[ayaghmour2]

The Wolves may have just won the 1940 Championship, but I wasn't wasting any time trying to win the 1941 Championship! You could argue that we lost the 1940 pennant by trading for Leon Drake, so I'm hoping for the opposite result here! We hooked up with our crosstown counterparts in the Fed to acquire a former #1 Overall Pick in exchange for a pair of young pitchers in Lou Eaker and Ralph Kendall.

That former #1 Overall Pick is veteran slugger Cliff Moss, who was selected by Montreal out of Pierpont in the 1927 Draft. Moss was in Montreal after just 37 minor league games split between levels. The rookie hit .309/.381/.461 (127 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 8 triples, 10 homers, and 57 RBIs in 490 trips to the plate. It was his first of four consecutive above average seasons at the plate before a three year semi-slump. Then a week in to the 1935 season, the then Saints GM and now current Chiefs GM brought Moss back to his organization and it revived his career. Moss was more of a platoon player in his first season with the Chiefs, but he hit a wonderful .331/.422/.579 (161 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 19 homers, and 60 RBIs. That was the start of an impressive five season stint, where he hit .295/.377/.495 (132 OPS+) with 113 doubles, 15 triples, 116 homers, and 418 RBIs in 713 games. This last season was one of the best in his thirteen year career, as the now 34-year-old lefty slashed .278/.375/.492 (133 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, and 69 RBIs to bump his career line to .294/.370/.471 (121 OPS+). He's a huge boost to the lineup, ranked as a top five right fielder and he's arguably better then all of them except Red Bond and Bill Barrett. We do have a lot of lefties in the lineup now, and our 3-4-5 or even 2-3-4 next season may end up being three lefties. As good as Moss is, he's not the best against same side pitchers, leaving a little room for Rich Langton. Moss is also a decent fielder, not Yates or Drake level in right, but more then capable. He could end up a 30 homer hitter and he's hit 19 or more in five of the last six seasons. I can't see him having a Leon Drake type fall off, although age could make his Cougar tenure a bit on the short side, but we have Bunny Hufford and Fred Vargas waiting in the winds, and with four pitchers ranked 49th to 58th in our system, plus the two Joneses, we should be able to handle the loss of Eaker. I like what the roster will look like next season, and it would be an added bonus if both Quinn and Fritz will be healthy in the Spring.