[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 5-2
Seasonal Record: 63-60 (4th, 6 GB)
Stars of the Week
Hal Wood : 26 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .346 AVG, .875 OPS
Duke Bybee : 2 Wins, 16.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K, 3.38 ERA
Red Bond : 20 AB, 5 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .250 AVG, .960 OPS

Schedule
8-21: Loss at Sailors (0-7)
8-22: Win at Sailors (9-7)
8-23: Win at Sailors (5-3)
8-24: Loss at Foresters (4-5)
8-25: Win at Foresters (5-2)
8-26: Win at Foresters (2-1)
8-27: Win at Wolves (3-1)

Recap
A 5-2 week sure is nice. We took two of three from the Sailors and Foresters on the road, and as we have done pretty much every time out, we beat the Toronto Wolves. But what is less nice is we are now officially the last team yet to score 500 runs on the season.

What happened to the offense?!?!?!

I wish there was a simple answer to this, but pretty much every one of our hitters is having a below average season in terms of WRC+:
Red Bond (131; 135)
Sal Pestilli (111; 124)
Chubby Hall (87; 112)
John Moss (76; 105)
Skipper Schneider (65; 101)

The only guy who isn't, but is also an above average hitter with more then 275 PAs? Leo Mitchell! That's it!

Yes, I did that purposely to limit Charlie Woodbury (265) and his would be team leading 160 WRC+, but it's quite impressive how poor our players have been! Sure, Eddie Howard (96; 91) and George Sutterfield (96; 90) have been average and provided solid defense, but we have very little production when producing runs, and when you combine that with our highest team ERA since 1939, and it's been a recipe for the disaster.
On the bright side, no one really wants to win the CA, so we're back to just six out with 31 games left to play. That's ... manageable? Assuming we decided to score runs, and with rosters expanding, there's some sort of chance of success?

The most notable callup is one from outside the organization, as last week we claimed former 3rd Overall Pick and 5th Ranked Prospect Joe Quade from the Philadelphia Keystones. "Killer" has been killed by opposing hitters, as the 28-year-old struggled in his 21 starts. Quade went 7-12 with a 4.74 ERA (83 ERA+) and 1.94 WHIP, walking 135 batters with 72 strikeouts. Now in 79 FABL appearances, all but one as the starting pitcher, he's 27-37 with a 4.46 ERA (89 ERA+) and 589 innings pitched. While not overly inspiring numbers, especially the 428 walks to 263 strikeouts, Quade is a live arm who's always working on his craft. He has a great sinker that generates plenty of groundballs, and both his curve and slider have plenty of bite. Honestly, I don't know why he's pitched so badly, as even with his poor control, the stuff and movement appear to be excellent. The hope here is that we can get some use out of him in the pen, though if we needed a spot starter towards the end of the season, there are certainly worse options.

One of our more notable minor leaguers, George Oddo, is not receiving a callup, and we'll let him continue to pitch everyday in Milwaukee. As you might expect, he's done quite well, and he's coming off a beautiful outing where he fanned 10 in 8 shutout innings, improving to 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA (149 ERA+) in his three starts. Other guys will come and go as we reach the end of this annoyingly long season, and any other's coming with Quade will be mentioned in the Minor League report.

I guess I should also mention something about the performance of the players, because you have to play somewhat decent to win more then you lose. Hal Wood has really started to settle in, and after a standing ovation from the nearly 17,000 fans in attendance, he went 3-for-4 in his return to Dominion Stadium. All three hits were off longtime teammate Joe Hancock (9-8, 3.29, 88), who was outdueled by Duke Bybee in our 3-1 victory to finish the week. Bybee did a good job controlling the Wolves lineup, allowing just seven hits and a walk with a run, improving to 11-10. It was his second win of the week, as his offense made up for an error in a crazy 9-7 win over the Sailors. Bybee wasn't great, allowing 9 hits and 7 runs (5 earned), but he struck out two and didn't walk anyone in the Sailors lineup. Sal Pestilli (3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B), Leo Mitchell (2-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B), and Skipper Schneider (2-2, BB) all providing support, even if Skipper was responsible for two of the three errors. Though the icing on the cake was David Molina closing it out with two scoreless innings. We need more outings like this, where he can come in early and get the job done, though being a former starter, Max Wilder tends to let the rotation get the job done.

Looking Ahead
One more with the Wolves, who announced they will be bringing up former Cougar draftee George Carter this week. I don't think he'll start against us, that looks to be Jimmy Gibbs (6-4, 3, 3.56, 29), who has found his way back into the Wolves rotation after being used mostly out of the pen in 1950. From 1943 to 1949, he made 25 or more starts (excluding a war season in '45 where he was overseas), and until his 4.38 ERA (92 ERA+) last season, his ERA+ was above 100. Now 34, the stuff isn't as sharp, though he's on a four start stretch of two or fewer earned runs. We will also see Ducky Cole (.271, 1, 17) who has struggled since joining the Wolves, though a lot of their young players have really done well. Kirby Copeland (.328, 4, 48, 3) lost his 21-game hit streak because 0-for-3 with a walk isn't enough, even if it did come after back-to-back three hit games. Joe DeMott (.316, 1, 50) shifted to third after the Hal Wood trade, allowing both Harry Finney (.312, 1, 25) and John Wells (.312, 2, 18) to play the middle infield. These three may spend plenty of time on the infield grass together, and aside from the future Hall-of-Famer Fred McCormick (.271, 5, 50), our 26-year-old former draftee is the oldest member of the lineup. Ducky may not be there for too long, as Hank Giordano (.297, 6) is finally healthy following a late April injury, but even if he enters the lineup, the Wolves won't have anyone in their lineup from 30 to 39.

Our road trip then ends with two important game with the Cannons, who are two out of first and trying to top the Saints for first. Off to start the week, Cincy just crossed the 500 run threshold in the second game of a double header with the Stars, though they're off on Monday. This allows them to avoid a spot start, with the expected two pitchers All-Star Mickey Mills (13-5, 3.17, 93) and former All-Star Jim Anderson (12-7, 3.13, 87). A tough test for an inept offense, we'll have our hands full at the plate, though aside from Chuck Adams (.283, 25, 93) there's not much to note about the Cannons lineup. Mike Taylor (.297, 4, 21, 9) has been good when healthy, Dan Scurlock (.294, 7, 42) could be the answer at catcher, and 93rd ranked prospect Buzz McIlwain (.281, 3, 15, 3) has looked good since he took over the leadoff spot, but none of these guys really inspire fear in a pitching staff. One interesting member of their lineup now, however, is their shortstop Jim Mako (.250, 1, 12, 2), who some Cougar fans may be familiar with. "The Shark" was our 4th Round Pick in 1945, though he was traded two seasons later in the Sal Pestilli trade. Unprotected by the Gothams, Cincinnati added him in the Rule-5 draft, and he has looked to survive the long season. The 23-year-old could use some work, but it's nice seeing him produce at least above replacement level (0.3) production so early in his career. I doubt he'll have much impact in the series, though perhaps his inexperience at short can help out his former organization, which needs all the help they can get.

That's further exemplified by their next opponent, as we welcome the first place Saints to town for three to start September. The rest of the CA is lucky they started so poorly, or they would be cruising to the finish instead of trying to hold off the Cannons and Stars. With two games left in August, they can finish no worse then .500 for the month, and one with will give them four consecutive months with a winning record. All they'll care about is staying a top the association, as Pat Weakly (9-5, 2.85, 61), Wally Reif (13-11, 3.11, 89), Gordie Perkins (.290, 5, 39) and Maurice Carter (.270, 24, 85) are doing their best to will their way to a title. I doubt we'll do much to deter their hopes, but Montreal is much better at home (37-22) then on the road (33-33). Sure, we're not very good at home (28-29) ourselves, but if you're going to win a series against the Saints, this is where you do it. You got to keep them off base and hope to score on the staff, and with the small fences in Chicago, I'm worried they'll get more then their share of homers while they visit the Windy City.

Minor League Report
RHP Bill Ballantine: He may have been DFA'd earlier, but I'm giving Bill Ballantine one more chance. I mean, he's "The Windy City Whip" after all! He should be a stopper!!!

Ballantine has been anything but, as even in the minors his 3.63 ERA (98 ERA+) and 1.31 WHIP don't excite. He's struck out 25 and walked 19 in 52 innings this season, his fifth time with the Blues. He's up to 406 innings, owning a 4.30 ERA (99 ERA+) and 1.53 WHIP, walking (202) more batters then he's struck out (164). 16 of his 17 saves came last season, but that's when he was at his worst, working to a 4.92 ERA (83 ERA+) and 6-11 record. He's going to be best served in a mop up role, allowing our better arms to be rested when needed.

1B Billy Biggar: Set for his major league debut, Billy Biggar has spent a year and a half in AAA, batting .304/.358/.411 (109 OPS+) with 44 doubles, 7 triples, 3 homers, 69 RBIs, and 52 walks. 114 of the 175 games came this season, where he had a 107 WRC+, all three of the homers, and a much smaller portion of the WAR (0.8 of 2.2). That's concerning for a 26-year-old, but with two options he'll have more chances to prove himself. A debut would be nice for the former 10th Rounder, who came close last season when the Stars took him in the Rule-5 draft. He didn't make the Opening Day roster, but will now get a little over a month for his debut. We don't really need a lefty first basemen, so a start seems unlikely, but you can never have too many pinch hitters in a tough late inning game.

CF Clyde Zimmerman: He's back for more! Far better in Milwaukee then Chicago, Clyde Zimmerman is worth 3.5 runs above replacement during his 86 games with the Blues, but he went just 2-for-15 when replacing Sal Pestilli. Those two hits came in his debut, one of three games he's started. A decent enough fourth outfielder, he collected 13 doubles, 4 triples, 10 homers, 54 RBIs, 41 walks, and 11 steals, which shows there's a lot of things he can offer. While not highly skilled in a particular asset, he can get on base, run a little, and play good defense. He'll punish mistake pitches and can hit the ball far, and you can't sustain a .154 BABIP. I'm sure he'll get some time late in games, but with another option left he'll need to really show off to earn a bench spot next season.

1B Harry Austin (AA Mobile Commodores): With a bunch of promotions, some players got the benefit of going up, and after a nice Player of the Week victory, Harry Austin was an obvious candidate for promotion. Riding a 22-game hit streak, Austin went 13-for-20 during the week with a double, triple, homer, walk, 3 RBIs, and 4 runs. He's had a somewhat Leo Mitchell like season, hitting .340/.405/.466 (130 OPS+) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 44 runs, and 45 RBIs. That's pretty solid for a 366 PA sample, and the once regional pick will get his first chance at the highest level of the minors. Now eligible for the Rule-5 draft, he's a plus contact hitter, but that's about all he's good for. He's played left and right too, but he's not much of a defender anywhere, and his best path to the majors is as a pinch hitter. He's perfect if you need the ball put in play, and in the right situations he can have his uses.