[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 4-2 (1st, 0.5 GA)
Stars of the Week
Sal Pestilli : 22 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .318 AVG, .990 OPS
Leo Mitchell : 20 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .350 AVG, .759 OPS
Johnnie Jones : 1 Win, 8.0 IP, 4 BB, 5 K, 0.00 ERA

Schedule
4-17: Win vs Stars (1-3)
4-18: Win vs Stars (1-3)
4-19: Win vs Stars (3-7)
4-20: Loss at Saints (1-5)
4-21: Win at Saints (6-1)
4-22: Loss at Saints (3-4): 10 innings

Recap
Hey, would you look at that! The Cougars are in first place!

Now can we stay there, please???

As you'd might expect, the pitching was elite, as only Jim Morrison (6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, K) allowed more then two runs in his start, and we held a very good Stars offense to just five runs at Cougars Stadium. We swept them out of town, the best way to honor new Hall-of-Famer Gil Hice, though the Saints managed to take the series in Montreal with a walk-off in the 10th despite us breaking the 2-2 tie first.

Though the biggest surprise of the week has to be Leo Mitchell, who leads all FABL players with 3 steals in the opening week. Yes, the 37-year-old lumbering veteran who entered the season with 54 steals in 1,943 games is out-stealing every other FABL player in this extremely small sample size. I have no clue if this will continue, but he's always been an excellent base runner, and our veteran star is off to a 7-for-20 starts with a run, 2 RBIs, and 2 walks. One of our other stars, Sal Pestilli, homered in his 5th game of the season, and was easily our most productive hitter in a week we didn't really do much scoring. Sal went 7-for-22, adding a double, 3 RBIs, 4 runs, 5 walks, and a steal of his own. The only other bat with an above average week was Hal Wood, who went 6-for-18 with a double, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 3 RBIs. We're going to need way more offense if we want to stand a chance, but it is somewhat encouraging that while still below average, John Moss has a 91 WRC+. I'd love for him to return to the ~110 hitter he was in Brooklyn, but even in the 90s he'll be effective with his outstanding defensive capabilities.

Obviously the pitching was great, and I already touched on Johnnie's outing, while brother Donnie was just as good. He picked up the win on Opening Day, going 8 with 5 hits, a run, and a walk with 7 strikeouts before David Molina threw a scoreless ninth. The lack of offense cost him on Sunday, as the vet pitched well enough to win, 8 innings with 7 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Again, Molina threw a scoreless ninth, but he couldn't get an out in the 10th, allowing the Saints to put up two after we scored in the bottom of the 10th. It was his first blemish, as our stopper also shut down the Stars for Pap, following up his 8 innings of 6 hit, 1 run, 5 walk, and 8 strikeout ball with a scoreless ninth. Duke Bybee didn't need any help in his start, as the 28-year-old southpaw picked up our first complete game victory of the season. He was great in the 6-1 win over the Saints, allowing just 6 hits and a run with no walks and 4 strikeouts. The last three guys on the staff each pitched an inning, with a nice debut for Buzz Turner. He threw a bunch of pitches and allowed a walk, but he struck out his first ever batter, Luke Weaver, swinging to start the eighth.

Looking Ahead
The question now is can we stay in first, as we start with three against the Kings. I doubt George Oddo (5-11, 5.05, 70) will start in the series, as the Stars bashed him for three homers on the 20th, and they recently picked up Roy Schaub (7-10, 3.81, 58) from the Dynamos in a 1-for-1 swap that sent Pat Petty (.277, 12, 81) to Detroit. This allowed Brooklyn to keep both Chuck Collins (.230, 8, 32) and initial Player of the Week Fred Miller (.247, 6, 47) in the lineup, both of which who homered in strong opening weeks despite Brooklyn's 3-4 record. The Cougar draftees let them down, as along with Oddo, ace Ron Berry (20-11, 3.12, 149) and Leo Hayden (13-13, 4.25, 109) have not been sharp. I'm expecting some order of Schaub, Hayden, and Bob Arman (17-13, 4.19, 155), luckily avoiding Berry, who absolutely dominated us last season, and Joe Potts (12-11, 3.42, 96), who has quietly become a top pitcher in the league. Those two would be tough for our potentially awful lineup to best, and when you have to keep the always dangerous Ralph Johnson (.320, 19, 89) from causing damage, you already have your hands full. I think this Kings team might be the best in the CA in what will be their last season in Brooklyn, and this will be a tough test for us at home.

Following that the Stars will look for some revenge, as they host us for a quick two game series at Dyckman Stadium. The Stars actually swept the Kings after getting swept by us, including a 3-2 win where former Cougar draftee Bill Chapman (1-2, 2.30, 3) threw a complete game victory in his first big league start. The former 3rd Rounder did debut last season, making 12 appearances out of the pen, and he beat out fellow southpaw Richie Hughes (9-13, 4.21, 90) for the fifth spot in the rotation. He's scheduled to start the series, followed by Ed Cornett (11-10, 3.62, 75) who allowed three runs in both his loss to us, and his win against the King. The pitching isn't what worries me, its always the hitting, and they have 12 homers with Charlie Woodbury (.320, 6, 32), Jack Welch (.267, 29, 85), Mack Sutton (.251, 30, 106), Bill Barrett (.316, 20, 94), and Bill Barnett (.281, 33, 93) -- their two through six -- all already with two or more longballs. As a team we have just three, as aside from Sal (.261, 6, 44), Eddie Howard (.287, 1, 57), who had one all of last year, and Jimmy Hairston (.200), who got his as a pinch hitter, each have one so far.

But guess what?!?!?! Leo Mitchell has more steals then their entire team combined!!! Take that!!!

I'm hoping we'll also take this series, but with their ability to hit homers, and some of our guy's propensity to allow them, I'm always nervous when we have to face that deadly lineup.

The week then finishes with the first two of three with the Saints back in Chicago. They play the Stars before us, before two with the Kings, and are 3-4 after the Kings took three of four from them in Brooklyn. Montreal is second in scoring, but second to last in runs allowed, so they're actually sporting a -4 run differential. One of the few pitchers who did well was rookie Ted Coffin (0-1, 6.39, 5), who allowed just 2 hits, a run, and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in an 8 inning win over us on 4/20. He's expected to pitch Monday, while we'll see Wally Reif (16-14, 3.12, 104) and Doyle (10-13, 3.98, 135) assuming no rotation alterations. Both have home run issues, which should help us in Chicago, hopefully sparking an offense in need of a jolt. They do most of their scoring with small ball, aside from the slugger Maurice Carter (.267, 24, 86), so if we can limit the mistake pitches, I think we'll be able to flip the script back home.