[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 11-9 (3rd, 2.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Billy Hunter : 22 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .500 AVG, 1.022 OPS
Red Bond : 21 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .381 AVG, 1.042 OPS
Otto Christian : 19 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .368 AVG, 1.013 OPS

Schedule
5-1: Win at Wolves (9-6)
5-2: Win at Wolves (2-0)
5-3: Win at Wolves (6-1)
5-4: Win at Cannons (3-2)
5-5: Loss at Cannons (2-6)
5-6: Win at Cannons (3-2)
5-7: Loss at Sailors (1-7)

Recap
Hey now! We looked like a playoff team this week!

I guess playing at home is overrated, as we built off the series win in Montreal with a sweep of the Wolves and two of three in Cincinnati. Sure, we lost the opener in Philly, but if we win the second two, we'll have won each of our last five three game series, and we're now back over .500 at 11-9. The only thing that stopped us this week was injuries, and they were all two related. Two days (out). Two weeks (DTD). Two weeks (out).

They're all kind of shocking injuries, with the lone day-to-day injury going to Johnnie Jones, who has made 145 FABL starts before missing one. He left his start after two, and was given the unlucky loss, and it came right after one of the more interesting 2-hit shutouts. Johnnie scattered eight free passes, but considering he matched every walk with a strikeout, he was able to out-duel Jerry York (1-3, 4.15, 10) in a tight 2-0 win over the Wolves. Just as a precaution, we're IL'ing him, even his arm seems alright. It's just not worth him aggravating this, and when you have someone like Zane Kelley in AAA, there shouldn't be much of a drop. Add in an off-day before Johnnie's scheduled start comes up, and he may end up needing just one start covered. Still, it hurts losing Johnnie early in the season, where he's at his best. His 1.93 ERA (201 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP are excellent, and even though he's walked 18 guys, he's struck out 18 too. I'll miss that production, but if he picks off right where he left off when healthy, it'll be worth the slight interruption.

The next injury was to star outfielder Sal Pestilli, who is dealing with some chronic back soreness that's severe enough to keep him out of the lineup. It's his longest injury since 1939, the year after he won the Whitney as a sophomore. Pestilli was off to a nice start too, hitting .314/.388/.414 (119 OPS+) with a league leading 6 stolen bases. He hasn't homered yet, but he's got 3 doubles, 2 triples, 9 walks, 12 runs, and 4 RBIs. Assuming no setbacks, he should be easy enough to replace short-term, as we have Chubby Hall and Don Lee, both of which are good enough to play everyday. Hall will man right against righties, while Lee will get time against lefties, whether that's in the corner with Hall or Leo Mitchell. Most interestingly, is who will be replacing Pestilli on the roster, as GWL star Clyde Zimmerman will get a chance in the big leagues far earlier then he might have anticipated. The initial Player of the Week is hitting a strong .304/.341/.494 (123 OPS+) through 18 games, and he'll give us a reliable option off the bench in any of the three outfield spots. Though likely a short-term replacement, Zimmerman's stay should last the duration of Pestilli's IL placement, as he can be optioned as much as needed during the season.

The only thing able to stop Leo Mitchell this year, seems to be patellar tendinitis, which cost him most of the week and likely the rest of the Sailors series. The injury came in the fifth when Mitchell scored from second on a Red Bond single. He was 2-for-3 with a double that game, upping his season line to an absurd 521/.558/.688 (238 OPS+) with 4 extra base hits, 7 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. Despite the good record, we did feel his absence, as the offense still isn't a well oiled machine. Bond looked good, 8-for-21 with a homer and 4 RBIs, though the top producer may have been Billy Hunter. He might have had his first six game week in, well, ever, as the oft-injured vet was an even 11-for-22 with 3 runs and 4 RBIs. Otto Christian more then doubled his season hit total, going 7-for-19 after a 6-for-46 start, adding a walk, homer, 2 doubles, and 8 RBIs. Don Lee was up for the task while Mitchell was hurt, 4-for-11 with a pair of doubles, a run, an RBI, and a steal. Losing Pestilli may weaken us a little, but I'm hoping his loss will be offset by some of our guys getting back on track, as John Moss has looked awful, Eddie Howard has been useless after his first week, and despite his patented elite defense, Skipper hasn't done much with the bat.

Of course, offense isn't how we win games, it's the pitching, as we got the shutout from Johnnie, and another excellent start from Donnie Jones. Make him 4-0 four times through, as he went all nine with 6 hits, a run, 5 walks, and 4 strikeouts. The walks have been high, as he has 14 in 37 innings, and his even 10 BB% is almost a full percent higher then his previous high. Still, he's won all his starts, and has a 1.22 ERA (319 ERA+) and 0.84 WHIP, so if the price of that is a few walks he can erase with grounders, then so be it! Peter the Heater shook off his tough two-start stretch, picking up his first win of the season in a complete game victory over the Cannons. Pap struck out 6, allowing just 7 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks in a tight 3-2 victory. Even George Oddo picked up a pair of wins, though he only deserved one of them. That was in another 3-2 win over the Cannons, where he went 8 with 6 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. He then got lucky in Toronto, as 9 runs of support got him a win despite 9 hits and 6 runs in 6 innings. Despite the lucky win this week, he's been anything but, with near identical ERA+ (83) and FIP- (81) in his starts.

In both of Oddo's starts, he was finished off by David Molina, who really showed what he could do this week. In that 6 inning affair, Molina got the last nine outs, with just a hit and strikeout to his record. He then had a little more trouble in Cincy, but he stranded both guys he walked to earn his fourth save in as many attempts. He's still low on innings, just 9.1 in 7 outings, but he's already finished off four close games for us in a row, which may be a Cougar first!

Unfortunately, we did have some rough pitching outings, with the biggest blemish coming after Johnnie Jones' injury. That's when Charlie Kelsey made his season debut, and it did not go well in the slightest. Well, after the five strikeouts, but that may have been because so many other guys got on base! He allowed 7 hits, 6 runs, and 5 walks in 4.1 innings pitched. Duke Bybee was roughed up too, as the Cannons took him deep three times in 7.1 innings. He allowed 7 hits and 6 runs, though with no walks and 5 strikeouts, there's a lot to be excited about. I'm honestly stunned the Cannons took him deep so much in Cincy, and just like George Oddo, the ERA+ (85) and FIP- (88) are almost identical. Add in the near 5 (4.8) K/BB with 19 strikeouts and just 4 free passes (same as his homers!), and just like Pap and Oddo, I think it's only a matter of time before we have an epic run on the back of our arms!

Looking Ahead
We get two more with the Sailors, who are the only team between us and the Kings. At 11-7, they're a game ahead of us, and a game and a half behind the 14-7 Kings. The Sailors are starting to look like the team they should have last year, as evidenced by their 7-1 thrashing behind new ace Charlie Gordon (2-1, 4.45, 17). Scheduled after him our Al Duster (2-0, 2.45, 13) and Slick Wesolowski (0-1, 5.30, 7), who just got his brains beat in by Saints after keeping the Foresters in check twice. I'm liking the matchups, as we'll give them Donnie (4-0, 1.22, 15) and Pap (1-3, 4.65, 17), giving us the noticeable advantage on the mound. The lineup is loaded with .300+ hitters, led by CA batting leader Marion Boismenu (.441, 3, 1) and the if he was qualified leader, Ed Reyes (.538, 6), though the 37-year-old lefty hasn't been getting regular playing time. That hasn't hurt them too much, as Rip Lee (.356, 2, 11, 1) is looking to prove the doubters wrong, Al Farmer (.360, 1, 10) is off to a scalding start, and even former Cougar Solly Skidmore (.316, 1, 11) is hitting like the guy I once thought he could be. Even with our hot streak, I'm a little nervous here, but two wins to finish off the series would be perfect.

Our long run of games ends with two in Cleveland, as we'll play our 23rd and 24th consecutive game without an off day. Cleveland does not look like a postseason team early on, 7-12 while allowing the most runs in the association. It's not reigning Allen winner Adrian Czerwinski's (1-4, 2.93, 9) fault, he's been amazing, nor John Jackson (1-1, 1.04, 6), who has excelled in three starts, but the pen has been hit hard and Ollie White (1-2, 6.52, 23) and Augie Hayes Jr. (0-1, 5.48, 8) have had issues with run preventions. Part can be blamed on the defense, which is also an association worst, though they're not really hitting as great as they could be. Still, rookie, first rounder, and 25th ranked prospect Jim Urquhart (.356, 8, 1) is off to a great start to his young career and rookie catcher Larry McClure (.360, 4, 15) has somehow managed to make the jump straight from A-ball. But Lorenzo Samuels (.219, 1, 8) is ice cold, Orie Martinez (.125, 3) might be frozen, and Jim Adams Jr. (.273, 4) is already dealing with another nagging injury. This may be the perfect time to play them, and it's looking like we'll luck out by missing Czerwinski and Ducky Davis (1-2, 3.09, 12), who both picked up losses in a double header to the Stars.

Thankfully, we're finally off on Friday, and we'll use the travel day to return to beautiful, hopefully sunny, Chicago. We'll need all the rest we can get, as the first place Kings are in town, and they've been tough for us to beat since the start of last season. The Kings can out-hit anyone, led by reigning Player of the Week Ralph Johnson (.354, 7, 20). The almost 26-year-old was 11-for-22 with 4 doubles, a triple, a homer, 4 walks, and 6 RBIs. He's got plenty of protection in Ken Newman (.333, 2, 15), Dan Smith (.323, 4, 8), and Billy Bryant (.338, 5), and once the rest of the lineup starts falling into place, they could really start to be dangerous. Luckily, the pitching hasn't been great, aside from Joe Potts (4-0, 2.83, 15) and old friend Ron Berry (3-1, 3.09, 12), so if we can keep them in the park, I really like our chances here. The off day should work wonders, as the return to our home, but I'm most worried about their ability to hit the ball out of the park, as it's something we tend to struggle to prevent.

Especially at home...

Minor League Report
CF Frank Reece (AA Mobile Commodores): No one decided to tell Frank Reece that he's not an important prospect, as the former second rounder won his second Player of the Week. This time he went 12-for-28, tallying 6 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 2 steals, and 5 RBIs. Reece has managed a .392/.415/.709 (184 OPS+) triple slash in 82 trips to the plate, collecting 6 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, and 3 steals. He's scored 15 times and drove in 13, and with average numbers out in center he's been worth an impressive 1.4 in just 17 games. It's still way too early to start talking promotion for the 22-year-old, as even with the Zimmerman promotion there's still three starter worthy outfielders and Johnny Carlisle who can play anywhere. Now eligible for the Rule-5 draft, I wouldn't mind him ending up in the Century League, and if he keeps hitting like this I may have to make him a September callup. He's even jumped up the prospect ladder, now 9th in the system and 117th overall. It's been almost three seasons since he was last in the top 100 list, but the toolsy outfielder is trying to prove the experts were right in the beginning.

LHP Dixie Gaines (A Lincoln Legislators): The prospect pickers may not like him much anymore, but Dixie Gaines hasn't let that get in his way. He's been excellent through three starts, allowing two or fewer runs and six or fewer hits each time out. He's one all three of them as well, working to a 1.27 ERA (328 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP with 9 walks and 15 strikeouts. Yes, it's not as good as his absurd eight run stretch with San Jose last season, but the 22-year-old lefty has picked off right where he left off even if he's not getting many groundball outs. A five pitch pitcher, Gaines relies on his mid 80s sinker, which is up a tick to 85-87. That's going to make his change up that much better, and it seems like he's getting a lot of soft contact. The stuff has never been an issue, with the only question mark here his command. He's been hovering above ten and a half with the Legislators, which may be a bit too high against FABL pitchers. As I mentioned earlier, Donnie's never come close to that before, though that would actually be a good year for Pap. In that case, Dixie will have to strike out as many guys as Pap can, and that's no easy feat. I think the control may be what OSA doesn't like here, though I see a guy who just needs a good catcher to teach him how to pitch. And with guys like current catcher Johnny Hadley, last year's Garland Phelps, and Eddie Howard in Chicago, he's always going to have a guy who will help him.