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Eugene Church · 08-11-2010, 05:38 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Arlon TU West Best In 6-Team Race At All-Star Game
It's a good pennant race in the Tycobbian West with 6 teams in the hunt. Arlon holds a 1-game lead over second place Kenwood. The Rolling Hills Reds are third and just 2 games off the pace. Last year's crownholder Denton City is hanging close by and trails by 4. Also within striking distance are the fifth place Chicopee Braves 5 games back and the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are in the sixth spot and 6 games out.

The TU West leader, the Arlon Champions (44-29) don't have great stats overall, but Gary Louis flat out has a skilled relief corps with a terrific 2.59 ERA (2nd)... So far the bullpen is carrying the Champs... All-Star closer Johnny Rabelais (2-0) has appeared in 25 games and saved 19 of them with a superlative 1.33 ERA... Ross Birchford (6-0 1.30) has also been a standout reliever... Arlon best starter is Happy McManus (9-5 3.71) along with Armando Cruz (7-8 3.09)... Cruz is on the DL and will miss two weeks with an injury... It will be tough for Louis to do without Cruz in such a tight race... What little offense the Champs have is supplied by All-Star LF Rocco Belasario (.289/17/45/59), who is also a gifted gloveman.

On paper you would think that manager Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats (43-30) would blow away everybody in the division... the Wildcats are batting .278 (2nd) with 384 runs (2nd), plus they have compiled a very fine 3.12 team ERA (2nd)... and it even gets better in the bullpen with a 2.23 ERA (1st)... defensively Kenwood is tops in the IPA with a standout .980 FA... yet the Wildcats are in the second spot in the standings and trails by a game... Go figure... Hankins has a trio of quality starters in his rotation with All-Star Connie Gavagan (10-5 2.45), Sammy Shaw (10-7 3.99) and Todd Combs (8-8 3.03)... Gavagan was obtained in a trade with Beechwood of the RU East in the off-season and has been a great acquisition... Gavagan is headed for a career year... Closer Rick Brickell (1-3 3.38) has chalked up 13 saves... Kenwood also excels in the batter's box with five .300 batters, sparked by All-Star LF Aidan Latimer (.339/10/44), RF Dennis Riley (.332/11/51), LF Jimmy Brewer (.333/12/34), 3B Brad Walker (.300/8/34/50) and CF Dayton Walker (.317/1/22/28).

The Rolling Hills Reds (42-31) are the cinderella team this season... Matty Christianson's Reds were basement dwellers last year, but have surged up to third this season and are just 2 games out of first... They don't do anything well except winning... Christianson gives most of the credit to his four solid starters... 34-year-old Shane Hooper (10-4 3.66) and 22-year-old Sal Jordan (9-5 2.59) are his top twirlers, but two old journeymen 38-year-old dinosaurs Gerry McFarland (7-4 4.15) and Keir McNamara (6-3 4.09) are also steady and dependable... Christianson really needs some help in the bullpen... his relievers have a very poor 4.56 ERA (23rd)... CF Donnie Lewis (.336/2/32/49), 3B Clay Hoffman (.286/10/39) and 1B Scotty Smith (.283/14/42) provide the lion's share of what little offense the Reds have... it's been a great first half of the season for Rolling Hills, but the experts forecast a fifth-place finish with Denton City and Chicopee passing the Reds by year's end.

The fourth place Denton City Redbirds (40-33) have won the TU West flag six times in its history and are the current returning champs, within four games of the top spot... the Redbirds live and die with two great starters Mila Mohoski (10-4 2.69) and Jeff Russell (12-4 3.00)... both are All-Stars this year... a cinch Hall of Famer, Mohoski is 34 and has a lifetime 234-158 record with a 3.02 ERA and is in his 14th year... Mohoski is also 16-11 in the postseason with a strong 3.07 ERA... Russell is only 23 and in his second season... He was 21-9 in 2013... Skipper Ford Whiteman has a solid core of hitters in his batting order, headed up by All-Star C Pete Gibbs (.321/8/46), veteran RF Lavon Gooch (.287/13/44/49) in his 12th season, steady LF Rod MacCormack (.282/10/36/52) in his 13th year and 1B Maury Duncan (.301/9/36/37), who's in his fifth season... Don't be surprised if Whiteman has his Redbirds challenging Arlon and Kenwood for the TU West title in the second half of the season... Denton City is never far from first place.

Harry Fleetfoot and his Chicopee Braves (39-34) have come close to the title the last two years and are hanging tough this season in fifth place, but only 5 games out... The Braves are led by two strong starters Desmond Quartermain and Tommy Ruffin, two 36-year-old vets... All-Star Quartermain has been sensational this year with an IPA-leading 1.58 ERA and a 12-5 mark, while Ruffin has registered a 9-4 record with an impressive 2.86 ERA... Fleetfoot depends on these two to keep him in the running... Chicopee's big downfall is its lousy bullpen, which has a pathetic 5.15 ERA (27th)... The Braves are not much at the plate, either... They have only one decent hitter, C Ivan Burkholder (.274/11/41/42)... It's not likely Quartermain and Ruffin can win the pennant by themselves, some others have to step up on the mound and in the batter's box... fifth or sixth is a likely finish.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (38-35) are better this year and playing over .500 ball at mid-year... Guy Rondre's Bucs are in the sixth spot in the standings and six games back, but are not predicted to wind up higher... Rondre's best batters are 1B Gerry Fields (.274/14/44), CF Todd Bryant (.300/10/42/52), 3B Ryan Sanders (.311/7/41) and SS Jimmy Sawyer (.268/6/43)... The Buccaneers ace is Lloyd Weber (11-4 3.53)... number two in the rotation is Duke DeVree (5-8 3.29).

The La Claire Lynx (31-42) have wound up near the bottom of the TU West for the previous five seasons... It will be no change this year... Rip Calkin's club is presently in seventh place and 13 games behind and more than likely it will be passed by last place Bayview, who has much better hitting... The Lynx do not hit well with a .243 BA (31st) and do not pitch well with a mediocre 4.27 team ERA (27th)... 40-year-old Doug Lyons is Calkin's top pitcher with a 6-8 mark and a very good 2.78 ERA... 20-year-old 3B Flash Devlin (.330/10/34) is a rising star and La Claire best player... Journeyman pro 1B Luis Marquez (.283/9/47) is always reliable.

Walter Johanssen has not had a real good team in Bayview (29-44) since 2009 when the Vikings came in second and have not won a pennant since 2007... They are in eighth place and 15 games behind first place Arlon... Really bad pitching is keeping them down... This year it is particularly bad with a 5.17 team ERA (31st)... Bayview can hit the ball with authority and score runs with a .261 BA (12th), 366 runs (8th) and 108 roundtrippers (1st), but the opposing teams feast on its pitching... Norm Ray (8-8 3.93) is the only quality arm on the staff... Things won't change until Johanssen can come up with a stronger staff... Bayview's best bats are a couple of All-Star outfielders... young LF Davey Krueger (.314/22/53/43) and RF Tommy Riddle (.281/19/48/51)... other capable contributors are SS Dan Conroy (.291/15/45/40) and 2B Tommy Shore (.300/9/33/43)... seventh place seems to be the best the Viks can accomplish in 2014.

08-11-2010, 05:38 PM	#1896
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,804 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, June 24, 2014 Arlon TU West Best In 6-Team Race At All-Star Game It's a good pennant race in the Tycobbian West with 6 teams in the hunt. Arlon holds a 1-game lead over second place Kenwood. The Rolling Hills Reds are third and just 2 games off the pace. Last year's crownholder Denton City is hanging close by and trails by 4. Also within striking distance are the fifth place Chicopee Braves 5 games back and the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are in the sixth spot and 6 games out. The TU West leader, the Arlon Champions (44-29) don't have great stats overall, but Gary Louis flat out has a skilled relief corps with a terrific 2.59 ERA (2nd)... So far the bullpen is carrying the Champs... All-Star closer Johnny Rabelais (2-0) has appeared in 25 games and saved 19 of them with a superlative 1.33 ERA... Ross Birchford (6-0 1.30) has also been a standout reliever... Arlon best starter is Happy McManus (9-5 3.71) along with Armando Cruz (7-8 3.09)... Cruz is on the DL and will miss two weeks with an injury... It will be tough for Louis to do without Cruz in such a tight race... What little offense the Champs have is supplied by All-Star LF Rocco Belasario (.289/17/45/59), who is also a gifted gloveman. On paper you would think that manager Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats (43-30) would blow away everybody in the division... the Wildcats are batting .278 (2nd) with 384 runs (2nd), plus they have compiled a very fine 3.12 team ERA (2nd)... and it even gets better in the bullpen with a 2.23 ERA (1st)... defensively Kenwood is tops in the IPA with a standout .980 FA... yet the Wildcats are in the second spot in the standings and trails by a game... Go figure... Hankins has a trio of quality starters in his rotation with All-Star Connie Gavagan (10-5 2.45), Sammy Shaw (10-7 3.99) and Todd Combs (8-8 3.03)... Gavagan was obtained in a trade with Beechwood of the RU East in the off-season and has been a great acquisition... Gavagan is headed for a career year... Closer Rick Brickell (1-3 3.38) has chalked up 13 saves... Kenwood also excels in the batter's box with five .300 batters, sparked by All-Star LF Aidan Latimer (.339/10/44), RF Dennis Riley (.332/11/51), LF Jimmy Brewer (.333/12/34), 3B Brad Walker (.300/8/34/50) and CF Dayton Walker (.317/1/22/28). The Rolling Hills Reds (42-31) are the cinderella team this season... Matty Christianson's Reds were basement dwellers last year, but have surged up to third this season and are just 2 games out of first... They don't do anything well except winning... Christianson gives most of the credit to his four solid starters... 34-year-old Shane Hooper (10-4 3.66) and 22-year-old Sal Jordan (9-5 2.59) are his top twirlers, but two old journeymen 38-year-old dinosaurs Gerry McFarland (7-4 4.15) and Keir McNamara (6-3 4.09) are also steady and dependable... Christianson really needs some help in the bullpen... his relievers have a very poor 4.56 ERA (23rd)... CF Donnie Lewis (.336/2/32/49), 3B Clay Hoffman (.286/10/39) and 1B Scotty Smith (.283/14/42) provide the lion's share of what little offense the Reds have... it's been a great first half of the season for Rolling Hills, but the experts forecast a fifth-place finish with Denton City and Chicopee passing the Reds by year's end. The fourth place Denton City Redbirds (40-33) have won the TU West flag six times in its history and are the current returning champs, within four games of the top spot... the Redbirds live and die with two great starters Mila Mohoski (10-4 2.69) and Jeff Russell (12-4 3.00)... both are All-Stars this year... a cinch Hall of Famer, Mohoski is 34 and has a lifetime 234-158 record with a 3.02 ERA and is in his 14th year... Mohoski is also 16-11 in the postseason with a strong 3.07 ERA... Russell is only 23 and in his second season... He was 21-9 in 2013... Skipper Ford Whiteman has a solid core of hitters in his batting order, headed up by All-Star C Pete Gibbs (.321/8/46), veteran RF Lavon Gooch (.287/13/44/49) in his 12th season, steady LF Rod MacCormack (.282/10/36/52) in his 13th year and 1B Maury Duncan (.301/9/36/37), who's in his fifth season... Don't be surprised if Whiteman has his Redbirds challenging Arlon and Kenwood for the TU West title in the second half of the season... Denton City is never far from first place. Harry Fleetfoot and his Chicopee Braves (39-34) have come close to the title the last two years and are hanging tough this season in fifth place, but only 5 games out... The Braves are led by two strong starters Desmond Quartermain and Tommy Ruffin, two 36-year-old vets... All-Star Quartermain has been sensational this year with an IPA-leading 1.58 ERA and a 12-5 mark, while Ruffin has registered a 9-4 record with an impressive 2.86 ERA... Fleetfoot depends on these two to keep him in the running... Chicopee's big downfall is its lousy bullpen, which has a pathetic 5.15 ERA (27th)... The Braves are not much at the plate, either... They have only one decent hitter, C Ivan Burkholder (.274/11/41/42)... It's not likely Quartermain and Ruffin can win the pennant by themselves, some others have to step up on the mound and in the batter's box... fifth or sixth is a likely finish. The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (38-35) are better this year and playing over .500 ball at mid-year... Guy Rondre's Bucs are in the sixth spot in the standings and six games back, but are not predicted to wind up higher... Rondre's best batters are 1B Gerry Fields (.274/14/44), CF Todd Bryant (.300/10/42/52), 3B Ryan Sanders (.311/7/41) and SS Jimmy Sawyer (.268/6/43)... The Buccaneers ace is Lloyd Weber (11-4 3.53)... number two in the rotation is Duke DeVree (5-8 3.29). The La Claire Lynx (31-42) have wound up near the bottom of the TU West for the previous five seasons... It will be no change this year... Rip Calkin's club is presently in seventh place and 13 games behind and more than likely it will be passed by last place Bayview, who has much better hitting... The Lynx do not hit well with a .243 BA (31st) and do not pitch well with a mediocre 4.27 team ERA (27th)... 40-year-old Doug Lyons is Calkin's top pitcher with a 6-8 mark and a very good 2.78 ERA... 20-year-old 3B Flash Devlin (.330/10/34) is a rising star and La Claire best player... Journeyman pro 1B Luis Marquez (.283/9/47) is always reliable. Walter Johanssen has not had a real good team in Bayview (29-44) since 2009 when the Vikings came in second and have not won a pennant since 2007... They are in eighth place and 15 games behind first place Arlon... Really bad pitching is keeping them down... This year it is particularly bad with a 5.17 team ERA (31st)... Bayview can hit the ball with authority and score runs with a .261 BA (12th), 366 runs (8th) and 108 roundtrippers (1st), but the opposing teams feast on its pitching... Norm Ray (8-8 3.93) is the only quality arm on the staff... Things won't change until Johanssen can come up with a stronger staff... Bayview's best bats are a couple of All-Star outfielders... young LF Davey Krueger (.314/22/53/43) and RF Tommy Riddle (.281/19/48/51)... other capable contributors are SS Dan Conroy (.291/15/45/40) and 2B Tommy Shore (.300/9/33/43)... seventh place seems to be the best the Viks can accomplish in 2014. Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-23-2010 at 06:45 PM.