[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, April 1, 2035

Frogs To Feast In TU North
Two years ago the Fairfax Frogs won 102 games and made shambles of the Tycobbian North winning by 20 games. The writers that cover the IPA think it'll be the Frogs year again, but they won't be quite so dominant. The Oxford Red Caps were a distant second in The Islandian Times preseason poll with White River coming in third and Blue Lake fourth. Second-division clubs were the Hartsdale Hellcats fifth, Pro Cup champion North Hills was a startling sixth, followed by seventh place Luxora. Mahaska was ranked eighth and last.

Poll Ranking/Team/2034 Record
1. Fairfax Frogs (84-70) (10 GB) - fourth
2. Oxford Red Caps (76-78) (18 GB) - fifth
3. White River Rascals (92-62) (2 GB) - second
4. Blue Lake Blue Sox (74-80) (20 GB) - sixth tied
5. Hartsdale Hellcats (85-69) (9 GB) - third
6. North Hills Hawks (94-60) (--) *Pro Cup Champion
7. Luxora Zorros (74-80) (20 GB) - sixth tied
8. Mahaska Haymakers (72-82) (22 GB) - eighth

1. Fairfax Frogs: .274 BA/3.76 ERA
Top Pitchers: Steven McLeod (17-7/3.37), Sean McBride (13-8/3.79), Mac Flowers (11-5/3.79), Manny Mateo (10-7/2.66/16 saves)
Top Batters: CF Michael Hudson (.323/18 HR/107 RBI/85 R/20 SB), 2B John Velasco (.290/23 HR/81 RBI/97 R), LF Eric Kusek (.299/14 HR/53 RBI/96 R/27 SB), RF Roger Krieger (.335/8 HR/48 RBI/60 R), LF Max Lebowitz (.303/12 HR/43 RBI/63 R/22 SB)
Comments: For Frogs to win pitchers Dudley Dickens (2-10/4.83), Manny Hunsinger (7-5/5.00) and Jay Barajas (14-22/3.73) must regain 2033 form... they let the club down last season... offense is good.

2. Oxford Red Caps: .271 BA/4.34 ERA
Top Pitchers: Kent McKinley (16-12/3.75), Mario Lopez (17-19/3.76), Kelly Morton (15-17/4.27)
Top Batters: 1B Kerry Sterling (.309/35 HR/102 RBI/88 R), 2B Alonzo Norris (.300/28 HR/92 RBI/92 R/25 SB), 3B Boyd Olsen (.266/38 HR/98 RBI/74 R), RF Crusher Derringer (.264/30 HR/88 RBI/72 R), LF Dennis Hartwig (.275/29 HR/78 RBI/96 R/11 SB), OF Donny Braun (.299/14 HR/65 RBI/84 R)
Comments: Drastically needs better pitching... offense is awesome... hit 221 HRs, second in IPA behind Bayview Vikings with 242.

3. White River Rascals: .270 BA/3.63 ERA
Top Pitchers: Kenny Nikas (20-12/3.51), Paul Sardini (18-13/3.36), Emil Kaltenborn (18-7/3.49)
Top Batters: 1B Davey Sloan (.293/31 HR/96 RBI/81 R), RF Hal Littleton (.324/6 HR/51 RBI/65 R)
Comments: Good starters, but team needs more bats... added free agent reliever Lucien Vashon (4-2/3.39/9 saves) from Elnora.

4. Blue Lake Blue Sox: .277 BA/3.91 ERA
Top Pitchers: Dallas Casey (19-16/3.42), Frankie Quinn (16-15/3.71)
Top Batters: 2B James Hamilton (.317/16 HR/82 RBI/79 R/13 SB), CF Jack Ryan (.302/8 HR/66 RBI/84 R/20 SB), SS Joe Korman (.279/16 HR/88 RBI/81 R/29 SB), 3B Matt Thompson (.313/11 HR/63 RBI/84 R), 1B Elton Graff (.283/13 HR/65 RBI/61 R), RF Greg Robinson (.283/20 HR/72 RBI/68 R)
Comments: Short on pitching... ace Casey is 37... rookie starters Kris DeGeest (age 35) and Denny Hawkins (age 28) must produce to contend...good bats in lineup.

5. Hartsdale Hellcats: .273 BA/3.79 ERA
Top Pitchers: Eric Isenhart (18-14/3.82), Hank Cooke (17-12/4.08)
Top Bats: CF Joe McGarrett (.304/35 HR/110 RBI/112 R), 3B Duffy Day (.282/16 HR/89 RBI/92 R/12 SB), SS Robinson Alomar (.297/18 HR/60 RBI/55 R)
Comments: McGarrett, Day and Alomar only reliable bats... Alomar should play everyday... no real contender... lacks both pitching and hitting.

6. North Hills Hawks: .278 BA/3.20 ERA
Top Pitchers: David Michael (26-13/2.80), Jeff Owens (23-13/2.82), Nelson Hooper (12-10/2.98), Frankie Lambert (7-3/3.07/15 saves), Alvar Vickers (11-6/2.53/10 saves)
Top Batters: RF Adam Thurgood (.329/35 HR/114 RBI/95 R), 3B Dean O'Donnell (.310/19 HR/86 RBI/93 r/14 SB), C Mikhail Romanovsky (.281/13 HR/56 RBI/80 R), 2B Kiril Ivonoski (.317/8 HR/34 RBI/62 R)
Comments: Defending IPA champ not rated very high in the preseason poll, despite pretty much the same club... should be stronger on the mound with addition of free agent starter/reliever Alvar Vickers (11-6/2.53/10 saves) from LaClaire... strong starters and good bullpen... could use more offense in the lineup.

7. Luxora Zorros: .245 BA/3.38 ERA
Top Pitchers: Kent Halloran (18-13/2.47), Benny DeVito (12-11/3.77), Francisco Guerrero (11-12/3.61), Nelson Wise (10-15/3.30), Johnny Duncan (11-5/2.32/17 saves), Fernando Sanches (8-7/2.87/23 saves)
Top Batters: 1B Gerry Hathaway (.268/26 HR/82 RBI/73 R), CF Buster Landry (.282/17 HR/47 RBI/65 R/10 SB), RF Carl Denton (.230/27 HR/75 RBI/56 R)
Comments: Mound staff solid with pretty good starters and great relievers... but bats are absolutely terrible.

8. Mahaska Haymakers: .272 BA/3.99 ERA
Top Pitchers: Greg Douglas (18-16/3.57), Mark Pennington (16-17/3.96), Carl Druex (14-18/4.16), 28-year-old free agent Valente Viero (8-1/2.63) from Eastshore
Top Batters: CF Bill Whittier (.283/20 HR/84 RBI/93 R/34 SB), 33-year-old free agent RF Anton Hymel (.287/20 HR/86 RBI/87 R) from LaGrange
Comments: Mediocre pitching... decent hitting, but little power... Zorros got two fine signees in RF Anton Hymel, who will really improve offense and Viero should give them a strong starter.

My Tycobbian North Forecast: Sorry to disagree with the experts so much, but North Hills is no sixth-place team... the Hawks will be in the race for sure and will beat out Fairfax... the Frogs' pitching will do them in... White River will be in the running and will finish third... the Rascals don't hit well enough to challenge the Hawks and the Frogs... Oxford with the big bats will come in fourth... Blue Lake's hitting will be good enough for fifth place... Hartsdale should be sixth... and Luxora and Mahaska will be seventh and eighth respectively.