[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 34-32 (5th, 3 GB)
Stars of the Week
Red Bond : 22 AB, 10 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .455 AVG, 1.227 OPS
Charlie Woodbury : 19 AB, 8 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .421 AVG, 1.184 OPS
Skipper Schneider : 22 AB, 7 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .318 AVG, 1.032 OPS

Schedule
6-20: Loss vs Foresters (7-6): 11 innings
6-21: Loss vs Foresters (6-5): 11 innings
6-22: Loss vs Foresters (5-3)
6-23: Loss vs Sailors (8-5)
6-24: Win vs Sailors (3-4)
6-25: Win vs Sailors (4-7)

Recap
After a stretch of so many wins, especially close ones, I can't really be too upset about a 2-4 week. Sure, losing back-to-back one-run games in 11 innings super sucks, especially considering the first loss was Max Wilder's first pitching blunder since his beratement. He flew too close to the sun, letting Pete Papenfus try to finish off a complete game, which instead led to 4 ninth inning runs, partly because he went to Molina too late, and he allowed a hit and walk before getting a strikeout to end the game. It stayed tied until the 11th when Jim Kenny blew his first of two consecutive games, almost calling his roster spot into question. Dropping the next two, again both close, hurt as we continue to be an annoyingly streaky team, making it no surprise the next two games were close wins to start our next 4+ game streak!

We got some bad news on the injury front, as not only will Sal Pestilli not be rejoining the club this week, but Charlie Woodbury will hit the IL for the next two weeks with an oblique strain. It couldn't have come at a worse time, as the now 32-year-old was coming off another great week, 8-for-19 with a triple, homer, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 5 RBIs. "Mad Hatter" has slashed a healthy .324/.393/.510 (142 OPS+) in 119 trips to the plate, and losing that level of production is tough. Yeah, he's not a good defender (-1.7, .984), but he's also not terrible, and with Skipper at short all you really have to do is look pretty and turn double plays. The injury gives a chance for Billy Hunter (.243, 1, 6) and Otto Christian (.173, 2, 12) to not suck, though I'm not sure how optimistic I should be. I think the plan is for both at third, Otto against lefties, Hunter righties, with Otto playing every third against righties. And while Al Clement is the obvious replacement, he's only been down for a few weeks, and I want to let him settle in more with the Blues. That means former 7th Rounder Rupert Heinbaugh has a chance to make his debut across the next two weeks. He's hit a productive .282/.359/.392 (107 OPS+) in 59 games, tallying 5 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 4 steals, 27 runs, 27 walks, and 20 RBIs in a well-rounded effort. Like Clement, he can handle second, third, and short, giving us a little versatility late in games now that Hunter will be playing more.

I think the funny part about this week is we actually hit well, getting production up-and-down the lineup. Skipper Schneider looked like a FABL hitter once more, going 7-for-22 with a double, triple, steal, 4 runs, 8 RBIs, and most surprisingly, two homers, as he didn't have any his first 62 games. The homers came in the wins over the Sailors, with the first giving us a lead we'd hold the rest of the way. That's because Leo Mitchell homered a few batters earlier, giving him two on the week as well. The reliable outfielder is only hitting .397 after going 7-for-22, but he drew 4 walks, drove in 4, and scored 7 times. Red Bond homered as well, 10-for-22 with 3 doubles, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, and 2 walks. George Sutterfield was 9-for-26 with a double, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 3 steals. John Moss was 9-for-26 too, even with a double, just 2 walks, 3 RBIs, and 5 runs. Even though the overall results on the week weren't good, it was a relief to not be let down by the offense, and it makes me excited for what's to come next.

Not all the pitching was bad of course, this is the Cougars we are talking about, a team that's highest ERA of the 1940s was 3.61 in our awful 7th place season, and we got plenty of quality starts. Duke Bybee's stretch of complete games wins was broken, as he left after 8 against Cleveland. He allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, and a walk with 3 strikeouts. As always, it was the homers that got to him, as even though the Foresters don't hit many of those, Lorenzo Samuels (.244, 5, 29) does (at least against the Cougars...), with a two-run homer and solo shot accounting for Bybee's only mistakes. David Molina held the lead in the ninth, but allowed two runs in the top half of the 10th before we tied the game back up, finishing with 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. As mentioned before, this game was blown by Jim Kenny, who allowed 2 hits, a run, and a walk in the 11th. He was better in the previous loss, as despite the run allowed, he struck out two while allowing two hits. After two really solid years in our pen, he's now allowed 22 hits, 14 earned runs, and 10 walks with 8 strikeouts in 18.2 innings. I'm confident he'll turn things around, but 0-4 with five meltdowns is anything but ideal.

Johnnie Jones picked up one of our wins, scattering 10 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts in a complete game win. As crazy as it sounds, he's our only starter with a winning record, as Johnnie is 6-3 in his 11 starts. Sure, he's prone to blowups and walks, but the recently turned 32-year-old is great early on and he can eat innings. He's allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his starts (one was the 2 innings he got hurt for what it's worth), and even with our 7th ranked offense, that's on average (4.1 runs per game) enough to secure the win. Granted, Donnie tends to hold teams to three or fewer, and that would have been the case had Charlie Woodbury and Red Bond not made errors. Instead, he allowed 5 runs (3 earned), leaving with two outs in the 8th. Donnie was charged with 9 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts, dropping back to even at 7-7. Pap evened his record at 5-5, but he didn't really pitch that great. He got a no decision too, but in the win he allowed 12 hits and 4 runs in his complete game. It was a rare start too, as he almost never allows double digits and even more never (if that's allowed?) walks just one guy. He struck out 4, finishing his week 9. Interesting enough, he's on pace for career lows in both K% (13.1) and BB% (8.1), as perhaps with age he's working more on getting outs then overpowering. Of course, overpowering isn't tough when you hit 101, and our co-ace is on track for another excellent season.

The draft is also officially completed, and after checking if I got the guy I really wanted, Reggie Woodis, who went to the Keystones nine picks I quickly met Andy Robinson's $21,000 signing bonus. A hefty sum that's probably (I'm not doing the math...) more then everyone expect Ike Soeur combined, it should be money well-spent, as he should crack the top half of the top 100, if not even up in the 20-30 range ahead of Garland Phelps (36th) and Henry Norman (39th). Class C doesn't start until July 5th, so I don't expect to sign too many guys early, but I want Robinson ready for Opening Day. We have 36 guys already in La Crosse, so I have some work to do. I hate cutting guys, especially in this league, but there are 15 or so guys I have to make room for, leading to some hard decisions in the coming weeks. I might cover some of the AI picks today, just depends on how exhausted I am tonight, though I expect to get to all 15 AI picks no later then tomorrow.

But I have to start with an All-Time name: 18th Rounder and shortstop Dick Coffey. That's straight out of a vulgar coffee shop menu!

Oh yeah, he's getting signed!

Looking Ahead
A lot of games in advance of the upcoming All-Star game, which will take place on July 9th, but we start the week with our last off day of the first half. Plenty of Cougars will be looking to improve their stock, starting with the end of our lengthy and successful homestand. They've been equally impressive in June, going 17-9 to find themselves in second place and a game behind the Cannons (36-28) for the lead. Second is where I expect the Saints to be, as they're a very good team that can both hit and pitch. They're lucky to have eventual June Pitcher of the Month Wally Reif (7-6, 2.76, 52), as he has three shutouts and a four with no earned runs. The only team to get to him was the leading Cannons, who got 9 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks in 7.2 innings. That made him 4-1, though I don't think that's enough to stop a 0.82 ERA (490 ERA+) and 0.92 WHIP with 21 strikeouts to just 9 walks. This run has dropped his ERA from 4.01 to 2.76 (147 ERA+), and we'll have our work cut out for us if we want to knock it up a bit. He's scheduled in the opener, followed by Pete Ford (4-5, 3.69,36) and Bert Cupid (6-6, 3.35, 57).

That's a tough group to face, and it's made tougher knowing they will be well protected. Maurice Carter (.291, 12, 45) has quickly made Saints fans forget about Red Bond, and the now healthy Gordie Perkins (.359, 3, 20) would be a legit Whitney Candidate if he could play a full season. They didn't miss a beat without him, as center fielder Bill Elkins (.209, 2, 28) was surprisingly effective at short, and while none of the supplementary pieces are having superb seasons, Joe Austin (.263, 5, 24, 17), Otis O'Keefe (.266, 5, 29), Luke Weaver (.284, 1, 21), and Bill Greene (.247, 3, 16, 5) have all been average or better at the plate. Those guys are more then capable of kicking it up enough, and someone like Austin causes so much trouble on the basepaths. This team is legit, and has finally recovered from their awful 3-14 starts, and if we don't get back to our winning ways, they could leave us and the rest of the association in their dust.

It doesn't get easier, as our road trip starts with four games in three days with the New York Stars. A consistent team, who usually goes 4-3, the Stars have a decent chance of ending the week in first, especially considering Bill Barrett (.286, 6, 45) hit three home runs after just three total in his first 58 (!!) appearances. Guys like him don't have off years, so I think the vet is finally awake, giving another threat to us trying to break our annoying drought. Lucky for us, Ed Cornett (7-2, 2.88, 42) is the only Star who's pitched really well, which is absolutely absurd, though Jack Wood (7-4, 3.57, 41) continues to do his thing. What's insane is how bad Vern Hubbard (5-7, 6.02, 31) has been, as thee 35-year-old was coming off a stellar year. Eli Panneton (9-5, 4.24, 53) hasn't quite been himself either, and rookie Dan Atwater (0-3, 8.15, 7) has looked overmatched in his first three starts. We'll have to face all but one of these guys, so if the offense does what they did at the end of last week, we could steal a series from our hosts, even after Barrett, Bill Barnett (.267, 16, 44), Mack Sutton (.269, 14, 49), and Jack Welch (.279, 16, 48) get their regular home runs on us.

Might add a minor league report later, we'll see! Busy day with traveling. Got most of this done at the airport and wanted to get this in now in case I have time to take a look at some of our draft picks tonight, and I'm not sure if there's anything worth mentioning from the week.

Minor League Report
LHP Ben Clough (AA Little Rock Governors): Ha! There was something notable! And it only took one day!

Ben Clough was cruising in Mobile last year, working to a 2.86 ERA (140 ERA+) and 1.34 WHIP in his first four starts. The only issue was that he tore his UCL.

There's no Tommy John in this universe, so it's a pretty sever injury, and Clough missed a full nine months. This came after his starts in Mobile and 16 more in Lincoln, where he went 10-5 with a 3.03 ERA (130 ERA+) and 1.08 WHIP, and his 104 innings saw 77 strikeouts to just 25 walks. He made his season debut on the first of June this year, and despite two wins, his first three starts looked like a guy who hadn't pitched in almost a year. But when he got a second crack at the Atlanta Peaches lineup, Ben Clough looked like the pitcher he was last season, and he spun a 3-hit shutout with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. Despite being a 14th Rounder, Clough was always a guy I kept an eye on, and I was excited when we were able to get him in the AI portion. A four pitch pitcher, Clough was able to pitch deep into games, and he struck out a ton of batters.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case this year, as he has just 13 in his 31.1 innings. Never one for command problems, he's actually walked 23 hitters, just two away from his total last season. His 16.5 BB% is more then double his measure in Lincoln last season, and aside from his one appearance in the Cuban Winter League, he's never had a walk rate in the double digits. I'm really hoping it's rust and not the injury, but I know all too well that arms are fragile, and Clough did not get the treatment his arm needed. Lucky for him, he's the most intense and competitive guy out there, and he's going to work his but off until he feels like his old self. The deck may be stacked against him, nut he's the guy that doesn't falter when he's cornered. I really want him to succeed, but unfortunately I just see minor league fodder, those he's the ultimate clubhouse guy and will probably earn himself a pen role. And once you get a shot, you never know what's going to happen.