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Eugene Church · 03-02-2010, 09:01 PM

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 23, 2010

2010 Tycobbian South Final Recap

Turons Triumphs Again, 4th Pennant In 5 Years
The Turon Typhoons fans are getting spoiled. Whitey Richburn has won four pennants in the last five years and finished second the only time they failed to win the title. Turon is the cream of the crop in the Tycobbian West. Some say that the Typhoons are not that good, they just play in one of the weaker divisions in the IPA. If that was so, how do you explain Richburn's three Pro Cups. Turon is the only team that has won multiple times and they are the defending IPA titleholders. This season the Typhoons were pressed until mid-season, then they slowly expanded their lead and won by 6 games over runner-up Arroyo Grande. The next four teams were closely bunched. Third place Summerland trailed by 8 games, fourth place Southport was 9 games out with fifth place Colchester and Ginza 10 games off the pace.

Turon (80-74) has a good core of talent... Richburn's rotation was led by rookie star Nicky Engstrom who broke on the scene with a great 20-7 record with a very strong 2.40 ERA... veteran Freddi Speigel also stood out with a 21-10 mark and a 3.36 ERA... another very impressive newcomer was rookie Merle Studebaker (0-3), who racked up 24 saves and notched a solid 2.36 ERA... the Typhoons top hitters were 2B Alan Hansen (.295/0/28/103), CF Mac McCurnan (.279/23/85/87), 1B Johnny Carducci (.274/27/89/71) and LF Andy Porter (.279/14/70/71)... this year Turon will have to beat Blue Lake (92-64), Denton City (100-54) or Ozarka (88-66) to get a crack at its fourth Pro Cup... as in the past the Typhoons will be the underdog... they will go up against Blue Lake in the Elite 8 Series.

Turon was the only team in the TU South with a winning record, all the rest were below the .500 mark... no one threaten the Typhoons in the second half of the season... The Arroyo Grande Suns (74-80) came in second, sparked by the play of 1B Sherm Miles and RF Jet Kazmarek... Miles stood out with 136 RBIs, 28 homers, 85 runs scored and a .288 batting average... Kazmarek continued his remarkable hitting with a .341 average (5th), but missed out on the batting title for only the third time in his great 10-year-career... Kazmarek knocked 13 homers, drove in 79, scored 111 times and led the TU with 52 steals... not bad for a 35-year-old... As a team the Suns hit for a .273 BA (3rd)... manager Jean-Luc Marchand's top pitcher was Jimmy Boxx, who had an outstanding season with a 22-14 record and a 3.26 ERA... Miguel Aguilera was his number two starter with a 15-15 mark and a 3.99 ERA.

8 games back in third place were the Summerland Sunsets (72-82), piloted by Will Hackett... the club hit only .248 (27th) with a 3.86 ERA (18th)... three pitching vets Denny Coulon (15-15 4.11), Pat Dreux (14-20 3.55) and Eddie Hoffman (14-16 3.55) did decently considering the lack of run support... the Sunsets had no hitting to speak of... 2B Randy Rudelmeier (.265/12/79) and SS Don Hanks (.261/12/81) led the team offensively.

The fourth place Southport Sun Sox (71-83) were like Summerland, mediocre at best... Charley Oscar's club hit only .257 (16th) with a so-so 3.94 team ERA and wound up 9 games back... 1B Charlie Gamble (.296/30/106/90) and LF Big Stick Takala (.282/23/91/74) provided most of the Sun Sox offense... on the hill Bobby Ray Trent (15-10 3.97) had the best record... Keith Callahan (13-20 3.26) and Kael Claxton (12-21) both lost a lot of games, but were steady and capable... a pleasant surprise was rookie closer Danny Fontaine (4-3 2.86) with 26 saves.

The Ginza Ninjas (70-84) stayed in the hunt until mid-year... manager Huroko Uchiyama was running neck-and-neck with Turon at the All-Star game, but faded badly in the second half... the Ninjas were tied for the fifth spot in the TU South standings with the Colchester Elites (70-84) and trailed Turon by 10 games at the end... this was the first time in its history Colchester failed to make the first division... the best things the Ninjas and the Elites did was play defense... Ginza tied with Mahaska for the best fielding percentage at .977... Colchester was tied for third with a .976 FA... Ginza's strong point was its three quality starters... leading the Ninjas mound staff were Joji Azuma (18-18 3.09), George Gentry (16-12 3.82) and Carl Trebek (13-21 3.09)... Jack Vorland topped Ginza batters with a .274 BA, 16 roundtrippers and 90 RBIs.

Skipper Robbie Wilbertson's Colchester Elites main strength was going deep... they hit 154 home runs (11th) and were paced by 1B Harlan Roscoe (.298/39/116/82) and CF Douglas Tilford (.307/16/67/98)... but Wilbertson had poor pitching with a lofty 4.31 team ERA... third-year man Darby Pardue (10-7 3.10) and vet Jimmy Simmons (13-10 3.25) were Colchester's top arms.

The two worst teams in the Tycobbian South were the seventh place San Alejo Montaneros (63-91), 17 games out, and the cellar-swelling Cape Coral Hurricanes (62-92), who finished 18 games out of the money... manager Lando Peceda had little offense... San Alejo hit only .240 (31st)... but he had two fine pitchers who carried the ballclub... Alberto Herrera (15-15 2.39) had an excellent year, but still only broke even in wins and losses because his team couldn't score... second-year pitcher Chad Gilmore (17-15 3.46) was pretty fair, too... the Montaneros only had one decent hitter in 1B Miles Shufford, who smacked 20 homers, batted in 72, while hitting for a .272 BA.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes were near the bottom both in hitting with a .247 BA (28th) and a 4.06 ERA (26th)... one of the all-time IPA greats Cody Burg was 17-18, but had a strong 2.65 ERA... Burg is 168-106 with a sensational 2.54 ERA... He excelled again with 265 Ks and topped the league for the eighth straight season... At the plate only two stuck out... LF Rich Osolinsky (.296/30/88/95) and 3B Bobby Josker (.294/18/86/74).

03-02-2010, 09:01 PM	#1600
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	The Islandian Times Thursday, September 23, 2010 2010 Tycobbian South Final Recap Turons Triumphs Again, 4th Pennant In 5 Years The Turon Typhoons fans are getting spoiled. Whitey Richburn has won four pennants in the last five years and finished second the only time they failed to win the title. Turon is the cream of the crop in the Tycobbian West. Some say that the Typhoons are not that good, they just play in one of the weaker divisions in the IPA. If that was so, how do you explain Richburn's three Pro Cups. Turon is the only team that has won multiple times and they are the defending IPA titleholders. This season the Typhoons were pressed until mid-season, then they slowly expanded their lead and won by 6 games over runner-up Arroyo Grande. The next four teams were closely bunched. Third place Summerland trailed by 8 games, fourth place Southport was 9 games out with fifth place Colchester and Ginza 10 games off the pace. Turon (80-74) has a good core of talent... Richburn's rotation was led by rookie star Nicky Engstrom who broke on the scene with a great 20-7 record with a very strong 2.40 ERA... veteran Freddi Speigel also stood out with a 21-10 mark and a 3.36 ERA... another very impressive newcomer was rookie Merle Studebaker (0-3), who racked up 24 saves and notched a solid 2.36 ERA... the Typhoons top hitters were 2B Alan Hansen (.295/0/28/103), CF Mac McCurnan (.279/23/85/87), 1B Johnny Carducci (.274/27/89/71) and LF Andy Porter (.279/14/70/71)... this year Turon will have to beat Blue Lake (92-64), Denton City (100-54) or Ozarka (88-66) to get a crack at its fourth Pro Cup... as in the past the Typhoons will be the underdog... they will go up against Blue Lake in the Elite 8 Series. Turon was the only team in the TU South with a winning record, all the rest were below the .500 mark... no one threaten the Typhoons in the second half of the season... The Arroyo Grande Suns (74-80) came in second, sparked by the play of 1B Sherm Miles and RF Jet Kazmarek... Miles stood out with 136 RBIs, 28 homers, 85 runs scored and a .288 batting average... Kazmarek continued his remarkable hitting with a .341 average (5th), but missed out on the batting title for only the third time in his great 10-year-career... Kazmarek knocked 13 homers, drove in 79, scored 111 times and led the TU with 52 steals... not bad for a 35-year-old... As a team the Suns hit for a .273 BA (3rd)... manager Jean-Luc Marchand's top pitcher was Jimmy Boxx, who had an outstanding season with a 22-14 record and a 3.26 ERA... Miguel Aguilera was his number two starter with a 15-15 mark and a 3.99 ERA. 8 games back in third place were the Summerland Sunsets (72-82), piloted by Will Hackett... the club hit only .248 (27th) with a 3.86 ERA (18th)... three pitching vets Denny Coulon (15-15 4.11), Pat Dreux (14-20 3.55) and Eddie Hoffman (14-16 3.55) did decently considering the lack of run support... the Sunsets had no hitting to speak of... 2B Randy Rudelmeier (.265/12/79) and SS Don Hanks (.261/12/81) led the team offensively. The fourth place Southport Sun Sox (71-83) were like Summerland, mediocre at best... Charley Oscar's club hit only .257 (16th) with a so-so 3.94 team ERA and wound up 9 games back... 1B Charlie Gamble (.296/30/106/90) and LF Big Stick Takala (.282/23/91/74) provided most of the Sun Sox offense... on the hill Bobby Ray Trent (15-10 3.97) had the best record... Keith Callahan (13-20 3.26) and Kael Claxton (12-21) both lost a lot of games, but were steady and capable... a pleasant surprise was rookie closer Danny Fontaine (4-3 2.86) with 26 saves. The Ginza Ninjas (70-84) stayed in the hunt until mid-year... manager Huroko Uchiyama was running neck-and-neck with Turon at the All-Star game, but faded badly in the second half... the Ninjas were tied for the fifth spot in the TU South standings with the Colchester Elites (70-84) and trailed Turon by 10 games at the end... this was the first time in its history Colchester failed to make the first division... the best things the Ninjas and the Elites did was play defense... Ginza tied with Mahaska for the best fielding percentage at .977... Colchester was tied for third with a .976 FA... Ginza's strong point was its three quality starters... leading the Ninjas mound staff were Joji Azuma (18-18 3.09), George Gentry (16-12 3.82) and Carl Trebek (13-21 3.09)... Jack Vorland topped Ginza batters with a .274 BA, 16 roundtrippers and 90 RBIs. Skipper Robbie Wilbertson's Colchester Elites main strength was going deep... they hit 154 home runs (11th) and were paced by 1B Harlan Roscoe (.298/39/116/82) and CF Douglas Tilford (.307/16/67/98)... but Wilbertson had poor pitching with a lofty 4.31 team ERA... third-year man Darby Pardue (10-7 3.10) and vet Jimmy Simmons (13-10 3.25) were Colchester's top arms. The two worst teams in the Tycobbian South were the seventh place San Alejo Montaneros (63-91), 17 games out, and the cellar-swelling Cape Coral Hurricanes (62-92), who finished 18 games out of the money... manager Lando Peceda had little offense... San Alejo hit only .240 (31st)... but he had two fine pitchers who carried the ballclub... Alberto Herrera (15-15 2.39) had an excellent year, but still only broke even in wins and losses because his team couldn't score... second-year pitcher Chad Gilmore (17-15 3.46) was pretty fair, too... the Montaneros only had one decent hitter in 1B Miles Shufford, who smacked 20 homers, batted in 72, while hitting for a .272 BA. The Cape Coral Hurricanes were near the bottom both in hitting with a .247 BA (28th) and a 4.06 ERA (26th)... one of the all-time IPA greats Cody Burg was 17-18, but had a strong 2.65 ERA... Burg is 168-106 with a sensational 2.54 ERA... He excelled again with 265 Ks and topped the league for the eighth straight season... At the plate only two stuck out... LF Rich Osolinsky (.296/30/88/95) and 3B Bobby Josker (.294/18/86/74). Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-02-2010 at 09:09 PM.