[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 2-11 (8th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Ray Ford : 27 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .296 AVG, .877 OPS
Oscar Morse : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
John Lawson : 30 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .300 AVG, .733 OPS

Schedule
4-26: Loss vs Foresters (4-2)
4-27: Loss vs Foresters (10-5)
4-28: Win vs Foresters (2-0)
4-29: Loss at Sailors (0-4)
4-30: Loss at Sailors (1-11)
5-1: Loss vs Wolves (5-2)
5-2: Loss vs Wolves (6-3)

Recap
It can get worse! 1-6! There has been a lot of bad in the rotation, but we did get a stunning start from Oscar Morse against the Foresters! In his second start with his hometown team, the 33-year-old vet tossed an 8-hit shutout with a walk and three strikeouts. Milt Fritz lost both his starts, but he looked okay. He was an out short of a pair of complete games, and allowed 19 hits, 8 runs (4 earned), and 5 walks with 6 strikeouts. All four unearned runs came in the same game where we made four errors as a team. Fritz has looked great to start the season, working to a 2.02 ERA (212 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 9 walks, and 10 strikeouts in his 26.2 innings pitched. Errors in another game cost Clarence Crane his scoreless streak, as four of the five runs he allowed weren't his fault. I'm also pretending Dave Rankin and Pug Bryan didn't pitch in April. Not worth mentioning...

At the plate we were just as awful, well, unless you're *checks notes* Russ Griffin? Again! This week was just as good, and now for the season he's 5-for-12 with a double, triple, two homers, 3 RBI's, a walk, and 3 runs scored. All of this comes off the bench, so I'm afraid to start him and mess things up. He's not the only Cougar with a homer anymore, as Ray Ford had a nice 8-for-27 week with a double, 2 homers, and 4 RBI's. Other then Griffin, his 106 OPS+ is the only one above 100. Mike Taylor shockingly hit the ball more then once this week, 6-for-15 with a walk, run, and RBI. Everyone else sucked, and in even worse news, pretty much the only player (other then Bert Wilson) on the team who could get injured and could not be replaced by Billy Hunter, got hurt. That would be center fielder Roy Moore, who will miss about a month with a bone spur in his elbow. Worst part is I spent about two hours debating whether or not to claim slugging center fielder Jack Burke off waivers, but I didn't want to deal with losing a player or messing with our minor league infield. Eventually I decided there was no way Moore or Wilson would get hurt this week, and I let Burke clear. I debated bringing up Carlos Montes, but since Moore's injury isn't too long and there are three outfielders in AAA on the 40-man roster, I didn't want to burn an option on Montes. At least for now, lefty Orlin Yates will make the trip to Chicago to form a platoon with Wilson.

Looking Ahead
Thankfully we're off to start the week, and then we finally get to avoid the trio of 8-5 teams that have been fueling their records with our failures. Most of the week will be in New York, three with the Stars and two with the Kings. The Stars are 6-8, and have seen excellent pitching performances from Harry Carter and Les Zoller. The Chicago kid Zoller is the ace of the staff, and 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA (186 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 8 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Carter is pitching better, 1-1 with a 1.27 ERA (344 ERA+), 1.03 WHIP, 10 walks, and 16 strikeouts. The biggest surprise, however, has been Rollie Beal who's been shutdown in his two starts. He's allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, and 6 walks with 10 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched. The offense has let them down, with the only real offensive threats so far being vet Mike Mason and Rule-5 pick and 8th hitter Frank Moore. Dave Trowbridge, now 38, is off to a slow start and hitting just .241/.305/.407 (82 OPS+) with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. Obviously it's still early, but since getting traded to the Stars in 1928, he has never had a sub 112 (last year) OPS+.

Now the Kings are the only other 8-5 team who hasn't feasted on us, but expect that to change when we visit them in Brooklyn. We'll only see two of their starters, so I'm hoping to avoid both Barrell and Murphy. Of course, hitting Joe Shaffner, Art White, or Bert Henggeler won't be easy either, so we'll have to stifle their outstanding offense. Harry and Fred Barrell are off to slow starts at the plate, but the lineup is deep and the bench even deeper. Al Wheeler already has a 5-hit cycle in what should be another elite season for the Wonder Wheel. We finish the week in Montreal, but I'll cover them on Monday. I do expect another tough week, but I'm really hoping we can muster more then one win.

Minor League Report
1B Johnny Waters (AAA Milwaukee Blues): After an excellent Spring, Johnny Waters still ended up in Milwaukee, but he built on that strong performance. Winning the first Century League Player of the Week award, Waters slugged .393/.414/.786 with a pair of doubles and a trio of longballs. Leo Mitchell, like most of the Cougars thusfar has really struggled, so even though Waters sucks at defense, he could replace Mitchell if the bat doesn't heat back up. The 25-year-old is also a switch hitter, and the 1932 15th Rounder has really worked his way up the ladder to secure a 40-man spot and eventual (likely) FABL debut. This kid has always hit, starting in San Jose his debut year and continue up to Milwaukee where he's spent the better part of the past two seasons. He's only struck out 10 times since the start of the 1934 season and is one of the most disciplined (and honestly talented) hitters we have in the organization. He projects to be a .350 hitter with double digit home run power, although he may never find a starting job to reach that potential. My scout thinks he's a bench guy, I do too, and OSA doesn't even consider him one of our top 50 prospects. As of now, just three players (Langton, Roberts, and Red Moore) from the 1932 class have debuted, but Waters will have to hurry to claim the 4th spot with Hunter, Mead, Jordan, and more knocking on the door. All the prep guys are going to be Rule-5 eligible at the end of the season, so expect to see an influx of new, young Cougars pushing that number much higher.

RF Larry Robison (A Lincoln Legislators): Another Player of the Week! Another 1932 draftee! And another late round selection! Unlike Waters, who started his pro career right away, Robison got just 12 plate appearances in his first pro season and injuries cost him most of the 1935 season, so he's still a little underdeveloped. Or so I thought! The 23-year-old got off to a hot start to the season and hit an outstanding .545/.600/.773 with 5 doubles, 3 walks, and 3 runs. Robison's real calling card is his speed, swiping four bags in one game and nine for the week. That's 11 in 9 games and he's on pace for a whopping 171 steals. He stole 34 bases last year, 16 in 26 games the year before, and 120 across almost 2,000 high school and minor league plate appearances. He's also got a strong contact tool, is a decent corner defender, and definitely has the talent to start in the FABL. More of a Dick Fessel (if you can remember him) type starter. He currently sits just inside our top 30 and the league top 300 at 28 and 291 respectively. He's stuck in Lincoln with our influx of outfielders and first basemen, but I'm hoping he finished the year in Mobile or Milwaukee before eventually getting his contract purchased in the offseason.

RHP Sam Hodge (Lincoln Legislators): He may not be the most highly touted arm on the Legislators, that would be Peter the Heater of course, but the 23-year-old Hodge had a dominant outing despite literally no run support. In fact, if Dave Haight didn't walk it off in the tenth, Hodge probably would have come out for the 11th. He needed just 105 pitches (less then all but two of the Cougars starts this year) to complete ten shutout innings with 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I remember when I drafted Hodge in the 6th Round in 1934, I was thinking "man, this 6'4'' righty is going to be throwing much harder then 83-85 once he reaches the upper minors and I might have a start pitcher on my hands!" Well, turns out he still throws 83-85, but he's developed well in all other facets of the game. He's a five pitch pitcher with now excellent control, and while only his curveball is truly dominant, his fastball could be if he just knew how to threw harder. Interesting enough, of the 63 pitchers in our organization, just four others throw his speed and none lower. I can only dream of how much better he'd be if he took the Bill Scott approach, but my scout thinks he'd be an excellent reliever (I think because of the curve being so good), and with all the depth in our system, that's likely what he'll end up doing. He made 20 starts in Lincoln last season, so with a few more like these he'll likely see himself in Mobile.