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Eugene Church · 11-14-2012, 08:47 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

3-Team Tangle In TU North
It's quite a race in the Tycobbian North at the mid-point in the season with North Hills (47-26) slighty ahead of favored White River (46-27) by a game and three up on last year's winner Fairfax (44-29). Oxford (39-34) and Hartsdale (39-34) are knotted up in fourth place, 8 games off the pace, followed by Mahaska (37-36) and Luxora (37-36) tied for sixth and trailing by 10 games. Hapless Blue Lake (31-42) is in the cellar and 16 games back. In THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll White River got the call as the best team in the division with Fairfax a close second, Oxford third and North Hills fourth. The TU North is one of the stronger divisions around the IPA with seven clubs playing .500 or better ball.

After a sixth-place finish last season, the North Hills Hawks have exploded at the plate and on the hill with a .281 BA (4th) and 2.82 ERA (3rd)... the Hawks have four players on the TU All-Stars... last year's TU Rookie of the Year and All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.341/17/58/52) is even better... adding to the attack are All-Star 3B Dean O'Donnell (.329/10/38/47) and C Mikhael Romanovsky (.304/4/29/39), along with a sensational starting rotation which includes two All-Stars: David Michael (13-6/2.97) and Jeff Owens (11-6/2.47)... all of the Hawks starters are under the 3.00 ERA mark... Terry Costanza (9-6/2.53) and Nelson Hooper (6-4/2.62) have been very effective, too... look for North Hills to be in the flag fight until the finish... they are a strong club.

The White River Rascals have their best team since the title-winning year of 2027... in the last five years the Rascals have gone from a bad club with three consecutive last-place finishes and two more also-ran seasons to a good ballclub... they have power with 82 homers (6th-tied), score very well with 408 runs (2nd), while batting .269 (13th)... the Rascals are fairly good on the mound with a 3.61 ERA (11th)... top bats are All-Star 1B Davey Sloan (.330/19.54/47), 2B Koora Nawajuk (.282/12/41/43) and RF Hal Littleton (.342/2/23/28)... Paul Sardini (10-3/2.83) and Emil Kaltenborn (8-4/3.97) are the best pitchers... the other starters Kenny Nikas (7-8/4.27) and Gregg Moore (8-6/4.19) will have to pick it up for White River to prevail over North Hills and Fairfax... Nikas was the TU MVP just two seasons ago and has won 25 and 21 games the last two years.

Since 2029 the Fairfax Frogs has been the best team in the TU North, winning the pennants in 2032 and 2033... like White River, the Frogs have a potent attack, but have lackluster pitching... Fairfax is hitting .285 BA (3rd) scored 397 runs (4th) and slugged 70 homers (14th)... but they are just 3.96 on the hill (19th) in team ERA... the Frogs have a solid core of hitters in All-Star 2B John Velasco (.327/12/46/49), rookie CF Michael Hudson (.321/4/42/41), LF Max Lebowitz (.305/9/34/39) and 3B Jim McDermott (.286/9/39/32)... Fairfax has a trio of quality starters in Jay Barajas (9-8/3.12), Manny Hunsinger (6-2/3.71) and Steven McLeod (5-2/3.51), but falls flat in the bullpen except for Manny Mateo (6-3/2.35/8 saves).

For the past eight years the Oxford Red Caps have been a run-of-the-mill ballclub, always winding up in the middle of the pack... the Red Caps' last really good year was in 2007, when they were the IPA Pro Cup champion... this season Oxford has muscled its way into the first division with 109 homers (3rd)... the Red Caps have scored 399 runs (3rd) and are batting .269 (14th) as a team, good enough for a tie for the fourth spot in the standings with improved Hartsdale... however, they just don't have the pitching to really contend... the team ERA is a poor 4.30 (26th)... five Red Caps are on pace to hit 30 or more homers, led by rookie 3B Boyd Olsen (.276/17/41/37), rookie 2B Alonso Norris (.300/15/50/40), CF Crusher Derringer (.273/15/50/35), 1B Kerry Sterling (.305/15/39/42) and RF Dennis Hartwig (.279/15/38/48)... rookie LF Donny Braun (.272/8/34/47) is a run producer, too... Mario Lopez (10-7/3.25) is the only reliable starter on the club... the baseball scribes rank Oxford number three in the TU North behind White River and Fairfax.

The Hartsdale Hellcats have been much improved over 2032 when they came in last... last year they were second, but 20 games behind Fairfax, which ran away with the division... the Hellcats have gotten a little better this season with better hitting and better pitching... Hartsdale sports a fair .267 mark (17th), 348 runs (14th) and are 23th in roundtrippers with 61... mound-wise the Hellcats have posted a very respectable 3.46 ERA (9th)... heading the list is Eric Isenhart (10-4/3.30) and steady vet Lou Chylak (6-9/2.99), along with bullpen ace Art Reese (4-2/2.03/7 saves)... CF Joe McGarrett (.287/14/48/45) is the top bat with help from 2B Duffy Day (.318/8/42/42) and C Don Pontros (.274/9/34/32)... platooner LF Tom Gildersleeve (.333/3/29/22) has also put up some fine numbers.

The Luxora Zorros and Mahaska Haymakers are deadlocked for sixth place, 10 games out of first place, but they are still playing winning baseball... The Zorros have been in the top three teams every year since 2029 with their last pennant coming in 2031... the Z's still have good pitching with a 3.41 team ERA (7th), but is dismal at the plate with only 55 homers (28th), 292 runs (27th-tied) and a poor .245 BA (29th)... Kent Halloran (8-6/1.99) has been excellent as usual, but needs better run support... All-Star Fernando Sanches (7-3/2.86/11 saves) and Francisco Guerrero (5-4/2.79/5 saves) have also been effective... ace Benny DeVito missed three months because of a bad ankle and has just returned to the regular rotation... but he may not be enough... Luxora was ranked sixth in the preseason poll... the only decent bat in the lineup is veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway and he is hitting only .269, but has 10 homers and 42 RBIs... it looks like the Zorros will be in the bottom half of the TU North this year... the hitting is that bad.

The last good season for the Mahaska Haymakers was the 2028 season when they captured the division crown... since that time they have chalked up only one winning season in 2032... the Haymakers have pretty good pitching with a 3.47 ERA (10th), but are pathetic with the bats... they have little firepower with 46 home runs (30th) and have trouble scoring with only 292 runs (27th-tied)... average-wise Mahaska is batting a decent .267 (16th)... All-Star Mark Pennington (11-4/2.50) has been great this season... rookie Rob Randolph (6-2/3.40), Greg Douglas (7-9/3.26) and Carl Dreux (6-8/3.26) have done well, too... most of the Haymakers are light punch-and-judy hitters, good at contact, but with little power... C Ronald Reid (.323/7/27/22), rookie 3B Gunnar Norheim (.306/2/20/30) and 1B Lyndon Washington (.357/1/21/11) are the best bats Mahaska has.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox were on top of the world just four years ago when they captured the 2030 Pro Cup... it's been downhill ever since... the Blue Sox were rated fourth in the preseason, but they are deep in the basement, 16 games behind first-place North Hills... a 4.28 team ERA (24th) is the problem... the Blue Lake bats are pretty good with .277 BA (5th), they score runs with 354 (11th), but come up short with 60 HRs (24th)... the Blue Sox have a bevy of good hitters like LF Jojo Davis (.368/2/20/18), CF Jack Ryan (.329/5/34/42), 2B James Hamilton (.321/7/32/37), 3B Matt Thompson (.304/3/25/33), SS Joe Korman (.297/7/38/34) and RF Greg Robinson (.295/13/43/38)... the starting rotation is fairly reliable with Dallas Casey (8-9/3.96), Derek Joubert (6-7/3.28) and Frankie Quinn (9-8/4.04), but the bullpen is a mess with an astronomical 6.13 ERA (31st)... the offense is there... what Blue Lake needs is a decent bullpen.

11-14-2012, 08:47 PM	#3333
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,896	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, June 20, 2034 3-Team Tangle In TU North It's quite a race in the Tycobbian North at the mid-point in the season with North Hills (47-26) slighty ahead of favored White River (46-27) by a game and three up on last year's winner Fairfax (44-29). Oxford (39-34) and Hartsdale (39-34) are knotted up in fourth place, 8 games off the pace, followed by Mahaska (37-36) and Luxora (37-36) tied for sixth and trailing by 10 games. Hapless Blue Lake (31-42) is in the cellar and 16 games back. In THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll White River got the call as the best team in the division with Fairfax a close second, Oxford third and North Hills fourth. The TU North is one of the stronger divisions around the IPA with seven clubs playing .500 or better ball. After a sixth-place finish last season, the North Hills Hawks have exploded at the plate and on the hill with a .281 BA (4th) and 2.82 ERA (3rd)... the Hawks have four players on the TU All-Stars... last year's TU Rookie of the Year and All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.341/17/58/52) is even better... adding to the attack are All-Star 3B Dean O'Donnell (.329/10/38/47) and C Mikhael Romanovsky (.304/4/29/39), along with a sensational starting rotation which includes two All-Stars: David Michael (13-6/2.97) and Jeff Owens (11-6/2.47)... all of the Hawks starters are under the 3.00 ERA mark... Terry Costanza (9-6/2.53) and Nelson Hooper (6-4/2.62) have been very effective, too... look for North Hills to be in the flag fight until the finish... they are a strong club. The White River Rascals have their best team since the title-winning year of 2027... in the last five years the Rascals have gone from a bad club with three consecutive last-place finishes and two more also-ran seasons to a good ballclub... they have power with 82 homers (6th-tied), score very well with 408 runs (2nd), while batting .269 (13th)... the Rascals are fairly good on the mound with a 3.61 ERA (11th)... top bats are All-Star 1B Davey Sloan (.330/19.54/47), 2B Koora Nawajuk (.282/12/41/43) and RF Hal Littleton (.342/2/23/28)... Paul Sardini (10-3/2.83) and Emil Kaltenborn (8-4/3.97) are the best pitchers... the other starters Kenny Nikas (7-8/4.27) and Gregg Moore (8-6/4.19) will have to pick it up for White River to prevail over North Hills and Fairfax... Nikas was the TU MVP just two seasons ago and has won 25 and 21 games the last two years. Since 2029 the Fairfax Frogs has been the best team in the TU North, winning the pennants in 2032 and 2033... like White River, the Frogs have a potent attack, but have lackluster pitching... Fairfax is hitting .285 BA (3rd) scored 397 runs (4th) and slugged 70 homers (14th)... but they are just 3.96 on the hill (19th) in team ERA... the Frogs have a solid core of hitters in All-Star 2B John Velasco (.327/12/46/49), rookie CF Michael Hudson (.321/4/42/41), LF Max Lebowitz (.305/9/34/39) and 3B Jim McDermott (.286/9/39/32)... Fairfax has a trio of quality starters in Jay Barajas (9-8/3.12), Manny Hunsinger (6-2/3.71) and Steven McLeod (5-2/3.51), but falls flat in the bullpen except for Manny Mateo (6-3/2.35/8 saves). For the past eight years the Oxford Red Caps have been a run-of-the-mill ballclub, always winding up in the middle of the pack... the Red Caps' last really good year was in 2007, when they were the IPA Pro Cup champion... this season Oxford has muscled its way into the first division with 109 homers (3rd)... the Red Caps have scored 399 runs (3rd) and are batting .269 (14th) as a team, good enough for a tie for the fourth spot in the standings with improved Hartsdale... however, they just don't have the pitching to really contend... the team ERA is a poor 4.30 (26th)... five Red Caps are on pace to hit 30 or more homers, led by rookie 3B Boyd Olsen (.276/17/41/37), rookie 2B Alonso Norris (.300/15/50/40), CF Crusher Derringer (.273/15/50/35), 1B Kerry Sterling (.305/15/39/42) and RF Dennis Hartwig (.279/15/38/48)... rookie LF Donny Braun (.272/8/34/47) is a run producer, too... Mario Lopez (10-7/3.25) is the only reliable starter on the club... the baseball scribes rank Oxford number three in the TU North behind White River and Fairfax. The Hartsdale Hellcats have been much improved over 2032 when they came in last... last year they were second, but 20 games behind Fairfax, which ran away with the division... the Hellcats have gotten a little better this season with better hitting and better pitching... Hartsdale sports a fair .267 mark (17th), 348 runs (14th) and are 23th in roundtrippers with 61... mound-wise the Hellcats have posted a very respectable 3.46 ERA (9th)... heading the list is Eric Isenhart (10-4/3.30) and steady vet Lou Chylak (6-9/2.99), along with bullpen ace Art Reese (4-2/2.03/7 saves)... CF Joe McGarrett (.287/14/48/45) is the top bat with help from 2B Duffy Day (.318/8/42/42) and C Don Pontros (.274/9/34/32)... platooner LF Tom Gildersleeve (.333/3/29/22) has also put up some fine numbers. The Luxora Zorros and Mahaska Haymakers are deadlocked for sixth place, 10 games out of first place, but they are still playing winning baseball... The Zorros have been in the top three teams every year since 2029 with their last pennant coming in 2031... the Z's still have good pitching with a 3.41 team ERA (7th), but is dismal at the plate with only 55 homers (28th), 292 runs (27th-tied) and a poor .245 BA (29th)... Kent Halloran (8-6/1.99) has been excellent as usual, but needs better run support... All-Star Fernando Sanches (7-3/2.86/11 saves) and Francisco Guerrero (5-4/2.79/5 saves) have also been effective... ace Benny DeVito missed three months because of a bad ankle and has just returned to the regular rotation... but he may not be enough... Luxora was ranked sixth in the preseason poll... the only decent bat in the lineup is veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway and he is hitting only .269, but has 10 homers and 42 RBIs... it looks like the Zorros will be in the bottom half of the TU North this year... the hitting is that bad. The last good season for the Mahaska Haymakers was the 2028 season when they captured the division crown... since that time they have chalked up only one winning season in 2032... the Haymakers have pretty good pitching with a 3.47 ERA (10th), but are pathetic with the bats... they have little firepower with 46 home runs (30th) and have trouble scoring with only 292 runs (27th-tied)... average-wise Mahaska is batting a decent .267 (16th)... All-Star Mark Pennington (11-4/2.50) has been great this season... rookie Rob Randolph (6-2/3.40), Greg Douglas (7-9/3.26) and Carl Dreux (6-8/3.26) have done well, too... most of the Haymakers are light punch-and-judy hitters, good at contact, but with little power... C Ronald Reid (.323/7/27/22), rookie 3B Gunnar Norheim (.306/2/20/30) and 1B Lyndon Washington (.357/1/21/11) are the best bats Mahaska has. The Blue Lake Blue Sox were on top of the world just four years ago when they captured the 2030 Pro Cup... it's been downhill ever since... the Blue Sox were rated fourth in the preseason, but they are deep in the basement, 16 games behind first-place North Hills... a 4.28 team ERA (24th) is the problem... the Blue Lake bats are pretty good with .277 BA (5th), they score runs with 354 (11th), but come up short with 60 HRs (24th)... the Blue Sox have a bevy of good hitters like LF Jojo Davis (.368/2/20/18), CF Jack Ryan (.329/5/34/42), 2B James Hamilton (.321/7/32/37), 3B Matt Thompson (.304/3/25/33), SS Joe Korman (.297/7/38/34) and RF Greg Robinson (.295/13/43/38)... the starting rotation is fairly reliable with Dallas Casey (8-9/3.96), Derek Joubert (6-7/3.28) and Frankie Quinn (9-8/4.04), but the bullpen is a mess with an astronomical 6.13 ERA (31st)... the offense is there... what Blue Lake needs is a decent bullpen.