Chicago Cougars (FABL)

[ayaghmour2]

Baseball is back! The boys are in camp ready for another season of Cougar baseball that likely will end the same way as it did last season; hoping for next season. The all-knowing OSA predicts a 7th place finish for the Cougars, our 69-85 record better only then the last place Stars. That's no worry, I didn't expect us to contend with Brooklyn, Philly, or Cleveland. What is nice, however, is the appearance of the #6 and #10 top hitter and pitcher. On the batting side, it's projected to be sophomore Ray Ford and veteran Doc Love. On the pitching side, our 1-2 combo of Dave Rankin and Milt Fritz. Of course, Rankin is also projected to lose 27 games, which would be enough for his 3rd consecutive loss title, so I'm hoping I can salvage his winning percentage a little this season. Granted, he won't throw 411 innings, but it's quite clear who has the most stamina in the FABL. Fritz's 392.2 innings is actually second, so if they hit those totals, that's 58% of our total innings (assuming 9 innings pitched per game). Fun to see how wacky these things can be...

Of course, that's not to say these Cougars are going to have a fierce bite! We only have one top 5 position, John Lawson's third base, and there are some holes spread across the field. One of those is supposedly first base, but don't expect Ray Ford to end 1937 ranked as the 13th best first basemen. 13th best hitter? Maybe. But 13th best first basemen? This is the same guy they think is going to hit .314/.387/.444 with 13 homers and 75 RBI's. Of course, I expect a lot of roster churning throughout the season and I'm expecting Rich Langton to take the next step this season. I think we'll finish the season in the top half for offense, but bottom half for pitching. I like our pitching staff, but Rankin is the only arm I know I can rely on. Rankin and Lawson are both 12 of 20 in the top pitchers/hitters lists and our only representative for both. Of course, most of our love is in the farm system ranks, where we edge the Cannons by one point (205 to 204) for the top spot in baseball. We both have a pair of top 10 prospects, an exciting young pitcher (Papenfus vs Barrell) and a big league ready piece (Hunter vs Edwards). Edwards debuted last season and made the big league roster, so he'll graduate soon, and with the third ranked Dynamos top prospect also on their big league roster, we'll have a comfortable lead until Hunter eventually graduates. We have 12 prospects in the top 100, from Papenfus (3rd) to Ducky Jordan (79). Then from Tommy Wilson (103) to the newly acquired Luis Sandoval (192) 10 more. Lastly, from Yates (210) to Ralph Kendall (491) 25 more rounding out 47 in the top 500. Of course, these rankings mean little to nothing as there is no way that Pug Bryan (220) is worse then 200 FABL prospects and we do not have 50 prospects better then Henry Cox, who hit 30 minor league home runs last season. But they do make you feel better when your team's system is ranked #1!

A few last notes. Walker Pearce was returned by the Sailors, so the always injured former 2nd Rounder will rehab back in Chicago. He always finds a way back, first traded to the Chiefs in the Rankin trade, and now returned back. I didn't expect him to make the Sailors roster (they're about three to four times better then us), but I thought the injury could help him stick around a little. And speaking of Philly, they'll be in Chicago to start the season with a nice three game set. We'll go Rankin-Fritz-Bryan while they're likely to counter with Jones-Thomas-Newell. We don't have a single pitching advantage when you line up our rotations, so expect to start the season with losses. Then it's on to Toronto for three with the improving Wolves. I'm hoping we can steal a few from them, but they have given us trouble on occasion. Regardless of the results, I'm excited to have fake baseball to write about and I can't wait to watch it unfold.

[DD Martin]

I for one am taking the over on the 69 Cougar wins. I don't see 500 this year yet, but you have so much young talent coming up and getting better.

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

I for one am taking the over on the 69 Cougar wins. I don't see 500 this year yet, but you have so much young talent coming up and getting better.

It will be a tough season. Everyone seems to be getting better, but I'm hoping we get to 70. It's all about the pitching for us. Our AA rotation has a lot of top young arms that could join the big league club soon. I just have to be patient and let them develop this time instead of cashing in on them a little too early.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-5
Seasonal Record: 1-5 (8th, 4 GB)
Stars of the Week
Russ Griffin : 7 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .571 AVG, 2.054 OPS
Paul McLain : 21 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.000 OPS
John Lawson : 26 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .385 AVG, .792 OPS

Schedule
4-20: Loss vs Sailors (7-3)
4-21: Win vs Sailors (2-3)
4-22: Loss vs Sailors (6-4)
4-23: Loss at Wolves (9-7)
4-24: Loss at Wolves (4-5)
4-25: Loss at Wolves (3-8)

Recap
It's pretty difficult to accomplish, but with just a single win we managed to already fall four games out of first place! Not only that, we are the only FABL team to win less then two games in the first week! Nice! #1 pick, here we come...

Yes, too soon to panic. I know. We could have just as easily been 0-6 and since a pennant isn't in the cards, I'm hoping there won't be many of these 1-5 weeks. Or if there are, hopefully it involves weeks where Dave Rankin and Pug Bryan don't struggle too. Starting with the soon-to-be four-time loss leader, Rankin was the only Cougar to make and lose two starts. To make matters worse, they were both truly awful starts. The first was Opening Day where he was tagged with 9 hits and 7 runs (3 earned) in 7 innings with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. The second finished the Toronto sweep where he allowed 10 hits, 8 runs, and 5 walks with just a single strikeout in only 5 frames. I'm not worried, this is the same guy worth over 6 wins above replacement last season and four error games will make anyone pitch bad. Nothing to worry about here. Now Pug did not have a dream debut, 6 hits, 5 runs, 7 walks, and 3 strikeouts in 6.1 against a tough Sailors team. I almost pushed his start back to the Wolves series so Oscar Morse could pitch against his former team, but I'm not sure the result would have been much different. The pitching wasn't all bad, just one earned run charged to the pen and both Fritz and Lyons had strong starts. Shoutout Clarence Crane as well, four more scoreless innings to extend his streak to 22 consecutive innings without allowing a run.

We didn't hit much, and in fact mustered up only one homer for the week. It was from an unlikely source, the almost cut Rule-5 Pick Russ Griffin who was our #1 star of the week despite not starting a single game. He was excellent off the bench, 4-for-7 with a walk, double, triple, homer, and two runs scored and driven in. That won't get him any time over Lawson, however, who was 10-for-26, but failed to record an extra base hit. Despite a three error week, Paul McLain handled the bat, going 8-for-21 with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 RBI's, and 3 runs scored. Doc Love was an identical 8-for-21, but he had 2 doubles, 2 runs, and 3 RBI's. Overall, lot's of empty hits, as despite six of our hitters (10 or more PA's) featuring .300 or higher averages, only one had an OBP above .400 and only one had a slugging above .500. It's a little early to worry too much about fractional stats, but singles alone aren't the way to win games. At least we can only go up from here! Can't fall into 9th place!

Looking Ahead
It wasn't on purpose, but to start week two, the best team in the CA gets to feast on the worst team. The Cleveland Foresters have started the season 5-1 despite their new look. The Foresters of old featured Max Morris, Leon Drake, and Eddie Quinn, but that trio has been replaced with Bill Moore, Roy Bradley, and Lou Martino. Moore was part of the Drake/Morris trade, Martino came over from the Stars, but Bradley is the biggest new piece. Washington's 3rd Round Pick in 1932, Bradley broke out in a part time role last season and the soon to be 26-year-old has developed into one of the brightest young outfielders in baseball. But after acquiring Moxie Pidgeon from the Gothams, the Eagles tapped into their impressive offensive reserves to acquire Eddie Quinn and a 2nd Rounder from Cleveland. Bradley had a down first week, but in 545 FABL plate appearance he owns a nice .337/.374/.521 (121 OPS+) batting line with 6 homers, 16 steals, and 108 RBI's. He's sandwiched himself between Dan Fowler and T.R. Goins, creating a very strong middle of the order. Of course, the true strength is the pitching, and while I think that means Dean Astle, OSA really likes Sergio Gonzales. I'm not as sold on the 25-year-older, but he entered the season in the top 5 for pitchers. Regardless, him and Lee Drouillard are as good of a 2-3 as you can get, and they have reliable vets in Lyman Weigel and Lou Martino to wind out an impressive rotation. I expect them to have zero trouble with up, but since we are home, maybe we'll steal a game? Maybe?

On the road after that, but it'll be just for two with the Sailors. They're an even 3-3, dropping a series to the Foresters after facing us. I'm a little surprised they have John Kincaid on the bench in favor of Mack Deal (former Cougars!), but the exciting new addition to the lineup is longtime top 10 prospect Rip Lee. The 23-year-old topped out at 5 in the 1936 offseason rankings, but he beat out Hal Carter (who may move to third) for the starting job. Currently ranked 11th in the league, Lee projects to be a strong contact hitter with decent enough speed to take an extra base. His glove and arm are good enough for short and I can see him holding down short for years to come. He's a nice addition to a very deep and well rounded lineup. The rotation is missing Oscar Morse, but towards the end of last season Walt Wells took his rotation spot anyways. The other four arms are the same, but there's never an easy game in Philly.

We finish the week with another two game series against a team we've already played. This time the Wolves will be in Chicago before our first off day of the season. The Wolves started their season by getting swept by the Foresters before returning the favor to us. We'll look for a little revenge, but will have to do a much better job stopping the Chicago native Levi Redding. Already one of the top center fielders in the league, the 26-year-old rookie got a cup of coffee last season and is off to a fast start to his likely first full season. The leadoff hitter swiped four bags and was 10-for-26 with a pair of doubles week one. The former Forester draft pick has long been on my radar, and he's really looking like a long term building block for them. The strength for them is their pitching, and they'll get another full season of Joe Hancock with top prospect Buddy Long potentially joining him in Toronto later in the year. We'll need to win at least one of these, but considering we're projected to see Hancock and Chuck Cole, I don't really like our chances.

Minor League Report
The minor league season got underway on the 23rd, but after a little shuffling atop the prospect rankings, the Cougars extended their lead for top system. Hal Wood jumped into our top 5 and the top 50, but the biggest movement is at the tip top! We now join the Dynamos with the only pair of top 5 prospects! Rufus Barrell II dropped down to seven, pushing Peter the Heater to the #2 spot. Then Billy Hunter hopped over a few of the upper echelon prospects to secure the #5 spot. It's a nice little birthday gift for Pete who turns 19 today. He made his first minor league start; 6 innings with 4 hits, a run, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts. And no, not in La Crosse. That's in Lincoln! In the wise words of Michael Jordan, "the ceiling is the roof!"

[legendsport]

Hunter needs to be in the bigs. He ain't gonna get any better than he is right now by sitting in AAA.

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by legendsport

Hunter needs to be in the bigs. He ain't gonna get any better than he is right now by sitting in AAA.

Interesting, but my scout definitely agrees. I thought after his first spring week he'd be in Chicago already, but he'll be up shortly. I think the hardest part now is knowing that him taking a roster spot likely means Bill Ashbaugh is gone. Injuries aside, I'd imagine Hunter will be up before May ends. Either one of our Rule-5 pitchers will falter by then or I'll get tired of seeing Paul McLain in a losing lineup card.

[StLee]

Oh no! It's looking like another long season in Chicago. Like mentioned, hopefully, those in the minors can soon turn this thing around.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 2-11 (8th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Ray Ford : 27 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .296 AVG, .877 OPS
Oscar Morse : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
John Lawson : 30 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .300 AVG, .733 OPS

Schedule
4-26: Loss vs Foresters (4-2)
4-27: Loss vs Foresters (10-5)
4-28: Win vs Foresters (2-0)
4-29: Loss at Sailors (0-4)
4-30: Loss at Sailors (1-11)
5-1: Loss vs Wolves (5-2)
5-2: Loss vs Wolves (6-3)

Recap
It can get worse! 1-6! There has been a lot of bad in the rotation, but we did get a stunning start from Oscar Morse against the Foresters! In his second start with his hometown team, the 33-year-old vet tossed an 8-hit shutout with a walk and three strikeouts. Milt Fritz lost both his starts, but he looked okay. He was an out short of a pair of complete games, and allowed 19 hits, 8 runs (4 earned), and 5 walks with 6 strikeouts. All four unearned runs came in the same game where we made four errors as a team. Fritz has looked great to start the season, working to a 2.02 ERA (212 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 9 walks, and 10 strikeouts in his 26.2 innings pitched. Errors in another game cost Clarence Crane his scoreless streak, as four of the five runs he allowed weren't his fault. I'm also pretending Dave Rankin and Pug Bryan didn't pitch in April. Not worth mentioning...

At the plate we were just as awful, well, unless you're *checks notes* Russ Griffin? Again! This week was just as good, and now for the season he's 5-for-12 with a double, triple, two homers, 3 RBI's, a walk, and 3 runs scored. All of this comes off the bench, so I'm afraid to start him and mess things up. He's not the only Cougar with a homer anymore, as Ray Ford had a nice 8-for-27 week with a double, 2 homers, and 4 RBI's. Other then Griffin, his 106 OPS+ is the only one above 100. Mike Taylor shockingly hit the ball more then once this week, 6-for-15 with a walk, run, and RBI. Everyone else sucked, and in even worse news, pretty much the only player (other then Bert Wilson) on the team who could get injured and could not be replaced by Billy Hunter, got hurt. That would be center fielder Roy Moore, who will miss about a month with a bone spur in his elbow. Worst part is I spent about two hours debating whether or not to claim slugging center fielder Jack Burke off waivers, but I didn't want to deal with losing a player or messing with our minor league infield. Eventually I decided there was no way Moore or Wilson would get hurt this week, and I let Burke clear. I debated bringing up Carlos Montes, but since Moore's injury isn't too long and there are three outfielders in AAA on the 40-man roster, I didn't want to burn an option on Montes. At least for now, lefty Orlin Yates will make the trip to Chicago to form a platoon with Wilson.

Looking Ahead
Thankfully we're off to start the week, and then we finally get to avoid the trio of 8-5 teams that have been fueling their records with our failures. Most of the week will be in New York, three with the Stars and two with the Kings. The Stars are 6-8, and have seen excellent pitching performances from Harry Carter and Les Zoller. The Chicago kid Zoller is the ace of the staff, and 1-0 with a 2.35 ERA (186 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 8 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Carter is pitching better, 1-1 with a 1.27 ERA (344 ERA+), 1.03 WHIP, 10 walks, and 16 strikeouts. The biggest surprise, however, has been Rollie Beal who's been shutdown in his two starts. He's allowed 7 hits, 2 runs, and 6 walks with 10 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched. The offense has let them down, with the only real offensive threats so far being vet Mike Mason and Rule-5 pick and 8th hitter Frank Moore. Dave Trowbridge, now 38, is off to a slow start and hitting just .241/.305/.407 (82 OPS+) with 2 homers and 3 RBI's. Obviously it's still early, but since getting traded to the Stars in 1928, he has never had a sub 112 (last year) OPS+.

Now the Kings are the only other 8-5 team who hasn't feasted on us, but expect that to change when we visit them in Brooklyn. We'll only see two of their starters, so I'm hoping to avoid both Barrell and Murphy. Of course, hitting Joe Shaffner, Art White, or Bert Henggeler won't be easy either, so we'll have to stifle their outstanding offense. Harry and Fred Barrell are off to slow starts at the plate, but the lineup is deep and the bench even deeper. Al Wheeler already has a 5-hit cycle in what should be another elite season for the Wonder Wheel. We finish the week in Montreal, but I'll cover them on Monday. I do expect another tough week, but I'm really hoping we can muster more then one win.

Minor League Report
1B Johnny Waters (AAA Milwaukee Blues): After an excellent Spring, Johnny Waters still ended up in Milwaukee, but he built on that strong performance. Winning the first Century League Player of the Week award, Waters slugged .393/.414/.786 with a pair of doubles and a trio of longballs. Leo Mitchell, like most of the Cougars thusfar has really struggled, so even though Waters sucks at defense, he could replace Mitchell if the bat doesn't heat back up. The 25-year-old is also a switch hitter, and the 1932 15th Rounder has really worked his way up the ladder to secure a 40-man spot and eventual (likely) FABL debut. This kid has always hit, starting in San Jose his debut year and continue up to Milwaukee where he's spent the better part of the past two seasons. He's only struck out 10 times since the start of the 1934 season and is one of the most disciplined (and honestly talented) hitters we have in the organization. He projects to be a .350 hitter with double digit home run power, although he may never find a starting job to reach that potential. My scout thinks he's a bench guy, I do too, and OSA doesn't even consider him one of our top 50 prospects. As of now, just three players (Langton, Roberts, and Red Moore) from the 1932 class have debuted, but Waters will have to hurry to claim the 4th spot with Hunter, Mead, Jordan, and more knocking on the door. All the prep guys are going to be Rule-5 eligible at the end of the season, so expect to see an influx of new, young Cougars pushing that number much higher.

RF Larry Robison (A Lincoln Legislators): Another Player of the Week! Another 1932 draftee! And another late round selection! Unlike Waters, who started his pro career right away, Robison got just 12 plate appearances in his first pro season and injuries cost him most of the 1935 season, so he's still a little underdeveloped. Or so I thought! The 23-year-old got off to a hot start to the season and hit an outstanding .545/.600/.773 with 5 doubles, 3 walks, and 3 runs. Robison's real calling card is his speed, swiping four bags in one game and nine for the week. That's 11 in 9 games and he's on pace for a whopping 171 steals. He stole 34 bases last year, 16 in 26 games the year before, and 120 across almost 2,000 high school and minor league plate appearances. He's also got a strong contact tool, is a decent corner defender, and definitely has the talent to start in the FABL. More of a Dick Fessel (if you can remember him) type starter. He currently sits just inside our top 30 and the league top 300 at 28 and 291 respectively. He's stuck in Lincoln with our influx of outfielders and first basemen, but I'm hoping he finished the year in Mobile or Milwaukee before eventually getting his contract purchased in the offseason.

RHP Sam Hodge (Lincoln Legislators): He may not be the most highly touted arm on the Legislators, that would be Peter the Heater of course, but the 23-year-old Hodge had a dominant outing despite literally no run support. In fact, if Dave Haight didn't walk it off in the tenth, Hodge probably would have come out for the 11th. He needed just 105 pitches (less then all but two of the Cougars starts this year) to complete ten shutout innings with 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I remember when I drafted Hodge in the 6th Round in 1934, I was thinking "man, this 6'4'' righty is going to be throwing much harder then 83-85 once he reaches the upper minors and I might have a start pitcher on my hands!" Well, turns out he still throws 83-85, but he's developed well in all other facets of the game. He's a five pitch pitcher with now excellent control, and while only his curveball is truly dominant, his fastball could be if he just knew how to threw harder. Interesting enough, of the 63 pitchers in our organization, just four others throw his speed and none lower. I can only dream of how much better he'd be if he took the Bill Scott approach, but my scout thinks he'd be an excellent reliever (I think because of the curve being so good), and with all the depth in our system, that's likely what he'll end up doing. He made 20 starts in Lincoln last season, so with a few more like these he'll likely see himself in Mobile.

[ayaghmour2]

Back in December (during 1934 season), I was upset with how terrible my team was and took a look to see how we would have been doing if I never made a trade. I can't confirm it, but I'd wager I likely make the most trades in our league and while some were definite misses, I like to think I net positive in terms of value. I'm hoping to turn this into an eventual offseason project, after each year seeing what this no-trade Cougar team could be, but since I'm always looking for things to write (or just do) on the weekend, I thought it would be perfect to do some of the previous season teams. I already created a 1934 team, so I'm going to see how they performed.

The funniest part of looking back at the original post (https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...&postcount=301) is that one of the draft picks I traded away actually turned out to be Dan Everett, who's now a Cougar. Despite trading for him this offseason, he's actually eligible to be part of this group.

To "score" how this team would have done, I'm using a sort of WAR to wins ratio. The 1934 Cougars won 78 games, with an offensive WAR of 26.3 and a pitching WAR of 17.2 for a combined 43.5 WAR on the season. I then divided that number by our win total to get 0.558, corresponding to 1 win equaling 0.558 WAR. For the "fake" Cougars, I will keep this ratio to determine how many games the other Cougars would have won. Yes, I know this is an imperfect measure, and yes I hate WAR, but I think this is the "fairest" way to predict how many wins we could have had. Below is the roster I selected and how each player ended up performing:

Below is the roster I selected and their numbers for the season:

Catchers
Fred Barrell (BRK): 105 OPS+, 9 HR, 81 RBI, SB, 3.5 WAR
Jim Kyle (CLE): 65 OPS+, 15 RBI, 0.0 WAR

Infielders
Jim Hatfield (BAL): 90 OPS+, HR, 34 RBI, 10 SB, 0.1 WAR
Bill Ashbaugh (CHC): 119 OPS+, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 5 SB, 1.7 WAR
Rabbit Forrest (PHI): 98 OPS+, 30 RBI, 5 SB, 1.8 WAR
Slim Bloom (CHC): 70 OPS+, 20 RBI, 3 SB, 0.2 WAR
Mack Deal (PHS): 75 OPS+, 0 HR, 41 RBI, 6 SB, 0.6 WAR
Clyde Hinzman (TOR/CHC): 66 OPS+, 2 HR, 37 RBI, -0.4 WAR
*John Lawson (NYS): 133 OPS+, 11 HR, 106 RBI, 6.1 WAR

*somehow I called him Joe in the original post

Outfielders
Vince York (STL): 102 OPS+, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 0.7 WAR
Joe Johnson (NYG): 110 OPS+, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 3 SB, 2.2 WAR
Billy Marshall (BAL): 114 OPS+, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 11 SB, 2.0 WAR
Joe Snider (BAL): 130 OPS+, 1 HR, 12 RBI, SB, 0.7 WAR
Bert Harrison (CHC): 79 OPS+, 11 RBI, -0.1 WAR
Bob Worley (MON): 107 OPS+, 17 HR, 71 RBI, 11 SB, 3.9 WAR

Pitchers
Dick Lyons (CHC): 13-10, 101 ERA+, 78 K, 5.4 WAR
Dean Astle (CLE): 17-7, 141 ERA+, 110 K, 6.9 WAR
Tom Barrell (BRK): 29-3, 145 ERA+, 189 K, 8.7 WAR
Mike Murphy (BRK): 21-7, 151 ERA+, 114 K, 5.1 WAR
Bill Ross (CHI): *Did not Pitch*
Ben Turner (CLE): 8-6, 98 ERA+, 48 K, 0.7 WAR
Chick Meehan (CHC): 5-2, 10 SV, 96 ERA+, 29 K, 1.2 WAR
Bill Kline (CHC): 5-3, 4 SV, 123 ERA+, 25 K, 0.6 WAR

Totals
Offense: 23 WAR
Pitching: 28.6 WAR
Total: 51.6 WAR
Approximate Wins: 92.5

If it is any consolation whatsoever, we would still finish in third place! Cleveland won 98 and Brooklyn 97, and yes, I think we'd win the division considering I would have stolen Cleveland's ace and Brooklyn's top two, but for consistency sake, we'll pretend that all other teams finish exactly how they would have. Of course, this team would not win less then 70 games the next year, so the future (past?) is much more encouraging for this roster. The pitching is just absolutely dominant, which makes sense considering Barrell and Astle are both considered top 5 pitchers and I'd argue Mike Murphy is the most underrated pitcher in the game. The offense, however, is actually worse and without John Lawson the team would've been much worse. Fred Barrell and Bob Worley had nice seasons, but our infield needs a lot of work.

Offseason moves for 1935:
Replace Bert Harrison with Jose Serna
Replace Chick Meehan with Phil English
Replace Joe Snider with Mike Knight
Replace Billy Marshall with Rich Langton
Replace Jim Hatfield with Leo Mitchell

Normally these moves will happen before the actual season, but these are all retroactive. Meehan was cut, so I did the same, Harrison was a Rule-5 Pick (only reason on the roster to start with), so he was "optioned" down. Snider was replaced because I wanted a ninth pitcher, while the former Cougar picks were replaced by other Cougar picks who debuted the next season. I'm pretty sure I expected both of these guys to be up during the 1935 season, so I'm allowing it, but my goal for future seasons is not having any idea how much playing time the prospects or non-Cougars are getting. This could potentially create another Bill Ross situation, which is okay, because a lot of these guys are playing independently, and this can help deflate some of the inflated amount of PA's/IP's that could arise.

Notable Prospects/Picks Traded:
Traded Ed Reyes, Red Moore, and Elmer Hutchins July of 1934. All three have debuted in the majors (Moore will be on this team soon)
Traded 3rd Round Pick (pick became Johnny Slaney) in December of 1934

[ayaghmour2]

The 1935 season was realllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyy bad for the Cougars. Not because we finished 68-86, but 1935 marked the end of the effective Tommy Wilcox. It completely cratered our pennant hopes as teams were getting better while we were getting older and injured. The offense was worth 21.4 WAR, but the pitching a pathetic 7.1. This was also the trade filled season that sent Tom Taylor, Lou Kelly, Dick Leudtke, and John Kincaid out of Chicago. This gave us a total of 28.5 WAR, good for 1 win accounting for 0.419 of the teams' WAR. Here's how we could of done:

Catchers
Fred Barrell (BRK): 100 OPS+, 5 HR, 69 RBI, 3.1 WAR
Jim Kyle (CLE/DET): 71 OPS+, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 0.1 WAR

Infielders
Leo Mitchell (CHC): 110 OPS+, 4 HR, 18 RBI, SB, 0.9 WAR
Bill Ashbaugh (CHC): 112 OPS+, 11 HR, 78 RBI, 6 SB, 2.1 WAR
Rabbit Forrest (PHI): 72 OPS+, 23 RBI, SB, 0.2 WAR
Slim Bloom (CHC/DET): 78 OPS+, 4 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB, 0.1 WAR
Mack Deal (PHS): 70 OPS+, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 10 SB, -0.2 WAR
Clyde Hinzman (CHC): 225 OPS+, RBI, 0.1 WAR
John Lawson (NYS): 138 OPS+, 12 HR, 77 RBI, 4.4 WAR

Outfielders
Vince York (STL): 102 OPS+, 7 HR, 64 RBI, 1.2 WAR
Joe Johnson (NYG): 54 OPS+, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 7 SB, -0.1 WAR
Rich Langton (CHC): 156 OPS+, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 3 SB, 2.3 WAR
Jose Serna (DET): 111 OPS+, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 6 SB, 1.3 WAR
Bob Worley (MON): 57 OPS+, 3 HR, 16 RBI, SB, -0.5 WAR

Pitchers
Dick Lyons (CHC): 14-12, 79 ERA+, 56 K, 3.3 WAR
Dean Astle (CLE): 16-12, 124 ERA+, 93 K, 7.5 WAR
Tom Barrell (BRK): 22-11, 156 ERA+, 160 K, 7.9 WAR
Mike Murphy (BRK): 20-10, 98 ERA+, 100 K, 3.6 WAR
Bill Ross (CHI): 3-2, 112 ERA+, 17 K, 0.5 WAR
Ben Turner (CLE): 22-5, 124 ERA+, 69 K, 3.2 WAR
Phil English (TOR): 3-4, 7 SV, 119 ERA+, 23 K, 0.7 WAR
Bill Kline (CHC): 3-5, 8 SV, 62 ERA+, 22 K, -0.2 WAR
Mike Knight (WAS): 10-11, 108 ERA+, 63 K, 1.7 WAR

Totals
Offense: 15 WAR
Pitching: 22.9 WAR*
Total: 37.9 WAR
Approximate Wins: 90

All pitching here, and while it would be good enough initially (103 wins) for first place in the Continental Association, we do get the benefit of extra starting pitchers. Our pitchers made 186 starts, which is 32 more then a regular season. Our starters were worth 27.7 of our pitching WAR, so I divided it by starts and then multiplied by 154 (games in a season) to get an adjusted 22.9 WAR. This gives us a more reasonable 90 wins, again short of both Cleveland and Brooklyn. The middle infield is rather weak and the outfield took a step back with Worley and Johnson undergoing rough seasons.

Offseason Moves for 1936
Replace Joe Johnson with Roy Moore
Replace Bob Worley with Ed Reyes
Replace Clyde Hinzman with Red Moore
Replace Jose Serna with Bert Wilson
Replace Mike Knight with Howard Moss (8 pitchers will probably work better)

Notable Prospects/Picks Traded
Traded Homer Ray to the Dynamos in May 1935
Traded Howard Moss to the Dynamos in July 1935
Traded Mel Leonard to the Pioneers in December 1935

Won't run the 1936 one during the week, but if I remember I'll probably finish that one next weekend (although the draft is approaching). The 1937 team will be selected in that report, but since we are currently in the 1937 season, that one will come after the season ends.

[Tiger Fan]

You just might have won with that group as Brooklyn would not have had the Barrell’s or Mike Murphy and Cleveland would be missing Astle and Turner if they had all remained Cougars property.

Nice write up and fun to think what could have happened. Jiggs McGee did a similar thing with the entire league a couple of seasons back.

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

You just might have won with that group as Brooklyn would not have had the Barrell’s or Mike Murphy and Cleveland would be missing Astle and Turner if they had all remained Cougars property.

Nice write up and fun to think what could have happened. Jiggs McGee did a similar thing with the entire league a couple of seasons back.

Thanks! I think so too, but potentially Wilcox stays healthy and continued to be a dominant ace and Taylor was better then Barrell. Astle and Turner might have put us over the edge, but I'd imagine all four would have worse numbers with how hitter friendly North Side Grounds used to be. Plus with no Dawson/Harry Barrell at short, it could have made for a really interesting three team fight.

I forgot about the Jiggs article initially, but I went back to re-read. It likely subconsciously inspired me to do this. As with all Jiggs pieces, very interesting and well written. Definitely worth taking a look back (especially Figment GMs).

[StLee]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

You just might have won with that group as Brooklyn would not have had the Barrell’s or Mike Murphy and Cleveland would be missing Astle and Turner if they had all remained Cougars property.

Nice write up and fun to think what could have happened. Jiggs McGee did a similar thing with the entire league a couple of seasons back.

That seems to show both Chicago teams having traded away more talent than they gained. As an old Saints coach said, though, "Coulda, woulda, shoulda."

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 5-14 (8th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Doc Love : 20 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .450 AVG, 1.350 OPS
Ray Ford : 18 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .444 AVG, 1.157 OPS
Rich Langton : 22 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .273 AVG, .759 OPS

Schedule
5-4: Win at Stars (4-3)
5-5: Loss at Stars (3-4)
5-6: Loss at Stars (5-6)
5-7: Win at Kings (9-4)
5-8: Loss at Kings (2-4)
5-9: Win at Saints (6-4)

Recap
We didn't win only one game this week! And not only that, we were .500 for the week! We beat each team once as we managed to tie the Gothams for least amount of wins in the league. But enough about the bad, there was some good this week! Pug Bryan got his first big league win! It was a pretty strong start against a very strong team; 7 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs, and 4 strikeouts. The season numbers are still really ugly, we'll hide our viewers from those, but he's sort of improved. The biggest thing is the walks, going from 7 to 5 to 3 to 0. Can't go any lower, but Pug has really never had walk issues. He's sitting at a 5.2 BB/9 despite a stunning 2.2 mark last season in Milwaukee. Once he can get the walks back under control, I think Pug will really start to turn things around.

I do feel for Milt Fritz right now, who's been nothing short of dominant. Errors cost him a win in the 5-4 Stars loss as he went 8 with 7 hits, 4 runs (1 earned), 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. It's just four starts, but he's 1-2 with a sparkly 1.82 ERA (236 ERA+), 1.21 WHIP, 11 walks, and 13 strikeouts. Unearned runs have hurt him, seven already, but even if all those runs were earned, his 3.63 ERA would lead the rotation. Dave Rankin had a pair of decent starts, 17 innings with 17 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Funny enough, every single starter has won a single game so far, so Rankin picked up his first win against the Stars. Of course, he lost his other start, so the 1-4 Rankin is on track to lose a new best 27 games.

The offense had a lot of help, especially with Doc Love and Ray Ford. Love was 9-for-20 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 4 runs, and 2 walks. Ford was 8-for-18 with a double, triple, 2 RBI's, 5 runs, and 3 walks. Neither struck out a single time, and both arguably did better T.R. Goins who won Player of the Week. Ford has hit all year, but this really helped Love. He improved his season line to .365/.394/.524 (139 OPS+) while Ford raised his season line to .324/.387/.515 (135 OPS+). Unfortunately, those are the only two hitters with above average OPS+, as even John Lawson is struggling to start the season while Rich Langton and Ollie Page have been awful. Orlin Yates' debut week didn't go so well, just 4-for-20 with a walk, run, and RBI.

Looking Ahead
We managed to win the first game against the Saints to lower them to an even 10-10. We start the series with George Thomas, who has really been roughed up in his four starts. He's 1-2 with a 7.06 ERA (63 ERA+), 1.98 WHIP, 8 walks, and 7 strikeouts in his 29.1 innings pitched. Then we get 24-year-old Jake DeYoung who's done the exact opposite. I wish I pushed harder to acquire him, but he's off to a hot 4-0 start with a 2.75 ERA (161 ERA+), 0.94 WHIP, 7 walks, and 15 strikeouts in his 36 innings. All their staff gets help from elite center fielder Pablo Reyes, who's also hitting an insane .363/.410/.593 (152 OPS+) with 10 doubles, a triple, 3 homers, 2 steals, and 16 RBI's. He's on track to put up over 10 WAR, which while likely not going to happen, he's well on his way to set a career high. Former Cougar Red Moore has really struggled, but Vic Crawford has supplemented Reyes well. No homers yet, but he's hitting .368/.417/.494 (131 OPS+) with 15 driven in. They will be without 24-year-old star Red Bond who's hamstring tendinitis will cause him to miss at least the next week if not a second. This could mean more time for former Cougar Bobby Sprague, but he's had a tough start.

The road trip continues with two in Baltimore before an off day. At 9-12, they're in seventh, but three games ahead of us. Gus Goulding has struggled a little, but after how dominant he was last season it makes sense the Cannons ace would have a slight drop off to start the year. He's 1-5 with a 4.84 ERA (89 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts in 48.1 innings pitched. Considering his walk and strikeout ratios are near identical from last season, I imagine his ERA will drop like an anchor, especially if we get unlucky enough to face him. Rusty Petrick has had a nice start to his FABL career, 1-4 with a 4.20 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 23 walks, and 21 strikeouts. He's no Rabbit Day, but it's nice for Cannons fan to get an early look at their centerpiece return. The 21-year-old has a polished four pitch arsenal and does a great job keeping the ball on the ground. His cutter sits in the low 90s, but his change is the bread and butter pitch. He gets great downward movement on the pitch and projects to fit comfortably in their rotation. Pinky Conlon is back on the right track, 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA (155 ERA+), 1.08 WHIP, 11 walks, and 20 strikeouts in his five starts. Top prospect Clark Car has had a rough start, but Jim Mason is on a tear. He's hitting .380/.443/.494 (145 OPS+) with a homer and 11 RBI's. Whit Williams has had a strong season too, slashing .300/.367/.475 (119 OPS+) with 3 homers, 2 steals, and 18 RBI's.

We're really going to need that off day, as it's going to prep us to travel to Cleveland to face the 14-6 Foresters. With a two game lead over the Kings, their offense has been #1 or #2 in nearly every category. 38-year-old Charlie Barry is leading the charge, slashing an astronomical .432/.460/.593 (165 OPS+) with a homer and 13 RBI's. He's nursing a strained rib cage muscle that likely won't cause him to miss much time, but considering he's part of the supporting cast, they should be fine without him. I mentioned Goins won Player of the Week, and he's hitting .315/.375/.548 (131 OPS+) with 4 homers and 20 RBI's. Roy Bradley and Dan Fowler are both underperforming while George Dawson and Bill Moore should also start to hit a bit more. Of course, can't forget about the pitching! Offseason acquisition Lou Martino is off to a great start, 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA (286 ERA+), 1.24 WHIP, 13 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched. Drouillard and Weigel are pitching great too, but of course, Dean Astle is flat out dominant. He's 3-2, but with a 2.76 ERA (161 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 13 walks, and 16 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. With all this talent, expect them to have no issues with our rag tag group of misfits.

Minor League Report
RHP Joe Brown (A Lincoln Legislators): Almost on demand, Joe Brown decides to add velocity in the December. From 1932 to 1935, he added velocity in December (even did it in November 1931), so I was a little surprised there was no bump. In all honesty, he doesn't need it, he already throws 94-96 consistently with his sinker. After matching 107 ERA+ in Class B and C, I decided "why not send him to Lincoln?" It's been excellent, just a single earned run in 23 innings. He's got a stunning 0.39 ERA (996 ERA+) and 0.61 WHIP with 4 walks and 8 strikeouts. Brown seems to be a low stamina guy, falling just short of a complete game with 101 pitches in his first two starts and just 91 in a 6 inning outing, but that doesn't sour my opinion on him. First plus, he's from Berwyn (not too far from Chicago), second he's an extreme groundballer, and third his personality; "the type of player you'd be happy to have as the face of your franchise." The only issue for Brown is he's 23, eligible for the Rule-5 draft in the offseason (along with a ton of other guys), and there's a ton of arms ahead of him. And while I do believe these three starts will be the best he has all season, I'm hoping this could be the start of a breakout.

1B Cuno Myer (B San Jose Cougars): The only bat no glove Cuno Myer had a dream series against the Spokane Lumberjacks. Myer was 8-for-13 with 4 runs, a double, a homer, and 6 RBI's in the three game set. This was enough to propel Myer to a Player of the Week award, in total 14-for-30 with 2 more homers and 5 more RBI's. He's building off a strong 1936 season and is off to a .323/.375/.554 (158 OPS+) start. He's hit 4 longballs and drove in 17 with a trio of doubles. He's heading up to Lincoln now with the injury to Ivan Cameron, and I think the switch hitter won't be back down. I think I'm going to train Myer to be the ultimate switch hitting pinch hitter, as I can't imagine he'll ever learn how to play first base.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 10-15 (8th, 6.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 27 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .370 AVG, .948 OPS
Doc Love : 23 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .435 AVG, 1.043 OPS
Milt Fritz : 2 Wins, 17.0 IP, 6 BB, 5 K, 0.53 ERA

Schedule
5-10: Win at Saints (6-4)
5-11: Win at Saints (3-0)
5-12: Loss at Cannons (6-9)
5-13: Win at Cannons (3-0)
5-14: Win at Foresters (9-3)
5-15: Win at Foresters (5-1)

Recap
This was supposed to be the "Ignore the awful week, Billy Hunter is here!" post, but instead, my stupid team decided to go 5-1 and Milt Fritz continued his dominant start to the season. Not only is he dominant, we actually won both games against the Saints and Foresters, and we actually beat Astle and Drouillard! The Cannons managed to take one game, and of course, it was the one Pug pitched. But, before diving into this crazy week, me must mourn yet again. Poor, poor, poor Tommy Wilcox. Yet again, his arm decided to explode. In just his fourth AAA start of the season, he tore his rotator cuff, and will miss 13 more months. His elbow was already gone, and now the shoulder. I really hope he retires and becomes our pitching coach, but poor poor Tommy cannot catch a break...

Enough sadness, enough mourning. This stupid team went 5-1! Yes, we're still stuck in last, but who cares! We doubles our win total! And we now have the CA batting leader! Doc Love is showing he's still got it at 30, starting the week with a 5-hit outing that sparked a 10-for-23 week. He always hits well in big stadiums (like Montreal) and is slashing .384/.404/.547 (145 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, and 15 RBI's in his first 89 plate appearances. It was an outstanding offensive week for us, with Ray Ford continue his torrid stretch. He was 8-for-20 with 4 doubles, a triple, 4 runs, and 4 RBI's. Ford has been outstanding this year, slashing a remarkable .341/.414/.557 (151 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 13 RBI's, and double the walks (8) then strikeouts (4). This is the Ford I've been waiting for! John Lawson had his first good week, 10-for-27 with 2 doubles, a homer, and six driven in. Even Mike Taylor got in the fun, 8-for-20 with a double, 5 RBI's, and 2 runs scored. When he was on the bench, Pinkham picked up the slack, 1-for-5 with a solo shot. Even the center fielder platoon worked, with Yates and Wilson combining to go 9-for-25 with 4 RBI's, 3 runs, and 3 walks.

So let's talk Milt Fritz. He gets Montreal and Cleveland and goes 17 innings with 13 hits, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts, and just a single earned run. He won both games to improve to 3-2 on the season, but the true beauty comes from the ERA; 1.39 (314 ERA+). Only the other Chicago's Jack Beach (1.31) has a lower ERA while Fritz has a nice cushion over Philly's Walt Wells (2.05) in the CA. What's craziest is besides Beach, Fritz's ERA is less then half of any other FA qualifier. Frtiz has been in a league of his own to start the season, and high highs like this are exactly what you expect from dice roll starters. Ahead of him, Dave Rankin is starting to heat up, and he tossed a 5-hit, 3 walk, 4 strikeout shutout of the Cannons as he outdueled Gus Goulding in a 3-0 win. Rankin's back to an above average ERA+ (106) and he's breezed past his dreadful start to the season. Even Lyons and Morse pitched well, a pair of 7 inning wins. Lyons allowed 9 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 3 strikeouts while Morse allowed 8 hits with 4 runs (3 earned), 3 walks, and a strikeout. Unfortunately, things have been awful for Pug. His 5 starts have been far from good, 36 hits, 24 runs, 18 walks, and 18 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched. I am in need of a roster spot, so unfortunately Pug will replace the injured Wilcox in the Blues rotation.

Looking Ahead
Usually I like to start this section with who we're playing with next, but there's something more important to look ahead at. For the finale of what could be a sweep of the first place Foresters, batting sixth and playing short will be none other then 22-year-old Billy Hunter. Injuries slowed his climb a bit, but the 14th pick of the 1932 draft and current #9 prospect in all of baseball is set to make his FABL debut. I could go on and on about how good Hunter is, but my scouts last sentence is enough "Hunter profiles as a potential elite shortstop on a contending team." Hunter had a rough stint in AAA last year, but the former Cincinnati HS Tiger hit an impressive .301/.337/.434 (138 OPS+) in his 89 PA's to start the year. No homers, but he doubled 7 times, tripled twice, and drove in five. He was 0-for-5 in steal attempts, but if that's his only flaw I'm okay with that. I still remember that 1932 draft. We were actually good, so know chance to nab Lefty Allen, and after he was nabbed fourth I kept hoping and hoping that Hunter would fall. Sure enough, I ended up with my #1 hitter and I could not be happier with how he's developed. This really signals the turning of a corner for us, and it should only get better for Cougar fans.

Hunter will get his share of elite shortstops, and after facing personal favorite George Dawson, we'll head home for three with Harry Barrell's Brooklyn Kings. Harry is nursing a DTD injury, so he may not play, but hopefully Billy can get his first career homer off Tom Barrell or Mike Murphy. It may be tough, Tom is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA (175 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 8 walks, and 26 strikeouts while Murphy is an unlucky 2-4 despite his 2.74 ERA (164 ERA+), 1.11 WHIP, 7 walks, and 9 strikeouts. Of course, there's no "easy" pitcher in that rotation; Art White and Joe Shaffner boast ERA+'s of 129 and 148 while sharing the CA win lead at four. The Kings offense is a little down, but they're leading the CA in homers and steals. Bill May and Fred Barrell have struggled, but brother Dan took home Player of the Week and is slashing .362/.447/.500 (139 OPS+) with 2 homers and 12 RBI's. And of course, since they lead the league in homers, it only makes sense that Al Wheeler's six are best in the CA as well. He's on track for a third consecutive 30+ homer and 100+ RBI season. Brooklyn sits a half game behind the Foresters, so they'll be rooting for us before we welcome them to town.

After that it's two with the Saints who will be looking for some revenge. We swept the now 13-14 Saints in Montreal, so maybe I should be worried that we're playing in Chicago. The rotation has really been beat up, as the Stars piled on 9 against DeYoung to raise his ERA above 4. His 4.07 ERA (111 ERA+) is almost two full runs better then any other member of their rotation, and the only one below 6.00. Rookie Jay Haskins has really been hit hard. Somehow he's 2-1, but his 8.41 ERA (54 ERA+) and 1.84 WHIP paint a much uglier pitcher and the 19-to-6 strikeout to walk ratio gives me nightmares of Art Black's crippling control issues. Of course, the reason Haskins is 2-1 is because of the Saints offense. They don't hit homers because of their park, but they rank one or two in average, OBP, OPS, wOBA, WAR, runs, hits, and walks. The only real "weakness" in the lineup right now is Red Moore, but once he turns things around it's going to be really hard to pitch to Montreal.

A lot of two game series this year, and we'll have a Sunday-Monday series with the Cannons. They were the only team to top us last week, and are now 13-15 and ahead of the struggling Sailors (12-15) who looked like a pennant contender. After a strong 4 start debut, top 10 prospect John Edwards has had some issues in his 7 starts this year. He's 4-3, but with a 5.20 ERA (84 ERA+) and 1.83 WHIP. He's shot himself in the foot with the walks, 40 compared to 24 strikeouts. Those are strong strikeout numbers, just like the rest of the rotation. The Cannons have the weirdest pitching staff by far, 1st in strikeouts, defensive efficiency, BABIP, and opponent average while second in pen ERA and hits allowed. Somehow, this is paired with 7th in team ERA, starter's ERA, homers allowed, and walks. They look like a three true outcomes staff and the strong middle infield of King and Car makes things real easy when the ball is on the ground. The offense has a mix of over and underachievers that turn the overall output to just average. Former Cougar farmhand Joe Rainbow seems to have found his groove, slashing .350/.430/.438 (125 OPS+) with a homer and 14 RBI's in his first 93 plate appearances of the season. Abel Man has hit well as well, .313/.387/.495 (127 OPS+) with 3 homers, 4 steals, and 9 driven in.

Minor League Report
RHP Harry Parker (Mobile Commodores): After an 11 hit, 7 run, and just 6 inning start, Harry Parker decided he had to do something special. This time it was a 3-hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeout shutout in a tight 2-0 win over the Nashville Chieftains. The complete game machine now has 27 in 40 minor league starts as he continues to baffle hitters multiple times through the order. What I liked most about this one was it took just 99 pitches for him to comb through the opposing order. The overall season numbers are just average for Parker, but my scout thinks he's big league ready and could fill into the five spot of the rotation immediately. Since he's not Rule-5 eligible this offseason (unlike almost 80% of my prospects), the towering 6'6'' righty may be past up by pitchers for the first time in his career. It took him less then 30 starts to reach AA, but he may have about that many starts left before he finds himself in Chicago. With him in the Mobile rotation, Stumpy Beaman, Cy Sullivan, Joe Foote, and Karl Wallace are all eligible to be selected in the offseason. That doesn't even include Elias Canady, Freddie Bennett, and Ducky Jordan, all guys I need/want to protect. We're sitting at 35 of 40 spots, so that means I'd have to cut three current 40 man players to fit Parker into the mix, but if he keeps throwing shutouts I might have to bite the bullet and watch him befuddle FABL players. And now that Billy Hunter is in the majors, Parker takes the title of my favorite minor leaguer. Although Peter the Heater is definitely a close second. Wo doesn't love triple digits!

[Tiger Fan]

Looking forward to seeing what Hunter does in his debut week. And Brooklyn thanks you for your wins over Cleveland on the weekend.

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Looking forward to seeing what Hunter does in his debut week. And Brooklyn thanks you for your wins over Cleveland on the weekend.

He's going to have a tough week matchup wise. Starts with Sergio Gonzales and then Tom Barrell. If Tom doesn't completely overwhelm him, it could be a perfect setup for his first career homer; fire balling flyball pitcher pitching to a flyball hitter in a stadium where flyballs can really fly.

But, we'll try our best to finish them off, got Rankin going for the finale, but he always finds unlucky ways to lose. Kings do luck out by missing him and Fritz though.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 15-17 (5th, 5.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Billy Hunter : 27 AB, 9 H, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.231 OPS
John Lawson : 30 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .333 AVG, .955 OPS
Ollie Page : 24 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .250 AVG, .780 OPS

Schedule
5-17: Loss at Foresters (1-8)
5-18: Win vs Kings (2-3)
5-19: Loss vs Kings (11-6)
5-20: Win vs Kings (5-7)
5-21: Win vs Saints (2-8)
5-23: Win vs Saints (2-3): 12 innings
5-24: Win vs Cannons (4-5): 11 innings

Recap
Pinch me I must be dreaming! And to the tune of 5 wins, 4 homers, and 10 RBI's! And my prediction came true! Billy Hunter recorded his first big league homer against Tom Barrell as him, Ollie Page, and Doc Love hit solo homers as we edged the Kings 3-2. What I did not predict was the rest of Hunter's week! This must have been the greatest debut week ever and it was utter blasphemy that he did not come home with a Player of the Week award. The future of Chicago baseball (who's now all tired out and in need of an off day) was 9-for-20 with 2 doubles, 4 homers, 10 RBI's, and a pair of walks while slugging an outstanding .852. Not only that, if you ignore the small sample size, his 1.131 efficiency at shortstop is George Dawson/Harry Barrell level! He was a perfect 24-for-24 in the field too and even with this quick glimpse, it's quite apparent; this kid is a stud!

Oh yeah, we're also winning now! A 5-2 week following a 5-1 week and just like that we've won 10 out of 13 to jump all the way up to 5th. No other CA team can match that, and just like that the Cougars don't really suck anymore. I guess? I'm okay with that! Especially with John Lawson back on track! He's tied with Hunter for the team home run lead after going 10-for-30 with 4 RBI's and a pair of doubles, homers, and runs scored. In his first week at second, Ollie Page hit just 6-for-24, but with a triple, homer, 3 walks, 6 runs, and 6 RBI's. And like Hunter, he was perfect in the field, 33-for-33! Compared to how our middle infield did before this week, it's like going from Corey Seager and Max Muncy to Francisco Lindor and Cesar Hernandez. Even Leo Mitchell got into the fun this week, 4-for-12 with a pair of doubles in his part time play. It's been rough for him so far, but maybe this is the start of a turnaround for the 24-year-old.

With Pug going to the minors, I allowed my starters to be used as relievers, and for Milt Fritz, that meant no starts. Didn't go quite as well, 6 innings in two outings with 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Oscar Morse took his start, 16 total innings with 17 hits, 6 runs, 11 walks, and just 2 strikeouts. Clarence Crane made his first big league start, going all nine with 5 hits, a pair of unearned runs, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Crane has been a pleasant surprise, 19 innings with a 1.89 ERA (231 ERA+) and 1.58 WHIP. He walks way too many hitters, but it hasn't killed him yet. Dave Rankin had two starts, a loss and a no decision, going 18.2 innings with 23 hits, 10 runs (9 earned), 8 walks, and 12 strikeouts. He's most definitely allergic to winning, as his no decision was a game where he tossed 11 innings with just 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 9 strikeouts.

Looking Ahead
Well, I certainly did not expect to be two games below .500, and I'm already expecting a rough week. We are home, so maybe Hunter will hit a few more wall scrapers. We start with Baltimore and will face John Edwards in the finale. He's 4-4 with a 5.73 ERA (77 ERA+), 1.83 WHIP, 42 walks, and 25 strikeouts in his 8 starts. We just passed them in the standings, as they're 15-19 and a game behind us. After Baltimore it's New York for three with the Stars. They're now in last at 14-20. Harry Carter has established himself as an ace, 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA (165 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 22 walks, and 21 strikeouts across 40 innings pitched. Then their two through five all have ERA's between 4.28 and 4.54, all respectable numbers. Veteran Dave Trowbridge has started to turn things around, increasing his triple slash to .287/.333/.481 (107 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 4 homers, and 19 RBI's. He hasn't had much support in the lineup, so I'm really hoping our staff has a lot of fun in this series.

We then finish the week with a three game set with the still first place Foresters. We took two out of three from them the last time we faced, and at 21-12 they hold a game lead over the Kings. Sergio Gonzales bested us last time out, now 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA (141 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 13 walks, and 22 strikeouts across 53 innings pitched. Him, Astle, and Martino have held down the staff, but Lee Drouillard and Lyman Weigel have really struggled. Drouillard is 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA (88 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, 9 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 56 frames while Weigel is 2-4 with a 5.85 ERA (77 ERA+), 1.52 WHIP, 14 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched. Even with those two struggling, the offense can more then make up for it. George Dawson is looking like the second best shortstop in the league (behind Hunter, of course), slashing .336/.388/.453 (111 OPS+) with 2 homers, 2 steals, and 27 RBI's. Add in a +8 zone rating with a 1.124 efficiency and there is very little he can't do. His double play partner, Brooks Meeks, is also off to a great start. Meeks is hitting .327/.389/.490 with 9 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 3 steals, and 15 RBI's. He's nowhere near the defender that Dawson is, but the plays he can't make on the backhand Dawson will be there to make up for it. I also should mention Fowler, who stole Hunter's POTW award, who's brought his line up to .336/.390/.456 (112 OPS+). Not much power this year, just 2 longballs after 33 last year, but I expect that to change in the very near future.

Minor League Report
LHP Cal Knight (AAA Milwaukee Blues): He may be a 6 inning pitcher, but that hasn't stopped Cal Knight from making those 6 innings count. Up in the highest level, he's 4-1 with a 2.02 ERA (161 ERA+), 1.04 WHIP, 5 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched. Like Parker, he's not Rule-5 eligible, which may make him spend the entire year in AAA. A polished three pitch pitcher with an 86-88 mile per hour cutter that he pairs well with his slider and changeup. His changeup is the best of the three, but he's not a stuff pitcher. His strength should be his control, and after a poor 3.9 BB/9 last season, he's dropped it way down to 1.3 this year. He doesn't have quite the upside of some of our younger pitchers, but Knight is far much more developed then the rest. I expect him to spend all of this season in Milwaukee, but he could be up in Chicago next season.

2B Jorge Camargo (AA Mobile Commodores): Our Independent League selection this season, Jorge Camargo hasn't had much of a problem with the tougher competition. This week he took home Player of the Week after going 13-for-26 with 5 runs scored and driven in. In his first 29 games in our system, he's hitting a strong .292/.393/.469 (156 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 5 triples, 7 steals, and 11 RBI's. The most impressive thing is the 20 walks already. I was not expecting this impressive plate discipline, as most of his strengths come from his speed and athleticism. A natural shortstop, the 24-year-old switch hitter has been getting reps at second as I work on building his versatility. Before this season, he almost strictly played games at shortstop, and he has looked pretty good. There are a lot of quality infielders ahead of him, but Camargo is the perfect off the bench player. I'm hoping to groom him to become a better Clyde Hinzman, but he's definitely got the talent to turn into a passable starter.

Amateur Report
The pool was announced today! I'm hoping to do a big amateur report over the weekend as well as adding the 1937 class to my draft database. This year the draft will be a little different, the first two rounds we select "blocks" instead of players based on the first two rounds of the mock draft. I will say the best player in the draft is Chicago's very own Roosevelt Bower who's projected to be an elite second basemen. A lot of good players are available, but it will be interesting to see where the players end up. As of now, just one pitcher ranks in the top two rounds of the Mock Draft, so the 3rd Round is definitely going to be crazy. There is a chance that like last season, the arguably second best player in the draft class was a 3rd Round projection, but it doesn't quite look like there's a chance of that this year. It will definitely be a new experience, but after an initial strong dislike for the new format, I am looking for to seeing how things shape out. I'll have a lot of cutting to do in the minors, so a lot of our fringe guys will have to kick it into high gear to stay in the organization.

[DD Martin]

Perhaps you’d like to pick up some extra picks

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 19-20 (5th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 28 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.181 OPS
Ray Ford : 30 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .333 AVG, .861 OPS
Doc Love : 18 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.056 OPS

Schedule
5-24: Loss vs Cannons (5-1)
5-25: Win vs Stars (4-5)
5-26: Win vs Stars (2-6)
5-27: Win vs Stars (2-3): 10 innings
5-28: Loss vs Foresters (8-5)
5-29: Win vs Foresters (2-9)
5-30: Loss vs Foresters (10-8): 11 innings

Recap
If you told me that a day before May ended that we'd be a game below .500, I'd say you were crazy. Especially after the awful way we started the season! But none the less, it's almost June and the Cougars are only half a game out of third and somehow making noise. It was just a 4-3 week, but it involve out second sweep of the season. We ran through the Stars who are now on track for the #1 pick. The Foresters bested us this time, but we still managed to steal a game and almost the finale as well. Dave Rankin tossed a gem, a 10 inning dub with 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Milt Fritz tossed 18 innings across two starts and a relief outing, finishing 1-1 with 18 hits, 7 runs (5 earned), 9 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Clarence Crane continued his tight rope walk routine, 9.1 innings in a start and relief outing with 7 hits, 2 runs, 6 walks, and a single strikeout. Even Dick Lyons made two fine starts, 16 innings with 21 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), a walk, and 5 strikeouts with a win and no decision. Somehow our pitching staff now holds the 3rd best earned run average (3.82) and I can imagine it will only get better the more experience Page gets at second and the more Hunter plays at short.

John Lawson's hit streak was stopped at 26, but it didn't stop him from the best week of his season. He was 12-for-28 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 8 runs, 2 walks, and 5 RBI's. Doc Love had another strong week, 7-for-18 with a homer, 4 runs, 4 RBI's, and 3 walks. Ray Ford was 10-for-30 with a double, homer, 3 RBI's, 7 runs, and 3 walks. Some of our part-time players did really well, with Russ Griffin, Ed Pinkham, Bert Wilson, and Johnny Turner all surprisingly playing well. The four combined to go 10-for-23 with 2 doubles, 5 RBI's, 4 runs, and 3 walks. Wilson saved his job, as Roy Moore is now healthy and Orlin Yates has really struggled. While Wilson has hit an average .295/.368/.385 (99 OPS+) Yates hit just .190/.281/.215 (33 OPS+). He's down to AAA now, and Moore will return to the lineup. He only got a handful of at bats earlier in the season, but with how awful Yates has been I didn't even want to give Moore a rehab assignment.

Looking Ahead
Our long stretch of games will end after a double header with the Wolves. Toronto is just a game behind us, 18-21 and seven out of first, but I'm not sure we're a better team then them. We'll get Chick Wirtz first, who's just 1-5 with a 4.55 ERA (98 ERA+), 1.73 WHIP, 25 walks, and 18 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched. Not sure who will go for the double header, but it might be Chuck Cole who's really struggling. He's just 2-5 with a 4.88 ERA (91 ERA+) and 1.53 WHIP with 26 walks and strikeouts. Either that or ace Otis Cook, who threw 5 pitches yesterday. He's 5-2 with a 3.08 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 14 walks, and 8 strikeouts. I think I rather face Cook, because I have no idea why he is doing well. Of course, one player that is doing well that I'm not surprised one but about is Larry Vestal. The 27-year-old is off to an outstanding start, slashing .364/.425/.576 (152 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 8 triples, 3 homers, 2 steals, and 20 RBI's. Unfortunately for him, however, he's all alone in the lineup with no other Wolve starter boasting an OPS+ above 80.

After the needed off day, we'll stay in Canada for three with the Saints. Montreal has dropped to 17-22 and are two games behind us. They've moved Walker Moore to the rotation after 11 excellent relief appearances. He pitched 24.1 innings with 21 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, and 9 strikeouts. His first start didn't go well, but the rest of the rotation has struggled. They have gotten five good starts from Earle Whitten who's recovered from a torn rotator cuff. He's 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, 11 walks, and 7 strikeouts in 30 innings. The top of the lineup is very strong, with the top 5 all boasting above average OPS+. They have a strong defense, but it hasn't helped the pitching much. What has been weird is Adam Mullins' struggles. The young catcher his hitting just .273/.355/.348 (80 OPS+) with a homer and 20 RBI's. He does have an outstanding 19-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio and I expect him to turn things around.

Last stop for the week is Baltimore where we play the third place Cannons. They're just a half a game ahead with an extra win and we could potentially end up in third with a good week. Pinky Conlan continues his strong season, 5-3 with a 2.75 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.08 WHIP, 19 walks, and 29 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched. They got a scare as the oft injured Conlan left his last start with a tired arm. He's fine, but injuries do seem to be a common theme for the 28-year-old. Rusty Petrick is also having a strong rookie year, 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.43 WHIP, 45 walks, and 41 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched. Once Goulding and Edwards straighten up their stuff, it's going to be impossible to score on this team. The outfield is strong, with OPS+ of 112, 126, and 134 for Abel Man, Whit Williams, and Jim Mason. The infield is struggling, but I expect Clark Car to improve his .243/.297/.389 (79 OPS+) batting line and Frank Covarrubias won't hit .248/.283/.317 (57 OPS+) the rest of his career.

Minor League Report
RHP Joe Foote (AA Mobile Commodores): We have three pitchers in Mobile with sub 2.00 ERA's, and none of them are Harry Parker! With a 1.86 ERA (168 ERA+) Joe Foote slightly edges out Cy Sullivan for the team lead. The 22-year-old Foote is one of the many guys I'll need to make room for on the 40, but I am a little shocked he's still working on polishing his arsenal. He has a nice mid 90s sinker that does a great job generating groundballs, but the curve and slide still aren't there. The sinker is still dominant enough that he can start, but I'd love for the secondary offerings to develop further. His command is strong, but he's not striking out anyone this year. Just 9 strikeouts with 15 walks is not ideal, but when you also have a 1.18 WHIP, it's okay. He doesn't let too many hitters get on base, and when he does, he's good at erasing them. I feel bad for him because he's almost on the outside looking in. Pete, Scott, Parker, Sullivan, Wallace, and Beaman all rank ahead of him and you can't forget about Fritz, Rankin, and Pug. Our pitching situation is getting a little murky, but you can never have too many pitchers!

RF Chubby Hall (C La Crosse Lions): Last year was a nightmare for the 3rd Rounder, but in 340 less plate appearances, he's already matched his homer run total from last year. He also took home Player of the Week this season, going 14-for-28 with with 6 runs scored and 7 driven in. He's striking out four times as much as he walks, but Hall is hitting a nice .324/.349/.518 (147 OPS+) with 6 doubles, 7 homers, 25 RBIs, and even a pair of steals. I've been giving him time at all three outfield positions, but I expect Chubby to hang out in La Crosse until the draft adds a ton of new players to our system. The lefty has a ton of contact potential and he should be a capable corner defender, while possibly even passable out in center. Currently rated our 5th best prospect and 52nd in the league (we actually have 53, 54, 58, and 59 too), Hall has a long way to go before being big league ready, but once he is, he could become one of the best outfielders in the game. I think he'll end up in right, but I expect him to turn into a high OBP and hopefully high slugging corner bat.