[ayaghmour2]

It's here once again! The beginning of a new season! Which means it's time for Cougars baseball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will we win more games then we lose? Is there a pennant on the horizon? Are we going to finally play up to our standards? Will this be the year the team officially drives me crazy???

As they say in my favorite television series Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things??

Let's find out!!!!!!!!!

On paper, this team is better then the rest of the Continental Association, but that was the case last season too. This year our players are ranked even higher, with only Eddie Howard not ranking in the top 6 in his respective position. Led by the top rotation and pen, we also have the second best farm system, meaning that not only should we perform well in the big league level, but if something bad happens, we have the ammunitions to make a major addition. Led by a pair of top 10 prospects in Jerry Smith (5th) and Bob Allen (7th), we have 167 points, which isn't too close to the Minutemen (213) and their quartet of top 15 prospects. Despite that, we have more top 100 prospects then them, with 10% of that group. The depth is there too, with 24 in the top 250 and 47 of the top 500. This may also be the first team where we're the only team with more then 40 top 500 prospects, which is less about our system being super deep, and more about the rest of the league having deeper systems. There are usually a handful of teams with less then 20 and more with less then 30, but everyone has at least 20 while most are in the the 30-39 range.

Enough about prospects though, let's see those 24 Cougars who are representing the Windy City in 1951:

LHP Duke Bybee
RHP Donnie Jones
LHP Johnnie Jones
RHP Charlie Kelsey
LHP Jim Kenny
RHP David Molina
LHP Jim Morrison
RHP Pete Papenfus
LHP Buzz Turner
C Eddie Howard
C Harry Mead
1B Red Bond
2B Billy Hunter
2B George Sutterfield
3B Otto Christian
3B Al Clement
3B Hal Wood
SS Skipper Schneider
LF Chubby Hall
LF Leo Mitchell
CF Don Lee
CF John Moss
RF Jimmy Hairston
RF Sal Pestilli

Buzz Turner ended up with the final pen spot, beating out Joe Quade (DFA) and Dizzy Danforth (returned to Cincy), while I sided with the Cougar draftees in Al Clement and Otto Christian for the bench. Frank Davis wouldn't accept optional assignment, so he's DFA'd, though Clement may not last long on the roster if my claim of a player that shouldn't have been waived goes through. I think Quade should clear, giving us an extra arm in Milwaukee, but I'd love for Davis to be claimed to save me the cash of cutting him. Even if it's something we can easily afford.

The preseason predictions, as always, are quite fond of the Cougs, claiming we'll edge out the Foresters by two games. They think we'll pick up 88 wins, led by the pitching of Donnie Jones (16-14, 3.27, 124), Johnnie Jones (13-10, 3.27, 94), and Pete Papenfus (15-10, 3.74, 150), which is our best chance of success. They have us as the only staff to allow fewer then 600 runs, while our 630 runs scored would be fewer then everyone but Toronto (595) and Washington (611). What ever happened to the offense!?!?!?

They're first test will be at home, where Donnie, Pap, and Johnnie will take on the New York Stars. The finale will be quite special, where we honor new Hall-of-Famer Gil Hice, and hopefully pull off a sweep. The Stars can change their rotation, but right now Ed Cornett (11-10, 3.62, 75) is scheduled for Opening Day, followed by Vern Hubbard (12-12, 4.62, 73) and Eli Panneton (17-14, 3.88, 104). As always, the staff doesn't matter too much, as stopping the super slugging quartet of Jack Welch (.267, 29, 85), Mack Sutton (.251, 30, 106), Bill Barrett (.316, 20, 94), and Bill Barnett (.281, 33, 93) is almost impossible, especially in Chicago, and if he plays well I may regret sending them Charlie Woodbury (.320, 6, 32) who is expected to start at the keystone. I'm also curious if this is the year former #2 pick Ralph Hanson (.331, 16, 4) plays everyday, though he's done great in a utility role and Paul Watson (.257, 5, 75) held his own in year one as an everyday shortstop. We need to get off on the right foot here, as home wins are essential, but the Stars play us better here then the Big Apple, and I'm afraid we'll start below .500.

We'll quickly head on the road, where the Montreal Saints will host us for three in their home opener. Lucky for us, they have a double header on Thursday, so we'll get a rested Ted Coffin (0-1, 6.39, 5), who I'm psyched to see made the team, followed by the potentially short rested Bert Cupid (13-16, 3.90, 125) and Pat Weakly (12-8, 2.81, 86). Granted, they could give Pete Ford (10-14, 3.59, 85) a spot start, which could also work in our favor. I mean Morrison and Bybee are basically #2s, so getting those against fives or short rested 2s works well, leaving us to focus most on keeping the Saints off the basepaths. Especially with Joe Austin (.234, 6, 44, 29), who can quickly start a rally with his wheels. He'll have Gordie Perkins (.284, 8, 56), Otis O'Keefe (.284, 15, 83), and Maurice Carter (.267, 24, 86) ready to drive him in, giving the Saints an excellent front four in terms of run production.

Funny enough, this is the same start to our season as last year, except the locations are reversed, so I fully expect another 3-3 start. I'm worried there will be a lot of those this year (and 4-3; 3-4), which might be better then the crazy weekly streaks we dealt with last season, but I'm somewhat worried that we're going to be painfully mediocre. But then again, what do I know? How many times have I said we're winning the pennant just to finish anywhere other then first...