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Eugene Church · 12-06-2012, 08:12 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 19, 2034

2034 Tycobbian North Final Recap

NH Hawks Fend Off WR Rascals In TU North
It's been a long, long time coming, but the North Hills Hawks are once again the best team in the Tycobbian North. They fended off the White River Rascals by two games in a season-long battle to gain their first crown since 2016. The third spot went to the much-improved Hartsdale Hellcats, who wound up 9 games out in the race. Last year's division champion Fairfax came in fourth and trailed by 10 games. The second division was tight with all four teams within four games of each other. Oxford was fifth, 18 games off the pace, followed closely by Luxora and Blue Lake, tied for sixth place, 20 games back, with Mahaska pulling up the rear in last place, 22 games behind.

It was a magnificent season for manager Todd Simons and his North Hills Hawks (94-60)... they were picked fourth in The Islandian Times preseason poll, but won it all... the Hawks did it with strong pitching and solid hitting... they registered a 3.20 team ERA (3rd) and a .278 BA (4th) with 155 HRs (13th)... leading the mound corps were All-Star David Michael (26-13/2.80), who tied J. J. Gillespie of Cold Creek for the most victories in the IPA and All-Star Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82)... Nelson Hooper (12-10/2.98) and reliever Frankie Lambert (7-3/3.07/15 saves) also contributed, too... topping the batting list were All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.329/35/114/95) and All-Star 3B Dean O'Donnell (.310/19/86/93)... North Hills will be a worthy foe in the Pro Cup playoffs with two talented starters and a pretty fair offense... its only shortcoming is a weak bullpen with a 4.33 ERA (25th).

Mick Cronyn's White River Rascals (92-62), the favorite to win the division this year, ran a good race, but just couldn't catch North Hills... the Rascals closed the season with 9 straight wins, but still couldn't catch the stubborn Hawks... this was Cronyn's best season since winning four flags between 2021 and 2027... three last-place finishes 2029-2031 were hard to take, but the Rascals have made steady progress the last three seasons... White River is still looking for its first Pro Cup... they may be poised for better and bigger things next year... Cronyn has a high-powered attack that hit 179 HRs (5th) and scored 858 runs (2nd) to go along with a .270 BA (15th) and a better-than-average 3.63 team ERA (12th)... All-Star 1B-3B Davey Sloan (.293/31/96/81) sparked the offense with help from veteran star 2B Koora Nawajuk (.282/21/85/90), RF Hal Littleton (.324/6/51/65) and 1B Allan Ferris (.321/14/44/37)... on the hill vets Emil Kaltenborn (18-7/3.49), Kenny Nikas (20-12/3.51) and Paul Sardini (18-13/3.36) were a strong threesome... Nikas chalked up his third consecutive 20-game season and Kaltenborn, a free agent from High Mesa, had a good comeback season after losing 30 games the last two years with the Cowboys.

The Hartsdale Hellcats (85-69) won the TU North five years ago, but went into decline from 2030 to 2032 with second-division finishes... but they regrouped with good seasons the last two years... skipper Kendry Moulton's Hellcats batted .273 (11th) and ranked 8th in scoring with 782 runs, while putting up a 3.79 team ERA (17th)... CF Joe McGarrett (.304/35/110/112) has come of age in his two seasons with Hartsdale after six lackluster years with four other clubs... 2B Duffy Day (.282/16/89/92) and C Don Pontros (.298/22/91/62) had good years, too... Eric Isenhart (18-14/3.82) and Hank Cooke (17-12/4.08) led the starters, while Art Reese (12-5/3.54/12 saves) and Mike Rinaldi (13-6/3.73/10 saves) did well as occasional starters and in the bullpen.

The Fairfax Frogs (84-70) won the TU North the previous two years and totaled 102 wins last season, but took quite a dip this year to the fourth spot in the standings, 10 games back... a big drop in both hitting and pitching caused the decline... the team BA fell from .286 to .274 (10th) and the team ERA shot up from 3.33 to 3.76 (15th)... pitchers Stephen McLeod (17-7/3.37) and Sean McBride (13-8/3.79) had good years, along with bullpen specialist Matty Mateo (10-7/2.66/16 saves), but Dudley Dickens, a 23-game winner last year, was only 2-10 with a 4.83 ERA and relegated to the bullpen... same thing for Manny Hunsinger, who went from winning 20 games to a disappointing 7-5 record with a pathetic 5.00 ERA... however the Frog bats continued to do well, paced by rookie CF Michael Hudson (.323/18/107/85), All-Star 2B John Velasco (.290/23/81/97), LF Eric Kusek (.299/14/53/96), RF Roger Krieger (.335/8/48/60) and OF Max Lebowitz (.303/12/43/63)... Lebowitz missed one-third of the season with injury.

For the 27th successive year the Oxford Red Caps (76-78) missed the postseason... the last time they made the postseason was 2007 when the Red Caps copped its only Pro Cup... manager Kamara Cameron's club only has two fourth-places in the last nine seasons, the rest of the time Oxford was in the second division... the Red Caps were fifth this year, winding up 18 games behind the division champ... Oxford can put plenty of runs on the scoreboard, but they can't keep runs off the scoreboard... the Red Caps batted .271 (13th) with 221 HRs (2nd) and scored 816 runs (3rd), but surrendered runs, too, compiling a poor 4.34 team ERA and allowing 217 HRs (30th)... Oxford had three players with over 30 roundtrippers and two more that hit nearly 30 each... 1B Kerry Sterling (.309/35/102/88) led the way, followed by 2B Alonzo Norris (.300/28/92/92), 3B Boyd Olsen (.266/38/98/74), RF Dennis Hartwig (.275/29/78/96), CF Crusher Derringer (.264/30/88/72) and LF Denny Braun (.299/14/65/84)... Kent McKinley (16-12/3.74) was the only starter with a winning record.

The Luxora Zorros (74-80) have been quite competitive the last few years, but not this year... they came in sixth and were 20 games out of first place, tied with Blue Lake... manager Lacey Tompkins' team has contended seriously the previous five years, winning the pennant in 2031 and finishing no worst than third place... his pitching was still good with a 3.38 team ERA (8th), but the offense suffered with a .245 BA (29th) and a lack of runs... the Z's scored only 605 runs (31st) and hit only 132 HRs (23rd)... starter Kent Halloran (18-13/2.47) had a great year and might have won well over 20 games with better run support... All-Star closer Fernando Sanches (8-7/2.87/23 saves) stood out, too... Sanches led the IPA in saves... veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway (.268/26/82/73) was the most reliable bat... not much besides him in the batting order.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (74-80) have sunk to the depths of the division since surprisingly winning the 2030 Pro Cup... the last three years have been in the basement twice and sixth this year... the Blue Sox handle the bats well with a .277 BA (6th), but are just average on the hill with a 3.91 team ERA (21st)... the best bats belong to .300 hitters 2B James Hamilton (.317/16/82/79), CF Jack Ryan (.302/8/66/84) and 3B Matt Thompson (.313/11/63/84)... SS Joe Korman had a solid season with 16 HRs, 88 RBIs and 82 runs, while batting .279... in a platoon role LF Jojo Davis sparkled with a .343 BA in 93 games... RF Greg Robinson topped the team with 20 homers while batting .277 and driving in 72 runs... vets Dallas Casey (19-16/3/42), Derek Joubert (16-14/3.54) and Frankie Quinn (16-15/3.71) led the pitching corps... Casey and Quinn were highly-regarded free agents... Casey came from Sugar Valley and Quinn from Fort Benton, both teams in the Ruthlandian Union.

Manager Rusty Lanussa's Mahaska Haymakers (72-82) continued to struggle for the sixth season in a row... it's been all downhill since they claimed the TU North pennant in 2028... this year the Haymakers fell to last place, 22 games away from first... Lanussa's club doesn't score well, ranking 26th with only 658 runs... and is not that good on the mound with a 3.99 team ERA (24th)... starter Greg Douglas (18-16/3.57) was the biggest winner with reliever Dennis Austin (9-7/2.99/10 saves), the best in the bullpen... All-Star Mark Pennington was 11-4 at mid-year, but ended up just 16-17 with a 3.57 ERA.

12-06-2012, 08:12 PM	#3363
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,912	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, September 19, 2034 2034 Tycobbian North Final Recap NH Hawks Fend Off WR Rascals In TU North It's been a long, long time coming, but the North Hills Hawks are once again the best team in the Tycobbian North. They fended off the White River Rascals by two games in a season-long battle to gain their first crown since 2016. The third spot went to the much-improved Hartsdale Hellcats, who wound up 9 games out in the race. Last year's division champion Fairfax came in fourth and trailed by 10 games. The second division was tight with all four teams within four games of each other. Oxford was fifth, 18 games off the pace, followed closely by Luxora and Blue Lake, tied for sixth place, 20 games back, with Mahaska pulling up the rear in last place, 22 games behind. It was a magnificent season for manager Todd Simons and his North Hills Hawks (94-60)... they were picked fourth in The Islandian Times preseason poll, but won it all... the Hawks did it with strong pitching and solid hitting... they registered a 3.20 team ERA (3rd) and a .278 BA (4th) with 155 HRs (13th)... leading the mound corps were All-Star David Michael (26-13/2.80), who tied J. J. Gillespie of Cold Creek for the most victories in the IPA and All-Star Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82)... Nelson Hooper (12-10/2.98) and reliever Frankie Lambert (7-3/3.07/15 saves) also contributed, too... topping the batting list were All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.329/35/114/95) and All-Star 3B Dean O'Donnell (.310/19/86/93)... North Hills will be a worthy foe in the Pro Cup playoffs with two talented starters and a pretty fair offense... its only shortcoming is a weak bullpen with a 4.33 ERA (25th). Mick Cronyn's White River Rascals (92-62), the favorite to win the division this year, ran a good race, but just couldn't catch North Hills... the Rascals closed the season with 9 straight wins, but still couldn't catch the stubborn Hawks... this was Cronyn's best season since winning four flags between 2021 and 2027... three last-place finishes 2029-2031 were hard to take, but the Rascals have made steady progress the last three seasons... White River is still looking for its first Pro Cup... they may be poised for better and bigger things next year... Cronyn has a high-powered attack that hit 179 HRs (5th) and scored 858 runs (2nd) to go along with a .270 BA (15th) and a better-than-average 3.63 team ERA (12th)... All-Star 1B-3B Davey Sloan (.293/31/96/81) sparked the offense with help from veteran star 2B Koora Nawajuk (.282/21/85/90), RF Hal Littleton (.324/6/51/65) and 1B Allan Ferris (.321/14/44/37)... on the hill vets Emil Kaltenborn (18-7/3.49), Kenny Nikas (20-12/3.51) and Paul Sardini (18-13/3.36) were a strong threesome... Nikas chalked up his third consecutive 20-game season and Kaltenborn, a free agent from High Mesa, had a good comeback season after losing 30 games the last two years with the Cowboys. The Hartsdale Hellcats (85-69) won the TU North five years ago, but went into decline from 2030 to 2032 with second-division finishes... but they regrouped with good seasons the last two years... skipper Kendry Moulton's Hellcats batted .273 (11th) and ranked 8th in scoring with 782 runs, while putting up a 3.79 team ERA (17th)... CF Joe McGarrett (.304/35/110/112) has come of age in his two seasons with Hartsdale after six lackluster years with four other clubs... 2B Duffy Day (.282/16/89/92) and C Don Pontros (.298/22/91/62) had good years, too... Eric Isenhart (18-14/3.82) and Hank Cooke (17-12/4.08) led the starters, while Art Reese (12-5/3.54/12 saves) and Mike Rinaldi (13-6/3.73/10 saves) did well as occasional starters and in the bullpen. The Fairfax Frogs (84-70) won the TU North the previous two years and totaled 102 wins last season, but took quite a dip this year to the fourth spot in the standings, 10 games back... a big drop in both hitting and pitching caused the decline... the team BA fell from .286 to .274 (10th) and the team ERA shot up from 3.33 to 3.76 (15th)... pitchers Stephen McLeod (17-7/3.37) and Sean McBride (13-8/3.79) had good years, along with bullpen specialist Matty Mateo (10-7/2.66/16 saves), but Dudley Dickens, a 23-game winner last year, was only 2-10 with a 4.83 ERA and relegated to the bullpen... same thing for Manny Hunsinger, who went from winning 20 games to a disappointing 7-5 record with a pathetic 5.00 ERA... however the Frog bats continued to do well, paced by rookie CF Michael Hudson (.323/18/107/85), All-Star 2B John Velasco (.290/23/81/97), LF Eric Kusek (.299/14/53/96), RF Roger Krieger (.335/8/48/60) and OF Max Lebowitz (.303/12/43/63)... Lebowitz missed one-third of the season with injury. For the 27th successive year the Oxford Red Caps (76-78) missed the postseason... the last time they made the postseason was 2007 when the Red Caps copped its only Pro Cup... manager Kamara Cameron's club only has two fourth-places in the last nine seasons, the rest of the time Oxford was in the second division... the Red Caps were fifth this year, winding up 18 games behind the division champ... Oxford can put plenty of runs on the scoreboard, but they can't keep runs off the scoreboard... the Red Caps batted .271 (13th) with 221 HRs (2nd) and scored 816 runs (3rd), but surrendered runs, too, compiling a poor 4.34 team ERA and allowing 217 HRs (30th)... Oxford had three players with over 30 roundtrippers and two more that hit nearly 30 each... 1B Kerry Sterling (.309/35/102/88) led the way, followed by 2B Alonzo Norris (.300/28/92/92), 3B Boyd Olsen (.266/38/98/74), RF Dennis Hartwig (.275/29/78/96), CF Crusher Derringer (.264/30/88/72) and LF Denny Braun (.299/14/65/84)... Kent McKinley (16-12/3.74) was the only starter with a winning record. The Luxora Zorros (74-80) have been quite competitive the last few years, but not this year... they came in sixth and were 20 games out of first place, tied with Blue Lake... manager Lacey Tompkins' team has contended seriously the previous five years, winning the pennant in 2031 and finishing no worst than third place... his pitching was still good with a 3.38 team ERA (8th), but the offense suffered with a .245 BA (29th) and a lack of runs... the Z's scored only 605 runs (31st) and hit only 132 HRs (23rd)... starter Kent Halloran (18-13/2.47) had a great year and might have won well over 20 games with better run support... All-Star closer Fernando Sanches (8-7/2.87/23 saves) stood out, too... Sanches led the IPA in saves... veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway (.268/26/82/73) was the most reliable bat... not much besides him in the batting order. The Blue Lake Blue Sox (74-80) have sunk to the depths of the division since surprisingly winning the 2030 Pro Cup... the last three years have been in the basement twice and sixth this year... the Blue Sox handle the bats well with a .277 BA (6th), but are just average on the hill with a 3.91 team ERA (21st)... the best bats belong to .300 hitters 2B James Hamilton (.317/16/82/79), CF Jack Ryan (.302/8/66/84) and 3B Matt Thompson (.313/11/63/84)... SS Joe Korman had a solid season with 16 HRs, 88 RBIs and 82 runs, while batting .279... in a platoon role LF Jojo Davis sparkled with a .343 BA in 93 games... RF Greg Robinson topped the team with 20 homers while batting .277 and driving in 72 runs... vets Dallas Casey (19-16/3/42), Derek Joubert (16-14/3.54) and Frankie Quinn (16-15/3.71) led the pitching corps... Casey and Quinn were highly-regarded free agents... Casey came from Sugar Valley and Quinn from Fort Benton, both teams in the Ruthlandian Union. Manager Rusty Lanussa's Mahaska Haymakers (72-82) continued to struggle for the sixth season in a row... it's been all downhill since they claimed the TU North pennant in 2028... this year the Haymakers fell to last place, 22 games away from first... Lanussa's club doesn't score well, ranking 26th with only 658 runs... and is not that good on the mound with a 3.99 team ERA (24th)... starter Greg Douglas (18-16/3.57) was the biggest winner with reliever Dennis Austin (9-7/2.99/10 saves), the best in the bullpen... All-Star Mark Pennington was 11-4 at mid-year, but ended up just 16-17 with a 3.57 ERA. Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-07-2012 at 12:15 PM.