[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-5
Seasonal Record: 41-55 (6th, 23 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 27 AB, 11 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .407 AVG, 1.037 OPS
John Lawson : 24 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, 1.108 OPS
Ollie Page : 27 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .296 AVG, .700 OPS

Schedule
7-21: Loss at Kings (2-6)
7-22: Loss at Kings (4-5)
7-23: Loss at Kings (5-13)
7-24: Loss at Kings (3-5)
7-25: Win vs Stars (10-9)
7-26: Loss vs Stars (1-9)

Recap
Extremely rough week for the guys in New York, as the Kings swept right through us while the Stars piled up nine runs in each of the two games in the first half. I did make a minor trade in an effort to shore up the second base position as our defense is awful and we aren't getting much hitting. He's 34, but McLain is a guy I've been looking at for a while. OSA has always liked him, my scout has always liked him, he's a popular figure in the league, and he had a long and successful baseball career. He's tallied 4,825 FA plate appearances with the Minutemen and Dynamos and was originally selected by Boston in the 3rd Round of the 1923 draft. He has a respectable .288/.357/.378 (93 OPS+) line with a +101.3 zone rating and 1.053 efficiency at the keystone. I'm not expecting an earthshattering performance from him, but he'll cost just an 8th and we've gotten less then nothing from our second basemen so far. I originally planned on DFA'ing one of my players, but Rich Langton will spend the next three weeks rehabbing a bone spur in his elbow, so he'll take Langton's spot instead. McLain will man second, I'll move Love to right, and Bert Wilson will take over in left. I debated brining up Leo Mitchell, but I'm hoping I can instead find a taker for Doc Love.

Of course, with a 1-5 week, not much good happened. At least there is always John Lawson, who was 10-for-24 with a homer, 3 RBI's, 3 walks, and 6 runs scored. He's continuing his excellent season, batting .346/.411/.534 (141 OPS+) with 25 doubles, 15 homers, and 62 RBI's while on track for his 5th 700 PA season. Only other hitter who did much was Doc Love who was 11-for-27 with with a homer and seven driven in. Didn't get much pitching either, just Allen Purvis really looked good. He lost his start, but went 8 with 11 hits, 6 runs (3 earned), 3 walks, and a strikeout. Dick Lyons looked good in his first start, 11 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), and 3 strikeouts in the 5-4 loss to the Kings.

Looking Ahead
Two more in New York with the Stars and we're set to face Harry Carter and George Williams, who rank #1 and #2 in their rotation. Carter has looked strong, 4-6 with a 3.95 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 42 walks, and 61 strikeouts in 120.2 innings pitched. Williams has spent time in both the rotation and pen, 6-4 with a 4.29 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.62 WHIP, 55 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 92.1 innings. They've gotten production recently from center fielder Mike Mason who is slashing .347/.420/.497 (131 OPS+) with 10 triples, 15 steals, 28 RBI's, and 25 walks in one less then two hundred at bats. He's struggled defensively, but is on pace for his sixth consecutive above average OPS+.

Next is three in Montreal to finish the month of July. They're 46-50 on the season and have brought up 23-year-old Jake DeYoung to add to their rotation. He's made four starts, including one where we destroyed him, but he's 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.38 WHIP, 8 walks, and 14 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched. They've had issues at short and right, but the rest of their lineup has their OPS+ in the 95-115 OPS+ range. They could even have a 20 home run hitter in Vic Crawford, who's hit 13 and drove in 73 with his .296/.349/.468 (101 OPS+) line that does look better then average.

We then finish the long road trip with two in Baltimore before an off day on August 3rd. Injuries have been the theme for the Cannons this season, but even now that Bunny Stapleton is back, he's had trouble at the plate. Just 34 games, but he's slashed just .281/308/.437 (88 OPS+) with 5 homers and 19 RBI's. Baltimore has added some rookies to their lineup at left and second with Ernie Johnson and Orville Aldrich. Neither has had much success, but Johnson ranks 132nd in the league and has a lot of upside. On the pitching side, they're giving 1932 5th Rounder Howie Pike starts, but the 24-year-old has been roughed up in his 11 starts. He's just 2-9 with a 6.26 ERA (74 ERA+), 1.77 WHIP, 27 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 73.1 innings pitched. My scout is a huge fan, and while Pike doesn't have the upside of Barrell, Edwards, and Petrick, he's got excellent command and a future in the back of a big league rotation. He may struggle now, but it's another arm we're going to have to worry about in Baltimore.

Minor League Report
RHP Pug Bryan (AAA Milwaukee Blues): I was worried Pug wasn't ready for AAA hitters yet, but perhaps I should have been wondering if Pug should be in our rotation or Milwaukee's. After 13 starts he's 5-2 with a 3.56 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP, 19 walks, and 42 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched. His walk and strikeout per nine numbers are impressive and his calf strain seemed to have no effect on his pitching. Our big league rotation has been terrible, so maybe I should give Pug a shot. Even though he was our 2nd rounder just last draft, Bryan seems to have what it takes to fool FABL hitters. He has five pitches, with really all except the fastball extremely reliable offerings. He has great command of all his pitches, he does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground with his high 80s sinker, and the ball almost never leaves the yard when he's on the mound. I may or may not be working on a trade before the deadline, but I'd be very surprised if Bryan isn't making starts for us at some point this season.

RHP Cy Sullivan (A Lincoln Legislators): With dynamic prospect rankings, it can be hard to track success sometimes as guys will bounce up and down 20+ spots at a time. I think every week Sullivan moves, now up to 35th in the league and second in our system. The former high school shortstop made three starts with Lincoln last season, but he really struggled. This caused him to start the season in San Jose, but he's back in Lincoln and he may end up in Mobile. I did pass him over for promotion with Harry Parker moving up to Mobile first, but the 22-year-old Sullivan looks to be next in line. He's 4-3 with a 3.02 ERA (142 ERA+) in 8 starts and 65.2 innings with the Legislators. He's walked 12 and struck out just 11, so I do want to see those strikeout numbers move back up. He's generally sat around 3.0 for K/9, but is half that so far. I expect it's just a tough stretch, as the 6'6'' righty will eventually strikeout an above average amount of hitters. He's got a nice four pitch arsenal with a high 80s fastball and nice sweeping slider that makes it really hard on right handed hitters. I do like how he's survived without striking out hitters when the competition improved, and as he develops, he should bring the K/9 numbers back out. I knew he was raw when we selected him and I knew I'd have to wait before the finish product was shown. I'd imagine it may even take all three options before Sullivan reaches his lofty ceiling, but I know I'm going to be happy with what I receive.