[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 44-45 (4th, 9.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
None generated this week

Schedule
7-19: Loss at Kings (3-5)
7-20: Win at Stars (15-2)
7-21: Win at Stars (11-3)
7-22: Win at Stars (8-6)
7-23: Loss at Saints (7-8)
7-24: Win at Saints (6-1)
7-25: Win at Saints (5-2)

Recap
After shaking off the sweep by the Kings, we buckled down and took five of the next six to complete a strong week on the road. We swept right past the Stars, putting up double digits in the first two before finishing off the sweep with a much more highly contested match. Both losses were real close, as it feels like all of them have been recently, but I loved the offensive production even with being on the road. We also brought home another Player of the Week, this week Ray Ford, who was 14-for-26 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. Ford was awful last week, but had a pair of four hit games and two more with two this week. The 26-year-old has been productive at the plate, hitting .298/.366/.469 (121 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 3 triples, 10 homers, and 45 RBI's thusfar. The power surge has been nice, he's doubled his homerun total in about half the time. The offense has not been the problem, we actually have a strong Pythagorean (47-42), but luck and the defense has let us down.

Ford wasn't the only hitter with an excellent week, as Mike Taylor continues his sort of rebound season. Taylor went 12-for-26 with 2 doubles, a triple, a homer, 6 runs, and 9 RBI's. He's hitting an almost league average .288/.340/.401 with 18 doubles, 3 homers, and 42 RBI's. Leo Mitchell was 7-for-18 with a homer, 2 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. John Lawson was 13-for-32 with a steal, 5 doubles, 8 runs, and 8 RBI's. Our new middle infield, however, didn't hit at all. Joe Foy and Ollie Page combined to go 10-for-52 with a double, 2 triples, and 10 RBI's. Page accounted for both the triples and all but one of the RBI's, so Foy was almost useless at the plate. Of course, it's just one week, and at least we can only go up from there.

On the mound, Pug and Rankin were excellent in their two starts. Pug was 1-1, and went 16 innings with 15 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 7 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Most of the missteps were in the first start, as the unearned run was really the only blemish in a complete game win over the Saints. He allowed 7 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in his fourth win of the season. He's now sporting a league average (in terms of ERA+) 4.15 ERA in 91 FABL innings. Our rotation is actually extremely reliable, sitting at second (3.70) in the CA. The rotation is a bit different then last year, but we're riding back-to-back seasons with a team ERA above 5, so I think we'll be able to avoid that fate this year. Rankin tossed a pair of complete game victories, recording 12 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts. Milt Fritz, however, continued his rough patch, 13 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in an out short of six innings. Dick Lyons continued to heat up, falling an out short of a complete game, allowing 10 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with a punch out as he improved to 7-3.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week, but we'll use the day to return home to get a good nights sleep before welcoming the third place Brooklyn Kings. Sitting at 52-39, they're just 2.5 games out of first, and the Kings GM has floated the idea of a mini-teardown, with stars Al Wheeler, Frank Vance, and Joe Shaffner all being placed on the block. I think even the Barrelless Kings can compete for a pennant, but you know the first thing I did was make an offer for Al Wheeler. Hopefully, he switches sides for the series, but expect the 4-Time Whitney Winner to finish the season in Brooklyn. The Decatur kid is slashing a robust .309/.402/.546 (143 OPS+) with 18 homers and 76 RBI's. He's leading the CA in homers and RBI's, but his average will stop him from a batting title. The 35-year-old Vance has shown no signs of ace, batting .329/.403/.508 (134 OPS+) with 30 doubles, 8 homers, and 43 RBI's in 361 trips to the plate. The last of the trio, Shaffner, is the loan pitcher, and he's done admirable filling in as the ace. He's 12-3 with a 3.10 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 43 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 145.1 innings pitched. All three of these players are extremely talented, but my best guess is they all stay in Brooklyn. Even with some of their teams struggles, the Kings rank 1st in OBP, slugging, OPS, WAR (batting and pitching), wOBA, runs, extra base hits, homers, walks, zone rating, and pen ERA. The only stats they don't rank in the top half for are strikeouts (t-6th), steals (6th), strikeouts (5th), and starter's ERA (5th). I expect Brooklyn to give us a lot of trouble, with or (hopefully) without Al Wheeler.

Next is Montreal, who we broke the tie with as they dropped to 42-49 after a rough week. They'll head to town for the weekend. Earle Whitten was roughed up in his most recent start, and he's now 5-7 with a 5.13 ERA (84 ERA+), 1.58 WHIP, 42 walks, and 32 strikeouts in 94.2 innings pitched. Montreal has had a lot of struggles at second base with Red Moore's quick decline, and they've now placed 23-year-old third basemen Gary Carmichael at second. Despite his age, this is his third FABL season, and the former 4th Round selection of the Gothams has been used sparingly off the bench. Montreal has a lot of talent, with Adam Mullins, Hank Barnett, Pablo Reyes, and Vic Crawford all excellent players, but the rest of the lineup could use some help. Some of that could come in the form of former top prospect Red Bond, who hasn't played all that much despite hitting .298/.375/.464 (115 OPS+) in just under 100 trips to the plate.

Minor League Report
RHP Chet Peacock (AA Mobile Commodores): He's not are most talented prospect, but the 1930 6th Rounder has been excellent in his 13 starts this season. In his past three starts, he's allowed just a single run sandwiched between a 4 and 3 hit shutout, going the distance in all three starts. After his latest win, the 25-year-old is now 8-3 with a 1.93 ERA (163 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 24 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched. A finesse pitcher, Peacock is just 5'8'' and has outstanding command of his three pitches. He doesn't throw too hard, 89-91 on average with his fastball, but Peacock has had very little past success. Peacock was selected by the Gothams in the Rule-5 draft (released later), so it seems likely that I'll have to make a tough decision on whether or not to protect him. Peacock ranks just outside the top 500, but has never been given too much prospect love. You can never have too many arms, and there are still a few disposable players on the 40, so Peacock may end up getting a crack in the big leagues.

RHP Joe Brown (AA Mobile Commodores): My most recent scouting report said; "If Brown can add another quality pitch, he could work his way into the rotation." Well, the fireballing Brown just added a knuckle curve to his repertoire as well, and can now throw five separate pitches. Up to 96-98 with his sinker, Brown does an excellent job keeping the ball on ground and he can place the ball exactly where he wants to. He's now made 6 starts with the Commodores, going 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 15 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. Brown has already developed into a captain, his teammates love him, the fans love him, and even his competitors loves him. I've always liked Brown, his tools and consistent velocity growth (he used to throw 85-87!), plus the character aspects, but he's also slowly established himself in the farm rankings. My scout ranks him 5th of our SP with potential upside and he's up to 18th/152nd in the prospect rankings. On the off chance we are in contention come September, he could be exactly what we need to give us the final push. He's also started to develop into an inning eater, five consecutive complete games with pitch counts ranging from 113 (twice) to 165. We've got a lot of Joe's now; Foy, Foote, and Ferrara, but I do think Brown is the best of the bunch.