[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 21-24 (5th, 9 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 28 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .464 AVG, 1.117 OPS
Lou Kelly : 28 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.089 OPS
John Kincaid : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.142 OPS

Weekly Schedule
5-27: Win vs Kings (4-6)
5-28: Loss vs Kings (4-0)
5-29: Win at Sailors (2-1): 10 innings
5-30: Loss at Sailors (4-6)
5-30: Win at Sailors (14-5)
6-1: Loss vs Wolves (14-2)
6-2: Loss vs Wolves (8-7)

Summary
Starting with the Kings series, Dick Lyons out dueled Tom Barrell and we won the series against the top team in the league. A big Doc Love 4-for-4 day including the go-ahead homer in the 8th. Unfortunately, the other Cougar Mike Murphy tossed a 6-hit shutout in the finale to avoid the sweep. After that we were in Philly where we continued to look okay. In a duel of pitcher's with ERA's above 7, it took 10 innings before we scored our second run of the game. And that was all it took. We split the double header (destroyed poor Russ Reel) and with an off day next things looked pretty good for the week. The Wolves were in town next and demolished us 14-2. The middle one looked like a win, but the Wolves got five unearned runs off Johnny Walker in the 8th, so we lost by one run...

Looking Ahead
One more with the Wolves and it looks like we'll face Bill Anderson in the finale. I'm not too excited for this one, as I've already conceded the sweep. We do face them again later in the week, but before that, we'll face the now second place Foresters who are starting to heat up again. They've won eight of their last ten and cut the Kings lead down to four. It looks like we'll miss Dean Astle, but we'll get the middle of the rotation with co-Ace Eddie Quinn, Lee Drouillard, and Roger Perry. And while Dan Fowler is struggling, T.R. Goins and Max Morris both have seven homers a piece and Leon Drake is up to six. We'll get to deal with my favorite shortstop George Dawson who's a big reason for their pitching success as well. They give up no hits or runs and the defense is as good as it is. This will be a tough series in the middle of a tough week as we're right back in Toronto with three games in two days over the weekend.

Oh yeah, and one week. That's Tommy Wilcox's injury duration. And his scouting report? "Wilcox is heavy on talent and can easily front a team's rotation. He has the stamina to be a true workhorse." I think this might be the 29th scouting report I've gathered on the 28-year-old since the day that should not be spoken of (July 9th) and even though every single one of them says good things I'm still worried that he's never going to be the same.

Batter of the Month
While he failed to hit .500, it was still a foregone conclusion that right fielder Lou Kelly would take home Continental Association Batter of the Month. At least in the human era, no batter has hit .500 for an entire month and Kelly is the closest to reach the seemingly impossible task. During his impressive May, Kelly hit .496/.551/.795 with 6 homers and 35 RBI's. He reached base 74 times in 29 games and he reached base in all 29 games (just two without a hit). His struggles last season were well documented, but the Pekin native is looking to run away with MVP. He's hitting .445/.488/.681 (190 OPS+) with 7 homers and 44 RBI's. He's almost half way to his homer total from last season and on pace to add 100 more RBI's before the season is over. He even has a triple crown chance, just two homers behind teammate Doc Love for the CA homer crown.

Batters
Lou Kelly wasn't the only one with a hot May as Doc Love launched seven homers and took the CA lead (9) and now enjoys a two homer cushion. He hit .355/.406/.597 and drove in 26 while scoring 25 in a strong month. He walked (10) more times then he struck out (4) and had three doubles and triples. John Kincaid had a good month as well, batting .361/.406/.549 (137 OPS+) with 21 RBI's and 33 runs scored. I was also impressed with Ollie Page, who continued his strong play with another good showing. In the 8-7 loss to the Wolves Page hit a two run homer off Berine Johnson, the first of his big league career. Ollie's off to a hot 13-for-32 start with 4 extra base hits and 6 RBI's.

There was a lot more bad as Mike Taylor has not hit since his buddy Tommy Wilcox hit the DL. I hoped the good news would make him happy, but more of the same from our struggling backstop. He hit a team worst .222/.300/.289 (48 OPS+) with a homer and 8 RBI's. Joe Masters hit a slightly better .206/.254/.346 (49 OPS+), but managed 2 homers, 21 RBI's, and somehow a steal. It's the first time he's stolen (or attempted) a base since 1932! Still, does not make up for how awful he was with the bat. Pete Asher also had a rough month, hitting only .236/.296/.319 (54 OPS+) with a homer and 9 RBI's. Finally, Russ Combs really cooled off after a rough start. He hit only .302/.343/.365 (78 OPS+) with a steal and 9 RBI's. He's going to start seeing more time go to Bill Ashbaugh.

I'm sad to see Slim Bloom go to waivers. He's one of the few Cougar draftees I held onto, but after going just 2-for-12 with a double off the bench, he lost his roster spot to Ollie Page. I'm hoping for the best for him, but maybe he'll get a starting job in Detroit eventually.

Pitchers
May was a nightmare for a majority of our staff, but Dave Rankin and somehow Dick Sexton got out unscathed. Sexton tossed 21 innings out of the pen in six games with a 3.88 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 20 walks, and 20 strikeouts. It's a lot better then his April where he allowed 8 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 5 and two thirds. I've covered the struggles of Leudtke and Lyons already, but let's talk about something good instead: Johnny Walker! He made two starts this week with 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs. He pitched all nine and struck out 6 in the 4-0 loss to the Kings and then 8 with 7 strikeouts in the 8-7 loss to the Wolves. With all the issues we have, starts like this are just what we need. He pitched Sunday, so he'll only get one start, but perhaps Walker may stick in the rotation.

Minor League Report
SP Ken Grosvenor (AA Mobile Commodores): An 8th Round Pick in 1930, it's been a windy road in the minors for Ken Grosvenor. After a tough 11 starts last season, he's looked much better this year. He made two starts this week, starting with a 9 hit, 3 strikeout shutout in an 11-0 crushing of the Chattanooga Reliables. The Reliables are the AA team of the Toronto Wolves, who have former Cougar manager Hank Leitzke in charge of the team. Start two was almost as good, another complete game win, this time with 9 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. In 10 starts on the season he's now 6-2 with a 3.69 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 19 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. He's managed to hold his own against the tougher competition, and perhaps he can work his way back into our big league plans.

RF Bobby Mills (A Lincoln Legislators): Fresh off a promotion to A ball, Bobby Mills already picked up a five hit game and got a hit in 12 of his 13 games so far. Ranked 14th in our system and 112th in the league, Mills has always boasted top level contact potential. He's hitting .377/.387/.508 (117 OPS+) with a homer and 7 RBI's. Mills doesn't have much power, but his approach at the plate is to put everything in play. He won't walk or strikeout very much, but Nutball has shown he was up for the challenge of a higher level. He's 21, but the former 6th Rounder could end up in the majors next season or the one after.

SP Pug Bryan (A Lincoln Legislators): After 6 strong starts in San Jose, Pug's next start will be up in Lincoln. He worked to a 2.73 ERA (158 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 4 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 33 innings with the Cougars. Now 22, Pug is likely on a fast track up to the big leagues as my scout thinks he's one of our most developed prospects. Bryan is an extreme groundballer who sits in the 87-89 range with his sinker and fastball. He mixes in a slider, change, and forkball as well and he's bound to rack up the strikeouts. I think the Charleston native has frontline potential and could be an integral part of our future rotation. If he keeps this up, he could be up in the big leagues next season.

RF Dick Earl (C La Crosse Lions): Despite getting hurt on the 25th, Dick Earl took home the UMVA Batter of the Month Award. Earl hit .453/.520/.811 with 8 homers and 37 RBI's. This season has been great for Earl, who's hitting .433/.503/.769 (193 OPS+) with 9 homers and 42 RBI's in just 157 trips to the plate. He's looked okay out in right and his eye and bat speed have really started to develop well. He'll be back in two weeks and then I'm hoping he'll shake off the rest and then move up to San Jose.

SP Walker Pearce: Remember him? A 2nd Rounder of ours in 1932, I grabbed the lefty with the 30th Overall Pick and he was named the #77 prospect in baseball on Opening Day. Last July he was one of the three pitchers involved in the Dave Rankin trade. He didn't pitch too well with the Class C Waterloo Chiefs, going 2-2 with a 5.97 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.86 WHIP, 17 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. He only started 3 of the 14 games he pitched and was then released by the new regime in January. He bounced around the independent circuit, but I was finally able to snag him has a free agent. He's still just 20 and I'll send him down to La Crosse and manage his innings.