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ayaghmour2 · 11-08-2021, 03:10 PM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record:50-53 (6th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 21 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .571 AVG, 1.513 OPS
Rich Langton : 24 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .333 AVG, .995 OPS
Ray Ford : 25 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .320 AVG, .680 OPS

Schedule
8-8: Win vs Stars (0-6)
8-9: Loss vs Stars (10-3)
8-10: Win vs Stars (2-6)
8-11: Loss vs Cannons (6-5)
8-12: Loss vs Cannons (8-1)
8-13: Win vs Cannons (3-4): 10 innings

Recap
I hate this team sometimes... We take two out of three from the Stars to knock them out of first before letting the dismal Cannons take two of three from us to end up splitting the week even. This really forces us to focus on next season, another blown season in Chicago, as Cleveland is now 8.5 games ahead of us and there are five teams between us and them. The only good thing coming out of the week was Leo Mitchell, who was named CA Player of the Week. The 26-year-old was 12-for-21 with 2 homers, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs en route to his second career Player of the Week, both ironically in August. It's been a bit of a down season for Mitchell with the bat, but he's still hitting an effective .340/.380/.453 (119 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers, and 55 RBIs. He also set his career high for strikeouts with 80. This jump has been very concerning for Mitchell, but .340 is his highest career average and his .453 slugging is less then 10 points away from his career high.

Jim Lonardo had two starts that couldn't be any different, the first a 2-hit, 2 strikeout shutout of the New York Stars. He then turned around and let the Cannons bash his brains in, 11 hits and 8 runs (6 earned) with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. Lonardo has been reliable since the trade, but unfortunately it hasn't translated to Cougar wins. His ERA is almost identical with each Chicago team, 3.46 with us and 3.42 with them, and he's walked fewer and struck out more so far. Lyons also had two starts, although the first one was the bad one. He went 7.2 with 11 hits and 9 runs (6 earned) against the Stars, but 9.1 with 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout in an extra inning no decision we won in the bottom half of the 10th. Milt Fritz tossed a gem, a complete game win with 11 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Cannons hit Harry Parker in a little revenge for the shutout, 12 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks, but 6 strikeouts in his 8 innings. We're going back to a five man rotation this week, so Cy who didn't get an inning this week, will get a start.

The bats really froze up, just Rich Langton also having an above average week. Langton was 8-for-24 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Our double play duo of Jones and Hunter didn't hit much, 10-for-46 with 2 doubles, a homer, 6 RBIs, 5 runs, and 3 walks. Lawson, Montes, Taylor, and Ford all had their own measures of struggle, and they each had no more then one extra base hit a piece. If we hit a little this week, I could see us being 4-2 or at least 5-1, but we'll have to learn a lot in the offseason if we want to be back in a pennant race soon.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week before we let the Foresters walk all over us at home. At 58-44, they have a 3.5 game lead over the Sailors and Stars, are in a commanding position to return to the postseason. Rankin and Astle have pushed their ERAs below 5 while Lou Martino's is back above 3, but the team continues to win games. Martino has pitched just 114 innings, but he's 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA (141 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 47 walks, and 30 strikeouts. Much better then Astle, who is 11-9 with a 4.55 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.51 WHIP, 49 walks, and 44 strikeouts in 160.1 innings pitched. Mel Carrol is putting together a Whitney Award season, challenging the .400 mark with a .392/.428/.557 (148 OPS+) line, 30 doubles, 13 homers, and 69 RBIs. Dan Fowler has one more homer and RBI, but his .235/.328/.390 (81 OPS+) line isn't nearly as good. Bill Moore has done well too, slashing .357/.422/.543 (143 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, and 48 RBIs. I don't have much hope for this series, but I'm hoping we can steal at least a game, as I'm not sure I could take a sweep.

It doesn't get easier to end the week, as our homestand ends with the 54-47 Sailors. The Sailors pitching hasn't been nearly as good as usual, with Dutch Sheldon now leading the staff. He's 8-9 with a 4.04 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 82 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 156 solid innings. Merritt Thomas has been moved to the pen, 8-4 with 4 saves in 20 pen innings and 8 starts with a 4.69 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 35 walks, and 37 strikeouts. At the plate, Dick Walker is the only hitter with double digit longballs, hitting .277/.405/.452 (117 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 9 triples, 10 homers, 15 steals, and 59 RBIs. Bob Smith is slashing .329/.418/.470 (125 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, 11 steals, and 62 RBIs with just 3 strikeouts and 46 walks. They bat around the dangerous Joe Watson, who everyone should have claimed on waivers two seasons ago. He's hitting a strong .356/.425/.557 (148 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 13 triples, 8 homers, and 62 RBIs. Like the Cleveland series, we'll be lucky to get a single win, and if we have back-to-back sweeps again, I'm not sure I'll be able to write another one of these...

Minor League Report
RHP Del Burns (AAA Milwaukee Blues): If we were still in the hunt, I might have brought Burns up to fill the 5th spot in our rotation. Instead, we're a few games under .500, and he'll pitch in Milwaukee until rosters expand. He looks big league ready, 10-1 with a 3.54 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 30 walks, and 99 strikeouts in 122 elite innings pitched. Burns was also floated around in trade discussions, but the hard throwing righty seems set to make his debut with the Cougars. The 3rd Overall Pick in 1934, the skinny righty features a 95-97 fastball and cutter, and he does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. Add in a slider, change, and forkball, and you have the arsenal of at least a back end starter. The strikeout numbers are encouraging, and the movement he gets on his pitches will keep the ball in the park. Ranked 8th in our system and 96th in the league, Burns has the tools to fill the back of a rotation now, and the potential to move up if he continues to improve.

C Charlie Hawkins (C La Crosse Lions): With the Solly Skidmore injury in La Crosse, I had to move Charlie Hawkins down to get him some more at bats. His first week was perfect, hitting .433/.469/.600 (149 OPS+) with 2 doubles, a homer, and 10 RBIs to take home a Player of the Week. A 12th Round Selection last season, Hawkins began the year in San Jose, and he hit .247/.340/.360 (84 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 17 RBIs in just 103 trips to the plate. He had to share time with Walter Loera, who was hitting much better, but this should be a nice trip to get Hawkins back on track. Weinstock is a fan, thinking he has a future in the big leagues due to his strong eye and average contact tool. OSA thinks bench player, but at one point, he was inside the top 500. Catcher tends to be a rather weak position for us, but having as many suitable catchers as possible can be very helpful.

11-08-2021, 03:10 PM	#649
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,013	Week 18: August 7th-August 13th Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record:50-53 (6th, 8.5 GB) Stars of the Week Leo Mitchell : 21 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .571 AVG, 1.513 OPS Rich Langton : 24 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .333 AVG, .995 OPS Ray Ford : 25 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .320 AVG, .680 OPS Schedule 8-8: Win vs Stars (0-6) 8-9: Loss vs Stars (10-3) 8-10: Win vs Stars (2-6) 8-11: Loss vs Cannons (6-5) 8-12: Loss vs Cannons (8-1) 8-13: Win vs Cannons (3-4): 10 innings Recap I hate this team sometimes... We take two out of three from the Stars to knock them out of first before letting the dismal Cannons take two of three from us to end up splitting the week even. This really forces us to focus on next season, another blown season in Chicago, as Cleveland is now 8.5 games ahead of us and there are five teams between us and them. The only good thing coming out of the week was Leo Mitchell, who was named CA Player of the Week. The 26-year-old was 12-for-21 with 2 homers, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs en route to his second career Player of the Week, both ironically in August. It's been a bit of a down season for Mitchell with the bat, but he's still hitting an effective .340/.380/.453 (119 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers, and 55 RBIs. He also set his career high for strikeouts with 80. This jump has been very concerning for Mitchell, but .340 is his highest career average and his .453 slugging is less then 10 points away from his career high. Jim Lonardo had two starts that couldn't be any different, the first a 2-hit, 2 strikeout shutout of the New York Stars. He then turned around and let the Cannons bash his brains in, 11 hits and 8 runs (6 earned) with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. Lonardo has been reliable since the trade, but unfortunately it hasn't translated to Cougar wins. His ERA is almost identical with each Chicago team, 3.46 with us and 3.42 with them, and he's walked fewer and struck out more so far. Lyons also had two starts, although the first one was the bad one. He went 7.2 with 11 hits and 9 runs (6 earned) against the Stars, but 9.1 with 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout in an extra inning no decision we won in the bottom half of the 10th. Milt Fritz tossed a gem, a complete game win with 11 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Cannons hit Harry Parker in a little revenge for the shutout, 12 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks, but 6 strikeouts in his 8 innings. We're going back to a five man rotation this week, so Cy who didn't get an inning this week, will get a start. The bats really froze up, just Rich Langton also having an above average week. Langton was 8-for-24 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Our double play duo of Jones and Hunter didn't hit much, 10-for-46 with 2 doubles, a homer, 6 RBIs, 5 runs, and 3 walks. Lawson, Montes, Taylor, and Ford all had their own measures of struggle, and they each had no more then one extra base hit a piece. If we hit a little this week, I could see us being 4-2 or at least 5-1, but we'll have to learn a lot in the offseason if we want to be back in a pennant race soon. Looking Ahead Off to start the week before we let the Foresters walk all over us at home. At 58-44, they have a 3.5 game lead over the Sailors and Stars, are in a commanding position to return to the postseason. Rankin and Astle have pushed their ERAs below 5 while Lou Martino's is back above 3, but the team continues to win games. Martino has pitched just 114 innings, but he's 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA (141 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 47 walks, and 30 strikeouts. Much better then Astle, who is 11-9 with a 4.55 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.51 WHIP, 49 walks, and 44 strikeouts in 160.1 innings pitched. Mel Carrol is putting together a Whitney Award season, challenging the .400 mark with a .392/.428/.557 (148 OPS+) line, 30 doubles, 13 homers, and 69 RBIs. Dan Fowler has one more homer and RBI, but his .235/.328/.390 (81 OPS+) line isn't nearly as good. Bill Moore has done well too, slashing .357/.422/.543 (143 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, and 48 RBIs. I don't have much hope for this series, but I'm hoping we can steal at least a game, as I'm not sure I could take a sweep. It doesn't get easier to end the week, as our homestand ends with the 54-47 Sailors. The Sailors pitching hasn't been nearly as good as usual, with Dutch Sheldon now leading the staff. He's 8-9 with a 4.04 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 82 walks, and 68 strikeouts in 156 solid innings. Merritt Thomas has been moved to the pen, 8-4 with 4 saves in 20 pen innings and 8 starts with a 4.69 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.49 WHIP, 35 walks, and 37 strikeouts. At the plate, Dick Walker is the only hitter with double digit longballs, hitting .277/.405/.452 (117 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 9 triples, 10 homers, 15 steals, and 59 RBIs. Bob Smith is slashing .329/.418/.470 (125 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, 11 steals, and 62 RBIs with just 3 strikeouts and 46 walks. They bat around the dangerous Joe Watson, who everyone should have claimed on waivers two seasons ago. He's hitting a strong .356/.425/.557 (148 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 13 triples, 8 homers, and 62 RBIs. Like the Cleveland series, we'll be lucky to get a single win, and if we have back-to-back sweeps again, I'm not sure I'll be able to write another one of these... Minor League Report RHP Del Burns (AAA Milwaukee Blues): If we were still in the hunt, I might have brought Burns up to fill the 5th spot in our rotation. Instead, we're a few games under .500, and he'll pitch in Milwaukee until rosters expand. He looks big league ready, 10-1 with a 3.54 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 30 walks, and 99 strikeouts in 122 elite innings pitched. Burns was also floated around in trade discussions, but the hard throwing righty seems set to make his debut with the Cougars. The 3rd Overall Pick in 1934, the skinny righty features a 95-97 fastball and cutter, and he does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground. Add in a slider, change, and forkball, and you have the arsenal of at least a back end starter. The strikeout numbers are encouraging, and the movement he gets on his pitches will keep the ball in the park. Ranked 8th in our system and 96th in the league, Burns has the tools to fill the back of a rotation now, and the potential to move up if he continues to improve. C Charlie Hawkins (C La Crosse Lions): With the Solly Skidmore injury in La Crosse, I had to move Charlie Hawkins down to get him some more at bats. His first week was perfect, hitting .433/.469/.600 (149 OPS+) with 2 doubles, a homer, and 10 RBIs to take home a Player of the Week. A 12th Round Selection last season, Hawkins began the year in San Jose, and he hit .247/.340/.360 (84 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 2 homers, and 17 RBIs in just 103 trips to the plate. He had to share time with Walter Loera, who was hitting much better, but this should be a nice trip to get Hawkins back on track. Weinstock is a fan, thinking he has a future in the big leagues due to his strong eye and average contact tool. OSA thinks bench player, but at one point, he was inside the top 500. Catcher tends to be a rather weak position for us, but having as many suitable catchers as possible can be very helpful.