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Eugene Church · 11-01-2011, 06:55 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2027

2027 Tycobbian South Final Recap

Sun Sox Sink Suns In TU South Playoff
Top to bottom and from beginning to end, it was a stirring pennant race in the Tycobbian South... the Southport Sun Sox won in a thrilling extra-inning finale, nipping the Arroyo Grande Suns 5-4 in a single-game playoff... Colchester faded to third place, 2 and a half games back... San Alejo was only 4 and a half games out in fourth place, tied with defending division crownbearer Ginza... Cape Coral ended up sixth and 5 and half games off the pace... with Turon seventh and 6 and a half out... Summerland was last, but just 7 and a half games behind.

The Southport Sun Sox (81-74) came back in the second half after trailing by 3 games at mid-season... manager Charley Oscar had been fourth the past two years... This was the Sun Sox's first pennant in its history... they have had only one postseason appearance and that was 26 years ago... two fine starters Al Laclair (22-11 2.24) and Don Pascioni (15-16 3.03) kept them in the race, along with an exceptional bullpen with closer Joel Shepard (10-5) with 27 saves and a strong 1.44 ERA in 54 appearances and middle reliever Eddie Baron, who was 3-0 with an impressive 1.75 ERA in 54 games... RF Lorne Evans and CF Rick Cabrini carried the club... Evans led the IPA with 42 homers... he drove in 105 and scored 101 times, while batting .296... Cabrini hit .320 with 9 home runs, 57 runs batted in and scored 89.

Manager Cyclone Cobb always has his Arroyo Grande Suns (80-75) in the pennant hunt... for the last 10 years they have been a first-division team and in the thick of things, winning 4 pennants... it was an especially tough loss this year as the Suns blew a 4-0 lead late in the single game playoff that they lost 5-4 in 10 innings... it was the Suns vaunted offense that failed them this year...they batted only .233 (26th), down substantially from .263 the year before... the Suns still hit with power (159 HR-3rd), but didn't score well... Arroyo Grande depended on its terrific bullpen (2.45 ERA-4th) this season... standouts were closer John Nelson (7-8) with 30 saves and a 1.52 ERA and mid-relievers Royce Coleman (2-1 2.94) and Jason Patrick (0-1 1.71)... Cobb's best starters were Chico Huerta (18-12 3.97), Paco Morales (16-15 3.61), Cesar De Leon (15-13 4.03) and Ernie Matthews (12-17 3.00)... absolutely no one hit for average this season... 1B Rusty Vizcarra (.232/33/95), All-Star C Gary Troxell (.227/30/81), CF Johnny Eichhorn (.245/24/65), RF Rod Jacobs (.231/25/66), LF Eduardo Villanueva (.267/13/45) and 2B Andy Pearson (.255/12/66) all has dismal years all at the same time.

After being in a three-way tie for first at the All-Star break, the Colchester Elites (78-76) collapsed in the last month of the season and wound up in third place... Uncle Robbie Wilbertson almost won the pennant last year, too, but fell short by a game... his Elites suffered in the batter's box, hitting only .232 (28th), but had some good pitching with a 3.37 team ERA (12th)... Cholly Burdette (19-10 2.75), Brandy Snow (13-13 2.98) and Mike Kierkegaard (14-15 3.33) gave them some very capable starters... LF Jim Lewellen was the most productive bat with 36 homers and 89 RBIs, but he hit only .245... CF Cleve Belton cracked 28 roundtrippers, drove in 82 runs, while batting only .255... last year's TU MVP Steve Burns had a sub-par season with a .271 BA, 14 homers and just 71 RBIs... Burns hit .350 in 2026 with 28 homers, 98 RBIs and scored 120 runs.

After taking the TU South pennant two seasons in a row, Huroko Uchiyama's Ginza Ninjas (76-78) dipped to a tie for fourth with San Alejo... Ginza dug themselves too deep of a hole in the first half of the year... they trailed by 8 games and couldn't come back, even with the division's best record in the second half... the Ninjas starters let them down... Harlan Wilson won the most games with an 18-11 mark, but posted a 3.96 ERA... Yutaka Yoshida was 12-16 with a sky-high 4.30 ERA... ace Daniel Ferguson, a 20-game winner in 3 of his 4 seasons, fell to 12-21, but did have a good 3.34 ERA... rookie Hollis Pace was Uchiyama's best with a 10-6 record and a 3.11 ERA... Pace was moved to starter in July after doing so well in the bullpen... Ginza's big guns did their jobs at the plate... All-Star 1B Johnny O'Rorke (.289/31/106/89) and rookie sensation and All-Star CF Cotton Cornwall (.306/30/101/96) sparked the attack with help from RF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.313/14/72/72) and star C Crash Davis (.267/12/53/70).

Perennial also-ran, the San Alejo Montaneros (76-78), are accustomed to be near the bottom of the TU South, but this year they made the first division, winding up in a tie for fourth and only 4 and a half games from first place... only twice in 20 years has San Alejo been this high in the standings... good hitting got manager Alberto Herrera's team there with a .261 BA (4th) and 138 homers (10th), ranking 6th in runs... 35-year old journeyman 1B Ramon Escabedo blossomed with 19 homers and 87 RBIs to top the team... Escabedo batted .267... 3B Bubby Blackwell (.302/10/57/68) and SS Leon Clendennon (.289/12/59/79) also chipped in with some offense... 7 regulars had double-digit power... John Kaltenbach paced the pitchers with a 16-8 record and a 3.35 ERA.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes (75-79) were tied for the TU South lead at mid-year, but slumped in the second half and came out sixth, but just 5 and a half games off the pace... it was marked improvement over finishing last the previous two seasons... new manager Flipper Bird got better pitching this year... All-Star Mike Rinaldi (21-11 3.36) and Randy Burns (17-17 3.43) were the prime pitchers, while RF Bill James (.284/13/65/60), 2B Neil Hennon (.286/1/61/70) and 3B Sandy Coburn (.258/3/45/90) were the best batters in a weak-hitting lineup.

The Turon Typhoons (74-80) languished in seventh place for the second straight season... manager Whitey Richburn had one strong hitter and average pitching... 1B Michael Page had his best season with 38 homers and 102 RBIs, while batting a solid .304, but he had little help... RF Ryan O'Bryan was the best of the rest with 10 home runs, 87 runs and 58 runs batted in...
IPA legend Nicky Engstrom had a fine year at age 38 with a 13-13 record and an excellent 2.94 ERA... this season Engstrom became the all-time IPA leader with 371 wins, 2 better than Hall-of-Famer Cody Burg of the Cape Coral Hurricanes... other quality pitchers were Sal Quattrone (17-13 3.14) and James Newland (15-13 3.41).

Despite having excellent pitching, the Summerland Sunsets (73-81) were in the TU South basement, but just 7 and a half games away from first in the tightly-bunched division... skipper Will Hackett has some good arms with a 3.06 team ERA (3rd)... his starters were quite good with All-Star Scotty Ellison chalking up a sensational 2.38 ERA and an 18-15 record... Jorn Heese was only 11-12, but compiled a fine 2.58 ERA... fine rookie Ron McDonald (14-13 3.31) and Willie Baldwin (15-17 3.31) were solid, too... the Sunsets left a lot to be desired at the plate with only two quality bats in the lineup: vets SS Gregg Proctor (.267/20/87/63) and CF Joe DeLucca (.250/12/55/80).

11-01-2011, 06:55 PM	#2805
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,008	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, September 21, 2027 2027 Tycobbian South Final Recap Sun Sox Sink Suns In TU South Playoff Top to bottom and from beginning to end, it was a stirring pennant race in the Tycobbian South... the Southport Sun Sox won in a thrilling extra-inning finale, nipping the Arroyo Grande Suns 5-4 in a single-game playoff... Colchester faded to third place, 2 and a half games back... San Alejo was only 4 and a half games out in fourth place, tied with defending division crownbearer Ginza... Cape Coral ended up sixth and 5 and half games off the pace... with Turon seventh and 6 and a half out... Summerland was last, but just 7 and a half games behind. The Southport Sun Sox (81-74) came back in the second half after trailing by 3 games at mid-season... manager Charley Oscar had been fourth the past two years... This was the Sun Sox's first pennant in its history... they have had only one postseason appearance and that was 26 years ago... two fine starters Al Laclair (22-11 2.24) and Don Pascioni (15-16 3.03) kept them in the race, along with an exceptional bullpen with closer Joel Shepard (10-5) with 27 saves and a strong 1.44 ERA in 54 appearances and middle reliever Eddie Baron, who was 3-0 with an impressive 1.75 ERA in 54 games... RF Lorne Evans and CF Rick Cabrini carried the club... Evans led the IPA with 42 homers... he drove in 105 and scored 101 times, while batting .296... Cabrini hit .320 with 9 home runs, 57 runs batted in and scored 89. Manager Cyclone Cobb always has his Arroyo Grande Suns (80-75) in the pennant hunt... for the last 10 years they have been a first-division team and in the thick of things, winning 4 pennants... it was an especially tough loss this year as the Suns blew a 4-0 lead late in the single game playoff that they lost 5-4 in 10 innings... it was the Suns vaunted offense that failed them this year...they batted only .233 (26th), down substantially from .263 the year before... the Suns still hit with power (159 HR-3rd), but didn't score well... Arroyo Grande depended on its terrific bullpen (2.45 ERA-4th) this season... standouts were closer John Nelson (7-8) with 30 saves and a 1.52 ERA and mid-relievers Royce Coleman (2-1 2.94) and Jason Patrick (0-1 1.71)... Cobb's best starters were Chico Huerta (18-12 3.97), Paco Morales (16-15 3.61), Cesar De Leon (15-13 4.03) and Ernie Matthews (12-17 3.00)... absolutely no one hit for average this season... 1B Rusty Vizcarra (.232/33/95), All-Star C Gary Troxell (.227/30/81), CF Johnny Eichhorn (.245/24/65), RF Rod Jacobs (.231/25/66), LF Eduardo Villanueva (.267/13/45) and 2B Andy Pearson (.255/12/66) all has dismal years all at the same time. After being in a three-way tie for first at the All-Star break, the Colchester Elites (78-76) collapsed in the last month of the season and wound up in third place... Uncle Robbie Wilbertson almost won the pennant last year, too, but fell short by a game... his Elites suffered in the batter's box, hitting only .232 (28th), but had some good pitching with a 3.37 team ERA (12th)... Cholly Burdette (19-10 2.75), Brandy Snow (13-13 2.98) and Mike Kierkegaard (14-15 3.33) gave them some very capable starters... LF Jim Lewellen was the most productive bat with 36 homers and 89 RBIs, but he hit only .245... CF Cleve Belton cracked 28 roundtrippers, drove in 82 runs, while batting only .255... last year's TU MVP Steve Burns had a sub-par season with a .271 BA, 14 homers and just 71 RBIs... Burns hit .350 in 2026 with 28 homers, 98 RBIs and scored 120 runs. After taking the TU South pennant two seasons in a row, Huroko Uchiyama's Ginza Ninjas (76-78) dipped to a tie for fourth with San Alejo... Ginza dug themselves too deep of a hole in the first half of the year... they trailed by 8 games and couldn't come back, even with the division's best record in the second half... the Ninjas starters let them down... Harlan Wilson won the most games with an 18-11 mark, but posted a 3.96 ERA... Yutaka Yoshida was 12-16 with a sky-high 4.30 ERA... ace Daniel Ferguson, a 20-game winner in 3 of his 4 seasons, fell to 12-21, but did have a good 3.34 ERA... rookie Hollis Pace was Uchiyama's best with a 10-6 record and a 3.11 ERA... Pace was moved to starter in July after doing so well in the bullpen... Ginza's big guns did their jobs at the plate... All-Star 1B Johnny O'Rorke (.289/31/106/89) and rookie sensation and All-Star CF Cotton Cornwall (.306/30/101/96) sparked the attack with help from RF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.313/14/72/72) and star C Crash Davis (.267/12/53/70). Perennial also-ran, the San Alejo Montaneros (76-78), are accustomed to be near the bottom of the TU South, but this year they made the first division, winding up in a tie for fourth and only 4 and a half games from first place... only twice in 20 years has San Alejo been this high in the standings... good hitting got manager Alberto Herrera's team there with a .261 BA (4th) and 138 homers (10th), ranking 6th in runs... 35-year old journeyman 1B Ramon Escabedo blossomed with 19 homers and 87 RBIs to top the team... Escabedo batted .267... 3B Bubby Blackwell (.302/10/57/68) and SS Leon Clendennon (.289/12/59/79) also chipped in with some offense... 7 regulars had double-digit power... John Kaltenbach paced the pitchers with a 16-8 record and a 3.35 ERA. The Cape Coral Hurricanes (75-79) were tied for the TU South lead at mid-year, but slumped in the second half and came out sixth, but just 5 and a half games off the pace... it was marked improvement over finishing last the previous two seasons... new manager Flipper Bird got better pitching this year... All-Star Mike Rinaldi (21-11 3.36) and Randy Burns (17-17 3.43) were the prime pitchers, while RF Bill James (.284/13/65/60), 2B Neil Hennon (.286/1/61/70) and 3B Sandy Coburn (.258/3/45/90) were the best batters in a weak-hitting lineup. The Turon Typhoons (74-80) languished in seventh place for the second straight season... manager Whitey Richburn had one strong hitter and average pitching... 1B Michael Page had his best season with 38 homers and 102 RBIs, while batting a solid .304, but he had little help... RF Ryan O'Bryan was the best of the rest with 10 home runs, 87 runs and 58 runs batted in... IPA legend Nicky Engstrom had a fine year at age 38 with a 13-13 record and an excellent 2.94 ERA... this season Engstrom became the all-time IPA leader with 371 wins, 2 better than Hall-of-Famer Cody Burg of the Cape Coral Hurricanes... other quality pitchers were Sal Quattrone (17-13 3.14) and James Newland (15-13 3.41). Despite having excellent pitching, the Summerland Sunsets (73-81) were in the TU South basement, but just 7 and a half games away from first in the tightly-bunched division... skipper Will Hackett has some good arms with a 3.06 team ERA (3rd)... his starters were quite good with All-Star Scotty Ellison chalking up a sensational 2.38 ERA and an 18-15 record... Jorn Heese was only 11-12, but compiled a fine 2.58 ERA... fine rookie Ron McDonald (14-13 3.31) and Willie Baldwin (15-17 3.31) were solid, too... the Sunsets left a lot to be desired at the plate with only two quality bats in the lineup: vets SS Gregg Proctor (.267/20/87/63) and CF Joe DeLucca (.250/12/55/80).