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ayaghmour2 · 12-13-2020, 01:15 PM

This is the 300th Chicago Cougar post! For a special little celebration, I present the Cougars that Never Were:

I love trading in Out of the Park. I always like finding players on other teams that either are in a tough situation or underutilized and using them how I think they should. A lot of time it works. Ignoring this season (since I guess there still is a lot of time to go), most of the trade acquisitions have flourished. Dick Leudtke and Max Wilder have had their best seasons in Chicago while guys like Cy Bryant, John Kincaid and Bobby Sprague, and Tom Taylor worth 4, 5, and 6 WAR per season since making the move to Chicago. Tommy Wilcox absolutely sucked for three months, but less then two years after being traded he's already taken home an Al Allen award named after the former Cougar himself.

But even with all the good trades, there really have been a lot of talented Cougar prospects to flourish somewhere else. Whether that's John Lawson, Dean Astle, or one of the three studs with Brooklyn, I've let a lot of good players go. So I decided it would be worth seeing how the 1934 Chicago Cougars could have looked had I never made a trade:

To start, here are all the current Chicago Cougars I have traded for (including independent or minor league Rule-5):
Arnold Bower
Cy Bryant
Jim Crawford
Don Grossman
Lou Kelly
John Kincaid
Doc Love
Dick Leudtke
Claude Ramsey
Bobby Sprague
Mike Taylor
Tom Taylor
Tommy Wilcox
Max Wilder

That leaves us with:
Bill Ashbaugh
Slim Bloom
Bert Harrison
Clyde Hinzman (technically)
Bill Kline
Herb Lowman
Ace McSherry
Chick Meehan

And other 40-Man players:
Art Black
Norm Stewart
Gordie Thompson
Johnny Walker
Pete Sposito
Phil Vaughan
Harry Simmons
Lee Sparks
Forrest Sylvester
Ken Allen

Obviously, I have a ton of traded players I will get to add, but here is our current starting lineup and partial pitching staff. I had to consult AAA for a little help with certain positions:

C: Ken Wyatt
1B: Phil Vaughan
2B: Bill Ashbaugh
3B: Slim Bloom
SS: Clyde Hinzman
LF: Ken Allen
CF: Erv Firth
RF: Bert Harrison

SP: Dick Lyons
SP: Herb Lowman
SP: Norm Stewart
SP: Johnny Walker
SP: Art Black
RP: Chick Meehan
RP: Ace McSherry

My bet is this team would win 50 games max. So with all the trades, who do we get back?

Ed Rhoden
Buck Putnam
Jim Hatfield
John Barnard
Joe Rainbow
Ben Curtin
Dean Astle
Jose Serna (I lose him because I got him in the independent draft)
Lou Gaffin
Earl Johnson
Woodie Dudley
Joe Johnson
Mel Leonard (technically I lose him because I traded for the pick that became him)
Fred Barrell
Tom Barrell
Mike Murphy
George DeForest
Jim Stevens (I lose him because I traded for him)
Mack Deal
George Jordan (I lose him because I traded for him)

Of course, there are also some other prospects/players I traded away in past deals:

Mike Knight
Billy Marshall
1933 5th Round Pick: Dan Everett
Charlie Reed
Buck Waldrop
Jim Kyle
Vince York
Woodie Dudley
Phil Whitehead
Cotton Taylor
Ben Turner
Heinie Bretz
Tex Young
Gene Ross
Ben Richardson
Pat Schuring (I lose him because I traded for him)
Harry Parker
Rabbit Forrest
Barney Green
Buzz Ham
Bob Worley
Bert Houston
Phil English
Bill Ross
Rocky Edwards
Joe Snider
John Lawson
Joe Ward

Here's the best roster I can come up with:

Catchers
Fred Barrell
Jim Kyle

Infielders
Jim Hatfield
Bill Ashbaugh
Rabbit Forrest
Slim Bloom
Mack Deal
Clyde Hinzman
Joe Lawson

Outfielders
Vince York
Joe Johnson
Billy Marshall
Joe Snider
Bret Harrison
Bob Worley

Pitchers
Dick Lyons
Dean Astle
Tom Barrell
Mike Murphy
Bill Ross
Ben Turner
Chick Meehan
Bill Kline

This team actually looks pretty good. And that rotation! You got the veterans Lyons and Ross with a trio of exciting young arms in Dean Astle, Tom Barrell, and Mike Murphy. There's a ton of young arms I didn't use for the rotation including Turner, Heine Bretz, and George DeForest. The offense boasts a World Series MVP, the Cougars all time home run leader, and a 2-time MVP winner. Those would be Fred Barrell, Bill Ashbaugh, and John Lawson. Billy Marshall and Jim Hatfield are both Baltimore rookies who have started all season and are really close to average offensively. Vince York has been a reliable hitter and Bob Worley broke out at 24 last year. Rabbit Forrest has been a mainstay in the Keystones lineup lately and between Slim Bloom, Mack Deal, and Clyde Hinzman I can rotate them between second and short (as well as third if needed). There is a lot of youth an d a lot of talent, but I am a little relieved that this team is not better then what we have now. Sure, we suck right now and this team probably could finish over .500, but this team is not better then the actual team.

But man...

If I could have found a way to not trade John Lawson and Dean Astle...

I know trading Barrell was the only way to ever get Wilcox, so at least I can live with that one.

But man...

I spent about 30 minutes today trying to fiure out who to bat 3rd and 4th and if I had John Lawson it would just be so easy! He bats 3rd! He's amazing! He's not hitting .258/.324/.380 (78 OPS+) like Mike Taylor! He's hit his way to two MVP's! And his .327/.391/.512 (136 OPS+) batting line this year is the worst of his career! That's a best for literally everyone who didn't win MVP on my team.

Oh well... I traded my way to a championship, traded myself back to second place, traded back to a pennant, and then traded out of the race. At least it's always exciting to be a Cougar fan!

One last little note. I'm not sure how, but I actually have a winning record as the Cougars GM (641-635) despite finishing in 7th or 8th in half of my eight seasons (this is year nine). Most of us Figment GM's are legendary (mostly because most of us have 800+ total games. 9 of the 16 current GM's have 1,200ish games which is how consistent figment has been. We rank 5th in terms of winning percentage in that group. The next five all have 600 or more games (4-5 seasons) which is double every retired GM except the former Stars owner who just stepped down last year after being with us since the beginning.

A little "WAR" comparison:
Actual 1934 Cougars: 12.5
Fake 1934 Cougars: 18.2

To be fair, their WAR should be higher since they have much more at bats/innings (6 SPs, 13 guys with 20+ games vs 5 SPs, 10 guys with 20+ games)

12-13-2020, 01:15 PM	#301
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,013	The Cougars that Never Were This is the 300th Chicago Cougar post! For a special little celebration, I present the Cougars that Never Were: I love trading in Out of the Park. I always like finding players on other teams that either are in a tough situation or underutilized and using them how I think they should. A lot of time it works. Ignoring this season (since I guess there still is a lot of time to go), most of the trade acquisitions have flourished. Dick Leudtke and Max Wilder have had their best seasons in Chicago while guys like Cy Bryant, John Kincaid and Bobby Sprague, and Tom Taylor worth 4, 5, and 6 WAR per season since making the move to Chicago. Tommy Wilcox absolutely sucked for three months, but less then two years after being traded he's already taken home an Al Allen award named after the former Cougar himself. But even with all the good trades, there really have been a lot of talented Cougar prospects to flourish somewhere else. Whether that's John Lawson, Dean Astle, or one of the three studs with Brooklyn, I've let a lot of good players go. So I decided it would be worth seeing how the 1934 Chicago Cougars could have looked had I never made a trade: To start, here are all the current Chicago Cougars I have traded for (including independent or minor league Rule-5): Arnold Bower Cy Bryant Jim Crawford Don Grossman Lou Kelly John Kincaid Doc Love Dick Leudtke Claude Ramsey Bobby Sprague Mike Taylor Tom Taylor Tommy Wilcox Max Wilder That leaves us with: Bill Ashbaugh Slim Bloom Bert Harrison Clyde Hinzman (technically) Bill Kline Herb Lowman Ace McSherry Chick Meehan And other 40-Man players: Art Black Norm Stewart Gordie Thompson Johnny Walker Pete Sposito Phil Vaughan Harry Simmons Lee Sparks Forrest Sylvester Ken Allen Obviously, I have a ton of traded players I will get to add, but here is our current starting lineup and partial pitching staff. I had to consult AAA for a little help with certain positions: C: Ken Wyatt 1B: Phil Vaughan 2B: Bill Ashbaugh 3B: Slim Bloom SS: Clyde Hinzman LF: Ken Allen CF: Erv Firth RF: Bert Harrison SP: Dick Lyons SP: Herb Lowman SP: Norm Stewart SP: Johnny Walker SP: Art Black RP: Chick Meehan RP: Ace McSherry My bet is this team would win 50 games max. So with all the trades, who do we get back? Ed Rhoden Buck Putnam Jim Hatfield John Barnard Joe Rainbow Ben Curtin Dean Astle Jose Serna (I lose him because I got him in the independent draft) Lou Gaffin Earl Johnson Woodie Dudley Joe Johnson Mel Leonard (technically I lose him because I traded for the pick that became him) Fred Barrell Tom Barrell Mike Murphy George DeForest Jim Stevens (I lose him because I traded for him) Mack Deal George Jordan (I lose him because I traded for him) Of course, there are also some other prospects/players I traded away in past deals: Mike Knight Billy Marshall 1933 5th Round Pick: Dan Everett Charlie Reed Buck Waldrop Jim Kyle Vince York Woodie Dudley Phil Whitehead Cotton Taylor Ben Turner Heinie Bretz Tex Young Gene Ross Ben Richardson Pat Schuring (I lose him because I traded for him) Harry Parker Rabbit Forrest Barney Green Buzz Ham Bob Worley Bert Houston Phil English Bill Ross Rocky Edwards Joe Snider John Lawson Joe Ward Here's the best roster I can come up with: Catchers Fred Barrell Jim Kyle Infielders Jim Hatfield Bill Ashbaugh Rabbit Forrest Slim Bloom Mack Deal Clyde Hinzman Joe Lawson Outfielders Vince York Joe Johnson Billy Marshall Joe Snider Bret Harrison Bob Worley Pitchers Dick Lyons Dean Astle Tom Barrell Mike Murphy Bill Ross Ben Turner Chick Meehan Bill Kline This team actually looks pretty good. And that rotation! You got the veterans Lyons and Ross with a trio of exciting young arms in Dean Astle, Tom Barrell, and Mike Murphy. There's a ton of young arms I didn't use for the rotation including Turner, Heine Bretz, and George DeForest. The offense boasts a World Series MVP, the Cougars all time home run leader, and a 2-time MVP winner. Those would be Fred Barrell, Bill Ashbaugh, and John Lawson. Billy Marshall and Jim Hatfield are both Baltimore rookies who have started all season and are really close to average offensively. Vince York has been a reliable hitter and Bob Worley broke out at 24 last year. Rabbit Forrest has been a mainstay in the Keystones lineup lately and between Slim Bloom, Mack Deal, and Clyde Hinzman I can rotate them between second and short (as well as third if needed). There is a lot of youth an d a lot of talent, but I am a little relieved that this team is not better then what we have now. Sure, we suck right now and this team probably could finish over .500, but this team is not better then the actual team. But man... If I could have found a way to not trade John Lawson and Dean Astle... I know trading Barrell was the only way to ever get Wilcox, so at least I can live with that one. But man... I spent about 30 minutes today trying to fiure out who to bat 3rd and 4th and if I had John Lawson it would just be so easy! He bats 3rd! He's amazing! He's not hitting .258/.324/.380 (78 OPS+) like Mike Taylor! He's hit his way to two MVP's! And his .327/.391/.512 (136 OPS+) batting line this year is the worst of his career! That's a best for literally everyone who didn't win MVP on my team. Oh well... I traded my way to a championship, traded myself back to second place, traded back to a pennant, and then traded out of the race. At least it's always exciting to be a Cougar fan! One last little note. I'm not sure how, but I actually have a winning record as the Cougars GM (641-635) despite finishing in 7th or 8th in half of my eight seasons (this is year nine). Most of us Figment GM's are legendary (mostly because most of us have 800+ total games. 9 of the 16 current GM's have 1,200ish games which is how consistent figment has been. We rank 5th in terms of winning percentage in that group. The next five all have 600 or more games (4-5 seasons) which is double every retired GM except the former Stars owner who just stepped down last year after being with us since the beginning. A little "WAR" comparison: Actual 1934 Cougars: 12.5 Fake 1934 Cougars: 18.2 To be fair, their WAR should be higher since they have much more at bats/innings (6 SPs, 13 guys with 20+ games vs 5 SPs, 10 guys with 20+ games) Attached Images Last edited by ayaghmour2; 12-13-2020 at 01:20 PM.