[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 3-3 (t-5th, 3 GB)
Stars of the Week
Red Bond : 21 AB, 8 H, 4 HR, 7 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.387 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 21 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.097 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 27 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .333 AVG, .741 OPS

Schedule
4-20: Loss at Saints (6-8)
4-21: Win at Saints (4-2)
4-22: Loss at Saints (0-4)
4-23: Win vs Stars (3-7)
4-24: Win vs Stars (0-7)
4-25: Loss vs Stars (8-5)

Recap
The optimist in me thought we would go 5-1. The pessimist expected a much less exciting 1-5 week. Turns out the average me was right! Rather surprisingly, our series win came against the Stars, not the Saints, as Montreal won the opener for Vic Crawford and Wally Reif (13-10, 4.85, 107) twirled a 3-hit, 9-strikeout shutout. The offense came back in Chicago, as we scored 19 runs, and we were a late game blowup away from a sweep.

Red Bond had himself a week, and was brilliant in Montreal. He followed up a 6 home spring with a 4 homer week, slashing .381/.435/.952 (272 OPS+) with 4 runs and 7 RBIs in 23 trips to the plate. While completely unsustainable, this would translate to a 103 homer and 180 RBI season -- in just 128 games. Wouldn't that be fun!?!? Shockingly, he was not named Player of the Week, as a 301 WRC+ didn't impress the in game algorithm. And while it wasn't quite a one man show, most of the starting lineup struggled. Skipper Schneider was not among them, as the veteran shortstop went 9-for-21 with a double, homer, and 5 RBIs, and his .429 batting average is best in the CA. Leo Mitchell had a decent week, 9-for-27 with a triple, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs, but he struck out six times and didn't walk. The rest of the production came from the side pieces, with Otto Christian an impressive 3-for-4 with a homer and Carlos Montes 2-for-3 with a double. Hal Sharp was 3-for-18, Sal Pestilli was 5-for-28, and Harry Mead was 3-for-14. Isn't this fun!

The pitching was inconsistent, and reigning Allen Winner Donnie Jones had a really rough start to his season. He three 7.2 innings in both of his starts, and in both cases picked up the loss. He allowed 21 hits, 13 runs, and 7 walks with 8 strikeouts. The most shocking part was the 3 homers, as he allowed just 17 in 249.1 innings last year, 17 in 263.2 innings the year before that, and just 9 in 243.1 innings as a rookie. Of course, there's no reason to panic, but it's surprising to see him pitch this poorly early on. Luckily Pap looks like himself, as he picked up a complete game victory. He finished with 7 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Same goes for Johnnie Jones, who gave up 6 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts. George Oddo's pitch count prevented him from going all nine, as despite two hits and no runs, he finished with 7 walks and 8 strikeouts in 8 innings. The last start was Duke Bybee's, as he allowed 6 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7 innings. Ken Matson made me regret keeping him around, as he allowed 4 hits and 4 runs with a walk and strikeout in 1.2 innings. Jim Kenny had a nice Cougar debut, throwing a perfect inning after Oddo's start. The last inning went to Harry Parker, who allowed 3 hits and a run. I'm hoping for more from the staff, as this should be the strength of the team. I don't trust our offense one bit, so these guys need to pitch well enough to keep us in games.

Looking Ahead
Our schedule starts to get annoying, as we keep alternating road to home. We'll quickly head out to Brooklyn for a pair with the Kings, who won four of their first seven games this season. Lucky for us, the top two in their rotation isn't rested, so we'll instead face Johnny Slaney (16-12, 3.13, 82), Harry Carter (14-13, 3.98, 70), and Rusty Petrick (13-10, 1, 3.90, 82). And while that may seem good, the Kings did win all three of their starts, with Carter and Petrick earning the wins themself. The Kings lineup is similar to last year, but they have a new second basemen Charlie Woodbury (.281, 10, 86), who they picked up from the Saints for young first basemen Gilbert Ocasio (#85 prospect) and a 3rd Round Pick. And with Juan Pomales (.286, 3, 47, 23) out for five more weeks, 23-year-old Pat Petty (.273, 1, 8) has started the season as their left fielder and #2 hitter. He currently ranks 3rd in their system and 23rd overall, and could be one of the better outfielders in the game. He's got a great bat and eye, and it's just going to be another talented King we're stuck dealing with for the next decade or so.

We then return home for another quick two game series, getting a second chance at the 4-3 Montreal Saints. Montreal spit with the Kings, and is fresh of winning the double header to end the series. They could adjust their rotation, but right now it looks like we'll see Wally Doyle (7-17, 5.00, 127) and Pat Weakly (14-14, 3.47, 123), who at one point looked liked potential co-aces. Despite beating us, Weakly had a rough Opening Day, so I'm hoping we can pile on some runs in Chicago. We struggled plenty against Pinky Pierce (.249, 21, 89), who hit a pair of homers, and in Chicago you can expect a few more. While we should sweep here, I don't think we will, and it wouldn't be crazy if they took both here.

More traveling after, as it's off to the Big Apple for four games in three days with the Stars. New York struggled in the opening week, dropping two of three to the Kings and us. Don't expect that to continue, and the Stars should be able to welcome back Bill Barrett (.297, 21, 93, 5), who should be ready for their finale in Montreal. It will be a huge boost for them, as they rank 7th in runs scored with just 21. Granted, the pitching has allowed the second most runs (37), and chances are we'll see four of their five rotation members. It looks like we'll miss Vern Hubbard (12-16, 4.63, 93) again, but will be stuck with Eli Panneton (19-11, 3.11, 117). He wasn't flawless, but won the finale, going all nine with 11 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), a walk, and 3 strikeouts. It's going to be a road tough series, and I'm worried we're going to be multiple games below .500 tomorrow. Classic Cougar fun!

Cougars in the GWL
3B Elmer Hutchins (Los Angeles Knights): The GWL season started a week before ours, so this was actually week two. Elmer Hutchins was off to a slow start, but erupted on the 22nd, as the Knights beat the Green Sox 8-3. The 37-year-old veteran was a perfect 5-for-5 in the victory, coming just a triple away from the cycle. Hutchins scored twice and drove in four, and with the season so young, he raised his average from .235 to .409. Unfortunately for the first place Knights, three days later he strained his back, and their starting third basemen will miss two to three weeks with a strained back. It stopped a strong start for Hutchins, who followed up a strong first GWL season last year. Hutchins hit .280/.326/.380 (112 OPS+) with 30 doubles, 5 homers, and 60 RBIs in 142 games last season, and was slashing .333/.324/.515 (142 OPS+) in the new campaign. A former 8th Round Pick of ours, Hutchins has had an interesting career, and was part of the awful Rankin/Masters blockbuster back in 1934. He debuted the next season for the Chiefs, but hit .259/.328/.315 (69 OPS+) in 31 games. The next season was much better, as he appeared in one more game and hit an impressive .355/.375/.538 (140 OPS+). Unfortunately for Hutchins, it wasn't good enough for the Chief's brass, as he was banished to AAA. But eventually he got another chance, as the war decimated FABL rosters, and he returned at 34 in 1945. It was an impressive breakout, as Hutchins hit .334/.374/.500 (157 OPS+) in 379 trips to the plate. That line dropped to .247/.296/.363 (95 OPS+) in a FABL high 406 PAs, which opened the door for his career out west. Even though he should be back soon, it may be a tough loss for the Knights, as Hutchins is a really good hitter. Interesting enough, he may be replaced by another former Cougar, Billy Tate, who is in AAA and on the 40.