[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 72-54 (t-2nd, 2.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Billy Hunter : 17 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .529 AVG, 1.320 OPS
Art White : 2 Wins, 17.2 IP, 2 BB, 0 K, 1.53 ERA
Cliff Moss : 20 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .350 AVG, 1.131 OPS

Schedule
8-21: Loss at Sailors (2-3)
8-22: Win at Sailors (7-0)
8-25: Loss at Saints (1-6)
8-26: Win at Saints (4-3)
8-27: Win at Saints (9-1)
8-27: Win at Saints (11-3)

Recap
There was no second half of the series sweep in Philly, but we were competitive in a one run loss and then shut them out to avoid the sweep. The two off days seemed to rejuvenate us, as even though we dropped the opener, we won a close one run game to even the series before battering the Saints in the final two to take the series. Despite the winning week, we dropped a game back from first, as the Wolves are red hot and lead both us and the Cannons by 2.5 games. We also received our first major injury of the season, and no, it was not the red hot Billy Hunter. It was our Rule-5 pick Lyn Trease. Just a few days before roster callups, Trease tore his flexor tendon, effectively ending his season and potentially his big league career. The 24-year-old was actually surprisingly effective out of our pen, tallying 23 innings with a 1.17 ERA (294 ERA+) and 1.39 WHIP. Walks have always troubled the third generation FABL player, as his 6.3 BB/9 means he was likely overperforming even with solid strike out numbers (13, 5.1). He may not be ready for Spring Training, but Trease likely wouldn't have made the big league club anyways. Still, the Peoria native is a valuable member of the team, and he'll travel with his teammates the rest of the way. Despite subpar talent, Trease is a well respected clubhouse leader, and one of the brightest minds in the sport. For just this next sim, we'll role with three pitchers, but we'll have a few more on hand once September starts. Replacing Trease on the roster will once again be Chick Browning, who has hit .270/.389/.397 (124 OPS+) in 73 games for the Blues. He was likely to come up next sim anyway, but the Chi-town lefty will look to add to his 4-for-12 with the Cougars.

The best news of the week was Art White, who did a complete 180 from his last 12 or so starts. White was brilliant against the Sailors, tossing a 6-hit shutout where all 31 Sailors at bats ended with a ball in play. He then was an out away from a second complete game victory, allowing 12 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs in our 11-3 win in game two of our double header. This shakes off a stretch of poor performances from the veteran southpaw where he went 3-8 with a 5.80 ERA and 1.81 WHIP. I made a massive blunder this week (which actually caused the Trease injury), accidentally setting Harry Parker's pitch count to 9, so he made two starts and got just 5 outs with 2 hits and a run. Trease relieved him both times, and while he did pitch well in the 3-2 loss to Philly, he didn't get a decision. He went 5 with 7 hits, a run, 2 walks, and strikeout. The issue came in game one of our double header, where he faced three batters before leaving with the injury. Luckily we were able to win that one, but the self-sabotage may come back to bite us in a stretch where we already can't do anything right... Of course, the early hooks caused our pen to pitch a lot, with Cal Knight and Ben Curtin both going five and a third. Knight all came in one game allowed 6 hits and 2 walks, but he didn't allow a run, while Curtin allowed one on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts split between three appearances. Both picked up a win, with Knight's his first and Curtin his 13th. Merritt Thomas got a loss and save, going 2.2 with 2 hits, a run, and a walk.

No issues with the rest of the staff, but no real strong performances either. Mike Murphy and Rusty Petrick didn't get starts, although Rusty threw an inning split across two games. The righty allowed a hit and walk, but neither managed to score. Billy Riley didn't look too good, allowing 15 hits, 6 runs, and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched. The Stars were criticized a bit for letting Riley go, but the vet hasn't done very well for us, now 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA (87 ERA+) and 1.24 WHIP in 41 innings pitched. He's been a bit unlucky, as he owns impressive BB/9 (0.7) and K/9 (4.2) numbers and a lot of his hits allowed came in his most recent start. Dick Lyons pitched game one of our double header, but went just 6 with 10 hits and 3 runs. The pitching hasn't been great recently, but we held our opponents to three or less runs in five of the six games, and with plenty of off days coming up they should stay fit and well rested.

Billy Hunter continued his assault on baseballs, as the former 1st Rounder put up another excellent week, this time going 9-for-17 with a double, homer, 5 runs, and 2 RBIs. The 29-year-old has now appeared in 98 games on the season, and is on pace for his first 100 game year since 1939 where he appeared in 146 and hit .294/.367/.408 (107 OPS+). In 373 PAs this year, Hunter has hit an even better .296/.354/.433 (124 OPS+) with a career best 8 home runs. Hunter has played excellent defense and is worth 3.6 wins above replacement, while maintaining a strong walk (32) to strikeout (10) ratio with 20 doubles and 46 RBIs. Our right field platoon was impressive as well, with Cliff Moss leading the way with a pair of homers and 7 RBIs. Moss was 7-for-20, adding 2 doubles and 5 runs scored while Rich Langton was 2-for-4 with two walks, a double, triple, steal, 3 runs, and 2 RBIs. Our catching duo was effective too, with Mike Taylor going 2-for-5 and Harry Mead matching Cliff Moss' 7-for-20. Taylor walked, scored a run, and drove in one while Mead mashed three doubles, scored twice, and drove in five. Dick Walker walked just twice, but was 6-for-25 with 3 doubles, a homer, 4 runs, and 4 walks. He's walked a league high 129 times, but he's now on track for just 158, one walk below Bill Barrett's 1942 season which is good for third all time. With our offensive output this week, we're back to first in the league in runs, but we still lack the consistency you need to be a top tier team. All things considered, 2.5 games out is still manageable, and while we'll need some luck to fall our way, the pennant is still in reach.

Looking Ahead
This coming week is one of the strangest I've seen, as we play just one game before the weekend. That will come in Chicago on the 29th where we host the Stars. At 12-12 on the month, this game will determine whether we have our second sub .500 month or our 4th winning month, and we'll get a team that failed to win a game last week. This dropped the Stars to 58-67 and 16 games behind the first place Wolves. Lucky for us, we'll avoid the already elite Eli Panneton, who has been nothing short of elite since joining the team after being selected 4th Overall in the draft. Panneton has gone 8-4 with a 2.18 ERA (162 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, 22 walks, and 42 strikeouts in an inning shy of 100. The now 23-year-old Canadian is already one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he should anchor the Stars rotation for years to come. I'd love to face "The Pope of Chicago" Larry Gregory (2-3, 2.83, 17), a 1941 first rounder who was high on our draft list, but it's looking like we'll see 41-year-old veteran Eddie Hite (13-9, 3.87, 48) instead. He's the worst of the Stars four starters, and we should be able to put up a lot of runs on him. Offensively, they are pretty solid, leading the CA in both average (.272) and OBP (.339), but they're just fourth in runs scored. The lineup has some strong bats, including former Cougar draftee Chubby Hall (.268, 13, 77), who has a power surge at 27. Jim Honeywood (.371, 24) has mashed after entering the lineup, Ray Cochran (.296, 6, 48, 8) is still very effective at 38, and Elijah Boudreau (.278, 7, 49, 6) has looked solid in his first full season as a big leaguer. Even former Cougar farmhand Bill Graham (.294, 3, 10) has done a great job manning short for them, putting up above average offensive and defensive numbers. But they'll have their work cut out for them as they attempt to best Harry Parker (11-10, 2.46, 95) who I might have cost an Allen Award and/or strikeout title with my pitch count blunder.

After three off days, we finally return to the field on the weekend, hosting the Saints for three games in two days. We could use another three win series here, as the Saints continue to fall in the standings while now sitting at 51-75 and 23.5 games back. They're off for two games before our series, so they may arrange their rotation to avoid giving the struggling Jake DeYoung (5-11, 4.75, 68) or Karl Weiss (6-11, 4.77, 30), both of who started in the double header, another start against us. Pat Weakly (10-10, 4.08, 93) managed to hold us in check this week, but even if Bill Ross (10-9, 3.32, 49) is pitching, I like our chances scoring runs. In the lineup, just Vic Crawford (.275, 8, 73), Bill Greene (.259, 7, 52, 22) and Spud Bent (.281, 5, 56) are having above average offensive seasons, but the trio all fail to surpass the 110 mark in terms of OPS+. This could be a huge week for us, as we have a legit chance of going 4-0, while the Wolves will have three against both the Foresters and Sailors. Some made up ground here would be huge as we enter the final month of the season in what hopefully ends up being a very exciting race to the finish.