[ayaghmour2]

As Opening Day is just around the corner, the Chicago Cougars have formalized their 23-man roster. Players will be listed with their age and career statistics:

SP Steve Castellini (36, 139-97, 2,157 IP, 701 K, 1.29 WHIP, 125 ERA+)
SP Jim Crawford (25, 7-4, 135 IP, 46 K, 1.41 WHIP, 108 ERA+)
SP Dick Leudtke (29, 18-10, 275.2 IP, 103 K, 1.32 WHIP, 122 ERA+)
SP Dick Lyons (30, 48-53, 916 IP, 284 K, 1.52 WHIP, 103 ERA+)
SP Tommy Russell (28, 58-51, 996 IP, 263 K, 1.44 WHIP, 104 ERA+)
SP Max Wilder (33, 100-87, 1,772 IP, 704 K, 1.33 WHIP, 112 ERA+)
RP Taylor Collins (24, No FABL experience)
RP Dick Kadlec (26, 18-27, 6 SV, 361.1 IP, 144 K, 1.72 WHIP, 89 ERA+)
RP Chick Meehan (25-29, 29 SV, 313 IP, 128 K, 1.53 WHIP, 104 ERA+)
C Fred Barrell (25, 924 PA, .296/.362/.440, 16 HR, 149 RBI, 100 OPS+)
C Jim Kyle (24, 307 PA, .248/.307/.352, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 87 OPS+)
1B Bill Ashbaugh (27, 2,231 PA, .319/.392/.533, 79 HR, 388 RBI, 43 SB, 137 OPS+)
1B Phil Vaughan (26, No FABL experience)
2B Harry Simmons (26, 1,202 PA, .340/.381/.436, 4 HR, 147 RBI, 35 SB, 105 OPS+)
3B John Kincaid (26, 2,536 PA, .331/.370/.459, 14 HR, 264 RBI, 66 SB, 117 OPS+)
SS Slim Bloom (25, 59 PA, .327/.345/.436, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 95 OPS+)
SS Russ Combs (27, 1,844 PA, .307/.361/.452, 29 HR, 215 RBI, 80 SB, 114 OPS+)
SS Lee Sparks (26, No FABL experience)
LF John Dibblee (42, 8,124 PA, .346/.426/.511, 85 HR, 1,508 RBI, 752 SB, 170 OPS+)
LF Vince York (24, 767 PA, .372/.414/.530, 15 HR, 120 RBI, 10 SB, 134 OPS+)
CF Cy Bryant (24, 410 PA, .283/.327/.401, 1 HR, 47 RBI, 12 SB, 97 OPS+)
CF Bob McCarty (28, 1,281 PA, .294/.356/.397, 5 HR, 121 RBI, 21 SB, 93 OPS+)
RF Tom Taylor (26, 1,842 PA, .321/.400/.593, 97 HR, 345 RBI, 70 SB, 171 OPS+)

Despite having the oldest player in the league in John Dibblee, we have one of the youngest teams in the entire FABL. The oldest offensive starter on our team is Ross Combs, who turned just 27 on February 8th. As a whole, we only have one offensive player over 30, the 42-year-old Dibblee, and the 28-year-old McCarty is the second oldest offensive player. The pitching staff has some age, with longtime veterans Steve Castellini, Max Wilder, and Chick Meehan while Crawford and Collins are the only 25-or-younger pitchers.

I'm obviously biased, but I truly think we are going to win the Continental Association this year. We rank top 8 in all position groups and top four at catcher, first, second, third, short, and center. Tom Taylor ranks only 6th at right field, but I think a major part of that has to do with his down season last year. If he regains his MVP form, there probably isn't another right fielder in the league better then him. We don't have any players ranked in the top 15 in the league, but Taylor, Combs, Kincaid, and Barrell rank 17th through 20th. I'm super excited for this season and I'm ready for the Cougars to become a top competitor for the first time in years.