[ayaghmour2]

Whoops, forgot to post! Some late night Cougars!

Well could you believe it!?!?!? A Chicago team won the World Championship Series!

Sure, it was the Chiefs, not the Cougars, and they did it in a very non-Chicago like way. They also managed something the Cougars almost did, just to fail. That would be erasing a three game deficit! After the Foresters won three straight, the bats got cold, with a pair of shutouts in game four and five before a blowout in game six. And in the most anti-Cougar way, they won the series with a one-run victory, surviving the Foresters in an 11 inning contest. All focus will be on the offseason, which should get going on Monday.

AAA Milwaukee Blues (Century League): 85-55, 2nd, 1 GB: In classic Cougar style, the Milwaukee Blues has a great season. All to fall just short. Despite an excellent end to the season, winning 14 of their last 20, all to be done in by a poor 18-23 record in one run games. It runs in the family!

The Blues were a far more complete team then the Cougars, however, finishing 1st in runs scored and 2nd in runs allowed. It's hard to pick the best bat in the lineup, but you can't go wrong with Johnny Peters. The former 3rd Overall Pick hit .307/.405/.502 (136 OPS+) with 19 doubles, 13 triples, 11 homers, 7 steals, 70 RBIs, and 69 walks. He played a lot of left field, worth 4.3 WAR in 110 games, and posted an elite 150 WRC+. Though his regular outfield partners impressed as well, as Don Lee (.289, 16, 75, 33) put up 5.5 WAR, a 142 WRC+, 45 extra base hits, and 77 walks, while Jimmy Hairston's (.316, 10, 52) 88 game sample saw him worth an impressive 160 WRC+ with 54 walks, 55 runs, and 33 extra base hits. All three spent time in Chicago, as did Ducky Cole (.299, 6, 55) and Al Clement (.294, 16, 73, 13). Clement was most impressive, worth almost 5 WAR (4.6) with a 138 WRC+, 68 walks, and 88 runs in 131 games. Other highlights include last year's 4th Rounder Elmer Grace (.264, 9, 58), who missed a month with an elbow issue and midseason callups Franklin Thomas (.333, 5, 23, 6) and Billy Biggar (.336, 36). I think the Blues were benefitted by having the depth to handle our minimal callups, but it's nice to see a cast of young players holding their own at the highest level.

This year was all about Ron Berry, who appears to be ready for FABL hitters. The 23-year-old went 12-3 in his 24 starts, working to a brilliant 2.62 ERA (155 ERA+) in 158 innings pitched. Berry struck out 116 hitters and maintained an impressive 1.20 WHIP. Harry Beardsley (11-7, 3.26, 122) was the only thing in the way of Berry earning a team triple crown, as he led the team in wins and ERA. Sure, Zane Kelley (11-4, 3.00, 80) could have caught him if he didn't make his first big league start on September 5th, and considering he beat two FABL teams it's easy to imagine he'd do that or better in the Century League. Losing him wasn't too big of a deal, as Bob Hobbs (11-2, 3.19, 103) turned into a shutout machine. Many pitchers started games for the Blues, including Ken Matson (6-2, 3.61, 36), who handled his demotion well. Even former first rounder Bert Rogers (0-0, 2.13, 18) pitched some in September, starting three games and relieving two. The Blues haven't won since their fourpeat, but they'll run back a deep lineup with plenty of rotation options, enough to survive thinning from trades.

AA Mobile Commodores (Dixie League): 76-64, t-3rd, 11 GB: After winning their 8th Dixie League title, Mobile didn't have nearly as much success this year, falling 11 short and never really coming close to first. Mobile didn't have the continuity Milwaukee had, with many of their top players finishing their season elsewhere. This is part of the reason they were middle-of-the-pack, but plenty good prospect spent some of their time in the Dixie League. Top 100 prospect Clyde Parker (.323, 9, 55) posted a 146 WRC+ in 102 games, Mike Bordes (.274, 11, 76), who was 1-for-6 in his big league debut, hit a team high 11 homers, and former 1st Rounder Bert Rogers (13-6, 3.32, 57) finally emerged as a useful minor league starter. A few of the guys left in September did well, as Frank Reece (.304, 6, 20, 16) managed a 118 WRC+ and 2.7 in 55 games after promotion, Jimmy Ballard (14-7, 3.60, 91) was a reliable innings eater all season long, Bob Stout (.270, 6, 66, 6) held down short, and George Carter (5-3, 3.23, 35) ended the season with a strong eight start run. Most, if not all, of these guys will be back for 1950, with support from September callups Harry Austin (.367, 1, 9), Roxy Hilts (.271, 1, 9), and Jim Williams (0-2, 1.59, 5). Add in a bounce back from Tommy Seymour (1-7, 5.33, 43), a full season of Cal Rice (.266, 7, 30), and one more solid starting pitcher, they are going to have the makings of a real title contender.

A Lincoln Legislators (Heartland League): 84-56, 1st, 1 GA: The only winners this season, it took a miracle September where Lincoln won 14 of 17 games, including each of the last five, to edge the Terre Haute Brewers by a single game. That's a pennant in two of the last three seasons, as they fell three short of the Gary Steelman. What kept the Legislators going was their pitching staff, with eight pitchers starting 10 or more games with an ERA+ above 110. The "worst" of the bunch was ace Dixie Gaines (8-6, 3.50, 73), who had a 3.50 ERA and 112 ERA+ with 73 strikeouts in 105.1 innings pitched. This of course came after his elite eight start run in San Jose. Another guy who came up was Dutch Yoak, and his 17 start run was tremendous. The former 2nd Rounder went 13-2 with a 2.55 ERA (154 ERA+) and 1.04 WHIP, and he even managed a 1.5 K/BB with 62 strikeouts and 41 walks. Him and Max Tanner (4-11, 2, 3.03, 73) were the only qualified pitchers, but they got great production from Jim Williams (8-3, 2.82, 41), Ben Clough (10-3, 3.03, 77), George Carter (6-5, 2.50, 55), Tommy Seymour (5-4, 3.19, 53), and Lonnie Sis (7-1, 3.03, 50).

It didn't seem to matter who was on the mound, and you can thank "Einstein" for that. Garland Phelps (.316, 3, 60) has already shown tremendous promise behind the plate, handling his staff with poise and experience behind his year. Just 20 this August, he's got a great bat too, slashing .316/.370/.387 (104 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, 54 runs, and 60 RBIs. Consistently ranked in the top 50, Phelps is one of my absolute favorite prospects, and I can't wait until he's ready for big league action. He'll hit for a high average, draw his share of walks, and scouts expect him to hit for serious big league power. I think he's going to be up in Mobile next season, so Lincoln will have to find success without him. His bat will be easier to replace, but they'll be without some of their top hitters in Roxy Hilts (.338, 46), Cal Rice (.284, 6, 35), Harry Austin (.314, 4, 42), and Frank Reece (.306, 4, 33, 13). They may be without middle infielders Archie (.266, 2, 58, 13) and Dick Cunningham (.278, 4, 34) too, leaving Charlie Everitt (.331, 4, 23), Johnnie Cloud (.334, 4, 37), and five tool prospect Jerry Smith (.305, 4, 30) to shoulder the load. There's still a ton of talent in our low minors, but a pennant defense will be tough for the Legislators. The pitching will take somewhat of a fall without Garland, but if we find the right combination of pitchers, they should still mange to be among the leaders in most pitching categories.

B San Jose Cougars (California-Oregon-Washington League): 84-56, 2nd, 5 GB: The Baby Cougars had two more wins then we did and they did it in a lot fewer games. Even with the second place finish and a Cougar-esque -7 expected record, a second 80-win season is a welcomed outcome after three straight seasons with 55 or fewer wins. This team scored a ton of runs, led by 11th Rounder Charlie Harvey, who led the league in RBIs (88) and finished third int he batting race (.359). He led the team with 9 homers and Harvey produced a 150 WRC+ and was worth exactly four wins above replacement as the regular left fielder. Tony Scuccinello (.345, 3, 38, 8) competed with Harvey in the batting race, but he was one of many players that started here and ended somewhere else. Charlie Everitt (.340, 6, 44) was a fixture in the lineup through early July and they got 66 games of 12th ranked prospect Jerry Smith (.305, 2, 35, 12). They'll have a lot of returning lineup members, as while not set in stone, I imagine most of Freddie Hutchison (.281, 1, 7, 7), Buddy Jenkins (.299, 4, 42, 15), Lou Jackson (.353, 1, 43, 2), Harley Dollar (.294, 1, 16, 4), and Alex O'Dailey (.333, 2, 67) will be back. This team can score a ton of runs, and with plenty of reinforcements on the way, expect another season of pennant contention for San Jose.

As you can tell by their expected record, they didn't have the greatest luck, as the #1 offense was supported by the #1 pitching staff. Our top prospect and #7 overall Bob Allen spent all season leading the rotation, but he wasn't one of the top producers. In terms of ERA+, his 4.28 was exactly average, while his 4.06 FIP was six points better. Allen came two outs away from 150 innings, striking out 87 and going 9-6 in 22 starts. Despite worse records, Cliff Wallace (7-9, 3.01, 94),. Wally Eversole (7-8, 3.25, 85), and Al Robison (6-7, 3.97, 69) all pitched better then the 21-year-old former first rounder. You can't forget about Dixie Gaines' (8-0, 1.21, 57) eight start win streak and Lonnie Sis (9-1, 1.92, 57) did his absolute best to match it. It seemed like whoever started the game pitched well enough to win it, and with stout late inning work from Doc Buckingham (1-1, 14, 1.70, 29) and Floyd Van Haven (5-5, 5, 3.03, 14) you think they'd have the recipe for success. But the Salem Warriors, who came very close to first for runs against (also second in scored), were 11-3 in extras and won seven more one-run games. Cougar fans are used to falling short to the Stars organization, and this time it was their Class B affiliate who managed to outlive us in a pennant race.

C La Crosse Lions (Upper Mississippi Valley Association): 35-27, 3rd, 3 GB: Our lowest affiliate team this season, the Lions finished third with a .565 win percentage ten games out. They didn't really cycle through too many players, as most of our young draftees started and finished their seasons in La Crosse. 4th Rounder Buster Clark (5-3, 5.71, 70) led the team in starts, and despite a 3.3 K/B and 6.7 BB%, he was not too successful. Fellow draftees Wilson McKinney (7-0, 4.28, 56), Luke Wright (1-2, 5.30, 38), and Pat Burnett (5-2, 4, 1.95, 43) all got significant innings, but there were plenty of holdovers from last year. Curt Smith (4-2, 3.24, 65), Mike Emerson (2-3, 4.57, 56), Marty Czyzewski (1-5, 5.84, 28), and Ray Paulson (2-1, 6.23, 24). Despite his struggles as a starter, fourth year Lion Lee Parker (4-6, 4, 6.43, 50) was one of many productive relievers, helping La Crosse hold leagues. July Pitcher of the Month Floyd Van Hoven (2-1, 7, 12, 28) started as the stopper, but Burnett and Art Whisenhunt (4, 1.90, 38) all performed the role well. I already moved a few of these guys up to San Jose, opening up some rotation spots, but these guys will always have to worry about losing their job early in the season once our draftees sign.

The lineup had too many quality players for too few spots, so most guys started between two and four games a week, with only some of the best making five or more. Biff Tiner (.367, 4, 22, 10) was one of those, as the 13th Overall Pick looked great at the plate in his pro debut, and the top 50 prospect may find himself on the west coast next season. As good as he was offensively, he was actually edged by 7th Rounder Danny Noonan, who hit .360/.490/.607 (168 OPS+) with 13 doubles, 8 homers, 27 RBIs, and 39 walks. He produced an absurd 180 WRC+ in 193 PAs, worth 2.6 WAR with a BB% (20.2) nearly ten percent higher then his K% (10.9). He's was clearly ready for a promotion, but right now everything revolves around Garland Phelps and he got to pad his stats. Many more exciting prospects came and went, as the Lions sent out Bob Allie (.400, 4, 29, 10), Cecil Burr (.242, 2, 15, 8), Jeff King (.285, 2, 22, 8), Amos Peterson (.226, 2, 17), and Fred Crawford (.287, 1, 6, 8). But it's the depth that makes them strong, as they got production from players like Noonan, Roy Gass (.327, 3, 20), Willie Watson (.340, 21, 2), Doc Zimmerman (.421, 1, 13, 2), and even pinch hitter extraordinaire Jimmy Overton (.488, 1, 9). With so many young players, I don't expect to win any UMVA titles, so it only brings joy to see a winning record and positive steps from many young players.