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ayaghmour2 · 07-27-2020, 09:12 PM

April 12th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (1-0): 7
Cleveland Foresters (0-1): 3

W: Max Wilder (1-0)
L: Karl Johnson (0-1)

BASEBALL IS BACK!!!

We started our quest for a repeat on the road with four games against the last place Cleveland Foresters who drafted Fred and Tom's brother Harry with the first pick in the December draft. We piled on 13 hits and 7 runs, and took the first game of 1932 7-3. Tom Taylor had a huge game, 3-for-4 with 2 homers, a walk, and 4 RBI's. Russ Combs was 3-for-5 with a steal and triple. Bill Ashbaugh was 3-for-5 with a triple and RBI. Vince York was 3-for-5 with a double, 3 runs, and an RBI. Max Wilder, who started Game 6 of the World Series, made the Opening Day start, going all nine with 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), a walk, and 7 strikeouts in a really good first outing of the year.

April 13th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (2-0): 8
Cleveland Foresters (0-2): 7

W: Jim Crawford (1-0)
L: Eddie Gray (0-1)
SV: Claude Purvis (1)

This game was far closer, as the Foresters got to Jim Crawford with a five run sixth. They tied the game at seven in the 8th, but we got a go ahead run in the 9th and held on to escape with an 8-7 win. Crawford still went 8, allowing 7 runs (5 earned) with 8 hits, 3 walks, and just one strikeout. He was also 2-for-4 with an RBI. Claude Purvis picked up the save, striking out two with a walk and a hit in a scoreless, albeit scary, ninth inning. Bill Ashbaugh was 3-for-5 with 2 runs, an RBI, and a triple. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a triple, run scored, and RBI. Russ Combs was 2-for-5 with a homer, 2 runs, a walk, and double. Fred Barrell was 2-for-4 with a double, walk, and RBI. Cy Bryant was 1-for-3 with a double, run, 2 walks, and 2 RBI's.

April 14th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (2-1): 4
Cleveland Foresters (1-2): 8

W: Ben Turner (1-0)
L: Dick Leudtke (0-1)

I knew we wouldn't go undefeated all season, but our first loss of the year came in a 8-4 defeat at the hands of former Cougar farmhand Ben Turner, who went all nine in the victory. Dick Leudtke had a shaky first start, going 6 with 9 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Bill Kline tossed two perfect innings of relief. Russ Combs was 2-for-5 with a steal, run scored, and RBI. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tom Taylor was 1-for-3 with a steal, walk, and run scored. Cy Bryant was 1-for-4 with a steal and run scored.

April 15th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (3-1): 6
Cleveland Foresters (1-3): 2

W: Dick Lyons (1-0)
L: Carl Bragg (0-1)

We battled back in the finale, and won our first series of the year with a nice 6-2 victory. Russ Combs continued his hot start, going 3-for-4 with a homer, sac-fly, and 2 runs scored. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with a run scored and sac-fly. Cy Bryant was 1-for-3 with a double, walk, run scored, and RBI. Jim Kyle made the first start for any of our bench players, and was 1-for-4 with a double. Dick Lyons had an excellent start, 7 innings with 6 hits, a run, walk, and 4 strikeouts. Gus Cain pitched the final two, allowing 3 hits and a run with a strikeout.

April 16th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (4-1): 7
Toronto Wolves (3-2): 3

W: Tommy Russel (1-0)
L: Bernie Johnson (0-1)

We continued on the road, and would head to Toronto to face the second to last place Wolves in a three game set. We piled on 13 hits to take the opener 7-3. Russ Combs continued to hit everything, going 4-for-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a triple and RBI. Tom Taylor was 3-for-4 with a run scored and driven in. Harry Simmons was 1-for-4 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. Tommy Russel made his first start since 1930 and first appearance since last April, going all nine like he does with 8 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks,and 3 strikeouts.

April 17th, 1932
Chicago Cougars (5-1): 8
Toronto Wolves (3-3): 7

W: Max Wilder (2-0)
L: Bert Sweet (1-1)
SV: Claude Purvis (2)

I'm sensing a pattern here: win 7-3 in the opener and then win by one run in the second game. I'm hoping we snap the pattern in the finale, but for now it's nice to enjoy the 5-1 week. Tom Taylor was 2-for-3 with a walk, triple, double, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a run scored and driven in. Russ Combs was 1-for-4 with a double, walk, run, and RBI. Mike Smith was 2-for-4. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI. Max Wilder allowed 6 runs, but only half of them were earned. He went 8 with 7 hits, 6 walks, and just one strikeout. Claude Purvis picked up another save, this time with a perfect ninth inning.

Stars of the Week
R. Combs : 28 AB, 15 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .536 AVG, 1.477 OPS
T. Taylor : 23 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .478 AVG, 1.405 OPS
B. Ashbaugh : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.104 OPS\

Awards
Player of the Week: SS Russ Combs

Weekly Summary
What a week for Russ Combs! Arguably our the best shortstop in the league and our second best hitter, it's really nice seeing this hot start for him. He's finally healthy for Opening Week, and I think he mixed in three years of hitting into one, hitting .536/.548/.929 with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 steals, 2 homers, and 9 RBI's in 31 trips to the plate. Obviously, he's not going to keep this up, but when he's healthy he's one of the best hitters in the league. He hit 16 homers as a rookie, but from 1929-1932 he has just 17. I think he's somewhere in between, a reliable double digit home run hitter who also offers 20+ steals in a full season. Of course, staying healthy has been a problem for him, but that's a problem for another week, as all I can do is be happy with him now.

He overshadowed Tom Taylor's excellent week, which is nice considering how he basically had a four month slump to start last season. Again, it's just a week, but he's hitting a robust .478/.536/.870 with 2 homers, 10 RBI's, and a steal, double, and triple. Him and Combs have already combined to be worth 1.8 wins above replacement.

We'll finish the three game set with Toronto, but would be off Tuesday to travel home. Our home opener will be against the Foresters (3-3) who are still in Cleveland hosting the Sailors (1-5), our next opponent. We'd see each of them for four games and then we finish April with four more against the Wolves. If the first week is telling, we have a really easy April, and perhaps we can distance ourselves from the pack early on. The only other 5-1 teams are the Stars and the FA leading Keystones.

Injury Report
SP Steve Castellini (FABL Chicago Cougars): Sent to AA Mobile for a rehab assignment

Minor League Report
While C ball has gotten underway, I used today to make my final roster cuts and trim my rosters down. I like hanging onto a few players in DFA in case of injury. Another reason is to help make sure younger guys don't throw too many innings as most of these filler guys are arms. A few notable releases were former Cougars Charlie Gamble, Cal Bartlett, and Lenny Hopkins, but most of the guys cut were career minor leaguers.

Amateur Report

2B Johnny Charles (Little Rock HS Pioneers): This year we have an extremely deep high school class, and if Charles was in the most recent draft, he would have easily gone before Homer Ray. This year, he may fall out of the top five rounds, but he had a big 5-for-5 game to start to turn around his season. He hit .349/.425/.461 (160 OPS+) last year, but his line has slipped down to .328/.403/.484 (120 OPS+), but he doubled his homer total (2) and needs just 2 more RBI's to pass his 14 RBI's from last season. Charles has a really nice swing and an excellent eye, making him really hard to pitch to as he can hit any strike and he'll take most balls. He's got to work on his defense, but his bat can carry him to a FABL organization.

CF Whit Williams (Henry Hudson Explorers): For a team stacked with top prospects, the Explorers have three elite junior prospects, two pitchers, and center fielder Whit Williams. Williams is extremely fast with excellent range out in center and he's developing into one of the better defensive center fielders. He's got excellent contact, he's already hit three homers in about 2/5th of the season. He's got an excellent .396/.481/.637 (170 OPS+) with 4 steals and 13 RBI's. His career line is weighted down by an awful sophomore slump, but he's really closer to his .396/.444/.631 (168 OPS+) line as a freshman.

1B Bill Moore (Lubbock State Hawks): One of the premier power hitters in the college ranks, Bill Moore was just a homer short of 20 last year, and he's up to 9 with 29 RBI's in 21 games. That's not even the impressive part. He's hitting almost .500, batting an astronomical .494/.583/.929 (258 OPS+). He just flat out hits, with OPS+ of 196 and 239 as a freshman and sophomore and a career .433/.511/.810 (255 OPS+) line with 41 homers and 145 RBI's in 571 trips to the plate. I hate drafting first basemen early, but it would be really hard to pass Moore up if he's available when I pick in the first round.

3B Ken Mayhugh (Liberty College Bells): After just decent seasons as a freshman and sophomore, the Liberty College third basemen Ken Mayhugh has exploded in his draft year. He's hitting .424/.485/.793 (217 OPS+) with 8 homers and 24 RBI's in just over 100 plate appearances. Coming into this season he hit just 10 homers, but the power looks real. He's got a really good swing and makes consistent contact, so if he truly did add power in the offseason, he's got the potential to to handle the hot corner for an FABL team. He's got a really nice glove and good range as well, so the future looks bright for the youngster. He was named Player of the Week in the NE, going 9-for-19 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's.

SP Lefty Allen (Hartford HS Blue Sox): If I could have any pitching prospect in all of the drafts we've had so far, it would be Lefty Allen. Why Allen? Well, I discovered him as a Sophomore in just his second start of four that year. Here's what I wrote about him the week that ended on May 11th:

LHP Lefty Allen (Hartford HS Blue Sox): It was only his second high school start, but Lefty Allen might already be the best high school pitcher I've ever seen. The 16-year-old just struck out 17(!) in a 6-hit shutout. The only Cougar with more strikeouts then 17 all season is Max Wilder. And he's third in the CA. He's a groundballer with four pitches that can generate a ton of strikeouts. He just throws in the mid 80s, so I can't even begin to imagine how hard he can throw if he adds a little height or weight as he ages. I'll be following this southpaw very closely.

Yeah, he struck out 17 hitters in a game where most pitchers will be lucky to even get close to double digits. Add on to that, his now career numbers are 8-3 with a 1.96 ERA (201 ERA+), 1.02 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts. What's even more impressive is he does all this while throwing in the low to mid 80s. If he gets just a slight velocity boost, he goes from best pitcher of his generation to the greatest pitcher of all time.

Now, we're obviously way too good to have a chance to draft him as he's rated the #2 prospect out of high school and there's no way he falls out of the top five, but what a dream it would be to have this youngster wearing a Cougar uniform for years to come. Whoever gets him is going to be very lucky as the future looks florescent for the 18-year-old.

07-27-2020, 09:12 PM	#173
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 1: April 11th-April 17th April 12th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (1-0): 7 Cleveland Foresters (0-1): 3 W: Max Wilder (1-0) L: Karl Johnson (0-1) BASEBALL IS BACK!!! We started our quest for a repeat on the road with four games against the last place Cleveland Foresters who drafted Fred and Tom's brother Harry with the first pick in the December draft. We piled on 13 hits and 7 runs, and took the first game of 1932 7-3. Tom Taylor had a huge game, 3-for-4 with 2 homers, a walk, and 4 RBI's. Russ Combs was 3-for-5 with a steal and triple. Bill Ashbaugh was 3-for-5 with a triple and RBI. Vince York was 3-for-5 with a double, 3 runs, and an RBI. Max Wilder, who started Game 6 of the World Series, made the Opening Day start, going all nine with 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), a walk, and 7 strikeouts in a really good first outing of the year. April 13th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (2-0): 8 Cleveland Foresters (0-2): 7 W: Jim Crawford (1-0) L: Eddie Gray (0-1) SV: Claude Purvis (1) This game was far closer, as the Foresters got to Jim Crawford with a five run sixth. They tied the game at seven in the 8th, but we got a go ahead run in the 9th and held on to escape with an 8-7 win. Crawford still went 8, allowing 7 runs (5 earned) with 8 hits, 3 walks, and just one strikeout. He was also 2-for-4 with an RBI. Claude Purvis picked up the save, striking out two with a walk and a hit in a scoreless, albeit scary, ninth inning. Bill Ashbaugh was 3-for-5 with 2 runs, an RBI, and a triple. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a triple, run scored, and RBI. Russ Combs was 2-for-5 with a homer, 2 runs, a walk, and double. Fred Barrell was 2-for-4 with a double, walk, and RBI. Cy Bryant was 1-for-3 with a double, run, 2 walks, and 2 RBI's. April 14th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (2-1): 4 Cleveland Foresters (1-2): 8 W: Ben Turner (1-0) L: Dick Leudtke (0-1) I knew we wouldn't go undefeated all season, but our first loss of the year came in a 8-4 defeat at the hands of former Cougar farmhand Ben Turner, who went all nine in the victory. Dick Leudtke had a shaky first start, going 6 with 9 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Bill Kline tossed two perfect innings of relief. Russ Combs was 2-for-5 with a steal, run scored, and RBI. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tom Taylor was 1-for-3 with a steal, walk, and run scored. Cy Bryant was 1-for-4 with a steal and run scored. April 15th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (3-1): 6 Cleveland Foresters (1-3): 2 W: Dick Lyons (1-0) L: Carl Bragg (0-1) We battled back in the finale, and won our first series of the year with a nice 6-2 victory. Russ Combs continued his hot start, going 3-for-4 with a homer, sac-fly, and 2 runs scored. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with a run scored and sac-fly. Cy Bryant was 1-for-3 with a double, walk, run scored, and RBI. Jim Kyle made the first start for any of our bench players, and was 1-for-4 with a double. Dick Lyons had an excellent start, 7 innings with 6 hits, a run, walk, and 4 strikeouts. Gus Cain pitched the final two, allowing 3 hits and a run with a strikeout. April 16th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (4-1): 7 Toronto Wolves (3-2): 3 W: Tommy Russel (1-0) L: Bernie Johnson (0-1) We continued on the road, and would head to Toronto to face the second to last place Wolves in a three game set. We piled on 13 hits to take the opener 7-3. Russ Combs continued to hit everything, going 4-for-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a triple and RBI. Tom Taylor was 3-for-4 with a run scored and driven in. Harry Simmons was 1-for-4 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. Tommy Russel made his first start since 1930 and first appearance since last April, going all nine like he does with 8 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks,and 3 strikeouts. April 17th, 1932 Chicago Cougars (5-1): 8 Toronto Wolves (3-3): 7 W: Max Wilder (2-0) L: Bert Sweet (1-1) SV: Claude Purvis (2) I'm sensing a pattern here: win 7-3 in the opener and then win by one run in the second game. I'm hoping we snap the pattern in the finale, but for now it's nice to enjoy the 5-1 week. Tom Taylor was 2-for-3 with a walk, triple, double, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's. John Kincaid was 3-for-5 with a run scored and driven in. Russ Combs was 1-for-4 with a double, walk, run, and RBI. Mike Smith was 2-for-4. Bill Ashbaugh was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI. Max Wilder allowed 6 runs, but only half of them were earned. He went 8 with 7 hits, 6 walks, and just one strikeout. Claude Purvis picked up another save, this time with a perfect ninth inning. Stars of the Week R. Combs : 28 AB, 15 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .536 AVG, 1.477 OPS T. Taylor : 23 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .478 AVG, 1.405 OPS B. Ashbaugh : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.104 OPS\ Awards Player of the Week: SS Russ Combs Weekly Summary What a week for Russ Combs! Arguably our the best shortstop in the league and our second best hitter, it's really nice seeing this hot start for him. He's finally healthy for Opening Week, and I think he mixed in three years of hitting into one, hitting .536/.548/.929 with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 steals, 2 homers, and 9 RBI's in 31 trips to the plate. Obviously, he's not going to keep this up, but when he's healthy he's one of the best hitters in the league. He hit 16 homers as a rookie, but from 1929-1932 he has just 17. I think he's somewhere in between, a reliable double digit home run hitter who also offers 20+ steals in a full season. Of course, staying healthy has been a problem for him, but that's a problem for another week, as all I can do is be happy with him now. He overshadowed Tom Taylor's excellent week, which is nice considering how he basically had a four month slump to start last season. Again, it's just a week, but he's hitting a robust .478/.536/.870 with 2 homers, 10 RBI's, and a steal, double, and triple. Him and Combs have already combined to be worth 1.8 wins above replacement. We'll finish the three game set with Toronto, but would be off Tuesday to travel home. Our home opener will be against the Foresters (3-3) who are still in Cleveland hosting the Sailors (1-5), our next opponent. We'd see each of them for four games and then we finish April with four more against the Wolves. If the first week is telling, we have a really easy April, and perhaps we can distance ourselves from the pack early on. The only other 5-1 teams are the Stars and the FA leading Keystones. Injury Report SP Steve Castellini (FABL Chicago Cougars): Sent to AA Mobile for a rehab assignment Minor League Report While C ball has gotten underway, I used today to make my final roster cuts and trim my rosters down. I like hanging onto a few players in DFA in case of injury. Another reason is to help make sure younger guys don't throw too many innings as most of these filler guys are arms. A few notable releases were former Cougars Charlie Gamble, Cal Bartlett, and Lenny Hopkins, but most of the guys cut were career minor leaguers. Amateur Report 2B Johnny Charles (Little Rock HS Pioneers): This year we have an extremely deep high school class, and if Charles was in the most recent draft, he would have easily gone before Homer Ray. This year, he may fall out of the top five rounds, but he had a big 5-for-5 game to start to turn around his season. He hit .349/.425/.461 (160 OPS+) last year, but his line has slipped down to .328/.403/.484 (120 OPS+), but he doubled his homer total (2) and needs just 2 more RBI's to pass his 14 RBI's from last season. Charles has a really nice swing and an excellent eye, making him really hard to pitch to as he can hit any strike and he'll take most balls. He's got to work on his defense, but his bat can carry him to a FABL organization. CF Whit Williams (Henry Hudson Explorers): For a team stacked with top prospects, the Explorers have three elite junior prospects, two pitchers, and center fielder Whit Williams. Williams is extremely fast with excellent range out in center and he's developing into one of the better defensive center fielders. He's got excellent contact, he's already hit three homers in about 2/5th of the season. He's got an excellent .396/.481/.637 (170 OPS+) with 4 steals and 13 RBI's. His career line is weighted down by an awful sophomore slump, but he's really closer to his .396/.444/.631 (168 OPS+) line as a freshman. 1B Bill Moore (Lubbock State Hawks): One of the premier power hitters in the college ranks, Bill Moore was just a homer short of 20 last year, and he's up to 9 with 29 RBI's in 21 games. That's not even the impressive part. He's hitting almost .500, batting an astronomical .494/.583/.929 (258 OPS+). He just flat out hits, with OPS+ of 196 and 239 as a freshman and sophomore and a career .433/.511/.810 (255 OPS+) line with 41 homers and 145 RBI's in 571 trips to the plate. I hate drafting first basemen early, but it would be really hard to pass Moore up if he's available when I pick in the first round. 3B Ken Mayhugh (Liberty College Bells): After just decent seasons as a freshman and sophomore, the Liberty College third basemen Ken Mayhugh has exploded in his draft year. He's hitting .424/.485/.793 (217 OPS+) with 8 homers and 24 RBI's in just over 100 plate appearances. Coming into this season he hit just 10 homers, but the power looks real. He's got a really good swing and makes consistent contact, so if he truly did add power in the offseason, he's got the potential to to handle the hot corner for an FABL team. He's got a really nice glove and good range as well, so the future looks bright for the youngster. He was named Player of the Week in the NE, going 9-for-19 with 3 homers and 6 RBI's. SP Lefty Allen (Hartford HS Blue Sox): If I could have any pitching prospect in all of the drafts we've had so far, it would be Lefty Allen. Why Allen? Well, I discovered him as a Sophomore in just his second start of four that year. Here's what I wrote about him the week that ended on May 11th: LHP Lefty Allen (Hartford HS Blue Sox): It was only his second high school start, but Lefty Allen might already be the best high school pitcher I've ever seen. The 16-year-old just struck out 17(!) in a 6-hit shutout. The only Cougar with more strikeouts then 17 all season is Max Wilder. And he's third in the CA. He's a groundballer with four pitches that can generate a ton of strikeouts. He just throws in the mid 80s, so I can't even begin to imagine how hard he can throw if he adds a little height or weight as he ages. I'll be following this southpaw very closely. Yeah, he struck out 17 hitters in a game where most pitchers will be lucky to even get close to double digits. Add on to that, his now career numbers are 8-3 with a 1.96 ERA (201 ERA+), 1.02 WHIP, and 154 strikeouts. What's even more impressive is he does all this while throwing in the low to mid 80s. If he gets just a slight velocity boost, he goes from best pitcher of his generation to the greatest pitcher of all time. Now, we're obviously way too good to have a chance to draft him as he's rated the #2 prospect out of high school and there's no way he falls out of the top five, but what a dream it would be to have this youngster wearing a Cougar uniform for years to come. Whoever gets him is going to be very lucky as the future looks florescent for the 18-year-old.