Chicago Cougars (FABL)

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 76-67 (2nd, 18 GB)

Schedule
9-1: Win at Mavericks (8-4)
9-2: Loss at Mavericks (7-9)
9-3: Win vs Sailors (1-8)
9-4: Win vs Sailors (1-5)
9-5: Win vs Stars (4-5)
9-6: Loss vs Stars (7-6)
9-7: Win vs Stars (1-11)

Recap
Now that August is over, we decided we can start winning games again, giving us a nice cushion over the CA East leader. We split with the Mavs, swept the Sailors, and won the Stars series, giving us a winning week for what seems like the first time in forever. The offense was really rolling, scoring 5 or more runs each time out, and to be honest I can't tell you why. Literally everyone was hot this week, with eight players getting at least one start and a WRC+ above 150. This even includes guys like Henry Watson (1-3, HR, BB), Mel Hodges (4-7, 2B, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI), and Bill Rawdon (2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB), but plenty of guys hit and plenty of guys homered.

Finally, the homer man himself Gene Homer homered, and unlike most homers, Homer's homers came in bunches. Is that enough homers for you!?!?!?!?!

Well, three was enough for Gene, while my sentence had six, who was 9-for-23 with a double, 5 runs, and 9 RBIs. Three was enough for John Babb too, 9-for-25 with a double, 4 walks, 5 RBIs, and 8 runs scored, giving him 18 homers and 85 RBIs on the season. Now hitting .278/.379/.448 (128 OPS+) he might get to 20 homers after all, having played in all but one of our games this season. Andy Babel, Charlie Sanders, and Clarence Johnson (3-6, RBI) joined in the 150+ fun, with the two regulars homering. For Babel, it's a long time coming, as it's his only homer since August 1st. Finally in double digits, he was 8-for-22 with 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 5 runs, and 5 walks, now hitting a decent, but still disappointing .287/.341/.412 (107 OPS+). It's not too far from Sanders' .280/.340/.417 (108 OPS+), and he's even got an extra homer. 5-for-18, he added 2 doubles, 3 walks, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs.

We had three more homers, if you can believe it, including Sam Morrison, who did it despite going 6-for-27. He grabbed 2 walks, 4 RBIs, 6 runs, and a steal, but homer aside he doesn't quite look back to 100%. Tom Halliday hit his 8th homer, 8-for-26 with a triple, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs scored. Somewhat playing for a job, the almost 37-year-old has upped his season line to a respectable .266/.301/.379 (87 OPS+) with a 3.0 zone rating (1.014 EFF). With how he started the season, I was pretty sure we'd need to add a middle infielder, but a strong end to the season could give our longtime shortstop a 16th season as the starter.

The last was Cleo Harris' replacement, Chuck Ennis, who actually did quite admirably in the short-term. Sure, Harris is coming back and Ennis probably never starts multiple times a week again, but hey! He was 7-for-23 this week with the homer, 2 walks, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs. Through 59 PAs, the 10th Rounder hit a decent .278/.339/.352 (91 OPS+) with a better 104 WRC+, but there was no way he was going to stay in the lineup when the team position player WAR leader returned. A tenth of a win away from 4, Harris has hit .251/.328/.355 (89 OPS+) with 10 homers, 16 doubles, 56 RBIs, 51 runs, 47 walks, and elite middle infield defense.

Again, Bill Bartlett was prevented from a shutout due to factors out of his control, but thankfully, this time it didn't prevent him from winning. This time it wasn't for lack of run support, as we did plenty of that this time around, but instead his defense. The only reason Charlie Jarzombek (.296, 8, 49, 8) scored in the 2nd is the Sailors getting a fourth out, as Chuck Ennis couldn't handle a somewhat routine grounder. Rest of the way, the defense was mostly perfect, as he went all nine with 3 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. It's hilarious he should theoretically have five shutouts in his first 18 FABL starts, but what he does have is a stretch of 43 innings with just a single earned run allowed. He now also has a 1.85 ERA (212 ERA+) in 145.2 innings pitched, and for the first time all season he's projected to finish the year with more then 162 innings.

With two starts this week he could theoretically do it, but with at least three starts in the season he seems like a lock. Now the #2 rated pitcher in baseball, I will be vigorously campaigning for him come Allen voting, and at this point I can't see a case against him. I don't care if it's barely 20 starts. No pitcher has an ERA within shouting distance of him right now, and if he keeps delivering starts like this how could you not give him the award? No one has been able to solve him, allowing just 3 homers and 30 earned runs. For comparison's sake, two other FABL pitchers have 30 earned runs, pitching 65.2 and 58.2 innings, while just Arrows stopper Jim Hart (5-10, 19, 2.65, 78) has allowed 3 homers and thrown more then 75 innings (95). I do know at some point he's going to have a stinker, but last time he did that he started this run, and and even with his 8 run outing he has yet to allow more then ten runs in any three start span. Whether it's true or not, my story is starting him in AAA is what allowed him to explode like this, and until further notice there's not a pitcher in the universe better then him.

Case in point, Hal Adams, who is responsible for two of our losses as well as three beautiful innings in Jim Norris' 337th career win. He's definitely started sputtering, but I'll give Adams a break on the other two for holding on in this 5-4 game. Adams' first save since '65 was proceeded by 6 up-and-down innings. On the bright side, there were no walks and 5 Ks, but on the other side he allowed 9 hits and 4 runs. His 12-6 record is backed by a now adjusted league average 3.95 ERA (100 ERA+), with an above average 3.79 FIP (96 FIP-). Considering he's 45 and it's 159.2 innings, that's pretty remarkable, but there's now a slight bit of doubt in my mind that he can start well again for us next year. He'll still get the chance, of course, and three wins away from 340 I can't see him not coming back for at least one more go.

Last little piece of note is for Bob Goldman, who threw a gem against the Sailors. No shutout for him either, but he went 8 with 8 hits, a walk, a run and 7 strikeouts as we cruised to a 5-1 victory. A guy I'm very glad I didn't trade, he's gone 13-8 with a 3.05 ERA (129 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts, and his re-emergence has allowed us to take the load off the retirement home pitchers. We now have three legit arms now and at least for five more years, making it easier for us to focus on upgrading the offense, even if we have multiple guys call it quits. Unless all three go, we don't need any outside help, and I'm more then comfortable with a revolving fifth spot until Lyle Lessard is ready. An underrated prospect, he tore up Yakima and is doing great in Yakima, but at 21 he's still at least a full season away. His stuff is great and the command even better, showing shades of Bill Bartlett I'll start to see in any quick rise from here on out.

Looking Ahead
Three more week left in the Bill Bartlett show, and he'll open the quick two game series with the Mavericks. We split the two in KC, and will now draw Dave Dalton (7-11, 4.11, 112) and Orville Johnson (9-14, 4.76, 76), which will definitely work in our favor. Dalton is definitely talented, but at 23 he's still hittable, and a good matchup for our lineup. Half defense and half pitching, this staff gives up a lot of runs, even more then they are able to score. Somehow one spot above us at 5th in runs scored, and this is where the power I mentioned last time comes into play. Dick Anderson (.291, 11, 56), Tony Keil (.277, 14, 70, 5), and Bob Howard (.278, 13, 61, 5) can all put a jolt into their swings, and until you get towards the bottom their are very few holes in the lineup. We'll need more of the offense we showed this week, but I still trust our staff enough to carry if they need to.

Road games finish the week, starting with the reverse of our two game sweep of the Sailors. This time out west, we get to go from 12th ranked staff to offense, which I guess accounts for a portion of our offensive surge. I expect Jim Teal (11-12, 3.34, 165) and Johnny Baylor (15-8, 4.06, 77), and Teel's the one to worry about. A consistent veteran arm, he's done well as a starter and reliever, and he's far better then the rest of the bunch. Facing him could inhibit our run production, but they got just single runs on Bartlett and Goldman, and would have issues putting up runs on pretty much anyone. We need to win both of these games, but they may be able to steal one on their home field.

We stay west for the weekend series, hosted by the third place and now eliminated Stars. At 72-71 they are at risk of falling below .500, leaving their fans longing for the better days of 1974. I'm really not sure what went wrong for them, as they score a ton and the staff isn't bad. Aside from rookie callup Lee Yeager (.217, 5) who's a veteran of seven games, there's no easy outs or OPS+ below 100. Sure, a bunch are right around that mark, but they can all start a rally. The focus on offense, however does lead to a poor defense, ranked 12th in zone rating and efficiency, and I'm sure the reason they aren't that low in errors is because scorer's don't expect them to make play or they just don't get to enough balls to boot them. Especially if we're stuck with Bill Dunham (12-7, 3.14, 149) who can absolutely mow down hitters, we are going to strike out ourselves, so I'd love to see guys make adjustments to put the ball in play. Andy Babel (.287, 10, 69, 5) will be critical in this series, and I'm hoping he can erase a lot of poor play with a big series performance.

Minor League Report
RHP Ernie Hull (AA Memphis Cougars): I don't usually shout out no upside minor leaguers, but considering Ernie Hull one upped Bill Barrett, I absolutely have to. Not only did Hull throw two shutouts, but the second was a 10-inning one, as Gene Crandall thankfully walked it off with a crucial three run homer, as Hull was pinch hit for with his spot in the order scoring one of the runs. Between the two shutouts, he allowed just 10 hits and 4 walks, striking out 10 in his return to the rotation.

Yes, I had this guy in the pen for a little and then he goes and does this!

The reason for that, of course, is we have a lot of interesting pitching prospects and Hull hasn't even started regularly since 1972. Through 24 appearances (4 starts) he's an impressive 11-3 with an excellent 3.40 ERA (121 ERA+) and even lower 3.04 FIP (73 FIP-). Now 27, I don't think he magically figured it out, but hey maybe he should be starting regularly even if I don't think he can ever pitch in the big leagues. Likely to be a major outlier in an uninspiring career, perhaps he'll do enough for someone to snatch him from us in the Rule-5 draft.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 77-73 (2nd, 23.5 GB)

Schedule
9-8: Loss vs Kings (11-1)
9-9: Loss vs Kings (11-1)
9-10: Loss at Sailors (2-0)
9-11: Loss at Sailors (11-3)
9-12: Loss at Stars (2-3): 10 innings
9-13: Win at Stars (5-0)
9-14: Loss at Stars (2-3)

Recap
I don't know what's worse. The fact that we went 1-6 against the teams that aren't the Seattle Kings who we are stuck with the next two weeks.

BUT THE FACT THAT WE STILL HAVE A BETTER RECORD THEN THE STUPID DIVISION LEADER OF THE STUPID CONTINENTAL EAST

I mean, we're not even trying that hard anymore!!!

Ugh...

Well, somehow our outstanding pitching staff allowed 11 runs three times in a four day stretch, and that included a start by the usually unstoppable Bill Bartlett. Despite his god-level status, sometimes he's mortal, and to start the week he allowed Failing to get out of the fourth, he allowed 9 hits, 7 runs, and 3 walks, striking out just 1, raising his ERA almost 40 points.

It didn't stay raised long, as five days later, guess what he did? Finally got that fourth shutout! Most in FABL, he spun a 8-hit shutout with a walk and 3 strikeouts, dropping his ERA right back down to 2.10 (187 ERA+). Now within four innings of qualifying, he's worth 4.0 WAR with a 12-5 record, 3.08 FIP (78 FIP-), and 1.07 WHIP. What's most impressive, however, is his breakdown of starts. This season he has three starts with 7 or more runs. This 16.2 inning sample accounts for 21 of his 37 earned runs, 57% of them, leading to a disturbing 11.67 ERA. Now the rest of his starts? 141.2 innings of a 1.02 ERA. Yes. 1.02 ERA in basically 90% of his innings pitched this season. That's. Just. Insane. I mean, he's a top-5 pitcher I guess it makes sense. But. Like. INSANE!!!

That also, of course, describes how I feel about this week, but hey there were some solid things that happened too. Cleo Harris had a nice return to the lineup, 5-for-22 with a triple, a homer, and 6 walks. Now worth 4.3 WAR in 134 games, he's got 11 homers, 57 RBIs, 52 runs, and 53 walks, and a .250/.332/.360 (91 OPS+) line that looks pretty good when it comes with his patently elite defense. Otherwise, we didn't get much hitting aside from a few homers and a lot of walks. Aside form Harris, John Babb was our only above average hitter, 6-for-23 with 2 runs, 3 walks, 4 RBIs, his 26 double, and his 19th homer. I think he has twenty in the bag, and he's hit nearly twice as many homers as anyone else. Harris and Babel both hit their 11th homer this week, while Charlie Sanders was already there, and somehow we've got the 4th most in the CA. It certainly doesn't feel like it, especially after such an awful week, but despite all my complaints the offense is really close to being great. Just a superstar away...

We get one more player of the week, as Fuzzy Cronin will return from the IL. Cronin will reclaim center from Mike Van den Huevel, who started 12 of his first 13 FABL games. Now 26, the rookie went 9-for-39, and hit his first FABL homer in our second 11-1 loss to the Mavericks. The defense was not very good (-2.2, .924), even if it is a really small sample, so at least the staff will be happy to have Fuzzy's defense back. One of the quickest players in the league, he dropped out of the CA's top three for stolen bases, but his 31 steals are one off 3rd. The .236/.297/.300 (65 OPS+) triple slash has been real tough to swallow, but I would still expect to see him patrolling center for us in 1976.

Looking Ahead
I really hate that we lost all the easy games this week, as basically half of our remaining games our against the Seattle Kings. Like everyone but I guess the Sailors, the Kings have had no trouble beating us, and in Seattle you can pretty much give us losses each time out. Thankfully, that would still be 77-76, but I just hate that now a .500 record is not a lock. Even 3-4 puts us at 79, meaning three wins in two weeks, and that's something that if we failed we'd deserve our .500 or worse fate. Lucky for us, they're running a strict six man, so we get Rule-5 castoff Charlie Martin (0-0, 5.06, 2; 7-8, 4.70, 65), who made his first 21 stats with the Millers. 23 will come against us on Monday, and if we can't bash his brain in then we will not win a game this series. We finish off with Allen winners Moe Lowery (20-8, 2.73, 171) and Swede Hawkins (13-9, 3.71, 137) and unless we can also bash in Lowery's brain, I think he's winning the '75 Allen.

Funny enough we'll feature two Allen winners and a 7-Time All-Star, so maybe I'm not giving us enough credit. Casuals will love then Lowery/Alford (14-12, 3.38, 112) duel on Tuesday, and Kings fans should enjoy a series win. I don't know how we'd stop one of Bob Glowacki (.260, 22, 51), Fred Tollefson (.285, 24, 86, 20), and Mike Griffith (.307, 18, 86, 7), let alone all three, and they also have prestigious slugger Hank Williams (.252, 12, 68) who's four away from tying Rod Shearer (.266, 507, 1,946, 122) for the fifth most in FABL history. The only guys in their lineup I wouldn't slot directly into out lineup is their middle infield, and even they have WRC+ of 99 and 108, just with the combined defensive ability of Cleo Harris. Or arguably less. I guess you can count on the out in the pitcher's spot, but with runner's on base it's a bunt, and knocking the starter out early doesn't help either. Chicagoan Billy Collins (6-2, 36, 1.63, 47) is the envy of pens everywhere, set to lead the Conti in saves in three of seasons, and Ray Eddy (6-1, 3, 1.69, 24) is a year younger and arguably the second best reliever in his first season out of the pen. Two other pen arms have at least 40 innings and ERA+ above 150, something we only have from Bill Jackson's 11.2 innings (2.31, 170). Without our no longer secret weapon, we could be left out to dry, but I'm confident in taking the opener and who knows what can happen after that.

We then have arguably our biggest series of the year, as if we win all four home games against the Wranglers, we will at least finish the season .500. Winning one in Seattle would then give us 82 wins, but it's far from a guarantee we even split. Probably the most inconsistent team, the former 90 win club switches off between sucky and elite. In May and August they sucked, in June and July they looked like they could run away with the East, and now September it's back to cellar dweller status. Lucky for us, we should miss Pete Rosenbaum (18-7, 2.41, 132), who's easily the standout in the rotation. Only swingman Jack Mead (9-11, 2.98, 74) has good stats and his ERA is definitely empty. We should be scoring a lot, but they can do the same. Another talented Chicagoan Nick Parker (.334, 25, 93, 6) has not only been a top hitter when healthy, but when dealing with a variety of minor injuries, and he's taken home each of the last two Batter's of the Month. Behind him Buck Stout (.294, 14, 85, 8) and John Miller (.315, 12, 88) can be lethal, and this might be the one week all season where I'm not confident in our pitching staff. As good as they are, they were awful last week, and these are two of the top three offenses we'll face this year. That's all they get now, and it will be quite interesting to see how they perform down the stretch.

Minor League Report
AAA Omaha Plainsmen: I feel vindicated leaving key contributors like Jay Richardson (.351, 18, 83) and Walt Wilson (15-7, 4.01, 122) down in AAA knowing that the Omaha Plainsmen will get a chance to redeem themselves after losing the Century League championship last season to the Denver Bruins. Likely to face our old AA affiliate, the Little Rock Governors, we're 2 games above them and they're 5 clear of Indianapolis, as they enter the final week of the season. An interesting mix of young players and veteran cast-offs, they still lost plenty of pieces, but Johnnie Allen's (.314, 3, 46, 4) return from the IL and Earl Wade's (.263, 2, 10) recall from AAA have been huge boosts, and the carousel of minor league free agents eventually got us to something looking like a solid team. Before the fast forward it was just a pennant, no playoffs, so instead of an tense week on Monday to determine it all, we're just playing for homefield, counting the days before having a chance to bring something to the organization. Injuries have tried getting in the way, but as long as Jay Richardson is in the lineup this team can win ballgames.

A Yakima Rams: We'll have at least two teams competing in the postseason this year, as even after sending a lot of talent up during the season, they cruised to their first division win since 1971. Set to face the Bakersfield Bears (88-46) next week, we could play for home field, but with us two games behind the chances of passing them our unlikely. We won't have a pitcher qualify for any team ERA award, as guys like Lyle Lessard (12-1, 1.33, 84), Bill Clark (9-3, 2.68, 76), Howie Kurtz (3-6, 3.81, 77), and Joe Austin (4-4, 2.74, 83) all moving up and through. Despite that, there's always been someone to pick up the slack, with the current front four of Bob Hays (10-1, 2.37, 91), Wally DeMent (3-0, 1.50, 33), Dixie Rodgers (6-5, 3.39, 104), and Pete Elder (4-2, 1.26, 54) all fit to start a playoff game. It's a nice group, including a top-20 prospect, two guys from our draft class, and a former top-500 prospect we inherited that probably still deserves a spot on the list. The offense took a few hits, most notably Carl Carroll (.282, 5, 22, 7), but Joe Williams (.258, 5, 29) has a 122 WRC+ at 18 and Rams have gotten consistent production from Joe Irwin (.332, 4, 45, 5) and Tony Rawlings (.302, 6, 46, 5). Sill, I think we'll be leaning heavily on our staff to claim the teams first title in the C-O-W's playoff era, as it's the clear strength of the team.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 78-79 (2nd, 27 GB)

Schedule
9-15: Loss at Kings (3-4)
9-16: Loss at Kings (1-7)
9-17: Loss at Kings (0-5)
9-18: Win vs Wranglers (2-3)
9-19: Loss vs Wranglers (2-0)
9-20: Loss vs Wranglers (6-3)
9-21: Loss vs Wranglers (9-7)

Recap
Yeah so we kind of suck now and the season is almost over, so this will be short and not very sweet. We lost all three to the Kings, and they threw a debut pitcher who shut us out instead of one of their Allen winners, and the Wranglers somehow took three of four from us in Chicago. A complete and utter shock.

Of course, the only win came form Bill Bartlett, but even then it wasn't really a Bill Bartlett like win. I guess because it was tied and Pug wanted a pinch hitter, Bartlett was taken out after just 6, throwing just 76 pitches. He did get the win, 6 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 strikeouts, and he's now officially qualified for the ERA title with 164.1 innings in 21 starts.

Now the sad thing is this pretty much effectively ends his regular season. Sure, I could give him a start against the Kings in the final week, but since he threw so few innings and didn't really dominate, is it even worth risking his season stats over a meaningless start? I mean 18 of his 21 starts were pretty much the best ever, and even with three three awful starts, he leads all FABL pitchers in ERA (2.14), WHIP (1.05), ERA+ (183), and BABIP (.214), and even though he could lose the sole lead, I don't think any FABL pitcher is getting two shutouts in the last week, and for it to impact Bartlett that pitcher would have to be Marco Middleton (14-3, 1, 2.90, 125) or Herm Quinn (15-12, 2.94, 166). Sadly, the Allen is likely out of reach, and I'm not even sure he has my vote, after the stinker against the Mavericks, but he'll be the 1975 Kellogg winner, and a favorite for the 1976 Allen now that he'll make his first Opening Day roster.

I guess one other thing worth talking about is Tom Halliday, who pretty much had all of our offensive production for the week. An even 10-for-20, Halliday added a double, 2 homers, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, 2 runs, and a steal. Red hot in September, he's hit .343/.397/.537 (157 OPS+), raising his season line to a pretty solid .274/.314/.395 (95 OPS+). Somehow his WRC+ is up to 101 in 139 games, and he's added 19 doubles, 5 triples, 10 homers, 51 runs, 53 RBIs, and 13 steals. His defense has hovered around a 3.4 zone rating at short, still great for a guy who will be 37 soon, and it seems like his early season struggles were a true aberration.

Looking Ahead
I won't waste too much time on what's next, as I can't wait for this season to end, but we host the Kings twice, are off, and then visit Dallas for three more. Not only am I shutting down Bartlett, but Roger Alford, who's been awful all month. His best start saw him allow 4 runs, followed by three with 5, and then 8 runs in less then 2 innings. His ERA has jumped from 3.17 to 3.76 (104 ERA+), dropping him outside the top-5 for pitchers. I'm guessing it's bad luck, he's way better then this, and five starts don't erase 29 of dominance. With no Alford or Bartlett, Hal Adams returns, and with the day off Pug White will get two starts. I'd love to at least win once, but it's so disappointing that what looked like an easy over .500 season has evaporated due to 12 losses in 14 games.

Good thing we weren't in a pennant race!

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-4
Seasonal Record: 79-83 (4th, 28 GB)

Schedule
9-23: Loss vs Kings (5-4)
9-24: Win vs Kings (4-5)
9-26: Loss at Wranglers (0-13)
9-27: Loss at Wranglers (2-10)
9-28: Loss at Wranglers (7-8): 11 innings

Recap
Holy cow. I'm so glad this season is over. 16 of our last 19. We lost. How? I don't really know...

What I do know, however, is this nightmare of September is over for us, and on the bright side we'll be picking much earlier in the draft then I would have expected. 79-83 is tied for the 5th worst record in the CA, though I think we will be picking before the Saints as their record fell and ours improved. Really. We only won 74 last year, so even after a huge plummet off a cliff, we still won more then last year! Progress!

There's not really much to share from the week, except for Gene Homer doubling his season homer total with 3 in 5 games, but we did have a few top-3 finishes in the CA. Most were leads for Bill Bartlett, who had the best ERA (2.14), WHIP (1.05), ERA+ (183), BABIP (.237), and opponent average (.214). Sadly, Herm Quinn threw a shutout in the final week (stupid inept Arrows offense...), so him and Bartlett tied there, while Bartlett's .722 win percentage was third among CA hurlers and his 9 complete games were second. Over a third of his starts he went the distance! Aside from Bob Goldman's Conti high 22 homers (which didn't impact his excellent 3.32 ERA and 118 ERA+), the only non-Bartlett pitcher to be recognized was Roger Alford, who's 2.2 BB/9 was second lowest. And on the position player side, just Fuzzy Cronin made a top-3 showing, as his 34 steals were tied for 3rd.

[ayaghmour2]

With the MWF schedule, things move slower, so we are still in the postseason. I was super busy last week so I didn't rush into this, but I was not putting it off because the big league team sucks. This is the minor leaguers! They are actually good!

In fact, all five of our teams finished above .500, all but one full season team won at least 80 games, and our rookie ball club played better then .600 ball on the season. Does that mean that the future is bright? Or is it more that I'm excellent at managing minor league clubs? Sadly, I think it's the latter, but that's not really a bad thing! Winning in the lower levels can breed success, and it's certainly better then having non-competitive clubs get bashed in when we are trying to develop our top guys.


AAA Omaha Plainsmen (Century League): 81-59 (.579), 2nd, 4 GA: Arguably our most successful club, not only did the Omaha Plainsmen win the division, but they went on to beat our old AA affiliate, the Little Rock Commodores (who I still miss for what it's worth), in a close six game series. We won a pair of one-run games to start it, and finished it off with a crazy 14-inning 3-1 victory that allowed the Plainsmen to repeat as Century League champs.

Plainsmen fans can thank 24-year-old third basemen Jay Richardson for the title, as our former 14th Round pick was as dominant as it gets. An eventual Platinum Stick winner, he also picked up two Players of the Weeks and Players of the Month. Richardson hit an outstanding .352/.438/.523 (143 OPS+), making 621 trips to the plate in an MVP caliber season. That will be announced soon, likely by him, as he finished with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 18 homers, 85 RBIs, 83 walks, 106 runs, and a nice 5.8 WAR. Richardson led the CL in average, OBP, WAR, hits (186), and the only player with a higher slugging, OPS, or OPS+ was his teammate and current Cougar Gene Homer (.348, 14, 63), who had an elite 86 game stretch.

Richardson was one of the few mainstays, but that's not to stay that the regulars didn't help. Walt Wilson (16-8, 4.06, 131) was a force in the rotation, Dale Holm (13-10, 1, 3.94, 136) did well regardless of whether he started the game or game innings out of the pen, and when healthy Johnnie Allen (.311, 3, 50, 4) hit and played solid center field defense. Otherwise, a lot of the production came from guys who came up and down during the season. Veteran minor league adds like Bill Dunlop (3-1, 2.93, 34), Cliff Coleman (.310, 1, 7, 4), and Andy Masson (8-4, 7, 3.94, 47) took advantage of the opportunities given to them, even if playing time wasn't always easy to find. Plus guys like Mike Van den Heuvel (.323, 14, 70 and Chuck Ennis (.313, 7, 31, 6) played well enough to earn them callups to the big league club. Next year they may have more consistent regulars, or at least some younger guys, but I may continue to supply the roster with seemingly washed up FABL players to help complete the threepeat.

AA Memphis Cougars (Dixie League): 71-69 (.507), 4th, 9 GB: It was touch and go at times, but winning one of their last four games was enough to keep their record above even. Memphis sent plenty of players up to Omaha, but had a pretty consistent core. A lot of the players moving around were veterans for injuries, but the pitching staff saw plenty of movement. Only three non-retured players made more then 15 starts -- one of those just 16 -- and those guys didn't do all that great. Bobby Fuller (13-9, 3.95, 113) was solid, Pete Lee (7-19, 5.01, 109) wasn't, and our best pitcher, Ernie Hull (12-3, 3.27, 104), decided minor league living wasn't going to cut it for him. The lineup was similar, but we got a handful of guys to 100 games. Funny enough, our "star" and former FABL shortstop Mack Pixley (.360, 5, 32) put up 4.4 WAR in 74 games, easily the most on the team. Only top prospect Earl Wade (.261, 24, 69) managed more then 3 (3.4), but our 22-year-old backstop was still a standout. I'm hoping he'll be done with AA, as I think Sam Calhoun will be our backup in Chicago, but Memphis' lineup will miss him. They didn't do a great job producing runs, and even though 29th ranked prospect Carl Carroll (.286, 1, 12) did spend his last 19 games there, he hasn't stayed anywhere long, and could be a 19-year-old in AAA in very short order.

A Rockford Wildcats (Heartland League): 80-60 (.571), 1st, 3 GA: Another division champion, the Rockford Wildcats finished 80-60, finishing first in the Eastern Division of the 12-team Heartland League. 80-60 would have been tied for second and six behind the first place Dusters, and they proved they were the best of the bunch. Rockford took the first in the best of three, as August callup Lyle Lessard (4-2, 3.28, 54) kept them in long enough to survive a 3-2 snooze fest, but the rest of the staff could not follow him up. It's a surprise, since that was the strength of the team, but it was the pen and a few callups that were most effective. Harry Jones (11-2, 2, 2.02, 73) was a surprisingly effective setup man and Ray Bush (2-6, 6, 2.98, 110) did well in a swingman role.

They missed Ed Jett (10-2, 3.18, 65) and Joe Austin (3-3, 3.00, 78), who finished their seasons in Memphis, and even though they had a lot of moving parts in the lineup, very little had much success. The brief Carl Carroll (.301, 5, 28, 8) stint was outstanding, and not only was most of Charlie Warner's (.307, 5, 46, 4) seasons here and Harry Stewart (.280, 11, 48, 8), but it was actually pretty good. Everyone else had flaws, as Eddie Beasley (.230, 17, 48) was all power, Dewitt Yellock (.252, 3, 31, 4) brushed up against a wall, and 1971 5th Rounder Ed Cleary (.248, 5, 42, 4) is way behind schedule. It was obvious from the beginning that the system was pretty thin, and it really showed on the Wildcats lineup. Whoever was good had to come up either due to injury or the draft, but that may not have to be the case this coming season. I really loved our draft class, and while they're mostly young guys, I think I can send a few up to San Jose to start the season, and more could come before the draft, but in a way to reinforce the roster where there is a need.

A Yakima Rams (California-Oregon-Washington League): 89-51 (.636), 1st, 7 GA: Our best regular season team, the Yakima Rams trounced the North division, but the trouncing in the south from the Bakersfield Bears was a bit more then ours. They won three more games, but more importantly, both of the playoff games. Still, Yakima was outstanding, and a lot of that has to do with Bob Hays. Sadly he didn't pitch in the series (my fault maybe), but our top second ranked prospect was elite. He only made 17 starts, but he lost just one of them. An outstanding 12-1, he had a 2.18 ERA (172 ERA+) and 3.06 FIP (79 FIP-) with a 1.33 WHIP, 54 walks, and 104 strikeouts. Somehow he wasn't our best pitcher with 10 or more starts, as 14th Rounder Pete Elder (4-2, 1.16, 60) was better then Bill Barrett for 11 starts. 11th Rounder Wally DeMent (3-1, 2.29, 37) was good in 9, and almost everyone who got promoted was deserving. Lyle Lessard (12-1, 1.33, 84) was elite, and there were cases for Bill Clark (9-3, 2.68, 76), Joe Austin (4-4, 2.74, 83), and Jim Peters (3-3, 2.95, 58) all being the second best pitcher. Our offense was weak, but the trio of Joe Irwin (.329, 4, 47, 5), Tony Rawlings (.296, 6, 50, 5), and Al Baker (.299, 5, 47) was reasonably effective. They spent most of the season together, and there's a chance they'll all be back together. Though most impressively, 18-year-old and recent 2nd Rounder Joe Williams .255, 6, 30) not only held his own, but produced a 122 WRC+. Help will be needed, but I'm just not sure enough of his draft class can do what he did.

C La Crosse Lions (Upper Mississippi Valley Association): 38-24 (.613), 2nd, 2 GB: They kind of fell off at the end, but the La Crosse Lions did a lot better then I would have expected. Two games out of first is pretty solid, and it was with a lot of our recent draftees. The high run environment makes a lot of these stats look bad, but 1st Rounder and top prospect Tom Brewer (8-3, 4.33, 100), 6th Rounder Tom Ballard (4-1, 3.78, 36), and 9th Rounder Willy McBreen (2-2, 3.77, 24) all had an ERA+ above 130. Ed Thompson (3-2, 7.20, 26) did not, and did pretty much everything poorly, but strong showings from 3 of our 4 draftees is a strong showing. As you'd expect, the offense didn't hold up, as last year's 4th Rounder Don Jones (.302, 6, 45) was the only Lion with an OPS+ (115) and WRC+ (128) above 100. 7th Rounder Al Hall (.314, 3, 39) had the WRC+ (107), but even guys drafted before him couldn't even manage one. Hopefully another year in La Crosse and a few new draftees can give us the offense we need, and I imagine a majority of the current starting nine will be there for the mid-year Opening Day.

[ayaghmour2]

So against all odds, the New York Imperials just crushed everyone in the playoffs. I'm not even kidding. 3-1 against the Kings and 4-1 against the Suns. Doesn't matter that half the team is injured. Al Reece isn't. And a guy I could have traded for, Mike Counts, got healthy at the last second and went 4-for-4 with 2 walks and the walk-off in extras. I guess I feel better about being bad this year? The awful September is in the rear view mirror and Tom Lorang is three weeks away from being healthy.

And now we can start making trades! If we can find a partner, of course...

Anyways, offseason should start on Friday, which means a fresh set of top prospects! Long gone are the days of 40+ Top-500 guys, as with 24 teams you'd only expect an average of 20 per team, so a system twice as good as expected would be tough to put together. 30 seems to be the ceiling or around it, but if the offseason goes long I may do even more! Right now the guys in the 30s are still somewhat interesting, but on the top prospects post the only one's listed will be the top 500. Right now we have 22, but the official one will have some changes.

We are still a year off of free agency, so there's no need to worry about players leaving. What there is a worry of is retirements, as even if they are under contract, Pug White or Jim Norris could call it quits. Losing both would hurt, but we have a clear front three and they aren't a part of that. Even losing just one would put us in the market for a starting pitcher, but both would make it the priority. Hal Adams isn't great, but there would be worse things then him returning to the rotation, but I'm not trying to give starts to Bob McKinney or Leroy Williams unless I absolutely have to. Initially I thought there would be a surplus of sellers, but the Imps surprise pennant run probably inspired a few to buy instead of sell.

Elsewhere, we need bats, and we need them quickly, but nothing would be better then Tom Lorang and Andy Babel hitting like they did. Lorang had at worst a 140 WRC+ for fourteen consecutive seasons and Babel had six in a row over 130. The latter's drop was worse, as he was a replacement player compared to a previous career low 3.2 WAR in 1968. It was the only season of his career below 4, as unlike Lorang, the glove disappeared. He's not going to be replaced, but we need another bat to throw into the outfield mix. Sam Morrison and Fuzzy Cronin can all rotate with Babel and a fourth, but if we can get an impact bat they can all take a back seat. Baab and hopefully Lorang will need support in the lineup, and aside from September our pitching is too good to waste with empty at bats.

[ayaghmour2]

So yeah, bad news. We just saw 598 wins, 1,810 appearances, 9,729 innings, and 5,694 strikeouts just dissapear.

Poof.

Gonezo.

Pug White and Jim Norris did the unthinkable and both retired.

How could they do this to me!?!?!?!?!?

Of course, the team retired Pug's number (and there will be a writeup at some point) and Norris' number in Detroit was as well, and I mean they are 45 and greying, but they were still good and we don't have obvious replacements.

My story is that Hal Adams blackmailed them both, ensuring he'd have a rotation spot for his aged 40 season, which I guess is more important to him then fielding a competent team.

We really need to add a SP, even if no one is selling right now, because the options after are slim and few between. Most exciting might be former 7th Rounder Walt Wilson, who is one of our 22 ranked prospects. Just added to the 40, he was excellent in the Plainsmen rotation, going 16-8 with a 4.06 ERA (114 ERA+), 4.17 FIP (89 FIP-), and 131 strikeouts in his 30 starts. With zero experience and probably the ceiling of a back-end starter, it's not ideal, but yeah. Slim pickings.

Otherwise it's guys we got off waivers. Pug likes Leroy Williams and wants him to be the 5th starter/stopper, but he missed a lot of time with injury, and wasn't great out of our pen (0-5, 4.09, 13). He walked a lot of guys and lost a lot of games, but he is 28, throws a lot of pitches, and is a projected starter. Veteran Bob McKinney is about a decade older, but pitched really well with Baltimore (4-5, 2, 2.80, 60) and 11 of his 23 appearances were starts. The cons may outweigh, as he was worse with us (1-0, 5.01, 16), didn't have a FABL start before this season, and made his FABL debut two years ago. But he's a hard thrower and hard worker and we are really desperate for arms. Or maybe even Steve Madden, who looked good in year one (1-1, 2.76, 27), but hasn't made a FABL start in a year that begins with a '7. Maybe he's the next Cougar with a late career breakout?

I guess there is Augie Hicks too, who Harry Carr thinks is SP5, but he's started just 10 games since 1969 and seems to have adapted well to the pen. With both our young guys hurt, I don't want to have uncertainty at the back of our pen too, and Hicks can at least start with the job. A 3.46 ERA (113 ERA+) and 15 saves is solid enough, but if a good stopper option comes up Hicks could enter the rotation mix too.

I also want a bat, but between the likely lack of sellers we may have to settle for a Tom Lorang bounce back or a waiver/free agent target. There is a guy I kind of like, but it's more a band aid then a real solution. I have a few ideas, but none that overly excite me. It will be interesting to see what is available, as if we want to have a chance of usurping the Kings, we need to bring more talent into the organization.

[ayaghmour2]

With the offseason starting, we have just 4 top-100 prospects, but two are in the top 16 and three are in the top 31. Yes, very specific on purpose. We slightly outperform our expected prospect total with 22, but I'd love to trade a few of these guys to make some adds. Don't think it will happen but we have a long offseason left!

I mentioned that I'm only listing the guys in the top-500, and to reiterate, it both makes my life easier if I don't have time to do all of them, and also gives me flexibility to cover guys I want, or one's that sneak their way in. This might get updated with those extra players, but if they are newly ranked and weren't, they'll have an asterisk. Until then, here's what OSA thinks are our best 22!

1. LHP Tom Brewer (6th Overall)
2. RHP Bob Hays (16th Overall)
3. SS Carl Carroll (31st Overall)
4. RHP Ed Thompson (87th Overall)
5. C Henry Girten (127th Overall)
6. C Sam Calhoun (131st Overall)
7. RHP Lyle Lessard (133rd Overall)
8. C Earl Wade (155th Overall)
9. RHP Howie Kurtz (210th Overall)
10. CF Joe Williams (225th Overall)
11. LHP Billy Gallagher (237th Overall)
12. SS Bill Ketchum (2673rd Overall)
13. 3B Jay Richardson (274th Overall)
14. CF Phil Ransom (275th Overall)
15. 2B Russ West (316th Overall)
16. SS Lee Wright (324th Overall)
17. RHP Walt Wilson (366th Overall)
18. RHP Tom Ballard (380th Overall)
19. RF Dallas Ratajczyk (389th Overall)
20. 3B Al Hall (417th Overall)
21. 1B Don Jones (447th Overall)
22. 3B Bob Webster (497th Overall)

No ranks from last year, of course, because we didn't join the teams when the offseason started, and there was plenty to catch up on. A good amount of these guys were ranked then too, but we did well with our draftees. Our first three picks all rank inside our top-10, including the temporarily #5 prospect Tom Brewer (dropped the next day when our sim ended), and 7 in the top-20. Ironically, it's our first seven picks, and almost completely in order. I can take credit for a few other of the ranked guys too, as improving Jay Richardson's defense got him in ranked consideration, and moving Lee Wright to short seemed to help his ranking. Little by little we are improving the depth, though best case we tap into some of it to make a big move.

[ayaghmour2]

I thought I could get over it. But I can't. I waited but it still hurts. Bill Bartlett was robbed. I'm stunned. Not only did he not win the Kellogg that should have been unanimous, but he had half the first place votes. Of Owen Drake. The same Owen Drake who didn't even lead all rookies in a handful of counting stats despite

And before you say "oh well Bartlett didn't play much," well yeah. Neither did Drake. Or you know, the other unanimous Kellogg winner. Lou Strader. He ranked last in PAs among qualified players.

Just like Bartlett was last in innings!

Award voters are dumb. Don't know what else to say. But somehow. Someway. The FABL leader in ERA, ERA+, WHIP, and opponent batting average lost the Kellogg to a guy who hit 17 homers and won a WCS. That's the completeness of his accomplishments. You can read all about the steal in TWIFS...

I guess I finally have to talk about our prospects...

LHP Tom Brewer (6th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 9th Overall (1975)
Alma Mater: Sag Harbor Whalers

Depending on the day he's #5 or #6. The history books say #5. The first sim said #6. #2 has him back at #5. I'm sure he'll be 6 tomorrow.

What there's no doubt of, however, is that Tom Brewer is a future ace. The talent is just off the charts. He's also not like any of our other aces, as while they are more command then stuff, Brewer has overwhelming stuff. And of course pinpoint command. He gets plenty of movement on his pitches and orders up grounders like they're appetizers, and if there were ratings turned on you know all the potentials would be blue. In an effort to speed up his development some, I sent him to improve his control in the dev lab, not because it's an issue, but because that might be the toughest part for him to fill out. His work ethic is outstanding, so I have no doubt he'll reach his lofty potential, and his stuff already looks leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of teen ptichers trying to make their name.

In the high-run environment of the UMVA, Brewer struck out 100 in 79 innings, finishing third in both strikeouts and K/9 (11.4). Above him were guys at least two years older, and Brewer also finished tied for 1st in shutouts (2), tied for third in wins (8), and 4th in WAR (2.7). Making 12 starts our top pick and prospect finished 8-3 with a 4.33 ERA (138 ERA+), 3.84 FIP (65 FIP-), and 1.56 WHIP. If I wanted to, I think we could have put him in Yakima, and that seems like a good starting point for him next season. Yes, he has a lot of work to do, but I want him getting innings as soon as possible, especially with a good dev lab showing. He already carries low development risk, but getting the command to average early will make it tough for him not to make it to Chicago. When it's all said in done, he should have four excellent pitches, little-to-no weaknesses, and all the markers of a legit ace. Really the only thing standing between him and greatness is the health of his left arm, one that Cougar fans will be pitting their hopes and dreams on, hoping that in three seasons he can join Bill Bartlett and Roger Alford in a fear-inducing three headed monster that would challenge the rotation of the Papenfus and Jones Brother days.

RHP Bob Hays (16th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 5th Round, 105th Overall (1974)
Alma Mater: Sag Harbor Whalers

Since Brewer is oscillating between 5 and 6, Bob Hays has to do the same between 15 and 16, but regardless of ranking we have ourselves two young future aces with more talent then you can imagine. A heist in the 5th of last year's draft, Hays was actually a teammate of Brewer's for two seasons. If all goes well, that tiny New York school will produce two aces, and FABL organizations would be foolish not to send scouts their way for the foreseeable future.

Ironically, despite being older and with more experience, Hays is probably more raw then Brewer, but it does make sense considering what was expected from them. While still a prospect out of high school, Hays was more a back, maybe middle rotation guy, while Brewer was always an ace. They do share similar work ethic, which allowed Hays' initial breakout, and he does have areas where he's the better pitcher. Hays both throws harder now (91-93) and likely in the future (94-96), and while I can't say his stuff is clearly better, he gets a comparable amount of whiffs. The stuff is still very raw, and may not be elite like Brewer's, but he can match the movement. It also seems like Hays can pitch deeper into games even if pitch counts are low in Low-A. He was efficient, 12-1 with a 2.18 ERA (172 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts, tossing 103.1 innings in 17 starts. Likely ticketed for Rockford next year, he has a chance to really be unleashed, and if he can work his way up to AA, there's an outside chance for a '77 debut. My guess is he and Brewer will come up in '78, and it would be a perfect story to have the two former schoolmates debut around the same time.

SS Carl Carroll (31st Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 5th Round, 105th Overall (1974)
Alma Mater: Fort Worth Saints

Our highest ranked position player prospect, Carl Carroll leaped up our system this season, as his bat carried him from Yakima to Memphis. Most of the was at the two A-balls, finishing his year with 19 games in AA. He head 66 hits at both Yakima and Rockford, with batting lines of .282/.382/.427 (122 OPS+) and .301/.407/.434 (132 OPS+), and between the three spots he was worth 7.6 WAR in 132. It came with 83 runs, 21 doubles, 8 triples, 11 homers, 62 RBIs, 87 walks, and 15 steals. On defense, he produced a 21.7 zone rating (1.093 efficiency), providing above average offense and defense at short. A true two-way player, he's now positioned himself to have a chance to debut before 20. I don't think it will happen before June 25th, but I also didn't expect him to make it to AA, but he kept hitting and hitting and hitting. His personality is ideal, labeled a man with the "perfect skill set to succeed on and off the field." I'm hoping to boost his bat-speed over the offseason, but even as is he projects to be an above average hitter and fielder. Paired with top-of-the-scale speed, an outstanding arm and range, and great work ethic, it's hard to find a way for him to fail. At worst he's a late inning pinch runner who stays for defense, and at best he's Tom Lally with more speed and less power. I don't want to rush him, but if Tom Halliday isn't performing and he is, Carroll could secure a starting job and not let go. Otherwise, expect him ranked highly and in AAA next season, as last year's 2nd Rounder will not leave this organization unless, say Tom Lally, was the guy he returned.

Yeah, yeah, I can dream.

RHP Ed Thompson (87th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 57th Overall (1975)
Alma Mater: Cazenovia Lakes

While a lot of our prospects have perfect makeup, this year's 3rd Rounder Ed Thompson is not one of them. The guy I wish we could hand hold throughout the decision, he doesn't make the right ones, and seems like a guy who needs strong leadership. Lucky for him, when you have talent people make concessions, and my third rounder definitely has the talent. It didn't show in La Crosse, as unlike Tom Brewer he looked overmatched. In 8 starts he had an inflated 7.20 ERA (83 ERA+) and 6.65 FIP (113 FIP-), walking more batters (33) then he struck out (26). His 2.14 WHIP looked like an ERA, and none of his five pitches did much of anything. Sadly, the stuff isn't ever going to be a strength, and I'm not sure that's something I can fix in the lab. We'll need to rely on our coaching staff and leadership to get through to him. OSA thinks he can be an ace, and I'd love that scenario, but for that to happen it will all be about his control. It's got a lot of developing to go, but with enough good influences and true talents, I'm hope we can turn him into something by his 24th birthday.

Or trade him for a big leaguer! Not sure if he's eligible as a recent draftees, but he's one of our few major prospects that I'd feel comfortable trading, and pitching prospects always bring back a ton of value.

C Henry Griten (127th Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 9th Overall (1975)
Alma Mater: Sag Harbor Whalers

He dropped a bit in the prospect rankings, as 1974 6th Rounder Henry Girten went from inside to outside the top-100. Still #5 in our system, he spent all year in La Crosse, and is one of three talented young catchers we are lucky to have. 20 in March, he's a solidly above average defender, and that alone should get him to no worse then a backup role. His nice swing would lead you to believe that he'll be a good hitter, but you can't expect much power. His eye is solid, but not spectacular, and he's not going to hit for a high average, but the floor is low. He should be at least average in all facets of the game, and when you do all that as a catcher, that's pretty good. He does have plenty of competition, but as the youngest of our options, he has the most room to grow. There's plenty of work, he hit just .284/.404/.438 (90 OPS+) in 261 PAs, but he's a good kid who does his job, and could be another useful trade piece if I find someone I really like.