[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 77-72 (5th, 12 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 27 AB, 14 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .519 AVG, 1.444 OPS
Ray Ford : 24 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, 1.148 OPS
Allen Purvis : 2 Wins, 5.0 IP, 2 BB, 1 K, 1.80 ERA

Schedule
9-19: Win at Kings (7-3)
9-20: Win at Stars (9-6)
9-21: Loss at Stars (3-4)
9-22: Win at Stars (13-9)
9-24: Win vs Wolves (1-2): 15 innings
9-25: Win vs Wolves (1-2): 12 innings

Recap
80 wins here we come! A great 5-1 week where we play spoiler is just what the doctor ordered, as we have won our last two against the Kings and the Wolves, the two teams fighting for the pennant. We really did luck out against the Wolves, a pair of extra inning one-run wins to keep the Kings alive (2.5 back), but a win is a win and I want to collect as many as possible in this final month. We were treated to a classic John Lawson week, as Jack the Ripper took home another Player of the Week award. The 35-year-old vet was 14-for-27 with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 8 runs, and 10 RBIs in a truly remarkable week. The season, however, has been unremarkable, as Lawson is having his significantly worst season of his career. He's hitting just .302/.356/.423 (116 OPS+) with 40 doubles, 14 homers, and 99 RBIs. The doubles and RBIs are nice, but his previous low for OPS+ was 133 in 1934 and is 162 game average for his career is .347/.398/.512 (144 OPS+). I don't really think Lawson is slowing down, my scout still likes him the same and he's still a top 3 third basemen, but it's clear he's no longer a top 10 player in the league (actually ranked 19th because I was going to say not top 20).

He wasn't the only hitter with a great week, as Ray Ford went 10-for-24 with 3 doubles, 3 walks, 3 RBIs, 4 runs, and a homer. Our center field platoon of Aart MacDonald and Elias Canady was elite, 6-for-18 with 2 doubles, a triple, a homer, 3 walks, and 4 runs. The homer was Canady's, his second in as many weeks. Lou Kelly had a pinch hit double, his 1,995th career hit as he inches closer to 2,000. Ducky Jordan continued his nice September, 5-for-16 with a double, triple, RBI, two walks, and four runs. The "Hot Springs Hotshot" currently ranks as our 5th best prospect and 49th in the league, and is hitting .323/.400/.484 (136 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a triple, and 4 RBIs in 35 trips to the plate. And speaking of the farm, with the graduation of Peter the Heater this week, we finally dropped out of the top 5 in farm rankings for the first time in over a half decade. Based on my top prospects post from last offseason, we have graduated the 2nd, 38th, 44th, 50th (retired...) ,57th, and 67th ranked prospect. Despite all of that, with the current rankings we still have 10 top 100 prospects, 23 top 250, and 48 top 500. The system ranks 6th (125) and every farm team except the Mobile Commodores (83-56) finished in first place (although technically La Crosse is tied with one game left) this season. Expect a nice long Minor League report over the weekend!

We got two outstanding starts that both ended with no decisions, due to the crazy extra inning games with the Wolves. The first start was courtesy of Milt Fritz, who went 11 innings with 7 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and just one run scored. Joe Brown had the other, pitching two outs into the tenth with 3 hits, a run, 7 walks, and 4 strikeouts. It was huge for Brown, who after all that is still 3-3 with 7 saves, a 4.95 ERA (82 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 16 walks, and 15 strikeouts in his 40 innings pitched. Someone who didn't have a good start was Dick Lyons, who despite getting the win, went 7 with 12 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Even after that rough outing, he still has the best ERA in baseball at 2.65 and will hopefully go head-to-head with Joe Hancock to start the week and to start October. Pete also had another poor start, 6 innings with 7 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He now has a below average 4.19 ERA (97 ERA+) and 1.71 WHIP, but with one start left, he should get at least two strikeouts to hit 100. Cy pitched well in his second to last start, 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in a complete game win. Sullivan has been the only rookie arm to keep his ERA south of 4, despite arguably being the least developed of the four. Allen Purvis looked good out of the pen, 5 innings with 3 hits, a run, 2 walks, and a strikeout while picking up the win in both Toronto games. Purvis has been elite out of the pen, 6-4 with 3 saves, a 2.38 ERA (171 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 20 walks, and 10 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched. He's also a clubhouse leader, but with a ton of young pitchers on the 40, he may be moved or waived in the offseason.

Looking Ahead
Seven more games left in the season, and my goal is to win five of them. It'll be tough, we get the Wolves to start the week at home, then three hosting the Sailors, and three final games in Toronto. The 78-70 Sailors were just eliminated from the postseason, but No-Hit Newell added a third no hitter (one was a perfect game) against Brooklyn where he walked one and struck out four. The new Sailors ace hasn't had a regular Newell season, 19-11 with a 4.02 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 66 walks, and 106 strikeouts in 259.2 innings pitched. We'll likely see him, Merritt Thomas, and Chuck Murphy. Murphy continues to excel, 7-6 with a 3.28 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 47 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 13 starts and 15 pen outings. Thomas is 10-9 with a 3.62 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, 91 walks, and 49 strikeouts as he approaches the 200 inning mark for the third straight season. At the plate, Bob Smith reached double digit homers, now 11 with 29 doubles, 5 triples, 8 steals, and 73 RBIs. He's hitting an adjusted league average .282/.337/.440 with 41 walks and 8 strikeouts. River Grove's Woody Stone reached 4 WAR in his first season as an everyday player, hitting .319/.378/.428 (108 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 57 driven in.

The real test is Toronto, and we will directly impact the pennant race starting and ending the week with them. At 87-60, the Wolves are the likely Continental Association pennant winners, two and a half games ahead of the rapidly falling Kings. We get Joe Hancock twice, and I'm hoping we can score 10 runs in each start. Hopefully the runner up for the Allen Award this year, he looks likely to pitch his last two games against the hopeful winner of the award, Dick Lyons. Hancock has blossomed at 25, going 22-7 with a 2.89 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 82 walks, and 142 strikeouts in 268 innings atop the Wolves rotation. Chick Wirtz has gone in the wrong direction, 14-12 with a 4.44 ERA (94 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 89 walks, and 50 strikeouts in 243 innings. Bob Walls got a no decision against us, so he finally didn't win one of his starts, but he allowed just 4 hits and a run in a nice 7 inning outing. His ERA is down to a Lyons-like 2.72 (154 ERA+) with a 1.16 WHIP. 20-year-old George Garrison has improved, now 4-5 with a 4.22 ERA (99 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, 39 walks, and 38 strikeouts. It's going to be tough to keep McCormick and Wallace in check, but we can't forget about former Cougar Reginald Westfall. Our 1932 7th Rounder, Westfall is hitting a slightly below average .270/.353/.413 (98 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 4 triples, 8 homers, and 87 RBIs in a decent rookie campaign. Another former Cougar draftee who has done well is stopper Phil English, who is 5-2 with 14 saves. He also owns a 3.30 ERA (127 ERA+) and 1.58 WHIP with 36 walks and 23 strikeouts in 60 quality innings. This will be tough, but I have faith in my team that we can at least make it interesting.

Minor League Report
SS Hal Wood (A Lincoln Legislators): Our system looks a lot different then it did at the beginning of the season, and our new #3 prospect is former 1st Rounder Hal Wood. Despite being 24, Wood has moved up our system really slowly, but he finished his year off strong. Wood was named Heartland Player of the Week, going 12-for-24 with 6 runs and 2 RBIs. The former 8th Overall Pick broke out in September, slashing .456/.547/.608 with 4 doubles, 4 triples, 2 steals, and 9 RBIs. For the season, Wood hit .317/.393/.432 (127 OPS+) with 24 doubles, 15 triples, 2 homers, 3 steals, and 62 RBIs. Already a clubhouse leader, Wood is a captain at short who profiles as a well above average fielder. He won't steal many bases, but he uses his speed more for range then base running. Wood sprays line drives to all fields, and while he won't hit homers, he'll hit a ton of doubles and triples while maintaining a .310 or better average. Hal earned a promotion to Mobile for next season, and I'm hoping he'll progress enough to reach Milwaukee by seasons end. He may not debut until 26, but next year will be only his fourth pro season and with Hunter cemented at short, I've had no need to rush Wood up. Of course, I'm hoping for an active offseason, so Wood may be shipped somewhere else to upgrade the big league club. I do think he has all the tools to be an outstanding shortstop in the future, but I'm ready to win now.

LHP Harl Haines (B San Jose Cougars): Best way to end the season? Well, how about a complete game shutout! In a 2-0 win over the Vancouver Mounties, Haines allowed just 2 hits and struck out 3 in a truly excellent start. Haines actually played some time in Lincoln, and while he did look solid, the soon-to-be 21-year-old was sent back down in a numbers crunch. His 13 starts with the Cougars have been elite, 9-3 with a 2.41 ERA (179 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 15 walks, and 61 strikeouts. Even in Lincoln (10 starts) he was 6-1 with a 3.52 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 18 walks, and 34 strikeouts. It's been an nice year for the southpaw, who has entered our top 20 prospect list and the league's top 200. A polished four pitch pitcher, Haines has a funky submarine motion where he still throws both his cutter and fastball in the mid 90s. His command looks vastly improved this season compared to last, with a 1.5 BB/9 in San Jose and 2.5 in Lincoln after a 3.4 mark last year. Haines also throws a screwball and slider, both quality pitches, that allow him to rack up strikeouts. He's a depth starter now, but he's an extremely hard worker who should continue to improve, and he's provided excellent value for a 10th Round selection.