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Eugene Church · 10-17-2008, 04:38 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Around the IPA
Tycobbian Union - East Division

The best club in the Tycobbian Union East this season has been the Ginza Ninjas. They have battled back and forth with the second place South Fork Stallions. At the All-Star break the Ninjas have surged slightly ahead by 1.5 games. Cape Coral and Ozarka are the next tier of teams, running third and fourth in the standings. The Hurricanes trail by 6 games and the Naturals by 7. Pulling up the rear are the Luxora Zorros and Hartsdale Hellcats. The Z's are 11.5 games out in fifth place, while the Hellcats are last, 13 games off the pace.

The Ginza Ninjas are a very well-balanced club with solid pitching, hitting and defense, ranking first or second in each category in the pitching-dominated Tycobbian Union. The Ninjas lead the division with a .267 mark, followed by Cape Coral at .260, Luxora at .256 and South Fork is fourth with a .255 average. Hartsdale and Ozarka are fifth and sixth with poor .248 and .239 averages respectively.

In pitching South Fork totally dominates the division with a brilliant 2.95 team ERA. Ginza is number two with a 3.46 ERA, followed by Luxora at 3.60, Cape Coral at 3.85, Ozarka with a 3.98 ERA and Hartsdale is last at 4.03.

South Fork is again on top in team fielding with a .979 percentage. Ginza is second at .977 with Luxora and Hartsdale tied for third with .975. Ozarka is fifth at .974 and Cape Coral is way back with a dismal .968, the worst in the IPA.

The Ginza Ninjas have been on an even keel the entire season, always near the top, piloted by the stoic baseball genius, Huroko Uchiyama. June was an especially good month with an outstanding 21-10 record. The Ninjas have cooled down in July, but still have a 13-11 mark, good enough to have a 1.5-game edge in the TU East over South Fork. Sparking the Ginza offense are first baseman Kenshin Yamamoto (.308/16 HR/58 RBI/55 R), right fielder Charlie Campbell (.301/14 HR/61 RBI/47 R) and All-Star center fielder Takashi Fujimoto (.285/14 HR/52 RBI/61 R/18 SB). Shortstop Shinjiro Aoki (.286/2 HR/29 RBI/62 R/30 SB) and third baseman Kaz Ojima (.321/3 HR/28 RBI/32 R/8 SB) in 52 starts have provided some run production, too.

Uchiyama has two All-Stars in his rotation, Kojiro Matsumoto (14-5 2.96) and Toshiharu Ito (10-3 2.34). It is hard to lose a series with these two fine righthanders. Kazuhiro Nakayama (8-10 2.81) keeps the Ninjas in every game. He could have won 3-4 more games with good defense and better run support. Rounding out the starters is Vic Rousakis (10-11 3.93), who has been a quality starter, too. There's nothing wrong with the Ninja starting rotation. They are ready for the stretch run.

But middle relief could use some improvement. Only Buddy Hart (3-3 4.24) has been adequate. Uchiyama has signed righthanders Gerry Hersh, Emil Kreskas and lefty Kenny Nishimura to ease the problem. All three could be used as spot starters.

Ginza's bullpen specialist, Ken Watkins (4-5 3.11), has been fairly effective with 7 saves in 26 relief assignments. But he has not been dominating the way Uchiyama would prefer it. But it is unlikely the Ninjas can get a closer in a trade. No one will give up such a valuable commodity.

The Ninjas have a tough task to make the Final Four playoffs. South Fork has such fine pitching. But so far Ginza has been equal to it and has a 12-8 edge in the season series and a 1.5-game lead in the division. They will play each other 10 more times in the last weeks of the season.

Manager DeRoche "Lips" Leon of the South Fork Stallions suffered for much of the season, languishing in last place. His hitting was atrocious at first, then improved to where it is now sufficient. But his pitching is superb, far and away the best staff in the IPA. Opponents only hit .239 against them with a brilliant 2.95 team ERA. Just look at his mound staff: All-Star Flint Battle (13-8 2.48) with 12 complete games, All-Star Ken Olson (11-8 2.70), Ken Connor (9-3 2.61) and newcomer Vic Bernini (4-3 2.00), who may be his best of all. The team really took off when Leon moved Connor out of middle relief into the starting rotation. He is 6-1 in the last month. That the starters.

In the relief corps Glenn Turnbull (6-4 2.98) and Billy Joe Gordon (0-5 2.98) have been the closers. Turnbull took over after Gordon lost 5 games in the early season. Since then Gordon has turned it around and pitched very well in long relief. Turnbull has 4 saves and Gordon 7. The other two relievers are Kyle Moss (0-1 3.68) and Burnell Bradford (0-0 3.24) only do mop-up work.

South Fork's wheeling and dealing GM Finley Charles went on a shopping spree a month ago to get some punch in the Stallion line-up. And it certainly has paid off. He traded for center fielder Ronnie Lee (.313/2 HR/27 RBI/49 R/20 SB), right fielder Art Atkins (.309/6 HR/33 RBI/47 R/7 SB), first baseman Keith Burke (.304/4 HR/23 RBI 34 R/4 SB) in 37 starts and second baseman Rick Tsoukalis (.312/1 HR/16 RBI/16 R/5 SB) in 27 starts. They had to give up a fine power hitter in Paul Giles (.273/19 HR/57 RBI/60 R) and two solid pitchers, Jerry Harrison (7-3 3.55) and Booger Burchfield (3-6 3.35) to get them. Joining with third baseman Glenn Holliday (.284/20 HR/53 RBI/55 R) and left fielder Gene Woodruff (.287/7 HR/39 RBI/38 R), the new additions have given South Fork a respectable line-up.

The Stallions gave up power and expendable pitchers for batting average and it has worked out very well for them. It also improved the defense.

If South Fork continue to play like they have in the last month, no team in the Tycobbian Union East Division will be able to keep up with them. Only Ginza has a chance to stay with them. The Stallions may be the best bet to make the Final Four playoff round.

10-17-2008, 04:38 PM	#499
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,903	The Islandian Times Tuesday, July 24, 2001 Around the IPA Tycobbian Union - East Division The best club in the Tycobbian Union East this season has been the Ginza Ninjas. They have battled back and forth with the second place South Fork Stallions. At the All-Star break the Ninjas have surged slightly ahead by 1.5 games. Cape Coral and Ozarka are the next tier of teams, running third and fourth in the standings. The Hurricanes trail by 6 games and the Naturals by 7. Pulling up the rear are the Luxora Zorros and Hartsdale Hellcats. The Z's are 11.5 games out in fifth place, while the Hellcats are last, 13 games off the pace. The Ginza Ninjas are a very well-balanced club with solid pitching, hitting and defense, ranking first or second in each category in the pitching-dominated Tycobbian Union. The Ninjas lead the division with a .267 mark, followed by Cape Coral at .260, Luxora at .256 and South Fork is fourth with a .255 average. Hartsdale and Ozarka are fifth and sixth with poor .248 and .239 averages respectively. In pitching South Fork totally dominates the division with a brilliant 2.95 team ERA. Ginza is number two with a 3.46 ERA, followed by Luxora at 3.60, Cape Coral at 3.85, Ozarka with a 3.98 ERA and Hartsdale is last at 4.03. South Fork is again on top in team fielding with a .979 percentage. Ginza is second at .977 with Luxora and Hartsdale tied for third with .975. Ozarka is fifth at .974 and Cape Coral is way back with a dismal .968, the worst in the IPA. The Ginza Ninjas have been on an even keel the entire season, always near the top, piloted by the stoic baseball genius, Huroko Uchiyama. June was an especially good month with an outstanding 21-10 record. The Ninjas have cooled down in July, but still have a 13-11 mark, good enough to have a 1.5-game edge in the TU East over South Fork. Sparking the Ginza offense are first baseman Kenshin Yamamoto (.308/16 HR/58 RBI/55 R), right fielder Charlie Campbell (.301/14 HR/61 RBI/47 R) and All-Star center fielder Takashi Fujimoto (.285/14 HR/52 RBI/61 R/18 SB). Shortstop Shinjiro Aoki (.286/2 HR/29 RBI/62 R/30 SB) and third baseman Kaz Ojima (.321/3 HR/28 RBI/32 R/8 SB) in 52 starts have provided some run production, too. Uchiyama has two All-Stars in his rotation, Kojiro Matsumoto (14-5 2.96) and Toshiharu Ito (10-3 2.34). It is hard to lose a series with these two fine righthanders. Kazuhiro Nakayama (8-10 2.81) keeps the Ninjas in every game. He could have won 3-4 more games with good defense and better run support. Rounding out the starters is Vic Rousakis (10-11 3.93), who has been a quality starter, too. There's nothing wrong with the Ninja starting rotation. They are ready for the stretch run. But middle relief could use some improvement. Only Buddy Hart (3-3 4.24) has been adequate. Uchiyama has signed righthanders Gerry Hersh, Emil Kreskas and lefty Kenny Nishimura to ease the problem. All three could be used as spot starters. Ginza's bullpen specialist, Ken Watkins (4-5 3.11), has been fairly effective with 7 saves in 26 relief assignments. But he has not been dominating the way Uchiyama would prefer it. But it is unlikely the Ninjas can get a closer in a trade. No one will give up such a valuable commodity. The Ninjas have a tough task to make the Final Four playoffs. South Fork has such fine pitching. But so far Ginza has been equal to it and has a 12-8 edge in the season series and a 1.5-game lead in the division. They will play each other 10 more times in the last weeks of the season. Manager DeRoche "Lips" Leon of the South Fork Stallions suffered for much of the season, languishing in last place. His hitting was atrocious at first, then improved to where it is now sufficient. But his pitching is superb, far and away the best staff in the IPA. Opponents only hit .239 against them with a brilliant 2.95 team ERA. Just look at his mound staff: All-Star Flint Battle (13-8 2.48) with 12 complete games, All-Star Ken Olson (11-8 2.70), Ken Connor (9-3 2.61) and newcomer Vic Bernini (4-3 2.00), who may be his best of all. The team really took off when Leon moved Connor out of middle relief into the starting rotation. He is 6-1 in the last month. That the starters. In the relief corps Glenn Turnbull (6-4 2.98) and Billy Joe Gordon (0-5 2.98) have been the closers. Turnbull took over after Gordon lost 5 games in the early season. Since then Gordon has turned it around and pitched very well in long relief. Turnbull has 4 saves and Gordon 7. The other two relievers are Kyle Moss (0-1 3.68) and Burnell Bradford (0-0 3.24) only do mop-up work. South Fork's wheeling and dealing GM Finley Charles went on a shopping spree a month ago to get some punch in the Stallion line-up. And it certainly has paid off. He traded for center fielder Ronnie Lee (.313/2 HR/27 RBI/49 R/20 SB), right fielder Art Atkins (.309/6 HR/33 RBI/47 R/7 SB), first baseman Keith Burke (.304/4 HR/23 RBI 34 R/4 SB) in 37 starts and second baseman Rick Tsoukalis (.312/1 HR/16 RBI/16 R/5 SB) in 27 starts. They had to give up a fine power hitter in Paul Giles (.273/19 HR/57 RBI/60 R) and two solid pitchers, Jerry Harrison (7-3 3.55) and Booger Burchfield (3-6 3.35) to get them. Joining with third baseman Glenn Holliday (.284/20 HR/53 RBI/55 R) and left fielder Gene Woodruff (.287/7 HR/39 RBI/38 R), the new additions have given South Fork a respectable line-up. The Stallions gave up power and expendable pitchers for batting average and it has worked out very well for them. It also improved the defense. If South Fork continue to play like they have in the last month, no team in the Tycobbian Union East Division will be able to keep up with them. Only Ginza has a chance to stay with them. The Stallions may be the best bet to make the Final Four playoff round. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-17-2008 at 09:36 PM.