[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 73-68 (4th, 7.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Ray Ford : 22 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .455 AVG, 1.357 OPS
Rich Langton : 23 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .435 AVG, 1.201 OPS
Jim Lonardo : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.50 ERA

Schedule
9-19: Win vs Cannons (0-6)
9-20: Win vs Cannons (7-9)
9-21: Loss vs Stars (7-6)
9-22: Loss vs Stars (17-4)
9-23: Win vs Stars (3-6)
9-24: Win vs Kings (1-12)

Recap
If you ignore the awful loss against the Stars, we actually had a pretty impressive week! Sure, losing 17-4 sucks a lot, but we won all the games against the Cannons and crushed the Kings, so even with the Stars taking two of three from us, we managed to improve our record. We didn't make up any ground in the standings, and seven and a half is a ton of games to make up. We are getting closer and closer to securing a record above .500, so that's good, but still a disappointing end to the season none the less.

It was a week to remember for Jim Lonardo, who started the week with a 5-hit, 2-strikeout, 78 pitch shutout of the Cannons as we won 6-0. He then pitched on short rest against the Stars, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in a 6-3 win over the Stars. That win was a landmark for Lonardo, his 200th career win! One more win would put him 45th all time, and he could potentially reach the top 20 with 70 more wins. He's been an excellent pitcher his whole career, as the former 10th Rounder has exceeded all expectations. In 391 career appearances, he started 385 of them, currently 200-143 with a 3.62 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, 619 walks, and 1,128 strikeouts in over 3,000 big league innings. He was a four time 20-game winner, led the league in strikeouts and WHIP in 1930 and 1931, BB/9 five times, and WAR twice. His WAR currently sits at 69.7, he was selected to 3-All Star Games, and he won 4 Allen Awards. Even at 35, he's still more then effective on the mound, and I think we'll get a few more good seasons out of him.

Dick Lyons was our other two start starter, and he had one awful start and one great start. Lyons won both, but struggled with the Cannons, allowing 11 hits, 7 runs, and a walk with 2 strikeouts in an out away from a compete game. He then kept the Kings in check, just a single run with 5 hits, 3 walks, and a strikeout in a complete game win. That's a complete game in three of his last four starts, as the 39-year-old has now thrown 241 innings, and is on pace for a career high 257.2. Milt Fritz and Harry Parker both had awful starts against the Stars. Fritz has been cold, allowing 7 hits, 8 runs, and a walk with a strikeout in 4.1 innings pitched. Parker was a bit better, 12 hits, 7 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts with 3 homers in 6.1 innings pitched. That's 33 homers on the season for Parker, tied with Jake DeYoung for most in baseball, 10 more above anyone else. Not sure how DeYoung does it, a .805 and .738 home run factor in his home park, much lower then the 1.1118 and 1.109 Parker has to deal with. Rusty Watts was crushed in his one pen outing, 8 hits, 8 runs (6 earned), 3 walks, and a strikeout in an inning and two thirds.

Ray Ford had a huge week, adding 5 more RBIs to his second best 102. He went 10-for-22 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 4 walks, and 10 runs scored. The 28-year-old has followed up an outstanding 1938 with a great 1939, slashing .335/.393/.507 (135 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 6 triples, 15 homers, and 82 runs scored. Rich Langton had an outstanding week of his own, knocking in 10 while finishing 10-for-23 with 2 doubles, a triple, homer, steal, and 3 runs scored. Freddie Jones is working on a 20 game hit streak, 9-for-24 with a double, triple, 2 RBIs, and 6 runs scored. No homer this week, but he has 11 on the season, his new career high. He didn't quite hit peak Jones level, but his .315/.399/.465 (126 OPS+) batting line has been very helpful for our lineup. Double play partner Billy Hunter was a similar 9-for-22 with 2 runs and 5 RBIs. Leo Mitchell continued to push up his average, 7-for-22 with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, and 6 runs scored. Aart MacDonald had what feels like his first good week, 7-for-22 with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 6 runs, and 6 walks. Our catching platoon really struggled, a hit a piece in 22 trips to the plate. Taylor's was a double, adding a run and 3 RBI with a lot of outs.

Looking Ahead
After a 12-1 win against Brooklyn, it's only fitting if the now eliminated Kings finish the series with a dominant win of their own. We'll see Jack Goff, who is 7-6 with a 3.33 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 58 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 119 innings pitched. Al Wheeler is still having some issues, hitting just .254/.340/.419 (92 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 3 triples, 19 homers, and 75 RBIs in what will be his first below average season at the plate. Another guy struggling is former Cougar Fred Barrell, who has hit just .244/.315/.329 (64 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, and 46 RBIs. I'm not sure if Fred will rebound next season, but I'd wager a lot that Al Wheeler will be back to the Wonder Wheel next season, and Brooklyn will be right back in it. Or maybe they finally send Wheeler back to his home state of Illinois!

Our homestand then comes to an end with three against the Saints. At 71-70, they are trying to finish over .500 for the first time since 1930. I mentioned DeYoung's homer troubles earlier, as it's been the major reason for his poor season. He's 13-14 with a 5.49 ERA (79 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 36 walks, and 106 strikeouts. And while he's listed as the ace, the ace has been rookie Bill Stewart, who is 8-3 with a 3.66 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 50 walks, and 77 strikeouts in 21 impressive starts. Bill Ross has maintained his rotation spot, but it's been tough for the former Cougar, who is 8-10 with a 4.86 ERA (90 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, 24 walks, and 43 strikeouts across 176 innings pitched. Rookie and personal favorite of mine Spud Bent has started to get more time in the lineup, and has hit .344/.463/.625 (173 OPS+) with a double, triple, two homers, and 12 RBIs in 42 trips to the plate. Red Bond has surpassed the 20 homer mark, hitting .331/.402/.512 (130 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 2 triples, 21 homers, and 90 RBIs in another excellent season at the plate. Adam Mullins is trying to reach double digit homers, batting .317/.418/.445 (118 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, and 87 RBIs with an impressive 85-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. I'm hoping we can keep our nice little run going, and keep the Saints behind us.

We then hit the road for three with the Wolves before a potentially needed off day. Sure they have Fred McCormick and an outstanding top three of their rotation, but the real story of the season has been Walt Pack! The Wolves dropped from second to sixth, but Walt's breakout has been huge for their future. He is hitting an elite .358/.428/.565 (149 OPS+) with 19 doubles, a triple, 10 homers, and 46 RBIs. He gets to hit right above McCormick, who is flirting with .400 yet again. He's slashing .393/.491/.671 (191 OPS+) with 11 steals, 39 doubles, 12 triples, 27 homers, and 116 RBIs with 109 walks and just 35 strikeouts. On the mound, Joe Hancock has continued his best season, 15-12 with a 3.16 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 69 walks, and 116 strikeouts while being worth over 7 wins above replacement. Behind him is Bernie Johnson, 10-14 with a 3.42 ERA (127 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 57 walks, and 64 strikeouts in his breakout season. Bob Walls continued like he did with the Wolves after his midseason trade, 15-10 with a 3.57 ERA (122 ERA+), 1.45 WHIP, 93 walks, and 31 strikeouts in 229.1 decent innings. The Wolves turned things around in August, but I'm hoping we get the 8-17 July Wolves instead!

Minor League Report
The minor league season is over, and while I expect a nice big minor league report over the weekend, all of our farm teams finished above .500! Somehow, Lincoln blew their lead, and ended up tied with Terre Haute and Mobile finished 10 back, but Milwaukee, La Crosse, and San Jose all won pennants. Milwaukee managed to win 98 and San Jose 99, both with .700 win percentages. This allowed me three callups to fill up the roster, and I went with Freddie Bennett, Larry Robison, and Del Burns. Bennett will be used as a defensive replacement, Robison a pinch runner, and Burns will finish the season as our 5th starter.

Starting with Bennett, he didn't hit much in Milwaukee, hitting just .253/.314/.362 (72 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 9 triples, 4 homers, 15 steals, and 54 RBIs in 474 trips to the plate. In the field, he had an outstanding 38.3 zone rating and 1.202 efficiency. Robison, 25, is going to be set to make his big league debut after hitting .328/.399/.478 (123 OPS+) in his first full season with the Blues. He added 37 doubles, 5 triples, 7 homers, 36 steals, and 82 RBIs in 520 plate appearances. Burns was the 3rd Overall Pick in the 1934 draft, and is also making his big league debut, with a start against the Kings. The skinny 6'2'' righty was 11-3 with a 4.10 ERA (122 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 43 walks, and 126 strikeouts in 160.1 innings for the Blues. He sits consistently in the 95-97 range with his fastball and cutter, two of five strong big league pitches. He has an excellent forkball, decent slider, and average change to go with, and he gets plenty of movement on his pitches. Weinstock thinks he'll turn into a #2, OSA a middle rotation arm, and the prospect rankings have him 8th and 93rd respectively. I can't see him getting more then three or so starts, but it will be nice to get a quick peak at another potential quality big league arm.