[ayaghmour2]

It feels like it's been years since we've had meaningful Cougar baseball to discuss, but after a fast forward, part of an offseason, and spring training, we have reached the long awaited Opening Day! I may have a ton of waiver claims out, not expecting to get all of them, so even though these 25 guys made the final roster, expect some movement early in the season:

RHP Bob Allen
RHP Bob Burdick
RHP Roy Ellis
LHP Andy Logue
RHP Phil Means
RHP John Mitchell
RHP Hank Walker
LHP Pug White
RHP Arch Wilson
C Milt Payne
C Bill Plunkett
C Chappy Sanders
1B Gene Case
1B Moe Holt
1B John Morrison
2B Buddy Byrd
3B Bob Decker
3B Mooney Vetter
SS Tom Halliday
LF Jim Barton
LF Byron Burnett
LF Bill Irvin
CF Jerry McMillan
CF Billy Thompson
RF Henry Watson

We ended up going with 3 catchers and 3 first basemen, something teams of mine tend not to have, but given the roster we started with, it makes perfect sense. I really don't think we need 10 pitchers, choosing to purchase the contract of Phil Means and not Allen Brown, as I don't expect to need much more then White and Wilson in any given game. Plus Bob Burdick might have the best stamina on the team, so he can eat plenty of innings out of the pen if someone leaves early. Of course, if I it looks like the pen is getting too tired too quick, we can bring someone up from AAA, and there's a chance we get someone off waivers to replace Means or one of the bats on the bench.

The toughest cut was Don Berry, but there's a waiver outfielder I like a lot, and if we can get him, I didn't want to have to cut or option Berry, who was a non-roster guy. This led to 25-year-old Billy Thompson getting the 6th outfielder spot, though with his elite range and top-level defense, he could get some time in center. Otherwise we have Byron Burnett for the corners, and him or Henry Watson could easily play center if Thompson ends up going down. He's got two options left and could still be an everyday player, so regular time in Milwaukee could do him well. Then on the infield Moe Holt or John Morrison could be easily passed up by a younger, better defender, as we don't really have much defense beyond Bob Decker. Holt can play second or third if really needed, but that's far from the ideal situation.

Our farm system opens up at 11th, a position we are very unfamiliar with. On top of that, our top 18 prospects are position players, with not a single pitcher ranked inside the top 300. In years past, we might have 15 or 20 pitchers in that range, but there's almost no hope among the guys without experience. Luckily, Henry Henderson and Ken Stone are young, talented, and not considered prospects, but I'm not used to having such little pitching depth. OSA really likes our bats, especially at the FABL level, with Gene Case (.337, 37, 128, 9), Jerry McMillan (.323, 21, 81, 23), and Henry Watson (.314, 36, 123, 9) all projected to have major seasons. They even think we'll win 88 games, something that hasn't happened since 1946. I think that's way too generous, 80 is about all I expect, but 88 would have us in 4th of a very crowded association.

Our season starts at home, where we'll be the first ever contest for the New York Imperials. One of the four expansion teams, we also gave them their first trade, picking up Bob Allen (7-13, 4.71, 84) for Delos Smith (.287, 4, 14). I was hoping the young 24-year-old would be in Chicago for Opening Day, but the Imps optioned him to AAA Jersey City, deciding to go with Red Ellis (.175, 4, 28, 4) and Amos Weatherby (.233, 3) in the middle infield. As you'd expect with an expansion club, they do not have a lot of talent, but expect a big series and season from Turk Ramsey (.308, 9, 27). The former Keystone has major power, and I'd be stunned if he doesn't take one of our pitchers deep in the opening series. On the mound, we expect to face Gordon McDonald (9-4, 1, 3.63, 34) and Hank Short (0-4, 7.34, 19) in what should be very favorable matchups for our bats.

Next on the docket is a roadtrip, starting with three in Cincinnati and the first of two with the Dallas Wranglers. The Cannons will be a tough test, as they have some stars in the outfield in Dallas Berry (.282, 29, 94, 10) and Bonnie Chapin (.345, 22, 84, 6), who could both compete for the Whitney this season. Chapin isn't the only young talent either, as both second year player and former top 15 prospect Babe Booth (.269, 13, 74) and rookie Bill Ballard are expected to take spots on the middle infield, while the 21-year-old Charlie Warren (7-3, 3, 3.19, 73) is expected to take the #2 spot behind Jim York (7-11, 5.07, 97). Both are young Chicagoans I wish were in our rotation, but we should miss them both due to the two-game series that start the season. The back of the rotation has question marks, and our talented young offense could make things much easier on our staff by scoring early and often.