Chicago Cougars (FABL) - Page 18

ayaghmour2 · 01-29-2021, 11:51 AM

Baseball is back Cougar fans! After a disappointing 1934 season that saw us spend most of the season double digit games out of first place, I'd like to say that 1935 will be much different. But I can't... Maybe if Tommy Wilcox was healthy I'd convince myself to run a modified four man rotation and potentially we could compete, but that is not the case. I'd be lucky if he pitched a single inning this entire season. There is a lot of hope for optimism, as our farm system is better then ever and ranked as the gem of the FABL. Finally, some of the better prospects are approaching the majors too. Rich Langton and Ray Moore both got to AAA last season and Leo Mitchell is expected to join them. Most of the pitching and a few of the hitters like Billy Hunter are still years off, but I added big league ready talent too in Hank Spencer, Ollie Page, Chink Stickels, and Bert Wilson who could help the team this year. Still, a lot of the same faces from the lineup returns.

I have a full 40 man roster, so I'll get to bring up to 20 non roster guys. I won't cover everyone coming up, but I am bringing up top prospects Leo Mitchell, Rich Langton, Carlos Montes, and Ray Moore. In total, we'll have 54 players in camp. We also got good news on the Tommy Wilcox front, and he should be able to begin throwing again in four months. After a rehab assignment, perhaps he'd be ready for a late season pennant race in August or September. My scout still likes him and he still ranks as the 5th best FABL pitcher, so perhaps he'll be able to survive this awful injury. I'm hoping for the best, but still preparing for the worst.

I won't be using as many backups as usual as I do have some positions to work out. With seven games this week I'm going to use seven starting pitchers. Ideally I'll give each of my top three a start a week so they can get ready for the season. Then in the lineup, I'll be teaching Joe Masters first base and giving Tom Taylor as many reps as possible out in center. Bill Ashbaugh and Russ Combs will share time at second while Ollie Page and Pete Asher will get time at short. They will also play a little second with Ashbaugh getting some reps in the outfield or at third. I'll also give a starts to Mitchell, Langton, and Montes as well. I'm excited to be playing fake baseball again, and ready for another exciting season.

ayaghmour2 · 02-01-2021, 01:29 PM

It was an okay 4-2 week to start the season, but there were a few concerns. The first being our temp ace Dave Rankin allowed 6 hits, 3 walks, and 8 runs in just a singe inning in our first game of the week. The rest of the starts went pretty well, with just Hank Spencer having a little trouble. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs with 2 strikeouts in his 4 innings. Dick Leudtke had the best start, 4.1 with 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Dick Lyons went 4 with 3 hits, a run and strikeout. Dick Reid went 4 with 2 hits, a run, and a walk. Dick Sexton went 4.1 with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. We also had two potential starters make multi inning relief appearances as Ace McSherry and George Johnson threw 5 and 4.2 innings a piece. McSherry allowed 4 hits, a run, and 2 walks while Johnson allowed 2 hits, a run, and a walk with 2 strikeouts.

On the bat side, Pete Asher had a strong first week as a Cougar, going 5-for-11 with a double and 3 RBI's. Slim Bloom was 5-for-9 with 2 walks, 2 RBI's, and 3 doubles. Mike Taylor was 5-for-13 with 5 walks and 6 RBI's. Lou Kelly, Doc Love, and Joe Masters didn't hit that great, but had a homer a piece. Non-roster Invitee Howard Moss made just six trips to the plate, but he walked twice and launched two homers. Top prospect Leo Mitchell hit a homer and walked twice in seven PA's.

We have six games coming up this week so I'll run back the same six starting pitchers and continue to move the position players around. I'm really excited for Opening Day as I really want real fake games to start again as it feels like it's been forever.

ayaghmour2 · 02-02-2021, 10:54 AM

A rough 2-4 week after the nice 4-2 week and our Spring record is evened at .500. Mike Taylor had a strong week, launching a pair of homers while hitting an even .500 (6-for-12). Most of the bats hit well too, including John Kincaid's impressive 8-for-18 week with 2 doubles, a triple, and 6 runs both scored and driven in. Bill Ashbaugh got a minor sprained knee, going 4-for-6 with a double and RBI. His "platoon" partner Russ Combs was 4-for-9 with a solo shot. Looking at the part time guys, Carlos Montes and Rich Langton went 5-for-15 with a walk and RBI. Leo Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored. Chink Stickels, Ralph McLean, and Howard Moss combined to go 6-for-14, with McLean, the likely backup catcher, 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI, and run. Unfortunately, Ollie Page was 0-for-9 with a walk and run, but with Ashbaugh missing a few games Page may get a few more opportunities, but, he's likely set to open the season in AAA now. Tom Taylor had a rough week as well, just 2-for-14 with 2 RBI's, 3 runs, and 2 walks. Lou Kelly was just 4-for-15, but he did double.

On the mound, three of my starters gave up 7 or 8 runs and then other three gave up 1 or none. Let's start with Dave Rankin, who shook off the first awful start well. This time around he walked one and allowed thee hits with 3 strikeouts in a four inning win over the Kings. Another guy who had an awful first start, Hank Spencer, was dominant. I was ready to send him down to AAA, but with just a single hit and 3 strikeouts in a four inning outing, he threw himself back in the mix. Dick Lyons almost repeated his first start, 4 innings with 4 hits instead of three, a run, and 2 strikeouts instead of one. The other three Dick's had awful outings, with Leudtke allowing 7 hits and 7 runs with 2 strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Reid and Sexton both allowed 8 runs. Reid went just 1.2 with 5 hits, 4 walks, and a strikeout while Sexton went 2.2 with 6 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I was really hoping both guys would have strong Springs, but Dick Reid has had a shaky first start and now awful second starts. He'll be bumped out of the rotation and will have to earn a pen spot.

With 7 games this week, I'll run with seven different starters. Rankin, Leudtke, Lyons, Spencer, and Sexton will all get another start, but I haven't decided on the last two. I'm leaning towards Gordie Thompson for one who allowed 4 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 5.1 innings out of the pen. George Johnson also might get a shot, he's gone 4.2 with 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 2 strikeouts in his only appearance. At the half way point I'm also sending a few guys down, but we still have 49 of the 60 spots full.

EDIT: Managed to keep Dick Reid in the organization. He was sent back to the Stars, but then I traded for his rights by sending them A pitcher Joe Cotton. I do like Cotton, he throws gas just like Reid, but a 21 he's still more then a few years out and I think Reid is maybe a season away from being a decent big league starter.

ayaghmour2 · 02-03-2021, 04:10 PM

A 4-3 week pushes us a game over .500 to 10-9. We're just a game and a half behind the Kings, Foresters, and Wolves who are all tied at 11-8. With just 5 games left, I'm sending all my non roster guys down to start setting up the farm system. Some of those guys had a really good Spring. Leo Mitchell showed he's ready for the majors, slashing .385/.529/.692 in 13 at bats with a homer and 5 RBI's. Howard Moss was 6-for-20 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's. That will give us 39 players to fight for 23 positions. Here is how things are shaping out:

Locks
Mike Taylor: 15-47, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 9 R, 11 BB
Joe Masters: 14-38, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB
Bill Ashbaugh: 8-30, RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, SB
Russ Combs: 9-27, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB
John Kincaid: 17-49, 11 RBI, 12 R, 4 BB
Pete Asher: 16-36, 9 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB
Doc Love: 15-48, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB
Tom Taylor: 12-45, 5 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 2 SB
Lou Kelly: 11-44, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 11 R, 7 BB
Dick Leudtke: 1-1, 10 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Dick Lyons: 1-0, 12 IP, 2 ER, 4 K
Dave Rankin: 1-0, 9 IP, 9 ER, 10 BB, 4 K
Don Grossman
(13 of 23)

Cannot be sent to AAA
Slim Bloom
Don Grossman
George Johnson
Ace McSherry
Chick Meehan
Dave Rankin
Mike Smith
Bert Wilson
Dick Sexton

Position Battles

The Pitching Staff
I plan on using a very unconventional pitching staff this season. There are a lot of uncertainties on what is going to happen this year plus the potential of Tommy Wilcox pitching potentially 4 months away, but at least for now, I'm only going to use 3 set starting pitchers. That will be Rankin, Lyons, and Leudtke. I will mix and match the remaining pitchers (whether that is 8, 9, or 10) between starting and relieving games. Some pitchers, like Don Grossman, will only pitch out of the pen, but I plan on keeping a lot of multi-inning arms on hand. I'd say Bill Kline is a favorite for a pen job as he's been a member the past couple of seasons and performed well. He's faired alright in Spring, allowing 20 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, and 8 strikeouts in a team leading 15 innings. Art Black has looked much better then he did last season, 14.2 innings with 11 hits, 5 runs, 8 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I wish Chick Meehan pitched a bit better, just 7.1 innings with 5 runs (4 earned), 6 hits, and a walk. He did strike out five, but the 37-year-old Meehan's time might be running out. Team leader George Johnson may get a spot because of the leadership, and he's allowed just 2 runs in 5.2 innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts. Of course, Johnson was beyond awful last year, but my scout thinks he's the fourth best healthy starter on the team.

One of the guys I really want to win a rotation spot is Hank Spencer, who I acquired from the Gothams in the offseason. He does have an option left and no prior experience, which looks to hurt him, but in his 12 innings he's allowed 10 hits, 5 runs, and 4 walks with an impressive 8 strikeouts. Dick Sexton, another guy I want to make the roster, bounced back after his really poor second start. He's struck out 9 in 11 innings, but allowed 13 hits, 9 runs, and 6 walks. Granted, most of that came in start #2 where he lost to the Saints. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with 3 hits and 2 punch outs. Other optionable players like Gordie Thompson, Norm Stewart, and Johnny Walker have had strong springs. Pete Walker and Pete Carey have had rough springs, and are likely on the outside looking in.

The Bench
I only have one catcher in camp now, 27-year-old waiver claim Ralph McLean, so while he technically is likely on the Opening Day roster, it may be a short trip as I expect to find a lot of catchers on waivers. He hit well when he played, 3-for-8 with a double and a pair of walks and RBI's. He's not a bad option for a backup catcher, so I don't need a replacement, but there could be more exciting players available.

The infield has a lot of open spots, but I don't think offseason acquisition Ollie Page will be one of them. It's been a tough Spring, as he went just 4-for-33. He did have a double and triple, but he's likely on his way to AAA. Joining him are likely Clyde Hinzman and Phil Vaughan. One infield bench spot is full because of the Combs/Ashbaugh platoon, but I can grab a few of Russ Franklin, Jake Moore, Woody Armstrong, Slim Bloom, and Forrest Sylvester. I'd say the leaders are Moore and Bloom, Moore because of his past success in Cleveland and Bloom because of his lack of options and homegrown status. Russ Franklin can play the outfield, which gives him a bonus, as I may only take four or five outfielders out of camp. None of the bench guys really have stood out, so I may just keep the guys I could lose.

The outfield has just one player without an option, former Rule-5 Pick Mike Smith. I want to keep him as a pinch hitter, as he has a nice .321/.372/.479 (120 OPS+) career line in 390 trips to the plate spread across five seasons. He can play all three spots, but he's really not that great defensively. Bert Wilson hasn't played much in the Spring, but I still plan on keeping him. He'll get more time this week and unless he flops, is likely set to join the 23 man roster. Independent league draftee Chink Stickels is likely tabbed for the minors as well, but he more then held his own despite really only playing one season at A ball. Last year's Rule-5 Pick Bert Harrison will head back to the minors to get back some development time and Ken Allen doesn't really have a shot. It's mostly a two man race between Smith and Wilson, and they'll probably both win it.

ayaghmour2 · 02-05-2021, 11:44 AM

Baseball is back! Again! The always insulting preseason predictions peg the Kings (98-56) the CA leaders, a game a head the defending champion Foresters (97-57). I can totally see that happening! Those teams are loaded with talent. I'd give Brooklyn the edge this season, but it's really a toss up and we should be in for another exciting pennant race. But, only Baltimore (53-101) and the Fed's Dynamos (67-87) are projected to win less games then us this year. Yikes...

Well, who cares what they think! I think this team is good enough to not make the playoffs, so who cares if we're third or seventh? Seventh would have been much nicer then third last year...

Anyways, without further adieu, I am proud to announce your 1935 Chicago Cougars:

SP George Johnson
SP Dick Leudtke
SP Dick Lyons
SP Dave Rankin
SP Dick Sexton
SP Hank Spencer
RP Don Grossman
RP Bill Kline
RP Ace McSherry
C Mel Goldenberg
C Mike Taylor
1B Joe Masters
2B Bill Ashbaugh
2B Russ Combs
3B John Kincaid
3B Jake Moore
SS Pete Asher
SS Slim Bloom
LF Doc Love
CF Tom Taylor
CF Bert Wilson
RF Lou Kelly
RF Mike Smith

A few new faces, including Mel Goldenberg, a backup catcher we acquired from Washington for Pete Carey on Opening Day Eve. For him, George Johnson, Hank Spencer, Dick Sexton, Joe Masters, Jake Moore, and Bert Wilson, this is their first Opening Day in a Cougar uniform. Sexton, Spencer, and Wilson are all first year players, with the latter two both ranked in our top 20 and baseball's top 150.

Our system still ranks #1 in baseball, but we're down to zero top 10 prospects. Leo Mitchell checks in at 11, and leads the 14 Chicago Cougar farmhands in the top 100. We have 27 in the top 201 (stupid Gene Evans...) and 42 in the top 500. We actually might see some of these top prospects this season, as Mitchell, Ollie Page, Rich Langton, and Chink Stickels all rank in the top 60 and have a 1935 ETA. So does 19-year-old Carlos Montes, but he won't be in Chicago again this year.

Despite much faith in the team, I actually am really excited for this season. It's time to open a new window, and I think I'm going to be seeing a lot of younger guys end their season in Chicago. I'll have the whole season to try to perfect my roster and I can "overmanage" without really hurting myself. I'd prefer not to lose almost 100 games, but maybe that means we get Rufus Barrell II...

StLee · 02-05-2021, 02:48 PM

Based on those preseason predictions, it looks like it will be a really rough year. Love and Rankins seem poised to do well, though. I like that you have a development plan in place if you are out of playoff contention. I also don't often see a team have a high rank in the minor report unless they have some top players, too. I always thought that was an OOTP bias of ranking the top 100 players per team instead of the whole system's worth of players.

ayaghmour2 · 02-05-2021, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StLee

Based on those preseason predictions, it looks like it will be a really rough year. Love and Rankins seem poised to do well, though. I like that you have a development plan in place if you are out of playoff contention. I also don't often see a team have a high rank in the minor report unless they have some top players, too. I always thought that was an OOTP bias of ranking the top 100 players per team instead of the whole system's worth of players.

Yeah, I think Doc Love should have another really good year just hoping he can do it both at home and on the road. Rankin will be making a ton of starts for us, but I can't see him reaching the 47 they project for him. Think he'll have a nice year with us too and I'm really looking for him and Wilcox forming a nice 1-2 next year.

For the system I think you're right, it only looks at the top 100 prospects. I think Baseball America, ESPN, etc. do similar things, but I wish OOTP would have it branch out to at least the top 200 or so. We do seem to have a nice group of the top 100, as with 16 teams the average team would have 6.25 and I think our 14 was best.

ayaghmour2 · 02-08-2021, 01:11 PM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 3-3 (t-3rd, 3 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 11 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .423 AVG, .984 OPS
Doc Love : 25 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .360 AVG, .970 OPS
Tom Taylor : 28 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .250 AVG, .883 OPS

Weekly Schedule
4-16: Win vs Wolves (5-6)
4-17: Loss vs Wolves (9-3)
4-18: Win vs Wolves (1-5)
4-19: Loss vs Foresters (13-3)
4-20: Loss vs Foresters (11-4)
4-21: Win vs Foresters (7-8)

Summary
We got to start the season with six games at home, and we split them evenly. Our opener was an exciting one, as despite being down 5-2 at the end of the fifth, we scored two in the seventh and one more in the eighth to tie it before a Mike Taylor walk-off single gave put us on a 162-0 track. We then dropped the second game 9-3 before winning the finale 5-1. We then had to welcome the defending champion Foresters to town. I thought we could steal a game with the 4 and 5 for them on the mound to start the series, but we didn't do much scoring and allowed double digit runs in the first two games. We decide to hit Dean Astle in the finale, putting up three spots in the 3rd and 6th. The Foresters got their pair in the 4th and 5th, but a huge Tom Taylor two-run single in the 8th game us an 8-6 lead we'd try to squander, but held on to.

Looking ahead we get a day off to start the week. It's a repeat of this week, but this time the location is flipped. We'll be in Toronto (3-3) for three and then Cleveland (3-3) for three. It's really early in the season, but we'll likely have to deal with their ace and budding star pitcher Bill Anderson and former 4th Overall Pick Chuck Cole and avoid former 3rd Overall Pick Bernie Johnson who just tossed a 3-hit, 2 strikeout shutout against the Sailors. Toronto's park is impossible for righties to hit any homers so I'm expecting to see a very low scoring series. Pitching is the strength of their team, and they usually don't offer to much offense. It's a far cry from Cleveland, who boasts sluggers T.R. Goins, Max Morris, Leon Drake, and Dan Fowler. The lineup is filled with other strong players including a personal favorite George Dawson, former Minutemen third basemen Charlie Berry, and rookie leadoff hitter Fred Quinn. The pitching is really good too, despite the tough start to the season for Dean Astle. He's likely set to pitch against us again, as we beat him in the finale. It's looking likely we may get stuck facing co-ace Eddie Quinn too.

Looking back to our first week, Russ Combs is back to his old self, suffering a mild hip strain on the 18th. Worst part is he was 3-for-3 with a double and RBI in that one. It only influences running and he still finished the week 5-for-10 with a double, walk, steal, and RBI. Since he's already alternating with Bill Ashbaugh, I'm not going to put him on the DL and hope that it will heal on it's own. He spends most of his time injured, so whether he was healthy or not, it would only be a matter of time before he got hurt again. And speaking of Ashbaugh, he was 6-for-13 with a triple and RBI in a strong opening week. Tom Taylor continues his power explosion, a league best 3 homers and 11 RBI's despite nine strikeouts and just a .250 batting average. Both second year Cougars Lou Kelly and Doc Love hit homers and combined to hit 20-for-31 with 11 RBI's while first year Cougar Pete Asher went 9-for-23 with 3 RBI's in his debut week.

We didn't pitch too well, as both two start pitchers Dick Lyons and Dave Rankin showed more bad then good while Hank Spencer's big league debut did not go as planned. Starting with Spencer, he got the unfortunate task of the defending champs, and allowed 12 hits, 9 runs, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 8.1 innings. At least there is nowhere to go but up, and he'll get another go around against the Wolves. Dick Leudtke, however, was excellent in his start and tossed a complete game with 6 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts in the win. He'll make a start against both teams this week and is scheduled to duel top 25-year-olds Chuck Cole and Dean Astle. Stopper Don Grossman had a rough week, 8 hits and 6 runs in 1.2 innings in a loss to the Wolves and 4 hits and 4 runs in a third of an inning in a loss to the Foresters. It's been a nightmare week for our stopper coming off a dominant rookie season.

The minor league season starts tomorrow and I'll probably get a minor league report in on Wednesday after we get a handful of games in. In transactional news we're set to lose at least Chick Meehan (Chiefs) and Phil Vaughan (Kings) on waivers. Should be nice for these guys to get a better shot at playing time. I made a claim of my own on a former Cougar prospect that I'm hoping to get as minor league depth.

ayaghmour2 · 02-09-2021, 11:41 AM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 6-6 (5th, 3.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Kincaid : 27 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .370 AVG, .824 OPS
Joe Masters : 24 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .292 AVG, .974 OPS
Tom Taylor : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .346 AVG, .875 OPS

Weekly Schedule
4-23: Loss at Wolves (4-5)
4-24: Loss at Wolves (4-5)
4-25: Loss at Wolves (3-6)
4-26: Win at Foresters (12-6)
4-27: Win at Foresters (7-5): 12 innings
4-28: Win at Foresters (2-0)

Summary
So we swept the Foresters and got swept by the Wolves? I sort of expected the opposite... Out in Toronto the bats were silent. After a pair of 5-4 losses at the hands of Chuck Cole and Bill Anderson, the Wolves doubled our run total in a 6-3 win for the sweep. The Foresters series was shockingly so much better. Riding a four game losing streak, we piled on 17 hits and 12 runs in a 12-6 win in the opener. The middle game was much more exciting, as we needed 12 innings to determine a winner. From the 8th on, Don Grossman and Bill Kline combined to toss five scoreless with 4 hits and 2 walks in a 7-5 12 inning win. Bill Ashbaugh didn't start the game, but he pinch hit for Mike Taylor in the 12th and his two run double won us the game. Dave Rankin was brilliant in the finale, and on the shoulders of his 4-hit, 2 walk, 5 strikeouts shutout we swept the defending champion Foresters in Cleveland.

I should have mentioned this yesterday, but on Opening Day we sold 23,017 tickets. Not sure what our highest is, but it's pretty close to our 28,450 capacity at the North Side Grounds. We are back home now for a three game series with the Philadelphia Sailors. They're 8-4 to start the season and sitting in second place despite the struggles of Ace William Jones. Doc Newell, a trade target of mine in the offseason, has gotten off to a great start in Cleveland where he tossed a 4-hit shutout of his own. We'll likely see him, and southpaws Russ Reel and Herb Flynn. This is the back three in their rotation, so they could potentially skip Flynn and go to Jones. The offense isn't too potent, but they got a corner outfielder Curt Dickerson who reminds me a lot of Doc Love. We'll also get to see former Cougar Mack Deal who's off to a nice start to the season. He's got 2 homers, 2 steals, and 11 RBI's and a nice .282/.326/.487 (119 OPS+) batting line. We're off on the second, but then head to New York for three with the struggling Stars. They're in last and just 3-10. John Lawson is off to a dreadful start to the season and Dave Trowbridge and Pete Layton are both having slow starts (by their standards). Rookie shortstop Larry Colaianni has already bashed two homers and drove in 10 with a .320/.370/.500 (128 OPS+) triple slash. The top two in their rotation is very strong, as both Gene Stevens and Lou Martino boast sub 3.00 ERA's. Both have made three starts and Marino has a 1.83 ERA and two of their three wins.

After a tough start in Toronto where he allowed 6 runs (5 earned) and 11 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings, Hank Spencer will be pushed to the pen for the week. Dick Sexton will start the opener and it will be his second big league appearance. He tossed two and a third hitless innings with a strikeout. He's set to go head-to-head against Russ Reel. Spencer wasn't the only starter who struggled, as Lyons and Leudtke allowed 16 runs (14 earned) in three starts (20.2 innings) while allowing 29 hits and 6 walks. Leudtke struck out 5 in 14 and Lyons 3 in 6.2, but both struggled to keep runs off the board. The second best start of the week might have been Rankin's first, 8 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in one of the 5-4 losses to the Wolves.

We only hit two homers, but the offense didn't look bad. Bill Ashbaugh and John Kincaid are running nice hit streaks, and went 15-for-39 with 7 RBI's. Ashbaugh played less (14 PA's), but doubled once and tripled twice. Tom Taylor didn't add any homers, but was 9-for-26 with a double, triple, and a pair of RBI's. Joe Masters was 7-for-24 with a homer and six driven in while looking alright at first. Part time player Mike Smith got a start, but also came of the bench four times and went 2-for-7 with a double, RBI, and walk.

EDIT: Forgot to add waiver claim information. Brooklyn got both Chick Meehan and Phil Vaughan. We got OF Joe Snider off waivers from the Cannons. He'll head down to AAA. The 29-year-old has hit .289/.327/.390 (94 OPS+) in 2,825 career plate appearances with the Stars and Cannons.

StLee · 02-09-2021, 11:49 AM

2-4 versus a team not expected to be good and 4-2 (with a sweep) against a team expected to challenge for the division crown. I also noticed three of the losses against the Wolves were only by one run each, so just having bats wake up a little more (home runs!) could put your team in a good early-season situation.

I would say that it was a successful two weeks so far vs expectations, even if your team is just 6-6.

ayaghmour2 · 02-09-2021, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StLee

2-4 versus a team not expected to be good and 4-2 (with a sweep) against a team expected to challenge for the division crown. I also noticed three of the losses against the Wolves were only by one run each, so just having bats wake up a little more (home runs!) could put your team in a good early-season situation.

I would say that it was a successful two weeks so far vs expectations, even if your team is just 6-6.

Yeah, the one run losses to the Wolves really hurt. At their park it's impossible to hit homers so if it was at home I'd expect a few more wins. But the sweep in Cleveland definitely has me excited and after the way last season started, definitely a successful first couple weeks.

ayaghmour2 · 02-10-2021, 01:39 PM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 9-9 (5th, 4 GB)
Stars of the Week
Tom Taylor : 29 AB, 14 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .483 AVG, 1.121 OPS
John Kincaid : 26 AB, 12 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.171 OPS
Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .423 AVG, .926 OPS

Weekly Schedule
4-29: Loss vs Sailors (12-4)
4-30: Loss vs Sailors (7-3)
5-1: Loss vs Sailors (12-1)
5-3: Win at Stars (10-4)
5-4: Win at Stars (10-2)
5-5: Win at Stars (8-5)

Summary
Almost the exact same outcome as last week, as we got swept and then proceeded to do the sweeping. The Sailors series was just a nightmare and the pitching was awful. If we took all our runs and combined them to one game, it's just enough to force extras on their worst offensive performance. We really seemed to wake up their struggling bats as they put up a pair of 12 runs showings. William Jones tossed a gem in the finale as he looks to get back on track for them and we just looked out of sorts the entire series. Luckily, after an off day and a trip to New York, the bats woke back up. We got 8 or more in each game with a pair of ten run performances to start the series. I'm hoping we can eventually get back on track, as there is nothing more boring then a consistent .500 week showing.

It's pretty clear the pitching had their struggles, but it was another strong outing for Dave Rankin. He went seven with 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in his only start of the week. Dick Leudtke and Dick Lyons both made a pair of starts, a rough one against the Sailors and a good one against the Stars. Lyons pitched better in terms of run prevention, but he allowed 22 hits in 13.2 innings. He allowed 8 runs (7 earned), 2 walks, and struck out 4. Leudtke went 14.1 with 14 runs (10 earned), 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Unfortunately, Dick Sexton's start was terrible, and he won't make another this week. He allowed 8 hits and 7 runs with a walk and 3 strikeouts in just 3 innings. Hank Spencer won't replace him, allowing 12 hits, 9 runs, and 7 walks with just 1 strikeout in 9 innings out of the pen. It's likely to be George Johnson, who's allowed 5 hits and a run with a walk and 2 strikeouts in 3.2 innings on the season. There's a full slate of games on the dossier this week, him, Ranking, and Lyons are set up to make two starts a piece with Lyons getting one. Hank Spencer has one more week to get his stuff together or he'll find his way down to Milwaukee.

On the offensive side, most of the bats were working. For the week, John Kincaid, Tom Taylor, Bill Ashbaugh, and Russ Combs all had OPS+ above 150 while Lou Kelly and Doc Love were both above 120. Taylor may have had the best week, slashing .483/.500/.621 with a homer, steal, 5 RBI's, and 8 runs scored. John Kincaid was comparable, batting .462/.517/.654. The Ashbaugh/Combs duo went 10-for-29 with a homer, 6 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. It wasn't all great, however, as Mike Taylor, Joe Masters, and Pete Asher had really tough weeks. The trio went 13-for-63, although Taylor homered and Masters drove in five.

Looking ahead, we continue on the road to Montreal. The Saints are 10-9 and sit a half game ahead of us. They've been really streaky, winning their first six and losing their last six on the season. Montreal is a pitcher's paradise, but ace George Thomas has had some issues atop of the rotation while still being their most productive arm. All five starters have below average ERA+, including rookie Augie Bertrand who I took in last year's Rule-5 Draft and released before Opening Day. They have a decent outfielder, with former Cougar Bobby Sprague, defensive superstar Pablo Reyes, and the bat first power/speed marvel Jim Watson. The lineup is pretty good, as it also includes young star infielder Hank Barnett and Vic Crawford. After that we'll see the last place Cannons for four in Baltimore. They're expected to finish towards the bottom, but have a nice 3-4 of Abel Man and former Cougar 3rd Rounder Jim Mason. Rookie and former 11th Overall Pick Ray Barnes is having a nice start atop the order, but the rest of the lineup has really struggled. The pitching isn't much better, although 1924 10th Overall Pick Dutch Leverett has looked good in a small sample. I think we can pull off a 5-2 this week, but I'm at least hoping for a winning sim.

Minor League Report
LF Nat Doane (C La Crosse Lions): Very few players have gotten off to a quicker start to the season then Nat Doane. The 1933 10th Rounder is hitting .472/.491/.736 (188 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 15 RBI's in just 55 trips to the plate. An outfielder by trade, he's been getting reps at first to keep his bat in the lineup as I wanted to try Melvin Salazar out in center over Dave Haight (looks like a corner outfielder) which means I needed to move Doane to a new spot.

C James Demastus (C La Corsse Lions): In 1930 I made the mistake of selecting the most obvious bust James Demastus in the first round. After two seasons in Class B, he just couldn't take it and is down to La Crosse at 23. But, now back at catcher, the bat decided to wake up this week. He went 16-for-23 with 4 homers and 14 RBI's in an absurdly impressive week that earned him UMVA Player of the Week. Demastus may never get above A ball and a week like this may never happen again, but back when I drafted him I thought he'd be doing this in the majors (or at least AAA), not still in the lowest level of our system.

ayaghmour2 · 02-11-2021, 06:15 PM

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 13-12 (4th, 3.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.199 OPS
Doc Love : 31 AB, 10 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .323 AVG, .998 OPS
Dave Rankin : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 7 BB, 6 K, 2.00 ERA

Weekly Schedule
5-6: Win at Saints (6-4)
5-7: Win at Saints (8-0)
5-8: Loss at Saints (3-5)
5-9: Loss at Cannons (5-6)
5-10: Loss at Cannons (4-5)
5-11: Win at Cannons (12-4)
5-12: Win at Cannons (12-5)

Summary
Over .500! I wanted 5-2, but I guess 4-3 is okay. The Kings just won the CA after adding Al Wheeler and Frank Vance, so we'll be on a quest for second the rest of the season anyways. We sandwiched the losses in the middle, but considering all the games were on the road, we still managed to score a lot of runs. Our road trip ends in Brooklyn, where we'll face the first place Kings for the first time on the season. As I mentioned, the now 17-9 Kings added two big bats Al Wheeler and Frank Vance in a big trade with the Dynamos (they also got pitcher Jack Beach) to an already potent offense. Both John Langille and Harry Barrell are hitting over .385 and just Jake Shadoan (.272) and Bill May (.279) sit below .300. This reminds be a lot of some of our old offenses. Our offense this year was arguably better (or at least comparable) before the trade, but they added a pair of top 10 hitters (including a Decatur kid I really wanted...) to an already strong offense. They also have a really good pitching staff, but the former Cougar first rounders Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy regressed a little to start the season. We won't see Tom, but we're likely to see Mike and Joe Shaffner, who's off to a really hot start to the season. Jack Beach may end up replacing Ken Carpenter, the struggling #4. We'll head home after the finale so we can spend the off day at home. We'll host the last place Stars who are seeing John Lawson start to heat up. Things aren't doing well for them, as they sit last at 9-18 and eight and a half out of first. Ace Lou Martino does own the league's second best ERA at 2.16. We'll likely have to deal with him in one of the four games, but I'm hoping we avoid Gene Stevens, the only other decent arm this year as Chicagoan Les Zoller has really struggled.

Looking back at our week, despite being on the road, Doc Love launched three homers and drove in ten while slashing .323/.353/.645 for the week. All three of the homers were in Baltimore, including a pair in an impressive 3-for-5 performance on the 11th. In the 12-4 win he drove in four and scored three times. It was in defense of Dave Rankin, who picked up his second win of the week. He went all nine and allowed 7 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in the complete game win. His first start was better, a 6-hit shutout with 4 walks and strikeouts in an 8-0 win over the Saints. The now 29-year-old Rankin has really started the season off well, going 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA (156 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 20 walks, and 25 strikeouts. The workhorse is on pace to make 43 starts and already has seven on the season. I'm gong to dial back the four man rotation a bit, but Rankin will almost certainly pitch every fourth day if possible. Another guy with a really good week was Lou Kelly, who went 12-for-26 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 7 RBI's. After a rough first season in Chicago, Kelly is leading the Continental Association with a .416 batting average. The power isn't there yet, just two homers on the season, but my scout is convinced he has 35 homer potential.

Trade
It's not as big as the Brooklyn trade, but I sent recently claimed Chick Meehan and minor league 2B Homer Ray to the Dynamos for veteran starter Wayne Robinson. Since debuting in 1921, he's started 390 games and thrown 3,132.1 innings pitched. He's 187-162 with a 3.91 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 733 walks, and 1,075 strikeouts. 37 at the end of the year, he's on a nice four year run and I think I can get a season or two out of him. He's maintained his velocity well and with him as our four until Wilcox gets back, I think we may actually be able to make a late season push. Robinson has had an above average ERA+ the last four seasons including a 131 in 1933. The main piece we gave up was Ray, a 3rd Round Pick from the 1931 draft. He's off to a nice start to the season in Mobile, batting .324/.377/.465 (118 OPS+) with a homer and 17 RBI's. He's sort of blocked in our system, but for Detroit, he's now their #1 second base prospect and #4 in their system. There's not much ahead of Ray in the minors, so he could be the Dynamos stating second basemen at the end of the season.

Pitching
The pitching has still had it's struggles, and Dick Lyons' nightmarish start to the season continues. He allowed 5 in 6.1 and 8 in 2.2 as his ERA has ballooned to 7.40 on the season. His WHIP is now almost double his 1933 value at 2.13. I think I've been working him a little too hard, and will begin to dial it back a bit. Same for Dick Leudtke, who was roughed up in his only start. He allowed 6 on 12 hits in a 5 inning showing. Leudtke had a tough 1934, and things have continued to trend in the wrong direction. It's early, but he's got a 5.53 ERA (85 ERA+) and 1.51 WHIP with again more walks (13) then strikeouts (10). George Johnson and Dick Sexton will both jockey for the five spot in the rotation.

Offense
Most things on offense have been good, but Joe Masters, Mike Taylor, and Pete Asher, all lefties, have had their struggles. Masters is hitting a measly .220/.248/.380 (59 OPS+), Taylor .222/.314/.344 (68 OPS+), and Asher .281/.327/.326 (68 OPS+). Masters hasn't been himself since the trade with the Chiefs and Mike Taylor was in a funk all last season. At least in Asher's case, I knew he would never really hit much, and he's played well defensively. I'm still hoping for a lot more from Masters and Taylor who have both been elite hitters at times. They both boast excellent power, but are limited to just two a piece so far. Tom Taylor has come back down a bit, but he's still hitting a nice .330/.379/.487 (121 OPS+) with 4 homers, 2 steals, and 23 RBI's. What's more impressive is the work out in center, where he's got a +2.5 zone rating and 1.009 efficiency early on. He's still learning the position, but has looked really strong out in center. He's no Cy Bryant, but he's definitely been more then capable of center. John Kincaid saw his 20 game hit streak end, but he still has a nice .342/.383/.468 (117 OPS+) batting line to start the year. The 30-year-old third basemen now ranks 3rd at the position and 17th in the league. He's the first Cougar to join the top batters list this season, joining pitchers Tommy Wilcox and Dave Rankin.

Minor League Report
SS Billy Hunter (A Lincoln Legislators): Currently ranked as the 12th best prospect in the league, Billy Hunter just got the call to Lincoln. After hitting .279/.351/.500 (135 OPS+) with a homer and 8 RBI's in 77 trips to the plate. In parts of three seasons with San Jose, the 20-year-old hit .301/.340/.457 (109 OPS+) with 10 homers and 81 RBI's in approximately a full season. Hunter is looking strong as a defender and profiling as a future top of the line shortstop. I still think he's a few years out, but I can't wait until he's about 22 or 23 and crushing big league pitching.

LF Dave Haight (C La Crosse Lions): It was a huge day for 1932 13th Rounder Dave Haight who managed to go 6-for-6 in an 11-1 La Crosse win over the Waterloo Chiefs. Haigh doubled twice and scored twice and continued his strong start to the season. He's hitting .388/.435/.529 (129 OPS+) with 2 homers, 14 RBI's, and 7 steals. I did start him at center, but I do think left is the position for him. And if he keeps hitting the way he is, he's likely to find himself in San Jose in no time.

ayaghmour2 · 02-12-2021, 02:49 PM

Before starting, we do have a league opening to fill. Anyone looking to join in on the fun can take over the defending champion Cleveland Foresters. Lot's of really enviable talent there, including one of my personal favorites 24-year-old star shortstop George Dawson, former Cougar farmhand and 25-year-old ace Dean Astle, another top 10 arm Eddie Quinn, and superstars bats T.R. Goins, Max Morris, Leon Drake, Charlie Berry, and Dan Fowler.

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 15-16 (4th, 7 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 24 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .542 AVG, 1.551 OPS
Doc Love : 23 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .391 AVG, 1.003 OPS
John Kincaid : 26 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .308 AVG, .758 OPS

Weekly Schedule
5-13: Loss at Kings (3-7)
5-15: Loss at Kings (6-7): 10 innings
5-15: Loss at Kings (3-4)
5-17: Win vs Stars (6-8)
5-18: Win vs Stars (8-9)
5-19: Loss vs Stars (7-1)

Summary
Should I really be surprised we got swept by the Kings? It does suck, of course, but considering two of the games were determined by just one and one went to extras, it's pretty impressive for a road series against arguably the best team in the FABL by a wide margin. The off day in the middle was nice, and then we picked up two of three against the visiting Stars. The finale was really disappointing, as we let the Stars get five in the ninth, We also won the 9-8 game despite being outhit 20 to 13. Dick Leudtke should've been taken out after 8, as the Stars added 6 hits and 4 runs in the final frame. Still, Leudtke allowed 20 hits and 8 runs. He faced 45 batters and 44 of them put the ball in play (he walked Mike Mason to start the game).

Up ahead, the Baltimore Cannons come to town for three. They're struggling, 12-21 on the year and a game ahead of the Stars for last. We really need these wins here. We'll get to see both Bob Miller and Dale Dube who boast ERA's above 6.40. Miller's 7.52 is only slightly worse then Dick Lyons... At our home field, we should be able to pile on the runs off the Cannons staff. We may be stuck facing ace Dutch Leverett, who's 3-2 with a 3.44 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 20 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 55 innings on the season. Offensively, rookie Jim Mason is tearing the cover off the ball, slashing .377/.423/.507 (143 OPS+) with 2 homers and 19 RBI's. Abel Man is hitting .320/.367/.508 (127 OPS+) with 5 homers and 28 RBI's, the homers second in the CA. I'm hoping for a sweep and we need one in the worst way.

Following Baltimore is the Montreal Saints in the first year under a new GM. They're 15-17, but as usual, the offense has it's issues. They're 8th in average, OBP, slugging, OPS, WAR, wOBA, runs, hits, extra base hits, and base running. That's not to say they don't have good bats, as they have 23-year-old budding star Pablo Reyes who's the best defensive outfielder and potentially fastest FABL player. He's even hitting a strong .319/.358/.431 (113 OPS+) with 2 homers, 5 steals, and 14 RBI's. Rookie catcher Tom Bird is hitting an impressive .342/.490/.430 (151 OPS+) while on a 106 walk pace. Hank Barnett is off to a slow start, as his OPS+ has dropped below 100. George Thomas has allowed three runs in his last three starts, and the former 7th Overall Pick has started to turn things around. We'll likely face him in the opener, and he's 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA (122 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 15 walks, and 18 strikeouts. I'm not too worried about the rest of the rotation, and I think we might be able to get two of three here.

We do finish the week hosting the previously mentioned Saints. Brooklyn ranks top 3 in all offensive categories but extra base hits and are 14-5 in May. We might get lucky and face Ken Carpenter in the opener, who's got a 5.89 ERA (78 ERA+), 1.66 WHIP, 20 walks, and 25 strikeouts. Of course, the lineup is extremely scary too, as Al Wheeler and Frank Vance joined Dan, Harry, and Fred Barrell, Doug Lightbody, John Langille, and Jake Shadoan. I'll cover them a bit more next week since most of the series will be next week.

Batters
Most of the offense has been really impressive this season. If it wasn't for the pure fielding brilliance of Harry Barrell, a Cougar would lead the CA in batting average, homers, RBI's, OPS, and batting WAR. Technically, John Kincaid's 20 game hit streak should be #1, but somehow Harry Barrell's 19 game one is now. It's weird because in my monthly screenshot it shows Kincaid first, but he's not in top three anymore. Granted, Harry is currently at 19 and is hitting .401 so he should be able to leap Kincaid anyway. No one had as good of a week as Player of the Week Lou Kelly, who went 13-for-24 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 8 RBI's. Kelly is finally playing like the former MVP he is, slashing an astronomical .440/.486/.616 (179 OPS+) with 3 homers and 26 RBI's in 140 trips to the plate. He's even his walks and strikeouts at 12, but his defense out in right has been really poor to start the season. Crazy enough, this wouldn't necessarily be his best year, as he hit .355/.423/.637 (183 OPS+) with 40 homers, 119 RBI's, and an impressive 8.5 WAR in 1932. Fellow second year Cougar Doc Love also put together a strong week, going 9-for-23 with 4 RBI's and his CA leading 6th homer on the season. He's on pace to each 30 on the season, but his 32 RBI's are also a league best.

I am, however, beyond worried about Joe Masters and Mike Taylor. The former Chief is hitting a miniscule .203/.240/.364 (52 OPS+), albeit, with three homers, eight doubles, and 17 RBI's, but Masters has only managed 12 singles on the season and is stuck in a dreadful slump. Same goes for former King Mike Taylor who's .204/.306/.306 (56 OPS+) line is only a little bit better. Taylor has not been an extra base machine like Masters, but he's still been able to draw his share of walks. If we want to be taken seriously, these two stars better turn things around. Another struggling performer is Pete Asher, who will be getting a little bad news today. He's hitting just .264/.310/.340 (66 OPS+) to start the season, although he's matched his homer total from the last two years with a grand slam off Lou Martino in the crazy every ball is in play game against the Stars. Even with that, Asher is hitting just .264/.310/.340 (66 OPS+) and his defense hasn't been great. This means it's platoon time, as I'm bringing 25-year-old Ollie Page up from AAA to split the shortstop job with Asher. Page ranks 5th in our system and 32nd in the FABL, and while he hasn't hit much in 20 games down in Milwaukee, he's got one of the best gloves in the game. This marks the end of Slim Bloom's time on the active roster, as he'll be waived and DFA'd. I'd like to hold onto him, as Bloom is one of the few lifetime Cougars in the organization and he's been with the team since 1923. Asher will get more starts against righties and Page against lefties, but at least this first week they'll alternate starts.

Pitchers
With the addition of Wayne Robinson, Hank Spencer will head down to AAA to start more frequently and he'd enter the four spot in the rotation. Dick Sexton and George Johnson (who I just noticed had a batters faced limit and has unintentionally been used as the FABL's first opener) will pick up a start if needed. I've mentioned the pitching struggles, but no one has fallen as hard as Dick Lyons. Since opening day, he's allowed 10 or more hits in every start except one, 9 in 5 innings against the Foresters. In 8 starts he has an awful 7.08 ERA (66 ERA+) and 2.15 WHIP with 9 walks and 12 strikeouts. Dick Leudtke hasn't faired much better, 3-4 with a 6.39 ERA (73 ERA+), 1.70 WHIP, 15 walks, and 10 strikeouts as he continues his downward trend. Of course, there is a very big bright spot at the front of the rotation in Dave Rankin, who's pitching like the starter I thought I acquired last season. The 29-year-old has started 9 of our 31 games and gone 5-3 with a Tommy Wilcox-esque line: 2.99 ERA (155 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 27 walks, and 32 strikeouts. I'm hoping that with adding an actual #4 in Wayne Robinson (he could probably be a 3 or a fringe 2) should really take some stress off the rotation. Leudtke and Lyons can get more rest and Robinson is much better then what we've been throwing out there. He made an abbreviated start against the Eagles this week, going 4.1 with 6 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He's fully rested and ready to start the opener.

Minor League Report
SS Freddie Bennett (B San Jose Cougars): Fresh off a promotion from LaCrosse, one of my personal favorite prospects Freddie Bennett responded to the increased competition with a Player of the Week award. Bennett went 12-for-24 with a pair of homers and 8 RBI's in his first 7 games out of C ball. A very rare type of player, Bennett is an elite defender, excellent baserunner, and excellent power hitter, but for some reason, scouts don't think much of him and he ranks outside the top 400 FABL prospects. Still, this is a guy who had a 20/20/100 season last year and is off to a sparkling start this year.

RF Dick Earl (C La Crosse Lions): A level below Bennett, we had another Player of the Week in 21-year-old outfielder Dick Earl. Earl went 14-for-27 with 2 homers and 10 RBI's as he continues to tear the cover off the ball down in La Crosse. Earl is hitting .431/.512/.794 (207 OPS+) with 8 homers and 36 EBI's in his first 25 games. Unfortunately for Earl, we have a force start outfielder at every level above him with not much wiggle room. Of course, if he keeps hitting like this, it'll be impossible for him to stay down in La Crosse, and I'll likely move Elias Canady (who hasn't hit too great in San Jose) back down.

ayaghmour2 · 02-15-2021, 06:36 PM

Been writing my weekly recap on and off and then I see this:

Speechless

But finally in the good way

Is it too late to make a 1935 run?

ayaghmour2 · 02-15-2021, 07:06 PM

Tommy Wilcox
This wasn't the focus of the post when it started. I got all the way to searching my messages for scouting repots and minor leaguers to write a minor league report before I got the good news.

BUT TOMMY WILCOX IS ALMOST BACCCKKKKKKKKKKK

Fingers crossed, barring a setback, Tommy Wilcox will now be able to pick up a baseball in two to three weeks. A lot nicer then the two-three months listed last sim. Shoutout to Billy Gladwin and his outstanding arm healing ability (although somehow Dick Pozza broke the outstanding prevention too). If you don't know how good Tommy Wilcox is, he's just the 1933 Allen Award Winner who as a Cougar is 34-28 with a 3.39 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, 98 walks, and 201 strikeouts in 531.1 innings. As dominant as those numbers look, it does not tell the full story. It contains the worst 13 start stretch of his career where he was 6-6 with a 6.70 ERA (64 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 18 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 91.1 innings as I watched the Stars play .850 baseball while we played .845. I go much more in depth on our pitching staff towards the end, but spoiler alert, this may be the biggest upgrade possible.

Oh yeah, and you can check out the scouting report at the bottom:

I think he's going to be okay!

Okay, back to the other stuff:

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 18-20 (5th, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 29 AB, 16 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .552 AVG, 1.537 OPS
John Kincaid : 29 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .414 AVG, 1.086 OPS
Tom Taylor : 33 AB, 14 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .424 AVG, 1.004 OPS

Weekly Schedule
5-20: Loss vs Cannons (12-5)
5-21: Loss vs Cannons (12-7)
5-22: Win vs Cannons (5-7)
5-23: Loss vs Saints (14-8)
5-24: Loss vs Saints (8-7)
5-25: Win vs Saints (4-6)
5-26: Win vs Kings (2-3): 10 innings

Summary
Another disappointing week as we drop two winnable games to both Baltimore and Montreal. We looked awful against Baltimore, allowing 12 in both of the first two and still 5 in the win. Of course, the win came against there only good pitcher, Dutch Leverett who was outpitched by Dick Lyons in possibly his only good start of the year. 7.2 innings with 9 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), a walk, and 6 strikeouts is good for a game score of 52, one of just two starts above 30. Montreal got into some of the fun as well, piling on 14 runs and 25 hits in the opener. Fortunately, things got better on the weekend. On Saturday Wayne Robinson won his first Cougar start against the team that selected him in the 4th Round back in 1919. It wasn't a good week for him, but the 11 hit, 4 run (3 earned), 1 walk, 5 strikeout outing wasn't too bad as he managed every out in the game except one. The more impressive win was the crazy 10 inning opener in where the surging Lou Kelly and rookie Ollie Page put the team on their back. Both were 4-for-5, while Kelly doubled twice and Page drove him in both times. The final time came in the tenth off Ken Carpenter after a strong outing by the now injured George Johnson. His shoulder is tender and he's likely out for at least a week. He's pitched well for us in his 14.2 innings, working to a 3.68 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, walk, and 7 strikeouts.

Looking Ahead
So after somehow winning the opener, we have two more games hosting the first place Brooklyn Kings who are 27-13 and still holding first place. Things don't look good on the docket, as we have to face back-to-back Cougar first round picks Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy who of course, are killing it this year. Mike will start, and he's 7-1 with a 3.30 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 16 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 71 innings. He's won six straight starts and the most runs he allowed in a start was four. Reigning Allen Winner Tom Barrel is doing well himself, 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA (140 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 27 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 86 innings. New King Al Wheeler is off to a Lou Kelly like start, slashing .426/.492/.685 (195 OPS+) with 3 homers and 17 RBI's in 63 trips to the plate post-trade. Frank Vance hasn't hit as well, but the offense is amazing. Harry Barrell is trailing just Lou Kelly in the batting race and batting .396/.446/.503 (140 OPS+) with a homer, 24 RBI's, and the astronomical +12.8 zone rating and 1.235 efficiency at shortstop. Like us, they rank top 3 in most offensive categories, but of course, the pitching can actually get people out. I expect them to take both games.

After that it's off to Philly where we have to play three games in two games against the Sailors. At 22-17, they're four and a half back of the Sailors and will be rooting for us before they welcome us in. Doc Newell continues his dominant start to the year, 7-1 with a 1.83 ERA (242 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP, 11 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 69 innings. We might get lucky and miss him, but their entire top four is dominant. William Jones, Russ Reel, and Herb Flynn all have sub four ERA's, so only Chicago native Oscar Morse is easy to score on. Last year's steal leader Dick Williams only has 3 this season, but he's hitting a strong .258/.398/.430 (123 OPS+) with 3 homers and 15 RBI's. He's walked 31 times while striking out just seven times in a really strong season. I've long undervalued Dick Walker (one time I thought Bill Ashbaugh was much better then him I think), but this guy is really good for the Sailors park. It's hard to hit, but he's led the league in walks three seasons and when he's on base he's always a threat to run. He's swiped 148 bases in 1,030 games and the 28-year-old was just a minor league free agent singing that's blossomed into one of the most reliable hitters in the game.

We're off the last day of Month, and hopefully by then Lou Kelly's hitting above .460. The Wolves come to town for three and they've had a decent start to their year. At 20-18 they're tied with the defending champion Foresters for third. 1928 4th Overall Pick Chuck Cole has continued his breakout year. After a tough 1934, he's now 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA (143 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 25 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. It's made up for Bill Anderson's rough start, but Cole and Bernie Johnson have been reliable in the early going. They're also seeing a breakout from Frank Huddleston who's move to short and kept up with Doc Love for homers and RBI's most of the season. He's hitting .333/.358/.494 (127 OPS+) with 5 homers, 7 steals, and 32 RBI's. The 26-year-old has broken out after showing gradual improvement in each of his first five seasons.

Batters
So let's talk Lou Kelly: After he hit .301/.362/.458 (117 OPS+) with 16 homers and 109 RBI's in his first season with the Cougars, I was getting majors buyer remorse and even considered using him as a throw in for an Al Wheeler trade. Kelly decided that he just needed two seasons off, and has mashed to the tune of .461/.509/.675 (196 OPS+) with a crazy 1.184 OPS and 20 homers, 134 RBI, 10.1 WAR pace despite being absolutely useless out in right field. Kelly is a huge factor of our league best batting average, slugging, OPS, wOBA, and extra base hits and top three in everything but walks (8th...) and base running (6th). Kelly took home another Player of the Week this week, and as long as he manages no more then one less hit then out in the next four days, he'll bat .500 for an entire month. His May line is .505/.566/.784 with 4 homers and 26 RBI's in 24 May contests. The power is more apparent at home, but he also draws a lot more walks on the road. This year he's really done a good job changing his approach based on the stadium. He's not the only Cougar on a searing pace, as in the opposite corner Doc Love has mashed a CA best 8 homers with 38 RBI's and a .333/.362/.552 (127 OPS+) line. What's most impressive is he's hit more homers on the road (5) then at home (3). And while he has taken advantage of the V out in left center, most of his homers this year have been crushed out to right center. Love and Kelly rank 1-2 in RBI's in the early going.

And while not as flashy, all of Ashbaugh, Kincaid, Tom Taylor, and Combs are all sporting above average OPS+'s. In just under 100 trips to the plate, Ashbaugh has been the most impressive, hitting an impressive .349/.415/.578 (148 OPS+) with a homer, 2 steals, and 14 RBI's. With all of Joe Masters struggles, it's time for more Bill Ashbaugh at first base. He's less injury prone then Russ Combs, but still I know he's bound to get injured if I push him too hard. Combs' .361/.391/.422 (105 OPS+) line is solid too, but his defense has really started to decline. Taylor and Kincaid are both having nice seasons too, hitting .329/.376/.488 (116 OPS+) and .349/.392/.488 (120 OPS+). The identical slugging percentages are pretty funny considering Taylor's huge home run power advantage, but Kincaid has 16 extra base hits (including 11 doubles) and 25 RBI's with a fraction of the strikeouts (9 to 23). Taylor has 5 homers and 3 steals with 30 RBI's in a slight down year. The defense has still been dependable, with a +1.4 zone rating and 1.010 efficiency in his first full season out in center.

I won't focus too much on the bad, so the last little note for the position players will be on the impressive debut week of Ollie Page. As Pete Asher looked fine in his three outings, Ollie Page was cruising on all cylinders. He went 8-for-16 with a triple and 4 RBI's driven in. It's still early to pay much attention to defensive metrics, but you can't beat going 24-for-24 (10 PO, 14 A, 3 DP) with a 1.208 efficiency. I'll continue the alternating between the two shortstops, but I can see Page taking a little time away from Masters and Combs as the season continues.

Pitching
Note to self: don't mess with perfection. After a historic 1933 where the Chicago Cougars pitching staff had a sparkling 2.84 ERA (better then all but three pitchers this season) and the only sub 3.00 ERA of the human period. I thought we needed to improve the offense after blowing the dominant 2-0 championship lead because we could not score. A few (at least I thought) creative trades later I added a pair of top 20 hitters with serious pop and I thought we'd be repeating as CA Pennant winners. BUt fast forward a year and two months later, and the Chicago Cougars (granted, the Wilcox-less Chicago Cougars) have a (does double take) 5.76 team ERA?

Oh man...

Contributing to the issues are a very important of our rotation: Dick Lyons and Dick Leudtke. Lyons, the ultimate iron man, is enduring the worst season of his career, and this includes when he pitched for the worst pitching staff in FABL history. This we he improved to 4-2, but also improved his ERA and WHIP to 6.43 (74 ERA+) and 2.04. He's walked 10 and struck out 18 in 56 innings, ironically an improvement (albeit, slight) over his K/BB rates last year. Lyons sort of had a down year, depending if you prefer ERA+ (105, lowest since 1930) and WHIP (1.51, same story) or his WAR (5.8, tied career best from 1933). Leudtke, on the other hands, had by all measures his worst career season. The 1932 win, ERA, WHIP, and BABIP leader was 12-5 with a 4.64 ERA (93 ERA+), 1.56 WHIP, 78 walks, and 85 strikeouts in 234.2 innings. That was the least amount of innings for the durable late bloomer. Lyons isn't going anywhere, but perhaps Leudtke could be on his way out of Chicago if things do not turn around. With George Johnson's potential emergence (although he will hit the DL) and youngsters Dick Sexton, Hank Spencer, Art Black, and Johnny Walker all on the 40 and ready for the show. I'd also love to potentially add a young starter if I potentially move some of by batters if the season sours quickly.

The bullpen has also been awful (discounting Bill Kline), but I'm really sad about the struggles of Don Grossman. After a dominant season last year, he's completely fallen apart. He's 1-4 with a 10.70 ERA (44 ERA+), 2.32 WHIP, 10 walks, and just 2 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. He's out of options and I think he's too talented to risk losing, so hopefully the 6'6'' righty is just dealing with the worst 11 game stretch of his career. No one is really standing out in AAA, but Johnny Walker will join the roster for at least a sim. In 7 starts with the Blues he's 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts. Last season most of our spot starters really struggled, but at least Walker was 1-2 with a 4.97 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 15 walks, and 14 strikeouts in 29 big league innings. He's fully rested and will pitch the second game against the Kings. He's a good strikeout arm, so I'm hoping for the best. But when you consider how bad everything has been, it's not like he could do any worse.

Minor League Report
LF Henry Cox (A Lincoln Legislators): This. Dude. Rakes. I argued he had the highest power potential in the draft this year, and the 5th Rounder has mashed 11 homers and drove in 33 in 32 games. This may not seem all that impressive, but Cox turned 19 on March 18th. Sure, he's only hitting .227/.325/.508 (98 OPS+), but no Heartland league hitter has more homers then him. That includes 27-year-old Steve Studer who has nine (as does Chicago native Ross Walker) and multiple others almost a decade older then Cox. His glove is developing, but I think he can be okay out in a corner. I think he's got a bright future and could potentially be leading the league in homers a few times when it's all said and done.

3B Dick Voss (C La Crosse Lions): Recently added to the starting lineup, recent 18th Rounder Dick Voss has been on an excellent run. Including a 5-for-7 with a pair of runs scored and driven in on the 23rd, he's now hitting .385/.475/.662 (166 OPS+) with 4 homers and 23 RBI's in 80 trips to the plate. Selected out of Travis College, he hit just two homers as a junior, but he's already doubled that in less then half the trips to the plate. He's a terrible defender right now, but he's got a great eye and boasts a 12-1 walk to strikeout ratio. He's got decent contact hitter and I'm liking this power surge.

SS Tommy Wilson (C La Crosse Lions): While Voss has had the better overall numbers, Tommy Wilson was red hot this week and took home Player of the Week. He was 15-for-29 with 2 homers, 7 runs, and 11 RBI's in a really impressive week. The 19-year-old increased his batting line to .315/.380/.551 (118 OPS+) and doubled his home run total. He's drove in 25 and doubled 16 times (70 double pace) in 142 trips to the plate. He does strike out a lot, 24 already, but this is something he can work on. A shortstop naturally, he's been playing second with defensive whiz Ivan Cameron at short.

Tiger Fan · 02-15-2021, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayaghmour2

Is it too late to make a 1935 run?

Yes I think it is, You should focus on ‘36 now 😃

But great to see Wilcox is making a full recovery.

ayaghmour2 · 02-15-2021, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Yes I think it is, You should focus on ‘36 now 😃

But great to see Wilcox is making a full recovery.

Definitely think you're too far ahead. Three weeks could mean 6 or 7 more games to make up. Just ecstatic to see this instead of a setback and I can't wait until he gets back onto the field. And I thought all I had to be excited for was the draft pool!

ayaghmour2 · 02-16-2021, 08:04 PM

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 21-24 (5th, 9 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 28 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .464 AVG, 1.117 OPS
Lou Kelly : 28 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.089 OPS
John Kincaid : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.142 OPS

Weekly Schedule
5-27: Win vs Kings (4-6)
5-28: Loss vs Kings (4-0)
5-29: Win at Sailors (2-1): 10 innings
5-30: Loss at Sailors (4-6)
5-30: Win at Sailors (14-5)
6-1: Loss vs Wolves (14-2)
6-2: Loss vs Wolves (8-7)

Summary
Starting with the Kings series, Dick Lyons out dueled Tom Barrell and we won the series against the top team in the league. A big Doc Love 4-for-4 day including the go-ahead homer in the 8th. Unfortunately, the other Cougar Mike Murphy tossed a 6-hit shutout in the finale to avoid the sweep. After that we were in Philly where we continued to look okay. In a duel of pitcher's with ERA's above 7, it took 10 innings before we scored our second run of the game. And that was all it took. We split the double header (destroyed poor Russ Reel) and with an off day next things looked pretty good for the week. The Wolves were in town next and demolished us 14-2. The middle one looked like a win, but the Wolves got five unearned runs off Johnny Walker in the 8th, so we lost by one run...

Looking Ahead
One more with the Wolves and it looks like we'll face Bill Anderson in the finale. I'm not too excited for this one, as I've already conceded the sweep. We do face them again later in the week, but before that, we'll face the now second place Foresters who are starting to heat up again. They've won eight of their last ten and cut the Kings lead down to four. It looks like we'll miss Dean Astle, but we'll get the middle of the rotation with co-Ace Eddie Quinn, Lee Drouillard, and Roger Perry. And while Dan Fowler is struggling, T.R. Goins and Max Morris both have seven homers a piece and Leon Drake is up to six. We'll get to deal with my favorite shortstop George Dawson who's a big reason for their pitching success as well. They give up no hits or runs and the defense is as good as it is. This will be a tough series in the middle of a tough week as we're right back in Toronto with three games in two days over the weekend.

Oh yeah, and one week. That's Tommy Wilcox's injury duration. And his scouting report? "Wilcox is heavy on talent and can easily front a team's rotation. He has the stamina to be a true workhorse." I think this might be the 29th scouting report I've gathered on the 28-year-old since the day that should not be spoken of (July 9th) and even though every single one of them says good things I'm still worried that he's never going to be the same.

Batter of the Month
While he failed to hit .500, it was still a foregone conclusion that right fielder Lou Kelly would take home Continental Association Batter of the Month. At least in the human era, no batter has hit .500 for an entire month and Kelly is the closest to reach the seemingly impossible task. During his impressive May, Kelly hit .496/.551/.795 with 6 homers and 35 RBI's. He reached base 74 times in 29 games and he reached base in all 29 games (just two without a hit). His struggles last season were well documented, but the Pekin native is looking to run away with MVP. He's hitting .445/.488/.681 (190 OPS+) with 7 homers and 44 RBI's. He's almost half way to his homer total from last season and on pace to add 100 more RBI's before the season is over. He even has a triple crown chance, just two homers behind teammate Doc Love for the CA homer crown.

Batters
Lou Kelly wasn't the only one with a hot May as Doc Love launched seven homers and took the CA lead (9) and now enjoys a two homer cushion. He hit .355/.406/.597 and drove in 26 while scoring 25 in a strong month. He walked (10) more times then he struck out (4) and had three doubles and triples. John Kincaid had a good month as well, batting .361/.406/.549 (137 OPS+) with 21 RBI's and 33 runs scored. I was also impressed with Ollie Page, who continued his strong play with another good showing. In the 8-7 loss to the Wolves Page hit a two run homer off Berine Johnson, the first of his big league career. Ollie's off to a hot 13-for-32 start with 4 extra base hits and 6 RBI's.

There was a lot more bad as Mike Taylor has not hit since his buddy Tommy Wilcox hit the DL. I hoped the good news would make him happy, but more of the same from our struggling backstop. He hit a team worst .222/.300/.289 (48 OPS+) with a homer and 8 RBI's. Joe Masters hit a slightly better .206/.254/.346 (49 OPS+), but managed 2 homers, 21 RBI's, and somehow a steal. It's the first time he's stolen (or attempted) a base since 1932! Still, does not make up for how awful he was with the bat. Pete Asher also had a rough month, hitting only .236/.296/.319 (54 OPS+) with a homer and 9 RBI's. Finally, Russ Combs really cooled off after a rough start. He hit only .302/.343/.365 (78 OPS+) with a steal and 9 RBI's. He's going to start seeing more time go to Bill Ashbaugh.

I'm sad to see Slim Bloom go to waivers. He's one of the few Cougar draftees I held onto, but after going just 2-for-12 with a double off the bench, he lost his roster spot to Ollie Page. I'm hoping for the best for him, but maybe he'll get a starting job in Detroit eventually.

Pitchers
May was a nightmare for a majority of our staff, but Dave Rankin and somehow Dick Sexton got out unscathed. Sexton tossed 21 innings out of the pen in six games with a 3.88 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 20 walks, and 20 strikeouts. It's a lot better then his April where he allowed 8 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 5 and two thirds. I've covered the struggles of Leudtke and Lyons already, but let's talk about something good instead: Johnny Walker! He made two starts this week with 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs. He pitched all nine and struck out 6 in the 4-0 loss to the Kings and then 8 with 7 strikeouts in the 8-7 loss to the Wolves. With all the issues we have, starts like this are just what we need. He pitched Sunday, so he'll only get one start, but perhaps Walker may stick in the rotation.

Minor League Report
SP Ken Grosvenor (AA Mobile Commodores): An 8th Round Pick in 1930, it's been a windy road in the minors for Ken Grosvenor. After a tough 11 starts last season, he's looked much better this year. He made two starts this week, starting with a 9 hit, 3 strikeout shutout in an 11-0 crushing of the Chattanooga Reliables. The Reliables are the AA team of the Toronto Wolves, who have former Cougar manager Hank Leitzke in charge of the team. Start two was almost as good, another complete game win, this time with 9 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. In 10 starts on the season he's now 6-2 with a 3.69 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 19 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. He's managed to hold his own against the tougher competition, and perhaps he can work his way back into our big league plans.

RF Bobby Mills (A Lincoln Legislators): Fresh off a promotion to A ball, Bobby Mills already picked up a five hit game and got a hit in 12 of his 13 games so far. Ranked 14th in our system and 112th in the league, Mills has always boasted top level contact potential. He's hitting .377/.387/.508 (117 OPS+) with a homer and 7 RBI's. Mills doesn't have much power, but his approach at the plate is to put everything in play. He won't walk or strikeout very much, but Nutball has shown he was up for the challenge of a higher level. He's 21, but the former 6th Rounder could end up in the majors next season or the one after.

SP Pug Bryan (A Lincoln Legislators): After 6 strong starts in San Jose, Pug's next start will be up in Lincoln. He worked to a 2.73 ERA (158 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 4 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 33 innings with the Cougars. Now 22, Pug is likely on a fast track up to the big leagues as my scout thinks he's one of our most developed prospects. Bryan is an extreme groundballer who sits in the 87-89 range with his sinker and fastball. He mixes in a slider, change, and forkball as well and he's bound to rack up the strikeouts. I think the Charleston native has frontline potential and could be an integral part of our future rotation. If he keeps this up, he could be up in the big leagues next season.

RF Dick Earl (C La Crosse Lions): Despite getting hurt on the 25th, Dick Earl took home the UMVA Batter of the Month Award. Earl hit .453/.520/.811 with 8 homers and 37 RBI's. This season has been great for Earl, who's hitting .433/.503/.769 (193 OPS+) with 9 homers and 42 RBI's in just 157 trips to the plate. He's looked okay out in right and his eye and bat speed have really started to develop well. He'll be back in two weeks and then I'm hoping he'll shake off the rest and then move up to San Jose.

SP Walker Pearce: Remember him? A 2nd Rounder of ours in 1932, I grabbed the lefty with the 30th Overall Pick and he was named the #77 prospect in baseball on Opening Day. Last July he was one of the three pitchers involved in the Dave Rankin trade. He didn't pitch too well with the Class C Waterloo Chiefs, going 2-2 with a 5.97 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.86 WHIP, 17 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. He only started 3 of the 14 games he pitched and was then released by the new regime in January. He bounced around the independent circuit, but I was finally able to snag him has a free agent. He's still just 20 and I'll send him down to La Crosse and manage his innings.

ayaghmour2 · 02-17-2021, 03:17 PM

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 26-27 (6th, 9.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Lou Kelly : 30 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.108 OPS
Bill Ashbaugh : 18 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.373 OPS
Dick Luedtke : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.50 ERA

Weekly Schedule
6-3: Win vs Wolves (3-8)
6-4: Loss vs Foresters (11-0)
6-5: Win vs Foresters (3-6)
6-6: Win vs Foresters (3-5)
6-7: Win at Wolves (6-5)
6-7: Win at Wolves (1-0)
6-8: Loss at Wolves (1-5)
6-9: Loss at Wolves (1-6)

Summary
It was a busy week with more games then days, but with a four game win streak in the middle, this might have been our best week of the season. After avoiding the sweep at the hands of the Wolves, our old buddy Dean Astle tossed a 5-hit shutout and the Foresters destroyed us 11-0 to start the series. Lucky for us, the pitching settled down and former Forester Wayne Robinson allowed just 3 in the second game and Dick Lyons and Bill Kline 3 in the finale as we took both.

Just after hosting the Wolves, we had to head north of the border for four games in three days. The double header went well, as in the opener Johnny Walker pieced together his third straight start with three earned runs, all coming in the last three innings. Game two was even better, as Dick Leudtke showed signs of his former self. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with two punchouts in a complete game victory. We scored just a single run, coming in the second off a Leudtke RBI double. He pretty much was the only one who played in the game, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Unfortunately, since he didn't hit in either of the final two games, we didn't win either of those. We managed just one run in the 18 innings, including a 3-hit, 3 strikeout shutout by Chick Wirtz in the finale.

Looking Ahead
For the first time in 11 months, all world pitcher Tommy Wilcox will toe the rubber with a Chicago Cougar jersey proudly on his back. As bluntly as I could possibly be, we really missed Tommy Wilcox. When Wilcox went out last year, we had a team ERA of 4.08 and the starter's 4.32. It ended up 4.38 and 4.57. Not the biggest jump, but take a look at 1935: 5.35 and 5.25. Yikes... Unless Tommy pitches like he did with us in 1932, there's no way he can do any worse. To make sure his arm doesn't break, I will be using a six man rotation at least one time through, but he'll pitch our first game of the week against the Stars on Tuesday. We'll face the 21-33 Stars four times in New York, possibly missing ace Lou Martino who's scheduled to start Monday. He's the only Star with a sub 5 ERA, and the back three are all above six. In our rotation, just Dick Lyons has a lower ERA then anyone other then Martino (although Leudtke and Robinson come close to Gene Stevens). The Stars offense is actually really good, ranking top 4 in a variety of offensive categories. They still have star caliber players in Pete Layton and John Lawson, but behind him, there is not too much left in the lineup. Dave Trowbridge has started to slow down and shortstop Bill Rich is enduring a dreadful season at the plate.

After the Stars we stay in New York and head to Brooklyn for four with the Kings. Depending how things shake out, we could have round six of Barrell vs Wilcox on June 10th, but we're almost guaranteed to see Barrell, Mike Murphy, and Joe Shaffner in this series. At 35-17, the Kings are building their lead in the CA with the next closest (Cleveland) five and a half out. Despite the struggles of recent acquisition Frank Vance, the Kings have continued to cruise due to the power of their offense. Al Wheeler, however, has surged and hit 9 CA homers since the trade with a 208 OPS+. I really wish I went harder for him, but the Dynamos also wanted to move Frank Vance who I did not have room for.

I have zero expectations for this week, as all I care about is Tommy Wilcox. After nearly a year of hoping he'd be able to pitch again, he now can finally pick up a baseball. I don't care if he gives up 0 runs or 30 runs. I don't care if we win six or lose six. I just care that he's able to pick up a ball against next week. And the week after. And the week after that.

Yes, I know. I'm far too excited for a string of ones and zeros to be able to throw simulated pitches again. But it's Tommy Wilcox! In his last 54 starts, he was arguably the best pitcher in the entire FABL. Although now the scouting report is tormenting me: "Wilcox may be an overlooked ace, able to take the bats out of opposing hitters' hands. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to pitch deep into games."

Batters
I think Joe Masters is broken beyond repair. Ranked the 16th best first basemen in the FABL and hitting .197/.234/.338 (42 OPS+) in arguably the most hitter friendly park in baseball, the almost 36-year-old Masters is making me regret ever getting him. I never really wanted him, but the Chiefs insisted he was part of a Dave Rankin trade (who I really wanted) so I gave up more prospects then I wanted to. I thought it couldn't hurt adding a guy hitting .315/.380/.478 (151 OPS+) with 11 homers and 61 RBI's in 69 games. He hit a league average line with us to end the year, and now everything has just crumbled. I'd be ready to give up on him if Leo Mitchell was hitting a bit better in AAA, but Masters will still be given the shot to hit out of it. He's going to be pushed into a platoon with Jake Moore for now, but I think I'll make sure Moore gets two starts this week.

Some more Lou Kelly and Doc Love praise this week: Doc Love added another homer and is the first CA hitter to reach 10 on the season. He's slashing .348/.384/.555 (133 OPS+) with 43 RBI's. He's trailing just Lou Kelly for RBI's, as Kelly has drove in 52 Cougars already. Kelly hit just .333 this week, but he hit two homers and drove in eight. He's a homer behind Love now, but his .429 average still paces Harry Barrell by a wide margin. If it wasn't for the aforementioned Barrell's stellar defense, Kelly's 3.3 WAR would be a full point higher then any other CA player. Instead, it's second to Harry's 4.1. Bill Ashbaugh has also had a great start to the season, slashing .361/.418/.613 (156 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 23 RBI's in 136 trips to the plate. He'll never be dependable at second base, but I'm so glad to see the bat back. The undisputed captain of the team, the longtime Cougar is looking to return to his 1929 form and re-establish himself as a middle of the order hitter.

Pitchers
Wilcox isn't the only healthy arm, as George Johnson will begin a rehab assignment down in Milwaukee. It'll likely be a long one, as he's out of options and this will allow him to get built back up as a starter. I didn't expect Wilcox being back so soon, so now we have sort of a logjam. Our vets Dick Lyons, Dick Leudtke, and Wayne Robinson are all having their issues, but Johnny Walker looked strong in his starts. As mentioned, I'll be running a six man rotation this week, so all these arms will work to keep their spot.

Draft Pool
The pool was released today! I'm hoping to release a special little surprise tonight if I can get everything worked out. We'll start to get some amateur reports as stats were created for the 1935 season.

01-29-2021, 11:51 AM	#341
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Start of the Spring Baseball is back Cougar fans! After a disappointing 1934 season that saw us spend most of the season double digit games out of first place, I'd like to say that 1935 will be much different. But I can't... Maybe if Tommy Wilcox was healthy I'd convince myself to run a modified four man rotation and potentially we could compete, but that is not the case. I'd be lucky if he pitched a single inning this entire season. There is a lot of hope for optimism, as our farm system is better then ever and ranked as the gem of the FABL. Finally, some of the better prospects are approaching the majors too. Rich Langton and Ray Moore both got to AAA last season and Leo Mitchell is expected to join them. Most of the pitching and a few of the hitters like Billy Hunter are still years off, but I added big league ready talent too in Hank Spencer, Ollie Page, Chink Stickels, and Bert Wilson who could help the team this year. Still, a lot of the same faces from the lineup returns. I have a full 40 man roster, so I'll get to bring up to 20 non roster guys. I won't cover everyone coming up, but I am bringing up top prospects Leo Mitchell, Rich Langton, Carlos Montes, and Ray Moore. In total, we'll have 54 players in camp. We also got good news on the Tommy Wilcox front, and he should be able to begin throwing again in four months. After a rehab assignment, perhaps he'd be ready for a late season pennant race in August or September. My scout still likes him and he still ranks as the 5th best FABL pitcher, so perhaps he'll be able to survive this awful injury. I'm hoping for the best, but still preparing for the worst. I won't be using as many backups as usual as I do have some positions to work out. With seven games this week I'm going to use seven starting pitchers. Ideally I'll give each of my top three a start a week so they can get ready for the season. Then in the lineup, I'll be teaching Joe Masters first base and giving Tom Taylor as many reps as possible out in center. Bill Ashbaugh and Russ Combs will share time at second while Ollie Page and Pete Asher will get time at short. They will also play a little second with Ashbaugh getting some reps in the outfield or at third. I'll also give a starts to Mitchell, Langton, and Montes as well. I'm excited to be playing fake baseball again, and ready for another exciting season. Last edited by ayaghmour2; 02-08-2021 at 11:43 AM.

02-01-2021, 01:29 PM	#342
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training Week 1 It was an okay 4-2 week to start the season, but there were a few concerns. The first being our temp ace Dave Rankin allowed 6 hits, 3 walks, and 8 runs in just a singe inning in our first game of the week. The rest of the starts went pretty well, with just Hank Spencer having a little trouble. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks, and 3 runs with 2 strikeouts in his 4 innings. Dick Leudtke had the best start, 4.1 with 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Dick Lyons went 4 with 3 hits, a run and strikeout. Dick Reid went 4 with 2 hits, a run, and a walk. Dick Sexton went 4.1 with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. We also had two potential starters make multi inning relief appearances as Ace McSherry and George Johnson threw 5 and 4.2 innings a piece. McSherry allowed 4 hits, a run, and 2 walks while Johnson allowed 2 hits, a run, and a walk with 2 strikeouts. On the bat side, Pete Asher had a strong first week as a Cougar, going 5-for-11 with a double and 3 RBI's. Slim Bloom was 5-for-9 with 2 walks, 2 RBI's, and 3 doubles. Mike Taylor was 5-for-13 with 5 walks and 6 RBI's. Lou Kelly, Doc Love, and Joe Masters didn't hit that great, but had a homer a piece. Non-roster Invitee Howard Moss made just six trips to the plate, but he walked twice and launched two homers. Top prospect Leo Mitchell hit a homer and walked twice in seven PA's. We have six games coming up this week so I'll run back the same six starting pitchers and continue to move the position players around. I'm really excited for Opening Day as I really want real fake games to start again as it feels like it's been forever.

02-02-2021, 10:54 AM	#343
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training Week 2 A rough 2-4 week after the nice 4-2 week and our Spring record is evened at .500. Mike Taylor had a strong week, launching a pair of homers while hitting an even .500 (6-for-12). Most of the bats hit well too, including John Kincaid's impressive 8-for-18 week with 2 doubles, a triple, and 6 runs both scored and driven in. Bill Ashbaugh got a minor sprained knee, going 4-for-6 with a double and RBI. His "platoon" partner Russ Combs was 4-for-9 with a solo shot. Looking at the part time guys, Carlos Montes and Rich Langton went 5-for-15 with a walk and RBI. Leo Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored. Chink Stickels, Ralph McLean, and Howard Moss combined to go 6-for-14, with McLean, the likely backup catcher, 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI, and run. Unfortunately, Ollie Page was 0-for-9 with a walk and run, but with Ashbaugh missing a few games Page may get a few more opportunities, but, he's likely set to open the season in AAA now. Tom Taylor had a rough week as well, just 2-for-14 with 2 RBI's, 3 runs, and 2 walks. Lou Kelly was just 4-for-15, but he did double. On the mound, three of my starters gave up 7 or 8 runs and then other three gave up 1 or none. Let's start with Dave Rankin, who shook off the first awful start well. This time around he walked one and allowed thee hits with 3 strikeouts in a four inning win over the Kings. Another guy who had an awful first start, Hank Spencer, was dominant. I was ready to send him down to AAA, but with just a single hit and 3 strikeouts in a four inning outing, he threw himself back in the mix. Dick Lyons almost repeated his first start, 4 innings with 4 hits instead of three, a run, and 2 strikeouts instead of one. The other three Dick's had awful outings, with Leudtke allowing 7 hits and 7 runs with 2 strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Reid and Sexton both allowed 8 runs. Reid went just 1.2 with 5 hits, 4 walks, and a strikeout while Sexton went 2.2 with 6 hits, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I was really hoping both guys would have strong Springs, but Dick Reid has had a shaky first start and now awful second starts. He'll be bumped out of the rotation and will have to earn a pen spot. With 7 games this week, I'll run with seven different starters. Rankin, Leudtke, Lyons, Spencer, and Sexton will all get another start, but I haven't decided on the last two. I'm leaning towards Gordie Thompson for one who allowed 4 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 5.1 innings out of the pen. George Johnson also might get a shot, he's gone 4.2 with 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 2 strikeouts in his only appearance. At the half way point I'm also sending a few guys down, but we still have 49 of the 60 spots full. EDIT: Managed to keep Dick Reid in the organization. He was sent back to the Stars, but then I traded for his rights by sending them A pitcher Joe Cotton. I do like Cotton, he throws gas just like Reid, but a 21 he's still more then a few years out and I think Reid is maybe a season away from being a decent big league starter. Last edited by ayaghmour2; 02-02-2021 at 02:24 PM.

02-03-2021, 04:10 PM	#344
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training Week 3 A 4-3 week pushes us a game over .500 to 10-9. We're just a game and a half behind the Kings, Foresters, and Wolves who are all tied at 11-8. With just 5 games left, I'm sending all my non roster guys down to start setting up the farm system. Some of those guys had a really good Spring. Leo Mitchell showed he's ready for the majors, slashing .385/.529/.692 in 13 at bats with a homer and 5 RBI's. Howard Moss was 6-for-20 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's. That will give us 39 players to fight for 23 positions. Here is how things are shaping out: Locks Mike Taylor: 15-47, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 9 R, 11 BB Joe Masters: 14-38, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 9 BB Bill Ashbaugh: 8-30, RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, SB Russ Combs: 9-27, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB John Kincaid: 17-49, 11 RBI, 12 R, 4 BB Pete Asher: 16-36, 9 RBI, 8 R, 2 BB Doc Love: 15-48, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB Tom Taylor: 12-45, 5 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 2 SB Lou Kelly: 11-44, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 11 R, 7 BB Dick Leudtke: 1-1, 10 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Dick Lyons: 1-0, 12 IP, 2 ER, 4 K Dave Rankin: 1-0, 9 IP, 9 ER, 10 BB, 4 K Don Grossman (13 of 23) Cannot be sent to AAA Slim Bloom Don Grossman George Johnson Ace McSherry Chick Meehan Dave Rankin Mike Smith Bert Wilson Dick Sexton Position Battles The Pitching Staff I plan on using a very unconventional pitching staff this season. There are a lot of uncertainties on what is going to happen this year plus the potential of Tommy Wilcox pitching potentially 4 months away, but at least for now, I'm only going to use 3 set starting pitchers. That will be Rankin, Lyons, and Leudtke. I will mix and match the remaining pitchers (whether that is 8, 9, or 10) between starting and relieving games. Some pitchers, like Don Grossman, will only pitch out of the pen, but I plan on keeping a lot of multi-inning arms on hand. I'd say Bill Kline is a favorite for a pen job as he's been a member the past couple of seasons and performed well. He's faired alright in Spring, allowing 20 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, and 8 strikeouts in a team leading 15 innings. Art Black has looked much better then he did last season, 14.2 innings with 11 hits, 5 runs, 8 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I wish Chick Meehan pitched a bit better, just 7.1 innings with 5 runs (4 earned), 6 hits, and a walk. He did strike out five, but the 37-year-old Meehan's time might be running out. Team leader George Johnson may get a spot because of the leadership, and he's allowed just 2 runs in 5.2 innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts. Of course, Johnson was beyond awful last year, but my scout thinks he's the fourth best healthy starter on the team. One of the guys I really want to win a rotation spot is Hank Spencer, who I acquired from the Gothams in the offseason. He does have an option left and no prior experience, which looks to hurt him, but in his 12 innings he's allowed 10 hits, 5 runs, and 4 walks with an impressive 8 strikeouts. Dick Sexton, another guy I want to make the roster, bounced back after his really poor second start. He's struck out 9 in 11 innings, but allowed 13 hits, 9 runs, and 6 walks. Granted, most of that came in start #2 where he lost to the Saints. He tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with 3 hits and 2 punch outs. Other optionable players like Gordie Thompson, Norm Stewart, and Johnny Walker have had strong springs. Pete Walker and Pete Carey have had rough springs, and are likely on the outside looking in. The Bench I only have one catcher in camp now, 27-year-old waiver claim Ralph McLean, so while he technically is likely on the Opening Day roster, it may be a short trip as I expect to find a lot of catchers on waivers. He hit well when he played, 3-for-8 with a double and a pair of walks and RBI's. He's not a bad option for a backup catcher, so I don't need a replacement, but there could be more exciting players available. The infield has a lot of open spots, but I don't think offseason acquisition Ollie Page will be one of them. It's been a tough Spring, as he went just 4-for-33. He did have a double and triple, but he's likely on his way to AAA. Joining him are likely Clyde Hinzman and Phil Vaughan. One infield bench spot is full because of the Combs/Ashbaugh platoon, but I can grab a few of Russ Franklin, Jake Moore, Woody Armstrong, Slim Bloom, and Forrest Sylvester. I'd say the leaders are Moore and Bloom, Moore because of his past success in Cleveland and Bloom because of his lack of options and homegrown status. Russ Franklin can play the outfield, which gives him a bonus, as I may only take four or five outfielders out of camp. None of the bench guys really have stood out, so I may just keep the guys I could lose. The outfield has just one player without an option, former Rule-5 Pick Mike Smith. I want to keep him as a pinch hitter, as he has a nice .321/.372/.479 (120 OPS+) career line in 390 trips to the plate spread across five seasons. He can play all three spots, but he's really not that great defensively. Bert Wilson hasn't played much in the Spring, but I still plan on keeping him. He'll get more time this week and unless he flops, is likely set to join the 23 man roster. Independent league draftee Chink Stickels is likely tabbed for the minors as well, but he more then held his own despite really only playing one season at A ball. Last year's Rule-5 Pick Bert Harrison will head back to the minors to get back some development time and Ken Allen doesn't really have a shot. It's mostly a two man race between Smith and Wilson, and they'll probably both win it.

02-05-2021, 11:44 AM	#345
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1935 Opening Day! Baseball is back! Again! The always insulting preseason predictions peg the Kings (98-56) the CA leaders, a game a head the defending champion Foresters (97-57). I can totally see that happening! Those teams are loaded with talent. I'd give Brooklyn the edge this season, but it's really a toss up and we should be in for another exciting pennant race. But, only Baltimore (53-101) and the Fed's Dynamos (67-87) are projected to win less games then us this year. Yikes... Well, who cares what they think! I think this team is good enough to not make the playoffs, so who cares if we're third or seventh? Seventh would have been much nicer then third last year... Anyways, without further adieu, I am proud to announce your 1935 Chicago Cougars: SP George Johnson SP Dick Leudtke SP Dick Lyons SP Dave Rankin SP Dick Sexton SP Hank Spencer RP Don Grossman RP Bill Kline RP Ace McSherry C Mel Goldenberg C Mike Taylor 1B Joe Masters 2B Bill Ashbaugh 2B Russ Combs 3B John Kincaid 3B Jake Moore SS Pete Asher SS Slim Bloom LF Doc Love CF Tom Taylor CF Bert Wilson RF Lou Kelly RF Mike Smith A few new faces, including Mel Goldenberg, a backup catcher we acquired from Washington for Pete Carey on Opening Day Eve. For him, George Johnson, Hank Spencer, Dick Sexton, Joe Masters, Jake Moore, and Bert Wilson, this is their first Opening Day in a Cougar uniform. Sexton, Spencer, and Wilson are all first year players, with the latter two both ranked in our top 20 and baseball's top 150. Our system still ranks #1 in baseball, but we're down to zero top 10 prospects. Leo Mitchell checks in at 11, and leads the 14 Chicago Cougar farmhands in the top 100. We have 27 in the top 201 (stupid Gene Evans...) and 42 in the top 500. We actually might see some of these top prospects this season, as Mitchell, Ollie Page, Rich Langton, and Chink Stickels all rank in the top 60 and have a 1935 ETA. So does 19-year-old Carlos Montes, but he won't be in Chicago again this year. Despite much faith in the team, I actually am really excited for this season. It's time to open a new window, and I think I'm going to be seeing a lot of younger guys end their season in Chicago. I'll have the whole season to try to perfect my roster and I can "overmanage" without really hurting myself. I'd prefer not to lose almost 100 games, but maybe that means we get Rufus Barrell II... Attached Images Last edited by ayaghmour2; 02-05-2021 at 03:38 PM.

02-05-2021, 02:48 PM	#346
StLee Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NC Posts: 4,971	Based on those preseason predictions, it looks like it will be a really rough year. Love and Rankins seem poised to do well, though. I like that you have a development plan in place if you are out of playoff contention. I also don't often see a team have a high rank in the minor report unless they have some top players, too. I always thought that was an OOTP bias of ranking the top 100 players per team instead of the whole system's worth of players. __________________ Fan of LSU sports (especially baseball and football), New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Braves (Dale Murphy for the HOF!). Current dynasties: Fallout 4's Commonwealth Baseball Organization Completed dynasty: Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Baseball League Uniforms: My custom uniforms

02-08-2021, 01:11 PM	#348
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 1: April 15th-April 21st Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record: 3-3 (t-3rd, 3 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 11 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .423 AVG, .984 OPS Doc Love : 25 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .360 AVG, .970 OPS Tom Taylor : 28 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .250 AVG, .883 OPS Weekly Schedule 4-16: Win vs Wolves (5-6) 4-17: Loss vs Wolves (9-3) 4-18: Win vs Wolves (1-5) 4-19: Loss vs Foresters (13-3) 4-20: Loss vs Foresters (11-4) 4-21: Win vs Foresters (7-8) Summary We got to start the season with six games at home, and we split them evenly. Our opener was an exciting one, as despite being down 5-2 at the end of the fifth, we scored two in the seventh and one more in the eighth to tie it before a Mike Taylor walk-off single gave put us on a 162-0 track. We then dropped the second game 9-3 before winning the finale 5-1. We then had to welcome the defending champion Foresters to town. I thought we could steal a game with the 4 and 5 for them on the mound to start the series, but we didn't do much scoring and allowed double digit runs in the first two games. We decide to hit Dean Astle in the finale, putting up three spots in the 3rd and 6th. The Foresters got their pair in the 4th and 5th, but a huge Tom Taylor two-run single in the 8th game us an 8-6 lead we'd try to squander, but held on to. Looking ahead we get a day off to start the week. It's a repeat of this week, but this time the location is flipped. We'll be in Toronto (3-3) for three and then Cleveland (3-3) for three. It's really early in the season, but we'll likely have to deal with their ace and budding star pitcher Bill Anderson and former 4th Overall Pick Chuck Cole and avoid former 3rd Overall Pick Bernie Johnson who just tossed a 3-hit, 2 strikeout shutout against the Sailors. Toronto's park is impossible for righties to hit any homers so I'm expecting to see a very low scoring series. Pitching is the strength of their team, and they usually don't offer to much offense. It's a far cry from Cleveland, who boasts sluggers T.R. Goins, Max Morris, Leon Drake, and Dan Fowler. The lineup is filled with other strong players including a personal favorite George Dawson, former Minutemen third basemen Charlie Berry, and rookie leadoff hitter Fred Quinn. The pitching is really good too, despite the tough start to the season for Dean Astle. He's likely set to pitch against us again, as we beat him in the finale. It's looking likely we may get stuck facing co-ace Eddie Quinn too. Looking back to our first week, Russ Combs is back to his old self, suffering a mild hip strain on the 18th. Worst part is he was 3-for-3 with a double and RBI in that one. It only influences running and he still finished the week 5-for-10 with a double, walk, steal, and RBI. Since he's already alternating with Bill Ashbaugh, I'm not going to put him on the DL and hope that it will heal on it's own. He spends most of his time injured, so whether he was healthy or not, it would only be a matter of time before he got hurt again. And speaking of Ashbaugh, he was 6-for-13 with a triple and RBI in a strong opening week. Tom Taylor continues his power explosion, a league best 3 homers and 11 RBI's despite nine strikeouts and just a .250 batting average. Both second year Cougars Lou Kelly and Doc Love hit homers and combined to hit 20-for-31 with 11 RBI's while first year Cougar Pete Asher went 9-for-23 with 3 RBI's in his debut week. We didn't pitch too well, as both two start pitchers Dick Lyons and Dave Rankin showed more bad then good while Hank Spencer's big league debut did not go as planned. Starting with Spencer, he got the unfortunate task of the defending champs, and allowed 12 hits, 9 runs, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 8.1 innings. At least there is nowhere to go but up, and he'll get another go around against the Wolves. Dick Leudtke, however, was excellent in his start and tossed a complete game with 6 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts in the win. He'll make a start against both teams this week and is scheduled to duel top 25-year-olds Chuck Cole and Dean Astle. Stopper Don Grossman had a rough week, 8 hits and 6 runs in 1.2 innings in a loss to the Wolves and 4 hits and 4 runs in a third of an inning in a loss to the Foresters. It's been a nightmare week for our stopper coming off a dominant rookie season. The minor league season starts tomorrow and I'll probably get a minor league report in on Wednesday after we get a handful of games in. In transactional news we're set to lose at least Chick Meehan (Chiefs) and Phil Vaughan (Kings) on waivers. Should be nice for these guys to get a better shot at playing time. I made a claim of my own on a former Cougar prospect that I'm hoping to get as minor league depth.

02-09-2021, 11:41 AM	#349
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 2: April 23rd-April 29th Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record: 6-6 (5th, 3.5 GB) Stars of the Week John Kincaid : 27 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .370 AVG, .824 OPS Joe Masters : 24 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .292 AVG, .974 OPS Tom Taylor : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .346 AVG, .875 OPS Weekly Schedule 4-23: Loss at Wolves (4-5) 4-24: Loss at Wolves (4-5) 4-25: Loss at Wolves (3-6) 4-26: Win at Foresters (12-6) 4-27: Win at Foresters (7-5): 12 innings 4-28: Win at Foresters (2-0) Summary So we swept the Foresters and got swept by the Wolves? I sort of expected the opposite... Out in Toronto the bats were silent. After a pair of 5-4 losses at the hands of Chuck Cole and Bill Anderson, the Wolves doubled our run total in a 6-3 win for the sweep. The Foresters series was shockingly so much better. Riding a four game losing streak, we piled on 17 hits and 12 runs in a 12-6 win in the opener. The middle game was much more exciting, as we needed 12 innings to determine a winner. From the 8th on, Don Grossman and Bill Kline combined to toss five scoreless with 4 hits and 2 walks in a 7-5 12 inning win. Bill Ashbaugh didn't start the game, but he pinch hit for Mike Taylor in the 12th and his two run double won us the game. Dave Rankin was brilliant in the finale, and on the shoulders of his 4-hit, 2 walk, 5 strikeouts shutout we swept the defending champion Foresters in Cleveland. I should have mentioned this yesterday, but on Opening Day we sold 23,017 tickets. Not sure what our highest is, but it's pretty close to our 28,450 capacity at the North Side Grounds. We are back home now for a three game series with the Philadelphia Sailors. They're 8-4 to start the season and sitting in second place despite the struggles of Ace William Jones. Doc Newell, a trade target of mine in the offseason, has gotten off to a great start in Cleveland where he tossed a 4-hit shutout of his own. We'll likely see him, and southpaws Russ Reel and Herb Flynn. This is the back three in their rotation, so they could potentially skip Flynn and go to Jones. The offense isn't too potent, but they got a corner outfielder Curt Dickerson who reminds me a lot of Doc Love. We'll also get to see former Cougar Mack Deal who's off to a nice start to the season. He's got 2 homers, 2 steals, and 11 RBI's and a nice .282/.326/.487 (119 OPS+) batting line. We're off on the second, but then head to New York for three with the struggling Stars. They're in last and just 3-10. John Lawson is off to a dreadful start to the season and Dave Trowbridge and Pete Layton are both having slow starts (by their standards). Rookie shortstop Larry Colaianni has already bashed two homers and drove in 10 with a .320/.370/.500 (128 OPS+) triple slash. The top two in their rotation is very strong, as both Gene Stevens and Lou Martino boast sub 3.00 ERA's. Both have made three starts and Marino has a 1.83 ERA and two of their three wins. After a tough start in Toronto where he allowed 6 runs (5 earned) and 11 hits with a walk and 4 strikeouts in 6 innings, Hank Spencer will be pushed to the pen for the week. Dick Sexton will start the opener and it will be his second big league appearance. He tossed two and a third hitless innings with a strikeout. He's set to go head-to-head against Russ Reel. Spencer wasn't the only starter who struggled, as Lyons and Leudtke allowed 16 runs (14 earned) in three starts (20.2 innings) while allowing 29 hits and 6 walks. Leudtke struck out 5 in 14 and Lyons 3 in 6.2, but both struggled to keep runs off the board. The second best start of the week might have been Rankin's first, 8 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in one of the 5-4 losses to the Wolves. We only hit two homers, but the offense didn't look bad. Bill Ashbaugh and John Kincaid are running nice hit streaks, and went 15-for-39 with 7 RBI's. Ashbaugh played less (14 PA's), but doubled once and tripled twice. Tom Taylor didn't add any homers, but was 9-for-26 with a double, triple, and a pair of RBI's. Joe Masters was 7-for-24 with a homer and six driven in while looking alright at first. Part time player Mike Smith got a start, but also came of the bench four times and went 2-for-7 with a double, RBI, and walk. EDIT: Forgot to add waiver claim information. Brooklyn got both Chick Meehan and Phil Vaughan. We got OF Joe Snider off waivers from the Cannons. He'll head down to AAA. The 29-year-old has hit .289/.327/.390 (94 OPS+) in 2,825 career plate appearances with the Stars and Cannons. Last edited by ayaghmour2; 02-09-2021 at 11:53 AM.

02-09-2021, 11:49 AM	#350
StLee Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NC Posts: 4,971	2-4 versus a team not expected to be good and 4-2 (with a sweep) against a team expected to challenge for the division crown. I also noticed three of the losses against the Wolves were only by one run each, so just having bats wake up a little more (home runs!) could put your team in a good early-season situation. I would say that it was a successful two weeks so far vs expectations, even if your team is just 6-6. __________________ Fan of LSU sports (especially baseball and football), New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Braves (Dale Murphy for the HOF!). Current dynasties: Fallout 4's Commonwealth Baseball Organization Completed dynasty: Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Baseball League Uniforms: My custom uniforms

02-10-2021, 01:39 PM	#352
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 3: April 30th-May 5th Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record: 9-9 (5th, 4 GB) Stars of the Week Tom Taylor : 29 AB, 14 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .483 AVG, 1.121 OPS John Kincaid : 26 AB, 12 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.171 OPS Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .423 AVG, .926 OPS Weekly Schedule 4-29: Loss vs Sailors (12-4) 4-30: Loss vs Sailors (7-3) 5-1: Loss vs Sailors (12-1) 5-3: Win at Stars (10-4) 5-4: Win at Stars (10-2) 5-5: Win at Stars (8-5) Summary Almost the exact same outcome as last week, as we got swept and then proceeded to do the sweeping. The Sailors series was just a nightmare and the pitching was awful. If we took all our runs and combined them to one game, it's just enough to force extras on their worst offensive performance. We really seemed to wake up their struggling bats as they put up a pair of 12 runs showings. William Jones tossed a gem in the finale as he looks to get back on track for them and we just looked out of sorts the entire series. Luckily, after an off day and a trip to New York, the bats woke back up. We got 8 or more in each game with a pair of ten run performances to start the series. I'm hoping we can eventually get back on track, as there is nothing more boring then a consistent .500 week showing. It's pretty clear the pitching had their struggles, but it was another strong outing for Dave Rankin. He went seven with 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in his only start of the week. Dick Leudtke and Dick Lyons both made a pair of starts, a rough one against the Sailors and a good one against the Stars. Lyons pitched better in terms of run prevention, but he allowed 22 hits in 13.2 innings. He allowed 8 runs (7 earned), 2 walks, and struck out 4. Leudtke went 14.1 with 14 runs (10 earned), 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Unfortunately, Dick Sexton's start was terrible, and he won't make another this week. He allowed 8 hits and 7 runs with a walk and 3 strikeouts in just 3 innings. Hank Spencer won't replace him, allowing 12 hits, 9 runs, and 7 walks with just 1 strikeout in 9 innings out of the pen. It's likely to be George Johnson, who's allowed 5 hits and a run with a walk and 2 strikeouts in 3.2 innings on the season. There's a full slate of games on the dossier this week, him, Ranking, and Lyons are set up to make two starts a piece with Lyons getting one. Hank Spencer has one more week to get his stuff together or he'll find his way down to Milwaukee. On the offensive side, most of the bats were working. For the week, John Kincaid, Tom Taylor, Bill Ashbaugh, and Russ Combs all had OPS+ above 150 while Lou Kelly and Doc Love were both above 120. Taylor may have had the best week, slashing .483/.500/.621 with a homer, steal, 5 RBI's, and 8 runs scored. John Kincaid was comparable, batting .462/.517/.654. The Ashbaugh/Combs duo went 10-for-29 with a homer, 6 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. It wasn't all great, however, as Mike Taylor, Joe Masters, and Pete Asher had really tough weeks. The trio went 13-for-63, although Taylor homered and Masters drove in five. Looking ahead, we continue on the road to Montreal. The Saints are 10-9 and sit a half game ahead of us. They've been really streaky, winning their first six and losing their last six on the season. Montreal is a pitcher's paradise, but ace George Thomas has had some issues atop of the rotation while still being their most productive arm. All five starters have below average ERA+, including rookie Augie Bertrand who I took in last year's Rule-5 Draft and released before Opening Day. They have a decent outfielder, with former Cougar Bobby Sprague, defensive superstar Pablo Reyes, and the bat first power/speed marvel Jim Watson. The lineup is pretty good, as it also includes young star infielder Hank Barnett and Vic Crawford. After that we'll see the last place Cannons for four in Baltimore. They're expected to finish towards the bottom, but have a nice 3-4 of Abel Man and former Cougar 3rd Rounder Jim Mason. Rookie and former 11th Overall Pick Ray Barnes is having a nice start atop the order, but the rest of the lineup has really struggled. The pitching isn't much better, although 1924 10th Overall Pick Dutch Leverett has looked good in a small sample. I think we can pull off a 5-2 this week, but I'm at least hoping for a winning sim. Minor League Report LF Nat Doane (C La Crosse Lions): Very few players have gotten off to a quicker start to the season then Nat Doane. The 1933 10th Rounder is hitting .472/.491/.736 (188 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 15 RBI's in just 55 trips to the plate. An outfielder by trade, he's been getting reps at first to keep his bat in the lineup as I wanted to try Melvin Salazar out in center over Dave Haight (looks like a corner outfielder) which means I needed to move Doane to a new spot. C James Demastus (C La Corsse Lions): In 1930 I made the mistake of selecting the most obvious bust James Demastus in the first round. After two seasons in Class B, he just couldn't take it and is down to La Crosse at 23. But, now back at catcher, the bat decided to wake up this week. He went 16-for-23 with 4 homers and 14 RBI's in an absurdly impressive week that earned him UMVA Player of the Week. Demastus may never get above A ball and a week like this may never happen again, but back when I drafted him I thought he'd be doing this in the majors (or at least AAA), not still in the lowest level of our system. Attached Images

02-11-2021, 06:15 PM	#353
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 4: May 5th-May 12th Weekly Record: 4-3 Seasonal Record: 13-12 (4th, 3.5 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 26 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .462 AVG, 1.199 OPS Doc Love : 31 AB, 10 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .323 AVG, .998 OPS Dave Rankin : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 7 BB, 6 K, 2.00 ERA Weekly Schedule 5-6: Win at Saints (6-4) 5-7: Win at Saints (8-0) 5-8: Loss at Saints (3-5) 5-9: Loss at Cannons (5-6) 5-10: Loss at Cannons (4-5) 5-11: Win at Cannons (12-4) 5-12: Win at Cannons (12-5) Summary Over .500! I wanted 5-2, but I guess 4-3 is okay. The Kings just won the CA after adding Al Wheeler and Frank Vance, so we'll be on a quest for second the rest of the season anyways. We sandwiched the losses in the middle, but considering all the games were on the road, we still managed to score a lot of runs. Our road trip ends in Brooklyn, where we'll face the first place Kings for the first time on the season. As I mentioned, the now 17-9 Kings added two big bats Al Wheeler and Frank Vance in a big trade with the Dynamos (they also got pitcher Jack Beach) to an already potent offense. Both John Langille and Harry Barrell are hitting over .385 and just Jake Shadoan (.272) and Bill May (.279) sit below .300. This reminds be a lot of some of our old offenses. Our offense this year was arguably better (or at least comparable) before the trade, but they added a pair of top 10 hitters (including a Decatur kid I really wanted...) to an already strong offense. They also have a really good pitching staff, but the former Cougar first rounders Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy regressed a little to start the season. We won't see Tom, but we're likely to see Mike and Joe Shaffner, who's off to a really hot start to the season. Jack Beach may end up replacing Ken Carpenter, the struggling #4. We'll head home after the finale so we can spend the off day at home. We'll host the last place Stars who are seeing John Lawson start to heat up. Things aren't doing well for them, as they sit last at 9-18 and eight and a half out of first. Ace Lou Martino does own the league's second best ERA at 2.16. We'll likely have to deal with him in one of the four games, but I'm hoping we avoid Gene Stevens, the only other decent arm this year as Chicagoan Les Zoller has really struggled. Looking back at our week, despite being on the road, Doc Love launched three homers and drove in ten while slashing .323/.353/.645 for the week. All three of the homers were in Baltimore, including a pair in an impressive 3-for-5 performance on the 11th. In the 12-4 win he drove in four and scored three times. It was in defense of Dave Rankin, who picked up his second win of the week. He went all nine and allowed 7 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in the complete game win. His first start was better, a 6-hit shutout with 4 walks and strikeouts in an 8-0 win over the Saints. The now 29-year-old Rankin has really started the season off well, going 5-1 with a 3.00 ERA (156 ERA+), 1.23 WHIP, 20 walks, and 25 strikeouts. The workhorse is on pace to make 43 starts and already has seven on the season. I'm gong to dial back the four man rotation a bit, but Rankin will almost certainly pitch every fourth day if possible. Another guy with a really good week was Lou Kelly, who went 12-for-26 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 7 RBI's. After a rough first season in Chicago, Kelly is leading the Continental Association with a .416 batting average. The power isn't there yet, just two homers on the season, but my scout is convinced he has 35 homer potential. Trade It's not as big as the Brooklyn trade, but I sent recently claimed Chick Meehan and minor league 2B Homer Ray to the Dynamos for veteran starter Wayne Robinson. Since debuting in 1921, he's started 390 games and thrown 3,132.1 innings pitched. He's 187-162 with a 3.91 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 733 walks, and 1,075 strikeouts. 37 at the end of the year, he's on a nice four year run and I think I can get a season or two out of him. He's maintained his velocity well and with him as our four until Wilcox gets back, I think we may actually be able to make a late season push. Robinson has had an above average ERA+ the last four seasons including a 131 in 1933. The main piece we gave up was Ray, a 3rd Round Pick from the 1931 draft. He's off to a nice start to the season in Mobile, batting .324/.377/.465 (118 OPS+) with a homer and 17 RBI's. He's sort of blocked in our system, but for Detroit, he's now their #1 second base prospect and #4 in their system. There's not much ahead of Ray in the minors, so he could be the Dynamos stating second basemen at the end of the season. Pitching The pitching has still had it's struggles, and Dick Lyons' nightmarish start to the season continues. He allowed 5 in 6.1 and 8 in 2.2 as his ERA has ballooned to 7.40 on the season. His WHIP is now almost double his 1933 value at 2.13. I think I've been working him a little too hard, and will begin to dial it back a bit. Same for Dick Leudtke, who was roughed up in his only start. He allowed 6 on 12 hits in a 5 inning showing. Leudtke had a tough 1934, and things have continued to trend in the wrong direction. It's early, but he's got a 5.53 ERA (85 ERA+) and 1.51 WHIP with again more walks (13) then strikeouts (10). George Johnson and Dick Sexton will both jockey for the five spot in the rotation. Offense Most things on offense have been good, but Joe Masters, Mike Taylor, and Pete Asher, all lefties, have had their struggles. Masters is hitting a measly .220/.248/.380 (59 OPS+), Taylor .222/.314/.344 (68 OPS+), and Asher .281/.327/.326 (68 OPS+). Masters hasn't been himself since the trade with the Chiefs and Mike Taylor was in a funk all last season. At least in Asher's case, I knew he would never really hit much, and he's played well defensively. I'm still hoping for a lot more from Masters and Taylor who have both been elite hitters at times. They both boast excellent power, but are limited to just two a piece so far. Tom Taylor has come back down a bit, but he's still hitting a nice .330/.379/.487 (121 OPS+) with 4 homers, 2 steals, and 23 RBI's. What's more impressive is the work out in center, where he's got a +2.5 zone rating and 1.009 efficiency early on. He's still learning the position, but has looked really strong out in center. He's no Cy Bryant, but he's definitely been more then capable of center. John Kincaid saw his 20 game hit streak end, but he still has a nice .342/.383/.468 (117 OPS+) batting line to start the year. The 30-year-old third basemen now ranks 3rd at the position and 17th in the league. He's the first Cougar to join the top batters list this season, joining pitchers Tommy Wilcox and Dave Rankin. Minor League Report SS Billy Hunter (A Lincoln Legislators): Currently ranked as the 12th best prospect in the league, Billy Hunter just got the call to Lincoln. After hitting .279/.351/.500 (135 OPS+) with a homer and 8 RBI's in 77 trips to the plate. In parts of three seasons with San Jose, the 20-year-old hit .301/.340/.457 (109 OPS+) with 10 homers and 81 RBI's in approximately a full season. Hunter is looking strong as a defender and profiling as a future top of the line shortstop. I still think he's a few years out, but I can't wait until he's about 22 or 23 and crushing big league pitching. LF Dave Haight (C La Crosse Lions): It was a huge day for 1932 13th Rounder Dave Haight who managed to go 6-for-6 in an 11-1 La Crosse win over the Waterloo Chiefs. Haigh doubled twice and scored twice and continued his strong start to the season. He's hitting .388/.435/.529 (129 OPS+) with 2 homers, 14 RBI's, and 7 steals. I did start him at center, but I do think left is the position for him. And if he keeps hitting the way he is, he's likely to find himself in San Jose in no time.

02-12-2021, 02:49 PM	#354
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 5: May 13-May 19th Before starting, we do have a league opening to fill. Anyone looking to join in on the fun can take over the defending champion Cleveland Foresters. Lot's of really enviable talent there, including one of my personal favorites 24-year-old star shortstop George Dawson, former Cougar farmhand and 25-year-old ace Dean Astle, another top 10 arm Eddie Quinn, and superstars bats T.R. Goins, Max Morris, Leon Drake, Charlie Berry, and Dan Fowler. Weekly Record: 2-4 Seasonal Record: 15-16 (4th, 7 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 24 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .542 AVG, 1.551 OPS Doc Love : 23 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .391 AVG, 1.003 OPS John Kincaid : 26 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .308 AVG, .758 OPS Weekly Schedule 5-13: Loss at Kings (3-7) 5-15: Loss at Kings (6-7): 10 innings 5-15: Loss at Kings (3-4) 5-17: Win vs Stars (6-8) 5-18: Win vs Stars (8-9) 5-19: Loss vs Stars (7-1) Summary Should I really be surprised we got swept by the Kings? It does suck, of course, but considering two of the games were determined by just one and one went to extras, it's pretty impressive for a road series against arguably the best team in the FABL by a wide margin. The off day in the middle was nice, and then we picked up two of three against the visiting Stars. The finale was really disappointing, as we let the Stars get five in the ninth, We also won the 9-8 game despite being outhit 20 to 13. Dick Leudtke should've been taken out after 8, as the Stars added 6 hits and 4 runs in the final frame. Still, Leudtke allowed 20 hits and 8 runs. He faced 45 batters and 44 of them put the ball in play (he walked Mike Mason to start the game). Up ahead, the Baltimore Cannons come to town for three. They're struggling, 12-21 on the year and a game ahead of the Stars for last. We really need these wins here. We'll get to see both Bob Miller and Dale Dube who boast ERA's above 6.40. Miller's 7.52 is only slightly worse then Dick Lyons... At our home field, we should be able to pile on the runs off the Cannons staff. We may be stuck facing ace Dutch Leverett, who's 3-2 with a 3.44 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 20 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 55 innings on the season. Offensively, rookie Jim Mason is tearing the cover off the ball, slashing .377/.423/.507 (143 OPS+) with 2 homers and 19 RBI's. Abel Man is hitting .320/.367/.508 (127 OPS+) with 5 homers and 28 RBI's, the homers second in the CA. I'm hoping for a sweep and we need one in the worst way. Following Baltimore is the Montreal Saints in the first year under a new GM. They're 15-17, but as usual, the offense has it's issues. They're 8th in average, OBP, slugging, OPS, WAR, wOBA, runs, hits, extra base hits, and base running. That's not to say they don't have good bats, as they have 23-year-old budding star Pablo Reyes who's the best defensive outfielder and potentially fastest FABL player. He's even hitting a strong .319/.358/.431 (113 OPS+) with 2 homers, 5 steals, and 14 RBI's. Rookie catcher Tom Bird is hitting an impressive .342/.490/.430 (151 OPS+) while on a 106 walk pace. Hank Barnett is off to a slow start, as his OPS+ has dropped below 100. George Thomas has allowed three runs in his last three starts, and the former 7th Overall Pick has started to turn things around. We'll likely face him in the opener, and he's 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA (122 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 15 walks, and 18 strikeouts. I'm not too worried about the rest of the rotation, and I think we might be able to get two of three here. We do finish the week hosting the previously mentioned Saints. Brooklyn ranks top 3 in all offensive categories but extra base hits and are 14-5 in May. We might get lucky and face Ken Carpenter in the opener, who's got a 5.89 ERA (78 ERA+), 1.66 WHIP, 20 walks, and 25 strikeouts. Of course, the lineup is extremely scary too, as Al Wheeler and Frank Vance joined Dan, Harry, and Fred Barrell, Doug Lightbody, John Langille, and Jake Shadoan. I'll cover them a bit more next week since most of the series will be next week. Batters Most of the offense has been really impressive this season. If it wasn't for the pure fielding brilliance of Harry Barrell, a Cougar would lead the CA in batting average, homers, RBI's, OPS, and batting WAR. Technically, John Kincaid's 20 game hit streak should be #1, but somehow Harry Barrell's 19 game one is now. It's weird because in my monthly screenshot it shows Kincaid first, but he's not in top three anymore. Granted, Harry is currently at 19 and is hitting .401 so he should be able to leap Kincaid anyway. No one had as good of a week as Player of the Week Lou Kelly, who went 13-for-24 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 8 RBI's. Kelly is finally playing like the former MVP he is, slashing an astronomical .440/.486/.616 (179 OPS+) with 3 homers and 26 RBI's in 140 trips to the plate. He's even his walks and strikeouts at 12, but his defense out in right has been really poor to start the season. Crazy enough, this wouldn't necessarily be his best year, as he hit .355/.423/.637 (183 OPS+) with 40 homers, 119 RBI's, and an impressive 8.5 WAR in 1932. Fellow second year Cougar Doc Love also put together a strong week, going 9-for-23 with 4 RBI's and his CA leading 6th homer on the season. He's on pace to each 30 on the season, but his 32 RBI's are also a league best. I am, however, beyond worried about Joe Masters and Mike Taylor. The former Chief is hitting a miniscule .203/.240/.364 (52 OPS+), albeit, with three homers, eight doubles, and 17 RBI's, but Masters has only managed 12 singles on the season and is stuck in a dreadful slump. Same goes for former King Mike Taylor who's .204/.306/.306 (56 OPS+) line is only a little bit better. Taylor has not been an extra base machine like Masters, but he's still been able to draw his share of walks. If we want to be taken seriously, these two stars better turn things around. Another struggling performer is Pete Asher, who will be getting a little bad news today. He's hitting just .264/.310/.340 (66 OPS+) to start the season, although he's matched his homer total from the last two years with a grand slam off Lou Martino in the crazy every ball is in play game against the Stars. Even with that, Asher is hitting just .264/.310/.340 (66 OPS+) and his defense hasn't been great. This means it's platoon time, as I'm bringing 25-year-old Ollie Page up from AAA to split the shortstop job with Asher. Page ranks 5th in our system and 32nd in the FABL, and while he hasn't hit much in 20 games down in Milwaukee, he's got one of the best gloves in the game. This marks the end of Slim Bloom's time on the active roster, as he'll be waived and DFA'd. I'd like to hold onto him, as Bloom is one of the few lifetime Cougars in the organization and he's been with the team since 1923. Asher will get more starts against righties and Page against lefties, but at least this first week they'll alternate starts. Pitchers With the addition of Wayne Robinson, Hank Spencer will head down to AAA to start more frequently and he'd enter the four spot in the rotation. Dick Sexton and George Johnson (who I just noticed had a batters faced limit and has unintentionally been used as the FABL's first opener) will pick up a start if needed. I've mentioned the pitching struggles, but no one has fallen as hard as Dick Lyons. Since opening day, he's allowed 10 or more hits in every start except one, 9 in 5 innings against the Foresters. In 8 starts he has an awful 7.08 ERA (66 ERA+) and 2.15 WHIP with 9 walks and 12 strikeouts. Dick Leudtke hasn't faired much better, 3-4 with a 6.39 ERA (73 ERA+), 1.70 WHIP, 15 walks, and 10 strikeouts as he continues his downward trend. Of course, there is a very big bright spot at the front of the rotation in Dave Rankin, who's pitching like the starter I thought I acquired last season. The 29-year-old has started 9 of our 31 games and gone 5-3 with a Tommy Wilcox-esque line: 2.99 ERA (155 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 27 walks, and 32 strikeouts. I'm hoping that with adding an actual #4 in Wayne Robinson (he could probably be a 3 or a fringe 2) should really take some stress off the rotation. Leudtke and Lyons can get more rest and Robinson is much better then what we've been throwing out there. He made an abbreviated start against the Eagles this week, going 4.1 with 6 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He's fully rested and ready to start the opener. Minor League Report SS Freddie Bennett (B San Jose Cougars): Fresh off a promotion from LaCrosse, one of my personal favorite prospects Freddie Bennett responded to the increased competition with a Player of the Week award. Bennett went 12-for-24 with a pair of homers and 8 RBI's in his first 7 games out of C ball. A very rare type of player, Bennett is an elite defender, excellent baserunner, and excellent power hitter, but for some reason, scouts don't think much of him and he ranks outside the top 400 FABL prospects. Still, this is a guy who had a 20/20/100 season last year and is off to a sparkling start this year. RF Dick Earl (C La Crosse Lions): A level below Bennett, we had another Player of the Week in 21-year-old outfielder Dick Earl. Earl went 14-for-27 with 2 homers and 10 RBI's as he continues to tear the cover off the ball down in La Crosse. Earl is hitting .431/.512/.794 (207 OPS+) with 8 homers and 36 EBI's in his first 25 games. Unfortunately for Earl, we have a force start outfielder at every level above him with not much wiggle room. Of course, if he keeps hitting like this, it'll be impossible for him to stay down in La Crosse, and I'll likely move Elias Canady (who hasn't hit too great in San Jose) back down.

02-15-2021, 06:36 PM	#355
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Been writing my weekly recap on and off and then I see this: Speechless But finally in the good way Is it too late to make a 1935 run? Attached Images

02-15-2021, 07:06 PM	#356
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 6: May 20th-May 26th Tommy Wilcox This wasn't the focus of the post when it started. I got all the way to searching my messages for scouting repots and minor leaguers to write a minor league report before I got the good news. BUT TOMMY WILCOX IS ALMOST BACCCKKKKKKKKKKK Fingers crossed, barring a setback, Tommy Wilcox will now be able to pick up a baseball in two to three weeks. A lot nicer then the two-three months listed last sim. Shoutout to Billy Gladwin and his outstanding arm healing ability (although somehow Dick Pozza broke the outstanding prevention too). If you don't know how good Tommy Wilcox is, he's just the 1933 Allen Award Winner who as a Cougar is 34-28 with a 3.39 ERA (131 ERA+), 1.16 WHIP, 98 walks, and 201 strikeouts in 531.1 innings. As dominant as those numbers look, it does not tell the full story. It contains the worst 13 start stretch of his career where he was 6-6 with a 6.70 ERA (64 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 18 walks, and 28 strikeouts in 91.1 innings as I watched the Stars play .850 baseball while we played .845. I go much more in depth on our pitching staff towards the end, but spoiler alert, this may be the biggest upgrade possible. Oh yeah, and you can check out the scouting report at the bottom: I think he's going to be okay! Okay, back to the other stuff: Weekly Record: 3-4 Seasonal Record: 18-20 (5th, 8 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 29 AB, 16 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .552 AVG, 1.537 OPS John Kincaid : 29 AB, 12 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .414 AVG, 1.086 OPS Tom Taylor : 33 AB, 14 H, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .424 AVG, 1.004 OPS Weekly Schedule 5-20: Loss vs Cannons (12-5) 5-21: Loss vs Cannons (12-7) 5-22: Win vs Cannons (5-7) 5-23: Loss vs Saints (14-8) 5-24: Loss vs Saints (8-7) 5-25: Win vs Saints (4-6) 5-26: Win vs Kings (2-3): 10 innings Summary Another disappointing week as we drop two winnable games to both Baltimore and Montreal. We looked awful against Baltimore, allowing 12 in both of the first two and still 5 in the win. Of course, the win came against there only good pitcher, Dutch Leverett who was outpitched by Dick Lyons in possibly his only good start of the year. 7.2 innings with 9 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), a walk, and 6 strikeouts is good for a game score of 52, one of just two starts above 30. Montreal got into some of the fun as well, piling on 14 runs and 25 hits in the opener. Fortunately, things got better on the weekend. On Saturday Wayne Robinson won his first Cougar start against the team that selected him in the 4th Round back in 1919. It wasn't a good week for him, but the 11 hit, 4 run (3 earned), 1 walk, 5 strikeout outing wasn't too bad as he managed every out in the game except one. The more impressive win was the crazy 10 inning opener in where the surging Lou Kelly and rookie Ollie Page put the team on their back. Both were 4-for-5, while Kelly doubled twice and Page drove him in both times. The final time came in the tenth off Ken Carpenter after a strong outing by the now injured George Johnson. His shoulder is tender and he's likely out for at least a week. He's pitched well for us in his 14.2 innings, working to a 3.68 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.50 WHIP, walk, and 7 strikeouts. Looking Ahead So after somehow winning the opener, we have two more games hosting the first place Brooklyn Kings who are 27-13 and still holding first place. Things don't look good on the docket, as we have to face back-to-back Cougar first round picks Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy who of course, are killing it this year. Mike will start, and he's 7-1 with a 3.30 ERA (142 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 16 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 71 innings. He's won six straight starts and the most runs he allowed in a start was four. Reigning Allen Winner Tom Barrel is doing well himself, 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA (140 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, 27 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 86 innings. New King Al Wheeler is off to a Lou Kelly like start, slashing .426/.492/.685 (195 OPS+) with 3 homers and 17 RBI's in 63 trips to the plate post-trade. Frank Vance hasn't hit as well, but the offense is amazing. Harry Barrell is trailing just Lou Kelly in the batting race and batting .396/.446/.503 (140 OPS+) with a homer, 24 RBI's, and the astronomical +12.8 zone rating and 1.235 efficiency at shortstop. Like us, they rank top 3 in most offensive categories, but of course, the pitching can actually get people out. I expect them to take both games. After that it's off to Philly where we have to play three games in two games against the Sailors. At 22-17, they're four and a half back of the Sailors and will be rooting for us before they welcome us in. Doc Newell continues his dominant start to the year, 7-1 with a 1.83 ERA (242 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP, 11 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 69 innings. We might get lucky and miss him, but their entire top four is dominant. William Jones, Russ Reel, and Herb Flynn all have sub four ERA's, so only Chicago native Oscar Morse is easy to score on. Last year's steal leader Dick Williams only has 3 this season, but he's hitting a strong .258/.398/.430 (123 OPS+) with 3 homers and 15 RBI's. He's walked 31 times while striking out just seven times in a really strong season. I've long undervalued Dick Walker (one time I thought Bill Ashbaugh was much better then him I think), but this guy is really good for the Sailors park. It's hard to hit, but he's led the league in walks three seasons and when he's on base he's always a threat to run. He's swiped 148 bases in 1,030 games and the 28-year-old was just a minor league free agent singing that's blossomed into one of the most reliable hitters in the game. We're off the last day of Month, and hopefully by then Lou Kelly's hitting above .460. The Wolves come to town for three and they've had a decent start to their year. At 20-18 they're tied with the defending champion Foresters for third. 1928 4th Overall Pick Chuck Cole has continued his breakout year. After a tough 1934, he's now 5-1 with a 3.10 ERA (143 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 25 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. It's made up for Bill Anderson's rough start, but Cole and Bernie Johnson have been reliable in the early going. They're also seeing a breakout from Frank Huddleston who's move to short and kept up with Doc Love for homers and RBI's most of the season. He's hitting .333/.358/.494 (127 OPS+) with 5 homers, 7 steals, and 32 RBI's. The 26-year-old has broken out after showing gradual improvement in each of his first five seasons. Batters So let's talk Lou Kelly: After he hit .301/.362/.458 (117 OPS+) with 16 homers and 109 RBI's in his first season with the Cougars, I was getting majors buyer remorse and even considered using him as a throw in for an Al Wheeler trade. Kelly decided that he just needed two seasons off, and has mashed to the tune of .461/.509/.675 (196 OPS+) with a crazy 1.184 OPS and 20 homers, 134 RBI, 10.1 WAR pace despite being absolutely useless out in right field. Kelly is a huge factor of our league best batting average, slugging, OPS, wOBA, and extra base hits and top three in everything but walks (8th...) and base running (6th). Kelly took home another Player of the Week this week, and as long as he manages no more then one less hit then out in the next four days, he'll bat .500 for an entire month. His May line is .505/.566/.784 with 4 homers and 26 RBI's in 24 May contests. The power is more apparent at home, but he also draws a lot more walks on the road. This year he's really done a good job changing his approach based on the stadium. He's not the only Cougar on a searing pace, as in the opposite corner Doc Love has mashed a CA best 8 homers with 38 RBI's and a .333/.362/.552 (127 OPS+) line. What's most impressive is he's hit more homers on the road (5) then at home (3). And while he has taken advantage of the V out in left center, most of his homers this year have been crushed out to right center. Love and Kelly rank 1-2 in RBI's in the early going. And while not as flashy, all of Ashbaugh, Kincaid, Tom Taylor, and Combs are all sporting above average OPS+'s. In just under 100 trips to the plate, Ashbaugh has been the most impressive, hitting an impressive .349/.415/.578 (148 OPS+) with a homer, 2 steals, and 14 RBI's. With all of Joe Masters struggles, it's time for more Bill Ashbaugh at first base. He's less injury prone then Russ Combs, but still I know he's bound to get injured if I push him too hard. Combs' .361/.391/.422 (105 OPS+) line is solid too, but his defense has really started to decline. Taylor and Kincaid are both having nice seasons too, hitting .329/.376/.488 (116 OPS+) and .349/.392/.488 (120 OPS+). The identical slugging percentages are pretty funny considering Taylor's huge home run power advantage, but Kincaid has 16 extra base hits (including 11 doubles) and 25 RBI's with a fraction of the strikeouts (9 to 23). Taylor has 5 homers and 3 steals with 30 RBI's in a slight down year. The defense has still been dependable, with a +1.4 zone rating and 1.010 efficiency in his first full season out in center. I won't focus too much on the bad, so the last little note for the position players will be on the impressive debut week of Ollie Page. As Pete Asher looked fine in his three outings, Ollie Page was cruising on all cylinders. He went 8-for-16 with a triple and 4 RBI's driven in. It's still early to pay much attention to defensive metrics, but you can't beat going 24-for-24 (10 PO, 14 A, 3 DP) with a 1.208 efficiency. I'll continue the alternating between the two shortstops, but I can see Page taking a little time away from Masters and Combs as the season continues. Pitching Note to self: don't mess with perfection. After a historic 1933 where the Chicago Cougars pitching staff had a sparkling 2.84 ERA (better then all but three pitchers this season) and the only sub 3.00 ERA of the human period. I thought we needed to improve the offense after blowing the dominant 2-0 championship lead because we could not score. A few (at least I thought) creative trades later I added a pair of top 20 hitters with serious pop and I thought we'd be repeating as CA Pennant winners. BUt fast forward a year and two months later, and the Chicago Cougars (granted, the Wilcox-less Chicago Cougars) have a (does double take) 5.76 team ERA? Oh man... Contributing to the issues are a very important of our rotation: Dick Lyons and Dick Leudtke. Lyons, the ultimate iron man, is enduring the worst season of his career, and this includes when he pitched for the worst pitching staff in FABL history. This we he improved to 4-2, but also improved his ERA and WHIP to 6.43 (74 ERA+) and 2.04. He's walked 10 and struck out 18 in 56 innings, ironically an improvement (albeit, slight) over his K/BB rates last year. Lyons sort of had a down year, depending if you prefer ERA+ (105, lowest since 1930) and WHIP (1.51, same story) or his WAR (5.8, tied career best from 1933). Leudtke, on the other hands, had by all measures his worst career season. The 1932 win, ERA, WHIP, and BABIP leader was 12-5 with a 4.64 ERA (93 ERA+), 1.56 WHIP, 78 walks, and 85 strikeouts in 234.2 innings. That was the least amount of innings for the durable late bloomer. Lyons isn't going anywhere, but perhaps Leudtke could be on his way out of Chicago if things do not turn around. With George Johnson's potential emergence (although he will hit the DL) and youngsters Dick Sexton, Hank Spencer, Art Black, and Johnny Walker all on the 40 and ready for the show. I'd also love to potentially add a young starter if I potentially move some of by batters if the season sours quickly. The bullpen has also been awful (discounting Bill Kline), but I'm really sad about the struggles of Don Grossman. After a dominant season last year, he's completely fallen apart. He's 1-4 with a 10.70 ERA (44 ERA+), 2.32 WHIP, 10 walks, and just 2 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. He's out of options and I think he's too talented to risk losing, so hopefully the 6'6'' righty is just dealing with the worst 11 game stretch of his career. No one is really standing out in AAA, but Johnny Walker will join the roster for at least a sim. In 7 starts with the Blues he's 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA (113 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts. Last season most of our spot starters really struggled, but at least Walker was 1-2 with a 4.97 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.55 WHIP, 15 walks, and 14 strikeouts in 29 big league innings. He's fully rested and will pitch the second game against the Kings. He's a good strikeout arm, so I'm hoping for the best. But when you consider how bad everything has been, it's not like he could do any worse. Minor League Report LF Henry Cox (A Lincoln Legislators): This. Dude. Rakes. I argued he had the highest power potential in the draft this year, and the 5th Rounder has mashed 11 homers and drove in 33 in 32 games. This may not seem all that impressive, but Cox turned 19 on March 18th. Sure, he's only hitting .227/.325/.508 (98 OPS+), but no Heartland league hitter has more homers then him. That includes 27-year-old Steve Studer who has nine (as does Chicago native Ross Walker) and multiple others almost a decade older then Cox. His glove is developing, but I think he can be okay out in a corner. I think he's got a bright future and could potentially be leading the league in homers a few times when it's all said and done. 3B Dick Voss (C La Crosse Lions): Recently added to the starting lineup, recent 18th Rounder Dick Voss has been on an excellent run. Including a 5-for-7 with a pair of runs scored and driven in on the 23rd, he's now hitting .385/.475/.662 (166 OPS+) with 4 homers and 23 RBI's in 80 trips to the plate. Selected out of Travis College, he hit just two homers as a junior, but he's already doubled that in less then half the trips to the plate. He's a terrible defender right now, but he's got a great eye and boasts a 12-1 walk to strikeout ratio. He's got decent contact hitter and I'm liking this power surge. SS Tommy Wilson (C La Crosse Lions): While Voss has had the better overall numbers, Tommy Wilson was red hot this week and took home Player of the Week. He was 15-for-29 with 2 homers, 7 runs, and 11 RBI's in a really impressive week. The 19-year-old increased his batting line to .315/.380/.551 (118 OPS+) and doubled his home run total. He's drove in 25 and doubled 16 times (70 double pace) in 142 trips to the plate. He does strike out a lot, 24 already, but this is something he can work on. A shortstop naturally, he's been playing second with defensive whiz Ivan Cameron at short.

02-16-2021, 08:04 PM	#359
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	May 28th-June 2nd Weekly Record: 3-4 Seasonal Record: 21-24 (5th, 9 GB) Stars of the Week Doc Love : 28 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .464 AVG, 1.117 OPS Lou Kelly : 28 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.089 OPS John Kincaid : 25 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .440 AVG, 1.142 OPS Weekly Schedule 5-27: Win vs Kings (4-6) 5-28: Loss vs Kings (4-0) 5-29: Win at Sailors (2-1): 10 innings 5-30: Loss at Sailors (4-6) 5-30: Win at Sailors (14-5) 6-1: Loss vs Wolves (14-2) 6-2: Loss vs Wolves (8-7) Summary Starting with the Kings series, Dick Lyons out dueled Tom Barrell and we won the series against the top team in the league. A big Doc Love 4-for-4 day including the go-ahead homer in the 8th. Unfortunately, the other Cougar Mike Murphy tossed a 6-hit shutout in the finale to avoid the sweep. After that we were in Philly where we continued to look okay. In a duel of pitcher's with ERA's above 7, it took 10 innings before we scored our second run of the game. And that was all it took. We split the double header (destroyed poor Russ Reel) and with an off day next things looked pretty good for the week. The Wolves were in town next and demolished us 14-2. The middle one looked like a win, but the Wolves got five unearned runs off Johnny Walker in the 8th, so we lost by one run... Looking Ahead One more with the Wolves and it looks like we'll face Bill Anderson in the finale. I'm not too excited for this one, as I've already conceded the sweep. We do face them again later in the week, but before that, we'll face the now second place Foresters who are starting to heat up again. They've won eight of their last ten and cut the Kings lead down to four. It looks like we'll miss Dean Astle, but we'll get the middle of the rotation with co-Ace Eddie Quinn, Lee Drouillard, and Roger Perry. And while Dan Fowler is struggling, T.R. Goins and Max Morris both have seven homers a piece and Leon Drake is up to six. We'll get to deal with my favorite shortstop George Dawson who's a big reason for their pitching success as well. They give up no hits or runs and the defense is as good as it is. This will be a tough series in the middle of a tough week as we're right back in Toronto with three games in two days over the weekend. Oh yeah, and one week. That's Tommy Wilcox's injury duration. And his scouting report? "Wilcox is heavy on talent and can easily front a team's rotation. He has the stamina to be a true workhorse." I think this might be the 29th scouting report I've gathered on the 28-year-old since the day that should not be spoken of (July 9th) and even though every single one of them says good things I'm still worried that he's never going to be the same. Batter of the Month While he failed to hit .500, it was still a foregone conclusion that right fielder Lou Kelly would take home Continental Association Batter of the Month. At least in the human era, no batter has hit .500 for an entire month and Kelly is the closest to reach the seemingly impossible task. During his impressive May, Kelly hit .496/.551/.795 with 6 homers and 35 RBI's. He reached base 74 times in 29 games and he reached base in all 29 games (just two without a hit). His struggles last season were well documented, but the Pekin native is looking to run away with MVP. He's hitting .445/.488/.681 (190 OPS+) with 7 homers and 44 RBI's. He's almost half way to his homer total from last season and on pace to add 100 more RBI's before the season is over. He even has a triple crown chance, just two homers behind teammate Doc Love for the CA homer crown. Batters Lou Kelly wasn't the only one with a hot May as Doc Love launched seven homers and took the CA lead (9) and now enjoys a two homer cushion. He hit .355/.406/.597 and drove in 26 while scoring 25 in a strong month. He walked (10) more times then he struck out (4) and had three doubles and triples. John Kincaid had a good month as well, batting .361/.406/.549 (137 OPS+) with 21 RBI's and 33 runs scored. I was also impressed with Ollie Page, who continued his strong play with another good showing. In the 8-7 loss to the Wolves Page hit a two run homer off Berine Johnson, the first of his big league career. Ollie's off to a hot 13-for-32 start with 4 extra base hits and 6 RBI's. There was a lot more bad as Mike Taylor has not hit since his buddy Tommy Wilcox hit the DL. I hoped the good news would make him happy, but more of the same from our struggling backstop. He hit a team worst .222/.300/.289 (48 OPS+) with a homer and 8 RBI's. Joe Masters hit a slightly better .206/.254/.346 (49 OPS+), but managed 2 homers, 21 RBI's, and somehow a steal. It's the first time he's stolen (or attempted) a base since 1932! Still, does not make up for how awful he was with the bat. Pete Asher also had a rough month, hitting only .236/.296/.319 (54 OPS+) with a homer and 9 RBI's. Finally, Russ Combs really cooled off after a rough start. He hit only .302/.343/.365 (78 OPS+) with a steal and 9 RBI's. He's going to start seeing more time go to Bill Ashbaugh. I'm sad to see Slim Bloom go to waivers. He's one of the few Cougar draftees I held onto, but after going just 2-for-12 with a double off the bench, he lost his roster spot to Ollie Page. I'm hoping for the best for him, but maybe he'll get a starting job in Detroit eventually. Pitchers May was a nightmare for a majority of our staff, but Dave Rankin and somehow Dick Sexton got out unscathed. Sexton tossed 21 innings out of the pen in six games with a 3.88 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 20 walks, and 20 strikeouts. It's a lot better then his April where he allowed 8 hits, 7 runs, and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 5 and two thirds. I've covered the struggles of Leudtke and Lyons already, but let's talk about something good instead: Johnny Walker! He made two starts this week with 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs. He pitched all nine and struck out 6 in the 4-0 loss to the Kings and then 8 with 7 strikeouts in the 8-7 loss to the Wolves. With all the issues we have, starts like this are just what we need. He pitched Sunday, so he'll only get one start, but perhaps Walker may stick in the rotation. Minor League Report SP Ken Grosvenor (AA Mobile Commodores): An 8th Round Pick in 1930, it's been a windy road in the minors for Ken Grosvenor. After a tough 11 starts last season, he's looked much better this year. He made two starts this week, starting with a 9 hit, 3 strikeout shutout in an 11-0 crushing of the Chattanooga Reliables. The Reliables are the AA team of the Toronto Wolves, who have former Cougar manager Hank Leitzke in charge of the team. Start two was almost as good, another complete game win, this time with 9 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. In 10 starts on the season he's now 6-2 with a 3.69 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 19 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 75.2 innings. He's managed to hold his own against the tougher competition, and perhaps he can work his way back into our big league plans. RF Bobby Mills (A Lincoln Legislators): Fresh off a promotion to A ball, Bobby Mills already picked up a five hit game and got a hit in 12 of his 13 games so far. Ranked 14th in our system and 112th in the league, Mills has always boasted top level contact potential. He's hitting .377/.387/.508 (117 OPS+) with a homer and 7 RBI's. Mills doesn't have much power, but his approach at the plate is to put everything in play. He won't walk or strikeout very much, but Nutball has shown he was up for the challenge of a higher level. He's 21, but the former 6th Rounder could end up in the majors next season or the one after. SP Pug Bryan (A Lincoln Legislators): After 6 strong starts in San Jose, Pug's next start will be up in Lincoln. He worked to a 2.73 ERA (158 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 4 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 33 innings with the Cougars. Now 22, Pug is likely on a fast track up to the big leagues as my scout thinks he's one of our most developed prospects. Bryan is an extreme groundballer who sits in the 87-89 range with his sinker and fastball. He mixes in a slider, change, and forkball as well and he's bound to rack up the strikeouts. I think the Charleston native has frontline potential and could be an integral part of our future rotation. If he keeps this up, he could be up in the big leagues next season. RF Dick Earl (C La Crosse Lions): Despite getting hurt on the 25th, Dick Earl took home the UMVA Batter of the Month Award. Earl hit .453/.520/.811 with 8 homers and 37 RBI's. This season has been great for Earl, who's hitting .433/.503/.769 (193 OPS+) with 9 homers and 42 RBI's in just 157 trips to the plate. He's looked okay out in right and his eye and bat speed have really started to develop well. He'll be back in two weeks and then I'm hoping he'll shake off the rest and then move up to San Jose. SP Walker Pearce: Remember him? A 2nd Rounder of ours in 1932, I grabbed the lefty with the 30th Overall Pick and he was named the #77 prospect in baseball on Opening Day. Last July he was one of the three pitchers involved in the Dave Rankin trade. He didn't pitch too well with the Class C Waterloo Chiefs, going 2-2 with a 5.97 ERA (87 ERA+), 1.86 WHIP, 17 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. He only started 3 of the 14 games he pitched and was then released by the new regime in January. He bounced around the independent circuit, but I was finally able to snag him has a free agent. He's still just 20 and I'll send him down to La Crosse and manage his innings. Attached Images

02-17-2021, 03:17 PM	#360
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 8: June 3rd-June 9th Weekly Record: 5-3 Seasonal Record: 26-27 (6th, 9.5 GB) Stars of the Week Lou Kelly : 30 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.108 OPS Bill Ashbaugh : 18 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.373 OPS Dick Luedtke : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, 1.50 ERA Weekly Schedule 6-3: Win vs Wolves (3-8) 6-4: Loss vs Foresters (11-0) 6-5: Win vs Foresters (3-6) 6-6: Win vs Foresters (3-5) 6-7: Win at Wolves (6-5) 6-7: Win at Wolves (1-0) 6-8: Loss at Wolves (1-5) 6-9: Loss at Wolves (1-6) Summary It was a busy week with more games then days, but with a four game win streak in the middle, this might have been our best week of the season. After avoiding the sweep at the hands of the Wolves, our old buddy Dean Astle tossed a 5-hit shutout and the Foresters destroyed us 11-0 to start the series. Lucky for us, the pitching settled down and former Forester Wayne Robinson allowed just 3 in the second game and Dick Lyons and Bill Kline 3 in the finale as we took both. Just after hosting the Wolves, we had to head north of the border for four games in three days. The double header went well, as in the opener Johnny Walker pieced together his third straight start with three earned runs, all coming in the last three innings. Game two was even better, as Dick Leudtke showed signs of his former self. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with two punchouts in a complete game victory. We scored just a single run, coming in the second off a Leudtke RBI double. He pretty much was the only one who played in the game, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Unfortunately, since he didn't hit in either of the final two games, we didn't win either of those. We managed just one run in the 18 innings, including a 3-hit, 3 strikeout shutout by Chick Wirtz in the finale. Looking Ahead For the first time in 11 months, all world pitcher Tommy Wilcox will toe the rubber with a Chicago Cougar jersey proudly on his back. As bluntly as I could possibly be, we really missed Tommy Wilcox. When Wilcox went out last year, we had a team ERA of 4.08 and the starter's 4.32. It ended up 4.38 and 4.57. Not the biggest jump, but take a look at 1935: 5.35 and 5.25. Yikes... Unless Tommy pitches like he did with us in 1932, there's no way he can do any worse. To make sure his arm doesn't break, I will be using a six man rotation at least one time through, but he'll pitch our first game of the week against the Stars on Tuesday. We'll face the 21-33 Stars four times in New York, possibly missing ace Lou Martino who's scheduled to start Monday. He's the only Star with a sub 5 ERA, and the back three are all above six. In our rotation, just Dick Lyons has a lower ERA then anyone other then Martino (although Leudtke and Robinson come close to Gene Stevens). The Stars offense is actually really good, ranking top 4 in a variety of offensive categories. They still have star caliber players in Pete Layton and John Lawson, but behind him, there is not too much left in the lineup. Dave Trowbridge has started to slow down and shortstop Bill Rich is enduring a dreadful season at the plate. After the Stars we stay in New York and head to Brooklyn for four with the Kings. Depending how things shake out, we could have round six of Barrell vs Wilcox on June 10th, but we're almost guaranteed to see Barrell, Mike Murphy, and Joe Shaffner in this series. At 35-17, the Kings are building their lead in the CA with the next closest (Cleveland) five and a half out. Despite the struggles of recent acquisition Frank Vance, the Kings have continued to cruise due to the power of their offense. Al Wheeler, however, has surged and hit 9 CA homers since the trade with a 208 OPS+. I really wish I went harder for him, but the Dynamos also wanted to move Frank Vance who I did not have room for. I have zero expectations for this week, as all I care about is Tommy Wilcox. After nearly a year of hoping he'd be able to pitch again, he now can finally pick up a baseball. I don't care if he gives up 0 runs or 30 runs. I don't care if we win six or lose six. I just care that he's able to pick up a ball against next week. And the week after. And the week after that. Yes, I know. I'm far too excited for a string of ones and zeros to be able to throw simulated pitches again. But it's Tommy Wilcox! In his last 54 starts, he was arguably the best pitcher in the entire FABL. Although now the scouting report is tormenting me: "Wilcox may be an overlooked ace, able to take the bats out of opposing hitters' hands. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to pitch deep into games." Batters I think Joe Masters is broken beyond repair. Ranked the 16th best first basemen in the FABL and hitting .197/.234/.338 (42 OPS+) in arguably the most hitter friendly park in baseball, the almost 36-year-old Masters is making me regret ever getting him. I never really wanted him, but the Chiefs insisted he was part of a Dave Rankin trade (who I really wanted) so I gave up more prospects then I wanted to. I thought it couldn't hurt adding a guy hitting .315/.380/.478 (151 OPS+) with 11 homers and 61 RBI's in 69 games. He hit a league average line with us to end the year, and now everything has just crumbled. I'd be ready to give up on him if Leo Mitchell was hitting a bit better in AAA, but Masters will still be given the shot to hit out of it. He's going to be pushed into a platoon with Jake Moore for now, but I think I'll make sure Moore gets two starts this week. Some more Lou Kelly and Doc Love praise this week: Doc Love added another homer and is the first CA hitter to reach 10 on the season. He's slashing .348/.384/.555 (133 OPS+) with 43 RBI's. He's trailing just Lou Kelly for RBI's, as Kelly has drove in 52 Cougars already. Kelly hit just .333 this week, but he hit two homers and drove in eight. He's a homer behind Love now, but his .429 average still paces Harry Barrell by a wide margin. If it wasn't for the aforementioned Barrell's stellar defense, Kelly's 3.3 WAR would be a full point higher then any other CA player. Instead, it's second to Harry's 4.1. Bill Ashbaugh has also had a great start to the season, slashing .361/.418/.613 (156 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 23 RBI's in 136 trips to the plate. He'll never be dependable at second base, but I'm so glad to see the bat back. The undisputed captain of the team, the longtime Cougar is looking to return to his 1929 form and re-establish himself as a middle of the order hitter. Pitchers Wilcox isn't the only healthy arm, as George Johnson will begin a rehab assignment down in Milwaukee. It'll likely be a long one, as he's out of options and this will allow him to get built back up as a starter. I didn't expect Wilcox being back so soon, so now we have sort of a logjam. Our vets Dick Lyons, Dick Leudtke, and Wayne Robinson are all having their issues, but Johnny Walker looked strong in his starts. As mentioned, I'll be running a six man rotation this week, so all these arms will work to keep their spot. Draft Pool The pool was released today! I'm hoping to release a special little surprise tonight if I can get everything worked out. We'll start to get some amateur reports as stats were created for the 1935 season.