[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-2
Seasonal Record: 82-72 (3rd, 13 GB)
Stars of the Week
Harry Mead : 12 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .583 AVG, 1.476 OPS
Don Lee : 12 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.095 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 11 AB, 4 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .364 AVG, 1.007 OPS

Schedule
9-25: Win at Saints (8-4)
9-26: Loss at Saints (2-3): 12 innings
9-30: Loss at Stars (3-5)

Recap
Well, at least it's over! We didn't get the extra lottery balls as we lost to the Stars, but we managed to hang onto third for the seventh consecutive season. The biggest news was Skipper Schneider, who nearly accumulated 11 WAR in the best season of his career. He missed out on keeping up his crazy streak of consistency, as he tripled off Eli Panneton with two outs in the ninth inning of game 154. That was his 5th triple, a career high after tripling four times in each of his first five seasons. The CA War Lord finished with an excellent .299/.357/.402 (118 OPS+) with 34 doubles, 6 homers, 11 steals, 66 RBIs, and 82 runs with more then twice as many walks (57) as strikeouts (22). It's hard to believe that he's just 24 years old, and has already played 858 FABL games while accumulating 39.9 wins above replacement. Is Skipper worthy of a Whitney? I'd say not, but he currently ranks as the 3rd best player in the FABL behind Bobby Barrell (.331, 39, 126, 6) and Charlie Artuso (.283, 9, 71, 10). He was definitely our MVP, but he didn't really have a high bar to surpass.

Another option would be rookie center fielder Don Lee, who hit .275/.374/.429 (130 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 10 homers, 63 RBIs, and 25 walks with an elite 81-to-33 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Lee isn't the defender Skipper is, but in 99 games out in center he had a slightly below average .993 efficiency and accumulated 5.1 WAR in 140 games. Lee was one of ore more consistent performers, but vets Cliff Moss and Dick Walker offered plenty at the plate. Moss missed some time this year, appearing in just 115 games, but the now 39-year-old hit .300/.370/.465 (139 OPS+) with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 16 homers, and 71 RBIs. With Lee's emergence and all the troops coming home, it may be tough for him to crack the 100 game mark next season, especially as his defensive abilities are almost completely gone. Dick Walker isn't likely to surpass his 147 games this season either, as Ray Ford's return will take some starts away from him. Walker's 108 walks were the best in the CA, and he slashed .243/.365/.380 (114 OPS+) while worth 4.5 wins above replacement. He produced a well above average 125 WRC+ and tallied 94 runs, 18 doubles, 7 triples, 15 homers, 49 RBIs, and 27 steals. 39 in September, Walker still has some good seasons left in him, but he's getting close to the age where skill are almost destined to decline. Lucky for him, his keen eye shouldn't go away, but I'm not sure how many more 20 steal seasons Walker has got in him.

What held us back this season was the lack of a supporting cast, and Harry Mead was back to his below average seasons following an excellent one. His batting line dropped from .324/.377/.471 (143 OPS+) to .249/.324/.330 (88 OPS+), and he hit just 18 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 homers with 47 runs, 50 RBIs, and 49 walks. His WAR dropped a full 3 points while his extra base hits cut in half. He wasn't the only guy to underperform, with Rich Langton (.267, 3, 57, 13), Ken Mayhugh (.242, 5, 55), Jimmie James (.275, 8), Orlin Yates (.190, 3, 21, 3), Steve Jones (.138, 6), and Tip Harrison (.190, 1, 9, 3) all failing to meet expectations. Later in the season Ollie Page (.284, 4, 25, 3) emerged as a legit starting bat while deadline pickups Rabbit Mudd (.268, 2, 16) and Ray Struble (.228, 11, 66, 13) ended the season well. Of this large group, just Harry Mead is likely to see much playing time next season, which bodes really well for our chances next year. Ray Ford, Clark Car, Billy Hunter, Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell, Carlos Montes, and Fred Vargas all return to the mix, and the only member in that group who hasn't produced a 125 WRC+ or better in an 100+ game sample is Vargas, but in 65 FABL games he has an excellent 148 WRC+. Each hitter has a career WRC+ above 100, and Car is the only one below 110. There will be plenty of firepower next season at full strength, and I am very excited to see what we can cook up.

The pitching will get a big boost, but we had a near 20-game winner in Billy Riley, and the reliable Harry Parker who finished top three in ERA (3rd, 2.77), strikeouts (3rd, 130), K/BB (3rd, 2.2), WHIP (2nd, 1.13), rWAR (3rd, 7.3), and quality starts (1st, 27). Parker was the better of the two, finishing an impressive 15-9 in a league high 36 starts, but Riley's 6 shutouts paced the league. His 3.21 ERA (109 ERA+) and 1.15 WHIP were a bit higher, and he struck out (120) just a few less hitters, but they were a very impressive 1-2 punch that will fill out the latter half of our rotation next season. Our rotation is going to be very crowded, with plenty of capable arms who can make starts. That means Rusty Petrick is likely ticketed for the pen despite a really good season. The 29-year-old righty made 41 appearances (22 starts), going 16-12 with 3 saves, a 3.18 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.38 WHIP, 121 walks, and 104 strikeouts in 220.2 innings pitched.

Beyond Riley, Parker, Petrick, and the traded Art White, there weren't many other innings soaked up by the staff. The majority came from George Oddo, who was really impressive in his first 17 big league starts. The 22-year-old was an even 7-7 with a 3.02 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP. Oddo struck out 71 and walked 51, but the one concern for the former 8th Rounder was the homers. He allowed 13 in 131.1 innings pitched, and ranked third on the staff behind just the extreme flyballers Parker (18) and Riley (17), although there's came in double the innings. Oddo is definitely big league ready, as is fellow youngster Mike Thorpe (1-4, 2, 4.26, 10), but both will be better suited making regular starts in Milwaukee. Thorpe could be a potential trade piece for a team in need of big league pitching now, but I can't imagine any situation where Oddo leaves our system before Opening Day. The pen will look plenty different, as Ben Curtin (0-7, 18, 4.13, 17) and Merritt Thomas (5-2, 1, 2.68, 18) might decide to retire, and if they don't I'll probably cut them to save payroll space. Then there is the last remaining pen member, Ken Matson (3-2, 2, 3.56, 46), who's option may work against him. We usually roll with a nine man staff, and six spots are already reserved for Pap, Parker, Riley, Joe Brown, and the Jones Brothers, and a seventh likely going to Rusty Petrick. The wild card is Duke Bybee (0-2, 6.52, 16), who may be better then everyone other then Pap and Donnie Jones, but he was hit hard in his first three starts and just could not find the zone (7.4 BB/9). We're in an enviable position, with more FABL quality starters then staff spots, and I'm really not sure I want to move any of them. We've played second fiddle for long enough, and it's about time the Cougars find themselves back on top once again.