[ayaghmour2]

Whaddya know, whaddya say?

It's time for Cougar baseball!

It's a lot shorter then most years, as we'll have just three weeks to sort through the 60 players in camp to find the 25-man combo that will lead us to our way overdo championship. Thankfully, most of the roster is set, but there are some really important battles that will need to be speed-run. Before getting into that, however, let's check the group and the locks:

RHP Bob Allen
RHP Allen Brown
RHP Bob Burdick
RHP Dick Champ*
LHP Doc Cook
RHP Dick Crecelius
RHP Roy Ellis*
RHP Skinny Green
LHP Henry Henderson
RHP John Thomas Johnson
LHP Andy Logue
RHP Ivy Loyd
RHP Phil Means
RHP John Mitchell
RHP Jimmy Morris
RHP Ollie Norris
RHP George Reynolds
RHP Jake Roberts
RHP Ken Stone
RHP Earle Turner
RHP Hank Walker
RHP Arch Wilson*
LHP Pug White*
C Johnny Hook
C Dutch Miller
C Milt Payne
C Bill Plunkett
C Chappy Sanders
1B Monty Brown
1B Gene Case*
1B Jack Drake
1B Ed Duncan
1B John Morrison
2B Buddy Byrd
2B Jack Gibson*
2B Elmer Grace
2B Pete Meany
3B William Buttry
3B Bob Decker
3B Armando Franco
3B Moe Holt
3B Luis Jewell
3B George McKee
3B Ernie Tabron
3B Mooney Vetter
SS Tom Halliday*
LF Jim Barton
LF Byron Burnett
LF Dode Caudill
LF Ray Dotson
CF Herm Kocher
CF Bobby Martinez
CF Jerry McMillan*
CF Frank Reece
CF Billy Thompson
RF Don Berry
RF Larry Curtis
RF Chet Hammond
RF Henry Watson*
RF Wayne Wilson

The most important battle will be for one of our outfield spots, but the bigger fight is in the rotation, leading to a ton of spots up for grabs. Just Dick Champ and Roy Ellis are guaranteed, with Ellis likely to pitch Opening Day, as we have at least seven FABL worthy SPs. Of those seven, Buck has John Mitchell in the pen, with Henderson and Stone as the 5 and 6. That's how we'll run it at first, but I'm really not sure that's how it will end. Mitchell's stuff isn't great, but he's a pretty solid pitcher. Though like Stone and Henderson, their options work against them. I tried moving Logue and Walker in the offseason, but I couldn't find a partner. That likely leaves them slotted for the 3 and 4 spots, with one of the young trio filling out the back. I'd give the slight edge to Stone, but I can really seeing it go so many ways. Including an injury that makes things "easier" for us.

Our other big battle is the one between Dode Caudill and Jim Barton, thought Bobby Martinez can push his way in to. Barton may be destined for the bench, as I'd love for the 3rd ranked Caudill to crack our Opening Day roster. It would involve him skipping AAA, but Buck picked him over Barton for left, and he's got the green arrow up to Chicago. Add in more 3s for batting then Barton, and you'd think he's the better hitter. Barton, and to a far lesser extent, Martinez, have had success in FABL, and Dode has plenty of growing ahead of him, so it might be best taking it easy. Still, his lefty bat would be a nice boost, something Martinez offers too, and Dode's athleticism just scream star. It's not a bad problem to have, three FABL quality OFs to pick from, but I have no idea how this is going to go.

Of course, the pen and bench have a ton of work, as always, though a lot is determined on who earns the rotation and lineup spots. Along with left, catcher and third are up for grabs. I could go Vetter or McKee at the hot corner, while Dutch Miller will look to push Chappy Sanders back to the minors. There's a lot to work through in the coming days, but boy is it nice to have baseball back! Sim should come in an hour or so! And the Cougars will be back!

Edit: Minutes! It ended up being minutes! Just don't look at the record...