[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 4-9 (8th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 24 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.562 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 25 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .320 AVG, .770 OPS
Rich Langton : 13 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .385 AVG, 1.236 OPS

Weekly Schedule
4-20: Loss at Sailors (2-3)
4-21: Loss at Sailors (2-11)
4-22: Win vs Sailors (2-6)
4-23: Win vs Sailors (3-4)
4-24: Loss vs Sailors (7-1)
4-25: Win at Foresters (4-3)
4-26: Loss at Foresters (3-7)

Summary
I didn't realize the home part of the Sailors series was a three game set, so we had a five game series. We lost both games in Philly and won the two in Chicago. We then split the first two with the Foresters, and will start this week with the finale.

Lots of concerns still. The pitching has been downright awful. Outside of Allen Purvis, none of the pitchers with more then five innings have above average ERA+'s. Purvis, however, has made two relief appearances and a start for 11 total innings. He allowed 12 hits and 4 runs (2 earned), walks, and strikeouts. Tommy Wilcox has really struggled, and this week walked 10 batters in just 10 and a third innings. He's also allowed 28 hits and 20 runs (18 earned) with just 6 strikeouts. Wilcox's control has deserted him, but since we don't really have better options, I'm still going to let him start. My scout, however, thinks Purvis and even George Johnson are better rotation options.

Doc Love got hot this week, an even 12-for-24 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 6 RBI's in a really nice all around week. He's got 75% of our homers and is hitting an inflated .327/.353/.694 (165 OPS+) with 3 homers and 8 RBI's. Mitchell and Langton are both homerless, but neither are having bad starts. Mitchell is hitting .373/.407/.471 (127 OPS+) while Langton is hitting .342/.390/.632 (160 OPS+). As you can tell by the slugging percentages, Langton has been much more productive, with 3 doubles, 4 triples, and a steal to go with a very impressive batting line. He does have a pair of DTD injuries, so he'll miss the next two games. I'm going to put Ray Ford out in left and Doc Love in right for those two games. Neither are good defenders, but this allows Bill Ashbaugh to enter the lineup.

Looking Ahead
No off days in sight, so former Forester Allen Purvis will pitch the finale against his former team. We head home for three after, but have to face the first place Brooklyn Kings. With an 10-3 record identical to the other Chicago team, they're off to start the week so we may draw the top 3; Tom Barrell, Joe Shaffner, and Mike Murphy. I wish I had all those guys in my rotation, but I decided to trade two of them. Not only is the pitching good, they have Illinois native Al Wheeler who I really wanted to trade for, but the Kings were also willing to take Frank Vance and Jack Beach. Vance has hit well for the Kings and the Wonder Wheel has been a homerun machine. They've got most of the Barrell's, all the Lightbodys, and a bunch of other well known baseball players. There really isn't a weakness on paper, but for some reason the Kings always come up just short. I think this is their year, but for one reason or another we'll end up sweeping them for no reason.

After that it's two with the Saints (5-8) who sit tied with the Cannons in 6th place. They lost the reliable Earle Whitten for 4 moths with shoulder inflammation and that hurt their rotation. The recently acquired Bill Ross might step into their rotation, that being the Ross we traded to the Chiefs. His two starts haven't gone too well, 1-1 with a 7.98 ERA (57 ERA+), 1.64 WHIP, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Montreal's rotation has been hit really hard to start the season with even George Thomas starting out slow. They have gotten production from Jim Watson, however, who's off to an electric .410/.419/.656 (165 OPS+) start. As you can see, he doesn't walk too much, just one in 62 PA's, but he's got 9 extra base hits and 12 RBI's. Vic Crawford has launched three homers and drove in 13 RBI's, one more then Watson for both. He's also hitting .320/.390/.560 (135 OPS+) in the cleanup spot. Young catcher Adam Mullins is off to a nice start after taking the starting job from Tom Bird. Bird was sent to the Chiefs, which is how the Saints got the previously mentioned Ross.

We then finish the week with the first of a three game set against the New York Stars. They're 6-7, but have gotten a lot of production from the top four in their rotation. It's the exact opposite of last year, as other then Lou Martino, Les Zoller, Harry Carter, and Gene Stevens all had their share of struggles. The offense is Lawsonless, but Pete Layton has hit for the both of them. He's slashing an outstanding .447/.476/.812 (223 OPS+) with 3 homers and 13 RBI's. Larry Colaianni has also gotten off to a nice start, batting .395/.491/.535 (161 OPS+) while Dave Trowbridge is off to a strong start with three homers and a .327/.404/.531 (136 OPS+) batting line. We have seven home games this week, so I really want to see a lot of wins, but I know it's not all that likely.

Minor League Report

SP Harry Parker (A Lincoln Legislators): It's going to be a tough start to match, but the first one of Harry Parker's season involved 16 strikeouts in 8 and a third innings pitched. Not only that, just 3 hits, 2 walks, and a run in a 4-1 win over the Terre Haute Brewers. It was the only win Lincoln got last week, but Parker was firing on all cylinders. The towering 6'6'' righty upped his fastball to 91-93 in the offseason and that's just one of his six pitches. He's got excellent control of all his pitches, especially his changeup which he consistently can fool hitters with. The only worry for me are his flyball tendencies, but when you strike out 16, it's okay if you allow a longball or two every so often.

SP Doc Smith (C La Crosse Lions): It may just be one start, but it is very reassuring to see that the first start the 21st Overall Pick made this season resulted in a 1-hit, 7 strikeout shutout. Smith looked excellent in his first taste of professional ball. Smith is a tiny lefty, but it is really hard to elevate the ball against him. He has a nice five pitch mix with a fastball, sinker, cutter, change, and splitter. He doesn't throw all that hard, just 83-85, but the harder his pitches get the better his results will be. I'm hoping his time in La Crosse is short, but my scout didn't think he was ready to start the season in San Jose. A few more starts like these and it won't matter if he has a red arrow or not.