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Eugene Church · 06-04-2013, 09:06 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, June 1, 2037

NH HAWKS 1ST IN TU NORTH, BUT CHALLENGED
Defending IPA titleholder North Hills just keeps on chugging along in the Tycobbian North Division... the Hawks have won it the last three years and also chalked up two Pro Cup crowns... and they are living up to preseason expectations with a two-game lead over the runner-up White River Rascals and three in front of Fairfax and Blue Lake, tied for third place... all alone in the fifth spot are the Mahaska Haymakers, who trail by 5 games... in sixth place are Luxora and Hartsdale, six games out, while resting in the basement are the Oxford Red Caps, 8 games off the pace of first place North Hills... the Hawks still have wonderful pitching and should be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs, if they can beat off several serious challengers in the TU North this season.

North Hills (31-21) played good baseball in May with a 16-12 mark... the Hawks depend on strong pitching and they deliver with a 3.20 ERA (2nd)... offensively they have enough to get by with a .276 BA (6th), but are only average in scoring runs (242/17th)... Frankie Lambert (9-2/2.23) leads the pitcher pack this year with help from David Michael (7-4/2.70), Jeff Owens (8-4/3.57) and Nelson Hooper (4-2/3.38)... Mikhail Romanovsky (.297) is the team leader with 15 HRs and 39 RBIs... Gerry Rice (.316), Kris Anastas (.301) and Ric Hamilton (.288) are the other dependable bats in the order... the Hawks big gun Adam Thurgood (.217) is struggling with his batting average, but is still a threat with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs.

White River (29-23) had a hot May with an 18-10 record to rise up from seventh to second... give the mound corps credit... vets Kenny Nikas (7-3/3.45) and Paul Sardini (6-4/3.31) are capable starters and they are getting help from 22-year-old J. C. Hudson (6-3/3.45)... the Rascals attack is anemic with a .245 BA and average power (17th)... but they do have some solid bats in Stevie Dee Daniels (.277) with 16 HRs and 35 RBIs, Davey Sloan (.282) with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs... and Buford Cross, who leads the club with a .320 BA... it's not likely White River will beat out North Hills, Fairfax and Blue Lake... they don't have the hitting.

The Fairfax Frogs (28-24) are tied for third with Blue Lake and has what it takes to pressure North Hills... the Frogs were 15-13 in May and possess a good offense with a .279 BA (5th), ranking 5th in scoring with 275 runs, but could use more long-distance hitting (48 HR-22nd tied)... they are average on the hill with a 3.87 ERA (15th)... vets Eric Kusek (.347), Gilbert Miles (.325) and Max Lebowitz (.320) are heading up the Frogs hit parade... vets Lucien Vachon (6-6/3.25), Steven McLeod (5-5/3.72) and Harold Dorman (5-5/3.91) lead the hurlers... Fairfax is not quite as good as North Hills, but it will be hard to shake.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (28-24) are an improved club this season... they were second last year, but were 10 games behind North Hills... Blue Lake broke even in April at 12-12 and went 16-12 in May... the Blue Sox do well on the mound with an impressive 3.17 ERA (4th), but they have trouble putting runs on the scoreboard... the Blue Sox have only 226 runs (27th) and don't hit with power, having only 32 roundtrippers (31st), but they do hit for average (.275-7th)... Frankie Quinn (8-2/2.58), Pat Brown (5-3/2.58), Lee Price (5-3/2.97) and Sal Mays (6-4/3.34) are a good foursome... the Blue Sox need for 19-game winner Andre Montrose to regain his form of last year... so far he is 3-10 with a 4.02 ERA... should he have a better second half, Blue Lake will certainly give North Hills a run for its money... the leading batsmen are Jack Ryan (.351), Matt Thompson (.348), Elton Graff (.322) and Raddy Pajak (.300).

In fifth place are the Mahaska Haymakers (26-26), much improved over last year's last place finish... the Haymakers had a mediocre May at 13-15... offensively they hold their own with a .275 BA (8th), score well with 262 runs (8th) and are decent in HRs with 51 (20th-tied)... but only so-so on the mound with a 3.95 ERA (17th)... there is a shortage of good starters... only Valente Viero (5-4/3.08) has consistently done the job... the Haymaker lineup is a good one with Johnny Watts (.362), Anton Hymel (.333), Rocco Bertara (.321), John Fitzpatrick (.303) and Mikk Krukk (.289)... Mahaska is most likely still a second-division team... not up to the level of North Hills, Fairfax, Blue Lake and White River.

The Luxora Zorros (25-27) are tied with Hartsdale in sixth place in the TU North standings... after being 11-13 in April, they improved slightly to 14-14... the Z's are not forecast to be a contender this year, though they have some talented players in Gerry Hathaway, the TU Player of the Month, who batted .400 in May with 10 HRs and 29 RBIs... overall Hathaway is hitting .363 with 14 HRs and 39 RBIs... and Todd Dubbins has been a good bat with a .341 BA, 13 HRs and 41 RBIs... other offensive contributors are Kelvin Cassidy (.308), Ramiro Munos (.305) and Derrek Jackson (.308)... pitching is also better-than-average with a 3.74 ERA... as a team the Z's bat .269 (11th), are tied for 10th in scoring with 252 runs and are 11th in roundtrippers with 61... Luxora has two fine veteran starters in Benny DeVito (8-3/2.63) and Kent Halloran (5-6/2.48) and in closer Fernando Sanches (1-3/2.45/10 saves)... Sanches is tied for the IPA lead in saves with Scotty Price of the Sligo Rovers in the Ruthlandian West... the Zorros are a better team than some of the experts forecast... they might finish as high as fourth... last year they were seventh.

Not a lot is expected of the Hartsdale Hellcats (25-27), who were picked for the cellar this year in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... after a 13-11 mark in April, they dipped to 12-16 in May... the Hellcats are just a lackluster club with a .255 BA (22nd) and a 4.24 ERA (21st)... Freddie Whitaker (6-6/3.04) and Wayne Dawson (7-5/3.65) head up the starting rotation... the offensive leaders are Hayden Richardson (.383) with 13 HRs and 30 RBIs and Jeffrey Karkinos (.321) with 11 HRs and 27 RBIs.

The eighth place Oxford Red Caps (23-29) are very similar to Hartsdale, but have more firepower with 67 HRs (6th)... the team batting average is .258 (19th) and the team ERA is 4.25 (22nd)... the Red Caps were rated near the bottom in the preseason picks, which appears to be the most likely scenario... Cody Quackenbush (7-4/3.23) has been a standout on the mound, but he needs more help... Jayson French (.342) and Kerry Sterling (.302) are the best batters... they could use some help, too.

06-04-2013, 09:06 PM	#3562
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,920	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Monday, June 1, 2037 NH HAWKS 1ST IN TU NORTH, BUT CHALLENGED Defending IPA titleholder North Hills just keeps on chugging along in the Tycobbian North Division... the Hawks have won it the last three years and also chalked up two Pro Cup crowns... and they are living up to preseason expectations with a two-game lead over the runner-up White River Rascals and three in front of Fairfax and Blue Lake, tied for third place... all alone in the fifth spot are the Mahaska Haymakers, who trail by 5 games... in sixth place are Luxora and Hartsdale, six games out, while resting in the basement are the Oxford Red Caps, 8 games off the pace of first place North Hills... the Hawks still have wonderful pitching and should be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs, if they can beat off several serious challengers in the TU North this season. North Hills (31-21) played good baseball in May with a 16-12 mark... the Hawks depend on strong pitching and they deliver with a 3.20 ERA (2nd)... offensively they have enough to get by with a .276 BA (6th), but are only average in scoring runs (242/17th)... Frankie Lambert (9-2/2.23) leads the pitcher pack this year with help from David Michael (7-4/2.70), Jeff Owens (8-4/3.57) and Nelson Hooper (4-2/3.38)... Mikhail Romanovsky (.297) is the team leader with 15 HRs and 39 RBIs... Gerry Rice (.316), Kris Anastas (.301) and Ric Hamilton (.288) are the other dependable bats in the order... the Hawks big gun Adam Thurgood (.217) is struggling with his batting average, but is still a threat with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs. White River (29-23) had a hot May with an 18-10 record to rise up from seventh to second... give the mound corps credit... vets Kenny Nikas (7-3/3.45) and Paul Sardini (6-4/3.31) are capable starters and they are getting help from 22-year-old J. C. Hudson (6-3/3.45)... the Rascals attack is anemic with a .245 BA and average power (17th)... but they do have some solid bats in Stevie Dee Daniels (.277) with 16 HRs and 35 RBIs, Davey Sloan (.282) with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs... and Buford Cross, who leads the club with a .320 BA... it's not likely White River will beat out North Hills, Fairfax and Blue Lake... they don't have the hitting. The Fairfax Frogs (28-24) are tied for third with Blue Lake and has what it takes to pressure North Hills... the Frogs were 15-13 in May and possess a good offense with a .279 BA (5th), ranking 5th in scoring with 275 runs, but could use more long-distance hitting (48 HR-22nd tied)... they are average on the hill with a 3.87 ERA (15th)... vets Eric Kusek (.347), Gilbert Miles (.325) and Max Lebowitz (.320) are heading up the Frogs hit parade... vets Lucien Vachon (6-6/3.25), Steven McLeod (5-5/3.72) and Harold Dorman (5-5/3.91) lead the hurlers... Fairfax is not quite as good as North Hills, but it will be hard to shake. The Blue Lake Blue Sox (28-24) are an improved club this season... they were second last year, but were 10 games behind North Hills... Blue Lake broke even in April at 12-12 and went 16-12 in May... the Blue Sox do well on the mound with an impressive 3.17 ERA (4th), but they have trouble putting runs on the scoreboard... the Blue Sox have only 226 runs (27th) and don't hit with power, having only 32 roundtrippers (31st), but they do hit for average (.275-7th)... Frankie Quinn (8-2/2.58), Pat Brown (5-3/2.58), Lee Price (5-3/2.97) and Sal Mays (6-4/3.34) are a good foursome... the Blue Sox need for 19-game winner Andre Montrose to regain his form of last year... so far he is 3-10 with a 4.02 ERA... should he have a better second half, Blue Lake will certainly give North Hills a run for its money... the leading batsmen are Jack Ryan (.351), Matt Thompson (.348), Elton Graff (.322) and Raddy Pajak (.300). In fifth place are the Mahaska Haymakers (26-26), much improved over last year's last place finish... the Haymakers had a mediocre May at 13-15... offensively they hold their own with a .275 BA (8th), score well with 262 runs (8th) and are decent in HRs with 51 (20th-tied)... but only so-so on the mound with a 3.95 ERA (17th)... there is a shortage of good starters... only Valente Viero (5-4/3.08) has consistently done the job... the Haymaker lineup is a good one with Johnny Watts (.362), Anton Hymel (.333), Rocco Bertara (.321), John Fitzpatrick (.303) and Mikk Krukk (.289)... Mahaska is most likely still a second-division team... not up to the level of North Hills, Fairfax, Blue Lake and White River. The Luxora Zorros (25-27) are tied with Hartsdale in sixth place in the TU North standings... after being 11-13 in April, they improved slightly to 14-14... the Z's are not forecast to be a contender this year, though they have some talented players in Gerry Hathaway, the TU Player of the Month, who batted .400 in May with 10 HRs and 29 RBIs... overall Hathaway is hitting .363 with 14 HRs and 39 RBIs... and Todd Dubbins has been a good bat with a .341 BA, 13 HRs and 41 RBIs... other offensive contributors are Kelvin Cassidy (.308), Ramiro Munos (.305) and Derrek Jackson (.308)... pitching is also better-than-average with a 3.74 ERA... as a team the Z's bat .269 (11th), are tied for 10th in scoring with 252 runs and are 11th in roundtrippers with 61... Luxora has two fine veteran starters in Benny DeVito (8-3/2.63) and Kent Halloran (5-6/2.48) and in closer Fernando Sanches (1-3/2.45/10 saves)... Sanches is tied for the IPA lead in saves with Scotty Price of the Sligo Rovers in the Ruthlandian West... the Zorros are a better team than some of the experts forecast... they might finish as high as fourth... last year they were seventh. Not a lot is expected of the Hartsdale Hellcats (25-27), who were picked for the cellar this year in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... after a 13-11 mark in April, they dipped to 12-16 in May... the Hellcats are just a lackluster club with a .255 BA (22nd) and a 4.24 ERA (21st)... Freddie Whitaker (6-6/3.04) and Wayne Dawson (7-5/3.65) head up the starting rotation... the offensive leaders are Hayden Richardson (.383) with 13 HRs and 30 RBIs and Jeffrey Karkinos (.321) with 11 HRs and 27 RBIs. The eighth place Oxford Red Caps (23-29) are very similar to Hartsdale, but have more firepower with 67 HRs (6th)... the team batting average is .258 (19th) and the team ERA is 4.25 (22nd)... the Red Caps were rated near the bottom in the preseason picks, which appears to be the most likely scenario... Cody Quackenbush (7-4/3.23) has been a standout on the mound, but he needs more help... Jayson French (.342) and Kerry Sterling (.302) are the best batters... they could use some help, too. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-15-2013 at 08:29 PM.