[ayaghmour2]

Baseball is back Cougar fans! After a disappointing 1934 season that saw us spend most of the season double digit games out of first place, I'd like to say that 1935 will be much different. But I can't... Maybe if Tommy Wilcox was healthy I'd convince myself to run a modified four man rotation and potentially we could compete, but that is not the case. I'd be lucky if he pitched a single inning this entire season. There is a lot of hope for optimism, as our farm system is better then ever and ranked as the gem of the FABL. Finally, some of the better prospects are approaching the majors too. Rich Langton and Ray Moore both got to AAA last season and Leo Mitchell is expected to join them. Most of the pitching and a few of the hitters like Billy Hunter are still years off, but I added big league ready talent too in Hank Spencer, Ollie Page, Chink Stickels, and Bert Wilson who could help the team this year. Still, a lot of the same faces from the lineup returns.

I have a full 40 man roster, so I'll get to bring up to 20 non roster guys. I won't cover everyone coming up, but I am bringing up top prospects Leo Mitchell, Rich Langton, Carlos Montes, and Ray Moore. In total, we'll have 54 players in camp. We also got good news on the Tommy Wilcox front, and he should be able to begin throwing again in four months. After a rehab assignment, perhaps he'd be ready for a late season pennant race in August or September. My scout still likes him and he still ranks as the 5th best FABL pitcher, so perhaps he'll be able to survive this awful injury. I'm hoping for the best, but still preparing for the worst.

I won't be using as many backups as usual as I do have some positions to work out. With seven games this week I'm going to use seven starting pitchers. Ideally I'll give each of my top three a start a week so they can get ready for the season. Then in the lineup, I'll be teaching Joe Masters first base and giving Tom Taylor as many reps as possible out in center. Bill Ashbaugh and Russ Combs will share time at second while Ollie Page and Pete Asher will get time at short. They will also play a little second with Ashbaugh getting some reps in the outfield or at third. I'll also give a starts to Mitchell, Langton, and Montes as well. I'm excited to be playing fake baseball again, and ready for another exciting season.