHP Art Keeter RHP Charlie Kelsey RHP Harry MacRae RHP Ken Matson RHP George Oddo RHP Pete Papenfus* RHP Harry Parker* LHP Rusty Watts C Homer Guthrie C Eddie Howard C Harry Mead* C Steve Mountain 1B Ray Ford* 1B Lou Thomas 1B Dick Walker* 2B Clark Car* 2B Eddie Curtis 2B Billy Hunter* 2B Jimmie James 2B Ducky Jordan 2B Charlie Reed 2B Bob Schmelz 2B Connie Wright 3B Otto Christian 3B Jim Jenkins* 3B Danny Richardson SS Joe Dackett SS Skipper Schneider* SS George Sutterfield* LF Dave Haight LF Rich Langton LF Leo Mitchell* LF Bill Payne LF Joe Read CF Carlos Montes* CF Johnny Peters CF Max Rucker CF Ray Struble RF Ducky Cole RF Dan Collins RF Sammy Dillon RF Don Lee* RF Hal Sharp* RF Fred Vargas *Guaranteed roster spot There's always bench and pen spots up for grabs, but we have some really exciting competition for the starting third base job and the #5 starter spot. Technically with the rotation, the "loser" will still be on the team, with Duke Bybee squaring off against Harry Parker. Most of the offseason, Clyde Meyer has had Parker above Bybee, but recently he bumped Bybee into the five spot. I'm hoping it's due to Dixie Marsh's February scouting report, declaring Bybee "is projected to have the stuff and talent needed to be a #1." Even crazier, for the Spring he has Ken Matson as the #6 (I'm still putting Parker there), so it's looking more and more likely that Bybee will be the five and Parker in a swingman role. We still have plenty of double headers, and I want Pap and Donnie pitching when it matters most, so there will be plenty of starts available for the sixth starter. The rest of their innings will come in the stopper role, with our normal stopper (likely Harry MacRae) bouncing between a stopper and closer role. The third base job is much murkier, as we have plenty of different players fighting for one spot. The spotlight is on Otto Christian, as he's the only one who may not make the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old has yet to play in AAA, but mashed 14 homers and 39 RBIs, both highs in the CWL, while producing a 163 WRC+ in 42 winter games. The door is open for him to take the job, but I don't want him on our bench. He's far from a finished product, but the annual top 100 prospect has a peak that is making Cougar fans salivate. As good as the bat is, he's looking really good defensively too, something I was somewhat worried about when I drafted him. He has impact power, but he's still learning how give a "professional at bat" against the top players. Others involved are all going to make the big league roster, with George Sutterfield, Jim Jenkins, and Billy Hunter all guaranteed a spot. Hunter is the longshot, as he's coming off the worst year of his career (75 WRC+ and first below average season in 74 games) and after spending all season on the active roster, you just know an IL stop is right around the corner. Even if he wins the job, he's not going to play more then three games in a row, leaving plenty of time for guys like Jenkins and Sutterfield. The veteran Jenkins has the inside edge, as Clyde Meyer is a big fan of the well respected infielder, naming him the starter if he had full control. Discounting the 1945 season, he's never hit much, but he's a superb defender, strong base runner, and contact oriented hitter who's put the ball in play in 93% (2,119/2,288) of his FABL plate appearances. He doesn't have the upside of the other options, but I know exactly what I'm getting with him, and with great hitters like Dick Walker, Hal Sharp, and Leo Mitchell, as well as quality guys like Clark Car, Carlos Montes, Skipper Schneider, Don Lee, Harry Mead, and Ray Ford, we don't need an absolute masher, especially when you factor in the glove. Lastly, there's former top 30 prospect George Sutterfield, who has the upside of Christian with the glove of Jenkins. He's very similar to Skipper (Dixie thinks even better), elite glove at short with an average bat, and the soon-to-be 25-year-old is too good to be stuck in Milwaukee. He'll hit for a high average, produce plenty of extra base hits, and will walk about as often as he strikes out. Not much power, but the glove more then makes up for it, and behind Skipper we don't really have many options at short for the final roster. Whether or not he starts the season in the Opening Day lineup, he will play a fair amount this season, as none of the final options will be playing every day like Barnett did last year. If Otto wins the job, Sutterfield will get starts when we need a stronger infield defense, and if Jenkins wins the job, when we need a better bat. And of course, if Hunter wins the job, Sutterfield will be the guy to spell him so he can stay healthy. I would have loved to add a superstar third basemen, but we have a lot of good options, and if one guy struggles, there's a few more who can pick up the slack. The extended spring will work well as Sutterfield isn't too familiar with third, but a fielder as good as he is will have no trouble. I won't dive too deep into the pen and bench now (this is a crazy long post already!), but as the weeks go by I'll focus on that as well. I'm hoping we can stay healthy, but we can stomach almost any potential injury, and I think we have exactly the squad we need to once again compete for a pennant. This has to be our year, right!?!? RIGHT!!! Oh well, time to play ball! |
Spring Training: Week 1
I'm going to try to do something different with Spring Training weekly reports this time. We'll see if I keep it up or not. This wouldn't change the regular season stuff, but I want to spice the early stuff. And with a long offseason, I've been wanting to write more. I might experiment with a few things before settling on a format. Or maybe note. Let's see how this goes!
Weekly Record: 4-3 Overall Record: 4-3 (1 GB) Notable Stories The Veteran Bats: If we're going to be good this year, the old guys are going to have to give vintage performances. I'm not too worried, as Leo Mitchell as reliable as it gets, all Hal Sharp knows what to do is hit, and Dick Walker subscribes to the Dave Trowbridge anti-aging program. Those three got off to great starts, combining to go 16-for-30 with 3 doubles, a homer, 5 runs, 4 RBIs, and 6 walks. The homer came courtesy of Leo Mitchell, who may have a chip on his shoulder going into the season. Not only did the Cougars fall ever so short, but once again, Mitchell finished 2nd in the Whitney voting, this time losing a tight race with Stars slugger Bill Barrett (.247, 30, 98, 10). Just like in 1944, Mitchell led the league in hits (201), slugging (.498), WRC+ (156) and wOBA (.396). No batting title this time for Mitchell, who got beat out by the only Cougar selected before him in 1931, Ed Reyes (.361, 8, 64). And if you're worried about Dick Walker losing a step, you can stop. The 40-year-old picked up two steals, and will look to pickup his fifth consecutive 20+ steal season. He's ready to leadoff what should be the second best offense, which should be good enough for the best staff. Harry Mead (4-9, 2B, 4 RBI, BB) got off to a nice start too, and while he's not at risk of losing his job to Eddie Howard, his presence in camp will lighten Mead's load until the season start. Middle of the Rotation: Pete Papenfus actually struggled in his two starts, but Joe Brown and the Jones Brothers were in midseason form. Each threw four innings without allowing an earned run, but Rusty Watts (2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB) and Red Hampton (1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, K) blew leads for Donnie Jones. Both Jones brothers struck out five and allowed four base runners, with one of Johnnie's reaching on a walk. Brown wasn't perfect, as he was charged with an unearned run. He walked three and allowed four hits, but didn't strike out a single Forester hitter. I'd like to see more strikeouts from the captain, but it's still a quality first outing. These three are set for big years, and if everyone stays health, we should be able to keep runs off the board. Joe Dackett: One of the many non-roster invitees in camp, Joe Dackett isn't one of the more notable ones. But Dackett has outshined them all. A 26-year-old former 6th Rounder, Dackett hit for the cycle this week, with the double and homer coming in a 2-for-2 effort against the Saints. He made nine trips to the plate and added a walk, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs in a 5-for-9 week. As good as this week was, don't expect Dackett to be one of the last 24 in camp. He's reached AAA twice, but has hit just .243/.323/.239 (73 OPS+) in 319 trips to the plate. He did put up a 98 WRC+ in 131 PAs last season, so perhaps the bat is coming around, and with his glove any offensive production would be a plus. He's not on the 40, so it may be tough for him to secure one of the last spots on the roster, but there will be plenty of chances to replace a struggling or injured player during the season. Injuries Harry Parker: After just three pitches, Harry Parker called over team trainer Billy Gladwin, as he noticed a blister forming on his middle finger. An IL stint isn't expected, but we'll play it safe with the veteran righty and not pitch him until it goes away. This leaves at least one, possibly two starts to be covered. The first will go to George Oddo, who retired four of the five hitters he faced this week. The 24-year-old may be the next man up if we need a starter, as he's ticketed for the Milwaukee rotation. Oddo debuted in the last war season, going 7-7 with a 3.02 ERA (120 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP while striking out 71 hitters in 131.1 innings pitched. He's stuck behind a lot of good pitchers, but I know the hard working righty is more then capable of filling a big league rotation. |
Spring Training: Week 2
Weekly Record: 4-2
Overall Record: 8-5 (t-1st, 1 GA) Notable Stories Impressive Outfield Performances: Two of our best hitters this week manned center field, with excellent showings from Johnny Peters and Carlos Montes. Both former 1st Rounders hit very well, with Peters going 6-for-12 with a pair of doubles and Montes 5-for-7 with a homer, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs. The 31-year-old outfielder doesn't have to worry about the recent 3rd Pick taking his spot, but it's nice to see both center fielders hitting well. So far, Montes has hit .333/.429/.500 while Peters is maintaining a .318/.400/.409 triple slash. The production wasn't just limited to center fielders either, as waiver claim Bill Payne added a homer of his own, going 4-for-10 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. With options left and a glove that needs work, he's likely ticketed for Milwaukee, but there is a lot to like about his bat. Don Lee also had a good showing, 3-for-7 with a double, 2 steals, and 3 walks to up his spring line to .353/.522/.412. The 25-year-old outfielder is in a weird spot, with Montes in center and Hal Sharp in right, but Lee will take the short-side of the right field platoon while getting the occasional start in center. If he was a little better out in center, he could take the job from Montes outright, but his bat will ensure he gets plenty of playing time. More Shutouts from the Rotation: Last week Donnie Jones, Johnnie Jones, and Joe Brown all allowed zero earned runs in their first four inning start of the spring. This week, Johnnie and Joe matched that. Jones allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 3 in his four innings while Brown didn't allow a single batter to reach base via a base hit. He was a walk away from perfection, and struck out 2 in a 6-1 win over the Stars. It's a great start to the spring for these two middle rotation guys, as they'll be fighting off Duke Bybee all season long. The young lefty did have a minor injury scare, as he left his start after 3.1 with a mild abdominal strain, but it wasn't serious enough for him to need an IL stint. Bybee allowed 2 hits and a run with a strikeout, working to a 3.24 ERA in 8.1 innings pitched. In the pen, Bill Ballantine threw a four inning shutout of his own, just broken up into two appearances. He allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out one. Third Base Competition: No one wants to run away with the hot corner, as nearly all the contenders are having rough springs. After crushing it in Cuba, Otto Christian has been ice cold, slashing just .133/.235/.333 with a homer and 2 RBIs. Jim Jenkins has been even worse, just .143/.143/.214 with a double, run, and RBI. If one guy has stood out, it would be Billy Hunter, who is 6-for-23 with a double, triple, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs, translating to a solid .261/.320/.391 slash. The last of the four main candidate, George Sutterfield, is just 4-for-22, but he plays great defense and added a steal, double, and RBI. With no one getting off to a great start, dark horse candidate Joe Dackett is trying to push his way back into the mix, as he followed up a strong first week with a 4-for-8 showing. The 26-year-old shortstop is hitting .529/.579/.882 through 19 trips to the plate, and is doing everything he can to make the Opening Day roster. Injuries Jack Hale: In our first major injury of the spring, we lost a not-so-major player, non-roster invitee Jack Hale. "The El Dorado Kid" was brought in last August as AAA pen depth, pitching 9 innings while allowing 8 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks with a pair of strikeouts. He was a longshot to make the roster, but his leadership ability, work ethic, and overall likeability game him a chance to return to the majors. Instead, the former 2nd Round Pick may not pitch another inning, as he tore his rotator cuff and will miss 7-to-8 months. The 33-year-old made 58 appearances (27 starts) with the Foresters from 1941 to 1945, going 8-16 with 2 saves, a 4.56 ERA (85 ERA+), 1.61 WHIP, 110 walks, and 59 strikeouts. At one point in his career, he was a highly touted starting pitching prospect, but at this point he's nothing more then a pen filler. Harry Parker: The blister is gone, so Harry Parker will make a quick return to the rotation. He actually pitched out of the pen to end the week, allowing a run off two hits in an inning of work. In his place, George Oddo made a start, and the 24-year-old righty looked very good. He went 4 with 2 hits, a run, walk, and 2 strikeouts in an 8-3 win over the Kings. Parker is scheduled to pitch on the 21st against the Cannons, and with the longer spring, should have four or so more starts. Transactions Claimed RHP Mel Haynes off waivers from Brooklyn: The bullpen picture got a little murkier as we added a familiar face off waivers from the Kings. Taken by the Cougars with the 12th Pick of the 1940 draft, Mel Haynes quickly ranked inside the league's top 50 prospects, and has sense been involved in two major trades. It started in the Fall of 1942, where we sent him, Solly Skidmore, and Ossie Grogan to the Chiefs for new King Hank Barnett. Haynes spent just a few months in the Chiefs organization, as they sent him to Brooklyn the following June with Bob Crowley, Joe Rutherford, and Sam Clarke to acquire Al Wheeler and Bob Cummings, a deal that did not work out very well for our crosstown rivals. Haynes made his debut the following season, going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA (200 ERA+) and 1.03 WHIP in 3 starts and 4 relief outings. Unfortunately for Haynes, the new Kings brass that took over were not all that fond of him, and they banished the talented pitcher to Class B and A to work out his bat, despite his arm being big league ready. He then missed the 1945 season while serving in the Navy, before returning to the Kings staff for the 1946 season. Like most of their young pitchers, he ran into some struggles, going 1-6 with a 6.75 ERA (54 ERA+) and 1.95 WHIP in 44 innings, but his AAA numbers showed some encouragement. On the surface, 9-8 with a 4.58 ERA (95 ERA+) and 1.58 WHIP aren't the most inspiring, but excluding a 6 start stint back in 1943, it was the only time the then 24-year-old pitched in AAA. Add in a 3.59 FIP (82 FIP-) and 4.6 K/9 in his 24 appearances (21 starts), and perhaps the ERA was a little misleading. He had some issues with walks (4.0), but he kept the ball in the park (0.5) with his low-to-mid 90s sinker. He has the tools to start games, but we have plenty of rotation depth, so the out of options righty will fight for one of the last pen spots. He's somewhat of a longshot, but it wasn't too long ago he was a highly touted prospect, and I couldn't pass up a reunion with our former first rounder. |
Spring Training: Week 3
Weekly Record: 3-4
Overall Record: 11-9 (4th, 2 GB) Notable Stories Can anyone stop Joe Brown?: Let's hope not! After an awful start to last season, Joe Brown has been arguably the best pitcher in the game, including a near 30 inning shutout streak and an excellent run of starts to finish the season. It's carried into the Spring, as Brown has yet to allow an earned run. He followed up his 4-inning no hitter with 4 more scoreless, just two hits and a strikeout on his scorecard. In 12 innings this Spring, he's allowed just 6 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts. Johnnie Jones couldn't stay perfect, as he didn't have his best stuff against the Stars. He allowed 6 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 2 strikeouts. Still a decent start, as those two Donnie Jones, and Duke Bybee all sport ERAs below 3 on the Spring. Bullpen Collapses: It's not all good, as some of our pen arms have not had their best stuff. Rusty Watts may be pitching his way down to Milwaukee, as he's allowed a run in each of his five appearances. He's had a rough 8 inning streak, allowing 18 hits, 9 runs, and 7 walks with 4 strikeouts. His best outing came this week, where he allowed just one run off two hits and three walks in two innings. Bill Ballantine was hit hard after a great week, going 2 with 2 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. Fritz Bach allowed 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. Ken Matson was hit hard, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs with a strikeout. Charlie Everett was hit even harder, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 5 runs in 1.2 innings pitched. Art Keeter allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in 2 innings. The pen has been a weak spot at times for us, and I'm hoping these guys are giving up all their runs now, instead of midseason. Third Base Competition Heating Up: Things weren't going great for our third basemen the last few weeks, but things are starting to turn around for some of the competitors. George Sutterfield was arguably our best hitter, going 7-for-16 with three doubles, steals, and RBIs. He walked and scored four times, and celebrated his 25th birthday by going 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Sutterfield now has a 113 WRC+ to go with a .289/.317/.395 batting line. Billy Hunter went 4-for-12 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Those two are leading the chase, as Otto Christian and Jim Jenkins both went just 1-for-6. As of now, I'm leaning towards a Hunter/Sutterfield combo for the hot corner, with Hunter getting the occasional start at the keystone when Clark Car has to deal with a tough lefty. |
Spring Training: Week 4
Weekly Record: 1-5
Overall Record: 12-14 (t-5th, 4 GB) Notable Stories Three is Not Such a Lucky Number: Going 1-5 on the week wasn't the worst thing that happened. Instead, it was a quartet of "three" related injuries. Duke Bybee and Carlos Montes will each miss 3 days, Clark Car will miss 3 weeks, and Harry Parker will miss 3 months. I'd love for Bybee to stop with these mild abdominal strains, something he's done three times since last September. Luckily, he's been pretty great otherwise, allowing just one run in each of his last three starts, and just two in the first. Just to be safe, he'll have his start skipped this week, and we'll give Carlos Montes a week off as well, just to make sure they're ready for Opening Day. Clark Car may not be ready for April 15th, but we can stomach his loss. Billy Hunter can shift over to second easily, and George Sutterfield will get some time there as well if Car isn't ready. Losing Harry Parker hurts, but it's a loss we can stomach, and it opens up an extra spot in the bullpen as we can stick with a five man rotation as our first double header doesn't come until May 11th. A partially torn labrum is what will keep Parker on the IL, his second major injury since the 1943 season. This may end Parker's career as a starter, as it was going to be hard for him to hold down a rotation spot with Duke Bybee entering the rotation. If this is it for Parker, it's a tough way for things to end, as the former 7th Rounder has produced eight consecutive seasons of above average production, and his 99 ERA+ as a rookie was just barely below. With Parker and Bybee both on the mend, we'll need to cover two starts. One will go to George Oddo, went 4 innings in his first start with 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. The second will go to Mel Haynes, who's chance to make the Opening Day roster just grew exponentially. He hasn't been great, allowing a run in each of his three appearances, but only Charlie Kelsey (7 IP, 5 H, R, 3 BB, 6 K) and Jimmy Ballard (8.1 IP, SV, 2 H, 2 ER, 11 B, 3 K) have ERAs below 3.50, and Bob Hobbs (7 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K) is the only other one below 4. The pen won't be used too much, and now with four members, we could hide someone like Haynes or Rule-5 Pick Red Hampton. Pen Let's Down the Rotation: Joe Brown finally had his meltdown (4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but the rest of the rotation was dominant. Donnie Jones got the only win of the week, going 5 innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Peter the Heater had the heater working good, finally looking like the Allen Winner he is. He allowed just 2 hits and a run with 5 strikeouts in 5 elite innings. Johnnie Jones allowed a single earned run in 4 innings with just one hit, three walks, and a strikeout. Finally, Duke Bybee was effective before leaving with injury, going 4 strong frames with 3 hits, a run, walk, and strikeout. The rotation has been as advertised, with the Jones brother's sporting ERAs of 1.57 and 1.12, Duke Bybee at 2.76, and Joe Brown is at 2.81. Pap's 4.09 will definitely come down once the season start, but this group of five is leaps and bounds better then rest of the league. And when they're pitching all nine, there won't be a chance for anyone to blow the games for them! Veteran Bats Looking Sharp: Spring stats don't matter too much, but it's always good seeing the older guys looking as good as they did in their 20s. Hal Sharp is looking to take a batting title, slashing .371/.389/.457 with 3 doubles and 6 RBIs. Harry Mead didn't get the memo yet that it's an odd year season, as he's drove in 13 and hit .324/.390/.378. Leo Mitchell is actually having "down" production by his lofty standards, as .312/.343/.438 won't win you a Whitney, although it's not like 333/.366/.498 did either... Carlos Montes has struck out ten times in 47 trips to the plate, but he's drawn 6 walks and swiped two bags with his .293/.383/.439 line. Dick Walker has drawn 11 walks and stole 3 bases, batting .259/.474/.407 with a double and homer. This group of five will be crucial if we want to win the pennant, but I may have something up my sleeve to make the lineup a little bit scarier... I want to finish off by giving a shoutout to the Chicago Packers of the NAHC for making the finals. They will take on the Boston Bees, who narrowly edged them for first place in the regular season. Both teams are really good, but the Packers star studded front line is down two. Can the best player in the world Tommy Burns do what he does with brother Wes and Marty Mahoney with David Rankin and Bernie Ferrar? Or will the Bees be the first team to contain the all-world center? And will the Packers win their first ever title before the Cougars snap their historic drought? |
Trade News!
Over the past decade and a half, the Chicago Cougars have been gifted with talented third basemen. It all started in the 1929 offseason when they acquired John Kincaid from the Gothams for a three prospect package headlined by a barely 20-year-old Dean Astle. Kincaid spent the next five and a half seasons in the top third of the Cougars lineup, slashing .337/.378/.447 (124 OPS+) with 251 doubles, 52 triples, 15 homers, 64 steals, and 411 RBIs, producing a 127 WRC+ in 846 games. His lowest was a 119 in his first season, and he posted back-to-back 130+ seasons in '32 and '33 before the 130 he posted in 97 games before being shipped off to the Sailors. Next came brand new Hall-of-Famer John Lawson, who spent seven seasons in the Windy City, slashing an even stronger .318/.372/.477 (133 OPS+) with 245 doubles, 136 homers, and 714 RBIs. Following up his enlistment into the Navy, potential Hall of Famer Hank Barnett replaced him, going from one Windy City team to the other for a trio of prospects, including current Cougar Mel Haynes. Barnett held down third for three of the last four seasons, hitting .278/.358/.405 (123 OPS+) with 74 doubles, 42 homers, and 234 RBIs.
After a rough, by his standards at least, aged 36 season, Barnett was moved to the Kings for a pair of young arms so Barnett could play every day on a team that didn't have title aspirations. The initial thought was that either top prospect Otto Christian or offseason acquisition Jim Jenkins were take the third base job, but both have struggled in the Spring, and while Otto could be the next great Cougar third basemen, Jenkins would just be a stopgap. But when you're playing for a pennant, you can't be afraid to throw the chips into the pot. And that's exactly what the Cougars do. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I've tried to acquire Walt Pack on seven different occasions. In fact, it goes all the way back to the 1935 draft where "The Wolf" was a 4th Round selection of the Kings. He didn't debut for the Kings, and was actually traded before ever suiting up for a minor league game, as he was involved in a five piece package that sent him, Art Blake, and a 4th Round Pick to the Wolves for Jim Lightbody and Alf Pestilli. Pack quickly broke into the top 100 prospect list, ranked 90th that June, and reaching as high as 11 on the 1939 Opening Day list. Pack debuted later that season, hitting an elite .341/.409/.551 (155 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 13 homers, and 54 RBIs in 340 trips to the plate, while also walking (35) more then he struck out (23). The Wolves seemed to have a legitimate star, but in his first full season Pack was not quite the hitter many expected. The lefty slugger hit just .239/.304/.370 (86 OPS+), with just one more homer in nearly 250 more plate appearances. Still, the Wolves had faith in their young slugger, and he rewarded them with a much improved third season. He slugged a then best 23 homers and drove in 82 runs while hitting .298/.361/.471 (129 OPS+) in just shy of 600 PAs. This started a trend for Pack; good years followed by down seasons. He wasn't bad in 1942, but his WRC+ dropped from 132 to 113 and he hit just 10 homers in 139 games. This is a trend that has plagued Pack is whole career, as in odd years he walks more then he strikes out, while in even years he strikes out more. He's never been worth more then 3 WAR in an even season, and discounting his rookie year when he played in just 86 games, he 's been worth 4 or more WAR in the odd ones. That includes a breakout 1943, where Pack was selected to his first of two All-Star games, and led the CA in homers (22), RBIs (95), and slugging (.461) while setting personal bests in doubles (25), RBIs, slugging, OPS+ (145), WRC+ (144), WAR (4.9), games (149), and PAs. On cue, Pack slumped a bit in 1944, but was still a productive hitter. Pack hit a career high 31 doubles with his .263/.334/.403 (112 OPS+) line. Again, not what the Wolves wanted, and if he hit like he did the season before, the Wolves may have won the 1944 pennant. He hit just 14 homers with 82 RBIs, and struck out (55) just one more time then he walked (54). 1945, however, was Pack's year, as he was arguably the best hitter in the states. The slugger hit 31 homers, breaking Fred McCormick's Wolves single season record of 29, while becoming the Wolves first triple digit home run hitter and passing longtime infielder Frank Huddleston's team record of 94. Along with homers, Pack led the league in slugging (.514) and OPS (.881), producing a 146 WRC+ with a .301/.367/.514 (153 OPS+) batting line. To no fault of his own, the Wolves finished in 2nd and 4 out for the third consecutive season, but he was rightfully named the 1945 Continental Association Whitney Award. 1946 was a different story, as everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, for the Wolves who once again had pennant aspirations. No one slumped worse then Pack, as he hit just .239/.297/.358 (89 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 12 homers, and 69 RBIs. It was the first season of his eight year career he didn't record at least 20 doubles, and it was his second lowest home run output. His 56 strikeouts were the most since his 62 in 1940, and his 44 walks were lower then each of his full seasons. His WRC+ (88) and WAR (1.9) were both lows since that 1940 season, while he posted career worsts in wOBA (.298), OBP, (.358), and OPS (.655), while matching his worst for average. Now at a crossroads, the once great Wolves have decided it's time to start the next chapter, as they have a ton of talented young big league talents like Jerry York, Harry Phillips, John Fast, Sam Jordan, and Harry Finney. All five rank inside the top 100 for prospects, and each has a 1947 ETA. And of course, they most recently won the Les Ledbetter sweepstakes. York has already been penciled into the rotation, and I imagine Fast now has a lineup spot to take with Pack heading south of the border. Not too long after the Pack deal they sent Juan Pomales to the Kings, and plenty of other's could be on their way out. Fellow regulars and former Cougars Chink Stickels and Hal Wood are on the block as well, along with rotation members Joe Hancock, Bob Walls, and Jimmy Gibbs. The only untouchables looking to be Fred McCormick, George Garrison, and Charlie Artuso. This group was very good, snapping a long championship drought with a title in 1940, and they finished 2nd four times from 1938 to 1945, each time less then five games out. With how good the team has been lately, it's crazy to think that from 1930 to 1935 they finished 7th or 8th, and they had just one first division finish (4th in 1936 at 77-77) from 1928 to 1937. Will this latest move get us over the hump? Who knows! It seems like everything we do is never enough... But that's not going to stop me from trying! Otto Christian (.167, 2, 5) clearly isn't big league ready, and at 32, Pack could still have some All-Star seasons left in him. As a lefty, he also separates himself from Otto, Sutterfield, and Jenkins, allowing a platoon if we get '44 or '46 Pack instead of '43 and '45. And if Otto can hit his way back into the picture, that's a very strong and powerful third base duo. If Pack can hit 30 homers in the cavernous Dominion Stadium, I can only imagine how many he can crush at Cougars Park, and our lineup was really missing a big bat. Plus, he has plenty of experience at first base, so if/when Dick Walker decides to slow down, he could shift over to first until recent 3rd Rounder Dudley Sapp is big league ready. Pack should lengthen our lineup, and even though it is very lefty leaning, the CA doesn't really have any dominant southpaw starters. Sure, Rufus Barrell is one of the best hurlers in the game, and Leo Hayden and Richie Hughes could soon join him. But behind that? There's... Uh... Jack Wood? A 40-year-old Red Hampton? Can't forget about Johnnie Jones? Oh wait... Pack (0-for-7 head-to-head) won't have to deal with him! The cost to acquire Pack wasn't cheap, and could end up being a large overpay, but our system is deep enough to bet on the Whitney winning upside. The headliner is third basemen and top 100 prospect Pat Todd, who is just 20 and put up a 142 WRC+ in a small 24 game sample with Class B San Jose after posting a 115 in 42 games for the Lions. It's a homecoming of sorts for Todd, who despite being born in the states, is actually part Canadian. He's an elite defender with an elite hit tool, but we have Otto, Sutterfield, and of course, Pack, as long term third base options. We also had to part with a talented pitching prospect in Kid Moore, who ranks 227th and was one of our three fourth rounders last season. He split time between the pen and rotation, going 7-4 with 2 saves, a 3.75 ERA (114 ERA+), and 1.28 WHIP with a strong 59-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. I really didn't want to part with him, but we have 28 pitchers in the top 500, and a very deep rotation. If Pack hits anywhere near his career average (121 WRC+), I think this could be a really good trade for both teams, as while a totally different type of player, Todd has the tools to be a very good big leaguer and the 6'5'' Moore could fill the back-end of a rotation, with the chance to move up due to his size and potential velocity increases down the road. But this could also be Joe Masters 2.0... Just without the ten player package! It's crazy that him and Dave Rankin (I'm more of a David Rankin fan) really cost six future big leaguers; Ed Reyes, Red Moore, Elmer Hutchins, Ernie Carson, Bill Ross, and Walker Pearce. Cougar draftees really seem to find their way to the majors! |
Spring Training: Week 5
Weekly Record: 3-4
Overall Record: 15-18 (t-5th, 6 GB) Notable Stories Roster Things as Opening Day Approaches: With just three games left, we don't really need 57 players, so I sent a lot of youngsters who weren't going to make the final roster so I can get a head start on setting my minor league rosters. The biggest name going down is Otto Christian, who hit just .146/.222/.415 in 46 trips to the plate. The three homers inflated his slugging percentage, as he had just one more hit (6) then strikeout (5). There were good signs, as he did draw four walks and had five extra base hits, but the 24-year-old is not quite ready for big league action. Even if we didn't add Walt Pack, Otto would likely find himself in Milwaukee for the first time. He hit .277 with 11 homers and 65 RBIs in Mobile last season, and in the more homer friendly Century League, the former first rounder has a chance to dazzle the Milwaukee locals with plenty of moonshots. Another notable sent down was Joe Dackett, who after a hot start finished the spring with a more pedestrian .263/.300/.447 triple slash. Still good for a 124 WRC+ in 40 PAs, but he had just one extra base hit since March 9th. There are still 47 Cougars in camp, 32 of them on the 40-Man roster and 16 Non-Roster invitees. Bullpen Battle Heats Up: The pen is down to ten (eleven if you count Eddie Howard), which means six of the guys still in camp won't be next week. Charlie Kelsey has shined above the rest, throwing nine scoreless innings with 5 hits, 4 walks, and 8 strikeouts. No remaining member of the pen (unless again, you count Eddie Howard's 2.61 ERA) has an ERA below 4.50, so it's remarkable that Kelsey has managed to string together so many scoreless frames. He's going to be making a start, but George Oddo could pitch his way onto the Opening Day roster. With the Harry Parker injury, we have a vacancy for sixth starter, and while there are plenty of options to pick up the occasional spot start, Oddo has emerged as a legitimate option when there are double headers. Barring injury, I expect him to make a start before our off day on May 12th, as we'll have a double header and I'm not sure I want anyone going on short rest. That's only our second off day of the season, and it's not worth overworking guys this early in the season. Assuming Oddo is stretched out in Milwaukee, that open's up a spot for someone who can't be optioned like Mel Haynes or Rule-5 Pick Red Hampton. Neither has impressed, but Haynes did look good in his spot start last week while Duke Bybee was recovering. He allowed just a single hit and run with three strikeouts in a four inning start. Sure, five walks is somewhat concerning, but the 25-year-old righty only walked one hitter in the 7.2 inning before, and this came against a very good Stars lineup. Hampton is a year younger and yet to make his big league debut, but if we want to option him he'll have to spend the rest of the season in Chicago. The stuff is amazing, and he has struck out 7 batters in 11.2 innings, but he's walked 16 (!!) and allowed 15 hits and 9 runs. I really like this kid, but considering we missed the playoffs by a single game, every little blowup will count. We don't have many established pen guys as our rotation doesn't need much relief, which means if Clyde Meyer manages the pen right, he can only pitch mop up innings. That seems like the role for him and/or Haynes, as both are natural starters and give plenty of innings. There's Something About Brothers in Chicago: Both the Chicago Cougars and Chicago Packers rely on a pair of brothers in their quest for championships. One pair does their best to rack up the score, while the other tries to put up zero. Wes and Tommy Burns dominate the ice for the nearby Packers, and Johnnie and Donnie Jones dominate opposing hitters. Johnnie will make one more start, but the Jones brothers have allowed just 34 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), and 16 walks while striking out 33 in 46 impressive innings. Donnie has gone 4-0 while Johnnie has a rotation low 0.95 ERA. Last year the duo represented the Cougars at the All-Star game while posting personal bests in WAR. The Cougar rotation is as deep as it gets, but these two will be leaned on heavily in yet another must win season. At 27 and 28, they are in the midst of their primes, and could enter the 50s as two of the top pitchers in the leagues. Hey Boston, can we get Buddy Schneider? Pretty please! Day 0: .161/.295/.287. That's what Walt Pack hit in 105 PAs for the Wolves, capped off by a 15 WRC+ this past week. April 7th will mark Pack's first appearance as a Cougar, and the spotlight will shine bright on the 1945 Whitney Winner. Their has been plenty of buzz in the league regrading the early season trade, as pundits choose between whether Pack will return to form or be just another wartime standout. The final Cougar lineup is yet to be decided, but it is expected that Pack will bat cleanup against righties. The question is how much will he play against lefties, as Pack hit a pitiful .189/.228/.221 (30 OPS+) in 102 PAs against them last year and his .251/.288/.352 (83 OPS+) career line looks like Jim Jenkins while the .285/.365/.469 (138 OPS+) line against righties looks like a prime Hank Barnett. If Clark Car was healthy, I can see Billy Hunter getting some reps at third against lefties, opening time for George Sutterfield. I mentioned in the trade post that there aren't many great lefties, but I can't see myself starting Pack against Rufus Barrell, Leo Hayden, or Richie Hughes. Especially if they're facing a groundballer, so Sutterfield's glove could be critical. Of course, if we get 1945 Pack he'll play against everyone, but I think all I can hope for is the 1941 or 1942 edition. Just with more home runs! The Surprise Backup Catcher Competition: When the Spring started, I didn't expect a competition to backup Harry Mead. Homer Guthrie had a great season last year, and Eddie Howard could polish his skills playing everyday in Milwaukee. Instead, Guthrie has hit just .080/.258/.080 in 31 PAs while Howard has slashed .367/.375/.433 in one extra. Not only has Howard's offensive production wiped the floor with Guthrie's, he's also one of our best relievers. After going 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA (100 ERA+) and 3.29 FIP (85 FIP-) in 74.2 innings for the Santa Clara Stallions, he's allowed just 6 hits and 3 runs in 10.1 innings pitched. The 8 walks to 1 strikeout is definitely concerning, but having an extra mop up arm on hand could be huge. I still think Guthrie will open the season behind Mead, but depending on who makes the final pen, keeping Howard instead could be more valuable. Injuries Harry MacRae: It's been a rough spring for Harry MacRae, who who left his eighth outing of the spring with hamstring soreness. The 25-year-old will be shut down for the spring, finishing 8.1 innings while allowing 8 hits, 5 run, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. What did him in was three homers, which is more then he allowed in 66.2 innings last season, making me believe this could just be bad luck. I don't think it will cost him a pen spot, there are now four of those available, but the home runs will be something to watch this season. Ken Matson could take the stopper role from MacRae, as the 29-year-old is coming off a season where he posted a 1.01 ERA (346 ERA+) and 0.82 WHIP in 26.2 innings pitched. Like most of our relievers, he hasn't been sharp, charged with 13 hits, 6 runs, and 2 walks in his 8 appearances. He has struck out 7 in 12 innings, but two homers did his ERA in. Five of his eight appearances have been scoreless, and his 2 inning loss against the Stars was the only game he allowed a run that didn't come from a homer. Clark Car: The veteran second basemen will not be ready for Opening Day, as Billy Gladwin thinks he's still about two weeks from resuming baseball activities. Car was having a great spring, hitting .400/.455/.567 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 4 RBIs. His 212 WRC+ would have been best on the team, but he made just 33 trips to the plate. His replacement, Billy Hunter, has looked like the former 1st Round Pick we all remember. The 32-year-old utility man hit .344/.394/.459 with 2 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 9 RBIs in 66 trips to the plate. Hunter was finally healthy last season, but hit a career worst .224/.286/.315 (74 OPS+) in 74 games. It was his first season with a WRC+ (75) below his 108 in what has remained a career high 596 PAs since 1939. Hunter has hit .293/.348/.421 (115 OPS+) in parts of nine seasons, and has appeared in a game at first, second, third, short, center, and right. He won't play every day, likely two games in three days, leaving starts available for George Sutterfield and Jim Jenkins. Sutterfield has the edge, as I want to see what he can do before Car comes back. He'll get the occasional start and third and maybe even a random game at short, but a strong start to the season could get him into serious playing time. He's held his own in the spring, hitting .295 with a homer, 5 RBIs, 5 steals, and a 122 WRC+ in 65 trips to the plate. |
Spring Training: Week 6
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 17-19 (5th, 6 GB) Notable Stories Awful Debut for Walt Pack: During the last three games of the spring, Walt Pack made six trips to the plate. He did not reach base in any of those six trips. In total, Pack took 111 PAs, about a little more then one fifth of what you could expect in a regular season. The results were abysmal, as the polarizing slugger hit just .151/.279/.269, good for a 67 WRC+. He did walk (16) as often as he struck out (16), but 2 hits, 3 doubles, and 12 RBIs isn't anything to write home about. I'm hoping he's getting all the bad at bats out now, as if we want to win a title, we'll need some production out of the Wolf. Duke Bybee is Going to be Very Good: After allowing 2 runs off 4 hits in 5 innings in his first start, rookie Duke Bybee allowed just one in each of his next three, before finishing off the Spring with a 4 inning shutout. He allowed just 2 hits and struck out 3, finishing the Spring 12 hits, 10 strikeouts, and just one walk in 20.1 innings pitched. His 0.64 WHIP was lowest on the team, and the only Cougar below 1. Looking to the league at a whole, he was the only pitcher who threw 20 or more innings with one below 0.70, edging John Perkins for lowest WHIP in the Spring. Bybee is scheduled to make his season debut in Montreal on the 19th in our fifth game of the season. The former 4th Rounder has dropped to 11th in the prospect rankings, but OSA and Dixie Marsh think he'll be an ace, and I'd give Bybee the lead in the way-too-early CA Kellogg Award race. Intimidating to opposing hitters, Bybee has the poise and mindset of a seasoned vet, and has already emerged as one of the captains in a very strong leadership group. Roster Down to 29: With Opening Day coming on Tuesday, the Cougars have made all but five cuts to the final roster. The pitching staff sits at 10, and will be cut to 9, meaning two of Ken Matson, Harry MacRae, Rusty Watts, Charlie Kelsey, Mel Haynes, and Red Hampton will remain. Matson and MacRae are all but guaranteed spots, and it looks like it will come down to the optionable Kelsey and Watts versus the un-optionable Hampton and Haynes. Kelsey made the best case, tossing 10 scoreless innings out of the pen, but he's a starter and we have an opening in our AAA rotation. If Kelsey stays, he could pick up a spot start or two if George Oddo gets off to a slow start. With WHIPs above 2.00, Red Hampton and Rusty Watts are the obvious removals, but both are the only remaining lefties in the pen. Mel Haynes has managed to draw controversy, but with no Kelsey he could fill the spot starter role. There will be plenty of debate over the weekend on who claims the final two spots, and discarded pieces from other team could be considered as well. On the position player side, there's still the role of backup catcher, with the edge going to rookie backstop Eddie Howard. He's outperformed Guthrie in every which way, but he might be best served starting the season in Milwaukee. There won't be many opportunities to start in the early season, but the month of May sees 30 games in 31 days. Plus, it's hard to option a guy who hit .289/.398/.361 (121 OPS+) as the backup last year, and if Guthrie claims the final spot, Howard can start games down in Milwaukee as we can see if he's a big league caliber pitcher. The bench is a mess as well, with one of Joe Read, Fred Vargas, or Ray Struble cut, as none can head down to Milwaukee via optional assignment. Five guys in camp will be removed, two pitchers, a catcher, an outfielder, and a third position player. That may be captain Jimmie James, as he can be optioned, but we could send a second outfielder down. |
Opening Day!
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Baseball. IS. BACKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!
For Chicago sports fans, the timing is almost perfect, as one season ended, another begins. The nearby Chicago Packers, just like nearly all Chicago teams, saw their season end in heartbreak, dropping game six and seven of the Challenger Cup to the juggernaut Boston Bees, who have defended their title and captured their fifth in seven years. The Packers star studded first line of Wes, Tommy, and Marty was down to just Tommy. Mahoney and the elder Burns joined defensemen Jerry Finch first line players who missed the finale, while forwards Jarrett McGlynn and Norm Fraser missed time during the postseason. When healthy, the Packers could outscore anyone and everyone, but the three players down totaled 132 points in the regular season. I thought this was the year for Chicago, as Whitney College won the AIAA tournament, the first major playoff of 1947. But with the Packers loss, at least we don't have to ruin the streak when we inevitably end the season looking forward to next year. The Cougars have all the pieces to make a title run, but it seems like something comes up each season. OSA believes the Cougars are destined to come short of the Stars for the second straight season. The rest of the league believes the Cougars will take first, but the Fed has a more open field. Really anyone could take the crown, but the favorite seems to be Billy Riley and the Eagles coming out on top. It's anyone's guess who wins, as no one picked the Eagles last year, and a few injuries or big acquisitions can shake up a pennant race in an instant. We have the depth to survive most injuries, we're already handing Harry Parker being out just fine, and I know the twenty four players below are not going to be the same twenty four that finish the season in Chicago: RHP Joe Brown LHP Duke Bybee RHP Mel Haynes RHP Donnie Jones LHP Johnnie Jones RHP Charlie Kelsey RHP Harry MacRae RHP Ken Matson RHP Pete Papenfus C Homer Guthrie C Eddie Howard 1B Ray Ford 1B Dick Walker 2B Billy Hunter 3B Jim Jenkins 3B Walt Pack SS Skipper Schneider SS George Sutterfield LF Leo Mitchell LF Joe Read CF Carlos Montes CF Ray Struble RF Don Lee RF Hal Sharp We made some tough choices, starting with sending Red Hampton back to the Cannons. His stuff is great, but the control is not there yet and I can't see him lasting the whole season on the big league roster. We need someone we can send back down when the double headers come around, and I really like Mel Haynes. The former 1st Rounder never really got a chance in Brooklyn, and while I wouldn't pitch him against the Stars, he could get a spot start in a favorable matchup. I also couldn't send Charlie Kelsey down, as he was literally the only guy on the entire staff to get outs. The 25-year-old starts the season as the 125th ranked prospect in the league, and has a good chance of graduating from that list this season. Like Haynes, he could also get a spot start, but he is just really good out of the pen. He excelled at it in the minors and even in his time in Chicago last season, so if he's on it to start the season there's no need to swap his role. Eddie Howard will start the season in the minors, as we don't really have many starters ready to pitch in Milwaukee. The game really likes him as a starter, so it's worth letting him pitch every sixth day. Howard went 5-4 in the CWL with a 3.86 ERA (100 ERA+) and 3.28 FIP (85 FIP-). It was the first time he started as a professional, but with the war last season was his first since 1942. I'm not sure how many starts he'll get this year, but as long as his offense doesn't suffer he'll keep making starts. With Clark Car out to start the season, we'll get at least a week to see Joe Read, who didn't have the greatest of springs. The 22-year-old can play all three outfield positions if needed, and he has a pretty decent bat to go with it. It may be tough for him to stick all season, as the only optionable players left are George Sutterfield, Don Lee, and Homer Guthrie, meaning unless an injury comes up, we're going to have to risk losing something. Car might need a week to get back on track, as he may miss almost a month. Right now it looks like Read is the 24th man, as the Walt Pack addition may have pushed Read out of a spot. Our farm system has dropped four points below the Saints after the trade of Pat Todd and Duke Bybee dropping a few spots to 10th. Bob Allen checks in as the 2nd best prospect, and after him and Bybee we have seven more in the top 100, 27 in the top 250, and 53 in the top 500. Our system is very deep, but we'll be graduating some guys and I'm not sure how many of our draftees will join the remaining ranked prospects. I like our picks, but you never quite know how the game is going to order them, and what changes happen between now and the official draft. I'm hoping we add at least two top 100 prospects in Jerry Smith and Garland Phelps, but the recent class was a deep one. The season starts in Chicago with a highly anticipated pitching duel between last year's Allen and Kellogg winners. Cougars Park could be sold out as Pete Papenfus (21-8, 2.39, 199) will take on Leo Hayden (19-12, 2.95, 130) and the new look Kings. Hank Barnett (.236, 14, 61) will make his Kings debut in Chicago and we'll have to deal with offseason acquisitions Buddy Long (16-16, 2.89, 95) and Juan Pomales (.266, 2, 47, 10) as well. When I was talking about the CA not having many lefties, that was before Buddy Long changed addresses, and we'll have to deal with him or Hayden a second time with a game in Brooklyn to finish the week. They have an early double header against the defending champs on Saturday, which could effect their rotation. The lineup has some additional new faces, with Leon Blackridge (.246, 3, 38) manning second and top 100 prospect Billy Bryant debuting on Opening Day at short. #4 prospect Ralph Johnson (.293, 3, 16) will hit 4th behind former 4th Pick John Moss (.246, 5, 31). The Kings are going to be much better this season, but I think they are still a few pieces away from being a contender. They'll give everyone tough games, but I still like our chances each game. Between the Kings series will be two in Montreal, which means we should face strikeout machine Pat Weakley (10-14, 3.86, 114) and rookie Gordie Irwin (2-3, 3.31, 11). The Saints didn't make many moves in the offseason, but their outfield will look a bit different, with Bill Greene (.241, 21, 73, 17) shifting to right to allow 9th ranked prospect Bill Elkins (.333, 4) to patrol center. The 23-year-old was once a 9th Round Pick of the Kings, but his prospect rise has been meteoric since he joined the Saints organization. He was sent to Montreal with a 4th Round Pick to acquire Spud Bent and the Saints 7th Rounder. This worked out well for the Saints, as he quickly entered the top 100 and a little over a season later he's inside the top 10. He debuted for the Saints last season after hitting .300./368/.391 (111 OPS+) in 110 games for AAA Minneapolis. He's a bat first prospect with an elite eye and outstanding hit tool, and he should find plenty of open grass in the spacious Parc Cartier. He may need some more polish, but he could be the star the Saints need as they look to snap their streak of losing seasons. |
Week 1: April 14th-April 20th
Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 3-3 (t-4th, 1 GB) Stars of the Week Leo Mitchell : 23 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .435 AVG, .935 OPS Carlos Montes : 21 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .333 AVG, .994 OPS Ray Ford : 11 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .455 AVG, 1.136 OPS Schedule 4-15: Win vs Kings (4-11) 4-16: Win vs Kings (1-4) 4-17: Win vs Kings (3-6) 4-18: Loss at Saints (4-2) 4-19: Loss at Saints (7-6): 11 innings 4-20: Loss at Kings (5-3) Recap The season started out as great as it could, sweeping the Kings in Chicago including an impressive 11-4 victory to kick off the season. Unfortunately, the road didn't treat us very well, as the Saints swiped both games on the road, including our first of many one-run losses. The Kings then got revenge on us in Brooklyn, taking the first of a quick two game set. Despite not playing too well, we already got the edge in terms of run differential, with our +8 the early lead in the CA. Yes, still early, but it's double any of our seven competitors. Let's have that translate to wins next time, okay?!? Thanks! The pitching was surprisingly ineffective, with the only real good start going to Donnie Jones. He struck out just two batters, but it came with only one run, three walks, and four hits. Joe Brown picked up a win, but it wasn't the sharpest start, all none of his 27 outs came from a strikeout. He finished with 7 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks in his complete game victory. Reigning Allen Winner Pete Papenfus didn't have much luck against the Kings, splitting his starts and striking out just 6 in his 2 starts. The win saw him go all nine, but he allowed 12 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks. The loss saw Pap go just 7, charged with 8 hits, 5 runs, and 4 walks in a rare rough outing for our talented ace. Our talented future Ace, Duke Bybee, looked like a rookie and not the dominant hurler he was in the Spring, but part of it may have been being left out too long. 4 of his 6 runs came in the ninth (he left with two outs), and he finished with 12 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. If Clyde Meyer took him out after 8 we probably win the one-run extra inning loss, as Harry MacRae ended up allowing three hits and a run in the 11th. I think him, Pap, and Johnnie Jones (8 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) will bounce back quickly, and I look forward to each upcoming start from our exciting rotation. Lefty sluggers Leo Mitchell and Hal Sharp picked up right where they left off, with both corner bats hitting over .400 in the opening week. Mitchell finished 10-for-23 with 3 walks and 5 runs while Sharp was 5-for-12 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs. They weren't the only two hitters to get off to a hot start, as Carlos Montes drove in a league high 9 runs while going 7-for-21 with a double, triple, homer, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 9 RBIs. The extra base hits all came in the same game, as he hit for the cycle on Opening Day. Ray Ford took advantage of all our opposing lefties, going 5-for-11 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and 4 runs while the lefty Dick Walker was just 4-for-13, albeit with a walk, steal, RBI, and 4 runs scored. Walt Pack had an okay debut week, including his first home run as a Cougar. He went 4-for-16 with a double, walk, 2 runs, and 6 RBIs. Things could have gone better, but we're scoring runs pretty often, and we will get production all through the order. Even Skipper got into the fun, going 6-for-18 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs. It should be another exciting season in Chicago, but the league won't make it easy on us as we look to return to the postseason. Clark Car is now healthy, and instead of heading to the minors, he'll enter right back into the lineup. It will end a short Cougar career for the 22-year-old Joe Read, who looked at one pitch before Jim Jenkins was caught stealing second base. That ended the inning, and for some reason Clyde Meyer put Charlie Kelsey (he's played outfield in the past) instead of Read in left field. This felt like a sign to me that his defense isn't all that great, and Ray Struble's glove in center is worth more then Read's potential upside. If we had one extra roster spot I could keep Read all season, but the number crunch and Billy Hunter's ability to play on the grass made Read the odd man out. Looking Ahead One more with the Kings in Brooklyn, as Donnie Jones (19-11, 3.07, 161) will take on Juan Pomales (.266, 2, 47, 10), who allowed 9 hits, 6 runs, and 2 walks with a strikeout in the Kings 6-3 loss to us in game two. This will be a battle between two players who were traded for each other, as Pomales and Wood were sent to the Wolves to bring Donnie Jones to the Windy City during the 1939 offseason. The Wolves and Cougars have not been common trading partners, as the Walt Pack trade was the only notable trade (there was Walter Loera for an 11th Round Pick back in 1943 and perhaps another minor move or to) since that move. We've seen Pomales plenty of times in Toronto, but usually to hit (11-for-22 already this year) and not to pitch. He's done the best of the new additions, but Leon Blackridge (.246, 3, 38) is 5-for-11, Buddy Long (16-16, 2.89, 95) has allowed just 19 hits, 5 runs, and a walk in 17 innings, Johnny Slaney's (14-12, 3.76, 89) only blemish in his first start as a King was a Jack Welch (.275, 20, 75) homer. Unfortunately for the Kings, Leo Hayden (19-12, 2.95, 130) will hit the IL with a mild hamstring strain as the Kings are taking no risks with their talented young ace. A win here is huge for us, as the Kings are a team we need to beat, even if they do have a better record then us after sweeping the Stars. Thanks for that! Speaking of the Stars, they'll be in Chicago starting Tuesday as we host the defending champions for three at Cougars Park. Surprisingly the Stars had the worst first week of the season, splitting with the first place Saints (4-2) before the sweep at the hands of the first place Kings (4-3). They also got hit by the injury bug as shortstop Joe Angevine (.) left their Opening Day loss with a intercostal strain, and will hit the IL for at least two weeks. The Stars depth will be tested quickly, and shortstop is not a spot they have an obvious replacement at. The only other shortstop on the 40 is 25-year-old rookie John Morrow, but he started just 36 of his 71 appearances in AAA Syracuse. He did hit .281 with 7 homers and a 124 WRC+ in 168 trips to the plate, but it was his first sample above C ball as he missed three seasons while serving in the Army. There are rumors that former Cougar Rabbit Mudd (.260, 2, 32) may enter the lineup can cover short in the short term as another former Cougar second basemen Freddie Jones (.261, 2, 54) is off to a smoldering start that has seen him go 13-for-29 with 2 doubles, 5 walks, and 8 RBIs. Shifting to the games themselves, we're scheduled to face Jack Wood (18-7, 3.24, 104), Henry Shaffer (11-12, 3.71, 91), and young ace Eli Panneton (18-9, 3.02, 132). With the double header in Brooklyn, the Stars may want to go to the pen for a spot starter, but my guess is they'll stick with these three going on one less day of rest. The organization tends to lean heavily on their starting five, and all but three games were started by their rotation, with those coming when Chuck Cole (13-12, 3.62, 89) was rehabbing a shoulder injury he sustained in the Spring. Excluding the Angevine injury, the lineup will look much like it did last year, as the two through six is dangerous, featuring former #1 pick Bob Riggins (.265, 8, 47, 10), reigning Whitney Winner Bill Barrett (.247, 30, 98, 10), the previously mentioned Jack Welch, Cougar trade target Mack Sutton (.235, 32, 90), and former 5th Pick Bill Barnett (.258, 17, 83). Even Pap and the Jones Brothers will struggle to keep this lineup in check, and I'm prepared for a bunch of high scoring games in front of the Cougar faithful. This will be the first real test of the season, as many expect the Stars to compete with us for the 1947 pennant. The homestand continues with three more against the Saints, who we will look to get some revenge on. The Saints are off to a great start, but it's been the offense and not the pitching that's done it for them. They've scored 40 runs, most in the CA for week one, with Red Bond (.288, 14, 61) and Charlie Woodbury (.244, 5, 33) each have hit over .400 with a homer. Gordie Perkins (.271, 1, 48) doesn't have a homer, but he's slashed .545/.615/.636 (219 OPS+) with a pair of doubles. In fact, Bill Greene (.241, 21, 73, 17) is the only guy off to a slow start, and he's too good to stay cold for very long. I don't think their lineup will stay the best all season long, but our guys had a lot of trouble with them, as Johnnie Jones (10-14, 2.64, 88) and Duke Bybee both got hit hard. We did get to rookie Gordie Irwin (2-3, 3.31, 11), but Pat Weakly (10-14, 3.86, 114) struck out seven in a complete game win. At home our power will play well and our corner outfielders won't need to cover as much ground, which could make the difference in what could be a tight series. Cougars in the GWL RHP Luis Sandoval (San Diego Conquistadors): Not many players had a better Opening Day then Luis Sandoval, who threw a 6-hit shutout as the Conquistadores gut punched the Green Sox 8-0. Sandoval walked 4 and struck out 5 in the victory, and then followed it up with a complete game win over the Hawks. It was a tight one, as Sandoval outdueled Jack Snyder (16-13, 3.47, 103) in a 2-1 victory. Again, Sandoval went all nine, but this time with 7 hits, a run, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. It's a dream start to the season for the 34-year-old veteran, who has the distinction of being the only Venezuelan born player in either of the Major Leagues. Sandoval was an important part of San Diego's rotation last season, going 14-10 with a 2.88 ERA (117 ERA+) and 1.24 WHIP with 56 walks and 107 strikeouts in 30 starts. Sandoval leads a rotation that had a lot of success, with repeat rotation mate Bob Sheehy (12-17, 2.72, 113), and 26-year-old reliever turned starter Maury Weaver (2-4, 1, 1.67, 20). This is a top three that could be dangerous, as the Conquistadors look to make up for an 8th place finish in the inaugural season. RHP Cy Sullivan (Oakland Grays): There were plenty of other good pitching performances in the GWL, with Cy Sullivan twirling a pair of complete victories. Last year's inning leader (277.2) allowed just 6 hits and a run with two 2 strikeouts in each of his two starts, while walking two in San Francisco and none when the Grays hosted the Hawks in Oakland. Cy is coming off a breakthrough season where he went 16-10 with a 2.95 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.21 WHIP in 32 starts for the Grays last season. His 1.21 WHIP was pretty solid too and he struck out (75) more guys then he walked (65). Sullivan starts the season as the #2 behind 26-year-old Hal Siddoway (3-3, 4.04, 17) who has allowed just a single run in his first 17 innings this season. The Grays will be in it till the end again this year, and another big year from Cy can help them get over the hump in year two. |
Week 2: April 21st-April 27th
Weekly Record: 2-5
Seasonal Record: 5-8 (8th, 3 GB) Stars of the Week Hal Sharp : 20 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .450 AVG, 1.322 OPS Leo Mitchell : 29 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .345 AVG, .780 OPS Clark Car : 20 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .350 AVG, .858 OPS Schedule 4-21: Win at Kings (6-1) 4-22: Loss vs Stars (5-4): 14 innings 4-23: Loss vs Stars (9-8) 4-24: Loss vs Stars (8-6) 4-25: Loss vs Saints (1-0) 4-26: Loss vs Saints (10-4) 4-27: Win vs Saints (1-2) Recap The Cougars are quickly in midseason form, dropping three one-run games this week as we slip to 5-8 and last place in a tight Continental Association where all eight teams are within three games of each other. We lost our first four one-run affairs before finally beating the Saints 2-1 to snap a five game losing streak. Not only was it the first one-run win in five games, but also our first win against Montreal in five games. The Stars beat us in all three in Chicago, while we earned the split in Brooklyn before returning home for what has been a rough homestand. We've still scored (62) more runs then we've allowed (59), as the close games seem to never break in our favor. We'll have to get back on track without Carlos Montes, who after playing in a career high 148 games last season, decided it was time to return to being the guy who always gets hurt. He'll be battling a rotator cuff strain that should keep him out of action for at least three weeks. He has drove in a team high 11 runs and hit .283/.314/.478 (106 OPS+) in his first 52 trips to the plate. I wish I rehabbed Clark Car, although his 7-for-20 week would have been missed, so we could have hung onto Joe Read and used Montes' spot for Car's return. Instead, we'll bring back center fielder Max Rucker, who cleared waivers along with Fred Vargas. I don't expect the 29-year-old to get into many games, and he'll probably be DFA'd again when Montes comes back, but Ducky Cole is dealing with a calf strain in Milwaukee and there's no need to bring up Johnny Peters as a temporary fix. Don Lee will shift from the short side of our right field platoon to center, making our outfield far weaker then usual. He has the range to be passable, but it's a big downgrade from Montes, and his excellent defense in right (19-for-19, 1.056) will be missed. This will force Hal Sharp to face more lefties (hasn't faced one yet), who is hitting a beautiful .438/.486/.688 (206 OPS+) this season. Him and Leo Mitchell are not very good defenders, so there may be a lot more balls finding holes until Montes is ready to return. The pitching has really disappointed, and Johnnie Jones and Duke Bybee again had rough starts. Both allowed 6 earned runs, 3 homers, and 5 walks with 4 strikeouts, as Bybee got one more out (7.1 vs 7 IP), allowed one more hit (8 to 7), and was charged with a pair of unearned runs. Bybee is a flyball pitcher, so homers are expected, but he only allowed 7 of them in 175.1 innings for Milwaukee last season. Jones on the other hand, is "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" and only watched five balls land in the seats in 225.1 innings last season. Against the Stars, homers are expected, as Rabbit Mudd, Chubby Hall, and Joe Rainbow bested Jones, with Hall, Mack Sutton, and Bill Barnett going yard on Bybee. It wasn't all bad, as Peter the Heater looked liked Peter the Heater, despite getting the unlucky draw of facing Saints ace Bert Cupid (2-1, 2.92, 10), who tossed a 3-hit shutout. If Harry Mead didn't make an awful throw allowing a stealing Bill Greene (.234, 1, 3, 4) to reach third, Papenfus would have been working on his own shutout, as the lone run was unearned. He went just 8, allowing 4 hits and 3 walks with 7 strikeouts before Ken Matson pitched a ninth where he struck out two, walked one, and allowed a single. Donnie Jones had a good start and a bad start, as he outdueled Juan Pomales (0-3, 7.50, 5; .370, 3, 4) before getting torched for 8 hits and runs while failing to get out of the fifth. It was his first start where he didn't allow just 4 hits and a walk in a complete game win, raising his ERA and WHIP to 3.18 (137 ERA+) and 1.15 on the season with just as many walks (10) as strikeouts (10). The last two starts went to Joe Brown, who picked up a no decision in the 14 inning game and beat the Saints to snap our losing streak. Brown went all nine in the win, allowing just 6 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts. He left his first start with one out in the eighth, allowing 10 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. Our pen got a lot of work in this week, with all four arms making an appearance. Matson pitched in Pap's start, but also blew Brown's start as he could not strand his inherited runner. He allowed a hit and walk before turning the ball to Harry MacRae. MacRae threw two scoreless with 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Mel Haynes pitched admirably, but again the defense cost us a game. For some reason Skipper was double switched for in the ninth (and as noted above, Matson did not pitch past the 9th), so Billy Hunter was at short, and botched a grounder in the 14th. It came around to score, so Haynes got the loss despite not allowing a hit. Granted, he did walk two, but the former first round also struck out a pair. Charlie Kelsey didn't pitch in that one, but mopped up for Donnie Jones against the Saints. He allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 3 strikeouts in 4.1 mop up innings. I complained about Billy Hunter's defense, but the bat was working, as he went 4-for-9 with a triple, 2 walks, and 3 RBIs. He'll be in line for some starts in right field, as I won't want Hal Sharp facing every lefty out there. Discounting last season where he hit just .203/.269/.287 (61 OPS+), Hunter has posted a WRC+ of 130 or higher in each of the three seasons prior against southpaws. And while his defense in right isn't great, almost anything is better then Hal Sharp. Ray Ford looked good again this week, 3-for-10 with a double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and 3 walks while Dick Walker was just 4-or-20. Sure, that came with a steal, 2 doubles, a triple, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, and 4 walks, but Walker is off to a bit of a slow start. That can be expected for a 40-year-old, but a few more weeks like this and Ford may find himself in line for more playing time. Besides these two, Car, Sharp, and the always reliable Leo Mitchell (10-29), we didn't produce much at the plate. We'll have to be better, especially at home, as the only non-Sharp homer came from Harry Mead (5-22), who is hitting just .178/.208/.400 (57 OPS+) on the season. Sure, with some better defense, and potentially managerial decisions, this 2-5 week could have been 4-3, but we don't look like the team we should be. I'd rather get out the losses now, so we can go on a run to distance ourselves once the pack thins out, but after falling a game short last season, it really emphasizes how important each game is. Looking Ahead We get our first off day of the season to start the week, and with the homestand continuing, the squad can relax and home and get a good meal in before the first place Cannons (8-5) come to town. Don't call them old, they prefer vintage, as 30-year-old Chuck Adams (.216, 1, 4) is the youngest member of the starting lineup and they employ a 39-year-old Al Wheeler (.167) and a 40-year-old Red Hampton (2-1, 2.05, 2). The off day will allow them to reset their rotation if they want, but it looks like regardless we'll see Charlie Griffith (0-1, 9.00, 1), Rufus Barrell (3-0, 1.88, 21), and Les Bradshaw (0-2, 5.40, 4), although former #1 pick and certified Papenfus killer Bob Arman (2-1, 3.65, 10) could replace Bradshaw. I'd love to see another iteration of Barrell vs Pap instead, as you could make the case that these are the best two pitchers in the game (I'd still give Donnie the edge over Rufus, but with guys this good there's no wrong answer) and they've each won two Allen Awards, all coming since Pap's first in 1941. Even without a star-studded pitching matchup like that, it should make for some good baseball. Their rotation isn't the best, but we'll be throwing Johnnie Jones (0-1, 6.00, 8), who's first two starts have been rough, and they have a strong lineup despite being ranked 8th in runs scored. That should change, as Adams will heat up and they rank top three average, OBP, slugging, OPS, WAR, wOBA, extra base hits, homers, and strikeouts. So yeah, the runs will come... Guys like Denny Andrews (.408, 2, 9), Sam Brown (.292, 2, 6), and Fred Galloway (.304, 1, 6) make it look easy while Charley McCullough (.324, 1) is looking to quickly leave last year's struggles in the rear view mirror. With a better start to the season, I would have expected a series win, but I'm not nearly as confident as I should be. On paper, we're the best in the league, but things haven't quite played out as expected early on. The homestand continues with a pair of games against the Foresters, who sit at 7-8 and two games behind the Cannons. The Foresters pitching has really struggled, but 26-year-old Augie Hayes Jr. (2-1, 2.16, 9) has been very effective. Sure, he's walked 12 hitters in 25 innings, but he's allowed one or fewer runs in two of his three starts and is the only Forester in the rotation with an ERA below 4. The only other below 5 is Ducky Davis (1-2, 4.24, 3), as former Cougar Joe Crosby (1-1, 6.75, 4) has struggled and 24-year-old Richie Hughes (1-2, 5.24, 11) and Hiram Steinberg (2-1, 5.57, 7) have been hit hard. While the rotation is almost the same as last year, the lineup looks much different, with rookies Ivey Henley (.312, 1, 9) and Bob Miller (.231, 1) making the lineup and veterans Orie Martinez (.204, 1, 7, 1) and Reginald Westfall (.276, 1) filling out the corners. Henley is the only one of the quartet doing much with the bat, as he's hitting between talented youngsters Paul Porter (.328, 5) and Jim Adams Jr. (.300, 1, 7, 2). There are two must-win games, as many expect the Foresters to replace us in the cellar, and we have the advantage at nearly every position. We then finish the week with the first of two with the 7-7 Sailors. Things would be going a bit worse if it wasn't for Rule-5 Pick Bobby Boone, who I tried claiming on waivers in the offseason. The former Gotham won the first Player of the Week award, and is slashing .370/.414/.500 (131 OPS+) with 4 doubles, a homer, and 6 RBIs. He's been one of the lone bright spots as the Sailors lineup has been ice cold to start the season, with just him and another former Gotham Ed White (.391, 1, 7) hitting above .300. Ed Reyes' (.175, 1, 5) quest for a third straight batting title is off to a rocky start while emergent star Les Cunha (.231, 1, 5) and his talented double play partner Rip Lee (.232, 6) have posted OPS+ below 50. These three are far too good to stay this bad, same goes for extra base machine Cotton Dillon (.250, 4), and you have to imagine the Sailors lineup will start scoring more runs. The staff has allowed the fewest runs so far, in large part to Win Lewis (3-0, 0.00, 8) who has won all three of his starts and not allowed a run in 22.2 innings to start the season. Charlie Gordon (1-3, 3.52, 17) and Al Duster (1-2, 3.10, 9) have been very unlucky, but them and All-Star stopper David Molina (0-1, 2, 1.74, 10) have been very effective early on. Since they are also off Monday, they have the opportunity to reshape their rotation, but as long as we avoid Lewis, I'll be happy. It should be a tough series to end a tough week, but we need to ensure that we bounce back quickly by posting our first winning week. |
Week 3: April 28th-May 4th
4 Attachment(s)
Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 8-11 (7th, 5.5 GB) Stars of the Week Hal Sharp : 22 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .455 AVG, 1.162 OPS Walt Pack : 17 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .294 AVG, 1.219 OPS Skipper Schneider : 22 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .409 AVG, .958 OPS Schedule 4-29: Loss vs Cannons (5-2): 10 innings 4-30: Loss vs Cannons (3-2) 5-1: Win vs Cannons (4-6) 5-2: Loss vs Foresters (6-2) 5-3: Win vs Foresters (1-9) 5-4: Win vs Sailors (1-9) Recap The Cougars slow start to the season continues, as a 3-3 week continues the skid of three straight weeks without a winning week. I'm hoping it is just a distaste for April, as we went 5-10 in the Opening Month, including 0-2 this week before we ripped off three of four. The first was the finale against the Cannons, as we dropped not only a one-run game, but our third extra inning game. We are already 0-3 in those, and 1-5 in one-run games. We split with the Foresters and then beat the Sailors in the opener to end the week. We are at least out of last, a game and a half clear of the Foresters, but since we were the only team to beat the Cannons this week, we dropped to 5.5 games out of first place. Walt Pack was finally putting it together, but a hand contusion suffered after being hit by a Jim Walker pitch will keep him out for at least a week. Even though he's not day-to-day, I don't think I'm going to place him on the IL, so we can hopefully get him back next week. We can play one infielder down, and if he's still hurt, we can IL him and it will be retroactive. Unfortunately this means he'll miss his first chance to bat against his former teammates, as we host the Wolves later in the week. This injury is the first in his nine year career to cause him to miss games, as his only previous ailments was back stiffness last year and a stomach virus in his Whitney year, but they were mild enough he was able to hit through them. The 32-year-old put up the best week of his year, slashing .294/.455/.765 (219 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs to inflate his season line to .275/.373/.133 (OPS+) in 17 appearances. Billy Hunter, Jim Jenkins, and George Sutterfield are all in line to pick up starts, with Hunter most likely to get the majority. I'm hoping can Pack keep up the momentum he built, as his pop makes our lineup increasingly dangerous. Lucky for us, we have another lefty slugger Hal Sharp, who right now is leading the CA in both average (.444) and OPS (1.169). It was another strong week for the veteran, who went 10-for-22 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, a homer, 4 RBIs, and 6 runs scored. Sharp is now hitting .444/.483/.685 (208 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 3 homers, and 12 RBIs in 61 trips to the plate. He had plenty of help this week, as Dick Walker looked like the Dick Walker of old! The vet, now moved off the leadoff spot with Don Lee in the every day lineup, went 5-for-18 with a double, triple, 2 walks, and 4 runs. When he wasn't playing, Ray Ford continued his surge, going 4-for-8 to up his season line to .415/.485/.517 (166 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 4 walks, and 4 RBIs. Skipper finally showed some life with his bat, going 9-for-22 with a triple, RBI, 2 walks, and 5 runs. The defense is always great for Skipper, but he's riding a mini-four game hit streak with three of those games multi-hit games. We're scoring runs and putting the ball in play, but when it matters most, we fail to get the clutch hits and runs we need. Johnnie Jones and Duke Bybee looked good after a pair of rough starts, with a trio of one run starts. Jones got a no-decision against the Cannons, allowing 7 hits and 5 walks with 5 strikeouts in his 7 innings. Unfortunately Ken Matson and Harry MacRae let that one get away, as Matson allowed 2 hits, 3 walks, and a run with 2 strikeouts in his inning, with MacRae tagged with the loss. The second year righty allowed all three (2 H, BB) baserunners he put on to score before getting his three outs in the ninth. Start two for Jones was similar, again with 7 hits and a run, but it came with 3 walks and a strikeout in a 9-1 complete game win over the Sailors. But neither of those starts were as good as Bybee's, as the talented 24-year-old allowed just 6 hits in his complete game win. He struck out five Foresters and didn't allow a walk, picking up his first career victory in his sixth career start. It hasn't been smooth sailing for Bybee yet, who's allowed 54 hits and 27 runs through 44.1 innings, but this most recent start finally looked like I envisioned a Bybee start looking like. Him and Johnnie aren't the best hurlers on the staff, but more starts like this, and we'll be in very good shape. The other three starts weren't all that great, even if Donnie Jones did come away with a win. He went 8, but allowed 8 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. That's not a bad start by any means, but much better is expected from the 27-year-old righty. Same goes for Pete Papenfus, who went just 7 as he allowed 8 hits and 8 walks with 3 runs (2 earned) and 6 strikeouts. The reigning Allen Winner hasn't had his strikeout pitch going this season, just 19 in 31 innings, and he's already walked 17. His BB/9 is up from 3.3 to 4.9, and after leading the league with a .241 BABIP last season, that's up to an inflated .327 this year. Obviously there is no cause for concern, this kid is the best in the business, but it's no surprise that our early season struggles have coincided with a less then stellar Peter the Heater. Joe Brown's start was also less then stellar, as the team captain was tagged for 9 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 2 walks in his 8 innings of work. It was his worst start so far, but Brown still holds an impressive 3.41 ERA (121 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP through 34.1 innings. With some more timely hitting and regular starts from our co-aces, we should be able to get back on track, as we're playing much better ball then our record would suggest. Looking Ahead We can pull off the quick two game sweep with a win over the Sailors, who will trot out Slick Wesolowski (2-1, 4.37, 9) who has the unlucky assignment of Pete Papenfus (1-3, 3.19, 19), although the reigning Allen Winner has been rather easy to beat this season. Wesolowski, 27, burst onto the scene last season after a stint in the Navy. The results were impressive, as the southpaw went 11-3 with a 3.06 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.28 WHIP. He made just 15 starts as a sprained ankle cost him three months, but that didn't seem to effect him down the stretch. His three start sample this season isn't great, but his 3.96 FIP (92 FIP-) suggests that a few balls haven't bounced his way. The Sailors lineup has started off slow, but Woody Stone (.339, 2, 11) has been good since the get-go. The bats of Rip Lee (.309, 9) and Les Cunha (.263, 1, 9) are starting to get going, but even when they were cold the defense (0.9, 1.077 and 4.8, 1.148) is always impressive. CWL MVP Billy Forbes (.333, 1) is healthy and playing regularly again after battling the flu, and even though Johnnie Jones (1-1, 3.48, 14) outdueled Win Lewis (3-2, 2.73, 11) Pap will have to respect the lineup. The pitching matchup clearly leans in our favor, but 1 through 8 can deal damage and they're all disciplined hitters who can take advantage of a poor command day for Pap. This not-so-fun homestand finally ends with three against the Wolves, who are 10-9 and 3.5 games out of first. The Wolves are playing good ball, led by a reinvigorated Fred McCormick, who is hitting .350/.437/.583 (160 OPS+) with 4 homers and 12 RBIs in his first 17 games. Hal Wood (.301, 2, 16) has looked good at third while top prospects John Fast (.250, 2) and Frank Frady (.260, 1) have split time at second. Charlie Artuso (.304, 1, 15, 2) and Chink Stickels (.328, 9, 1) are increasing their trade value, but if the Wolves stay above .500 they may hold off moving on from the longtime vets. The story of the staff has been Jerry York, not George Garrison (2-2, 3.07, 10) or Joe Hancock (1-1, 4.37, 7), as the 25-year-old rookie is 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA (263 ERA+), now 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA (204+) in 5 FABL starts. "Puddin" projects to have great command and solid stuff, and the former 1st Rounder is already a renowned leader in the Wolves clubhouse. If they stay healthy and Fred McCormick keeps things going, Toronto could make some noise in a pennant. These home games are going to be crucial, as our roadtrip starts with four games in three days against the Stars. Our first double header of the season comes on Sunday, and while we do have options for a sixth starter, I'm going to stick with five as we start next week with an off day. Our pitching staff is lined up nicely to deal with the Stars powerful lineup, as while Johnnie Jones may struggled again in the opener, Pap gets the Saturday start while Donnie Jones (3-1, 3.52, 15) and Joe Brown (2-1, 3.41, 13) will pitch in the double header. We'll see nearly all of their rotation, but the only one I want to avoid is Eli Panneton (2-2, 2.48, 17) is the only starter with an ERA below 4.50. Of course, with that lineup it doesn't matter how many runs you get on them, as they're still 13-9 due to a league high 127 runs scored. The Stars defense isn't great, as Rabbit Mudd (.287, 2, 14, 1) at short and Freddie Jones (.406, 12) at second may be the worst double play duo in the league. Both hit plenty, and discounting a struggling Bill Barnett (.173, 2, 8), there hasn't been a weak spot in the lineup. This is a very worrisome series for us, as if we don't break out of this slump quickly, we could find ourselves down way too much way too early. Minor League Report LF Clyde Parker (B San Jose Cougars): It was a great week for Clyde Parker, who was the first and so far only member of the Cougar organization to receive a Player of the Week award. The 20-year-old had an excellent first week, going 9-for-21 with a double, 3 triples, and 4 RBIs, which translates to an absurd .474/.524/.842 (282 OPS) batting line. Currently ranked 22nd in our organization and 210th in the league, Parker draws comparisons to Leo Mitchell as a high contact lefty who can put some good swings into the ball. He hasn't shown much power so far, but Mitchell's didn't come until he was well into his 20s, and Parker still has plenty of development ahead of him. A 7th Rounder back in 1945, Parker entered the season with just a pair of 67 game years, so this season will be his first full season now that he's down with C ball. The hardworking lefty has shown improvements as well, hitting for a higher average while walking a bit more and striking out a bit less. We have a lot of talented outfielders, most of which are good defenders as well, so Parker's bat will need to be taken to another level if he wants to play regularly. If not, he may have to settle for a career as a righty killer off the bench, something I think he'd do quite well with. |
Week 4: May 5th-May 11th
Weekly Record: 4-4
Seasonal Record: 12-16 (t-6th, 6 GB) Stars of the Week Hal Sharp : 34 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .324 AVG, .735 OPS Billy Hunter : 23 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .348 AVG, .906 OPS Ray Ford : 14 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.205 OPS Schedule 5-5: Win vs Sailors (3-6) 5-6: Win vs Wolves (1-4) 5-7: Win vs Wolves (1-3) 5-8: Loss vs Wolves (7-0) 5-9: Win at Stars (7-4) 5-10: Loss at Stars (3-10) 5-11: Loss at Stars (1-3) 5-11: Loss at Stars (4-5) Recap We're never going to have a winning week, huh? The week actually started well, as we started by finishing the sweep against the Sailors before finishing the homestand by taking two of three from the Wolves. We even won the opener at Dyckman Stadium, but from then on our it was all Stars, as they took the final three, including our 6th one run loss in 7 attempts. I don't think that's ever going to get any better, so we're going to need to find more creative ways to win as we're already six games behind the 18-9 Cincinnati Cannons, who share the best record in FABL with the surprise St. Louis Pioneers. Somewhat surprisingly, the Cannons have the best pitching in the league, as 40-year-old Red Hampton (4-1, 2.31, 5) is pitching out of his mind while Les Bradshaw (3-2, 2.41, 17) is copying his season last year where he started out red hot before his inevitable return to form. We're still way off the pack, tied with Montreal for sixth, and we'll be on the road all week which won't make things any easier. I was worried about Johnnie Jones having to face the Stars, but he picked up the lone win in the series. Sure, he gave up his fourth homer, and allowed 8 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), and 5 walks, but he got all but two outs in the 7-4 win. Ken Matson picked up save #3, walking and striking out one with the third batter flying out. The Stars gave Pete Papenfus probably the worst start of his career, launching three longballs in 4.2 innings, as Pap allowed 6 hits, 8 walks, and 10 runs with just a single strikeout. His ERA jumped from 3.15 to 4.84, and his game score was single digits; just five! I'm not sure Pap has ever pitched this bad, and he was far better against the Sailors where he picked up a complete game win with 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The lack of strikeouts from our ace has been concerning, as he's punched out just 23 hitters in 44.2, and now he's walked (28) more guys then he's struck out, something our Golden Arm hasn't done since he was a 20-year-old rookie nearly a decade ago. Even though they lost, Donnie Jones and Joe Brown faired much better in the double header, and each picked up a win earlier in the week against Toronto. Donnie went 8 in the loss, allowing 7 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 7 strikeouts. Strikeouts aside, he was far better against his former team, picking up a complete game win with 6 hits, 2 walks, a single run, and 3 strikeouts. Brown was brilliant in both starts as well, but he was not charged with the loss in New York as he went just 7 on short rest. The 33-year-old allowed 8 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts before Ken Matson fell apart. He allowed 2 hits and a walk in the 8th, with all three runs scoring on Bob Riggins' (.299, 3, 16, 2) pinch-hit go ahead homer. Matson actually saved Brown's win with a perfect ninth after the veteran went 8 with 8 hits, a run, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. The last start of the week went to Duke Bybee, who once again was hit hard. The Wolves got 7 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) with a walk and 3 strikeouts in his 6 innings. The rookie has allowed 6 or more runs in three of his four starts, as his 5.23 ERA (78 ERA+) is inflated by his 1.5 HR/9. He's struck out 17 hitters in 31 innings and sports a strong 1.89 K/BB so far, so you have to imagine he'll find a way to limit the longball. We didn't do much hitting this week, but Ray Ford continued to pulverize Continental Association pitching, hitting an even 7-for-14 with a steal, run, and two doubles, walks, and RBIs. Other then him, it was really just Billy Hunter who contributed, as Walt Pack's replacement went 8-for-23 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Pack actually made two plate appearances late in the week, picking up a walk and single. Backup catcher Homer Guthrie looked good in his three starts, 3-for-6 with a double, 2 runs, and 5 walks. Even Mel Haynes was better then the rest of the lineup, as the reliever went 1-for-2 when mopping up Pap and drove in two with an RBI single as we stretched a win streak to five. But as fun as it is when Haynes hits, we need Leo Mitchell to hit, as the veteran went just 6-for-31 to drop his season line to .299/.339/.393 (95 OPS+). It's no surprise that when our stars our struggling the team is struggling, and if Mitchell and Pap don't get going, I imagine the Cougars will once again disappoint their fanbase in what could be a very long season. Looking Ahead We get a much needed off day to start the week, as we've played 27 games in the past 27 days. Our next stop is Cleveland for two with the Foresters, the only team with a worse record (11-19) then us in our association. The Foresters haven't hit or pitched much, ranked 7th in both runs scored and allowed so far. The lineup has been shuffled a bit, with Bill Sikorski (.299, 2, 6), Bob Corvin (.315, 5), Dixie Galloway (.207, 1), Hank Stratton (.288, 5), and Chuck Harrington (.222, 2) all entering the lineup, but the quartet each own an OPS+ below 100. Same goes for Orie Martinez (.220, 3, 14), and one of their only productive hitters, the talented Jim Adams Jr. (.295, 1, 10, 2) fractured his knee and may be done for the year. That's huge blow for Cleveland, as not only is he their best player, and one of the best in the leagues, but the former #1 pick has tremendous upside and is coming off back-to-back 3 WAR seasons. Making matters worse, it was not an injury while playing, as it was suffered as he fell down a flight of stairs while moving a couch into his new house. Hire some movers man! The pitching has really let them down, but you have to imagine Richie Hughes (1-4, 5.70, 20) will turn things around, as will Hiram Steinberg (2-2, 5.98, 16). Luckily, Augie Hayes Jr. (3-3, 2.79, 15) has been really good, but his 4.27 FIP (101 FIP-) predicts that some regression will hit the 26-year-old. Unlucky for us, it looks like we're drawing Hughes and Ducky Davis (1-5, 3.88, 10), who are better then their records show. That means the inconsistent Cougars will be exactly what they need to get back on track, and while we should win both games, I'm not all that optimistic after how things have gone so far. After that it is three with the Sailors, who we have actually played pretty well against. To be fair, we've done well against everyone but the Stars and Saints (2-10), but the Sailors (2-0) are the only team we have yet to lose to. Philly is a game over .500 (14-13) and four out of first, as despite great pitching (2nd RA) they have scored the fewest runs in the CA. They have gotten production from Cotton Dillon (.306, 1, 19), Woody Stone (.299, 3, 12), Ed B. White (.357, 2, 11), and Bobby Boone (.354, 1, 7, 3), but some of there best players are still not performing as they normally do. Rip Lee (.302, 11) has started to heat up some, but Harvey Brown (.240, 7, 4) has seen his production crater and Les Cunha (.273, 1, 14), who led the league with 8.1 WAR last season, has seen his WRC+ drop from 137 to 82 as his walk and strikeout rate are going in the wrong direction, and after leading the league with 58 extra base hits last season, he's down to just 7 in 27 games. The defense has helped the pitching, but now just Win Lewis (4-2, 3.00, 14) and Charlie Gordon (2-4, 3.28, 21) have ERAs below 4. Sure, offense is up, so Slick Wesolowski's (3-2, 4.21, 14) ERA+ is exactly league average, but better was expected from him and Al Duster (2-2, 4.60, 11). The rotation is too good to stay like this, but I'm hoping we can still take advantage of them, especially since we'll be missing Lewis and potentially Gordon. We then finish our week with the first of two in Cincinnati against the first place Cannons. The scariest thing about the Cannons is not their pitching, which for now has allowed the fewest runs in the league, but the fact that they are 12-7 on the road and have a lot more home games left as the season goes on. The offense has surprisingly not been that great, although Denny Andrews (.371, 3, 18) is hitting more then enough for everyone, and is on a Whitney pace with a 204 WRC+, 80 double, 125 walk, and 13 WAR season. Him and Sam Brown (.308, 3, 12) are the only two Cannons with an OPS+ above 100, and Brown's is just 106. It hasn't mattered too much, as beyond runs against, they also lead in both WARs, ironically, and identical 5.2 for hitters and pitchers, as well as ERA (3.03), starter and reliever ERA (3.07, 2.73), hits allowed (212), opponent average (.241) and BABIP (.262), homers allowed (9), defensive efficiency (.733), and zone rating (18.3). I don't by Red Hampton (4-1, 2.31, 5) and his 0.28 K/BB or Les Bradshaw's (3-2, 2.41, 17) surprise success, but Rufus Barrell (3-2, 3.23, 30) is elite and if the 26-year-old former first pick Bob Arman (3-1, 3.47, 25) can cut his BB/9 from 6.6, they will still have an excellent top two. If we decide to stay dormant, the Cannons can be a real force in the pennant race, and they could be the ones going head-to-head with the Stars (18-12) the rest of the way. |
Week 5: May 12th-May 18th
Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 16-17 (4th, 6 GB) Stars of the Week Ray Ford : 18 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.217 OPS Billy Hunter : 18 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .444 AVG, 1.140 OPS Skipper Schneider : 21 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .381 AVG, .935 OPS Schedule 5-13: Win at Foresters (7-2) 5-14: Loss at Foresters (7-8): 10 innings 5-15: Win at Sailors (3-2) 5-16: Loss at Sailors (4-7) 5-17: Win at Sailors (3-2) 5-18: Win at Cannons (8-5) Recap Woah there! A winning week!?!?! We're allowed to do those this year??? I thought the week we had two Duke Bybee starts would be the week we failed to win a single game, but sure enough, we finally captured that elusive winning week by splitting with the Foresters, taking two of three from the Sailors, and taking the first of two in Cincinnati. We managed to double our one-run win total with a pair of 3-2 wins over the Sailors, but of course, it wouldn't be Cougar baseball without a one-run loss, and after battling back to tie it in the 9th, arguably the worst hitter in baseball Chuck Harrington (.192, 3) and his 24 WRC+ walked us off in the tenth with a single. And Duke Bybee actually won both of his starts, finally looking like the young ace he could be. Bybee was brilliant against the Foresters, allowing just 3 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 5 strikeouts in a complete game victory. Of course, he also allowed his 6th homer of the season, but you can live with solo shots. The Cannons got to him a bit, but he held strong, again picking up the complete game win. No homers this time, but he allowed 8 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. Bybee is now 3-2, and his 4.41 ERA (92 ERA+) is approaching ever so close to average. He's getting better by the day, and it's only a matter of time before he moves up to the three spot in our extremely deep rotation. After the second worst start in his FABL career, Pete Papenfus was back to blowing triple digits past lesser baseballers, taking out all his anger from the Stars on the Sailors. Pap allowed just 6 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts to improve to 3-4 on the season. It's been a tough season for the dominant hurler, who has an inflated 4.36 ERA (93 ERA+) and 1.51 WHIP in 53.2 innings. His strikeouts are down a ton, as his 5.2 K/9 would be the first time he did not strike out more then six per nine in a season. If there's one guy you don't have to worry about, it's him, but his 4.21 FIP (103 FIP-) doesn't like his overall work and his 40% ground ball percentage is seven points below his career norm. Guys are elevating his pitches more, as he's developed into a "Flyball Pitcher" which is awful for our park. After sending a fly-baller in Billy Riley away, Pap and Bybee have become one, and the injured Harry Parker takes that to the extreme. Its something to keep an eye on, but knowing Pap, there's a string of double digit strikeout games right around the corner! One thing that should help those fly-ballers is the return of Carlos Montes, who is now healthy after a rotator cuff strain cost him three weeks. It could not have come at a better time, as young outfielder Don Lee has been really bad. So bad in fact, that even though Hal Sharp is hitting just .292/.333/.333 (79 OPS+) against lefties with just one extra base hit, he's still going to get a majority of the reps in right against southpaws. Lee has hit a pitiful .184/.323/.223 (48 OPS+) in 125 trips to the plate, and his -2.3 zone rating (.930) in center (he's really good in right at least) makes things even worse. If this keeps up, I may have to option Rap to Milwaukee to get back on track, but the one bright side is his discipline. A .202 BABIP is unsustainable, and with a 21-to-9 walk-to-strikeout ratio, at least he's getting on base. Eventually the balls will fall, and with his speed, he's always a threat to change the game. For now, he'll function more as a defensive replacement, as Sharp's .378/.421/.532 (154 OPS+) batting line is way too good to keep out of the lineup. And with Montes' return, Max Rucker will once again be DFA'd, as the 29-year-old was only counted on for 10.2 innings across 9 games as a late game sub for Leo Mitchell in left. Rucker has made 10 big league appearances, but has yet to take an at bat. As long as he clears waivers, I'll bring the former 7th Rounder back in September, so he can finally get that long awaited shot for a big league hit. Both Ray Ford and Billy Hunter have hit here way into more playing time, as the righties have performed much better then their lefty counterparts. Both were tremendous this week, with Ford going 9-for-18 with 3 doubles and 5 RBIs, as Hunter was 8-for-18 with a double, homer, and 4 runs scored. Ford has been red hot, and the soon-to-be 36-year-old is hitting an astronomical .459/.522/.590 (197 OPS+) with 8 doubles and 11 RBIs in 69 trips to the plate. Hunter can't match that, but his .391/.442/.551 (164 OPS+) line is still extraordinary, and he's added 3 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 14 RBIs, and a stolen base. Clark Car actually had a great week himself (5-10, 2 3B), but the former 2nd Rounder is hitting just .250/.297/.397 (84 OPS+) with 4 triples and 3 steals. Dick Walker, however, had an awful week (1-8, BB), and the 40-year-old is hitting like a 40-year-old should, just .244/.348/.359 (89 OPS+) in 93 PAs. Both will still get playing time, but it's hard to keep starting them with such little production coming back. Car will get more, as Hunter is allergic to staying healthy, but Walker still gets on base, and he can still steal them when needed. If they can get hot too, our lineup will be very tough to stop, and having useful bats off the bench is never a bad thing. We haven't gotten much production from Leo Mitchell, who once again had a below average week. Recently dubbed "Mitch the Metronome", Mitchell still hit over .300 at 8-for-24, but he had just one extra base hit (a double), 3 runs, 3 RBIs, and a single walk. While not "bad", he's still hitting just .305/.340/.389 (95 OPS+) with 5 doubles, 2 homers, and 19 RBIs. The 34-year-old is our best hitter, but he's not quite himself yet, as there is very little power coming from the 1944 and 1946 slugging leader. Instead, power has come from Walt Pack, who went 4-for-13 with a homer and 4 RBIs to up his season line to .292/.387/.523 (141 OPS+) in 75 trips to the plate. He's tied with Harry Mead for the team lead in homers with four, and he's added 3 doubles and 18 RBIs. Skipper Schneider put together a strong week, 8-for-21 with 2 walks, 2 doubles, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs. Getting offensive production from him is always a plus, but he only has an 86 WRC+ in 33 games. Yes, the 7.5 zone rating (1.136 efficiency) is as elite as ever, but the 26-year-old is on pace for the worst offensive season of his career. The lineup continues to be inconsistent, but there is just far too much talent to keep us down for long. Bringing Montes back should be helpful, as he will be a huge upgrade in the leadoff spot over Don Lee and Dick Walker, and this could have a positive effect on the seven guys behind him. Looking Ahead We've got one more with the Cannons in Cincinnati, as we look to sweep the the leaders in the Continental Association. Cincinnati is now 22-11 and two games above the Stars (22-15), who they host after we leave town. They'll send Charlie Griffin (3-1, 4.11, 12) out to face Johnnie Jones (2-1, 4.33, 19) in a battle of fourth starters. The lineup has gotten a ton of production from Jim Hensley, as the talented gloveman has hit .312/.385/.438 (114 OPS+) with 7 doubles, a triple, a homer, steal, and 10 RBIs in 109 trips to the plate to compliment his 6.1 zone rating and 1.147 efficiency. He's been one of their better hitters, with really just Denny Andrews (.349, 3, 18) offering much at the plate. The pitching has bailed them out, but Bob Arman (3-2, 4.66, 25) was hit hard by the Saints, and we got to Red Hampton (5-2, 2.68, 8) who has more zero strikeout games (2) then games with three or more (0). If this continues, they will really need to get better offensive output from Fred Galloway (.247, 1, 8) and Chuck Adams (.248, 4, 17), with Adams in particular having a really rough go of things. Still, I don't think we'll pull off the sweep, but this is one of our best chances to steal games from the leaders. Our road trip then finishes with a pair of games in Toronto, where the home fans will get their first look at Walt Pack in a Cougar uniform. The Wolves have dropped to seven out and are 15-18 entering the last full week of May. The offense isn't producing much, ranked 7th or 8th in runs scored, average, OBP, WAR, wOBA, hits, extra base hits, and walks. In fact, the only thing they're not bottom four in is homers (t-4th) and strikeouts (1st), despite excellent production from their top four hitters. Fred McCormick is still elite at 37, slashing .327/.421/.584 (158 OPS+) with 5 doubles, 7 homers, and 20 RBIs, as well as more walks (18) then strikeouts (14). Charlie Artuso (.301, 1, 21, 3), Chink Stickels (.308, 14, 3), and Hal Wood (.320, 4, 25) are all hitting for a high average, but Wood is the only one of the trio with an OPS+ above 110. Third year outfielder Hank Giordano (.223, 1, 11) has taken a massive step-back, as the 26-year-old has seen his WRC+ plummet from 122 to 66. The pitching has managed to keep them afloat, as Joe Hancock (2-1, 2.61, 13) has rebounded from an average return season last year while George Garrison (2-3, 3.64, 19) and rookie Jerry York (3-1, 3.00, 18) have been very reliable. We'll avoid Garrison and Hancock, but we'll face York and Jimmy Gibbs (1-3, 4.41, 14). York may be tough, but our veteran lineup can give him fits, and Gibbs has looked hittable in his starts so far. These are two big games for us, as after an off day that allows us to return home, we have a very tough contest as Cougars Park. That's because the surging Stars come to town, as they're now in striking distance of the upstart Cannons. New York has too much power, but a lot of times it comes at the expense of batting average. Not for Mack Sutton, at least yet, as the career .252 hitter is slashing .306/.374/.562 (143 OPS+) with a league leading 10 homers and 38 RBIs. Reigning Whitney Winner Bill Barrett (.292, 4, 19) is doing Bill Barrett type things, while a healthy Joe Angevine (.338, 7, 6) has been an ideal leadoff hitter for a lineup that can really swing it. Jack Welch (.297, 4, 16) has caught fire and Bob Riggins (.264, 3, 17, 3) has been a bit above average both at the plate and in the field. They haven't gotten much from Bill Barnett (.220, 3, 17) or Joe Rainbow (.229, 4, 16), but both are still walking at above average clips. Even Freddie Jones (.362, 1, 18) is raking, really lengthening the best lineup in the league. The pitching is just the Eli Panneton (5-3, 2.89, 35) show as Vern Hubbard (4-2, 5.69, 16) has been awful and Ed Cornett (1-3, 5.82, 7) probably belongs in the pen as Henry Shaffer (0-1, 1.77, 7), who while not great, is looking like a much better option. Plenty of runs will be scored in the series, and if we can avoid Panneton, I really like our chances at taking the series. It will be a tough one, but our pitching can match their lineup, and I don't think the non-Panneton arms can keep us off the board. Can't underestimate the defending champs, but I'm ready for the Cougars to pounce -- and this might be the week we do it. Or of course, we'll probably just lose them all! And by a single run each time! That's Cougar baseball for you! Minor League Report CF Johnny Peters (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's been a bit over a month since the minor league season has started, and former 3rd Overall Pick Johnny Peters has done tremendous in his first taste of AAA. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .311/.387/.509 (121 OPS+) with13 walks, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 2 steals, and 21 RBIs. Currently ranked as the 28th best prospect in baseball, Peters has done an excellent job showcasing is star level potential, drawing plenty of walks, hitting the ball hard, and stealing a few bases against the best the minors has to offer. He's not quite big league ready, and that's okay, as I want him to keep getting reps out in center. It's still a small sample size, but a -0.2 zone rating (.984 EFF) in 211 innings isn't too bad, especially for someone who can hit like he can. The batting average is actually a bit higher then I'd expect, but Peters is the type of hitter who can work counts until the pitcher makes a mistake. Granted, that comes with a lot of strikeouts, as he'll get called out at times on pitches he knows are balls, but the umpire thinks are strikes. But when he gets pitches he can handle, Peters can put a real jolt into them, leading to plenty of extra base hits and a few home runs. At one point, I thought 20-25 would be realistic, but now I'm thinking 20 may be his max, as a lot of the balls that went out in college will be contained by some of the spacious FABL ballparks. Homers aren't a necessity to his game anyways, and if he can keep getting on base like he does, he could be a very quality replacement for Carlos Montes both in center and at the plate. RHP Zane Kelley (AA Mobile Commodores): Despite what Dixie Marsh says, there's no reason to not consider Zane Kelley a starting pitcher. The 21-year-old has thrown 117 or more pitches in each of his four starts, including an 11 inning game where a lack of run support and a Don Jeppsen error (who was 0-for-5....) gave him his only loss of the season. The other three outings have been complete game victories, as the former King prospect is 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA (227 ERA+) and 1.30 WHIP through 37 innings. If there's one "downside" with Kelley, it's that he doesn't strike out many batters, as he's set down just 7 hitters. This translates to a miniscule 1.7 K/9, but since his command is so impressive (6 walks), it's still higher then his BB/9. That's what sets him apart from most of our farmhands, as he almost never leaves a pitch in the heart of the plate, and he can place his mid 80s pitches wherever he wants. He doesn't have the highest ceiling, potentially a back-end starter at best, but if you need to get one out with the bases loaded in a tie game, there's not many guys better suited for getting the weak contact needed to avoid a meltdown. C Mike Bordes (A Lincoln Legislators): Acquired in the Billy Riley trade, backstop Mike Bordes got off to a slow start, but his most recent week was definitely Player of the Week worthy. The 21-year-old went 11-for-24 with 4 doubles, 5 runs, and 5 RBIs, and his current nine game hit streak has seen three hits in two of the last three games, and two or more hits in five of the nine outings. The New York native is now slashing .277/.333/.470 (117 OPS+) in 90 trips to the plate with 8 doubles, 2 homers, and 18 RBIs. I love all the doubles from Bordes, is known more for his discipline then his pop. His eye is his best tool, but if he can start hitting doubles with regularity, it will really make up for any shortcomings behind the plate. The former 11th Rounder is also moving up the prospect ladder, as he currently ranks 11th in our system and 109th overall. If he can hit for a higher average, Bordes will be a force in the middle of the lineup, but I still like him in the 6th or 7th spot. He's still young enough that he could develop some power as well, but he may not have the drive to continue to improve. Our catcher depth is getting better as that was a focus in the offseason, and while it may be a stretch given his size, some time at first or in left could be on the horizon. For now he's a catcher, and one I'm very excited to watch grow behind Eddie Howard and in front of Garland Phelps. Cougars in the GWL C Charlie Hawkins (Seattle Thunderbirds): If you don't remember Charlie Hawkins, don't worry, he never played in Chicago. But back in 1938, he was our 12th Round selection out of CC Los Angeles, and he won back-to-back champions with the San Jose Cougars before eventually being cut towards the end of the 1942 season. He moved around the independent circuit before sticking with the Fort Worth Cattlemen, who were then absorbed by the Seattle Thunderbirds after the founding of the Great Western League. He got a 21 game cup of coffee for Seattle last season, starting 12 of those games while hitting a poor .157/.267/.275 (61 OPS+) with 3 doubles and a homer. Despite that showing, the Thunderbirds showed faith in the 30-year-old backstop, and that faith has quickly paid off. In 21 games to start this season, Hawkins has hit an impressive .300/.410/.414 (137 OPS+) for the Thunderbirds, hitting 6 doubles and driving in 10. He's helped lengthen a lineup that employs former FABL hitters Howard Brown Jr. (.298, 3, 12, 3), Bill Lewis (.283, 2, 12), Al Haynes (.301, 5, 6), and Jake Shadoan (.229, 2, 16), all of which were with the team last season. Shadoan aside, they have all hit well, helping bring Seattle to a tie for 1st with the Dallas Centurions. What's biggest for Seattle is the leadership Hawkins provides, as he's the hardest worker in the clubhouse and all his teammates respect him. His presence could be huge in a pennant run, and if he keeps hitting like this, the Cougar castoff could be an instrumental piece in yet another championship caliber team. 3B Larry Colaianni (Oakland Grays): Very little has gone well for the Oakland Grays this season, as last year's preseason favorite are just 16-17 to start the season. The team has been unlucky, as they do rank 3rd in runs scored (129) and second in runs allowed (116), so you can expect some of their fortune to change. The lineup isn't very deep, as you have guys like Hank Grant (.331, 18), Frankie Cohen (.450, 1, 16), Don Miller (.353, 14), and Larry Colaianni (.353, 1, 14) who are all off to great starts, while the rest of the lineup can barely hit their weight. Colaianni is known more for his time with the Stars, but the 38-year-old vet has been all over, including a quick stint with the Blues in 1941. He was the most effective run producer in the GWL last season, leading the fledgling league with 94 RBIs while slashing .332/.376/.423 (137 OPS+) in 149 games. While very impressive, there was some worry in Oakland that age may start to be a factor for the 2-Time FABL All Star, but he's quickly quieted that with a similar .353/.380/.451 (134 OPS+) triple slash this season. He's been on base early and often, and has already scored 18 runs in 33 games. Eventually breaks will start to fall the Grays way, and if they can keep getting value out of Colaianni, they could finish higher then their 3rd place showing last season. |
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