[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 64-48 (3rd, 5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Don Lee : 21 AB, 12 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .571 AVG, 1.640 OPS
Cliff Moss : 15 AB, 6 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .400 AVG, 1.300 OPS
Harry Parker : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 0 BB, 5 K, 1.00 ERA

Schedule
8-8: Win vs Foresters (3-5)
8-9: Win vs Foresters (2-3)
8-10: Win vs Foresters (1-6)
8-11: Win vs Foresters (2-5)
8-12: Win vs Wolves (1-6)
8-12: Loss vs Wolves (6-3)

Recap
I was all ready to complain about how we went 5-1 and didn't gain any ground on the Cannons, but this is a time for celebration!

PETER THE HEATER IS BAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well... Not technically, although he would have been perfect for this week, as we face the Cannons and Wolves and two Papenfus starts against those two teams would give us our best chance of winning. Unfortunately, we have to wait until the 20th, where he'll arrive just in time to start against the Sailors. Then the following week we'll get our top prospect and the #7 prospect in the FABL Duke Bybee. Having Donnie Jones would be cool too, but after multiple seasons with our top four pitchers overseas, we now have our 1 and 4 back and ready to dominate. Pap will be an instant add to the rotation, but Bybee I'm not too sure yet. I might wait until rosters expand, as I don't want to option Thorpe or Oddo, but if we're way out of it I'm not too sure I want to waste a 40 spot on the now 23-year-old. Both these guys are elite aces, and we have a shot to claw our way back into this. I'm just hoping its not too little to late...

He still doesn't have a Rookie of the Month Award, but Don Lee has a Player of the Week to his name! Lee had a power surge in the double header, homering in both contests, and finishing the week with three to boost his season total up to nine. Lee slugged 1.000 for the week, slashing 12-for-21 with 2 steals, 4 walks, and 6 RBIs. The 23-year-old has single handedly kept our offense afloat once Moss got hurt, and he's mashed pretty much all season, last week and the first week of the season excluded. "Rap" has slashed .309/.405/.479 (153 OPS+) with 23 doubles, 4 triples, 9 homers, 48 RBIs, and 18 steals. His 162 WRC+ and 4.3 WAR are elite, and he's walked (56) a bit more then twice as often as he's struck out (27). His defense hasn't been too much below average, and if we offered team awards, he'd be our MVP. I just wish he got to hit with Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell, and Billy Hunter around him, as in that case we'd probably be leading the league in runs scored as we so often do. Instead, he's got just Cliff Moss and his 166 WRC+ and 13 homers to support him, and I know that's not enough to win a title. Or at least not without elite pitchers...

Speaking of Moss, he had an equally impressive week, going 6-for-15 with 2 homers, 5 runs, 5 walks, and 8 RBIs. Ken Mayhugh went 4-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, and 3 walks. Harry Mead went 4-for-15 with 3 doubles, 2 walks, and 5 RBIs. Ray Struble was very valuable off the bench, 1-for-3 with a hit by pitch, two steals, a run, and RBI. Some of our vets had a rough go, however, and Dick Walker was one of them. Walker went just 4-for-22 with a double, RBI, 2 runs, and 4 walks. Rich Langton was a similar 4-for-21 with a double, RBI, 2 runs, and 3 walks. We'll need more from those two, but considering we only allowed more then three runs in one game all week, and that was against the #2 offense, our bats haven't been as much of a worry as of late.

The starter who allowed more then three runs was Billy Riley, who split his two starts this week. He was strong against the Foresters, allowing 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts for his league best 15th win on the season. The Wolves had far more luck against the 31-year-old vet, piling on 12 hits and 6 runs with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in the first 6 innings of game two of our double header. He was the only pitcher to allow more then two runs as well, as even Mike Thorpe looked like a quality pitcher after his dreadful debut. Thorpe came an out away from a complete game, finishing with 8 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and a strikeout. He helped his cause a bit too, launching a solo homer against opposing starter George Rotondi. Allergic to homers when he's on the mound, he has more FABL homers hit then homers allowed at any level (0) in 362 innings pitched. In contrast, George Oddo allowed his 11th homer in 13 starts, with a whopping 1.0 HR/9 in 100.2 innings pitched. It was a solo homer to Walt Pack, his 25th of the season, but that was the only thing that stopped Oddo from another shutout. He allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Harry Parker had a similar start, a single run in a complete game as well, but with 6 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. The red hot Parker improved his season ERA to 2.91 (122 ERA+) which is behind just the All-World starters Rufus Barrell (14-4, 2.17, 79) and George Garrison (14-6, 2.84, 90), and his 92 strikeouts rank second in the CA. I don't think Parker has his mojo back, but he's tossed a pair of complete games in his last four starts, and he's allowed 3 or fewer runs in eight of his last nine. Our rotation has been elite lately, and the staff has allowed 4 or fewer runs in 10 of our 12 August games. And once you add Peter the Heater into that mix... Ooo, I'm just too excited!

Two more hosting the Wolves, and it would have been fun to have Pap, but instead we'll throw Rusty Petrick (10-9, 2, 2.98, 81) and Harry Parker (13-8, 2.91, 92) against Jim Laurita (7-10, 3.40, 59) and Chick Wirtz (9-9, 3.39, 51), and I like our odds there. Not that it will be easy by any means, but we have the advantage in both games on the mound. The lineup will be tough, as Charlie Artuso (.288, 6, 52, 6) is on track to be the most valuable player in the FABL and Walt Pack (.303, 25, 74) leads the league in longballs. Add in Chink Stickels (.263, 3, 46, 11), Fred McCormick (.275, 8, 27, 2), and Juan Pomales (.289, 33, 10; 2-1, 1, 2.75, 4) and it's a very tough order to navigate. I'll be honest, I'm really worried about this week, and I think Papenfus' return may have came in just a little too late. This is a brutal week with plenty of losing opportunities, and our last chance to host the Wolves in 1945.

Up next is the Cannons, who have pretty much matched our wins and losses in August so far. At 67-41, they're two up on the Wolves and five better then us. With four games we have a chance to erase the deficit, but I'm just hoping we don't get swept. The Cannons have worn down a bit, with injuries to Sam Brown (.320, 3, 48) and Jack Cleaves (.330, 6, 42), but they have more then capable replacements in Fred Galloway (.312, 3, 19) and Charlie Ross (.219, 2, 15). Ross is the only hitter in the lineup that would have a sub 100 OPS+ and WRC+, with Jim Hensley (.266, 4, 57) the only one below 120. The "Wonder Wheel" (.313, 24, 78) is just a homer behind Walt Pack for the CA lead, and vets Tom Bird (.275, 6, 36), Gail Gifford (.333, 8, 49, 16), Denny Andrews (.278, 11, 43), and Chuck Adams (.304, 17, 80) are all producing an an extremely high clip. The rotation got better too, as they picked up Red Hampton (9-9, 3.26, 37) from the Chiefs, and he allowed just one run in a complete game victory in his first start that wasn't in a Chief uniform. He'll take starts away from Sam Sheppard (8-4, 1, 3.81, 37), who's hit a wall and allowed 7 runs in each of his last three starts. If he continues to struggle, he may join Butch Smith (5-11, 5, 4.47, 48) in the pen, who has more-or-less proved that the real 1944 Allen Winner should have been Harry Parker, as Smith has a matching 84 FIP- this year, as all the luck he got last year hasn't come this year. That's not to say Smith is not a good pitcher, he's certainly underperforming this year, but he's not Parker level. Regardless of who Cincinnati throws, however, we're in for trouble, and I'll keep saying it; Peter the Heater would have been perfect to take on Rufus Barrell (14-4, 2.17, 79) in front of a sold out Cougars Park...

The week doesn't end there, as we'll finish things off with a double header hosting the Sailors. At 56-57, they're the same amount of games out of first (13.5) then they are above last. They made a deadline deal, shipping out Frank Covarrubias (.298, 5, 45) to the Keystones, and they had plenty of talks involving Doc Newell (14-11, 3.59, 67). In the end, Covarrubias was the only big move, and it opened a spot in the lineup for 23-year-old shortstop Les Cunha (.321, 17), who pushed the incumbent Ed White (.256, 5, 45) over to third. With the Struble (.222, 8, 58, 8) trade, Alex Juris (.219, 2, 27, 2) re-entered the lineup, with breakout rookie Addie Allman (.351, 2, 40) returning to his natural center field. The Sailors have been scoring plenty of runs from Allman, Ed Reyes (.333, 6, 53), and Joseph Mills (.283, 5, 50), but I like our chances to keep them in check. The double header will be tough after six games against the CA's finest, and we won't be off until the 22nd of August.

Minor League Report
RHP Dutch Yoak (C La Crosse Lions): After a slow start to his minor league career, Dutch Yoak has really started to turn things around, allowing one or fewer runs in three of his last four outings. One was a 10 inning affair with 6 hits, a run, 5 walks, and 6 strikeouts, and he upped that in a 1-0 shutout against the Moline Pioneers. Yoak allowed 9 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts to improve to 2-3 in 6 starts. Our second rounder has a nice 2.50 ERA (127 ERA+) and 1.35 WHIP with 21 walks and 26 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. One of the hardest workers in the system, the 6'4'' lefty isn't the highest touted prospect, ranking 14th in our system and 184th overall. He may end up having some issues with homers, but he has average control and decent stuff. The slender southpaw has a nice high 80s fastball, and he works his curve and change in well. While he uses the fastball most frequently, its actually has the lowest ceiling, as his curve projects to be devastating and his change could be off the charts. Right now, he relies heavily on his fastball, but he can miss a lot of bats with the off-speed stuff. Tom only thinks he can be a #5, but I think that's a little unfair. He has the physicality to be a reliable inning eater and I love his stuff, and I think Yoak could be a #2 once he's done developing. He's got plenty of time before that happens, but with our embarrassment of riches in the present, Yoak can help lead the next guard in with Tommy Seymour and Bert Rogers.