[ayaghmour2]

It's that time of year again! BASEBALL. IS. BACKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the Cougars disappointment last year and the Packers disappointment a few days ago, Opening Day couldn't come quickly enough. We'll look to build off a very strong spring and return to the first division. Obviously I want to win the pennant, like each and every year, but after last season's struggles I just want to win 80 or more games. It should be easy enough, but can I really trust this team? I think not!

Anyways, check out the 24 guy who we will open the series with:

LHP Duke Bybee
RHP Donnie Jones
LHP Johnnie Jones
RHP Charlie Kelsey
LHP Jim Kenny
RHP Ken Matson
RHP George Oddo
RHP Pete Papenfus
RHP Harry Parker
C Eddie Howard
C Harry Mead
1B Red Bond
1B Ray Ford
2B Clark Car
2B Billy Hunter
3B Otto Christian
3B Walt Pack
SS Skipper Schneider
SS George Sutterfield
LF Leo Mitchell
CF Don Lee
CF Sal Pestilli
RF Carlos Montes
RF Hal Sharp

The final three roster casualties were Paul Richardson, Leon Blackridge, and Ray Struble, who will all be exposed to waivers. There was a guy recently waived, Chet McCormick, I was interested for a backup role, but I figured someone with a higher waiver priority would scoop him up. Instead, we'll stick with these 24 until an inevitable injury. It's a really strong squad, as Leo Mitchell (9th) is the only position player who does not rank in the top 7 for their position, and as you might expect, our rotation ranks #1.

The preseason predictions think this is our year, as they expect us to finish 93-61, ten games ahead of the New York Stars (83-71). In the Fed, they have the Detroit Dynamos (85-69) edging the Philadelphia Keystones (83-71) and the Washington Eagles (82-72). I really like our chances against Detroit, but I think it will be the Gothams (77-77) who come up on top. OSA also believes we'll have a trio of top pitchers and hitters, including a repeat Allen Award for Donnie Jones (21-10, 2.89, 145). They expect huge seasons from Duke Bybee (17-12, 3.02, 105) and Pete Papenfus (20-11, 3.78, 156) as well, with big numbers at the plate for Red Bond (.293, 29, 91), Walt Pack (.265, 23, 84), and Leo Mitchell (.311, 11, 64). The addition of Mitchell is very reassuring, as while I have faith in his rebound, it's nice to know the game agrees. None of those three rank in OSA's top 20 players list, but Skipper checks in at #7. All three pitchers are there, with Donnie 2nd, Pap 4th, and Bybee 16th. As always there is plenty of talent on this team, but the big question is whether we can capitalize!

The farm is looking good, but with a weak draft and a few guys graduating, we may finish the season in the bottom half of the list. For now, we rank 4th, but our 171 points are very far behind the top three of Brooklyn (207), Pittsburgh (207), and Cleveland (195). We no longer have two top 10 prospects, but Bob Allen leads the way at 8th with Jerry Smith four spots behind. We do have 7 in the top 50, a pretty impressive amount, but Otto Christian (34th) won't be there for much longer. We have just one other top 100 prospect with 20 in the top 250 and 49 in the top 500. Dixie Marsh has soured on a lot of our draft picks, with Jeff King, who ranks 15th, the only bat in his top 25 for position players. Bob Allie was 7th not too long ago, but he's dropped down to 47. Plenty can happen between now and the draft, but this class may end up being a rare thin one for us. I was never too thrilled with the overall talent, but a lo of guys I took in the 8th through 10th last year I may have taken in the first four rounds this year.

We start the season in Montreal, playing the Saints for three games with one being used to honor the retired Vic Crawford. Montreal has their roster set, with Wally Reif (13-10, 4.85, 107), Pat Weakly (14-14, 3.47, 123), and Bert Cupid (10-18, 3.73, 112), set to square up against the three headed monster of Donnie Jones (16-9, 2.89, 139), Pete Papenfus (9-18, 3.95, 146), and Duke Bybee (14-11, 2.91, 104). We have a significant advantage on the pitching side, and I don't think their lineup is going to cause too much damage. There is a few new faces, as they picked up slugger Pinky Pierce (.249, 21, 89) from the Miners to play left field. Bill Elkins (.200, 20), Maurice Carter (.268, 6, 27), and Bob Jennings (.206, 2) all played last year, but none of the trio was in the Opening Day lineup. Our staff doesn't have too much experience with them, but in the end I think we'll have a nice start to the year and should win two or three games in the initial series.

Our home opener follows, as we host the Stars over the weekend. It's a good time to play them, as Bill Barrett (.297, 21, 93, 5) is not quite ready to return. Instead, former Cougar Chubby Hall (.209, 6, 22) will open the season as the starting right fielder. He's not the only change, as Freddie Jones (.276, 5, 46) has replaced Bill Barnett (.234, 22, 77) at first, 29-year-old Andy Gross (.167, 2) will start the season at second, and 75th ranked prospect Dan Atwood is set to make his big league debut behind the plate in Brooklyn. Going by their rotation setup, we'll see 4-5-1, which means we're stuck facing Eli Panneton (19-11, 3.11, 117) in the finale. Expect two or fewer runs in that one, but at least we'll get #5 Henry Shaffer (5-8, 3.16, 57). The Stars are very good, and they love hitting homers off Johnnie Jones (12-11, 3.96, 91). Add in George Oddo's (0-1, 5.06, 8) homerun issues and things could get out of control quickly. I'm hoping for the best, but it wouldn't surprise me if they bash our brains out even without William the Conqueror.