[ayaghmour2]

July 27th, 1931
New York Stars (59-42): 2
Chicago Cougars (57-44): 5

W: Jim Crawford (11-8)
L: Lou Martino (14-3)

A high octane pitching matchup between Jim Crawford and Lou Martino was a great way to start the week for baseball fans. Neither pitcher was as sharp as they usually are, but was managed to give the Stars ace just his third loss of the season. Crawford went all nine with 11 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout. Russ Combs was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and two driven in. Slim Bloom was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored, and RBI. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with a steal and run scored. John Dibblee was 1-for-4 with a double and RBI.

July 28th, 1931
New York Stars (59-43): 4
Chicago Cougars (58-44): 5

W: Steve Castellini (7-12)
L: Dick Richards (13-4)
SV: Claude Purvis (3)

We scored four quick runs in the first, but the Stars shaved off the lead little by little. We bended, but wouldn't break, and set up a four game sweep with a 5-4 win. Steve Castellini made a fine start, 8 innings with 5 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts with just half of the four runs allowed earned. Claude Purvis picked up the save, a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning. Harry Simmons was 3-for-4 with an RBI, but he made four errors at short. Fred Barrell was 1-for-4 with a base clearing double and run scored. Phil Vaughan was 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored. Tom Taylor was 2-for-4 with a run scored and driven in.

July 29th, 1931
New York Stars (59-44): 4
Chicago Cougars (59-44): 7

W: Max Wilder (11-10)
L: Mutt Pharr (8-7)


SSSSSSSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!

After a 7-4 win we swept the Stars right out of town and are now tied with them for second in the CA. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a double, RBI, and three runs scored. Vince York was 2-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI's. Bill Ashbaugh was 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch, walk, run scored, and RBI. Russ Combs was 1-for-3 with a steal, run scored, and a pair of walks. Max Wilder went all nine in the win, allowing 11 hits and 4 runs with a walk and 5 strikeouts.

July 30th, 1931
Chicago Cougars (59-45): 2
Toronto Wolves (42-62): 3

W: Ray Howk (8-14)
L: Claude Purvis (0-1)

Our road trip ended and we were off to Toronto for a home and home with the Wolves. We'd play two in Toronto before two in Chicago. Down 1-0 in the 9th, Fred Barrell drove two home with a double to give us a 2-1 lead. In the 9th, however, Claude Purvis couldn't hold on, and the Wolves won off a walk-off ground out. Purvis allowed 3 hits and 2 runs with a strikeout in 1.1 innings pitched. It ruined an excellent Dick Lyons start where he went 7 with 4 hits, just 1 run, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Barrell was 2-for-4 with the two run double. Bill Ashbaugh was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

July 31st, 1931
Chicago Cougars (60-45): 8
Toronto Wolves (42-63): 6

W: Claude Purvis (1-1)
L: Birdie Smith (7-13)

July will end with our 60th win on the season as we split the road part of the series with the Wolves. Claude Purvis found himself on the other side of the ledger, picking up the win after 2 perfect frames. Dick Leudtke made the start, but he allowed 11 hits and 6 runs (3 earned) with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. Bill Ashbaugh was 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, a run, and an RBI. John Kincaid was 3-for-6 with a double. Russ Combs was 3-for-6 with an RBI. Vince York was 2-for-4 with a double, sac-fly, 2 RBI's, and a run scored. Tom Taylor was 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI, and two runs scored. Fred Barrell was 2-for-5 with a run scored and driven in.

August 1st, 1931
Chicago Cougars (60-46): 2
Toronto Wolves (43-63): 5

W: Buddy Adams (7-4)
L: Jim Crawford (11-9)

We started out another month with another loss, as the Wolves took the opener 5-2. They managed to pile on 13 hits on Jim Crawford, who allowed 5 runs (4 earned) and a walk with just two strikeouts in the return home. Vince York was 1-for-3 with a walk and solo homer. Harry Simmons was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Russ Combs was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

August 2nd, 1931
Chicago Cougars (60-45): 3
Toronto Wolves (44-63): 2
13 Innings

W: Frank Williams (2-5)
L: Chick Meehan (3-1)

What a disappointment...

We sweep the Stars, but then let the Wolves take three out of four from us?

Even worse, we were up 2-1 in the 9th, but instead of going to Purvis for the final three outs, Castellini was kept in. He let them tie it up, and the Meehan let them win it in the 13th. Backup catcher with a 81 OPS+ Dick McGregor hit a walk-off single and the Wolves somehow swept us at home.

Vince York did all he could in this one, going 5-for-6 with a steal, 2 doubles, and 2 runs scored. Fred Barrell was 2-for-6 with 2 RBI's. Bill Ashbaugh was 1-for-4 with a double and two walks. Castellini managed to pitch 9 innings without walking or striking out a single hitter. He allowed 9 hits and 2 runs in what would have been a good start had it ended in the 8th. Claude Purvis pitched two perfect frames after, but Chick Meehan allowed a hit, a run, and 2 walks with a strikeout in 2 innings of his own.

Weekly Summary
This could have been such an amazing week. We swept the Stars, but then managed to let the Wolves take three of four from us in the home and home series. We should have been able to take all four, if not at least three of those games. What's worse is the Cannons (62-42) lost the last two games to Montreal, and we could have just been one and a half game out. Cleveland (41-64) will be in town for three before a much needed day off, and we cannot afford to throw these games away. We're sitting three and a half games out, but we should be right on Baltimore's tail.

All in all, July was an excellent month for us. After the poor 12-16 June, we were 20-10 in a month where we had just two off days. Even better, August is the exact same, just three off days on the 6th, 10th, and 28th. The schedule has been rough on us, but we have to find a way to power through it.

July was an excellent month for Dick Lyons, who was a perfect 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA (162 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. His bounce back has been huge for us this year, as he's 12-4 with a 3.34 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts in 156.1 innings across 21 starts. It's a much different statline then last year when he was 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA (98 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, and 72 strikeouts in 230.2 innings pitched. A big part of the success has been Lyons' jump in strikeouts, with his K/9 up seven points. He's also been benefited by a .299 BABIP, the lowest of his career. Some of that could be luck, but a lot could be the defensive upgrades in the outfield. Even though he's a ground baller, Lyons' H/9 have dropped from 12.1 last year to 10.2 this year, much more in line with his 1929 season (10.3). I'm hoping Lyons can keep up the pace as he has turned into an extremely reliable arm.

I've been giving some at bats to Rule-5 pick Phil Vaughan and I might just have to keep on giving them to him. He's hitting an impressive .365/.478/.554 (163 OPS+) with 3 homers and 11 RBI's in just 90 plate appearances. In a smaller 27 at bats sample in July, he's hitting an insane .519/.594/.593 (204 OPS+) with 3 RBI's. It's hard to find a spot for him in the lineup, but I've been giving him starts at first with Bill Ashbaugh moving over to second. He's actually held his own at second, but he's developed into a really good first basemen. The bat hasn't been there, as he's hitting just .316/.365/.436 (104 OPS+) with 7 homers, 10 steals, and 57 RBI's in 477 plate appearances. He might see a few starts lost to Vaughan if he can't turn things back around.

A little bad news is Steve Castellini has seen his fastball speed drop again. He's down from 87-89 to 86-88, a lot slower then the 91-93 when he was acquired. I knew trading for someone his age was a risk, but the fans love him and he was a great boost to interest and attendance. He did have two good starts this week, but with the off day after the Foresters series, he won't see a start this week. After that off day we'll be back in Toronto (44-64) where we'll look for redemption. We have a long road trip ahead of us, and we really need to beat the bad teams.

Injury Report
RP Roger Arnold (A Lincoln Legislators): Herniated Disc (4 days)
2B Tom Handy (C La Crosse Lions): Activated from the DL
CF Flip Lafferty (C La Crosse Lions): Fractured thumb (4 weeks)

Minor League Report

1B Jim Fisher (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Fisher spent just 24 games in Mobile before his promotion to Milwaukee, but he's been even better in AAA then AA. Fresh of a Player of the July award, he's hitting .319/.377/.553 (139 OPS+) with 11 homers and 56 RBI's in exactly 300 plate appearances. His July numbers were crazing, hitting .522 with a homer and 6 RBI's in 23 at bats. Fisher was an undrafted free agent who now ranks 11th in our organization and 184th in the league. At just 23, he's had a rather quick rise up the ladder in recent years as just two seasons ago he was in A ball. Fisher is eligible for the Rule-5 draft and will be protected for sure, but he might get a few at bats later in the year.

CF Ken Allen (A Lincoln Legislators): Another Player of the Month was 23-year-old Ken Allen. The former 4th Rounder hit .632 with a homer and 5 RBI's in a productive month. This is just his second pro season, and he's hitting .289/.333/.411 (115 OPS+) with 9 homers, 13 steals, and 44 RBI's in 391 plate appearances. Unfortunately for Allen, he plays the same position as top prospect Joe Johnson who's right above him in Mobile. Both he and Johnson will be on their way up, and Allen will get his first shot at AA. Allen doesn't have nearly as much upside as Johnson, but he's a good enough defender that I want to try to keep him in center. He's got big league potential and should fill a major league lineup, it just may not be ours.