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ayaghmour2 · 04-13-2023, 08:32 PM

Weekly Record: 5-1
Seasonal Record: 85-56 (2nd, 3 GB)
Stars of the Week
Leo Mitchell : 23 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .478 AVG, 1.197 OPS
Billy Riley : 2 Wins, 17.0 IP, 3 BB, 6 K, 0.53 ERA
Harry Mead : 23 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .348 AVG, .922 OPS

Schedule
9-10: Win vs Foresters (0-4)
9-11: Win vs Foresters (3-4): 11 innings
9-12: Win vs Wolves (0-1)
9-13: Win vs Wolves (4-13)
9-14: Loss vs Wolves (4-1)
9-15: Win vs Cannons (1-4)

Recap
For the second week in a row we won five games. And for the second week in a row, the Stars did too. Still stuck at three games out, our lone loss was to the Wolves, who once again, let the Stars sweep them. Lucky for us, the Cannons won a 10 inning nailbiter on Saturday before dropping the opener in Chicago, so the Stars week was not perfect. With two weeks left int he season, we may need to play perfectly, but 9 of the 11 remaining contests come in Chicago, including the three major games against the Stars. I imagine things will go down to the wire, but there just might not be enough time in the season left. I'm trying to hold out hope, but the realist in me knows that our terrible May (12-19) may very well be the difference between competing for a title or watching from our couches back home.

Peter the Heater did what he does best, put the Cougs on his back, and dominates opposing hitters. The run away Allen Winner, Pap needed to be his best in our 1-0 win over the Wolves, and on command, he was. The only blemish on his record was a Charlie Artuso double, as I'm not going to fault him for Clark Car's error. He struck out just three to stretch his complete game victory streak to seven. Now a CA best 21-7, Peter the Heater has not allowed more then three earned runs in a start since June 25th, where he allowed 5 in a 6-4 loss to the Foresters. He leads all pitchers in wins, strikeouts (179), WHIP (1.05), rWAR (9.3), quality starts (25), and opposing batting average (.197) while leading his association in ERA (2.16), ERA+ (156), WAR (6.4), complete games (24), K/9 (6.2), and win percentage (.750). He has three starts left this season, starting on the 17th against the Cannons, the 23rd against the Stars, and the Kings on the 28th. This gives him regular rest against the Cannons and Kings with an extra day against the Stars. I trust our rotation enough not to start him on short rest, and I'd much rather him (as well as Donnie and Riley) ready to go against the team in first.

Billy Riley had himself a week, picking up two more wins to improve to 17-6 with a 2.40 ERA (141 ERA+) and 1.12 WHIP. Riley threw his fourth shutout of the season, a 3-hitter against the Foresters where he walked one and struck out five. He then picked up an 8 inning win to finish the week, allowing just one run and two walks with a strikeout in our 4-1 win. Harry MacRae did what he does best, striking out two and allowing just one hit in a scoreless 9th. That was his 10th save of the season, and it came one appearance after his first career win. He won the double header, going 2 with with just one hit allowed. He relieved Joe Brown, who continues to heat up. Billy Hunter's error ruined the win for Brown, who should have got a complete game win with 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts and a single earned run. Instead, the Foresters got two, so Brown will remain 5-7 with an above average 3.21 ERA (105 ERA+). As with all extra inning games, Harry Mead was the hero, doubling of Richie Hughes (18-13, 3.22, 146) to start the 11th before eventually scoring the winning run. He also homered off Hughes in the 4th, finishing 3-4 with a walk, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a triple away from the cycle.

Donnie Jones continues to alternate dominance with mediocrity, this time going just 7 with 11 hits, 4 runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. It was good enough to beat his old team, as Jones improved to 18-10 with a 3.18 ERA (106 ERA+) and 1.11 WHIP. Like Pap, Donnie has three starts left, getting the 18th against the Sailors, the 24th against the Stars, and the series finale on the 29th against the Kings. I still have complete faith in the talented righty, who has a few more shutouts left in him. His start was finished by Charlie Kelsey, who walked one and struck out two in two scoreless frames. Since we were up 13-4, no save for Kelsey, but it was another nice relief outing for the rookie. Johnnie Jones was tagged with the lone loss, going all nine with 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. This dropped "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" to 9-14 despite his 2.68 ERA (126 ERA+). He has just one start left, scheduled for the 21st against the Kings, and could be used out of the pen in the last week. The staff is the class of the association, leading all categories except pen ERA (2nd, 2.38), WAR (2nd, 22.5), and homers allowed (3rd, 68), which would set up a high octane battle of the arms if we face the Fed leading Minutemen in a rematch of the '41 series, which to this day, still gives me nightmares...

Leo Mitchell continues his September surge, once again named Player of the Week in the Continental Association. Mitchell socked his 23rd and 24th homers of the season, and finished 11-for-23 with 3 runs and 8 RBIs. He's hit ten more homers then in his Whitney Worthy season in 1944, and with one more longball he'll increase his season high by ten, previously slugging 15 in 1940. Mitchell's produced a 163 WRC+ with 24 doubles and 88 RBIs, slashing a robust .329/.364/.507 (149 OPS+) in 140 of our 143 games. He's not a run away winner like Pap, but it's going to be very tough to find a more worthy candidate then Mitchell, who (perhaps biasedly) is my lock for the award. He ranks third in all three triple crown categories, and is the only player in either association to rank top three in homers, average, and RBIs. He leads the Conti in slugging, total bases (279), wOBA (.399), WRC+, and of course, strikeouts (92). I won't be too angry if he doesn't win, it seems like Cougars tend to get snubbed, but there are plenty of worthy choices so I can't be too angry. Or at least fan angry, not award snatching angry. He is my favorite hitter after all!

Big week for the extra inning hero Harry Mead, who went 8-for-23 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Mead has now hit 10 homers and produced a 112 WRC+ in 127 games for us this season, much better then the 4 and 93 from a season ago. Our second base duo did well, as Billy Hunter finally put together a few games. He got two starts this week, going 3-for-7 with a double, run, and two walks. Clark Car went 5-for-15 a double, walk, and two runs, steals, and RBIs. Skipper Schneider is making a late push to turn his WRC+ above 100, 7-for-22 with a double, walk, 2 steals, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, and a home run. After snapping his five season streak of four triples last year, Skipper has seven in 1946, and has hit .273/.318/.361 (95 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 4 homers, 8 steals, and 42 RBIs. Strikeouts have been a problem for Skipper, with a career high of 36, 14 more then last season, which was his first season with more then 15. With just 31 walks, it's not only his first season with less walks then strikeouts, but the first where he hasn't walked twice as often as he's struck out. We'll need everyone to contribute these final two weeks, as it seems like we never get all the bats going at once. Despite that, we're two runs away from 600, now 2nd behind only the Stars (686), who we have no shot of catching. It's going to be tough, but these guys all can hit, and we don't have to deal with a staff that is any where near the level of ours. Which might be why we've scored so many runs!

Looking Ahead
We're starting to run out of time, making it so we pretty much have to win every game that's left, as the Stars haven't lost a game since, well, May? They've gone 59-35 since June 1st, and have matched out 10-4 September. We start the second to last week with two more against the Cannons, with Bob Arman (12-7, 3.85, 90) and Les Bradshaw (13-13, 3.45, 107) the scheduled starters. The Cannons haven't made any callups yet, so it's a lot of the same group. They may make a move with Gail Gifford (.263, 4, 25) going down with a hamstring strain, but there lineup will not be affected. These games are big for us, and if we can keep Chuck Adams (.257, 25, 90) in the park and Denny Andrews (.283, 15, 71) and Fred Galloway (.264, 6, 61) off the bases, I really like our chances. It will be tough, but they have nothing to play for, and with so much pressure on us to keep winning, I think that will give us the edge as the boys are fighting for their lives, more then angry with all the close chances that have plagued the Cougars in recent years.

Up next is two with the Sailors, who sit at 76-66 and 3.5 games above the Cannons for third. With not much to play for, the Sailors have opted to use a six man rotation, giving the extra starts to Art Hull (2-0, 2.81, 3), who we are likely to miss. They have one more with the Stars tomorrow, who beat them 3-2 yesterday, before coming to town. It seems likely that we will face swingman Rule-5 Pick Troy Crockett (6-2, 2.84, 34) and Frank Sartori (9-4, 2.58, 59), both of which are lefties, but things are uncertain as another lefty, Sick Wesolowski (9-2, 2.69, 53) is finally healthy. With a lefty leaning lineup, you may think we'd struggle against southpaws, but we're a bit better (24-16, .600) against them then righties (61-42, .592) due to some excellent platoon bats. Rather surprisingly, the Sailors have the second best staff in terms of runs allowed, with 521 compared to our 441, as I think of them more for their offense then pitching. They also rank right behind us in runs scored (596), and are underperforming their expected record by four games. The lineup is dangerous, with huge seasons from Harvey Brown (.315, 1, 51, 33), Rip Lee (.301, 6, 53, 5), Ed Reyes (.364, 8, 60), Cotton Dillon (.271, 7, 60), and Les Cunha (.296, 9, 78). Lee's 126 WRC+ is the lowest of the bunch, with the other four all above 130. Billy Forbes has started to heat up too, with three multi hit games in a 9-for-20 week. The recent first rounder has hit .269/.305/.417 (98 OPS+) in his first 39 games, adding 5 doubles, 3 triples, 3 steals, 4 homers, and 24 RBIs to go with a 113 WRC+. The Sailors aren't the most active team on the trade market, but if they decide to go out and get a star, they could or even just a few solid pieces, they could be in the thick of a pennant race a year from now.

After the off day we'll play our final two road games, spending our weekend at Kings County Park. I am really hoping we avoid my old friend Leo Hayden, who is making a push for the inaugural Kellogg Award, which will be awarded to the best rookie in each association. Despite the Kings poor play this season, Hayden is 19-9 with a 2.88 ERA (121 ERA+) and 1.28 WHIP. The walks are always a concern for the still intimidating southpaw, with 105 in his 247 innings. He has struck out five more batters, but he'll either need to up his strikeout rate or cut the walks. To be fair, most 24-year-olds don't command their pitches well, and this is a kid who pretty much went from C ball to the majors with 5 AA starts after his fourth year in the Air Force. He shook off a slow start to the season, and has kicked it up a notch since the trade deadline. Hayden has won his eight August and September decisions, including a 6-hit shutout against us where he walked none and struck out three. He hasn't lost since July 23rd, and the four runs in a 5-4 win over the first place Stars was his only start with more then three earned runs. He allowed homers to Chubby Hall (.321, 5, 36), Mack Sutton (.228, 28, 60), and Bill Barrett (.251, 29, 97, 10), but he didn't allow a homer in the five starts prior or the three after. He's as good as it gets, and its crazy to think that if he was still a Cougar, he would have spent all season in Milwaukee. I could not be happier for the likeable ace, as he's blossomed into the pitcher I always knew he would when he was selected with Eddie Howard in the 2nd Round of the 1941 draft.

Hayden is one of many players with Cougar connections, as trade mates Harry Stewart and Pinch Lenhart are on the Kings 40. Neither is on the active roster, same for Mike Thorpe, who I would have loved to see in Brooklyn. He hasn't pitched the best in AAA, going 4-5 with a save in 11 appearances for Jersey City. His 4.63 ERA (93 ERA+) is higher then it was in Milwaukee (3.93, 100), and he's walking (24) and striking out (11) hitters more frequently. Merritt Thomas (3-6, 1, 3.66, 13) could start one of the two in Brooklyn, but Rusty Petrick (4-10, 4.24, 49) was moved to the pen after a rough August (1-4, 6.06, 13) where he walked 29 hitters in 35.2 innings. The lineup is Cougar free, as Frank Reichardt (.200, 1, 2) has replaced Solly Skidmore (.255, 35) as the every day catcher. The 23-year-old isn't a very highly rated prospect, but Solly hasn't been great, and the Kings will want to try many players out now as they prep for an improved 1947. Their outfield is loaded, with potential star Ralph Johnson (.352, 6), who recently passed Bob Allen in the prospect rankings, and other talented rookies in John Beaver (.252, 2, 30), John Moss (.243, 4, 29), and the now injured Joe Rutherford (.233, 3, 28, 6). While not scary now, they could eventually posses the association's best outfield, and future series in Brooklyn will not prove as painless as this one should.

04-13-2023, 08:32 PM	#1067
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,033	Week 22: September 9th-September 15th Weekly Record: 5-1 Seasonal Record: 85-56 (2nd, 3 GB) Stars of the Week Leo Mitchell : 23 AB, 11 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .478 AVG, 1.197 OPS Billy Riley : 2 Wins, 17.0 IP, 3 BB, 6 K, 0.53 ERA Harry Mead : 23 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .348 AVG, .922 OPS Schedule 9-10: Win vs Foresters (0-4) 9-11: Win vs Foresters (3-4): 11 innings 9-12: Win vs Wolves (0-1) 9-13: Win vs Wolves (4-13) 9-14: Loss vs Wolves (4-1) 9-15: Win vs Cannons (1-4) Recap For the second week in a row we won five games. And for the second week in a row, the Stars did too. Still stuck at three games out, our lone loss was to the Wolves, who once again, let the Stars sweep them. Lucky for us, the Cannons won a 10 inning nailbiter on Saturday before dropping the opener in Chicago, so the Stars week was not perfect. With two weeks left int he season, we may need to play perfectly, but 9 of the 11 remaining contests come in Chicago, including the three major games against the Stars. I imagine things will go down to the wire, but there just might not be enough time in the season left. I'm trying to hold out hope, but the realist in me knows that our terrible May (12-19) may very well be the difference between competing for a title or watching from our couches back home. Peter the Heater did what he does best, put the Cougs on his back, and dominates opposing hitters. The run away Allen Winner, Pap needed to be his best in our 1-0 win over the Wolves, and on command, he was. The only blemish on his record was a Charlie Artuso double, as I'm not going to fault him for Clark Car's error. He struck out just three to stretch his complete game victory streak to seven. Now a CA best 21-7, Peter the Heater has not allowed more then three earned runs in a start since June 25th, where he allowed 5 in a 6-4 loss to the Foresters. He leads all pitchers in wins, strikeouts (179), WHIP (1.05), rWAR (9.3), quality starts (25), and opposing batting average (.197) while leading his association in ERA (2.16), ERA+ (156), WAR (6.4), complete games (24), K/9 (6.2), and win percentage (.750). He has three starts left this season, starting on the 17th against the Cannons, the 23rd against the Stars, and the Kings on the 28th. This gives him regular rest against the Cannons and Kings with an extra day against the Stars. I trust our rotation enough not to start him on short rest, and I'd much rather him (as well as Donnie and Riley) ready to go against the team in first. Billy Riley had himself a week, picking up two more wins to improve to 17-6 with a 2.40 ERA (141 ERA+) and 1.12 WHIP. Riley threw his fourth shutout of the season, a 3-hitter against the Foresters where he walked one and struck out five. He then picked up an 8 inning win to finish the week, allowing just one run and two walks with a strikeout in our 4-1 win. Harry MacRae did what he does best, striking out two and allowing just one hit in a scoreless 9th. That was his 10th save of the season, and it came one appearance after his first career win. He won the double header, going 2 with with just one hit allowed. He relieved Joe Brown, who continues to heat up. Billy Hunter's error ruined the win for Brown, who should have got a complete game win with 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts and a single earned run. Instead, the Foresters got two, so Brown will remain 5-7 with an above average 3.21 ERA (105 ERA+). As with all extra inning games, Harry Mead was the hero, doubling of Richie Hughes (18-13, 3.22, 146) to start the 11th before eventually scoring the winning run. He also homered off Hughes in the 4th, finishing 3-4 with a walk, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a triple away from the cycle. Donnie Jones continues to alternate dominance with mediocrity, this time going just 7 with 11 hits, 4 runs, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. It was good enough to beat his old team, as Jones improved to 18-10 with a 3.18 ERA (106 ERA+) and 1.11 WHIP. Like Pap, Donnie has three starts left, getting the 18th against the Sailors, the 24th against the Stars, and the series finale on the 29th against the Kings. I still have complete faith in the talented righty, who has a few more shutouts left in him. His start was finished by Charlie Kelsey, who walked one and struck out two in two scoreless frames. Since we were up 13-4, no save for Kelsey, but it was another nice relief outing for the rookie. Johnnie Jones was tagged with the lone loss, going all nine with 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. This dropped "The Patron Saint of Groundballs" to 9-14 despite his 2.68 ERA (126 ERA+). He has just one start left, scheduled for the 21st against the Kings, and could be used out of the pen in the last week. The staff is the class of the association, leading all categories except pen ERA (2nd, 2.38), WAR (2nd, 22.5), and homers allowed (3rd, 68), which would set up a high octane battle of the arms if we face the Fed leading Minutemen in a rematch of the '41 series, which to this day, still gives me nightmares... Leo Mitchell continues his September surge, once again named Player of the Week in the Continental Association. Mitchell socked his 23rd and 24th homers of the season, and finished 11-for-23 with 3 runs and 8 RBIs. He's hit ten more homers then in his Whitney Worthy season in 1944, and with one more longball he'll increase his season high by ten, previously slugging 15 in 1940. Mitchell's produced a 163 WRC+ with 24 doubles and 88 RBIs, slashing a robust .329/.364/.507 (149 OPS+) in 140 of our 143 games. He's not a run away winner like Pap, but it's going to be very tough to find a more worthy candidate then Mitchell, who (perhaps biasedly) is my lock for the award. He ranks third in all three triple crown categories, and is the only player in either association to rank top three in homers, average, and RBIs. He leads the Conti in slugging, total bases (279), wOBA (.399), WRC+, and of course, strikeouts (92). I won't be too angry if he doesn't win, it seems like Cougars tend to get snubbed, but there are plenty of worthy choices so I can't be too angry. Or at least fan angry, not award snatching angry. He is my favorite hitter after all! Big week for the extra inning hero Harry Mead, who went 8-for-23 with a double, homer, 2 walks, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Mead has now hit 10 homers and produced a 112 WRC+ in 127 games for us this season, much better then the 4 and 93 from a season ago. Our second base duo did well, as Billy Hunter finally put together a few games. He got two starts this week, going 3-for-7 with a double, run, and two walks. Clark Car went 5-for-15 a double, walk, and two runs, steals, and RBIs. Skipper Schneider is making a late push to turn his WRC+ above 100, 7-for-22 with a double, walk, 2 steals, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, and a home run. After snapping his five season streak of four triples last year, Skipper has seven in 1946, and has hit .273/.318/.361 (95 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 4 homers, 8 steals, and 42 RBIs. Strikeouts have been a problem for Skipper, with a career high of 36, 14 more then last season, which was his first season with more then 15. With just 31 walks, it's not only his first season with less walks then strikeouts, but the first where he hasn't walked twice as often as he's struck out. We'll need everyone to contribute these final two weeks, as it seems like we never get all the bats going at once. Despite that, we're two runs away from 600, now 2nd behind only the Stars (686), who we have no shot of catching. It's going to be tough, but these guys all can hit, and we don't have to deal with a staff that is any where near the level of ours. Which might be why we've scored so many runs! Looking Ahead We're starting to run out of time, making it so we pretty much have to win every game that's left, as the Stars haven't lost a game since, well, May? They've gone 59-35 since June 1st, and have matched out 10-4 September. We start the second to last week with two more against the Cannons, with Bob Arman (12-7, 3.85, 90) and Les Bradshaw (13-13, 3.45, 107) the scheduled starters. The Cannons haven't made any callups yet, so it's a lot of the same group. They may make a move with Gail Gifford (.263, 4, 25) going down with a hamstring strain, but there lineup will not be affected. These games are big for us, and if we can keep Chuck Adams (.257, 25, 90) in the park and Denny Andrews (.283, 15, 71) and Fred Galloway (.264, 6, 61) off the bases, I really like our chances. It will be tough, but they have nothing to play for, and with so much pressure on us to keep winning, I think that will give us the edge as the boys are fighting for their lives, more then angry with all the close chances that have plagued the Cougars in recent years. Up next is two with the Sailors, who sit at 76-66 and 3.5 games above the Cannons for third. With not much to play for, the Sailors have opted to use a six man rotation, giving the extra starts to Art Hull (2-0, 2.81, 3), who we are likely to miss. They have one more with the Stars tomorrow, who beat them 3-2 yesterday, before coming to town. It seems likely that we will face swingman Rule-5 Pick Troy Crockett (6-2, 2.84, 34) and Frank Sartori (9-4, 2.58, 59), both of which are lefties, but things are uncertain as another lefty, Sick Wesolowski (9-2, 2.69, 53) is finally healthy. With a lefty leaning lineup, you may think we'd struggle against southpaws, but we're a bit better (24-16, .600) against them then righties (61-42, .592) due to some excellent platoon bats. Rather surprisingly, the Sailors have the second best staff in terms of runs allowed, with 521 compared to our 441, as I think of them more for their offense then pitching. They also rank right behind us in runs scored (596), and are underperforming their expected record by four games. The lineup is dangerous, with huge seasons from Harvey Brown (.315, 1, 51, 33), Rip Lee (.301, 6, 53, 5), Ed Reyes (.364, 8, 60), Cotton Dillon (.271, 7, 60), and Les Cunha (.296, 9, 78). Lee's 126 WRC+ is the lowest of the bunch, with the other four all above 130. Billy Forbes has started to heat up too, with three multi hit games in a 9-for-20 week. The recent first rounder has hit .269/.305/.417 (98 OPS+) in his first 39 games, adding 5 doubles, 3 triples, 3 steals, 4 homers, and 24 RBIs to go with a 113 WRC+. The Sailors aren't the most active team on the trade market, but if they decide to go out and get a star, they could or even just a few solid pieces, they could be in the thick of a pennant race a year from now. After the off day we'll play our final two road games, spending our weekend at Kings County Park. I am really hoping we avoid my old friend Leo Hayden, who is making a push for the inaugural Kellogg Award, which will be awarded to the best rookie in each association. Despite the Kings poor play this season, Hayden is 19-9 with a 2.88 ERA (121 ERA+) and 1.28 WHIP. The walks are always a concern for the still intimidating southpaw, with 105 in his 247 innings. He has struck out five more batters, but he'll either need to up his strikeout rate or cut the walks. To be fair, most 24-year-olds don't command their pitches well, and this is a kid who pretty much went from C ball to the majors with 5 AA starts after his fourth year in the Air Force. He shook off a slow start to the season, and has kicked it up a notch since the trade deadline. Hayden has won his eight August and September decisions, including a 6-hit shutout against us where he walked none and struck out three. He hasn't lost since July 23rd, and the four runs in a 5-4 win over the first place Stars was his only start with more then three earned runs. He allowed homers to Chubby Hall (.321, 5, 36), Mack Sutton (.228, 28, 60), and Bill Barrett (.251, 29, 97, 10), but he didn't allow a homer in the five starts prior or the three after. He's as good as it gets, and its crazy to think that if he was still a Cougar, he would have spent all season in Milwaukee. I could not be happier for the likeable ace, as he's blossomed into the pitcher I always knew he would when he was selected with Eddie Howard in the 2nd Round of the 1941 draft. Hayden is one of many players with Cougar connections, as trade mates Harry Stewart and Pinch Lenhart are on the Kings 40. Neither is on the active roster, same for Mike Thorpe, who I would have loved to see in Brooklyn. He hasn't pitched the best in AAA, going 4-5 with a save in 11 appearances for Jersey City. His 4.63 ERA (93 ERA+) is higher then it was in Milwaukee (3.93, 100), and he's walking (24) and striking out (11) hitters more frequently. Merritt Thomas (3-6, 1, 3.66, 13) could start one of the two in Brooklyn, but Rusty Petrick (4-10, 4.24, 49) was moved to the pen after a rough August (1-4, 6.06, 13) where he walked 29 hitters in 35.2 innings. The lineup is Cougar free, as Frank Reichardt (.200, 1, 2) has replaced Solly Skidmore (.255, 35) as the every day catcher. The 23-year-old isn't a very highly rated prospect, but Solly hasn't been great, and the Kings will want to try many players out now as they prep for an improved 1947. Their outfield is loaded, with potential star Ralph Johnson (.352, 6), who recently passed Bob Allen in the prospect rankings, and other talented rookies in John Beaver (.252, 2, 30), John Moss (.243, 4, 29), and the now injured Joe Rutherford (.233, 3, 28, 6). While not scary now, they could eventually posses the association's best outfield, and future series in Brooklyn will not prove as painless as this one should.