OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 06-09-2010, 11:36 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap

6-Team Jam In TU West, BSC Bucs Slight 2-Game Edge
Go on a short losing streak in the Tycobbian West and you could take a quick dip in the standings. 6 Teams are jammed up within 7 games of each other with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers presently holding on to a tenuous 2-game lead over runner-ups Chicopee and Kenwood. Arlon and La Claire are only 4 games back and tied for fourth place. The Bayview Vikings are in sixth, but just 7 games off the pace. Halfway through the season, it is still a wide open race in the TU wild, wild West. There is no clear-cut favorite. What is even more surprising is the preseason favorite and division winner for the last four years - the Denton City Redbirds - has fallen all the way to seventh place and doesn't appear to have any postseason chance at all due to atrocious pitching.

Guy Rondre and Bay St. Clair haven't been in the postseason since 2005. This could be the year of the Buccaneer, but only if Rondre can find some pitching. The Bucs are 25th with a 4.22 team ERA. He has two quality starters with Duke DeVree (10-6 3.33) and Dean Dailey (8-5 3.94) and a steady closer with Sean Lawrence (3-4 2.83), who has claimed 10 saves. The situation is better at the plate with the likes of 1B Gerry Fields (.285/15 HR), SS Kelly Wright (.307/9 HR) and LF Bruno DiPirri (.373/9 HR). Bay St. Clair is hitting .265 (11th) as a team with 344 runs (6th) and 66 homers (12th-tied). One big plus for the Bucs is defense - they lead the IPA with a great .981 fielding percentage.

The Chicopee Braves may have the best shot at the flag. Harry Fleetfoot has the best-balanced squad in the division with a good 3.60 ERA (13th) coupled with a good offense. The Braves are batting .271 (6th), gone deep 66 times (12th-tied) and have tallied 332 runs (10th). Des Quartermain (9-4 3.73), Bill Branch (8-7 3.06) and Big Feather Cheveyo (5-6 3.03) top the twirlers. Albert Viho (3-2 1.80) has done a great job at closer with 16 saves. 1B Robby Maynard is the top hitter in the league with a .383 average and 10 home runs. 2B Matt Mazurek (.339/5 HR) is having a career year and RF Ernie Esteban (.293/10 HR) has contributed, too.

Over in Kenwood Aaron Hankins has the Wildcats in the thick of the pennant race in a second-place tie and only 2 games behind. Hankins has four good, consistent starters: Todd Combs (10-7 1.83), Denny Yarrow (8-8 3.84), Tank Tucker (5-5 3.57) and Nick Deville (6-5 3.87). Kenwood has a 3.60 team ERA (13th). What Hankins needs is more offense. The Wildcats struggle at the plate with a .249 BA (29th), 51 home runs (29th-tied) and 305 runs (20th). If the hitting picks up in the second half, Kenwood could contend. It has the pitching.

The Arlon Champions and La Claire Lynx are deadlocked in a fourth-place tie, trailing by just 4 games. Skipper Gary Louis has stayed in the race on the talent of starters Armando Cruz (9-5 2.18) and Kenneth Ball (5-1 3.26), along with his excellent closer Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.59), who has saved 14 games. Overall the Champs pitching is 15th with a 3.66 ERA. Arlon's offense has just not done the job. They are only 28th in the league with a .245 average, 22nd in scoring with just 298 runs and 15th with 62 roundtrippers. Louis' top batters are RF Chucky Gilton (.283/15 HR), LF Rocco Belasario (.270/12 HR) and CF Charley Turner (.294/3 HR).

Rip Calkin in La Claire is pleased with his offensive output. The Lynx lead the league with a .280 batting average (1st) and boast 3 of the TU's top 10 hitters in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.335/10 HR), 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR) and 1B Luis Marquez (.339/6 HR). La Claire is 7th in scoring with 341 runs, but tied for 19th with just 58 home runs. Calkin has only fair pitching with a 4.01 team ERA (21st). Rick Novronski (12-7 2.85) is his best starter. Calkin recently promoted Nick Pilsner (5-2 3.38) to the starting rotation and he has responded well. The bullpen has done decently with closer Stan Clermont (1-4 3.48), who has saved 11 games. Two starters, Bernie Halsey (7-8 4.38) and Doug Lyons (5-6 3.92), may hold the key to La Claire's season. If they step it up a notch, the Lynx could sneak into the pennant chase.

Bayview will have to drastically improve on the hill to make a serious playoff challenge. Walter Johanssen's Vikings are absolutely last with a terrible 4.97 ERA (32nd). That why the team is in sixth place and 7 games back. But when it comes to hitting, Bayview is the best in the league with a standout .279 batting average (2nd), 81 dingers (1st) and 363 runs (1st). Johanssen has no end of good hitters in his batting order. They all hit with power and for average. Sparking the attack are 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR), LF Kelton Carpenter (.324/12 HR), 3B Karl Benson (.316/13 HR), CF Tommy Riddle (.299/12 HR), RF Russ Murphy (.280/12 HR) and C Joe Lootah (.319/7 HR).

It's hard to believe that such a dominating and powerful club like Denton City could crumble so badly in just a few months. The Redbirds rolled into 2012 looking for their 5th TU West title in a row and most people thought they would get it. But it hasn't happened due to a total collapse of its pitching. Even one of the all-time greats in the IPA has fallen on hard times. Mila Mohoski is just 6-9 record-wise, but is still a tough customer on the mound with a 2.92 ERA. Manager Ford Whiteman has seen his rotation tumble from a 3.42 ERA to a 4.23 ERA. It's still not too late for the Redbirds to turn it around. All that is needed is for Roger Ramsey (7-6 4.23), Mike Danek (4-11 6.45) and Dave Blair (6-8 4.03) to pitch like they did last year in the second half of the season. Denton City can still handle the bats with a .267 BA (10th), 70 home runs (9th) and 340 runs (8th). Vets 3B Jay Petit (.302/14 HR), RF Lavon Gooch (.307/10 HR) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.288/6 HR) can still deliver the goods as good as ever.

Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds are in the cellar and are 11 games back of leading Bay St. Clair. The Reds are just not very good. They are 26th in homers with 53, 23rd in scoring with 297 runs and are batting only .259 (16th). On the mound the team has a poor 4.20 ERA (24th). Christenson's top players are pitcher Toshiharu Ito (9-7 3.38), 3B Clay Hoffman (.290/9 HR) and LF Donnie Lewis (.301/3 HR).

06-09-2010, 11:36 PM	#1737
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,804 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Friday, June 15, 2012 2012 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap 6-Team Jam In TU West, BSC Bucs Slight 2-Game Edge Go on a short losing streak in the Tycobbian West and you could take a quick dip in the standings. 6 Teams are jammed up within 7 games of each other with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers presently holding on to a tenuous 2-game lead over runner-ups Chicopee and Kenwood. Arlon and La Claire are only 4 games back and tied for fourth place. The Bayview Vikings are in sixth, but just 7 games off the pace. Halfway through the season, it is still a wide open race in the TU wild, wild West. There is no clear-cut favorite. What is even more surprising is the preseason favorite and division winner for the last four years - the Denton City Redbirds - has fallen all the way to seventh place and doesn't appear to have any postseason chance at all due to atrocious pitching. Guy Rondre and Bay St. Clair haven't been in the postseason since 2005. This could be the year of the Buccaneer, but only if Rondre can find some pitching. The Bucs are 25th with a 4.22 team ERA. He has two quality starters with Duke DeVree (10-6 3.33) and Dean Dailey (8-5 3.94) and a steady closer with Sean Lawrence (3-4 2.83), who has claimed 10 saves. The situation is better at the plate with the likes of 1B Gerry Fields (.285/15 HR), SS Kelly Wright (.307/9 HR) and LF Bruno DiPirri (.373/9 HR). Bay St. Clair is hitting .265 (11th) as a team with 344 runs (6th) and 66 homers (12th-tied). One big plus for the Bucs is defense - they lead the IPA with a great .981 fielding percentage. The Chicopee Braves may have the best shot at the flag. Harry Fleetfoot has the best-balanced squad in the division with a good 3.60 ERA (13th) coupled with a good offense. The Braves are batting .271 (6th), gone deep 66 times (12th-tied) and have tallied 332 runs (10th). Des Quartermain (9-4 3.73), Bill Branch (8-7 3.06) and Big Feather Cheveyo (5-6 3.03) top the twirlers. Albert Viho (3-2 1.80) has done a great job at closer with 16 saves. 1B Robby Maynard is the top hitter in the league with a .383 average and 10 home runs. 2B Matt Mazurek (.339/5 HR) is having a career year and RF Ernie Esteban (.293/10 HR) has contributed, too. Over in Kenwood Aaron Hankins has the Wildcats in the thick of the pennant race in a second-place tie and only 2 games behind. Hankins has four good, consistent starters: Todd Combs (10-7 1.83), Denny Yarrow (8-8 3.84), Tank Tucker (5-5 3.57) and Nick Deville (6-5 3.87). Kenwood has a 3.60 team ERA (13th). What Hankins needs is more offense. The Wildcats struggle at the plate with a .249 BA (29th), 51 home runs (29th-tied) and 305 runs (20th). If the hitting picks up in the second half, Kenwood could contend. It has the pitching. The Arlon Champions and La Claire Lynx are deadlocked in a fourth-place tie, trailing by just 4 games. Skipper Gary Louis has stayed in the race on the talent of starters Armando Cruz (9-5 2.18) and Kenneth Ball (5-1 3.26), along with his excellent closer Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.59), who has saved 14 games. Overall the Champs pitching is 15th with a 3.66 ERA. Arlon's offense has just not done the job. They are only 28th in the league with a .245 average, 22nd in scoring with just 298 runs and 15th with 62 roundtrippers. Louis' top batters are RF Chucky Gilton (.283/15 HR), LF Rocco Belasario (.270/12 HR) and CF Charley Turner (.294/3 HR). Rip Calkin in La Claire is pleased with his offensive output. The Lynx lead the league with a .280 batting average (1st) and boast 3 of the TU's top 10 hitters in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.335/10 HR), 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR) and 1B Luis Marquez (.339/6 HR). La Claire is 7th in scoring with 341 runs, but tied for 19th with just 58 home runs. Calkin has only fair pitching with a 4.01 team ERA (21st). Rick Novronski (12-7 2.85) is his best starter. Calkin recently promoted Nick Pilsner (5-2 3.38) to the starting rotation and he has responded well. The bullpen has done decently with closer Stan Clermont (1-4 3.48), who has saved 11 games. Two starters, Bernie Halsey (7-8 4.38) and Doug Lyons (5-6 3.92), may hold the key to La Claire's season. If they step it up a notch, the Lynx could sneak into the pennant chase. Bayview will have to drastically improve on the hill to make a serious playoff challenge. Walter Johanssen's Vikings are absolutely last with a terrible 4.97 ERA (32nd). That why the team is in sixth place and 7 games back. But when it comes to hitting, Bayview is the best in the league with a standout .279 batting average (2nd), 81 dingers (1st) and 363 runs (1st). Johanssen has no end of good hitters in his batting order. They all hit with power and for average. Sparking the attack are 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR), LF Kelton Carpenter (.324/12 HR), 3B Karl Benson (.316/13 HR), CF Tommy Riddle (.299/12 HR), RF Russ Murphy (.280/12 HR) and C Joe Lootah (.319/7 HR). It's hard to believe that such a dominating and powerful club like Denton City could crumble so badly in just a few months. The Redbirds rolled into 2012 looking for their 5th TU West title in a row and most people thought they would get it. But it hasn't happened due to a total collapse of its pitching. Even one of the all-time greats in the IPA has fallen on hard times. Mila Mohoski is just 6-9 record-wise, but is still a tough customer on the mound with a 2.92 ERA. Manager Ford Whiteman has seen his rotation tumble from a 3.42 ERA to a 4.23 ERA. It's still not too late for the Redbirds to turn it around. All that is needed is for Roger Ramsey (7-6 4.23), Mike Danek (4-11 6.45) and Dave Blair (6-8 4.03) to pitch like they did last year in the second half of the season. Denton City can still handle the bats with a .267 BA (10th), 70 home runs (9th) and 340 runs (8th). Vets 3B Jay Petit (.302/14 HR), RF Lavon Gooch (.307/10 HR) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.288/6 HR) can still deliver the goods as good as ever. Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds are in the cellar and are 11 games back of leading Bay St. Clair. The Reds are just not very good. They are 26th in homers with 53, 23rd in scoring with 297 runs and are batting only .259 (16th). On the mound the team has a poor 4.20 ERA (24th). Christenson's top players are pitcher Toshiharu Ito (9-7 3.38), 3B Clay Hoffman (.290/9 HR) and LF Donnie Lewis (.301/3 HR). Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-26-2010 at 03:51 PM.