[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 51-47 (4th, 11 GB)
Stars of the Week
None generated

Schedule
7-26: Win at Kings (6-4)
7-27: Loss at Kings (8-9)
7-28: Loss at Kings (1-2): 10 innings
7-29: Win at Stars (5-4): 10 innings
7-30: Loss at Stars (3-4)
7-31: Win at Stars (2-0): 10 innings

Recap
This week was truly a mess, and we are rather lucky to escape it with an even 3-3 record. There were far too many one run games and far too many 10 inning games, but even with all those little hassles, July was our Month. Sure, we have the most wins since the All-Star break, but July became our second 18 win month, and our best in terms of win percentage (.648) as we flipped the script on our 10-18 June. We like to start slow and then heat up, but part of the heating up has to do with the three new members of the rotation. Our rotation trails just Brooklyn in terms of starting pitching ERA, and we've allowed the 3rd least runs in our league.

The arms were great again this week, with the only non-Cougar draftee in the rotation Milt Fritz taking the two start role this week. He won them both, the first a complete game win over the Kings where he allowed 9 hits, 4 runs, and 6 walks with 4 strikeouts. Start two was much better, an outstanding 10 inning shutout where Fritz allowed just 5 hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. Now 10-8 on the season, Fritz has won more games with the Cougars (41) then any other team, with the previous high his 40 wins in Brooklyn. It took him a bit longer, but in 733 innings in a Cougars uniform, Fritz is 41-40 with a 3.98 ERA (106 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 301 walks, and 221 strikeouts. At 28, he has 145 FABL wins, and he could potentially win 300 FABL games. We also got a great start from Cy Sullivan, who was unfortunate enough to get the loss. He allowed just 8 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and a walk with 2 strikeouts in nine and a third against the Kings. I think Cy has a rubber arm, pitching each of his five starts to completion so far, with three or less runs in all but one outing. Peter the Heater had a "bad" start, just 8 innings with 3 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 8 walks, and 6 strikeouts in a no decision. It was the lowest amount of strikeouts in a game this season, but he's still striking out an outstanding 8.2 per nine despite his way-to-high 6 walks per nine. We're 5-0 in games Papenfus has pitched, but this was his first no decision.

Dick Lyons maintained his 2.69 ERA with 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and 3 strikeouts in easily our unluckiest game of the season. Up 8-2 in the ninth, Hunter botched a Langille groundout allowing the second basemen to reach safely. Allen Purvis got Joe Perret to hit into a fielder's choice, which should have ended the game, but the Kings had one extra out to work with. The Kings then rattled off four consecutive singles to make it 8-5, before Al Wheeler sent the Kings faithful home with a grand slam. All seven runs charged to Purvis were unearned in a demoralizing defeat. Despite all that, Lyons was named the Continental Association Pitcher of the Year, going 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 8 walks, and 9 strikeouts in his six starts. Since June, Lyons is 8-2 with a 2.06 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 12 starts. It wasn't our only accolade either, as despite a rough final start, Harry Parker was named Rookie of the Month. Parker was 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA (150 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 12 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. Parker has been extremely reliable for us, completing five of his six starts so far. The most impressive part is all four of his complete game victories came in Chicago, and he allowed just two homers in our very homer friendly park. He's not the strikeout machine that Papenfus is, but his 5.6 K/9 is extremely impressive and higher then both the Fed strikeout leader Lefty Allen (5.3) and our strikeout leader Joe Hancock (5). All I can say is I love this kid!

The bats were cold, and the catching tandem of Taylor and Mead combined to go just 4-for-26 with a Mead double and Taylor run scored. We had just two starters put up good weeks, with Rich Langton going 7-for-23 with 5 walks, 5 runs, a triple and homer while Ray Ford was 8-for-20 with 7 RBIs. Ollie Page made the most of his two starts, 3-for-9 with a triple, walk, and run scored. Hunter and Lawson homered, but both hit below .260 on the week. The weirdest thing is that we are hitting just .265 as a team, despite the top seven in our order all hitting above .280.

I also made a minor trade before the deadline, sending a pair of third basemen in Sam Washington and Sonny O'Callaghan to the Foresters for a 5th Round Pick. I really like the Irishman Sonny, but with Ducky Jordan in AAA ranked 58th in the league and Danny Richardson in C ball ranked 70th, O'Callaghan didn't really have an easy shot to the majors. I like Washington too, our 8th Rounder last year, but I'm still trying to weed out some players from the system to avoid major logjams. Both were in San Jose, where I had six guys playing for four positions.

Looking Ahead
The Dog Days of August is bad news for cool cats like us, but we'll used Monday to travel to Montreal for three with the Saints. They hold a one game lead over the Cannons for the now important sixth spot in the league, as Karl Wallace continues his strong season. His most recent start was an unlucky no decision, 11 innings with 7 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He's still 8-7, but with a 3.51 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 73 walks, and 51 strikeouts. The walks are rather surprising, as his 4.1 BB/9 is nothing like what he showed in our system. Wallace's highest mark was 2.9 in 147.2 innings with Mobile in 1936, but he's had some issues throwing strikes in the majors. He's just 24, and filled to the brim with future talent, so I wouldn't worry too much about the walks at this point. Fellow Cougar prospect Bill Ross isn't having issues with walks, but he has an adjusted league average 4.16 ERA in 147 innings pitched with 31 walks and 56 strikeouts. Pablo Reyes is also still a Saint, despite trade rumors, and the Cuban Comet is looking to put together his second straight 5 WAR season. He's at 3 right now, and is batting .297/.350/.443 (106 OPS+) with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 7 steals, 6 homers, and 67 RBIs atop the Saints lineup.

We then face the previously mentioned Cannons, who have now inserted Rufus Barrell II into their rotation. "Deuce" is the new #2, but the 21-year-olds first start wasn't quite what he wanted. He allowed 12 hits and 4 runs, but struck out 7 without walking a batter in a 7.1 inning loss. The southpaw and former #1 overall pick currently ranks as the 8th best prospect in the league and fourth best pitcher, behind Bowman, Papenfus, and Toronto's George Garrison. Barrell should give the Cannons a reliable #2 behind Gus Goulding, and he's got wild strikeout arms Art Edwards and Rusty Petrick behind him in what could develop into one of the best rotations in baseball. I'll never understand Edwards, the two-pitch sinker/slider lefty, but the "Enforcer" has struck out 88 on the season, one behind Tom Barrell for second in the CA. Baltimore has started to get some production at the plate from Whit Williams, who is slashing .294/.376/.411 (111 OPS+) on the season with 14 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers, 7 steals, and 39 RBIs. July was easily his best month, as the former 6th Overall Pick hit .333/.438/.471 with 7 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 3 steals, and 17 RBIs while walking (19) more then three times as frequently as he struck out (6). Slugging first basemen George Simmons has looked good too in his first 68 PAs, hitting .250/.324/.483 (114 OPS+) with three doubles, a triple, three homers, and nine driven in.

Minor League Report
RHP Del Burnes (AA Mobile Commodores): It's been a crazy journey for the former #3 overall pick, who's selection questioned many in the FABL world. I was one of the few who actually liked Burnes (he was on my shortlist, just not for #3 overall) so I followed his career very closely. Fast forward to 1937, where I was frantically trying to get Juan Pomales, and the Dynamos GM was adamant that he needed either two pitchers or Cy Sullivan. I was hoping to do Stumpy or Wallace and Joe Foote, but that didn't work, so the compromise of Stumpy and Wallace for Pomales and another piece was agreed on. I've asked on Burnes before, so I'm not sure if he suggested it or it was my counter, but we both believed it was an even enough deal (I was okay overpaying, I needed the two way star and I was beyond pissed with the lottery results) and I said good bye to two promising pitchers who are currently pitching really well in their rookie seasons. But I am nothing but happy seeing Stumpy and Wallace succeeding in Detroit and Montreal, because Burnes' (and Pomales) development has been great. Now 22, he's boosted his velocity from 90-92 to 93-95 and really polished up his stuff. He has a five pitch mix, and his forkball has turned into an excellent pitch with outstanding movement. His fastball is an average pitch, but it also has a lot of life and his other three pitches are all reliable offerings. His stuff is big league ready, his movement is top of the charts, but like most of the arms I'm so infatuated with, he walks a lot of hitters. Of course, that's not a problem to me, and he's really excelled at Mobile this year. The righty is 8-5 with a 2.99 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 52 walks, and 56 strikeouts and he's on his way up to Milwaukee. Lucky for us, he's still not Rule-5 eligible (1934 prep arm), so he'll finish his season in Milwaukee and likely start the season there next year. Marv is a big fan, projecting him to be a useful arm in a big league rotation, and "if he's the worst arm in the staff, it likely means you have a very good rotation." As it is shaking out now, Burnes would be the worst arm, and we do have a very good rotation. The prospect rankers have now dubbed him a top 100 prospect (100 to be exact), ranked 14th in our system right behind his trade partner Juan Pomales (86th). He should be ready to pitch in the FABL next year, and could end up the five in a Papenfus-Parker-Sullivan-Fritz/Brown rotation sometime next season.

Just for fun, I looked back at the 1934 draft, and it could be one of the best Cougar draft classes when it's all said and done. We've already seen Carlos Montes (1st), Pug Bryan (2nd), Harry Parker (7th), and Johnnie Williamson (8th) debut, Ivan Cameron (3rd) and Phil McKenna (5th) rank in the top 500. The class also includes some of Marv's favorite players, Henry Cox (5th), Sam Hodge (7th), Jim Miller (9th), Red Looney (10th), Rusty Watts (13th), Cal Lofton (15th), and Dick Voss (19th). All of these guys at some point have sat in the top 500, and guys like Cox and Hodge look like really valuable players. The rest of the league had success as well, with first rounders Charlie Artuso, Bennie Griffith, Adam Mullins, Lew Seals, Woody Stone, Bob Donoghue, Art Cascone, Jim Nichols, Bobo White, Gus Goulding, George M. Brooks, and Lou Barker all in the majors. In fact, Burnes, Baltimore's Jim Hensley, and Brooklyn's Dan Rogers are the only first rounders not to debut, and I'd wager all become big leaguers before 1940. Rogers isn't a top prospect by number, but Hensley has consistently ranked in the top 25. There are some really good players in later rounds too, including Lew McClendon (2nd), Fred Galloway (2nd), Jack Goff (2nd), Harvey Brown (3rd), Howard Brown Jr. (3rd), Mel Hancock Jr. (3rd), Jack Wood (3rd), Johnny Slaney (3rd), Alf Pestilli (4th), Fred Ratcliffe (4th), Frank Covarrubias (5th), Mule Monier (5th), and Ken Vance (8th), as well as many other current top 200 prospects. This was one of the strongest FABL draft classes, and it'll be hard to find another like it.

LHP Danny Hern (B San Jose Cougars): The season hasn't gone great for the supposed new next great starter, but the young southpaw decided it was his time to prove me and the remaining doubters wrong. Named Pitcher of the Month in the COW league, Danny Hern was 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 14 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 40.2 innings across five starts. He's improved greatly in each month, now 7-4 on the season with a 3.58 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 33 walks, and 62 strikeouts in 113 innings pitched. Our 14th Round selection in 1935, all 16 FABL GMs (myself included) decided to pass on Hern, but it wasn't really our faults. He only pitched as a senior, going 7-3 with a 2.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 22 walks, and 92 strikeouts in 101.2 innings pitched. Here's what little I wrote about him:

Originally Posted by ayaghmour2

LHP Danny Hern (14th Round, 213th Overall): I accidentally had the six foot lefty on my 1934 draft shortlist, but the soon to be 19-year-old ended up as our 14th Round pick. As a senior at Morton, he was 7-3 with a 2.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 22 walks, and 92 strikeouts in 101.2 innings pitched. He has a mid 80s fastball, as well as a curve, slider, and change. None of the pitches are all that exciting now, but as he continues to grow and develop, I can see all four turning into big league caliber offerings. He will need to develop one of those into a strikeout pitch, as right now he relies strictly on location.

The now 21-year-old probably got a nice development bump after the 1936 season, as he only started 5 of his 24 appearances. He also saw a velocity boost from 84-86 to 86-88 this offseason, and he's done a great job polishing up his stuff. A four pitch pitcher, his most consistent pitch is his changeup, but the fastball, curve, and slider can all be thrown for strikes as well. I'm actually quite stunned I expected his pitches to develop, and even more surprised he was actually on one of my shortlists. He's one of those lucky AI selections that turns out to be something special, as Hern ranks 12th in our system and 80th overall. Like Bill Scott, I tried trading him before but got no takers, and now I have to hope he didn't only pitch on year in high school because he was a star point guard.