[ayaghmour2]

The World Series has already kicked off, and the Keystones are shockingly up two games to none, quickly disproving my expected "Cannons in 5" prediction. Game one was quick and easy, as George Brooks (18-5, 3, 2.07, 130) outdueled Rufus Barrell (18-5, 2.41, 111) in a 4-1 win in Philly. Game two was crazy, as while there was plenty of scoring early, the 2-2 score after 3 remained through nine. This forced extras, and in the bottom of the 11th with two outs and Red Hampton (11-13, 2.98, 60) still on the mound, pinch hitter Bobby McHenry (.218, 5, 1), dubbed the Keystones "24th Man" tripled to right-center, putting the winning run just 90 feet away. This brough up leadoff man Hank McKay (.258, 4, 36, 26), who lined what probably would have been an extra base hit over Denny Andrews (.258, 14, 55) to send the hometown fans home happy. We know all too well how useless 2-0 leads are, blowing them to both the Keystones and Minutemen, so it's far too early to count the Cannons out.

AAA Milwaukee Blues (Century League): 88-52, 1st, 8 GA: While most teams ran out of younger players to stack their system, and preferred using veteran castoffs, we were in the opposite situation. Instead of having guys playing lower then they should, we pushed up plenty of prospects, so it really is no surprise that the Blues were our only team to win a pennant, and one of just two to finish above .500. While most AAA teams were filled with journeymen and vets, the Blues secured their third straight pennant with plenty of young talent. The rotation was led by youngsters, all of which were big league ready, starting with one of our two fourth rounders from last season that started the year in Milwaukee, and finished in Chicago. Mike Thorpe was elite, going 12-1 with a 2.76 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, 43 walks, and 32 strikeouts in 20 starts pre-promotion. After he left, Joe Swank, took the lead, and was 17-10 with a 2.74 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 49 walks, and 128 strikeouts in just shy of 250 innings. Bill Tuttle (9-10, 3.38, 82) provided plenty of quality starts, while Angel Lopez (6-5, 2.43, 49) was much better with the Blues then he was with the Cougars. Charlie Kelsey (12-10, 22, 2.31, 84) was lockdown both as a starter and stopper, and Rube Finegan (8-6, 14, 2.85, 47) was excellent in the late innings as well.

Despite not hitting many homers, the offense was very good too, led by guys who finished the season in Chicago like Bill Rich (.281, 5, 44) and George Sutterfield (.296, 3, 43, 5). The real start of the lineup, however, may have been catcher Homer Guthrie, who has positioned himself to be our back catcher once Mike Taylor is ready to call it quits. The former 7th Rounder hit an impressive .275/.390/.351 (111 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, and 62 RBIs with almost twice as many walks (80) as strikeouts (43), leading to an excellent 123 WRC+ and 4.9 WAR in 131 games. 22nd Rounder Norm Anderson (.282, 4, 53) recently turned 23 and is starting to look big league ready, same with Danny Richardson (.254, 5, 48) prior to a concussion ending his season and costing him a potential September callup. With so many talented players like Thorpe, Sutterfield, Rich, George Oddo (4-0, 1.42, 26), and at least some of Ken Matson, Jimmie James, and Duke Bybee, plus whichever guys we waive that accept minor league assignment, the Blues are the favorite for a fourth consecutive title.

AA Mobile Commodores (Dixie League): 75-65, 3rd, 3.5 GB: The other team to finish above .500, the Commodores were once again 3.5 games out of first, despite winning almost ten fewer games then the previous season. Despite finishing three games behind New Orleans, and the eventual tie-breaking winner Nashville, the Commodores had another productive season. The lineup was strong, led by Bob Griffen (.319, 4, 74, 11) in what may be last season as a regular in the lineup, and Dan Collins (.327, 3, 44, 3) when he wasn't up with the Blues. Joe Dackett (.286, 4, 37, 2) hit very well pre-promotion, and Griffen had plenty of support from Dick Hamilton (.286, 5, 65, 12), Bob Harris (.293, 5, 50, 9), Israel Holmes (.271, 5, 63, 4), and Alex Horning (.264, 5, 67, 11). The best part for the position players was the defense they provided, which really helped the Commodores pitching staff. Ace Bill Ballantine didn't get the run support he deserved, going just 11-10 in 23 starts, but he had a great 3.31 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, 73 walks, and 81 strikeouts. Stan Flanders (12-11, 3.04, 48) and Jimmy Ballard (15-12, 3.83, 106) were very reliable in what could be there last season as full time starters, but I was really surprised to see Harry MacRae (12-12, 4.03, 60) struggle so much. The Commodores were a very well rounded team this season, and I expect they'll be poised to win their fourth title since 1941.

A Lincoln Legislators (Heartland League): 50-82, 7th, 32 GB: Sure the Legislators haven't won a title since 1938, but each season since then they've finished second or third. That couldn't have been further from what happened this season, as they lost more then 80 games for the first time since 1922. The last time they finished below .500 was 1934, so the poor performance was much different then fans at Lincoln Park are used to seeing. They didn't do much scoring or run prevention, and really struggled July on with all the promotions. They did get to enjoy 3rd Overall Pick Johnny Peters, who hit .275/.383/.415 (114 OPS+) and produced a 124 WRC+ in 75 games. He added 23 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homers, 7 steals, and 36 RBIs, but he didn't hit for much power and his defense in center was subpar. Bob Harris (.349, 7, 34) was one of the only other productive hitters, but he spent 81 of his 139 games this year in Mobile. Al Hurd (.258, 4, 66), Johnny Carlisle (.283, 3, 32, 11), and Don Jeppsen (.310, 3, 42, 5) performed well, but it was nothing to write home about. Al Clement (.252, 2, 32, 9), Everett Fuller (.253, 1, 20), and Alex Snyder (.242, 2, 38, 33) really struggled in A ball, but both Clement and Fuller were much more productive in San Jose. What will bode well for Lincoln, is a lot of the prospects who finished in Mobile will return, and the offense should be much better.

Same for the pitching, and they only really got good starts from Howie Sharp (6-11, 4.00, 71) and Bill Holloway (11-14, 4.52, 124), and Holloway's success was more his strikeouts, and less his run prevention. Former 5th Rounder Lefty Jones (4-12, 5.62, 43) had an awful 23 start stretch and Tommy Seymour (1-7, 7.93, 22) was terrible in his 10. A lot of the guys who started at the end of the season will likely head down to San Jose, but that means some of their better starters who left will make their return. That includes Bob Petty, who was 7-2 with a 2.25 ERA (184 ERA+) and 1.19 WHIP with 70 strikeouts in 108 innings pitched. I'm not sure they'll return to a .500 team, but we have too many talented youngsters in need of roster spots for the Legislators to have as poor of a season this year in the next few seasons.

B San Jose Cougars (California-Oregon-Washington League): 53-67, t-7th, 22 GB: After failing to win 70 games for the first time in a decade last season, the Cougars had their first sub .500 finish that 1934 season, and finished last (well, tied for it), for the first time since the inaugural C-O-W season in 1926. They didn't hit or pitch much, but San Jose natives did get to witness an elite performance from Billy Biggar. The 1942 10th Rounder from Canada hit an astronomical .359/.413/.518 (171 OPS+) with 32 doubles, 11 homers, and 64 RBIs in 106 appearances. Don Jeppsen (.355, 8, 31, 8) had an absurd 188 WRC+, but that came in an absurd 46 game sample where he demolished almost everything. The closest thing they had to average past those two was Larry Day (.195, 9, 38), who's .321 OBP was higher then his .316 slugging, and had a 92 WRC+ despite a sub .200 average. The lineup rotated plenty, with many guys going up and down from La Crosse, struggling sometimes in both levels. The pitching wasn't great either, but Tommy Seymour (4-8, 3.29, 69), Babe Stinson (5-4, 3.33, 65), and Max Tanner (4-9, 3.36, 47) pitched well while in San Jose and Dick Garcia (11-5, 3.82, 95) managed to win most of his starts. The star of the staff was this year's 6th Rounder Jim Smith, as Noodles finished 4-5 with a nice 2.45 ERA (142 ERA+) and 1.10 WHIP to go with 75 strikeouts and 31 walks in 13 starts. There was very little to be excited about, but Cougar fans in San Jose next year will likely see Seymour, Al Clement (.329, 7, 21, 18), and Johnny Carlisle (.283, 3, 32, 11) return, while the holdouts will all be a year older. With class C transitioning to a short season league, we may see a lot of different players go up and down to start the season, with a more stable roster finalized after the midseason draft.

C La Crosse Lions (Upper Mississippi Valley Association): 35-49, t-6th, 15 GB: The last of our five minor league teams finished in a three way tie for last in the first season of short season ball. Nearly every Lion who took the field was a teenager, so I can't really be surprised with the results. While nearly every hitter finished with a below average WRC+ and/or OPS+, the bright spot on the team was now 19-year-old Al Robison's 15 starts. He went 6-4 with a beautiful 1.82 ERA (167 ERA+) and 1.09 WHIP with 36 walks and 67 strikeouts in 103.2 impressive innings. Dutch Yoak (4-7, 2.98, 53) didn't quite dominate how he did in high school, but the 18-year-old more then held his own against players four plus years older then him. Fellow 2nd Rounder Carl Clark (.263, 25, 6) held his own, as did third rounder Pat Todd (.240, 2, 26), but our teens were overmatched all season long. The only qualified hitter with a WRC+ above 100 was Bill Cook (.243, 17), but he didn't hit a single homer and played really poor defense at second. Our draft class was very heavily high school skewed, and I expect Yoak, Clark, Todd, Cal Rice (.243, 1, 15), Rupert Heinbaugh (.230, 2, 13, 4), Alex O'Dailey (.250, 2, 30), Jim Mako (.223, 1, 13, 4), Jim Williams (3-4, 3.88, 38), and Wally Eversole (2-5, 3.61, 31) to look much better next season. One to watch may be stopper Ray Warren (5-4, 6, 2.91, 29), our 9th Round Pick who stopped most of the season, and could be in line for starts next season. There is plenty of talent on the La Crosse roster, the issue is just that they're all very young, and have a lot of development ahead of them.