[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 80-41 (1st, 7.5 GA)
Stars of the Week
Joe Brown : 3 Wins, 8.0 IP, 2 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
Skipper Schneider : 21 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .476 AVG, .998 OPS
Rich Langton : 19 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .368 AVG, 1.000 OPS

Schedule
8-18: Win vs Sailors (3-4)
8-19: Loss vs Sailors (12-2)
8-20: Loss vs Sailors (9-7): 11 innings
8-21: Loss vs Cannons (7-3)
8-22: Win vs Cannons (0-1): 12 innings
8-23: Win vs Cannons (1-6)
8-24: Win vs Wolves (1-5)
8-24: Win vs Wolves (2-7)

Recap
The week didn't start out very well, as our staff had a lot of issues with the Sailors. We managed to win the first of the series, but the Sailors managed to win the series with 21 runs in the final two in the series. We then dropped the first game against the Cannons, but then the pitching buckled down. We ran off four straight wins while allowing just one run a game. This increased our lead over the Kings back to 7.5 games, giving us a much nicer cushion then we entered the week with. Joe Brown was named Player of the Week, a selection that is very puzzling to me. Sure, Brown threw 8 scoreless innings with 5 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts, but is that really a Player of the Week worthy performance? The game liked his 3 wins, including the 5-1 win in our double header, where he relieved Milt Fritz in the 3rd and threw 5 strong innings to improve to 7-1 on the season. Brown is definitely good enough to start in the big leagues, but the 27-year-old has been use almost exclusively as a reliever for us. This year has arguably been his best, as he has a 2.61 ERA (151 ERA+) and 1.18 WHIP with 12 walks and 17 strikeouts through 38 effective innings.

Peter the Heater was unlucky in his start, as he threw 11 scoreless innings with 7 hits, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts in a no decision. We managed to win that game in the 12th, but Papenfus is now 0-2 in his last five starts. He's now up to 187 strikeouts in 246.2 innings, and is on a 300 inning pace. Dick Lyons was effective in his two starts, picking up a win and a no decision. Lyons went 8 with 7 hits, a run, walk, and strikeout in his win, and 6.1 with 9 hits, 3 runs, 4 walks, and a strikeout in the no decision. Lyons is now 10-7 on the season, and has won double digit games in 13 of his 15 seasons with 20 or more starts. Harry Parker continues his mini-skid, allowing 8 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 8 innings. Milt Fritz struggled in one start and left with a sore thumb in the other, 9 combined innings with 6 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), 7 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Jim Lonardo made two starts, a no decision and win. He went 15 innings with 17 hits, 8 runs, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Ben Curtin was active in the pen, going 7.1 innings with 4 hits, a run, walk, and strikeout. Eddie Quinn and Pug Bryan were not as lucky, combining to go 4.1 innings with 8 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks. The first half of the week, the pitching left a lot to be desired, but against a top offense like the Cannons, we were much better.

The offense had a lot of issues, with Lawson, Mitchell, Page, Mead, and Moss all hitting below .200 for the week. Lucky for us, we got some production from youngster Skipper Schneider, who was 10-for-21 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs. Rich Langton looked good as well, 7-for-19 with 3 doubles, a triple, steal, and 4 RBIs. Freddie Jones hit well in his return to regular time, 5-for-20 with 2 triples, a homer, 4 walks, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs scored. Carlos Montes was just 7-for-29, but with 2 doubles, 2 homers, a steal, 5 RBIs, 6 runs, and 4 walks. We'll need more support from our stars next week, as the chances, Mitchell, Lawson, Moss, Ford, and Walker all coordinate their bad week again are quite low.

Looking Ahead
Up 2-0 in the series already, we'll get two more with the Wolves in Chicago. Now 55-70, they are 6.5 games ahead of the Saints, who have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. We beat George Garrison (11-9, 3.72, 103) and Chick Wirtz (10-10, 4.20, 36) in the double header, but now we have to face two of their top three. We'll get Bernie Johnson (11-9, 3.48, 42) in the first game and Joe Hancock (10-10, 3.46, 91) in the second, which should make the games very difficult for us to win. I also wanted to take note of their stopper Lou Jayson, who has put together an interesting season. He's just 1-8 with 12 saves, but it's not because of poor performance, as he has a 2.54 ERA (161 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 21 walks, and 40 strikeouts. It will be hard for us to score on any of these three, so we'll want to make sure we keep their hitters off base. The hardest to do that to is Larry Vestal, who is slashing .309/.387/.436 (114 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 10 triples, 5 homers, and 55 RBIs with a nice 58-to-37 walk-to-strikeout ratio. With Papenfus and Parker on the mound, we should be able to chalk these up as wins, but neither of the high touted duo have done much winning as of late.

We then get just a single game at home with the Foresters before an off day and start of a road trip. Cleveland is 48-74, and could very well be officially eliminated from the postseason before we meet. Cleveland moved a lot of vets, with Dean Astle, Bill Moore, Mel Carrol, and George Dawson all finding new homes at the deadline. One of the pieces they added in the Carrol deal, Leon Blackridge, has been red hot since joining the Foresters, slashing .348/.389/.561 (144 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, and 11 RBIs in 72 trips to the plate. He's been a nice add to the lineup that has only two other productive hitters, Lou Balk (.303, 10, 50) and Dan Fowler (.269, 17, 48). The pitching has been worse, as Astle's replacement Johnny Slaney (0-8, 7.11, 41) has really struggled while vets Ben Turner (7-13, 4.52, 44) and Dave Rankin (10-12, 4.57, 47) are enduring rough seasons. I wish we got more then just the single game, but we can't afford to let this one get away from us.

We then finish the week and month with four games in three days against the Saints. Montreal is just 47-75 on the season, and is currently leading the race for the 2nd pick in the draft. Bill Greene has really started to heat up for them, and the talented 24-year-old is hitting a remarkable .327/.424/.535 (149 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 12 triples, 6 homers, 6 steals, and 34 RBIs in 314 trips to the plate. Him and Bert Lass (.340, 6, 62) are both really dangerous at the plate, but the Saints have surprisingly seen a steep fall off for slugger Red Bond. The 28-year-old is hitting just an average .285/.360/.414 (102 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 13 homers, and 75 RBIs. This isn't close to last year's elite production, where Bond led the league in homers (30), RBIs (111), slugging (.550), and OPS (.945) with a .340 average and 153 OPS+. He should turn things around for next season, which could be the start of a change of fortune in Montreal. Youngster Wally Doyle (11-11, 4.42, 138) should be able to take a step forward, and they have a lot of talented young pitchers in A ball who could potentially debut towards the end of next year. Plus with the to farm system, they can speed up their rebuild a bit by moving a few of their young arms, and #10 prospect Otis Parker is hitting .306/.429/.495 (158 OPS+) in AAA. Parker is hurt now, but should debut either this season or early next year, and the Saints could have a top notch outfield with him, Greene, and Lass. Anything less then a sweep would be disappointing, but I don't see the Saints staying in the cellar for too long as they have too much young talent to become a mainstay at the bottom.

Minor League Report
LHP Johnny Ruby (AA Mobile Commodores): It hasn't been the best season so far, but I'm hoping Johnny Ruby can build off his last start. After losing 5-4 to Birmingham in his last time out, he allowed just 7 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts as the Commodores crushed the Ironmen 12-0. That improved the lefty to 8-11 on the season with a 4.84 ERA (91 ERA+), 1.80 WHIP, 100 walks, and 82 strikeouts. There are a lot of concerning figures for the former 8th Round selection, as his 6.1 BB/9 is the worst of his career and he's allowed far too many batters to reach base. His strikeout numbers are strong, as Ruby has always had the stuff to miss bats, but he's limiting his upside by allowing far too many free passes. He gets groundouts to help him out sometimes, but he'll always need a strong infield defense behind him. Ruby will be eligible for the Rule-5 Draft, and so far he hasn't really helped his case, but a team may want to take a chance on his strikeout numbers.

C Solly Skidmore (AA Mobile Commodores): Fresh off a promotion from A ball, Solly Skidmore continued to hit at a high level. In just his second game with the Commodores, Skidmore went 5-for-6 with 4 runs, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs during Ruby's shutout. It's tough to match that production, but he finished the week with a solid .393/.433/.464 (129 OPS+) batting line. Solly now has 25 doubles and 90 RBIs between the two stops, and he already upped his walk-to-strikeout ratio to 43-to-9. The top catching prospect in baseball, BNN thinks he can make a big league debut next season, and if he keeps hitting like this, I can see him forcing himself in our catching tandem next year. Unfortunately, him and Mead are both righties, but with Mike Taylor getting older, Solly may be able to secure a part time role as early as next year.

RHP Bill Tuttle (A Lincoln Legislators): It wasn't the greatest starts this year for 22-year-old Bill Tuttle, who on July 5th dropped to 5-6 with a 4.97 ERA. He's quickly flipped his fortunes, using a 4-hit shutout to increase his win streak to 7. Now 12-6, Tuttle has a much more respectable 3.60 ERA (110 ERA+) with a 1.26 WHIP, 47 walks, and 73 strikeouts in 140 innings pitched. Tuttle was a late bloomer, selected in the 14th Round back in 1935 and he was released just two seasons later. He signed a minor league deal with us during the 1938 season, and has steadily improved each season. Tuttle now ranks just outside our top 30 and 343rd Overall, and he's now throwing consistently in the mid 90s. His stuff is just average, but he doesn't really have a go to pitch. His change, cutter, and splitter are all big league level pitches. Since he's still young, he can continue to develop, but for now he looks like more of a depth arm then rotation mate to build around.

RHP Jack Huston (B San Jose Cougars): It hasn't been the greatest set of starts for Jack Huston, who was recently promoted from La Crosse, but half of his starts have been tremendous. The first was in a 12-1 win over Vancouver, where he allowed 10 hits, a run, and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. He then was chased out of his second start in the fourth, after allowing 10 hits, 8 runs, and a walk with 3 strikeouts. Huston was able to bounce right back, and the 21-year-old tossed a 2-hit shutout as the Cougars beat the Spokane Lumberjacks 4-0. He walked 4 and struck out 5 in the shutout, and is now 3-1 with a 4.13 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 14 walks, and 17 strikeouts. As you would expect, he was much more consistent in La Crosse then he has been so far, and we've gotten good results from our 5th Rounder this season. Huston currently ranks 16th and 166th respectively in the prospect rankings. He's a bit raw for a college arm, but he has a nice mid 80s fastball with a super slider and nice curve. His control hasn't looked good with the Cougars, but he had a much better 1.5 BB/9 in his four starts with the Lions. I think he'll end up somewhere in the middle, but if he masters his control he could end up in a big league rotation. OSA thinks he's a back end starter while Tom thinks more spot, but for now Huston has a lot of work in front of him.

RF Dan Collins (B San Jose Cougars): After going an even 14-for-24 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs, Dan Collins was named Player of the Week for the second straight week in the C-O-W League. I never planned on moving him up this season, but with Bunny Hufford getting injured this week and Collins' .402/.462/.610 (182 OPS+) line, I decided it was time to move the lefty up to Lincoln. In 45 games Collins recorded 14 doubles, 6 homers, and 40 RBIs with more walks (18) then strikeouts (13). He's an extremely hard working outfielder who is already a leader in the clubhouse, and he seems to be a very advanced hitter already. He ranks right inside our top 30 and 324th overall, a bit high for a player taken in the 7th Round this season. I think he'll always be a good organizational piece due to his makeup, but his value is more in his floor then his ceiling.

CF Leo Davis (C La Crosse Lions): Collins wasn't the only outfielder to take home Player of the Week, as Leo Davis won it for the Lions. The 22-year-old went 14-for-30 with a homer, 6 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. Davis has done well in his season with the Lions, worth an impressive 5.6 wins above replacement, and he's hit .311/.383/.446 (118 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 11 triples, 6 homers, 29 steals, and 67 RBIs. He's done well defensively both in center and right, and should be a nice defender in either spot. He's a bit old for Class C, but we have a lot of older outfielders in his way and very few young outfielders to take at bats for the Lions. With that Davis likely stays in La Crosse the rest of the season, but I expect him to start next year in San Jose, and it should be a very short stay for him. Davis' value relies in his speed, versatility, hit tool, but until he shows better discipline at the plate, he'll limit his use. More advanced and experienced pitchers will likely get him to chase, but if he's on the base paths, he can make life difficult for the defense.