|
The Islandian Times
Thursday, September 23, 2017
2017 Tycobbian North Final Recap
Luxora Ends Drought In TU North
It's been a long time coming, but it finally came after nine years. The Luxora Zorros closed strongly in the Tycobbian North and prevailed by 6 games over the Mahaska Haymakers. The Z's trailed them by 6 games at All-Star time. Luxora was the only team in the weak TU North to have a winning record. Fairfax was third and 9 games off the pace with White River in fourth place, 10 games back. Blue Lake was at the top the second-division teams in the fifth spot. The Blue Sox were 12 games behind the Zorros. 17 games out and deadlocked for sixth were the Hartsdale Hellcats and Oxford Red Caps. Last year's titleholder North Hills did a complete about-face and finished in last place.
Rookie manager Cristo Viamonte brought home the pennant in his first season. Luxora (82-72) did it with pitching almost entirely... the Zorros have the second-best team ERA with a strong 3.27 ERA... and are the best fielders in the division with a .977 percentage... the Z's were atrocous at the plate, hitting only .240 (31st)... top pitchers were standout rookie Tiago Torres (20-14 2.87), a 20-game winner in his first year... Both Pepe Pachino (16-15 3.45) and 38-year-old vet Elio Laurente (16-16 3.95) were consistent starters... in the bullpen Jay Brewer (2-6) had 31 saves with a 2.67 ERA... Viamonte had only two decent bats in RF Jon Stafford (.273/34/108) and C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.274/24/85).
The second-place Mahaska Haymakers (76-78) were 2 games under .500... Rusty Tanussa only has an average club with a .261 BA (15th) and a 3.91 team ERA (21st)... they were below par with a .970 FA... Joey Wallace (17-14 2.97) and Yuri Dozhenko (19-14 3.60) carried the Haymakers... Mahaska has only one quality hitter... that was C Bucky O'Brian, who batted .297 with 25 homers, 97 RBI and 84 runs scored.
Harry Buckley's third-place Fairfax Frogs (73-81) hit only .247 (29th) with a 3.60 ERA (10th)... Ken Hill (19-15 2.45) had a standout season, but no one else did.
The White River Rascals (72-82) with John Randison at the helm had the best offense in the TU North with a .273 BA (5th), but had little pitching, compiling a 4.46 ERA (29th)... super 1B Marty Blake led the bats with another great season... Blake hit .329 with 46 homers, 135 RBIs and scored 125 runs... 2B Vinny Ulrich chipped in a .327 BA with 13 home runs, 84 RBIs and scored 81 runs... RF Johnny Stratton (.293/16/83/90) had a productive year, too... Joe Hudson (19-12) was the ace, but had a lofty 4.45 ERA... closer Hank Stanley notched 31 saves with a 2.45 ERA, but was a lowly 2-7 for the year.
The Blue Lake Blue Sox (70-84) started off strongly and led the league until June, then went to pieces and wound up fifth... Cobb Tyson's club has limited talent... closer Tony Reed (5-2) excelled with 24 saves and a splendid 1.85 ERA, while 35-year-old CF Rick Hilliard had another solid season with 32 roundtrippers, 92 runs batted in, scored 95 times and hit a healthy .306.
Skipper Zim Donner in Hartsdale (65-89) had a solid core of hitters with power, but nothing on the hill... they tied with Oxford for sixth in the standings... the Hellcats went deep 163 times (8th), but were 27th with a 4.29 ERA... SS Jud Turchin (.330/27/87/114) is one of the all-time greats in the IPA at age 37... Turchin is a lifetime .310 hitter with over 300 homers... 36-year-old 1B Tom Brabant (.295/32/98/86) is another future HOF'er with a .316 career batting average, over 400 home runs and 1200 RBIs... slick-fielding 3B Kendry Moulton (.299/24/88/78) has over 300 roundtrippers and 1100 RBIs to go with his career .298 average... LF Woody Crow added in 17 home runs and 86 RBIs to go with his .281 BA... give the Hellcats a few good pitchers and they can win in the weak TU North.
The Oxford Red Caps (65-89) and manager Campy Roy had nothing much to brag about this season with a tie for sixth... average hitting (.255 BA) and bad pitching (4.54 ERA) are not a good formula for success... young closer Arnie Bradshaw (2-3) collected 28 saves and posted a fine 2.13 ERA... and 38-year-old veteran 1B Eddy Dowler was the only batter of note with a .341 BA, 17 homers and 82 RBIs.
After having a pennant-winning season in 2016, Hub Carlson's pitching went south in North Hills (64-90) and the Hawks plunged deep into the cellar with a terrible 4.62 ERA (31st)... Carlson's pitching corps racked a fine 3.41 team ERA last year... the hitting also took the year off with drop from .267 to .256 (17th)... 1B Lou Hooper was the only player to have a decent year... Hooper batted .328 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs to lead the team.
|