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Eugene Church · 03-13-2008, 11:44 PM

The Islandian Times

Monday, May 21, 2001

Around the IPA

Tycobbian Union - West Division

The West Division will probably go down to the wire with quite a few evenly-matched ballclubs. The first month certainly has been a tight race with three teams within a game of each other. Fourth and fifth place are only three and four games off the pace respectively.

At the head of the class are the Fairfax Frogs (18-13) of manager Harry Buckley. They are second in hitting with a lofty .282 batting average and in scoring with 172 runs. The hard-hitting Frogs are number one in homers by far with 45. With hitting like that, they haven't needed much pitching. Fairfax is fourth in the division with a 4.06 ERA. And they are an average team with a .975 fielding percentage.

Top Hitters: third baseman Stan Cobb (.370) 6 HR, 26 RBI, 26 R...right fielder Gregg Vincent (.308) 18 HR, 40 RBI, 26 R...first baseman Ernie Hutchinson (.308) 14 RBI, 17 R...left fielder Gator Brown (.293) 6 HR, 19 RBI, 14 R...second baseman Greg Inman (.281) 16 RBI, 11 R...shortstop Warren Lee (.260) 4 HR, 14 RBI, 24 R

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Robby Meredith (4-0 2.85)...Jimmy Dalton (2-3 3.65)...Jack Leslie (5-2 4.31)
Relievers: Takehide Takahashi (2-1 2.18)...Gerry Fisher (2-1 3.86)

Like Ozarka in the RU South, Fairfax is showing that you can hit your way to the top. The only club to have a season advantage over them is the best hitting team in the division, the Bayview Vikings. The Frogs lost three of five to them in the first series of season between them. Look for both clubs to be in the running at the end of the year.

Second place belongs to a lousy-hitting team, the La Claire Lynx (18-14). They trail by only a scant half-game. The Lynx are hitting a paltry .246 (5th) with only 24 home runs (5th) and are a distant fourth in runs with 142. But Skipper Rip Calkin has a great bullpen bunch and an adequate starting rotation. They have chalked up a 3.72 ERA and ranked second to the Arlon Champions in that category. The Champs have compiled a 3.40 mark so far. And on defense, La Claire is third with a .978 mark.

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Pat Daniels (3-2 3.96)...Jerry Smith (4-3 4.30)
Relievers: Frank Lamoreaux (4-0 0.81)...Monoto Kishata (1-1 1.38)...Andy Murray (1-0 2.40)...Tony Nygaard (0-0 2.01)

Top Hitters: center fielder Lucky Collins (.294) 4 RBI, 19 R, 9 SB...third baseman Luis Marquez (.293) 3 HR, 14 RBI, 15 R...left fielder Rich Hart (.284) 8 HR, 29 RBI, 23 R

Calkin has to get some hitting help for Collins, Marquez and Hart. If he can, La Claire will provide some better competition for Fairfax, who took seven of ten games from them in the early going. He could use another quality starter, too. Look for the Lynx to be in the pennant chase this year.

Manager Walter Johanssen has the Bayview Vikings (18-15) up close in the TU West race. They are in the third spot, but only one game out of the top spot. The Viks are the highest-scoring team in the IPA with 179 runs. The club is batting .275 (3rd) with 28 roundtrippers (4th). On the hill Bayview is the worst in the division with a sky-high 4.84 ERA. They would be far ahead of the pack with a little pitching. And the Vikings can play defense, ranking first in the division with a .981 fielding percentage.

Top Hitters: second baseman Alan Hansen (.408) 16 RBI, 30 R, 11 SB...left fielder Glenn Burns (.311) 2 HR, 27 RBI, 17 R...center fielder Phil Kanaan (.307) 4 HR, 16 RBI, 20 R, 4 SB...first baseman Doug Cunningham (.274) 12 HR, 33 RBI, 26 R...shortstop Shorty Richards (.252) 3 HR, 16 RBI, 24 R, 6 SB

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Jesus Carvajal (3-1 3.24)...Fred Snow (2-0 3.38)...Frank Wells (4-1 3.51)
Relievers: Buzzy Lewis (0-1 4.37 8 SV)...Paul Hood (1-1 4.09)

To remain in the running, Johanssen will need to find a couple of good relievers to fill the big hole in his ballclub. Lewis has 8 saves as a closer, tops in the IPA, but he has a high ERA. If Johnson comes up with them, Bayview could leap ahead of everyone in the division.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (15-16) are hovering close to the leaders and are only three games back, still well within striking distance, if fiery manager Cobb Tyson can get his pitching corps to hold up their end of the bargain. The Sox staff are fourth in the division with a 4.42 ERA. Cobb's club is adequate with the bats with a .262 team average (3rd) and 30 home runs (3rd), but last in scoring runs with 133. Blue Lake's defense is only average with a .976 fielding percentage.

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Bennie West (5-3 1.90)...Jay Clay (2-2 3.06)
Relievers: Derek Manetti (3-0 4.08)...Russ Courtney (0-1 4.26)

Top Hitters: center fielder Donnie Frazier (.346) 6 HR 18 RBI, 20 R...first baseman Fred Taranto (.316) 4 HR, 15 RBI, 12 R...left fielder Greg Boone (.299) 2 HR, 12 RBI, 18 R...shortstop Cy Orgeron (.286) 3 HR, 11 RBI, 17 R

Cobb can rant and rave at the players and argue with the umps all the time, but it won't move his team up in the standings. It will take two quality starters, two quality relievers and two to three quality hitters to accomplish that. It probably won't happen this season. Let's just hope Cobb doesn't hurt anybody. Right now he is not a happy camper.

The Arlon Champions (14-17) are in fifth place in the Tycobbian Union West and piloted by one of the nicest and most popular baseball people in Islandia, the legendary Gary Louis, the great slugging first baseman, noted for almost never missing a game in his playing days. The Champs are still within hailing distance of the first place Fairfax Frogs, only four games out. Arlon can hold their own with everyone in the division except the Frogs, who took four out of five from them in the first series of the season.

Louis has some strong starters and excellent relievers. Arlon is ranked first with a fine 3.40 ERA, but the Champions are hampered by a lack of hitting. They are last with a dismal .243 team batting average and near the bottom with 139 runs (5th). However, Arlon is number two in fielding with a .980 fielding percentage.

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Ace Howe (3-3 2.61)...Ray Hunt (3-4 2.66)...Craig Smith (4-2 2.78)...Sean Dudek (0-2 3.71)
Relievers: Jeff Nieman (3-0 1.33)...Rod Kelley (1-1 2.74)

Top Hitters: center fielder Jerry Keller (.369) 9 HR, 34 RBI, 25 R, 4 SB...second baseman Karl Detwiler (.305) 2 HR, 11 RBI, 21 R, 2 SB...left fielder Matt Merrill (.298) 6 HR, 17 RBI, 23 R, 5 SB...first baseman George Lyons (.243) 4 HR, 18 RBI, 21 R

Louis has to energize the Arlon hitters to compete at a higher level in the division. Four hitters are just not enough. The Champs have to come up with at least two more quality hitters. That could really make contenders out of them.

One thing you can say about the cellar-dwelling Bay St. Claire Buccaneers (12-20) - they are a fun team to watch. Manager Guy Rondre's club hits the ball all over the ballpark and tops the TU West with a whopping .292 mark. But they give up more than they score. Buccaneer pitchers are next-to-last with a 4.46 ERA and the defense is not that great, either. Bay St. Clair is last in that category with a .971 fielding average.

Top Hitters: second baseman Tony Mann (.374) 2 HR, 15 RBI, 28 R, 3 SB...shortstop Chuck Hankins (.369) 3 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 5 SB...first baseman Maury Smith (.364) 4 HR, 22 RBI, 20 R...catcher Jake Singleton (.360) 1 HR 16 RBI 15 R...left fielder Charley Moon (.317) 2 HR, 14 RBI, 16 R, 2 SB...third baseman Bubba Tate (.313) 3 HR, 13 RBI, 7 R...third baseman Bobby Tracy (.295) 7 RBI, 7 R...right fielder Nickie Friedrich (.288) 7 RBI, 16 R

Top Pitchers:
Starters: Gary Robinson (2-4 3.74)...Ben Crowley (2-2 3.86)...Norm Gross (5-3 3.97)
Relievers: Adam Lundgren (0-0 2.70)...Johnny Nikolsky (1-1 3.06)

Pitching...pitching...and more pitching. That will perk up the Bay St. Louis Buccaneers. Without it they can still entertain their fans by rattling the fences, but with it, they could challenge the division leaders. But it will not happen this season. The forecast looks gloomy for the Bucs.

03-13-2008, 11:44 PM	#165
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,690 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Monday, May 21, 2001 Around the IPA Tycobbian Union - West Division The West Division will probably go down to the wire with quite a few evenly-matched ballclubs. The first month certainly has been a tight race with three teams within a game of each other. Fourth and fifth place are only three and four games off the pace respectively. At the head of the class are the Fairfax Frogs (18-13) of manager Harry Buckley. They are second in hitting with a lofty .282 batting average and in scoring with 172 runs. The hard-hitting Frogs are number one in homers by far with 45. With hitting like that, they haven't needed much pitching. Fairfax is fourth in the division with a 4.06 ERA. And they are an average team with a .975 fielding percentage. Top Hitters: third baseman Stan Cobb (.370) 6 HR, 26 RBI, 26 R...right fielder Gregg Vincent (.308) 18 HR, 40 RBI, 26 R...first baseman Ernie Hutchinson (.308) 14 RBI, 17 R...left fielder Gator Brown (.293) 6 HR, 19 RBI, 14 R...second baseman Greg Inman (.281) 16 RBI, 11 R...shortstop Warren Lee (.260) 4 HR, 14 RBI, 24 R Top Pitchers: Starters: Robby Meredith (4-0 2.85)...Jimmy Dalton (2-3 3.65)...Jack Leslie (5-2 4.31) Relievers: Takehide Takahashi (2-1 2.18)...Gerry Fisher (2-1 3.86) Like Ozarka in the RU South, Fairfax is showing that you can hit your way to the top. The only club to have a season advantage over them is the best hitting team in the division, the Bayview Vikings. The Frogs lost three of five to them in the first series of season between them. Look for both clubs to be in the running at the end of the year. Second place belongs to a lousy-hitting team, the La Claire Lynx (18-14). They trail by only a scant half-game. The Lynx are hitting a paltry .246 (5th) with only 24 home runs (5th) and are a distant fourth in runs with 142. But Skipper Rip Calkin has a great bullpen bunch and an adequate starting rotation. They have chalked up a 3.72 ERA and ranked second to the Arlon Champions in that category. The Champs have compiled a 3.40 mark so far. And on defense, La Claire is third with a .978 mark. Top Pitchers: Starters: Pat Daniels (3-2 3.96)...Jerry Smith (4-3 4.30) Relievers: Frank Lamoreaux (4-0 0.81)...Monoto Kishata (1-1 1.38)...Andy Murray (1-0 2.40)...Tony Nygaard (0-0 2.01) Top Hitters: center fielder Lucky Collins (.294) 4 RBI, 19 R, 9 SB...third baseman Luis Marquez (.293) 3 HR, 14 RBI, 15 R...left fielder Rich Hart (.284) 8 HR, 29 RBI, 23 R Calkin has to get some hitting help for Collins, Marquez and Hart. If he can, La Claire will provide some better competition for Fairfax, who took seven of ten games from them in the early going. He could use another quality starter, too. Look for the Lynx to be in the pennant chase this year. Manager Walter Johanssen has the Bayview Vikings (18-15) up close in the TU West race. They are in the third spot, but only one game out of the top spot. The Viks are the highest-scoring team in the IPA with 179 runs. The club is batting .275 (3rd) with 28 roundtrippers (4th). On the hill Bayview is the worst in the division with a sky-high 4.84 ERA. They would be far ahead of the pack with a little pitching. And the Vikings can play defense, ranking first in the division with a .981 fielding percentage. Top Hitters: second baseman Alan Hansen (.408) 16 RBI, 30 R, 11 SB...left fielder Glenn Burns (.311) 2 HR, 27 RBI, 17 R...center fielder Phil Kanaan (.307) 4 HR, 16 RBI, 20 R, 4 SB...first baseman Doug Cunningham (.274) 12 HR, 33 RBI, 26 R...shortstop Shorty Richards (.252) 3 HR, 16 RBI, 24 R, 6 SB Top Pitchers: Starters: Jesus Carvajal (3-1 3.24)...Fred Snow (2-0 3.38)...Frank Wells (4-1 3.51) Relievers: Buzzy Lewis (0-1 4.37 8 SV)...Paul Hood (1-1 4.09) To remain in the running, Johanssen will need to find a couple of good relievers to fill the big hole in his ballclub. Lewis has 8 saves as a closer, tops in the IPA, but he has a high ERA. If Johnson comes up with them, Bayview could leap ahead of everyone in the division. The Blue Lake Blue Sox (15-16) are hovering close to the leaders and are only three games back, still well within striking distance, if fiery manager Cobb Tyson can get his pitching corps to hold up their end of the bargain. The Sox staff are fourth in the division with a 4.42 ERA. Cobb's club is adequate with the bats with a .262 team average (3rd) and 30 home runs (3rd), but last in scoring runs with 133. Blue Lake's defense is only average with a .976 fielding percentage. Top Pitchers: Starters: Bennie West (5-3 1.90)...Jay Clay (2-2 3.06) Relievers: Derek Manetti (3-0 4.08)...Russ Courtney (0-1 4.26) Top Hitters: center fielder Donnie Frazier (.346) 6 HR 18 RBI, 20 R...first baseman Fred Taranto (.316) 4 HR, 15 RBI, 12 R...left fielder Greg Boone (.299) 2 HR, 12 RBI, 18 R...shortstop Cy Orgeron (.286) 3 HR, 11 RBI, 17 R Cobb can rant and rave at the players and argue with the umps all the time, but it won't move his team up in the standings. It will take two quality starters, two quality relievers and two to three quality hitters to accomplish that. It probably won't happen this season. Let's just hope Cobb doesn't hurt anybody. Right now he is not a happy camper. The Arlon Champions (14-17) are in fifth place in the Tycobbian Union West and piloted by one of the nicest and most popular baseball people in Islandia, the legendary Gary Louis, the great slugging first baseman, noted for almost never missing a game in his playing days. The Champs are still within hailing distance of the first place Fairfax Frogs, only four games out. Arlon can hold their own with everyone in the division except the Frogs, who took four out of five from them in the first series of the season. Louis has some strong starters and excellent relievers. Arlon is ranked first with a fine 3.40 ERA, but the Champions are hampered by a lack of hitting. They are last with a dismal .243 team batting average and near the bottom with 139 runs (5th). However, Arlon is number two in fielding with a .980 fielding percentage. Top Pitchers: Starters: Ace Howe (3-3 2.61)...Ray Hunt (3-4 2.66)...Craig Smith (4-2 2.78)...Sean Dudek (0-2 3.71) Relievers: Jeff Nieman (3-0 1.33)...Rod Kelley (1-1 2.74) Top Hitters: center fielder Jerry Keller (.369) 9 HR, 34 RBI, 25 R, 4 SB...second baseman Karl Detwiler (.305) 2 HR, 11 RBI, 21 R, 2 SB...left fielder Matt Merrill (.298) 6 HR, 17 RBI, 23 R, 5 SB...first baseman George Lyons (.243) 4 HR, 18 RBI, 21 R Louis has to energize the Arlon hitters to compete at a higher level in the division. Four hitters are just not enough. The Champs have to come up with at least two more quality hitters. That could really make contenders out of them. One thing you can say about the cellar-dwelling Bay St. Claire Buccaneers (12-20) - they are a fun team to watch. Manager Guy Rondre's club hits the ball all over the ballpark and tops the TU West with a whopping .292 mark. But they give up more than they score. Buccaneer pitchers are next-to-last with a 4.46 ERA and the defense is not that great, either. Bay St. Clair is last in that category with a .971 fielding average. Top Hitters: second baseman Tony Mann (.374) 2 HR, 15 RBI, 28 R, 3 SB...shortstop Chuck Hankins (.369) 3 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 5 SB...first baseman Maury Smith (.364) 4 HR, 22 RBI, 20 R...catcher Jake Singleton (.360) 1 HR 16 RBI 15 R...left fielder Charley Moon (.317) 2 HR, 14 RBI, 16 R, 2 SB...third baseman Bubba Tate (.313) 3 HR, 13 RBI, 7 R...third baseman Bobby Tracy (.295) 7 RBI, 7 R...right fielder Nickie Friedrich (.288) 7 RBI, 16 R Top Pitchers: Starters: Gary Robinson (2-4 3.74)...Ben Crowley (2-2 3.86)...Norm Gross (5-3 3.97) Relievers: Adam Lundgren (0-0 2.70)...Johnny Nikolsky (1-1 3.06) Pitching...pitching...and more pitching. That will perk up the Bay St. Louis Buccaneers. Without it they can still entertain their fans by rattling the fences, but with it, they could challenge the division leaders. But it will not happen this season. The forecast looks gloomy for the Bucs. Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-18-2008 at 01:36 PM.