[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 75-62 (3rd, 4 GB)
Stars of the Week
Duke Bybee : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K, 1.50 ERA
Billy Hunter : 10 AB, 5 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.645 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 22 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .318 AVG, .875 OPS

Schedule
9-6: Win at Kings (6-2)
9-6: Loss at Kings (2-7)
9-9: Loss at Saints (3-4): 10 innings
9-10: Win at Saints (4-1)
9-11: Win at Saints (4-3)
9-12: Win at Saints (4-2)

Recap
A 4-2 week is always nice, but our situation hasn't changed much. We're still in third, we're still four games out, and we're still not performing to our standard. What did change is the team that we are following, as the Stars slump has continued and they have been replaced in first by the defending pennant winning Philadelphia Sailors. Splitting with the Kings is a little annoying, considering how bad they've been lately, but I was right about the Saints series. We took most of the games, and there was very little scoring. The winning team scored four runs in each game, and we were lucky that the four was next to our name for three of them.

It was a rare good week for Leo Mitchell, who not only went 7-for-22 with a double, 3 walks, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs, but the 35-year-old slugger hit his 3rd homer of the season. While not impressive on its own, he now has slugged 136 homers since his debut in 1935, and is tied with club legends Bill Ashbaugh and John Lawson. Our next nine games are at home, which is nice for Mitchell as he looks to make history on his home turf. He's appeared in 1,684 games donning a Cougar uniform, and owns an impressive .327/.371/.439 (128 OPS+) batting line in over 7,000 trips to the plate. There hasn't been much to like about this season, as he's not going to play 150 games for the first time since 1941, but he does have a career best 8.0 BB% (min 500 PAs) and his 13.5 K% is below his 14.9 career mark. But that hasn't helped the overall production, as .287/.344/.350 (86 OPS+) will be his worst career line and his 96 WRC+ is on pace to be the first time he did not post at least a 100. I'm afraid my loyalty to Mitchell may keep us out of the postseason, and if we fail to return left field will be an area to upgrade over. The former 2nd Rounder will always have a spot on our roster, but 1948 is looking like the last season he'll be an everyday guy.

Most of the staff was great, but Johnnie Jones put up his third rough outing in four starts. The Kings hit him hard, allowing 8 hits, 5 runs, and 6 walks with just one strikeout before leaving with two outs in the six. Harry Parker finished off the game, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) in an inning and a third. Ken Matson got the only other loss, coming in with two outs in the ninth for Donnie Jones. An error cost Jones a complete game win, as two of the three runs he allowed were unearned. He struck out 6 and walked 4 while allowing 8 hits in the no-decision. Matson got the final out of the 9th, but after getting just one out in the 10th, Jack Spahr (.267, 2, 46) walked it off with a double. Luckily he rebounded for the rest of the week, picking up saves in each of the next two games. He had a strikeout in a perfect inning on the 11th and then despite a hit and walk, eventually getting Maurice Carter (.277, 20, 69) to fly out and end the game. One of the hits caused the third of George Oddo's runs on the day, but he inched one win closer to .500. He did all right, allowing 6 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts. This kept his ERA at 3.17 (124 ERA+) in 184.2 innings pitched, and as people were discussing how few candidates there were for the CA Kellogg Award, it makes me wish Oddo never pitched in the last year of the war. He has been leaps and bounds better then who I would say are the two frontrunners, Pat Petty (.279, 13, 78) of the Kings and Ed Holmes (.289, 2, 36, 11) of the Stars. Neither have accumulated 3 WAR yet while Oddo's at 3.4 in 25 starts. He ranks top 7 in strikeouts (6th, 113), K/BB (2nd, 1.9), K/9 (3rd, 5.5), WHIP (4th, 1.16), and opponents average (4th, 2.30) and is the latest young Cougar to blossom in his first full season in the rotation.

The star of the week was the young Cougar to blossom last year, Duke Bybee, who improved to 18-7 after a pair of complete game victories. This was a commanding bounce back, as he allowed 9 hits and 5 runs in just 6 innings in Cincinnati. Despite facing the second best lineup, Bybee was dominant in Brooklyn, allowing just 3 hits and 2 runs (1 earned). I'll take one strikeout if it means no walks, and he had just one in the win over the Saints. This time he struck out three, scattering 7 hits and 2 runs to end the week. If it wasn't for Rufus Barrell (20-7, 1.97, 117), Bybee would be the Allen winner, as he's got a stellar 2.74 ERA (144 ERA+) and 1.12 WHIP with 88 strikeouts in 230 innings pitched. It's somehow even better then last season, where Bybee was 14-11 with a 2.91 ERA (129 ERA+) and 104 strikeouts. His 1.09 WHIP was best in the Association and he walked just 63 in 228.2 innings pitched. Him and Peter the Heater have been quite the duo, with the veteran improving to 17-10 with in a win over the Saints. He didn't go all nine, leaving with 127 pitches after 8 innings. He did walk 6, but allowed just 4 hits and a run with 5 strikeouts. His 3.09 ERA (127 ERA+) is nearly a full point lower then last season (3.95). Pap's WHIP has dropped from 1.51 to 1.18 and his BB% dropped almost 3 points (13.3 to 10.4) despite holding a near identical K% (13.3 vs 13.2). These two have been giving it their all all season long as we try to fight our way up the standings.

Billy Hunter has started to heat up, hitting an even 5-for-10 with a double, triple, homer, a walk, 3 runs, and 2 RBIs to up his season line to a more respectable .287/.319/.401 (92 OPS+). He was hitting just .258/.293/.354 at the end of August, and he could recover from what was an awful start to the season. We could use a boost from him, but Clark Car was productive as well. The lefty went 6-for-16 with 3 doubles, 3 runs, 2 walks, 2 RBIs, and a steal. Harry Mead at a nice week too, 6-for-15 with 3 doubles, 3 runs, 3 walks, and an RBI. Skipper did well too, 5-for-17 with 2 doubles, a homer, 2 RBIs, 3 walks, and 4 runs. Walt Pack homered as well, 5-for-17 with 2 runs and 3 walks. It made up for Red Bond's rough week, as the slugger was just 1-for-19, the one hit being a double. He picked the worst time to cool off, and if we want to cut our deficit we'll need him to return to his spring form.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week, and we'll use them to prepare for our nine game homestand. The first three are must wins, as we'll host the 52-85 Foresters. They've dropped to 27 back and are 11.5 behind the 7th place Cannons (63-75). They are off too, so they have an opportunity to structure their rotation how ever they want. They could use their top three, but those are the ones with the highest ERAs. Adrian Czerwinski (3-10, 6.57, 28) is the least rested, and while he may be missed, I expect to see John Jackson (7-9, 5.30, 56) and Dick Lamb (7-8, 3, 4.83, 43). We won't see Ducky Davis (4-13, 3.42, 66), who pitched in the 5-4 loss against the Wolves. He's done the best at preventing runs, but he's been extremely unlucky in the record department. The offense doesn't always score for him, but all season long Ivey Henley (.314, 10, 65) has done what the team has asked of him. He's on pace for 101 walks and is sporting a 15.0 BB% and 9.8 SO% in 602 trips to the plate. Chuck McHenry (.295, 5, 33) has been great since promotion, and when healthy, Jim Adams Jr. (.278, 3, 34, 10) has been impressive. We have to take them seriously, but we've handled the Foresters all season, and if we can't do that at home in September, we don't deserve to play meaningful games in October.

The next two will be against the Wolves, who have won six in a row and eleven of their last twelve. They are now just 6.5 games out of first and comfortably over .500 at 73-65. Fred McCormick (.313, 18, 83, 6) is again proving he's an All-Time great, and if he can will the Wolves to the pennant he may get his 3rd Whitney Award. Charlie Artuso (.222, 6, 48, 5) hasn't done much at the plate, but McCormick has gotten a ton of support from Tom Frederick (.278, 5, 51, 11), Chink Stickels (.268, 15, 82, 18), Hal Wood (.332, 5, 69), and Dom Tripp (.284, 2, 53). None are producing star level numbers, but all four have a WRC+ of 100 or better. But the pitching is what has fueled the comeback, as they now rank behind only us with 545 runs allowed. Like us, all five of their starters have an ERA below 4, but unlike us, they don't have any under 3.20 (we have three!). Jerry York (12-11, 3.21, 89) comes close, but Joe Hancock's (8-8, 3.93, 54) ERA+ is just four points above average. They're not quite as deep as we are, but they will cause plenty of fits for our hitters. This is a huge series for both teams, as the short sweep would be detrimental to either club's slim playoff hopes.

The week ends with the first of two against the Cannons, who we need to get a little revenge on. I think we're stuck with Rufus Barrell again, and he's the only 20-game winner out there. He owns an elite 1.97 ERA (206 ERA+) and 1.05 WHIP with 55 walks and 117 strikeouts in his 30 starts. When the season ends, he'll win his third Allen Award, and first since he was an FABL champion in 1943. No champions on the horizon for the Cannons, but Denny Andrews is now hitting .262/.363/.412 (101 OPS+) with a 117 WRC+. He's walking (59) more guys then he strikes out (46), and he's tallied 14 doubles, 14 homers, 58 runs, and 48 RBIs. He was hitting just .190/.301/.324 as late as June 24th, and has hit an impressive .349/.417/.448 (151 OPS+) in 11 September days, and this has come after a 172 WRC+ in June and 151 in July. A strong start could boost his trade value in the offseason if the Cannons decide to rebuild, and the same can be said of Adam Mullins (.276, 6, 47), Chuck Adams (.266, 23, 91), Sam Brown (.304, 8, 53), Fred Galloway (.252, 6, 56), and Jim Hensley (.214, 5, 52). All five are on the wrong side of 30, but would still command a strong prospect return. Barrell should be untouchable, but the rotation has seen a break out from 33-year-old Jim Anderson (11-9, 2.86, 81), and Chris Clarke (3-4, 2.88, 24) has impressed in his short time as a starter. They could be an active team in the offseason, but there's a lot of paths they could take even if a rebuild is not on the horizon.

Minor League Report
RF Harry Austin (A Lincoln Legislators): A 5-hit game helped earn Harry Austin a Player of the Week award, as the recently turned 22-year-old went 14-for-27 with 3 doubles, 3 homers, and 6 RBIs. He scored 8 times and drew 2 walks, and is now hitting .318/.380/.450 (120 OPS+) in 569 trips to the plate. His 131 WRC+ matches a 37 game sample from last season in San Jose. He's powered 27 doubles, 4 triples, and 11 homers with 69 RBIs and 74 runs scored. Austin has been worth nearly 3 WAR in 131 games, and he's played acceptable defense at both first and right. He may not be the hardest worker out there, but Austin has showed serious improvement, and is trying to hit his way back into our future plans. He'll finish out the season in Lincoln, but Austin will be in Mobile next year and will have a way to work his way up to Milwaukee or even Chicago. His hit tool is outstanding, and it could be enough to earn him a major league callup.