[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 70-63 (4th, 8/5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Carlos Montes : 32 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.037 OPS
Doc Love : 28 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .357 AVG, .871 OPS
Rich Langton : 25 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .320 AVG, .953 OPS

Schedule
9-6: Win vs Foresters (3-4): 10 innings
9-6: Win vs Foresters (7-11)
9-7: Loss vs Wolves (4-3)
9-8: Loss vs Wolves (5-2)
9-9: Win vs Wolves (2-3)
9-10: Win vs Wolves (5-6): 14 innings
9-11: Win vs Sailors (3-4)
9-12: Loss vs Sailors (12-9)

Recap
We just love these one run games... Luckily, we won three of them this time and dropped just one, with two of the wins coming in extra innings. It was another good week overall, splitting with the Wolves and Sailors after sweeping the Foresters in the double header. We also managed to pick up our 70th win on the season, one of nine teams to meet that mark so far. I was disappointed in the split with the Wolves, however, it works the same as if we were swept in the double header and then swept them. We also suffered a pair of day-to-day injuries, one to Langton and one to Pug, but neither will cause them to miss the entirety of the week. Bryan's start will be pushed back until Saturday now after leaving the 14 inning game against the Wolves after just one batter. It's a good thing I had Bill Kline on hand, as Kline had a valiant 6.2 inning relief outing with 3 hits, a walk, an unearned run, and 5 strikeouts. Luis Sandoval then blew up, 4 runs (1 earned) off 4 hits and 3 walks in 2 innings. This led to three excellent relief innings from Rankin before Clarence Crane tossed two hitless frames to earn the win.

A lot of crazy pitching this week because of the double header and the injury, so Pug, Lyons, and Morse all had to make two starts. Pug's first start went really well, a complete game win over the Foresters with 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout. Lyons looked good in both his outings, 13 innings with 17 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts as he beat both the Foresters and the Sailors. Morse didn't look terrible, but he lost both of his starts. One was a complete game, the other just 5.2 innings, and he allowed 15 hits, 12 runs (7 earned), and 7 walks with four strikeouts. Milt Fritz featured the best start of the week, a complete game win with 8 hits, an earned run, an unearned run, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Rankin lost his start, 9 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 3 strikeouts in a complete game loss to Toronto. The pen did have some issues, with both Purvis and Crane allowing three runs for the week with Kline the only pen arm to not allow an earned run.

It wasn't a perfect week for the offense, but it was much improved over the prior week. Carlos Montes had a big week, 12-for-32 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 2 walks, a steal, 7 runs, and 4 RBI's. Despite the thing muscle strain (will cost him three more days), Rich Langton started to turn things around, 8-for-25 with a double, triple, homer, 3 walks, 3 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. Doc Love hit a similar 10-for-28 with a double, triple, 3 walks, 3 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. Backup catcher Johnnie Williamson made the most of his two starts, 3-for-8 with a double, walk, run, and 4 RBI's. Freddie Bennett's debut week didn't go all that great, just 1-for-8 with a run scored and two driven in. That wasn't all that shocking, but what was was the poor defense. He made two errors in sixteen chances which is more then a full .1 worse then his fielding percentage in Milwaukee and Mobile this year. I'm guessing it's a fluky small sample, but most 23-year-olds probably had a different thing in mind for their debut week. Ken Wyatt actually got into some games too, 0-for-2 with a walk and run in two games off the bench.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Sailors to start the week as we'll fight for the rubber match. Philly sits at 79-55 and two and a half games ahead of the Kings. Cleveland has now dropped to third, but still in striking distance at three and a half out. The Sailors have filled up their roster, carrying 34 of the maximum 35 allotted players. They've had a lot of their prospects up throughout the season, but the new roster features current and former top prospects like Woody Stone, Harry Carter, Marion Boismenu, and Harvey Brown plus former Cougar Marty Roberts. These guys will all help the Sailors off the bench as they look to win their first pennant since 1930. Dave Rankin is set to take the mound for us and he'll face either Doc Newell or William Jones. Neither are good options, but at 17-7 with a 3.60 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 55 walks, and 96 strikeouts, Newell is the best (and most rested) case scenario for us.

We return home after for three with the Cannons, who find themselves as the second team in the CA eliminated from the playoffs. At 55-81, they are playing for the #2 pick, and have also brought up a few reinforcements from the minors. They've also added a spot to their rotation, inserting Dale Dube into the back of the rotation to give the youngsters some extra days off in the final month. This makes it easier to miss Gus Goulding, who is 12-19 with a 3.93 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 79 walks, and 134 strikeouts in 283.2 innings pitched. He's looking to be the new Dave Rankin, almost a lock to lose 20 games on the season. It's likely for John Edwards (9-17) and Rusty Petrick (9-18) too, but the 21-year-olds still have very respectable numbers. On the offensive side, Clark Car never really turned it around, and he's likely to see a sub 100 OPS+ in his first full season for the Cannons. The leadoff man is hitting .248/.300/.406 (85 OPS+) with 37 doubles, 7 triples, 8 homers, 4 steals, and 62 RBI's. Like all the Cannons other then Jim Mason, he's sporting an OPS+ below 95.

The homestand continues with another cellar dweller, the Stars, but we only get two against them. On pace for the second pick in the draft, they hold a one game lead over the Cannons. The Stars have made a roster overhaul, starting with four new members of the rotation to join Harry Carter and Les Zoller. The brought up a trio of southpaws, starting with former 11th Overall Pick Chris Clarke. Clarke has made two starts and is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (314 ERA+), 0.53 WHIP, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. While obviously unsustainable, in his 136 innings down in LA he was 11-4 with a 2.98 ERA (139 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 42 walks, and 65 strikeouts. Also joining the rotation is former 10th Overall Pick "Long Lou" Barker who's debut didn't quite go as planned. The Stars won, but Barker got a no decision, tossing seven frames with 11 hits, 4 runs, a walk, and a strikeout. The last lefty was Glenn Payne, a 1931 13th Round selection who allowed 5 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts in just 5 innings pitched. The only righty was the highest touted of the four, the Stars #3 prospect and #36 prospect in the FABL Vern Hubbard. Part of the stacked 1932 class, he was a 4th Round selection who had little to no trouble with minor league pitching. 23 in November, Hubbard was an out away from a complete game victory over the Kings. He allowed 11 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and a strikeout in a 15-3 win. This is a very inexperienced rotation, but it's filled with upside and a huge upgrade over what they were throwing. The lineup also got a huge upgrade, with #10 prospect in all of baseball Johnny Hopper hitting seventh and catching. He had a nice debut week, 7-for-21 with a double and a pair of walks, runs, and RBI's. They also brought up 1932 5th Rounder Bill Michael to play short. They have a higher upside shortstop in Joe Angevine at AAA, but my scout is a big fan of Michael. He walked five times and was 6-for-21 in his first week in New York.

Our homestand continues with a two game set against the Kings with one game this week and one game the next. You can and should never count out the Kings, even if Tom Barrell isn't pitching like Tom Barrell. He's just tossed 133.1 innings this year, working to a 3.64 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.23 WHIP with 22 walks and 72 strikeouts. It feels weird, but his numbers are pretty in line with the rest of our rotation. The Kings haven't made any callups yet, but most of their talent was already in Brooklyn. Al Wheeler has started to re-heat, hitting career homer 300 and now slashing .303/.403/.531 (140 OPS+) for the season with a league high 26 homers and 106 RBI's. He's now batting behind Joe Perret, who's hitting .349/.381/.484 (122 OPS+) with 5 homers and 38 RBI's in two more then 200 trips to the plate. Curly Jones is tied with fellow #1 overall selection Tom Barrell for the team strikeout lead, but his 72 comes with 81 walks, a 3.80 ERA (113 ERA+), and 1.45 WHIP. Joe Shaffner's streak of shutouts was snapped at three, the fourth start eight and a third with five hits and a single run. Potentially this year's Allen Award Winner, Shaffner is 17-3 with a 2.47 ERA (174 ERA+), 1.14 WHIP, 50 walks, and 57 strikeouts in an out more then 200 innings. He's kept the Kings in it, and now it's time for Tom to take it to the finish line.

I thought he was going to be out for the season, but Bill Scott has returned from his herniated disc, and will end up with more then 12 starts on the season. This gave me an extra starter to work with in the farm, so I decided to bring up an extra arm for the pen. I had a bunch of young arms and a handful of vets to choose between, but I eventually setteled on a fireballing leader instead. Despite pitching in San Jose all of last season, the 23-year-old from Berwyn Joe Brown will have a chance to make his FABL debut. Acquired from the Dynamos in a 1936 trade for Hank Spencer, Brown made 8 outstanding starts in Lincoln before a promotion up to Mobile. He made 14 starts for the Commodores, finishing 10-3 with a 2.79 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP, 27 walks, and 39 strikeouts. A 9th Rounder from 1932, Brown turns 24 next March and is a beloved member of every clubhouse he's been apart of. That used to be his appeal; everyone loves him, but now he's turned into an outstanding young arm. Brown has excellent control, keeps the ball on the ground, and mixes his five pitches well. He comfortably throws in the high 90s with his sinker, while his four secondary offerings are effective as well. OSA believes he'll become a middle of the rotation arm, I'd tend to agree, but Brown hasn't shown any signs of slowing down his development. He'll be used as a pen arm for now, but I know he can be a steady presence in a rotation. Brown currently ranks 10th in our system and 80th in the FABL.

Minor League Report
LHP Doc Smith (A Lincoln Legislators): Our 2nd Rounder in 1935, Doc Smith still hasn't gotten much prospect love, but he continues to pitch good baseball. It's now 11 starts with the Legislators and Smith is 4-0 with a 3.75 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 21 walks, and 29 strikeouts in his 74.1 innings pitched. He hasn't been going all that deep into games, just two starts this year that went eight or longer. This could be part of the reason he doesn't get much love, with my scout viewing him as an emergency starter at best. The lefties pitches are very underdeveloped, but he does an outstanding job generating groundballs with his mid 80s sinker, and he can challenge hitters up and in with his fastball. He's an extremely hard worker with solid stuff and good movement and I have faith he'll be able to shake off some of his command issues. He'll turn 23 in October, but I expect Smith to take his time in the minors as there are a lot of arms further along then him ahead of him.

LF Chubby Hall (C La Crosse Lions): I was really hoping he'd be ready for San Jose this season, but Hall hasn't quite developed as quickly as anticipated. His on field numbers are impressive, but he still has a red arrow when I try to promote him. Nonetheless, Hall finished out an exceptional week, going 10-for-26 with a homer, 8 runs, and 9 RBI's. The 20-year-old is now hitting a clean .300/.340/.432 (127 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homers, 5 steals, and 84 RBI's in 517 PA's for La Crosse. He still hasn't showcased the brilliant 15-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio, but they're almost even (30, 33) and a far improvement (21, 59) from last year. And while last year most of the reps came in right, he's spent most of his time this season in left. He's looking like a capable defender in the corner outfield and he can occasionally make a cameo in center if needed. He kind of reminds me of Rich Langton 2.0; more power and a better eye, albeit, with far less speed. My scout thinks he's going to be an excellent starting outfielder and rates him with more upside then every outfielder in our system except Leo Mitchell (although he may never reach it...). After the graduation of Hunter and Montes, Hall has claimed the #2 spot in the system and now ranks 37th in all of baseball. I'm really excited for Chubby despite his obvious flaw and short and stubby stature, but he could definitely play veteran John Dibblee in a movie about his life. Both due to his looks, and of course, is excellent talent with the bat.