[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-6
Seasonal Record: 35-37 (4th, 11.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Tom Taylor : 30 AB, 11 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .367 AVG, 1.106 OPS
Doc Love : 35 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .314 AVG, .705 OPS
John Kincaid : 29 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .310 AVG, .782 OPS

Weekly Schedule
7-1: Win at Foresters (4-3)
7-2: Loss at Foresters (0-10)
7-3: Loss at Foresters (4-8)
7-4: Win vs Wolves (2-3)
7-4: Loss vs Wolves (12-7)
7-5: Loss at Sailors (0-6)
7-6: Loss at Sailors (4-7)
7-7: Loss at Sailors (3-5)

Summary
Well, I knew this week was going to suck, and sure enough, it sucked. We did manage to win the first game against the Foresters, as Dick Lyons looked like vintage Dick Lyons and outdueled Lee Drouillard. We then got dismantled in the middle match, an 8-hit shutout from Eddie Quinn in a 10-0 devastating defeat. The finale looked closer then it was, three runs coming in the ninth off a tired Ben Turner. We did split the double header with the Wolves, with Tommy Wilcox doing what he does best. No, not getting injured, but tossing complete game wins: 8 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Gold! Sure, the Sailors made us look like we didn't know how to play baseball, but again, Dick Lyons pitched well. Unfortunately, Bill Kline did not, although even if he did, it wouldn't have outdone Herb Flynn's 5-hit shutout.

It was a busy week though, as the All-Star ballots were released. Of the guys in the Fed I voted for, John Wicklund, Rankin Kellogg, Freddie Jones (unanimous), Len Jones, Bob Barringer, Chick Donnelly (unanimous), Bobby Barrell, and Walter Murphy all won their respective vote. For the CA, Max Morris, Bill Ashbaugh, Harry Barrell, Al Wheeler, Lou Kelly (unanimous), and Tom Barrell won their votes. Somehow, Mike Mason beat out Pablo Reyes. Sure, he can kind of hit, but he's an awful defender. And Joe Masters got a vote. Not sure how that happened... Other then the starters, Sam Shepperd, Hardin Bates, Doc Newell, and T.R. Goins all got a selection, as well as Joe Shaffner and Herb Flynn. No love for Pinky Conlan, but former Cougars Mike Murphy and John Lawson also got selected.

We also got the note about expiring coaches. Pitching coach Eddie Williams is in his final year,

Looking Ahead
While two Cougars will start the All-Star game, the rest of the team is off until the 10th. It's a weird one, as we face the Cannons for four in Chicago, but with an off day in the middle. The Cannons are no longer in the cellar, and in fact sit half a game behind us because they've lost one more game. The Canons started Pinky on short rest yesterday (two games between starts) which blew up his ERA to 3.56 (127 ERA+) and maybe cost him the All Star spot. Still, he's blossoming into a strong starter and we'll likely face him and veteran Dutch Leverett in the series. Every other pitcher on their staff has an ERA above 5, so we drew the short end of the stick. They did just lose Dale Dube to a torn meniscus (which may have been why Conlan started again). It was a tough early birthday gift for Dube, who not only finished June with the best outing of his career (9 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K), but was trying to establish himself as a big league starter. They have found some building blocks on the offensive side, including former Cougar draftee Jim Mason. He's hitting .343/.396/.461 (121 OPS+) with 6 homers, 5 steals, and 46 RBI's. Catcher Joe Welsh potentially broke back out at 29, and he's batting .337/.363/.582 (140 OPS+) with 11 homers and 41 RBI's. From 1927 to 1931 he boasted OPS+ of 121, 190, 177, 158, and 151, but dropped down to 98 in 1932 before a pair of sub 70 finishes. He had one of the more mysterious drop offs, but Welsh did have an undisclosed injury that ended his 1931 season early.

Batters
It's been a tough season for him, but Tom Taylor had a nice 3-homer week. He was 11-for-30 and both scored and drove in seven. He has still looked good in center, a +3.5 zone rating and 1.020 efficiency, but he's swiped just 6 bases and finally reached double digit home runs. Taylor is hitting .301/.346/.447 (98 OPS+), and while the average is higher then usual, his slugging percentage has plummeted. He's on pace to finish with less then 20 homers and 15 steals for the first time in his career. I'm hoping it's just a down year, as Taylor is one of the most talented players in the league. We have a lot of talented outfielders in the system, so Taylor will really need to turn things around. I've floated the idea of trading him, but there hasn't been much of a market since the Detroit selloff. Interesting enough, Taylor was the only starter with an OPS+ above 100 for the week, which makes a lot of sense considering the lack of run scoring. All Star starters Bill Ashbaugh and Lou Kelly combined to go 13-for-61, but managed 5 doubles between them.

Pitchers
I think Leudtke can only pitch in June, as his first July start ended in the 5th inning. He allowed 12 hits and 9 runs with a single strikeout in the double header loss. Nice... Dave Rankin also had a rough week, two poor starts with 5+ runs, 8 hits, and 3+ walks. He's completely fallen apart, and we continue to just pitch bad. All the relievers allowed two or more runs and other then Tommy Wilcox it's really just a lost cause at this point. I think for my sanity, this will be the Tommy Wilcox section and I'll also occasionally mention the starters who don't suck.

Although speaking of sucking, Don Grossman has been DFA'd so George Johnson can return. I thought Grossman could be a stopper after working to a 2.37 ERA (183 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP in 60.2 innings. I was dead wrong. This year, he's got a 2.09 WHIP and 8.42 ERA (55 ERA+). Oh yeah, and ten more walks (14) then strikeouts (4). I can't see him getting claimed... I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with George Johnson, but with the weird week him and Wayne Robinson are just going to hang out in the pen. Johnson looked good in 6 AAA starts, going 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA (171 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 9 walks, and 20 strikeouts.

Minor League Report
3B Phil McKenna (A Lincoln Legislators): Last week, I was a little concerned I promoted Phil McKenna a little early. This week, all doubts were erased. McKenna had a huge 3-homer game on the 2nd against the Davenport Dukes, and then finished the week 9-for-17 with another homer and 11 RBI's. Now in 114 A ball plate appearances, he's hitting .330/.482/.648 (172 OPS+) with 8 homers and 25 RBI's. He's also managed to walk 22 times while striking out just 5 times. This week I actually moved him over to first to get some reps there, as he isn't the best defender. Still, if he can hit and walk like this it won't matter how poorly his defense is, there will be a spot in the lineup for him.

SP Cy Sullivan (B San Jose Cougars): Another shutout! I mentioned him yesterday, so I won't do a full write up, but this time in Everett, he tossed a 7-hit, 2 walk, 5 strikeout shutout of the Eagles. His ERA dropped down to 1.46 (305 ERA+) and his WHIP 0.89. All about patience!

Amateur Report
I thought I'd dedicate this report to some of the Chicago kids. Not a very strong group of Chicago kids, unfortunately, but here are five names to keep an eye on:

SP Bud Canfield (Jones): So what do Bud Canfield and yours truly have in common? We were both in Chicago and both played baseball at Jones College Prep! Of course, as a senior, I didn't go 9-0 with a 0.93 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 14 walks, and 136 strikeouts. If I did, I don't think I would have very much time to write about simulated baseball. Committed to Central Kentucky, I have to imagine that he'll instead decide to head to our organization instead. I don't usually like "tipping" my picks, but unless there is someone I really like, I might go back to my roots and reserve my 2nd Round selection for the HS arm. He doesn't throw too hard, just 84-86 with his fastball, but he's got an excellent changeup that will generate a lot of swings and misses. He did walk a decent amount of hitters last season, but cut the walks by five despite 13 more innings. He's trending in the upward direction, but my scout isn't the biggest fan yet. He ranks him 17th for the pitchers, but at least at the first glances in the early goings, I feel like this pool isn't all that deep. There are very few arms I've found that I like, so I could see Canfield being one of the first pitchers we pick.

CF Oscar Panduro (Bluegrass State): A much different player then Canfield, Panduro is a Junior at Bluegrass state who has experience playing first, second, short, left, center, and right. He had very similar years as a sophomore and a junior, finishing with a strong .308/.352/.460 batting line at the highest level of competition with 8 homers, 68 steals, and 93 RBI's. He's a smart and patient hitter with a strong pure hit tool and excellent speed. Not much is known on his defense, but he has to have some sort of range and versatility to rank at both short and center.

LF Dave Echard (Edgerton): He may go to school in Wisconsin now, but the 18-year-older was born in beautiful Chicago, Illinois. He doesn't have much home run power, but Echard hit 33 doubles in his two seasons of prep ball. He finished with a nice .493/.534/.724 line, but I'm not sure Echard has enough other then the bat to make it. He's not much of a defender, doesn't run too well, and there's not enough power for his other shortcomings. That being said, he's still young and set to go to Lincoln College which may be a good choice for him.

1B Sim Canty (Cheney College): He didn't really show up on the draftee scene until this year, but Sim Canty had a decent junior year. He slugged 7 homers and drove in 34 with a nice .294/.385/.458 batting line in 211 trips to the plate. This draft is deep with first basemen, but Canty does have really nice plate discipline and solid power. He won't hit for a high average, but he should be able to still limit strikeouts.

1B Tom Hammond (St. Ignatius): Probably a better version of Canty, Hammond played at tougher competition and managed a similar .281/.373/.430 batting line. The difference is he also had 22 steals to go with 8 homers and 47 RBI's. They do share a similar profile though, good power, good eye, not too many strikeouts, but Hammond's speed is a plus and he played a longer season (273 PA's).