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ayaghmour2 · 01-09-2024, 08:08 PM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 64-54 (3rd, 9.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Red Bond : 16 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .438 AVG, 1.634 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 19 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .474 AVG, 1.215 OPS
Sal Pestilli : 25 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .360 AVG, .967 OPS

Schedule
8-16: Win vs Stars (1-10)
8-17: Win vs Stars (1-7)
8-18: Loss vs Stars (7-2)
8-19: Loss at Kings (0-2)
8-20: Loss at Kings (1-12)
8-21: Win vs Kings (12-6)

Recap
You can call it.. Season is over...

Since we refuse to beat the Kings, who were 5-1 against us this month but 2-11 against the other teams they faced, we now dropped to 9.5 games out and third place in the CA. I'm not sure why we can't beat the Kings, or why we just refuse to string wins together, but I guess I should be used to it by now!

At least Leo Mitchell keeps on chugging!

The reborn superstar went 9-for-19 with a homer, 5 walks, 8 runs, and 3 RBIs. He's now up to a 149 WRC+, trailing just the two seasons he was robbed of the Whitney, and if he can at least hit 400 PAs (at 282), it will be the tenth time he posted a WRC+ above 130 since 1937. It looks like the two years of average offense were a quick blip, and the talented veteran is still a top hitter. Same goes for Red Bond, who went 7-for-16 with 3 homers, 5 runs, 5 walks, and 10 RBIs. Sal Pestilli got back into the fun, going 9-for-25 with 2 doubles, a homer, 4 RBIs, and 6 runs. We had a few other guys hit well too, but I'm still upset/disappointed in our play, and its not worth going too deep into it.

The pitching overall wasn't bad, but both Johnnie Jones and George Oddo really struggled. Jones was hit with 11 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks in 7.2 innings while Oddo's win streak was snapped with 9 hits and 5 runs in 6 innings. Pap pitched well, despite the loss, going 8 with 6 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks, and 7 strikeouts. We did get two good starts from Donnie Jones, who has now won each of his last four decisions. Donnie made just one mistake against the Stars, allowing a 4th inning solo homer to Newt Cooper (.294, 4, 19, 9) in his complete game win. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts. Then in Brooklyn, he pitched 8 solid innings, leaving with 8 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Kings tried to comeback in the 9th, getting 4 runs (3 earned) off Harry Parker in the ninth, but we thankfully beat the lowly Kings in that one. The last win went to Duke Bybee, who had a nice bounce-back after three losses, picking up a complete game win with 5 hits, a run, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

The draft signing deadline came and went, and at the last second I signed a trio of outfielders, adding 10th Rounder Delos Williams,11th Rounder Ray Johnson, and 17th Rounder Dick Poplaski. I could have signed a few more guys, as rosters expand next week, but there wasn't really much I liked. Ten of our AI picks will return to school, with their destination and return to the draft year listed below:

14th Round: RHP George Clark: Oklahoma Bible College (1952)
15th Round: CF Pat Paterson : Provo Tech (1952)
16th Round: RHP Jack Armstrong: Grange College (1950)
18th Round: LHP Darius Merlet: Darnell State (1952)
19th Round: RHP Doug Hensley: Topeka State (1952)
20th Round: CF Jim Matthews: Carbondale (1952)
21st Round: LHP Israel Gutierrez: Long Island Maritime College (1952)
23rd Round: RHP Russ Hughes: Johnstown State (1952)
24th Round: SS Johnny Oliver: Brandywine (1952)
25th Round: C Fred Wheeler: San Francisco Tech (1950)

Looking Ahead
Still one more with the Kings, as we look to salvage a split against the team that has single handedly ruined our August. Believe it or not, they're the only team other then the Foresters to win a series against us this month, as we're 1-5 Brooklyn and 8-6 against everyone else. The Kings struggled in one-run games has caused an actual record five wins lower then their expected record, and in terms of talent they're probably even better. We're going to see either former Cougar Rusty Petrick (1-3, 3.01, 38) or ace Bob Arman (9-10, 4.06, 102) in the finale, but if we can't keep them off the board, it's not going to matter who pitches. Even with the August slump, they still rank top three in most offensive categories, and they do it with a lot of young kids. It's another must win game for a team that can't win, so expect a loss to start the week.

Hopefully the luck turns in Chicago, where we'll host the 56-63 Wolves. Charlie Artuso (.242, 5, 52) replacement John Fast (.271, 6, 28) quickly found himself on the IL, leaving Harry Finney (.180, 2, 1) the starting role. It may not be his for long, as despite some back stiffness, Joe DeMott (.222, 1) has been ticketed for a big league roster spot for the coming week. His trade partner Harry Pomeroy (.351, 2, 12) has been excellent since taking over behind the plate, and his 20 hits in 16 games is half way towards incumbent Rusty Hendrix's 40 in 71 and he's 8 off former Cougar draftee Walter Loera's 28 in 43 games. Pomeroy has done a good job filling a huge hole in the Wolves lineup, and he's looking to solidify himself in the team's long-term plans. The rotation doesn't have as many holes, with a strong top-three in George Garrison (10-9, 3.11, 102), Joe Hancock (10-9, 3.91, 57), and Jim Morrison (12-5, 3.49, 63). Garrison and Hancock both pitched in the double header split with the Sailors, but Morrison is scheduled to pitch the first of two games, leaving Jimmy Gibbs (7-10, 4.68, 43) for the finale. With our home fans behind us, and a team that isn't the Kings, this is a good chance for us to get back in the win column.

The homestand continues with three against the Cannons, who are 56-65, sitting a game behind the Wolves and a game in front of the Kings. The Cannons will once again be without Fred Galloway, who is dealing with elbow inflammation and is expected to miss the next six weeks. Joe Burns (.302, 2, 54, 14) is expected to shift to center, with Sam Brown (.265, 19) returning in right, as the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Roy Harris (.245, 1) in AAA who sports a 76 WRC+ in 174 PAs. They have a few other depth options in AAA, but they have a pair of their top 10 prospects in Max Conrad (7th, 113th) and Buzz McIlwain (9th, 122nd) in AA. Otherwise, I don't expect the Cannons to look too much different this time around, but with roster expansion next week, they could decide to bring up some minor leaguers to see what they have internally.

Sunday will be spent with the first of three against the Sailors, but I'll cover them more tomorrow. At 46-73, they are eight games behind the nosediving Kings despite a season best 10-11 record. They're two wins away from tying their season high, as they were 12-15 in June. It's been a strange season in Philly, but scoring the fewest runs while allowing the most is not a winning strategy, and they will be a team to watch this offseason as they look to get back to their consistent, winning ways.

01-09-2024, 08:08 PM	#1293
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,133	Week 18: August 15th-August 21st Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record: 64-54 (3rd, 9.5 GB) Stars of the Week Red Bond : 16 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .438 AVG, 1.634 OPS Leo Mitchell : 19 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .474 AVG, 1.215 OPS Sal Pestilli : 25 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .360 AVG, .967 OPS Schedule 8-16: Win vs Stars (1-10) 8-17: Win vs Stars (1-7) 8-18: Loss vs Stars (7-2) 8-19: Loss at Kings (0-2) 8-20: Loss at Kings (1-12) 8-21: Win vs Kings (12-6) Recap You can call it.. Season is over... Since we refuse to beat the Kings, who were 5-1 against us this month but 2-11 against the other teams they faced, we now dropped to 9.5 games out and third place in the CA. I'm not sure why we can't beat the Kings, or why we just refuse to string wins together, but I guess I should be used to it by now! At least Leo Mitchell keeps on chugging! The reborn superstar went 9-for-19 with a homer, 5 walks, 8 runs, and 3 RBIs. He's now up to a 149 WRC+, trailing just the two seasons he was robbed of the Whitney, and if he can at least hit 400 PAs (at 282), it will be the tenth time he posted a WRC+ above 130 since 1937. It looks like the two years of average offense were a quick blip, and the talented veteran is still a top hitter. Same goes for Red Bond, who went 7-for-16 with 3 homers, 5 runs, 5 walks, and 10 RBIs. Sal Pestilli got back into the fun, going 9-for-25 with 2 doubles, a homer, 4 RBIs, and 6 runs. We had a few other guys hit well too, but I'm still upset/disappointed in our play, and its not worth going too deep into it. The pitching overall wasn't bad, but both Johnnie Jones and George Oddo really struggled. Jones was hit with 11 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks in 7.2 innings while Oddo's win streak was snapped with 9 hits and 5 runs in 6 innings. Pap pitched well, despite the loss, going 8 with 6 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks, and 7 strikeouts. We did get two good starts from Donnie Jones, who has now won each of his last four decisions. Donnie made just one mistake against the Stars, allowing a 4th inning solo homer to Newt Cooper (.294, 4, 19, 9) in his complete game win. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts. Then in Brooklyn, he pitched 8 solid innings, leaving with 8 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Kings tried to comeback in the 9th, getting 4 runs (3 earned) off Harry Parker in the ninth, but we thankfully beat the lowly Kings in that one. The last win went to Duke Bybee, who had a nice bounce-back after three losses, picking up a complete game win with 5 hits, a run, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. The draft signing deadline came and went, and at the last second I signed a trio of outfielders, adding 10th Rounder Delos Williams,11th Rounder Ray Johnson, and 17th Rounder Dick Poplaski. I could have signed a few more guys, as rosters expand next week, but there wasn't really much I liked. Ten of our AI picks will return to school, with their destination and return to the draft year listed below: 14th Round: RHP George Clark: Oklahoma Bible College (1952) 15th Round: CF Pat Paterson : Provo Tech (1952) 16th Round: RHP Jack Armstrong: Grange College (1950) 18th Round: LHP Darius Merlet: Darnell State (1952) 19th Round: RHP Doug Hensley: Topeka State (1952) 20th Round: CF Jim Matthews: Carbondale (1952) 21st Round: LHP Israel Gutierrez: Long Island Maritime College (1952) 23rd Round: RHP Russ Hughes: Johnstown State (1952) 24th Round: SS Johnny Oliver: Brandywine (1952) 25th Round: C Fred Wheeler: San Francisco Tech (1950) Looking Ahead Still one more with the Kings, as we look to salvage a split against the team that has single handedly ruined our August. Believe it or not, they're the only team other then the Foresters to win a series against us this month, as we're 1-5 Brooklyn and 8-6 against everyone else. The Kings struggled in one-run games has caused an actual record five wins lower then their expected record, and in terms of talent they're probably even better. We're going to see either former Cougar Rusty Petrick (1-3, 3.01, 38) or ace Bob Arman (9-10, 4.06, 102) in the finale, but if we can't keep them off the board, it's not going to matter who pitches. Even with the August slump, they still rank top three in most offensive categories, and they do it with a lot of young kids. It's another must win game for a team that can't win, so expect a loss to start the week. Hopefully the luck turns in Chicago, where we'll host the 56-63 Wolves. Charlie Artuso (.242, 5, 52) replacement John Fast (.271, 6, 28) quickly found himself on the IL, leaving Harry Finney (.180, 2, 1) the starting role. It may not be his for long, as despite some back stiffness, Joe DeMott (.222, 1) has been ticketed for a big league roster spot for the coming week. His trade partner Harry Pomeroy (.351, 2, 12) has been excellent since taking over behind the plate, and his 20 hits in 16 games is half way towards incumbent Rusty Hendrix's 40 in 71 and he's 8 off former Cougar draftee Walter Loera's 28 in 43 games. Pomeroy has done a good job filling a huge hole in the Wolves lineup, and he's looking to solidify himself in the team's long-term plans. The rotation doesn't have as many holes, with a strong top-three in George Garrison (10-9, 3.11, 102), Joe Hancock (10-9, 3.91, 57), and Jim Morrison (12-5, 3.49, 63). Garrison and Hancock both pitched in the double header split with the Sailors, but Morrison is scheduled to pitch the first of two games, leaving Jimmy Gibbs (7-10, 4.68, 43) for the finale. With our home fans behind us, and a team that isn't the Kings, this is a good chance for us to get back in the win column. The homestand continues with three against the Cannons, who are 56-65, sitting a game behind the Wolves and a game in front of the Kings. The Cannons will once again be without Fred Galloway, who is dealing with elbow inflammation and is expected to miss the next six weeks. Joe Burns (.302, 2, 54, 14) is expected to shift to center, with Sam Brown (.265, 19) returning in right, as the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Roy Harris (.245, 1) in AAA who sports a 76 WRC+ in 174 PAs. They have a few other depth options in AAA, but they have a pair of their top 10 prospects in Max Conrad (7th, 113th) and Buzz McIlwain (9th, 122nd) in AA. Otherwise, I don't expect the Cannons to look too much different this time around, but with roster expansion next week, they could decide to bring up some minor leaguers to see what they have internally. Sunday will be spent with the first of three against the Sailors, but I'll cover them more tomorrow. At 46-73, they are eight games behind the nosediving Kings despite a season best 10-11 record. They're two wins away from tying their season high, as they were 12-15 in June. It's been a strange season in Philly, but scoring the fewest runs while allowing the most is not a winning strategy, and they will be a team to watch this offseason as they look to get back to their consistent, winning ways.