We are back on track with sims, and we have a busy week ahead before starting the first three rounds of the Amateur Draft next week. Today we have to finalize our 40-man rosters in preparation for the Rule-5 Draft tomorrow. The Major League portion will be run tomorrow, Minor League portion on Thursday, and then the Independent Draft on Friday. I may try to get an Amateur Report done over the weekend as well.
Shoutout to Lincoln manager Adam Jarvis for starting a new job with the Washington Eagles as a Pitching Coach. I would have given him the extension he wanted to stay in Lincoln, but unfortunately this was a longer sim, so all the events happened while I had no ability to make a decision. He spent three season with the Legislators, and led them to a 92-48 finish this year to take home the pennant. He had a winning record all three seasons, and finished 251-169. He also managed two seasons in Mobile (1934-1935), but has held a variety of jobs. He was a pitching coach for the Allentown Cokers (1926), bench coach for the San Diego Conquistadors (1927), manager for the Richmond Rebels (1929), and pitching coach for the Davenport Dusters (1930-1933). He his an excellent coach, and Washington will be very lucky to have him. Just not quite as lucky as I was going from Marv to Tom Weinstock. Going from "Decent" to "Legendary" on amateurs should make the draft a little more fun. I'm already loving the reports!
It was a really tough decision, but I went ahead and designated longtime Cougar Bill Ashbaugh for assignment. My first ever FABL pick, Bill Ashbaugh looked like a legit star when he debuted at 23 in 1927. He hit .330/.402/.560 (163 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 7 triples, 15 homers, 8 steals, and 55 RBI's in exactly 300 at bats. He didn't let go of his newfound starting spot, putting together 6 more season with an OPS+ of 130 or better. He played 135 or more games in each season except 1929 (124), but 1933 was the last season he'd reach that mark. His next highest was 129 in 1935 after two separate sprained knees in 1934. Knee issues plagued Ashbaugh, taking away his speed and power in his later seasons. He's now way past his prime, and was sparingly used as a bench bat the past two seasons. None the less, Ashbaugh will end his Cougar tenure with an outstanding .307/.373/.485 (133 OPS+) batting line with 185 doubles, 113 triples, 136 homers, 86 steals, and 814 RBIs. He suited up for us 1,242 times and stepped to the plate 5,232 times. He's no John Dibblee, but Ashbaugh also finds his place on the Cougar leaderboards. No Cougar has hit more homers then him, with only Tom Taylor (118) also crossing the century mark. HIs 136 shouldn't stand for too long, but he's held his record since 1931, the year Dibblee (he past the record during the season) retired and the Cougars won the World Series. Ashbaugh finds himself on the record books in many other places, including OBP (9th), slugging (3rd), OPS (3rd), games (9th), at bats (8th, 4,621), triples (7th), RBIs (4th), and walks (5th, 504). I may get sentimental and end up retiring his number, but I'd love if Bill stayed in the organization as a mentor to the youngsters to eventually be groomed into a manager. It was tough giving up my first pick, but unfortunately I can only really think of the what-ifs after such a strong start to his career.
Of course, I didn't just do that for fun. I needed space to add lefty Jim Miller to the 40. Pitchers, especially young ones, are a valuable commodity, and I'm a big fan of the former 9th Round Pick. He's 25 and finished the season in Mobile, but he could probably pitch in the big leagues next year. The southpaw always keeps the ball on the ground, and he's one of those guys who does everything right, just doesn't quite stand out. All his tools are average, which is helpful, but with him what you see is what you get. He's dominated in the minor leagues, and may turn into one of those classic AAAA players, or a career journeyman like Pete Walker or Wally Larkin who gets his shot in his late 30s. I also wanted to protect fireballer Rusty Watts, as I can't pass on a guy who throws in the upper 90s. The 23-year-old southpaw was our 13th Round pick in 1934 out of Northwest, and has put together generally strong results in the minors. He finished his season with four starts in Milwaukee, going 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA (91 ERA+), 1.60 WHIP, 14 walks, and 13 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched. The 20 starts in Mobile were much better, 11-6 with a 3.04 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 36 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 169 innings pitched. Watts is a dark horse candidate for the bullpen, has his stuff is absolutely fantastic, a beautiful fastball with a sweeping slider that touches 90. His change isn't a reliable third, and he will allow more then his share of longballs, but my new scout thinks he can pitch his way into a "back-end rotaiton opportunity." If he shows AA control instead of AAA control, I can see him living on his fastball, but worst case he can throw triple digits after seven innings of Dick Lyons' 86-88. I did want to make a pick or two in the draft, so I also cut another legend.
I think you can guess who that might be...
*Sigh*
I can feel my eyes watering...
Fighting back tears...
Good bye Tommy!
I-- I'll--
I can't do this...
I'll miss you!
*Fights back tears*
*Deep Sigh*
Tommy Wilcox has been DFA'd. Yes, that Tommy Wilcox. Who would have thought Mike Taylor would have stayed longer then him, but unfortunately it was time to move on. Like Ashbaugh, I hope he stays with us and can be groomed into a coach, but nothing makes me sadder and happier then the somehow only 31-year-old knuckler. I don't know if that knuckle (pitch seven) was a 1 or a 100, but I like to think it was a 100 as the Liberty College Ace was a truly remarkable pitcher even in the good ol' days of the feeder leagues. I thought I was picking first in 1928, but I forgot about the alternating league thing, and instead of getting the ace I thought I was getting, I found myself picking second. The Kings then traded for the first overall pick, and waffled between Wilcox and Brooklyn State pitcher who ended up going second. The Kings went with Wilcox, I took Mike Murphy, and the rest is history...
Wilcox pitched just 29 minor league games, most coming with AA Knoxville. He made 5 starts for Brooklyn, going 3-2 with a excellent 2.95 ERA (154 ERA+), 1,29 WHIP, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts. Wilcox then cemented his rotation status the next season, throwing an impressive 304.2 innings pitched before a league high 320 at 24 as he finished 22-16 in 39 starts. That was the 1931 season, the season the Cougars topped the Gothams in the World Series, and were hungry for even more. The following season we were in a pennant race with John Lawson and the surging Stars, and I needed to make a move to push us ahead. I turned my eyes to the player I've wanted for seasons, who was 9-9 with a 3.19 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 29 walks, and 53 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. I knew the cost would be huge, but I wanted my ace. Here's what I wrote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ayaghmour2
After a dreadful July, the Cougars have decided to strike a major deal with the Brooklyn Kings. Chicago has required SP Tommy Wilcox and C Mike Taylor for a four player package including former #1 Overall Pick Tom Barrell, World Series MVP C Fred Barrell, former #2 Overall Pick Mike Murphy, and top prospect SP George DeForest.
I really did not want to move Fred, but he was necessary to net Wilcox. Wilcox is a 25-year-old righty who has the potential to be the best pitcher in all of baseball and he currently ranks as the fourth best pitcher in the league. Worth over 6 WAR the past two seasons, Wilcox has really broken out this season, going 9-9 with a 3.19 ERA (137 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts in 160.2 innings pitched. Wilcox has an elite seven pitch arsenal including a fastball, sinker, curve, change, forkball, screwball, and knuckleball. He does an excellent job mixing these pitches up and fooling hitters left and right. He keeps the ball on the ground consistently with excellent command and he can pitch deep into games. He's led the league in complete games the past two seasons and already has 13 this year. He's an iron man arm who's never been hurt and if needed, we will skip back of the rotation arms to give Wilcox has many starts as possible.
Mike Taylor is probably one of two catchers in the league that is better then Fred Barrell and actually a little less then a year younger. Not only is Taylor and excellent hitter, but also an excellent defender. In four and a half seasons, the former 8th Rounder is hitting .321/.382/.496 (126 OPS+) with 68 homers and 368 RBI's. He's hitting a lot more homers then usual this year, 15 with 55 RBI's to go with a .285/.365/.489 (115 OPS+) batting line. Taylor is a much needed lefty bat for our lineup and he adds power to a lineup that severely needs it. Other then Tom Taylor's 18 homers, no one has more then 5. Taylor is an excellent hitter even if he hasn't done as well as usual this season, but I expect the homers to continue to increase with the move to Chicago. Our park is really homer friendly with a short centerfield and a 300 foot left and right field line.
We had to give up a ton of prospect capital to get these two stars, including the #29 (Barrell) and #60 (DeFoerst) prospect in the league plus a great catcher in Fred Barrell and a hard throwing lefty in Murphy. I love Fred, but his bat isn't where I'd like it to be and both him and Tom have had their share of injuries. We're built to win now and even though I'll likely regret seeing the Double Barrell action in Brooklyn for years to come, the Wilcox-Taylor battery is going to be just as deadly.
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Unfortunately, nothing went as planned. Wilcox was terrible, and probably cost us a pennant as he floundered in Chicago. Our offense was great, so he was 6-6, but he had a 6.70 ERA (62 ERA+) and 1.53 WHIP with 18 walks and 28 strikeouts in 91.1 innings pitched. It was a huge shock, and the pain was increased by Tom Barrell, who was 8-3 with a 2.48 ERA (172 ERA+), 1.04 WHIP, 22 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 12 outstanding starts for the Kings. That easily would have won us the pennant, he did have three great starts for us pre-trade too, but I was worried about his injury issues and Wilcox had a spotless past. We all know how good Barrell is now, but Wilcox bounced back the following year, and the Allen Award Winner helped bring us to our most recent championship appearance. We may have come up sort, but his 21 wins, 2.58 ERA, and 6.7 WAR were all best in the league.
The 1934 Cougars were having issues, however, as even after adding star hitters Lou Kelly and Doc Love, we were ice cold to start the season and ended up below .500 for a good chunk of the year. None of it was Wilcox's fault, as his 2.93 ERA (143 ERA+) and 1.19 WHIP were only good for a 7-11 record. Unfortunately for us, July was a nightmare for Wilcox. A sore ankle cost him two days and then manager Dick Pozza decided it was a good idea to let him throw almost 200 pitches on two days rest. Of course, in a season where everything was going on, the absolute worst thing happened, and Wilcox ruptured his ulnar collateral ligament and was out for the rest of the season. It killed our chances of repeating as CA champs, and while I didn't know it then, also setback the Cougars organization a few years. We finished just a few games over .500, but Wilcox was never the same...
In 1935, Wilcox had five separate injuries that forced him to start just 8 games. Generally a huge inning eater, he lasted just 53.1 innings and was 3-1 with a 4.72 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.61 WHIP, 23 walks, and 19 strikeouts. Now a shell of his former self, his command was shot and he labored through a terrible season. The once elite arm was 3-13 with a 6.54 ERA (69 ERA+), 2.03 WHIP, 110 walks, and 50 strikeouts. He made 18 starts before getting banished to the pen, where he made 13 more relief outings to end the year with 141.2 innings pitched. He lost his roster spot the following season, but in his fourth start with Milwaukee, he tore his rotator cuff, adding more injury to insult. He did return this season and was healthy enough to throw 42.2 innings, and while his 2.74 ERA (143 ERA+) and 1.34 WHIP were nice, it came during 21 relief outings with Lincoln. I can't imagine anyone would claim Wilcox, and he will likely spend the rest of his career as a clubhouse leader for our lower minors teams.
I don't like having regrets, OOTP related or otherwise, but I do have to say it is quite ironic how the trade I thought I'd never regret making would turn into a legit regret. It's hard to play "what-if", but I have to imagine a team with Barrell and Murphy at the top of the rotation would have allowed us to make multiple playoff opportunities. Sure the Foresters may have been able to keep up with us, but I think a couple of the Kings pennants would be Cougar ones without the reliable work from Barrell and Murphy. We are finally recovering from the side affects of the trade, and I'm hoping the 1939 Chicago Cougars will be a team to remember as the start of something greater. Fingers crossed for a Papenfus talent boost in the offseason...