Home cooking has Cougars feeling better

After dropping six consecutive games on the road, the Kane County Cougars were able to get back on track at home with victories over the Burlington Bees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The losing streak was one the worst of the season for the Cougars, who had finished the first half of the Midwest League season in second place in the Western Division. They were just 6-8 in the second half through Wednesday.

"It's always nice to come home, especially when you've been on the road for eight days (to the Quad Cities and Peoria)," Cougars manager Aaron Nieckula said. "I think we played pretty good baseball, but we ran into some good teams who were playing better than we were. That's the way it goes sometimes."

Smith's recovering well: Catcher Jake Smith is well on the way to recovery after spending most of the 2007 season out with a bum shoulder and rehabbing in Arizona.

In the last 10 games through Wednesday, he batted .306, and he had 14 RBI on the season in 98 at-bats.

"I'm very pleased with his comeback from Arizona," Aaron Nieckula said. "He's always been a guy who is going to give you a quality (at-bat) and go up there and grind it out."

"Rehabbing the shoulder was frustrating, but it's coming back slowly," said Smith, a native of North Carolina. "It feels good to be back with all the guys."

2008 draft pick status: Only one player from this year's Major League Baseball draft is with the Cougars. Right-handed pitcher Tyson Ross, an Oakland, Calif., native, was drafted in the second round by the Oakland Athletics, the parent club of the Class A Cougars.

He's already on the disabled list with arm stiffness.

"As a precautionary measure, we are going to shut him down for a few days," manager Aaron Nieckula said. "We certainly don't want to overextend him or rush him back too quick."

The newest Cougar: The Cougars welcomed DJ Hollingsworth on Tuesday. The outfielder made his debut by coaching first base, but he's expected to get playing time soon. He's a native of California who recently played in the New York Yankees farm system for the Staten Island Yankees, a short-season Class A club.

"We had to ease him into the role, couldn't just throw him into the fire," Aaron Nieckula joked about Hollingworth coaching first base. "We'll see him roaming the outfield sooner or later."