Chicago Cougars (FABL) - Page 64

ayaghmour2 · 11-17-2023, 07:23 PM

Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 20-16 (2 GB)

Second Round of Cuts Leaves Roster at 27: Three more players will have to be removed before Opening Day on Tuesday, as the Cougars continue trimming the roster. Along with Don Lee (.203, 1, 3, 1), some of the most notable cuts are former 3rd Pick Johnny Peters (.250, 1, 5), spring standout Ducky Cole (.364, 1, 2), and lefty Bob Hobbs (0-3, 2, 1.23, 16). What's left now are 11 pitchers and 16 hitters, with two pitchers and one hitter left to send down. The most difficult decision comes on the staff, as I have to decide what to do with Zane Kelley. Kelley impressed in 24 innings, working to a 1.50 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 5 walks and 21 strikeouts. But he, along with Ken Matson (0.00, 9), has options left, while the other four left do not. The hardest part is all six remaining pitchers have ERAs of 2.25 or lower, and all warrant a spot on a big league club. In fact, Matson, Jim Kenny, and Harry MacRae didn't allow a single run, and it wouldn't feel right sending any down. I truly don't know what I'm going to do, but two of Matson, Kenny, Kelley, and Harry Carter have to go. Maybe we can make a trade...

The lineup needs one cut, and I think for now it's going to be George Sutterfield. He doesn't deserve to go down to Milwaukee, but he has an option and Otto Christian doesn't. There's also George Dawson, but with Billy Hunter coming back eventually, he might have to go too. If Sutterfield has to be sent down no matter what, I might as well do it earlier then later, so we can get him used to playing more at second base. At one point I thought Ray Ford would be cut, but after hitting .455/.600/.818, he proved he still has something left. Lastly, the Stars returned Billy Biggar, who while technically not considered for the active roster, was sent down to AA. He went just 4-for-20 with the Stars, and with Bill Barnett and Freddie Jones already on the roster, there wasn't really a spot for him. The Stars have also given Mack Sutton time at first, leaving less of a chance for the Canadian first basemen. Bill Martin and Reginald Westfall are still in camp with their respective teams, so we may not see either back again.

Rotation Ready to Roll: Cougars pitchers made 36 starts this spring. Three of those starts saw the pitcher allow more then two runs. Only one of them, George Oddo, allowed more then three. And after allowing 5, he allowed just one run in his next 12 innings, capping things off with 8 strikeouts in 4 perfect innings. The two with three runs? One was Zane Kelley, who doesn't really count as a starter yet, and the other Johnnie Jones, who still finished with a 1.93 ERA and an even 1.00 WHIP. He did walk 3 in 5 innings, finishing with just 8 compared to 25 strikeouts. It's said before and will be said again, but the rotation is the strength of our team, and they all are ready to go for the new year. I'm not sure of the offensive output of the coming season, but I think we'll improve on the 570 runs allowed from last year.

Lineup Set for Opening Day: Assuming the Saints open the season with Wally Reif or Bert Cupid, we'll have our regular lineup going. Max Wilder's made plenty of changes, and at least to start the season, Sal Pestilli will start in the leadoff spot instead of Clark Car. Car will be in the eight hole behind Carlos Montes, with the 2-3-4 comprising of lefties Skipper Schneider, Red Bond, and Walt Pack. Harry Mead and Hal Sharp will start 5th and 6th against righties. Eventually Billy Hunter will take over against lefties, but for now Car and Skipper will be the only lefty swingers (and for some reason 1-2) against southpaws. Chubby Hall, who Wilder wanted starting every day, will bat third, followed by Sal and slugger Otto Christian. The 6-7-8 will start as Ray Ford, Harry Mead, and Carlos Montes, but Ford's hold is limited at this time. Depending how things go, Otto or even Walt Pack could play first, and there's a situation where Luke Berry or even Leo Mitchell takes at bats at first. I don't really see Pack playing against lefties, he's almost unplayable against same side pitchers, but he's one of our best hitters. Same for Red Bond. We're lucky to have a lot of talented players on our bench, so when the situation calls for it, we could make plenty of changes from the Opening Day lineup. And as always, we love to trade! Maybe a star joins during the year!

ayaghmour2 · 11-20-2023, 01:33 PM

It's that time of year again! Baseball is back! On the one day sim this morning, the Cannons returned Reginald Westfall, but I still had three cuts to make. Believe it or not, I figured it out while I was trying to go to sleep last night!

The first, unfortunately is Zane Kelley, who might be the best pitcher ever. But we don't have a rotation spot and I don't think there are enough opportunities for him in the pen. Despite belonging in the majors, he's heading to Milwaukee, as there just aren't enough roster spots and too many guys I don't want to lose. Next up is Harry Carter, who at 38, just isn't worth betting on over 20-somethings like Kenny and Kelsey, and I'm not ready to option Ken Matson. He's just been so good for us. Carter does have options, but he doesn't want to go down, so he'll be DFA'd. Lastly, as expected, George Sutterfield will head to Milwaukee for the first time since 1946. He hasn't hit, and we can improve his versatility in case second base isn't working out, or Otto Christian can't start at third. I don't love it, but that's what we have to do. Too many good players can be a problem, I guess.

Anyways, here's the 24 "best" players while Billy Hunter continues to not be healthy:

LHP Duke Bybee
RHP Donnie Jones
LHP Johnnie Jones
RHP Charlie Kelsey
RHP Jim Kenny
RHP Harry MacRae
RHP Ken Matson
RHP George Oddo
RHP Pete Papenfus
C Eddie Howard
C Harry Mead
1B Red Bond
1B Ray Ford
2B Clark Car
3B Otto Christian
3B Walt Pack
SS George Dawson
SS Skipper Schneider
LF Luke Berry
LF Chubby Hall
LF Leo Mitchell
LF Hal Sharp
CF Sal Pestilli
RF Carlos Montes

For once, the preseason predictions are somewhat realistic. They don't have us first! Instead, the Stars (87-67) and Kings (86-68) will duel for first, with us (83-71) a few games back. What adds to the realism is they expect all our players to do well, especially the rotation. OSA expects our three-headed monster to duel for the Allen Award, with the top three pitchers Pap (21-12, 2.50, 175), Donnie (19-12, 2.77, 132), and Duke (18-11, 2.51, 104). They also expect big seasons from Red Bond (.287, 28, 70) and Sal Pestilli (.262, 23, 93, 21), but surprisingly they have us just tied for 5th in runs scored. That would be annoying, but as always, no one will allow fewer runs then us.

The farm system is as good as ever, ranked behind just the Brooklyn Kings. We have 174 points to there 185, led by the #7 prospect Bob Allen. Joining him in the top 20 is not only Jerry Smith (14th), but last year's 4th Rounder Dixie Gaines (19th), who's rise up the prospect ladder has been astronomical. We have two more in the top 50, 10 in the top 100, 25 in the top 250, and an even 50 in the top 500. Yes, at literally every big round number, we have exactly 1/10th of the samples. Isn't that something! Crazy enough, none are on the big league roster. Johnny Peters (78th) and Zane Kelley (301st) had a chance, but both open in Milwaukee.

We open in Chicago, hosting the Saints for three on a quick homestand. They'll start with Wally Reif (16-10, 3.73, 101), as Pat Weakly (13-12, 3.59, 98) sprained his elbow and may miss a month, with Bert Cupid (16-14, 2.69, 100) and Wally Doyle (11-18, 3.59, 130) rounding things out. Their rotation should be a strength, and the lineup may be improved as well, as 23-year-old Otis O'Keefe has been getting attention all across the league, and it's very well deserved. He may be ranked 34th in the prospect list, but the 1947 3rd Rounder tore up AA and AAA before hitting .324/.445/.568 (156 OPS+) in Cuba with 11 homers and 30 RBIs. The towering 6'4'' outfielder from Bluegrass State may not ever play defense, but the bat is exciting. He hits the ball to all fields and with plenty of pop, enough to even clear the cavernous Parc Cartier. 20 homers may be tough, just because of the park, but if he was in Chicago (especially with the Chiefs) a 40-homer rookie season wouldn't be out of the question. He'll bat third ahead of fellow lefties Maurice Carter (.286, 24, 82) and Bill Greene (.260, 12, 63, 23), which may make things tough for our staff. Granted, our rotation top three is elite, and hey, I think we'll fair well!

Quickly on the road for the weekend, getting four games in three days with the Stars. Even though our staff is beloved by OSA, New York's isn't too far back, as they have the 5th, 6th, and 7th guy. Obviously Eli Panneton (17-14, 3.84, 112) is great, and I get Vern Hubbard (12-12, 3.86, 81), but Jack Wood (1-0, 1, 4.27, 29)? You gotta be kidding me! He didn't even make a start last year! Regardless, the pitching isn't what makes the Stars scary. It's the lineup. More specifically, superstar Bill Barrett (.300, 43, 130) who would look absolutely fabulous in Grey and Red. Him, Jack Welch (.267, 30, 88), and new first basemen Mack Sutton (.248, 31, 104) could all lead the league in homers. Sutton moving to first is a little confusing, considering how much I love Bill Barnett (.307, 16, 40), but it opens third for 22-year-old Paul Watson (.298, 3, 23, 2). The former top-25 prospect made 214 trips to the plate last year, but 56 of his 66 games came at short. He'll eventually replace Joe Angevine (.217, 1, 26, 18), but for now "Mr. Contact" with be "Mr. Hot Corner" as the Stars look to return to the postseason.

ayaghmour2 · 11-21-2023, 07:34 PM

Weekly Record: 4-3
Seasonal Record: 4-3 (2nd, 1.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Skipper Schneider : 29 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .276 AVG, .667 OPS
Otto Christian : 12 AB, 5 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, 1.107 OPS
Johnnie Jones : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 6 BB, 3 K, 1.00 ERA

Schedule
4-19: Win vs Saints (1-5)
4-20: Loss vs Saints (9-0)
4-21: Win vs Saints (2-4)
4-22: Win at Stars (2-1)
4-23: Loss at Stars (2-4): 11 innings
4-24: Loss at Stars (6-7)
4-24: Win at Stars (8-4)

Recap
For some strange reason, I just had this sinking feeling yesterday that we were going to go 0-7. I just couldn't shake it! So for the first time since probably 1936, I was absolutely stoked to find out we went 4-3! Still, it was a classic Cougar week. The rotation was brilliant, with just one game seeing the starter allow more then three earned runs, but the offense and bullpen (specifically Ken Matson who was for some reason in the stopper role and is making me wish I optioned him...) let us down. That bad start came in the 9-0 loss to the Saints, which was the only game we lost to them, as we later split both the series and double header with the Stars.

The most notable event of the week came in the 4-2 extra inning loss in New York, as Red Bond kicked things off with a solo home run in the first innings. That wasn't a regular homer by any means, as it was the 36-year-olds 200th FABL longball. He didn't have a great opening week, just 4-for-17, but Bond is coming off his best offensive season since he nearly won the 1940 Whitney. Since becoming a regular with the Saints in 1938, he's been one of the league's most prolific sluggers, slashing a robust .301/.361/.472 (132 OPS+) with 207 doubles and 797 RBIs. Had he not spent all but 162 of his 1,346 FABL games with the Saints, he could be at or around 300 homers, a milestone that may now be tough to reach. Still, 200 is something only 30 people have done, and his 165 homers with the Saints are most in team history. He's hit 20 or more homers in five different seasons, including a league high and Saints high 30 in his standout 1940 season. Bond ranks 9th among active hitters in home runs (Sal is 5th while former Cougars Hank Barnett and Leon Drake are 3rd and 8th respectively), and is ten homers behind Hall-of-Famer Pete Layton for 29th all time. If he has another 20+ homer season, Bond has a chance to move up to 25th, as he looks to get closer to joining the 19 players (could be more depending on Fred McCormick, Sig Stofer, and Leon Drake) who have reached the 250 mark.

I mentioned the pitching did well, with the lone poor start coming from Donnie Jones in the 9-0 letdown with the Saints. They tagged him for 8 hits and 6 runs in just 3.2 innings, as he tripled his spring earned run total in a start that lasted shorter then any of his spring starts. He did rebound some in New York, allowing 8 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) in 8.1 innings, but he walked 7 with 4 strikeouts. Another pitcher who struggled was Ken Matson, who lost the other two games. He allowed 7 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in 2.2 innings. Charlie Kelsey mopped up Donnie in the blowout loss, allowing just 1 run in 5.1 innings with 4 hits, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts.

Peter the Heater was brilliant on Opening Day, with the only blemish on his mark a Maurice Carter solo shot in the 5th. Pap went all nine, finishing with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He was in line for the win in game one of the double header, but the almost 31-year-old veteran had to leave after 140 pitches in 8 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 4 more strikeouts before the Stars' huge 4-run ninth that ended in Joe Angevine beating Skipper's throw to the plate on an infield grounder. Duke Bybee had the whiffs coming against the Saints, setting down 9 in a complete game win. He did walk 3, but allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs in the series finale. Johnnie Jones walked 6, but allowed just 1 run in his complete game win, finishing with 5 hits and 3 strikeouts. George Oddo deserved to win, but we didn't do much scoring, so he got a no decision after 8 strong innings. He allowed 8 hits and 2 runs with 2 walks and strikeouts before Ken Matson eventually blew that game in extras.

The offense, simply put, was not good enough. Not even close. But Otto Christian certainly looks like he's ready to get more regular playing time. The Walla Walla Walloper was an impressive 5-for-12 with a double, homer, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs. His platoon buddy Walt Pack was decent too, 4-for-13 with a triple, run, and RBI. Chubby Hall had a nice debut week as a Cougar, going 3-for-12 with a double, homer, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 4 RBIs. Ray Ford was 3-for-11 with a double and two walks. Otherwise, there wasn't much else. George Dawson was 1-for-2 with a run scored, while Bond, Sharp, Mead, and Pestilli combined to go just 19-for-76 with three extra base hits and Carlos Montes was just 2-for-30 with Clark Car an even worse 3-for-24. Sure, both stole bases (Sal as well), but this was not nearly enough offensive production from what should be a good lineup. We need these guys, or at least Bond, Pestilli, and Sharp to help carry the load offensively, or else we'll likely see ourselves fall short of a pennant. Yes, it's too early to talk about that stuff now, as we can just as easily score 50 runs next week, but the offense isn't doing much of anything right early on. Well, other then not strikeout (just 17 in 7 games!)...

The last bit of news is Billy Hunter is healthy and will head to Mobile for what will likely be a two week rehab assignment. I didn't want him in Milwaukee as we already have a lot of guys vying for time in the infield, while there really isn't a utility guy on the Commodores I want getting regular playing time. He won't play everyday, but should get some time at all four infield spots. Hunter has plenty of experience at second, third, and short, but he's yet to play first base. Now 34, it's only a matter of time before his defense fades, so I wanted to get a head start. Clark Car had a brutal first week after an amazing spring, but I am more then confident of him returning to form.

Looking Ahead
For one reason or another, the schedule always alternates a ton between home and road for us at the beginning. That means home, away, home this week, starting with two games in Chicago against the Kings. The Kings are off to a nice 5-2 start, and lucky for us, we get to miss Bob Arman (17-13, 2.66, 175), the CA's starts (36), innings (280.2), strikeouts, and K/9 (5.6) leader from last season. He's struck out 10 in 16 innings already, and won both his starts so far. I really like our chances here at home, as he have a chance to ambush top-100 prospects Joe Potts (3-1, 3.23, 11) and Paul Byler (3-1, 2.12, 20), who both debuted for Brooklyn last season. Both struggled in their first start, with Byler going an out away from a complete game despite 8 hits, 9 runs (8 earned), and 12 walks in a game the Stars throttled their crosstown rivals 12-1. And it's not like his pitch count was low -- manager Tom Barrell let him throw 175 pitches before finally ending his nightmare. Pitching isn't the strength of the club, at least at this point in time, so even if we get 5+ runs each game, it may not be enough. Ralph Johnson (.302, 30, 114) got off to a slow start, but he led the CA in WAR (7.7 and 9.2) in back-to-back seasons and at 24 is already one of the best players in the game. Second year sluggers Chuck Collins (.307, 9, 72) and reigning Kellogg Winner Pat Petty (.284, 18, 93) have hit a combined 17-for-42 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs and there is more young talent on the way with #3 prospect Ken Newman and #37 prospect Dan Smith now starting at catcher and third. This isn't quite the Kings year, but with the abundance of young talent and the #2 system (we're number one now!) the future is very bright in Kings County.

Our next two games come in Montreal, with a Saints team that has only beaten us so far after being swept at home by the Kings. We get lucky in the rotation, as we are set to face their back two in Pete Ford (2-2, 4.39, 22) and Andy Lyon (9-10, 4.10, 80). On paper, we should have a huge advantage (especially in Lyon v Papenfus), but aside from Bert Cupid's 3-hit shutout against us, Ford and Lyon have had the next best starts. Surprisingly, the Saints also rank 2nd in the CA in homers, as both Gordie Perkins (.322, 7, 75, 9) and Bill Greene (.260, 12, 63, 23) have a pair of longballs. Otis O'Keefe has one too (and of course Carter who was mentioned earlier), but the highly touted prospect went just 3-for-15 in his debut week. Anything less then a sweep here would be a letdown, but this Saints keep is a sneaky contender, so we'll need to put runs on the board early and often to escape with the series win.

We then finish the week hosting the Stars for three games before our first off day of the season. The Stars not only split with us, but also the Kings, so they're an even 4-4 early on. Despite a team full of stars, Paul Watson (.298, 3, 23, 2) and Ed Holmes (.286, 2, 37, 11) are doing the heavy lifting while Bill Barrett (.300, 43, 130) is barely hitting over .200 (.206).

He's clearly washed, send him to Chicago!

Granted, Barrett also has a steal, 2 homers, 4 walks, and 7 RBIs while Jack Welch (.267, 30, 88) is hitting .310 with 3 homers and 9 RBIs, so its no surprise the they have scored the most runs in the association so far. What is surprising is Henry Shaffer (11-11, 4.83, 72) allowing just one-run in a complete game win over the Kings, and we seem likely to face him. Stats aside, that's great news for us, as for the third time already, we get amazing rotation luck! It seems like we got none of that last year, but we will miss their top two and instead face Jack Wood (1-0, 1, 4.27, 29), Shaffer, and Chicagoan Richie Hughes (11-13, 4.38, 112). While we technically almost always have the pitching advantage, this assures it, as even though I think Hughes is a way better pitcher then what he's shown in New York, I don't think any of this trio cracks our rotation. The Stars always play us tough, but if we can take advantage of the staff we stand a chance. The offense is impossible to stop, you can only hope to contain it, something that our part won't do to their sluggers. It's going to be a tough way to end the week, but I think we are the better team and we have a good opportunity to show that early in the season.

Cougars in the GWL
1B Jim Hatfield (Los Angeles Knights): At 37, I was worried the Los Angeles Knights would not keep Jim Hatfield, but luckily the front office decided to bring "The Bandit" back for another year. We're only a week in, but it looks like he still has what it takes to play every day. Hatfield was named the first Great Western League Player of the Week in 1949, slashing .500/.543/.719 (231 OPS+) with a double, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs. He did strike out 9 times, which accounted for over half (56.3%) of his outs, but he scored 8 times, drew 3 walks, and help the Knights get off to a nice 5-2 start. He had a big 2-for-3 game with a walk and two runs in another former Cougar, Karl Wallace's first start, as the former Dynamo, Saint, and Sailor pitched a complete game victory in a 5-3 win. Wallace allowed 10 hits and 2 walks with a strikeout, picking up his first win of the season. More games like this will be expected for Hatfield, who is coming off a third season with an OPS+ of 135 or better, and had he started a few more games he would have been worth over 5 wins above replacement. The Knights have a pretty solid team, so expect Hatfield to be a key piece of any pennant attempt.

ayaghmour2 · 11-22-2023, 07:36 PM

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 5-9 (t-5th, 5.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 30 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .433 AVG, 1.052 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 27 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .370 AVG, .970 OPS
Harry Mead : 17 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .412 AVG, .944 OPS

Schedule
4-25: Win vs Kings (2-10)
4-26: Loss vs Kings (8-2)
4-27: Loss at Saints (3-8)
4-28: Loss at Saints (0-3)
4-29: Loss vs Stars (2-1)
4-30: Loss vs Stars (11-0)
5-1: Loss vs Stars (5-3)

Recap
So it's going to be one of these kind of years, huh?

The week did start out great, as we crushed the Kings in Chicago, but it went downhill from there. It would be one thing if we lost a bunch of one-run games -- just one this week, but we got humiliated three times -- twice in front of our own fans. The offense was mostly dormant, the pitching was somehow awful, and somehow we're already five and a half games out of first.

What happened here!?!?!

In an effort to stay positive, I'm going to try to focus only on the good. And luckily, we actually have three good hitters! And all three had good weeks! Sal Pestilli led the way, going 13-for-30 with 2 doubles, a homer, 2 steals, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs (if only he had a second homer in that one run loss...) in a nice bounce back week. Skipper Schneider was 10-for-27 with a double, homer, and steal with 6 runs, 4 walks, and 3 RBIs. Harry Mead is hitting like its an even year, going 7-for-17 with a double and 3 RBIs while backup Eddie Howard was 3-for-9 with a walk and a double. The trio of Sal, Skipper, and Mead are off to great starts, each hitting above .320. Unfortunately, the next closest starters are hitting in the .240, with Bond and Pack at .244 and .242. Both homered this week, but neither did much else, a combined 10-for-44 with 7 RBIs. Pack doubled while Bond doubled and tripled, so now both of our slow sluggers have a three bagger already! Take that first place ... Foresters?

Oh yay, they're next!

Now the pitching... Do I want to cover the pitching? Well, after ERAs of 0.69 and 1.00 in the spring, both Jones brothers are over 4.70, and that even comes after Donnie's best start of the year. He got the loss despite just 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks, as Jack Wood heard all the mean things I was saying about him and scattered 9 hits and 3 walks. The closest thing to a "good" start came from Peter the Heater, our only pitcher with a sub 3.75 ERA, but he got the loss and walked 6 in 7.2 innings. He allowed 8 hits and 3 runs with 5 strikeouts, so it was really nothing to write home about. Harry MacRae actually pitched this week, and threw two scoreless innings, so if he was in the stopper role instead of Matson last week, perhaps we'd be 7-7 instead of 5-9. Granted, all staffs have bad weeks, so it's not time to throw up the white flag, but it just feels so weird seeing such a good group of arms have absolutely no success when facing significantly lesser arms (excluding Eli Panneton who for some reason decided to pitch the finale). Oh well, on to the next week!

As expected, Harry Carter cleared waivers, and he unfortunately declined an outright assignment. I did offer him a minor league contract after cutting him, so hopefully he returns instead of going to the GWL. Billy Hunter's rehab has gone awful, just 5-for-29, so he may be staying more then the planned two weeks. He did homer and draw four walks, but for some reason the AI played him at second all seven games despite the "Ev. 4th Game" start at multiple positions. Poor Rupert Henibaugh didn't play all week...

Looking Ahead
I think there is some sort of glitch in the matrix, where the Cleveland Foresters have the record (10-3) that rightfully belongs to us! I'll give the universe creators a break if they normalize things after our off day, as we'll host the surprising first place Foresters for three games. They are pretty much the same team as last year that allowed the most runs in the league, except now they've managed the fewest. Chicagoan Adrian Czerwinski (3-0, 3.46, 6) and Kirby Brewer (1-1, 3.27, 3) have gotten off to excellent starts despite walking more guys then they've struck out, and I have to imagine sooner or later they will start allowing a lot more runs. Ollie White (1-1, 3.52, 10) is back in the rotation, and the talented 25-year-old is scheduled for the opener, as we'll see him, Augie Hayes Jr. (1-1, 2.00, 2) and Czerwinski this time around. Again, these are pitchers we should be able to handle, but that was certainly not the case this past week. The lineup looks a little different, as they just added former 1st Rounder Mark Smith (.333) on waivers last week, and they re-inserted Orie Martinez (.273, 1, 2) in the lineup where he belongs. He's one of there better hitters, and I expect him to drive in leadoff hitter Jim Adams Jr. (.350, 2, 6) plenty of times this season. I'm not too worried about the rest of the lineup, but one day Sherry Doyal (.229, 1, 6) will strike fear into opposing pitchers and you could certainly do worse then Lorenzo Samuels (.289, 1, 11) and Ivey Henley (.318, 5). Yesterday I would have been extremely confident for this matchup, but based on early performances we may be lucky to escape with a single win. But perhaps our friends from Ohio visiting this week will be exactly what we need.

Our first substantial homestand continues with two with the Cannons, who will join us in Cougars Park on Friday and Saturday. Like their in-state rivals, Cincinnati is off to an excellent start, 9-3 and half a game behind the Foresters for the Association lead. All-World pitcher Rufus Barrell (3-0, 1.04, 17) is coming off back-to-back complete game wins over the Wolves, including a 3-hit shutout with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. It's looking likely that we're stuck with him, though I'm really hoping the second game is with Tony Britten (1-1, 10.45, 8), who we pulverized last year and was just brutally bashed by the Wolves in his most recent start. I've never been a Britten fan, even moreso when he tries to rank above Bob Allen in the prospect rankings (right now Allen is up 7 to 11), but given the Cannons success with pitching and how much both Dixie and OSA love his stuff, chances are him and Rufus will make a feared 1-2 punch in the early portion of the 50s. If not Britten, we'll get Charlie Griffith (3-0, 3.81, 3), who could be an intriguing trade candidate. I mean, who wouldn't want a pitcher who can win games with 7 walks and 1 strikeout! The lineup has more intriguing pieces, including Mike T. Taylor (.429, 6, 1), who I sort of enquired on this spring. He's taken full advantage of the overdo everyday lineup spot, taking left while waiver claim Joe Burns (.289, 6) replaced the 38-year-old Sam Brown (.250, 1) in right. Otherwise its the same Cannons lineup we're used to, deep with veterans with championship experience who give good at bats. I don't think the Cannons will be this good all year round, but they're a team that should be respected, as they look to finish over .500 for the ninth time this decade, something only us and them have a chance to do.

The last game of the week is the opener against the Toronto Wolves, who come to town for three must win games. Like us, they're off to a rough start, 4-8 due to a mix of poor offense and defense. It's not Fred McCormick's fault, he's hitting .419/.458/.581 (173 OPS+) despite turning 40 this October, but like literally every other Wolf, he has yet to go yard. Only Charlie Artuso (.231, 1, 6) has found the seats, but does it count if it came off the Cannons' Britten? Granted, the generally slick fielder has made 4 errors and owns just a 74 WRC+, so it's not like he's been much use to the team anyways. Surprisingly, the same can be said of George Garrison (0-3, 4.30, 18), who has not looked like the Allen Award winning pitcher we've grown to loves. This Wolves team is in a transition period, so expect his name to come up in trade talks even if he's 0-13 in July, but aside from Lou Jayson tearing his flexor tendon and missing all year, and former 4th Rounder Randy Hendrix (.161, 3) replacing longtime backstop and McCormick's trade partner Clarence Howerton, the squad looks almost identical to the 1948 iteration that won 82 games and finished in 3rd. A trip to the Windy City should exponentially increase their home run total -- perhaps in the first game alone -- but I think we have a good chance to send them home angry as our staffs only weakness is the home run ball. Somehow we've allowed 20 in 14 games. Pretty crazy!

Minor League Report
RHP Dutch Yoak (B San Jose Cougars): Things haven't gone quite according to plan for high school standout Dutch Yoak, who went 35-0 in his last three seasons at La Porte, finishing his impressive prep career 42-2 with a 1.18 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 729 strikeouts. He was never a top 100 prospect, but Yoak was commonly in the top 250 and was a common ask for teams we looked to trade with. Now, four years after being drafted in the second round, Yoak ranks 43rd in our system and 435th overall, and OSA doesn't think he'll be ready until 1952! That's partly why he's still in San Jose, despite pitching in Lincoln in 1947. That went surprisingly well, but he had a 5.32 ERA (83 ERA+) and 1.66 WHIP with one more strikeout (71) the walk (70). It looked like more of the same this year, as Yoak allowed 9 hits, 5 runs, and 7 walks with 7 strikeouts in a 7-inning "win" that should be attributed to great games from Jerry Smith (2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, SB) and Buddy Jenkins (2-4, 2 RBI).

Lucky for Yoak, he quickly turned things around. The 21-year-old was firing on all cylinders against the Everett Eagles. The walks were gone, no free passes to any of the 31 batters he faced, and he allowed just 4 hits and 8 strikeouts in a 10-0 demolishment. Yoak himself was 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored, while Jerry Smith (2-4, 3 RBI, BB), Roxy Hilts (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), and Ernie Frost (4-5, 2 R, 2 RBI) provided more then enough offense. It's encouraging news for Yoak, who is one of the hardest workers in the system. The towering 6'4'' lefty is the type of guy who never gives up, and it's part of the reason I really thought he'd lead a rotation one day. Instead, he's still throwing as hard (87-89) as he did when he was 16, and his stuff hasn't improved much of all. Still, seeing all these strikeouts is exciting, as his K/9 (I'm on my laptop) is more then double (8.4) last season (3.9) and he's generally not the guy who doesn't walk anyone in a start. Small sample and all that, but this could be the start of something big, and with a quick start to the season, chances are he'll end up in Lincoln by the draft.

Cougars in the GWL
RHP Ira Hawker (Dallas Centurions): Yeah, this guy is still amazing! It took a few starts to get his footing, as the former position-player-turned-reliever allowed 11 runs and lost both of his first two starts, but in front of his home fans, the back-to-back GWL win leader was back in form. The talented Oakland Grays were his first victim, as Hawker tossed a 3-hit shutout with a walk and three Ks, picking up his 56th GWL win and his 10th shutout. This dropped his ERA to 4.01, which is still 13% better then the league average pitcher. A veteran innings eater, Hawker has thrown 250 or more innings in each of his three GWL seasons, winning 17, 19, and 19 games. Last year was his best, as he led the GWL with a 2.25 ERA (143 ERA+) in a league high 268.1 innings, and his 1.08 WHIP and 126 strikeouts were career bests. Dallas is just 6-7 on the year, partly because of Hawker's first two missteps, but former Cougar draftee Rube Finegan (1-0, 1.64, 6) has been great in his two starts while first basemen Cy Braden (.400, 2, 10) hasn't let a strained hamstring slow him down. It's still early, but if the Centurions want to stick around in the playoff race, they'll need more starts like this from their ace.

These next sim won't happen till Monday, as we're off Thanksgiving, and we may also be shifting to a M/W/F sim schedule instead of every day. That would make me sad, but it could also give me an opportunity to expand this a bit. One thing I've wanted to do is cover some of the other sports a bit more, so I may use potential off days to touch on the other sports. Most of the season takes place during baseball's offseason, but I can do some retroactive reporting. This also could open up an opportunity for a solo dynasty project. I loved doing those pre-Figment, but it's hard to get attached enough to a league that isn't this one. But I love to write, so there will be something to fill the potential void!

ayaghmour2 · 11-27-2023, 08:46 PM

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 8-12 (t-6th, 5.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Harry Mead : 19 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .368 AVG, 1.165 OPS
Sal Pestilli : 24 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .333 AVG, .968 OPS
Red Bond : 14 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.214 OPS

Schedule
5-3: Loss vs Foresters (6-4)
5-4: Win vs Foresters (2-4)
5-5: Win vs Foresters (2-3)
5-6: Win vs Cannons (3-4)
5-7: Loss vs Cannons (7-0)
5-8: Loss vs Wolves (1-0)

Recap
Despite spending the week at home, we didn't have much success, splitting the six games we hosted to fall to a tie for 6th with the team that beat us on Sunday, the Toronto Wolves (7-11). Pretty much everything has gone bad to start the year, as we're not scoring (7th, 61) or preventing (6th, 88) runs. Obviously it's still early, and every team will have their rough patches, but if there is a bright spot its that we've won a few games despite being perfectly awful. And that we're going to be sticking with a Monday through Friday schedule!

This week we did a decent job keeping runs off the board, as Duke Bybee was brilliant in our 3-2 win to secure a series win over the Foresters. Bybee went all nine, allowing 8 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) with a walk and 6 strikeouts. His 27 strikeouts are the most in the league, and he has an absurd 6.8 K/BB due to an elite 3.3 BB% and 22.3 K%. In his four start sample he's posted a 3.13 ERA (123 ERA+) and 0.92 WHIP and is scheduled to pitch the finale with the Wolves. That will be after Donnie Jones pitches the opener, and he's coming off a complete game win of his own. He allowed just 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts as he evened his record at 2-2. The last win of the week came from his brother, but Johnnie came out with two outs in the ninth in a 4-3 game. He was at 149 pitches, so skipper Max Wilder called on Harry MacRae to face shortstop Clifton Smith (.188, 2). It proved to be the right call, as our stopper got Smith looking to end the game. Johnnie was able to even his record as well, as he left with 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 6 walks with 3 strikeouts.

Pap was unlucky in his two starts, as he dropped to 1-3 despite leading the team with his 2.95 ERA (131 ERA+). He wasn't too sharp against the Foresters, and our ace left after six. He allowed 6 hits,5 runs, and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately, we couldn't solve Jim Morrison (2-0, 1.75, 12), so Dom Tripp's (.286, 1, 9) RBI single in the second proved to be the difference. Pap allowed just 3 hits, 5 walks, and a run with 4 strikeouts in the loss. George Oddo struggled with the longball against the Cannons, as he allowed three in the 7-0 loss. Only four of the runs were charged to him, as Charlie Kelsey allowed a walk, 3 runs, and 5 hits in the 9th, and Oddo was charged with 7 hits and a walk with 6 strikeouts. The 26-year-old has now allowed 6 homers in just 22 innings, and is at a third of the total he allowed all of last season. If he can shake off the home run problems, he'll have a chance to pick up his first win against the struggling reigning pennant winners.

Despite not scoring many runs, Harry Mead continues to be red hot at the plate, going 7-for-19 with 4 doubles, a homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBIs. The 34-year-old veteran has now hit .352/.400/.519 (147 OPS+) in his first 15 games. Red Bond added two more home runs, 5-for-14 with a double and 6 RBIs. Sal Pestilli had another great week, 8-for-24 with 3 doubles, a homer, 4 runs, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs. Combined with his plus defense (1.3, 1.026), Pestilli has already surpassed the one win mark (1.1), and he's produced a 147 WRC+ with 3 steals, 8 extra base hits, and a .333/.386/.481 (134 OPS+) line. No homers for Walt Pack, but he drew three walks and went 4-for-9 with a hit by pitch. Skipper Schneider hit first homer of the year, going 6-for-20 with a double, three walks, and a pair of runs scored. He's walked (9) more then twice as often as he's struck out (4) and has an impressive 130 WRC+ in year ten. It's on pace to be one of his best, and I'm hoping he can keep up the offensive production all season long. When the bottom three in your order are hitting below .200, you need all the help you can get, and we're about to make some big changes to the lineup.

Part of that is the return of Billy Hunter, who will be replacing Luke Berry on the active roster. Hunter really struggled in Mobile, hitting just .232/.283/.304 (53 OPS+) in 60 trips to the plate, but it's still better then what Clark Car (.130/.155/.188) has managed. They'll still split time at the keystone until one seizes the job from the other, but it's surprising how different they have hit compared to the spring. Looking at the casualty to the roster, Luke Berry may be in a DFA loop if he doesn't get claimed, as I don't want to lose him in case someone gets hurt. He hasn't played much, just 0-for-6 with a walk in seven games off the bench, and was the unlucky 25th man this time around. Other candidates are George Dawson (1-3, R) and Ray Ford (.217, 2B, 5 BB), or perhaps even the struggling Car. There's always the high probability of Billy Hunter being hurt once again, so Berry could be back in Chicago if he clears waivers.

Looking Ahead
Despite dropping the opener, we have a chance to best the Toronto Wolves, as the two sixth place teams look to separate from each other. We'll have a chance to take on the back two pitchers in their rotation, the struggling Jerry York (0-3, 5.68, 10) and veteran righty Jimmy Gibbs (1-2, 3.18, 5). Those matchups bode well for us, as we'll counter with Donnie Jones (2-2, 3.90, 14) and Duke Bybee (3-1, 3.13, 27), and with Donnie generally having success against his former organization we should win at least one of the last two. Our co-aces should have no trouble with the league's worst offense (8th, 60). Led by Fred McCormick (.379, 6), their only hitter batting above .300, no Wolf has more then one homer and Hank Giordano (.243, 1, 11, 2) is the only bat with double digit RBIs. Tom Frederick (.207, 3, 1) and Charlie Artuso (.193, 1, 6) haven't looked themselves and the Randy Hendrix (.156, 3) era may be coming to an end. But when you don't score, you can't win, and we'll need some runs if we want to right the ship.

Our thirteen game homestand then ends with two against the only team worse off then us, the Philadelphia Sailors, who have won just four of their first twenty games. I'm not sure how thing have gone so bad, as Win Lewis (1-2, 7.84, 8), Charlie Gordon (1-3, 5.32, 10), Al Duster (0-3, 7.25, 7), and Art Hull (1-1, 7.11, 5) hall have been awful. Hull's struggles aren't that surprising, but Lewis is one of the best pitchers in the game and both Gordon and Duster are far better then they're showing. The offense hasn't looked much better, but the perennial batting title winner Ed Reyes is slashing .400/.484/.545 (169 OPS+) and his 193 WRC+ is one of the best in the league. He's walked 9 times while striking out just 6 times, and he's added 5 doubles, a homer, and 7 RBIs. He's only gotten support from Les Cunha (.304, 2, 12) as every other qualified hitter is batting below .250. Simply put, this team is so much better then they've shown, and it's only a matter of time before they start ripping off long win streaks.

Let's just hope they wait until they leave town...

We leave town after Thursday's game, and we'll spend the next three days in Brooklyn. The Kings are 11-10 on the season, and they've scored an association high 102 runs. Right now they have arguably the most dangerous 3-4-5 in the league, with Ralph Johnson (.342, 4, 10), Chuck Collins (.319, 3, 8), and Pat Petty (.359, 3, 16) all off to scalding starts. Chuck Lewis (.301, 2, 9), Dan Smith (.293, 2, 9), and John Moss (.298, 4) have all provided as well, leaving very few easy outs in the lineup. On the flip side, they've allowed the most runs (115) too, as even Bob Arman (3-2, 4.14, 22) hasn't been all that sharp. Joe Potts (2-1, 3.41, 13) is the only rotation member with an ERA below 4, while Leo Hayden (2-2, 6.12, 15), Paul Byler (2-2, 7.82, 16), and Rusty Petrick (0-2, 6.45, 14) are all above 6. In fact, the team leader in ERA is Clarence Barton (2-0, 1, 1.17, 7), as the stopper has already thrown 15.1 innings in 15.1 innings across 8 appearances. There has been some consideration of moving him to the rotation, which could possibly end Petrick's time as a starter. No matter who we face, we need to put up run, as the Kings offense will not result in many low scoring games.

Minor League Report
2B Al Clement (AAA Milwaukee Blues): A natural middle infielder, Al Clement returned to Milwaukee after hitting just .248/.322/.292 (61 OPS+) in his first 46 Century League games. This time he was joined by Elmer Grace (.216, 1, 6, 1) and George Sutterfield (.245, 1, 8, 2), so Al Clement moved to the hot corner for the 1949. He's decided to hit like a third basemen as well, slashing an extravagant .380/.484/.720 (202 OPS+) and is coming off a Player of the Week award. The former 2nd Rounder went 9-for-21 with a double, 3 walks, 8 runs, and 9 RBIs. The kicker was the three homers, giving him the team lead with four through the team's 17 games. Clement has appeared in all but three, producing a 213 WRC+ with 8 extra base hits and more walks (11) then strike outs (8). With how poorly the offense has been, there's a legitimate argument for Clement to warrant a look in Chicago if he somehow manages to keep this up. OSA thinks he can force his way into a lineup and Dixie thinks he's got what it takes to play in the big leagues, but the prospect shine has all but warn out. The 24-year-old is our lowest ranked prospect (48th, 482) and even if he wasn't on the 40-man roster he likely would have been passed on this winter in the Rule-5 Draft. Nevertheless, he has a chance to make his big league debut at some point this season. I don't expect us to need any more 40-man roster spots during the season, so he's not at risk of being DFA'd. But perhaps he doesn't know that, and that's why he's off to such a good start.

LHP Dixie Gaines (B San Jose Cougars): Each of our top three prospects are starting their season in San Jose, where the Baby Cougars are absolutely killing it (14-3, 3 GA). The one outside the top 15 is the one showing out. A solo home run snapped Dixie Gaines' scoreless streak at 19.1 innings, but it didn't stop his now three game win streak. The former 4th Rounder allowed just three more hits, leaving after eight. Gaines walked just one and struck out seven. He could have gone out for the ninth, but with San Jose now up by one Doc Buckingham (4, 1.29, 4) was brought on for the save. He allowed a hit and a walk, but recorded a strikeout in a scoreless ninth.

At 21, Dixie Gaines ranks 29th in the FABL prospect ranking, and with a 0.39 ERA (1039 ERA+) and 0.78 WHIP it's easy to see why. Dixie has thrown 23 innings in his three starts, walking just 5 with 21 strikeouts. The command is a noticeable improvement from last year, where he had a 1.2 K/BB in 81 innings. It's still early in the season, but if the southpaw continues to overwhelm with his stuff, it's only a matter of time before he starts facing tougher competition. One thing the big league staff really struggles with is home runs and that's where Gaines truly excels. Not only is he expected to have elite movement, but the soft tosser is an extreme groundballer. Sure, his one blemish this year is a homer, but it was the first in 104 innings in Class B. Dixie (Marsh) thinks Dixie (Gaines) has good enough stuff to fool big leaguers, and his change up may be the best in our system. He's going to be an interesting arm to watch this season, and it's only a matter of time he's pitching in Lincoln. He's the next man up the second one of our pitchers gets hurt, but for now I just want to see how dominant he can be. He'll pitch after #7 prospect Bob Allen (3-0, 1.77, 12) goes on Tuesday, and there's a chance it's the last time Dixie ever throws in the California-Oregon-Washington League.

ayaghmour2 · 11-28-2023, 08:31 PM

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 11-16 (7th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 27 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .370 AVG, 1.155 OPS
Billy Hunter : 17 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .471 AVG, 1.350 OPS
Harry MacRae : 1 Win, 1 Saves, 4.1 IP, 2 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA

Schedule
5-9: Win vs Wolves (3-7)
5-10: Loss vs Wolves (6-3)
5-11: Win vs Sailors (1-4)
5-12: Loss vs Sailors (5-3)
5-13: Win at Kings (13-7)
5-14: Loss at Kings (2-11)
5-15: Loss at Kings (6-10)

Recap
Jeeze this team is just no good...

Not sure what it is, but we just don't do much winning. We split with the Wolves and Sailors, the two teams with records as bad as us, and then we allowed 28 runs in three games in Brooklyn. We've already allowed 131 runs in 27 games, 23% of our total from last season. All five members of the rotation have an ERA above 3, with Donnie Jones now up to 5.10 after allowing 8 runs off 5 hits and 4 walks in just 3.2 innings in that 11-2 blowout. The homers continue to be an issue, as we've allowed 31, more then a homer a game. None of it makes any sense, but we're as bad as it gets, and it doesn't seem like that will change any time soon.

On the plus side, Billy Hunter had an excellent return to the lineup, going 8-for-17 with 6 runs, 2 walks, and RBI, and a double, triple, and homer. He has just two fewer hits then Clark Car, who is just 10-for-81 with one more walk and the same amount of extra base hits. Hunter will start to take the majority of starts, but with his injury problems, Car will still get a shot to play. Red Bond had a nice power surge, so while he was just 5-for-24, three of those hits were homers and he added 2 walks, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Sal Pestilli hit two homers of his own, going 10-for-27 with 2 doubles, a triple, a steal, 2 walks, 6 runs, and 8 RBIs. Otto Christian and Chubby Hall combined to go 6-for-10 with a triple, 2 doubles, 2 walks, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Leo Mitchell got a turn in the lineup, and while it wasn't great (5-for-24), he did hit his first homer of the season and his 138th overall. He'll get another week, but if he doesn't do much at the plate, perhaps Chubby Hall will start playing every day.

Do I want to talk about the pitching? Well, let's make this quick. Johnnie Jones was brilliant, picking up a complete game win with 6 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The rest of the starters? 35 runs, 51 hits, 19 walks. 36.2 innings pitched. I can't remember the last time we did something like that! The pen was mixed, with a rough mop-up job from Charlie Kelsey seeing 5 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Harry MacRae made three appearances, picking up a win and save with 4.1 innings, 2 hits, and 2 walks. The last 2 innings went to Jim Kenny, who's only other entrant on the scoresheet was a hit. I truly can't believe we rank 5th or worst in nearly every pitching category, but here we are! Everyone is having their worst season! What a fun year!

Lastly, Luke Berry was claimed by the now AI-Foresters, so his time in our organization will come to a quick end. He wasn't useful this year, but hit .315/.408/.416 (128 OPS+) in 104 PAs last season. I'm not sure why they claimed him, three of their best players are corner bats (Samuels, Henley, and Martinez) and there's no obvious fit for him on the roster. But I guess they could send down one of their 11 pitchers. We'll see...

Looking Ahead
The season ends on October 2nd, which means we have 4 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days until this nightmare of a season ends. Until then, we just have to play out the games, hoping that we can scratch out more victories then losses. We get a much needed off day to start the week before a string of seven games in six days, starting with a pair against the third place Cannons. At 15-10, they're a game behind the first place Stars and half a game behind their Ohio rivals, and since so much has already gone our way in terms of pitching matchups (which we have not been able to capitalize off of), we are now stuck facing superstar Rufus Barrell (4-1, 1.26, 22), who shut us out two starts ago. He did lose his first game, charged with 6 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks in 8 innings against the Stars, but that's still way better then whatever we've been able to put together on the mound. After him it will be Charlie Griffith (3-2, 5.62, 9), who has stats more in line with what our guys have thrown.

The Cannons will be without catcher Adam Mullins, who was hitting .400/.451/.600 (173 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBIs before hitting in the IL with shoulder tendinitis. In his place is longtime Eagle Paul Wilkerson, who has hit a productive .357/.386/.452 (119 OPS+) with 4 doubles in his first 11 games. His performance has been a nice boost, as Mike Taylor (.356, 1, 9, 2) has started to cool and Denny Andrews (.205, 2, 15) is dealing with another tough start to a season. Sure, he rebounded last year and managed to hit 16 homers and 21 doubles with an above average 124 WRC+, but if he can get going the Cannons could replace the Stars atop the association. With a strong supporting cast of Fred Galloway (.318, 1, 7, 2), Chuck Adams (.299, 4, 16), Charlie Rivera (.270, 3, 12, 1), and Joe Burns (.333, 15, 2) they're shaping up to be a serious contender. It's not going to be easy to go into the Queen City and take the series, so all I can hope for is a single win. And it's not coming with Rufus Barrell on the mound...

Next stop, Toronto, for three games with the 11-14 Wolves. They took the series in Chicago, so expect more of the same at Dominion Stadium. George Garrison (1-4, 4.95, 21) finally got his first win of the season, picking up a complete game win in Brooklyn, but he hasn't been his regular self. This was a welcomed change, as he allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 2 strikeouts, but Garrison hasn't maintained an ERA above 4 since his aged-21 season in 1939. In his absence, Jim Morrison (3-0, 1.60, 15) has stepped up, and he's in line to start the opener. After Morrison we're set to face winless Jerry York (0-5, 5.45, 12) and Jimmy Gibbs (3-2, 3.06, 12), the same trio that took two of three from us. Of course, we beat York, who allowed 11 hits and 7 runs, but I mentioned Morrison's shutout and only one of the three runs Gibbs allowed was earned. They don't always give their pitchers support, which just two hitters posting an above average WRC+ and OPS+, and one of them is platoon outfielder Dom Tripp (.280, 1, 13). This is a huge series as we look to right the ship, and we cannot afford to keep allowing opportunities like this to slip through our hands.

We then finish our week with a double-header in Cleveland, with Sunday being the only day we spend there. The pitching has been surprisingly good, with three pitchers holding ERAs below 2.20. Leading the team in ERA is Augie Hayes Jr. (2-1, 1.64, 3), who was just shifted to the pen despite allowing just two runs in each of his two starts. John Jackson (2-1, 1.73, 13) and Ducky Davis (4-1, 2.17, 19) are the other two, and since they pitched the double header with the Cannons, we should avoid them. Who we see, however, is anyone's guess, as the team without a GM can give someone a go on short rest or use one of their many relievers for a spot start. Luke Berry won't be there for the series, and one of the other six CA teams could claim him instead, but the Foresters have gotten excellent production from team's cast offs. They claimed Frank Kircher (.354, 5) from the Chiefs and Mark Smith (.306, 6) from the Sailors, and both have hit well since coming over. Still, it's only a matter of time before the game catches up to them, as the only batter I'm truly scared of right now is Jim Adams Jr. (.330, 2, 11, 2). Most years a series with the Foresters would be welcomed, but at this point I'm dreading each game we're scheduled to play.

Minor League Report
RHP Zane Kelley (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Remember this guy? He's still pretty good! Shutouts have become common place for the 23-year-old, who spun a 7-hit shutout with 6 strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season. It was his second straight complete game win without a walk, and through four starts he has a miniature 1.26 ERA (322 ERA+) and 0.98 WHIP. With how terrible we've pitched early on, I'm starting to wonder if it's Zane Kelley time, as Charlie Kelsey's grasp on a roster spot is getting looser and looser. The groundballer has allowed just one ball to leave the park, while Duke and Oddo have allowed seven already, and his 12.3 K% and 2.8 K/BB are bests since joining the system. He'll make start five on Wednesday against the St. Paul Disciples, and depending on how our week goes, the one after could come in Chicago. But I may be getting a head of myself, it's just mid-May after all.

LHP Joe Oates (B San Jose Cougars): At least we have this Cougar team to be happy about! Dixie Gaines (8 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) had another stellar start, but the star of the week was Joe Oates. A 9th Rounder last season, the 21-year-old southpaw made all 12 of his appearances in Class B out of the pen, but his four starts this season have been nothing short of a spectacle. After allowing just one run in each of his first two starts, Oates struck out 10 in an 8-hit shutout of the Bakersfield Bears. He walked just one, and improved to 3-0 with three complete games. He followed that up with a fourth, once again beating the Bears. They got to him a bit, scoring 2 runs off 11 hits and 3 walks, but a Tex Kelley (.400, 1, 4) pinch hit home run and a big game (3-5, 2 R, RBI) from Johnnie Love (.391, 3, 20) was enough to get the job done. Oates has now allowed just four runs in 36 innings pitched, working to a 1.17 WHIP and 3.04 FIP (72 FIP-) with 8 walk and 22 strikeouts. His command is looking much better now then it ever has, and the hardworking lefty has done a good job establishing himself as a rotation option early on. He was basically the last man in the system to earn a starting spot, but now it'd be hard to give anyone else a shot over him. This could be a big season for Oates, who now has a a chance to establish himself as a legitimate starting option.

Cougars in the GWL
RHP Luis Sandoval (Houston Bulls): Number 14! Ever since entering the Great Western League, Luis Sandoval has been a shutout machine, and the Bulls veteran bested the Oakland Grays 2-0 to pick up his first shutout of the year. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts, improving him to 4-1 in his 6 starts. Sandoval has a near matching 3.29 ERA (126 ERA+) and 3.26 FIP (78 FIP-), striking out (16) twice as often as he walks (8). His 1.21 WHIP is a bit better then last season, and the back-to-back WAR leader is on pace for a whopping 7.5 in almost 300 innings. That would be huge for the Bulls, who currently lead the GWL by 3 full games. At 18-9, they have an identical record to the Fed leading Gothams, and they've allowed just 90 runs in 27 games. Along with Sandoval, offseason pickup Dan Rivard (2-1, 2.11, 20) and former top-ten prospect Bunny Edwards (4-1, 2.11, 23) have been excellent early on. The offense is great too, with another offseason pickup Al Haines (.363, 17), longtime catcher Dave Doolittle (.345, 1, 11), and deadline acquisition Art Cascone (.351, 8, 27) all hitting .345 or better. They owe a lot of their success to the last place Conquistadores, who not only provided Sandoval, but Rivard, Haines, Cascone, and former 15th ranked prospect Ed Whetzel (2-3, 4.89, 25). It's still early, but right now they have all the makings of a playoff worthy team after coming up just short last year.

ayaghmour2 · 11-29-2023, 07:30 PM

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 16-18 (6th, 4.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Skipper Schneider : 31 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .387 AVG, 1.148 OPS
Sal Pestilli : 32 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .312 AVG, .790 OPS
Billy Hunter : 20 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .300 AVG, 1.091 OPS

Schedule
5-17: Win at Cannons (5-2)
5-18: Win at Cannons (11-6)
5-19: Loss at Cannons (3-4): 10 innings
5-20: Win at Wolves (7-5)
5-21: Win at Wolves (7-5): 12 innings
5-22: Loss at Foresters (4-5)
5-22: Win at Foresters (7-6)

Recap
Well would you look at that! A winning week! I forgot you could have those! The pitching still sucks, as we allowed five or more runs in five of the six games, but who cares! We won five games! And you can thank the Skipper Schneider breakout for that!

In year ten, Skipper has been the best hitter he's ever been, and our slick fielding shortstop was named Player of the Week for the first time in his FABL career. He was an impressive 12-for-31 with six of his hits going for extra bases. He hit 3 doubles, a triple, and a pair of homers, tallying 7 runs and 10 RBIs. The 28-year-old has now hit an impressive .315/.408/.465 (137 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 3 homers, and 20 RBIs, while walking (19) over three times as often as he's struck out (6). For a guy with a career high WRC+ of 117, the 149 he's posted so far has been huge, and his 12.7 BB% and all three parts of his triple slash would be career bests. This week he got some help from his double play partners, as both Billy Hunter and Clark Car performed well. Hunter went 6-for-30 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 runs scored and driven in while the struggling Car was 5-for-11 with a double and 4 runs scored. Hunter has done well in limited time, but Car was as cold as the Chicago weather, still hitting just .163/.189/.217 (10 OPS+) on the season. Still, this week was our first glimmer of hope in a season full of darkness, as we look to take advantage of our first spark of positive momentum.

Sal Pestilli had another great all around week, going 10-for-32 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 2 steals, 6 runs, and 8 RBIs as he continues his 8+ WAR pace. The 7-Time All-Star has hit an impressive .336/.384/.521 (144 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 5 homers, 20 runs, 21 RBIs, and 6 steals. Add in a 155 WRC+ and a 1.020 efficiency in center, and you have nearly a 2 WAR (1.8) player as we approach the end of May. Leo Mitchell almost looked like his old self this week, going 5-for-14 with a double, run, and 4 RBIs. Walt Pack triples his home run output for the season, going 4-for-18 with a pair of longballs, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Eddie Howard looked good in limited time, an even 4-for-8 with a walk, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. His production has been overshadowed a tad by Harry Mead's production, but the soon-to-be 26-year-old has hit .364/.389/.455 (128 OPS+) with 3 doubles and 7 RBIs. With Mead turning 35 at the end of June, this may be Howard's last season as a backup, as the former 2nd Rounder appears close to reaching his lofty offensive potential.

Again, I'm not sure I want to dive deep into the pitchers, but George Oddo had a decent enough start. He left with one out in the 8th, but had just 4 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. While not overall great numbers, what is great is the lack of homers allowed, as not a single ball ended up in the seats. He allowed at least one in each of his first four starts, already 7 in 38 innings as his HR/9 has jumped almost a full homer (0.8 to 1.7) since last season. Donnie Jones pitched good enough to win, but we didn't score for him, so he had to come back to the 10th. It didn't work out well, as former Cougar and member of the Donnie Jones trade Hal Wood (.282, 1, 17) ended the game with an RBI double. Jones finished with 8 hits, 4 runs, and 5 walks, striking out 4 as he dropped to 3-4. Brother Johnnie made a pair of starts, with only one worth mentioning, so that's the one I'll talk about! He bested the Cannons, going all nine while allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts. It's still crazy to think we've allowed tied for the most runs (164) in the association, as none of our pitchers are pitching to the level we know they can.

Looking Ahead
Plenty of rest this week, as we'll get a day off before and after a two game series with the Philadelphia Sailors. I can't believe that they're 8-25, and a lot of the struggles can be attributed to ace Win Lewis, who won't be involved in the series. In three of the past four seasons, Win has posted an ERA below 3, but through 7 starts this season he's 1-5 with a 5.98 ERA (67 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP with 15 walks and 20 strikeouts. His 4.12 FIP (103 FIP-) expects plenty of positive regression, and he's coming off a start where he allowed 3 hits, 4 walks, and an unearned run with 6 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. One guy who has done well is Slick Wesolowski, who's scheduled for the finale and has looked great after missing all of last season with injury. Slick is just 1-2, but with a 3.44 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP despite more walks (22) then strikeouts (17). I'm still confident in scoring off him and Art Hull (1-3, 5.51, 10), so it's all about keeping the offense in check. They've scored the fewest runs in the league, but it hasn't stopped Ed Reyes (.400, 1, 10) from hitting .400, nor Joe Scott (.232, 5, 14) from posting a 117 WRC+ with a 21-to-11 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Otherwise, the lineup production has been limited, with five regulars posting below average WRC+ and a pair (Rip Lee and Chet McCormick) below 40 -- even lower then the 46 from Wesolowski. We need to win both of these, but if the game is close, that means David Molina (0-2, 4, 2.95, 12) will look to finish it, and he's too good to beat often.

The second off day will be used to travel home, as we start a quick three game homestand with the Brooklyn Kings. Depending on how the week goes, they could be in first place, as they're 19-14 and just a game behind Cleveland for the lead. We'll get to miss 20-year-old phenom Ken Newman (.265, 1, 13), but he hasn't been too scary and there is a lot of thump in the #1 scoring team's lineup. Ralph Johnson has been killing it in every way, shape, and form, as he's already worth 3 WAR in just 33 games. The soon-to-be 25-year-old is off to a preposterous start to the season, slashing an astronomical .374/.490/.626 (193 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, and 24 RBIs, drawing 28 walks to just 7 strikeouts. If that wasn't enough to deal with, Pat Petty (.343, 4, 22) is doing all he can to prove I was foolish for not trading for him, and they've gotten excellent production from John Moss (.300, 2, 12), Chuck Collins (.273, 4, 13), and Dan Smith (.280, 2, 16). Lucky for us, there is a way to stop them, as the pitching has been shaky at times. Joe Potts (4-1, 2.90, 17) has been a shocking revelation for Brooklyn, but Bob Arman (3-4, 4.27, 33) is walking batters at a 16% clip and they already banished Rusty Petrick (0-2, 6.29, 14) to the pen. If there's ever a time for our staff to wake up, it's now, because otherwise we're in for a slugfest of potentially epic proportions.

Minor League Report
CF Don Lee (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Don Lee has seemingly taken his demotion to the minors well, as he's regained some of his offensive production, taking home Century Player of the Week after going 13-for-33 with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 2 steals, a triple, 10 runs, and 11 RBIs. Lee is now slashing an outstanding .287/.400/.557 (146 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 10 steals, and 28 RBIs. He's on pace for 126 runs, 126 RBIs, and 104 walks in just 135 games, and he's on pace for an 8.6 WAR season that would rival what Sal Pestilli is doing on the big league club. A long time member of the big league squad, Lee returned to the minors for the first time since 1944, where he hit an impressive .288/.424/.465 (162 OPS+) with 20 double, 6 triples, 7 homers, 15 steals, and 45 RBIs with a superb 73-to-29 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

He hasn't come close to that in the majors, and aside from the last year of the war he hasn't had too much success. Still, the former 2nd Rounder and brother of current Sailor Rip Lee does own a .246/.356/.370 (108 OPS+) batting line in 439 FABL games since his callup during the 1944 season. Two additional option years worked against Lee, who might find his way back in Chicago if he keeps hitting like this. We haven't got much from our non-Pestilli outfielders, so if a roster spot empties or Chubby Hall (who's been the best of the non-Pestillis) angers me enough to warrant a DFA. And there's always the chance that the rarely used George Dawson will wear out his welcome. It's going to be tough for Lee to work his way back into our future plans, but he's always shown offensive promise and I'm sure he can get more out with a quick reset. He's always been a hard worker and a club leader, so when the offense disappeared, he still provided value to the clubhouse.

2B Johnnie Love (B San Jose Cougars): With all the highly touted prospects on the San Jose roster, it's easy to overlook Johnnie Love. An 8th Round Pick out of Bluegrass State last year, Love doesn't appear on the Cougars top 40 or league's top 500, but that hasn't stopped the 22-year-old from showing off. In his first 31 games, he's hit .388/.429/.587 (169 OPS+) with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, and 27 RBIs. He had success after the draft in San Jose last year as well, batting .320/.385/.469 (121 OPS+) in 52 appearances. A natural second basemen, Love has been playing regularly at the hot corner, but the early results (-2.0, .928) haven't been great so far. But the switch hitter has more then made up for it at the plate, and he's positioned himself to earn a callup before the new class of draftees role in. And while he doesn't project to be a regular at the game's highest level, his bat has impressed and he could work his way onto a big league bench.

ayaghmour2 · 11-30-2023, 10:12 PM

Weekly Record: 3-2
Seasonal Record: 19-20 (6th, 5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 18 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.187 OPS
Hal Sharp : 12 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, .833 OPS
Pete Papenfus : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 5 BB, 3 K, 2.00 ERA

Schedule
5-24: Loss at Sailors (3-4)
5-25: Win at Sailors (8-4)
5-27: Win vs Kings (2-6)
5-28: Win vs Kings (0-4)
5-29: Win vs Kings (1-3)

Recap
Win games, lose ground! I'll take it!

Now just a game under .500, we're back to five out, good for sole possession of sixth place. We got some solid pitching for a change, as Donnie Jones bested the #1 offense in a 2-hit shutout. Donnie struck out four and walked two in the win, and after allowing six homers in his first five starts, has now gone four in a row without one. His second start wasn't as great, allowing 12 hits and 4 runs with 3 strikeouts in 8 innings pitched. Like the team, Jones is a game under .500, 4-5 in nine starts. He's brought his FIP (3.84, 98) back above average and his ERA (4.17, 94) is getting close too. I'm hoping the two hitter is a sign of what's to come, as the former Allen winner has a tendency to put together runs like these. Duke Bybee was given two starts as well, the second on short rest (I must've miss-counted), and despite the decision that was actually the better one. Like Jones, he kept the Kings in check, allowing just 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts. That brought him within one of the league leader, Peter the Heater himself (37), but since we scored just one run, he dropped his third decision. In his fifth win, he went eight as well, but allowed 9 hits, 4 runs, and 5 walks with just 2 strikeouts. Ken Matson ended up finishing that one, striking out two in a perfect ninth. Pete Papenfus made the final start, improving to 4-3 with a complete game win against the Kings. They put runners on base, as Pap walked 5 and allowed 7 hits, but he struck out 3 and allowed just a pair of runs, including the FABL home run of Dan Herrick's (.148, 1, 3) career. Despite his strikeout lead, his K% is down almost a point and a half (14.0 to 12.6) and his 4.04 ERA (97 ERA+) would be the worst mark since a 4.57 ERA (94 ERA+) at 21. With the struggles of these three before this week, it's no surprise we're a game under .500, and if these three repeat what they did this week, maybe we can pounce.

Gosh my optimism is just too high right now! When will I be brought back down to earth?

Please not tomorrow...

I think it's time I start calling Sal "Super Sal Pestilli" as it seems like the Westerly native has finally unlocked his true form, as the 1938 Whitney Winner (he was just 22!) put together another impressive week. Sal went 7-for-18 with a double and two homers. He drew two walks, scored five runs, and drove in nine more to up his season line to .342/.387/.551 (151 OPS+). Otto Christian hit his second homer of the season, going 2-for-8 with a walk, run, and 3 RBIs. His platoon partner Walt Pack didn't homer, but was a better 4-for-11 with a pair of RBIs. Hal Sharp and Chubby Hall had decent weeks, a combined 9-for-22 with 2 runs from Hall and 3 RBIs from Hal.

We got bad news with Billy Hunter, as the talented veteran is back on the IL with a back strain. Hunter will miss at least the next four weeks, and it couldn't have been at a worse time. In 16 games he was hitting .321/.410/.698 (195 OPS+) and he's already slugged 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 home runs. His 1.1 WAR is already higher then his 0.7 in 79 games (238 PAs) last season, as he's still a steady presence at the keystone and was swinging the bat the best he ever has. It's going to be impossible to replace that production, but I'm at least going to try to. Clark Car did have a 3-for-6 game last week in Toronto, but I'm not ready to give him all the at bats. He'll join George Sutterfield, who has hit .303/.384/.468 (121 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 6 steals, and 15 RBIs in 127 trip to the plate in his return to the Century League. He's split time between short and second, but he'll get about half the starts this week at second base. It's not a platoon in the strictest sense, but it could develop into that if neither takes advantage of the opportunity. If Sutterfield doesn't hit, I don't mind sending him back and trying someone else, but I'd love for the former top prospect to finally seize a spot in the starting lineup.

Looking Ahead
After finishing a series here, we'll head to Montreal for three games in two days, before returning back to host the Wolves. Montreal is half a game above us, so with a good showing at the Parc Cartier we could jump above them. Pat Weakly (0-1, 6.75, 2) got hurt in his return to the rotation, so the Saints may need a spot starter to pitch with Bert Cupid (4-4, 2.84, 23) in the double header. Cupid has a near identical ERA+ (145 to 142) and FIP- (88 to 86) from his excellent showing last year, but the real surprise has been Pete Ford. The 28-year-old is 5-1 in his 8 starts, working to an impressive 3.10 ERA (130 ERA+) and 1.34 WHIP. We won't see him here, he pitched in their double header to finish the week, but he did beat us back in April (8.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K). Offensively they are scoring a lot of runs, with rookie leadoff man Joe Austin hitting .326/.408/.472 (OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 14 RBIs, 11 walks, and 8 steals. Yes, that's the same Joe Austin from the Red Bond trade, as our former 8th Round Pick made his first Opening Day roster and hiss 145 WRC+ would have looked really nice in our lineup. The Montreal native has spent most of his time at second, forming a formidable double play combo with Gordie Perkins (.307, 3, 25). Behind them in the lineup is rookie sensation Otis O'Keefe (.293, 4, 17) and sluggers Maurice Carter (.272, 7, 25) and Bill Greene (.273, 7, 28, 4). This lineup can do a lot of damage, but we're lucky to face a tired staff which has gotten a lot of work since the start of May.

The Wolves have just a double header on Monday, so they can head to Chicago a day early to prep for our series. We won't see either double header pitcher, and that means avoiding personal favorite of mine Jim Morrison (4-0, 1.75, 21), who has the lowest ERA in either association. I don't see a way where he doesn't pitch the double header, but there's a chance former Cougar draftee Harry Stewart (2-1, 3, 3.93, 5) join him against the Foresters. His first start of the season came against us, and we piled on 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 2 walks, with not one of the thirteen batters he retired set down on strikes. It's nice seeing the now 27-year-old get a shot in the rotation, as the hard working righty has put in more then enough effort to earn it. Missing those two would mean George Garrison (4-4, 3.14, 32), Joe Hancock (2-2, 4.18, 19), and Jimmy Gibbs (3-3, 3.99, 16), as the struggling Jerry York (0-6, 6.93, 13) was banished to Buffalo. We may not get many run, but if we can keep the ageless Fred McCormick (.358, 2, 18) in check we have a good chance to come away with the series victory.

Our weekend will occupied by the Sailors, who are in town for the first two of three. Win Lewis (1-6, 5.74, 21) has now lost five in a row and Al Duster (2-5, 6.26, 23) and Slick Wesolowski (1-3, 4.04, 19) were just hit hard. They're allowing the second most runs while scoring the fewest amount of runs. Don's brother Rip Lee has been one of the biggest culprits, as after hitting .283/.365/.404 (112 OPS+), the 35-year-old is hitting a putrid .185/.252/.274 (37 OPS+) with his highest K% (10.5) and his lowest BB% (7.8). It would be a shame if this is the end for the longtime Sailor shortstop, who missed out on four years of counting stats by serving in his country. He has still managed to tally 1,251 hits in 1,277 games, worth an impressive 30.5 wins above replacement. His 100 WRC+ is respectable for a shortstop, especially when you consider the 52.1 zone rating and 1.029 efficiency. It's too early to panic, but if thing get back 10th ranked prospect Al Farmer (.286, 1, 2) can push Les Cunha (.267, 2, 19) from second to short. Despite playing second for most of his career, he did play strictly shortstop his first two seasons in Philly. I'd let Rip stick it out, especially if the Sailors can't get it going, as he was such a good hitter since returning from the war.

ayaghmour2 · 12-01-2023, 09:01 PM

Weekly Record: 5-3
Seasonal Record: 24-23 (4th, 4 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 36 AB, 17 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .472 AVG, 1.263 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .400 AVG, .963 OPS
Chubby Hall : 31 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .290 AVG, .720 OPS

Schedule
5-30: Win at Saints (2-0)
5-30: Loss at Saints (3-6)
5-31: Win at Saints (5-3)
6-1: Win vs Wolves (0-5)
6-2: Win vs Wolves (1-5)
6-3: Loss vs Wolves (3-2)
6-4: Loss vs Sailors (4-1): 11 innings
6-5: Win vs Sailors (1-10)

Recap
Hey, would you look at this! Above .500! And we can pitch again! Seven of the eight games saw our starter allow three or fewer runs, and we got shutouts from both the Jones brothers. Donnie followed up his 2-hit, 2-walk shutout with a 1-hit, 1-walk shutout where he set down six Wolve on strikes in our 5-0 victory. He's now an even 5-5 with a much improved 3.69 ERA (107 ERA+) and 1.15 WHIP with 37 strikeouts and a 3.58 FIP (90 FIP-) in 78 innings pitched. Johnnie has arguably been our best pitcher so far, and he threw a 3-hit shutout with a pair of walks and strikeouts in the 2-0 win over the Saints. His second start wasn't as great, but back-to-back errors cost him two of his three runs allowed. Johnnie got all but one out, throwing 150 pitches and leaving with 6 hits, 6 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Now 5-4, Johnnie has an outstanding 2.86 ERA (138 ERA+), but he's walking (42) way more hitters then he's struck out (23). While always an issue, these are his worst walk (13.6) and strikeout rates (7.5) since becoming a full-time starter. If he can start finding the zone more, I'd be extremely encouraged, but for now I'm going to enjoy the lack of runs allowed.

We got an early injury scare against the Wolves, as Duke Bybee left with a mild abdominal strain. Little injuries like this are common for Bybee, who's had six day-to-day injuries lasting less then a week and a second lasting exactly one, since he returned from the Marines Corps. He left after three hits and four outs, but this opened the door for Charlie Kelsey to excel and save his roster spot. The struggling righty was in danger of losing his pen spot, especially with Harry Parker beginning rehab today, but he threw 7.1 stellar innings. Kelsey threw 105 pitches, allowing just 2 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. This dropped his ERA from 5.51 to 4.18 (94 ERA+) in 23.2 innings pitched. Now Ken Matson, who got the last out, may be in risk of being optioned, as he's thrown just 8.1 innings and allowed 8 hits, 5 runs, and a walk with 5 strikeouts.

Both Pete Papenfus and George Oddo made two starts, with Pap going 1-0 and Oddo 0-1. He didn't look great against the Saints, allowing 4 hits and 8 walks, but just one of his three runs were earned and he struck out 6 in 6.2 innings. Pap was back on it against the Sailors, as the 31-year-old veteran allowed just 6 hits, a run, and a walk with 7 strikeouts in the complete game win. The fireballer has now won four in a row, and with 50 strikeouts he's the only Continental Association pitcher with more then 40. His 3.51 ERA (112 ERA+) is back above average, even if his 4.47 FIP (113 FIP-) doesn't buy it, but a lot can be blamed on 10 homers in 84.2 innings. George Oddo has dealt with home run issues too, but he allowed just one in his loss to the Saints. Now 0-4, Oddo allowed 11 hits, 5 runs, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7 innings. His bad luck continued against the Sailors, as despite just a single run allowed, he didn't get a decision since we scored just one run. Oddo even pitched the 10th, allowing 4 hits and 4 walks with just 1 run and 7 strikeouts, which was enough to lower his ERA to an adjusted league average 3.93. The Sailors then got three in the 11th, including two on a Joe Scott (.273, 6, 20) home run, as Harry MacRae allowed 4 hits and the three runs in a shaky eleventh. Even with this misstep, it was still a very successful week for the pitching staff, as it's now back-to-back successful weeks. This is how we should have been pitching all year long, but with plenty of season left for the rotation to strut their stuff, I am more then confident in a strong bounce-back.

The offense, well, has some holes, but good thing we have two 7-Time All-Stars! Super Sal Pestilli was marvelous once again, capturing his first of hopefully many Player of the Weeks this season. The 33-year-old center fielder went 17-for-36 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, a triple, 3 steals, 3 walks, 7 runs, and 9 RBIs as he reached the 3 WAR mark through 46 games. This puts him on a 9.9 pace, which would be a new personal best. Sal's slashed a stellar .366/.410/.588 (166 OPS+) and his 175 WRC+ would be higher then the 156 he set in his Whitney Winning season. Shortstop Skipper Schneider hasn't quite hit at his level, but the tenth year vet went 10-for-25 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 4 walks, and 2 steals. Like Pestilli, he's in the midst of his best offensive season, hitting a well above average .322/.405/.450 (130 OPS+) with an even higher 142 WRC+. Skipper's added 11 doubles, 3 homers, 3 steals, 23 RBIs, and a 23-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Again, Skipper is one of the top defensemen (5.9, 1.084) at short and he's been worth nearly three (2.7) WAR himself.

Beyond those two, there hasn't been much offense coming from the lineup, but some of the part-timers have done great. Otto Christian was 3-for-10, with all three hits of the extra base variety. He doubled and hit his third and fourth homers of the season, and he drew a pair of walks. The 26-year-old has now made 68 trips to the plate, and he owns a productive .250/.299/.517 (116 OPS+) line. Leo Mitchell hit his third homer, now just one away from his total last year, and went 2-for-6 with a walk. George Dawson got a start at second, and was 2-for-4 with a walk and RBI. Ray Ford went 4-for-11 with a walk and three runs, and Clark Car even went 4-for-13 with a double. George Sutterfield had a decent return to the lineup, 3-for-11 with 2 steals and 3 walks, runs, and RBIs. Even better, he's done well defensively in a small sample at second (0.3, 1.034), and for some reason the game thinks he's our #3 player (behind Skipper and Sal). That's definitely a stretch, but he's always had plenty of talent, and I have faith that he'll provide a few more weeks like this.

The draft pool was officially released today, which means we'll get a look at the first mock draft before the draft officially takes place on Monday the 20th (probably Tuesday or Wednesday in real life). I'm not overly thrilled with our class, probably because of the crazy awful lottery luck and lack of draft pick trading, but the mock has plenty of Cougar draftees. The guy I'm most excited about, second basemen Biff Tiner, ranks 10th on the mock and 5th on Dixie Marsh's first round list. Joining Tiner on the mock are 2nd Rounder Wilson McKinney (3.1), who I was somewhat worried wouldn't be ranked, 3rd Rounder Fred Crawford (3.8), 4th Rounder Buster Clark (3.13), and 6th Rounder Lou Jackson (5.8). It's honestly better then I expected, and along with Tiner, Marsh has Houston (19th), his number two pitcher, in his top 20, with McKinney and Crawford at 38 and 39. It's not great, but still potentially a solid haul to reinforce the #1 and near 200 point (194) farm.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Sailors, who we split the first two at Cougars Stadium. We're set to see the red-hot Donnie Jones (5-5, 3.69, 37) to take on "Can't Buy a Win" Lewis (1-6, 5.09, 24), who got a no decision despite six excellent frames where he allowed just 5 hits, a walk, and unearned run in a no decision against the Cannons. Despite the elevated ERA, his FIP is a strong 3.68 (90 FIP-) with solid walk (6.8) and strikeout (10.2) rates. In the lineup, the Sailors did make a move, but it was not moving Rip Lee (.197, 1, 8) to the bench. Instead, former 9th Pick Al Farmer (.243, 1, 2) will replace Les Cunha (.265, 2, 19) at second, batting fifth between slugger Joe Scott (.273, 6, 20) and speedster Harvey Brown (.253, 1, 14, 8). Ed Reyes (.373, 3, 17) now has enough at bats to qualify for the batting title, something he's looking to win for the fifth straight season. He gave them their lone run in our 10-1 beatdown of them, and shows no signs of slowing down. I'm still feeling pretty good about this game, as Donnie seems to be really slinging it, but we can't underestimate someone as skilled as Lewis when our offense is basically comprised by two stars and nothing more.

The homestand continues with three against the Cannons, who have dropped to 24-22 and lead us by just a single game. Rufus Barrell (5-4, 2.99, 37) ran into a rough patch not long ago, as the surprise Foresters tagged him for 10 hits and 8 runs in just 3.1 innings pitched. We're set to get him in either the second or final game, with the other two projected starters veteran Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.84, 25) and rookie Tony Britten (4-4, 3.93, 27). I like our chance against both of them, and we actually beat Rufus last time (8 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) we were matched up against him. This time around they could have Adam Mullins (.400, 2, 11) back in the lineup, as he's healthy for the first time since early May now that his shoulder is back to 100%. They could use his bat back, as Paul Wilkerson (.273, 3) has just a 66 WRC+ in 23 games, and Denny Andrews (.194, 2, 21) just can't get thing going. There's only so much Mike Taylor (.321, 3, 16, 2), Chuck Adams (.291, 7, 30), and Fred Galloway (.297, 1, 14, 2) can do on their own, and the return of Mullins may be the spark they need to stay in the first division.

We then finish our week with the other Ohio team, welcoming the first place Foresters to town for three. At 28-19, Cleveland holds a 2.5 game lead over the Stars, as they somehow own the association's best staff (1st, 163) and a top offense (t-2nd, 203) despite having a mostly pieced together roster. They've made the shocking decision to replace Ivey Henley (.262, 2, 14) in the lineup with Luke Berry (.256, 5), who has gone 10-for-33 through his first two weeks in Cleveland. I'm not sure how long he lasts, but considering nearly all their offense comes from Orie Martinez (.280, 7, 24) and the finally healthy Jim Adams Jr. (.369, 5, 25, 2), it may not matter who they have patrolling left. The lineup could be reinforced with a midseason trade, with upgrades possible at left, center, short, catcher, and either second or third, wherever Adams isn't slotted in. They will be without 23-year-old shortstop Eddie Morris (.236, 1, 8), opening a spot back up for Glenn White (.286, 7), but they've been active on waivers early on, and we may see a few more claims as they look to bolster the roster.

The pitching has impressed too, as 1947 CA ERA leader Ollie White (4-4, 2.79, 36) looks like the same guy he was as a rookie, and 24-year-old John Jackson (4-2, 2.48, 19) has taken a huge step forward in year two. Both are highly touted young pitchers who have spent time in the top half of the top prospect lists, and they could form a formidable 1-2 punch for years to come. Between them is "The Mad Professor" Adrian Czerwinski (9-1, 3.05, 19), a righty from Chicago who could make it a true three-headed monster. White is the oldest of the trio at 25, so if these guys manage to reach their peaks, Foresters rotations of the 50s could rival the ones comprised of Dean Astle, Eddie Quinn, Roger Perry, and Ben Turner. They did recently make another rotation change, moving Kirby Brewer (1-1, 3.00, 7) to the pen in favor of former King and Pioneer Charlie Leist (1-2, 4.93, 8), but regardless of who we face it may be tough to come across runs. This is no longer the Foresters teams we are used to beating up on, and even at home it will be tough to come away with the series win.

Minor League Report
RF Jimmy Hairston (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It was a great week for Jimmy Hairston, who went an impressive 13-for-22 with 2 double, a triple, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. Hairston has been great all season, slashing an impressive .306/.415/.530 (146 OPS+) with an elite 161 WRC+ to go with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 22 runs, 23 walks, and 26 RBIs. It's been a great all-around performance for the former 4th Rounder, who may find himself in Chicago if he keeps this up. Hal Sharp (51), Chubby Hall (96), Leo Mitchell (76), and Carlos Montes (34) all have WRC+ below 100, and Dixie think Hairston is more then ready for a callup and big league debut. He projects to be an above average hitter, due to a strong hit tool and excellent command of the strike zone. He's matched each strikeout this season with a walk, and tends to hold walk percentages in the double digits. Hairston isn't the only Blues hitter performing, as Johnny Peters (160) and Don Lee (139) are in the midst of outstanding seasons of their own, but I might cutting bait with some of the struggling vets to make room for the more exciting young outfielders.

LHP Dutch Yoak (A Lincoln Legislators): Last week we needed a pitcher in Lincoln, as Jim Williams (3-1, 3.03, 12) fractured his finger. I could have gone with the guy listed below, but I thought Dutch Yoak was more deserving. He rewarded my faith with a dominant start against the visiting Evansville Hawks. Yoak allowed just 6 hits and a walk, while striking out 2 in a 6-0 shutout victory. That's already Yoak's second shutout of the season, and when combined with his six starts in San Jose he's now 5-1 on the season. Scheduled to open the week in Gary against the Steelmen, the now 22-year-old Yoak is attempting to pitch his way back into our future plans. A highly touted high school arm, Yoak has stalled out a bit, and after making it to Lincoln in 1947, he endured a rough year back in San Jose last year. His stuff hasn't been flushed out yet, but he sits right below 90 and projects to have plus stuff when fully developed. His control has held him back in the past, but he has just 21 walks in 56.1 innings, with a bit more then twice as many (43) punchouts. There's a long way to go, but if all goes well Yoak could finish the season in Mobile, and a big season could grab the attention of a pitching needy team willing to devote a roster spot to him for all of 1950.

LHP Dixie Gaines (B San Jose Cougars): Part of me wanted to give him a shot to go 10-0, but I could no longer leave Dixie Gaines in San Jose. The 21-year-old southpaw ended things on a high note, winning his 8th start as the Cougars slaughtered the Mounties 18-3. Dixie went 7, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs with 8 strikeouts as he finished the week with the Cougars 31st win of the season. This came after being named Pitcher of the Month for May, going 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA (304 ERA+) and 1.01 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and just 7 walks. The newest member of the Lincoln Legislators finished with a 1.21 ERA (362 ERA+) and 1.02 WHIP. In 59.2 innings he struck out 57 and walked just 16, with five of the free passes coming in his most recent start. The former 4th Rounder allowed just one home run, and his 67% groundball percentage is one of the highest I've ever seen. High groundball percentages are expected for the soft tossing Gaines, who has a very tough sinker that keeps his infielders on their toes. It's one of five excellent pitches, with his change the cream of the crop. I like his splitter too, but all five pitches get excellent downward movement, with only the curve still needing some work. It's easy to get excited about the stats, but the raw talent excites as well. There's a reason he's ranked 40th among all prospects, and he should fit comfortably in a big league rotation. That won't be in Chicago for a few more years, but OSA sees 1951 as a reasonable debut year. But if he continues to baffle Single-A pitchers like he did a level below, it will be tough to keep him down on the farm for much longer.

ayaghmour2 · 12-01-2023, 11:21 PM

1st Round, 13th Overall: 2B Biff Tiner
School: Elkin Elks
Commit School: Bayou State College
1949: .482/.537/.877, 137 PA, 14 2B, 8 3B, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 33 SB
Career: .503/.562/.861, 510 PA, 58 2B, 26 3B, 15 HR, 132 RBI, 114 SB

After back-to-back .500 seasons at Elkin High School in North Carolina, Biff Tiner hit just .482 with a career high 27 extra base hits. He matched his previous best for homers and set a new best for triples, so the low average may have been just bad BABIP luck. Our initial mock has him tenth and Dixie Marsh places him fifth on his first round list, profiling him as "an everyday second basemen who can make an impact on a top-tier team." The four year starter certainly showed that, batting an impressive .503/.562/.861 with in 100 high school games. He was worth 2.8 or more WAR in each season and his lowest combined batting line would be .482/.537/.820 -- which would still be a pretty impressive season on its own.

18 in exactly one month, there is a lot to like about the Burlington native, who is strong and hardworking and gifted in multiple facets at the plate. He hits a lot of line drives and if he can come close to his impressive walk (9.8%) and strikeout (4.7%) numbers in the majors he can be like Skipper, but if he improves the walk rate he could develop into a prime Freddie Jones. That's a lofty comparison and far from a sure bet, but there are a lot of similarities in their games. Both hit a lot of line drives and were skilled at putting the ball in play. One big difference is Tiner's speed, as he could swipe a few bases to jumpstart the offense. What could set Tiner apart from Jones is the potential power, and if he's hitting double digit homers I don't think he'll have such a discrepancy between walks and strikeouts. As such a raw prospect, there's a lot of ways his development could go, and the one consistent should be his hit tool. He's always going to bat around .300. What will determine how much he plays is how often he walks or puts the ball out of the park. Line drive hitters aren't easy to come upon, and he could be among the leaders in extra base hits if he continues to hit the ball hard.

2nd Round, 23rd Overall: RHP Wilson McKinney
School: Colonel White Cougars
Commit School: Cumberland University
1949: 4-0, 51 IP, 0.35 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 10 BB, 110 K
Career: 8-0, 103.1 IP, 0.87 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 23 BB, 195 K

Part of me was worried that Wilson McKinney would be tough to sign. I'm not sure how relieved I am that he instead demands just $1,700 to forego his commitment to Cumberland University. I was hoping he'd get more innings in his second season, but despite throwing even less innings (52.1 to 51) as a senior, the Ohio native was flat-out dominant. McKinney struck out 55% of the batters he faced, which was best among all draft eligible players. As was his 50 K%-BB%. This level of command is impressive, as he already has great mastery of his five pitches. Now hitting 89 with his cutter, his go-to change is even more effective, as the difference in speeds allows it to be more effective. I don't know if he'll get many more velocity bumps, but he's always working on his repertoire and I think him and Garland Phelps will make quick friends. That my take a bit, as I can't imagine McKinney starting any where other then La Crosse and Phelps is off to a decent enough start (.304, 1, 16) in Lincoln. But with just a year between them their careers could mix often. With how good his stuff is, he could have a short stay in the low minors, but there's no need to rush the righty up the ladder.

ayaghmour2 · 12-03-2023, 12:13 AM

3rd Round, 45th Overall: CF Fred Crawford
School: Hardwick Friars
Commit School: Davidson University
1949: .536/.556/.800, 136 PA, 16 2B, 7 3B, HR, 36 RBI, 35 SB
Career: .540/.561/.805, 389 PA, 51 2B, 17 3B, 3 HR, 106 RBI, 102 SB

Unlike Biff Tiner, Fred Crawford made it three straight .500 seasons, and for Crawford three seasons is his entire high school career. A hardworking outfielder from Massachusetts, he's not the most talented guy out there. But he is one of the quickest players and he always gives over 100%. He'll never hit for much power, but he's at his best when he's keeping the ball on the ground. He'll hit them hard, so if a player is out of position or caught between hops, Crawford can find himself on base. He has a quick stroke and attacks the ball and he's not the type of hitter to wait back in the count. He won't walk or strike out much, which is good because his skillset is best utilized by making things happen. Worst case scenario he's an awesome pinch runner, but I expect him to be so much more then that. Dixie Marsh is a huge fan, recently labeling him a "reliable hitter in the organization's grand scheme," and I tend to believe him. He has all the makings of a leadoff hitter. The best comparison for his bat may be Minutemen shortstop Harry Barrell, but the elite shortstop doesn't have anywhere near the foot speed Frank has, although he'll never be anywhere near the defender Harry is. We'll be luck if he can stay in center, but interesting enough he's played a little second and third as well as the corner outfield spots. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up, but he'll be most valuable patrolling center. His defense needs some work, but I trust him to spend the requisite time to improve his game.

4th Round, 61st Overall: LHP Buster Clark
School: Santa Cruz Pirates
Commit School: St. Dominic's
1949: 5-0, 69.1 IP, 0.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 9 BB, 104 K
Career: 9-0, SV, 127.1 IP, 0.92 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 20 BB, 198 K

As the year went on, Buster Clark was one of the guys who rose up Dixie Marsh's list, and OSA liked enough of him to include the California native on their initial mock draft. It seem well deserved, as the southpaw walked just nine guys in just shy of seventy (69.1) innings. He was the only draft eligible pitcher to walk single digit batters, allowing one free pass fewer then our second rounder Wilson McKinney despite nearly twenty more innings. His 3.2 BB% was unsurprisingly best among available pitchers as well and his 11.6 K/BB was second to only Frank Young (11.9). He was throwing a tick harder this year, and it really made a difference, His ERA dropped almost 30 points and his WHIP down almost a full point. These are all encouraging signs, and I'm excited to see how his five pitches play against professional hitters. Four of his five pitches are pretty great already, with the slider especially lethal against fellow lefties. His sinker generates a ton of grounders and he locate his curve and splitter well. It's early, but he has all the tool to pitch in the big leagues, and there's a chance he could be this year's Dixie Gaines. I really think we got a good one here.

StLee · 12-03-2023, 07:30 AM

Glad to see the Cougars have been turning it around in the last few weeks. The CA looks to be winnable with a .550 winning percentage, so winning weeks help each time as long as you can avoid more of those terrible weeks like Week 2.

I also love the names of two of your draft picks: Biff Tiner and Buster Clark. Those are names that would thrive 356 years into the future.

ayaghmour2 · 12-03-2023, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StLee

Glad to see the Cougars have been turning it around in the last few weeks. The CA looks to be winnable with a .550 winning percentage, so winning weeks help each time as long as you can avoid more of those terrible weeks like Week 2.

I also love the names of two of your draft picks: Biff Tiner and Buster Clark. Those are names that would thrive 356 years into the future.

Yep! The arms were ice cold and once they started to heat up good things started happening. I'd agree though, there are a lot of competitive teams this year, so I don't think anyone is going to run away with it. Just need to limit the bad weeks and try to get 3-4 wins a week to keep pace. Will be interesting

And I will say, when I drafted Biff Tiner, I did think "this is the type of guy you could find in the CBO" where you have some awesome names. Each post I see another few names that I end up loving!

ayaghmour2 · 12-03-2023, 12:29 PM

5th Round, 77th Overall: SS Freddie Hutchison
School: North Carolina Tech Techster
1949: .255/.366/.306, 247 PA, 6 2B, 3B, HR, 26 RBI, 35 SB
Career (COL): .264/.351/.345, 703 PA, 21 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 93 RBI, 111 SB
Career (HS): .422/.508/.620, 506 PA, 42 2B, 9 3B, 7 HR, 110 RBI, 118 SB

A guy who has dropped a bit since we selected him, Freddie Hutchison had a rough junior season, hitting just .255 with a homer and 26 RBIs for the Techsters. He set collegiate lows for doubles, homers, runs (40), RBIs, and steals, matched his low for triples, and set worsts in strikeouts (27), BB% (10.5), K% (10.9), OPS (.642), WAR (-0.5), and all three triple slash measures. 21 next week, Hutchison still gets some love from OSA (frontrunner for an audition as a shortstop), but Dixie Marsh isn't as fond as the infielder as he has been in the past. He likes his eye, speed, and swing, but views him more as a minor league depth piece then an every day player. His athleticism will work in his favor, and as a shortstop he has built in versatility, but it will be tough for him to separate himself from a lot of our talented young infielders. If we had an opportunity to "undo" a pick, he'd probably be my pick. That's not to say its a lost pick, utility players are very useful in their own right, but it would have been nice to grab someone with more upside here. But after taking only high school players, it made sense to go to the collegiate level, and Hutchison could still turn into a helpful organizational pick with the chance to work his way into a FABL lineup.

6th Round, 93rd Overall: CF Lou Jackson
School: College of San Diego Friars
1949: .275/.341/.446, 264 PA, 11 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 32 SB
Career (COL): .271/.338/.449, 698 PA, 28 2B, 26 3B, 10 HR, 86 RBI, 105 SB
Career (HS): .425/.487/.736, 224 PA, 21 2B, 12 3B, 5 HR, 54 RBI, 63 SB

Speaking of versatility, it's hard to get more versatile then Lou Jackson, who has spent time at first, second, short, left, right, and center, and I'm sure with a little work he'd be comfortable at the hot corner as well. An extra base machine, he hit 11 double and 10 triples as a junior and finished with 64 extra base hits in 138 games. Speed is a big part of his game too, as the 32 bases he stole this year was actually his smallest tally at College of San Diego, and he finished with 105 steals. He has a good eye too, walking (64) more then he's struck out (61), and that would be a useful too to keep up as when he's on base he can really cause damage. As a switch hitter as well, he's got almost everything you're looking for with a bench player, but Dixie thinks he "should be an average big leaguer." The mock has him as a fifth rounder, so you can take that how you'd like, but he's a very interesting young prospect. Coming out of college, he could probably rise up the ladder quickly, and if his infield defense is up to snuff he could be a very useful Tip Harrison type player. That's not to say he can't start, he's still a very talented player, but we have so many good young outfielders and I don't think he can surpass even Fred Crawford, let alone Johnny Peters, Henry Norman, and of course, Jerry Smith.

7th Round, 109th Overall: C Danny Noonan
School: Huntington State Miners
1949: .256/.347/.376, 289 PA, 9 2B, 7 HR, 48 RBI, 14 SB
Career (COL): .265/.362/.408, 701 PA, 22 2B, 21 HR, 41 SB
Career (HS): .444/.547/.650, 345 PA, 25 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 78 RBI, 21 SB

If you read This Week in Figment Baseball (which you definitely should if you aren't already), you would have saw a picture of Danny Noonan not too long ago, as he made a nice tag at the plate to save a run for Huntington State. That was one of the better moments, as despite a career high 57 games (previous high of 42), he didn't set a personal best in homers, he had just one more double then his freshman season, and his .256/.347/.376 batting line was a career worst. Luckily, most of Noonan's value comes from the glove, where he projects to be a good defensive catcher in terms of both arm and glove. The bat isn't too exciting, and he'll never hit for a high average, but he has nice pop and could push even 15 or 20 longballs in a season. He has a nice eye too, walking (34) more then he struck out (25) this season, something that he's made a habit of all the way back to his high school days. Even if he never secures a starting role, there's a lot to like with Noonan off the bench. The eye and power mixed with strong defense allows him to make an impact when he's giving the starter some needed rest, and he doesn't have to make many more improvements to be backup level. Dixie Marsh is way more encouraged by Noonan, thinking he has "obvious talent both on the field and at the plate," but Noonan to me checks more boxes as a reliable reserve. Like our other three college picks, they're more for the high floor then high ceiling, and I think we have three quality bench pieces with some upside to force their way into a lineup.

ayaghmour2 · 12-03-2023, 07:07 PM

8th Round, 125th Overall: CF Frank Falcao
School: Mishawaka Pilots
Commit School: Tallmadge State
1949: .434/.496/.761, 132 PA, 16 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 23 SB
Career: .435/.500/.749, 243 PA, 29 2B, 9 3B, 6 HR, 60 RBI, 46 SB

I was hoping for a big season from Fireball Frank Falcao, but he thoroughly disappointed, putting together a near identical in year two. Despite that, Dixie Marsh remains fond of the 18-year-old switch hitter, commenting on his contact ability, plate discipline, defense, and speed. Falcao is a pick purely on upside and I expect he's going to be one of the least developed members of the new draft class. Another thing working against him is the work ethic, but our system tends to do well getting the most out of guys who aren't used to giving it 100%. I think we were lucky to get him this late, but with an abundance of talented outfielders I'm sure some teams didn't want to double dip. Right now he profiles more of an athletic fourth outfielder, but he's a strong kid who hits the ball hard. He has a great approach at the plate and he won't strike out too much. With a little power he could be a better Carlos Montes type hitter, as Falcao should be able to hit around .290. It's yet to be seen if he'll match up defensively, but he has the requisite speed and both Dixie and OSA are fond of his defense. He may not get to play too much this year, but Falcao has the chance to take a much bigger role next season as some of our younger outfielders begin to move up.

9th Round, 141st Overall: RHP Luke Wright
School: LaSalle Cavaliers
Commit School: Spokane State
1949: 8-2, 94.1 IP, 1.24 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 23 BB, 123 K
Career: 16-3, 189 IP, 1.52 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 58 BB, 261 K

We took back-to-back Chicago kids with Frank Falcao and Luke Wright, but both were picked on merit not birthplace. 18 in August, Wright is already hitting 90 with his fastball while his sinker comes in about a mile slower. Aside from the hard stuff, he has a reliable change, slider, and splitter, and Dixie Marsh explains that "when he's on he's unhittable." Of course that is followed by "susceptible to the long ball and wandering command." Unlike the first two pitchers we took, command is not one of Wright's strong suits, as it has a long ways to go if he never adds any velocity. And unlike his fellow Chicagoan, Wright is inquisitive and is always asking coaches ways to improve. I love that about him, and it makes me believe he'll develop into a pitcher who is much better then just an average emergency starter. The stuff is superb, and if he can even sit in the 91-93 range I think he's going to be almost unhittable. Without the velocity, he's going to need to sharpen up his command, but that can be something saved for after his velocity stabilizes. I'm curious to see how he does in limited innings post-draft, as I don't want his innings total to go too high in year one.

10th Round, 157th Overall: RF Delos Williams
School: Lincoln Tigers
Commit School: St. Dominic's
1949: .462/.505/.703, 106 PA, 11 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 11 SB
Career: .442/.496/.670, 450 PA, 43 2B, 7 3B, 11 HR, 116 RBI, 33 SB

Wrapping up the first of what will be many ten person human draft classes is Delos Williams, a 18-year-old from California. A four year starter, Williams saved the best for last, hitting a solid .462/.505/.703 with 11 doubles, 11 walks, and 11 steals. Like his freshman and junior season, he hit three home runs, and finished with fifteen extra base hits. An aggressive hitter, he hits the ball hard, and at 6'3'' you have to imagine he's going to be able to hit home runs. Williams is also a good presence in the clubhouse and he has the makings of a future captain. When he talks, people listen, and I hope he'll help keep players accountable. He's the type who's always in the weight room and gives his all on drills. Pair that with a solid bat, and he's giving off Hal Sharp vibes without the attitude. Like Falcao, playing time may be tough to come by in year one, but I have no doubts that Williams will develop into a big league quality hitter. How good he hits and how much value he can provide in the field.

ayaghmour2 · 12-04-2023, 09:06 PM

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 27-27 (6th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Chubby Hall : 24 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.111 OPS
Red Bond : 19 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .316 AVG, .883 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .280 AVG, .668 OPS

Schedule
6-6: Win vs Sailors (2-3)
6-7: Loss vs Cannons (11-7)
6-8: Win vs Cannons (2-3): 10 innings
6-9: Loss vs Cannons (11-2): 12 innings
6-10: Loss vs Foresters (2-1)
6-11: Loss vs Foresters (5-4)
6-12: Win vs Foresters (9-1)

Recap
We won just one game against each of our three opponents, dropping right back to .500 with an unfortunate 3-4 week. It's a shame we can't take advantage of playing in front of our home fans, and they've been showing up less often then last season in a trend I'm hoping doesn't continue. One run losses were back on the menu again, dropping two against the Foresters, but the most annoying loss was the 11-2 loss in -- you read that right -- 12 innings against the Cannons. Based on the lack of run support and the fact it went in extras, it was pretty obvious the ever-so-unlucky George Oddo made the start, allowing just 7 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 7 strikeouts in 8 impressive innings. It was Oddo's second start with seven strikeouts in a row the second time this season he walked just one hitter with six or more strikeouts. Harry MacRae did his best to give the offense a chance, scattering three hits and a walk in three innings, but the Cougars couldn't solve Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.51, 29) and Butch Smith (1-0, 1, 4.61, 6).

Enter Ken Matson, who came on for the 12th, but instead of getting outs, he he allowed all seven hitters he faced to reach base and later score. Yes, Max Wilder watched him fail seven times before finally turning to Jim Kenny, who allowed four more hits and two more runs before finally finishing the nightmarish twelfth. Obviously we showed no fight in the bottom half, as Lou Robertson (1-5, 5, 6.75, 6) got three quick outs, but if it wasn't enough to lose that game, two games later Matson again got the loss against the Cannons. It was just a walk and run in the top of the 10th, but even if he was perfect, it wouldn't have been enough to save his roster spot. The fall from grace for Matson is finally complete, as after a 1.01 ERA (346 ERA+) and 0.82 WHIP in 26.2 innings pitched in 1946, he put together two average seasons before completing nosediving here. Matson has allowed 15 hits, 13 runs, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched, and he's already been charged with 4 of our 27 losses (15%) despite pitching in just nine games. He recently gained the ability to refuse a minor league assignment, so I wasted no time in sending him down. He hasn't pitched in the minors since 1944, so it's a big change for the 31-year-old veteran. Matson will return to the rotation, and will look to rebuild his value in his last option year.

The obvious choice to replace Matson would be Harry Parker, but the 34-year-old is not quite ready. He has made just one appearance since early April, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in a five inning start. I want him to get at least two more starts, but chances are he'll run out most of his rehab assignment. That means we need a short-term replacement, and we'll welcome back a familiar face. He didn't throw a FABL inning last season, but after accounting for the five years (he was the second person to enlist!) in the service, Rusty Watts made at least one appearance in four consecutive seasons for us, working to a respectable 3.20 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP in 76 innings. The fireballer struck out 37 and walked 31, and he never walked more hitters the he struck out. Now 34, Watts has spent almost the entirety of the last three seasons in Milwaukee, and is in the midst of a stellar season for the Blues. In 24.1 innings out of the pen, he has a 2.59 ERA (157 ERA+) and 1.44 WHIP while going 4-1 with 3 saves. Now he's walked (14) more guys then he's struck out (12), and despite his flyball tendencies he's yet to allow a homer. A basic fastball/slider southpaw, he can eat a few innings for us until Parker is ready, and he should be easy enough to pass through waivers. Even if he doesn't, it's no real loss for us, and I'd be happy for the former 13th Rounder if he got a major league opportunity somewhere else.

Other events in the week include the criminal breaking of Sal Pestilli's 22-game hit stream, as Manager Max Wilder made the ever-so-annoying decision of using Pestilli as a defensive sub, so he ended up going 0-for-1 and losing the streak. It was one for the ages, as the soon-to-be 8-Time All Star went 33-for-85 (.388) with 4 doubles, a triple, 6 homers, 17 runs, and 27 RBIs. The streak contained a seven game multi-hit streak, a an eleven game run streak, and a six game stretch where he drove in sixteen runs! Through 53 games, our superstar slugger has hit an imposing .349/.396/.572 (158 OPS+), but when he goes on an off week (4-for-21), there was no one to pick up the slack. No one comes close to his average, RBIs, slugging, and OPS while only Red Bond is close to Sal's ten homers.

To be fair, Bond himself did have a decent week, going 6-for-19 with a homer, 2 RBIs, and 5 runs, but his .243/.293/.461 (100 OPS+) is basically average, and he's somehow being outperformed by one of the prospects he was traded for, Joe Austin, who has a 146 WRC+, 16 steals, and a .326/.406/.481 (130 OPS+) batting line. The #80 prospect would look mighty fine at second, as Clark Car (4-for-15, R) had another relatively useless week while George Sutterfield (2-for-12, 2B, 4 R, SB) didn't do much better. Surprisingly it's Chubby Hall who's been one of the best hitters, going 9-for-24 with a double, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs in the week. The former Cougar draftee has hit .279/.360/.426 (111 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 4 homers, and 21 RBIs, as he's secured the starting left field job. It's no surprise that we're .500 considering he's been one of our more valuable hitters, and now six games out of first, we're quickly running out of time.

Based on the record and some of the scores this week, you would have thought the starters were hit hard, but there was only one start this week where the starter allowed more then two runs, and it came from the guy that had the only start with less then two runs allowed. That was the struggling Duke Bybee, who even after a complete game win with 7 hits, a run, and 5 walks now sports a 4.45 ERA (89 ERA+) through 12 starts. Bybee is the only rotation member with an ERA above 3.75, and it's not too long ago (a bit over month) where his ERA was just 3.13. The Cannons got to him in the 11-7 loss, as Duke was charged with 8 hits, 6 runs, and 2 walks as the dreaded zero strikeout start made its return from last season. I'm going to blame it on some lingering pain from his abdominal strain, but after being selected to his first career All-Star game last season, Bybee has been plagued by the longball (11; 1.2) and his BABIP is nearly 30 points higher then his career mark. There's plenty of time for the talented lefty to turn things around, but with how good Johnnie Jones (6-4, 2.73, 29) has been, we may end up moving Duke a spot lower in the rotation.

Johnnie himself stayed hot, picking up a 10-inning complete game win. He struck out a season high 6, charged with 7 hits, 2 runs, and 5 walks as he improved to 6-4. The walks continue to be a red flag, he's walked an unhealthy 13.4% of batters he faced, and I'm always worried about his inevitable second half slide. Still, it's hard to be mad about a 2.73 ERA (145 ERA+) and 1.38 WHIP, and he continues to show the ability to pitch effectively deep into games. Donnie picked up two starts, earning a win and no decision. The win started the week, as we captured the Sailors series on his back. He allowed 2 runs, which was perfect considering we only scored 3, with 9 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He then left after 8 while we were down 2-1 against the Foresters, and he looked more like his brother then himself. Again, he gave up two runs, but it came off 8 hits and 5 walks with just 2 strikeouts. What sucks is we got three runs in the ninth, but since Harry MacRae (IP, 2 H, 2 ER) likely faired worse then a Donnie Jones with just 106 pitches, we didn't walk off winners, and eventually fell as mentioned because of Ken Matson. Despite the poor luck, Donnie now has his lowest ERA (3.41; 116) of the season and is a game over .500 at 6-5.

The final start went to the still hot Peter the Heater, who was charged with a loss despite allowing just two runs. A Bill Sikorski (.219, 3, 11) solo homer in the 9th ended up being the difference (we were being shutout before a single run in the ninth), and Pap fell to 5-4. He allowed just 4 hits and 2 runs, with 6 walks and strikeouts. He continues to lead the CA with 56 strikeouts, and he leads all qualified Continental Association hurlers with a 5.4 K/9 and all FABL hurlers with a 14.1 K%. He's survived a career high 1.1 HR/9 and 13.6 BB% (among qualified seasons), which does cause some concern. There are two outcomes: the underliers catch up to him or he returns to the Peter the Heater that can dominate and overpower hitters. The surge in home runs has really brutalized our staff this season, as him and Duke lead the CA with 11 homers allowed, with Johnnie Jones the only pitcher not allowing a career high amount of homers. Granted, we've really shored that up in recent weeks, but it's the little things like this that teams need to do well to play a complete season.

I can't remember the last time we had one of those...

Looking Ahead
We get a much needed off day to start the week, as we look to get back on track on the road. Our first stop is three with the Wolves, who sit at 25-28 and a game and a half behind us. The pitching has started to struggle, as while still perfect, Jim Morrison (6-0, 2.40, 30) just allowed 11 hits and 6 runs in his last start, and not much has gone well with Harry Stewart (2-3, 3, 4.78, 10), Jimmy Gibbs (4-5, 4.61, 22), and the now optioned Jerry York (0-6, 6.93, 13). We won't face George Garrison (5-5, 3.49, 45), which is a huge plus, but were stuck with Morrison and Joe Hancock (3-3, 3.84, 25), with the third starter yet to be determined as they were running with a six man rotation and have an off day of their own to reset their staff. What has helped the Wolves is there offense is starting to heat up, with former Cougar draftee Hal Wood (.327, 1, 30) hitting .368 with 5 doubles and 10 RBIs in 12 June games. It's nice for them that Fred McCormick (.330, 5, 27) has some more support, but I'm hoping the staff can keep Toronto's everyday guys in check. We really need to put runners on base and do a better job producing runs, so I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a very low scoring series.

Same may be true on the weekend series, as we'll deal with the Cincinnati Cannons and the #2 pitching staff. That's despite recent struggles from Rufus Barrell (5-5, 3.20, 42), who has allowed four or more runs in four of his six outings and he's dropped five of his last six decisions. In his struggles, former first rounder Tony Britten (5-4, 3.75, 33) hasn't allowed more then three earned runs since May 11th, winning four of his last five decisions. Jim Anderson (7-1, 3.44, 33) is on pace for a 20-win season and Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.51, 29) deserves to be much better then 3-5. Even if we face Charlie Griffith (6-5, 4.36, 22), we'll have our hands full, and it's going to be tough to keep their offense off the board. Mike T. Taylor (.340, 5, 22, 4) is fresh off a Player of the Week award (.448, 2 HR, 6 RBI), but they've made the surprising decision to move Denny Andrews (.204, 2, 21) to the bench in favor of Rule-5 pick Dolph Krapf (.258, 2, 10, 2). I'm not sure how much longer this lasts, but with a solid supporting cast, what they really need is a star like Andrews to help power the lineup. That's not to say they haven't gotten good performances from Fred Galloway (.306, 2, 19, 3), Chuck Adams (.282, 8, 34), and Joe Burns (.316, 1, 30, 6), but if they want to erase their 5.5 game deficit, they'll need someone to step up.

We'll reach the draft tomorrow, but it won't happen until Wednesday's sim, which means we'll have one more chance to set a list for the in-game portion of the draft. I usually leave it to Dixie Marsh, he's one of the better scouts and has already found a few gems, but I might give him a few guys to take extra consideration for. There's not too much worth sifting through to find the hidden gems, but I'm excited to see who we end up with come Wednesday. They won't all sign, in fact most of the AI picks (especially high schoolers) will probably return to school, but it's always nice to get new blood into the system.

Minor League Report
CF Henry Norman (A Lincoln Legislators): Just 20-years-old, Henry Norman has held his own in his return to the Heartland League, and this most recent week was the culmination of all his improvements. Norman went 13-for-28, scoring three times and driving in six. Norman also drew seven walks with a double and a triple, improving his season batting line to .318/.381/.399 (113 OPS+) in 219 trips to the plate. Acquired in the deal that sent Mel Haynes across town, Norman currently ranks as the 42nd best prospect in the league, as OSA expects him to become a "reliable hitter in the organization's grand scheme." It's not because of power, although his two homers this season are the first time he's hit more then one with the same team in the same season, but the combination of his bat, speed, and eye. He's walking (20) more then he's striking out (17), and has tallied 9 extra base hits with 19 runs and 27 RBIs. He's spent time in all three corners, with most coming in his natural center (0.6, 1.014), though he has absolutely amazing numbers (3.3, 1.061) in his 71 innings in right. I like him best out in center, but with Jerry Smith he may be forced into a corner. He's ahead of our top rated position prospect for now, but when they were in San Jose smith spent more time up the middle. There's a good chance they will be teammates at some point this season in Lincoln, as I don't expect Norman to get a promotion any time this year. This will cut into his center field time, but it will be good for him to gain more experience in the corners.

LHP Joe Oates (B San Jose Cougars): He's done it again! After a shaky set of starts, Joe Oates did it again, twirling a 7-hitter with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to improve to an impressive 7-1 on the season. With Dixie Marsh gone to Lincoln, Oates is the new star of the staff, and when the new draftees file in he has a chance to earn a promotion of his own. In 8 starts he owns a 2.12 ERA (201 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP with twice as many strikeouts (42) as walks (21). He's not a ranked prospect yet, but you have to imagine the scouting staff will have to take notice if he keeps dominating. Since he doesn't throw very hard, he needs to stay around the edges, and before this season he had not shown the ability to do so. Despite turning 22 next month, he hasn't thrown many innings, as he was a 9th Round selection last season and threw just 42.2 inning between La Crosse and San Jose last year. Most of that came from the pen, but I think he's going to find a lot of his subsequent innings coming in starts. While not overpowering, he has mixed his five pitches well, even if none of them are all that great. I'm hoping that changes, as he's one of the hardest workers on the team, and he'll put in the effort to improve his arsenal. It will be interesting to see how he finishes the season, but I bet he'll show up here a few more times.

ayaghmour2 · 12-05-2023, 11:38 PM

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 31-29 (4th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Red Bond : 17 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .294 AVG, 1.098 OPS
Walt Pack : 15 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.102 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 24 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .333 AVG, .801 OPS

Schedule
6-14: Loss at Wolves (7-12)
6-15: Win at Wolves (9-0)
6-16: Win at Wolves (8-1)
6-17: Win at Cannons (7-3)
6-18: Loss at Cannons (6-7): 11 innings
6-19: Win at Cannons (6-2)

Recap
You see, normally when you got 4-2 you gain a game in the standings. Or even two. But usually the worst is when you maintain position or drop a game. But no, the Foresters are a team of destiny, and since they went a perfect 7-0, they extended their lead on the Stars to 7 games and their lead over us to 8.5. I can't remember the last time a lead like this happened early on (although there's the season we blew a double digit lead that we pretend didn't happen...), but they've won thirteen of their last fifteen, and we're actually the last team to beat them. They're our next stop too, so we have a chance to snap their streak, but a 15-3 June makes me believe this is their month, and possibly year, as we're staring another season of failure straight in the face.

Lucky for us, the offense came to life, as we scored six or more runs in each of our six games. Even better, Leo Mitchell had a vintage showing, an impressive 4-for-6 in our 7-6 extra inning loss. He was one of many part-timers who had their chance to shine, with young slugger Otto Christian going 3-for-8 with a double, walk, homer, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Another youngster Eddie Howard was 4-for-9 with a double, run, and 4 RBIs, while the grizzled George Dawson was 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. Him and George Sutterfield (2-7, R, 4 BB) will replace Clark Car (2-10, 2B, R, RBI, 2 CS...) at second, who was one of the only guys who didn't show up this week. After hitting .354/.392/.458 in the Spring, he's slumped to a pitcher like .189/.219/.242 (23 OPS+) line, and his 18 WRC+ is actually the same as Pap's and lower then Johnnie Jones (21) and George Oddo (52), who is actually hitting .273 with 3 doubles. Dawson (.294, 2, 147 WRC+) and Sutterfield (.233, 4, 118 WRC+) have been far better and both look good defensively. It's a sad fall from grace for Car, but at 35 he may be at the risk of losing his roster spot and ending up in the GWL.

Two of our struggling sluggers started to pick things up, with both Walt Pack and Red Bond hitting two homers on the road. Red's been hitting homers all season long, and has claimed the team lead with 11, but Pack now has just six on the season. After a nice 5-for-15 week with 2 walks, 6 runs, and 6 RBIs, he's hitting .250/.335/.441 (107 OPS+). That's respectable, but not close to the past two seasons where Pack recorded WRC+ and OPS+ of 130 or better. And at a 15 homer pace, it's almost ten homers shy of his Cougar low of 24 in 1947. Pack's no stranger from down seasons, but it's nice to see him get back on the right track. Same goes for Bond, who went 5-for-17 with a pair of doubles to improve his season line to a similar .249/.297/.491 (108 OPS+). If these two can return to their peak form, we might be able to move up the standings a bit more, and take on the league's... Number one pitching staff...

Maybe we can fix that!

Johnnie Jones' slump came far quicker then expected, as the Wolves crushed him in the week opener, allowing 6 hits, 8 runs, and 6 walks with just 2 strikeouts before leaving with two outs in the third. He did get a chance to bounce back, as the lone two-start starter, and he almost went the distance in our 6-2 win over the Foresters. He threw 148 pitches and got all but two outs, with both runs coming off a Mike Taylor (.353, 7, 26, 4) two-run homer in the third. He allowed 7 hits and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts, and after Harry MacRae recorded the last two outs, he improved to 7-5 on the season. His ERA is up to still above average 3.38 (118 ERA+), but his walk percentage is up to an even 14 percent.

We were gifted we more impressive starts elsewhere, as Pete Papenfus came an out away from a complete game shutout. I would've liked Max Wilder to let him stay, it was 9-0, and there was just one man on first when he left the game. 146 pitches isn't too much, and I'm sure Pap could get Chink Stickels (.262, 2, 15, 3) out one more time. Especially considering Rusty Watts needed just two pitches to do it. Pap wasn't too sharp, 6 hits and 5 walks with just 4 strikeouts, but he still leads the association in punchouts and he's now 6-4 with a 3.08 ERA (129 ERA+). The better start was the revenge Donnie Jones got for his brother, allowing 5 hits, a run, and 2 walks with a season high 7 strikeouts in a complete game win. Jones has gone 3-0 in June, now with a 1.29 ERA (310 ERA+) and 0.94 WHIP through 35 innings. He's walked just 10 and struck out 21, and he's up to 7-5 on the season. Him and Pap have big starts against the Foresters this week, and I'm excited to see how the scalding hot aces will handle the hopefully overperforming run away leaders. The third start will go to Duke Bybee, who had a nice bounce back start out in Cincinnati. He did allowed a pair of homers, but Bybee limited the damage, scattering 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and a walk while striking out four Cannons. He's won both of his last starts and has allowed just three earned runs in a pair of complete games. These three are pitching their best ball, which could be exactly what we need to put ourselves right back in the pennant race.

I mean, Pete Papenfus, Donnie Jones, and Duke Bybee versus Jim Adams Jr. (.352, 5, 34, 2) and his band of misfits? This should be easy ... right???

We'll see...

Looking Ahead
Going 15-3 in June, the Cleveland Foresters are on fire, and they seem to be running away with the Continental Association pennant despite not having a seasonal winning record in a year that starts with 194. The Foresters are off as well to start the week, but with a double header on Sunday, they will be pitching all their guys on normal rest. If you believe their starters ERAs, which range from 2.42 to 3.17, and we'll face that 2.42 with Augie Hayes Jr. (4-2, 2.42, 20) in the opener followed by Adrian Czerwinski (11-2, 2.98, 27), and John Jackson (7-2, 2.60, 28), which is what I consider the three "lesser" pitchers in the impressive rotation. Sure, we don't walk much, but Czerwinski and Jackson walk more guys then they strike out, and "Auggie Doggie" has similar walk and strike out rates. What they do well is keep the ball in the park, and it will be interesting to see how our sluggers respond in the spacious Forester Stadium. I have faith in our three headed monster keeping their lineup at bay, which has a new face at the top in Paul Porter (.349, 3) which has pushed their young star to fifth. Former Cougar Luke Berry (.269, 10) bats third, and is fresh off a 5-for-5 against the Saints. Entering the game he was hitting just .194/.316/.224 and I think it will be interesting to see how he does against his former teammates. These three games are crucial, as three wins here would give the rest of the association a chance to give the fans an interesting pennant race.

After that it's four games in three days with a team that should be in the pennant race, but are instead 18-40 and more then twenty games out of first place. So much has gone wrong for the two-time pennant winners, and they've given 30-year-old Cotton Dillon (.255, 1, 8) a chance to reclaim his regular right field spot. In both 1946 and 1947 he made 134 appearances with a WRC+ above 125 (139 and 126), and he hit a slightly above league average .256/.351/.381 (102 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 34 RBIs, and 39 walks in 319 trips to the plate. The spot was opened up by 10th ranked prospect Al Farmer (.301, 2, 6, 2) starting to play only against lefties. The infielder will be playing left, where he just made his first big league start at the position. "Buster" could one day be considered among the best players in the league, but at 23 he's far from a finished product. His production this season has been one of the few redeeming aspects of the Sailors start, and he'll definitely start games at short and second when Rip Lee (.218, 1, 13, 3) and Les Cunha (.267, 2, 21) need days off. I know this team is way better then they've shown, but we really need to take advantage of them while they're down. And with plenty of off days after, we won't have to worry about the double header as much as they do. I think with all this Ohtani to the Blue Jays rumors, I'm far too optimistic about our chances, and I really think we're going to put together an excellent week.

The in-game portion of the draft takes place tomorrow, and I'll post something on the fifteen new Cougars. Class C doesn't start until July 5th, so there's no rush to get guys signed, and we have a pretty full La Crosse roster. Most of the AI picks won't amount to anything, so a few of these guys will be returning. The ten guys I took will be signed at one point or another, but I like letting the left over guys get a chance to prove themselves before being released.

Minor League Report
RF Jimmy Hairston (AAA Milwaukee Blues): For the second time this month, Jimmy Hairston was named Player of the Week, so it stands to reason he'll be the Century League Batter of the Month. The 24-year-old went 10-for-19 with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs to increase his June triple slash to an astronomical .458/.557/.812 (258 OPS+). The 92nd ranked prospect is hitting an impressive .315/.431/.554 (158 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 9 homers, and 33 RBIs. His 175 WRC+ is best among players with at least 30 trips to the plate (Ron Berry is actually second at 160!) on the Blues and he's drawn 32 walks and scored 32 runs, worth nearly two (1.8) wins above replacement in 52 games. I'm considering giving him a promotion to the big league club next week if he does enough to secure the monthly award. Carlos Montes and Hal Sharp are on the verge of losing their roster spots, and I'm not sure Clark Car isn't too far behind them. If we have a bad week, big changes could be made, and Hairston is one of the guys with an opportunity to replace the struggling players.

RHP Zane Kelley (AAA Milwaukee Blues): He didn't need to be great, he had ten runs of support, but Zane Kelley spun an impressive 3-hit shutout with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. The 23-year-old improved to 6-3 in 10 starts, working to a 2.85 ERA (141 ERA+) and 1.16 WHIP with nearly twice as many strikeouts (42) as walks (22). His 3.28 FIP (82 FIP-) supports his overall body of work, and I'm finding it harder to keep him down in the minors. We haven't had a good stopper all season, but I'm not sure I want Kelley pitching out of the pen. He's got all the tools to start and he may end up being our most intriguing trade piece if any good players go on the market. If the Foresters run away with things, CA teams could sell some of their spare parts, and we could always use an extra bat. There's always a shortage of quality young pitching, and even without the high prospect rankings he's sure to attract some interest. I'd love to hold onto him, but we don't play enough double headers to warrant a six-man rotation, and I'm not sure I want to break us this rotation. I really like this rotation.

But Zane Kelley is just so good...

I just hope it's not another Johnny Walker situation...

1B Charlie Everitt (B San Jose Cougars): Some times the AI portion of the draft nets you good players, and after the human portion of the '48 draft there were still plenty of players left over I really liked. Charlie Everitt was one of them, and it's proved to be an excellent decision to select him. The 22-year-old Cowpens State alum had one of the best weeks any of our players will have this season, going 13-for-22 with with 5 walks, 5 RBIs, and a 264 WRC+. The big lefty is now slugging .356/.481/.501 (163 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 41 runs, and 31 RBIs. He's shown excellent plate discipline as well, drawing 46 walks while striking out just 19. He's been worth an impressive 3.1 WAR in 58 games, and if it wasn't for a log jam at first, he'd be up in Lincoln. A very talented hitter, Everitt projects to hit for a high average while drawing plenty of walks. He doesn't hit too many homers now, but at 6'4'' 230 you have to believe more home run power will come. If we can get him in the gym more to bulk up, he could become a deadly weapon at the plate, and he's perfect for a platoon at first. He's way better against righties (191 WRC+ then lefties (119), and he could fill the Red Bond spot eventually. There are plenty of road blocks in front of him, but he's a very gifted hitter who deserves an eventual audition for a major league lineup.

RHP Cliff Wallace (B San Jose Cougars): What better way to make your tenth start then a 5-hit shutout, as Cliff Wallace helped his Cougars win a tight 1-0 showdown against the second place Salem Warriors (36-22). That's big for San Jose, as they are an impressive 43-15 and seven games above those same Salem Warriors. Wallace has been one of the most unlucky members of the staff, 3-6 despite a 2.95 ERA (141 ERA+). He's struck out 49 in 76.1 innings with 29 walks and a 1.39 WHIP. This is great news for Wallace, who was in danger of losing his rotation spot. Now 23, the former 9th Rounder isn't the most enticing prospect, but he has some interesting qualities. The 6'5'' sidearmer hits 90 with his fastball and righties really struggle with his slider. Both pitches are great, but right now the change up needs a lot of work. He may struggle against tougher competition, He's deserving of a callup to Lincoln, and I think he'll get it once Harry Parker is ready to return from his rehab assignment. Wallace has already made 17 starts for the Legislators, going 4-8 with a 4.07 ERA (94 ERA+) and 1.71 WHIP. He's walked (84) far more hitters then he struck out (45), ,but last year his 0.8 K/BB was actually twice as good as two years ago. This year its up to 1.7, and if he can get over his command issues he'll be a much more effective pitcher.

ayaghmour2 · 12-06-2023, 06:25 PM

First five AI guys from the draft today. These are probably the most valuable, haven't really looked at the remaining picks, which will come later tonight. I expect some won't have very long writeups, but I didn't want this post to get too top heavy.

11th Round, 173rd Overall: LF Ray Johnson
School: Burlington Blue Devils
Commit School: Cumberland University
1949: .422/.495/.644, 104 PA, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB
Career: .438/.511/.657, 473 PA, 37 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 114 RBI, 25 SB

There was a guy I really wanted with this pick. Turns out he was already taken! So instead we get four year starter at Burlington Ray Johnson. It's, underwhelming to say the least, as the left fielder hit just .438/.511/.657 in 92 games. He did hit three or more homers each season, but he doesn't play much defense and he's not very fast. He is athletic, so there's that, and Johnson gives off some Zeke Johnson vibes. Right now Dixie views him as a bench piece, but he does comment on his bat speed and barrel control. He's also demanding $3,400 to sign, and while we have the money, I'm not sure that's how I want to spend it. but considering most of the players likely have little to no talent, he'll probably stick around long enough to get an open roster spot.

12th Round, 189th Overall: RHP Pat Burnett
School: Chesapeake State Clippers
1949: 4-8, 121 IP, 4.76 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 73 BB, 103 K
Career (COL): 14-27, 384.2 IP, 4.73 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 199 BB, 289 K
Career (HS): 13-6, 186.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 68 BB, 212 K

The first college pitcher of the class, Pat Burnett is no stranger to being a Cougar draftee, as he was one of the twenty AI picks in 1946 (which includes on-again off-again top-100 prospect Harry Beardsley!), selected 316th after going 6-3 with a 2.42 ERA at his West Philadelphia high school. He didn't get too much written about, but what stands out is the height. He's 6'10''!!

Pitching still isn't his strong suit, but with that height all you can do is hope for the best. He's been sent a $90 check, and will stash him somewhere where he can learn to pitch. He needs a team to keep him accountable, and I'd be surprised if the recently turned 21-year-old stays in the 84-86 range his whole career. Right now he's just a guy with a good slider, and he needs to harness his command to find any success. The 18.5 K% was nice, but as that was a career best his 13.1 BB% was a career low. I'm keeping my expectations low, but you could argue that Browning is 2/5ths of a major league pitcher. He has a few paths, master his command, increase his velocity, etc, but if he doesn't make any improvements he'll top out as a A ball reliever. I don't expect him to make any starts this season, but I think he'll be a good guy to mop up innings that can spend his spare time honing his craft with the pitching coach.

13th Round, 205th Overall: CF Bill Hardaway
School: Northern Mississippi Mavericks
1949: .281/.343/.367, 246 PA, 8 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 38 SB
Career (COL): .282/.343/.373, 700 PA, 24 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 102 RBI, 116 SB
Career (HS): .443/.504/.641, 476 PA, 38 2B, 7 3B, 10 HR, 123 RBI, 41 SB

Another college draftee, Bill Hardaway was selected by the Saints in the last round of the 1946 draft at 392nd overall. He's made noticeable improvements, and has even been named by OSA as a "frontrunner for an audition as a center fielder." Dixie Marsh's isn't as fond, and I'd tend to side with him, but he does see his value in a platoon role. If he plays good defense he'll have value, and as a lefty he could get a majority of at bats. 21 in July, Hardaway will have to work hard to separate himself from the many talented outfielders in our system. Without power he'll need to cut it in center, and make the most out of his speed. It could be his ticket to an audition for a regular role. He won't be one of the first guys to sign, but even if I have to cut someone he'll fill at least a reserve role on one of our low minors teams.

14th Round, 221st Overall: RHP George Clark
School: Elmwood Trojans
Commit School: Oklahoma Bible College
1949: 10-1, 117.2 IP, 1.61 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 30 BB, 142 K
Career: 31-8, 418 IP, 1.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 114 BB, 422 K

Another Illinois native, George Clark was born in Peru, Illinois and went to school in another small town, Elmwood that's a few hours closer to the Chicagoland area. Clark spent all four years in the Trojans rotation, and he saved the best for last. Clark was an impressive 10-1 in 15 starts, sporting an impressive 1.61 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, which along with his 4.7 K/BB, were personal bests. You could say the same for most stats, and he's throwing a bit harder this year then he was his first three seasons. The lanky righty has a decent three pitch arsenal, and he's hitting 86 with his fastball. I'd love for him to sit in the 90s, as his fastball is clearly his worst pitch right now. I expect him to add velocity at some point, but otherwise he's best suited for the pen. He doesn't want too much, so I expect to bring him in, but he may not get many innings this season.

15th Round, 237th Overall: CF Pat Paterson
School: Superior Generals
Commit School: Provo Tech
1949: .451/.492/.646, 128 PA, 12 2B, 5 3B, 31 RBI, 32 SB
Career: .449/.494/.656, 481 PA, 48 2B, 18 3B, HR, 102 RBI, 91 SB

A four year starter at Superior, Pat Paterson hit between .440 and .455, and hit just one homer in 94 games. Consistency is nice, and when it comes with great speed and solid defense, that could make him a useful off the bench piece. Peterson projects to hit for a high average even if he'll never hit one out of the park, and those type of players profile well in other Continental Association parks. Paterson seems like the type who would benefit from a three year college stint, but I really like rangey center fielders who can put the ball in play. It may come down to a numbers game for Paterson, but he's intriguing enough to earn a second look.

ayaghmour2 · 12-06-2023, 10:19 PM

There will still be a weekly recap tonight, although very late, and before touching on the rest of our picks I want to mention a trade we made with the Dynamos. I want to shake our roster up, and I made the first move, shipping Hal Sharp to the Dynamos for Floyd Van Hoven. Sharp was in the midst of a brutal season, hitting just .251/.330/.287 (66 OPS+) with a homer and 11 RBIs in just shy of 200 trips to the plate. This was not what we were used to, as he had a WRC+ of 130 or higher in each of the last five seasons, but he's now 35 and very unhappy. He was going to lose his spot in the lineup sooner or later, and we were at least able to add a depth arm to replace him. Sharp gave us three consistently good seasons, and will end his Cougar career with a batting line around .314/.375/.439 (128 OPS+).as well as 45 homers and 205 RBIs. Its an unceremonious end for a reliable hitter, but I think this (and a few other moves) gives us the best chance of turning things around this.

There will be more...

Not sure of what, but our roster may look a bit different a month from now...

16th Round, 253rd Overall: RHP Jack Armstrong
School: Grange College Mustangs
1949: 5-8, 119.2 IP, 5.94 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 95 BB, 92 K
Career (COL): 13-22, 333 IP, 5.43 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 223 B,, 279 K
Career (HS): 31-11, 433.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 166 BB, 517 K

Grange College may have been #1 in the nation, but it wasn't because of Jack Armstrong. A three year starter, Armstrong set career worsts in nearly every category, but his bests aren't too impressive either. I'm leaning heavily towards letting him return for his senior season, as I'm not sure he offers much to the organization. If I let him go, he may be drafted a third time, as he moved up four rounds from when the Wolves took him in the 20th.

17th Round, 269th Overall: CF Dick Poplaski
School: Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes
1949: .288/.360/.386, 270 PA, 10 2B, 5 3B, HR, 38 RBI, 31 SB
Career: .279/.353/.389, 518 PA, 21 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 72 RBI, 71 SB

A two year starter at Texas Gulf Coast, Dick Poplaski didn't really do much in college, hitting .279 with 3 homers and 46 steals. He is a decent defender and can cover all three positions, and at the plate he does give professional at bats. Dixie Marsh thinks he "show a good knack for barreling the ball with a compact, clean swing, helping him to spray the ball around the field." Without much power, he'll want to stick in center, and Dixie believes in him. He's much higher on Poplaski then some of our other picks, which leads me to believe he's worth tendering a contract. Outfield isn't a position of need, but the mix of speed, eye, and potentially bat is enticing. Depending on what we have left he may not make the cut, but if we can get all the important guys in, Poplaski will get a shot to stick as a bench player.

18th Round, 285th Overall: LHP Darius Merlet
School: Shelton Wolves
Commit School: Darnell State
1949: 8-2, 102 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 28 BB, 138 K
Career: 33-7, 417 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 129 BB, 529 K

A native of Sarnia, Ontario, Darius Merlet's family moved to Nebraska so he could pitch for the Shelton Wolves varsity team. He game them 53 starts, going 33-7 with a 1.83 ERA 1.06 WHIP. A three pitch pitcher, Merlet may eventually struggle with the longball, but he has a slider that's especially nasty against left handed hitters. But as exciting as that may be, I doubt he'll ever start in the big leagues, and we'll let him fulfil his commitment to Darnell State.

19th Round, 301st Overall: RHP Doug Hensley
School: Windber Ramblers
Commit School: Topeka State
1949: 4-1, 62.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 20 BB, 83 K
Career: 7-2, 108.1 IP, 1.74 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 32 BB, 135 K

Already 19, Doug Hensley didn't pitch varsity until he was a junior at Windber in Pennsylvania. He did improve from season one to two, as he set bests in every category except walks (12 to 20) and walk percentage (6.0 to 7.2). The improved command will be nice for Topeka State, as we have no real interest in the righty. He does have a solid knuckle curve, but that won't be enough to make up for the lack of command. I don't think he has the stuff to beat even average big leaguers, but he has a chance to sharpen his repertoire on a pretty good college team.

20th Round, 317th Overall: CF Jim Mathews
School: Muncie Cardinals
Commit School: Carbondale
1949: .455/.523/.750, 131 PA, 15 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 11 SB
Career: .444/.507/.741, 345 PA, 41 2B, 11 3B, 8 HR, 79 RBI, 39 SB

Another center fielder, Jim Mathews (yes, not Matthews), was a three year starter at Muncie in Indiana, and is now set to join the Carbondale Wildcats, a college team who doesn't play too far from us. He would get lost in the shuffle here, so I thought it was worth giving him a chance to improve his draft stock. He's got a good eye and is quick, but we have plenty of other guys of that profile that just do it better.

21st Round, 333rd Overall: LHP Israel Gutierrez
School: Darby Yellow Jackets
Commit School: Long Island Maritime College
1949: 6-3, 98 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 45 BB, 65 K
Career: 28-9, 377.2 IP, 3.03 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 165 BB, 300 K

All you need to know about Israel Gutierrez is that his 3.86 ERA against high schoolers is higher then every one in our rotation except Duke Bybee (4.20). He isn't cut out to pitch minor league baseball and he's not too bright or hardworking. The only thing going for him is he's 6'4'' and could maybe one day throw the ball hard.

22nd Round, 349th Overall: RHP Cy Hobbs
School: Central Ohio Aviators
1949: 4-9, 132.2 IP, 5.77 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 63 BB, 53 K
Career: 15-25, 11 SV, 417.1 IP, 5.76 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 204 BB, 160 K

A senior at Central Ohio, Cy Hobbs did not have the most successful collegiate career, but he was taken two rounds earlier this year after being a 24th Round Pick of the Stars last year. His best season came when he spent most of the year as the team's stopper, but there's still not much to like about a 5.54 ERA and more walks (32) then strikeouts (26). We'll eventually sign him, but his time in the organization may be short. He doesn't excite, but he's the type who's comfortable not being the guy.

23rd Round, 365th Overall: RHP Russ Hughes
School: Spring City Democrats
Commit School: Johnstown State
1949: 8-1, 91.2 IP, 2.16 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 45 BB, 115 K
Career: 25-6, 306.1 IP, 2.06 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 120 BB, 349 K

Russ Hughes' prep career got off to a solid start, as the sophomore went 9-3 with a 1.47 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts. He never came close to that production again, posting ERAs above 2 while failing to reach the 110.1 innings he threw at 15. He doesn't do too much well right now, so there's no need to cause him to break his commitment to Johnstown State. "Rusty" could use the extra seasoning, as he's not ready to start facing minor league hitters yet.

24th Round, 381st Overall: SS Johnny Oliver
School: West Newbury Sachem
Commit School: Brandywine
1949: .393/.463/.570, 123 PA, 10 2B, 3 3B, HR, 22 RBI, 15 SB
Career: .405/.485/.590, 466 PA, 33 2B, 8 3B, 8 HR, 94 RBI, 61 SB

Hitting .393 as a senior isn't great, so Concord native Johnny Oliver seems destined to fulfil his commitment to Brandywine. For some reason OSA thinks he can hit .310 in the majors, and I find that truly hard to believe. He'll be lucky to hit .310 next season, and I'm curious to see how much earlier he will be selected when he becomes draft eligible again.

25th Round, 397th Overall: C Ted Wheeler
School: San Francisco Tech Unions
1949: .288/.327/.356, 222 PA, 8 2B, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 2 SB
Career (COL): .290/.329/.370, 754 PA, 24 2B, 3B, 10 HR, 112 RBI, 7 SB
Career (HS): .431/.493/.636, 485 PA, 46 2B, 8 3B, 8 HR, 107 RBI, 29 SB

Rounding out our class is the only catcher from the AI portion in San Francisco Tech backstop Ted Wheeler. This is the second time he's been taken in the final round, as the Stars took him seven picks earlier three drafts ago. I haven't decided what we'd do with him, as he had decent offensive skills and you never know when you need an emergency catcher. We do have Danny Noonan, so bringing Wheeler in isn't a necessity. Players with two sentence scouting reports generally don't have much of a future, but if one of our catchers gets injured long-term I'll bring Wheeler in to take their place.

ayaghmour2 · 12-06-2023, 11:43 PM

Weekly Record: 3-4
Seasonal Record: 34-33 (3rd, 11.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 29 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .379 AVG, 1.199 OPS
Harry MacRae : 1 Win, 1 Saves, 4.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
George Sutterfield : 20 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .350 AVG, .985 OPS

Schedule
6-21: Win at Foresters (7-6)
6-22: Loss at Foresters (0-1)
6-23: Loss at Foresters (3-4)
6-24: Win at Sailors (3-2)
6-25: Win at Sailors (4-3): 10 innings
6-26: Loss at Sailors (2-4)
6-26: Loss at Sailors (4-5)

Recap
All seven of our games this week were decided by two or fewer runs, and given our innate ability to fail in any sort of close contest, it's no surprised we dropped six of seven, adding three more one-run losses (to be fair, we won three too) to our seemingly never ending failure to come up on top in tough contests. And since literally no one else can beat the Foresters, who ripped off six wins after we broke their seven game win streak, we are now a seemingly insurmountable 11.5 games out of first. Yay!

I tend to be pessimistic, maybe too much show (but can you really blame me...), but for one reason or another I still have faith. I mean, we ourselves have both blown and cut double digit leads later in the season, and with three months left we really only have to pick up four games a month. I mean, do the Foresters really have another 21-4 month up their sleeve?!?!? HOW IS THIS TEAM 46-22!?!?!?!

Okay, deep breaths... Deep breaths...

Remember Sal Pestilli...

At least he's really good at baseball!

The clear star of this miserable team, Pestilli is the only Continental Association hitter who ranks top three in the triple crown categories, and he's coming off another outstanding week, going 11-for-29 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 2 walks, a steal, and 10 RBIs. Through 66 games he's been worth 3.7 WAR and has slashed .346/.399/.590 (161 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 7 triples, 12 homers, 53 RBIs, and 10 steals. He's putting together a convincing campaign for the Whitney Award, and his 170 WRC+ would be a career best. He got some help from the heating up Leo Mitchell, who went 3-for-11 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs, as he's reclaimed a starting lineup spot. He's already surpassed his home run total from last season (4), launching six in just 108 trips to the plate, while boasting a slightly above average .257/.306/.455 (101 OPS+) batting line. I heavily considered calling up Jimmy Hairston and Johnny Peters from AAA after seeing how awful this week went, but we'll delay the knee jerk reaction for at least one more week. Mitchell will start playing every day in left, while Chubby Hall will shift back to right. Next week one or both of those young outfielders will join the mix, so the coming week will have an impact on both their playing times.

George Sutterfield has flashed some of his lofty prospect pedigree so far, and this week was his best. He was given five starts, and was an impressive 7-for-20 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 RBIs. The 27-year-old infielder is now hitting an impressive .280/.429/.380 (117 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 3 steals, and 13 walks through 64 trips to the plate. It's good timing for him as well, as Billy Hunter will begin a rehab assignment this week, and Sutterfield has secured his roster spot. This means Clark Car and his .191/.220/.243 (23 OPS+) batting line could be on the way out. Remarkably, Car has been worth over a full win less (-1.2) then replacement in just 42 games, and with his generally solid defense dissipated (-0.6, .970) as well and his speed nearly gone (1-for-6 on steals), there's very little reason to hang on to him. Car is also lucky Mitchell emerged this week, as he would have joined Sharp out of town in an attempt to shake up the roster.

But don't think he's safe now...

I made a mistake in the pitching matchups, as I accidentally set Pete Papenfus' pitch count to one, so both his starts lasted just one batter. Both times Charlie Kelsey relieved, and both times he allowed 4 runs. In total, he threw 10.2 innings with 17 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. I did not expect Kelsey to pitch this much this week, and luckily he split these two games. Otherwise we pitched okay, and despite losing both starts, Donnie Jones allowed just 15 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 8 walks with 6 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched. Duke Bybee was walked-off in the ninth, as he could not hold the 3-1 lead. All told, he allowed 14 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in a surprisingly loss start. I'm not sure why Max Wilder let him pitch this long, but he may feel his seat starting to get hot. Bybee has struggled most of the season, so ending this with 8 innings and just 1 run could have built momentum. Instead, he dropped to 7-5, and his 4.20 ERA (96 ERA+) is the only one in the rotation below average.

Johnnie Jones picked up a win, going 8.1 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. He's still walking too many guys, but he has thrown back-to-back starts with identical innings, hits, runs, and walks. That's pretty cool, and the coolest part is the wins, so perhaps the 8-run clunker was a mistake and not a trend. Harry MacRae needed just five pitches to finish the game, and he picked up his 6th save. He also picked up his second win the following game, as bad luck George Oddo is not allowed to win. MacRae pitched the 9th and 10th, allowing two hits and a walk in his win. Oddo again pitched well enough to win, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts in 8 solid innings. He hasn't won any of his ten starts this season, 0-4 despite a 3.84 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 1.6 K/BB. The poor guy almost never gets any run support, and I'm hoping he can pull off a few lucky wins as we look to erase this scary deficit.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week before two with the ice cold Stars. They've dropped eight straight, and we're hoping to make it ten. We're set to face two southpaws in Richie Hughes (4-5, 3.26, 48) and Jack Wood (6-7, 3.50, 49), and they'll hope to get more run support from a surprisingly cold lineup. Bill Barrett (..309, 21, 56, 5) is still chugging along, but the Stars rank bottom two in average, OBP, OPS, wOBA, hits, and most importantly, runs scored. Just like with the Sailors, I'm not too sure what's wrong with them, and guys like Bob Riggins (.183, 3, 8, 3), Mack Sutton (.234, 10, 38), and Jack Welch (.235, 11, 36) are all having uncharacteristic down seasons. Their downward spiral includes sweeps against the teams we played this week, so if that's a sign of anything we should leave with both wins.

We're off again to end the month, but will continue our road trip on the first of July. That's the end of the trip, as we'll play Montreal three times to finish the week. The Saints are the closest to the Foresters, as they've won one more game then we have. They host the 34-34 Kings three times before we come to town, and have Kellogg favorite Otis O'Keefe (.294, 9, 40) and the #2 lineup take on the team that always win the award and the #1 lineup. I'm hoping that will tire out their staff, and we may luck into facing both Pete Ford (6-3, 3.46, 26) and the now healthy Pat Weakly (3-3, 3.96, 24). The only guy I want to avoid is Bert Cupid (6-8, 3.38, 35), who is scheduled to pitch against the Kings. He's been lights out ever since he returned from the war, and he will win plenty more games for what could be a really good Saints team. Maurice Carter (.307, 14, 50 and Bill Greene (.272, 7, 38, 6) have protected Otis in the lineup and the trio has driven in Joe Austin (.315, 3, 28, 21) and Gordie Perkins (.312, 3, 36, 3) often. The bottom half of the lineup isn't as strong, but it's hard to string together scoreless innings against this team.

Of course the biggest thing coming up is the signing of the draftees, and the first (or one of ) guy signed should be Biff Tiner. We're giving the 1st Rounder the $18,000 he wants and I want him to start playing as soon as possible. Same goes to Buster Clark, who I can't wait to see face minor league hitters. The UMVA doesn't start until next week, so if they sign quickly they could start on Opening Day. Others won't sign until later in the period, but we have a few open spots I want to fill before the season starts.

Minor League Report
RF Ducky Cole (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Despite not really playing every day, Ducky Cole managed to win a Player of the Week award, going 9-for-16 with 2 doubles, 3 triples, a homer, and 7 RBIs. He's one of the big winners of the Hal Sharp trade, as a spot in the AAA outfield will be open after a callup tomorrow. Ducky is now hitting .290/.373/.524 (134 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 7 triples, 3 homers, and 34 RBIs with a strong 19-to-11 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Now 25, Cole himself could eventually earn a promotion to the big league team, but that would most likely come in September. He's a useful off the bench piece as he bats left handed and he's posted plus marks this season at first, left, and right. He could play center in a pinch too, but his bat is more valuable then his glove. He puts the ball in play often and when he's swinging it well he'll find himself on base. He's stuck in a crowded outfield picture, but a team may eventually take an extended look as he's finishing off his last option year.

11-17-2023, 07:23 PM	#1261
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training: Week 6 Weekly Record: 1-2 Overall Record: 20-16 (2 GB) Second Round of Cuts Leaves Roster at 27: Three more players will have to be removed before Opening Day on Tuesday, as the Cougars continue trimming the roster. Along with Don Lee (.203, 1, 3, 1), some of the most notable cuts are former 3rd Pick Johnny Peters (.250, 1, 5), spring standout Ducky Cole (.364, 1, 2), and lefty Bob Hobbs (0-3, 2, 1.23, 16). What's left now are 11 pitchers and 16 hitters, with two pitchers and one hitter left to send down. The most difficult decision comes on the staff, as I have to decide what to do with Zane Kelley. Kelley impressed in 24 innings, working to a 1.50 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 5 walks and 21 strikeouts. But he, along with Ken Matson (0.00, 9), has options left, while the other four left do not. The hardest part is all six remaining pitchers have ERAs of 2.25 or lower, and all warrant a spot on a big league club. In fact, Matson, Jim Kenny, and Harry MacRae didn't allow a single run, and it wouldn't feel right sending any down. I truly don't know what I'm going to do, but two of Matson, Kenny, Kelley, and Harry Carter have to go. Maybe we can make a trade... The lineup needs one cut, and I think for now it's going to be George Sutterfield. He doesn't deserve to go down to Milwaukee, but he has an option and Otto Christian doesn't. There's also George Dawson, but with Billy Hunter coming back eventually, he might have to go too. If Sutterfield has to be sent down no matter what, I might as well do it earlier then later, so we can get him used to playing more at second base. At one point I thought Ray Ford would be cut, but after hitting .455/.600/.818, he proved he still has something left. Lastly, the Stars returned Billy Biggar, who while technically not considered for the active roster, was sent down to AA. He went just 4-for-20 with the Stars, and with Bill Barnett and Freddie Jones already on the roster, there wasn't really a spot for him. The Stars have also given Mack Sutton time at first, leaving less of a chance for the Canadian first basemen. Bill Martin and Reginald Westfall are still in camp with their respective teams, so we may not see either back again. Rotation Ready to Roll: Cougars pitchers made 36 starts this spring. Three of those starts saw the pitcher allow more then two runs. Only one of them, George Oddo, allowed more then three. And after allowing 5, he allowed just one run in his next 12 innings, capping things off with 8 strikeouts in 4 perfect innings. The two with three runs? One was Zane Kelley, who doesn't really count as a starter yet, and the other Johnnie Jones, who still finished with a 1.93 ERA and an even 1.00 WHIP. He did walk 3 in 5 innings, finishing with just 8 compared to 25 strikeouts. It's said before and will be said again, but the rotation is the strength of our team, and they all are ready to go for the new year. I'm not sure of the offensive output of the coming season, but I think we'll improve on the 570 runs allowed from last year. Lineup Set for Opening Day: Assuming the Saints open the season with Wally Reif or Bert Cupid, we'll have our regular lineup going. Max Wilder's made plenty of changes, and at least to start the season, Sal Pestilli will start in the leadoff spot instead of Clark Car. Car will be in the eight hole behind Carlos Montes, with the 2-3-4 comprising of lefties Skipper Schneider, Red Bond, and Walt Pack. Harry Mead and Hal Sharp will start 5th and 6th against righties. Eventually Billy Hunter will take over against lefties, but for now Car and Skipper will be the only lefty swingers (and for some reason 1-2) against southpaws. Chubby Hall, who Wilder wanted starting every day, will bat third, followed by Sal and slugger Otto Christian. The 6-7-8 will start as Ray Ford, Harry Mead, and Carlos Montes, but Ford's hold is limited at this time. Depending how things go, Otto or even Walt Pack could play first, and there's a situation where Luke Berry or even Leo Mitchell takes at bats at first. I don't really see Pack playing against lefties, he's almost unplayable against same side pitchers, but he's one of our best hitters. Same for Red Bond. We're lucky to have a lot of talented players on our bench, so when the situation calls for it, we could make plenty of changes from the Opening Day lineup. And as always, we love to trade! Maybe a star joins during the year!

11-20-2023, 01:33 PM	#1262
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Opening Day! It's that time of year again! Baseball is back! On the one day sim this morning, the Cannons returned Reginald Westfall, but I still had three cuts to make. Believe it or not, I figured it out while I was trying to go to sleep last night! The first, unfortunately is Zane Kelley, who might be the best pitcher ever. But we don't have a rotation spot and I don't think there are enough opportunities for him in the pen. Despite belonging in the majors, he's heading to Milwaukee, as there just aren't enough roster spots and too many guys I don't want to lose. Next up is Harry Carter, who at 38, just isn't worth betting on over 20-somethings like Kenny and Kelsey, and I'm not ready to option Ken Matson. He's just been so good for us. Carter does have options, but he doesn't want to go down, so he'll be DFA'd. Lastly, as expected, George Sutterfield will head to Milwaukee for the first time since 1946. He hasn't hit, and we can improve his versatility in case second base isn't working out, or Otto Christian can't start at third. I don't love it, but that's what we have to do. Too many good players can be a problem, I guess. Anyways, here's the 24 "best" players while Billy Hunter continues to not be healthy: LHP Duke Bybee RHP Donnie Jones LHP Johnnie Jones RHP Charlie Kelsey RHP Jim Kenny RHP Harry MacRae RHP Ken Matson RHP George Oddo RHP Pete Papenfus C Eddie Howard C Harry Mead 1B Red Bond 1B Ray Ford 2B Clark Car 3B Otto Christian 3B Walt Pack SS George Dawson SS Skipper Schneider LF Luke Berry LF Chubby Hall LF Leo Mitchell LF Hal Sharp CF Sal Pestilli RF Carlos Montes For once, the preseason predictions are somewhat realistic. They don't have us first! Instead, the Stars (87-67) and Kings (86-68) will duel for first, with us (83-71) a few games back. What adds to the realism is they expect all our players to do well, especially the rotation. OSA expects our three-headed monster to duel for the Allen Award, with the top three pitchers Pap (21-12, 2.50, 175), Donnie (19-12, 2.77, 132), and Duke (18-11, 2.51, 104). They also expect big seasons from Red Bond (.287, 28, 70) and Sal Pestilli (.262, 23, 93, 21), but surprisingly they have us just tied for 5th in runs scored. That would be annoying, but as always, no one will allow fewer runs then us. The farm system is as good as ever, ranked behind just the Brooklyn Kings. We have 174 points to there 185, led by the #7 prospect Bob Allen. Joining him in the top 20 is not only Jerry Smith (14th), but last year's 4th Rounder Dixie Gaines (19th), who's rise up the prospect ladder has been astronomical. We have two more in the top 50, 10 in the top 100, 25 in the top 250, and an even 50 in the top 500. Yes, at literally every big round number, we have exactly 1/10th of the samples. Isn't that something! Crazy enough, none are on the big league roster. Johnny Peters (78th) and Zane Kelley (301st) had a chance, but both open in Milwaukee. We open in Chicago, hosting the Saints for three on a quick homestand. They'll start with Wally Reif (16-10, 3.73, 101), as Pat Weakly (13-12, 3.59, 98) sprained his elbow and may miss a month, with Bert Cupid (16-14, 2.69, 100) and Wally Doyle (11-18, 3.59, 130) rounding things out. Their rotation should be a strength, and the lineup may be improved as well, as 23-year-old Otis O'Keefe has been getting attention all across the league, and it's very well deserved. He may be ranked 34th in the prospect list, but the 1947 3rd Rounder tore up AA and AAA before hitting .324/.445/.568 (156 OPS+) in Cuba with 11 homers and 30 RBIs. The towering 6'4'' outfielder from Bluegrass State may not ever play defense, but the bat is exciting. He hits the ball to all fields and with plenty of pop, enough to even clear the cavernous Parc Cartier. 20 homers may be tough, just because of the park, but if he was in Chicago (especially with the Chiefs) a 40-homer rookie season wouldn't be out of the question. He'll bat third ahead of fellow lefties Maurice Carter (.286, 24, 82) and Bill Greene (.260, 12, 63, 23), which may make things tough for our staff. Granted, our rotation top three is elite, and hey, I think we'll fair well! Quickly on the road for the weekend, getting four games in three days with the Stars. Even though our staff is beloved by OSA, New York's isn't too far back, as they have the 5th, 6th, and 7th guy. Obviously Eli Panneton (17-14, 3.84, 112) is great, and I get Vern Hubbard (12-12, 3.86, 81), but Jack Wood (1-0, 1, 4.27, 29)? You gotta be kidding me! He didn't even make a start last year! Regardless, the pitching isn't what makes the Stars scary. It's the lineup. More specifically, superstar Bill Barrett (.300, 43, 130) who would look absolutely fabulous in Grey and Red. Him, Jack Welch (.267, 30, 88), and new first basemen Mack Sutton (.248, 31, 104) could all lead the league in homers. Sutton moving to first is a little confusing, considering how much I love Bill Barnett (.307, 16, 40), but it opens third for 22-year-old Paul Watson (.298, 3, 23, 2). The former top-25 prospect made 214 trips to the plate last year, but 56 of his 66 games came at short. He'll eventually replace Joe Angevine (.217, 1, 26, 18), but for now "Mr. Contact" with be "Mr. Hot Corner" as the Stars look to return to the postseason. Attached Images

11-21-2023, 07:34 PM	#1263
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 1: April 18th-April 24th Weekly Record: 4-3 Seasonal Record: 4-3 (2nd, 1.5 GB) Stars of the Week Skipper Schneider : 29 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .276 AVG, .667 OPS Otto Christian : 12 AB, 5 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, 1.107 OPS Johnnie Jones : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 6 BB, 3 K, 1.00 ERA Schedule 4-19: Win vs Saints (1-5) 4-20: Loss vs Saints (9-0) 4-21: Win vs Saints (2-4) 4-22: Win at Stars (2-1) 4-23: Loss at Stars (2-4): 11 innings 4-24: Loss at Stars (6-7) 4-24: Win at Stars (8-4) Recap For some strange reason, I just had this sinking feeling yesterday that we were going to go 0-7. I just couldn't shake it! So for the first time since probably 1936, I was absolutely stoked to find out we went 4-3! Still, it was a classic Cougar week. The rotation was brilliant, with just one game seeing the starter allow more then three earned runs, but the offense and bullpen (specifically Ken Matson who was for some reason in the stopper role and is making me wish I optioned him...) let us down. That bad start came in the 9-0 loss to the Saints, which was the only game we lost to them, as we later split both the series and double header with the Stars. The most notable event of the week came in the 4-2 extra inning loss in New York, as Red Bond kicked things off with a solo home run in the first innings. That wasn't a regular homer by any means, as it was the 36-year-olds 200th FABL longball. He didn't have a great opening week, just 4-for-17, but Bond is coming off his best offensive season since he nearly won the 1940 Whitney. Since becoming a regular with the Saints in 1938, he's been one of the league's most prolific sluggers, slashing a robust .301/.361/.472 (132 OPS+) with 207 doubles and 797 RBIs. Had he not spent all but 162 of his 1,346 FABL games with the Saints, he could be at or around 300 homers, a milestone that may now be tough to reach. Still, 200 is something only 30 people have done, and his 165 homers with the Saints are most in team history. He's hit 20 or more homers in five different seasons, including a league high and Saints high 30 in his standout 1940 season. Bond ranks 9th among active hitters in home runs (Sal is 5th while former Cougars Hank Barnett and Leon Drake are 3rd and 8th respectively), and is ten homers behind Hall-of-Famer Pete Layton for 29th all time. If he has another 20+ homer season, Bond has a chance to move up to 25th, as he looks to get closer to joining the 19 players (could be more depending on Fred McCormick, Sig Stofer, and Leon Drake) who have reached the 250 mark. I mentioned the pitching did well, with the lone poor start coming from Donnie Jones in the 9-0 letdown with the Saints. They tagged him for 8 hits and 6 runs in just 3.2 innings, as he tripled his spring earned run total in a start that lasted shorter then any of his spring starts. He did rebound some in New York, allowing 8 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) in 8.1 innings, but he walked 7 with 4 strikeouts. Another pitcher who struggled was Ken Matson, who lost the other two games. He allowed 7 hits and 6 runs (5 earned) in 2.2 innings. Charlie Kelsey mopped up Donnie in the blowout loss, allowing just 1 run in 5.1 innings with 4 hits, 5 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Peter the Heater was brilliant on Opening Day, with the only blemish on his mark a Maurice Carter solo shot in the 5th. Pap went all nine, finishing with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He was in line for the win in game one of the double header, but the almost 31-year-old veteran had to leave after 140 pitches in 8 innings. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 4 more strikeouts before the Stars' huge 4-run ninth that ended in Joe Angevine beating Skipper's throw to the plate on an infield grounder. Duke Bybee had the whiffs coming against the Saints, setting down 9 in a complete game win. He did walk 3, but allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs in the series finale. Johnnie Jones walked 6, but allowed just 1 run in his complete game win, finishing with 5 hits and 3 strikeouts. George Oddo deserved to win, but we didn't do much scoring, so he got a no decision after 8 strong innings. He allowed 8 hits and 2 runs with 2 walks and strikeouts before Ken Matson eventually blew that game in extras. The offense, simply put, was not good enough. Not even close. But Otto Christian certainly looks like he's ready to get more regular playing time. The Walla Walla Walloper was an impressive 5-for-12 with a double, homer, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs. His platoon buddy Walt Pack was decent too, 4-for-13 with a triple, run, and RBI. Chubby Hall had a nice debut week as a Cougar, going 3-for-12 with a double, homer, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 4 RBIs. Ray Ford was 3-for-11 with a double and two walks. Otherwise, there wasn't much else. George Dawson was 1-for-2 with a run scored, while Bond, Sharp, Mead, and Pestilli combined to go just 19-for-76 with three extra base hits and Carlos Montes was just 2-for-30 with Clark Car an even worse 3-for-24. Sure, both stole bases (Sal as well), but this was not nearly enough offensive production from what should be a good lineup. We need these guys, or at least Bond, Pestilli, and Sharp to help carry the load offensively, or else we'll likely see ourselves fall short of a pennant. Yes, it's too early to talk about that stuff now, as we can just as easily score 50 runs next week, but the offense isn't doing much of anything right early on. Well, other then not strikeout (just 17 in 7 games!)... The last bit of news is Billy Hunter is healthy and will head to Mobile for what will likely be a two week rehab assignment. I didn't want him in Milwaukee as we already have a lot of guys vying for time in the infield, while there really isn't a utility guy on the Commodores I want getting regular playing time. He won't play everyday, but should get some time at all four infield spots. Hunter has plenty of experience at second, third, and short, but he's yet to play first base. Now 34, it's only a matter of time before his defense fades, so I wanted to get a head start. Clark Car had a brutal first week after an amazing spring, but I am more then confident of him returning to form. Looking Ahead For one reason or another, the schedule always alternates a ton between home and road for us at the beginning. That means home, away, home this week, starting with two games in Chicago against the Kings. The Kings are off to a nice 5-2 start, and lucky for us, we get to miss Bob Arman (17-13, 2.66, 175), the CA's starts (36), innings (280.2), strikeouts, and K/9 (5.6) leader from last season. He's struck out 10 in 16 innings already, and won both his starts so far. I really like our chances here at home, as he have a chance to ambush top-100 prospects Joe Potts (3-1, 3.23, 11) and Paul Byler (3-1, 2.12, 20), who both debuted for Brooklyn last season. Both struggled in their first start, with Byler going an out away from a complete game despite 8 hits, 9 runs (8 earned), and 12 walks in a game the Stars throttled their crosstown rivals 12-1. And it's not like his pitch count was low -- manager Tom Barrell let him throw 175 pitches before finally ending his nightmare. Pitching isn't the strength of the club, at least at this point in time, so even if we get 5+ runs each game, it may not be enough. Ralph Johnson (.302, 30, 114) got off to a slow start, but he led the CA in WAR (7.7 and 9.2) in back-to-back seasons and at 24 is already one of the best players in the game. Second year sluggers Chuck Collins (.307, 9, 72) and reigning Kellogg Winner Pat Petty (.284, 18, 93) have hit a combined 17-for-42 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs and there is more young talent on the way with #3 prospect Ken Newman and #37 prospect Dan Smith now starting at catcher and third. This isn't quite the Kings year, but with the abundance of young talent and the #2 system (we're number one now!) the future is very bright in Kings County. Our next two games come in Montreal, with a Saints team that has only beaten us so far after being swept at home by the Kings. We get lucky in the rotation, as we are set to face their back two in Pete Ford (2-2, 4.39, 22) and Andy Lyon (9-10, 4.10, 80). On paper, we should have a huge advantage (especially in Lyon v Papenfus), but aside from Bert Cupid's 3-hit shutout against us, Ford and Lyon have had the next best starts. Surprisingly, the Saints also rank 2nd in the CA in homers, as both Gordie Perkins (.322, 7, 75, 9) and Bill Greene (.260, 12, 63, 23) have a pair of longballs. Otis O'Keefe has one too (and of course Carter who was mentioned earlier), but the highly touted prospect went just 3-for-15 in his debut week. Anything less then a sweep here would be a letdown, but this Saints keep is a sneaky contender, so we'll need to put runs on the board early and often to escape with the series win. We then finish the week hosting the Stars for three games before our first off day of the season. The Stars not only split with us, but also the Kings, so they're an even 4-4 early on. Despite a team full of stars, Paul Watson (.298, 3, 23, 2) and Ed Holmes (.286, 2, 37, 11) are doing the heavy lifting while Bill Barrett (.300, 43, 130) is barely hitting over .200 (.206). He's clearly washed, send him to Chicago! Granted, Barrett also has a steal, 2 homers, 4 walks, and 7 RBIs while Jack Welch (.267, 30, 88) is hitting .310 with 3 homers and 9 RBIs, so its no surprise the they have scored the most runs in the association so far. What is surprising is Henry Shaffer (11-11, 4.83, 72) allowing just one-run in a complete game win over the Kings, and we seem likely to face him. Stats aside, that's great news for us, as for the third time already, we get amazing rotation luck! It seems like we got none of that last year, but we will miss their top two and instead face Jack Wood (1-0, 1, 4.27, 29), Shaffer, and Chicagoan Richie Hughes (11-13, 4.38, 112). While we technically almost always have the pitching advantage, this assures it, as even though I think Hughes is a way better pitcher then what he's shown in New York, I don't think any of this trio cracks our rotation. The Stars always play us tough, but if we can take advantage of the staff we stand a chance. The offense is impossible to stop, you can only hope to contain it, something that our part won't do to their sluggers. It's going to be a tough way to end the week, but I think we are the better team and we have a good opportunity to show that early in the season. Cougars in the GWL 1B Jim Hatfield (Los Angeles Knights): At 37, I was worried the Los Angeles Knights would not keep Jim Hatfield, but luckily the front office decided to bring "The Bandit" back for another year. We're only a week in, but it looks like he still has what it takes to play every day. Hatfield was named the first Great Western League Player of the Week in 1949, slashing .500/.543/.719 (231 OPS+) with a double, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs. He did strike out 9 times, which accounted for over half (56.3%) of his outs, but he scored 8 times, drew 3 walks, and help the Knights get off to a nice 5-2 start. He had a big 2-for-3 game with a walk and two runs in another former Cougar, Karl Wallace's first start, as the former Dynamo, Saint, and Sailor pitched a complete game victory in a 5-3 win. Wallace allowed 10 hits and 2 walks with a strikeout, picking up his first win of the season. More games like this will be expected for Hatfield, who is coming off a third season with an OPS+ of 135 or better, and had he started a few more games he would have been worth over 5 wins above replacement. The Knights have a pretty solid team, so expect Hatfield to be a key piece of any pennant attempt.

11-22-2023, 07:36 PM	#1264
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 2: April 25th-May 1st Weekly Record: 1-6 Seasonal Record: 5-9 (t-5th, 5.5 GB) Stars of the Week Sal Pestilli : 30 AB, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .433 AVG, 1.052 OPS Skipper Schneider : 27 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .370 AVG, .970 OPS Harry Mead : 17 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .412 AVG, .944 OPS Schedule 4-25: Win vs Kings (2-10) 4-26: Loss vs Kings (8-2) 4-27: Loss at Saints (3-8) 4-28: Loss at Saints (0-3) 4-29: Loss vs Stars (2-1) 4-30: Loss vs Stars (11-0) 5-1: Loss vs Stars (5-3) Recap So it's going to be one of these kind of years, huh? The week did start out great, as we crushed the Kings in Chicago, but it went downhill from there. It would be one thing if we lost a bunch of one-run games -- just one this week, but we got humiliated three times -- twice in front of our own fans. The offense was mostly dormant, the pitching was somehow awful, and somehow we're already five and a half games out of first. What happened here!?!?! In an effort to stay positive, I'm going to try to focus only on the good. And luckily, we actually have three good hitters! And all three had good weeks! Sal Pestilli led the way, going 13-for-30 with 2 doubles, a homer, 2 steals, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs (if only he had a second homer in that one run loss...) in a nice bounce back week. Skipper Schneider was 10-for-27 with a double, homer, and steal with 6 runs, 4 walks, and 3 RBIs. Harry Mead is hitting like its an even year, going 7-for-17 with a double and 3 RBIs while backup Eddie Howard was 3-for-9 with a walk and a double. The trio of Sal, Skipper, and Mead are off to great starts, each hitting above .320. Unfortunately, the next closest starters are hitting in the .240, with Bond and Pack at .244 and .242. Both homered this week, but neither did much else, a combined 10-for-44 with 7 RBIs. Pack doubled while Bond doubled and tripled, so now both of our slow sluggers have a three bagger already! Take that first place ... Foresters? Oh yay, they're next! Now the pitching... Do I want to cover the pitching? Well, after ERAs of 0.69 and 1.00 in the spring, both Jones brothers are over 4.70, and that even comes after Donnie's best start of the year. He got the loss despite just 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks, as Jack Wood heard all the mean things I was saying about him and scattered 9 hits and 3 walks. The closest thing to a "good" start came from Peter the Heater, our only pitcher with a sub 3.75 ERA, but he got the loss and walked 6 in 7.2 innings. He allowed 8 hits and 3 runs with 5 strikeouts, so it was really nothing to write home about. Harry MacRae actually pitched this week, and threw two scoreless innings, so if he was in the stopper role instead of Matson last week, perhaps we'd be 7-7 instead of 5-9. Granted, all staffs have bad weeks, so it's not time to throw up the white flag, but it just feels so weird seeing such a good group of arms have absolutely no success when facing significantly lesser arms (excluding Eli Panneton who for some reason decided to pitch the finale). Oh well, on to the next week! As expected, Harry Carter cleared waivers, and he unfortunately declined an outright assignment. I did offer him a minor league contract after cutting him, so hopefully he returns instead of going to the GWL. Billy Hunter's rehab has gone awful, just 5-for-29, so he may be staying more then the planned two weeks. He did homer and draw four walks, but for some reason the AI played him at second all seven games despite the "Ev. 4th Game" start at multiple positions. Poor Rupert Henibaugh didn't play all week... Looking Ahead I think there is some sort of glitch in the matrix, where the Cleveland Foresters have the record (10-3) that rightfully belongs to us! I'll give the universe creators a break if they normalize things after our off day, as we'll host the surprising first place Foresters for three games. They are pretty much the same team as last year that allowed the most runs in the league, except now they've managed the fewest. Chicagoan Adrian Czerwinski (3-0, 3.46, 6) and Kirby Brewer (1-1, 3.27, 3) have gotten off to excellent starts despite walking more guys then they've struck out, and I have to imagine sooner or later they will start allowing a lot more runs. Ollie White (1-1, 3.52, 10) is back in the rotation, and the talented 25-year-old is scheduled for the opener, as we'll see him, Augie Hayes Jr. (1-1, 2.00, 2) and Czerwinski this time around. Again, these are pitchers we should be able to handle, but that was certainly not the case this past week. The lineup looks a little different, as they just added former 1st Rounder Mark Smith (.333) on waivers last week, and they re-inserted Orie Martinez (.273, 1, 2) in the lineup where he belongs. He's one of there better hitters, and I expect him to drive in leadoff hitter Jim Adams Jr. (.350, 2, 6) plenty of times this season. I'm not too worried about the rest of the lineup, but one day Sherry Doyal (.229, 1, 6) will strike fear into opposing pitchers and you could certainly do worse then Lorenzo Samuels (.289, 1, 11) and Ivey Henley (.318, 5). Yesterday I would have been extremely confident for this matchup, but based on early performances we may be lucky to escape with a single win. But perhaps our friends from Ohio visiting this week will be exactly what we need. Our first substantial homestand continues with two with the Cannons, who will join us in Cougars Park on Friday and Saturday. Like their in-state rivals, Cincinnati is off to an excellent start, 9-3 and half a game behind the Foresters for the Association lead. All-World pitcher Rufus Barrell (3-0, 1.04, 17) is coming off back-to-back complete game wins over the Wolves, including a 3-hit shutout with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. It's looking likely that we're stuck with him, though I'm really hoping the second game is with Tony Britten (1-1, 10.45, 8), who we pulverized last year and was just brutally bashed by the Wolves in his most recent start. I've never been a Britten fan, even moreso when he tries to rank above Bob Allen in the prospect rankings (right now Allen is up 7 to 11), but given the Cannons success with pitching and how much both Dixie and OSA love his stuff, chances are him and Rufus will make a feared 1-2 punch in the early portion of the 50s. If not Britten, we'll get Charlie Griffith (3-0, 3.81, 3), who could be an intriguing trade candidate. I mean, who wouldn't want a pitcher who can win games with 7 walks and 1 strikeout! The lineup has more intriguing pieces, including Mike T. Taylor (.429, 6, 1), who I sort of enquired on this spring. He's taken full advantage of the overdo everyday lineup spot, taking left while waiver claim Joe Burns (.289, 6) replaced the 38-year-old Sam Brown (.250, 1) in right. Otherwise its the same Cannons lineup we're used to, deep with veterans with championship experience who give good at bats. I don't think the Cannons will be this good all year round, but they're a team that should be respected, as they look to finish over .500 for the ninth time this decade, something only us and them have a chance to do. The last game of the week is the opener against the Toronto Wolves, who come to town for three must win games. Like us, they're off to a rough start, 4-8 due to a mix of poor offense and defense. It's not Fred McCormick's fault, he's hitting .419/.458/.581 (173 OPS+) despite turning 40 this October, but like literally every other Wolf, he has yet to go yard. Only Charlie Artuso (.231, 1, 6) has found the seats, but does it count if it came off the Cannons' Britten? Granted, the generally slick fielder has made 4 errors and owns just a 74 WRC+, so it's not like he's been much use to the team anyways. Surprisingly, the same can be said of George Garrison (0-3, 4.30, 18), who has not looked like the Allen Award winning pitcher we've grown to loves. This Wolves team is in a transition period, so expect his name to come up in trade talks even if he's 0-13 in July, but aside from Lou Jayson tearing his flexor tendon and missing all year, and former 4th Rounder Randy Hendrix (.161, 3) replacing longtime backstop and McCormick's trade partner Clarence Howerton, the squad looks almost identical to the 1948 iteration that won 82 games and finished in 3rd. A trip to the Windy City should exponentially increase their home run total -- perhaps in the first game alone -- but I think we have a good chance to send them home angry as our staffs only weakness is the home run ball. Somehow we've allowed 20 in 14 games. Pretty crazy! Minor League Report RHP Dutch Yoak (B San Jose Cougars): Things haven't gone quite according to plan for high school standout Dutch Yoak, who went 35-0 in his last three seasons at La Porte, finishing his impressive prep career 42-2 with a 1.18 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 729 strikeouts. He was never a top 100 prospect, but Yoak was commonly in the top 250 and was a common ask for teams we looked to trade with. Now, four years after being drafted in the second round, Yoak ranks 43rd in our system and 435th overall, and OSA doesn't think he'll be ready until 1952! That's partly why he's still in San Jose, despite pitching in Lincoln in 1947. That went surprisingly well, but he had a 5.32 ERA (83 ERA+) and 1.66 WHIP with one more strikeout (71) the walk (70). It looked like more of the same this year, as Yoak allowed 9 hits, 5 runs, and 7 walks with 7 strikeouts in a 7-inning "win" that should be attributed to great games from Jerry Smith (2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, SB) and Buddy Jenkins (2-4, 2 RBI). Lucky for Yoak, he quickly turned things around. The 21-year-old was firing on all cylinders against the Everett Eagles. The walks were gone, no free passes to any of the 31 batters he faced, and he allowed just 4 hits and 8 strikeouts in a 10-0 demolishment. Yoak himself was 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored, while Jerry Smith (2-4, 3 RBI, BB), Roxy Hilts (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), and Ernie Frost (4-5, 2 R, 2 RBI) provided more then enough offense. It's encouraging news for Yoak, who is one of the hardest workers in the system. The towering 6'4'' lefty is the type of guy who never gives up, and it's part of the reason I really thought he'd lead a rotation one day. Instead, he's still throwing as hard (87-89) as he did when he was 16, and his stuff hasn't improved much of all. Still, seeing all these strikeouts is exciting, as his K/9 (I'm on my laptop) is more then double (8.4) last season (3.9) and he's generally not the guy who doesn't walk anyone in a start. Small sample and all that, but this could be the start of something big, and with a quick start to the season, chances are he'll end up in Lincoln by the draft. Cougars in the GWL RHP Ira Hawker (Dallas Centurions): Yeah, this guy is still amazing! It took a few starts to get his footing, as the former position-player-turned-reliever allowed 11 runs and lost both of his first two starts, but in front of his home fans, the back-to-back GWL win leader was back in form. The talented Oakland Grays were his first victim, as Hawker tossed a 3-hit shutout with a walk and three Ks, picking up his 56th GWL win and his 10th shutout. This dropped his ERA to 4.01, which is still 13% better then the league average pitcher. A veteran innings eater, Hawker has thrown 250 or more innings in each of his three GWL seasons, winning 17, 19, and 19 games. Last year was his best, as he led the GWL with a 2.25 ERA (143 ERA+) in a league high 268.1 innings, and his 1.08 WHIP and 126 strikeouts were career bests. Dallas is just 6-7 on the year, partly because of Hawker's first two missteps, but former Cougar draftee Rube Finegan (1-0, 1.64, 6) has been great in his two starts while first basemen Cy Braden (.400, 2, 10) hasn't let a strained hamstring slow him down. It's still early, but if the Centurions want to stick around in the playoff race, they'll need more starts like this from their ace. These next sim won't happen till Monday, as we're off Thanksgiving, and we may also be shifting to a M/W/F sim schedule instead of every day. That would make me sad, but it could also give me an opportunity to expand this a bit. One thing I've wanted to do is cover some of the other sports a bit more, so I may use potential off days to touch on the other sports. Most of the season takes place during baseball's offseason, but I can do some retroactive reporting. This also could open up an opportunity for a solo dynasty project. I loved doing those pre-Figment, but it's hard to get attached enough to a league that isn't this one. But I love to write, so there will be something to fill the potential void!

11-27-2023, 08:46 PM	#1265
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 3: May 2nd-May 8th Weekly Record: 3-3 Seasonal Record: 8-12 (t-6th, 5.5 GB) Stars of the Week Harry Mead : 19 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .368 AVG, 1.165 OPS Sal Pestilli : 24 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .333 AVG, .968 OPS Red Bond : 14 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .357 AVG, 1.214 OPS Schedule 5-3: Loss vs Foresters (6-4) 5-4: Win vs Foresters (2-4) 5-5: Win vs Foresters (2-3) 5-6: Win vs Cannons (3-4) 5-7: Loss vs Cannons (7-0) 5-8: Loss vs Wolves (1-0) Recap Despite spending the week at home, we didn't have much success, splitting the six games we hosted to fall to a tie for 6th with the team that beat us on Sunday, the Toronto Wolves (7-11). Pretty much everything has gone bad to start the year, as we're not scoring (7th, 61) or preventing (6th, 88) runs. Obviously it's still early, and every team will have their rough patches, but if there is a bright spot its that we've won a few games despite being perfectly awful. And that we're going to be sticking with a Monday through Friday schedule! This week we did a decent job keeping runs off the board, as Duke Bybee was brilliant in our 3-2 win to secure a series win over the Foresters. Bybee went all nine, allowing 8 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) with a walk and 6 strikeouts. His 27 strikeouts are the most in the league, and he has an absurd 6.8 K/BB due to an elite 3.3 BB% and 22.3 K%. In his four start sample he's posted a 3.13 ERA (123 ERA+) and 0.92 WHIP and is scheduled to pitch the finale with the Wolves. That will be after Donnie Jones pitches the opener, and he's coming off a complete game win of his own. He allowed just 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts as he evened his record at 2-2. The last win of the week came from his brother, but Johnnie came out with two outs in the ninth in a 4-3 game. He was at 149 pitches, so skipper Max Wilder called on Harry MacRae to face shortstop Clifton Smith (.188, 2). It proved to be the right call, as our stopper got Smith looking to end the game. Johnnie was able to even his record as well, as he left with 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 6 walks with 3 strikeouts. Pap was unlucky in his two starts, as he dropped to 1-3 despite leading the team with his 2.95 ERA (131 ERA+). He wasn't too sharp against the Foresters, and our ace left after six. He allowed 6 hits,5 runs, and 4 walks with 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately, we couldn't solve Jim Morrison (2-0, 1.75, 12), so Dom Tripp's (.286, 1, 9) RBI single in the second proved to be the difference. Pap allowed just 3 hits, 5 walks, and a run with 4 strikeouts in the loss. George Oddo struggled with the longball against the Cannons, as he allowed three in the 7-0 loss. Only four of the runs were charged to him, as Charlie Kelsey allowed a walk, 3 runs, and 5 hits in the 9th, and Oddo was charged with 7 hits and a walk with 6 strikeouts. The 26-year-old has now allowed 6 homers in just 22 innings, and is at a third of the total he allowed all of last season. If he can shake off the home run problems, he'll have a chance to pick up his first win against the struggling reigning pennant winners. Despite not scoring many runs, Harry Mead continues to be red hot at the plate, going 7-for-19 with 4 doubles, a homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBIs. The 34-year-old veteran has now hit .352/.400/.519 (147 OPS+) in his first 15 games. Red Bond added two more home runs, 5-for-14 with a double and 6 RBIs. Sal Pestilli had another great week, 8-for-24 with 3 doubles, a homer, 4 runs, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs. Combined with his plus defense (1.3, 1.026), Pestilli has already surpassed the one win mark (1.1), and he's produced a 147 WRC+ with 3 steals, 8 extra base hits, and a .333/.386/.481 (134 OPS+) line. No homers for Walt Pack, but he drew three walks and went 4-for-9 with a hit by pitch. Skipper Schneider hit first homer of the year, going 6-for-20 with a double, three walks, and a pair of runs scored. He's walked (9) more then twice as often as he's struck out (4) and has an impressive 130 WRC+ in year ten. It's on pace to be one of his best, and I'm hoping he can keep up the offensive production all season long. When the bottom three in your order are hitting below .200, you need all the help you can get, and we're about to make some big changes to the lineup. Part of that is the return of Billy Hunter, who will be replacing Luke Berry on the active roster. Hunter really struggled in Mobile, hitting just .232/.283/.304 (53 OPS+) in 60 trips to the plate, but it's still better then what Clark Car (.130/.155/.188) has managed. They'll still split time at the keystone until one seizes the job from the other, but it's surprising how different they have hit compared to the spring. Looking at the casualty to the roster, Luke Berry may be in a DFA loop if he doesn't get claimed, as I don't want to lose him in case someone gets hurt. He hasn't played much, just 0-for-6 with a walk in seven games off the bench, and was the unlucky 25th man this time around. Other candidates are George Dawson (1-3, R) and Ray Ford (.217, 2B, 5 BB), or perhaps even the struggling Car. There's always the high probability of Billy Hunter being hurt once again, so Berry could be back in Chicago if he clears waivers. Looking Ahead Despite dropping the opener, we have a chance to best the Toronto Wolves, as the two sixth place teams look to separate from each other. We'll have a chance to take on the back two pitchers in their rotation, the struggling Jerry York (0-3, 5.68, 10) and veteran righty Jimmy Gibbs (1-2, 3.18, 5). Those matchups bode well for us, as we'll counter with Donnie Jones (2-2, 3.90, 14) and Duke Bybee (3-1, 3.13, 27), and with Donnie generally having success against his former organization we should win at least one of the last two. Our co-aces should have no trouble with the league's worst offense (8th, 60). Led by Fred McCormick (.379, 6), their only hitter batting above .300, no Wolf has more then one homer and Hank Giordano (.243, 1, 11, 2) is the only bat with double digit RBIs. Tom Frederick (.207, 3, 1) and Charlie Artuso (.193, 1, 6) haven't looked themselves and the Randy Hendrix (.156, 3) era may be coming to an end. But when you don't score, you can't win, and we'll need some runs if we want to right the ship. Our thirteen game homestand then ends with two against the only team worse off then us, the Philadelphia Sailors, who have won just four of their first twenty games. I'm not sure how thing have gone so bad, as Win Lewis (1-2, 7.84, 8), Charlie Gordon (1-3, 5.32, 10), Al Duster (0-3, 7.25, 7), and Art Hull (1-1, 7.11, 5) hall have been awful. Hull's struggles aren't that surprising, but Lewis is one of the best pitchers in the game and both Gordon and Duster are far better then they're showing. The offense hasn't looked much better, but the perennial batting title winner Ed Reyes is slashing .400/.484/.545 (169 OPS+) and his 193 WRC+ is one of the best in the league. He's walked 9 times while striking out just 6 times, and he's added 5 doubles, a homer, and 7 RBIs. He's only gotten support from Les Cunha (.304, 2, 12) as every other qualified hitter is batting below .250. Simply put, this team is so much better then they've shown, and it's only a matter of time before they start ripping off long win streaks. Let's just hope they wait until they leave town... We leave town after Thursday's game, and we'll spend the next three days in Brooklyn. The Kings are 11-10 on the season, and they've scored an association high 102 runs. Right now they have arguably the most dangerous 3-4-5 in the league, with Ralph Johnson (.342, 4, 10), Chuck Collins (.319, 3, 8), and Pat Petty (.359, 3, 16) all off to scalding starts. Chuck Lewis (.301, 2, 9), Dan Smith (.293, 2, 9), and John Moss (.298, 4) have all provided as well, leaving very few easy outs in the lineup. On the flip side, they've allowed the most runs (115) too, as even Bob Arman (3-2, 4.14, 22) hasn't been all that sharp. Joe Potts (2-1, 3.41, 13) is the only rotation member with an ERA below 4, while Leo Hayden (2-2, 6.12, 15), Paul Byler (2-2, 7.82, 16), and Rusty Petrick (0-2, 6.45, 14) are all above 6. In fact, the team leader in ERA is Clarence Barton (2-0, 1, 1.17, 7), as the stopper has already thrown 15.1 innings in 15.1 innings across 8 appearances. There has been some consideration of moving him to the rotation, which could possibly end Petrick's time as a starter. No matter who we face, we need to put up run, as the Kings offense will not result in many low scoring games. Minor League Report 2B Al Clement (AAA Milwaukee Blues): A natural middle infielder, Al Clement returned to Milwaukee after hitting just .248/.322/.292 (61 OPS+) in his first 46 Century League games. This time he was joined by Elmer Grace (.216, 1, 6, 1) and George Sutterfield (.245, 1, 8, 2), so Al Clement moved to the hot corner for the 1949. He's decided to hit like a third basemen as well, slashing an extravagant .380/.484/.720 (202 OPS+) and is coming off a Player of the Week award. The former 2nd Rounder went 9-for-21 with a double, 3 walks, 8 runs, and 9 RBIs. The kicker was the three homers, giving him the team lead with four through the team's 17 games. Clement has appeared in all but three, producing a 213 WRC+ with 8 extra base hits and more walks (11) then strike outs (8). With how poorly the offense has been, there's a legitimate argument for Clement to warrant a look in Chicago if he somehow manages to keep this up. OSA thinks he can force his way into a lineup and Dixie thinks he's got what it takes to play in the big leagues, but the prospect shine has all but warn out. The 24-year-old is our lowest ranked prospect (48th, 482) and even if he wasn't on the 40-man roster he likely would have been passed on this winter in the Rule-5 Draft. Nevertheless, he has a chance to make his big league debut at some point this season. I don't expect us to need any more 40-man roster spots during the season, so he's not at risk of being DFA'd. But perhaps he doesn't know that, and that's why he's off to such a good start. LHP Dixie Gaines (B San Jose Cougars): Each of our top three prospects are starting their season in San Jose, where the Baby Cougars are absolutely killing it (14-3, 3 GA). The one outside the top 15 is the one showing out. A solo home run snapped Dixie Gaines' scoreless streak at 19.1 innings, but it didn't stop his now three game win streak. The former 4th Rounder allowed just three more hits, leaving after eight. Gaines walked just one and struck out seven. He could have gone out for the ninth, but with San Jose now up by one Doc Buckingham (4, 1.29, 4) was brought on for the save. He allowed a hit and a walk, but recorded a strikeout in a scoreless ninth. At 21, Dixie Gaines ranks 29th in the FABL prospect ranking, and with a 0.39 ERA (1039 ERA+) and 0.78 WHIP it's easy to see why. Dixie has thrown 23 innings in his three starts, walking just 5 with 21 strikeouts. The command is a noticeable improvement from last year, where he had a 1.2 K/BB in 81 innings. It's still early in the season, but if the southpaw continues to overwhelm with his stuff, it's only a matter of time before he starts facing tougher competition. One thing the big league staff really struggles with is home runs and that's where Gaines truly excels. Not only is he expected to have elite movement, but the soft tosser is an extreme groundballer. Sure, his one blemish this year is a homer, but it was the first in 104 innings in Class B. Dixie (Marsh) thinks Dixie (Gaines) has good enough stuff to fool big leaguers, and his change up may be the best in our system. He's going to be an interesting arm to watch this season, and it's only a matter of time he's pitching in Lincoln. He's the next man up the second one of our pitchers gets hurt, but for now I just want to see how dominant he can be. He'll pitch after #7 prospect Bob Allen (3-0, 1.77, 12) goes on Tuesday, and there's a chance it's the last time Dixie ever throws in the California-Oregon-Washington League.

11-28-2023, 08:31 PM	#1266
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 4: May 9th-May 15th Weekly Record: 3-4 Seasonal Record: 11-16 (7th, 6 GB) Stars of the Week Sal Pestilli : 27 AB, 10 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .370 AVG, 1.155 OPS Billy Hunter : 17 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .471 AVG, 1.350 OPS Harry MacRae : 1 Win, 1 Saves, 4.1 IP, 2 BB, 0 K, 0.00 ERA Schedule 5-9: Win vs Wolves (3-7) 5-10: Loss vs Wolves (6-3) 5-11: Win vs Sailors (1-4) 5-12: Loss vs Sailors (5-3) 5-13: Win at Kings (13-7) 5-14: Loss at Kings (2-11) 5-15: Loss at Kings (6-10) Recap Jeeze this team is just no good... Not sure what it is, but we just don't do much winning. We split with the Wolves and Sailors, the two teams with records as bad as us, and then we allowed 28 runs in three games in Brooklyn. We've already allowed 131 runs in 27 games, 23% of our total from last season. All five members of the rotation have an ERA above 3, with Donnie Jones now up to 5.10 after allowing 8 runs off 5 hits and 4 walks in just 3.2 innings in that 11-2 blowout. The homers continue to be an issue, as we've allowed 31, more then a homer a game. None of it makes any sense, but we're as bad as it gets, and it doesn't seem like that will change any time soon. On the plus side, Billy Hunter had an excellent return to the lineup, going 8-for-17 with 6 runs, 2 walks, and RBI, and a double, triple, and homer. He has just two fewer hits then Clark Car, who is just 10-for-81 with one more walk and the same amount of extra base hits. Hunter will start to take the majority of starts, but with his injury problems, Car will still get a shot to play. Red Bond had a nice power surge, so while he was just 5-for-24, three of those hits were homers and he added 2 walks, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Sal Pestilli hit two homers of his own, going 10-for-27 with 2 doubles, a triple, a steal, 2 walks, 6 runs, and 8 RBIs. Otto Christian and Chubby Hall combined to go 6-for-10 with a triple, 2 doubles, 2 walks, 4 runs, and 6 RBIs. Leo Mitchell got a turn in the lineup, and while it wasn't great (5-for-24), he did hit his first homer of the season and his 138th overall. He'll get another week, but if he doesn't do much at the plate, perhaps Chubby Hall will start playing every day. Do I want to talk about the pitching? Well, let's make this quick. Johnnie Jones was brilliant, picking up a complete game win with 6 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The rest of the starters? 35 runs, 51 hits, 19 walks. 36.2 innings pitched. I can't remember the last time we did something like that! The pen was mixed, with a rough mop-up job from Charlie Kelsey seeing 5 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Harry MacRae made three appearances, picking up a win and save with 4.1 innings, 2 hits, and 2 walks. The last 2 innings went to Jim Kenny, who's only other entrant on the scoresheet was a hit. I truly can't believe we rank 5th or worst in nearly every pitching category, but here we are! Everyone is having their worst season! What a fun year! Lastly, Luke Berry was claimed by the now AI-Foresters, so his time in our organization will come to a quick end. He wasn't useful this year, but hit .315/.408/.416 (128 OPS+) in 104 PAs last season. I'm not sure why they claimed him, three of their best players are corner bats (Samuels, Henley, and Martinez) and there's no obvious fit for him on the roster. But I guess they could send down one of their 11 pitchers. We'll see... Looking Ahead The season ends on October 2nd, which means we have 4 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days until this nightmare of a season ends. Until then, we just have to play out the games, hoping that we can scratch out more victories then losses. We get a much needed off day to start the week before a string of seven games in six days, starting with a pair against the third place Cannons. At 15-10, they're a game behind the first place Stars and half a game behind their Ohio rivals, and since so much has already gone our way in terms of pitching matchups (which we have not been able to capitalize off of), we are now stuck facing superstar Rufus Barrell (4-1, 1.26, 22), who shut us out two starts ago. He did lose his first game, charged with 6 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks in 8 innings against the Stars, but that's still way better then whatever we've been able to put together on the mound. After him it will be Charlie Griffith (3-2, 5.62, 9), who has stats more in line with what our guys have thrown. The Cannons will be without catcher Adam Mullins, who was hitting .400/.451/.600 (173 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 11 RBIs before hitting in the IL with shoulder tendinitis. In his place is longtime Eagle Paul Wilkerson, who has hit a productive .357/.386/.452 (119 OPS+) with 4 doubles in his first 11 games. His performance has been a nice boost, as Mike Taylor (.356, 1, 9, 2) has started to cool and Denny Andrews (.205, 2, 15) is dealing with another tough start to a season. Sure, he rebounded last year and managed to hit 16 homers and 21 doubles with an above average 124 WRC+, but if he can get going the Cannons could replace the Stars atop the association. With a strong supporting cast of Fred Galloway (.318, 1, 7, 2), Chuck Adams (.299, 4, 16), Charlie Rivera (.270, 3, 12, 1), and Joe Burns (.333, 15, 2) they're shaping up to be a serious contender. It's not going to be easy to go into the Queen City and take the series, so all I can hope for is a single win. And it's not coming with Rufus Barrell on the mound... Next stop, Toronto, for three games with the 11-14 Wolves. They took the series in Chicago, so expect more of the same at Dominion Stadium. George Garrison (1-4, 4.95, 21) finally got his first win of the season, picking up a complete game win in Brooklyn, but he hasn't been his regular self. This was a welcomed change, as he allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 2 strikeouts, but Garrison hasn't maintained an ERA above 4 since his aged-21 season in 1939. In his absence, Jim Morrison (3-0, 1.60, 15) has stepped up, and he's in line to start the opener. After Morrison we're set to face winless Jerry York (0-5, 5.45, 12) and Jimmy Gibbs (3-2, 3.06, 12), the same trio that took two of three from us. Of course, we beat York, who allowed 11 hits and 7 runs, but I mentioned Morrison's shutout and only one of the three runs Gibbs allowed was earned. They don't always give their pitchers support, which just two hitters posting an above average WRC+ and OPS+, and one of them is platoon outfielder Dom Tripp (.280, 1, 13). This is a huge series as we look to right the ship, and we cannot afford to keep allowing opportunities like this to slip through our hands. We then finish our week with a double-header in Cleveland, with Sunday being the only day we spend there. The pitching has been surprisingly good, with three pitchers holding ERAs below 2.20. Leading the team in ERA is Augie Hayes Jr. (2-1, 1.64, 3), who was just shifted to the pen despite allowing just two runs in each of his two starts. John Jackson (2-1, 1.73, 13) and Ducky Davis (4-1, 2.17, 19) are the other two, and since they pitched the double header with the Cannons, we should avoid them. Who we see, however, is anyone's guess, as the team without a GM can give someone a go on short rest or use one of their many relievers for a spot start. Luke Berry won't be there for the series, and one of the other six CA teams could claim him instead, but the Foresters have gotten excellent production from team's cast offs. They claimed Frank Kircher (.354, 5) from the Chiefs and Mark Smith (.306, 6) from the Sailors, and both have hit well since coming over. Still, it's only a matter of time before the game catches up to them, as the only batter I'm truly scared of right now is Jim Adams Jr. (.330, 2, 11, 2). Most years a series with the Foresters would be welcomed, but at this point I'm dreading each game we're scheduled to play. Minor League Report RHP Zane Kelley (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Remember this guy? He's still pretty good! Shutouts have become common place for the 23-year-old, who spun a 7-hit shutout with 6 strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season. It was his second straight complete game win without a walk, and through four starts he has a miniature 1.26 ERA (322 ERA+) and 0.98 WHIP. With how terrible we've pitched early on, I'm starting to wonder if it's Zane Kelley time, as Charlie Kelsey's grasp on a roster spot is getting looser and looser. The groundballer has allowed just one ball to leave the park, while Duke and Oddo have allowed seven already, and his 12.3 K% and 2.8 K/BB are bests since joining the system. He'll make start five on Wednesday against the St. Paul Disciples, and depending on how our week goes, the one after could come in Chicago. But I may be getting a head of myself, it's just mid-May after all. LHP Joe Oates (B San Jose Cougars): At least we have this Cougar team to be happy about! Dixie Gaines (8 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) had another stellar start, but the star of the week was Joe Oates. A 9th Rounder last season, the 21-year-old southpaw made all 12 of his appearances in Class B out of the pen, but his four starts this season have been nothing short of a spectacle. After allowing just one run in each of his first two starts, Oates struck out 10 in an 8-hit shutout of the Bakersfield Bears. He walked just one, and improved to 3-0 with three complete games. He followed that up with a fourth, once again beating the Bears. They got to him a bit, scoring 2 runs off 11 hits and 3 walks, but a Tex Kelley (.400, 1, 4) pinch hit home run and a big game (3-5, 2 R, RBI) from Johnnie Love (.391, 3, 20) was enough to get the job done. Oates has now allowed just four runs in 36 innings pitched, working to a 1.17 WHIP and 3.04 FIP (72 FIP-) with 8 walk and 22 strikeouts. His command is looking much better now then it ever has, and the hardworking lefty has done a good job establishing himself as a rotation option early on. He was basically the last man in the system to earn a starting spot, but now it'd be hard to give anyone else a shot over him. This could be a big season for Oates, who now has a a chance to establish himself as a legitimate starting option. Cougars in the GWL RHP Luis Sandoval (Houston Bulls): Number 14! Ever since entering the Great Western League, Luis Sandoval has been a shutout machine, and the Bulls veteran bested the Oakland Grays 2-0 to pick up his first shutout of the year. He allowed just 5 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts, improving him to 4-1 in his 6 starts. Sandoval has a near matching 3.29 ERA (126 ERA+) and 3.26 FIP (78 FIP-), striking out (16) twice as often as he walks (8). His 1.21 WHIP is a bit better then last season, and the back-to-back WAR leader is on pace for a whopping 7.5 in almost 300 innings. That would be huge for the Bulls, who currently lead the GWL by 3 full games. At 18-9, they have an identical record to the Fed leading Gothams, and they've allowed just 90 runs in 27 games. Along with Sandoval, offseason pickup Dan Rivard (2-1, 2.11, 20) and former top-ten prospect Bunny Edwards (4-1, 2.11, 23) have been excellent early on. The offense is great too, with another offseason pickup Al Haines (.363, 17), longtime catcher Dave Doolittle (.345, 1, 11), and deadline acquisition Art Cascone (.351, 8, 27) all hitting .345 or better. They owe a lot of their success to the last place Conquistadores, who not only provided Sandoval, but Rivard, Haines, Cascone, and former 15th ranked prospect Ed Whetzel (2-3, 4.89, 25). It's still early, but right now they have all the makings of a playoff worthy team after coming up just short last year.

11-29-2023, 07:30 PM	#1267
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 5: May 16th-May 22nd Weekly Record: 5-2 Seasonal Record: 16-18 (6th, 4.5 GB) Stars of the Week Skipper Schneider : 31 AB, 12 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .387 AVG, 1.148 OPS Sal Pestilli : 32 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .312 AVG, .790 OPS Billy Hunter : 20 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .300 AVG, 1.091 OPS Schedule 5-17: Win at Cannons (5-2) 5-18: Win at Cannons (11-6) 5-19: Loss at Cannons (3-4): 10 innings 5-20: Win at Wolves (7-5) 5-21: Win at Wolves (7-5): 12 innings 5-22: Loss at Foresters (4-5) 5-22: Win at Foresters (7-6) Recap Well would you look at that! A winning week! I forgot you could have those! The pitching still sucks, as we allowed five or more runs in five of the six games, but who cares! We won five games! And you can thank the Skipper Schneider breakout for that! In year ten, Skipper has been the best hitter he's ever been, and our slick fielding shortstop was named Player of the Week for the first time in his FABL career. He was an impressive 12-for-31 with six of his hits going for extra bases. He hit 3 doubles, a triple, and a pair of homers, tallying 7 runs and 10 RBIs. The 28-year-old has now hit an impressive .315/.408/.465 (137 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 3 homers, and 20 RBIs, while walking (19) over three times as often as he's struck out (6). For a guy with a career high WRC+ of 117, the 149 he's posted so far has been huge, and his 12.7 BB% and all three parts of his triple slash would be career bests. This week he got some help from his double play partners, as both Billy Hunter and Clark Car performed well. Hunter went 6-for-30 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 runs scored and driven in while the struggling Car was 5-for-11 with a double and 4 runs scored. Hunter has done well in limited time, but Car was as cold as the Chicago weather, still hitting just .163/.189/.217 (10 OPS+) on the season. Still, this week was our first glimmer of hope in a season full of darkness, as we look to take advantage of our first spark of positive momentum. Sal Pestilli had another great all around week, going 10-for-32 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 2 steals, 6 runs, and 8 RBIs as he continues his 8+ WAR pace. The 7-Time All-Star has hit an impressive .336/.384/.521 (144 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 5 homers, 20 runs, 21 RBIs, and 6 steals. Add in a 155 WRC+ and a 1.020 efficiency in center, and you have nearly a 2 WAR (1.8) player as we approach the end of May. Leo Mitchell almost looked like his old self this week, going 5-for-14 with a double, run, and 4 RBIs. Walt Pack triples his home run output for the season, going 4-for-18 with a pair of longballs, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Eddie Howard looked good in limited time, an even 4-for-8 with a walk, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. His production has been overshadowed a tad by Harry Mead's production, but the soon-to-be 26-year-old has hit .364/.389/.455 (128 OPS+) with 3 doubles and 7 RBIs. With Mead turning 35 at the end of June, this may be Howard's last season as a backup, as the former 2nd Rounder appears close to reaching his lofty offensive potential. Again, I'm not sure I want to dive deep into the pitchers, but George Oddo had a decent enough start. He left with one out in the 8th, but had just 4 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. While not overall great numbers, what is great is the lack of homers allowed, as not a single ball ended up in the seats. He allowed at least one in each of his first four starts, already 7 in 38 innings as his HR/9 has jumped almost a full homer (0.8 to 1.7) since last season. Donnie Jones pitched good enough to win, but we didn't score for him, so he had to come back to the 10th. It didn't work out well, as former Cougar and member of the Donnie Jones trade Hal Wood (.282, 1, 17) ended the game with an RBI double. Jones finished with 8 hits, 4 runs, and 5 walks, striking out 4 as he dropped to 3-4. Brother Johnnie made a pair of starts, with only one worth mentioning, so that's the one I'll talk about! He bested the Cannons, going all nine while allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts. It's still crazy to think we've allowed tied for the most runs (164) in the association, as none of our pitchers are pitching to the level we know they can. Looking Ahead Plenty of rest this week, as we'll get a day off before and after a two game series with the Philadelphia Sailors. I can't believe that they're 8-25, and a lot of the struggles can be attributed to ace Win Lewis, who won't be involved in the series. In three of the past four seasons, Win has posted an ERA below 3, but through 7 starts this season he's 1-5 with a 5.98 ERA (67 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP with 15 walks and 20 strikeouts. His 4.12 FIP (103 FIP-) expects plenty of positive regression, and he's coming off a start where he allowed 3 hits, 4 walks, and an unearned run with 6 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. One guy who has done well is Slick Wesolowski, who's scheduled for the finale and has looked great after missing all of last season with injury. Slick is just 1-2, but with a 3.44 ERA (116 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP despite more walks (22) then strikeouts (17). I'm still confident in scoring off him and Art Hull (1-3, 5.51, 10), so it's all about keeping the offense in check. They've scored the fewest runs in the league, but it hasn't stopped Ed Reyes (.400, 1, 10) from hitting .400, nor Joe Scott (.232, 5, 14) from posting a 117 WRC+ with a 21-to-11 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Otherwise, the lineup production has been limited, with five regulars posting below average WRC+ and a pair (Rip Lee and Chet McCormick) below 40 -- even lower then the 46 from Wesolowski. We need to win both of these, but if the game is close, that means David Molina (0-2, 4, 2.95, 12) will look to finish it, and he's too good to beat often. The second off day will be used to travel home, as we start a quick three game homestand with the Brooklyn Kings. Depending on how the week goes, they could be in first place, as they're 19-14 and just a game behind Cleveland for the lead. We'll get to miss 20-year-old phenom Ken Newman (.265, 1, 13), but he hasn't been too scary and there is a lot of thump in the #1 scoring team's lineup. Ralph Johnson has been killing it in every way, shape, and form, as he's already worth 3 WAR in just 33 games. The soon-to-be 25-year-old is off to a preposterous start to the season, slashing an astronomical .374/.490/.626 (193 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers, and 24 RBIs, drawing 28 walks to just 7 strikeouts. If that wasn't enough to deal with, Pat Petty (.343, 4, 22) is doing all he can to prove I was foolish for not trading for him, and they've gotten excellent production from John Moss (.300, 2, 12), Chuck Collins (.273, 4, 13), and Dan Smith (.280, 2, 16). Lucky for us, there is a way to stop them, as the pitching has been shaky at times. Joe Potts (4-1, 2.90, 17) has been a shocking revelation for Brooklyn, but Bob Arman (3-4, 4.27, 33) is walking batters at a 16% clip and they already banished Rusty Petrick (0-2, 6.29, 14) to the pen. If there's ever a time for our staff to wake up, it's now, because otherwise we're in for a slugfest of potentially epic proportions. Minor League Report CF Don Lee (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Don Lee has seemingly taken his demotion to the minors well, as he's regained some of his offensive production, taking home Century Player of the Week after going 13-for-33 with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 2 steals, a triple, 10 runs, and 11 RBIs. Lee is now slashing an outstanding .287/.400/.557 (146 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 4 triples, 6 homers, 10 steals, and 28 RBIs. He's on pace for 126 runs, 126 RBIs, and 104 walks in just 135 games, and he's on pace for an 8.6 WAR season that would rival what Sal Pestilli is doing on the big league club. A long time member of the big league squad, Lee returned to the minors for the first time since 1944, where he hit an impressive .288/.424/.465 (162 OPS+) with 20 double, 6 triples, 7 homers, 15 steals, and 45 RBIs with a superb 73-to-29 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He hasn't come close to that in the majors, and aside from the last year of the war he hasn't had too much success. Still, the former 2nd Rounder and brother of current Sailor Rip Lee does own a .246/.356/.370 (108 OPS+) batting line in 439 FABL games since his callup during the 1944 season. Two additional option years worked against Lee, who might find his way back in Chicago if he keeps hitting like this. We haven't got much from our non-Pestilli outfielders, so if a roster spot empties or Chubby Hall (who's been the best of the non-Pestillis) angers me enough to warrant a DFA. And there's always the chance that the rarely used George Dawson will wear out his welcome. It's going to be tough for Lee to work his way back into our future plans, but he's always shown offensive promise and I'm sure he can get more out with a quick reset. He's always been a hard worker and a club leader, so when the offense disappeared, he still provided value to the clubhouse. 2B Johnnie Love (B San Jose Cougars): With all the highly touted prospects on the San Jose roster, it's easy to overlook Johnnie Love. An 8th Round Pick out of Bluegrass State last year, Love doesn't appear on the Cougars top 40 or league's top 500, but that hasn't stopped the 22-year-old from showing off. In his first 31 games, he's hit .388/.429/.587 (169 OPS+) with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, and 27 RBIs. He had success after the draft in San Jose last year as well, batting .320/.385/.469 (121 OPS+) in 52 appearances. A natural second basemen, Love has been playing regularly at the hot corner, but the early results (-2.0, .928) haven't been great so far. But the switch hitter has more then made up for it at the plate, and he's positioned himself to earn a callup before the new class of draftees role in. And while he doesn't project to be a regular at the game's highest level, his bat has impressed and he could work his way onto a big league bench.

11-30-2023, 10:12 PM	#1268
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 6: May 23rd-May 29th Weekly Record: 3-2 Seasonal Record: 19-20 (6th, 5 GB) Stars of the Week Sal Pestilli : 18 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.187 OPS Hal Sharp : 12 AB, 5 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .417 AVG, .833 OPS Pete Papenfus : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 5 BB, 3 K, 2.00 ERA Schedule 5-24: Loss at Sailors (3-4) 5-25: Win at Sailors (8-4) 5-27: Win vs Kings (2-6) 5-28: Win vs Kings (0-4) 5-29: Win vs Kings (1-3) Recap Win games, lose ground! I'll take it! Now just a game under .500, we're back to five out, good for sole possession of sixth place. We got some solid pitching for a change, as Donnie Jones bested the #1 offense in a 2-hit shutout. Donnie struck out four and walked two in the win, and after allowing six homers in his first five starts, has now gone four in a row without one. His second start wasn't as great, allowing 12 hits and 4 runs with 3 strikeouts in 8 innings pitched. Like the team, Jones is a game under .500, 4-5 in nine starts. He's brought his FIP (3.84, 98) back above average and his ERA (4.17, 94) is getting close too. I'm hoping the two hitter is a sign of what's to come, as the former Allen winner has a tendency to put together runs like these. Duke Bybee was given two starts as well, the second on short rest (I must've miss-counted), and despite the decision that was actually the better one. Like Jones, he kept the Kings in check, allowing just 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts. That brought him within one of the league leader, Peter the Heater himself (37), but since we scored just one run, he dropped his third decision. In his fifth win, he went eight as well, but allowed 9 hits, 4 runs, and 5 walks with just 2 strikeouts. Ken Matson ended up finishing that one, striking out two in a perfect ninth. Pete Papenfus made the final start, improving to 4-3 with a complete game win against the Kings. They put runners on base, as Pap walked 5 and allowed 7 hits, but he struck out 3 and allowed just a pair of runs, including the FABL home run of Dan Herrick's (.148, 1, 3) career. Despite his strikeout lead, his K% is down almost a point and a half (14.0 to 12.6) and his 4.04 ERA (97 ERA+) would be the worst mark since a 4.57 ERA (94 ERA+) at 21. With the struggles of these three before this week, it's no surprise we're a game under .500, and if these three repeat what they did this week, maybe we can pounce. Gosh my optimism is just too high right now! When will I be brought back down to earth? Please not tomorrow... I think it's time I start calling Sal "Super Sal Pestilli" as it seems like the Westerly native has finally unlocked his true form, as the 1938 Whitney Winner (he was just 22!) put together another impressive week. Sal went 7-for-18 with a double and two homers. He drew two walks, scored five runs, and drove in nine more to up his season line to .342/.387/.551 (151 OPS+). Otto Christian hit his second homer of the season, going 2-for-8 with a walk, run, and 3 RBIs. His platoon partner Walt Pack didn't homer, but was a better 4-for-11 with a pair of RBIs. Hal Sharp and Chubby Hall had decent weeks, a combined 9-for-22 with 2 runs from Hall and 3 RBIs from Hal. We got bad news with Billy Hunter, as the talented veteran is back on the IL with a back strain. Hunter will miss at least the next four weeks, and it couldn't have been at a worse time. In 16 games he was hitting .321/.410/.698 (195 OPS+) and he's already slugged 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 home runs. His 1.1 WAR is already higher then his 0.7 in 79 games (238 PAs) last season, as he's still a steady presence at the keystone and was swinging the bat the best he ever has. It's going to be impossible to replace that production, but I'm at least going to try to. Clark Car did have a 3-for-6 game last week in Toronto, but I'm not ready to give him all the at bats. He'll join George Sutterfield, who has hit .303/.384/.468 (121 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 6 steals, and 15 RBIs in 127 trip to the plate in his return to the Century League. He's split time between short and second, but he'll get about half the starts this week at second base. It's not a platoon in the strictest sense, but it could develop into that if neither takes advantage of the opportunity. If Sutterfield doesn't hit, I don't mind sending him back and trying someone else, but I'd love for the former top prospect to finally seize a spot in the starting lineup. Looking Ahead After finishing a series here, we'll head to Montreal for three games in two days, before returning back to host the Wolves. Montreal is half a game above us, so with a good showing at the Parc Cartier we could jump above them. Pat Weakly (0-1, 6.75, 2) got hurt in his return to the rotation, so the Saints may need a spot starter to pitch with Bert Cupid (4-4, 2.84, 23) in the double header. Cupid has a near identical ERA+ (145 to 142) and FIP- (88 to 86) from his excellent showing last year, but the real surprise has been Pete Ford. The 28-year-old is 5-1 in his 8 starts, working to an impressive 3.10 ERA (130 ERA+) and 1.34 WHIP. We won't see him here, he pitched in their double header to finish the week, but he did beat us back in April (8.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K). Offensively they are scoring a lot of runs, with rookie leadoff man Joe Austin hitting .326/.408/.472 (OPS+) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 14 RBIs, 11 walks, and 8 steals. Yes, that's the same Joe Austin from the Red Bond trade, as our former 8th Round Pick made his first Opening Day roster and hiss 145 WRC+ would have looked really nice in our lineup. The Montreal native has spent most of his time at second, forming a formidable double play combo with Gordie Perkins (.307, 3, 25). Behind them in the lineup is rookie sensation Otis O'Keefe (.293, 4, 17) and sluggers Maurice Carter (.272, 7, 25) and Bill Greene (.273, 7, 28, 4). This lineup can do a lot of damage, but we're lucky to face a tired staff which has gotten a lot of work since the start of May. The Wolves have just a double header on Monday, so they can head to Chicago a day early to prep for our series. We won't see either double header pitcher, and that means avoiding personal favorite of mine Jim Morrison (4-0, 1.75, 21), who has the lowest ERA in either association. I don't see a way where he doesn't pitch the double header, but there's a chance former Cougar draftee Harry Stewart (2-1, 3, 3.93, 5) join him against the Foresters. His first start of the season came against us, and we piled on 7 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 2 walks, with not one of the thirteen batters he retired set down on strikes. It's nice seeing the now 27-year-old get a shot in the rotation, as the hard working righty has put in more then enough effort to earn it. Missing those two would mean George Garrison (4-4, 3.14, 32), Joe Hancock (2-2, 4.18, 19), and Jimmy Gibbs (3-3, 3.99, 16), as the struggling Jerry York (0-6, 6.93, 13) was banished to Buffalo. We may not get many run, but if we can keep the ageless Fred McCormick (.358, 2, 18) in check we have a good chance to come away with the series victory. Our weekend will occupied by the Sailors, who are in town for the first two of three. Win Lewis (1-6, 5.74, 21) has now lost five in a row and Al Duster (2-5, 6.26, 23) and Slick Wesolowski (1-3, 4.04, 19) were just hit hard. They're allowing the second most runs while scoring the fewest amount of runs. Don's brother Rip Lee has been one of the biggest culprits, as after hitting .283/.365/.404 (112 OPS+), the 35-year-old is hitting a putrid .185/.252/.274 (37 OPS+) with his highest K% (10.5) and his lowest BB% (7.8). It would be a shame if this is the end for the longtime Sailor shortstop, who missed out on four years of counting stats by serving in his country. He has still managed to tally 1,251 hits in 1,277 games, worth an impressive 30.5 wins above replacement. His 100 WRC+ is respectable for a shortstop, especially when you consider the 52.1 zone rating and 1.029 efficiency. It's too early to panic, but if thing get back 10th ranked prospect Al Farmer (.286, 1, 2) can push Les Cunha (.267, 2, 19) from second to short. Despite playing second for most of his career, he did play strictly shortstop his first two seasons in Philly. I'd let Rip stick it out, especially if the Sailors can't get it going, as he was such a good hitter since returning from the war.

12-01-2023, 09:01 PM	#1269
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 7: May 30th-June 5th Weekly Record: 5-3 Seasonal Record: 24-23 (4th, 4 GB) Stars of the Week Sal Pestilli : 36 AB, 17 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .472 AVG, 1.263 OPS Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 10 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .400 AVG, .963 OPS Chubby Hall : 31 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .290 AVG, .720 OPS Schedule 5-30: Win at Saints (2-0) 5-30: Loss at Saints (3-6) 5-31: Win at Saints (5-3) 6-1: Win vs Wolves (0-5) 6-2: Win vs Wolves (1-5) 6-3: Loss vs Wolves (3-2) 6-4: Loss vs Sailors (4-1): 11 innings 6-5: Win vs Sailors (1-10) Recap Hey, would you look at this! Above .500! And we can pitch again! Seven of the eight games saw our starter allow three or fewer runs, and we got shutouts from both the Jones brothers. Donnie followed up his 2-hit, 2-walk shutout with a 1-hit, 1-walk shutout where he set down six Wolve on strikes in our 5-0 victory. He's now an even 5-5 with a much improved 3.69 ERA (107 ERA+) and 1.15 WHIP with 37 strikeouts and a 3.58 FIP (90 FIP-) in 78 innings pitched. Johnnie has arguably been our best pitcher so far, and he threw a 3-hit shutout with a pair of walks and strikeouts in the 2-0 win over the Saints. His second start wasn't as great, but back-to-back errors cost him two of his three runs allowed. Johnnie got all but one out, throwing 150 pitches and leaving with 6 hits, 6 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Now 5-4, Johnnie has an outstanding 2.86 ERA (138 ERA+), but he's walking (42) way more hitters then he's struck out (23). While always an issue, these are his worst walk (13.6) and strikeout rates (7.5) since becoming a full-time starter. If he can start finding the zone more, I'd be extremely encouraged, but for now I'm going to enjoy the lack of runs allowed. We got an early injury scare against the Wolves, as Duke Bybee left with a mild abdominal strain. Little injuries like this are common for Bybee, who's had six day-to-day injuries lasting less then a week and a second lasting exactly one, since he returned from the Marines Corps. He left after three hits and four outs, but this opened the door for Charlie Kelsey to excel and save his roster spot. The struggling righty was in danger of losing his pen spot, especially with Harry Parker beginning rehab today, but he threw 7.1 stellar innings. Kelsey threw 105 pitches, allowing just 2 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts. This dropped his ERA from 5.51 to 4.18 (94 ERA+) in 23.2 innings pitched. Now Ken Matson, who got the last out, may be in risk of being optioned, as he's thrown just 8.1 innings and allowed 8 hits, 5 runs, and a walk with 5 strikeouts. Both Pete Papenfus and George Oddo made two starts, with Pap going 1-0 and Oddo 0-1. He didn't look great against the Saints, allowing 4 hits and 8 walks, but just one of his three runs were earned and he struck out 6 in 6.2 innings. Pap was back on it against the Sailors, as the 31-year-old veteran allowed just 6 hits, a run, and a walk with 7 strikeouts in the complete game win. The fireballer has now won four in a row, and with 50 strikeouts he's the only Continental Association pitcher with more then 40. His 3.51 ERA (112 ERA+) is back above average, even if his 4.47 FIP (113 FIP-) doesn't buy it, but a lot can be blamed on 10 homers in 84.2 innings. George Oddo has dealt with home run issues too, but he allowed just one in his loss to the Saints. Now 0-4, Oddo allowed 11 hits, 5 runs, and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7 innings. His bad luck continued against the Sailors, as despite just a single run allowed, he didn't get a decision since we scored just one run. Oddo even pitched the 10th, allowing 4 hits and 4 walks with just 1 run and 7 strikeouts, which was enough to lower his ERA to an adjusted league average 3.93. The Sailors then got three in the 11th, including two on a Joe Scott (.273, 6, 20) home run, as Harry MacRae allowed 4 hits and the three runs in a shaky eleventh. Even with this misstep, it was still a very successful week for the pitching staff, as it's now back-to-back successful weeks. This is how we should have been pitching all year long, but with plenty of season left for the rotation to strut their stuff, I am more then confident in a strong bounce-back. The offense, well, has some holes, but good thing we have two 7-Time All-Stars! Super Sal Pestilli was marvelous once again, capturing his first of hopefully many Player of the Weeks this season. The 33-year-old center fielder went 17-for-36 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, a triple, 3 steals, 3 walks, 7 runs, and 9 RBIs as he reached the 3 WAR mark through 46 games. This puts him on a 9.9 pace, which would be a new personal best. Sal's slashed a stellar .366/.410/.588 (166 OPS+) and his 175 WRC+ would be higher then the 156 he set in his Whitney Winning season. Shortstop Skipper Schneider hasn't quite hit at his level, but the tenth year vet went 10-for-25 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, 4 walks, and 2 steals. Like Pestilli, he's in the midst of his best offensive season, hitting a well above average .322/.405/.450 (130 OPS+) with an even higher 142 WRC+. Skipper's added 11 doubles, 3 homers, 3 steals, 23 RBIs, and a 23-to-7 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Again, Skipper is one of the top defensemen (5.9, 1.084) at short and he's been worth nearly three (2.7) WAR himself. Beyond those two, there hasn't been much offense coming from the lineup, but some of the part-timers have done great. Otto Christian was 3-for-10, with all three hits of the extra base variety. He doubled and hit his third and fourth homers of the season, and he drew a pair of walks. The 26-year-old has now made 68 trips to the plate, and he owns a productive .250/.299/.517 (116 OPS+) line. Leo Mitchell hit his third homer, now just one away from his total last year, and went 2-for-6 with a walk. George Dawson got a start at second, and was 2-for-4 with a walk and RBI. Ray Ford went 4-for-11 with a walk and three runs, and Clark Car even went 4-for-13 with a double. George Sutterfield had a decent return to the lineup, 3-for-11 with 2 steals and 3 walks, runs, and RBIs. Even better, he's done well defensively in a small sample at second (0.3, 1.034), and for some reason the game thinks he's our #3 player (behind Skipper and Sal). That's definitely a stretch, but he's always had plenty of talent, and I have faith that he'll provide a few more weeks like this. The draft pool was officially released today, which means we'll get a look at the first mock draft before the draft officially takes place on Monday the 20th (probably Tuesday or Wednesday in real life). I'm not overly thrilled with our class, probably because of the crazy awful lottery luck and lack of draft pick trading, but the mock has plenty of Cougar draftees. The guy I'm most excited about, second basemen Biff Tiner, ranks 10th on the mock and 5th on Dixie Marsh's first round list. Joining Tiner on the mock are 2nd Rounder Wilson McKinney (3.1), who I was somewhat worried wouldn't be ranked, 3rd Rounder Fred Crawford (3.8), 4th Rounder Buster Clark (3.13), and 6th Rounder Lou Jackson (5.8). It's honestly better then I expected, and along with Tiner, Marsh has Houston (19th), his number two pitcher, in his top 20, with McKinney and Crawford at 38 and 39. It's not great, but still potentially a solid haul to reinforce the #1 and near 200 point (194) farm. Looking Ahead One more with the Sailors, who we split the first two at Cougars Stadium. We're set to see the red-hot Donnie Jones (5-5, 3.69, 37) to take on "Can't Buy a Win" Lewis (1-6, 5.09, 24), who got a no decision despite six excellent frames where he allowed just 5 hits, a walk, and unearned run in a no decision against the Cannons. Despite the elevated ERA, his FIP is a strong 3.68 (90 FIP-) with solid walk (6.8) and strikeout (10.2) rates. In the lineup, the Sailors did make a move, but it was not moving Rip Lee (.197, 1, 8) to the bench. Instead, former 9th Pick Al Farmer (.243, 1, 2) will replace Les Cunha (.265, 2, 19) at second, batting fifth between slugger Joe Scott (.273, 6, 20) and speedster Harvey Brown (.253, 1, 14, 8). Ed Reyes (.373, 3, 17) now has enough at bats to qualify for the batting title, something he's looking to win for the fifth straight season. He gave them their lone run in our 10-1 beatdown of them, and shows no signs of slowing down. I'm still feeling pretty good about this game, as Donnie seems to be really slinging it, but we can't underestimate someone as skilled as Lewis when our offense is basically comprised by two stars and nothing more. The homestand continues with three against the Cannons, who have dropped to 24-22 and lead us by just a single game. Rufus Barrell (5-4, 2.99, 37) ran into a rough patch not long ago, as the surprise Foresters tagged him for 10 hits and 8 runs in just 3.1 innings pitched. We're set to get him in either the second or final game, with the other two projected starters veteran Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.84, 25) and rookie Tony Britten (4-4, 3.93, 27). I like our chance against both of them, and we actually beat Rufus last time (8 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) we were matched up against him. This time around they could have Adam Mullins (.400, 2, 11) back in the lineup, as he's healthy for the first time since early May now that his shoulder is back to 100%. They could use his bat back, as Paul Wilkerson (.273, 3) has just a 66 WRC+ in 23 games, and Denny Andrews (.194, 2, 21) just can't get thing going. There's only so much Mike Taylor (.321, 3, 16, 2), Chuck Adams (.291, 7, 30), and Fred Galloway (.297, 1, 14, 2) can do on their own, and the return of Mullins may be the spark they need to stay in the first division. We then finish our week with the other Ohio team, welcoming the first place Foresters to town for three. At 28-19, Cleveland holds a 2.5 game lead over the Stars, as they somehow own the association's best staff (1st, 163) and a top offense (t-2nd, 203) despite having a mostly pieced together roster. They've made the shocking decision to replace Ivey Henley (.262, 2, 14) in the lineup with Luke Berry (.256, 5), who has gone 10-for-33 through his first two weeks in Cleveland. I'm not sure how long he lasts, but considering nearly all their offense comes from Orie Martinez (.280, 7, 24) and the finally healthy Jim Adams Jr. (.369, 5, 25, 2), it may not matter who they have patrolling left. The lineup could be reinforced with a midseason trade, with upgrades possible at left, center, short, catcher, and either second or third, wherever Adams isn't slotted in. They will be without 23-year-old shortstop Eddie Morris (.236, 1, 8), opening a spot back up for Glenn White (.286, 7), but they've been active on waivers early on, and we may see a few more claims as they look to bolster the roster. The pitching has impressed too, as 1947 CA ERA leader Ollie White (4-4, 2.79, 36) looks like the same guy he was as a rookie, and 24-year-old John Jackson (4-2, 2.48, 19) has taken a huge step forward in year two. Both are highly touted young pitchers who have spent time in the top half of the top prospect lists, and they could form a formidable 1-2 punch for years to come. Between them is "The Mad Professor" Adrian Czerwinski (9-1, 3.05, 19), a righty from Chicago who could make it a true three-headed monster. White is the oldest of the trio at 25, so if these guys manage to reach their peaks, Foresters rotations of the 50s could rival the ones comprised of Dean Astle, Eddie Quinn, Roger Perry, and Ben Turner. They did recently make another rotation change, moving Kirby Brewer (1-1, 3.00, 7) to the pen in favor of former King and Pioneer Charlie Leist (1-2, 4.93, 8), but regardless of who we face it may be tough to come across runs. This is no longer the Foresters teams we are used to beating up on, and even at home it will be tough to come away with the series win. Minor League Report RF Jimmy Hairston (AAA Milwaukee Blues): It was a great week for Jimmy Hairston, who went an impressive 13-for-22 with 2 double, a triple, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. Hairston has been great all season, slashing an impressive .306/.415/.530 (146 OPS+) with an elite 161 WRC+ to go with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers, 22 runs, 23 walks, and 26 RBIs. It's been a great all-around performance for the former 4th Rounder, who may find himself in Chicago if he keeps this up. Hal Sharp (51), Chubby Hall (96), Leo Mitchell (76), and Carlos Montes (34) all have WRC+ below 100, and Dixie think Hairston is more then ready for a callup and big league debut. He projects to be an above average hitter, due to a strong hit tool and excellent command of the strike zone. He's matched each strikeout this season with a walk, and tends to hold walk percentages in the double digits. Hairston isn't the only Blues hitter performing, as Johnny Peters (160) and Don Lee (139) are in the midst of outstanding seasons of their own, but I might cutting bait with some of the struggling vets to make room for the more exciting young outfielders. LHP Dutch Yoak (A Lincoln Legislators): Last week we needed a pitcher in Lincoln, as Jim Williams (3-1, 3.03, 12) fractured his finger. I could have gone with the guy listed below, but I thought Dutch Yoak was more deserving. He rewarded my faith with a dominant start against the visiting Evansville Hawks. Yoak allowed just 6 hits and a walk, while striking out 2 in a 6-0 shutout victory. That's already Yoak's second shutout of the season, and when combined with his six starts in San Jose he's now 5-1 on the season. Scheduled to open the week in Gary against the Steelmen, the now 22-year-old Yoak is attempting to pitch his way back into our future plans. A highly touted high school arm, Yoak has stalled out a bit, and after making it to Lincoln in 1947, he endured a rough year back in San Jose last year. His stuff hasn't been flushed out yet, but he sits right below 90 and projects to have plus stuff when fully developed. His control has held him back in the past, but he has just 21 walks in 56.1 innings, with a bit more then twice as many (43) punchouts. There's a long way to go, but if all goes well Yoak could finish the season in Mobile, and a big season could grab the attention of a pitching needy team willing to devote a roster spot to him for all of 1950. LHP Dixie Gaines (B San Jose Cougars): Part of me wanted to give him a shot to go 10-0, but I could no longer leave Dixie Gaines in San Jose. The 21-year-old southpaw ended things on a high note, winning his 8th start as the Cougars slaughtered the Mounties 18-3. Dixie went 7, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs with 8 strikeouts as he finished the week with the Cougars 31st win of the season. This came after being named Pitcher of the Month for May, going 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA (304 ERA+) and 1.01 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and just 7 walks. The newest member of the Lincoln Legislators finished with a 1.21 ERA (362 ERA+) and 1.02 WHIP. In 59.2 innings he struck out 57 and walked just 16, with five of the free passes coming in his most recent start. The former 4th Rounder allowed just one home run, and his 67% groundball percentage is one of the highest I've ever seen. High groundball percentages are expected for the soft tossing Gaines, who has a very tough sinker that keeps his infielders on their toes. It's one of five excellent pitches, with his change the cream of the crop. I like his splitter too, but all five pitches get excellent downward movement, with only the curve still needing some work. It's easy to get excited about the stats, but the raw talent excites as well. There's a reason he's ranked 40th among all prospects, and he should fit comfortably in a big league rotation. That won't be in Chicago for a few more years, but OSA sees 1951 as a reasonable debut year. But if he continues to baffle Single-A pitchers like he did a level below, it will be tough to keep him down on the farm for much longer. Attached Images

12-01-2023, 11:21 PM	#1270
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 1 and 2 1st Round, 13th Overall: 2B Biff Tiner School: Elkin Elks Commit School: Bayou State College 1949: .482/.537/.877, 137 PA, 14 2B, 8 3B, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 33 SB Career: .503/.562/.861, 510 PA, 58 2B, 26 3B, 15 HR, 132 RBI, 114 SB After back-to-back .500 seasons at Elkin High School in North Carolina, Biff Tiner hit just .482 with a career high 27 extra base hits. He matched his previous best for homers and set a new best for triples, so the low average may have been just bad BABIP luck. Our initial mock has him tenth and Dixie Marsh places him fifth on his first round list, profiling him as "an everyday second basemen who can make an impact on a top-tier team." The four year starter certainly showed that, batting an impressive .503/.562/.861 with in 100 high school games. He was worth 2.8 or more WAR in each season and his lowest combined batting line would be .482/.537/.820 -- which would still be a pretty impressive season on its own. 18 in exactly one month, there is a lot to like about the Burlington native, who is strong and hardworking and gifted in multiple facets at the plate. He hits a lot of line drives and if he can come close to his impressive walk (9.8%) and strikeout (4.7%) numbers in the majors he can be like Skipper, but if he improves the walk rate he could develop into a prime Freddie Jones. That's a lofty comparison and far from a sure bet, but there are a lot of similarities in their games. Both hit a lot of line drives and were skilled at putting the ball in play. One big difference is Tiner's speed, as he could swipe a few bases to jumpstart the offense. What could set Tiner apart from Jones is the potential power, and if he's hitting double digit homers I don't think he'll have such a discrepancy between walks and strikeouts. As such a raw prospect, there's a lot of ways his development could go, and the one consistent should be his hit tool. He's always going to bat around .300. What will determine how much he plays is how often he walks or puts the ball out of the park. Line drive hitters aren't easy to come upon, and he could be among the leaders in extra base hits if he continues to hit the ball hard. 2nd Round, 23rd Overall: RHP Wilson McKinney School: Colonel White Cougars Commit School: Cumberland University 1949: 4-0, 51 IP, 0.35 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 10 BB, 110 K Career: 8-0, 103.1 IP, 0.87 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 23 BB, 195 K Part of me was worried that Wilson McKinney would be tough to sign. I'm not sure how relieved I am that he instead demands just $1,700 to forego his commitment to Cumberland University. I was hoping he'd get more innings in his second season, but despite throwing even less innings (52.1 to 51) as a senior, the Ohio native was flat-out dominant. McKinney struck out 55% of the batters he faced, which was best among all draft eligible players. As was his 50 K%-BB%. This level of command is impressive, as he already has great mastery of his five pitches. Now hitting 89 with his cutter, his go-to change is even more effective, as the difference in speeds allows it to be more effective. I don't know if he'll get many more velocity bumps, but he's always working on his repertoire and I think him and Garland Phelps will make quick friends. That my take a bit, as I can't imagine McKinney starting any where other then La Crosse and Phelps is off to a decent enough start (.304, 1, 16) in Lincoln. But with just a year between them their careers could mix often. With how good his stuff is, he could have a short stay in the low minors, but there's no need to rush the righty up the ladder.

12-03-2023, 12:13 AM	#1271
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 3 and 4 3rd Round, 45th Overall: CF Fred Crawford School: Hardwick Friars Commit School: Davidson University 1949: .536/.556/.800, 136 PA, 16 2B, 7 3B, HR, 36 RBI, 35 SB Career: .540/.561/.805, 389 PA, 51 2B, 17 3B, 3 HR, 106 RBI, 102 SB Unlike Biff Tiner, Fred Crawford made it three straight .500 seasons, and for Crawford three seasons is his entire high school career. A hardworking outfielder from Massachusetts, he's not the most talented guy out there. But he is one of the quickest players and he always gives over 100%. He'll never hit for much power, but he's at his best when he's keeping the ball on the ground. He'll hit them hard, so if a player is out of position or caught between hops, Crawford can find himself on base. He has a quick stroke and attacks the ball and he's not the type of hitter to wait back in the count. He won't walk or strike out much, which is good because his skillset is best utilized by making things happen. Worst case scenario he's an awesome pinch runner, but I expect him to be so much more then that. Dixie Marsh is a huge fan, recently labeling him a "reliable hitter in the organization's grand scheme," and I tend to believe him. He has all the makings of a leadoff hitter. The best comparison for his bat may be Minutemen shortstop Harry Barrell, but the elite shortstop doesn't have anywhere near the foot speed Frank has, although he'll never be anywhere near the defender Harry is. We'll be luck if he can stay in center, but interesting enough he's played a little second and third as well as the corner outfield spots. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up, but he'll be most valuable patrolling center. His defense needs some work, but I trust him to spend the requisite time to improve his game. 4th Round, 61st Overall: LHP Buster Clark School: Santa Cruz Pirates Commit School: St. Dominic's 1949: 5-0, 69.1 IP, 0.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 9 BB, 104 K Career: 9-0, SV, 127.1 IP, 0.92 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 20 BB, 198 K As the year went on, Buster Clark was one of the guys who rose up Dixie Marsh's list, and OSA liked enough of him to include the California native on their initial mock draft. It seem well deserved, as the southpaw walked just nine guys in just shy of seventy (69.1) innings. He was the only draft eligible pitcher to walk single digit batters, allowing one free pass fewer then our second rounder Wilson McKinney despite nearly twenty more innings. His 3.2 BB% was unsurprisingly best among available pitchers as well and his 11.6 K/BB was second to only Frank Young (11.9). He was throwing a tick harder this year, and it really made a difference, His ERA dropped almost 30 points and his WHIP down almost a full point. These are all encouraging signs, and I'm excited to see how his five pitches play against professional hitters. Four of his five pitches are pretty great already, with the slider especially lethal against fellow lefties. His sinker generates a ton of grounders and he locate his curve and splitter well. It's early, but he has all the tool to pitch in the big leagues, and there's a chance he could be this year's Dixie Gaines. I really think we got a good one here. Last edited by ayaghmour2; 12-06-2023 at 04:01 PM.

12-03-2023, 07:30 AM	#1272
StLee Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NC Posts: 4,971	Glad to see the Cougars have been turning it around in the last few weeks. The CA looks to be winnable with a .550 winning percentage, so winning weeks help each time as long as you can avoid more of those terrible weeks like Week 2. I also love the names of two of your draft picks: Biff Tiner and Buster Clark. Those are names that would thrive 356 years into the future. __________________ Fan of LSU sports (especially baseball and football), New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Braves (Dale Murphy for the HOF!). Current dynasties: Fallout 4's Commonwealth Baseball Organization Completed dynasty: Fallout: New Vegas' Mojave Baseball League Uniforms: My custom uniforms

12-03-2023, 12:29 PM	#1274
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 5-7 5th Round, 77th Overall: SS Freddie Hutchison School: North Carolina Tech Techster 1949: .255/.366/.306, 247 PA, 6 2B, 3B, HR, 26 RBI, 35 SB Career (COL): .264/.351/.345, 703 PA, 21 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 93 RBI, 111 SB Career (HS): .422/.508/.620, 506 PA, 42 2B, 9 3B, 7 HR, 110 RBI, 118 SB A guy who has dropped a bit since we selected him, Freddie Hutchison had a rough junior season, hitting just .255 with a homer and 26 RBIs for the Techsters. He set collegiate lows for doubles, homers, runs (40), RBIs, and steals, matched his low for triples, and set worsts in strikeouts (27), BB% (10.5), K% (10.9), OPS (.642), WAR (-0.5), and all three triple slash measures. 21 next week, Hutchison still gets some love from OSA (frontrunner for an audition as a shortstop), but Dixie Marsh isn't as fond as the infielder as he has been in the past. He likes his eye, speed, and swing, but views him more as a minor league depth piece then an every day player. His athleticism will work in his favor, and as a shortstop he has built in versatility, but it will be tough for him to separate himself from a lot of our talented young infielders. If we had an opportunity to "undo" a pick, he'd probably be my pick. That's not to say its a lost pick, utility players are very useful in their own right, but it would have been nice to grab someone with more upside here. But after taking only high school players, it made sense to go to the collegiate level, and Hutchison could still turn into a helpful organizational pick with the chance to work his way into a FABL lineup. 6th Round, 93rd Overall: CF Lou Jackson School: College of San Diego Friars 1949: .275/.341/.446, 264 PA, 11 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 32 SB Career (COL): .271/.338/.449, 698 PA, 28 2B, 26 3B, 10 HR, 86 RBI, 105 SB Career (HS): .425/.487/.736, 224 PA, 21 2B, 12 3B, 5 HR, 54 RBI, 63 SB Speaking of versatility, it's hard to get more versatile then Lou Jackson, who has spent time at first, second, short, left, right, and center, and I'm sure with a little work he'd be comfortable at the hot corner as well. An extra base machine, he hit 11 double and 10 triples as a junior and finished with 64 extra base hits in 138 games. Speed is a big part of his game too, as the 32 bases he stole this year was actually his smallest tally at College of San Diego, and he finished with 105 steals. He has a good eye too, walking (64) more then he's struck out (61), and that would be a useful too to keep up as when he's on base he can really cause damage. As a switch hitter as well, he's got almost everything you're looking for with a bench player, but Dixie thinks he "should be an average big leaguer." The mock has him as a fifth rounder, so you can take that how you'd like, but he's a very interesting young prospect. Coming out of college, he could probably rise up the ladder quickly, and if his infield defense is up to snuff he could be a very useful Tip Harrison type player. That's not to say he can't start, he's still a very talented player, but we have so many good young outfielders and I don't think he can surpass even Fred Crawford, let alone Johnny Peters, Henry Norman, and of course, Jerry Smith. 7th Round, 109th Overall: C Danny Noonan School: Huntington State Miners 1949: .256/.347/.376, 289 PA, 9 2B, 7 HR, 48 RBI, 14 SB Career (COL): .265/.362/.408, 701 PA, 22 2B, 21 HR, 41 SB Career (HS): .444/.547/.650, 345 PA, 25 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 78 RBI, 21 SB If you read This Week in Figment Baseball (which you definitely should if you aren't already), you would have saw a picture of Danny Noonan not too long ago, as he made a nice tag at the plate to save a run for Huntington State. That was one of the better moments, as despite a career high 57 games (previous high of 42), he didn't set a personal best in homers, he had just one more double then his freshman season, and his .256/.347/.376 batting line was a career worst. Luckily, most of Noonan's value comes from the glove, where he projects to be a good defensive catcher in terms of both arm and glove. The bat isn't too exciting, and he'll never hit for a high average, but he has nice pop and could push even 15 or 20 longballs in a season. He has a nice eye too, walking (34) more then he struck out (25) this season, something that he's made a habit of all the way back to his high school days. Even if he never secures a starting role, there's a lot to like with Noonan off the bench. The eye and power mixed with strong defense allows him to make an impact when he's giving the starter some needed rest, and he doesn't have to make many more improvements to be backup level. Dixie Marsh is way more encouraged by Noonan, thinking he has "obvious talent both on the field and at the plate," but Noonan to me checks more boxes as a reliable reserve. Like our other three college picks, they're more for the high floor then high ceiling, and I think we have three quality bench pieces with some upside to force their way into a lineup.

12-03-2023, 07:07 PM	#1275
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 8-10 8th Round, 125th Overall: CF Frank Falcao School: Mishawaka Pilots Commit School: Tallmadge State 1949: .434/.496/.761, 132 PA, 16 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 23 SB Career: .435/.500/.749, 243 PA, 29 2B, 9 3B, 6 HR, 60 RBI, 46 SB I was hoping for a big season from Fireball Frank Falcao, but he thoroughly disappointed, putting together a near identical in year two. Despite that, Dixie Marsh remains fond of the 18-year-old switch hitter, commenting on his contact ability, plate discipline, defense, and speed. Falcao is a pick purely on upside and I expect he's going to be one of the least developed members of the new draft class. Another thing working against him is the work ethic, but our system tends to do well getting the most out of guys who aren't used to giving it 100%. I think we were lucky to get him this late, but with an abundance of talented outfielders I'm sure some teams didn't want to double dip. Right now he profiles more of an athletic fourth outfielder, but he's a strong kid who hits the ball hard. He has a great approach at the plate and he won't strike out too much. With a little power he could be a better Carlos Montes type hitter, as Falcao should be able to hit around .290. It's yet to be seen if he'll match up defensively, but he has the requisite speed and both Dixie and OSA are fond of his defense. He may not get to play too much this year, but Falcao has the chance to take a much bigger role next season as some of our younger outfielders begin to move up. 9th Round, 141st Overall: RHP Luke Wright School: LaSalle Cavaliers Commit School: Spokane State 1949: 8-2, 94.1 IP, 1.24 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 23 BB, 123 K Career: 16-3, 189 IP, 1.52 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 58 BB, 261 K We took back-to-back Chicago kids with Frank Falcao and Luke Wright, but both were picked on merit not birthplace. 18 in August, Wright is already hitting 90 with his fastball while his sinker comes in about a mile slower. Aside from the hard stuff, he has a reliable change, slider, and splitter, and Dixie Marsh explains that "when he's on he's unhittable." Of course that is followed by "susceptible to the long ball and wandering command." Unlike the first two pitchers we took, command is not one of Wright's strong suits, as it has a long ways to go if he never adds any velocity. And unlike his fellow Chicagoan, Wright is inquisitive and is always asking coaches ways to improve. I love that about him, and it makes me believe he'll develop into a pitcher who is much better then just an average emergency starter. The stuff is superb, and if he can even sit in the 91-93 range I think he's going to be almost unhittable. Without the velocity, he's going to need to sharpen up his command, but that can be something saved for after his velocity stabilizes. I'm curious to see how he does in limited innings post-draft, as I don't want his innings total to go too high in year one. 10th Round, 157th Overall: RF Delos Williams School: Lincoln Tigers Commit School: St. Dominic's 1949: .462/.505/.703, 106 PA, 11 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 11 SB Career: .442/.496/.670, 450 PA, 43 2B, 7 3B, 11 HR, 116 RBI, 33 SB Wrapping up the first of what will be many ten person human draft classes is Delos Williams, a 18-year-old from California. A four year starter, Williams saved the best for last, hitting a solid .462/.505/.703 with 11 doubles, 11 walks, and 11 steals. Like his freshman and junior season, he hit three home runs, and finished with fifteen extra base hits. An aggressive hitter, he hits the ball hard, and at 6'3'' you have to imagine he's going to be able to hit home runs. Williams is also a good presence in the clubhouse and he has the makings of a future captain. When he talks, people listen, and I hope he'll help keep players accountable. He's the type who's always in the weight room and gives his all on drills. Pair that with a solid bat, and he's giving off Hal Sharp vibes without the attitude. Like Falcao, playing time may be tough to come by in year one, but I have no doubts that Williams will develop into a big league quality hitter. How good he hits and how much value he can provide in the field.

12-04-2023, 09:06 PM	#1276
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 8: June 6th-June 12th Weekly Record: 3-4 Seasonal Record: 27-27 (6th, 6 GB) Stars of the Week Chubby Hall : 24 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.111 OPS Red Bond : 19 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .316 AVG, .883 OPS Skipper Schneider : 25 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .280 AVG, .668 OPS Schedule 6-6: Win vs Sailors (2-3) 6-7: Loss vs Cannons (11-7) 6-8: Win vs Cannons (2-3): 10 innings 6-9: Loss vs Cannons (11-2): 12 innings 6-10: Loss vs Foresters (2-1) 6-11: Loss vs Foresters (5-4) 6-12: Win vs Foresters (9-1) Recap We won just one game against each of our three opponents, dropping right back to .500 with an unfortunate 3-4 week. It's a shame we can't take advantage of playing in front of our home fans, and they've been showing up less often then last season in a trend I'm hoping doesn't continue. One run losses were back on the menu again, dropping two against the Foresters, but the most annoying loss was the 11-2 loss in -- you read that right -- 12 innings against the Cannons. Based on the lack of run support and the fact it went in extras, it was pretty obvious the ever-so-unlucky George Oddo made the start, allowing just 7 hits, 2 runs, and a walk with 7 strikeouts in 8 impressive innings. It was Oddo's second start with seven strikeouts in a row the second time this season he walked just one hitter with six or more strikeouts. Harry MacRae did his best to give the offense a chance, scattering three hits and a walk in three innings, but the Cougars couldn't solve Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.51, 29) and Butch Smith (1-0, 1, 4.61, 6). Enter Ken Matson, who came on for the 12th, but instead of getting outs, he he allowed all seven hitters he faced to reach base and later score. Yes, Max Wilder watched him fail seven times before finally turning to Jim Kenny, who allowed four more hits and two more runs before finally finishing the nightmarish twelfth. Obviously we showed no fight in the bottom half, as Lou Robertson (1-5, 5, 6.75, 6) got three quick outs, but if it wasn't enough to lose that game, two games later Matson again got the loss against the Cannons. It was just a walk and run in the top of the 10th, but even if he was perfect, it wouldn't have been enough to save his roster spot. The fall from grace for Matson is finally complete, as after a 1.01 ERA (346 ERA+) and 0.82 WHIP in 26.2 innings pitched in 1946, he put together two average seasons before completing nosediving here. Matson has allowed 15 hits, 13 runs, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched, and he's already been charged with 4 of our 27 losses (15%) despite pitching in just nine games. He recently gained the ability to refuse a minor league assignment, so I wasted no time in sending him down. He hasn't pitched in the minors since 1944, so it's a big change for the 31-year-old veteran. Matson will return to the rotation, and will look to rebuild his value in his last option year. The obvious choice to replace Matson would be Harry Parker, but the 34-year-old is not quite ready. He has made just one appearance since early April, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in a five inning start. I want him to get at least two more starts, but chances are he'll run out most of his rehab assignment. That means we need a short-term replacement, and we'll welcome back a familiar face. He didn't throw a FABL inning last season, but after accounting for the five years (he was the second person to enlist!) in the service, Rusty Watts made at least one appearance in four consecutive seasons for us, working to a respectable 3.20 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.45 WHIP in 76 innings. The fireballer struck out 37 and walked 31, and he never walked more hitters the he struck out. Now 34, Watts has spent almost the entirety of the last three seasons in Milwaukee, and is in the midst of a stellar season for the Blues. In 24.1 innings out of the pen, he has a 2.59 ERA (157 ERA+) and 1.44 WHIP while going 4-1 with 3 saves. Now he's walked (14) more guys then he's struck out (12), and despite his flyball tendencies he's yet to allow a homer. A basic fastball/slider southpaw, he can eat a few innings for us until Parker is ready, and he should be easy enough to pass through waivers. Even if he doesn't, it's no real loss for us, and I'd be happy for the former 13th Rounder if he got a major league opportunity somewhere else. Other events in the week include the criminal breaking of Sal Pestilli's 22-game hit stream, as Manager Max Wilder made the ever-so-annoying decision of using Pestilli as a defensive sub, so he ended up going 0-for-1 and losing the streak. It was one for the ages, as the soon-to-be 8-Time All Star went 33-for-85 (.388) with 4 doubles, a triple, 6 homers, 17 runs, and 27 RBIs. The streak contained a seven game multi-hit streak, a an eleven game run streak, and a six game stretch where he drove in sixteen runs! Through 53 games, our superstar slugger has hit an imposing .349/.396/.572 (158 OPS+), but when he goes on an off week (4-for-21), there was no one to pick up the slack. No one comes close to his average, RBIs, slugging, and OPS while only Red Bond is close to Sal's ten homers. To be fair, Bond himself did have a decent week, going 6-for-19 with a homer, 2 RBIs, and 5 runs, but his .243/.293/.461 (100 OPS+) is basically average, and he's somehow being outperformed by one of the prospects he was traded for, Joe Austin, who has a 146 WRC+, 16 steals, and a .326/.406/.481 (130 OPS+) batting line. The #80 prospect would look mighty fine at second, as Clark Car (4-for-15, R) had another relatively useless week while George Sutterfield (2-for-12, 2B, 4 R, SB) didn't do much better. Surprisingly it's Chubby Hall who's been one of the best hitters, going 9-for-24 with a double, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs in the week. The former Cougar draftee has hit .279/.360/.426 (111 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 4 homers, and 21 RBIs, as he's secured the starting left field job. It's no surprise that we're .500 considering he's been one of our more valuable hitters, and now six games out of first, we're quickly running out of time. Based on the record and some of the scores this week, you would have thought the starters were hit hard, but there was only one start this week where the starter allowed more then two runs, and it came from the guy that had the only start with less then two runs allowed. That was the struggling Duke Bybee, who even after a complete game win with 7 hits, a run, and 5 walks now sports a 4.45 ERA (89 ERA+) through 12 starts. Bybee is the only rotation member with an ERA above 3.75, and it's not too long ago (a bit over month) where his ERA was just 3.13. The Cannons got to him in the 11-7 loss, as Duke was charged with 8 hits, 6 runs, and 2 walks as the dreaded zero strikeout start made its return from last season. I'm going to blame it on some lingering pain from his abdominal strain, but after being selected to his first career All-Star game last season, Bybee has been plagued by the longball (11; 1.2) and his BABIP is nearly 30 points higher then his career mark. There's plenty of time for the talented lefty to turn things around, but with how good Johnnie Jones (6-4, 2.73, 29) has been, we may end up moving Duke a spot lower in the rotation. Johnnie himself stayed hot, picking up a 10-inning complete game win. He struck out a season high 6, charged with 7 hits, 2 runs, and 5 walks as he improved to 6-4. The walks continue to be a red flag, he's walked an unhealthy 13.4% of batters he faced, and I'm always worried about his inevitable second half slide. Still, it's hard to be mad about a 2.73 ERA (145 ERA+) and 1.38 WHIP, and he continues to show the ability to pitch effectively deep into games. Donnie picked up two starts, earning a win and no decision. The win started the week, as we captured the Sailors series on his back. He allowed 2 runs, which was perfect considering we only scored 3, with 9 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He then left after 8 while we were down 2-1 against the Foresters, and he looked more like his brother then himself. Again, he gave up two runs, but it came off 8 hits and 5 walks with just 2 strikeouts. What sucks is we got three runs in the ninth, but since Harry MacRae (IP, 2 H, 2 ER) likely faired worse then a Donnie Jones with just 106 pitches, we didn't walk off winners, and eventually fell as mentioned because of Ken Matson. Despite the poor luck, Donnie now has his lowest ERA (3.41; 116) of the season and is a game over .500 at 6-5. The final start went to the still hot Peter the Heater, who was charged with a loss despite allowing just two runs. A Bill Sikorski (.219, 3, 11) solo homer in the 9th ended up being the difference (we were being shutout before a single run in the ninth), and Pap fell to 5-4. He allowed just 4 hits and 2 runs, with 6 walks and strikeouts. He continues to lead the CA with 56 strikeouts, and he leads all qualified Continental Association hurlers with a 5.4 K/9 and all FABL hurlers with a 14.1 K%. He's survived a career high 1.1 HR/9 and 13.6 BB% (among qualified seasons), which does cause some concern. There are two outcomes: the underliers catch up to him or he returns to the Peter the Heater that can dominate and overpower hitters. The surge in home runs has really brutalized our staff this season, as him and Duke lead the CA with 11 homers allowed, with Johnnie Jones the only pitcher not allowing a career high amount of homers. Granted, we've really shored that up in recent weeks, but it's the little things like this that teams need to do well to play a complete season. I can't remember the last time we had one of those... Looking Ahead We get a much needed off day to start the week, as we look to get back on track on the road. Our first stop is three with the Wolves, who sit at 25-28 and a game and a half behind us. The pitching has started to struggle, as while still perfect, Jim Morrison (6-0, 2.40, 30) just allowed 11 hits and 6 runs in his last start, and not much has gone well with Harry Stewart (2-3, 3, 4.78, 10), Jimmy Gibbs (4-5, 4.61, 22), and the now optioned Jerry York (0-6, 6.93, 13). We won't face George Garrison (5-5, 3.49, 45), which is a huge plus, but were stuck with Morrison and Joe Hancock (3-3, 3.84, 25), with the third starter yet to be determined as they were running with a six man rotation and have an off day of their own to reset their staff. What has helped the Wolves is there offense is starting to heat up, with former Cougar draftee Hal Wood (.327, 1, 30) hitting .368 with 5 doubles and 10 RBIs in 12 June games. It's nice for them that Fred McCormick (.330, 5, 27) has some more support, but I'm hoping the staff can keep Toronto's everyday guys in check. We really need to put runners on base and do a better job producing runs, so I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a very low scoring series. Same may be true on the weekend series, as we'll deal with the Cincinnati Cannons and the #2 pitching staff. That's despite recent struggles from Rufus Barrell (5-5, 3.20, 42), who has allowed four or more runs in four of his six outings and he's dropped five of his last six decisions. In his struggles, former first rounder Tony Britten (5-4, 3.75, 33) hasn't allowed more then three earned runs since May 11th, winning four of his last five decisions. Jim Anderson (7-1, 3.44, 33) is on pace for a 20-win season and Chris Clarke (2-5, 3.51, 29) deserves to be much better then 3-5. Even if we face Charlie Griffith (6-5, 4.36, 22), we'll have our hands full, and it's going to be tough to keep their offense off the board. Mike T. Taylor (.340, 5, 22, 4) is fresh off a Player of the Week award (.448, 2 HR, 6 RBI), but they've made the surprising decision to move Denny Andrews (.204, 2, 21) to the bench in favor of Rule-5 pick Dolph Krapf (.258, 2, 10, 2). I'm not sure how much longer this lasts, but with a solid supporting cast, what they really need is a star like Andrews to help power the lineup. That's not to say they haven't gotten good performances from Fred Galloway (.306, 2, 19, 3), Chuck Adams (.282, 8, 34), and Joe Burns (.316, 1, 30, 6), but if they want to erase their 5.5 game deficit, they'll need someone to step up. We'll reach the draft tomorrow, but it won't happen until Wednesday's sim, which means we'll have one more chance to set a list for the in-game portion of the draft. I usually leave it to Dixie Marsh, he's one of the better scouts and has already found a few gems, but I might give him a few guys to take extra consideration for. There's not too much worth sifting through to find the hidden gems, but I'm excited to see who we end up with come Wednesday. They won't all sign, in fact most of the AI picks (especially high schoolers) will probably return to school, but it's always nice to get new blood into the system. Minor League Report CF Henry Norman (A Lincoln Legislators): Just 20-years-old, Henry Norman has held his own in his return to the Heartland League, and this most recent week was the culmination of all his improvements. Norman went 13-for-28, scoring three times and driving in six. Norman also drew seven walks with a double and a triple, improving his season batting line to .318/.381/.399 (113 OPS+) in 219 trips to the plate. Acquired in the deal that sent Mel Haynes across town, Norman currently ranks as the 42nd best prospect in the league, as OSA expects him to become a "reliable hitter in the organization's grand scheme." It's not because of power, although his two homers this season are the first time he's hit more then one with the same team in the same season, but the combination of his bat, speed, and eye. He's walking (20) more then he's striking out (17), and has tallied 9 extra base hits with 19 runs and 27 RBIs. He's spent time in all three corners, with most coming in his natural center (0.6, 1.014), though he has absolutely amazing numbers (3.3, 1.061) in his 71 innings in right. I like him best out in center, but with Jerry Smith he may be forced into a corner. He's ahead of our top rated position prospect for now, but when they were in San Jose smith spent more time up the middle. There's a good chance they will be teammates at some point this season in Lincoln, as I don't expect Norman to get a promotion any time this year. This will cut into his center field time, but it will be good for him to gain more experience in the corners. LHP Joe Oates (B San Jose Cougars): He's done it again! After a shaky set of starts, Joe Oates did it again, twirling a 7-hitter with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts to improve to an impressive 7-1 on the season. With Dixie Marsh gone to Lincoln, Oates is the new star of the staff, and when the new draftees file in he has a chance to earn a promotion of his own. In 8 starts he owns a 2.12 ERA (201 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP with twice as many strikeouts (42) as walks (21). He's not a ranked prospect yet, but you have to imagine the scouting staff will have to take notice if he keeps dominating. Since he doesn't throw very hard, he needs to stay around the edges, and before this season he had not shown the ability to do so. Despite turning 22 next month, he hasn't thrown many innings, as he was a 9th Round selection last season and threw just 42.2 inning between La Crosse and San Jose last year. Most of that came from the pen, but I think he's going to find a lot of his subsequent innings coming in starts. While not overpowering, he has mixed his five pitches well, even if none of them are all that great. I'm hoping that changes, as he's one of the hardest workers on the team, and he'll put in the effort to improve his arsenal. It will be interesting to see how he finishes the season, but I bet he'll show up here a few more times.

12-05-2023, 11:38 PM	#1277
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 9: June 13th-June 19th Weekly Record: 4-2 Seasonal Record: 31-29 (4th, 8.5 GB) Stars of the Week Red Bond : 17 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .294 AVG, 1.098 OPS Walt Pack : 15 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.102 OPS Skipper Schneider : 24 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .333 AVG, .801 OPS Schedule 6-14: Loss at Wolves (7-12) 6-15: Win at Wolves (9-0) 6-16: Win at Wolves (8-1) 6-17: Win at Cannons (7-3) 6-18: Loss at Cannons (6-7): 11 innings 6-19: Win at Cannons (6-2) Recap You see, normally when you got 4-2 you gain a game in the standings. Or even two. But usually the worst is when you maintain position or drop a game. But no, the Foresters are a team of destiny, and since they went a perfect 7-0, they extended their lead on the Stars to 7 games and their lead over us to 8.5. I can't remember the last time a lead like this happened early on (although there's the season we blew a double digit lead that we pretend didn't happen...), but they've won thirteen of their last fifteen, and we're actually the last team to beat them. They're our next stop too, so we have a chance to snap their streak, but a 15-3 June makes me believe this is their month, and possibly year, as we're staring another season of failure straight in the face. Lucky for us, the offense came to life, as we scored six or more runs in each of our six games. Even better, Leo Mitchell had a vintage showing, an impressive 4-for-6 in our 7-6 extra inning loss. He was one of many part-timers who had their chance to shine, with young slugger Otto Christian going 3-for-8 with a double, walk, homer, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Another youngster Eddie Howard was 4-for-9 with a double, run, and 4 RBIs, while the grizzled George Dawson was 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. Him and George Sutterfield (2-7, R, 4 BB) will replace Clark Car (2-10, 2B, R, RBI, 2 CS...) at second, who was one of the only guys who didn't show up this week. After hitting .354/.392/.458 in the Spring, he's slumped to a pitcher like .189/.219/.242 (23 OPS+) line, and his 18 WRC+ is actually the same as Pap's and lower then Johnnie Jones (21) and George Oddo (52), who is actually hitting .273 with 3 doubles. Dawson (.294, 2, 147 WRC+) and Sutterfield (.233, 4, 118 WRC+) have been far better and both look good defensively. It's a sad fall from grace for Car, but at 35 he may be at the risk of losing his roster spot and ending up in the GWL. Two of our struggling sluggers started to pick things up, with both Walt Pack and Red Bond hitting two homers on the road. Red's been hitting homers all season long, and has claimed the team lead with 11, but Pack now has just six on the season. After a nice 5-for-15 week with 2 walks, 6 runs, and 6 RBIs, he's hitting .250/.335/.441 (107 OPS+). That's respectable, but not close to the past two seasons where Pack recorded WRC+ and OPS+ of 130 or better. And at a 15 homer pace, it's almost ten homers shy of his Cougar low of 24 in 1947. Pack's no stranger from down seasons, but it's nice to see him get back on the right track. Same goes for Bond, who went 5-for-17 with a pair of doubles to improve his season line to a similar .249/.297/.491 (108 OPS+). If these two can return to their peak form, we might be able to move up the standings a bit more, and take on the league's... Number one pitching staff... Maybe we can fix that! Johnnie Jones' slump came far quicker then expected, as the Wolves crushed him in the week opener, allowing 6 hits, 8 runs, and 6 walks with just 2 strikeouts before leaving with two outs in the third. He did get a chance to bounce back, as the lone two-start starter, and he almost went the distance in our 6-2 win over the Foresters. He threw 148 pitches and got all but two outs, with both runs coming off a Mike Taylor (.353, 7, 26, 4) two-run homer in the third. He allowed 7 hits and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts, and after Harry MacRae recorded the last two outs, he improved to 7-5 on the season. His ERA is up to still above average 3.38 (118 ERA+), but his walk percentage is up to an even 14 percent. We were gifted we more impressive starts elsewhere, as Pete Papenfus came an out away from a complete game shutout. I would've liked Max Wilder to let him stay, it was 9-0, and there was just one man on first when he left the game. 146 pitches isn't too much, and I'm sure Pap could get Chink Stickels (.262, 2, 15, 3) out one more time. Especially considering Rusty Watts needed just two pitches to do it. Pap wasn't too sharp, 6 hits and 5 walks with just 4 strikeouts, but he still leads the association in punchouts and he's now 6-4 with a 3.08 ERA (129 ERA+). The better start was the revenge Donnie Jones got for his brother, allowing 5 hits, a run, and 2 walks with a season high 7 strikeouts in a complete game win. Jones has gone 3-0 in June, now with a 1.29 ERA (310 ERA+) and 0.94 WHIP through 35 innings. He's walked just 10 and struck out 21, and he's up to 7-5 on the season. Him and Pap have big starts against the Foresters this week, and I'm excited to see how the scalding hot aces will handle the hopefully overperforming run away leaders. The third start will go to Duke Bybee, who had a nice bounce back start out in Cincinnati. He did allowed a pair of homers, but Bybee limited the damage, scattering 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and a walk while striking out four Cannons. He's won both of his last starts and has allowed just three earned runs in a pair of complete games. These three are pitching their best ball, which could be exactly what we need to put ourselves right back in the pennant race. I mean, Pete Papenfus, Donnie Jones, and Duke Bybee versus Jim Adams Jr. (.352, 5, 34, 2) and his band of misfits? This should be easy ... right??? We'll see... Looking Ahead Going 15-3 in June, the Cleveland Foresters are on fire, and they seem to be running away with the Continental Association pennant despite not having a seasonal winning record in a year that starts with 194. The Foresters are off as well to start the week, but with a double header on Sunday, they will be pitching all their guys on normal rest. If you believe their starters ERAs, which range from 2.42 to 3.17, and we'll face that 2.42 with Augie Hayes Jr. (4-2, 2.42, 20) in the opener followed by Adrian Czerwinski (11-2, 2.98, 27), and John Jackson (7-2, 2.60, 28), which is what I consider the three "lesser" pitchers in the impressive rotation. Sure, we don't walk much, but Czerwinski and Jackson walk more guys then they strike out, and "Auggie Doggie" has similar walk and strike out rates. What they do well is keep the ball in the park, and it will be interesting to see how our sluggers respond in the spacious Forester Stadium. I have faith in our three headed monster keeping their lineup at bay, which has a new face at the top in Paul Porter (.349, 3) which has pushed their young star to fifth. Former Cougar Luke Berry (.269, 10) bats third, and is fresh off a 5-for-5 against the Saints. Entering the game he was hitting just .194/.316/.224 and I think it will be interesting to see how he does against his former teammates. These three games are crucial, as three wins here would give the rest of the association a chance to give the fans an interesting pennant race. After that it's four games in three days with a team that should be in the pennant race, but are instead 18-40 and more then twenty games out of first place. So much has gone wrong for the two-time pennant winners, and they've given 30-year-old Cotton Dillon (.255, 1, 8) a chance to reclaim his regular right field spot. In both 1946 and 1947 he made 134 appearances with a WRC+ above 125 (139 and 126), and he hit a slightly above league average .256/.351/.381 (102 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 34 RBIs, and 39 walks in 319 trips to the plate. The spot was opened up by 10th ranked prospect Al Farmer (.301, 2, 6, 2) starting to play only against lefties. The infielder will be playing left, where he just made his first big league start at the position. "Buster" could one day be considered among the best players in the league, but at 23 he's far from a finished product. His production this season has been one of the few redeeming aspects of the Sailors start, and he'll definitely start games at short and second when Rip Lee (.218, 1, 13, 3) and Les Cunha (.267, 2, 21) need days off. I know this team is way better then they've shown, but we really need to take advantage of them while they're down. And with plenty of off days after, we won't have to worry about the double header as much as they do. I think with all this Ohtani to the Blue Jays rumors, I'm far too optimistic about our chances, and I really think we're going to put together an excellent week. The in-game portion of the draft takes place tomorrow, and I'll post something on the fifteen new Cougars. Class C doesn't start until July 5th, so there's no rush to get guys signed, and we have a pretty full La Crosse roster. Most of the AI picks won't amount to anything, so a few of these guys will be returning. The ten guys I took will be signed at one point or another, but I like letting the left over guys get a chance to prove themselves before being released. Minor League Report RF Jimmy Hairston (AAA Milwaukee Blues): For the second time this month, Jimmy Hairston was named Player of the Week, so it stands to reason he'll be the Century League Batter of the Month. The 24-year-old went 10-for-19 with 3 doubles, 2 homers, and 7 RBIs to increase his June triple slash to an astronomical .458/.557/.812 (258 OPS+). The 92nd ranked prospect is hitting an impressive .315/.431/.554 (158 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 9 homers, and 33 RBIs. His 175 WRC+ is best among players with at least 30 trips to the plate (Ron Berry is actually second at 160!) on the Blues and he's drawn 32 walks and scored 32 runs, worth nearly two (1.8) wins above replacement in 52 games. I'm considering giving him a promotion to the big league club next week if he does enough to secure the monthly award. Carlos Montes and Hal Sharp are on the verge of losing their roster spots, and I'm not sure Clark Car isn't too far behind them. If we have a bad week, big changes could be made, and Hairston is one of the guys with an opportunity to replace the struggling players. RHP Zane Kelley (AAA Milwaukee Blues): He didn't need to be great, he had ten runs of support, but Zane Kelley spun an impressive 3-hit shutout with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. The 23-year-old improved to 6-3 in 10 starts, working to a 2.85 ERA (141 ERA+) and 1.16 WHIP with nearly twice as many strikeouts (42) as walks (22). His 3.28 FIP (82 FIP-) supports his overall body of work, and I'm finding it harder to keep him down in the minors. We haven't had a good stopper all season, but I'm not sure I want Kelley pitching out of the pen. He's got all the tools to start and he may end up being our most intriguing trade piece if any good players go on the market. If the Foresters run away with things, CA teams could sell some of their spare parts, and we could always use an extra bat. There's always a shortage of quality young pitching, and even without the high prospect rankings he's sure to attract some interest. I'd love to hold onto him, but we don't play enough double headers to warrant a six-man rotation, and I'm not sure I want to break us this rotation. I really like this rotation. But Zane Kelley is just so good... I just hope it's not another Johnny Walker situation... 1B Charlie Everitt (B San Jose Cougars): Some times the AI portion of the draft nets you good players, and after the human portion of the '48 draft there were still plenty of players left over I really liked. Charlie Everitt was one of them, and it's proved to be an excellent decision to select him. The 22-year-old Cowpens State alum had one of the best weeks any of our players will have this season, going 13-for-22 with with 5 walks, 5 RBIs, and a 264 WRC+. The big lefty is now slugging .356/.481/.501 (163 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 41 runs, and 31 RBIs. He's shown excellent plate discipline as well, drawing 46 walks while striking out just 19. He's been worth an impressive 3.1 WAR in 58 games, and if it wasn't for a log jam at first, he'd be up in Lincoln. A very talented hitter, Everitt projects to hit for a high average while drawing plenty of walks. He doesn't hit too many homers now, but at 6'4'' 230 you have to believe more home run power will come. If we can get him in the gym more to bulk up, he could become a deadly weapon at the plate, and he's perfect for a platoon at first. He's way better against righties (191 WRC+ then lefties (119), and he could fill the Red Bond spot eventually. There are plenty of road blocks in front of him, but he's a very gifted hitter who deserves an eventual audition for a major league lineup. RHP Cliff Wallace (B San Jose Cougars): What better way to make your tenth start then a 5-hit shutout, as Cliff Wallace helped his Cougars win a tight 1-0 showdown against the second place Salem Warriors (36-22). That's big for San Jose, as they are an impressive 43-15 and seven games above those same Salem Warriors. Wallace has been one of the most unlucky members of the staff, 3-6 despite a 2.95 ERA (141 ERA+). He's struck out 49 in 76.1 innings with 29 walks and a 1.39 WHIP. This is great news for Wallace, who was in danger of losing his rotation spot. Now 23, the former 9th Rounder isn't the most enticing prospect, but he has some interesting qualities. The 6'5'' sidearmer hits 90 with his fastball and righties really struggle with his slider. Both pitches are great, but right now the change up needs a lot of work. He may struggle against tougher competition, He's deserving of a callup to Lincoln, and I think he'll get it once Harry Parker is ready to return from his rehab assignment. Wallace has already made 17 starts for the Legislators, going 4-8 with a 4.07 ERA (94 ERA+) and 1.71 WHIP. He's walked (84) far more hitters then he struck out (45), ,but last year his 0.8 K/BB was actually twice as good as two years ago. This year its up to 1.7, and if he can get over his command issues he'll be a much more effective pitcher.

12-06-2023, 06:25 PM	#1278
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 11-15 First five AI guys from the draft today. These are probably the most valuable, haven't really looked at the remaining picks, which will come later tonight. I expect some won't have very long writeups, but I didn't want this post to get too top heavy. 11th Round, 173rd Overall: LF Ray Johnson School: Burlington Blue Devils Commit School: Cumberland University 1949: .422/.495/.644, 104 PA, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 10 SB Career: .438/.511/.657, 473 PA, 37 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 114 RBI, 25 SB There was a guy I really wanted with this pick. Turns out he was already taken! So instead we get four year starter at Burlington Ray Johnson. It's, underwhelming to say the least, as the left fielder hit just .438/.511/.657 in 92 games. He did hit three or more homers each season, but he doesn't play much defense and he's not very fast. He is athletic, so there's that, and Johnson gives off some Zeke Johnson vibes. Right now Dixie views him as a bench piece, but he does comment on his bat speed and barrel control. He's also demanding $3,400 to sign, and while we have the money, I'm not sure that's how I want to spend it. but considering most of the players likely have little to no talent, he'll probably stick around long enough to get an open roster spot. 12th Round, 189th Overall: RHP Pat Burnett School: Chesapeake State Clippers 1949: 4-8, 121 IP, 4.76 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 73 BB, 103 K Career (COL): 14-27, 384.2 IP, 4.73 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 199 BB, 289 K Career (HS): 13-6, 186.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 68 BB, 212 K The first college pitcher of the class, Pat Burnett is no stranger to being a Cougar draftee, as he was one of the twenty AI picks in 1946 (which includes on-again off-again top-100 prospect Harry Beardsley!), selected 316th after going 6-3 with a 2.42 ERA at his West Philadelphia high school. He didn't get too much written about, but what stands out is the height. He's 6'10''!! Pitching still isn't his strong suit, but with that height all you can do is hope for the best. He's been sent a $90 check, and will stash him somewhere where he can learn to pitch. He needs a team to keep him accountable, and I'd be surprised if the recently turned 21-year-old stays in the 84-86 range his whole career. Right now he's just a guy with a good slider, and he needs to harness his command to find any success. The 18.5 K% was nice, but as that was a career best his 13.1 BB% was a career low. I'm keeping my expectations low, but you could argue that Browning is 2/5ths of a major league pitcher. He has a few paths, master his command, increase his velocity, etc, but if he doesn't make any improvements he'll top out as a A ball reliever. I don't expect him to make any starts this season, but I think he'll be a good guy to mop up innings that can spend his spare time honing his craft with the pitching coach. 13th Round, 205th Overall: CF Bill Hardaway School: Northern Mississippi Mavericks 1949: .281/.343/.367, 246 PA, 8 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 38 SB Career (COL): .282/.343/.373, 700 PA, 24 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 102 RBI, 116 SB Career (HS): .443/.504/.641, 476 PA, 38 2B, 7 3B, 10 HR, 123 RBI, 41 SB Another college draftee, Bill Hardaway was selected by the Saints in the last round of the 1946 draft at 392nd overall. He's made noticeable improvements, and has even been named by OSA as a "frontrunner for an audition as a center fielder." Dixie Marsh's isn't as fond, and I'd tend to side with him, but he does see his value in a platoon role. If he plays good defense he'll have value, and as a lefty he could get a majority of at bats. 21 in July, Hardaway will have to work hard to separate himself from the many talented outfielders in our system. Without power he'll need to cut it in center, and make the most out of his speed. It could be his ticket to an audition for a regular role. He won't be one of the first guys to sign, but even if I have to cut someone he'll fill at least a reserve role on one of our low minors teams. 14th Round, 221st Overall: RHP George Clark School: Elmwood Trojans Commit School: Oklahoma Bible College 1949: 10-1, 117.2 IP, 1.61 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 30 BB, 142 K Career: 31-8, 418 IP, 1.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 114 BB, 422 K Another Illinois native, George Clark was born in Peru, Illinois and went to school in another small town, Elmwood that's a few hours closer to the Chicagoland area. Clark spent all four years in the Trojans rotation, and he saved the best for last. Clark was an impressive 10-1 in 15 starts, sporting an impressive 1.61 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, which along with his 4.7 K/BB, were personal bests. You could say the same for most stats, and he's throwing a bit harder this year then he was his first three seasons. The lanky righty has a decent three pitch arsenal, and he's hitting 86 with his fastball. I'd love for him to sit in the 90s, as his fastball is clearly his worst pitch right now. I expect him to add velocity at some point, but otherwise he's best suited for the pen. He doesn't want too much, so I expect to bring him in, but he may not get many innings this season. 15th Round, 237th Overall: CF Pat Paterson School: Superior Generals Commit School: Provo Tech 1949: .451/.492/.646, 128 PA, 12 2B, 5 3B, 31 RBI, 32 SB Career: .449/.494/.656, 481 PA, 48 2B, 18 3B, HR, 102 RBI, 91 SB A four year starter at Superior, Pat Paterson hit between .440 and .455, and hit just one homer in 94 games. Consistency is nice, and when it comes with great speed and solid defense, that could make him a useful off the bench piece. Peterson projects to hit for a high average even if he'll never hit one out of the park, and those type of players profile well in other Continental Association parks. Paterson seems like the type who would benefit from a three year college stint, but I really like rangey center fielders who can put the ball in play. It may come down to a numbers game for Paterson, but he's intriguing enough to earn a second look. Last edited by ayaghmour2; 12-06-2023 at 07:24 PM.

12-06-2023, 10:19 PM	#1279
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1949 Draft: Rounds 16-25 There will still be a weekly recap tonight, although very late, and before touching on the rest of our picks I want to mention a trade we made with the Dynamos. I want to shake our roster up, and I made the first move, shipping Hal Sharp to the Dynamos for Floyd Van Hoven. Sharp was in the midst of a brutal season, hitting just .251/.330/.287 (66 OPS+) with a homer and 11 RBIs in just shy of 200 trips to the plate. This was not what we were used to, as he had a WRC+ of 130 or higher in each of the last five seasons, but he's now 35 and very unhappy. He was going to lose his spot in the lineup sooner or later, and we were at least able to add a depth arm to replace him. Sharp gave us three consistently good seasons, and will end his Cougar career with a batting line around .314/.375/.439 (128 OPS+).as well as 45 homers and 205 RBIs. Its an unceremonious end for a reliable hitter, but I think this (and a few other moves) gives us the best chance of turning things around this. There will be more... Not sure of what, but our roster may look a bit different a month from now... 16th Round, 253rd Overall: RHP Jack Armstrong School: Grange College Mustangs 1949: 5-8, 119.2 IP, 5.94 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 95 BB, 92 K Career (COL): 13-22, 333 IP, 5.43 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 223 B,, 279 K Career (HS): 31-11, 433.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 166 BB, 517 K Grange College may have been #1 in the nation, but it wasn't because of Jack Armstrong. A three year starter, Armstrong set career worsts in nearly every category, but his bests aren't too impressive either. I'm leaning heavily towards letting him return for his senior season, as I'm not sure he offers much to the organization. If I let him go, he may be drafted a third time, as he moved up four rounds from when the Wolves took him in the 20th. 17th Round, 269th Overall: CF Dick Poplaski School: Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes 1949: .288/.360/.386, 270 PA, 10 2B, 5 3B, HR, 38 RBI, 31 SB Career: .279/.353/.389, 518 PA, 21 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 72 RBI, 71 SB A two year starter at Texas Gulf Coast, Dick Poplaski didn't really do much in college, hitting .279 with 3 homers and 46 steals. He is a decent defender and can cover all three positions, and at the plate he does give professional at bats. Dixie Marsh thinks he "show a good knack for barreling the ball with a compact, clean swing, helping him to spray the ball around the field." Without much power, he'll want to stick in center, and Dixie believes in him. He's much higher on Poplaski then some of our other picks, which leads me to believe he's worth tendering a contract. Outfield isn't a position of need, but the mix of speed, eye, and potentially bat is enticing. Depending on what we have left he may not make the cut, but if we can get all the important guys in, Poplaski will get a shot to stick as a bench player. 18th Round, 285th Overall: LHP Darius Merlet School: Shelton Wolves Commit School: Darnell State 1949: 8-2, 102 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 28 BB, 138 K Career: 33-7, 417 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 129 BB, 529 K A native of Sarnia, Ontario, Darius Merlet's family moved to Nebraska so he could pitch for the Shelton Wolves varsity team. He game them 53 starts, going 33-7 with a 1.83 ERA 1.06 WHIP. A three pitch pitcher, Merlet may eventually struggle with the longball, but he has a slider that's especially nasty against left handed hitters. But as exciting as that may be, I doubt he'll ever start in the big leagues, and we'll let him fulfil his commitment to Darnell State. 19th Round, 301st Overall: RHP Doug Hensley School: Windber Ramblers Commit School: Topeka State 1949: 4-1, 62.1 IP, 1.59 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 20 BB, 83 K Career: 7-2, 108.1 IP, 1.74 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 32 BB, 135 K Already 19, Doug Hensley didn't pitch varsity until he was a junior at Windber in Pennsylvania. He did improve from season one to two, as he set bests in every category except walks (12 to 20) and walk percentage (6.0 to 7.2). The improved command will be nice for Topeka State, as we have no real interest in the righty. He does have a solid knuckle curve, but that won't be enough to make up for the lack of command. I don't think he has the stuff to beat even average big leaguers, but he has a chance to sharpen his repertoire on a pretty good college team. 20th Round, 317th Overall: CF Jim Mathews School: Muncie Cardinals Commit School: Carbondale 1949: .455/.523/.750, 131 PA, 15 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 11 SB Career: .444/.507/.741, 345 PA, 41 2B, 11 3B, 8 HR, 79 RBI, 39 SB Another center fielder, Jim Mathews (yes, not Matthews), was a three year starter at Muncie in Indiana, and is now set to join the Carbondale Wildcats, a college team who doesn't play too far from us. He would get lost in the shuffle here, so I thought it was worth giving him a chance to improve his draft stock. He's got a good eye and is quick, but we have plenty of other guys of that profile that just do it better. 21st Round, 333rd Overall: LHP Israel Gutierrez School: Darby Yellow Jackets Commit School: Long Island Maritime College 1949: 6-3, 98 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 45 BB, 65 K Career: 28-9, 377.2 IP, 3.03 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 165 BB, 300 K All you need to know about Israel Gutierrez is that his 3.86 ERA against high schoolers is higher then every one in our rotation except Duke Bybee (4.20). He isn't cut out to pitch minor league baseball and he's not too bright or hardworking. The only thing going for him is he's 6'4'' and could maybe one day throw the ball hard. 22nd Round, 349th Overall: RHP Cy Hobbs School: Central Ohio Aviators 1949: 4-9, 132.2 IP, 5.77 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 63 BB, 53 K Career: 15-25, 11 SV, 417.1 IP, 5.76 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 204 BB, 160 K A senior at Central Ohio, Cy Hobbs did not have the most successful collegiate career, but he was taken two rounds earlier this year after being a 24th Round Pick of the Stars last year. His best season came when he spent most of the year as the team's stopper, but there's still not much to like about a 5.54 ERA and more walks (32) then strikeouts (26). We'll eventually sign him, but his time in the organization may be short. He doesn't excite, but he's the type who's comfortable not being the guy. 23rd Round, 365th Overall: RHP Russ Hughes School: Spring City Democrats Commit School: Johnstown State 1949: 8-1, 91.2 IP, 2.16 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 45 BB, 115 K Career: 25-6, 306.1 IP, 2.06 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 120 BB, 349 K Russ Hughes' prep career got off to a solid start, as the sophomore went 9-3 with a 1.47 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts. He never came close to that production again, posting ERAs above 2 while failing to reach the 110.1 innings he threw at 15. He doesn't do too much well right now, so there's no need to cause him to break his commitment to Johnstown State. "Rusty" could use the extra seasoning, as he's not ready to start facing minor league hitters yet. 24th Round, 381st Overall: SS Johnny Oliver School: West Newbury Sachem Commit School: Brandywine 1949: .393/.463/.570, 123 PA, 10 2B, 3 3B, HR, 22 RBI, 15 SB Career: .405/.485/.590, 466 PA, 33 2B, 8 3B, 8 HR, 94 RBI, 61 SB Hitting .393 as a senior isn't great, so Concord native Johnny Oliver seems destined to fulfil his commitment to Brandywine. For some reason OSA thinks he can hit .310 in the majors, and I find that truly hard to believe. He'll be lucky to hit .310 next season, and I'm curious to see how much earlier he will be selected when he becomes draft eligible again. 25th Round, 397th Overall: C Ted Wheeler School: San Francisco Tech Unions 1949: .288/.327/.356, 222 PA, 8 2B, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 2 SB Career (COL): .290/.329/.370, 754 PA, 24 2B, 3B, 10 HR, 112 RBI, 7 SB Career (HS): .431/.493/.636, 485 PA, 46 2B, 8 3B, 8 HR, 107 RBI, 29 SB Rounding out our class is the only catcher from the AI portion in San Francisco Tech backstop Ted Wheeler. This is the second time he's been taken in the final round, as the Stars took him seven picks earlier three drafts ago. I haven't decided what we'd do with him, as he had decent offensive skills and you never know when you need an emergency catcher. We do have Danny Noonan, so bringing Wheeler in isn't a necessity. Players with two sentence scouting reports generally don't have much of a future, but if one of our catchers gets injured long-term I'll bring Wheeler in to take their place.

12-06-2023, 11:43 PM	#1280
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Week 10: June 20th-June 26th Weekly Record: 3-4 Seasonal Record: 34-33 (3rd, 11.5 GB) Stars of the Week Sal Pestilli : 29 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .379 AVG, 1.199 OPS Harry MacRae : 1 Win, 1 Saves, 4.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA George Sutterfield : 20 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .350 AVG, .985 OPS Schedule 6-21: Win at Foresters (7-6) 6-22: Loss at Foresters (0-1) 6-23: Loss at Foresters (3-4) 6-24: Win at Sailors (3-2) 6-25: Win at Sailors (4-3): 10 innings 6-26: Loss at Sailors (2-4) 6-26: Loss at Sailors (4-5) Recap All seven of our games this week were decided by two or fewer runs, and given our innate ability to fail in any sort of close contest, it's no surprised we dropped six of seven, adding three more one-run losses (to be fair, we won three too) to our seemingly never ending failure to come up on top in tough contests. And since literally no one else can beat the Foresters, who ripped off six wins after we broke their seven game win streak, we are now a seemingly insurmountable 11.5 games out of first. Yay! I tend to be pessimistic, maybe too much show (but can you really blame me...), but for one reason or another I still have faith. I mean, we ourselves have both blown and cut double digit leads later in the season, and with three months left we really only have to pick up four games a month. I mean, do the Foresters really have another 21-4 month up their sleeve?!?!? HOW IS THIS TEAM 46-22!?!?!?! Okay, deep breaths... Deep breaths... Remember Sal Pestilli... At least he's really good at baseball! The clear star of this miserable team, Pestilli is the only Continental Association hitter who ranks top three in the triple crown categories, and he's coming off another outstanding week, going 11-for-29 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 2 walks, a steal, and 10 RBIs. Through 66 games he's been worth 3.7 WAR and has slashed .346/.399/.590 (161 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 7 triples, 12 homers, 53 RBIs, and 10 steals. He's putting together a convincing campaign for the Whitney Award, and his 170 WRC+ would be a career best. He got some help from the heating up Leo Mitchell, who went 3-for-11 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs, as he's reclaimed a starting lineup spot. He's already surpassed his home run total from last season (4), launching six in just 108 trips to the plate, while boasting a slightly above average .257/.306/.455 (101 OPS+) batting line. I heavily considered calling up Jimmy Hairston and Johnny Peters from AAA after seeing how awful this week went, but we'll delay the knee jerk reaction for at least one more week. Mitchell will start playing every day in left, while Chubby Hall will shift back to right. Next week one or both of those young outfielders will join the mix, so the coming week will have an impact on both their playing times. George Sutterfield has flashed some of his lofty prospect pedigree so far, and this week was his best. He was given five starts, and was an impressive 7-for-20 with 2 doubles, a triple, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 RBIs. The 27-year-old infielder is now hitting an impressive .280/.429/.380 (117 OPS+) with 3 doubles, 3 steals, and 13 walks through 64 trips to the plate. It's good timing for him as well, as Billy Hunter will begin a rehab assignment this week, and Sutterfield has secured his roster spot. This means Clark Car and his .191/.220/.243 (23 OPS+) batting line could be on the way out. Remarkably, Car has been worth over a full win less (-1.2) then replacement in just 42 games, and with his generally solid defense dissipated (-0.6, .970) as well and his speed nearly gone (1-for-6 on steals), there's very little reason to hang on to him. Car is also lucky Mitchell emerged this week, as he would have joined Sharp out of town in an attempt to shake up the roster. But don't think he's safe now... I made a mistake in the pitching matchups, as I accidentally set Pete Papenfus' pitch count to one, so both his starts lasted just one batter. Both times Charlie Kelsey relieved, and both times he allowed 4 runs. In total, he threw 10.2 innings with 17 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. I did not expect Kelsey to pitch this much this week, and luckily he split these two games. Otherwise we pitched okay, and despite losing both starts, Donnie Jones allowed just 15 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), and 8 walks with 6 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched. Duke Bybee was walked-off in the ninth, as he could not hold the 3-1 lead. All told, he allowed 14 hits, 4 runs, and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in a surprisingly loss start. I'm not sure why Max Wilder let him pitch this long, but he may feel his seat starting to get hot. Bybee has struggled most of the season, so ending this with 8 innings and just 1 run could have built momentum. Instead, he dropped to 7-5, and his 4.20 ERA (96 ERA+) is the only one in the rotation below average. Johnnie Jones picked up a win, going 8.1 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. He's still walking too many guys, but he has thrown back-to-back starts with identical innings, hits, runs, and walks. That's pretty cool, and the coolest part is the wins, so perhaps the 8-run clunker was a mistake and not a trend. Harry MacRae needed just five pitches to finish the game, and he picked up his 6th save. He also picked up his second win the following game, as bad luck George Oddo is not allowed to win. MacRae pitched the 9th and 10th, allowing two hits and a walk in his win. Oddo again pitched well enough to win, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 6 strikeouts in 8 solid innings. He hasn't won any of his ten starts this season, 0-4 despite a 3.84 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.33 WHIP, and 1.6 K/BB. The poor guy almost never gets any run support, and I'm hoping he can pull off a few lucky wins as we look to erase this scary deficit. Looking Ahead Off to start the week before two with the ice cold Stars. They've dropped eight straight, and we're hoping to make it ten. We're set to face two southpaws in Richie Hughes (4-5, 3.26, 48) and Jack Wood (6-7, 3.50, 49), and they'll hope to get more run support from a surprisingly cold lineup. Bill Barrett (..309, 21, 56, 5) is still chugging along, but the Stars rank bottom two in average, OBP, OPS, wOBA, hits, and most importantly, runs scored. Just like with the Sailors, I'm not too sure what's wrong with them, and guys like Bob Riggins (.183, 3, 8, 3), Mack Sutton (.234, 10, 38), and Jack Welch (.235, 11, 36) are all having uncharacteristic down seasons. Their downward spiral includes sweeps against the teams we played this week, so if that's a sign of anything we should leave with both wins. We're off again to end the month, but will continue our road trip on the first of July. That's the end of the trip, as we'll play Montreal three times to finish the week. The Saints are the closest to the Foresters, as they've won one more game then we have. They host the 34-34 Kings three times before we come to town, and have Kellogg favorite Otis O'Keefe (.294, 9, 40) and the #2 lineup take on the team that always win the award and the #1 lineup. I'm hoping that will tire out their staff, and we may luck into facing both Pete Ford (6-3, 3.46, 26) and the now healthy Pat Weakly (3-3, 3.96, 24). The only guy I want to avoid is Bert Cupid (6-8, 3.38, 35), who is scheduled to pitch against the Kings. He's been lights out ever since he returned from the war, and he will win plenty more games for what could be a really good Saints team. Maurice Carter (.307, 14, 50 and Bill Greene (.272, 7, 38, 6) have protected Otis in the lineup and the trio has driven in Joe Austin (.315, 3, 28, 21) and Gordie Perkins (.312, 3, 36, 3) often. The bottom half of the lineup isn't as strong, but it's hard to string together scoreless innings against this team. Of course the biggest thing coming up is the signing of the draftees, and the first (or one of ) guy signed should be Biff Tiner. We're giving the 1st Rounder the $18,000 he wants and I want him to start playing as soon as possible. Same goes to Buster Clark, who I can't wait to see face minor league hitters. The UMVA doesn't start until next week, so if they sign quickly they could start on Opening Day. Others won't sign until later in the period, but we have a few open spots I want to fill before the season starts. Minor League Report RF Ducky Cole (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Despite not really playing every day, Ducky Cole managed to win a Player of the Week award, going 9-for-16 with 2 doubles, 3 triples, a homer, and 7 RBIs. He's one of the big winners of the Hal Sharp trade, as a spot in the AAA outfield will be open after a callup tomorrow. Ducky is now hitting .290/.373/.524 (134 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 7 triples, 3 homers, and 34 RBIs with a strong 19-to-11 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Now 25, Cole himself could eventually earn a promotion to the big league team, but that would most likely come in September. He's a useful off the bench piece as he bats left handed and he's posted plus marks this season at first, left, and right. He could play center in a pinch too, but his bat is more valuable then his glove. He puts the ball in play often and when he's swinging it well he'll find himself on base. He's stuck in a crowded outfield picture, but a team may eventually take an extended look as he's finishing off his last option year.