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Eugene Church · 05-17-2011, 12:22 PM

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 18, 2023

2023 Tycobbian East Final Recap

Tucks Take High Mesa By 1 Game In TU East
In the most exciting race in the IPA this year, it was Tuckanarra going down to the last game of the season to take the Tycobbian East by one game over the High Mesa Cowboys. Third place went to the first-half leader Hillsboro, followed by the fourth place Midway Wolves. The Wolves won last year, but were far off the pace this season, losing out by 12 games.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (96-58) rose up from fifth place in 2022 to take the flag this year... skipper Lefty Stevens had solid hitting with good power and excellent pitching... the Blue Jays batted .263 (8th) with 143 homers (10th) and compiled a standout 3.12 team ERA (2nd)... pacing the pitching staff were Glynn Starr (25-10 3.00), Quinn Starr (19-17 2.35) and Dean Peterson (20-11 2.92), three strong starters, who should take the Blue Jays deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... Stevens is blessed with a superb closer, too... Archie Desmond was 8-0 with 33 saves and a remarkable 0.88 ERA, perhaps the best year a reliever ever had in the IPA... at the plate the Tucks were sparked by 1B Lynn Starr (.330 BA/36 HR/112 RBI/114 R), RF Danny Redd (.339 BA/15 HR/79 RBI/107 R) and rookie 3B Koora Nawajuk (.283 BA/18 HR/68 RBI/92 R).

High Mesa (95-59) came oh so close to winning the pennant... the high-scoring Cowboys got fine pitching and almost pulled out a pennant for the first time since 2002, when they won the Pro Cup... spectacular 1B Jack Elliott (.360 BA/43 HR/111 RBI/134 R) as usual led the attack, but again he had tremendous help from RF Bill Andrews (.288 BA/49 HR/120 RBI/113 R), who led the IPA in roundtrippers with 49... SS Stephen Andrews (.284 BA/13 HR/84 RBI) and 2B Kenny Rivers (.297 BA/14 HR/61 RBI/91 R) also chipped in well with the bats... CF Joe Hamilton went deep 34 times, but batted only .238... however, it was the mound corps that made the difference... pitching in the small confines of Queen Ranch Stadium, rookie southpaw Daniel Ferguson had a brilliant year with a 20-13 mark and a 2.46 ERA... Cowpoke ace Ronald Ward also did his part with a 19-13 record and a strong 3.05 ERA... and closer Pete Woods saved 30 games with a 6-8 record and a fine 2.22 ERA in 61 games... 37-year-old journeyman John Rainer (15-6 4.09) gave manager Frisky Franks some good starts, too.

After tying Tuckanarra for the lead at the All-Star hiatus, third place Hillsboro (89-65) couldn't keep up with the two leaders in the second half... still it was a good year for manager Rawhide Marshall and his Blazers... home-run power and solid pitching led the way... Hillsboro hammered 173 out of the park (3rd) and posted an outstanding 3.14 team ERA (3rd)... in his best season ever, 37-year-old veteran Tom Edgar (24-8 2.47) won 20 games for the first time in his 13-year career... two youngsters, rookie Ben Garvik (17-16 3.07) and Jason Castille (17-9 3.66) also came through for Marshall on the mound... closer Hank Hellman (2-8) saved 32 games and put up an excellent 1.79 ERA... and 1B Larry Guichard (.336 BA/26 HR/109 RBI/96 R), rookie CF Biggy Washington (.268 BA/25 HR/59 RBI/100 R/54 SB), LF Paul Green (.287 BA/29 HR/84 RBI/91 R) and rookie RF Tommy O'Hara (.268 BA/27 HR/84 RBI/82 R) provided lots of runs for the Blazers... Guichard topped the IPA with 57 doubles and Washington led the TU with 54 steals.

The defending TU East champion Midway Wolves (84-70) fell off on the mound and dipped to fourth place, 12 games out of first... last year's 25-game winner Dakota Dyami was only 8-16 this season with an atrocious 6.07 ERA... the other starting threesome more than held their own... Bobby Dorignac was 20-10 with a great 2.22 ERA, Motega Wolf was 22-12 with a 3.43 ERA and Joe Wolf Warner had his best year ever with an 18-7 mark and 3.23 ERA... keys injuries also hurt the Midway cause... the loss of RF Chitto Chandler (.319 BA/16 HR/55 RBI/62 R) in July and August really put a damper on the Midway offense and defense... trying to take up the slack were 2B Frank Reinhard (.271 BA/24 HR/91 RBI), rookie 3B Rusty Graves (.290 BA/17 HR/80 RBI) and Vet SS Rob Gigler (.294 BA/27 HR/74 RBI)... valuable lead-off man and RF Kyle Rigney (.274 BA/11 HR/49 RBI/61 R) also missed six weeks of the season.

The South Fork Stallions (74-80) improved a little bit this year from seventh to fifth place, but the Stallions of Lips Leon were 24 games behind leading Tuckanarra... Glenn Stroud (13-7 3.68) topped the starters... veteran closer Solly King had a good year with an 8-3 record, 27 saves and a fine 2.73 ERA... at the plate South Fork was led by two solid vets: LF Patric Giles (.309 BA/29 HR/96 RBI/97 R) and CF Robby Michael (.311 BA/14 HR/55 RBI/91 R).

It was not a good year for perennial powerhouse Ozarka (72-82), who finished far back in the standings, sixth place and 24 games out... the Nats were fourth last season...prior to that they had won 7 division flags in a row... this year the Naturals stayed in the race for awhile... Joe Mac Carney's crew was only 4 games out of first at mid-season, but faded badly in July and August... the drop was caused by mediocre offense and a decline on the hill... the team ERA went from 3.03 in 2022 to 3.56 this season... at 27 Benny Osterman is still the ace with a 21-12 mark and 2.71 ERA... Eddie Roberts crossed the 200-win milestone this season with a 16-6 record and 3.58 ERA... 39-year-old Yuka Nawajuk stumbled badly with a 3-4 record and a sorry 5.27 ERA... Nawajuk spent most of the season in middle relief... Howard Hutch was only 13-13 with a 3.66 ERA... the Ozarka line-up still sports a lot of .300 hitters, but they have lost power and punch... they just don't score a lot of runs anymore like in the glory days... the Naturals batted .273 (2nd), but produced only 691 runs (19th)... SS James Couch was the best producer with a .322 BA, 17 homers and 96 RBIs... long-time star 3B Andre Dumas hit .292, but collected only 13 homers and 80 RBIs... RF Ken Mayberry batted .333, but scored only 78 runs and drove in 50... catcher T. C. Baranski hit for a .308 average with 9 homers and 64 RBIs.

Seventh place belonged to the Red Bluff Red Sox (69-85), who spiraled downward after two seasons in second place... the Red Sox were 27 games behind... terrible pitching was the villain... Bucky Frizzell's staff was the worst in the IPA with a sky-high 4.92 team ERA... his best starter Kris Kazlauskas was 17-16, but with a 4.63 ERA... Red Bluff still has some good sticks... 3B James Mack batted .317 with 32 homers, 105 RBIs and scored 100 runs... LF Corbett Brooks put up some hefty stats, too... Brooks hit .297 with 35 roundtrippers, 112 runs batted in and scored 104 times.

It was another lousy year in East Point (57-97) for Robbie Brooks and his pathetic Panthers... they were dead last again in the TU East, 39 games behind... East Point has ended up in the division basement 7 times in the last 8 years and 11 times in the last 14 seasons... long-suffering Bingo Long (12-13 3.55) is his only quality pitcher... veteran 1B Bill McCann (.257 BA/29 HR/98 RBI) is the only decent hitter in the batting order... Brooks has very little talent on his roster.

05-17-2011, 12:22 PM	#2517
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	*The Islandian Times* Monday, September 18, 2023 2023 Tycobbian East Final Recap Tucks Take High Mesa By 1 Game In TU East In the most exciting race in the IPA this year, it was Tuckanarra going down to the last game of the season to take the Tycobbian East by one game over the High Mesa Cowboys. Third place went to the first-half leader Hillsboro, followed by the fourth place Midway Wolves. The Wolves won last year, but were far off the pace this season, losing out by 12 games. The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (96-58) rose up from fifth place in 2022 to take the flag this year... skipper Lefty Stevens had solid hitting with good power and excellent pitching... the Blue Jays batted .263 (8th) with 143 homers (10th) and compiled a standout 3.12 team ERA (2nd)... pacing the pitching staff were Glynn Starr (25-10 3.00), Quinn Starr (19-17 2.35) and Dean Peterson (20-11 2.92), three strong starters, who should take the Blue Jays deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... Stevens is blessed with a superb closer, too... Archie Desmond was 8-0 with 33 saves and a remarkable 0.88 ERA, perhaps the best year a reliever ever had in the IPA... at the plate the Tucks were sparked by 1B Lynn Starr (.330 BA/36 HR/112 RBI/114 R), RF Danny Redd (.339 BA/15 HR/79 RBI/107 R) and rookie 3B Koora Nawajuk (.283 BA/18 HR/68 RBI/92 R). High Mesa (95-59) came oh so close to winning the pennant... the high-scoring Cowboys got fine pitching and almost pulled out a pennant for the first time since 2002, when they won the Pro Cup... spectacular 1B Jack Elliott (.360 BA/43 HR/111 RBI/134 R) as usual led the attack, but again he had tremendous help from RF Bill Andrews (.288 BA/49 HR/120 RBI/113 R), who led the IPA in roundtrippers with 49... SS Stephen Andrews (.284 BA/13 HR/84 RBI) and 2B Kenny Rivers (.297 BA/14 HR/61 RBI/91 R) also chipped in well with the bats... CF Joe Hamilton went deep 34 times, but batted only .238... however, it was the mound corps that made the difference... pitching in the small confines of Queen Ranch Stadium, rookie southpaw Daniel Ferguson had a brilliant year with a 20-13 mark and a 2.46 ERA... Cowpoke ace Ronald Ward also did his part with a 19-13 record and a strong 3.05 ERA... and closer Pete Woods saved 30 games with a 6-8 record and a fine 2.22 ERA in 61 games... 37-year-old journeyman John Rainer (15-6 4.09) gave manager Frisky Franks some good starts, too. After tying Tuckanarra for the lead at the All-Star hiatus, third place Hillsboro (89-65) couldn't keep up with the two leaders in the second half... still it was a good year for manager Rawhide Marshall and his Blazers... home-run power and solid pitching led the way... Hillsboro hammered 173 out of the park (3rd) and posted an outstanding 3.14 team ERA (3rd)... in his best season ever, 37-year-old veteran Tom Edgar (24-8 2.47) won 20 games for the first time in his 13-year career... two youngsters, rookie Ben Garvik (17-16 3.07) and Jason Castille (17-9 3.66) also came through for Marshall on the mound... closer Hank Hellman (2-8) saved 32 games and put up an excellent 1.79 ERA... and 1B Larry Guichard (.336 BA/26 HR/109 RBI/96 R), rookie CF Biggy Washington (.268 BA/25 HR/59 RBI/100 R/54 SB), LF Paul Green (.287 BA/29 HR/84 RBI/91 R) and rookie RF Tommy O'Hara (.268 BA/27 HR/84 RBI/82 R) provided lots of runs for the Blazers... Guichard topped the IPA with 57 doubles and Washington led the TU with 54 steals. The defending TU East champion Midway Wolves (84-70) fell off on the mound and dipped to fourth place, 12 games out of first... last year's 25-game winner Dakota Dyami was only 8-16 this season with an atrocious 6.07 ERA... the other starting threesome more than held their own... Bobby Dorignac was 20-10 with a great 2.22 ERA, Motega Wolf was 22-12 with a 3.43 ERA and Joe Wolf Warner had his best year ever with an 18-7 mark and 3.23 ERA... keys injuries also hurt the Midway cause... the loss of RF Chitto Chandler (.319 BA/16 HR/55 RBI/62 R) in July and August really put a damper on the Midway offense and defense... trying to take up the slack were 2B Frank Reinhard (.271 BA/24 HR/91 RBI), rookie 3B Rusty Graves (.290 BA/17 HR/80 RBI) and Vet SS Rob Gigler (.294 BA/27 HR/74 RBI)... valuable lead-off man and RF Kyle Rigney (.274 BA/11 HR/49 RBI/61 R) also missed six weeks of the season. The South Fork Stallions (74-80) improved a little bit this year from seventh to fifth place, but the Stallions of Lips Leon were 24 games behind leading Tuckanarra... Glenn Stroud (13-7 3.68) topped the starters... veteran closer Solly King had a good year with an 8-3 record, 27 saves and a fine 2.73 ERA... at the plate South Fork was led by two solid vets: LF Patric Giles (.309 BA/29 HR/96 RBI/97 R) and CF Robby Michael (.311 BA/14 HR/55 RBI/91 R). It was not a good year for perennial powerhouse Ozarka (72-82), who finished far back in the standings, sixth place and 24 games out... the Nats were fourth last season...prior to that they had won 7 division flags in a row... this year the Naturals stayed in the race for awhile... Joe Mac Carney's crew was only 4 games out of first at mid-season, but faded badly in July and August... the drop was caused by mediocre offense and a decline on the hill... the team ERA went from 3.03 in 2022 to 3.56 this season... at 27 Benny Osterman is still the ace with a 21-12 mark and 2.71 ERA... Eddie Roberts crossed the 200-win milestone this season with a 16-6 record and 3.58 ERA... 39-year-old Yuka Nawajuk stumbled badly with a 3-4 record and a sorry 5.27 ERA... Nawajuk spent most of the season in middle relief... Howard Hutch was only 13-13 with a 3.66 ERA... the Ozarka line-up still sports a lot of .300 hitters, but they have lost power and punch... they just don't score a lot of runs anymore like in the glory days... the Naturals batted .273 (2nd), but produced only 691 runs (19th)... SS James Couch was the best producer with a .322 BA, 17 homers and 96 RBIs... long-time star 3B Andre Dumas hit .292, but collected only 13 homers and 80 RBIs... RF Ken Mayberry batted .333, but scored only 78 runs and drove in 50... catcher T. C. Baranski hit for a .308 average with 9 homers and 64 RBIs. Seventh place belonged to the Red Bluff Red Sox (69-85), who spiraled downward after two seasons in second place... the Red Sox were 27 games behind... terrible pitching was the villain... Bucky Frizzell's staff was the worst in the IPA with a sky-high 4.92 team ERA... his best starter Kris Kazlauskas was 17-16, but with a 4.63 ERA... Red Bluff still has some good sticks... 3B James Mack batted .317 with 32 homers, 105 RBIs and scored 100 runs... LF Corbett Brooks put up some hefty stats, too... Brooks hit .297 with 35 roundtrippers, 112 runs batted in and scored 104 times. It was another lousy year in East Point (57-97) for Robbie Brooks and his pathetic Panthers... they were dead last again in the TU East, 39 games behind... East Point has ended up in the division basement 7 times in the last 8 years and 11 times in the last 14 seasons... long-suffering Bingo Long (12-13 3.55) is his only quality pitcher... veteran 1B Bill McCann (.257 BA/29 HR/98 RBI) is the only decent hitter in the batting order... Brooks has very little talent on his roster.