[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 23-23 (t-4th, 6.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Rich Langton : 23 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .391 AVG, 1.223 OPS
Billy Hunter : 24 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.077 OPS
Ray Ford : 22 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .318 AVG, .924 OPS

Schedule
5-31: Loss at Wolves (6-3)
5-31: Win at Wolves (3-7)
6-2: Win at Saints (5-3)
6-3: Loss at Saints (12-14)
6-4: Win at Saints (9-6)
6-5: Win at Cannons (6-0)
6-6: Loss at Cannons (5-7)

Recap
If you told me that we'd be .500 at any point in this season, I'd think you were crazy. But none the less, for the first time in almost three years the Chicago Cougars had a winning record! Sure, it was just 23-22, but that's a winning record none the less! Another winning week has brought us to an even record and fourth place in the Continental Association.

The biggest news of the week came courtesy of Dave Rankin. His start against the Wolves didn't go too well, but he picked up a save on the 2nd and 4th before tossing a 8-hit, 1 walk, 5 strikeout shutout over the Cannons to start that series. Rankin had a rough start to the year, but now he's on pace for just 19 losses and he has a strong 3.75 ERA (114 ERA+) and 1.41 WHIP with 33 walks and 37 strikeouts. I'm hoping he can break 300 innings this season, something he was just an inning short of last season. Milt Fritz picked up another win, 8 innings with 12 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. This increased his FABL best ERA to 1.94 as he's the lone survivor with a sub 2 ERA. Fritz has to be the most painful and inconsistent pitcher ever, but when he's on, he's on. Oscar Morse split his two starts, 17 innings with 14 hits, 10 runs (8 earned), 6 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Jonah Brown had to make a spot start and it went poorly, 10 hits and 9 runs (4 earned) with a walk in just 3.2 innings pitched.

At the plate, we were slugging away and everyone hit. We totaled nine homers to increase our CA best to 37. Two came from Ford, two from Langton, and two from Lawson. Langton has really struggled this season, but slashed .391/.440/.783 with a double, triple, 2 walks, 3 runs, and 7 RBI's in his first good week of the year. He's almost brought his triple slash to an average split, .277/.320/.433 (98 OPS+) with 5 homers, 2 steals, and 17 RBI's. Lawson only hit .250 for the week, but Ford was 7-for-22 with three runs and seven driven in. Leo Mitchell also caught fire, 8-for-17 with 2 doubles, 4 runs, 3 walks, and an RBI. Billy Hunter continued his torrid start, 8-for-24 with a double, 3 triples, 3 RBI's, 6 runs, 6 walks, and a steal. Our catching and centerfield platoon decided to join in the fun, the catchers 9-for-27 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 6 runs, 2 walks, and 8 RBI's while the centerfielders were 11-for-31 with 3 doubles, a triple, RBI, 8 runs, 4 walks, and 2 steals. The only two that didn't hit this week were Love and Page who were both 6-for-26. They did add two triples, a homer, 11 RBI's, 10 runs, 2 steals, and 5 walks, so even they managed to help a bit.

Looking Ahead
May truly was a great month for us, playing .600 ball at 18-12. It sure beats the 2-9 April, but the team is giving me too much unwarranted excitement. If we keep winning like this I can already see myself making very bad trade choices to try to chase a championship, but I feel like that's half the fun. We do have some on hand replacements I might bringing up, the biggest one being Carlos Montes. He's getting reps out in right with Yates in center, but he's a strong defender an oozes with offensive talent. He's hitting just .221 in AAA, but with a .315 OBP, .448 slugging, and 131 OPS+. This is with help from 10 doubles, a triple, 7 homers, 9 steals, and 18 RBI's and walks. He's just 21 and only in year three of his pro career, but he seems to be ready to make some noise. On the pitching side Pug could be back soon, as he's looked much better in Milwaukee. In these five starts he is 3-1 with a 1.21 ERA (273 ERA+), 0.64 WHIP, 5 walks, and 17 strikeouts. This 5.2 K/9 is identical his total in the majors, but his walk rate is greatly cut down. Brown and Baggett haven't looked too good, so if Pug can get things back together, he'll be back in Chicago in no time. He even took Player of the Week as a pitcher with 13.1 shutout innings. He walked one, struck out seven, and allowed just 5 hits while picking up two wins.

One more in Baltimore, and the winner will claim fourth place for them self. It looks like a Gus Goulding-Milt Fritz matchup, good way to end the series from a fans perspective. Goulding has slumped a bit from his dominant 1936, but it's only a matter of time before he heats back up. After that it's off to Brooklyn for three with the first place Kings. Despite going 7-3, Art White has really been hit hard recently as his ERA has risen to 4.76 (92 ERA+). The former 3rd Rounder still has a nice 1.32 WHIP with 19 walks and 32 strikeouts, but while White has faltered, the rest of the group has continued their dominance. Joe Shaffner sits right behind Fritz in the ERA race, and he's 7-1 with a 2.42 ERA (181 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 20 walks, and 20 strikeouts. Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy boast 2.60 (168 ERA+) and 2.91 (150 ERA+) ERA's with outstanding WHIP's of 1.08 and 1.15. They are quite different pitchers, however, as Barrell struck out 10 his last outing while Murphy has 14 for the season. Despite all of Brooklyn's success, however, they've gotten nothing from the generally reliable Bill May and Harry Barrell. May is hitting just .255/.287/.345 (62 OPS+) with a homer, 9 steals, and 17 RBI's. Harry missed some time with injury, but he's hitting a slightly worse .254/.295/.316 (57 OPS+) with 9 RBI's. Both turn 24 this year (May already did), and that's not quite an age players start to decline at. I expect both to heat up real soon, and it's going to be tough for the rest of the league if those two start hitting.

We stay in New York and finish up our road trip with a three game series before an off game. The Stars have fallen onto tough times and are just 18-30 and 12.5 games out behind their interstate rival. They have gotten decent pitching, and former 12th Rounder George Phillips has put together a nice sophomore season. In his 8 starts he's 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 21 walks, and 21 strikeouts. He has a really nice slider and a solid 90 mile per hour fastball. My scout thinks he can be a dependable middle of the rotation arm, and he'll be a nice addition to Harry Carter and Les Zoller. The offense, however, has really struggled and it's been even worse with Larry Colaianni out with a sprained ankle. He's hitting .293/.343/.476 (111 OPS+) with 10 doubles, a triple, 6 homers, and 17 RBI's. They were hoping switch hitter and former 8th overall pick Art McMahon would break out at 26, but in his 71 plate appearances he's really struggled. The Hawaii native is hitting a paltry .239/.268/.254 (37 OPS+) which is far from the line expected for a top 10 prospect.

Minor League Report
1B Johnny Waters (Milwaukee Blues): I felt bad for sending him down to AAA to start the season, and he responded with a dominant May. Taking home Century League Batter of the Month, Waters hit .342 with 4 homers and 16 runs scored and driven in. The switch hitter only hit 7 homers last season in over twice as many plate appearances, and is already up to 6 this season. He's hitting a nice .279/.306/.485 (135 OPS+) with 16 doubles and 18 RBI's. Waters is excellent at putting the ball in play, with all but 11 of his 173 plate appearances ending with one. He's even looked okay at first, something he generally struggles with. A perfect bench bat, the only thing standing between him and a major league roster spot is Bill Ashbaugh, and I think Ashbaugh is closer to a coaching position then productive baseball player.

SS Jorge Camargo (Mobile Commodores): He won't be in Mobile any longer, but Camargo will leave with a Dixie League Player of the Month under his belt. Camargo came from independent ball in the offseason, and despite only a few seasons in A ball, he's really excelled with us. For the month he hit .310 with a homer, 13 RBI's, and 20 runs scored to improve his season line to .282/.364/.471 (151 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 7 triples, 8 steals, and 20 RBI's. The switch hitter has excellent speed, a great eye, and should develop into a solid defender. I'm working on boosting his versatility, with most of his time this season at second. He just turned 25 on the 2nd and is on the 40, so depending how he does in Milwaukee Camargo could end up spending some time in the big leagues. Our AAA infield has needed some help since Hunter left, so Camargo may be just what the Blues need to get back on track. He'll start at third for now, but I expect he'll move around a little depending who's hot and who's not.

RHP Cy Sullivan (Mobile Commodores): As if the season could get any better for former 4th Round Pick, the 23-year-old Sullivan tossed a nice 9-hit, 4 strikeout shutout of the Atlanta Peaches to even his record at 3-3. Don't let that record fool you, our offense has not supported him nearly enough. Cy's sporting a 1.60 ERA (197 ERA+) and 1.08 WHIP with 14 walks and 11 strikeouts in 62 strong innings. He's turning into one of those inning eaters like Rankin and after three years of throwing 87-89, he added an extra mile on his fastball. He has good control of all four of his pitches, but the slider is the only other one that's ready to go. If at least one of the curve or change develops, he could eventually start striking batters out, but he looks like a guy who's going to succeed by generating poor contact. He's going to need protection in the offseason from the Rule-5 draft, but either him or Harry Parker will be the next guy to reach AAA. He's expected to be an extremely reliable big league starter and he's so far been worth the wait.

CF John Johnson (A Lincoln Legislators): With all the Player of the Month winners, it only makes sense we'd also have a Player of the Week winner. Last year's 3rd Rounder, Johnson had an outstanding week, 13-for-21 with 2 homers, 8 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. The season hasn't gone great, but this week brought his single season line to .259/.325/.435 (101 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 3 homers, 12 steals, and 29 RBI's. A lefty hitter with a strong, lean frame, Johnson is an extra base machine and he can stretch singles to doubles and doubles to triple. He generally boasts a good eye as well, but he's walked (14) almost half as much as he's struck out (24). My scout thinks Johnson will be an above average center fielder, but OSA ranks him outside our top 30 and 410th in the league. At 23, is a little older then most of our prospects and it might be 25 or 26 before he gets a shot in the big leagues.