[ayaghmour2]

It didn't take long, as unlike every politician ever, I stuck to my campaign promise, and brought home Bob Allen with my first (or technically third, since I cut George Blake and Norm McBride to free up some salary) acquisition back in charge of the Chicago Cougars. Allen, now 33, is arguably a worse pitcher now then when he was 22, going from a 3-5-3 to a 3-3-3 (with a 4-4-3 in between), but I just had to bring home our former 1st Rounder and potential ace, allowing him the career he was never given.

Formerly the #1 pitching prospect in all of baseball, and a mainstay in the top-10, Allen was taken 10th in the 1946 draft, and next Opening Day he was named the #2 prospect in FABL. A dominant force in the minors, Allen debuted for the Cougars in 1951, making four September starts including a shutout of the New York Stars. Unfortunately, after I left and we went through the quick-sim years, the new Cougars front office did not know how to use him, causing the golden arm to wither away in the pen. He threw just 33.1 innings in 1952 instead of starting in AAA, and until 1956, he always relieved more games the he started. '56 was just a partial season, 13 starts and 11 relief outings, before being sent away to Detroit for first basemen Monty Brown. Brown, 21 at the time, wasn't a bad prospect by any means, but he was just a dime a dozen first basemen Detroit took in the 3rd Round. Brown ended up debuting in 1959 and played again in 1960, but all 30 of his appearances came off the bench. The now 26-year-old hit .276/.323/.379 (87 OPS+), and was recently selected by Minneapolis in the expansion draft.

At the time of the trade to Detroit, Allen had made 148 FABL appearances, going 32-24 with 9 saves in 486 innings pitched. He had a solid 3.70 ERA (106 ERA+), 1.39 WHIP, and 250 strikeouts, and it really made no reason why a team with little pitching would part with a 28-year-old that once had the highest ceiling imaginable. The league didn't value him very much, with Detroit using him strictly out of the pen, even though he could have solidified their 5th spot. He did start all 23 of his appearances in 1957, and with an actual shot, he pitched really well. The extreme groundballer was 12-6 with a 3.45 ERA (119 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts, a pretty capable season for a back-end starter. Despite that, Detroit still viewed him as more filler then star, with most of the next two seasons coming out of the pen. He did start 16 of his 46 1958 games, again 12-6 but this time with 13 saves, posting an average 4.19 ERA (102 ERA+) and 1.40 WHIP in 141.2 innings. His ERA ballooned to 5.49 (78 ERA+) the next season, but in spite of that his 20 saves were tops in the Fed, and he struck out 55 in 82 innings.

The last two seasons, Allen returned to the rotation, making 28 starts and going 17-17 with 128 walks and 170 strikeouts. The now 33-year-old was much better in 1960, 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, and 86 strikeouts, but he's still a capable back-end guy who can pitch deep into games, keep the ball in the park, and get swings and misses. The stuff is no longer elite, but his curve is a standout pitch, and he can locate his fastball, slider, and change. His groundball tendencies will work well at Cougars Park, and he'll open the 1962 season 85-63 with 45 saves, a 3.97 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, and 666 strikeouts in 1,214.1 innings between the Cougars an Dynamos. The acquisition of Allen pretty much confirms that Pug White will pitch out of the pen, with John Mitchell and Henry Henderson now competing for the last of the five spots. Allen probably takes #5, and he'll hopefully remain on our staff until he's ready to call it quits.

We didn't actually get Allen from the Dynamos, as he was one of the many players selected in the expansion draft. That was the good fortune of the New York Imperials, a team we will compete with in the 1962 season. For their trouble, we sent a talented young infielder Delos Smith, who was picked up a little over a year ago for another formerly promising Cougar hurler Dixie Gaines (3-3, 4.34, 33). Gaines went from St. Louis to LA in the expansion draft himself, former Cougar pitching prospects were seemingly in high demand, while Smith now joins his third organization in as many years. A former 9th Rounder, he got a September callup this season, hitting a solid .287/.357/.455 (112 OPS+) while playing solid defense in the middle infield. An average all-around guy, I didn't necessarily want to move him, but our starting shortstop is a year younger and better at literally everything except hitting homers, and when healthy, our second basemen is the most dangerous slugger the team has ever had. Smith would have been nice depth, especially while Gibson is hurt, but I'm comfortable with Buddy Byrd (.276, 31, 26) holding down the fort, and starting third basemen Mooney Vetter (.282, 12, 68) could easily shift to second, with former top-100 prospect George McKee (.284, 1, 10) or former 3rd Rounder Bob Decker both options at the hot corner. Decker himself could play second if needed, but McKee is an elite defensive third basemen with a strong contact tool, and enough ahead of Smith that it made it easier to part with him. Smith could easily make his name on the new fledgling team, but he didn't really have a role in Chicago and I can never pass up on acquiring personal favorites of mine.

I mean, I just had to have Bob Allen! It's only right!

Now if only Whitney winner and 9-Time All-Star Jerry Smith was easy to acquire...