[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 6-2
Seasonal Record: 27-27 (4th, 4.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 26 AB, 9 H, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .346 AVG, 1.105 OPS
Duke Bybee : 2 Wins, 18.0 IP, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.00 ERA
David Molina : 1 Win, 2 Saves, 3.0 IP, 0 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA

Schedule
6-5: Win at Cannons (7-2)
6-6: Loss at Cannons (1-2): 10 innings
6-7: Win at Sailors (4-1)
6-8: Win at Sailors (5-3)
6-9: Win at Sailors (4-3): 10 innings
6-10: Win at Foresters (3-1)
6-11: Win at Foresters (5-3)
6-11: Loss at Foresters (2-5)

Recap
When I went to be last night, I really thought we were going to go 2-6 or 1-7 or maybe even ... 0-8... But fear not! I was way off! A 6-2 week that brings us two and a half games closer to first!

You can thank the staff, as no one scored more then three runs against us until the final game of the week! Sure, that should be enough for a perfect week, but it's hard to complain about our best week of the season. Of course, it came with some downsides, as despite his first homer and best week of the season, we'll once again be without Sal Pestilli for two weeks. That's because shortly after hitting his first homer, he hit his head pretty hard, and will need another IL stint. Along with the homer, he was 9-for-26 with a double, 2 triples, 4 runs, 5 walks, 6 RBIs, and a steal. That upped his season line to .305/.394/.468 (133 OPS+), as despite the single homer, he has fifteen other extra base hits, and we'll again be without our best position player.

The rest of the lineup didn't do much, though Chubby Hall was able to draw walks in four of his eleven PAs, and him and Don Lee will again see more time. Luckily, the pitching has hit the groove, as Duke Bybee's luck finally corrected. He was 1947/1948 Bybee, picking up a pair of complete game victories. Each time out just one run was earned, as he went to Cincinnati and Cleveland and handled business. The Cannons got an unearned run too, as Duke allowed 5 hits with 2 strikeouts. The Foresters got 6 hits and 2 walks, but Bybee struck out three. His ERA is down to a far more respectable 4.38 (91 ERA+) in 11 starts, and his 3.45 FIP (86 FIP-) expects more and more starts like the one he threw here. I hope he's finally in the groove, as George Oddo's 3.70 ERA is the next highest, and that's good for a 108 ERA+. He also made two starts, both good enough to win, but as he tends to often, he doesn't get those wins. He split his starts, with the loss a game that should have been for David Molina. He went out for the 10th, where he allowed a walk-off single to Sam Brown. We couldn't solve Mickey Mills, so 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts ended in a loss. That was better then the win, where we went 8 with 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

Molina finished that second start, giving him his second save and eighth of the season. He picked up a win against his old team too, finishing the week with three separate scoreless innings. He did allow four hits, but no walks, and he picked up another strikeout. He finished starts for Johnnie Jones (save) and Pete Papenfus (win), where both went 8 with 3 runs. Johnnie walked 8, but allowed 6 hits with 4 strikeouts, while Pap allowed 9 hits with 5 walks and strikeouts. Donnie Jones made a pair of starts, and like Oddo, split his starts. He went nine against the Sailors, allowing 9 hits, 5 walks, and a run with 4 strikeouts. The Foresters, however, got to him for 11 hits, 5 runs, and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in his 8 innings. Despite a 2.85 ERA (140 ERA+), he's an even 6-6 in his 12 starts, which is the only thing getting in the way of an Allen campaign. We need him to go on another run, as he's dropped four of his last five starts after starting the year 5-2. I'll always have faith in our durable ace, and it's started to trickle off to the rest of the squad.

Going into the week, we have a new player, acquiring off waivers a player I targeted multiple times in the past. While not the same player, it's nice getting two-time All-Star Frank Davis, who had a decade long run as a plus defensive shortstop. While not the same defender at 33, Davis is a 14-year vet who has appeared in a game for the Dynamos, Saints, Chiefs, and most recently, Keystones, as he's been involved in trades with notable players such as Ray Calfee and Hank Barnett, as well as Miners starting catcher Dino Robinson. He's appeared in 1,792 FABL games, and when considering his defense, a .268/.323/.336 (86 OPS+) career line is pretty respectable. Same can't be said for this season, hence why he was waived, as the Keystone shortstop was hitting just .154/.186/.169 (-3 OPS+), and his defense (-0.2, .982) is not nearly good enough to make up for it. Lucky for us, we have one Skipper Schneider (though his 42 WRC+ leaves plenty to be desired...), and since Al Clement (24 G, 8 PA) has pretty much played an inning a game, there's room on the bench for a veteran like Davis. He's not the only one returning to Chicago, as we're again replacing Pestilli with Clyde Zimmerman. I don't expect either to play too much, but both should be useful pieces of the bench for the coming weeks.

Looking Ahead
Can't remember the last time I was happy to do one of these, so it's fitting that we'll have to wait until Monday before more Cougars baseball. In-game, it's a wait until Tuesday, as after our double header we'll use an off day to return to the Windy City. Surprisingly, we've been a bit better on the road then at home, two games over versus two games under. The first guest is the still first place Cannons, who we again put up seven runs against. They're off after a double header too, one that saw Rufus Barrell (7-4, 2.34, 43) and Mickey Mills (8-2, 2.40, 49) pitch, which is huge news for us. I covered Mills a bit yesterday, but after besting us and Brooklyn, he now has made five consecutive starts with one or fewer earned run. Him and Rufus are 1-2 in the ERA race, with Charlie Griffith (6-4, 2.51, 26) #3. He's set to start the middle game, though since we started against us this week, he's saw his ERA jump up nearly a full run from 1.65. We'll then get Jim Anderson (3-3, 3.09, 33) in the opener and Tony Britten (4-5, 3.32, 27) in the finale, which could help us take the series. I'm not worried about their offense, which has scored fewer runs then we've allowed, and they're now missing Mike T. Taylor (.250, 1, 10, 6) for the next five weeks. After a dreadful start, he was really starting to pick things up, and I expect his spot in the order to go to Sam Brown (.305, 9), who beat us in Cincinnati. Assuming no surprises, I can see a few nailbiters, and with how well they've played, a strong showing from the visitors could make a big difference in the standings.

We'll then finish our week with three against the Wolves, who finally beat us for the first time on June 2nd. They've dropped down to 24-30, in part because Fred McCormick (.262, 1, 23) is starting to look his age. The same can't be said for Hal Wood (.337, 1, 28) or Joe Hancock (6-2, 2.76, 38), who are still having strong seasons late in their 30s. Looking towards some of the youth, the Wolves have gotten a lot at the plate from Harry Finney, who's hitting .346/.399/.471 (127 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 12 RBIs. That's impressive considering in 424 FABL plate appearances, he still has just a .265/.316/.347 (79 OPS+) line. Still, the 149 this season are his most in a season, and at just 26, it may have taken him a bit longer to develop the bat. Then at the keystone, 23-year-old Joe DeMott (.317, 1, 20) has looked comfortable, quickly making Wolves fans feel better about losing Charlie Artuso (.246, 2, 23). But since we've had so much success against them so far, it's hard to expect anything other then a series win, as we seems to be the more talented team. Even if they are scoring way more often then us right now...

The draft then is on Monday, which means we'll either get our draftees Monday, or I'll have one last chance to finalize my list. Right now Dixie Marsh has been consistent with Andy Robinson as his #7, same with OSA at 4th. There are some changes, most notably Ike Soeur checks in as the final pick of the first round. Plenty of other ups and downs, but it's nice seeing plenty of future Cougars on the list! And I forgot to take the monthly screenshots, so we get them today: