[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 55-43 (2nd, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Skipper Schneider : 20 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.292 OPS
Johnnie Jones : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 3 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Walt Pack : 17 AB, 6 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .353 AVG, .801 OPS

Schedule
7-26: Win at Cannons (3-2)
7-27: Win at Cannons (4-0)
7-28: Win at Cannons (6-3)
7-29: Win at Wolves (3-1)
7-30: Win at Wolves (8-3)
7-31: Loss at Wolves (0-4)

Recap
Things are getting spicy!

Now generally a 5-1 week helps you make up a lot of ground, but since the Foresters were almost as good, we only made up half a game. That doesn't phase we won bit, as we swept the Cannons, got revenge on the Wolves, and finished July 21-8 to push us to 12 games above .500. We need to make up six games in the final two months, something that I really think we can do. The deadline came and went without any moves, which I think is a benefit for us. None of our competitors improved, and since we're finally catching our stride, things are starting to look up for this previously underwhelming squad!

George Oddo finished July a perfect 5-0, but the last start was very uncharacteristic. Instead of striking out twice as many guys as he walked, he walked 5 while striking out just 2, but he excelled at preventing runs. Just 1 in 8 with 4 hits, ending an excellent month with a 2.81 ERA (146 ERA+) and 1.25 WHIP -- nearly identical to the 2.86 (143 ERA+) and 1.24 he posted in a decision-less June. The 5 walks was a season high, and dropped him a few hundredths behind Rufus Barrell (9-9, 3.18, 75), who walked 3 and struck out 2 in Johnnie Jones' 4-hut shutout (3 BB, 2 K), for the CA lead in K/BB. Oddo's 13.1 K% is a point and a half higher the Rufus, but Oddo's 8.4 BB% is a full percent higher. With the hot stretch, Oddo has actually passed Johnnie Jones in Dixie Marsh's eyes, and he's finishing up a new scouting report on the 26-year-old.

Duke Bybee was the two start starter this week, out-dueling Jim Anderson (9-8, 4.76, 71) in Cincinnati before falling victim to Jim Morrison's 2-hit shutout. In Cincy, Bybee went all nine, allowing 7 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts. And despite allowing 4 runs in Toronto, he pitched arguably better, with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts in 8 innings. The best part was no homers, as for the first time all season he went back-to-back starts without allowing a longball. Pap and Donnie both allowed homers, but it didn't prevent either from winning, with both securing their 10th win. Pap went all nine, striking out 3 while allowing 8 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) without allowing a walk. Discounting the four stupid pitch count starts, he hasn't had a walk-less start, and his 86 strikeouts are now third in the association while his now 2.77 ERA (148 ERA+) still leads all qualified pitchers in our association. Donnie went just 8, leaving with 10 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts. While not nearly as bad as his last two starts, he hasn't quite looked the same after a dominant showing in our 13-1 win over the Foresters to start the second half, and he needed 142 pitches to complete the eight innings. Harry MacRae finished things off, striking out one in a perfect ninth. He also finished off Oddo's start, allowing 2 hits and a walk in a scoreless frame. His 12 saves puts him in a tie for 2nd in the CA with David Molina (6-7, 12, 3.65, 40) and one off of Foresters veteran Walt Hill (5-4, 13, 2.98, 16). It's nice seeing MacRae recover from a rough June, he's actually two saves away from a tie for the 9th most for a Cougar in a season. We haven't really had a true stopper since pioneer Bill Mendine (75-64, 137, 2.98, 531), who has more saves then the next two Cougars (Chick Meehan, 57; Ben Curtin, 52) combined. MacRae's 23 actually ranks 7th, and he's yet to throw his 100th career inning!

At the plate, Red Bond capped off an impressive July with two more homers, giving him a team high 18 on the season. This is good enough for fourth in the association, behind the guy who replaced him in Montreal and former Santa Clara Stallion, "Big Moe" Carter (.305, 19, 71). Bond finished his 22 July games with a stellar .308/.429/.550 (169 OPS+) triple slash, adding 7 homers, 20 RBIs, and 18 walks. He struck out just 8 times, and now has one more walk (31) then strikeout (30). The 36-year-old slugger has never come close to that in a full season, and if he keeps his K% around 9.6, it will be the first full season he struck out in less then ten percent of his at bats. Due to his slow start, he's hitting .257/.333/.486 (116 OPS+), but his surge has been instrumental to our hot stretch. Same goes for Skipper, who hit a Player of the Week worthy .500/.542/.750 (241 OPS+) with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 RBIs, 3 walks, and 5 runs scored. Unlike most of the team, he's been as consistent as it gets, and he's hitting .311/.381/.431 (116 OPS+) while appearing in all 98 of our games so far. His 124 WRC+ would be a career best, he's approaching his seventh consecutive 5+ WAR season, and is on track to surpass 6.5 (7.5) for the seventh time in eight seasons. With him and Sal Pestilli having tremendous seasons, we're on pace for two 7 WAR players, something I don't think we've managed since at least 1926. If we want to finish our ascent to the top, these three are critical to our success.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week, and while I don't want to lose momentum, it will be a much needed off day. The first series should be easy, as we face the struggling Sailors, but everyone in the organization is anxiously awaiting what will happen over the weekend. Of course, we can't look past any opponent, especially the back-to-back to Continental Association pennant winners. Yet somehow, someway, the Sailors have lost twelve of their last fifteen games and are now 25 games out of first and 9 behind the seventh place Cannons (46-54). Crazy right!?!?!

It's gotten so bad that former Cougar 1st Rounder Ed Reyes (.355, 5, 42) has even requested a ticket out, one that the Sailors did not have enough time to satisfy. Sure a 140 WRC+ is appealing, but first base is a deep position and all the contenders have quality first basemen already. Aside from Reyes, the only guys doing much are Joe Scott (.296, 11, 54) and David Molina (6-7, 12, 3.65, 40) as nearly every Sailor decided to have their worst year. From Win Lewis (4-12, 5.01, 50), who's 3.46 FIP (81 FIP-) is lower then every Cougar starter except Donnie Jones (3.42), to Don Lee's brother Rip Lee (.211, 2, 23, 4), you can almost throw a dart to a picture of their roster and land on an underperforming player. We'll hope it continues, but they'll have a day off at home to try to right the ship. This leaves plenty of choices in the rotation, but one guy I don't expect to see is Charlie Gordon (6-10, 4.09, 48). He's been one of the better players this season, but he left his last start with back tightness and seems likely to miss our series. Aside from Gordon, Win Lewis (4-12, 5.01, 50) pitch last, leaving the most rested arms as Al Duster (5-9, 4.96, 49), Art Hull (6-6, 4.17, 41), and Slick Wesolowski (3-9, 5.02, 39). We should score plenty of runs, and if you believe the 2nd ranked pitching staff would have no trouble with the 8th ranked lineup, we could be as close as three games behind the Foresters.

That means, hypothetically, we can be in first place tomorrow!

One can wish, right?

The only way that would work would be if we sweep the Sailors in Philly before sweeping the first place Foresters, that is what could actually happen! I'd say the odds of it are less then 0.00003%, as the team who's scored the most runs and allowed the fewest is not going to drop even home games against the Wolves. Even if they play us and the Stars (55-47), I can't imagine them crumbling like that. They quickly shook of their slow start by winning five of seven, and at 63-39 they have won four more games then any other FABL team. Interestingly, they've moved to a six man rotation, so even with four games I have absolutely no idea who we'll run into. The newest member, Gordie Irwin (4-2, 1, 3.67, 24), hasn't started against us, but we've dealt with him a few times out of the pen. As so many of the Foresters regular players have, Irwin came from waivers, just like former Cougar Luke Berry (.257, 2, 19), first-time All-Star Mark Smith (.283, 31), and second basemen Frank Kirchner (.331, 1, 32). Obviously, the true stars were acquired elsewhere, as years of high draft picks have paid off. The better part is they've hit in all rounds, so even though Jim Adams Jr. (.353, 6, 54, 5) was taken first, the 15th Round produced their ace Ollie White (10-7, 3.90, 87).Other notables include first rounder John Jackson (12-4, 3.11, 62), second rounder Adrian Czerwinski (16-5, 2.82, 47), third rounder Lorenzo Samuels (.311, 17, 66), fourth rounder Ducky Davis (8-6, 3.20, 51), fifth rounder Ivey Henley (.278, 5, 38), sixth rounder Paul Porter (.311, 17), and seventh rounder Walt Hill (5-4, 13, 2.98, 16). That's an impressive collection of talent, so maybe we shouldn't have been too surprised that things started to click. As much as I want to be optimistic about this series, I'm a little nervous, as this may be our toughest test all year.

Minor League Report
CF Don Lee (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It's funny, there's a AAA outfielder I was considering yesterday promotion today. It wasn't the guy who won Player of the Month. That would be Don Lee, who hit an outstanding .343/.433/.578 (162 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 4 triples, 2 homers, 8 steals, 16 RBIs, 16 walks, 28 runs. That's more then a run a game, as he played in 25 games, and the 1945 Continental Association All-Star is now hitting .304/.402/.529 (141 OPS+) with 22 doubles, 12 triples, 12 homers, 60 RBIs, and 29 steals with a 58-to-44 walk-to-strikeout ratio. With decent enough defense in center, he's now worth 4.8 WAR in 90 games, but I think what's best for him is a full season of dominating the Century League. After hitting just .208/.367/.250 (73 OPS+) and losing nearly all his playing time last season, the captain was in need of a confidence boost, and I know there's still a productive regular buried somewhere inside there. He's got crazy speed and an elite eye, and if he puts the ball in play he always has a chance for an extra base hit.. I doubt Rap will ever be the 5 WAR player he was in the last year of the war, but at worst he's an awesome fourth outfielder, and he's doing a good job rebuilding his value.

CF Johnny Peters (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Now this is the guy I wanted to bring up! I tried to trade him for, well, anything different, but with little available, Johnny Peters remained a Cougar. Taken 3rd in 1945, he currently ranks as the 46th best prospect in FABL, and will finish his AAA season with a .302/.395/.512 (135 OPS+) batting line. Peters supplemented that with 7 steals, 17 doubles, 12 triples, 9 homers, 57 RBIs, 53 walks, 53 runs, and a 147 WRC+. A natural center fielder, Peters has been spending a lot of time in left, mostly in preparation for an eventual call up this season. He'll replace Jimmy Hairston, who hit just .267/.378/.267 (74 OPS+) in 13 games, and will take over the left field job against left handed hitters. Always touted as a highly talented prospect, Peters once ranked as high 23rd, while bouncing up and down as the years have gone on. Despite all that, his future has never been really in doubt, as his bat is truly impressive. He hits the ball hard, draws a ton of walks, and with his athleticism he'll provide value in many different ways. His final position is still up in the air, but if all goes to plan, he won't leave the active roster for a very long time. As great as Leo Mitchell's resurgence has been, he may not be able to keep it up, and Peters has a chance to take hold of the position long-term. I'm excited to see how he does, and given the fact that the Sailors have two southpaws in their rotation, he should get some action very quickly.

CF Clyde Skinner (B San Jose Cougars): An 11th Round selection last season, Clyde Skinner has quickly emerged as an interesting prospect in our system. Currently ranked 23rd in our system and 206th overall, one spot higher then this year's third rounder Fred Crawford. Skinner just put together maybe the best game of his life, going 5-for-6 with a homer and 8 RBIs in a 17 to 2 thrashing of the Vancouver Mounties. Responsible for almost half of the runs, only starting pitcher (and #7 prospect!) Bob Allen (6-5, 4.89, 55) failed to record a hit, as even pinch hitters Harley Dollar (.337, 1, 8, 2) and Ike Cartwright (.226, 1, 9, 1) had singles in their only at bats. Freddie Hutchison (.290, 1, 1) was the only starter who didn't have a multi-hit game, but the recent fifth rounder picked up three walks. John Price (.370, 21, 1) had a huge 4-for-5 game with a double and 5 RBIs while Phil Boyes (.319, 4, 47, 5) was 2-for-4 with a double, walk, and three runs scored. Granted, Skinner was the star of the show, who's season didn't start until July as I made room for the eventual draftees. He's been superb since, hitting .375/.437/.500 (147 OPS+) with 2 homers and 17 RBIs in 21 games. His defense hasn't been great in center, so I'll be giving him more time in the corners. Dixie thinks he can stick in center, noting his "outstanding range allows him to chase down flyballs in the gaps." Combine that with what looks like an excellent natural hit tool, and the still 19-year-old could prove to be a very exciting prospect. Because of that age, I don't envision a promotion anytime soon, but a few more performances like this and I might have to give it some serious consideration.

LHP Floyd Van Hoven (C La Crosse Lions): Remember when I traded Hal Sharp and said you'd probably never hear about Floyd Van Hoven again? Well, I was wrong! Just for fun, I made him the La Crosse stopper, and like an absolute champ, he just went out and won the first Pitcher of the Month Award! Van Hoven appeared in 18 of the Lions 25 games, throwing 25 innings with a 1.80 ERA (256 ERA+) and 1.36 WHIP. He won a pair of games and saved seven more, and struck out 28 with just 12 walks. I'll be honest, I picked Van Hoven strictly because he was 21, not quite Rule-5 eligible, and threw with his left hand. But sure enough, he's taken advantage of his opportunity, and he'll earn a promotion to San Jose. Part of his success can be attributed to a two mile increase on his fastball between last year and this year, and while I am excited, I wouldn't bet on him sustaining this. He's just a guy with three pitches, none of which impress much, and his success could come quickly down. Still, it's exciting to watch him hit the ground running, and no one can ever take away this awesome month from him.