[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 40-50 (6th, 19 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 28 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .250 AVG, .943 OPS
John Lawson : 30 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .333 AVG, .777 OPS
Ollie Page : 34 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .265 AVG, .668 OPS

Schedule
7-13: Loss vs Saints (11-2)
7-14: Win vs Saints (4-12)
7-15: Win vs Cannons (3-4)
7-16: Loss vs Cannons (7-4): 11 innings
7-17: Win vs Cannons (6-7)
7-18: Win vs Stars (2-6)
7-19: Loss vs Stars (12-4)

Recap
Just a mediocre 4-3 despite five games against the Cannons and Stars. What's worse is how little we scored against the team with a team ERA well over 6. We did have a lot of issues scoring this week, but check out Doc Love! Three homers! Sure, he was just 7-for-28, but he drove in 7, scored six times, and drew a pair of walks without striking out. I do think it's going to be tough to find a home for Love despite his .317/.362/.506 (120 OPS+) batting line. He's doubled 14 times, triples 9 times, and has homered 11 times with a lot more walks (26) then strikeouts (10). Not only is it tough to find homes for corner outfielders, but there's also RF Mahlon Strong available from the Gothams and he is one of the top batters in the game. It won't be the worst thing in the world if Love isn't moved, but he'll eventually lose out on some playing time. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep Leo Mitchell in AAA and I really want him to be our everyday left fielder next season. He's not there yet, but I know he's going to be capable out in the outfield.

It was a rough pitching week for us, but Milt Frtiz looked pretty good. He won both his starts and went 17 innings with 16 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He was on a tough stretch to start with, but he's started to right the ship a little. June was awful, a 6.69 monthly ERA, but it's dropped all the way down to 4.09 for July. Still, the season numbers are just average, 12-8 with a 4.70 ERA (99 ERA+), 1.60 WHIP, 61 walks, and 51 strikeouts in 161 innings pitched. Honestly, better then I even expected, and I think it will take a year or two before Fritz regains top form. With an eventual better defense and hopefully a better pitching staff, I'm expecting better things to come. Not much good offense either, but hey Jake Moore decided to rake! Ray Ford was nursing a DTD injury, so Moore made 11 plate appearances this week with a homer, 2 walks, and 3 RBI's. Ford did okay when he played though, 7-for-20 with a double, triple, and 3 RBI's. No one else really put the bat on the ball, despite the rough pitching we faced, which really surprised me. Statistically, we looked like a 2-5 team at best, but managed to win four of the seven.

Looking Ahead
Off to start next week before a four game set with the Kings before four with the Stars. I've covered both pretty recently, so not too much to mention now, but Brooklyn's 59-31 record is the best in baseball and they hold a three game lead over the Foresters. The Stars are now two games behind us, 38-52 and 21 out of first. No more off days until August, and then we have the trade deadline fast approaching. Some big prospect also must have graduated, as we're now third in the farm rankings with Harry Parker joining the top 100 at 95. 3-4-5 are all three points apart, but our 12 top 100 prospects is now the lone leader. We also get George Johnson back, who's healthy enough to pitch on rehab. I'll let him make a few starts in Milwaukee before he eventually makes some starts up in Chicago.

EDIT: Had a little time after, added a minor league report:

Minor League Report
LHP Cal Knight (AA Mobile Commodores): Lou Kelly may be leading the Miners to an FA pennant this year, but that doesn't mean I really miss him. Not only did is Ray Ford now getting to play first, but I got two picks and lefty Cal Knight. The prospect rankings aren't his biggest fan, but that hasn't scared me away. He was one of the feeder players who was cloned to be a non-feeder player, so despite only seeing one year of Knight's college school stats, he was actually a really effective three year pitcher at Pierpont before being selected in the 2nd Round of the 1934 draft. He struggled in San Jose last season, but he looked good in A ball with the Miners and my scout wanted me to move him all the way up to Mobile. It's worked out well, as the 23-year-old is 9-3 with a 3.64 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 43 walks, and 33 strikeouts in 111.1 innings pitched. What's interesting is he's found a lot of success despite a drop in his strikeout numbers. Knight had a 4.4 K/9 in his 10 starts with us last season, and in 14 this year it's down to just 2.7. He's a three pitch pitcher, but his secondary pitches are better then his main offering. He has a mid 80s cutter, but the slider and change are what get the outs. He has the natural talent to pitch in the big leagues and the work ethic to take his game to the next level, and I think Knight will prove that he's not the 24th most valuable pitcher in my organization.

2B Tommy Wilson (A Lincoln Legislators): I did a little minor league reshuffling today with a lot of players returning from the DL, but while most players went down, Tommy Wilson went up. He did not hit much as a teenager in La Crosse, but the 20-year-old had the up arrow in San Jose and was hitting .289/.384/.470 (111 OPS+) with 8 homers, 18 steals, and 73 RBI's. It's a little unfair to list the former 2nd Rounder as a second basemen, but that's where he's spent nearly all his time the past two years because his double play partner was Ivan Cameron, who's already accumulated a +33.4 zone rating in just about a year and a half. At second this year, Wilson had an impressive +10.4 zone rating and 1.065 efficiency which is almost like the opposite of what our second basemen generally produce. Wilson really seems to have put things together this season, and he's our highest ranked prospect not in the top 100. He's got a nice hit tool, is an extremely athletic and gifted fielder, and uses his great speed to his advantage. He's got a little pop too, maybe not quite Ollie Page level, but I also never expected Page to have the power he has shown. Even in Lincoln, however, he'll be stuck at second, as the defensive marvel Freddie Bennett man short here with Billy Hunter up in Mobile.

RHP Bill Scott (San Jose Cougars): It took me a while, but I'm finally warming up to Bill Scott. My 7th Round selection in 1933, I always liked him, he just never really got a fair shot his first two seasons as I had a lot of arms I was throwing over him. I found out most of those arms were bad (and no longer really start for us) and that Bill Scott was the gem all alone. It did help that since November he added five miles to his fastball that now tops out at 97. Pair that with an FABL quality curve and slider and you've got yourself at least a spot starter in the big leagues. Add in the fact that he's just 20, and since I can't see his actual potentials, his potential truly is limitless at this point. Those prospect rankings I mentioned that were meaningless rank him 124th in the FABL, and they've always liked him a lot more then I have. Until this season he relieved more then he started, but he's started all 11 of his games with La Crosse before getting the call to San Jose. Scott was 5-3 with a 4.84 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 20 walks, and 41 strikeouts in his 74.1 innings pitched, and while that isn't standout, I also have to consider how well he pitched (124 and 139 ERA+) his first two seasons and he's a lot more valuable then some of the guys we have in San Jose.