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ayaghmour2 · 03-08-2023, 02:14 PM

Well, hey! Look at this! A really good week! The Cougars had a minor injury scare, with Duke Bybee dealing with a forearm cramp, but that's really all that didn't go well for us this week. We won six of seven, with the only loss a 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Foresters. With Bybee, we'll take it easy, as even though it's day-to-day for three days, he's getting the whole week off. Not only did the 23-year-old not pitch all that great, but our golden arm is not one worth risking. Now up to fourth in the prospect rankings, Bybee also ranks as our 5th best starter, passing both Billy Riley and Johnnie Jones. He's still ticketed for the farm, as I can't justify moving either to the pen, but the first sign of a long term injury, and Bybee will resume his big league career. I added a few more non-roster invitees to the big league club as well, as we signed FABL vets Johnnie Sundberg and Reginald Westfall on minor league deals. Sundberg, who hit .245 with 21 homers, 12 steals, and 252 RBIs in 712 games, most with the Eagles and a few with the Dynamos, may not be known to many readers, but Westfall should be. The longtime Wolf hit .281/.364/.407 (118 OPS+) with 173 doubles, 34 homers, 324 walks, and 362 RBIs from 1938 to 1944, but he was originally a 7th Round selection of ours in 1932. Traded two seasons later for Clyde Hinzman, Westfall was with the Wolves until enlisting in the Air Force last year, and they cut him this offseason.

Speaking of Riley, he had an excellent start, tossing five scoreless with 4 hits and 2 walks. Johnnie didn't quite match that, just 4 frames with 4 hits, 2 runs, and a strikeout, but its the first start he's made sense 1943. His brother hasn't pitched in a whole nother year, but with 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, and an unearned run, you wouldn't be able to tell. Joe Brown had a similar start, 4 innings of his own with 2 hits, a walk, 2 strikeouts, and an unearned run in his first start since '43. Harry Parker threw 4 scoreless with 5 hits and a walk. Peter the Heater was the lone two start starter, throwing 8 impressive innings with 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, and an unearned run. Looking at the pen, every pitcher, even catcher Eddie Howard, made an appearance, and he was the only one who got less then a full inning. Ken Matson led the way with 4, allowing 3 hits, a run, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. Potential pen member Rusty Watts had a tough go of things, charged with 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 unearned runs with a single strikeout in 3.2 innings pitched. Bob Hobbs threw three scoreless with 2 hits, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Harry MacRae tossed 2.1 scoreless with with a pair of hits. Chet Williams struck out three in two perfect frames. Joe Swank struck out one in two perfect innings. Interesting enough, the only two guys who really struggled both made starts last year, with George Oddo and Mike Thorpe roughed up a bit. Oddo went 2 with 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 strikeouts while Thorpe went 1 with 5 hits and 3 runs. Still, I'm very excited by our performance on the mound, and it bodes very well for the regular season.

While every pitcher got into a game, two hitters didn't, with both Otto Christian and Norm Anderson failing to make a trip to the plate. I was surprised with Otto, but since he'll be in the minors anyways, it won't matter too much. The most at bats went to Carlos Montes, who was just 2-for-20 with a double, walk, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs. The only other with more then 15 was Clark Car, who was 5-for-17 with a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. The Ray's hit very well, with Ford 5-for-12 and Struble 6-for-13. Ford homered, scored 4 times, and drove in 5 while Struble doubled, triples, stole a base, walked twice, and both scored and drove in three. Skipper Schneider was 5-for-13 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs. Billy Hunter went just 1-for-10 with a walk and RBI, but he stayed healthy! He also got time all around the diamond, making plays in left and right as well as second and third. Our hopeful third time batting title winner Leo Mitchell started hot, 5-for-11 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 3 RBIs. A trio of guys ticketed to AAA, Steve Mountain, George Sutterfield, and Freddie Bennett each went 4-for-11, with 3 doubles for Mountain. Hal Sharp went 2-for-9 with an RBI in his first week as a Cougar. We did plenty of hitting, something that didn't happen last year, and while it is just Spring, I am very excited to see what this Cougars team can do.

03-08-2023, 02:14 PM	#1035
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,035	Spring Training: Week 1 Well, hey! Look at this! A really good week! The Cougars had a minor injury scare, with Duke Bybee dealing with a forearm cramp, but that's really all that didn't go well for us this week. We won six of seven, with the only loss a 6-5 defeat at the hands of the Foresters. With Bybee, we'll take it easy, as even though it's day-to-day for three days, he's getting the whole week off. Not only did the 23-year-old not pitch all that great, but our golden arm is not one worth risking. Now up to fourth in the prospect rankings, Bybee also ranks as our 5th best starter, passing both Billy Riley and Johnnie Jones. He's still ticketed for the farm, as I can't justify moving either to the pen, but the first sign of a long term injury, and Bybee will resume his big league career. I added a few more non-roster invitees to the big league club as well, as we signed FABL vets Johnnie Sundberg and Reginald Westfall on minor league deals. Sundberg, who hit .245 with 21 homers, 12 steals, and 252 RBIs in 712 games, most with the Eagles and a few with the Dynamos, may not be known to many readers, but Westfall should be. The longtime Wolf hit .281/.364/.407 (118 OPS+) with 173 doubles, 34 homers, 324 walks, and 362 RBIs from 1938 to 1944, but he was originally a 7th Round selection of ours in 1932. Traded two seasons later for Clyde Hinzman, Westfall was with the Wolves until enlisting in the Air Force last year, and they cut him this offseason. Speaking of Riley, he had an excellent start, tossing five scoreless with 4 hits and 2 walks. Johnnie didn't quite match that, just 4 frames with 4 hits, 2 runs, and a strikeout, but its the first start he's made sense 1943. His brother hasn't pitched in a whole nother year, but with 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, and an unearned run, you wouldn't be able to tell. Joe Brown had a similar start, 4 innings of his own with 2 hits, a walk, 2 strikeouts, and an unearned run in his first start since '43. Harry Parker threw 4 scoreless with 5 hits and a walk. Peter the Heater was the lone two start starter, throwing 8 impressive innings with 7 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, and an unearned run. Looking at the pen, every pitcher, even catcher Eddie Howard, made an appearance, and he was the only one who got less then a full inning. Ken Matson led the way with 4, allowing 3 hits, a run, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts. Potential pen member Rusty Watts had a tough go of things, charged with 7 hits, 2 walks, and 4 unearned runs with a single strikeout in 3.2 innings pitched. Bob Hobbs threw three scoreless with 2 hits, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Harry MacRae tossed 2.1 scoreless with with a pair of hits. Chet Williams struck out three in two perfect frames. Joe Swank struck out one in two perfect innings. Interesting enough, the only two guys who really struggled both made starts last year, with George Oddo and Mike Thorpe roughed up a bit. Oddo went 2 with 5 hits, 2 runs, and 3 strikeouts while Thorpe went 1 with 5 hits and 3 runs. Still, I'm very excited by our performance on the mound, and it bodes very well for the regular season. While every pitcher got into a game, two hitters didn't, with both Otto Christian and Norm Anderson failing to make a trip to the plate. I was surprised with Otto, but since he'll be in the minors anyways, it won't matter too much. The most at bats went to Carlos Montes, who was just 2-for-20 with a double, walk, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs. The only other with more then 15 was Clark Car, who was 5-for-17 with a double, walk, and 2 runs scored. The Ray's hit very well, with Ford 5-for-12 and Struble 6-for-13. Ford homered, scored 4 times, and drove in 5 while Struble doubled, triples, stole a base, walked twice, and both scored and drove in three. Skipper Schneider was 5-for-13 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs. Billy Hunter went just 1-for-10 with a walk and RBI, but he stayed healthy! He also got time all around the diamond, making plays in left and right as well as second and third. Our hopeful third time batting title winner Leo Mitchell started hot, 5-for-11 with 2 doubles, a homer, and 3 RBIs. A trio of guys ticketed to AAA, Steve Mountain, George Sutterfield, and Freddie Bennett each went 4-for-11, with 3 doubles for Mountain. Hal Sharp went 2-for-9 with an RBI in his first week as a Cougar. We did plenty of hitting, something that didn't happen last year, and while it is just Spring, I am very excited to see what this Cougars team can do.