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Eugene Church · 02-28-2011, 03:43 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap

Bucs Breezin' In Weak TU West, 10-Game Lead
The high-scoring Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are the scourge of the the weak Tycobbian West this season. The Bucs are sailing along with a huge 10-game lead at the halfway mark. Rolling Hills is in the runner-up spot, followed by third place Kenwood 11 games back and fourth place Denton Denton City 14 games behind. Last year's winner, the Arlon Champions, have withered and aged this season and slumped to seventh place.

Bay St. Clair is blistering the ball at a .285 clip (3rd) and lead the league with 437 runs scored, but only has modest power with 69 roundtrippers (14th-tied)... Guy Rondre's rotation is only average with a 3.95 team ERA (12th)... defensively the Buccaneers are a little better than average with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... All-Stars 2B Bud Walker (.344/6 HR), CF Bill Howell (.335/0 HR) and 1B Jerry Todd (.306/18 HR) lead the way with their gloves and bats... Bay St. Clair is loaded with good hitters... other productive performers are 3B Les Bradley (.307/3 HR), RF Don Smithers (.299/9 HR), C/OF Justin Kucks (.290/7 HR) and LF Florent Schoonmaker (.269/11 HR)... vets Bobby Joe Belvin (12-4 3.10) and Don Yaden (9-6 3.77) top the starters... closer Benson O'Brian (1-1) have been terrific with 16 saves and a 1.54 ERA... if things stay as they are now, the Buccaneers will quickly find out how good they are in the playoffs... they will probably play Ozarka in the first round games... the Nats have the best record in the IPA with a 53-20 mark and Bay St. Clair is number two with a 48-25 record... it should be quite a shootout.

After the Buccaneers, the rest of the clubs are lackluster... the TU West is one of the weaker divisions in the league, along with the TU North... Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds get by with a steady starting rotation consisting of All-Star Sal Jordan (9-6 2.13), Errol Gaudet (8-5 3.39), John Ryck (7-6 3.55) and J. R. Beresford (5-2 4.08)... they have chalked up a 3.41 ERA (2nd) as a group... the bullpen and bats are hurting the Reds... both could stand a lot of improvement... LF Donnie Lewis (.301/6 HR) is Christianson's only reliable hitter.

The Kenwood Wildcats are in third place... Aaron Hankins is in his 20th year as manager... this is his best year since 2014 when the Wildcats surprised everybody by winning the Pro Cup... since then Kenwood has just been a mediocre ball club, usually finishing 5th or 6th in the pennant chase... this season Hankins has an excellent bullpen sparked by All-Star closer Scott Bohn (2-1), who has notched 19 saves and a terrific 1.30 ERA... overall the Wildcat relievers have compiled a superb 2.39 ERA (2nd)... Hankins has only one capable starter in Steve Reeves (9-6 3.49)... at the plate Kenwood is poor with a .252 BA (23rd) and not a lot of firepower with only 61 homers (20th)... 1B Pat Farris (.301/2 HR) is Hankins' best with not too much after him.

The Denton City Redbirds have been the dregs of the division with last-place finishes in four of the last five years... this season they are fourth in the TU West... Ford Whiteman doesn't have much to brag about... Mila Mohoski (8-5 3.79) is still a solid pitcher at age 41, but way past his prime... overall the IPA icon is 347-260 in his 19th season... only Cody Burg (358-257) of Cape Coral has more victories... Ron Futrell (2-2) has done a fine job as closer with a 1.96 ERA and 8 saves since taking over that spot... the Redbirds play good defense with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... but don't score very well (22nd) or have much power (58 HR- 23rd)... All-Star RF Todd Bryant (.301/13 HR) and 3B Mike Mackowiak (.275/17 HR) supply most of the offense.

The Bayview Vikings with Walter Johanssen at the helm are in fifth place and trail by 16 games... the Viks have a solid core of hitters with a .271 team BA (4th)... at the top of the list are All-Star CF Davey Krueger (.337/19 HR), 1B Stan Haddix (.305/14 HR), All-Star LF Hakon Landsvik (.314/8 HR) and SS Tommy Shore (.344/9 HR)...the mound staff is only mediocre with a 4.22 team ERA... only standout is closer Ivar Bergmann (1-1) with 12 saves and a very impressive 1.04 ERA.

The La Claire Lynx are in sixth place, 17 games off the pace... Rip Calkin is gone as manager after 20 years in the La Claire job... Calkin only had three first-division finishes and never made the playoffs... his successor is Maka Bardinda, who was a good catcher for 14 years with Tuckanarra, Red Bluff and La Claire... Bardinda inherited a club that hits well with a .266 BA (8th), scores well with 355 runs (11-tied) and has fair power with 77 home runs (7th-tied), but is woeful on the hill with a horrendous 4.78 ERA, the worst in the league... All-Star 2B Flash Devlin (.346/17 HR) and superstar LF Zeppy Deshotel (.336/4 HR) carry the Lynx offensively... Deshotel is a 9-time All-Star nearing the end of his career at age 37, but he still can hit for average and cover the ground in the outfield... Deshotel is a career .314 batter with 464 home runs, 1635 RBIs and 1654 runs scored in 2403 games... he could reach 3000 hits this year... Deshotel currently stands at 2967 and needs only 33 more... the Lynx best pitcher is Paul Newman (9-7 4.15).

After winning the flag in a very close race last year, the Arlon Champions are having a rocky season... they have slumped to seventh place and are 18 games out of first place... bad hitting and bad starters are the problems for skipper Gary Louis... the Champs are batting only .231 (30th), have scored just 281 runs (31st) and have very little punch with 51 homers (25th-tied)... the starting rotation has combined for a pathetic 4.57 ERA (27th)... his best talents are veteran standouts CF Chucky Gilton (.304/7 HR) and LF Rocco Belasario (.278/6 HR), who may be showing their age at 35... Arlon's only pitcher of note is 24-year-old closer Mac Jackson, who is 4-1 with 9 saves and a splendid 0.75 ERA.

The Chicopee Braves also took a huge fall this season, dropping from second place last year to rock bottom this year... manager Harry Fleetwood's bats have fallen flat... the Braves are batting only .225 (32nd), the absolute worst hitting in the IPA... they are also last with 36 homers and 274 runs... 1B Jose Duran (.304/0 HR) is the only decent hitter... the rest are .257 and below... Fleetwood's pitching is so-so with a 4.17 ERA (20th)... James Beckworth (8-7 3.17) is his best hurler.

02-28-2011, 03:43 PM	#2384
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,699 Blog Entries: 1	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, June 22, 2021 2021 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap Bucs Breezin' In Weak TU West, 10-Game Lead The high-scoring Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are the scourge of the the weak Tycobbian West this season. The Bucs are sailing along with a huge 10-game lead at the halfway mark. Rolling Hills is in the runner-up spot, followed by third place Kenwood 11 games back and fourth place Denton Denton City 14 games behind. Last year's winner, the Arlon Champions, have withered and aged this season and slumped to seventh place. Bay St. Clair is blistering the ball at a .285 clip (3rd) and lead the league with 437 runs scored, but only has modest power with 69 roundtrippers (14th-tied)... Guy Rondre's rotation is only average with a 3.95 team ERA (12th)... defensively the Buccaneers are a little better than average with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... All-Stars 2B Bud Walker (.344/6 HR), CF Bill Howell (.335/0 HR) and 1B Jerry Todd (.306/18 HR) lead the way with their gloves and bats... Bay St. Clair is loaded with good hitters... other productive performers are 3B Les Bradley (.307/3 HR), RF Don Smithers (.299/9 HR), C/OF Justin Kucks (.290/7 HR) and LF Florent Schoonmaker (.269/11 HR)... vets Bobby Joe Belvin (12-4 3.10) and Don Yaden (9-6 3.77) top the starters... closer Benson O'Brian (1-1) have been terrific with 16 saves and a 1.54 ERA... if things stay as they are now, the Buccaneers will quickly find out how good they are in the playoffs... they will probably play Ozarka in the first round games... the Nats have the best record in the IPA with a 53-20 mark and Bay St. Clair is number two with a 48-25 record... it should be quite a shootout. After the Buccaneers, the rest of the clubs are lackluster... the TU West is one of the weaker divisions in the league, along with the TU North... Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds get by with a steady starting rotation consisting of All-Star Sal Jordan (9-6 2.13), Errol Gaudet (8-5 3.39), John Ryck (7-6 3.55) and J. R. Beresford (5-2 4.08)... they have chalked up a 3.41 ERA (2nd) as a group... the bullpen and bats are hurting the Reds... both could stand a lot of improvement... LF Donnie Lewis (.301/6 HR) is Christianson's only reliable hitter. The Kenwood Wildcats are in third place... Aaron Hankins is in his 20th year as manager... this is his best year since 2014 when the Wildcats surprised everybody by winning the Pro Cup... since then Kenwood has just been a mediocre ball club, usually finishing 5th or 6th in the pennant chase... this season Hankins has an excellent bullpen sparked by All-Star closer Scott Bohn (2-1), who has notched 19 saves and a terrific 1.30 ERA... overall the Wildcat relievers have compiled a superb 2.39 ERA (2nd)... Hankins has only one capable starter in Steve Reeves (9-6 3.49)... at the plate Kenwood is poor with a .252 BA (23rd) and not a lot of firepower with only 61 homers (20th)... 1B Pat Farris (.301/2 HR) is Hankins' best with not too much after him. The Denton City Redbirds have been the dregs of the division with last-place finishes in four of the last five years... this season they are fourth in the TU West... Ford Whiteman doesn't have much to brag about... Mila Mohoski (8-5 3.79) is still a solid pitcher at age 41, but way past his prime... overall the IPA icon is 347-260 in his 19th season... only Cody Burg (358-257) of Cape Coral has more victories... Ron Futrell (2-2) has done a fine job as closer with a 1.96 ERA and 8 saves since taking over that spot... the Redbirds play good defense with a .975 FA (4th-tied)... but don't score very well (22nd) or have much power (58 HR- 23rd)... All-Star RF Todd Bryant (.301/13 HR) and 3B Mike Mackowiak (.275/17 HR) supply most of the offense. The Bayview Vikings with Walter Johanssen at the helm are in fifth place and trail by 16 games... the Viks have a solid core of hitters with a .271 team BA (4th)... at the top of the list are All-Star CF Davey Krueger (.337/19 HR), 1B Stan Haddix (.305/14 HR), All-Star LF Hakon Landsvik (.314/8 HR) and SS Tommy Shore (.344/9 HR)...the mound staff is only mediocre with a 4.22 team ERA... only standout is closer Ivar Bergmann (1-1) with 12 saves and a very impressive 1.04 ERA. The La Claire Lynx are in sixth place, 17 games off the pace... Rip Calkin is gone as manager after 20 years in the La Claire job... Calkin only had three first-division finishes and never made the playoffs... his successor is Maka Bardinda, who was a good catcher for 14 years with Tuckanarra, Red Bluff and La Claire... Bardinda inherited a club that hits well with a .266 BA (8th), scores well with 355 runs (11-tied) and has fair power with 77 home runs (7th-tied), but is woeful on the hill with a horrendous 4.78 ERA, the worst in the league... All-Star 2B Flash Devlin (.346/17 HR) and superstar LF Zeppy Deshotel (.336/4 HR) carry the Lynx offensively... Deshotel is a 9-time All-Star nearing the end of his career at age 37, but he still can hit for average and cover the ground in the outfield... Deshotel is a career .314 batter with 464 home runs, 1635 RBIs and 1654 runs scored in 2403 games... he could reach 3000 hits this year... Deshotel currently stands at 2967 and needs only 33 more... the Lynx best pitcher is Paul Newman (9-7 4.15). After winning the flag in a very close race last year, the Arlon Champions are having a rocky season... they have slumped to seventh place and are 18 games out of first place... bad hitting and bad starters are the problems for skipper Gary Louis... the Champs are batting only .231 (30th), have scored just 281 runs (31st) and have very little punch with 51 homers (25th-tied)... the starting rotation has combined for a pathetic 4.57 ERA (27th)... his best talents are veteran standouts CF Chucky Gilton (.304/7 HR) and LF Rocco Belasario (.278/6 HR), who may be showing their age at 35... Arlon's only pitcher of note is 24-year-old closer Mac Jackson, who is 4-1 with 9 saves and a splendid 0.75 ERA. The Chicopee Braves also took a huge fall this season, dropping from second place last year to rock bottom this year... manager Harry Fleetwood's bats have fallen flat... the Braves are batting only .225 (32nd), the absolute worst hitting in the IPA... they are also last with 36 homers and 274 runs... 1B Jose Duran (.304/0 HR) is the only decent hitter... the rest are .257 and below... Fleetwood's pitching is so-so with a 4.17 ERA (20th)... James Beckworth (8-7 3.17) is his best hurler.