[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 25-27 (7th, 4.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 33 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .364 AVG, .818 OPS
Rich Langton : 27 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.120 OPS
Lou Kelly : 8 AB, 4 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.819 OPS

Schedule
6-12: Loss at Stars (2-11)
6-13: Loss at Stars (6-13)
6-14: Win at Saints (9-6)
6-15: Loss at Saints (3-6)
6-16: Win at Saints (6-2)
6-17: Win at Cannons (3-1)
6-18: Win at Cannons (4-0)

Recap
It really wasn't a good week, just 4-3, but we managed to makeup two games in the standings. The Stars dismantled us in the first two, another sweep, but we took two out of three from the Saints, and the first two in Baltimore. Thankfully, just one more road game before a day off and return back home. Ollie Page will miss a few days with a hip flexor strain, but he won't hit the DL. With the off day, I won't give any days off to Hunter and Jones, but assuming no setback with Page, he'll get starts next week again. Page has a nice .288/.377/.424 (111 OPS+) batting line with 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 RBIs in 71 plate appearances. Ray Ford won't return, so more starts for Kelly and Mills. His diagnosis timeframe is still unknown, but I hope he's back next week as his bat is important for our success. We also get our draftees in tomorrow's sim, which should make things very exciting. The best our road trip can end would be 6-8. Including the next game, we've played 33 road games compared to just 21 home games. Our home win percentage (.571) would be good enough for first, while the road (.406) would still have us 7th, just a few games further back.

We didn't hit much at all, part of the reason we couldn't beat the Stars, but Carlos Montes looked really good. He was 6-for-21 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs. Orlin Yates looked good in his 10 PAs, 4-for-9 with a pair of RBIs. Rich Langton was very effective, a rarity this season, 9-for-27 with 2 doubles, 3 triples, a homer, steal, RBI, and 4 runs scored. Lou Kelly was a beast in his two starts, 4-for-8 with a double, two homers, and 5 RBIs. Same goes for Johnny McDowell, 3-for-8 with a double, triple, two runs, and three RBIs. Leo Mitchell was decent, 12-for-33 with a homer, two RBIs, and four runs scored. Freddie Jones had a rough week, just 4-for-26 with a double, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Bobby Mills had a tough first week, 3-for-14 with a homer and four driven in.

Pete finally got a win, but man, he just forgot how to pitch. He made two starts, 12.1 innings with 11 hits, 9 runs, 13 walks, and 14 strikeouts with a win and a loss. I do have a little more hope for Peter the Heater, as Weinstock finally gave me a more favorable and likely accurate report; "Papenfus has the potential to be one of the top pitchers in the league, but he will likely experience growing pains as he eases into the rotation." Yeah, that makes a lot more sense then spot starter, and I definitely agree more with this one. It was also a tale of two starts for Harry Parker, who did the same as Papenfus and split his starts. The first was terrible, 10 hits and 9 runs (8 earned) with 2 walks and a strikeout in just 3 innings. Even more impressive, he somehow allowed Bill Barrett to hit three homers off Parker. That must have shaken Parker up badly, and he bounced back with a dominant 5-hit shutout against Baltimore. He did walk (4) twice as many as he struck out (2), but I'm hoping he has more of these up his sleeves. His biggest weakness is the quite obviously the longball, 14 homers already. Considering he's allowed just 38 earned runs, it's pretty clear that the only way to score on Parker is to hit it out of the park. This is the biggest roadblock to his future success, although he's also seen his B/9 jump from 2.0 to 3.1. Parker is loaded with talent, with the upside to be an ace and the floor of a back of the rotation arm. Like with Papenfus, I can't panic, and I have to ride out the lumps before their light shines through.

Luckily, we have one superstar in the form of the now 39-year-old Dick Lyons, a complete game win with 7 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and a strikeout. Cy Sullivan got a complete game win, but like Pete and Parker, he also struggled, allowing 14 hits and 6 runs with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Milt Fritz was roughed up and charged with a loss, 8 innings with 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 2 strikeouts. I'm starting to look for outside options for the bullpen, and while there are a few options in AAA, they aren't all that exciting. I know next week there will be a change, with likely Brown and/or Pug going down to Milwaukee, and if I stay with internal options, I can see Jim Miller coming up. He's made 9 starts, 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA (133 ERA+), 1.30 WHIP, 12 walks, and 17 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Not the greatest numbers by any means, but I can't imagine he would do any worse then what we've gone through.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Cannons who we dropped to 20-34 and it could be a nice sweep for us. We would face Rufus Barrell, but he's out with forearm stiffness. Deuce is 6-4 with a 4.24 ERA (101 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 25 walks, and 44 strikeouts in a much improved season compared to his rookie year. Instead, we'll likely see Long Lou Barker, who is now 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA (82 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 8 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Ken Mayhugh hasn't had the season he expected, batting just .287/.351/.391 (94 OPS+) with 12 doubles, 3 homers, and 29 RBIs, although he does have six times the walks (18) as strikeouts (3). Also struggling is Charley McCullough, who's season line has dropped to .265/.409/.275 (82 OPS+) with a double, three steals, and six RBIs. He also has a nice walk-to-strikeout ratio, 24-to-6. It's been a rough season for Baltimore, and I hope we can make it a little more difficult.

Finally, we'll head back to Chicago, and host the Saints for three. Montreal is still over .500 at 28-26, but we actually did well against them last week and I do like our chances against anyone at home. Montreal has not had much success from their pitching, but Bud Robbins has looked good in his 49 innings pitched. Acquired from the Miners in the Pablo Reyes trade, he's 3-4 with a save, 3.67 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 18 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 6 starts and 5 relief outings. He's been similar both in both situations, a 3.83 ERA as a starter and 3.00 as a reliever. He's taken Karl Wallace's rotation spot, but now even Jake DeYoung has started to struggle. He's now 7-3, but with a 4.91 ERA (89 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 20 walks, and 42 strikeouts in 88 frames. But despite not having a single starter with 7 or more starts and an above average ERA+, Montreal wins games by scoring more runs then any other CA team. Frank Davis is third in the batting race, leading the lineup with a .372/.416/.452 (121 OPS+) batting line. Adam Mullins is right behind him, but with a more impressive .368/.445/.505 (141 OPS+) line with 12 doubles, a triple, 4 homers, and 45 RBIs. They do have a new face in the lineup, 24-year-old rookie center fielder Bob Kaye. The former 17th Rounder is off to decent start, hitting .333/.351/.444 (101 OPS+) with two doubles, a triple, two steals, and two RBIs in his first 10 games.

Then it is three in Brooklyn with the now over .500 Kings. At 27-26, they are now just two and a half out of first. With John Langille's struggles, they brought up their third Lightbody, Jim to play second and hit leadoff. He's got a strong .371/.421/.543 (144 OPS+) line with 3 doubles, a homer, steal, and 5 RBIs in 38 trips to the plate. Alf Pestilli is continuing his breakout year, hitting .306/.355/.600 (139 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 13 homers, and 39 RBIs. The only other hitter with 13 or more homers in either league shares his last name, and it would be cool to see them both finish #1 in the league. Al Wheeler has started to pick things up, hitting .259/.338/.443 (98 OPS+) with 5 doubles, a triple, 10 homers, and 37 RBIs in 227 plate appearances. Frank Vance is hitting a similar .281/.304/.408 (97 OPS+) with 11 doubles, a triple, 4 homers, 9 steals, and 31 RBIs. Neither are hitting like they generally do, and it may be very scary if they start to heat back up. The Kings moved the struggling Sergio Vergara back to the pen to add Bob Cummings back to the rotation. In 4 starts and 9 relief outings he is 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA (181 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 12 walks, and 22 strikeouts. Joe Shaffner has been effective as well, and despite being 5-6, he has a 3.69 ERA (118 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 22 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 85.1 solid innings. Him and Art White have picked up the slack for Barrell and Murphy, who have ERA's of 5.00 and 4.86. This will be a tough series, but could really push us upward in the standings.

As mentioned, the draft comes around next sim, and I am very excited with Tom Weinstock's new first round list. Skipper checks in at 9, Bunny Hufford 15th, Goff 19th, McCarthy 24th, and Dambreville 32nd. Of course, Skipper and Goff were my first two picks, while Hufford a 4th, and McCarthy and Dambreville 5ths. Then on his pitcher list, Davis our other 4th, checks in at 5th. I'm very excited to see where these guys check in once I am able to sign them, and it's looking like our system may get a boost in the prospect ladder if Tom is right.

Minor League Report
2B Hod Seagroves (B San Jose Cougars): It wasn't too long ago that Hod was in La Crosse, and in week two he already won a Player of the Week. The Chicagoan was 12-for-26 with 4 RBIs and 5 runs scored. It's just 55 total Class B plate appearances, but he's now hitting .404/.436/.615 (164 OPS+) with 8 doubles, a homer, and 11 RBIs already. This has really improved the former 3rd Rounders prospect stock, with Tom declaring him a frontrunner to a second base position, and OSA ranks him just outside the top 250. I'm hoping by the end of the season he cracks the top 200, and he's certainly on the right track. Not only has he looked good with the bat, he's fielded second very well, a 1.1 zone rating and 1.050 efficiency combined between San Jose and La Crosse. I've also give him some time at first, as there isn't' an obvious candidate there, but I know the 6'3'' righty won't have many issues. He has above average contact skills and a very smooth swings, which should help push him up the ladder. He has a nice eye with quality defensive skills, but with Freddie Jones, Ducky Jordan, and potentially Hal Wood or Billy Hunter ahead of him, he has a lot of work to do if he wants to be a full time Cougar.

RHP Ron Sexton (C La Crosse Lions): The UMVA has seen a lot of offense this season, but somehow the Lions keep finding ways to shut teams out. No Allen this time, but Ron Sexton allowed 5 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts in an 8-0 win over Rock Island. That's three consecutive complete games for Sexton with three or fewer runs, and he's now a perfect 5-0 in his 8 starts. Acquired from Pittsburgh in the offseason in the Roy Moore deal, the 18-year-old has worked to a 4.70 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 10 walks, and 25 strikeouts in his 53.2 innings pitched. In the offseason, Sexton bumped his fastball up to 89-91, and while his repertoire is very underdeveloped, but he projects to have at least average stuff, with a curve, slider, and change mixed in. The slider might be his best pitch, but OSA has started to really take a liking to Sexton. They think he might be able to pitch his way into a back end opportunity, and Ron's ascended up the prospect ladder a bit more. Now ranked 21st and 278th, I still believe he'll climb up even higher. I think I'm really going to have to take my time with him, but I think he's going to be well worth the wait.

LHP John Johnson (C La Crosse Lions): Another shutout, another Lion! And again, not Allen! Back-to-back against Rock Island, and this time it was 20-year-old southpaw John Johnson, who allowed just 2 walks and 3 hits with 3 strikeouts in a 4-0 win. Johnson has split time between the pen and rotation this season, but he's actually been way better starting games. In total, he is 4-5 with 3 saves, a 4.43 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 17 walks, and 27 strikeouts across 61 innings, but his ERA starting games is an impressive 2.90 while it jumps to 11.12 out of the pen. I guess that bodes well for the Chicagoan, as I imagine he prefers to start games as opposed to ending them. A bit of a soft tosser, the former 9th Rounder has a mid 80s fastball, that isn't as good as his curve and change. Scouts don't really like Johnson, and to be fair, I'm not overly high on him either, as his control can really hurt him. This is his third season in La Crosse, but he has improved his BB/9 from 3.0 to 2.5 this year, and his 4.0 K/9 is the first time over 2.5. Still, he's had an above average ERA+ each time, and with the Johnny Godfrey injury this sim that earned Oliver Allen a promotion, Johnson may be the next guy up.