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Eugene Church · 04-20-2012, 08:58 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 22, 2031

2031 Tycobbian North Final Recap

Zorros Zip To TU North Title
The pennant race in the Tycobbian North was only close for half the season. The Luxora Zorros took charge after the All-Star game and won the division handily by a whopping 13 games over the Fairfax Frogs, 16 better than the defending Pro Cup champion Blue Lake Blue Sox and 20 up on the Mahaska Haymakers. The second-half surge gave the Zorros the most wins in the TU. Luxora notched 96 victories, which was second to Valmara of the RU North, who paced the IPA with 99 wins. The Z's won their 8th division title and the first since 2022.

Strong pitching put Luxora (96-58) over the top this season... Manager Lacey Tompkins' hurlers compiled an impressive 3.08 team ERA (5th)... the Zorros finished second last year to Blue Lake in the TU North... good hitting in the second half of the season combined with the fine pitching to run away with the division... The Z's batted .256 (20th) with 138 home runs (12th) and ranked 11th in scoring runs... two 20-game twirlers Benny DeVito (22-14/2.29) and Fabio Medeiros (22-6/2.76) sparked the club... plus Valente Viero (16-15/2.76) and Tommy Ellefsen (13-7/3.83) were capable in the three and four spots in the rotation... relievers Kent Halloran (11-6/2.84/18 saves) and Toby White (6-3/1.98/13 saves) aided the cause, too... leading the Luxora attack were 1B Gerry Hathaway (.304/27/97/86), RF Roger Noble (.295/27/81/65), LF Carl Denton (.280/26/78/70) and CF Kevin Hanley (.283/15/
64/97)... the Zorros are expected to make some noise in the Pro Cup playoffs this year... Tompkins' team is clicking on all cylinders and ready to roll in the postseason.

A bad August took the Fairfax Frogs (83-71) out of the race... skipper Dane Wesner just didn't have the pitching to compete with Luxora, but he had some good bats... the Frogs batted .281 (2nd), scored well (4th) and had decent firepower with 111 roundtrippers (18th-tied)... but they were bad on the hill with a 3.95 team ERA (27th)... only Ricky Woods (19-16/3.43) and Joey Santini (15-15/3.52) had under 4.00 ERAs among the starters... Fairfax had two solid relievers in Lynwood Marshall (4-2/2.57/17 saves) and Manny Hunsinger (5-3/1.99/7 saves)... the bats were better with LF Max Leibowitz (.295/23/87/101), SS John Velasco (.326/15/87/82), CF Eric Kusek (.327/8/79/99) and 1B Ramon Escabedo (.287/18/81/73).

The third-place Blue Lake Blue Sox (80-74) fizzled badly the last two months of the season and will not get a chance to defend their Pro Cup title... poor hitting and offense were the culprits... Rick Hilliard's Blue Sox batted only .244 (30th), hit only 95 homers (29th-tied) and scored only 599 runs (28th)... however Blue Lake was something else on the mound with a super 2.82 team ERA (1st)... the guys that carried them to the Pro Cup title last year still did their jobs... Billy Trakas (15-14/2.68), Willie Taskins (18-16/2.72), Derek Joubert (17-14/2.82) and Chris Landry (12-11/3.26) were a formidable foursome... but the hitters were pathetic... only LF Boom-Boom Baker (.275/21/77/83), 3B Matt Thompson (.282/10/79/56) and Chris Halley (.292/5/44/72) had fair years... the rest of the regulars were of little use... not one single player had a strong season at the plate.

The fourth-place Mahaska Haymakers (76-78) made some strides this season, moving up from seventh place... Rusty Tanussa's Haymakers wound up 20 games off the pace... Mahaska's mound corps registered a fine 3.37 team ERA (11th) and especially stood out in the bullpen with a 2.65 ERA (4th)... Tanussa's top arms were Paco Morales (15-13/3.03), Maxim Petrosian (11-6/3.03) and James Allington (13-17/3.29)... Arno Vainmaa (11-5/3.20/3 saves) did well, too, splitting time between starting and relieving... closer Viktor Stravinsky (4-3/1.54/20 saves) stood out in the pen... though the Haymakers hit for a .264 BA (9th), they were light on power with 117 home runs (17th) and mediocre in scoring (23rd)... Mahaska was led at-bat by CF Pasha Yablonski (.335/5/53/119), RF Travis Tuttle (.306/27/87/69) and LF Johnny Yevtushenko (.292/17/79/55).

The Oxford Red Caps (73-81) and North Hills Hawks tied for fifth in the TU North standings and trailed winning Luxora by 23 games... Cameron Kamara's Oxford club hasn't been to the Pro Cup playoffs in 27 years, though the Red Caps made the postseason 5 times in the first 6 seasons of the IPA... they even won 4 pennants and a Pro Cup in 2007... Oxford has nothing to show for the rest of the years... they hit OK with a .264 BA (10th), scored well with 678 runs (12th), but ranked 22nd with a 3.68 ERA... Mario Lopez (18-14/3.38) is the only quality starter with a winning record... however LF Dennis Hartwig (.311/24/89/94) and 1B Kelly Sterling (.300/32/98/79) are standout hitters... 29-year-old Hartwig is a career .319 batter in his 9 IPA seasons, while 27-year-old Sterling has slammed 210 homers in his 6 years in the league.

The North Hills Hawks (73-81) last won the TU North in 2016 and have only two pennants in the team's history... manager Todd Simons has a modest ball club with a .256 BA (19th) and a 3.59 ERA (17th).... Sam Tate (20-17/2.96) and David Michael (16-9/3.19) are the staff aces... the 36-year-old Tate is 259-194 in his 16 seasons... he has posted a fine 3.02 career ERA... the Hawks have no standout sticks in the batting order... the best ones are just a little better-than-average hitters, led by CF Ronnie Guillaume (.294/16/69/76), 1B Bubby Harris (.301/10/67/52) and C Mikhail Romanovsky (.283/8/62/66).

After winning the pennant in 2029 the Hartsdale Hellcats (71-83) have slipped to 6th and 7th in the standings the last two seasons... the lackluster Hellcats batted .251 (23rd) this year and chalked up a 4.00 ERA (28th)... skipper Kendry Moulton doesn't have much to brag about... his top pitchers are 24-year-old Hank Cooke (9-5/2.44), who showed some great promise this year, and 25-year-old vet Lou Chylak (15-13/3.37)... 12-year vet 1B Johnny Scott (.295/25/96/87) is the only credible threat in the line-up... Scott at age 33 is a career .299 batter with 280 roundtrippers.

For the third season in a row the White River Rascals (66-88) have come in dead last in the Tycobbian North under renowned manager Mick Cronyn... the Rascals are the worst offensive club in the IPA with a .235 BA and rank last in scoring (32nd)... but on the hill they are pretty solid with a 3.40 team ERA (12th)... starter Davey Johnston (18-15/2.94) and closer Johnny Duncan (11-5/2.50/14 saves) are Cronyn's best pitchers, while rookie 1B Allan Ferris (.303/9/49/36) is his only credible batter.

04-20-2012, 08:58 PM	#3052
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,695 Blog Entries: 1	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Monday, September 22, 2031 2031 Tycobbian North Final Recap Zorros Zip To TU North Title The pennant race in the Tycobbian North was only close for half the season. The Luxora Zorros took charge after the All-Star game and won the division handily by a whopping 13 games over the Fairfax Frogs, 16 better than the defending Pro Cup champion Blue Lake Blue Sox and 20 up on the Mahaska Haymakers. The second-half surge gave the Zorros the most wins in the TU. Luxora notched 96 victories, which was second to Valmara of the RU North, who paced the IPA with 99 wins. The Z's won their 8th division title and the first since 2022. Strong pitching put Luxora (96-58) over the top this season... Manager Lacey Tompkins' hurlers compiled an impressive 3.08 team ERA (5th)... the Zorros finished second last year to Blue Lake in the TU North... good hitting in the second half of the season combined with the fine pitching to run away with the division... The Z's batted .256 (20th) with 138 home runs (12th) and ranked 11th in scoring runs... two 20-game twirlers Benny DeVito (22-14/2.29) and Fabio Medeiros (22-6/2.76) sparked the club... plus Valente Viero (16-15/2.76) and Tommy Ellefsen (13-7/3.83) were capable in the three and four spots in the rotation... relievers Kent Halloran (11-6/2.84/18 saves) and Toby White (6-3/1.98/13 saves) aided the cause, too... leading the Luxora attack were 1B Gerry Hathaway (.304/27/97/86), RF Roger Noble (.295/27/81/65), LF Carl Denton (.280/26/78/70) and CF Kevin Hanley (.283/15/ 64/97)... the Zorros are expected to make some noise in the Pro Cup playoffs this year... Tompkins' team is clicking on all cylinders and ready to roll in the postseason. A bad August took the Fairfax Frogs (83-71) out of the race... skipper Dane Wesner just didn't have the pitching to compete with Luxora, but he had some good bats... the Frogs batted .281 (2nd), scored well (4th) and had decent firepower with 111 roundtrippers (18th-tied)... but they were bad on the hill with a 3.95 team ERA (27th)... only Ricky Woods (19-16/3.43) and Joey Santini (15-15/3.52) had under 4.00 ERAs among the starters... Fairfax had two solid relievers in Lynwood Marshall (4-2/2.57/17 saves) and Manny Hunsinger (5-3/1.99/7 saves)... the bats were better with LF Max Leibowitz (.295/23/87/101), SS John Velasco (.326/15/87/82), CF Eric Kusek (.327/8/79/99) and 1B Ramon Escabedo (.287/18/81/73). The third-place Blue Lake Blue Sox (80-74) fizzled badly the last two months of the season and will not get a chance to defend their Pro Cup title... poor hitting and offense were the culprits... Rick Hilliard's Blue Sox batted only .244 (30th), hit only 95 homers (29th-tied) and scored only 599 runs (28th)... however Blue Lake was something else on the mound with a super 2.82 team ERA (1st)... the guys that carried them to the Pro Cup title last year still did their jobs... Billy Trakas (15-14/2.68), Willie Taskins (18-16/2.72), Derek Joubert (17-14/2.82) and Chris Landry (12-11/3.26) were a formidable foursome... but the hitters were pathetic... only LF Boom-Boom Baker (.275/21/77/83), 3B Matt Thompson (.282/10/79/56) and Chris Halley (.292/5/44/72) had fair years... the rest of the regulars were of little use... not one single player had a strong season at the plate. The fourth-place Mahaska Haymakers (76-78) made some strides this season, moving up from seventh place... Rusty Tanussa's Haymakers wound up 20 games off the pace... Mahaska's mound corps registered a fine 3.37 team ERA (11th) and especially stood out in the bullpen with a 2.65 ERA (4th)... Tanussa's top arms were Paco Morales (15-13/3.03), Maxim Petrosian (11-6/3.03) and James Allington (13-17/3.29)... Arno Vainmaa (11-5/3.20/3 saves) did well, too, splitting time between starting and relieving... closer Viktor Stravinsky (4-3/1.54/20 saves) stood out in the pen... though the Haymakers hit for a .264 BA (9th), they were light on power with 117 home runs (17th) and mediocre in scoring (23rd)... Mahaska was led at-bat by CF Pasha Yablonski (.335/5/53/119), RF Travis Tuttle (.306/27/87/69) and LF Johnny Yevtushenko (.292/17/79/55). The Oxford Red Caps (73-81) and North Hills Hawks tied for fifth in the TU North standings and trailed winning Luxora by 23 games... Cameron Kamara's Oxford club hasn't been to the Pro Cup playoffs in 27 years, though the Red Caps made the postseason 5 times in the first 6 seasons of the IPA... they even won 4 pennants and a Pro Cup in 2007... Oxford has nothing to show for the rest of the years... they hit OK with a .264 BA (10th), scored well with 678 runs (12th), but ranked 22nd with a 3.68 ERA... Mario Lopez (18-14/3.38) is the only quality starter with a winning record... however LF Dennis Hartwig (.311/24/89/94) and 1B Kelly Sterling (.300/32/98/79) are standout hitters... 29-year-old Hartwig is a career .319 batter in his 9 IPA seasons, while 27-year-old Sterling has slammed 210 homers in his 6 years in the league. The North Hills Hawks (73-81) last won the TU North in 2016 and have only two pennants in the team's history... manager Todd Simons has a modest ball club with a .256 BA (19th) and a 3.59 ERA (17th).... Sam Tate (20-17/2.96) and David Michael (16-9/3.19) are the staff aces... the 36-year-old Tate is 259-194 in his 16 seasons... he has posted a fine 3.02 career ERA... the Hawks have no standout sticks in the batting order... the best ones are just a little better-than-average hitters, led by CF Ronnie Guillaume (.294/16/69/76), 1B Bubby Harris (.301/10/67/52) and C Mikhail Romanovsky (.283/8/62/66). After winning the pennant in 2029 the Hartsdale Hellcats (71-83) have slipped to 6th and 7th in the standings the last two seasons... the lackluster Hellcats batted .251 (23rd) this year and chalked up a 4.00 ERA (28th)... skipper Kendry Moulton doesn't have much to brag about... his top pitchers are 24-year-old Hank Cooke (9-5/2.44), who showed some great promise this year, and 25-year-old vet Lou Chylak (15-13/3.37)... 12-year vet 1B Johnny Scott (.295/25/96/87) is the only credible threat in the line-up... Scott at age 33 is a career .299 batter with 280 roundtrippers. For the third season in a row the White River Rascals (66-88) have come in dead last in the Tycobbian North under renowned manager Mick Cronyn... the Rascals are the worst offensive club in the IPA with a .235 BA and rank last in scoring (32nd)... but on the hill they are pretty solid with a 3.40 team ERA (12th)... starter Davey Johnston (18-15/2.94) and closer Johnny Duncan (11-5/2.50/14 saves) are Cronyn's best pitchers, while rookie 1B Allan Ferris (.303/9/49/36) is his only credible batter. Last edited by Eugene Church; 04-26-2012 at 05:30 PM.