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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, April 5, 2049
RASCALS WILL REPEAT IN TU NORTH
The White River Rascals easily won the Tycobbian North Division last year and is forecast to win it again in even easier fashion. It will be pretty much a race for second place this season among five teams. Luxora is the second choice of the experts in the preseason polls with Hartsdale ranked number three in the standings. Ranked fourth is Mahaska and Oxford with Fairfax slated for the sixth spot. North Hills and Blue Lake will fight it out to stay out of the basement.
1. WHITE RIVER: the Rascals won handily last year (94-60) and are slated to do even better this year... the three prime starters are Butch Slattery (20-10/2.87), Nicky Palmer (18-15/2.89) and Clem Warren (18-14/2.98) with vet J. C. Hudson (10-3/3.45) handling the fourth spot in the rotation... the Rascals could use some help in the bullpen... rookie Keil Trickett showed well in Spring training and may earn a spot in the relief corps... the White River attack features two serious threats in superstar LF Billy Joe Hickman (.282/42 HR/126 RBI) and TU Rookie of the Year 1B Ruben Reaves (.311/35 HR/98 RBI/118 runs)... the team can score runs.
2. LUXORA: the Zorros have the hitting and a capable staff, but they were third last season (82-72) and 12 GB in the pennant race... Les Liebert (18-11/3.01) is the ace with help from Joao Damaso (14-12/3.15), Wendell Hasbro (13-8/3.15/11 saves) and Lorenzo Alonso (13-11/3.60)... the top bats are LF Emil Pasek (.300/22 HR/65 RBI/89 runs), 3B Tiago Chaves (.272/27 HR/94 RBI/89 runs), SS Eddie Burnett (.308/12 HR/71 RBI/79 runs) and 2B Joel Poche (.273/14 HR/79 RBI/77 runs)... young 23-year-old 1B Tuff McLendon (.379/10 HR/39 RBI/31 runs) did quite well with a .379 BA in 63 games last year and much is expected of him this season.
3. HARTSDALE: the Hellcats were a distant second to White River last year (83-71), trailing by 11 games, which was their worst showing in five years... the hitting is solid as a rock with good power, while the pitching is just fair... leading the Hellcat attack are LF Darrell Nesbitt (.308/14 HR/67 RBI/106 runs), 3B Marv Shaw (.309/29 HR/91 RBI/73 runs), C Kenton Carmichael (.280/25 HR/91 RBI/90 runs) and RF Emilian Burgess (.284/12 HR/65 RBI/84 runs)... on the hill veterans Gil Younger (21-13/3.79) and Perry Givens (19-14/3.53) are the top winners... Younger was the Tycobbian MVP in 2046 when the Hellcats won the Pro Cup... to move up in the standings and compete with White River, Hartsdale needs help from the other three starters... a young portsider Roy Krieger has shown promise this year in the Spring and could help out... the bullpen is in good hands with vet closer Alfonso Cervera (7-7/1.73/20 saves).
4. OXFORD: the Red Caps long a division also-ran has impressed the experts this year and has been picked to finish fourth... last year they were 71-83 and tied for last in the TU North with North Hills, 23 games off the pace... the Red Caps haven't made the postseason since the early days of the IPA, last appeared in 2007, when they won their only Pro Cup... Oxford has three qualtiy starters in Rudy Mellancamp (17-17/2.71), Lou Ellison (17-20/3.17) and Ralph Mosby (17-15/3.81)... rookies Buster Belzer and Lorenzo Frampton could be a big help in the bullpen... the offense could be better... most of it is provided by CF Kevin Carter with 29 HRs and 95 RBIs, but he hit only .247... 3B Rickey Clayton led the club with a .328 BA, while hitting 21 HRs, driving in 69 runs and scoring 81 times... 2B Dan Zalewski chipped in a .277 BA, 12 HRs, 57 RBIs and scored 87 runs.
5. MAHASKA: the Haymakers (79-75) tied for fourth with Blue Lake in 2048, ending up 15 games behind the division winner... they had finished last the previous five seasons... Mahaska hasn't been in the playoffs for over two decades... mound talent is spotty... left-hander Boyd Hackman (17-6/3.38/1 save) had a very good rookie season... Terry Mazurek (17-15/3.91) had a fairly good year... not much after them on the hill... the top bats were C James Boswell (.253/39 HR/97 RBI), 1B Roger Lewis (.282/28 HR/75 RBI) and 3B Goose Fulton (.287/24 HR/84 RBI/92 runs)... 14-year veteran SS Rocco Bertara (.329/13 HR/48 RBI/53 runs) has been a fine defender over the years and a consistent hitter... he led the club with a .329 BA.
6. NORTH HILLS: the Hawks tied with Oxford for last place last year... both sported 71-83 marks and wound up 23 games out of first... after a great run of 11 pennants in 12 years and four Pro Cups, the Hawks have steadily declined, going from third in 2046 (81-73) to fifth in 2047 (74-80) to the TU North cellar in 2048... only two members of the Glory Years remain... 36-year-old Tony Mack, who was 16-16 this past year with a 3.70 ERA... career-wise he is 244-155 with a fine 3.03 ERA... SS Tommy Vavas (.271/19 HR/65 RBI/85 runs) is still doing a good job at age 36... he is a lifetime .282 batter with 215 homers, 2610 hits, 1464 runs and 1006 RBIs... the club leaders this year were CF Ryan Webbe (.289/33 HR/99 RBI/86 runs) and RF Chuck Coltharpe (.263/28 HR/73 RBI/91 runs)... rookie Carver Dillon looked good in the bullpen last year with a 9-4 record, 3.19 ERA and 14 saves... another rookie reliever DeWitt Dobkins did well this Spring and has earned a spot in the bullpen, too.
7. FAIRFAX: the Frogs broke even at 77-77 last year, but only good enough for sixth place... they might not be as good this year... pitching is only fair with starters Harold Dorman (16-14/3.75), Glenn Cook (13-13/3.75) and Shaun O'Riley (11-17/3.76)... the bats are strong with veteran stars C Scott Courtney (.333/28 HR/99 RBI/83 runs) and 2B John Velasco (.294/20 HR/78 RBI/100 runs)... Velasco is a marvel, still playing good defense, hitting very well and running well at age 42... RF Brad Johnson (.298/9 HR/91 RBI), 3B K. J. Garvie (.288/14 HR/82 RBI) and LF Terrence Yeoman (.289/10 HR/74 RBI) have also chipped in some valuable offense... the Frogs haven't been to the postseason since 2033... not likely to happen this year either.
8. BLUE LAKE: the Blue Sox were fourth last season (79-75), tied with Mahaska and 15 games behind first place White River... the pitching is not very good, but the offense is fairly good with some power... the best starters are Greg Mortimer (18-15/3.86) and 19-year-old Dookie Denham (12-9/3.88), who showed good potential in his first season... ace Sol Mayes (13-18/4.54) had an off-year at age 33... vet closer Razzy Richmond (9-8/3.06/16 saves) does a fair job in the bullpen... heading up the batting order are 1B Mel Morrison (.290/26 HR/97 RBI), C Juan Luis Barcelona (.292/17 HR/69 RBI/95 runs), SS Rick Bridges (.276/24 HR/81 RBI/72 runs) and CF Raddy Pajek (.303/11 HR/50 RBI/78 runs)... in 115 games rookie 1B Burl Baugh tied Morrison for the home-run lead with 26 and batted in 79 runs, but hit only .241.
2049 Tycobbian North Preseason Predictions and Projected Statistics
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