[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 35-37 (4th, 11.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Mike Smith : 12 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .667 AVG, 1.609 OPS
Lou Kelly : 21 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.147 OPS
John Kincaid : 26 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .385 AVG, .931 OPS

Weekly Schedule
6-24: Win at Saints (6-2)
6-25: Win at Saints (6-1)
6-26: Win at Saints (9-4)
6-28: Loss vs Sailors (7-6)
6-29: Loss vs Sailors (6-4): 11 innings
6-30: Win vs Sailors (6-9)

Summary
SSSSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

As far as I know, this was our first sweep of the season, and it came in Montreal. We won the opener on Sunday, and then took the next three which all had excellent pitching performances by our starter. He did leave his start in the 7th (of course...), but Tommy Wilcox was excellent in 6.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. Bill Kline, in need of a good outing, walked one and struck out 3 in a 2.1 inning save to finish the game. It was followed by another outing where Dick Leudtke decided to do all the work himself. He allowed an unearned run off 5 hits, 6 walks, and 6 strikeouts, but was also 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Joe Masters helped too, 3-for-5 with a double and three driven in. Then in the finale, Wayne Robinson did well, 8 innings with 10 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), and 4 strikeouts.

The home series didn't go as well, with the Sailors taking the first two before we salvaged the finale. We managed to get 7 of Doc Newell in the opener, but Dave Rankin matched him before Dick Sexton allowed the 8th run of the game. He didn't do too bad, so it's tough the loss is on him, allowing 3 hits and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. The scary game was the middle. After nine innings, the game was tied at four. And while Oscar Morse was already taken out, it took until pitch #164 for Jim Cathey to remove Tommy Wilcox from the game. This came after 12 hits, 6 runs, and 7(!) walks with just one strikeout. Add in the fact that he left not only his last outing with an injury, but also the one two starts prior, three starts prior, and five starts prior. Of course, that means he's going to get hurt again next week, so I'm already mentally preparing myself for finishing the rest of the year without him. We did salvage the finale, but that was more because we got to face Russ Reel who's had some struggles on the season.

Looking Ahead
July starts today, and we'll be in Cleveland to start the week. We get three with the surging Foresters who have won eight of their last ten. They sit 42-29, and are now just four games behind the Kings. Cleveland's offense is as impressive as it gets, all but leadoff hitter and rookie Fred Quinn have OPS+ above 100, and to be fair, Quinn's is 98. They've got power, they've got contact, and they can run a bit too. The pitching is also really good, headlined by top arms in Dean Astle, Lou Drouillard, and Eddie Quinn with former Cougar farmhand Ben Turner in the four spot. We will miss the other, Dean Astle, but he actually has the highest ERA of the four (4.08, 110 ERA+).

The rest of the week kind of sucks: double header at home on the 4th with the Wolves, and then three in Philly with the Sailors before the All-Star break. We get the 8th (All-Star Game) and 9th off, but this week is going to be a lot of action in a little time. The Wolves have added Vine York to their starting lineup, and we'll get to see him for the double header. He's hitting a nice .300/.344/.472 (116 OPS+) with 4 homers and 22 RBI's in 193 trips to the plate. They also brought in Phil English to be their stopper, who's tossed 9.1 scoreless innings with 4 walks, 5 hits, and 5 strikeouts.

Batters
After a little bit of a rough patch, Lou Kelly straightened things out with a much better week. He was 8-for-21 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's, up to 11 and 60 on the season. The more impressive performances came from a trio of bench players, with Jake Moore, Mike Smith, and Russ Combs combining to go 12-for-20 with 7 RBI's. Smith was the best of the trio, an outstanding 8-for-12 with a double, triple, and 5 RBI's. Combs did get hurt though, so he'll return to the DL. John Kincaid had a really good week, hopefully adding to his trade value, going 10-for-26 with 4 doubles and 5 RBI's. It's been another decent year for Kincaid, slashing .338/.379/.466 (110 OPS+) with 2 homers, 2 steals, and 40 RBI's. Doc Love has really started to struggle, with his batting line dropping to .324/.364/.497 (113 OPS+) and he's still stuck at 11 homers. He hasn't hit one since June 15th and he's saw his slugging drop from .929 all the way down to .860. Bill Ashbaugh had his first rough week, 5-for-23, but he's still hitting .343/.407/.569 (142 OPS+) with 5 homers, 3 steals, and 30 RBI's in 206 trips to the plate. Him and Lou Kelly are getting my votes for All-Star, but they're the only two I believe deserve it (Dick Leudtke has actually gotten some love from fellow GMs, but I'm not considering him).

Pitching
I talked enough about how I'm scared about Tommy Wilcox and ready for him to get hurt, but man our staff is struggling right now. Discounting Wilcox, just Dave Rankin (102) has an above average ERA+ after a terrible six start June. He's 1-4 with a 6.14 ERA (76 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 17 walks, and 18 strikeouts after erasing all the gains he's made this season. Dick Lyons continues to disappoint, 6-5 with a 6.51 ERA (72 ERA+), 1.94 WHIP, 21 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 94 innings. I'm hoping this is just a really low RNG role and next year he'll get the high end, but at 35 there may not be much of a high end left. And to Leudtke's credit, he has faired like an All-Star this month. His 6 starts went much better, 6-0 with a sparkly 2.79 ERA (168 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 13 walks, and 17 strikeouts. He didn't get Pitcher of the Month, that went to Tom Barrell (6-2, 2.81 ERA, 44 K) who had a much nicer WHIP in more innings.

All Star Ballot
Tough picking the ballots. In the Fed, there were a lot of guys I wanted to vote for but couldn't: Myers, Carroll, Higgins, Cleaves, McCormick, Curry, Hampton, and Brown. In my own league, I struggled to find a third (and honestly second, but not for nearly as long) starting pitcher. Mainly because the guys I wanted to vote for weren't listed. No Joe Shaffner? No Herb Flynn? No Pinky Conlan? In the end, I decided it wasn't worth stressing and decided to just go with a Cougar after all: Dick Lyons (protest vote). For the hitters, however, there were a lot of guys I also wanted to elect: Bird, Crawford, Meeks, Cleaves, Kincaid, Vance, Dawson, and Drake.

Here is what I went with:

Federal Association:
SP Hardin Bates NYG
SP Walter Murphy PIT
SP Sam Sheppard STL
C John Wicklund NYG
1B Rankin Kellogg PHS
2B Freddie Jones STL
3B Len Jones CHI
SS Bob Barringer CHI
LF Joe Owens PIT
CF Chick Donnelly BOS
RF Bobby Barrell PHS

Continental Association:
SP Tom Barrell BRK
SP Doc Newell PHS
SP Dick Lyons CHC
C T.R. Goins CLE
1B Dick Walker PHS
2B Bill Ashbaugh CHC
3B John Lawson NYS
SS Harry Barrell BRK
LF Al Wheeler BRK
CF Pablo Reyes MON
RF Lou Kelly CHC

Minor League Report
LF Rich Langton (AAA Milwaukee Blues): For 21 consecutive games, Rich Langton managed to get at least one hit before an 0-for-5 in a 6-2 loss to Fort Wayne. It's been a lot of hitting like that for Langton this season who owns a .358/.430/.510 (135 OPS+) batting line at baseball's highest minor league level. He also has 5 homers, 11 steals, and 46 RBI's with a decent +1.7 zone rating out in left. With Doc Love out there and Lou Kelly in right, there's no obvious spot for Langton at the moment. Still, this kid has top of the charts potential and ranks 30th currently on the top 100 prospect list. He'll turn 24 on July 29th, so perhaps his birthday gift will be a promotion to the majors.

1B Leo Mitchell (AAA Milwaukee Blues): I knew it was only a matter of time before Leo Mitchell would start hitting again. The 22-year-old current ranks as the 10th best prospect in baseball and took home a Player of the Week after going 13-for-28 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. He's brought his batting line up to .333/.413/.469 (121 OPS+) with 7 homers and 42 RBI's and it's clear to me he's ready to begin his Cougar career. It's tough, Joe Masters is stinking up first base, but I can't possibly release him. I could potentially send Jake Moore down, but he's hitting a nice .308/.403/.423 (107 OPS+) in 62 trips to the plate. I did consider bringing Mitchell up with Combs hitting the DL, but I don't want to be stuck having to option him down. Once Mitchell is up, ideally he stays up and never looks back. This kid has all the tools to succeed, and if the extra power he's added on this year is legit, the league might want to watch out.

RF Bobby Mills (A Lincoln Legislators): It was an excellent June for Bobby Mills, as he hit .422 with 7 homers, 33 RBI's, and 29 runs scored. "Nutball" was promoted to A ball towards the end of May, and he's almost replicated his 154 OPS+ from San Jose. In 172 trips to the plate he's batting .395/.413/.611 (146 OPS+) with 8 homers and 39 RBI's. Mills doesn't draw many walks, but he doesn't have strikeout issues either. He'll put the ball in play a ton and he's always going to hit for a high average. The power has started to come on, and he's shaping up to be a 15+ home run hitter in the majors. Him and Henry Cox are now going to switch positions, so Mills will be moving to left, but it might be the position for him. Up until today, I forgot he actually was a natural left fielder before I moved him to right.

SP Cy Sullivan (B San Jose Cougars): I love the progress Cy Sullivan is making! Since his promotion to San Jose, he's been excellent in five starts. He's now 3-1 with a 1.79 ERA (251 ERA+), 0.87 WHIP, 8 walks, and 15 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. In all five starts he's allowed three or less runs, but the best was the most recent. On a day that saw four FABL shutouts, Sullivan allowed just 5 hits with 3 strikeouts in a complete game victory over the Everett Eagles. The 6'6'' righty is up to 42nd in the top 100 and he continues to blossom. In the offseason he added two extra miles to his fastball and he's really managed to get his walks under control. For a guy who walked 71 and struck out just 39, he's flipped it to 20 and 36 this season. I expected him to finish the season up here, but potentially the 21-year-old will end the year up in Lincoln if he keeps pitching like this.