[ayaghmour2]

Okay, let's try this again! Definitely a lot less words then before, but I think I did an okay enough job replicating the good stuffs

Wow. Just wow. After starting 3-13 and well on our way to another second division finish, something just snapped. We finished the season 80-58, a .580 pace that would have had us falling just short of the Kings and the Sailors. We climbed well out of the cellar and managed to hop over the Foresters for third place in the Continental Association. This gives me deja vu to the 1929-1931 Cougars; 92 losses to 84 wins to a 91 win championship. 1935 and 1936 have started similar; 91 losses to 83 wins to, well, let's hope a championship! Both 80 wins seasons I didn't think we had a chance to make the playoffs, and while the 1930 Cougars just missed the mark, this year's group was still rather far out. Nonetheless, it's going to be an extremely exciting offseason (with a trade already made! Joe Foote to the Minutemen for a 2nd Rounder).

The Bats
Generally the strength of the team, our offense was extremely inconsistent this year and we managed the 4th most runs in our league with the 2nd most homers. We led the league most of the year in homers before the Kings eventually jumped us in September. We did lead the league in hits and were second in average, slugging, OPS, and WAR. The biggest weakness, however, was our awful baserunning. We were 7th in steals and 8th in base running and we (probably) were the only team to fail to have a single batter with double digit steals. Still, there was a lot to be happy about. We had 10 everyday players (I'm counting Hunter and Mitchell), and seven of them had OPS+ above 100. Most were in the 114-128 range, so not quite star level performance, but other then the surprise cliff diving of Ollie Page's bat, there wasn't really a weakness in the lineup.

The best performers both had important 50's, with Billy Hunter starting 50 games and Johnny Waters making 50 appearances off the bench. They were are most effective players this season, although Hunter (obviously) played significantly more. He slashed .319/.393/.545 (146 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers, and 29 RBI's with an outstanding 25-to-6 walk-to-strikeout ratio before an injury ended his season. I cannot wait for a full season of Billy Hunter, but the poor kid has had an injury every season except 1935 and he missed about two and a half months with a pair of ailments this year. When healthy, this kid is a top 5 shortstop, and he was the only FABL shortstop with an above average OPS+ and defensive efficiency. And while not a building block like Hunter, the pinch hit specialist Johnny Waters was outstanding at the plate. The fellow rookie slashed .339/.381/.542 (142 OPS+) with 7 doubles, a triple, homer, and 10 RBI's. He seems to be a lock to our roster next year as the #1 pinch hitter, because he simply rakes and does it from both sides of the plate.

The next group contains a group of five who played a lot more, 100+ games and 450+ plate appearances from each member. John Lawson led the charge, as the CA's batting title champion hit .327/.371/.495 (128 OPS+) with 25 homers and 108 RBI's. It was the lowest single season average of his career, but still his fourth batting title. His homer total was the second highest of his career and he reached the 100 RBI for the seventh time in his potentially Hall of Fame career. The glove declined a bit, as the generally above average third basemen had a slightly below average -1.0 zone rating and .992 efficiency, but it's a little expected from an almost 35-year-older who's just 5'9'' and weighs 200 pounds. One of his closest competitors for the batting title was teammate Doc Love, who hit a productive .322/.361/.485 (122 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 13 homers, and 79 RBI's. Now on the wrong side of 30, Love continues to hit the ball well and actually put up his first positive season out in left (1.6 ZR, 1.002 EFF). Love did lose some at bats against lefties since he hits a much lower .289/.304/.417 against southpaws, and I expect him to see less time against lefties if we are able to add a big bat like I want. He's not really in danger of losing his starting job, yet, but Love could also be used in trade discussions.

The bottom three are the youngsters, but only one of them made more then 500 PA's. That would be Ray Ford, who's .290/.358/.452 (114 OPS+) batting line was near identical to last years .319/.371/.430 (114 OPS+) mark. The move to second slowed down Fords bat, as he did hit above .300 a majority of the season, but the -9.0 zone rating and .866 efficiency are a noticeable improvement over the -11.1 and .731 from last season. He did see a huge power boost, going from 5 homers to 18, much closer to his actual power. He also had an impressive walk-to-strikeout ratio, 57-to-15 with 32 doubles and 83 RBI's. His fellow 1B/OF Leo Mitchell matched Lawson's .327 average, but his 460 PA's weren't quite enough to qualify. Mitchell broke out in the second half, finishing with a solid .327/.393/.429 (118 OPS+) line after hitting .367 from August on. Still not much power from the 24-year-old, but he added 20 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 homers, all career highs. Lastly, rookie Carlos Montes appeared in exactly 100 games, playing above average offense and defense out in center. He had a 8.0 zone rating and 1.041 efficiency to go with a .292/.365/.453 (116 OPS+) batting line. Montes stole 9 bases and hit 19 doubles, 9 triples, and 10 homers with 55 RBI's and 71 runs scored. He was the perfect leadoff hitter for us, and considering how well he did as a 21-year-old, I'm stoked for next season.

Of course, it wasn't all good, as there was a reason we didn't finish closer to the top. Ollie Page's batting line when spelunking, hitting a pitiful .227/.298/.335 (68 OPS+) with 12 doubles, 13 triples, 7 homers, 8 steals, and 66 RBI's. He wasn't perfect at short, but definitely respectable, and looked really good at second when Hunter was healthy. Page is still just 27, and I think this was just a random outlier year, but the Montana native may find himself functioning as a utility infielder (or eventual Hunter injury replacement...) instead of the top of the order shortstop he functioned as for his first twoish years on the roster. Rich Langton also had a drop in his production, but he finished out strong to almost reach an average season line. He also missed some time with injury, and hit .265/.329/.414 (96 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 9 triples, 12 homers, and 55 RBI's. Langton is the biggest risk of losing a spot, but the 26-year-old has youth on his side and a year and a half track record of outstanding offense. He looked good in right too, with an alright 4.0 zone rating and 1.018 efficiency. I'd bet on a return to form for him next year, but with a lot of talented young outfielders in our system, he does have a lot of pressure.

And even though he hit a poor .265/.356/.375 (83 OPS+), it was actually an improvement for Mike Taylor after an even worse 1936. The former superstar catcher fell off a cliff in 1935, but he did start hitting a few more extra bases. He doubled 23 times, close to his 1934 mark, with 7 homers and 69 RBI's. Taylor is holding on by a thread, as I've already reached out about a replacement catcher and Harry Mead is knocking on the door. Mead got into 5 games in September, and hit .235/.278/.412 (80 OPS+). Really small sample of course, but it's not much different then Taylor. I'm leaning towards a Taylor/Williamson or Mead platoon, until Mead seizes the job himself.

The Pitchers
There is something about North Side Park that just makes pitching bipolar. The 1929 Cougars set the now broken record for highest single season ERA, then the 1933 Cougars set the human play ERA record and only team since 1919 to finish the year with a sub 3.00 ERA, just to collapse in 1935 to break our 1929 record (it's not the new record, since others have broken it too). Now it's 1937, and a rag tag group of hurlers finished with the best starting pitching ERA in the entire FABL.

I mean, just take a look at the staff: the ace is a perennial leader in losses who has lost 19 or more games four times and never finished with a winning record. The #2 was traded four times in five years, each for a seemingly smaller package. The #3 was a 34-year-old waiver claim castoff that no one wanted. The #4 was a rookie that the prospect rankers, OSA, and scouts alike have mocked me for using a 2nd Rounder on and the #5 is a 37-year-old southpaw who looked washed up and is the only Cougar to survive from 1925 to current day. But against all odds, this group that started the season ranked 11th and finished the season ranked 11th managed to etch their names in the history books and all put together above average seasons. Of course, that group is colloquially known as Dave Rankin, Milt Fritz, Oscar Morse, Pug Bryan, and Dick Lyons. And for some reason, they were really good this year.

Interesting enough, Rankin had the highest ERA at 3.87, but there's a reason for that. This guy will not be relieved. Only seven of his 38 starts he didn't finish (one was injury too) and he went more then nine three separate times. The inning eating machine ate 323.2 of them this year, and won his last four starts to avoid the 20 loss mark and another season leading the league in losses. He was 18-19 with a 109 ERA+, 1.30 WHIP, 90 walks, and 121 strikeouts. Of course, his numbers (mainly ERA) are a bit inflated because of the fact he'll never leave the game. He'll never admit to being tired, but he tends to give up late inning runs in games that aren't really close, and I push him hard. I'll almost always skip other pitchers to give him another outing and I try my hardest to pair him with good teams or good pitchers. The kid is fearless, and even though he's been targeted multiple times for trades, he's the glue that holds the team together.

Even more interesting is Milt Fritz, who had the best ERA (3.32, 127) and worst WHIP (1.42). The WHIP is because of the insane amount of walks, 4.0 per nine and 129 in 287 innings pitched. Like Rankin, he was under .500, 14-17, but he lost his last four starts and really struggled towards the end of the season. I might have pitched him a bit too much, but the 287 innings aren't the highest of his career. I do think the NTC has really allowed Fritz to settle in, and he's won 31 games for the Cougars. I want him to win more with us then his other teams combined (101), but he'll need just 10 next year to win more with us then any other individual team.

I would lump the bottom three together, but I have a lot to say about Pug Bryan. His first five starts, he was beyond awful, working to a pathetic 6.97 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP with 18 walks and strikeouts in his 31 innings pitched. Then came the Milwaukee demotion, where Bryan basically replicated his insane AA numbers. Just 6 starts in Milwaukee, but he was 3-2 with a 1.51 ERA (221 ERA+), 0.70 WHIP, 7 walks, and 21 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched. I forgot exactly what inspired it, my guess was I was fed up of Clarence Crane, Allen Purvis, and Jonah Brown's five starts, but Pug was back up in Chicago. The former 2nd Rounder was a brand new man, working to a 2.89 ERA (what would of been the second best in all of baseball), a 1.23 WHIP (tied for 5th with good ol' Dick Lyons), 46 walks, and 50 strikeouts in an arguably elite string of 18 starts. All told, Pug was 8-9 with a 3.69 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 64 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 158.2 FABL innings pitched. Still a remarkable season by any measure, especially when it's your first in the big leagues. Yes, I'm floating Pug's name in trades, but I think he's got a dozen seasons like this in him.

On to the two vets, Morse and Lyons, both getting up their in age, but also putting together their best seasons since 1933. Morse was the third member of the 200 inning club, tallying 238.1 with a 15-9 record, his best win percentage since he led the league in ERA back in 1930. He worked to a 3.70 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.38 WHIP, 83 walks, and 51 strikeouts. The homecoming worked far better then I could have expected for Morse, who I half expected to waive myself before the All Star break. I also thought the southpaw Dick Lyons would be out of the rotation by May, but somehow the 37-year-old persevered and put together an extremely impressive season. I did keep him over-rested, as I know age has slowed down Lyons, but he's now in 575 college, minor league, and major league games with just a one day cold in 1930 on his injury record. Lyons had his best win percentage of his career, 15-5 with a 3.84 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 36 walks, and 45 strikeouts. He managed just 187.2 innings pitched, the first season since 1927 he failed to reach 200, but I expected maybe 50 good innings out of Lyons, not 150. Since his first real season in 1927, he's been worth 2.5 WAR or better in each season, and 3.0 or better in each year except 27. He's barely holding off Sandoval, Parker, and Knight from taking his rotation spot, but one thing for sure is that Lyons will always have a spot on our roster. This could easily be his last good year, but how many players are still productive and reliable at 37?

The pen had a lot of shuffling around, but two guys maintained their spots all seasons; Allen Purvis and Clarence Crane. Purvis is there for his leadership, but he also did a strong job keeping runners on base. He tossed 62 innings in a start and 31 relief outings, going 3-1 with 5 saves, a 3.34 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 30 walks, and 21 strikeouts. The walks were extremely concerning, a 4.4 BB/9, but the 35-year-old is more there for his experience, mentorship, and leadership then his pitching performance. He'll fight for a job in the spring, but those qualities will weight heavily as I'm hoping the 1938 bullpen won't have to eat many innings. Crane, a lefty we poached from Boston, was the only Rule-5 pitcher to survive June, and despite his favorite tendency of walking two batters for every one he strikes out, he managed to tightrope out of trouble on more then one occasion. Crane went 63.1 innings in his 29 relief outings and 3 starts. The southpaw had a 3.13 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 39 walks, and 21 strikeouts to his credit. Bill Kline, Luis Sandoval, Joe Brown, Jonah Brown, and Jim Baggett all got some innings of their own, but the latter two are back in Cleveland while the other three combined for just 45 innings. I'm hoping I can really revamp the staff in the offseason, as if we were able to win 83 games with Oscar Morse and Dick Lyons, imagine what we could do with an arm like Dean Astle or Ed Wood (both arms I targeted and were declined on).

The Farm
On the surface, it looks like our farm is in worse shape then usual, as I'm guessing when the offseason list is posted tomorrow (Kings beat the Miners in five), it'll be the first time since we won the World Series where we don't have a top five system. That being said, a lot of top prospects have been graduated in the past three seasons; Leo Mitchell (10th), Ray Ford (1st), Billy Hunter (4th), Ollie Page (19th), Carlos Montes (51st, although he was in the top 30 during the season), Bert Wilson (28th, although that was with the Chiefs), and Rich Langton (30th) while Karl Wallace (49th) and Stumpy Beaman (72nd) are now out in Detroit. Even after all that, we still sit with 5 top 50 prospects, 11 top 100, 23 top 250, and 41 in the top 500. And of course, almost all the way at the tip top sits Pete Papenfus who should end up as the #1 prospect in baseball about two months into next season.

Of course, a lot of our prospects are right on the edge of graduating themselves. Harry Mead, Cy Sullivan, Joe Brown, Aart MacDonald, Ducky Jordan, and Bobby Mills are all on the 40-man roster and if all goes well, I can see Mead, Sullivan, and Brown all graduating next season. OSA also thinks Harry Parker, Ivan Cameron, and Tommy Wilson all have 1937 ETA's with Papenfus and Del Burnes set for 1938. All these guys rank in our top 20 and the leagues top 200. We've churned through a ton of players, and with a really rough 1937 draft, it may take a season or two to bring more top talent up. Finally Preacher Pietsch showed up in the top 500, but our two lottery picks are definitely bottom of the barrel and Joe Crosby was the only one to crack the top 200. I'm hoping to replenish the system with a few extra picks in this draft (hence the Foote trade), but there are a lot of exciting young players in the lower levels that don't get as much recognition as they might deserve. Still, the cupboard is running out of top of the line talent, and eventually we'll have a less exciting looking system.

The Future
Sure, I may be slightly biased, but things are really looking up for the Cougars. The fact that we were able to compete this year is rather astonishing, and since most of our good players are young, another year means things should keep getting better. It's a big if, but if Billy Hunter stays healthy all season and we're able to add a piece or two in the offseason, I think we have a legit shot to win 95 games. The only real worries in the lineup are Lawson and Love, but I'd imagine they'll still be able to maintain their high levels of production. I can only imagine that Rich Langton will turn things around and if Ollie Page is still in the starting lineup, there is no way he hits as pathetically as he did this year. It's possible guys like Ford, Montes, and Mitchell take steps back, but I have to imagine the opposite will be true. I really want to give the lineup another big masher even if it means giving up a big prospect. My way too early prediction for 1938 is 87 wins with no moves, 91 if we add a big bat, and 94 with a top line arm. One thing is for sure though, the Cougars are back, and there's not a Tommy Wilcox like injury that can cripple us into mediocrity. Other then Peter the Heater, Harry Parker, and Billy Hunter, however, there are no Cougars etched in stone. Time for an exciting offseason!