[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 33-33 (6, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 27 AB, 13 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .481 AVG, 1.422 OPS
Harry Mead : 16 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .438 AVG, .938 OPS
Dick Lyons : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.00 ERA

Schedule
6-17: Loss vs Wolves (9-5): 12 innings
6-18: Loss vs Wolves (10-1)
6-19: Win vs Wolves (3-5)
6-21: Win vs Sailors (1-2)
6-22: Win vs Sailors (2-5): 10 innings
6-23: Win vs Sailors (2-3): 10 innings
6-23: Loss vs Sailors (4-2)

Recap
Well, well, well! Welcome back to .500! We managed to even our record up and cut a game on the division lead, but despite that, we fell all the way down to 6th, as both the New York teams have caught fire and leapfrogged us and the Sailors. We did the damage to the Sailors, taking three of four, but two of the games were one run win and two were in extra innings. That doesn't help our case for competing, and neither does getting crushed in two of three against the Wolves. Good thing we have John Lawson, who carried our offense in the week. Lawson pushed his average up close to .400, 13-for-27 with 2 homers and 9 RBIs. That was good enough for our first Player of the Week, but Lawson has really been Player of the season. "Jack the Ripper" is ripping an outstanding .398/.450/.571 (182 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 6 homers, and 47 RBIs. He's already worth 4.1 wins above replacement, and he's on pace for a career best season. Lawson has been the model of consistency, positing OPS+ of 133-143 in each of the past six seasons, but he's really exploded this year. It's even better then both of his MVP seasons, where Lawson hit .392/.442/.613 (165 OPS+) and .359/.406/.502 (147 OPS+).

I wasn't kidding Lawson was carrying the lineup, as no other Cougar with 5 or more games had an above average season. The closest was Ollie Page, who went 6-for-25 with 2 doubles, a triple, steal, RBI, and 3 runs scored. We did have a good week from Harry Mead, who went 7-for-16 with a double and run scored. Rich Langton was 4-for-11 with 3 runs scored while Bobby Mills was 2-for-8 with a double, homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Ray Ford had a rough go at it, just 2-for-25 with a double, walk, run, and RBI. He's been outstanding the past few weeks, so it's not the biggest concern as long as he gets right back on track next week. Carlos Montes also came back to earth, just 2-for-17 with 3 walks and 2 runs scored. We can't be the John Lawson team if we want to do well next week, so we need someone else to pick up the slack.

Jim Lonardo continued his terrible season, losing both his starts and falling to 4-10. He went 13.1 innings with 22 hits, 13 runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Most of our rotation have done really well, but he has a poor 4.73 ERA (78 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 19 walks, and 41 strikeouts. Lucky for us, Dick Lyons ages like a fine wine, tossing a complete game with just 4 hits, a run, walk, and 2 strikeouts. Pete Papenfus had another good start, tossing a 10 inning complete game with 6 hits, 2 runs, 6 walks, and 9 strikeouts. Yes, the 6 walks are a little concerning, but I can live with a 5.3 BB/9 if it's paired with a 8.9 K/9. Milt Fritz had a decent start, 7 hits, 3 runs, and 3 walks in another complete game win of his own. Harry Parker ate a ton of innings, tossing a 11 inning complete game and 10 inning complete game. He won the 11 and lost the 10, allowing 19 hits, 7 runs, and 8 walks with 8 strikeouts. Rusty Watts looked good out of the pen, 4.2 innings with 5 hits, a run, and 2 strikeouts. Pug Bryan, however, struggled in his first opportunity as stopper, allowing 4 hits, 4 runs, and a walk in just two third of an inning. His ERA ballooned to 4.30 from 1.93, and his WHIP rose up to 1.64.

Looking Ahead
We reached the in game draft, and Rounds 11-25 will be simmed in our next sim Monday.

On the field, we start with the still first place Cannons, who are now 41-25 and tied for first with the Wolves. It's a weird series, two games, an off day, then another game. We'll likely get to see the first career start of former #1 Overall Pick Vic Carroll, who is rumored to be called up from AAA Indianapolis. If he pitches in game two, it will be on his 22nd birthday after going 7-2 with a 3.48 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 37 walks, and 65 strikeouts in what could be his only 13 AAA starts. Carroll could end up as one of the game's elite arms, and is currently ranked as the #2 prospect in all of baseball. He has outstanding stuff, featuring a devastating splitter and a high 80s cutter and fastball. He has great command as well, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't have a nice and long big league career. He'll join an impressive rotation, with the hero somehow being the 28-year-old Butch Smith. He's 8-4 with a 2.37 ERA (159 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 37 walks, and 70 strikeouts in 102.1 excellent innings. William Jones has cooled off a bit, but still an effective 7-5 with a 3.25 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 32 walks, and 35 strikeouts. Fred Galloway has cooled off a lot, and the 24-year-old is now hitting just .293/.381/.426 (119 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 8 triples, a homer, and 34 RBIs. Of course, Moxie Pidgeon hasn't slowed down at all, slashing .340/.384/.566 (155 OPS+) with 12 doubles, 12 homers, and 54 RBIs. 8 more homers and Cincinnati will now be the 5th team Moxie Pidgeon has hit 20 homers for. Doc Love is having a nice little resurgence at 31, hitting .301/.357/.477 (125 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 4 triples, 3 homers, and 24 RBIs. If we can shut those three down, we'll have a chance to win the series, but Frank Covarrubias (111 OPS+) and Jack Flint (105 OPS+) are also having decent seasons of their own. This will be another tough series, but I like our chances in this one as the Cannons have started to cool off a bit.

After the Cannons series, we welcome their GM's former team the Brooklyn Kings. Brooklyn has caught fire, now up to 3rd at 35-31. They are still 6 out of first, but have won nine of their last ten. I'm hoping we can cool them down, but it will be tough. Brooklyn seems to have a knack for developing outfielders, with Joe Herman the next in line. A former lottery selection, Herman is hitting .366/.407/.604 (168 OPS+) with 9 doubles, a triple, 7 homers, and 26 RBIs. He's done a lot better then Al Wheeler, who has an adjusted league average .250/.327/.421 with 12 doubles, 9 homers, and 31 RBIs. The rest of the lineup has struggled, but Tiny Tim Hopkins has looked good in his 25 big league games. The not-so-tiny 6'5'' lefty is slashing .307/.364/.511 (133 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 3 homers, and 15 RBIs. They've pitched pretty well despite Tom Barrell's continued struggles. He's just 4-9 with a 5.00 ERA (76 ERA+), 1.57 WHIP, 38 walks, and 47 strikeouts. Art White has been outstanding in his place, 8-3 with a 2.69 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 22 walks, and 29 strikeouts. So has former Cougar farmhand Stumpy Beaman, 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 18 walks, and 26 strikeouts. I do think we're the better team, but we seemed to have caught them at the worst time.

Minor League Report
LHP Harl Haines (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's been an up and down season for the 22-year-old, and after a 9 run start, he went ahead and shutout the Warriors. Fort Wayne got just 5 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts and improved to 6-8 on the season. He now has a 3.95 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 32 walks, and 59 strikeouts in his first 15 starts with the Blues. The fire-balling submariner hasn't pitched well enough to take a roster spot yet, but I know the former 10th Rounder will be protected before the Rule-5 Draft. I love his stuff and he does an outstanding job locating all four of his pitches. Weinstock thinks he should "fill a regular rotation spot, although probably closer to the bottom," and I tend to agree with him. He currently ranks 9th in our system and 136th overall, one spot below the now injured Joe Crosby. I expect him to jump ahead before the end of the season, and he does have a chance to crack the top 100. Haines is probably one of the most interesting prospects we have, but since he's actually older then Peter the Heater, it may be tough for him to find a long-term home in our rotation.

RHP Lou Eaker (A Lincoln Legislators): In a game that needed ten innings to decide, Lou Eaker was flawless. He needed to be, as it took that many innings for us to score, but Eaker ended up with a 10-inning, complete game shutout. He allowed 4 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts to improve to 3-4 with the Legislators. He owns a nice 3.27 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 31 walks, and 27 strikeouts across 63.1 innings pitched. The 22-year-old ranks 6th in our organization and currently 61st overall. Last year's 5th Rounder has a polished four pitch mix, featuring an excellent splitter, decent mid 80s cutter and fastball, and a developing change. That pitch may never be all that reliable, but the other three are very consistent and he gets plenty of movement on them. When he's on he's unhittable, but his command can occasionally desert him for stretches. I expect he'll end up throwing harder, as he's a strong 6'5'' righty who has already proved he can pitch deep into games. I think he has the tools to fill in as a mid-rotation starter, although OSA thinks more of a 5th starter. I think that's his floor, but he still has ways to go before he finds himself in a big league rotation.