[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 69-57 (3rd, 7.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Ollie Page : 11 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .545 AVG, 1.492 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .320 AVG, .786 OPS
Don Lee : 22 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .318 AVG, .900 OPS

Schedule
8-20: Loss vs Sailors (5-1)
8-21: Loss vs Sailors (8-4)
8-23: Win at Saints (4-3)
8-24: Win vs Saints (7-8)
8-25: Win vs Saints (0-4)
8-26: Loss vs Saints (7-3)

Recap
Well... We're closer to first? I guess that's good...

And we beat the Saints! If only we could beat the Sailors...

After splitting the double header with the Sailors, they beat us the final two times in Chicago, but we won the same amount of games (3) this week against the Saints then we did all season. Two of them were the one run variety, so not too exciting, but hey, we beat the Saints! That's like our World Series this year!

Peter the Heater wasn't Peter the Heater, as while he threw 126 pitches in each of his starts, he was honestly uninspiring. Sure, he struck out 6 both times, but he allowed plenty of runs and hits. The Sailors piled on 6 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 5 walks in 7 innings, losing his first appearance since he started game six of the 1941 World Championship series. He beat the Saints, but he didn't pitch very well, allowing 7 hits, 7 runs (5 earned), and 6 walks in 6.2 innings. This is not the Papenfus we've come to know and love, but I guess I shouldn't have expected him to be ready to go out of the gates. His second start was on four days rest, but with three off days this week he'll get a full five between two and three. The extra off days also mean no Duke Bybee this week, as bringing him up and DFA'ing someone to make room wouldn't make much sense. He'll head to Lincoln to make a pair of starts before debuting in September. I'm very excited to see how the #7 prospect will do in the big leagues, likely facing the Sailors in Philly for his debut. Depending on how well he does, the rest of the season may just be Pap-Parker-Riley-Duke, as we have just one double header in our last 15 games.

After pitching two innings on the 21st, Dick Lyons finally announced the inevitable; the 45-year-old will hang up the cleats once the season ends. I expect he'll make a few more appearances, but Lyons will finish his career at the end of this season. His #23 will be retired, joining Calvin Kidd (0), John Dibblee (19), and Jack Long (22) as the only four Cougars to receive this honor. We'll have a nice ceremony for Lyons on our home opener next season, as we raise his number into the rafters. I'll have a nice long tribute for him once his career officially ends, but his longevity is almost unprecedented. He was an effective big league starter for 18 seasons, and has been in the big leagues longer then the lifespans of five of our first six (Carl Clark, Dutch Yoak, Pat Todd, Jim Mako, and Alex O'Dailey) draftees this season, and was drafted before teammates George Oddo, Mike Thorpe, George Sutterfield, and Don Lee were born. The short and now stocky southpaw will finish his FABL career with nearly 4,000 innings and 570 appearances, with an impressive 3.80 ERA (107 ERA+) and 1.36 WHIP. One of my favorite pitcher's I've had the pleasure of watching for nearly two decades, it will feel very weird to not see his name on our Opening Day roster next season.

Too bad we couldn't win him a title...

On to the more boring parts of the week, Billy Riley made a pair of starts, and other then the four runs of support in each game, they couldn't have been much different. Riley had no lucky with the Sailors, allowing 7 hits and runs with 4 walks and a pair of strikeouts. Against the Saints, however, he was classic dominant self, tossing a 3-hit shutout with a walk and 4 strikeouts, to join Eli Panneton at the top of the CA win total with 16. Rusty Petrick struggled in his start, allowing 9 hits, 6 runs, and a walk with 2 strikeouts in our lone loss to the Saints. Since he pitches most recently, he'll move to the pen this week, as we won't need five starters. We barely need four, but since he's pitched well in the pen and George Oddo has only started, I'd rather have him to close out a game if needed. With a double header next Monday, Petrick has a chance for another start shortly, but him and Oddo may be late inning pen guys most of September. The last start went to Harry Parker, who guess what? Threw another complete game! Sure, it was just 98 pitches, but is that a bad thing? That's efficiency! Parker scattered 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and a walk with 2 strikeouts. He improved to 14-9 on the season, and maintained his rank of 2nd in ERA (2.91) and strikeouts (107). The pen did pretty well too, with Merritt Thomas making three appearances. He allowed just one run off 4 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts in 6 innings. Mike Thorpe made a nice relief debut, picking up a hold and retiring all four batters he faced. The staff needs to carry, as we don't do anything well offensively other then the three true outcomes (2nd in HR, 1st in walks, 2nd in strikeouts).

We didn't do much hitting, but Don Lee and Dick Walker turned things around. Lee went 7-for-22 with 2 triples, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and 3 walks. Walker was just 3-for-21, so pretty poor average (.143), but all three hits were solo homers, and he added a steal, six walks, and two additional runs scored. Skipper hit his 3rd homer of the season, and went 8-for-25 with a walk, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs scored. Ollie Page hit his third as well, finishing 6-for-11 with a walk, double, 3 runs, and 2 RBIs. He'll get more time with Ken Mayhugh's recent collapse, and he's hit just .197/.287/.276 (62 OPS+) in August. He'll get some starts at third, mainly against lefties, but Page will get more of the time at the hot corner, and some starts at second over Rabbit Mudd. Mudd has been inconsistent, this week just 3-for-15, but he's hit an arguably elite .312/.389/.484 (149 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 3 triples, a homer, and 7 RBIs in 21 games as a Cougar. He may be crucial to us clawing back into things, as I'm not sure I can rely too much on Rich Langton (.262, 3, 57, 13) or Harry Mead (250, 4, 43). Seven and a half games isn't insurmountable, but we only made up ground because the Cannons struggled, not because we did good. After such a great start in August, we're just 14-12 for the month, losing 10 of our last 15. With a bit over a month left, the past two weeks were the perfect time to make up ground, and we failed to make up for it.

Looking Ahead
It's a weird week with very few games, as we're off to start before two games with the Stars, and after that, two more off days. The Stars come to Chicago at 60-67, and are just 6 behind the Sailors for 4th. I mentioned earlier they have the co-CA Win Leader Eli Panneton (16-10, 3.04, 92), but errors ruined his start against the Kings yesterday. This means we'll miss their talented ace, and instead get Alex Vaughn, a now 35-year-old righty who is throwing his first pitch since a partial UCL tear last May. He hasn't pitched much in the big leagues, throwing 240.1 innings with a big gap in between. He went 7-17 with a 4.79 ERA (88 ERA+) in 104 innings with the Keystones in 1936 and 1937, but then spent the next five seasons in the minors. With the Stars in need of pitchers due to the war, he threw 122.1 innings in 1943 and 14 excellent pre-injury innings the year before. Is the clubhouse leader going to pick off where he left off? Or will a rested Cougar team manage to give him a rude awakening in his return to the mound? Even if we can't score, he'll have to outduel Harry Parker (14-9, 2.91, 107), who does well against any lineup. One batter that may be tough is journeyman outfielder Maury Millsap (.304, 6, 29), who has seized the starting lineup spot Howie Smith (.299, 8, 78, 3) vacated. It's not the deepest lineup, but Bill Grove (.283, 1, 23, 4), Jim Honeywood (.301, 5, 44), Chubby Hall (.294, 8, 79), and Chick MacKnight (.295, 5, 43) are all putting together above average seasons in terms of both WRC+ and OPS+. This is scary because it's missing top pick Bob Riggins (.291, 4, 2) and former top 20 prospect Elijah Bourdeau (.189, 2, 13, 1) to injuries, and you can't forget about the embarrassment of riches enlisted in Bill Barnett, Lew Seals, Joe Angevine, and of course, Big Bad Billy. Cougars fans will get to see the Stars two more times this season, but that lineup will be far different then the scary one we'll see next season. But for now, these are games we should be winning. As long as Panneton isn't pitching...

We'll spend our weekend in Montreal, dealing with the Saints for three games in two days. I won't let last week fool us, and expect wins here, as the Saints have had our number all season. We avoided Pat Weakly (12-8, 3.32, 121), who can even beat the Cannons. He tossed a gem on the 21st against the Cannons, allowing 6 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 5 strikeouts in a 4-2 complete game. The Saints don't play anyone until we come to town, so he'll be fully rested for the Saturday game. The rust may work to our advantage, as he'll have ten days of rest and hopefully won't have his strikeout pitch working. Based on their rotation order, the double header projects to be Ed Baker (11-10, 4.35, 22) and Jackie James (7-14, 4.89, 68), but they have plenty of time to make adjustments. Regardless, we'll have our hands full with Vic Crawford (.308, 11, 84) and Bill Greene (.274, 15, 78, 15) and I'm ready to leave Montreal as we do so often: disappointed.

Minor League Report
RHP Joe Swank (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Even though both Mike Thorpe and George Oddo got promoted before him, Joe Swank has done excellent in AAA this season. It was his first taste at the highest minor league level, and he's excelled all season. The 22-year-old righty is currently 14-8 with a 3.16 ERA (127 ERA+) and 1.12 WHIP with 43 walks and 105 strikeouts in just over 200 innings pitched. There's so much to like about Swank's production, starting with his excellent 2.4 K/BB, his impressive 82 FIP-, and 4.6 WAR all while being one of the youngest pitchers in the league. A projected future big league rotation member, Swank checks in inside of our top 10 prospects and ranks 155th in the league wide rankings. A rather polished three-pitch pitcher, Swank has a nice high 80s fastball which mixes well with his curve and circle change. His stuff is excellent, leading to plenty of whiffs, and he's featured excellent command that is expected to continue to improve as he matures. Profiling more as a fifth starter then staff leader, Swank's pitches can be a little flat, but he generates a lot of grounders. I'm not sure he can maintain a K/9 above 4 against big leaguers, but he locates his offerings well, and doesn't get rattled on the mound. I want him pitching every day, so he'll spend the rest of the season in Milwaukee, but if he needs to be protected in the Rule-5 draft, I'll make a spot for him. I'm debating on being aggressive in the offseason, and Swank would be a very appealing piece to help us upgrade the lineup.

CF Don Jeppsen (A Lincoln Legislators): After crushing pitchers in the C-O-W League, Don Jeppsen has had plenty of success in Lincoln, slashing .328/.352/.470 (120 OPS+) in 54 games for the Legislators. He's added in 10 doubles, 6 triples, 2 homers, 3 steals, and 28 RBIs, and while he's hit far less homers then he did in San Jose (8), he made up for it with an equal increase in triples. He's spent most of his time in left, which may be his final spot, and he's put up an above average 1.021 efficiency in 48 starts. Now 21, Jeppsen has show the potential to barrel up the ball effectively, and he can hit to all fields. He has good speed and always looks to take the extra base, but he's not going to offer much in the field. He's got a limited ceiling due to that, so he'll have to hit at every level to earn a big league spot. Things are going to get crowded next season, but his age should work into his advantage.