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Eugene Church · 07-10-2008, 09:16 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 22, 2001

Around the IPA

Manager Rip Calkin has guided the La Claire Lynx (33-31) to a third place finish thus far in the IPA's first season. Calkin was one of the finest shortstop in Island history, noted for almost never missing a game. He played in over 2600 consecutive games during his career and holds the Islandian Amateur Alliance record.

Calkin told BNN, "It sure was easier to play the game than to manage it."

It's been an up-and-down year for La Claire. The Lynx began the season 9-1 in April, but cooled off severely to 12-21 in May and has turned it around in June to 12-9, trailing first place Fairfax by 10.5 games. Hitting is La Claire's Achilles' heel. Calkin's crew is batting only .253 (5th) in a division where .269 is the average, is 5th in runs and 5th in homers. Pitching may his salvation. The Lynx are third with a 3.92 ERA, bettered only by Arlon (3.59) and Fairfax (3.70). In fielding La Claire is second with a .979 fielding average.

On the mound La Claire is led by Frank Lamoreaux (6-4 2.71), Tony Nygaard (2-3 3.36) and Jerry Smith (7-7 4.02). The fourth starter is Pat Daniels (6-2 4.45). Nickie Baumgartner (3-6 4.19) was in the starting rotation, but recently was dispatched to middle relief. Calkin's bullpen ace is Monoto Kishata (3-4 3.12), who has saved 8 games (2nd-tied) and made 19 appearances.

The rest of the hill corps consists of Andy Murray (2-1 4.10), Val Krumholtz (3-1 4.50) and Nick Pilsner (1-3 5.11).

First baseman Luis Marquez is the only .300 hitter in the Lynx lineup. Marquez is batting .302 with 5 homers, 25 runs and 25 RBIs. Calkin's most valuable batter has been his standout left fielder Rich Hart, who is hitting .274 with 14 home runs (6th-tied), 40 runs and 53 RBIs (3rd-tied). Lead-off man Dirk Lindahl is having a good season at shortstop and with the bat. He has a .285 average with 6 home runs, 34 runs and 35 RBIs. Slick fielding second baseman Darrell Boyce is batting .271 with 8 roundtrippers, 30 runs and 34 RBIs and Lucky Collins, a fine glove in center field, has compiled a .282 mark, scored 39 times, batted in 11 and stolen 16 bases (6th).

Based on his available talent, Rip Calkin's club may have overachieved. "I just tell my players to do their best, day in and day out. That's all I ever tried to do."

A third place finish at the end of the season would be a quite an accomplishment.

The best pitching in the Tycobbian Union West Division statistically belongs to the fourth place Arlon Champions (30-34), who sport a fine 3.59 ERA. The skipper of the Champs is the legendary amateur first baseman, Gary Louis, whose consecutive-game playing streak was broken by Rip Calkin. Arlon is 13.5 games off the pace of the Fairfax Frogs. The Champions were 15-17 in May and 11-11 in June.

The Champs have a splendid closer in Jeff Nieman. His record is 6-3 with 3 saves and a brilliant 1.26 ERA in 20 relief appearances. They also have a good group in the starting rotation, headed by Ace Howe (4-6 2.95), Woody Fitzgerald (3-3 3.11), Craig Smith (7-5 3.45) and Ray Hunt (5-6 3.49). In middle relief Rod Kelley (3-2 4.11) has been sufficient, but Sean Dudek (1-4 4.40), Erik Fitrakis (0-2 4.50) and Pete Edgar (0-3 5.08) are in danger of being cut from the squad.

Louis' ballclub has trouble scoring runs, ranking last with a .252 batting average, 4th in run scoring and second in homers. But he does have two very fine ballplayers in center fielder Jerry Keller and left fielder Matt Merrill. Keller has a .308 batting percentage, 17 doubles (7th-tied), 4 triples (5th-tied), 12 HR (9th), 37 runs, 52 RBIs (5th) and 6 stolen bases. Merrill is hitting .310 with 10 doubles, 6 triples (2nd), 8 home runs, 41 runs, 35 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Kirk Detwiler has been outstanding, too. He has the best average on the team at .326 and is one of the top fielding second basemen in the TU West, leading the division in assists and double plays. He has 14 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, scored 40 runs with 25 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Among the other five regulars, only shortstop Bama Hartley and first baseman George Lyons have contributed much offense. Hartley's average is .267 with 5 roundtrippers, 30 runs scored and 19 batted in. Lyons has supplied some power with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, but is hitting only .238 in average.

The forecast for the Arlon Champions is third or fourth. They hit the ball a little better than the La Claire Lynx and might surpassed them by season's end. Neither ballclub looks to be improved with trades. They don't have much to bargain with.

07-10-2008, 09:16 PM	#341
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,206	The Islandian Times Friday, June 22, 2001 Around the IPA Manager Rip Calkin has guided the La Claire Lynx (33-31) to a third place finish thus far in the IPA's first season. Calkin was one of the finest shortstop in Island history, noted for almost never missing a game. He played in over 2600 consecutive games during his career and holds the Islandian Amateur Alliance record. Calkin told BNN, "It sure was easier to play the game than to manage it." It's been an up-and-down year for La Claire. The Lynx began the season 9-1 in April, but cooled off severely to 12-21 in May and has turned it around in June to 12-9, trailing first place Fairfax by 10.5 games. Hitting is La Claire's Achilles' heel. Calkin's crew is batting only .253 (5th) in a division where .269 is the average, is 5th in runs and 5th in homers. Pitching may his salvation. The Lynx are third with a 3.92 ERA, bettered only by Arlon (3.59) and Fairfax (3.70). In fielding La Claire is second with a .979 fielding average. On the mound La Claire is led by Frank Lamoreaux (6-4 2.71), Tony Nygaard (2-3 3.36) and Jerry Smith (7-7 4.02). The fourth starter is Pat Daniels (6-2 4.45). Nickie Baumgartner (3-6 4.19) was in the starting rotation, but recently was dispatched to middle relief. Calkin's bullpen ace is Monoto Kishata (3-4 3.12), who has saved 8 games (2nd-tied) and made 19 appearances. The rest of the hill corps consists of Andy Murray (2-1 4.10), Val Krumholtz (3-1 4.50) and Nick Pilsner (1-3 5.11). First baseman Luis Marquez is the only .300 hitter in the Lynx lineup. Marquez is batting .302 with 5 homers, 25 runs and 25 RBIs. Calkin's most valuable batter has been his standout left fielder Rich Hart, who is hitting .274 with 14 home runs (6th-tied), 40 runs and 53 RBIs (3rd-tied). Lead-off man Dirk Lindahl is having a good season at shortstop and with the bat. He has a .285 average with 6 home runs, 34 runs and 35 RBIs. Slick fielding second baseman Darrell Boyce is batting .271 with 8 roundtrippers, 30 runs and 34 RBIs and Lucky Collins, a fine glove in center field, has compiled a .282 mark, scored 39 times, batted in 11 and stolen 16 bases (6th). Based on his available talent, Rip Calkin's club may have overachieved. "I just tell my players to do their best, day in and day out. That's all I ever tried to do." A third place finish at the end of the season would be a quite an accomplishment. The best pitching in the Tycobbian Union West Division statistically belongs to the fourth place Arlon Champions (30-34), who sport a fine 3.59 ERA. The skipper of the Champs is the legendary amateur first baseman, Gary Louis, whose consecutive-game playing streak was broken by Rip Calkin. Arlon is 13.5 games off the pace of the Fairfax Frogs. The Champions were 15-17 in May and 11-11 in June. The Champs have a splendid closer in Jeff Nieman. His record is 6-3 with 3 saves and a brilliant 1.26 ERA in 20 relief appearances. They also have a good group in the starting rotation, headed by Ace Howe (4-6 2.95), Woody Fitzgerald (3-3 3.11), Craig Smith (7-5 3.45) and Ray Hunt (5-6 3.49). In middle relief Rod Kelley (3-2 4.11) has been sufficient, but Sean Dudek (1-4 4.40), Erik Fitrakis (0-2 4.50) and Pete Edgar (0-3 5.08) are in danger of being cut from the squad. Louis' ballclub has trouble scoring runs, ranking last with a .252 batting average, 4th in run scoring and second in homers. But he does have two very fine ballplayers in center fielder Jerry Keller and left fielder Matt Merrill. Keller has a .308 batting percentage, 17 doubles (7th-tied), 4 triples (5th-tied), 12 HR (9th), 37 runs, 52 RBIs (5th) and 6 stolen bases. Merrill is hitting .310 with 10 doubles, 6 triples (2nd), 8 home runs, 41 runs, 35 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Kirk Detwiler has been outstanding, too. He has the best average on the team at .326 and is one of the top fielding second basemen in the TU West, leading the division in assists and double plays. He has 14 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, scored 40 runs with 25 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Among the other five regulars, only shortstop Bama Hartley and first baseman George Lyons have contributed much offense. Hartley's average is .267 with 5 roundtrippers, 30 runs scored and 19 batted in. Lyons has supplied some power with 10 homers and 35 RBIs, but is hitting only .238 in average. The forecast for the Arlon Champions is third or fourth. They hit the ball a little better than the La Claire Lynx and might surpassed them by season's end. Neither ballclub looks to be improved with trades. They don't have much to bargain with. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-12-2008 at 04:06 PM.