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Eugene Church · 06-07-2011, 09:24 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 18, 2024

2024 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap

Oxford Surprises, 5 Up In TU North
The Oxford Red Caps are certainly the Cinderella club of the IPA this season with a big turn-around year. The Red Caps haven't been in the Tycobbian North first division in 9 years and haven't won a pennant for 17 seasons. Oxford has leaped from a distant sixth to the top spot with a 5-game lead over runners-up White River Rascals and Hartsdale Hellcats. The Red Caps are 9 games in front of fourth place Luxora and Mahaska. White River is the defending TU North champion and IPA Pro Cup finalist. Last year they came in second to Pro Cup winner Crystal Lake.

Manager Mack Spencer has his Oxford Red Caps (45-28) playing as good as anybody in the TU... greatly-improved pitching is the main reason... Last year the team ERA was a dismal 4.53... this year it is 3.42 (11th)... Oxford is also scoring runs and is tied for 7th in runs... rookie sensation Carmine Scalise (11-4 2.72) is having a super season... helping out is another solid starter Tony Mack (8-8 2.72)... Last year's Rookie of the Year LF Dennis Hartwig is having another terrific season with a .358 BA, 15 homers, 60 RBIs and 58 runs... the rest of Spencer's batting order is not flashy, but reliable... the Red Caps are batting at a .261 clip (4th)... only time will tell if Oxford is the real deal this year or just a flash-in-the-pan.

The White River Rascals (40-33), piloted by Mick Cronyn, are not hitting like last year, dropping by almost 20 points, but they are still looking good on the mound... Cronyn has three slick starters in Ron Hendrix (11-3 2.77), Paul Sardini (8-5 2.19) and Don French (10-5 3.23)... Injured ace Jon French could return the last month of the season... French was 16-6 with a standout 1.99 ERA last year as a rookie... with a healthy French White River is a serious threat for the Pro Cup... sparking the Rascals in the batter's box are 1B Marty Blake (.268 BA/20 HR/45 RBI) and CF Hal Littleton (.339 BA/2 HR/16 RBI/33 R)... all the rest of the key hitters are having sub-par seasons... if they should get it in gear, the Rascals will be right at the top of the heap again.

White River and the Hartsdale Hellcats (40-33) are 5 games back of Oxford in a second-place tie... skipper Zim Donner always has his Hellcats close to the top, at least for the last few years... Hartsdale had been the division runner-up four times in the last six seasons and third twice... but it been quite a while since they made the playoffs... the last TU North pennant won by the Hellcats was in 2014... Donner has a solid ball club with better-than-average hitting and pitching... .258 BA (8th) with 333 runs (13th-tied) and 69 homers (7th)... and a 3.36 team ERA (10th)... Jim Starks (9-5 2.71) and Bobo Boisseau (8-7 2.61) are two excellent starters... closer Tommy Klein (0-0) has notched 13 saves with a very fine 1.52 ERA... leading the Hellcat hit parade are C Derek Yurek (.329 BA/16 HR/46 RB/46 R), 1B Johnny Scott (.269 BA/17 HR/44 RBI/51 R) and SS Jed Turchin (.286 BA/7 HR/34 RBI/40 R).

The Luxora Zorros (36-37) and Mahaska Haymakers are 9 games off the pace in fourth place... The Zorros are revitalized after a terrible season last year with 105 losses... Cristo Viaconte's pitchers have led the renaissance with a 3.33 team ERA, led by Mike Boyce (8-5 3.03) and Zacarias Domasio (7-7 2.93)... ace Tiago Torres is still a quality pitcher at age 37, but can't catch a break... Torres is 3-10 with a 3.20 ERA... the Z's were terrible last year offensively and are not much better this year with a poor .237 BA (27th)... vets 1B Wayne Harris (.273 BA/16 HR/52 RBI) and C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.273 BA/6 HR/28 RBI/47 R) are the most able hitters.

Rusty Tanussa has a so-so team in Mahaska (36-37)... RF Travis Tuttle (.309 BA/14 HR/52 RBI/49 R), C Bucky O'Brian (.345 BA/8 HR/32 RBI/39 R) and 1B Paul Davies (.299 BA/7 HR/7 HR/40 RBI/38 R) provide most of the Haymakers scoring, while on the mound it's starter Aino Vainmaa (8-10 3.07) and closer Andy Slavyansky (4-1 1.80) with 12 saves leading the staff.

Sixth in the TU North are the Fairfax Frogs (33-40), who trail by 12 games... manager Dane Wesner has little in the way of bats except for RF Johnny Eichhorn (.335 BA/14 HR/43 RBI/42 R) and LF Sean Lawson (.300 BA/10 HR/36 RBI/35 R)... on the hill his standouts are Kevin Meeks (9-6 2.35) and Walt Smith (9-9 3.18).

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (32-41) are in the seventh spot in the standings, 13 games behind in the race... not much offense with a .245 BA (22nd) and just average on the hill with a 3.55 team ERA (16th)... starter Jim Vayda (9-2 2.97) is having an excellent season... closer Chris Landry (4-2) has been a tough competitor with a super 1.07 ERA... Landry has just moved up from middle relief... Cobb Tyson only has one decent bat in the line-up... LF Gil Willis tops the team with 11 homers and 38 RBIs, while batting at a .274 pace.

Masaichi Okawa has seen everything go sour for the last place North Hills Hawks (25-48)... his club is already 20 games back and near the bottom with a poor .235 BA (29th) and a high 4.24 team ERA (28th)... RF Al Bowden (.294 BA/5 HR/34 RBI/40 R) and 1B Lou Hooper (.318 BA/1 HR/19 RBI/34 R) are only adequate at the plate and vets Lenny Danforth (10-7 3.14) and closer Ben Garland (1-3 3.10) with 14 saves are North Hills only quality arms.

Tycobbian North Outlook:
The defending TU North titlist White River will eventually win out because of it fine starters and good bats... White River should be a fairly high seed in the Pro Cup playoffs... Hartsdale will be the Rascals biggest challenger, but can't match the Rascals on the mound... the Oxford Red Caps won't be able to sustain their play for the entire season and fade a bit to third place... the Luxora Zorros will wind up fourth... the Z's superior starters will enable them to finish in the first division... Mahaska will be fifth, followed by Fairfax, Blue Lake and North Hills.

06-07-2011, 09:24 PM	#2563
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,906	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, June 18, 2024 2024 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap Oxford Surprises, 5 Up In TU North The Oxford Red Caps are certainly the Cinderella club of the IPA this season with a big turn-around year. The Red Caps haven't been in the Tycobbian North first division in 9 years and haven't won a pennant for 17 seasons. Oxford has leaped from a distant sixth to the top spot with a 5-game lead over runners-up White River Rascals and Hartsdale Hellcats. The Red Caps are 9 games in front of fourth place Luxora and Mahaska. White River is the defending TU North champion and IPA Pro Cup finalist. Last year they came in second to Pro Cup winner Crystal Lake. Manager Mack Spencer has his Oxford Red Caps (45-28) playing as good as anybody in the TU... greatly-improved pitching is the main reason... Last year the team ERA was a dismal 4.53... this year it is 3.42 (11th)... Oxford is also scoring runs and is tied for 7th in runs... rookie sensation Carmine Scalise (11-4 2.72) is having a super season... helping out is another solid starter Tony Mack (8-8 2.72)... Last year's Rookie of the Year LF Dennis Hartwig is having another terrific season with a .358 BA, 15 homers, 60 RBIs and 58 runs... the rest of Spencer's batting order is not flashy, but reliable... the Red Caps are batting at a .261 clip (4th)... only time will tell if Oxford is the real deal this year or just a flash-in-the-pan. The White River Rascals (40-33), piloted by Mick Cronyn, are not hitting like last year, dropping by almost 20 points, but they are still looking good on the mound... Cronyn has three slick starters in Ron Hendrix (11-3 2.77), Paul Sardini (8-5 2.19) and Don French (10-5 3.23)... Injured ace Jon French could return the last month of the season... French was 16-6 with a standout 1.99 ERA last year as a rookie... with a healthy French White River is a serious threat for the Pro Cup... sparking the Rascals in the batter's box are 1B Marty Blake (.268 BA/20 HR/45 RBI) and CF Hal Littleton (.339 BA/2 HR/16 RBI/33 R)... all the rest of the key hitters are having sub-par seasons... if they should get it in gear, the Rascals will be right at the top of the heap again. White River and the Hartsdale Hellcats (40-33) are 5 games back of Oxford in a second-place tie... skipper Zim Donner always has his Hellcats close to the top, at least for the last few years... Hartsdale had been the division runner-up four times in the last six seasons and third twice... but it been quite a while since they made the playoffs... the last TU North pennant won by the Hellcats was in 2014... Donner has a solid ball club with better-than-average hitting and pitching... .258 BA (8th) with 333 runs (13th-tied) and 69 homers (7th)... and a 3.36 team ERA (10th)... Jim Starks (9-5 2.71) and Bobo Boisseau (8-7 2.61) are two excellent starters... closer Tommy Klein (0-0) has notched 13 saves with a very fine 1.52 ERA... leading the Hellcat hit parade are C Derek Yurek (.329 BA/16 HR/46 RB/46 R), 1B Johnny Scott (.269 BA/17 HR/44 RBI/51 R) and SS Jed Turchin (.286 BA/7 HR/34 RBI/40 R). The Luxora Zorros (36-37) and Mahaska Haymakers are 9 games off the pace in fourth place... The Zorros are revitalized after a terrible season last year with 105 losses... Cristo Viaconte's pitchers have led the renaissance with a 3.33 team ERA, led by Mike Boyce (8-5 3.03) and Zacarias Domasio (7-7 2.93)... ace Tiago Torres is still a quality pitcher at age 37, but can't catch a break... Torres is 3-10 with a 3.20 ERA... the Z's were terrible last year offensively and are not much better this year with a poor .237 BA (27th)... vets 1B Wayne Harris (.273 BA/16 HR/52 RBI) and C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.273 BA/6 HR/28 RBI/47 R) are the most able hitters. Rusty Tanussa has a so-so team in Mahaska (36-37)... RF Travis Tuttle (.309 BA/14 HR/52 RBI/49 R), C Bucky O'Brian (.345 BA/8 HR/32 RBI/39 R) and 1B Paul Davies (.299 BA/7 HR/7 HR/40 RBI/38 R) provide most of the Haymakers scoring, while on the mound it's starter Aino Vainmaa (8-10 3.07) and closer Andy Slavyansky (4-1 1.80) with 12 saves leading the staff. Sixth in the TU North are the Fairfax Frogs (33-40), who trail by 12 games... manager Dane Wesner has little in the way of bats except for RF Johnny Eichhorn (.335 BA/14 HR/43 RBI/42 R) and LF Sean Lawson (.300 BA/10 HR/36 RBI/35 R)... on the hill his standouts are Kevin Meeks (9-6 2.35) and Walt Smith (9-9 3.18). The Blue Lake Blue Sox (32-41) are in the seventh spot in the standings, 13 games behind in the race... not much offense with a .245 BA (22nd) and just average on the hill with a 3.55 team ERA (16th)... starter Jim Vayda (9-2 2.97) is having an excellent season... closer Chris Landry (4-2) has been a tough competitor with a super 1.07 ERA... Landry has just moved up from middle relief... Cobb Tyson only has one decent bat in the line-up... LF Gil Willis tops the team with 11 homers and 38 RBIs, while batting at a .274 pace. Masaichi Okawa has seen everything go sour for the last place North Hills Hawks (25-48)... his club is already 20 games back and near the bottom with a poor .235 BA (29th) and a high 4.24 team ERA (28th)... RF Al Bowden (.294 BA/5 HR/34 RBI/40 R) and 1B Lou Hooper (.318 BA/1 HR/19 RBI/34 R) are only adequate at the plate and vets Lenny Danforth (10-7 3.14) and closer Ben Garland (1-3 3.10) with 14 saves are North Hills only quality arms. Tycobbian North Outlook: The defending TU North titlist White River will eventually win out because of it fine starters and good bats... White River should be a fairly high seed in the Pro Cup playoffs... Hartsdale will be the Rascals biggest challenger, but can't match the Rascals on the mound... the Oxford Red Caps won't be able to sustain their play for the entire season and fade a bit to third place... the Luxora Zorros will wind up fourth... the Z's superior starters will enable them to finish in the first division... Mahaska will be fifth, followed by Fairfax, Blue Lake and North Hills.