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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
2022 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap
Hawks Fly High In TU North, Top Z's By 2
Both of the top two teams in the Tycobbian North are on the rise. First place North Hills has a 2-game margin at mid-year over the Luxora Zorros, 4 games up on third-place Hartsdale and 6 in front of fourth-place Ozford. The best two clubs from last season have fallen apart and tumbled to the bottom of the division. Last year's pennant winner and Pro Cup runner-up, the White River Rascals, are in the basement and runner-up Blue Lake is in the seventh spot.
North Hills (40-29) was fourth last year, the Hawks have improved on the hill and at the plate this season... manager Masaichi Okawa has three All-Stars leading the way: Lenny Danforth (10-2 2.45), RF Al Bowden (.314 BA/12 HR) and CF Steve Valverde (.309 BA/8 HR)... Ivan Glick (11-5 3.37) and Nicholas Reed (8-5 3.43) gives the Hawks two more quality starters to go along with closer Ben Garland (2-3), who has chalked up 12 saves and a strong 2.10 ERA... 1B Lou Hooper (.324 BA/13 HR) and 3B Rod Haynes (.275 BA/13 HR) give Okawa some good power in the line-up.
Luxora (38-31) is a team on the rise... last season the Zorros wound up seventh... improved work on the mound has made Luxora better... better scoring, too... Cristo Viaconte has two fine starters and a top-notch closer... All-Star Tiago Torres (10-5 1.67) has rebounded from an 8-22 mark with a 2.82 ERA last year with a brilliant season... Mike Boyce (7-4 2.53) also has come back from a 14-21 record last year... bullpen ace Jay Brewer (4-2) has 12 saves and an impressive 1.89 ERA... Lousy hitting really cost the mound corps last season... North Hills is more productive this time around at the plate... they still don't hit for average (.247-24th), but do score fairly well and hit with power... the Hawks are tied for fifth with 78 dingers and are 15th in scoring... sparking the attack are LF Jon Stafford (.255 BA/18 HR), C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.287 BA/14 HR), rookie CF Johnny Clark (.289 BA/13 HR) and 1B Johnny Brenner (.321 BA/10 HR).
Zim Donner is still the man-in-charge of the Hartsdale Hellcats (36-33)... Donner only has average hitting (.253 BA-20th) and pitching (3.77 ERA- 16th), but his offense does manufacture runs (7th)... rookie 3B Mike Houston (.305 BA/13 HR), 1B Johnny Scott (.278 BA/13 HR), All-Star SS Kendry Moulton (.306 BA/8 HR) and rookie Alex Martz (.301 BA/5 HR) are his most productive sticks... three veteran starters give Donner some credible pitchers... Bobo Boisseau (7-6 3.21), Jim Starks (7-8 3.46) and Tony Lane (4-2 3.28) are all steady starters... 24-year-old rookie southpaw closer Chris Marvin (1-2) has been a standout with 8 saves and a microscopic 1.14 ERA.
Mack Spencer has the Oxford Red Caps (34-35) on the move in the TU North with much better pitching (3.60 ERA-12th) and hitting (.269 BA-4th)... up from sixth last year to fourth place this year... Rick Hunt (2-2) has been very sharp in the closing role with 14 saves and a super 1.91 ERA... the starting rotation is only average, but the bullpen is solid (3.26 ERA)... best Oxford bats belongs to rookie Pat Bartz (.305 BA/9 HR), RF Mario Marquis (.279 BA/5 HR), SS Tom Perry (.272 BA/9 HR), LF Ron Berry (.298 BA/11 HR) and Ricky Mullen (.296 BA/9 HR).
The Fairfax Frogs (32-37) are in fifth place with very poor hitting (.236 BA-30th) and mediocre pitching (3.98 ERA/18th)... playing manager Dane Wesner's squad is 8 games off the pace... 32-year-old ace Ken Hill (5-9 2.90) is still as good as anybody in the IPA in his 13th season... Hill just doesn't get any run support... Hill is 225-172 with a standout 2.88 ERA in his career... Joe Hampton 97-4 3.95) and Curt Lansdale (3-6 3.23) are capable starters as well... closer Floyd Burnett (5-3) is having a fine year with 9 saves and a 2.96 ERA... the Frogs only have two productive bats... LF Sean Lawson has been terrific with a .355 BA and 13 homers, while 3B Sandy Coburn has chipped in with a .312 mark and 2 home runs... manager Wesner (.231 BA/7 HR) is nowhere near the great hitter he once was... lifetime Wesner is a .316 batter with 427 roundtrippers... Wesner has never been the same after a shoulder injury in 2014... until then he was the premier hitter in the IPA.
Sixth in the standings and 9 games back are the Mahaska Haymakers (31-38) of Rudy Tanussa... the Haymakers can make hay at bat, but not on the hill... they are sixth in team batting with a .268 mark and 9th in runs scored, but downright lousy with a 4.61 team ERA (31st)... Joey Wallace (10-5 4.84) and Denny Kozlovski (7-4 4.50) have winning records but lofty ERAs... Johnny Picou is 5-6 with a 4.55 ERA... All-Star C Bucky O'Brian (.340/11 HR), rookie 1B Paul Davies (.307 BA/10 HR) and RF Ross Burke (.302 BA/5 HR) are Tanussa's top threats.
The next-to-last Blue Lake Blue Sox (27-42) thrived last year on pitching, but they have floundered this season and given up almost a run per game more... the Blue Sox trail first place North Hills by 13 games... 19-game winner Nick Walker is 4-8 with a 3.95 ERA and 17-game winner Phil Wilkinson is 3-7 with an atrocious 8.09 ERA... Cobb Tyson's crew still has lots of trouble getting on the scoreboard, ranking 20th in scoring runs... 1B Randy Milne (.362 BA/3 HR) tops the team offensively with help from CF Gary Kerkorian (.311 BA/9 HR).
It's hard to believe the White River Rascals (26-43) have gone from the Pro Cup penthouse to the proverbial outhouse in such a short time... the Rascals are dead last and 14 games back... the mound corps has gone to pot with a 4.51 team ERA (27th)... only Ron Hendrix (8-9 2.82) and closer Arnie Montel (0-2) are strong and reliable... White River is last in the TU in runs... star 1B Marty Blake (.304 BA/14 HR) is the only threat in the lineup.
Tycobbian West Outlook: North Hills is the favorite at the All-Star Game break... it has better balance than Luxora... Hartsdale and Oxford will battle for third with the nod going to the Hellcats... none of the also-rans will be in the running.
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