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Eugene Church · 02-01-2010, 11:55 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Denton City Fights Off Bayview For 3rd TU West Flag
For the second season in a row the Denton City Redbirds were victorious in the Tycobbian Union West. Ford Whiteman's Redbirds fought off a determined bid by the resurgent Bayview Vikings to win their third division championship with a three-game margin to spare. Denton City pulled away in August and September and will get another chance at the IPA Pro Cup. They lost in the finals last season to the Wynnamac Sundowners of the Ruthlandian Union.

Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA.

To revitalize the Bayview Vikings (89-65) from a very disappointing last-place finish in 2008, manager Walter Johanssen went to work on his pitching staff and they came back with a vengeance and improved the team ERA from a mediocre 4.24 to a solid 3.65... Bayview vets All-Star Norm Roy (18-14), Tony Vardaman (18-7 3.23) and Georgie Fambreau (16-12 3.76) combined for a strong starting rotation... at the plate the Vikings rebounded as well, raising the team batting average from solid .269 to an outstanding .281 BA... and increasing homers from 188 to 202... Johanssen's vaunted attack was led by All-Star CF Tommy Riddle, who had a monstrous season with 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 112 runs, while batting .316... RF Ted Karno was almost as good with a .323 batting average, 28 homers, 106 RBIs and 108 runs... and 3B Karl Benson was a standout, too, batting .318 with 34 home runs, 110 RBIs and 94 runs scored... Bayview is sound defensively with a .976 FA.

The last two years have been good ones for Rip Calkin and his La Claire Lynx (83-71), who have to play in a very tough division... the Lynx wound up third this season and trailed by 9 games... Calkin has a well-balanced team with a .272 batting average with 156 homers, 3.79 ERA and a .974 FA... not equal to Denton City and Bayview, but still a competitive ball club... the strength lies in its four quality starters: Bernie Halsey (14-6 3.08), Nosyt Sani (19-13 3.59), Ronnie Holt (11-11 3.72) and Doug Lyons (16-20 3.22)... La Claire has two All-Stars in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.318/32/110/110) and SS Bob Steitz (.271/9/49/110)... Calkin has four other offensive contributors in 2B Dale Pace (.313/16/75/93), 3B Roberto Vargas (.280/19/87/58), RF Jay D'Armond (.275/20/72/58) and CF Chazzie Lombardo (.288/21/69/81).

The Chicopee Braves (79-75) were fourth in the TU West... manager Harry Fleetfoot is still waiting for the team's first postseason appearance... but they did make progress this year... it's the first time the Braves have made the top four teams in the division... Chicopee is pretty much average down the line, hitting .265 and 127 homers and a 3.84 team ERA... average defense as well with a .974 FA... Fleetfoot does have a good group in his starting rotation, led by a solid vet Desmond Quartermain (18-13 3.50), Wayne Baxley (14-14 3.20) and Bill Branch (15-12 3.68)... and it looks like Frank Daigle (2-4 3.01) might develop into a good closer... the Braves batting order features 2B Randy Knowles (.324/21/93/79), CF Billy Adenauer (.299/14/50/90), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.287/17/71/67) and C Ivan Burkholder (.277/12/73/76).

The Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) just barely missed the first division this year... Aaron Hankins' crew missed out by a game, finishing 14 games off the pace and came in fifth... It's been a while since the Wildcats played in the playoffs... they made them in 2001, but not since... Kenwood played very well in April and June and compiled a 32-20 record, but fell off in the last four months of the season... pitching is Hankins' strong point with a 3.83 ERA... the Wildcat starters chalked up a fine 3.65 ERA... All-Star Todd Combs (15-14 2.94), Dan Phillips (20-12 3.49) and Corey Brabham (14-9 2.99) were solid, but suffered from poor run support... Kenwood hit only .259 with only 99 home runs... Hankins' top bats were few... RF Dayton Walker (.333/10/68/95), 3B Leo Gambetta (.296/11/63/95) and 1B Scott McKinley (.253/20/98/71)... the Wildcats were just average on defense with a .973 FA.

The Arlon Champions (69-85) tied for sixth place with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers and the Rolling Hills Reds, 23 games back of the division-winning Denton City Redbirds... Arlon is managed by Gary Louis... the Champs depend on pitching and have a fairly good set of starters in Kimo Orlando (17-15 3.40), Armando Cruz (15-18 3.65), Kurt DeHaan (12-12 4.02) and Andre Masson (11-18 4.22)... 2009 was Orlando's best year at age 37... he is a six-year veteran... 21-year-old rookie Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.45) really flourished in the closer role during the final six weeks of the season with 18 saves... the future really looks bright for him... Arlon is a poor-hitting team with a .255 BA and 132 roundtrippers... Louis is really handicapped when it comes to good bats... his only good stick is RF Rocco Belasario (.310/26/88/103)... SS Allan Black (.250/23/87/84) and RF Chucky Gilton (.256/19/91/66) don't hit for much average, but do provide the long-ball occasionally and do drive in runs... defensively the Champions are not much with a .972 FA.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (69-85) are piloted by Guy Rondre... It's been four years since the Bucs made postseason play, but they did win the TU West title in 2002... Rondre's team hit a solid .269 this season with 128 home runs... on the mound the Buccaneers compiled a mediocre 4.10 ERA... but were a little bit above average on the field with a .975 FA... Rondre's top hurlers were few in number with Sean Lawrence (13-3 3.44) and vet Duke DeVree (14-18 3.71) the most effective... Bay St. Clair's batting order had four .300 hitters... leading the way were All-Star LF Todd Bryant (.303/26/101/99), 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.306/16/87/74), 1B Gerry Fields (.300/26/73/65) and RF Emile Djorovich (.300/12/56/71).

The Rolling Hills Reds (69-85) also were in the three-way jam for sixth place... manager Matty Christianson's ball club failed to break even on the season for only the second time in the Reds 8-year history... it's been six years since they made the postseason... Rolling Hills is not a good team... with poor batting (.255 BA), little power (104 HR), high team ERA (4.24) and average fielding (.972 FA)... Christianson has few, if any quality hitters... his best are OF Roy Stainbrook (.290/13/64/84), OF Frankie Holman (.285/15/64/58), 3B Lonnie Mason (.299/9/62/60) and SS Bobby Ritter (.294/8/47/86)... few good pitchers as well... 7-year vet Toshihiro Ito (16-19 3.80) did decent work, while second-year man Fran Tomaselli (8-7 2.98) really blossomed as a reliever and starter.

02-01-2010, 11:55 PM	#1523
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,047	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Denton City Fights Off Bayview For 3rd TU West Flag For the second season in a row the Denton City Redbirds were victorious in the Tycobbian Union West. Ford Whiteman's Redbirds fought off a determined bid by the resurgent Bayview Vikings to win their third division championship with a three-game margin to spare. Denton City pulled away in August and September and will get another chance at the IPA Pro Cup. They lost in the finals last season to the Wynnamac Sundowners of the Ruthlandian Union. Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA. To revitalize the Bayview Vikings (89-65) from a very disappointing last-place finish in 2008, manager Walter Johanssen went to work on his pitching staff and they came back with a vengeance and improved the team ERA from a mediocre 4.24 to a solid 3.65... Bayview vets All-Star Norm Roy (18-14), Tony Vardaman (18-7 3.23) and Georgie Fambreau (16-12 3.76) combined for a strong starting rotation... at the plate the Vikings rebounded as well, raising the team batting average from solid .269 to an outstanding .281 BA... and increasing homers from 188 to 202... Johanssen's vaunted attack was led by All-Star CF Tommy Riddle, who had a monstrous season with 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 112 runs, while batting .316... RF Ted Karno was almost as good with a .323 batting average, 28 homers, 106 RBIs and 108 runs... and 3B Karl Benson was a standout, too, batting .318 with 34 home runs, 110 RBIs and 94 runs scored... Bayview is sound defensively with a .976 FA. The last two years have been good ones for Rip Calkin and his La Claire Lynx (83-71), who have to play in a very tough division... the Lynx wound up third this season and trailed by 9 games... Calkin has a well-balanced team with a .272 batting average with 156 homers, 3.79 ERA and a .974 FA... not equal to Denton City and Bayview, but still a competitive ball club... the strength lies in its four quality starters: Bernie Halsey (14-6 3.08), Nosyt Sani (19-13 3.59), Ronnie Holt (11-11 3.72) and Doug Lyons (16-20 3.22)... La Claire has two All-Stars in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.318/32/110/110) and SS Bob Steitz (.271/9/49/110)... Calkin has four other offensive contributors in 2B Dale Pace (.313/16/75/93), 3B Roberto Vargas (.280/19/87/58), RF Jay D'Armond (.275/20/72/58) and CF Chazzie Lombardo (.288/21/69/81). The Chicopee Braves (79-75) were fourth in the TU West... manager Harry Fleetfoot is still waiting for the team's first postseason appearance... but they did make progress this year... it's the first time the Braves have made the top four teams in the division... Chicopee is pretty much average down the line, hitting .265 and 127 homers and a 3.84 team ERA... average defense as well with a .974 FA... Fleetfoot does have a good group in his starting rotation, led by a solid vet Desmond Quartermain (18-13 3.50), Wayne Baxley (14-14 3.20) and Bill Branch (15-12 3.68)... and it looks like Frank Daigle (2-4 3.01) might develop into a good closer... the Braves batting order features 2B Randy Knowles (.324/21/93/79), CF Billy Adenauer (.299/14/50/90), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.287/17/71/67) and C Ivan Burkholder (.277/12/73/76). The Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) just barely missed the first division this year... Aaron Hankins' crew missed out by a game, finishing 14 games off the pace and came in fifth... It's been a while since the Wildcats played in the playoffs... they made them in 2001, but not since... Kenwood played very well in April and June and compiled a 32-20 record, but fell off in the last four months of the season... pitching is Hankins' strong point with a 3.83 ERA... the Wildcat starters chalked up a fine 3.65 ERA... All-Star Todd Combs (15-14 2.94), Dan Phillips (20-12 3.49) and Corey Brabham (14-9 2.99) were solid, but suffered from poor run support... Kenwood hit only .259 with only 99 home runs... Hankins' top bats were few... RF Dayton Walker (.333/10/68/95), 3B Leo Gambetta (.296/11/63/95) and 1B Scott McKinley (.253/20/98/71)... the Wildcats were just average on defense with a .973 FA. The Arlon Champions (69-85) tied for sixth place with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers and the Rolling Hills Reds, 23 games back of the division-winning Denton City Redbirds... Arlon is managed by Gary Louis... the Champs depend on pitching and have a fairly good set of starters in Kimo Orlando (17-15 3.40), Armando Cruz (15-18 3.65), Kurt DeHaan (12-12 4.02) and Andre Masson (11-18 4.22)... 2009 was Orlando's best year at age 37... he is a six-year veteran... 21-year-old rookie Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.45) really flourished in the closer role during the final six weeks of the season with 18 saves... the future really looks bright for him... Arlon is a poor-hitting team with a .255 BA and 132 roundtrippers... Louis is really handicapped when it comes to good bats... his only good stick is RF Rocco Belasario (.310/26/88/103)... SS Allan Black (.250/23/87/84) and RF Chucky Gilton (.256/19/91/66) don't hit for much average, but do provide the long-ball occasionally and do drive in runs... defensively the Champions are not much with a .972 FA. The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (69-85) are piloted by Guy Rondre... It's been four years since the Bucs made postseason play, but they did win the TU West title in 2002... Rondre's team hit a solid .269 this season with 128 home runs... on the mound the Buccaneers compiled a mediocre 4.10 ERA... but were a little bit above average on the field with a .975 FA... Rondre's top hurlers were few in number with Sean Lawrence (13-3 3.44) and vet Duke DeVree (14-18 3.71) the most effective... Bay St. Clair's batting order had four .300 hitters... leading the way were All-Star LF Todd Bryant (.303/26/101/99), 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.306/16/87/74), 1B Gerry Fields (.300/26/73/65) and RF Emile Djorovich (.300/12/56/71). The Rolling Hills Reds (69-85) also were in the three-way jam for sixth place... manager Matty Christianson's ball club failed to break even on the season for only the second time in the Reds 8-year history... it's been six years since they made the postseason... Rolling Hills is not a good team... with poor batting (.255 BA), little power (104 HR), high team ERA (4.24) and average fielding (.972 FA)... Christianson has few, if any quality hitters... his best are OF Roy Stainbrook (.290/13/64/84), OF Frankie Holman (.285/15/64/58), 3B Lonnie Mason (.299/9/62/60) and SS Bobby Ritter (.294/8/47/86)... few good pitchers as well... 7-year vet Toshihiro Ito (16-19 3.80) did decent work, while second-year man Fran Tomaselli (8-7 2.98) really blossomed as a reliever and starter.