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ayaghmour2 · 11-10-2023, 07:14 PM

Weekly Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 4-3 (3 GA)

Notable Stories
Zane Kelley is Him: Pretty much all our starters pitched great, with Duke Bybee's 3.60 ERA the highest, but CWL standout Zane Kelley joined the Jones brothers with four shutout innings in their spring debuts. Donnie had the best outing, striking out 7 with 3 hits and a walk, but greatness is expected from an Allen Winner and 2-Time All-Star. Kelley was effective none the less, and the Cannons, who OSA predicted to finish a game behind us for first, got just 4 hits and a walk while Kelley got Chuck Adams (.261, 24, 97) looking and Denny Andrews (.265, 16, 59) whiffing. Yeah, it wasn't the scrubs who were trying to best Kelly. Obviously they didn't play the whole game, but along with the star studded duo, regulars Charlie Rivera, Fred Galloway, Adam Mullins, and Gail Gifford were all still in the game when Kelley was relieved, and Gifford was the only one who didn't face him twice. It's extremely encouraging to see him pitch so well against some very talented players. As mentioned yesterday, he's not getting a start this week, as it's Eddie Howard's turn to impress. He hasn't pitched since he's getting a lot of reps behind the plate, but Kelley will be available out of the pen for the week I'm sure Max Wilder will use him somehow, as all 22 pitchers (now 21 since Bill Ross is out for the year) in camp threw.

Race for the Pen Begins: With four open spots for pitchers, every pitcher in camp feels like they could make the final roster. The early results saw one of the camp favorites dominate, as Harry MacRae allowed just a hit and a walk with five strikeouts in four scoreless innings. The 27-year-old is out of options, and I don't think he's really in risk of being designated for assignment. He's coming off a superb season in Milwaukee, going 8-4 with 23 saves in 94.1 innings pitched. He made 73 appearances, working to an impressive 2.10 ERA (215 ERA+) and 1.25 WHIP with 32 walks and 48 strikeouts. He has some stopping experience as well, but he's always performed much better in the Century League then when he's been with the Cougs. Other standouts were longtime farmhand Chet Williams (4 IP, 2 H, 5 K, HBP), fellow Harry's Parker (2 IP, K) and Beardsley (2 IP, SV, 2 H, K), and Frank Sartori (SV, 2 IP, BB, 4 K). The only guy who hurt his stock was Harry Carter, who allowed 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs in 4.1 innings pitched. He did strike out 3, something that could be useful out of the pen, but he's going to need to right ship quickly with so many talented pitchers in camp.

The Offense is Inconsistent, Again: So much of last year was wasted because the offense couldn't string enough runs together. Sal Pestilli (.417, HR, 2 R) was as good as ever, and Walt Pack (.500, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) and Red Bond (.400, 2B, R) are still very good, but it wasn't a common theme. Shortstops Skipper Schneider and George Sutterfield combined to go just 4-for-29, and just Sutterfield (run scored and driven in) added anything positive to the scorecard. And in the outfield, none of Carlos Montes (.250, HR, BB, 2 R), Chubby Hall (.200, RBI), Leo Mitchell (.143, BB, R), Hal Sharp (.000, R), Don Lee (.182, RBI, BB), and Luke Berry (.000) did anything to standout. There's plenty of time left, but if we want to win this season we are going to have to hit. As good as our pitching is, there are plenty of good offenses in the Continental Association, and there will be games they get to us. If we can score consistently, we'll be in any game, but for one reason or another this bunch seems to come up short when faced with any sort of adversity. This is a big year for second season Manager Max Wilder, as his contract is up at season's end. It's a prove it year for the former pitching coach, who won 14 more games then his predecessor. Still, 85 wins is disappointing for a team that allowed the fewest runs in the association while scoring the third most runs. I don't see myself panic firing if we get off to a slow start, but the only thing to guarantee Max Wilder a second year is a pennant. Otherwise, it's anyone's guess what the future lies for Wilder.

11-10-2023, 07:14 PM	#1257
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training: Week 1 Weekly Record: 4-3 Overall Record: 4-3 (3 GA) Notable Stories Zane Kelley is Him: Pretty much all our starters pitched great, with Duke Bybee's 3.60 ERA the highest, but CWL standout Zane Kelley joined the Jones brothers with four shutout innings in their spring debuts. Donnie had the best outing, striking out 7 with 3 hits and a walk, but greatness is expected from an Allen Winner and 2-Time All-Star. Kelley was effective none the less, and the Cannons, who OSA predicted to finish a game behind us for first, got just 4 hits and a walk while Kelley got Chuck Adams (.261, 24, 97) looking and Denny Andrews (.265, 16, 59) whiffing. Yeah, it wasn't the scrubs who were trying to best Kelly. Obviously they didn't play the whole game, but along with the star studded duo, regulars Charlie Rivera, Fred Galloway, Adam Mullins, and Gail Gifford were all still in the game when Kelley was relieved, and Gifford was the only one who didn't face him twice. It's extremely encouraging to see him pitch so well against some very talented players. As mentioned yesterday, he's not getting a start this week, as it's Eddie Howard's turn to impress. He hasn't pitched since he's getting a lot of reps behind the plate, but Kelley will be available out of the pen for the week I'm sure Max Wilder will use him somehow, as all 22 pitchers (now 21 since Bill Ross is out for the year) in camp threw. Race for the Pen Begins: With four open spots for pitchers, every pitcher in camp feels like they could make the final roster. The early results saw one of the camp favorites dominate, as Harry MacRae allowed just a hit and a walk with five strikeouts in four scoreless innings. The 27-year-old is out of options, and I don't think he's really in risk of being designated for assignment. He's coming off a superb season in Milwaukee, going 8-4 with 23 saves in 94.1 innings pitched. He made 73 appearances, working to an impressive 2.10 ERA (215 ERA+) and 1.25 WHIP with 32 walks and 48 strikeouts. He has some stopping experience as well, but he's always performed much better in the Century League then when he's been with the Cougs. Other standouts were longtime farmhand Chet Williams (4 IP, 2 H, 5 K, HBP), fellow Harry's Parker (2 IP, K) and Beardsley (2 IP, SV, 2 H, K), and Frank Sartori (SV, 2 IP, BB, 4 K). The only guy who hurt his stock was Harry Carter, who allowed 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs in 4.1 innings pitched. He did strike out 3, something that could be useful out of the pen, but he's going to need to right ship quickly with so many talented pitchers in camp. The Offense is Inconsistent, Again: So much of last year was wasted because the offense couldn't string enough runs together. Sal Pestilli (.417, HR, 2 R) was as good as ever, and Walt Pack (.500, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R) and Red Bond (.400, 2B, R) are still very good, but it wasn't a common theme. Shortstops Skipper Schneider and George Sutterfield combined to go just 4-for-29, and just Sutterfield (run scored and driven in) added anything positive to the scorecard. And in the outfield, none of Carlos Montes (.250, HR, BB, 2 R), Chubby Hall (.200, RBI), Leo Mitchell (.143, BB, R), Hal Sharp (.000, R), Don Lee (.182, RBI, BB), and Luke Berry (.000) did anything to standout. There's plenty of time left, but if we want to win this season we are going to have to hit. As good as our pitching is, there are plenty of good offenses in the Continental Association, and there will be games they get to us. If we can score consistently, we'll be in any game, but for one reason or another this bunch seems to come up short when faced with any sort of adversity. This is a big year for second season Manager Max Wilder, as his contract is up at season's end. It's a prove it year for the former pitching coach, who won 14 more games then his predecessor. Still, 85 wins is disappointing for a team that allowed the fewest runs in the association while scoring the third most runs. I don't see myself panic firing if we get off to a slow start, but the only thing to guarantee Max Wilder a second year is a pennant. Otherwise, it's anyone's guess what the future lies for Wilder.