[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 26-27 (6th, 9.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 30 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.108 OPS
Bill Ashbaugh : 18 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.373 OPS
Dick Luedtke : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.50 ERA

Weekly Schedule
6-3: Win vs Wolves (3-8)
6-4: Loss vs Foresters (11-0)
6-5: Win vs Foresters (3-6)
6-6: Win vs Foresters (3-5)
6-7: Win at Wolves (6-5)
6-7: Win at Wolves (1-0)
6-8: Loss at Wolves (1-5)
6-9: Loss at Wolves (1-6)

Summary
It was a busy week with more games then days, but with a four game win streak in the middle, this might have been our best week of the season. After avoiding the sweep at the hands of the Wolves, our old buddy Dean Astle tossed a 5-hit shutout and the Foresters destroyed us 11-0 to start the series. Lucky for us, the pitching settled down and former Forester Wayne Robinson allowed just 3 in the second game and Dick Lyons and Bill Kline 3 in the finale as we took both.

Just after hosting the Wolves, we had to head north of the border for four games in three days. The double header went well, as in the opener Johnny Walker pieced together his third straight start with three earned runs, all coming in the last three innings. Game two was even better, as Dick Leudtke showed signs of his former self. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with two punchouts in a complete game victory. We scored just a single run, coming in the second off a Leudtke RBI double. He pretty much was the only one who played in the game, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Unfortunately, since he didn't hit in either of the final two games, we didn't win either of those. We managed just one run in the 18 innings, including a 3-hit, 3 strikeout shutout by Chick Wirtz in the finale.

Looking Ahead
For the first time in 11 months, all world pitcher Tommy Wilcox will toe the rubber with a Chicago Cougar jersey proudly on his back. As bluntly as I could possibly be, we really missed Tommy Wilcox. When Wilcox went out last year, we had a team ERA of 4.08 and the starter's 4.32. It ended up 4.38 and 4.57. Not the biggest jump, but take a look at 1935: 5.35 and 5.25. Yikes... Unless Tommy pitches like he did with us in 1932, there's no way he can do any worse. To make sure his arm doesn't break, I will be using a six man rotation at least one time through, but he'll pitch our first game of the week against the Stars on Tuesday. We'll face the 21-33 Stars four times in New York, possibly missing ace Lou Martino who's scheduled to start Monday. He's the only Star with a sub 5 ERA, and the back three are all above six. In our rotation, just Dick Lyons has a lower ERA then anyone other then Martino (although Leudtke and Robinson come close to Gene Stevens). The Stars offense is actually really good, ranking top 4 in a variety of offensive categories. They still have star caliber players in Pete Layton and John Lawson, but behind him, there is not too much left in the lineup. Dave Trowbridge has started to slow down and shortstop Bill Rich is enduring a dreadful season at the plate.

After the Stars we stay in New York and head to Brooklyn for four with the Kings. Depending how things shake out, we could have round six of Barrell vs Wilcox on June 10th, but we're almost guaranteed to see Barrell, Mike Murphy, and Joe Shaffner in this series. At 35-17, the Kings are building their lead in the CA with the next closest (Cleveland) five and a half out. Despite the struggles of recent acquisition Frank Vance, the Kings have continued to cruise due to the power of their offense. Al Wheeler, however, has surged and hit 9 CA homers since the trade with a 208 OPS+. I really wish I went harder for him, but the Dynamos also wanted to move Frank Vance who I did not have room for.

I have zero expectations for this week, as all I care about is Tommy Wilcox. After nearly a year of hoping he'd be able to pitch again, he now can finally pick up a baseball. I don't care if he gives up 0 runs or 30 runs. I don't care if we win six or lose six. I just care that he's able to pick up a ball against next week. And the week after. And the week after that.

Yes, I know. I'm far too excited for a string of ones and zeros to be able to throw simulated pitches again. But it's Tommy Wilcox! In his last 54 starts, he was arguably the best pitcher in the entire FABL. Although now the scouting report is tormenting me: "Wilcox may be an overlooked ace, able to take the bats out of opposing hitters' hands. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to pitch deep into games."

Batters
I think Joe Masters is broken beyond repair. Ranked the 16th best first basemen in the FABL and hitting .197/.234/.338 (42 OPS+) in arguably the most hitter friendly park in baseball, the almost 36-year-old Masters is making me regret ever getting him. I never really wanted him, but the Chiefs insisted he was part of a Dave Rankin trade (who I really wanted) so I gave up more prospects then I wanted to. I thought it couldn't hurt adding a guy hitting .315/.380/.478 (151 OPS+) with 11 homers and 61 RBI's in 69 games. He hit a league average line with us to end the year, and now everything has just crumbled. I'd be ready to give up on him if Leo Mitchell was hitting a bit better in AAA, but Masters will still be given the shot to hit out of it. He's going to be pushed into a platoon with Jake Moore for now, but I think I'll make sure Moore gets two starts this week.

Some more Lou Kelly and Doc Love praise this week: Doc Love added another homer and is the first CA hitter to reach 10 on the season. He's slashing .348/.384/.555 (133 OPS+) with 43 RBI's. He's trailing just Lou Kelly for RBI's, as Kelly has drove in 52 Cougars already. Kelly hit just .333 this week, but he hit two homers and drove in eight. He's a homer behind Love now, but his .429 average still paces Harry Barrell by a wide margin. If it wasn't for the aforementioned Barrell's stellar defense, Kelly's 3.3 WAR would be a full point higher then any other CA player. Instead, it's second to Harry's 4.1. Bill Ashbaugh has also had a great start to the season, slashing .361/.418/.613 (156 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 23 RBI's in 136 trips to the plate. He'll never be dependable at second base, but I'm so glad to see the bat back. The undisputed captain of the team, the longtime Cougar is looking to return to his 1929 form and re-establish himself as a middle of the order hitter.

Pitchers
Wilcox isn't the only healthy arm, as George Johnson will begin a rehab assignment down in Milwaukee. It'll likely be a long one, as he's out of options and this will allow him to get built back up as a starter. I didn't expect Wilcox being back so soon, so now we have sort of a logjam. Our vets Dick Lyons, Dick Leudtke, and Wayne Robinson are all having their issues, but Johnny Walker looked strong in his starts. As mentioned, I'll be running a six man rotation this week, so all these arms will work to keep their spot.

Draft Pool
The pool was released today! I'm hoping to release a special little surprise tonight if I can get everything worked out. We'll start to get some amateur reports as stats were created for the 1935 season.