Chicago Cougars (FABL)

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 39-43 (t-4th, 10.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Dick Lyons : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
John Lawson : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .346 AVG, .692 OPS
Doc Love : 18 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .389 AVG, .976 OPS

Schedule
7-12: Loss at Foresters (3-5)
7-14: Loss at Cannons (3-6)
7-15: Win at Cannons (1-0)
7-16: Win at Cannons (4-3)
7-17: Loss at Kings (6-8): 10 innings
7-18: Loss at Kings (3-4)

Recap
The road was tough this week, as we lost to the teams that are clearly better then us and took two out of three from the Cannons. There wasn't all that much good this week, but we continue to play way too many close games. Both wins were just one run games and all the losses were three or less runs. And while the top two in the rotation struggled, Dick Lyons flashed some of his vintage stuff. He tossed a 7-hit shutout with a walk and two strikeouts. Lyons now has an above average ERA+, and is 6-3 with a 4.03 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 19 walks, and 26 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched. He's 37 now, but pitching his best ball since his outstanding 1933 season. Oscar Morse picked up the other win, 8 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Dave Rankin unfortunately pitched in the extra inning affair, walked off with two outs in the 10th by Alf Pestilli. He was left in far too long, 10 hits, 8 runs, and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts to his credit. Milt Fritz was roughed up in his two starts, 12 hits, 12 walks, and 9 runs with just 3 strikeouts in 15 innings and two outs.

We also didn't hit much during the week, which tends to happen when we go 2-4 for the week. Doc Love had another great week, 7-for-18 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI's, and 3 walks. Rich Langton was 6-for-17 with a double, 3 RBI's, and 3 walks. John Lawson was 9-for-26 with 4 RBI's and 3 runs, but all nine hits were singles and he failed to draw a walk. Johnnie Williamson made a pair of starts in his debut week, 2-for-7 with a walk and run scored. It may or may not help the offense, but I claimed 29-year-old Joe Foy off waivers from the Chiefs. He doesn't have the best reputation in the clubhouse, but the former 14th overall pick has experience at third, short, and all three outfield spots and I plan on starting him at second until Billy Hunter returns. Foy has spent parts of 1931-1937 with the South Siders, hitting .318/.346/.401 (101 OPS+) with 80 doubles, 12 triples, 15 homers, 29 steals, and 204 RBI's in 1,899 plate appearances. He'll take Johnny Turner's spot on the roster, moving Paul McLain back to the bench. The outspoken Foy may not be the best for the clubhouse, but we've got a ton of captains and leaders that they should hopefully be able to keep him in check.

Looking Ahead
We'll look to avoid the sweep at the hands of the Kings as Joe Shaffner will take on Pug Bryan. Bryan is the only member of our rotation with a below average ERA+ (92) while Shaffner has been the most effective King not named Barrell on the staff. After Brooklyn, we continue our road trip to New York for three with the Stars. At 36-49, they have a one game lead over the Wolves for the 2nd Overall Pick. Harry Carter is in the midst of an excellent season, 6-6 with a 3.52 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 44 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 102.1 innings pitched. Les Zoller has cooled off a little, but still has a nice season line. He's 5-6 with a 3.88 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.54 WHIP, 50 walks, and 54 strikeouts in 116 innings. Dick Leudtke has looked okay in his three starts (and one relief outing), 3-0 with a 4.15 ERA (102 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 8 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Dave Trowbridge has had an alright season, but has started to see the bench more often. He's hitting .305/.375/.463 (119 OPS+) with 8 homers and 39 RBI's. He's gotten some help from Larry Colaianni who's hit a decent .299/.347/.446 (106 OPS+) with 7 homers and 25 RBI's while he's gotten some chances at the keystone. Still, there are a lot of holes in the Stars lineup and I think our staff can take advantage of that.

We finish the roadtrip with three in Montreal, and the Saints have now joined us in fourth place. And while he doesn't have 50 homers (or whatever OSA predicted), Hank Barnett is up to 10 with 48 RBI's as he's hitting .280/.371/.437 (107 OPS+) in 368 trips to the plate. Pablo Reyes is keeping up the pace, batting .306/.358/.493 (117 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, 13 steals, and 47 RBI's while walking 28 times with just 6 strikeouts. The pitching staff has had some struggles, but former Cougar Bill Ross has looked great in his 13 starts. He's 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA (135 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, 21 walks, and 41 strikeouts. Walker Moore, Earle Whitten, and George Thomas are all having slightly below average years, but Jake DeYoung has been the most dependable option. At 8-5, he's got a 3.90 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, 26 walks, and 61 strikeouts across 140.2 innings pitched.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 44-45 (4th, 9.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
None generated this week

Schedule
7-19: Loss at Kings (3-5)
7-20: Win at Stars (15-2)
7-21: Win at Stars (11-3)
7-22: Win at Stars (8-6)
7-23: Loss at Saints (7-8)
7-24: Win at Saints (6-1)
7-25: Win at Saints (5-2)

Recap
After shaking off the sweep by the Kings, we buckled down and took five of the next six to complete a strong week on the road. We swept right past the Stars, putting up double digits in the first two before finishing off the sweep with a much more highly contested match. Both losses were real close, as it feels like all of them have been recently, but I loved the offensive production even with being on the road. We also brought home another Player of the Week, this week Ray Ford, who was 14-for-26 with 2 homers and 5 RBI's. Ford was awful last week, but had a pair of four hit games and two more with two this week. The 26-year-old has been productive at the plate, hitting .298/.366/.469 (121 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 3 triples, 10 homers, and 45 RBI's thusfar. The power surge has been nice, he's doubled his homerun total in about half the time. The offense has not been the problem, we actually have a strong Pythagorean (47-42), but luck and the defense has let us down.

Ford wasn't the only hitter with an excellent week, as Mike Taylor continues his sort of rebound season. Taylor went 12-for-26 with 2 doubles, a triple, a homer, 6 runs, and 9 RBI's. He's hitting an almost league average .288/.340/.401 with 18 doubles, 3 homers, and 42 RBI's. Leo Mitchell was 7-for-18 with a homer, 2 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. John Lawson was 13-for-32 with a steal, 5 doubles, 8 runs, and 8 RBI's. Our new middle infield, however, didn't hit at all. Joe Foy and Ollie Page combined to go 10-for-52 with a double, 2 triples, and 10 RBI's. Page accounted for both the triples and all but one of the RBI's, so Foy was almost useless at the plate. Of course, it's just one week, and at least we can only go up from there.

On the mound, Pug and Rankin were excellent in their two starts. Pug was 1-1, and went 16 innings with 15 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 7 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Most of the missteps were in the first start, as the unearned run was really the only blemish in a complete game win over the Saints. He allowed 7 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts in his fourth win of the season. He's now sporting a league average (in terms of ERA+) 4.15 ERA in 91 FABL innings. Our rotation is actually extremely reliable, sitting at second (3.70) in the CA. The rotation is a bit different then last year, but we're riding back-to-back seasons with a team ERA above 5, so I think we'll be able to avoid that fate this year. Rankin tossed a pair of complete game victories, recording 12 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts. Milt Fritz, however, continued his rough patch, 13 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in an out short of six innings. Dick Lyons continued to heat up, falling an out short of a complete game, allowing 10 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with a punch out as he improved to 7-3.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week, but we'll use the day to return home to get a good nights sleep before welcoming the third place Brooklyn Kings. Sitting at 52-39, they're just 2.5 games out of first, and the Kings GM has floated the idea of a mini-teardown, with stars Al Wheeler, Frank Vance, and Joe Shaffner all being placed on the block. I think even the Barrelless Kings can compete for a pennant, but you know the first thing I did was make an offer for Al Wheeler. Hopefully, he switches sides for the series, but expect the 4-Time Whitney Winner to finish the season in Brooklyn. The Decatur kid is slashing a robust .309/.402/.546 (143 OPS+) with 18 homers and 76 RBI's. He's leading the CA in homers and RBI's, but his average will stop him from a batting title. The 35-year-old Vance has shown no signs of ace, batting .329/.403/.508 (134 OPS+) with 30 doubles, 8 homers, and 43 RBI's in 361 trips to the plate. The last of the trio, Shaffner, is the loan pitcher, and he's done admirable filling in as the ace. He's 12-3 with a 3.10 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 43 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 145.1 innings pitched. All three of these players are extremely talented, but my best guess is they all stay in Brooklyn. Even with some of their teams struggles, the Kings rank 1st in OBP, slugging, OPS, WAR (batting and pitching), wOBA, runs, extra base hits, homers, walks, zone rating, and pen ERA. The only stats they don't rank in the top half for are strikeouts (t-6th), steals (6th), strikeouts (5th), and starter's ERA (5th). I expect Brooklyn to give us a lot of trouble, with or (hopefully) without Al Wheeler.

Next is Montreal, who we broke the tie with as they dropped to 42-49 after a rough week. They'll head to town for the weekend. Earle Whitten was roughed up in his most recent start, and he's now 5-7 with a 5.13 ERA (84 ERA+), 1.58 WHIP, 42 walks, and 32 strikeouts in 94.2 innings pitched. Montreal has had a lot of struggles at second base with Red Moore's quick decline, and they've now placed 23-year-old third basemen Gary Carmichael at second. Despite his age, this is his third FABL season, and the former 4th Round selection of the Gothams has been used sparingly off the bench. Montreal has a lot of talent, with Adam Mullins, Hank Barnett, Pablo Reyes, and Vic Crawford all excellent players, but the rest of the lineup could use some help. Some of that could come in the form of former top prospect Red Bond, who hasn't played all that much despite hitting .298/.375/.464 (115 OPS+) in just under 100 trips to the plate.

Minor League Report
RHP Chet Peacock (AA Mobile Commodores): He's not are most talented prospect, but the 1930 6th Rounder has been excellent in his 13 starts this season. In his past three starts, he's allowed just a single run sandwiched between a 4 and 3 hit shutout, going the distance in all three starts. After his latest win, the 25-year-old is now 8-3 with a 1.93 ERA (163 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP, 24 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched. A finesse pitcher, Peacock is just 5'8'' and has outstanding command of his three pitches. He doesn't throw too hard, 89-91 on average with his fastball, but Peacock has had very little past success. Peacock was selected by the Gothams in the Rule-5 draft (released later), so it seems likely that I'll have to make a tough decision on whether or not to protect him. Peacock ranks just outside the top 500, but has never been given too much prospect love. You can never have too many arms, and there are still a few disposable players on the 40, so Peacock may end up getting a crack in the big leagues.

RHP Joe Brown (AA Mobile Commodores): My most recent scouting report said; "If Brown can add another quality pitch, he could work his way into the rotation." Well, the fireballing Brown just added a knuckle curve to his repertoire as well, and can now throw five separate pitches. Up to 96-98 with his sinker, Brown does an excellent job keeping the ball on ground and he can place the ball exactly where he wants to. He's now made 6 starts with the Commodores, going 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA (138 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, 15 walks, and 20 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched. Brown has already developed into a captain, his teammates love him, the fans love him, and even his competitors loves him. I've always liked Brown, his tools and consistent velocity growth (he used to throw 85-87!), plus the character aspects, but he's also slowly established himself in the farm rankings. My scout ranks him 5th of our SP with potential upside and he's up to 18th/152nd in the prospect rankings. On the off chance we are in contention come September, he could be exactly what we need to give us the final push. He's also started to develop into an inning eater, five consecutive complete games with pitch counts ranging from 113 (twice) to 165. We've got a lot of Joe's now; Foy, Foote, and Ferrara, but I do think Brown is the best of the bunch.

[ayaghmour2]

The draft last week sabotaged me a bit, as I didn't quite have enough time to continue the series. This will be the last one done retroactively, as I'll be able to write about the 1937 team (created at the end) once the season actually ends.

Catchers
Fred Barrell (BRK): 111 OPS+, 4 HR, 86 RBI, 4.2 WAR
Jim Kyle (CLE/DET): 86 OPS+, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 0.9 WAR

Infielders
Leo Mitchell (CHC): 100 OPS+, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB, 0.7 WAR
Bill Ashbaugh (CHC): 81 OPS+, 5 HR, 29 RBI,3 SB, -0.6 WAR
Rabbit Forrest (PHI): 85 OPS+, 35 RBI, 9 SB, 0.2 WAR
Slim Bloom (CHC/DET): 78 OPS+, 4 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB, 0.8 WAR
Mack Deal (PHS): 100 OPS+, 3 HR, 49 RBI, 5 SB, 0.4 WAR
Red Moore (MON): 105 OPS+, 5 HR, 93 RBI, 7 SB, 3.9 WAR
John Lawson (NYS): 135 OPS+, 20 HR, 93 RBI, 2 SB, 5.4 WAR

Outfielders
Vince York (TOR): 123 OPS+, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 1.1 WAR
Roy Moore (CHC): 89 OPS+, 2 HR, 43 RBI, 8 SB, 1.5 WAR
Rich Langton (CHC): 119 OPS+, 14 HR, 89 RBI, 2 SB, 2.1 WAR
Bert Wilson (CHC): 92 OPS+, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 0.3 WAR
Ed Reyes (CHI/NYG): 123 OPS+, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 0.0 WAR
Howard Moss (DET): 96 OPS+, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 0.4 WAR

Pitchers
Dick Lyons (CHC): 8-12, 92 ERA+, 57 K, 3.7 WAR
Dean Astle (CLE): 13-7, 131 ERA+, 90 K, 6.8 WAR
Tom Barrell (BRK): 21-6, 136 ERA+, 158 K, 8.4 WAR
Mike Murphy (BRK): 17-8, 152 ERA+, 76 K, 4.2 WAR
Bill Ross (MON): 12-14, 112 ERA+, 82 K, 3.1 WAR
Ben Turner (CLE): 7-10, 84 ERA+, 48 K, 2.5 WAR
Phil English (TOR): 6-6, 11 SV, 128 ERA+, 30 K, 0.6 WAR
Bill Kline (CHC): 2-3, 3 SV, 79 ERA+, 5 K, 0.1 WAR

Totals
Offense: 21.3 WAR
Pitching: 23.7 WAR*
Total: 45 WAR
Approximate Wins: 97

Again, a lot of starts, so we had to adjust to keep the stats comparable. These pitchers started 191 games, much more then the 154 games in a season, so WAR is adjusted from 29.4 to 23.7. The offensive players showed up in 1936, so even after the adjustment, it gives us 97 wins on the season. It still isn't enough, the Kings got 98, so even this fake team wouldn't have been able to (theoretically) win enough games for first place. The pitching is outstanding, the 1-2-3 of Barrell-Astle-Murphy shines through, with Ross and Lyons filling out the rotation well. The offense still isn't great, but a 2-3-4 of Moore-Lawson-Langton would give a lot of teams trouble with the other Moore, Roy, leading off a deeper lineup. Our actual offense is much better then this team, with Doc Love and Ray Ford missing from the lineup, but we'll start to see more actual Cougars in the coming seasons.

Offseason Moves for 1937
Replace Bill Kline with Pug Bryan
Replace Bill Ashbaugh with Billy Hunter
Replace Howard Moss with Carlos Montes

Notable Prospects/Picks Traded
Traded Dick Earl and Frank Gordon to the Stars in March 1936
Traded Charlie Wheeler to the Gothams in July 1936
Traded Hank Stratton to the Foresters in October 1936
Traded Phil McKenna and Mutt Clabough to the Dynamos in February 1937
Traded Neal Wilkinson to the Kings in February 1937

[ayaghmour2]

It isn't a big deal by any means, but I cleared up a 40-man spot by sending Marty Roberts to the Sailors for 19-year-old center fielder Tony Mullis. Roberts was in Milwaukee, but he debuted last season for us and could help the Sailors in their pennant quest. Bobby Bond is currently in right fielder, and he's hitting .269/.310/.388 (78 OPS+) with 2 homers and 39 RBI's. Bond is also one of just four outfielders on the active roster, and since he's a lefty and Roberts a righty, they could platoon while Roberts also helps fill in at left and center. The return is 1936 5th Rounder Tony Mullis, who's had a rough season in Class B Miami. I'm in need of a center fielder down in La Crosse, so he'll have a chance to face easier competition. Mullis is projected to have plus contact potential and speed and my scout views him as a future big leaguer. Mullis was one of the guys I had an eye on for last draft and he currently ranks just outside the top 200 at 214.

Earlier, however, I decided to send Jonah Brown back to the Foresters to bring up Luis Sandoval from Milwaukee. It won't be his debut, he made four not so great starts for the Dynamos last season, but was dominant in 19 starts for the Blues. The 24-year-old was 6-5 with a 2.66 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP, 29 walks, and 57 strikeouts. He's got the tools to start, but he'll function as the stopper in our pen. If Lyons or Morse start to struggle (or someone gets hurt), Sandoval may see a few starts. This had a ripple effect as well, as last year's 6th Overall Pick Pete Papenfus will move to AA Mobile. Pete ranks as the best pitching prospect 4th best overall prospect in the game and was 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP, 49 walks, and 69 strikeouts in 93 innings pitched. OSA says he'll be ready next year, but my guess is we don't see him in Chicago until 1939.

[StLee]

Congrats on the successful week, though it looks like you'll have a tough series with Brooklyn with the big gap from 3rd to 4th place. Peacock and Brown both look promising, too. If Brown can develop that knuckle curve, a 5-pitch pitcher will be a tough one to hit on in the Bigs.

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by StLee

Congrats on the successful week, though it looks like you'll have a tough series with Brooklyn with the big gap from 3rd to 4th place. Peacock and Brown both look promising, too. If Brown can develop that knuckle curve, a 5-pitch pitcher will be a tough one to hit on in the Bigs.

Team has been red hot lately, even after losing Hunter, who should be back for Wednesday's sim. We [spoiler] swept right throw the Kings this morning and have started to make things a little more interesting. We're definitely ahead of schedule, most of the top arms are still in the minors, but our rotation has the 2nd best ERA in the league. Definitely agree with Brown too, love guys who can throw multiple pitches in this league because there's no guys with overpowering strikeout numbers, so sometimes its best just to throw a bunch slop and keep it on the ground.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 49-46 (4th, 7.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 21 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.167 OPS
Dave Rankin : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 2 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Ray Ford : 21 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .286 AVG, .824 OPS

Schedule
7-27: Win vs Kings (4-9)
7-28: Win vs Kings (8-13)
7-29: Win vs Kings (3-4)
7-30: Win vs Saints (0-2)
7-31: Win vs Saints (1-3)
8-1: Loss vs Saints (7-4)

Recap
What a week! We swept through the partial strength Kings, who have now lost replacement ace Joe Shaffner for the next three weeks with a herniated disc. It didn't happen during out series, but we managed to put up a ton of runs against a still strong staff at home. Montreal managed to salvage the finale, but we've won 8 of our last 10 and finished July an impressive 16-11, good for our second best month of the season. And while there is still a lot of baseball left to be played, don't mistake this for a shot at contention. I do think we should be able to stay above .500 the rest of the way and our 52-43 Pythagorean would be just 4.5 games out of first, but we're not quite playoff material. Yet...

The biggest news of the week was yet another shutout by a Cougar pitcher, this time courtesy of the complete game machine Dave Rankin. He scattered 8 hits and 2 walks with just one strikeout in the 2-0 shutout victory over the Saints. Rankin usually strikes out a lot more hitters, 71 on the season and on track for his fourth straight season with triple digit strikeouts. He's evened his record to 11-12, yet he's still tied for second in the entire FABL for losses. Luckily Rusty Petrick is up to 15 and the Cannons have a four man staff, so Rankin should be spared of another loss title. Of course, his overall numbers are really impressive as usual, a 3.53 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP in just fewer then 200 frames. It'll take a lot to get him to 300, but if we keep winning games, you can expect more and more Rankin starts down the stretch. We'll also start to see more Pug, whos sublime July should have been good enough for Pitcher of the Month, but instead had to settle for just Rookie of the Month. The only issue was the 3-2 record, but his 1.91 ERA and 1.19 WHIP were outstanding. He walked 16 and struck out 21 and now ranks third on the team for strikeouts with 47. Pug has really straightened out his season numbers, 5-7 with a 3.78 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.39 WHIP in exactly 100 innings pitched. He's starting to get more scouting love too as Pug continues to make his way up the pitching ladder. Bryan was short of a shutout due to an eared run in his outing, but allowed 4 hits and struck out 5 in a win over the Saints.

The rest of the rotation looked good, with the only two start starter, Milt Fritz, having a little trouble. He got a win and a no decision, but went just 8 innings in both starts. The first was a win over the Kings where he improved to 9-10, allowing 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), and 4 walks with 4 strikeouts. The second came in the one loss, to another of his former teams Montreal, and he fared a bit worse. Both surprisingly went 121 innings, but he allowed 8 hits, 4 runs, and 5 walks without a strikeout. Dick Lyons made a start and relief outing, nine frames with 4 hits, 3 earned, and 5 walks to go with 3 strikeouts. Oscar Morse made the last start, 8 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks, and 2 strikeouts to improve to 11-5. It was another good all around week for the rotation and we barely had to dip into the pen. A few more weeks like this, and it could get much better for us.

At the plate, we had a lot of clutch pinch hits, with the bench trio of Paul McLain, Johnny Watters, and Russ Griffin going 5-for-9 with a double, triple, a run, and 2 RBI's. Star John Lawson had another torrid week, 8-for-21 with 2 homers, 4 RBI's, 4 walks, and 6 runs scored. No Player of the Week Award, but Lawson is hitting .338/.384/.506 (135 OPS+) on the season with 17 doubles, 17 homers, and 65 RBI's. A triple crown is highly unlikely, but he's the only CA hitter in the top three for all three categories. He doesn't lead any, but he's just a homer behind Al Wheeler for a share of the CA lead. Rich Langton decided to switch things up a bit, hitting a productive 7-for-22 with a triple, homer, walk, 2 RBI's, and three runs scored. It's very rare he has a productive week, and he finally pushed his OPS+ up to 90. The extra base hits are far down this year, just 9-4-8 compared to 27-13-14 last season. Langton has at least started to get comfortable in right, but his career .303/.347/.479 line is almost identical to last year's .303/.345/.480 line. It wasn't all good, however, as Mike Taylor and Doc Love's bats disappeared. They managed just 3 hits in 41 trips to the plate with a double, 2 RBI's, 6 runs, and 4 walks.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week again, which will allow us to reset the rotation back up. We should get to take advantage of a few weaker teams, starting with the last place Stars. We'll welcome them into town as they sit 40-58. New York's staff has had it's struggles, but no team has struck out more hitters then the Stars. In the top four on their staff, George Phillips' 4.0 K/9 is the lowest, but just slightly lower then the CA's strikeout leaders Gus Goulding's 4.2. Harry Carter has the best rate, a 5.3 corresponding to 70 strikeouts in 119.1 innings pitched. The 26-year-old has a slightly below average 4.37 ERA (97 ERA+), in large part to the large number of walks (56, 4.2) which is a huge jump from last season where he walked 59 in the full season. Him and Les Zoller could make an effective 1-2, but they may need help from a better defensive catcher. My guess is once Johnny Hopper is up, the staff will start to see some marked improvements.

After New York, the homestand continues with three with the Cannons and another off day. I mentioned the strikeout leader Goulding prior, who is 10-12 with a 4.00 ERA (105 ERA+) and 1.30 WHIP, as well as the loss leader Petrick, who's 91 strikeouts are second in the CA. Unfortunately for Petrick, his control tends to desert him, as he's walked 105 batters already. His 4.45 ERA (94 ERA+) is identical to John Edwards' and once they figure things out, it will be scary to face Baltimore's pitching staff. The offense is still missing a lot of pieces, but they've got a handful of excellent positional prospects like Fred Galloway who project to be impact starters in the big league. This looks like year six in a row with a sub .500 record, but this trend is likely coming to an end. They recently brought up a former Cougar first rounder, John Barnard, who's excellent in his first two weeks as a big leaguer. The 24-year-old (25 in September) is 8-for-23 with 3 doubles, a triple, homer, 6 walks, and 4 RBI's. Barnard has never ranked that high on the prospect lists, but my scout has always liked him and he's got all the tools to be an effective FABL starter.

Minor League Report
3B Dick Voss (AA Mobile Commodores): Fresh off a return to Mobile, Dick Voss hit an impressive 10-for-16 with 4 RBI's and 2 runs scored. It's not the most exciting week by any means, but Voss is hitting an impressive .287/.338/.448 (139 OPS+) batting line with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 2 homers, and 24 RBI's. He has a nice 14-to-3 walk-to-strikeout ratio as well, and despite not having much of a glove, he more then makes up for it with the bat. An 18th Rounder in 1934, he was one of those lucky AI picks that shouldn't have ever fallen, Voss was formerly a common inclusion in our top 30 prospect lists. He's fallen off now, but his bat hasn't given a reason for the fall. Playing time may be hard to come for Voss, but he's got a few more seasons to go before being considered a big league quality starter. Right now he looks like a bench bat, but sometimes having extremely reliable hitters off the bench for late game situations can be extremely helpful.

LHP John Johnson (C La Crosse Lions): It took just five starts, but the southpaw from Chicago picked up his first career shutout. There were no strikeouts, but he walked two and allowed two hits in a 4-0 win over the Dubuque Dukes. Our 9th Rounder in the July draft, Johnson is 2-3 with a 3.25 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 9 walks, and 4 strikeouts in 36 innings pitched. More of a finesse pitcher then a dominating hurler, the skinny Johnson has a reliable change that could use a little more help with his fastball and curve. He doesn't throw too hard, 84-86 consistently, but he mixes his pitches well and hasn't really had an issue with control yet that most young pitchers tend to see. He's got a tough road ahead of him, especially with all the arms clogged in La Crosse, but Johnson has done a great job so far showing that he deserves innings.

1B Jocko Pollard (C La Crosse Lions): It sort of snuck up on me, but I guess Jocko Pollard had an excellent July! Named batter of the month, he hit .351/.419/.568 with 3 homers, 10 walks, and 18 RBI's in 86 trips to the plate. He also won the weekly award, 9-for-16 with a homer and five driven in. This has vastly improved his season line, up to a strong .292/.360/.424 (130 OPS+) line with 14 doubles, 5 homers, and 37 RBI's. Pollard is a natural third basemen, but he's been seeing a lot of time at first because he's not the best defender. Our 6th Rounder in 1935, he's got a strong hit tool with excellent bat speed and barrel control. My scout thinks his defense is major league ready, but my guess is that's as a first basemen, not a third basemen. Jocko ranks outside our top 30 at 34, but checks in at 392 in the league. The 6'2'' Pollard just turned 20, so he's got a lot of development time to go, but his tools are exciting and he can separate himself from the pack as we don't have many natural corner players.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 53-48 (4th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Ray Ford : 17 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .412 AVG, 1.289 OPS
Doc Love : 24 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .375 AVG, .949 OPS
Carlos Montes : 26 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .269 AVG, 1.014 OPS

Schedule
8-3: Win vs Stars (1-7)
8-4: Win vs Stars (2-6)
8-5: Loss vs Stars (5-2)
8-6: Win vs Cannons (1-2)
8-7: Win vs Cannons (2-6)
8-8: Loss vs Cannons (7-6)

Recap
It was another great week, but we actually dropped a game in the standings. Still, 53-48 is a nice record and much better then I expected for this season. And this when the injury bug gives, the injury bug takes, with Billy Hunter rejoining the roster while Rich Langton heads to the DL. Langton tore a thumb ligament in the one run loss to the Cannons, and will now miss about 2-3 weeks. Langton has been in the midst of a down year, batting .265/.322/.393 (89 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 8 homers, 5 steals, and 41 RBI's in 367 plate appearances. This means Leo Mitchell will get everyday reps, and the lefty is hitting a similar .286/.345/.379 in about a hundred fewer PA's. Of course, right is the position he's had the least amount of experience in, but it will nice to see him get ore regular at bats without having to take away time from someone else. Plus, we also get Hunter back, who was hitting .303/.386/.538 (143 OPS+) before going down. I'm hoping injuries don't become a problem for the rookie, as that production could have really helped in our hot stretch.

Carlos Montes had an excellent week, bashing three homers and driving in five with a steal, six runs, and a triple. He was 7-for-26, and now has 6 doubles, triples, and homers in his first 48 FABL games. He's been the perfect leadoff hitter and he flashes the leather well out in center. Ray Ford has started to heat up, going 7-for-17 with 2 homers, 3 runs, 4 walks, and 5 RBI's. The All Star has bumped his average back above .300 and is on a 20 homer pace. I don't love his work at first, but he's showing no signs of a sophomore slump and he's developing into a very reliable hitter at the plate. Ollie Page had a great week, 8-for-19 with a double, RBI, and six walks. Page has looked comfortable at short in Hunter's absence, but will now get to return to the keystone as he learns his new position. The bat has disappeared for Page, but he's walked about as often as he struck out and still has a chance to reach double digits for triples and homers. The always reliable Doc Love had another good week, going 9-for-24 with a homer, 4 RBI's, 3 runs, and 2 walks. The recently turned 31-year-old has returned to form this season, carrying a .335/.382/.491 (130 OPS+) batting line with 19 doubles, 9 homers, and 53 RBI's. He sits at third in the CA batting race, behind Jim Mason and John Lawson, with just seven points between him and first.

We did great on the mound, with a lot of the runs caused by errors this week, and the pen needed to cover just three innings. Oscar Morse was robbed of a shutout, 2 hits, 2 unearned runs, and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts in a complete game win over the Stars. Milt Fritz got back on track, 5 hits, a run, and 3 walks and strikeouts in a complete game win to even his record at 10-10. Dick Lyons didn't got the distance, but allowed 7 hits and 2 runs with a single walk and strikeout in an eight inning win. Dave Rankin had the only "bad" start of the week, a complete game with 13 hits, 7 runs (5 earned), 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts, but that was after another almost shutout to start the week. He allowed 4 hits, an unearned run, and a walk with a single strikeout, but finished the week an even 1-1. Rankin is now 12-13, taking the decisions in all 25 of his starts. His ERA keeps improving, down to 3.44 (122 ERA+) and I can only imagine what the improved middle infield defense will do.

Looking Ahead
This week will really show how legit we are, as after a day off, we welcome both the Sailors and Foresters into town. We start with the second place Sailors, who at 62-41, are half a game behind Cleveland as they have lost one fewer game. The Sailors have a strong rotation, ranking third right behind us in the CA in terms of ERA. 33-year-old William Jones continues his ace-like career, this year 14-6 with a 3.28 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 75 walks, and 72 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched. Behind them is the no-hit king Doc Newell, who's 14-5 with a 3.50 ERA (124 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 44 walks, and 77 strikeouts in 182.2 innings pitched. The real star has been breakout lefty Walt Wells, who's 3.18 ERA (136 ERA+) is the best of the staff. He has a 1.33 WHIP, 42 walks, and 53 strikeouts, but the All-Star is just 9-7. The lineup isn't as great, but somehow waiver castaway Red Jackson has been league average for them. He's hitting .307/.341/.433 (97 OPS+) with 22 doubles and 39 RBI's, and seems to be handling the staff really well. They also have an interesting leadoff hitter in Jorge Nava, who despite a sub .260 batting average, owns a respectable 105 OPS+. Nava had 16 doubles, 10 triples, and 6 homers, but a rough -20.5 zone rating and .905 efficiency out in center.

Then we welcome in the best rotation of the CA, the Foresters, who hold the pitchers with the top three WAR's in the league. One of them is not like the others, that would be Lee Drouillard, but Dean Astle and Sergio Gonzales have been truly magnificent. I guess I should have given Gonzales more credit, as the 25-year-old is 14-1 with a 2.84 ERA (153 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, 41 walks, and 76 strikeouts in 171.1 truly elite innings. Astle is just two years older, and the former Cougar prospect is 14-8 with a 2.92 ERA (149 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, 42 walks, and 70 strikeouts in 188.1 innings of his own. These two are automatic wins on the mound, and unless we miss both of them, it will be a very tough series. The reason Drouillard is so different, is his starts are really not all that impressive. He's 10-12 with a 4.01 ERA (108 ERA+). His 1.20 WHIP, 35 walks, and 61 strikeouts are pretty impressive, but he hasn't had the ace level season of the other two. They did see an injury to veteran Lyman Weigel, who strained his forearm in a win over the Kings. He's 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 60 walks, and 72 strikeouts in 150.1 innings. This could make room for Ben Turner, who is 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA (160 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP, 10 walks, and 19 strikeouts in just under 50 innings out of the pen. Of course, a big part of the pitching's success is the All-Star George Dawson. The superstar shortstop has a +26.5 zone rating and 1.129 efficiency at short. He's also hitting .323/.361/.415 with 13 doubles, 6 triples, 4 homers, 14 steals, and 52 RBI's, which combined with the stellar defense, is worth 5.1 WAR already. They could also welcome back T.R. Goins this week. The 36-year-old is hitting an adjusted league average .291/.351/.435 with 7 homers and 50 RBI's in 316 trips to the plate. This would be Goins lowest OPS+ since his rookie season in 1923 where he had a 94 OPS+. A healthy and effective Goins could be what the Foresters need to separate from the Sailors, but I'm hoping this week will bring us closer to those two and not drop us back under .500.

Minor League Report
RHP/OF Juan Pomales (A Lincoln Legislators): I've done a really good job giving him time at all positions, 4 games on the mound, 4 in left, 5 in center, and 5 in right, which was my biggest worry at first. I was afraid it would be tough to set this up without minor league 7-day lineups, and thankfully, it was easier then I anticipated. I know the arm is behind the bat, but he's looked respectable, 0-2 with a 4.72 ERA (95 ERA+), 1.61 WHIP, 8 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 26.2 innings against tough competition. Of course, "El Conejo" has been excellent at the plate, hitting .369/.417/.523 (143 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, 4 steals, and 14 RBI's. The Cuban native will turn 23 in October, and I'm really hoping he'll be able to spend the entire season in Mobile next year. I'd love to see a little improvement from what he's doing right now on the mound, but things are off to a great start. I love his tools at the plate, and if he can add some velocity, he could be a legit two way star.

SS Hal Wood (B San Jose Cougars): He hasn't quite developed as quickly as I wanted, and the 23-year-old still finds himself down in San Jose. Taken 8th Overall in 1935, Hal Wood hasn't had the smoothest minor league career. He was in Lincoln earlier this season, but he didn't quite hit all that much after not doing all that great in San Jose either. Now, his Class B numbers look much better, with an above average .255/.345/.362 (105 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 4 homers, 7 steals, and 40 RBI's. My scout is still a big fan of him, but OSA has dropped him to 9th and 77th respectively. I'm not too worried, as Wood has great tools both on the field and at the plate. He does a good job at short, has great speed, and is an extremely aggressive hitter at the plate. He should eventually hit for a high average, and he's done well managing his walk and strikeout numbers. The only issue now is he looks more like a singles hitter, which doesn't play all that well in our park. I'd love to see more pop from him, but I do like how he hits line drives to all fields. He's an excellent teammate, always giving them props for good plays while never showing a lack of effort. The future is bright for Wood, and with all the middle infield talent in the system, I can really let him take his time.

RHP Billy Seawood (C La Crosse Lions): There are about a dozen young arms trying to establish themselves in C Ball right now, and 20-year-old Billy Seawood is doing his best to separate from the herd. A 12th Round selection in 1935, he made just one start last season. This season he's made ten, the tenth a 6-hit, 4 strikeout shutout of the Rock Island Steamboats. He's just 3-3 on the season, but Seawood is 3-3 with a 2.15 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.01 WHIP, 11 walks, and 21 strikeouts. Billy isn't the hardest thrower, but he sits in the mid 80s with an average fastball. His slider is a good strikeout pitch and his changeup is a decent third offering as well. He's very underdeveloped, but they all look like average pitches at worse. His stuff would never win awards, but he does a good job keeping the ball in the park and can locate his pitches well on the corner. I'm giving him a shot at Class B hitters now, and this should help secure more innings for him in the future.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 56-51 (4th, 10.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 17 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .529 AVG, 1.108 OPS
John Lawson : 24 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .292 AVG, .945 OPS
Doc Love : 23 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .391 AVG, .913 OPS

Schedule
8-10: Loss vs Sailors (6-0)
8-11: Win vs Sailors (6-8)
8-12: Win vs Sailors (1-4)
8-13: Win vs Foresters (2-6)
8-14: Loss vs Foresters (9-3)
8-15: Loss vs Foresters (7-3)

Recap
We survived the heavyweight challenge this week, splitting the week with the Foresters and Sailors, but it was quite clear the Foresters overmatched us. Rankin and Fritz couldn't silence their lineup (although Dick Lyons did) and we couldn't hit Ben Turner. Still, taking two of three from the Sailors was impressive, even if Merritt Thomas twirled a shutout in the opener. We have fallen to double digit games out, but there never really were thoughts of making it close anyways. It is reassuring to not see a 2-4 or 1-5 week, and after a string of 4 or more wins, it is expected to see some regression. The offense continues to truck along, as we now boast the CA batting title leader (Doc Love) and home run leader (John Lawson). Love hit .391 (9-for-23) with a double and triple to increase his batting line to .339/.383/.493 (131 OPS+). He's a homer shy of ten, but his season line is almost identical to his .327/.373/.496 (133 OPS+) career mark. Lawson bashed two more homers and was 7-for-24 with a pair of doubles, four runs, and six RBI's. Lawson has 20 homers, two more then the struggling Al Wheeler, and he sits second in both average (.334) and RBI's (74). It seemed impossible at one point, but if Lawson and Wheeler continue their trends, "Jack The Ripper" has a legit shot at his first career triple crown. Billy Hunter's return to the lineup showed no sign of rust, 7-for-23 with 2 doubles, a homer, four runs, and six RBI's. Another new lineup entry, Leo Mitchell, was 9-for-17 with two walks and a run scored and driven in to boost his season OPS+ to an even 100. Unfortunately, the top and bottom of the lineup (Montes and Page) were awful, combining to go 6-for-37 with 4 walks, 4 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. Add in the pitcher's spot, and this week it was an almost guaranteed 1-2-3 inning every time through the order.

Milt Fritz's rough stretch continues, picking up two losses as the only two start pitcher this week. He allowed 15 hits and 12 runs (9 earned) with 7 walks and 6 strikeouts in 17 innings. Rankin was roughed up in his start, 9 hits and runs (6 earned) with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in just six and a third. Discounting the start he left with injury, it was the shortest start of Rankin's season in terms of innings. Of course, the back half of the rotation pitched well, picking up all three wins. Pug tossed his third complete game gem in as many starts, 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts to his credit. Dick Lyons continues to defy normal aging patterns, 8 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 2 walks in a 92-pitch complete game win against arguably the best offense in the CA. Oscar Morse didn't go the distance, but he performed fine against his former employers. Just 7 innings, but he allowed 8 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), and 4 walks with a strikeout in the no decision. Luis Sandoval picked up the win, his first as a Cougar, 2 innings with 2 hits, a run, walk, and strikeout. This was also the first week in probably a month where all three pen guys pitched. Purvis tossed 2.2 scoreless frames while Crane allowed an unearned run in his only inning.

Looking Ahead
Guess what we start the week with!? An off day! This time we use it to travel, as we play a reverse of this week; three in Philly and three in Cleveland. We caused the Sailors to drop, now 2.5 games out of first, but at 65-44 they're clearly a superior team to us. I'd love to steal some more wins, but playing at Sailors Memorial Stadium is a lot different then playing at the North Side Grounds. It's next to impossible to hit a home run there and extra base hits are often and plentiful. They can play with their rotation a little with the shared off day, but we'll avoid Merritt Thomas and will likely see Walt Wells. I'd love to see Herb Flynn too, as the 1935 All-Star hasn't replicated that performance yet. This year the 30-year-old is 6-6 with a 4.51 ERA (96 ERA+), 1.47 WHIP, 41 walks, and 37 strikeouts in 103.2 innings. Those are still respectable numbers for a #5, but with all the talent in that rotation, he'll feel like Art Black. The offense has the always reliable Dick Walker, who leads the team in homers and RBI's, but they have an interesting bench bat behind him. 28-year-old Billy Eppler has only taken 89 trips to the plate, but the slugger is slashing .345/.382/.631 (155 OPS+) with 7 homers and 25 RBI's. Most of those homers have came on the road, but he's a late game threat that has really helped them. Both Nava and Cleaves have six homers, one behind Eppler, but they've both had more then three times as many chances.

Of course, that means Cleveland is next, and the 67-41 Foresters are actually slightly worse at home (31-21) then on the road (36-20). We'll try to take advantage of that, but I think we might be stuck seeing their top three (or at least top two). Regardless, we're almost guaranteed to see both Astle and Gonzales, and I don't like our chances against either. The offense is almost as good, but with all the star power in the lineup, the former AIAA Player of the Year Bill Moore has found himself right in the middle of the deep lineup. Acquired from the Dynamos in the offseason blockbuster, he's followed up an outstanding Rookie season to hit .314/.406/.516 (134 OPS+). Moore has hit 30 doubles, 11 longballs, and drove in 54 Foresters while maintaining an impressive 49-to-12 walk-to-strikeout ratio. The "worst" hitter in the lineup in terms of OPS+ is Fred Quinn/George Dawson, who both own a 93. Of course, Dawson's glove helps him lead the FABL in WAR while Quinn is one of the best base stealers in baseball, so even their "weak" spots are strengths. They have also welcomed former Cougar pick Hank Stratton to the big league club, although the soon to be 23-year-old is just 0-for-2 and the only prospect in the top 99 (of course, Eli Harkless just jumped to 100 this sim). This will easily be our toughest week of the season, so I'm trying to keep expectations reasonable.

Minor League Report
1B/LF Bobby Mills (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Most of the Milwaukee lineup is young and overmatched, but that's not the case with the 23-year-old Bobby Mills. Our 6th Rounder in 1932, the Washington native is slashing an astronomical .307/.375/.528 (171 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 6 homers, and 23 RBI's in his first 144 PA's in AAA. Discounting his 48 games with La Crosse in 1933, Mills has never had a level line with a sub 100 OPS+, ranging from 108 to 158 until this stint. He's almost hitting to his high school numbers, where Mills hit .375/.443/.631 (217 OPS+) in three seasons for San Antonio HS. "Nutball" is one of those guys with a lot of talent, but as a corner player, it's impossible to move him. Consistently a top 100 prospect, Mills has dropped to 158, but part of that is due to age and his defense. Mills is "slow as molasses" and pretty much unplayable in the field. I've started him strictly at first this season, but he's managed to post sub .900 efficiency rating in both AA and AAA. None the less, his hit tool is incredible, and he's easily an upgrade over Johnny Waters. Mills projects to be a .330 hitter with excellent plate discipline, and I wouldn't put a reliable .300/.400/.500 batting line out of the question with everyday at bats. He's showed double digit home run potential in the minors, and with enough games in Chicago, I could see him reach 20 in the big leagues. Like a ton of the 1932 class, he's also Rule-5 eligible in the offseason, and while I've added a bunch of those guys to the 40 now, Mills has yet to get his contract purchased. I have four free spots, so I expect him to get one by time the offseason starts, but a big league promotion isn't out of the question. He's one of the few Blues players without a green arrow, however, so he may have to wait for next year for his first Cougar jersey.

CF Elias Canady (AA Mobile Commodores): It finally looked like Canady broke out, hitting a robust .284/.383/.445 (128 OPS+) with 39 doubles, 4 triples, 11 homers, and 76 RBI's in a full season with the Legislators. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old hasn't faired as well in Mobile, carrying a .212/.314/.327 (97 OPS+) line into today's games. He has about 200 less PA's, but just 24 doubles, 5 homers, and 37 RBI's. Like Mills, the was part of the 1932 class (8th Round), is without a 40-man spot, and will most likely end up protected. My scout has always loved the Plant City kid, and OSA has started to grow fond of him, but the prospect rankers have never given him much love. He projects to be an outstanding defensive center fielder with good plate discipline and above average bat speed. His biggest issue is contact, he doesn't make nearly enough of it, and it continues to hinder his progression. He's one of my personal favorites from the feeder days too, two elite level performances before a steep drop off as a senior, and I do think he could be a starter in the FABL. Unfortunately, he's no Carlos Montes and with all the other outfielders in ours (and really everyones) system, Canady may have to wait a while before his opportunity arises.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 59-54 (4th, 10.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 27 AB, 11 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .407 AVG, 1.132 OPS
Billy Hunter : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .346 AVG, .857 OPS
Ray Ford : 23 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .304 AVG, .776 OPS

Schedule
8-17: Loss at Sailors (2-4)
8-18: Win at Sailors (9-8)
8-19: Loss at Sailors (3-4): 10 innings
8-20: Loss at Foresters (5-12)
8-21: Win at Foresters (7-6): 10 innings
8-22: Win at Foresters (6-3)

Recap
We survived the gauntlet! It didn't go how I expected or how I wanted, but we flipped the script this week and let the Sailors take the series before taking a series from the Foresters. It was a really hard fought week, three one run games with two ending in extras, and no ground was gained or lost. And it means absolutely nothing, but my favorite stat of the week comes from Milt Fritz. Fritz is generally really good at keeping the ball on the ground, and he's allowed just 6 homers on the season. As impressive as that is, the cool part is how he's hit three homers on the season! Fritz is hitting .175/.197/.317 (34 OPS+) this season and now has five homers as a Cougar. In fact, half of his 10 career homers have came in the past two seasons, proving that truly anyone can hit a home run in Chicago (two of the others were when he played for the Chiefs), even if this most recent one came on the road. He also made two of the starts, a win an no decision across 16 innings. He allowed 19 hits, 6 runs, and 7 walks with 3 strikeouts to get back on track.

The rest of the rotation, however, had a ton of issues. Pug's string of domination was ended, lit up for 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks with a pair of punchouts as he lasted just 3 innings. This messed up our rotation a little, with Dick Lyons coming in for 5 shaky innings of relief. He allowed 5 runs and 5 hits with a walk and three strikeouts in the 12-5 loss to the Foresters. This gave Dave Rankin two starts, a 5 and 10 inning outing. They weren't great (although no loss!), 19 hits, 13 runs (9 earned), and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts, but he won the 10 inning start and we won the 5 inning start. Allen Purvis got the win, pitching the next four innings and allowing just a single run with 3 hits and 2 walks. Luis Sandoval pitched 3.2 innings out of the pen, picking up a loss and save with a run, two walks, 5 hits, and a strikeout.

John Lawson overtook Love and Wheeler this week, 11-for-27 with 5 doubles, a homer, 3 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. He's 11 RBI's down, but with a month plus left it's still technically possible for him to win a Triple Crown. No one else had a real standout week, but bench bats Bert Wilson and Johnny Waters combined to go 5-for-10 with a double, RBI, walk, and two runs scored. Billy Hunter had another good week, 9-for-26 with a triple, 2 doubles, 3 runs, and 4 RBI's. Ollie Page's power shined through, 5-for-23 with a double, two homers, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 RBI's. Leo Mitchell and Ray Ford had similar weeks, combining to go 13-for-44 with 3 doubles, 7 RBI's, 8 runs, and 9 walks. The lineup will be getting Rich Langton back soon, and while I could activate him now, I think I'm going to wait until next week, give him a week on rehab, and then bring him up when rosters expand. Mitchell has been outhitting him, and then I won't have to burn an option on Joe Foy or deal with finding at bats for Johnny Waters in the minors.

Looking Ahead
We break the "pattern" this week, as even though we start with an off day, we don't get a pair of three game sets after. We stay on the road, but we'll be in Montreal for just two days after taking Monday off. Montreal is 55-60 and leading the second division in 5th place. Former Cougar prospect Bill Ross has continued to excel, 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 32 walks, and 62 strikeouts in 133 innings pitched. Montreal has one of the worst rotations in baseball, so Ross has been huge for him. He's had some help, with fellow 24-year-old Jake DeYoung putting up strong numbers too. He's 12-6 with a 3.93 ERA (110 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 40 walks, and 77 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched. As these two mature, Montreal should have an excellent 1-2 punch, and their top prospect, Wally Doyle, has all the tools needed to front a rotation. They'll hope George Thomas continues to figure things out, as he's dropped his ERA to 4.60 (94 ERA+) and his walks (56) and strikeouts (57) are near even. Hank Barnett has moved to the eight hole, but the slugger is hitting a league average .272/.353/.436 (102 OPS+) with a well above average 15 homers and 72 RBI's. Adam Mullins just turned 25 on the 21st, and his .324/.420/.436 (120 OPS+) batting line is extremely impressive for a catcher. He's hit 5 homers and drove in 59 RBI's while on pace to walk 90 times with just 11 strikeouts.

After that quick stop, we'll head to Baltimore for three with the Cannons. After a nice start to the year, Baltimore has dropped to seventh at 49-67 and they sit four games behind the Stars for the #2 lottery slot. Pinky Conlan is out for the year, so they've replaced him with 21-year-old southpaw Art Edwards. "Enforcer" Edwards was their 10th Round selection in 1933 and he ranks 15th and 177th respectively in the prospect rankings. Just three starts so far, and he's 0-2 with a 6.64 ERA (63 ERA+), 1.67 WHIP, 14 walks, and 11 strikeouts. He doesn't have near the upside of Goulding, Edwards, or Petrick, but he is a rather interesting young arm. And speaking of Goulding, he's starting to heat up again, now 12-15 with a 3.86 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.30 WHIP, 71 walks, and 111 strikeouts in a strong year two. He's just 24, and now the only non 21-year-old in the Cannons rotation. Former Cougar draftee John Barnard has taken the starting third basemen job, and even after a rough week, is still hitting .242/.346/.409 (99 OPS+) in his first 24 games. He's doubled four times, tripled twice, and homered while driving in seven. Jim Mason has started to cool down, but he's still hitting an effective .326/.373/.454 (117 OPS+) with 8 homers and 51 RBI's.

We finish the week with the first half of a two game set with the Stars. They're 45-71 and sitting in the cellar of the Continental Association. You can't blame Chicagoan Les Zoller, who's 7-8 with a 3.27 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.44 WHIP, 66 walks, and 81 strikeouts in 167.2 innings pitched. Zoller is a guy I've asked for on many occasion, and the 28-year-old looks to be either a future building block or potential big trade chip for the Stars. Veteran Dave Trowbridge just turned 39, but he's still chugging along to the tune of a .294/.358/.471 (115 OPS+) batting line. He's also hit 14 homers and drove in 56 while looking for just his second 20 homer season. His 14 is most since 1932 (15) and he's on pace for 19, which would be second most of his long career. Former 8th Overall Pick Art McMahon has looked alright in center, but after 235 plate appearances his .260/.296/.324 (62 OPS+) batting line still leaves a lot to be desired. He has 8 steals, a homer, 3 doubles, and 4 triples with 14 RBI's, but he's struck out four times as much as he's walked. They have brought up former Cougar Chink Stickels to function as the fourth outfielder, and he's hitting .237/.333/.474 (109 OPS+) with 2 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 5 RBI's in his first 45 PA's of the season.

Minor League Report
RHP Sam Hodge (AA Mobile Commodores): He was excellent in Lincoln, and the promotion to Mobile has not slowed him down one bit. Start #10 was a beauty, a 6-hit, 1-walk, 2-strikeout shutout of the Memphis Excelsior as Hodge evened his record to 5-5. Hodge has showed the ability to pitch way deep into games, finishing every start he's made including a 151 pitch, 11.2 inning loss against the Chattanooga Reliables. Of course, the former 6th Rounder has looked good while eating those innings, working to a 2.38 ERA (131 ERA+) and 0.93 WHIP with 9 walks and 23 strikeouts in a seemingly impossible 90.2 innings pitched. A towering 6'4'' righty, Hodge still throws in the low-to-mid 80s, but he locates his fastball and cutter well. He mixes in the change, slider, and curve well too, effortless painting the corners. His accuracy leads to low pitch counts and the softness of his pitches help him pitch forever. My scout thinks he's just a pen option, but OSA says "frontline starter potential" which seems to be a reach to me. Of course, if he starts throwing a little harder, I may start to agree with OSA as he's already able to befuddle minor league hitters. He's absent from the top 500 prospect lists, but what do they know! I find it hard pressed to believe there are 22 prospect pitchers in our system better then him, but if he's truly a frontline pitcher, there's a lot to be excited about in our system.

RF Marv Smith (B San Jose Cougars): I feel like I'm a little hard on poor Marv, but I don't think I was able to accurately depict how furious I was when I ended up with him in the lottery portion of the draft. It makes sense, 22-year-old corner outfielders aren't really in high demand, and our system really took a hit with two truly terrible prospects joining our system without our consent. Lucky for Smith, he "can shut out the stress and put it on automatic," so all the berating I've done hasn't effected him at all. I sent the fleet footed lefty to San Jose, and he's looked fine in right and comfortable at the plate. Montana's "finest" is hitting .257/.326/.403 (110 OPS+) with 5 homers, 23 steals, and 31 RBI's in his first 218 plate appearances. The steals are impressive, and while he's no Larry Robison 67 in 105 games), base stealing is an area we can be considered weak in. Smith does have a good eye too, so he should find himself on base frequently and when he's on you can almost give him second base. I'd like to see more pop since he's a corner outfielder, but he's a flyball hitter which plays well at our park. And while I'm far from excited for Smith's future, it's possible I was a bit too hard on him at first. Don't get me wrong, he's not part of our future plans by any means, but it wouldn't be that big of a longshot if Smith became a capable big leaguer.

LHP John Johnson (C La Crosse Lions): I have no idea what to do with this kid. Our recent 9th Rounder, Johnson now has three shutouts in his last four starts, but he's already allowed six or more runs in two more. Just 8 starts in La Crosse, Johnson is 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA (122 ERA+) and 1.15 WHIP, but he has 12 walks with just 5 strikeouts. Nothing about Johnson's performance has made sense, but some days he's just on. I think it's pretty clear already that Johnson will never be much of a strikeout pitcher, but he locates his three pitches well and seems to generate weak contact. The most recent of the shutouts saw five hits and a walk, with 17 groundball outs! 17! In the other two shutouts he had 14, so but he also had 9 or more flyouts in each outing. If Johnson is on the mound, the defense will get their workout for the day, so he could be an interesting arm to follow. I usually try to get really good defensive players, so this could really benefit the youngster from Chicago. If he can improve his stuff a bit, especially his changeup (which looks to be his best pitch), Johnson can turn into a more reliable arm and not just a "hope they don't get a hit" pitcher who picks at the corners.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 63-56 (4th, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
Mike Taylor : 26 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .385 AVG, 1.100 OPS
Carlos Montes : 25 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.083 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 24 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.115 OPS

Schedule
8-24: Win at Saints (10-5)
8-25: Win at Saints (11-4)
8-26: Loss at Cannons (3-7)
8-27: Loss at Cannons (2-3)
8-25: Win at Cannons (9-3)
8-26: Win at Stars (5-2)

Recap
Record wise, it's an excellent week, but in actuality, this week sucked. It's fun having a top-5 shortstop in Billy Hunter, but it's not fun when he's always hurt... This time it's a sprained elbow, and an injury that likely spells the end of the season for the elite young talent. Hunter got into 51 games as a rookie, batting .319/.393/.545 (146 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers, 25 walks, and 29 strikeouts with just 6 strikeouts. Everything about this kid, except his durability, spells future star, and we just have to hope he can stay on the field all of next year. This throws off my plans a little, Rich Langton will come back this week, and to keep Leo Mitchell in the lineup, I'll run a bunch of different lineups based on pitcher's hand. The most common alignment, however, will have Langton in right, Mitchell at first, and Ford at second. This may not last too long with rosters expanding next sim, but as long as we don't start throwing games with this alignment, I imagine I'll keep it most of the season. Ollie Page will return to short, and at least this week, Joe Foy should get a game or two at second.

Mitchell had himself an excellent week, 8-for-24 with 3 doubles, a triple, homer, 2 RBI's, 4 walks, and 5 runs scored. He wasn't the only youngster with a great week, as Carlos Montes was 10-for-25 with a triple, RBI, three doubles, four walks, six runs, and a steal. One of the vets got into the fun (we actually didn't hit well this week), with Mike Taylor showing some of his vintage form. He was 10-for-26 with a triple, walk, two homers, and five runs scored and driven in. That was almost half his season home run total, but Taylor is hitting an almost average .280/.338/.393 (94 OPS+) with 5 homers and 56 RBI's after enduring a pair of truly awful seasons. Ollie Page managed to drive in five, but that was more then his combined walk and hit total (1 and 2) for the season. Hopefully moving to short will help his bat better, but in his 46 games at the keystone he had a respectable +2.8 zone rating and 1.029 efficiency. Page has really been the one weakness in our lineup, the only hitter with an OPS+ below 90, and his is barely over 75. Johnny Waters hit his first big league homer, a pinch hit three run shot in the 9-3 win over the Cannons. The switch hitting pinch hitter has a robust .344/.364/.594 (150 OPS+) batting line in a 34 PA sample.

This weeks two start pitcher was Oscar Morse, but he actually left the second start running the bases in the fourth. It was going well, 2 hits a run, and a walk in three innings, and was actually better then the original start he won. Morse went all nine, but allowed 5 runs, 3 walks, and 9 hits with a pair of strikeouts. Luckily, Morse is fine and won't miss time, but Allen Purvis won that game for us. It was his third relief outing of the week (a hit, run, and three strikeouts in two innings prior) and the 34-year-old treated it like a start. He went 5 strong innings with 5 hits, a run, a walk, and a strikeout. One of the leaders of the staff, Purvis is 3-1 with 3 saves, a 3.33 ERA (126 ERA+) and a 1.44 WHIP. Luis Sandoval did pick up his third save after a perfect ninth, but his overall season hasn't been all too perfect. The best start of the week was Pug's, 4 hits, 4 walks, 3 runs (1 earned), and 3 strikeouts in 8 strong innings.

Looking Ahead
We'll look to finish off the sweep of the Stars, as Dave Rankin will take on Harry Carter as we look to drop New York to 48-75. The hard throwing Carter is 7-9 with a 4.54 ERA (94 ERA+), 1.56 WHIP, 67 walks, and 86 strikeouts in 140.2 innings on the year. We stay in New York for three more, this time with the Brooklyn Kings, who have started to turn things back around. Tom Barrell is back in the fold, and the 68-53 Kings are four behind the now first place Philadelphia Sailors. We're likely to face our former #1 overall pick, who is 8-3 with a 2.74 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 18 walks, and 62 strikeouts in his 108.1 innings pitched. He seems unlikely to repeat as an Allen Award winner, but it would be hard not to consider him if he remained healthy all season. Joe Shaffer is back as well, now 13-3 with a 2.95 ERA (146 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, 46 walks, and 53 strikeouts in 165 innings pitched. The return of these two is much more impactful then any offseason acquisition they could have made, and you can never count the Kings out of the playoff race. The back half of the rotation has had it's struggles, but Mike Murphy is still a reliable #3. In a down year by his standards, he's 9-12 with a 3.95 ERA (109 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 50 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 159.2 innings. Al Wheeler has reclaimed a share of the homerun lead, now with 21 and a league best 92 RBI's to go with his .306/.404/.523 (137 OPS+) batting line. Veteran Frank Lightbody took advantage of the Elmer Nolde trade, stepping into the two spot in the order. He's hitting .356/.414/.467 (127 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, two steals, and 13 RBI's in exactly 200 plate appearances. Thankfully, this will end our excruciating road trip, and while we do rest on Friday, it won't get any easier.

We start our homestand with a two game set against the previously mentioned first place Sailors. Now 72-49, they have one win more then the Foresters who just got swept by Brooklyn. Ace William Jones has lowered his ERA below 3, now 2.91 (149 ERA+) to go with his 17-6 record, 1.31 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts in year ten. They'll get Jack Cleaves back this week who missed a little time with a sprained wrist. Bob Smith has been getting reps in his place, and the 26-year-old and former top 50 prospect is hitting .292/.381/.427 (107 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 2 homers, 4 steals, and 27 RBI's in just over 200 trips to the plate. The most impressive part, however, is his 26-to-1 walk to strikeout ratio. Yes, this kid has struck out just once this year and excusing a 10 game cup of coffee last year (with no strikeouts, I might add), this is his first taste of big league pitching. It seems like Philly is filled with these smart hitters, and they are still able to score runs by taking advantage of their opportunities. Their lineup isn't all that scary, and with all the power we boast at home, If we can keep them off the board we should be able to make this series interesting. It's just two games, but the start of 30 straight games to end the season. This isn't a bad thing at all, we'll have expanded rosters the whole time, and a little more then half the games will be in Chicago where we tend to play really well.

Minor League Report
RHP Del Burnes (AA Mobile Commodores): Mobile has been a dreadful location for the former 3rd Overall Pick, but perhaps things are starting to turn around. He was stupendous in an 8-0 win over Memphis, tossing a 2-hit, 2 walks shutout of the Excelsiors with 8 strikeouts to even his record at 5-5. His ten starts haven't gone all that well, with an ERA of 4.13 (75 ERA+) and a WHIP of 1.36, but his 5.0 K/9 ratio is outstanding despite a 3.2 BB/9 ratio. This is a good sign for the 21-year-old, but the most exciting part is the velocity jump. He's gone from 90-92 to 93-95, a huge jump for a third year pro. Burns does an excellent job keeping the ball on the ground, and he has a polished five pitch arsenal. The cutter and fastball are overpowering, and he can really change eye level well with his changeup. The slider is devastating for fellow righties, but the true gem of the arsenal is his excellent forkball. A forkball isn't the most common pitch, especially for one's best pitch, but this jump in velocity is going to be great for him. For a forkball think splitter meets 12-6 curveball, and it functions as almost a perfect middle between the hard and soft stuff. My scout thinks spot starter, but with this jump in velocity, Burnes may just well prove the doubters wrong. Give him maybe two more years, and Burnes could be ready to disarm FABL hitters.

RHP Pete Papenfus (AA Mobile Commodores): He may be Del's teammate, but no one would dare call good ol' Peter the Heater anyone's teammate. He's just the second coming of Double A and savior of the Chicago Cougars! All jokes aside, the fireballing Papenfus got a promotion to Mobile not too long ago, and the 19-year-old definitely got off to a slow start. In his first five starts, four of them saw the opponent score four or more runs and he won just one of them. Fortunately, he quickly ended this trend, tossing a 5-hit shutout as we topped Nashville 7-0 to improve the #3 prospects record to 2-4. His 3.51 ERA (88 ERA+) and 1.42 WHIP may look good, but in a very pitcher friendly league these numbers are below average. The biggest gripe for Pete so far, however, has been the huge increase in walks. He has now walked 30 with 26 strikeouts, a jump in BB/9 from 4.7 to 5.3 after the promotion. I knew walks would be an issue for Pete, but this is truly the only issue for him at the moment. Once he can limit the free passes, it'll just be a race to the top of strikeout leaderboards for him. Only four Cougar pitchers have struck out more then 1,000 batters, but assuming Pete can give us 5.0 K/9 (pretty conservatives) and 225 innings a year (again, pretty conservative), that should give Pete eight seasons to hit the mark. OSA thinks he can debut at 20 next season and my scout thinks he's the six most developed prospect in our system. I could go on and on about his natural talent, but that's just half the story. He's got excellent baseball knowledge, consistently increases his already extreme velocity, and he's easily the most advanced 19-year-old pitcher I've ever seen. I can already see it; Cougars deep in a 1938 pennant race, Peter the Heater gets the call from Milwaukee, and leads the Cougars to a championship!

LF Izzy Sevilla (A Lincoln Legislators): Recently promoted to Lincoln, the 23-year-old Izzy Sevilla has been red hot. It's just 16 games, but the former 7th Rounder is hitting .328/.354/.508 (121 OPS+) with eight doubles, a homer, six steals, and six RBI's. It's better then his 318 at bat sample down in San Jose where he hit .255/.355/.415 (115 OPS+) and added 13 doubles, 4 triples, 10 homers, 28 steals, and 60 RBI's. At both levels he has one more steal then strikeout and he tends to walk more frequently then he is set down on strikes. Always viewed as more of a fourth outfielder, Sevilla has proved capable in left and center and is likely fine out in right as well. He's got great speed, both on the basepaths and in the field, and he tends to hit the ball hard and up the middle when he makes clean contact. Sevilla is absent from the top prospect list, but with a lot of quality outfielders graduating/ed, he's got a chance to separate himself from the rest of the pack if he can keep up this performance.

[StLee]

Oh no about Hunter! It looked as though he would be a cornerstone for your franchise, but a fragile player seems to be punished extra hard in OOTP universes. I am not aware if that can change in a player. I hope it can so that he can give you 100+ games per season to help make your team a true contender in the league.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 65-60 (4th, 11 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Lawson : 22 AB, 5 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .227 AVG, .625 OPS
Mike Taylor : 15 AB, 4 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .267 AVG, .800 OPS
Doc Love : 24 AB, 5 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .208 AVG, .542 OPS

Schedule
8-30: Loss at Stars (1-5)
8-31: Win at Kings (2-1)
9-1: Loss at Kings (0-3)
9-2: Loss at Kings (2-3)
9-4: Win vs Sailors (2-3)
9-5: Loss vs Sailors (4-3)

Recap
Definitely a disappointing week, especially considering the loss to the Stars was against Dick Leudtke. Add in a pair of one run losses, a shutout from Joe Shaffner, and very minimal offense and it's quite clear why we had a rough week. It's been a while since we had a losing week and now we'll start a long run of games without a day off until the regular season ends. We'll have some reinforcements with roster expansion, and I'll be bringing them up little by little. With about a month left, I'm hoping we can win as many games as possible until there aren't any more left.

Let's start with the good, we really pitched well this week and secured the top spot for CA rotation ERA. Five runs was the most allowed in a game and just a pair of innings needed to be covered by the pen. Rankin and Fritz both made two starts and each picked up a win (of course, Rankin lost too). Rankin went 17 innings with 17 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), 5 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Fritz went 16 with 16 hits, 4 runs, 6 walks, and a single strikeout. Oscar Morse had a great start, 8 innings with 3 runs (1 earned) and a walk, but he was tagged with the loss. Dick Lyons was too, going eight with 7 hits, 3 runs, and a strikeout. No start for Pug this week, but he'll get two this next one. As mentioned, the offense was terrible, with Mike Taylor the only starter with an above average week, and he was only 4-for-15 with a homer and two walks, runs, and RBI's. Lawson, Ford, Love, and Mitchell all homered, but Lawson and Love led that group with just five hits. Rich Langton played like he was still on the DL, 2-for-22 with a triple, RBI, two runs, and three walks. Ray Ford had a rough week in the field and at the plate, but considering nearly everyone failed to hit, I'm not going to correlate the two. He did add another homer, but had a three error game in Morse's 3-2 loss to the Kings.

Looking Ahead
No series to start the week, just a double header in Chicago with the first place Foresters. At 73-53, they've dropped to three behind the Sailors. Dan Fowler is a homer away from another 20 homer season, and is batting .287/.367/.473 (113 OPS+) in the cleanup role for Cleveland. Other then Bill Moore, however, he's the only Forester with an OPS+ above 105 (although they have just one with less then 90). We're set to face Lou Martino, who is 11-10 with a 4.07 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 66 walks, and 80 strikeouts in his first season as a Forester. We'll also look to give Sergio Gonzales his second loss of the season, but that may be hard considering his 3.01 ERA (144 ERA+) and 1.23 WHIP in 215 elite innings this season.

The we welcome Toronto for four games. At 57-69, they are in sixth and almost twenty games behind the Sailors. With rosters expanding, there may be some new Wolves on the way up. Personal favorite Jim Morrison is hanging out in AAA Buffalo, but my guess is he'll remain there. Rotation mate Buddy Long seems like a much more likely option for a promotion or former Cougar draftee Reginald Westfall. They did make a move early, bringing up top prospect and former #4 overall pick Charlie Artuso to bat eighth and man short. First week wasn't great, 4-for-24 with a double, triple, two walks, and two RBI's, but he flashed the leather exceptionally and won't turn 22 until mid October. He's got all the tools to be a superstar in the league, adding another extraordinary shortstop to the Continental Association. This moved the struggling Frank Huddleston to second. Huddleston is hitting just .250/.279/.362 (63 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, 15 steals, and 56 RBI's. They've added John Herrick to the lineup, a switch hitting first basemen who slugged 38 homers down in Buffalo. He should help aid a porous lineup where only Chicagoan Levi Redding has a respectable line. He's played plus defense in center and hit .301/.383/.405 (102 OPS+) with 27 doubles, 11 triples, a homer, 18 steals, and 44 RBI's with a 69-to-14 walk-to-strikeout ratio. It's been a strong season for the rookie who's had the weight of the lineup on his shoulders since Larry Vestal went down with injury.

On Saturday we'll be in Philadelphia to start a three game set with the Sailors. William Jones beat us last week, his eleventh consecutive victory as he lowered his ERA to a stunning 2.86 (151 ERA+). Jack Cleaves is healthy again, and the return of his .298/.383/.480 (120 OPS+) line should help spark the offense in the pennant race. No other everyday player has an OPS+ above 115, but they still have scored a tied for league best 645 runs. They walk and steal a lot and won't strike out, but they sit 5th in average, slugging, OPS, WAR, wOBA, and hits. They may not be a star studded team, but the sum of the whole is far greater then the parts, and this team could very well represent the CA in the Fall classic this year.

I wanted a third catcher, and while Harry Mead may eventually make an appearance, I'm temporarily bringing up Ken Wyatt. He's destined to be DFA'd in the offseason (or maybe earlier), but the former 4th Rounder has been in our system since the 1925 draft and I want Mead getting everyday at bats. He's bounced between Mobile and Milwaukee since the 1931 season, and owns a .266/.323/.374 (84 OPS+) career line at the highest level. He's not the only fourth rounder on his way up, as outfielder Roy Moore will help shore up the bench and give us another capable defender out in center. He was up earlier in the season and missed sometime with injury, but got into 75 games with the Blues. He hit an okay .256/.320/.308 (90 OPS+) with 13 doubles, a homer, 15 steals, and 18 RBI's while getting some time in both center and right. He's a perfect late game bench option due to the glove and speed, and he's generally held his own in the majors. Last new bench bat will be Freddie Bennett, a 23-year-old infielder set to make his big league debut. A 12th Rounder in 1932, Bennett is one of the best defensive shortstops in the system and since Ollie Page is really the only one in Chicago comfortable at short, I really wanted a second option. He should get a few starts, but I have no expectations of him hitting much at all. He did well in Mobile, but most of his 121 games this year came in Milwaukee. The light hitting Bennett hit .213/.273/.300 (73 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 5 triples, a homer, 11 steals, and 31 RBI's. At one point Bennett looked like a legit 20/20 player, but he hit more homers in 1934 (25) then he has since (20). Of course, you forget all about that when you see his career 1.090 efficiency at short and his 1.111 this season. The last piece coming up will be an arm, and like Wyatt, likely a temporary addition. We'll welcome back former Cougar Bill Kline, who pitched 20.1 innings for us last season. This year in Milwaukee he's 8-5 with 17 saves, a 2.14 ERA (156 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP, 26 walks, and 27 strikeouts. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has tossed 183.2 FABL innings with a 4.31 ERA (98 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP. I don't expect him to throw too frequently, but it never hurts having an extra arm, especially with the lack of off days. The 40 now sits at 38, but we have eight more active roster spots and a handful of guys I'm okay DFA'ing if needed.

Minor League Report
1B/LF Bobby Mills (AAA Milwaukee Blues): He's doing everything he can to show he deserves a late season callup, taking home Batter of the Month in the final full month of the minor league season. He actually hit a little less then his season line, .291, but with 5 homers, 21 RBI's, and 18 runs scored. It's now just over 200 AAA at bats for the former 6th Rounder who is hitting an elite .316/.374/.524 (169 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 9 homers, and 38 RBI's. Combined with Mobile, that's 13 homers, good for his fourth consecutive season with double digit longballs. Nearly all his reps this season came at first, but my scout views him as a future starting left fielder. He has the hit tool to hit over .330 with excellent plate discipline and decent pop. He's not very fast or athletic, but he's one of those "professional hitters" that will always give you a good at bat. The Blues play until the 21st, so that's about how long he'll stay there, but regardless of a late season callup, it'll be impossible not to use a 40-man spot on him.

2B/SS Ducky Jordan (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It hasn't been a great season for Ducky, but that won't stop him from making his Cougar debut this year. His start to the season was awful, and interesting enough, his Milwaukee numbers are actually far superior to his Mobile numbers, especially when it comes to power. All of his six homers happened in Milwaukee, despite about 75 less PA's. His .215/.321/.362 (106 OPS+) line is respectable and he added six doubles and seven steals. Jordan has really started to struggle making contact in the upper minors, but the "Hot Springs Hotshot" is a solid infield defender with great speed and a quick bat. OSA thinks he can hit .330, not sure I share that same sentiment, but Jordan's floor (at least for contact) is similar to Ollie Page. He may match some of the power too, but Jordan should be a superior defender. He's shaping up to be our second basemen of the future, but Tommy Wilson is going to give him good competition. I debated bringing up Jordan today (he's on the 40), but I want to keep giving him everyday at bats. My scout and the prospect rankers have soured on him a bit, but this pair of sixth rounders looks like reliable future big leaguers.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 70-63 (4th, 8/5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Carlos Montes : 32 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.037 OPS
Doc Love : 28 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .357 AVG, .871 OPS
Rich Langton : 25 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .320 AVG, .953 OPS

Schedule
9-6: Win vs Foresters (3-4): 10 innings
9-6: Win vs Foresters (7-11)
9-7: Loss vs Wolves (4-3)
9-8: Loss vs Wolves (5-2)
9-9: Win vs Wolves (2-3)
9-10: Win vs Wolves (5-6): 14 innings
9-11: Win vs Sailors (3-4)
9-12: Loss vs Sailors (12-9)

Recap
We just love these one run games... Luckily, we won three of them this time and dropped just one, with two of the wins coming in extra innings. It was another good week overall, splitting with the Wolves and Sailors after sweeping the Foresters in the double header. We also managed to pick up our 70th win on the season, one of nine teams to meet that mark so far. I was disappointed in the split with the Wolves, however, it works the same as if we were swept in the double header and then swept them. We also suffered a pair of day-to-day injuries, one to Langton and one to Pug, but neither will cause them to miss the entirety of the week. Bryan's start will be pushed back until Saturday now after leaving the 14 inning game against the Wolves after just one batter. It's a good thing I had Bill Kline on hand, as Kline had a valiant 6.2 inning relief outing with 3 hits, a walk, an unearned run, and 5 strikeouts. Luis Sandoval then blew up, 4 runs (1 earned) off 4 hits and 3 walks in 2 innings. This led to three excellent relief innings from Rankin before Clarence Crane tossed two hitless frames to earn the win.

A lot of crazy pitching this week because of the double header and the injury, so Pug, Lyons, and Morse all had to make two starts. Pug's first start went really well, a complete game win over the Foresters with 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and a strikeout. Lyons looked good in both his outings, 13 innings with 17 hits, 8 runs (5 earned), 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts as he beat both the Foresters and the Sailors. Morse didn't look terrible, but he lost both of his starts. One was a complete game, the other just 5.2 innings, and he allowed 15 hits, 12 runs (7 earned), and 7 walks with four strikeouts. Milt Fritz featured the best start of the week, a complete game win with 8 hits, an earned run, an unearned run, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Rankin lost his start, 9 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 3 strikeouts in a complete game loss to Toronto. The pen did have some issues, with both Purvis and Crane allowing three runs for the week with Kline the only pen arm to not allow an earned run.

It wasn't a perfect week for the offense, but it was much improved over the prior week. Carlos Montes had a big week, 12-for-32 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 2 walks, a steal, 7 runs, and 4 RBI's. Despite the thing muscle strain (will cost him three more days), Rich Langton started to turn things around, 8-for-25 with a double, triple, homer, 3 walks, 3 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. Doc Love hit a similar 10-for-28 with a double, triple, 3 walks, 3 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. Backup catcher Johnnie Williamson made the most of his two starts, 3-for-8 with a double, walk, run, and 4 RBI's. Freddie Bennett's debut week didn't go all that great, just 1-for-8 with a run scored and two driven in. That wasn't all that shocking, but what was was the poor defense. He made two errors in sixteen chances which is more then a full .1 worse then his fielding percentage in Milwaukee and Mobile this year. I'm guessing it's a fluky small sample, but most 23-year-olds probably had a different thing in mind for their debut week. Ken Wyatt actually got into some games too, 0-for-2 with a walk and run in two games off the bench.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Sailors to start the week as we'll fight for the rubber match. Philly sits at 79-55 and two and a half games ahead of the Kings. Cleveland has now dropped to third, but still in striking distance at three and a half out. The Sailors have filled up their roster, carrying 34 of the maximum 35 allotted players. They've had a lot of their prospects up throughout the season, but the new roster features current and former top prospects like Woody Stone, Harry Carter, Marion Boismenu, and Harvey Brown plus former Cougar Marty Roberts. These guys will all help the Sailors off the bench as they look to win their first pennant since 1930. Dave Rankin is set to take the mound for us and he'll face either Doc Newell or William Jones. Neither are good options, but at 17-7 with a 3.60 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 55 walks, and 96 strikeouts, Newell is the best (and most rested) case scenario for us.

We return home after for three with the Cannons, who find themselves as the second team in the CA eliminated from the playoffs. At 55-81, they are playing for the #2 pick, and have also brought up a few reinforcements from the minors. They've also added a spot to their rotation, inserting Dale Dube into the back of the rotation to give the youngsters some extra days off in the final month. This makes it easier to miss Gus Goulding, who is 12-19 with a 3.93 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 79 walks, and 134 strikeouts in 283.2 innings pitched. He's looking to be the new Dave Rankin, almost a lock to lose 20 games on the season. It's likely for John Edwards (9-17) and Rusty Petrick (9-18) too, but the 21-year-olds still have very respectable numbers. On the offensive side, Clark Car never really turned it around, and he's likely to see a sub 100 OPS+ in his first full season for the Cannons. The leadoff man is hitting .248/.300/.406 (85 OPS+) with 37 doubles, 7 triples, 8 homers, 4 steals, and 62 RBI's. Like all the Cannons other then Jim Mason, he's sporting an OPS+ below 95.

The homestand continues with another cellar dweller, the Stars, but we only get two against them. On pace for the second pick in the draft, they hold a one game lead over the Cannons. The Stars have made a roster overhaul, starting with four new members of the rotation to join Harry Carter and Les Zoller. The brought up a trio of southpaws, starting with former 11th Overall Pick Chris Clarke. Clarke has made two starts and is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (314 ERA+), 0.53 WHIP, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. While obviously unsustainable, in his 136 innings down in LA he was 11-4 with a 2.98 ERA (139 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 42 walks, and 65 strikeouts. Also joining the rotation is former 10th Overall Pick "Long Lou" Barker who's debut didn't quite go as planned. The Stars won, but Barker got a no decision, tossing seven frames with 11 hits, 4 runs, a walk, and a strikeout. The last lefty was Glenn Payne, a 1931 13th Round selection who allowed 5 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts in just 5 innings pitched. The only righty was the highest touted of the four, the Stars #3 prospect and #36 prospect in the FABL Vern Hubbard. Part of the stacked 1932 class, he was a 4th Round selection who had little to no trouble with minor league pitching. 23 in November, Hubbard was an out away from a complete game victory over the Kings. He allowed 11 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and a strikeout in a 15-3 win. This is a very inexperienced rotation, but it's filled with upside and a huge upgrade over what they were throwing. The lineup also got a huge upgrade, with #10 prospect in all of baseball Johnny Hopper hitting seventh and catching. He had a nice debut week, 7-for-21 with a double and a pair of walks, runs, and RBI's. They also brought up 1932 5th Rounder Bill Michael to play short. They have a higher upside shortstop in Joe Angevine at AAA, but my scout is a big fan of Michael. He walked five times and was 6-for-21 in his first week in New York.

Our homestand continues with a two game set against the Kings with one game this week and one game the next. You can and should never count out the Kings, even if Tom Barrell isn't pitching like Tom Barrell. He's just tossed 133.1 innings this year, working to a 3.64 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.23 WHIP with 22 walks and 72 strikeouts. It feels weird, but his numbers are pretty in line with the rest of our rotation. The Kings haven't made any callups yet, but most of their talent was already in Brooklyn. Al Wheeler has started to re-heat, hitting career homer 300 and now slashing .303/.403/.531 (140 OPS+) for the season with a league high 26 homers and 106 RBI's. He's now batting behind Joe Perret, who's hitting .349/.381/.484 (122 OPS+) with 5 homers and 38 RBI's in two more then 200 trips to the plate. Curly Jones is tied with fellow #1 overall selection Tom Barrell for the team strikeout lead, but his 72 comes with 81 walks, a 3.80 ERA (113 ERA+), and 1.45 WHIP. Joe Shaffner's streak of shutouts was snapped at three, the fourth start eight and a third with five hits and a single run. Potentially this year's Allen Award Winner, Shaffner is 17-3 with a 2.47 ERA (174 ERA+), 1.14 WHIP, 50 walks, and 57 strikeouts in an out more then 200 innings. He's kept the Kings in it, and now it's time for Tom to take it to the finish line.

I thought he was going to be out for the season, but Bill Scott has returned from his herniated disc, and will end up with more then 12 starts on the season. This gave me an extra starter to work with in the farm, so I decided to bring up an extra arm for the pen. I had a bunch of young arms and a handful of vets to choose between, but I eventually setteled on a fireballing leader instead. Despite pitching in San Jose all of last season, the 23-year-old from Berwyn Joe Brown will have a chance to make his FABL debut. Acquired from the Dynamos in a 1936 trade for Hank Spencer, Brown made 8 outstanding starts in Lincoln before a promotion up to Mobile. He made 14 starts for the Commodores, finishing 10-3 with a 2.79 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.09 WHIP, 27 walks, and 39 strikeouts. A 9th Rounder from 1932, Brown turns 24 next March and is a beloved member of every clubhouse he's been apart of. That used to be his appeal; everyone loves him, but now he's turned into an outstanding young arm. Brown has excellent control, keeps the ball on the ground, and mixes his five pitches well. He comfortably throws in the high 90s with his sinker, while his four secondary offerings are effective as well. OSA believes he'll become a middle of the rotation arm, I'd tend to agree, but Brown hasn't shown any signs of slowing down his development. He'll be used as a pen arm for now, but I know he can be a steady presence in a rotation. Brown currently ranks 10th in our system and 80th in the FABL.

Minor League Report
LHP Doc Smith (A Lincoln Legislators): Our 2nd Rounder in 1935, Doc Smith still hasn't gotten much prospect love, but he continues to pitch good baseball. It's now 11 starts with the Legislators and Smith is 4-0 with a 3.75 ERA (121 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 21 walks, and 29 strikeouts in his 74.1 innings pitched. He hasn't been going all that deep into games, just two starts this year that went eight or longer. This could be part of the reason he doesn't get much love, with my scout viewing him as an emergency starter at best. The lefties pitches are very underdeveloped, but he does an outstanding job generating groundballs with his mid 80s sinker, and he can challenge hitters up and in with his fastball. He's an extremely hard worker with solid stuff and good movement and I have faith he'll be able to shake off some of his command issues. He'll turn 23 in October, but I expect Smith to take his time in the minors as there are a lot of arms further along then him ahead of him.

LF Chubby Hall (C La Crosse Lions): I was really hoping he'd be ready for San Jose this season, but Hall hasn't quite developed as quickly as anticipated. His on field numbers are impressive, but he still has a red arrow when I try to promote him. Nonetheless, Hall finished out an exceptional week, going 10-for-26 with a homer, 8 runs, and 9 RBI's. The 20-year-old is now hitting a clean .300/.340/.432 (127 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homers, 5 steals, and 84 RBI's in 517 PA's for La Crosse. He still hasn't showcased the brilliant 15-to-1 walk-to-strikeout ratio, but they're almost even (30, 33) and a far improvement (21, 59) from last year. And while last year most of the reps came in right, he's spent most of his time this season in left. He's looking like a capable defender in the corner outfield and he can occasionally make a cameo in center if needed. He kind of reminds me of Rich Langton 2.0; more power and a better eye, albeit, with far less speed. My scout thinks he's going to be an excellent starting outfielder and rates him with more upside then every outfielder in our system except Leo Mitchell (although he may never reach it...). After the graduation of Hunter and Montes, Hall has claimed the #2 spot in the system and now ranks 37th in all of baseball. I'm really excited for Chubby despite his obvious flaw and short and stubby stature, but he could definitely play veteran John Dibblee in a movie about his life. Both due to his looks, and of course, is excellent talent with the bat.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 73-67 (4th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 22 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .455 AVG, .955 OPS
John Lawson : 21 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.004 OPS
Ray Ford : 26 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .308 AVG, .768 OPS

Schedule
9-13: Loss at Sailors (2-3)
9-14: Win vs Cannons (3-4)
9-15: Loss at Cannons (9-5)
9-16: Win vs Cannons (5-9)
9-17: Loss vs Stars (9-1)
9-18: Win vs Stars (0-2): 10 innings
9-19: Loss vs Kings (3-2)

Recap
We dropped once against each team we faced this week, and continued our cool off as the season comes closer and closer to a close. I was really hoping we would be able to win both against the Stars, and dropping one of the games 9-1 hurt, but at this point I just hope we can stay above .500. I'd love to crack 80 wins, but that might be a bit too tough to reach. 14 games left in the season means we have to finish .500, but other then this final game against the Kings, the only other .500 or better team we'll face are the plummeting Foresters. Unfortunately there are also six with the Wolves, who are 11-5 against us and the only team that's consistently been able to beat us. We always have issues with those darn Wolves...

The pitching had some struggles, with my age comment yesterday jinxing Dick Lyons. The Cannons roughed him up for 10 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) and a walk in just four innings. Oscar Morse picked up a win, but allowed 10 hits and 5 runs with a walk and strikeout in his start. Dave Rankin made two starts, one good and one bad, but shockingly neither saw him pitch all nine. He lost both outings, but he looked good against the Sailors. It saw 9 hits, 3 runs, a walk and 4 strikeouts while the Stars clobbered him. They put up 10 hits and 8 runs with 4 walks and strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched. He's now dropped to 14-19 with a 3.88 ERA (108 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 82 walks, and 110 strikeouts in 287.1 innings pitched. He seems like a lock to reach 300 and lose 20 games this year, but the overall numbers are very exciting. Milt Fritz also made a pair of starts, beating the Cannons and losing to the Kings. He allowed 3 runs in both starts and combined to give up 23 hits and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts. 14 of the hits actually came in the win, as the 27-year-old is an even 14-14 on the year with a 3.03 ERA (139 ERA+) and 1.38 WHIP. Pug was brilliant after his back tightness went away, tossing 7.1 shutout innings with 5 hits, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts in a no decision. Joe Brown made his big league debut, 2 hits, a run, and a strikeout in an inning and a third.

John Lawson started to improve his September, going 8-for-21 with a homer and 6 RBI's. Rich Langton did the same, 4-for-17 with a triple, homer, two walks, two RBI's, and three runs. Leo Mitchell was 10-for-22 with a steal, 3 walks, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. Carlos Montes was 7-for-27 with a double, homer, two steals, 5 walks, 5 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. The bats have really started to cool, a major factor being the loss of Billy Hunter, but with Langton's recent homer we now have four hitters with double digit homers and one more (Montes) a homer away from joining them. Besides the power, five of the eight hitters have an OPS+ above 100 (six if you count Hunter) while Langton and Taylor sit just below 90. It's funny that the pitching has been the strength of the team, but come next year, I'm really excited to see what the offense can do. Ollie Page is bound to bounce back plus the return of Hunter and another year of Ford, Montes, and Mitchell, the offense can really make some noise.

Looking Ahead
The Continental Association race has long been an exciting event come September, and this year has not disappointed. The Kings and Sailors sit tied atop at 82-59 while the Foresters have dropped to four and a half out. We start our week hosting the Kings to finish the quick two game set. I'm hoping the Kings go with Curly Jones, who is fully rested, but my guess is they turn to southpaw Joe Shaffner who shutout the Foresters in an 11-0 domination on the 16th. Just one run allowed in his last 44.1 innings pitched, which could mean he's due for a bad outing. And while Jones technically is an easier pitcher to hit, he's got impressive numbers, 11-7 with a 3.61 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 83 walks, and 74 strikeouts. The Kings Frank Vance is also competing with John Lawson for the batting title, a close second with his .324/.403/.525 (138 OPS+) batting line. The 35-year-old vet is also a third basemen and has 37 doubles, 18 homers, and 77 RBI's to his credit this year. I'm glad it's just one game and not two, as Brooklyn is the only CA team with a better ERA then us and they rank first is a majority of the hitting categories.

We stay home to host the Saints who we've had our way with this season. Even if they sweep us, we'll still have 15 wins against them on the year, tied with the Stars for most against a single team. They sit a game under .500 and our the lowest team in the CA to not yet be eliminated (officially) from postseason contention. Red Moore is back in the lineup, but he's hitting just .275/.336/.370 (82 OPS+) with 2 homers and 32 RBI's. With him at second, the Saints have shifted Hank Barnett to short. Easily the best eight hitter in the game, Barnett is hitting .272/.358/.439 (104 OPS+) with 18 homers and 90 RBI's, but he's beyond awful at short (-13.3 ZR, .653 EFF). Another guy back in the lineup is 24-year-old Red Bond who's hitting .302/.364/.525 (126 OPS+) with 11 homers and 36 RBI's in 225 trips to the plate. And since playing us on the 25th, Bill Ross has really had a tough time, his ERA and WHIP jumping to 4.17 (104 ERA+) and 1.37 on the season with a still nice 83 strikeouts to 42 walks. I'm hoping this series will help spark the offense, but for some reason I have a bad feeling about this one.

We finish the week north of the border in Toronto with the recently eliminated Wolves. At 67-74, they give us far more trouble then their record suggests. Jake Smith has had a nice breakout season for them, 10-12 with a 3.18 ERA (136 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 28 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 189.2 innings pitched. Otis Cook continues to defy his talent, 16-11 with a 3.44 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 46 walks, and 51 strikeouts in 217.1 frames atop their rotation. Both are doing a bit better then the budding young ace and former #1 overall selection Joe Hancock, who owns a still impressive 19-12 record with a 3.73 ERA (116 ERA+), 1.29 WHIP, 76 walks, and 128 strikeouts. The pitching is a clear strength and the offense has it's holes, but they have welcomed Larry Vestal back to the big league club. The recently turned 28-year-old is sporting a .314/.385/.475 (120 OPS+) line with 16 doubles, 17 triples, 7 homers, and 59 RBI's in 117 games. Him, Levi Redding, and Aaron Ward are the only hitters with an above average OPS+ in the lineup, although Ward has done it in just 98 at bats. It's been another tough season for the Wolves, but they are stacked with young pitching and if they can add a few more infield bats, they could truly be a force to be reckoned with.

The minor league season ends on Tuesday, so I'll make the rest of my callups today. The first man up will be 23-year-old Ducky Jordan despite his awful minor league season. Since he can play short, he's going to be very helpful these next two weeks as Freddie Bennett did not quite handle the stick. I debated on bringing up Jorge Camargo too, but he's been even worse then Ducky at the plate and isn't the best defender at short. Ducky will be joined by fellow 1932 Rounder Bobby Mills who somehow raised his AAA slash to .329/.399/.548 (183 OPS+) and he'll finish with 19 doubles, 12 homers, and 49 RBI's with over three times as many walks (30) as strikeouts (8). He even won the most recent Player of the Week, 13-for-25 with three homers, six RBI's, and seven runs scored. Of course, Mills will never be able to replicate that level of production in the FABL, but he can definitely hit .330 (average is very deflated in the Century League this year with just one qualified hitter above .300 at .301) in the big leagues with a high on base percentage. The power will be the key to his success, if he can hit 20 in a season I'll find a starting lineup spot for him, but he's got a bunch of corner players standing between him and everyday playing time. For now he'll function as one of the go to bench pieces to finish the season.

A pair of outfielders will also head down to Chicago, the 25-year-old Orlin Yates and Aart MacDonald. Yates made his debut earlier in the season, but has spent most of his time down in Milwaukee. Yates spent time in all three outfield spots and hit .229/.345/.329 (103 OPS+) with 18 doubles, 5 homers, 22 steals, and 28 RBI's. And as far as I know, Aart MacDonald will be the first Aruban born player to make an FABL appearance. Acquired in the minor league draft, MacDonald split time between Mobile and Milwaukee, combining to hit 21 doubles, 19 triples, and 14 homers with 51 RBI's and 39 steals. Most of the time came in Mobile where he hit an outstanding .242/.330/.472 (144 OPS+) and had a majority of his extra base hits. He also spent time at all three outfield spots, but he's a natural centerfielder with excellent defensive instincts. My scout is a huge fan, loving his power and speed, and he's cracked the top 100 prospect list. The last hitter to join the roster will be our #4 prospect and #46 prospect in the FABL Harry Mead, the storied lefty throwing catcher. He's already tired, so he wouldn't have played today in Milwaukee regardless, so he'll be the new third catcher. The Harvey native held his own, batting .248/.320/.317 (92 OPS+) while providing outstanding defense behind the plate. He'll form a loose platoon with Mike Taylor as we finish out the season.

We have two healthy pitchers on the 40 still in the minors, Joe Foote and Cy Sullivan, but just Foote will join the roster today as Cy is set to start the last game of the season. Cy will come up next sim just for fun, but Foote will be on hand out of the pen with Brown. Foote has dropped a bit in the prospect rankings, but he'll be the third 6th Rounder (via Montreal) from the 1932 draft set to debut this week. Foote came over in the Bobby Sprague trade and almost always pitched against older and tougher competition. He had near matching ERA's of 2.64 (120 ERA+) and 2.72 (124 ERA+) in 17 Mobile and 8 Milwaukee starts this season. Foote will turn 23 in four days and my scout thinks he'll be a quality middle of the rotation arm. He's got three good pitches, headlined with an above average mid 90s sinker that causes hitter after hitter to roll into two. The Cali kid has pinpoint control and a reliable slider, but he doesn't get many swings and misses and his curveball is a little flat. He still needs some polishing, but I'm confident he'll reach his potential before his 25th birthday. This puts our active roster 34 and our 40 to 40, and since I don't have any other plans to bring anyone else up, Ken Wyatt will live to fight another day. The 40 guys not being brought up are the injured Clyde Hinzman and John Hartz, John Johnson, and Camargo while Billy Hunter likely won't be healthy until the seasons concluded.

Minor League Report
RF Henry Cox (AA Mobile Commodores): If the league wasn't filled to the brim with quality corner outfielders, we could be talking about Henry Cox's debut. Instead, it's a AA player of the week as Cox was 12-for-32 with 3 homers and 13 RBI's. The 21-year-old slugger is hitting .262/.314/.500 (146 OPS+) with 30 homers, 15 steals, and 105 RBI's in an outstanding campaign. Our 5th Rounder in 1934, the power has been evident since day one, already 102 minor league homers to his credit. Cox is not only gifted with a strong bat, but he's got an absolute cannon of an arm in the outfield and he's an all around good corner defender. I've always been a huge fan of the kid, and my scout and OSA are starting to catch on to his talent. Of course, the prospect people still thinks he's useless, somehow the 60th best prospect in our system, but it's hard to argue with his production. Add in the ease of home run hitting in Chicago, and there is a chance that he disrupts our future plants a little. I know if I was Rich Langton right now, I'd be a little worried about my roster spot.

1B/RF Larry Robison (AA Mobile Commodores): He's got two games left, but he'll need just one more steal to reach 75 for the season. Our 19th Round Selection in 1932, Robison swiped 59 in 87 games with Lincoln and another 15 in his 40 with Mobile. He's hit well too, .336/.402/.515 (136 OPS+) and .255/.345/.404 (129 OPS+) respectively at each level, with half the time at first and the other in right. Robison has bounced around a lot in the minors and with the offseason soon approaching, I'll have a decision to make about protecting him. As a team, we are absolutely terrible at stealing bases, our 33 as a team pales in comparison to Robison, with his specific skill set a huge plus. Most batters get caught about as much as they successfully steal, but Robison is 74-for-86, a remarkable 86%, far better then the matching 67% for the FA and CA leaders Jim Beard and Dick Walker. I'm actually a little impressed with myself, despite him being a 19th Rounder, I noticed he had a ton of talent, and Robison seems likely to at least function as an extremely valuable pinch runner.

LF Izzy Sevilla (A Lincoln Legislators): Another Player of the Week winner, I was a little worried to promote Sevilla from San Jose as he wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire. Luckily, he's exceeded all expectations, and after an 11-for-25 week with a trio of longballs, the 1935 7th Rounder is hitting .346/.381/.585 (146 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 5 homers, 12 steals, and 19 RBI's. A natural centerfielder, Sevilla spent most of this season playing left, with his time in Lincoln split between the corners. 24 in February, Sevilla isn't the greatest defender, but he's got excellent speed and the range to handle all three spots. The bat, however, is really starting to improve, as he's doubled his homer total from last season despite most hitters trending the opposite direction after leaving C ball. He has 15 split between the two levels this year after 7 last year, and he's swiped 40 bags. Speed is his calling card, and he excels when he puts the ball in play and struggles when he's over aggressive at the plate. Year two has been a nice success for the Murfreesboro Tech alum, but he'll need to take a few more steps forward to establish himself in the organization.

RHP Joe Crosby (C La Crosse Lions): It was a good way to end his season, so instead of letting our June 4th Rounder make an 11th start, I'll call it an end of a successful season after 10. It was a 3-hit shutout after a 1-run complete game, and Crosby finished year one 5-4 with a 3.05 ERA (112 ERA+), 1.12 WHIP, 12 walks, and 15 strikeouts. The 18-year-old is a very efficient starter, going over 100 pitches just once (ironically, in less then 6 innings), but he's already tossed three complete games due to his ability to consistently serve up weak contact. "Boney Joe" is a three pitch finesse pitcher with a respectable mid-to-upper 80s fastball. Marv thinks he may develop some control issues, but he really hasn't shown any so far. Crosby is our highest rated prospect from the recent draft, checking n at 19th in our system and 197th in the league, and he looks to join the next wave of young Cougar pitchers after Parker, Cy, Brown, and Foote all start to graduate. And with how young he is, there is a lot of time for him to add speed on his pitches or polish up his attack.

[StLee]

Here's hoping to make 80 (or at least 77!) for the season. Next year looks like health is the biggest factor in whether or not your team is competing for the pennant. Your youngsters are certainly starting to make noise!

[ayaghmour2]

Originally Posted by StLee

Here's hoping to make 80 (or at least 77!) for the season. Next year looks like health is the biggest factor in whether or not your team is competing for the pennant. Your youngsters are certainly starting to make noise!

We made it to 77 (78 to be exact), so I think 80 is in reach. 2-5 would be a disappointing end to a surprisingly exciting season, but still good enough for 80 wins. There are a lot of parallels right now to our World Series team; 90 losses, then 80 wins, then 90 and a pennant. Might have an active offseason as well, but back then there were a lot more sellers. Even with no changes though, if we can stay healthy (especially Billy), one of the current top three teams might have to look forward to the future.

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 78-69 (4th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Rich Langton : 30 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .367 AVG, 1.140 OPS
John Lawson : 28 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .321 AVG, .887 OPS
Carlos Montes : 29 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .310 AVG, .838 OPS

Schedule
9-20: Win vs Kings (11-12)
9-21: Win vs Saints (5-6)
9-22: Win vs Saints (2-4)
9-23: Loss vs Saints (3-2): 10 innings
9-24: Loss at Wolves (1-3)
9-25: Win at Wolves (3-2)
9-26: Win at Wolves (4-3)

Recap
While we were technically eliminated from the playoffs today, there was a lot of good going on! And, we only lost one to the Wolves instead of the usual two! There was also a ton of one run games and walkoffs, and in fact, all seven games were decided by two or less runs. The craziest game was easiest the one against the Kings, a back-and-forth seven homer slugfest where we scored seven runs in the last three innings, capped off by a Johnnie Williamson walkoff double. That set the stage for the Bert Wilson walk-off sac-fly the next day against the Saints. Now, at 78-69, we cannot finish below .500 and are in striking distance we of 80 wins for the first time in four seasons. We will be a man down, as Ducky Jordan will miss the rest of the year with a sore elbow suffered in his second FABL game. It was DTD, so he did play two more, but was just 1-for-9 with a pair of walks, runs, and RBI's. So instead of a 35-man roster, it'll just be 34 with Jordan leaving and Cy coming up. I could fill the last spot with Billy Hunter, who could return in three days, but it's not worth the risk there.

Our corner outfield trio may contributed to a ton of the offense, with Love, Langton, and Mitchell all having outstanding weeks. Langton almost made more PA's then the other duo, and was 11-for-30 with a double, two triples, two homers, 7 RBI's, and 8 runs scored. I think he read my report yesterday, and he's now boosted his season line to an almost average .265/.325/.421 (96 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 9 triples, 12 homers, and 54 RBI's. He also took home Player of the Week, the last one we'll get all season. Doc Love was 6-for-18 with 2 doubles, a triple, homer, and 4 RBI's. Mitchell was 9-for-22 with a double, walk, and four runs scored. John Lawson is holding onto a four point lead in the batting race after a 9-for-28 week with a double, homer, and seven RBI's. His 25 homers and 104 RBI's are a distant second to Al Wheeler, but despite this being the lowest average of his career (.326) he could win his fourth batting title. Carlos Montes and Ray Ford both homered and combined to go 16-for-51 with 8 RBI's, 7 runs scored, and 4 walks. Montes also tripled and stole a pair of bases. We also had a handful of debuts other then Ducky, with both Bobby Mills and Aart MacDonald making five appearances. Aart was just 1-for-6, but Mills was a much more productive 3-for-8 with a walk and run scored. Harry Mead made a pair of starts as well, 1-for-7 with a double and walk.

Dave Rankin and Oscar Morse both made two starts, and Rankin found away to win them both! Now 16-19, he tossed a complete game and an out away from a complete game, combining for 16 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), and 5 walks and strikeouts. Oscar Morse won one and picked up a no decision, 14.2 innings with 16 hits, 9 runs (7 earned), 4 walks, and a strikeout. I spent a lot of time debating whether Morse or Lyons would pick the opener, and it definitely worked, since we won both of Morse's starts and Lyons shook off the poor Cannons start with a gem against the Saints. He allowed 8 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with a strikeout to pick up his 14th win. Milt Fritz was the unlucky loser in the 3-1 game to the Wolves, 8 decent innings with 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, and an impressive 7 strikeouts. It was just his second start this season with more then four, and both came against Toronto (6 on May 1st). Pug tossed another great start, although it came in the other loss, 7 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. I'm hoping to do a nice long season review, and I know a big portion of it will be separating the first five Pug starts from the rest, because even with that awful stretch, his 3.52 ERA is second in the rotation and corresponding with a 120 ERA+. Unless he gets absolutely hammered in his last start or two, it should be a really successful season for the rookie.

Looking Ahead
Four more games left on the schedule, and our next series could actually really shake up the standings. It's been a rough month for the Foresters, who now find themselves 80-67 and now six and a half out of first. Dean Astle has found himself in a downward spiral, now 19-14 with a 3.79 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 66 walks, and 90 strikeouts in 268 innings pitched. September has been awful for the former Cougar draftee, 2-4 with a 9.08 ERA, 2.02 WHIP, 11 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Sergio Gonzales, however, has continued his great season, 19-4 with a 3.00 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 67 walks, and 118 strikeouts. The offense has really cooled down, with a majority of the lineup seeing their OPS+ dip in the final month. Dan Fowler has reached 20 homers again, and is five RBI's away from 100, as his line has dropped to .274/.359/.445 (104 OPS+), much lower then his career .285/.381/.472 (122 OPS+) line. Cleveland is still technically in the playoff hunt, they look to be on the outside looking in again this year.

We then finish the season with three against the Wolves in Toronto. At 70-78, they seem destined for another sub .500 finish. It's been a tough season for the 27-year-old Chuck Cole, who is an unlucky 9-20 with a 4.21 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.53 WHIP, 127 walks, and 103 strikeouts. Cole is taking the DaCosta route, leading the league in wins with 21 last year before trying his hardest to lead the league in losses this year. The Wolves currently hold the third best farm system with five top 30 prospects. One of those is the #29 rated Charlie Artuso, who's been up the past month and starting at shortstop. He's hit just .237/.295/.299 (53 OPS+) in his 97 at bats, but the glove is outstanding and his bat will eventually follow that up. I was hoping to see former Cougar draftee Reginald Westfall up, but they left him in Buffalo. He hit .291/.380/.449 (135 OPS+) with 3 homers and 22 RBI's in 184 PA's there.

Minor League Report
RHP Pete Papenfus (AA Mobile Commodores): I generally use a strict six man rotation in at every level but AAA, but since Peter the Heater may end up being the best pitcher in the save file, I thought he could handle just four days rest instead of six. I was not disappointed, as the #2 prospect in all of baseball threw his fifth consecutive complete game victory to end his season. Papenfus may be just 19, but his 10 starts in Mobile were even better then the 15 in Lincoln. He had a matching 6-4 record with a 2.78 ERA (114 ERA+), 1.26 WHIP, 38 walks, and 44 strikeouts in just six fewer innings. All of Papenfus' starts in Mobile went at least eight innings and he was only relieved from one outing. That start he was extremely overmatched, 10 hits and 8 runs (7 earned) in 8 and a third, but take that start out and he has a sparkly 2.28 ERA. Taken 6th Overall in the last winter draft, Pete has flown through the system and ranks as our 4th most developed pitching prospect despite the clear lack of experience. Both my scout and OSA believe he'll be an ace and I'd wager he may have the highest upside of any pitcher in any organization. We could very well see him debut next season at 20, especially if we're deep in a pennant race and need an arm to give us some separation.

LHP Danny Hern (B San Jose Cougars): A 14th Round selection in 1935, southpaw Danny Hern is starting to get some prospect love. Currently, Hern ranks 33rd in our system and 383rd overall, recently entering around 480 a few sims ago. He's spent most of his time in San Jose, going 8-5 with a 3.77 ERA (106 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 43 walks, and 71 strikeouts in 133.2 innings pitched. This was his first season as a full time starter, with last year getting just 5 starts in 24 appearances with the Lions down in C Ball. With the flooding of new arms to the system, since Hern wasn't one of the more highly touted ones, he was pushed up a level (even had some time in Lincoln), and took advantage of his newfound starting spot. During the season he upped his fastball to 85-87 as well, making his go to change a better option. I'm not too sold on him myself, but he saw a huge jump in his strikeout numbers which could be signs of better things to come.

[StLee]

Congrats on your winning season! Now go get those 80+!

[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 83-71 (3rd, 8 GB)
Stars of the Week
L. Mitchell : 34 AB, 19 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .559 AVG, 1.273 OPS
D. Love : 24 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .417 AVG, 1.232 OPS
J. Lawson : 29 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .345 AVG, .803 OPS

Schedule
9-27: Win at Foresters (9-3)
9-28: Loss at Foresters (3-11)
9-29: Win at Foresters (7-6)
9-30: Win at Foresters (7-5): 10 innings
10-1: Win vs Wolves (5-6): 17 innings
10-2: Loss vs Wolves (6-4)
10-3: Win vs Wolves (3-4)

Recap
This will be a weekly recap, I plan to a do a big end of the season recap tomorrow or Sunday [EDIT: I had an awesome writeup ready, got through the offense, defense, and about half the pitching before I accidentally refreshed the page and lost all my work. I lost my will to write today, but I might come back to it tomorrow], but what a season! Third place! I expected six and I thought that was generous, but we managed to leap ahead of the defending CA champion Foresters after taking three of four from then and then two of three from the Wolves to finish the season strong. We won every game Milt Fritz did not pitch, and lost each game he did, but we still managed to secure the best rotation ERA in not just the Continental Association, but the best rotation ERA in all of baseball. John Lawson was able to secure his batting title. Carlos Montes was also named September Rookie of the Month, batting .328 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 23 runs scored, and 15 runs driven in. Montes boasted an impressive .902 OPS in September and it was easily the best of the three and a half months he spent in Chicago.

The offense was on fire this week, led by Leo Mitchell and Doc Love. Mitchell finished his season strong, 19-for-34 with 2 doubles, a homer, 6 RBI's, 6 runs, and somehow 3 steals (two other the rest of the season) in what would be Player of the Week if one was awarded for the last week of the season. Love didn't play nearly as much, just 10-for-24, but with 2 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 8 RBI's. Both finished with similar lines, Mitchell hitting .327/.393/.429 (118 OPS+) while Love hit 322/.361/.485 (122 OPS+). Mike Taylor had a good last week, 8-for-22 with a double, homer, 3 runs, and 5 RBI's. Ray Ford was 10-for-30 with 4 doubles, 2 RBI's, 3 walks, and 7 runs scored. Carlos Montes was 10-for-31 with a double, triple, 3 RBI's, a steal, and 7 runs scored. John Lawson was 10-for-29 with 3 doubles, 4 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. A lot of the part time players had some fun too, with Joe Foy and Orlin Yates singling in their only at bats, Bobby Mills was 2-for-7 with his first big league homer, walk, run, and two RBI's, and Freddie Bennett was 2-for-4. Ken Wyatt was 1-for-2, Johnny Waters was 2-for-6 with a double and RBI, while Aart MacDonald was 2-for-9 with three runs scored and his first big league home run. Finally, Harry Mead was 3-for-10 with a pair of doubles.

On the pitching side, Milt Fritz probably wished the season ended a week earlier. He was tagged up for 20 hits and 14 runs with 8 walks and 6 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched. Dave Rankin avoided the 20 loss mark, winning both his starts this week to finish 18-19. He went 18.2 innings with 21 hits, 8 runs, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Fritz was just shy of 300 innings, but Rankin ended with an impressive 323.2 innings in 38 starts and 4 relief outings. Pug was roughed up in his last start, but did get the win, 8 innings with 11 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Oscar Morse struck out 8 in 8 frames with 9 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 unearned runs, and a walk. Dick Lyons tossed another complete game win to finish his season, 8 hits, 3 runs, a walk, and 3 strikeouts to his name. Four of our five starters finished with an ERA between 3.69 and 3.87 with Milt Frtiz's 3.32 the best of the bunch. I was very impressed with how the rotation finished out the season.

Looking Ahead
The season isn't actually over, there will be a game 155! The 91-63 Sailors and Kings will square off as there tends to be an FABL play in game every decade on the 7. Former 2nd Overall Pick Mike Murphy is the projected starter for the Kings, 16-12 with a 3.67 ERA (118 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 63 walks, and 59 strikeouts on the season. Brooklyn boasts the HR and RBI leader, Al Wheeler, who finished the year hitting .303/.401/.536 (139 OPS+) with 30 homers and 121 RBI's. The likely Allen winner Joe Shaffner pitched two days ago and won't be available, but the 33-year-old was on fire to finish things off, ending 20-4 with a 2.32 ERA (187 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, 60 walks, and 69 strikeouts. Philly is set to counter with Doc Newell, who was an impressive 20-7 with a 3.63 ERA (120 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, 65 walks, and 111 strikeouts. The Sailors don't have the firepower in the lineup Brooklyn does, and despite just one player with double digit longballs (11 from Dick Walker), the Sailors scored the most runs in the league. Both teams are extremely similar and balanced, but regardless of who wins, they'll face the best of the Fed; the Pittsburgh Miners.

Despite a seemingly endless string of injuries, and just 29 games played from big offseason acquisition Mahlon Strong, the Miners finished 87-67 and two games ahead of the Philadelphia Keystones. The Miners have an elite 1-2 punch in Lefty Allen and Charlie Stedman, the two most valuable players in all of baseball with an 8.7 and 8.8 WAR respectively. Lefty is the better pitcher, 22-13 with a 3.27 ERA (133 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, 66 walks, and an outstanding 230 strikeouts, but the veteran Stedman is a legit top of the rotation arm as well. The 35-year-old was 18-16 with a 3.56 ERA (122 ERA+), 1.34 WHIP, 85 walks, and 165 strikeouts. The biggest move for Pittsburgh, however, was the deadline acquisition of Henry Jones. The lefty slugger was on fire after the trade, slashing .376/.424/.624 (165 OPS+) with 11 homers and 54 RBI's in 238 post deadline PA's. He was third in the team in homers, but Joe Owens (10), Lew Seals (12), and Lou Kelly (10) all cracked double digits with Ed Stewart's 23 almost double anyone else. They could have had another if George Cleaves never got hurt, and the injury dropped his season line way down to .300/.363/.436 (104 OPS+) with 8 homers and 71 RBI's in about two thirds of the season. With a lot of the offense hurt, however, the Miners are without Sandy Grabow, Les Tucker, and the previously mentioned Strong and Seals for the series. The Miners will have their hands full with whichever team they draw, but after coming out of the dogfight that was the Fed this year, they've got a lot on their side.

Minor League Report
RF Henry Cox (AA Mobile Commodores): Short one here since I recently covered Cox, but the 21-year-old was named Dixie League Batter of the Month. Cox hit .361 with 9 homers and 25 RBI's to finish the season with a .264/.314/.498 (146 OPS+) batting line. Cox added 23 doubles, 6 triples, 30 homers, 15 steals, and 105 RBI's. Cox will strikeout, which does contribute to the lower batting average, but he's starting to improve his plate discipline and help improve his power. Still, Cox has hit 30 or more homers in each of his three minor league seasons and has tremendous power potential already. He'll be 22 in March, and even though he is very well developed, we may not see Cox in Chicago until the 1939 season.

RHP Pete Papenfus (AA Mobile Commodores): Should have waited with Pete too... We swept the monthly awards in the Dixie League, with Papenfus' stupendous September the best of the league. He was a perfect 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 18 strikeouts. Just a teen, I love how he took the tougher competition in stride and was able to adjust and rebound from his initial poor outings. I've already inquired on a few sluggers and am looking to make big offseason upgrades, but every team out there knows one thing for sure; no one is getting Peter the Heater.