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The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2015
2015 Tycobbian East Final Recap
Ozarka Staves Off Tuckanarra In TU East
Rookie power put the Ozarka Naturals in the Tycobbian East driver's seat early in the race and they never relinquished it. The Nats topped the IPA with 99 victories and still just managed to stave off the tough and talented Tuckanarra Blue Jays by just 3 games. All the other clubs in the division were out of the running early and never offered any challenge. Defending champ Midway was a distant third, 17 games behind and the High Mesa Cowboys were fourth, 24 games out of first.
Ozarka (99-55) had a splendid season, driven by five new rookies and several solid old pros... never in IPA history has a club had such a remarkable rookie class... the Nats led the TU with an awesome .289 BA (1st) and were ranked highly in scoring with 763 runs (5th) and 173 long balls (7th)... Ozarka also topped the TU with a 3.12 ERA (1st)... defensively the Naturals were average with a .972 FA... vet starters Eddie Roberts (18-10 3.44) and Dennis Purcell (12-5 2.97) were joined by terrific newcomers Wayne Gates (23-9 3.05) and Benny Osterman (20-13 2.65) to give Joe Mac Carney a very strong pitching rotation... add three standout rookie batters to the line-up, along with old reliable 2B Todd Chadwick and you have a potent attack... Chadwick (.322 BA/23 HR/89 RBI/86 R) had his usual good output and was coupled with 3B Andre Dupas (.344 BA/44 HR/124 RBI/104 R and 1B Benny Rousseau (.325 BA/34 HR/102 RBI/77 R), who had impressive rookie seasons... freshman C Frank Kiffin (.314 BA/13 HR/64 RBI/86 R) contributed another productive bat.
Manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens managed to keep his Tuckanarra Blue Jays (96-58) in the hunt, though he trailed by 7 games at mid-season... the lost of one of his primary starters, veteran Roy Spence, for 7 weeks hit the club hard, but they came back strong in the latter half of the year and almost caught Ozarka... the Blue Jays boast a strong attack with a .277 BA (3rd) and 809 runs (1st)... and good pitching with a 3.41 team ERA (4th)... Spence (16-3) led the staff, though he missed 16 starts with rotator problems... all-time great Titus Bristow (17-12 2.99) continued to stand out... Bristow has a HOF-like 273-156 record in his 14-year career... #3 starter Yuka Nawajuk (16-10 3.77) also put up good numbers... in the bullpen closer Stephen Eubarinja (8-5) had a super year with 31 saves and a fine 2.14 ERA... Tuckanarra boasts good bats, too... 1B Erik Vayda had his best season at age 35 with a .315 BA, 129 RBIs, 16 homers and 97 runs scored... 21-year-old RF Danny Redd's best seasons are ahead of him... Redd batted .324 with 15 home runs, 96 RBIs and 118 runs... slick-fielding SS Rocky Fuqua is getting better with age... the 35-year-old Fuqua had a career year with a .317 mark, 14 homers, 79 RBIs and 119 runs... LF Earl O'Brien chipped in a .291 BA, 7 HRs, 52 RBIs and scored 127 times... the Blue Jays have averaged 95 wins over the past three seasons and only have one pennant to show for it... they finished second the other two times... The TU East is perhaps the best division in the IPA.
The defending division champion Midway Wolves (82-72) failed to repeat... They slumped in the first half of the year, but came back strong to wind up third... manager Cochise Chandler's club was 17 games off the pace... A bad bullpen is his problem... the Wolves relievers posted a very poor 4.58 ERA (25th)... top players are pitcher Motega Wolf (20-9 2.53), 1B Gerry Jordan (.299 BA/33 HR/93 RBI/81 R) and CF Johnny Lee (.299 BA/32 Hr/86 RBI/88 R)... LF Derek Stevenson walloped 33 out of the park, but only hit for a .244 BA.
Fourth place High Mesa (75-79) has a high-powered offense, led by the tremendously gifted 1B Jack Elliott, who posted another great season with 56 homers, 135 RBIs, scored 139 times and batted a lofty .363... Elliott holds the all-time home run record with 61, hit in his rookie year in 2013... Cowboy manager Frisky Franks has two solid pitchers in young Frankie Walsh (19-13 3.41) and veteran Kent Wells (16-13 3.67).
The Red Bluff Red Sox (74-80) really shined on defense with a .980 FA, hit well with a .272 BA (6th), but suffer on the mound with a very poor 4.60 ERA (31st)... that's why Mack Connery's crew wound up tied for 5th with South Fork and 25 games back in the race... Top player is slugging 1B Tommy Klegg , who hit .300 with 48 roundtrippers, 139 RBIs and scored 101 runs... Klegg has 396 homers in 11 IPA seasons and almost 1200 RBIs... closer Ted Goetz chalked up a 7-6 record with 32 saves, but posted a 3.72 ERA.
Duroche "Lips" Leon has a mediocre team in South Fork (74-80)... the Stallions best performers are starter Blackie Terranova (22-13 3.52), rookie closer Woody Price (6-3), who had a great 1.38 ERA and 20 saves and 1B Joe Peters (.289 BA/27 HR/104 RBI/97 R).
The downtrodden East Point Panthers (61-93) and Hillsboro Blazers (61-93) are short on everything and fought each the entire season to see who could stay out of the TU East cellar - to no avail - they both finish at the bottom of division, a huge 38 games behind pennant-winning Ozarka... East Point's best player is 2B Jesse Goodwin, who stroked 33 homers, but suffered an off-year average-wise with a .260 BA... Hillsboro has two quality players in pitcher Tom Edgar (16-13 2.99) and 1B Andy Jefferson, who swatted 41 homers, drove in 95 runs and hit for a .289
BA.
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