OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

ayaghmour2 · 02-01-2020, 02:28 PM

October 2nd, 1929
Chicago Cougars (60-90): 4
Cleveland Foresters (62-88): 5
11 Innings

W: Max Wilder (13-14)
L: Chick Meehan (1-6)

We started our last full series with a 5-4 loss in extra innings. Bill Ashbaugh hit his 20th homer of the season, 3-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's. John Dibblee was 2-for-5 with a double and run scored. Bob McCarty was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Luke Nixon and Art Panko were both 1-for-4 with a sac-bunt. Gus Cain went 7.1 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in his last start of the season.

October 3rd, 1929
Chicago Cougars (60-91): 5
Cleveland Foresters (63-88): 11

W: Max Wilder (13-14)
L: Chick Meehan (1-6)

We more or less clinched the #1 pick of the draft as the Foresters handled us 11-5. Bill Ashbaugh went 4-for-5 with a double, homer, and 2 RBI's. Art Panko was 3-for-5 with an RBI. John Dibblee was 2-for-4 with a double, 2 runs, RBI, and walk. Dick Fessel was 1-for-3 with a walk. Slick Hostetter was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Milt Nelson had another rough start, 5 innings with 11 hits, 7 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Ray Powell allowed 4 unearned runs with 2 walks and 3 hits in 2 innings.

October 4th, 1929
Chicago Cougars (61-91): 6
Cleveland Foresters (63-89): 0

W: Dick Kadlec (7-12)
L: Eddie Gray (6-10)

Dick Kadlec had a wonderful start to end the season, as he tossed a 3-hit shutout with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He was also 1-for-3 with a sac-bunt. Bill Ashbaugh hit his third homer in three days, going 1-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. George Jordan was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI's, and a run scored. Vince York was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Luke Nixon was 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored. Mack Deal was 1-for-4 with a walk and RBI.

October 5th, 1929
Chicago Cougars (62-91): 10
Cleveland Foresters (63-90): 2

W: Ben Curtin (3-4)
L: Harvey Tully (1-9)

The offense came to life and we crushed the Foresters 10-2 to leave Cleveland with a split. Bill Ashbaugh finished the series with a homer in each game, this time going 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBI's. John Dibblee was 3-for-4 with a homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBI's. Luke Nixon was 2-for-2 with a homer, 2 runs, a walk, and hit by pitch. Fred Barrell was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Ben Curtin pitched well, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 6 walks with 2 strikeouts in the complete game effort and was 1-for-4 with a double and run scored at the plate.

October 5th, 1929
Philadelphia Sailors (103-51): 1
Chicago Cougars (62-92): 6

W: Johnny Davis (16-14)
L: Dick Lyons (16-13)

We ended the season as we started it, with a loss to the Philadelphia Sailors. Dick Lyons reached his career high in starts with 34, but allowed 10 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 2 walks with a single strikeout. He was also 1-for-2 with a run scored. Ed Woodward allowed 3 hits, a run, and a walk in 1.2 innings. Charlie Gamble was 1-for-3 with a double. Tom Rogers was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Stars of the Week
Bill Ashbaugh : 19 AB, 10 H, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .526 AVG, 1.761 OPS
John Dibblee : 13 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .538 AVG, 1.495 OPS
Dick Kadlec : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

Looking Ahead
The Philadelphia Sailors (103-51) of the Continental Association and the Detroit Dynamos (91-63) of the Federal Association will square off in the 1929 World Series. Philadelphia is the defending champions, and will look for their 4th Title in franchise history. Before last season, however, they had a playoff drought dating all the way back to 1897 when they won their 2nd championship. Detroit will be looking for their 5th championship, and their last playoff appearance came in 1919 where they won their third title in four years. Both teams have serious star power and it should be an excellent postseason match-up. Neither team has a former player of mine.

We are also unofficially on the clock with the first pick of the 1929 draft. My goal is to never finish as bad as we did this season (62-92) and slowly work our way up in the Continental Association. I really need a good draft, as it seems last year's was a miss with just C Ben Richardson (17th) and SP Mike Murphy (27th) ranking in our top 30 prospect list. We will be selecting SP/1B Tom Barrell with the first pick in the draft, but what is more important is finding quality players in the other rounds. With two second round picks, we have the chance to add an extra high upside pick. I'm hoping all the scouting I did throughout the season will pay dividends with a strong draft class.

During the offseason I will likely make both additions and subtractions trying to make the Cougars a more competitive team. The biggest goal is to find reliable starting pitching which is a rarity in this league. I like Dick Lyons, but I think he's more of a #2 or #3 then an ace. There were times when Dick Kadlec looked like the same type of pitcher, but he was just terrible in July and August. He have four open rotation spots with at least 8 guys competing, but I will have to add some out of the organization. I will also have to remedy the outfield situation, with George Jordan, Vince York, Bob McCarty, John Dibblee, Dick Fessel, Mike Smith, Art Panko, and Johnny Johnson all fighting for spots. I'd love to find a taker for Panko, but it doesn't look as if anyone would want him. Another big position to deal with is second base. Bill Ashbaugh is easily our best hitter, but he was awful defensively and may end up moving to first. This would be tough for Luke Nixon who looks like a dependable big leaguer in his own right. I'm hoping for a busy offseason as we look to emerge from the basement.

As a team, we somehow finished 1929 with the best batting average in the CA (.302) and least strikeouts (128) while stealing the most bases (128). Of course, the pitching was pitiful as we finished 7th or 8th in every pitching category (except bullpen ERA) and we had the worst defense in the entire league. I'll blame the defense on Ashbaugh (-16.7) and Dibblee (-9.9) at first, as most of our starters were positive or around zero. I do like that our best month was a September of 10-12 which should be signs of better things to come.

I've also attached end of the season totals for all our players. Next season, I'll likely include this at the end of each month or at least every other month:

02-01-2020, 02:28 PM	#39
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 24: September 30th-October 6th October 2nd, 1929 Chicago Cougars (60-90): 4 Cleveland Foresters (62-88): 5 11 Innings W: Max Wilder (13-14) L: Chick Meehan (1-6) We started our last full series with a 5-4 loss in extra innings. Bill Ashbaugh hit his 20th homer of the season, 3-for-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's. John Dibblee was 2-for-5 with a double and run scored. Bob McCarty was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Luke Nixon and Art Panko were both 1-for-4 with a sac-bunt. Gus Cain went 7.1 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in his last start of the season. October 3rd, 1929 Chicago Cougars (60-91): 5 Cleveland Foresters (63-88): 11 W: Max Wilder (13-14) L: Chick Meehan (1-6) We more or less clinched the #1 pick of the draft as the Foresters handled us 11-5. Bill Ashbaugh went 4-for-5 with a double, homer, and 2 RBI's. Art Panko was 3-for-5 with an RBI. John Dibblee was 2-for-4 with a double, 2 runs, RBI, and walk. Dick Fessel was 1-for-3 with a walk. Slick Hostetter was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Milt Nelson had another rough start, 5 innings with 11 hits, 7 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Ray Powell allowed 4 unearned runs with 2 walks and 3 hits in 2 innings. October 4th, 1929 Chicago Cougars (61-91): 6 Cleveland Foresters (63-89): 0 W: Dick Kadlec (7-12) L: Eddie Gray (6-10) Dick Kadlec had a wonderful start to end the season, as he tossed a 3-hit shutout with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He was also 1-for-3 with a sac-bunt. Bill Ashbaugh hit his third homer in three days, going 1-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. George Jordan was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI's, and a run scored. Vince York was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Luke Nixon was 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored. Mack Deal was 1-for-4 with a walk and RBI. October 5th, 1929 Chicago Cougars (62-91): 10 Cleveland Foresters (63-90): 2 W: Ben Curtin (3-4) L: Harvey Tully (1-9) The offense came to life and we crushed the Foresters 10-2 to leave Cleveland with a split. Bill Ashbaugh finished the series with a homer in each game, this time going 2-for-5 with 2 runs and 3 RBI's. John Dibblee was 3-for-4 with a homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBI's. Luke Nixon was 2-for-2 with a homer, 2 runs, a walk, and hit by pitch. Fred Barrell was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Ben Curtin pitched well, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 6 walks with 2 strikeouts in the complete game effort and was 1-for-4 with a double and run scored at the plate. October 5th, 1929 Philadelphia Sailors (103-51): 1 Chicago Cougars (62-92): 6 W: Johnny Davis (16-14) L: Dick Lyons (16-13) We ended the season as we started it, with a loss to the Philadelphia Sailors. Dick Lyons reached his career high in starts with 34, but allowed 10 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 2 walks with a single strikeout. He was also 1-for-2 with a run scored. Ed Woodward allowed 3 hits, a run, and a walk in 1.2 innings. Charlie Gamble was 1-for-3 with a double. Tom Rogers was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Stars of the Week Bill Ashbaugh : 19 AB, 10 H, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .526 AVG, 1.761 OPS John Dibblee : 13 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .538 AVG, 1.495 OPS Dick Kadlec : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA Looking Ahead The Philadelphia Sailors (103-51) of the Continental Association and the Detroit Dynamos (91-63) of the Federal Association will square off in the 1929 World Series. Philadelphia is the defending champions, and will look for their 4th Title in franchise history. Before last season, however, they had a playoff drought dating all the way back to 1897 when they won their 2nd championship. Detroit will be looking for their 5th championship, and their last playoff appearance came in 1919 where they won their third title in four years. Both teams have serious star power and it should be an excellent postseason match-up. Neither team has a former player of mine. We are also unofficially on the clock with the first pick of the 1929 draft. My goal is to never finish as bad as we did this season (62-92) and slowly work our way up in the Continental Association. I really need a good draft, as it seems last year's was a miss with just C Ben Richardson (17th) and SP Mike Murphy (27th) ranking in our top 30 prospect list. We will be selecting SP/1B Tom Barrell with the first pick in the draft, but what is more important is finding quality players in the other rounds. With two second round picks, we have the chance to add an extra high upside pick. I'm hoping all the scouting I did throughout the season will pay dividends with a strong draft class. During the offseason I will likely make both additions and subtractions trying to make the Cougars a more competitive team. The biggest goal is to find reliable starting pitching which is a rarity in this league. I like Dick Lyons, but I think he's more of a #2 or #3 then an ace. There were times when Dick Kadlec looked like the same type of pitcher, but he was just terrible in July and August. He have four open rotation spots with at least 8 guys competing, but I will have to add some out of the organization. I will also have to remedy the outfield situation, with George Jordan, Vince York, Bob McCarty, John Dibblee, Dick Fessel, Mike Smith, Art Panko, and Johnny Johnson all fighting for spots. I'd love to find a taker for Panko, but it doesn't look as if anyone would want him. Another big position to deal with is second base. Bill Ashbaugh is easily our best hitter, but he was awful defensively and may end up moving to first. This would be tough for Luke Nixon who looks like a dependable big leaguer in his own right. I'm hoping for a busy offseason as we look to emerge from the basement. As a team, we somehow finished 1929 with the best batting average in the CA (.302) and least strikeouts (128) while stealing the most bases (128). Of course, the pitching was pitiful as we finished 7th or 8th in every pitching category (except bullpen ERA) and we had the worst defense in the entire league. I'll blame the defense on Ashbaugh (-16.7) and Dibblee (-9.9) at first, as most of our starters were positive or around zero. I do like that our best month was a September of 10-12 which should be signs of better things to come. I've also attached end of the season totals for all our players. Next season, I'll likely include this at the end of each month or at least every other month: Attached Images