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ayaghmour2 · 02-22-2024, 07:27 PM

Weekly Record: 5-1
Overall Record: 5-1 (2 GA)

Clyde Zimmerman: If Bernie Millard had his way, the only way Clyde Zimmerman could enter a FABL stadium is with a paid ticket. But we're not going to let some old coal baron tell us what to do! When we come up short we do it in style!

That's exactly what Clyde Zimmerman did, as he went 5-for-10 with a homer, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs. We play the Wolves to start the week, so I'm half hoping Max Wilder pencils his name in the lineup, though he's been quick to give the hard worker playing time early on. That gives me faith he'll do it again, which I'm sure will spark some comments from the outspoken owner. Whether he truly is a FABL quality talent or not, he does have the distinction of being the only Cougar to homer so far, as sluggers like Otto Christian (1-9, 4 BB), Sal Pestilli (1-13, 2B, R), and Red Bond (4-9, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) have yet to clear the fence. No one has out-hit him yet, but Eddie Howard (7-15, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Leo Mitchell (4-13, 2B, 3 R), and new Cougar John Moss (3-8, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) have all impressed early on.

Nothing But Zeros: Four of the six guys we started this week put up nothing but zeros, as Donnie Jones, Johnnie Jones, and Zane Kelley threw four scoreless innings in their spring debut. Peter the Heater would've joined him, but his own error led to the only run he allowed. Donnie headlined the group, just one hit with six strikeouts in his victory, Johnnie (2 H, BB, 4 K), Kelley (W, H, 3 K), and Pap (W, H, 3 BB, 5 K) were all still excellent, and it's always fun seeing these guys pitch. Even if the games don't mean much, they go out and impress, and even the "bad" starts were still great. Duke Bybee struck out 4 with 3 hits, 2 runs, and a walk in 5 innings while George Oddo went 4 with 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 3 strikeouts. The pen looked good too, as we got to see David Molina in a Cougar uniform for the first time. Sure, it's one of those goofy spring training ones, but he was excellent as always. He allowed a pair of hits and struck out two in 2.1 innings, picking up a hold with Mal Bianco (2 IP, H) and Mark Eichner (IP, 2 K) to allow former first rounder Bert Rogers (IP, H, BB) pick up the save. It may be spring, but high pressure innings are high pressure innings, with these happening to come against the Sailors.

Injuries Hit!: Fear not Cougar fans! It's not any of the big guys, as non-roster invitee Jimmy Ballard left his first outing with shoulder inflammation. Lucky for him, it's minor enough to cause just 3-4 weeks, but the 27-year-old will head to the minors to rehab. Ironically, I almost didn't call Ballard up at all, but I wanted to reward the former 6th Round pick for his years of service to the club. Unfortunately for Ballard, injuries are a common theme for him, as it's knocked him so far down that he stayed in Mobile all season. He at least pitched well, 14-7 with a 3.60 ERA (111 ERA+) and 1.46 WHIP, but if he pitched well in the spring he could have found himself in Milwaukee. Instead, he'll make his way to Little Rock (obviously I instinctively type "back to Mobile he goes," because you know that's something I've type hundreds of times), where he'll be a part of the Governors initial entry to the Dixie League. All Jimmy will be focusing on is avoiding another injury, but barring setback he should be good-to-go on Opening Day.

Ballard wasn't the only one dealt an injury, though in Billy Biggar's case it's just a really bad headache. Don't worry, nobody hit him in the head, but the Canadian first basemen will miss the next few days with a migraine. He's not going to be seeing much time anyways, with Don Lee and Jimmy Hairston actually getting playing time at first, so he may not have played in the next three days anyways. No matter how good he hit, he'd be the Blues' every day first basemen, and he'll look to match or improve his .336/.397/.462 (124 OPS+) batting line from his 250 PA sample. Even if Red Bond gets hurt, I don't envision Biggar replacing him, but if he hits in the Century League he'll eventually earn a shot to steal at bats late in the season.

02-22-2024, 07:27 PM	#1350
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,137	Spring Training: Week 1 Weekly Record: 5-1 Overall Record: 5-1 (2 GA) Clyde Zimmerman: If Bernie Millard had his way, the only way Clyde Zimmerman could enter a FABL stadium is with a paid ticket. But we're not going to let some old coal baron tell us what to do! When we come up short we do it in style! That's exactly what Clyde Zimmerman did, as he went 5-for-10 with a homer, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs. We play the Wolves to start the week, so I'm half hoping Max Wilder pencils his name in the lineup, though he's been quick to give the hard worker playing time early on. That gives me faith he'll do it again, which I'm sure will spark some comments from the outspoken owner. Whether he truly is a FABL quality talent or not, he does have the distinction of being the only Cougar to homer so far, as sluggers like Otto Christian (1-9, 4 BB), Sal Pestilli (1-13, 2B, R), and Red Bond (4-9, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) have yet to clear the fence. No one has out-hit him yet, but Eddie Howard (7-15, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Leo Mitchell (4-13, 2B, 3 R), and new Cougar John Moss (3-8, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB) have all impressed early on. Nothing But Zeros: Four of the six guys we started this week put up nothing but zeros, as Donnie Jones, Johnnie Jones, and Zane Kelley threw four scoreless innings in their spring debut. Peter the Heater would've joined him, but his own error led to the only run he allowed. Donnie headlined the group, just one hit with six strikeouts in his victory, Johnnie (2 H, BB, 4 K), Kelley (W, H, 3 K), and Pap (W, H, 3 BB, 5 K) were all still excellent, and it's always fun seeing these guys pitch. Even if the games don't mean much, they go out and impress, and even the "bad" starts were still great. Duke Bybee struck out 4 with 3 hits, 2 runs, and a walk in 5 innings while George Oddo went 4 with 2 hits, a run, a walk, and 3 strikeouts. The pen looked good too, as we got to see David Molina in a Cougar uniform for the first time. Sure, it's one of those goofy spring training ones, but he was excellent as always. He allowed a pair of hits and struck out two in 2.1 innings, picking up a hold with Mal Bianco (2 IP, H) and Mark Eichner (IP, 2 K) to allow former first rounder Bert Rogers (IP, H, BB) pick up the save. It may be spring, but high pressure innings are high pressure innings, with these happening to come against the Sailors. Injuries Hit!: Fear not Cougar fans! It's not any of the big guys, as non-roster invitee Jimmy Ballard left his first outing with shoulder inflammation. Lucky for him, it's minor enough to cause just 3-4 weeks, but the 27-year-old will head to the minors to rehab. Ironically, I almost didn't call Ballard up at all, but I wanted to reward the former 6th Round pick for his years of service to the club. Unfortunately for Ballard, injuries are a common theme for him, as it's knocked him so far down that he stayed in Mobile all season. He at least pitched well, 14-7 with a 3.60 ERA (111 ERA+) and 1.46 WHIP, but if he pitched well in the spring he could have found himself in Milwaukee. Instead, he'll make his way to Little Rock (obviously I instinctively type "back to Mobile he goes," because you know that's something I've type hundreds of times), where he'll be a part of the Governors initial entry to the Dixie League. All Jimmy will be focusing on is avoiding another injury, but barring setback he should be good-to-go on Opening Day. Ballard wasn't the only one dealt an injury, though in Billy Biggar's case it's just a really bad headache. Don't worry, nobody hit him in the head, but the Canadian first basemen will miss the next few days with a migraine. He's not going to be seeing much time anyways, with Don Lee and Jimmy Hairston actually getting playing time at first, so he may not have played in the next three days anyways. No matter how good he hit, he'd be the Blues' every day first basemen, and he'll look to match or improve his .336/.397/.462 (124 OPS+) batting line from his 250 PA sample. Even if Red Bond gets hurt, I don't envision Biggar replacing him, but if he hits in the Century League he'll eventually earn a shot to steal at bats late in the season.