[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 18-21 (t-5th, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 24 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.253 OPS
Bill Ashbaugh : 14 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.605 OPS
Doc Love : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 7 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.003 OPS

Weekly Schedule
5-18: Win at Cannons (8-7)
5-19: Win at Cannons (10-5)
5-20: Win at Kings (10-5)
5-21: Win at Kings (9-2)
5-23: Loss at Wolves (1-4)
5-24: Loss at Wolves (6-8)

Summary
I need to say every team is going to sweep us! We capped off a five game win streak with a sweep of the third place Kings. The current second place Wolves are about to sweep us in the finale to start the week, and they find themselves just two games out of first. We really should have won game two, but Tommy Wilcox was awful. We don't talk about bad starts, so we'll talk about his first big league save! On the 18th against the Cannons, he relieved Bill Kline after two shaky innings. Wilcox walked just one in a scoreless frame to earn the save in a tight 8-7 win.

Bill Ashbaugh is not a superstar defender, but compared to to Ray Ford, he's at least above average. He also decided to rake, 7-for-14 with a double, two triples, a homer, 4 runs, a steal, and 6 RBI's. Pete Asher did fine too, but Ashbaugh will get a majority of the starts next week. John Lawson was excellent as well, going 12-for-24 with a double, homer, 5 walks, 5 runs, 5 RBI's, a steal, and zero strikeouts. Honestly, the entire offense was hot this week, and with less defensive pressure was 11-for-26 with 4 doubles, 3 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. Rich Langton finally got his first homer, and was 10-for-27 with 4 doubles, 6 RBI's, and 8 runs scored, but his hit streak was stopped at 20. Doc Love was 11-for-25 with a triple and 7 RBI's.

Milt Frtiz was on against the Kings, 11 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts in a complete game win against another of his former teams. He's now tied for second in the CA with seven wins and has almost 40% of our team wins. Dick Lyons looked good in his one start, 6 innings with 7 hits, an earned run, a walk, and 3 strikeouts. He did allow four unearned runs, but we did still win his start 8-7. One of the errors was his, misplaying Dutch Leverett's bunt, but that only led to half of them. Dave Rankin started two games, winning the worse of the two starts and losing the better. He combined for 17 innings with 19 hits, 9 runs (7 earned), 7 walks, and 10 strikeouts. He now has a one strikeout lead over Barrell for the CA lead and a 0.3 WAR lead.

Looking Ahead
Our pretty successful road trip ends on the 25th, and we'll return home for four with the first place Foresters. They have the best record in the Continental Association just as they finished last year. Dean Astle sits atop the rotation, but 32-year-old Lyman Weigel has preformed really well. He's had a breakout season with a 1.96 ERA (243 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP, 21 walks, and 29 strikeouts in 64.1 innings shared between 6 starts and 5 relief appearances. We may miss him, but will likely get Lee Drouillard who's 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA (167 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 11 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. We're also set to face Ben Turner, who's had a rough start to his season. He's got a 9.61 ERA (50 ERA+), 2.14 WHIP, 9 walks, and 5 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. Centerfielder Dan Fowler is off to an excellent start, slashing .329/.421/.651 (161 OPS+) with 41 RBI's and a league best 14 home runs. He's on pace for 55, and is unlikely to reach that, but Fowler has launched 22 or more homers in each of his first four seasons. Fred Quinn has a league best 18 steals and is slashing .357/.424/.435 (111 OPS+) with a homer and 17 RBI's. He's likely not going to keep up his 71 steal pace, but Quinn is easily one of the fastest players in the league.

After Cleveland it's three in two days with the Sailors in what looks like it's going to be a tough homestand. We're off to start June, but the Sailors are tied in third with the Kings at 21-18 and they always field a competitive team. Dick Walker is killing it, slashing an insane .377/.464/.552 (150 OPS+) with 4 homers, 7 steals, and 28 RBI's in 179 trips to the plate. Lou Williams has found his groove, batting .386/.440/.462 (124 OPS+) with a homer, 12 steals, and 11 RBI's. Jack Cleaves is hitting an impressive .350/.424/.483 (124 OPS+) with 2 homers and 30 RBI's. Unfortunately John Kincaid has struggled, batting just .317/.364/.381 (85 OPS+) with 2 steals and 19 RBI's. Doc Newell has shined, 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA (219 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, 16 walks, and 16 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched. Hal Carter is filling in at short and has done well, batting .356/.429/.493 (127 OPS+) with a homer, 10 RBI's, and 10 walks.

Minor League Report
3B Hank Stratton (AA Mobile Commodores): It was an impressive week for Hank Stratton with the peak of a 5-for-6 performance over Birmingham. Currently ranked 84th in the league, Stratton is hitting .341/.365/.465 (119 OPS+) with a homer and 23 RBI's. I'm moving him over to first this week as I'm giving Billy Hunter some reps out at third. He profiles as a more then capable defender at third in the big leagues, this move is just to get more positional versatility for my youngsters. "Jitters" is young, just 21, and with John Lawson keeping the seat warm I can take my time and let him develop at his own pace. He spent all of last season in Lincoln, and may spend all of this season down in Mobile. I love his contact ability and he reminds me a lot of John Kincaid, just as a left handed hitter. I'm hoping Stratton will hit for more power, but a floor of John Kincaid is not bad at all.

CF Oscar Panduro (C La Crosse Lions): After going 14-for-28 with 13 runs driven in, our 10th Round Pick was named UMVA Player of the Week. He's stuck down here in La Cross despite hitting .432/.491/.621 (168 OPS+) with a homer, 3 steals, and 24 RBI's in 108 trips to the plate. He's been playing left field, but I'm moving him over to center to give Billy Jordan Jr. more at bats in place of Izzy Sevilla. Panduro can do a little bit of everything, playing multiple position, stealing bases, and consistently putting the ball in play. With an injury to an outfielder he's likely the first man up, as he's more then ready for tougher competition.