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Eugene Church · 01-23-2011, 11:49 PM

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Tycobbian South Final Recap

Suns Shine In TU South, Dethrone Turon
Cyclone Cobb has turned Arroyo Grande into a fine franchise. The Suns broke a 19-year drought and finally made the Pro Cup playoffs, knocking off the powerful Turon Typhoons in the process. The Typhoons had won the Tycobbian South for four years in succession. It was a tough race for Arroyo Grande. Runner-up Ginza fought long and hard the entire year, but finally lost out by 4 games. Third place Turon waited too late to make its move and came up 6 games short. Southport came in fourth in the standings and 8 games behind in the pennant chase.

Arroyo Grande has a well-rounded ball club and should go far in the playoffs... they led the TU with the most wins, compiling a 95-59 record... the Suns batted .270 (4th), walloped 189 homers (4th), were second-best in scoring and had a good 3.62 team ERA (8th)... numbers that should serve them well in the Pro Cup playoffs... Cobb possess three solid starters and a very capable closer... Earl O'Reilly (23-11 2.44) was outstanding this season... Ernie Matthews (25-11 3.91) was another 20-game winner... and Sixto Zamora (18-10 3.28) had a fine year... relief ace Jason Patrick (5-3) saved 29 games with a very inpressive 1.43 ERA... Arroyo Grande is deep in the batting order, too... LF Eduardo Villanueva (.318/24/101/111), SS Andy Pearson (.297/22/103/107), C Gary Troxell (.333/35/122/85), 3B Randy Warren (.328/7/51/96) and RF Buddy Bechtel are a very formidable line-up... Look for an Arroyo Grande-Ozarka Final 4, which should be a dynamite series.

The Ginza Ninjas finished second for the second consecutive season under the leadership of Horoko Uchiyama... the Ninjas' strengths are the best defense in the IPA (.980 FA) and their firepower, led by superstar C Crash Davis (.299/34/87/95), CF Augie Vitanza (.265/36/91/115), 3B Ralph Hart (.249/24/85/66), RF Jack Vorland (.270/19/70/86) and SS Johnny O'Rorke (.280/17/70/65)... Ginza doesn't hit much for average, but they can go deep... the Ninjas blasted 186 homers (6th)... Davis suffered a severe back injury in early September in a collision and will miss 11 months... a terrible loss for the Ninjas... Uchiyama's pitching is only adequate and old, paced by 12-year vet and 37-year-old Joji Azuma (21-12 2.94), who has posted a 215-174 mark in his career with a very fine 2.90 ERA... Neil Howell (19-9 3.94) is 39... Julian Gilchrist (19-13 3.97) is 41 and Alec Sasek (20-11 4.39) is 40.

After playing at such a high plane with 11 TU South pennants and 4 Pro Cup titles, the Turon Typhoons finally came down-to-earth this season and wound up third... Whitey Richburn's hitting dropped off drastically and the pitching dipped some, too... All of the Typhoons fell off offensively, even legendary 1B Clyde Kingsford (.310/43/123/113) was down a bit with a slow first half... RF Dominick DiCaprio (.268/17/91/76) and CF Mac McCurnan (.265/25/77/80) didn't post the stats they have in past seasons... on the hill Turon was still good with Nicky Engstrom (21-10 2.47), Shane Farmer (17-17 3.20) and Ted Farentino (18-13 3.68) as the top three starters... 20-year-old rookie Bobby Byrd (12-9 3.73) made a good debut in the number four slot... closer Merle Studebaker (3-6 2.58) was solid with 37 saves in 56 appearances.

The Southport Sun Sox moved up into fourth place and the first division, winding up 8 games off the pace, depending mainly on pitching... Bob Montgomery (17-15 2.25) and Al Laclair (18-15 2.83) gave manager Charley Oscar a very strong 1-2 punch, but they suffered from poor run support... number three Tippy Ridgeway (11-5 4.12) had a good season, too... Oscar had some problems in his bullpen... he couldn't find a competent closer... the Sun Sox didn't have too much offense either... their leaders were LF Walt Muller with a .321 BA, 20 homers and 81 RBIs... and 2B Skippy Jones, who hammered 33 roundtrippers and batted in 95 runs, but only had a .249 BA.

The fifth-place Summerland Sunsets had a winning season, but ended up 16 games behind in the race... offense was the name of the game for skipper Will Hackett... the Sunsets hit .271 (3rd) with 150 homers (9th-tied) and were 8th in scoring runs... top hitters were the reliable LF Vann Kelder (.318/33/109/108), 1B John Reynaud (.288/20/68/95), rookie 2B Stefan De Graaf (.319/12/61/92) and rookie 3B George Devoe (.317/18/78/64)... Summerland lacked pitching, but had 40-year-old Denny Coulon cross the 300-victory threshold with an 18-13 record and a super 2.40 ERA... Coulon is now 313-289 in his 20-year-career... lifetime he has a very impressive 2.89 ERA... closer Leon Mullin (6-5) did his job well, too... Mullin chalked up 24 saves with a solid 2.50 ERA.

Coming sixth in the TU South this year were the Colchester Elites of Uncle Robbie Wilbertson... they trailed the champion Suns by 19 games... The Elites only have average pitching and hitting, but with good power... Tommy Tuckman (18-13 3.89) is the best starter and veteran Don Richard (3-6) is a quality closer with 33 saves and an excellent 2.08 ERA... the Elites ripped 146 homers (11th), sparked by 2B George Alford with 39... the 34-year-old Alford was a huge gift in a trade with the Eastshore Elegants... Alford hit .289, drove in 109 runs and scored 103... not bad for a supposedly "over-the-hill" and aging star... 1B James McCall also chipped in with 21 home runs, 91 RBIs, scored 87 times and batted at a .311 clip.

Huggy Miller in Cape Coral is not accustomed to second-division finishes, however his Hurricanes have now been there for a third successive season... the 'Canes were 7th for the second year in a row and were 25 games behind... Miller is used to giving Turon its biggest tussles, but not in recent years... Cape Coral has poor hitting (30th) and less-than-average pitching (19th)... Miller's best performers on the hill are legendary Cody Burg (17-15 3.61), Santiago Castillo (18-16 3.28), both starters, and closer Bobby Maas (3-6) with 27 saves and a fine 2.52 ERA... Burg is now 350-249 with a 2.74 career ERA over his 20 years in the IPA, the all-time IPA leader in victories... Burg's age is showing at 38, but he's still a solid pitcher... offensively Miller has little beyond his standout CF Derek Ryckman, who cover the outfield like a gazelle and topped the team with 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 108 runs, while batting .274.

The hapless San Alejo Montaneros again found themselves in last place, the seventh consecutive year of embarrassment... Skipper Marcellino Zuniga just doesn't have the enough talent to compete, but there is some hope for the future with young sluggers LF Warren Love (.297/46/114/96) and 1B Lou Browning (.300/31/108/76)... Love is 24 and in his second year, while Browning is only 20 and a rookie... Zuniga doesn't have any budding stars in his pitching corps... 37-year-old Chad Gilmore (12-11 4.00) and 22-year-old Trini Corona (13-20 3.96) are his most effective pitchers.

01-23-2011, 11:49 PM	#2322
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	The Islandian Times Monday, September 21, 2020 2020 Tycobbian South Final Recap Suns Shine In TU South, Dethrone Turon Cyclone Cobb has turned Arroyo Grande into a fine franchise. The Suns broke a 19-year drought and finally made the Pro Cup playoffs, knocking off the powerful Turon Typhoons in the process. The Typhoons had won the Tycobbian South for four years in succession. It was a tough race for Arroyo Grande. Runner-up Ginza fought long and hard the entire year, but finally lost out by 4 games. Third place Turon waited too late to make its move and came up 6 games short. Southport came in fourth in the standings and 8 games behind in the pennant chase. Arroyo Grande has a well-rounded ball club and should go far in the playoffs... they led the TU with the most wins, compiling a 95-59 record... the Suns batted .270 (4th), walloped 189 homers (4th), were second-best in scoring and had a good 3.62 team ERA (8th)... numbers that should serve them well in the Pro Cup playoffs... Cobb possess three solid starters and a very capable closer... Earl O'Reilly (23-11 2.44) was outstanding this season... Ernie Matthews (25-11 3.91) was another 20-game winner... and Sixto Zamora (18-10 3.28) had a fine year... relief ace Jason Patrick (5-3) saved 29 games with a very inpressive 1.43 ERA... Arroyo Grande is deep in the batting order, too... LF Eduardo Villanueva (.318/24/101/111), SS Andy Pearson (.297/22/103/107), C Gary Troxell (.333/35/122/85), 3B Randy Warren (.328/7/51/96) and RF Buddy Bechtel are a very formidable line-up... Look for an Arroyo Grande-Ozarka Final 4, which should be a dynamite series. The Ginza Ninjas finished second for the second consecutive season under the leadership of Horoko Uchiyama... the Ninjas' strengths are the best defense in the IPA (.980 FA) and their firepower, led by superstar C Crash Davis (.299/34/87/95), CF Augie Vitanza (.265/36/91/115), 3B Ralph Hart (.249/24/85/66), RF Jack Vorland (.270/19/70/86) and SS Johnny O'Rorke (.280/17/70/65)... Ginza doesn't hit much for average, but they can go deep... the Ninjas blasted 186 homers (6th)... Davis suffered a severe back injury in early September in a collision and will miss 11 months... a terrible loss for the Ninjas... Uchiyama's pitching is only adequate and old, paced by 12-year vet and 37-year-old Joji Azuma (21-12 2.94), who has posted a 215-174 mark in his career with a very fine 2.90 ERA... Neil Howell (19-9 3.94) is 39... Julian Gilchrist (19-13 3.97) is 41 and Alec Sasek (20-11 4.39) is 40. After playing at such a high plane with 11 TU South pennants and 4 Pro Cup titles, the Turon Typhoons finally came down-to-earth this season and wound up third... Whitey Richburn's hitting dropped off drastically and the pitching dipped some, too... All of the Typhoons fell off offensively, even legendary 1B Clyde Kingsford (.310/43/123/113) was down a bit with a slow first half... RF Dominick DiCaprio (.268/17/91/76) and CF Mac McCurnan (.265/25/77/80) didn't post the stats they have in past seasons... on the hill Turon was still good with Nicky Engstrom (21-10 2.47), Shane Farmer (17-17 3.20) and Ted Farentino (18-13 3.68) as the top three starters... 20-year-old rookie Bobby Byrd (12-9 3.73) made a good debut in the number four slot... closer Merle Studebaker (3-6 2.58) was solid with 37 saves in 56 appearances. The Southport Sun Sox moved up into fourth place and the first division, winding up 8 games off the pace, depending mainly on pitching... Bob Montgomery (17-15 2.25) and Al Laclair (18-15 2.83) gave manager Charley Oscar a very strong 1-2 punch, but they suffered from poor run support... number three Tippy Ridgeway (11-5 4.12) had a good season, too... Oscar had some problems in his bullpen... he couldn't find a competent closer... the Sun Sox didn't have too much offense either... their leaders were LF Walt Muller with a .321 BA, 20 homers and 81 RBIs... and 2B Skippy Jones, who hammered 33 roundtrippers and batted in 95 runs, but only had a .249 BA. The fifth-place Summerland Sunsets had a winning season, but ended up 16 games behind in the race... offense was the name of the game for skipper Will Hackett... the Sunsets hit .271 (3rd) with 150 homers (9th-tied) and were 8th in scoring runs... top hitters were the reliable LF Vann Kelder (.318/33/109/108), 1B John Reynaud (.288/20/68/95), rookie 2B Stefan De Graaf (.319/12/61/92) and rookie 3B George Devoe (.317/18/78/64)... Summerland lacked pitching, but had 40-year-old Denny Coulon cross the 300-victory threshold with an 18-13 record and a super 2.40 ERA... Coulon is now 313-289 in his 20-year-career... lifetime he has a very impressive 2.89 ERA... closer Leon Mullin (6-5) did his job well, too... Mullin chalked up 24 saves with a solid 2.50 ERA. Coming sixth in the TU South this year were the Colchester Elites of Uncle Robbie Wilbertson... they trailed the champion Suns by 19 games... The Elites only have average pitching and hitting, but with good power... Tommy Tuckman (18-13 3.89) is the best starter and veteran Don Richard (3-6) is a quality closer with 33 saves and an excellent 2.08 ERA... the Elites ripped 146 homers (11th), sparked by 2B George Alford with 39... the 34-year-old Alford was a huge gift in a trade with the Eastshore Elegants... Alford hit .289, drove in 109 runs and scored 103... not bad for a supposedly "over-the-hill" and aging star... 1B James McCall also chipped in with 21 home runs, 91 RBIs, scored 87 times and batted at a .311 clip. Huggy Miller in Cape Coral is not accustomed to second-division finishes, however his Hurricanes have now been there for a third successive season... the 'Canes were 7th for the second year in a row and were 25 games behind... Miller is used to giving Turon its biggest tussles, but not in recent years... Cape Coral has poor hitting (30th) and less-than-average pitching (19th)... Miller's best performers on the hill are legendary Cody Burg (17-15 3.61), Santiago Castillo (18-16 3.28), both starters, and closer Bobby Maas (3-6) with 27 saves and a fine 2.52 ERA... Burg is now 350-249 with a 2.74 career ERA over his 20 years in the IPA, the all-time IPA leader in victories... Burg's age is showing at 38, but he's still a solid pitcher... offensively Miller has little beyond his standout CF Derek Ryckman, who cover the outfield like a gazelle and topped the team with 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 108 runs, while batting .274. The hapless San Alejo Montaneros again found themselves in last place, the seventh consecutive year of embarrassment... Skipper Marcellino Zuniga just doesn't have the enough talent to compete, but there is some hope for the future with young sluggers LF Warren Love (.297/46/114/96) and 1B Lou Browning (.300/31/108/76)... Love is 24 and in his second year, while Browning is only 20 and a rookie... Zuniga doesn't have any budding stars in his pitching corps... 37-year-old Chad Gilmore (12-11 4.00) and 22-year-old Trini Corona (13-20 3.96) are his most effective pitchers.