[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 50-42 (2nd, 10 GB)
Stars of the Week
Carlos Montes : 35 AB, 13 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .371 AVG, .971 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .400 AVG, .980 OPS
John Lawson : 29 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .345 AVG, .835 OPS

Schedule
7-14: Win at Sailors (13-0)
7-15: Loss at Cannons (11-12)
7-16: Win at Cannons (8-5)
7-17: Loss at Cannons (2-3)
7-18: Win at Wolves (6-4)
7-19: Win at Wolves (10-2)
7-19: Win at Wolves (6-4)

Recap
A 5-2 week is just what the doctor ordered, but since the Stars managed to go 6-2, we actually dropped half a game in the standings. We dominated the Sailors in the finale and swept the Wolves, but the surging Cannons took two of three from us. Of course, both are loses were of the one run variety, and the one against the Cannons was beyond frustrating and really sums up the season. Harry Parker took on Roger Perry, and after the Cougars went 1-2-3 in he first, everything fell apart. Parker needed just one pitch to retire Terry Cox. John Lawson then made a pair of errors before Chuck Adams singled. Cliff Moss tried to throw him out at home, but the throw was wide, a third error in just four plays. Denny Andrews then drew a walk on four pitches to load the bases and bring up Bill Lewis. Parker rolled up a double play ball to Lawson, who actually fielded it cleanly and threw to Freddie Jones, who dropped it, allowing all runners to reach safe. To add injury to insult, Harry Parker left after that pitch with an injury (it was minor, he started later that week), and Hooks Camp was forced into a bases loaded jam where we already should have four outs instead of one. Jim Hensley singled in a run then Bob Griffith walked, before Roger Perry bunted and the Cougars got out #5 at home. Terry Cox was back up, and yet again, John Lawson made an error. His third of the inning and fifth for the Cougars. Fred Galloway singled home two more to make it 7-0 before Adam Mullins grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. We then took the lead in the 2nd with 8 runs, also aided by a single Cannon error which caused just two of the runs to be earned. The Cannons reclaimed the lead in the 5th with three runs, we both got a run in the 6th, and then we cut the lead to 11-10 in the 8th. A run in the 9th tied it at 11, but Adam Mullins singled home Bob Griffith to send the Cannons fans home happy. A massive gut punch for us, as seemingly nothing can go right this season.

Otherwise, things are looking better after the break, as we've won 9 of 11, and Lawson is starting to look like John Lawson again. He finally reached 3,000 hits, something I expected to happen in mid May not mid June, and fresh off his three error inning, he hit a two-run shot off Roger Perry in the top of the 2nd. He added a pair of singles and Lawson finished the week 10-for-29 with 4 runs and 6 RBIs. This felt like a classic John Lawson week, who is now hitting a closer-to-average .267/.299/.348 (85 OPS+) in 359 PAs. He's on track for just 15 doubles, 10 homers, and 74 RBIs, all which would be career lows, and he's managed 29 or more doubles in each full season of his big league career. He's been great in July, however, slashing .349/.382/.429, and perhaps the bat has finally came to life. Too little too late, perhaps, but maybe Lawson can still finish with an OPS+ above 100!

The offense, minus Leo Mitchell and Billy Hunter, was outstanding. That duo went 11-for-42, although most of the at bats were Mitchell, while every other hitter with at least one at bat had an above average week. Cliff Moss had his best week of the season, going 4-for-13 with 2 homers, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 5 RBIs. Skipper had a big week, 10-for-25 with 2 doubles, 6 runs, 5 walks, and 4 RBIs. He has struck out in two straight weeks, but the young shortstop still owns a 32-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Fellow All Stars Carlos Montes and Harry Mead tried to match him, with Montes 13-for-35 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 6 runs, and 9 RBIs while Mead was 7-for-22 with a double, homer, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs. Clark Car was 6-for-14 with a triple, 4 runs, and 3 RBIs. Mike Taylor was 4-for-10 with a run and RBI. Rich Langton finished just 5-for-20, but with a double, triple, homer, 4 runs, and 3 RBIs. Dick Walker was 9-for-30 with 2 doubles, 4 walks, 3 RBIs, 9 runs, and a steal. If we can sustain an offensive week like this, we'll be in really good shape the rest of the way, but our fate is solely in the Stars hand.

The pitching was fine, as most of the runs allowed came off errors. Jim Lonardo picked up a pair of wins, including a 7-hit, 3-walk, 4-strikeout shutout in our 13-0 domination of the Sailors. His second start wasn't as great, 10 hits and 4 runs with a walk and strikeout in a complete game win, but our ace is now 12-8 with a 3.08 ERA (112 ERA+) and 1.20 WHIP. I already touched on Harry Parker's unlucky start, but he was excellent against the Wolves. He took home another complete game win, this time with 8 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Joe Brown added another complete game win, 4 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), and a walk with 6 strikeouts in our lone win against the Cannons. Donnie Jones picked up an unlucky loss, with an error ruining his night. In our 3-2 loss, one of the three runs was unearned, as Jones finished 8 innings with 8 hits and a walk. Dick Lyons had a shaky start, but came out with a win, despite allowing 13 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) with all 36 batters he faced putting the ball in play. Hooks Camp was hit hard in a mop up outing he didn't expect to pitch, allowing 7 hits and 5 runs (3 earned) with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts through 4.1 innings pitched. Pug Bryan finished that game, allowing 3 hits, a run, and 3 walks in 1.1 innings. Ben Curtin made a pair of appearances, picking up a save in 3.1 innings with 3 hits, a run, 2 walks, and a strikeout. I can't imagine our defense will take another week off like this, as we still lead our league in efficiency (.716) and zone rating (33.8), and our arms kept us in every game this week.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week, after a very successful 9-2 post-All Star road trip. Technically, our roadtrip started on the 3rd, so overall we were 10-6, which is still good. Our first guest is the Foresters, who are 33-57 and have 10 or fewer wins then every other CA team. They are 26 games out of first and 8 games behind the 7th place Kings. With the deadline coming up, they are one of the potential sellers, but I'd be surprised if they moved anyone. Dave Rankin (3-10, 4.19, 22) or Ben Turner (8-10, 3.99, 31) would make sense, but neither of the veteran hurlers have pitched all that well this year. Dan Fowler (.200, 3, 20, 3) got injured this week, but considering he is worth a full win below replacement, I can't see a team looking at him as an upgrade. Roy Bradley (.288, 1, 21, 3) has returned to the lineup, but he's not hitting very well either. So far the lone bright spot in the line up has been Wayne Morgan, who is hitting .316/.364/.456 (124 OPS+) in 175 trips to the plate. It's hard to consider the 26-year-old Rule-5 pick a building block, but he's looked good thusfar. Especially considering we will miss Dick Lamb (7-11, 3.27, 18), we absolutely must win both games against Cleveland.

We finish the week with three games in four days against the Sailors after another off day. Philly sits a game over .500 at 45-44, tied for 3rd with the 46-45 Saints and 47-46 Cannons. It's looking like we'll see Karl Wallace (11-4, 2.61, 42), who is showing no signs of slowing down this season. We may get to avoid his co-ace Chuck Murphy (9-9, 2.83, 36), but we'll at least get two of their back half, all with ERAs of 4.00 or higher. The pitching has really struggled as a unit, allowing more runs then all CA teams other then the Foresters. They did add Eddie Heaton (.268, 4, 21) back to the lineup, pushing Joseph Mills (.279, 2, 15) over to left, and the lefty will get most of the at bats against righties. He makes their lineup longer, and with a lot of lefties, they could matchup well against our front four of righties. Dick Lyons will probably get one of the games, which may help, as their only righties in their everyday lineup are Marion Boismenu (.316, 4, 21) and Jim Beard (.243, 3, 36, 7). We've been great at home, 22-16 so far, and I'm hoping we can grab three of these games.

Minor League Report
LF Bill Rich (AA Mobile Commodores): He just keeps on hitting! Promoted just two weeks ago, Bill Rich went 5-for-5 with 3 doubles, a run, walk, and 6 RBIs in just his 6 game with the Commodores. This helped Rich take home Player of the Week, as he finished 11-for-16 with 4 runs, 5 doubles, 7 RBIs, and a pair of walks. It's just a 38 PA sample, but he's hitting a superb .382/.421/.559 (151 OPS+) with 6 doubles and 8 RBIs. This is in line with his .343/.393/.532 (153 OPS+) line with the Legislators, as Rich continues to tear the cover off the ball. The prospect rankings have fully dropped Rich out, and dropped him to 50th in our system, but you just can't ignore that bat. He hits the ball hard and all around the field, and while he hasn't homered yet in Mobile, he's bound to hit a few more over the wall. If he stays healthy and avoid the draft, I can see Rich impacting the big league team, as it's impossible to ignore his offensive potential.

CF Tom Mills (C La Crosse Lions): Our 15th Round Pick in this most recent draft, Tom Mills has gotten the occasional start for La Crosse. He has more then taken advantage of the limited time, going 5-for-6 with 2 triples, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs in an 11-9 loss against the Burlington Bears. I've tried to give him time at multiple positions, so far second, third, short, left, and center, but he's been awful in limited time in the middle infield. I'm not ready to give up on that yet, but Mills is likely best suited for the outfield. He's hit really well, slashing .400/.459/.594 (158 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 RBIs through his first 38 PAs as a professional. Since he's not one of our more exciting prospects, this year may be the most time he gets, as we are low on lower level outfielders and we expect to lose more players as the year goes on. He's a very fast and excels on the basepaths, and he has a quick bat at the plate too. He needs to work on his barrel control and his defensive ability, but Mills does have decent tools and may end up filling a big league bench. I'm keeping my eye on him for now, but this may be the last entry for the New York native.