The Islandian Times

Monday, June 20, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union West Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Team Pitching

TU West Crowded Top to Bottom, Arlon Leads at All-Star Break
It's anybody's race at mid-season in the close Tycobbian West where only 7 games separate last place La Claire from the top dog, the Arlon Champions. The Champs have the lead by 2 games over runners-up Denton City, Bay St. Clair and Rolling Hills. Just 4 games back and tied for fifth are Bayview and Kenwood. Next in seventh place are the Chicopee Braves, 6 games behind. And pulling up the rear the cellar-dwelling La Claire Lynx, who are only 7 games off the pace.

Manager Gary Louis has Arlon playing good ball both at bat and on the mound. The Champions are one of the better good all-around teams in the TU West. They sport a solid 3.68 team ERA and are batting at a .262 pace. Louis has good starters in Hubie Croft (12-5 3.25), Happy McManus (8-6 3.99) and Armando Cruz (5-9 3.54). Cruz has slumped this season and could be a decisive factor if he can get back to normal. Arlon has one of the best closers around in Johnny Rabelais (3-2 1.88), who already has saved 17 games. Batting-wise Louis has a good core of hitters. RF Chucky Gilton (.321/14/45/48) leads the way and is having a career year. Other contributors are SS Hal Corbin (.305/8/41), 1B Miles Shufford (.263/11/48) and LF Rocco Belasario (.279/14/14/48).

Three clubs, Denton City, Bay St. Clair and Rolling Hills, are deadlocked for the number two spot in the standings and trail by 2 games. The Denton City Redbirds, the division winner in 2010, still have a strong club, sparked by pitchers Mila Mohoski (10-6 2.45) and Kimo Orlando (11-6 3.38), along with the reliable vets 3B Jay Petit (.323/16/53/40), RF Lavon Gooch (.302/13/46/42) and CF Rod MacCormack (.269/10/40/35). Look for Ford Whiteman's Redbirds to be in it for long haul and will be a serious challenger for the TU West crown again.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are a sound team as well, third with a .277 BA and 8th in pitching with a 3.56 team ERA. Skipper Guy Rondre has a host of fine hitters in 1B Gerry Fields (.352/10/47/36), LF Bruno DiPirro (.352/9/40/54), RF Todd Bryant (.261/15/35/51), CF Skeeter Hall (.294/7/36/35) and 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.273/11/36/40). The Bucs also have three quality starters in Norm Gross (11-4 2.48), Duke DeVree (8-7 3.18) and Hal Meissner (9-7 3.39). Rondre's club will make a strong run for the division flag.

Manager Matty Christianson uses strong pitching and home run power at Rolling Hills. Hitting overall is a sore point for the Reds as they are batting only .246 as a team. Christianson's rotation is led by Toshiharu Ito (9-6 3.27), Clem Boutte (9-6 3.38) and Fran Tomaselli (5-5 3.12). Closer Barney Kearns (3-3 1.91) is a big plus, too. He has 15 saves. The Reds get most of their runs from CF Thad Hobbs (.280/18/49/50), RF Manuel Leon (.335/17/48), 3B Clay Hoffman (.293/15/45) and LF Donnie Lewis (.308/2/17/37). SS Michael Griffin is only batting a meager .206, but has rapped 15 homers and driven in 43 runs. Rolling Hills doesn't appear to be capable of beating out the teams ahead of them in the standings. Fourth or fifth may be the best Christianson can do with the talent he has.

The Bayview Vikings are in much the same boat as the Rolling Hills Reds - home run power, but weak hitting and mediocre pitching. Currently Walter Johanssen's Viks are tied for fifth in the TU West with the Kenwood Wildcats and trail leader Arlon by just 4 games. Johanssen has only two dependable hurlers, but they are good ones - the veterans Tony Vardaman (9-3 2.70) and Georgie Fambreau (7-8 3.24). Bayview tops the TU with 91 roundtrippers and is led at the plate by 3B Karl Benson (.348/15/50/39) and CF Tommy Riddle (.304/13/49/41). SS Dan Conroy has 10 homers and a .270 BA and RF Russ Murphy has gone deep 15 times with 46 RBIs, but is hitting for a low .237 average. The Vikings will do well to finish fourth this year.

The Kenwood Wildcats with Aaron Hankins at the helm have strong pitching with an impressive 3.39 ERA (4th), but not much offense. The team is hitting a poor .244 (29th), but are surprisingly ranked 13th in scoring, despite knocking only 47 home runs. Hankins has some first-rate arms in Denny Yarrow (8-5 2.90), Sol Yakis (6-5 3.08), Dan Phillips (4-5 2.80) and Todd Combs (7-7 3.88). In the bullpen Kenwood has a solid closer in Fred Kimball (7-4 2.79). 3B Leo Gambetta (.289/6/27/31) is the Wildcats only decent batter. Experts are picking Kenwood to wind up fifth or sixth, done in by poor hitting.

The Chicopee Braves are as close as they will get in the TU West flag chase. Harry Fleetwood has them in seventh place and only 6 games behind, but that will not last long. The Braves just don't hit well enough with a .253 BA (25th) and 69 homers (18th). Chicopee's top batters are 3B Nick Sweet (.295/5/39/44), 1B Robby Maynard (.288/13/41) and CF Big Boy Gianata (.279/13/41). The best thing the Braves do is score runs, ranking 12th in that category. On the hill Fleetwood has three reliable vets in Bill Branch (9-5 3.31), Wayne Baxley (9-6 3.81) and Tommy Ruffin (6-10 3.54). In the end Chicopee may get passed by last place La Claire. The Braves fall short in offense and pitching.

Rip Calkin's La Claire Lynx may be too good for the basement and could escape it by season's end. Calkin has the 7th best hitting team with a .270 average, fourth in runs scored and 8th in homers with 79, but La Claire is in last place, 7 games off the pace. A 4.03 team ERA (23rd) may be the culprit, mainly in the relief corps, which has an atrocious 4.64 ERA. However, looking at his starters Calkin has some that are better than average. Bernie Halsey (7-4 2.97) has been very effective. Doug Lyons (8-6 3.45) is a dependable veteran, who has double-digit victories the last nine years and has rung up 144 wins in his 11-year career. Rick Navronski (8-5 4.01) has turned in some fine performances at times this season. It's in the batter's box the Lynx have shined with three .300 hitters. LF Zeppy Deshotel (.330/20/58/64) is having a terrific year. CF Chazzie Lombardo (.318/9/37/42) and 2B Dale Pace (.307/10/37/50) are having strong seasons, too. RF Jay D'Armond (.273/15/51) and 3B Luis Marquez (.267/7/50) have been good contributors, too. La Claire is too good to be a second division team. The Lynx could finish as high as fourth and should - they are that good.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Batting Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Pitching Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Batting Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Pitching Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 21, 2010

All-Star Elite Named For IPA All-Star Game At Colfax
Showcase for the Stars -- The 2011 Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star Game is slated for tomorrow afternoon at Colfax's Mountain View Stadium. It's a great game for the fans. The All-Star Classic comes around each year at this time to the delight of every baseball fan. All of gifted and talented players from the Ruthlandian Union and Tycobbian Union come together and show their wares on the baseball diamond. The top players go toe-to-toe with one another to get the bragging rights for their league.

The LaGrange Sports had the most Ruthlandian All-Stars with four. Sligo and Stoner each placed three on the team and Colfax, Sugar Valley, Claxton and San Dimas all had two representatives.

Arroyo Grande and Hartsdale tied with three Tycobbian All-Stars apiece and eight other clubs each had a pair.

Ruthlandian All-Stars
SP Dek Jumonville - Beechwood (13-2 2.42)
SP Jimmy Joe Cartner - Colfax (12-5 2.14)
SP Taylor Gibbs - Elnora (11-3 2.83)
SP Charles Darby - Sugar Valley (9-2 1.91)
SP Gerry Hersh - Volusia (9-5 2.03)
SP Charlie Murphy - Claxton (11-7 2.21)
SP Colin McGrath - Sligo (12-5 2.43)
CL Raul Marroquin - San Dimas (2-1 0.44) 17 saves
CL Tony Haverkamp - Claxton (1-2 1.47) 17 saves

C Hal Stevenson - Sugar Valley (.283/19/38/58)
C Fran MacIntyre - Eastshore (.286/6/30/49)
C Benny Stern - Stoner (.346/11/36/39)
C Otto Kronvath - LaGrange (.311/14/41/42)
1B Phil Gravelli - Crystal Lake (.333/19/57/40)
1B Ron Armstrong - San Dimas (.314/17/48/44)
2B Karol Zodoka - Stoner (.306/9/46/47)
2B Dmitri Vrotsos - Elnora (.314/14/45/46)
3B Vinny Sardisco - St. John (.303/12/60/41)
3B Duane Parsons - Far Mountain (.298/13/55/45)
3B Dale Scoville - LaGrange (.304/10/44/47)
SS Bill Nilsen - LaGrange (.298/22/66/51)
SS Eddie Miles - Taranto (.280/17/57/51)
LF Fred Collins - Sligo (.369/15/53/72)
LF Quincy Peterson - LaGrange (.362/16/53/53)
LF Paul Coniglio - Colfax (.303/15/54/38)
CF Stan Maples - Forest City (.337/20/46/52)
CF Chris Collins - Stoner (.293/16/52/49)
RF Clell Renshaw - Sligo (.303/10/50/49)
RF Tom Bennett - Belair Beach (.320/6/51/42)

Tycobbian All-Stars
SP Joji Azuma - Ginza (12-3 1.95)
SP Nicky Engstrom - Turon (11-3 1.73)
SP Titus Bristow - Tuckanarra (10-5 2.04)
SP Jimmy Simmons - Colchester (11-5 2.33)
SP Tommy Wrightman - Luxora (10-5 2.40)
SP Pat Henry - Blue Lake (12-6 2.79)
SP Joe Hampton - Fairfax (11-4 2.69)
SP Norm Gross - Bay St. Clair (11-4 2.48)
CL Merle Studebaker - Turon (1-1 0.91) 18 saves
CL Mark Carey - Blue Lake (2-2 1.69) 18 saves

C Don Holden - Arroyo Grande (.319/9/41/42)
C Sollie Rees - Mahaska (.332/8/34/34)
C Fitz Garvie - High Mesa (.310/6/30/29)
1B Tom Brabant - Hartsdale (.310/15/54/48)
1B Sherm Miles - Arroyo Grande (.300/16/52/42)
1B Gerry Fields - Bay St. Clair (.352/10/47/36)
2B Jud Turchin - Hartsdale (.339/10/33/46)
2B Dale Pace - La Claire (.307/10/37/50)
3B Todd Chadwick - Ozarka (.333/11/62/49)
3B Bobby Josker - Cape Coral (.288/15/50/48)
3B Rick Fargnoli - Colchester (.347/5/25/37)
3B Kendry Moulton - Hartsdale (.311/17/53/46)
SS Nathan Ferrell - Ozarka (.301/12/42/40)
SS Jerry Riley - East Point (.296/5/33/61)
LF Dane Wesner - Fairfax (.344/28/71/53)
LF Zeppy Deshotel - La Claire (.330/20/58/64)
CF Chazzie Lombardo - La Claire (.318/9/37/42)
CF Gary Horn - South Fork (.286/14/49/45)
RF Jet Kazmarek - Arroyo Grande (.375/13/61/55)
RF Chucky Gilton - Arlon (.321/14/45/48)
RF Robby Michael - South Fork (.321/14/48/49)

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

2011 IPA All-Star Game at Colfax

RU Stars Finally Beat TU Stars
The Ruthlandian All-Stars snapped a long 8-game losing streak to the Tycobbian All-Stars at Colfax's Mountain View Stadium... The RU Stars edged the TU Stars 3-2 with a run in the top of the ninth... LF Fred Collins (Sligo) singled with two away and moved to third on a base hit by CF Chris Collins (Stoner), then scored the game-winning run on an RBI single by 1B Ron Armstrong (San Dimas)... Merle Studebaker (Turon) was the losing pitcher with the victory going to Raul Marroquin (San Dimas), who pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth... Charlie Murphy (Claxton) got the save... He allowed two hits in the last of the ninth, but held the TU Stars runless... Fred Collins was voted the game's MVP as he went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored... Ruthlandia outhit Tycobbia 11 to 7 in the game... The TU Stars struck first with two runs in the opening frame... RF Jet Kazmarek (Arroyo Grande) singled and scored on CF Gary Horn's (South Fork) triple... LF Dane Wesner (Fairfax) got the second run in on a sac fly... Ruthlandia evened it up with two runs in the top of the fifth... Fred Collins had an RBI single that drove in C Hal Stevenson (Sugar Valley), who had led off the inning with a single.... CF Stan Maples (Forest City) tied the score with an RBI ground-out that plated RF Clell Renshaw (Sligo)... Tycobbia still has on overwhelming 8 to 2 lead in the IPA All-Star series... Ruthlandia got its only other win in 2002.

I will take a few days off and then finish out the 2011 season.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union North Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

FM Redhawks Wins Struggle With Glasco and Taranto in RU North

The Far Mountain Redhawks outfought five teams to cop its third consecutive Ruthlandian North pennant. Alex Groveland's crew finished strong over the second half of the season and came from a fourth place tie and four games back after the All-Star hiatus. The Redhawks edged the second place Glasco Athletics by a game. The A's also had a good second half run as they rose up from a midseason fourth place tie with Far Mountain. Third place Taranto was strong the entire season, but came up two games short. Fourth place LaGrange and Ancona faltered in the late stages of the race and wound up five games off the pace. The Kilkenny Cats ended up in the sixth spot, 11 games out. Valmara was seventh and 14 games behind, while first half leader Ranford went into a tailspin and fell all the way to the basement, trailing by 17 games.

Superior pitching and solid hitting were the keys for both Far Mountain (3.39 ERA) and Glasco (3.35 ERA). LaGrange and Taranto had the firepower with 186 and 175 roundtrippers, but both came up way short with 3.99 and 4.67 ERAs respectively.

Far Mountain boasted three strong vets on the mound in Boomerang Hines (22-12 2.85), Robby Kelly (12-7 2.76) and Leroy Hill (18-18 2.62)... closer Erich Dumont (5-6 1.42) blossomed in the bullpen with 28 saves... 3B Duane Parsons (.273/22/103/87), C Otis Ott (.271/25/91/77) and SS Don Nichols (.287/12/81/109) provided the offense.

In Glasco McDuffie Hughes relied on a strong mound corps... led by brilliant rookie Nicky Perrier (20-12 2.77), Bobby Joe Belvin (15-10 3.38) and Felipe Branco (17-14 3.10)... Closer Jack Hatcher (5-7 2.31) did fine work with 33 saves... 38-year-old CF Ike Plunkett (.284/26/95/78) continues to wield a good bat and glove... 3B George Ferguson (.267/26/90) and 2B Cyclone Cobb (.334/1/40/83) chipped in offensively as well... Cobb also stole 52 bases.

Manager Tommaso Lazzorda has a dynamite line-up in Taranto... the third place Tars led the RU in just about all offensive categories with a .278 batting average and 836 runs... paced by SS Ed Miles (.298/32/121/107, RF Arnie Kennedy (.320/27/88/121) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.310/16/88/86)... on the hill Jimmy Mosley (18-8 3.64) anchored the staff most of the season and got some late season help from Vito Incardona (17-7 3.31) and Dan Phillips (15-11 3.16), who were acquired in trades for the final six weeks... the future is bright if the Tars can keep Incardona and Phillips around for next year.

The LaGrange Sports and the Ancona Red Elephants were deadlocked at season's end in fourth place, both done in by playing poorly in the last three weeks of the campaign... Foxy Jimison, the head man in LaGrange, has an awesome batting order sparked by SS Bill Nilsen (.283/31/119/82), LF Quincy Peterson (.308/28/93/104), C Otto Kronvath (.274/30/92/77), RF Joel Reed (.298/26/85/90), 1B Bill Nance (.269/24/86/86) and 2B Dale Scoville (.293/18/85/86)... but the talent gets thin on the pitcher's rubber... Denny Kristensen (17-15 3.98) was the Sports only reliable arm until they obtained Pablo Orantes (16-15 2.93) from Crystal Lake in July... Orantes was 11-6 with an excellent 2.46 ERA the last three months of the year.

Ancona has Manny Mickens at the helm... his top bats are 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.295/26/114/90), CF Lacey Tompkins (.320/14/83/95) and LF Louie DiMucci (.304/18/81/78)... the Red Elephants top hurlers are starter George Agelakos (18-12 3.85) and closer John Sharpe (6-1 1.52), who excelled with 32 saves in a standout year... it gets sparse after those two.

The sixth place Kilkenny Cats are getting a lot of mileage out of some oldtimers... 39-year-old Gregg Neal (16-15 2.79) is still quite capable and is just about to reach the 200 mark in victories... Neal has posted 193 victories in 11 seasons and is the IPA career leader... Steve Ohlinger (17-15 3.18) gives manager Kieran McKenna a strong 1-2 punch in his starting rotation... overall the Cats rank third with a strong 3.33 team ERA... another 39-year-old, Shanley Hogan (7-6 1.17), had a terrific year with 23 saves and a sensational 1.17 ERA.... at the plate Kilkenny is led by RF Robby Campbell (.280/30/103), CF Kevin McPhail (.321/2/54/98) and old pro 2B Scooter Perez (.296/6/38/87), a career .301 hitter after 11 seasons... Perez is 35.

It's been quite a while since the Valmara Vipers were a force in the RU North... The Vipers came in second in 2006... hard times continued for skipper J. Jackson Samuel with a seventh place finish, 14 games off the pace... Vanya Vasylenko (14-14 4.18) and Greg Turchin (15-18 3.52) are his best arms, while RF Lou Gdowski (.311/25/104/86) is pretty much his offense.

The Ranford Bulls, piloted by Page Satcher, surprised all the experts by leading the RU North at mid-year... the Bulls held a slight one game lead over LaGrange and Taranto at the All-Star game, but couldn't sustain the effort and plunged all the way to the cellar, 17 game back of pennant-winning Far Mountain... Shane Hall (14-11 3.08) was the best pitcher, but he had no help... the reliable Chris Bernhoffer (12-21 3.73) staggered in with his worst season in his fine career... Satcher has nothing in the way of hitters... CF Tommy Reiner was his best with 103 runs scored and 37 stolen bases, but he batted only .253.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union South Final Standings, Team Batting and Team Pitching

Claxton Claims RU South Title, 2nd in 3 Years
The Claxton Diamonds threw it into high gear and pulled away from the pack in the second half of the season in the Ruthlandian South to claim its second division flag in the last three years - and they did it by a wide 8-game margin. At midseason Stacy Engel's squad was locked in a three-way tie for first with Crystal Lake and St. John. Only 7 games separated first place from last place. All of the challengers faded in the heat of summer. Belair Beach came in second, Crystal Lake was third and 11 games off the pace with St. John in the fourth spot, 12 games behind. Valka finished fifth, 13 games back, San Dimas was in sixth place and trailed by 14, followed by seventh place Waleska, 16 games out and Grand City was in the basement and 22 games to the rear. Waleska was the defending champ.

Claxton is just a good, solid and well-balanced club. The Diamonds do everything pretty well... hit .264 (8th) with 174 homers (5th), sport a 3.55 team ERA (9th) and are one of the better fielding teams with a fine .977 FA... Charlie Murphy (21-14 2.59), Doug Torvik (19-14 3.64) and Paul Grange (16-14 3.64) give Claxton a very good starting rotation... and closer Tony Haverkamp (3-4 2.43) gets the job done when called in from the bullpen... Haverkamp posted 34 saves this season... Claxton gets great run production from 39-year-old LF Helmut Graczyk (.312/28/111/95) and 1B Mike Luzzatti (.311/34/104/108).

The Belair Beach Sunbirds under the aegis of Marty Pedroza had the bats to compete, but didn't have the pitching... defensively they were good with gloves with a .976 FA... still they wound up in the runner-up spot... the 'Birds battered pitchers for a .273 batting average (2nd) and tied for third in scoring, but couldn't get anybody out with a 4.63 team ERA (30th)... Pedroza's only dependable arms were Slim Mosley (19-15 3.69) and bullpen specialist Groot Tenbrook (4-7 1.51), who chalked up 28 saves... CF Billy Martz (.333/15/74/75) had a solid season and was helped out by RF Ron Dizon (.291/23/71), C Little Jake Bungarooba (.287/12/65/92) and 3B Zippy Parks (.277/12/75/94).

Baby George's third place Crystal Lake Crushers lived up to their name with 184 roundtrippers (3rd), but they only batted a paltry .242 (32nd)... 1B Phil Gravelli (.308/34/95/95) is one of the IPA's premier players at age 27... and he got plenty of help from his longball buddies LF Ronnie Patterson with 32 homers, 2B Cristian Avajos with 24, RF Jerry Lee Presley with 24 and C Todd Simons with 20... on the hill Phil Varnado (15-16 3.69) was the best starter and closer Jeff Jernigan (4-6 2.80) saved 26 ballgames.

Skipper Dickie Billings and his St. John Crusaders had a good first-half run, but faltered badly at the end and came in fourth, under .500 and 12 games back in the race... Billings has mediocre hitting (.254 BA), decent pitching (3.81 ERA) and excellent fielding (.978 FA)... Teddy Garson (11-4 3.02), Paul Tarkovsky (15-13 3.06) and Fuzzy Olnick (16-20 3.44) form a solid set of starters... second-year 3B Vinny Sardisco (.278/18/101) really flourished in his first full season... Sardisco is only 20.

The Valka Blackhawks were in fifth place and trailed by 13 games... looking at their stats it's a wonder manager Jaan Kurus' crew finished that high... they had the worst offense in the Ruthlandian Union and hit a poor .246 (31st)... the Blackhawks relied on their 3.85 team ERA (15th) to get by... Jerry Smith (21-13 3.41) had a fine year along with the team's outstanding closer Vinko Markovic (5-5 1.38), who notched 35 saves... compared to most teams Valka's run output was quite pale... the Blackhawks best batters were 38-year-old Les Reynolds with a .326 BA, 14 homers, but only 54 RBI and 58 runs... 2B Scott Gibson with a .302 average, 13 roundtrippers and just 57 RBIs... and RF Mike Nordmann hit .290, batted in 56 runs and went deep 18 times.

Sixth place belonged to the San Dimas Rancheros... the club is managed by Paco Bandera, who finished up 14 games out of first place, mainly due to a lack of scoring (29th), despite 144 home runs (10th) and .260 BA... and poor pitching (4.19 ERA)... Carl Schmitz (19-14 3.34) put up another solid year at age 34... Schmitz has won 180 games in his 11 IPA seasons... relief sensation Raul Marroquin (3-5) had a remarkable year with a microscopic 1.42 ERA and 29 saves... 1B Ron Armstrong (.295/24/84/85) and CF Rickey Alfonso (.281/5/65/89) were Bandera's top batsmen.

Skipper McGraw Johnson saw his Waleska Westerners stumble and fall from first place to seventh in a very disappointing season... Blame it on the pitching corps... last year's stalwarts Ken Vakros (14-19 3.62) and Wilson Whitmore (13-17 3.62) suffered down seasons... closer Sherman Mooney registered 31 saves with a good 2.76 ERA, but he had a lousy 5-11 won-loss record... the Westerners did hit the ball with authority and compiled a .263 BA (12th) with 124 homers (25th)... top guns were three vets LF Kippy Doyle (.295/26/96/79), CF Harold Setser (.291/25/90/94) and 3B Grant Betzer (.290/7/77/84).

The Grand City Cybercats, piloted by Torry Joseph, had the dubious honor of last place for the second successive season... the Cybercats were 22 games off the pace... they hit only 85 home runs (31st), hit .257 (23rd) and had difficulty scoring runs (22nd)... on the hill Joseph's rotation compiled a 4.21 team ERA (25th)... however Grand City does possess some talented hurlers in Emmitt Yates (11-17 3.35), closer Paul McBride (7-6 2.38) with 27 saves and rookie Randy Andrews, who was terrific with an 8-3 record and a 2.97 ERA after joining the Cybercats in late July... Joseph's top hitter was LF Sassy Garfield, who had a career year... the 9-year vet rapped out a .328 average with 18 homers, 85 RBIs and scored 107 times.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union East Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

Sugar Valley RU East Champs 5th Time
Manager Gibson Bobkins and his Sugar Valley Rattlers picked up their 5th flag in the Ruthlandian East and their second in a row. The Rattlers took over in the second half of the season and won by 5 games over Beechwood and by 8 over Elnora and Wynnamac. Beechwood led Elnora by 6 games and Sugar Valley by 7 at the All-Star break. Sugar Valley was 56-40 over the final four months of the season.

Sugar Valley hit for a .259 BA (18th) with 160 homers (6th)... on the mound the team ERA was 3.85 (16th), led by Charles Darby, who had a revival year with a 20-6 mark and a 2.71 ERA... The Rattlers were among the best defensively with a .979 FA... C Hal Stevenson (.268/33/81/98), SS Johnny Smith (.268/27/91/75) and CF Austen Conover (.282/4/60/93) sparked the offense.

The Beechwood Bobcats looked great at midseason, but fizzled in the second half and played way under .500 with a sorry 31-43 record... however, Bret George's boys managed to hold on to second place... good pitching carried the Bobcats, headed by Dek Jumonville (20-7 2.73), who had another stellar season... the 34-year-old righty has won 166 games in his 9-year IPA career... Harry Dye added a 16-11 mark with a 3.62 ERA... Beechwood hit only .253 (29th) with only 117 roundtrippers (27th), but did surprisingly well in the runs scored department (15th)... led by RF Dale Strickland (.277/17/93), C Billy Gorham (.253/24/90), LF Clifton Czabo (.307/8/71/91) and 1B Roy Slater (.261/12/58/110).

Elnora faded in the second half and played sub-.500 ball, too... The All-Stars stumbled home in a tie for third with Wynnamac... Manager Zoggy White's club looked better than that on paper with a .267 BA (5th), 141 home runs (12th), 3.61 team ERA (10th) and an impressive .977 FA... Taylor Gibbs (17-12 2.95) and closer Tom Allen (5-8 2.05) led the pitching corps... Allen saved 24 games... at the plate it was 2B Dmitri Vrotsos (.304/31/105/85) and RF Lloyd Voss (.341/12/65/93), who led the hit parade.

The Wynnamac Sundowners, skippered by Matt Donnelly, finished the season on a high note with a good second half... the Sundowner staff compiled a 3.70 team ERA, but could have used better run support (28th)... hitting-wise they were poor with a .257 mark (31st), but had decent power with 143 homers (11th)... Top bats belonged to Wynnamac's splendid LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.266/30/96/88), who has hit over 300 homers and driven in over 1100 runs in his illustrious 11-year career... Burkhalter is still quite productive at age 33... second-year RF Joey Eaton thrived this year with a .343 batting average, 14 homers and 76 RBIs... Donnelly predicts good things for the 21-year-old outfielder... Third-year pitcher Jerry Meeks racked up an impressive 18-8 record with a standout 2.47 ERA to lead the mound staff.

After a poor first half, the Cold Creek Catamounts mounted a second half rebound with a 41-33 record to rise up to fifth place in the final RU East standings, 9 games off the pace... Outstanding pitching did it... Manager T. Kelly Holmes' twirlers combined for a strong 3.44 team ERA (6th)... The Catamounts had one of the better starting foursomes in Frankie Novikov (12-7 2.83), Payton Saunders (19-13 2.80), Russell Thurber (13-13 3.49) and Tommy Weeks (13-14 3.45)... Novikov spent part of season as closer and chalked up 16 saves to go with his 14 starts... Better hitting would have certainly improved their records... Cold Creek hit only .258 (20th) and ranked in the lower half of all offensive categories... Holmes' best bats belonged to RF Emile Stosha (.273/23/84/101), his grandson and CF Trip Holmes (.290/18/73/97) and SS Russ Russell (.316/12/63/71)... Trip's full name is T. Kelly Holmes III.

The Belle Plaine Musketeers wound up sixth in the division and trailed by 13 games... Boo Ladrieux's Muskies hit very well for average, but are woefully weak in the power department... they batted .269 (3rd), but hit only 78 homers (32nd)... 3B Warren McDaniel was the most productive with 23 home runs, 84 RBIs, 102 runs, while batting just .254... 1B Rory Dickenson (.284/12/89/78), SS Floyd Vinson (.291/3/52/103) and RF Juan Mendez (.310/5/82/82) also added to the offensive production... Belle Plaine's downfall was its pitching with a poor 4.21 team ERA (24th)... Ladrieux's best arms were Jorge Bonilla (16-18 3.54) and reliever Denny Reynaud (8-6 3.92), who picked up 27 saves... The Musketeers are a fine fielding team with a .978 FA.

The Marston Nine continued to be a mediocre team with a seventh-place finish, 18 games out... Manager Johnny Walters doesn't have much to cheer about... his club hit only .256 (25th) with 99 roundtrippers (30th) and ranked 31st in scoring... his moundsmen are fair with a 3.90 ERA (17th)... starter Zippy Hodge (18-16 2.69) and closer John Updike (4-6 2.84) could pitch for anybody... Updike posted 26 saves this year... 3B Jimmy Holman (.294/17/67/84) is Marston's best batter... no much in the line-up after him.

The Eastshore Elegants spent most of the season in last place in the RU East, winding up 21 games behind pennant-winning Sugar Valley... Killer Brewster's boys hit well with a .261 BA (16th) and 138 homers (16th), but fell flat with a terrible 4.39 team ERA (27th)... Eastshore has an outstanding player in CF Stan Cuccinello (.323/21/76/61), both at the plate and in the field... starter Eddie Lance (18-16 3.55) is Brewster's only quality hurler.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

Ruthlandian Union West Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

Colfax Captures 4th Straight RU West Crown
The Colfax Blasters turned up the heat in the second half of the Ruthlandian West and won by 4 games over the upstart Sligo Rovers and 8 games ahead of the Volusia Vigilantes. Fourth place went to the Fort Benton Defenders, who were 13 games back. The Rovers played superbly with a 51-22 record in the opening half of the campaign and led by a whopping 6 games over the Blasters, but they couldn't maintain that torrid pace and dipped to 41-40 the rest of the year. Colfax was 51-30 after the All-Star break to win another pennant for manager Clem Rogers. The Blasters have dominated the RU West by taking the last four division championships.

Super pitching is the name of the game in Colfax, the defending IPA Pro Cup champions... The Diamonds mound staff finished head-and-shoulders above everybody in the RU with a sterling 2.86 team ERA... No one can match Ilya Szabo (19-11 1.95), Jimmy Joe Cartner (23-13 2.99) and Jasper LaForge (20-14 3.25)... toss in an excellent closer in Dallas Somerville (5-5 1.99), who saved 32 ballgames, and you have quite a pitching rotation... Rogers has a better-than-average batting order, too... The Blasters are 10th with a .264 batting average, 15th in homers with 139 and 17th in runs with 712... solid vets LF Paul Coniglio (.311/27/109/95) and CF Ryan Raines (.281/25/73/94) lead the way.

The runner-up Sligo Rovers have nothing to be ashamed of - they did make Colfax sweat a bit - but they couldn't keep pace with them in August and September... Manager Eddie Keys has a strong and talented club... the Rovers do most things well... they batted .263 (13th) with 769 runs (3rd) and 140 homers (14th)... Sligo pitchers did very well, too, by registering a solid 3.54 team ERA... Keys' aces are Dix Edenborough (17-9 2.45) and Vinnie Rastelli (20-9 2.93) with good help from Colin McGrath (19-12 3.41) as the third starter... At the plate Sligo has a gifted veteran in LF Fred Collins (.347/29/103/120), who has been outstanding for 11 years now...Collins took the RU batting title this year, his first... RF Clell Renshaw (.296/21/84/90) and 2B Hollis Waldrup (.282/16/66/100) also chipped in with valuable offense.

Year-in and year-out Alfonso Feliz puts a quality ballclub on the field in Volusia... the Vigilantes have finished in the first division for 11 years in a row with one Pro Cup and two RU West pennants... The V's really had a good year, but play in one of the strongest divisions in the IPA... Feliz's clubs always feature strong pitching... this year Volusia put up a very impressive 3.12 team ERA (2nd), paced by Gerry Hersh (22-11 2.50), Ben Manderson (16-11 3.31), Todd Wolfe (16-12 3.62) and Alejandro Rio (8-8 2.20)... Marty Rutigliano (6-4 1.18) copped 23 saves in the closer role... Though not strong in the batter's box with just a .258 BA (22nd), the Vigilantes scored well and ranked 8th with 728 runs... They went deep often enough with 141 roundtrippers (12th)... Feliz has some capable hitters in CF Roger Marley (.283/13/87/64), 2B Tucker Hill (.329/7/56/66), LF Briscoe Crowder (.274/19/72/78) and SS Rolf Kellgren (.283/8/50/86).

After years of being at the bottom of the barrel, the Fort Benton Defenders under skipper Robbie Brooks chalked up their best season ever... they came in fourth in the standings and 14 games off the pace... Brooks uses the longball and decent pitching... the Defenders batted only .253 (30th), but did scored well with 724 runs (10th) and 150 home runs (9th)... on the hill Fort Benton posted a 3.84 team ERA (14th)... Brooks' best performers were pitchers Tucker Dawes (18-12 3.46) and closer David Osborn (2-5 2.04) with 25 saved games... Tal Vaitkus was 20-10, but had a poor 4.51 ERA... the Defenders best bats were SS Pete Duvalier with a .279 mark, 13 home runs, 97 runs scored and 71 RBIs... and RF Forest Cummings with 20 homers, 83 RBIs and 81 runs, but only a .254 batting average.

Rob Jackson's Forest City Lumberjacks ended up in the fifth spot and trailed by 15 games, but were 8 games over .500 in the tough RU West race... The 'Jacks boast some powerful hitters and led the RU with 189 homers... they were 8th in scoring (728 runs), but batted a lowly .253 (30th)... 9 players hit 10 or more roundtrippers, sparked by CF Stan Maples (.298/31/82/105), LF Joe Judlin (.278/28/90/85), RF Chris Carroll (.327/25/89) and 1B Andy Doiron (.288/19/63/84)... on the hill Forest City compiled a respectable 3.53 team ERA (17th) and were led by Ernie Hill (19-12 3.01), Knucks Nomellini (16-6 3.30) and hard-luck Al Thibaut (16-17 3.10)... closer Dale Owens did a fine job in the bullpen with 28 saves, a strong 2.24 ERA and a 3-6 won-lost mark.

The Stoner Stars, Rocky Rapids Snappers and the Middlefield Roosters did not fare very well this season and were the division's also-rans. Stoner was sixth and 27 games back, Rocky Rapids was seventh, 29 games behind and poor Middlefield wound up in the cellar and 40 games behind first place Colfax.

Stoner is piloted by Willie Dickens... the Stars strong point is going deep... they knocked 159 out of the park (7th - tied), scored fairly well with 714 runs (15th - tied), but hit only .258 (21st)... Stoner had terrible pitching with a monstrous 4.65 ERA (31st)... Dickens' best pitcher was Norman Canfield with a 16-13 record, but a 4.59 ERA... top batters were CF Chris Collins (.274/26/93/92), C Benny Stern (.323/23/81/80), RF Lamar Proctor (.303/20/61/82) and 2B Karol Zodoka (.292/18/89/88).

Ryan Noland saw his Rocky Rapids club slump to seventh after a good four-year run in the first division... Pitching was the main culprit with a gaudy 4.53 ERA (28th)... Noland's top hurler was bullpen ace Earl Pitts, who notched 23 saves with a terrific 1.64 ERA and a 4-7 record... Donnie Chaney (13-17 3.69) and Pat Brown (14-18 4.13) had up-and-down seasons... three vets led the Snappers at bat, headed by LF Scott Camden, who had a splendid year with a .317 BA, 36 homers, 115 RBIs, while scoring 112 times... Old pros C Hank Bethel (.280/18/87/62) and SS Cooter Bermudez (.280/6/48/102) also contributed to the offense... 11-year star Bethel should go over the 300 homer, 1000 RBI and 1000 runs scored milestones in the coming season.

After winning two RU West pennants and taking the 2005 Pro Cup in its first five years under skipper Smitty Michaels, the Middlefield Roosters have fallen to the wayside... for the first time in the team's history they finished in the basement... The Roosters hit well with a .268 BA (4th) and 159 home runs (7th - tied), but are only 17th in run scoring with 712... and the pitching is ludicrous with a 4.58 ERA (29th)... starters Danny Stewart (15-15 3.07) and Johnny Bond (16-17 3.83) are Middlefield's best pitchers, while at the plate LF Lyn Taryn (.256/35/93/79) and SS Jim Rose (.300/22/92/93) are the Roosters top batters.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tycobbian Union North Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

Favored Fairfax Outduels Blue Lake in TU North
Good hitting made the difference in the Tycobbian North this season. The Fairfax Frogs superior offense enabled them to subdue the tough Blue Lake Blue Sox by 3 games in a close pennant race. Manager Harry Buckley's charges came out on top in one of the strongest divisions in the IPA, where almost every team had a reliable mound staff. Luxora played well in the second half of the year and came in third, just 6 games off the pace. The fourth spot in the standings went to the Hartsdale Hellcats, who trailed Fairfax by 9 games. White River was fifth, Mahaska sixth, Oxford seventh and North Hills was last.

Fairfax hit at a .270 clip (5th) with 167 homers (5th) and 770 runs (3rd), numbers only Hartsdale could match in the TU North... In addition Buckley's bunch excelled with a fine 3.38 ERA and a .977 fielding average, making them a hard team to beat... Wally Tidwell (22-10 2.74), Joe Hampton (21-8 2.95) and Ken Hill (17-12 3.16) were an impressive rotation... Fairfax had the bats, too, led by the gifted and talented LF Dane Wesner (.342/47/127/104), who almost copped another Triple Crown Award... He led in homers and RBIs, but finished fourth in the bat race...SS Wes Hickox (.278/25/104/81) and 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.280/23/74/130) chipped in some good offense, too.

Manager Tyson Cobb's Blue Lake mound corps almost was good enough to carry him to the division flag with its 3.26 team ERA (1st), but a .259 BA (15th) and 123 home runs (27th) couldn't get the job done... the Blue Sox's CF Rick Hilliard (.295/25/85/81) and LF Vic Gelder (.292/20/71) couldn't come close to competing with Fairfax at the plate... but pitchers Pete Henry (21-12 2.97), Dan Whitfield (19-14 3.50) and standout rookie closer Mark Carey (5-6 2.92) were very good competition... Justin Eckhardt lost 20 games, but was the victim of terrible run support... Eckhardt won 12 games and had a solid 3.12 ERA.

The third-place Luxora Zorros with Alejandro Rodrigo at the helm really suffered from its .240 BA (32th) and 117 homers (30th)... the Z's wound up just 6 games off the pace after a very good second-half rally... a little more hitting would have gone a long way for the Zorros... C Benny Stern (.282/18/73), 1B Jack McNeal (.280/17/65) and RF Bob Haviland (253/20/65) couldn't hit with the likes of Fairfax... On the hill, it was a different story... the Zorros notched a sensational 3.27 team ERA (2nd) and were headed by Tommy Wrightman (19-12 2.67), Hal Neyland (19-8 3.08) and Elio Laurente (15-13 3.15)... in the bullpen Connie Jahnke (5-6 2.11) was one tough customer with 29 saves to his credit.

Zim Donner had another good ballclub in Hartsdale... the fourth-place Hellcats just happened to be in the wrong division... Donner's team is well-balanced at the plate, on the mound and in the field... They batted .270 (6th) with 185 roundtrippers (2nd), compiled a 3.71 ERA (15th) and were tied for best fielding percentage at .977... Hartsdale was 9 games behind in the pennant chase... the Hellcats best hurlers were Nico Carnera (21-15 3.78), Matt DeRosa (19-15 3.46) and Rip Arnold (17-14 3.56)... in the batter's box leading the way were 1B Tom Brabant (.325/38/118/94), 3B Kendry Moulton (.300/32/100/91), 2B Jud Turchin (.304/25/74/96) and RF Mac Faulkner (.295/22/69/87).

The fifth-place White River Rascals pitched well with a 3.50 team ERA and were decent with a .256 BA (20th) and 150 homers (12th)... but they had trouble putting runs on the scoreboard... John Randison's Rascals ranked 20th in runs scored... his best bats were SS Riley Cloy with 32 home runs, 98 RBIs and 91 runs, but he batted only .244... and RF Joey Jarrett, who hit .274 with 16 home runs, 105 runs and 69 runs batted in... White River's pitching corps featured three good ones in starters Brian Charles (19-11 3.20), Mick Cronyn (19-15 3.38) and Lance Logan (4-5 2.52), who was the closer most of the season, but was switched to a starting role in the last few weeks of the season... Logan saved 25 games.

The Mahaska Haymakers made serious runs at the TU North title in three of the last five years, guided by Rusty Tanussa, but not this year as they fell down to sixth in the standings and 14 games out... Like most of the division teams, the Haymakers hitting did them in... they batted only .254 (22nd), hit 139 home runs (22nd) and were ranked 24th in runs scored... however, Mahaska had a good mound staff, paced by 39-year-old Johnny Spears with a 15-15 mark and a 3.56 ERA... Johnny Picou was also solid with a 3.31 ERA, but went 15-18 in the won-loss department... Tanussa only had one reliable bat and that was 40-year-old 3B Domingo Rios, who hammered 26 homers, drove in 97 and scored 82 times.

2011 was a big letdown for skipper Campy Roy of the Oxford Red Caps... for the first time in the club's 10-year history they failed to finish in the TU North's top four teams, coming in seventh and trailing by 19 games... The Red Caps hit 161 homers (8th), but were only average in other categories and mediocre in pitching with a 4.10 team ERA (24th)... top performers were pitchers Del Anderson (15-12 3.59) and closer Ronnie D'Abo (4-4 2.86), who chalked up 29 saves... 39-year-old 3B Cameron Kamara (.319/31/107/95) continued to sparkle at the plate and he got a little help from 2B Carl Graeme (.276/21/91).

To show the strength of the TU North, even last place North Hills had quality pitching with a 3.84 team ERA (18th), but Hub Carlson's batting order could only manage a very poor .242 mark (30th) with 118 home runs (28th - tied) and were rated 28th in scoring... The Hawks ended up in the cellar, 20 games back... Ben Dewberry (15-9 2.51) had a strong season on the hill and closer Ken Wright (5-8 3.10) picked up 29 saves... North Hills best bats belonged to 1B Masaichi Okawa (.277/32/108/87), who put up one of his better seasons at age 37... RF Ron Landauer (.307/16/53/78) did well, too.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tycobbian Union South Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

Turon Takes 4th Successive TU South Flag
They just may have to rename the Tycobbian South after the Turon Typhoons, who swept to another division flag, the fourth in a row and fifth in six seasons. Manager Whitey Richburn also has three Pro Cups in the club's trophy room. It was no different this year as the Typhoons took the lead early, built it up 6 games by the All-Star game and expanded in the second half of the season to 9 games. The runner-up was the Cape Coral Hurricanes, who rebounded from a terrible 2010. Third place went to the Colchester Elites, who were 11 games back. Rounding out the first division were the Southport Sun Sox in fourth, trailing by 15 games. Ginza came in fifth, Summerland sixth, Arroyo Grande seventh and finishing in last place were the San Alejo Montaneros.

Turon's pitching corps is top-notch with Nicky Engstrom (23-7 1.93) and James Stuart (16-10 3.16) heading the starting rotation... in the pen Richburn has one of the best closers in Merle Studebaker (5-2 1.64), who registered 32 saves this year... Turon's staff put up a strong 3.34 team ERA (4th)... the Typhoon bats hit only .258 (16th), but got a lot of mileage out of their line-up... Turon is 6th in scoring and sparked by 2B Alan Hansen (.301/2/41/97), LF Andy Porter (.296/24/63/97), RF Jack Brown (.283/18/84/60) and CF Mac McCurnan (.257/17/84/84).

Huggy Miller's Cape Coral Hurricanes had a lousy year last year, but recovered quite well this season with a second-place finish... the 'Canes are a superb defensive club with a .979 fielding average... Miller has pretty fair pitching with a 3.76 ERA (17th), led by one of the IPA's best, Cody Burg (16-12 2.97)... Steve Aaron pitched in with a great 19-9 record and a solid 3.41 ERA... and rookie closer Bobby Maas (7-3 1.52) really showed well with 24 saves and a super-low ERA... Cape Coral could put runs on the scoreboard, too... they batted .267 (9th) with 151 homers (11th) and wound up 11th with 731 runs... Leading the way were 3B Bobby Josker (.276/28/96/101), SS Flipper Bird (.275/14/68/95) and rookie RF Derek Ryckman (.271/19/77/83)... still the Hurricanes ended up 9 games off the pace.

The third place Colchester Elites were carried by two very talented ballplayers... Jimmy Simmons was 23-11 with a sparkling 2.41 ERA and 1B Harlan Roscoe hit everything in sight with a .351 batting average, 43 home runs, 118 RBIs and he scored 99 times... Uncle Robbie Wilbertson's crew hit a repectable .258 (17th) with 158 roundtrippers (10th) and were 8th in runs scored... on the hill they compiled a 4.03 team ERA (22nd).

No other teams in the TU South wound up better than .500... Southport was 15 games back in fourth place... The Sun Sox had a good blend of hitting and pitching... they batted at a strong .269 (8th) pace with 144 homers (19th) and were 9th in scoring... on the mound skipper Charley Oscar had four solid veterans as starters... Bobby Ray Trent (15-12 3.71), Keith Callahan (15-14 4.07), Kael Claxton (13-14 4.00) and Neil Howell (16-19 3.68) just needed a good bullpen to back them up... Southport's relief corps was dead last with a monstrous 5.27 ERA... Oscar's main bats were 2B Charlie Gamble (.292/21/102/82), LF Big Stick Takala (.296/25/89/86) and 1B Bill McCann (.300/19/82).

Huroko Uchiyama's Ginza Ninjas were the fifth-best ballclub in the division, 17 games back... the Ninjas had decent hitting with a .265 mark (11th), but didn't score a lot, finishing up ranked 22nd in scoring with 143 homers (20th - tied)... Ginza's top bats were RF Jack Vorland (.291/20/90/67), 1B Coonie Coulon (.292/17/82/74), LF Taro Nakanishi (.262/25/79/62) and SS Ed Dorland (.299/16/65/112)... Uchiyama's pitching staff did a fine job with an overall 3.61 team ERA, led by Joji Azuma, who had an outstanding season with a 17-11 record and a very impressive 2.42 ERA.

The sixth-place Summerland Sunsets of Will Hackett had to depend on good pitching to survive because the hitting was quite suspect... Hackett's hackers could only put up mediocre offensive numbers with a .251 BA (25th) with only 118 home runs (28th), while scoring only 656 runs (25th)... Summerland's staff did well with a 3.66 team ERA... Hackett's top hurlers were Denny Coulon (14-13 2.84), Bill Taft (16-16 3.34) and bullpen ace Frank Gerber, who had 22 saves with a strong 2.23 ERA and a 7-6 won-loss record.

After a surprise second-place finish last year the Arroyo Grande Suns were looking forward to challenging for the pennant - but it didn't happen - they plunged to seventh place 24 games in back of first place Turon... Manager Jean-Luc Marchand's club could score, but they regularly got outscored by the opposition as the team ERA was an atrocious 5.02, the worst in the entire IPA by far... Miguel Aguilera (15-19 4.12) was the best arm the Suns had... however, Arroyo Grande could hit the ball, posting an exceptional .282 mark (1st) with 150 roundtrippers (12th - tied) and they were 4th in scoring... topping the batting order was the finest hitter in IPA history, the superb Jet Kazmarek, who captured his 8th batting crown in 10 years with a .354 average... RF Kazmarek added 20 homers, 110 RBIs, scored 100 times and stole 34 bases - not bad for a 35-year-old... Kazmarek also got some help from 1B Sherm Miles (.306/32/109/93), C Don Holden (.310/20/85/81) and SS Kenny Edelstein (.281/15/56/89).

The San Alejo Montaneros had another dismal season and wound up in the cellar, 31 games behind... Manager Lando Peceda's squad is ranked near the bottom in all categories... .241 BA (31st), 599 runs (31st) and only 100 home runs (32nd)... in the pitching department his mound staff chalked up a mediocre 4.16 team ERA... Wilfredo Salano was the best of the lot with a 15-17 mark and a 4.06 ERA... 1B Dominique Poirot (.290/17/64/72) and C Coco D'Abadie (.240/25/75/60) were San Alejo's top run producers.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tycobbian Union East Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

Ozarka Nabs 2nd Consecutive TU East
The Ozarka Naturals pulled away from the pack in the second half of the season and easily won its second consecutive Tycobbian East division title by 8 games over South Fork. 7 teams were bunched together at mid-year with only 5 games separating them. The High Mesa Cowboys were the number three club and trailed by 9 games with Midway coming in fourth, 10 games back of the Nats.

Manager Joe Mac Carney club does everything well... Ozarka put up a .269 BA (7th) and was 2nd in runs with 773... but the Naturals only hit 125 home runs (26th)... Carney's pitching corps posted a credible 3.58 ERA (10th) and his defense topped the league with a .978 fielding percentage... Tyrus Yokum (21-10 3.76), rookie Eddie Roberts (18-9 3.51) and closer Karl Kleinert (6-9 3.71) headed up the pitching staff... Kleinert registered 29 saves... the Nats had three .300 hitters in 3B Todd Chadwick (.323/29/126/116), LF Vic Weinstein (.315/11/93/82) and SS Nathan Ferrell (.300/18/81/92)... RF Chris Pruitt also added 26 home runs, 83 RBIs and scored 75 runs, while chalking up only a .250 batting average... Chadwick is one of the best players in the IPA... He had a career year this season.

"Lips" Leon brought his club in second, but ended up a distant 8 games off the pace... the South Fork Stallions were left far behind in Ozarka's wake in the second half... Leon had solid pitching with a 3.73 team ERA, anchored by starters Dave Small (18-10 3.14), Blackie Terranova (19-11 3.45) and Kurt Glinka (12-7 3.00)... Offense was the Stallions downfall... they just had trouble scoring runs (21st)... but they had good power with 150 roundtrippers (12th tied), sparked by CF Gary Horn (.287/21/78/81), RF Robby Michael (.317/19/74/78) and 1B Joe Peters (.283/20/71/92).

Frisky Franks is the skipper of the High Mesa Cowboys and they rode good hitting to a third place finish in the TU East, trailing Ozarka by 9 games... The Cowpokes had good power with 163 home runs (7th), were 10th in batting with a .267 mark and 14th in scoring with 722 runs... top hitters were RF Sookie Givens with 35 home runs, 106 RBIs and 87 runs scored... Givens batted at a .275 clip... and 2B Wild Deer Etchimin walloped 29 out of the park, drove in 92 runs and scored 95 times... High Mesa has a good group of starters, paced by Kent Wells with an 18-14 record and a 3.67 ERA with some help from John Rainer (15-16 3.96) and Johnny Falcon (15-14 4.32)... Keep in mind they have to pitch in one of the smallest ballparks in the IPA.

The Midway Wolves are piloted by Cochise Chandler, who came in fourth, 10 games in back of Ozarka... the fourth place Wolves have a potent offense that ranked first in runs scored withn 795... they went deep 165 times (6th), while putting up a .261 BA (14th)... Chandler's most productive bats belonged to RF Lou Sturge (.264/29/87/92) and 1B Don Piper (.283/20/83/101)... Midway achilles' heel was its lofty 4.39 team ERA... the Wolves best pitchers were Joe Eckermann (11-4 3.11) and Lanky Elsu (16-15 4.10).

The Red Bluff Red Sox failed to hit this year and consequently dropped in the standings down to the fifth spot, 12 games out... Mack Connery's crew hit only .254 (23rd) with just 136 homers (23rd tied) and scored only 631 runs (29th)... it was the quality arms of John Dougherty (16-17 3.30), Ivan Brasco (14-17 3.05), Frank Beaudoin (16-18 3.67) and Jim Melanakos (10-3 3.54) that kept the Red Sox in most of their games... closer Ricardo Topez (2-5 2.92) was also effective with 17 saves... The Red Bluff rotation deserved better... Poor run support cost them a lot of victories... SS Jose Aguilar (.306/14/68/92), 1B Tommy Klegg (.271/32/96/71) and LF Bryan Wessels (.289/16/73/85) were Connery's offense.

Weak hitting was also costly to Carlton "Lefty" Stevens in Tuckanarra... the Blue Jays had their worst season ever and dipped to sixth place and 13 games behind... They hit only .249 (27th) with only 136 home runs (23rd tied) and could only score 655 runs (26th)... but Stevens' boys could pitch, posting a strong 3.36 ERA... Tuckanarra starting twirlers were very effective... the Blue Jay ace was Titus Bristow (18-10 2.18), who had another super season... In his 10 years Bristow is 184-124 with a brilliant 2.79 lifetime ERA... Roy Spence (12-9 2.57), Delaney Elliott (13-14 3.18) and James Newberry (13-5 3.51) excelled as well... closer Neil Hilton collected 19 saves and registered a 9-6 mark with a standout 2.48 ERA... the Blue Jays bombed with the bats... Stevens' top hitters only had modest output... 1B Erik Vayda (.271/12/88/83) and SS Lou Thomas (.254/20/82/64) were the most productive.

East Point under the leadership of Griff Clarke wound up deep down in the TU East 20 games below the division leader... The seventh place Panthers had some punch in the batting order with 177 home runs (3rd) and a decent .262 BA (13th)... but they couldn't stop the opposing teams... East Point pitchers compiled a poor 4.38 ERA (28th) despite two fine hurlers in Tommy Fuller (19-12 3.38) and Fred Traugott (15-10 3.68)... however the Panthers shined in the batter's box, led by 2B Jesse Goodwin (.287/36/106/98), CF Joey Olson (.293/22/94/67), LF Cisco Perales (.283/32/84/63), RF Karl Dietz (.274/28/75/64) and SS Jerry Riley (.267/11/56/102).

As usual Arky Spanderson's Hillsboro Blazers were the sole possessors of last place... they have occupied that dubious spot 6 times in their 10-year IPA existence and never have finished higher than fifth place in the TU East... this season the Blazers were 26 games back... Spanderson only has one quality pitcher... Ted Farentino was 18-14 and put up a 4.01 ERA, which is pretty fair in Hanford Stadium, a bandbox... Hillsboro hit at a lowly .242 pace, was last in runs, but was strong in the homer department with 168 (4th)... 1B Dominic Carbonetti led the club with 22 roundtrippers, but only had a .232 average... LF Victor Schroeder rapped 21 and hit at a .273 clip... SS Tommy Cooper cracked 20 with a .271 mark... and RF Davey Milgram batted .260, but slugged 19 deep.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union West Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

DC Redbirds Keep Winning, Win 5th TU West Crown
Winning the Tycobbian West pennant is becoming old hat to the Denton City Redbirds fans. Whitey Richburn's bunch of talented ballplayers have taken the crown for four years in a row and five times in seven seasons. Most years the Redbirds coast to the title, but this year they had a battle on their hands before pulling away in the final week to win by a 6 games over the runner-up Kenwood Wildcats and 8 games better than the third place Bay St. Clair Buccaneers. It was quite a race all season long with as many as 7 clubs challenging. The Bayview Vikings finished fourth and trailed champion Denton City by 11.

Denton City does it with a strong piching rotation that put up an overall 3.42 ERA (7th) and adequate run production with good contact hitting... the Redbirds bats hit a very strong .273 (2nd) and ranked 5th in runs... Richburn's starting foursome include Mila Mohoski (19-12 2.89), still one of the best after 10 years and 191 victories, Kimo Orlando (19-15 3.02), Roger Ramsey (16-9 4.02) and Mike Danek (15-18 3.63)... Three veteran stars paced the offense... 3B Jay Petit (.331/38/101/88) had a great season to lead the team with help from RF Lavon Gooch (.300/24/85/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.250/12/64/100)... the only weakness the Redbirds have is defense... Denton City was absolutely last with a very poor .965 fielding percentage.

The second place Kenwood Wildcats, managed by Aaron Hankins, were the most-improved team in the TU West as they rose up from seventh place from the previous season. Standout work on the hill with a fine 3.33 ERA (3rd) made strong contenders out of the Wildcats... Denny Yarrow (18-10 2.76) was Hankins' ace... two others starters Todd Combs (17-13 3.29) and Sol Yakis (15-13 3.58) were impressive, too... Nick Deville (2-0 2.73) excelled as a long reliever... Kenwood's didn't have any productive hitters... Hankins' best were LF Jimmy Brewer (.274/14/76/62) and 3B Leo Gambetta (.297/14/60/69)... As a team the Wildcats batted only .252 (24th) with only 110 home runs (31st)... poor play over the final two weeks cost Kenwood a chance at the pennant.

Over on the western coast in Bay St. Clair, Guy Rondre had a good, well-balanced ballclub that stayed in the race until the last 10 days, then folded... The Bucs wound up third, 6 games off the pace... They hit well with a .270 batting average (4th), 145 roundtrippers (18th) and scored well with 740 runs (7th)... on the mound the Buccaneers were solid with a 3.69 team ERA (14th)... Defensively, they were among the league's best with a .977 FA... Rondre had three good starters in Norm Gross (21-10 3.04), Duke DeVree (16-16 3.25) and Hal Meissner (17-16 3.85)... Three .300 batters sparked the batting order... 1B Gerry Fields (.333;/27/102/73), LF Bruno DiPirro (.345/16/93/102) and 3B Ryan Sanders (.303/11/59/90)... RF Todd Bryant was productive in spite of a .247 BA... Bryant slammed 29 homers, drove in 86 runs and scored 105 times... 2B Jimmy Sawyer batted only .250, but delivered 18 home runs with 80 runs batted in and scored 68 times.

Fourth in the TU West standings and 11 games back were Walter Johanssen's Bayview Vikings... the Viks led the IPA with 195 homers, but were only 12th in scoring... Bayview batted only .257 (18th)... Johanssen also had mediocre pitching with a 4.16 team ERA (26th)... Tony Vardaman (19-9 3.12) was his only reliable starter... But Bayview could go deep, led by CF Tommy Riddle (.287/26/102/86), 3B Karl Benson (.319/31/97/80) and RF Russ Murphy (.259/33/97/97)... SS Dan Conroy (.259) and LF Kelton Carpenter (.294) also chipped in 17 home runs each.

Harry Fleetfoot's Chicopee Braves were only an average ballclub and finished 12 games out in fifth place... The Braves sported a .254 BA (21st) with 146 homers (16th) and scored 725 times (13th)... pitching-wise they compiled a decent 3.86 ERA (19th)... Fleetfoot's top hurlers were Bill Branch (19-11 3.39), Wayne Baxley (17-15 4.14) and Tommy Ruffin (15-20 3.26)... at the plate the leaders were 3B Nicky Sweet (.316/12/80/93), C Ivan Burkholder (.262/22/88/66), 1B Robby Maynard (.277/25/73/74) and CF Big Boy Gianata (.275/12/58/84).

The Arlon Champions played great ball up until the All-Star game and led the TU West by two games, but they were closely followed by all seven other teams... Skipper Gary Louis' Champs couldn't maintain their first half play and they slowly drifted downward to the sixth spot in the second part of the season and trailed by 15 games... Scoring was Arlon's biggest problem with a only 629 runs (30th)... Pitching was only adequate with a 3.92 team ERA (20th)... pitchers Hubie Croft (23-12 3.53) and Johnny Rabelais (6-4 1.85) carried the Champions mound corps... closer Rabelais had 26 saves... at bat RF Chucky Gilton (.305/28/96/82), LF Rocco Belasario (.269/29/91/96) and 1B Miles Shufford (.265/23/88/69) were the best in Louis' line-up... CF Charley Turner (.271/3/37/85) also contributed... Turner stole 33 bases and Belasario copped 49.

The Rolling Hills Reds did just one thing well - they hit 161 out of the ballpark (8th) - but that was nowhere near enough for them to compete in the TU West... Manager Matty Christianson's crew batted only .246 (28th) and were 30th in runs scored... the pitching staff compiled a so-so 3.99 ERA (21st)... Toshiharu Ito (17-15 3.21) was the Reds only consistent starter... in the bullpen second-year closer Barney Kearns stood out with 22 saves and 2.95 ERA, while posting a 5-9 record... Four players had some pop in their bats, paced by 3B Clay Hoffman (.295/27/98/67), CF Thad Hobbs (.253/30/94/85), RF Manuel Leon (.290/27/78/65) and SS Carl Beck (.267/21/78/73).

For the second straight year, the La Claire Lynx ended up in the cellar and 20 games off the pace... Rip Calkin's club hit pretty well with a .272 BA (3rd), 147 homers (17th) and 736 runs (9th), but faltered on the hill with a poor 4.19 ERA... La Claire's top batsmen was its marvelous LF Zeppy Deshotel (.316/38/109/110/22), who year-after-year is one of the top players in the IPA... This season was his all-time best... RF Jay D'Armond (.270/23/100/71), 3B Luis Marquez (.285/10/85/63), 2B Dale Pace (.291/16/75/94), CF Chazzie Lombardo (.295/18/67/77) and C Maka Bardinda (.295/11/65/61 16) were productive, too... better pitching should make the Lynx's a contender in the TU West... that the only element lacking.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union Final Batting Statistics

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Ruthlandian Union Final Pitching Statistics

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union Final Batting Statistics

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 19, 2011

2011 Tycobbian Union Final Pitching Statistics