OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 12-13-2016, 07:47 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 18, 2052

TYCOBBIAN MID-SEASON RECAP
All is well for the reigning Pro Cup holder... the Arlon Champions (47-26) have the best record in the Tycobbian Union and so far they have a very healthy lead in the TU West Division over the major contenders, the Kenwood Wildcats (39-34) and Denton City Redbirds (37-36).

In spite of winning the Pro Cup last year, Arlon was determined to improve its offense... the Champs batted only .253 last year... they have fine pitching, but came up short in scoring runs... 14 rookies made the club this year... and the results have been startling... halfway through the season the Champs are hitting .284 (3rd) as a team and are second in runs... and the pitching is still above average... All-Star Erik Branham (13-2/3.08) is having a fine sophomore season... though he has missed almost two months with an arm injury Lanny Gray is 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA... J. C. Hilburn is 8-6 with a 4.16... down a little from last year's 19-12 mark with an impression 3.06 ERA... rookie Ty Coffee (7-7/3.68) has done well at times... the three main hitters are rookies: SS Art Catlin (.285/14 HR/53 RBI), CF P. J. Flagg (.278/12 HR/33 RBI) and 1B Shiloh Harris (.279/10 HR/40 RBI).

Pitching carries the runner-up Kenwood Wildcats... the 4th best staff in the TU with vets Rusty Bradford (9-7/3.19), Tony Myerson (6-6/3.39) and Elian Verjano (9-5/3.52)... carrying the offensive load are RF Chris McNeal (.296/15 HR/51 RBI) and SS Bailey Brumley (.261/5 HR/51 RBI)... longtime superstar C Corky DiNozzo (.252/6 HR/27 RBI) may be slowing down at age 36... DiNozzo is a career .314 batter... and 1B Country Crowder (.328/1 HR/28 RBI) is still a .328 hitter at 36.

Third place Denton City is just barely above the .500 mark, but they still have three veteran starters in Flash Stringfellow (11-6/3.74), Johnny Wingate (10-6/3.55) and Harry Elliott (5-3/3.31)... the Redbirds' best run providers are All-Star SS Vincent McCloud (.346/8 HR/44 RBI) and LF Matt Wakely (.374/8 HR/29 RBI), who came close to making the TU Stars.

Hillsboro (38-35) was the toast of the TU East in 2051, but not this year... the Blazers have stumbled out-of-the-gate falling down to 5th place, 8 games back of heavy hitter East Point (46-37)... in the runner-up spot are the Midway Wolves (39-34) and the High Mesa Mustangs (39-34), both 7 games out... Red Bluff (38-35) is still in the fight, 8 games off the pace... the surprise pick to win the division South Fork (31-42) has played just like they did last year and are in last place... not a big surprise to most baseball fans.

The powerful East Point Panthers can just about do it all... 6th in pitching, 2nd in BA, 3rd in scoring and 2nd in homers... they won the TU East in '50... lost to Hillsboro by 2 last year... and look to be headed for their second division title in 3 seasons... Benny Allen (11-5/3.66), Lee Price (14-3/4.03) and Ralph Wallace (10-9/2.88) are a strong trio of starters... Pudgy Putnam (5-3/2.21/4 saves/25 G) is the ace of the bullpen... the Panthers can hit the ball, too, with the likes of RF Doug Dennhardt (.348/22 HR/62 RBI), 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.302/14 HR/49 RBI), C Kenny Bailey (.300/11 HR/40 RBI)... CF Pokie Ash (.320/6 HR/29 RBI) and SS Justin McRae (.296/6 HR/29 RBI) are solid bats, too... it's easy to see why East Point is 8 games ahead in the Tycobbian East at the All-Star Game.

The Midway Wolves have a fine bullpen, solid starters, but are just average offensively... Rocket Rhodes (4-1/1.84/4 saves/23 G) is the top reliever... vets Beau McCloud (8-9/2.44) and Charlie Chase (8-10/3.12) are very capable starters... and the most reliable hitters are SS Kax Clark (.325/5 HR/32 RBI) and LF Alfie Kincaid (.305/10 HR/30 RBI)... for Midway to make a move on East Point, they have to score more runs.

The High Mesa Mustangs are coming off their best season in years... they came in third last season... still playing well using the longball and average pitching to hang within striking distance in the pennant race... the Mustangs have hit 101 home so far... four rookies All-Star LF Joe Duplanis (.338/22 HR/50 RBI), 3B Kagetoki Miyazaki (.254/14 HR/38 RBI), CF Tracy McGriff (.292/10 HR/30 RBI) and RF Dix McIntosh (.323/10 HR/26 RBI) can hit the ball out-of-sight, going and coming... top twirlers are vets Lucius Quarles (10-7/4.04), Dicke Sternfeld (8-3/3.54) and Tuffy Hammel (7-6/4.56).

The Red Bluff Red Sox are tied for fourth place with Hillsboro... the Red Sox hit with power (4th), but don't score well (24th-tied)... on the hill they are pretty good (5th) with a solid core of veterans: All-Star Sonny Wheat (11-7/2.38) and Mickey Rosen (9-6/2.97)... LF Toni Kulkov (.302/19 HR/40 RBI), RF Marty Porter (.400/10 HR/29 RBI) and 3B Dazzy Bevis (.224/12 HR/29 RBI) are the primary power guys.

It was a marvelous year last season for the defending champ Hillsboro Blazers... they were 98-56 and beat out East Point for the division flag... not so this year... pitching has tapered off quite a bit... ace Hank Greenberry (6-9/2.85) and Clay Spencer (7-8/5.10) are having trouble winning... 21-game winner Steve Cooper (5-2/3.78) has only won 5 games thus far... and ace Jamie Lee Bradley (8-4/2.67) is out for the season with an arm injury... at the plate 1B Ernie Moxley (.250/11 HR/37 RBI), who hit 58 homers in '51, is not the same hitter with only 11 at mid-season... RF Eli Nickerson (.300/13 HR/27 RBI), LF Rupert Calkins (.278/12 HR/34 RBI) and C Harry Edwards (.292/8 HR/39 RBI) are the best of the rest.

Three clubs are going at it in the Tycobbian North Division... Oxford (47-26), Mahaska (43-30/4 GB) and Hartsdale (42-31/5 GB) are trying to put an end the White River domination... the Rascals (35-38) have corraled the last four pennants in a row, but have spiraled out-of-the-running this season... they are in fifth place and playing under .500 ball... 12 games back of Oxford... White River's mound corps has just not performed this year... that's the crux of their problems.

First place Oxford has parleyed solid bats with better-than-average pitching to move up from fifth place last year... 15 rookies have certainly made the difference... after 15 seasons of frustrating finishes... never higher than 4th... the Red Caps made wholesale changes and went with a youth movement... RF Wade McGrew (.316/12 HR/44 RBI), All-Star SS Mito Fujikawa (.288/11 HR/52 RBI), All-Star CF Dwayne Wagner (.300/10 HR/44 RBI) and 3B Allen Spears (.284/6 HR/42 RBI) have proved to valuable performers in their rookie year... on the hill vets Rudy Mellancamp (9-6/3.64), Tekkan Nishikawa (12-4/4.44), Lou Ellison (12-7/3.84) and rookie Homer Keaton (7-6/3.93) have been helped by the added offense.

The runner-up Mahaska Haymakers ran a distant second to White River last year and they are right back at the top this year... standout veteran starters like Bobby Kelman (12-4/2.77) and Pip Cordice (11-6/2.92), combined with reliable youngsters like rookie Hiram Jeffers (4-2/3.77) and Marty Mobley (6-6/3.56) have gotten the job done... the offense is adequate, led by 3B Goose Fulton (.276/5 HR/43 RBI), RF Roy Wilson (.372/3 HR/34 RBI), 2B Paul Waldrep (.325/1 HR/27 RBI) and longtime star SS Rocco Bertara (.315/3 HR/25 RBI).

Last season the Hartsdale Hellcats finished fourth in the TU North, 17 games out of first place... they possess pretty fair pitching and hitting... a good blend of both... vets Perry Givens (9-5/3.46) and Gil Younger (7-4/3.77) give them a good nucleus in their rotation and Roy Krieger (7-2/1.30/9 saves/39 G) is excellent in the bullpen... vet All-Star C Kenton Carmichael (.301/14 HR/31 RBI), vet CF Marv Shaw (.253/11 HR/35 RBI) and young 3B Bruno Bardella (.457/10 HR/24 RBI) top the Hellcats at the plate.

Four teams have their hearts set on the Tycobbian South pennant... Favored Turon (42-31) is the top team at mid-year with a 3-game margin over the always good San Alejo Montaneros (43-30)... 5 up on third place Southport (37-36) and 6 in front of fourth place Summerland (36-37)... the Monties beat out Turon by a game last season... could be just as close this year.

The Turon Typhoons have two impressive starters: All-Star Nate Scottsdale (13-2/2.76) and All-Star rookie Yancey Hedges (11-7/2.76)... add in reliable Izzy Beasley (7-9/4.78) and Russell Mallory (6-4/3.60) and you have a capable rotation... three players carry the so-so Turon offense... 3B Joel Guidry (.283/9 HR/35 RBI), 1B Shoyo Yuro (.305/8 HR/31 RBI) and C Doyle Ashcroft (.244/6 HR/43 RBI).

For 16 years in a row the San Alejo Montaneros have wound up in the first division of the TU South... usually in first or second place... the Monties won the flag in '49 and '51 and have a shot at it this year, too... they possess probably the best pitching tandem in the IPA... All-Star Will McKinney (13-3/1.95) and All-Star Matt Bell (11-7/2.59) are as good as it gets... and San Alejo still has a solid core of veteran hitters in CF Pablo Teixeira (.248/18 HR/45 RBI), LF Royce Grantham (.272/17 HR/40 RBI) and 1B Alanzo Grassi (.287/10 HR/32 RBI)... rookie SS Kiko Vidal (.272/10 HR/39 RBI) had added some needed punch to the batting order, too.

After winning 7 of 9 pennants beginning with the '42 season, Southport dipped down to fifth place last year... seem to be about the same this year... the Sun Sox don't look like a contender on paper or on the diamond... their wonderful pitching has deserted them in the last two years... but the offense is still fairly good... veterans Hal Combs (8-8/3.32), Champ Shafer (8-9/3.63) and Daron O'Rourke (6-6/4.29) are the mound mainstays... Troy Hill (6-2/2.43/11 saves/34 G) is still a very fine closer... rookie standout RF Manuelo Garcia (.376/9 HR/34 RBI), vet 3B Ricky Whitaker (.332/3 HR/29 RBI) and vet LF Tony Pastrano (.306/10 HR/36 RBI) are the top hitters.

Summerland is an oxymoron... first in pitching in the Tycobbian Union and last in scoring... 35-year-old veteran star Jayson Hallstrom (7-9/2.35) is still the ace, but now has some help from Tommy Underhill (10-2/2.26) and rookie Corey Vinson (8-4/3.38)... the Sunsets have no hitters at all... the best of the worst are RF Rick Mayes (.265/8 HR/29 RBI) and 3B Zane Howe (.256/6 HR/31 RBI).

The TU South race will get down to just Turon and San Alejo... Southport and Summerland will fade in the second-half run.

12-13-2016, 07:47 PM	#5334
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,106	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, June 18, 2052 TYCOBBIAN MID-SEASON RECAP All is well for the reigning Pro Cup holder... the Arlon Champions (47-26) have the best record in the Tycobbian Union and so far they have a very healthy lead in the TU West Division over the major contenders, the Kenwood Wildcats (39-34) and Denton City Redbirds (37-36). In spite of winning the Pro Cup last year, Arlon was determined to improve its offense... the Champs batted only .253 last year... they have fine pitching, but came up short in scoring runs... 14 rookies made the club this year... and the results have been startling... halfway through the season the Champs are hitting .284 (3rd) as a team and are second in runs... and the pitching is still above average... All-Star Erik Branham (13-2/3.08) is having a fine sophomore season... though he has missed almost two months with an arm injury Lanny Gray is 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA... J. C. Hilburn is 8-6 with a 4.16... down a little from last year's 19-12 mark with an impression 3.06 ERA... rookie Ty Coffee (7-7/3.68) has done well at times... the three main hitters are rookies: SS Art Catlin (.285/14 HR/53 RBI), CF P. J. Flagg (.278/12 HR/33 RBI) and 1B Shiloh Harris (.279/10 HR/40 RBI). Pitching carries the runner-up Kenwood Wildcats... the 4th best staff in the TU with vets Rusty Bradford (9-7/3.19), Tony Myerson (6-6/3.39) and Elian Verjano (9-5/3.52)... carrying the offensive load are RF Chris McNeal (.296/15 HR/51 RBI) and SS Bailey Brumley (.261/5 HR/51 RBI)... longtime superstar C Corky DiNozzo (.252/6 HR/27 RBI) may be slowing down at age 36... DiNozzo is a career .314 batter... and 1B Country Crowder (.328/1 HR/28 RBI) is still a .328 hitter at 36. Third place Denton City is just barely above the .500 mark, but they still have three veteran starters in Flash Stringfellow (11-6/3.74), Johnny Wingate (10-6/3.55) and Harry Elliott (5-3/3.31)... the Redbirds' best run providers are All-Star SS Vincent McCloud (.346/8 HR/44 RBI) and LF Matt Wakely (.374/8 HR/29 RBI), who came close to making the TU Stars. Hillsboro (38-35) was the toast of the TU East in 2051, but not this year... the Blazers have stumbled out-of-the-gate falling down to 5th place, 8 games back of heavy hitter East Point (46-37)... in the runner-up spot are the Midway Wolves (39-34) and the High Mesa Mustangs (39-34), both 7 games out... Red Bluff (38-35) is still in the fight, 8 games off the pace... the surprise pick to win the division South Fork (31-42) has played just like they did last year and are in last place... not a big surprise to most baseball fans. The powerful East Point Panthers can just about do it all... 6th in pitching, 2nd in BA, 3rd in scoring and 2nd in homers... they won the TU East in '50... lost to Hillsboro by 2 last year... and look to be headed for their second division title in 3 seasons... Benny Allen (11-5/3.66), Lee Price (14-3/4.03) and Ralph Wallace (10-9/2.88) are a strong trio of starters... Pudgy Putnam (5-3/2.21/4 saves/25 G) is the ace of the bullpen... the Panthers can hit the ball, too, with the likes of RF Doug Dennhardt (.348/22 HR/62 RBI), 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.302/14 HR/49 RBI), C Kenny Bailey (.300/11 HR/40 RBI)... CF Pokie Ash (.320/6 HR/29 RBI) and SS Justin McRae (.296/6 HR/29 RBI) are solid bats, too... it's easy to see why East Point is 8 games ahead in the Tycobbian East at the All-Star Game. The Midway Wolves have a fine bullpen, solid starters, but are just average offensively... Rocket Rhodes (4-1/1.84/4 saves/23 G) is the top reliever... vets Beau McCloud (8-9/2.44) and Charlie Chase (8-10/3.12) are very capable starters... and the most reliable hitters are SS Kax Clark (.325/5 HR/32 RBI) and LF Alfie Kincaid (.305/10 HR/30 RBI)... for Midway to make a move on East Point, they have to score more runs. The High Mesa Mustangs are coming off their best season in years... they came in third last season... still playing well using the longball and average pitching to hang within striking distance in the pennant race... the Mustangs have hit 101 home so far... four rookies All-Star LF Joe Duplanis (.338/22 HR/50 RBI), 3B Kagetoki Miyazaki (.254/14 HR/38 RBI), CF Tracy McGriff (.292/10 HR/30 RBI) and RF Dix McIntosh (.323/10 HR/26 RBI) can hit the ball out-of-sight, going and coming... top twirlers are vets Lucius Quarles (10-7/4.04), Dicke Sternfeld (8-3/3.54) and Tuffy Hammel (7-6/4.56). The Red Bluff Red Sox are tied for fourth place with Hillsboro... the Red Sox hit with power (4th), but don't score well (24th-tied)... on the hill they are pretty good (5th) with a solid core of veterans: All-Star Sonny Wheat (11-7/2.38) and Mickey Rosen (9-6/2.97)... LF Toni Kulkov (.302/19 HR/40 RBI), RF Marty Porter (.400/10 HR/29 RBI) and 3B Dazzy Bevis (.224/12 HR/29 RBI) are the primary power guys. It was a marvelous year last season for the defending champ Hillsboro Blazers... they were 98-56 and beat out East Point for the division flag... not so this year... pitching has tapered off quite a bit... ace Hank Greenberry (6-9/2.85) and Clay Spencer (7-8/5.10) are having trouble winning... 21-game winner Steve Cooper (5-2/3.78) has only won 5 games thus far... and ace Jamie Lee Bradley (8-4/2.67) is out for the season with an arm injury... at the plate 1B Ernie Moxley (.250/11 HR/37 RBI), who hit 58 homers in '51, is not the same hitter with only 11 at mid-season... RF Eli Nickerson (.300/13 HR/27 RBI), LF Rupert Calkins (.278/12 HR/34 RBI) and C Harry Edwards (.292/8 HR/39 RBI) are the best of the rest. Three clubs are going at it in the Tycobbian North Division... Oxford (47-26), Mahaska (43-30/4 GB) and Hartsdale (42-31/5 GB) are trying to put an end the White River domination... the Rascals (35-38) have corraled the last four pennants in a row, but have spiraled out-of-the-running this season... they are in fifth place and playing under .500 ball... 12 games back of Oxford... White River's mound corps has just not performed this year... that's the crux of their problems. First place Oxford has parleyed solid bats with better-than-average pitching to move up from fifth place last year... 15 rookies have certainly made the difference... after 15 seasons of frustrating finishes... never higher than 4th... the Red Caps made wholesale changes and went with a youth movement... RF Wade McGrew (.316/12 HR/44 RBI), All-Star SS Mito Fujikawa (.288/11 HR/52 RBI), All-Star CF Dwayne Wagner (.300/10 HR/44 RBI) and 3B Allen Spears (.284/6 HR/42 RBI) have proved to valuable performers in their rookie year... on the hill vets Rudy Mellancamp (9-6/3.64), Tekkan Nishikawa (12-4/4.44), Lou Ellison (12-7/3.84) and rookie Homer Keaton (7-6/3.93) have been helped by the added offense. The runner-up Mahaska Haymakers ran a distant second to White River last year and they are right back at the top this year... standout veteran starters like Bobby Kelman (12-4/2.77) and Pip Cordice (11-6/2.92), combined with reliable youngsters like rookie Hiram Jeffers (4-2/3.77) and Marty Mobley (6-6/3.56) have gotten the job done... the offense is adequate, led by 3B Goose Fulton (.276/5 HR/43 RBI), RF Roy Wilson (.372/3 HR/34 RBI), 2B Paul Waldrep (.325/1 HR/27 RBI) and longtime star SS Rocco Bertara (.315/3 HR/25 RBI). Last season the Hartsdale Hellcats finished fourth in the TU North, 17 games out of first place... they possess pretty fair pitching and hitting... a good blend of both... vets Perry Givens (9-5/3.46) and Gil Younger (7-4/3.77) give them a good nucleus in their rotation and Roy Krieger (7-2/1.30/9 saves/39 G) is excellent in the bullpen... vet All-Star C Kenton Carmichael (.301/14 HR/31 RBI), vet CF Marv Shaw (.253/11 HR/35 RBI) and young 3B Bruno Bardella (.457/10 HR/24 RBI) top the Hellcats at the plate. Four teams have their hearts set on the Tycobbian South pennant... Favored Turon (42-31) is the top team at mid-year with a 3-game margin over the always good San Alejo Montaneros (43-30)... 5 up on third place Southport (37-36) and 6 in front of fourth place Summerland (36-37)... the Monties beat out Turon by a game last season... could be just as close this year. The Turon Typhoons have two impressive starters: All-Star Nate Scottsdale (13-2/2.76) and All-Star rookie Yancey Hedges (11-7/2.76)... add in reliable Izzy Beasley (7-9/4.78) and Russell Mallory (6-4/3.60) and you have a capable rotation... three players carry the so-so Turon offense... 3B Joel Guidry (.283/9 HR/35 RBI), 1B Shoyo Yuro (.305/8 HR/31 RBI) and C Doyle Ashcroft (.244/6 HR/43 RBI). For 16 years in a row the San Alejo Montaneros have wound up in the first division of the TU South... usually in first or second place... the Monties won the flag in '49 and '51 and have a shot at it this year, too... they possess probably the best pitching tandem in the IPA... All-Star Will McKinney (13-3/1.95) and All-Star Matt Bell (11-7/2.59) are as good as it gets... and San Alejo still has a solid core of veteran hitters in CF Pablo Teixeira (.248/18 HR/45 RBI), LF Royce Grantham (.272/17 HR/40 RBI) and 1B Alanzo Grassi (.287/10 HR/32 RBI)... rookie SS Kiko Vidal (.272/10 HR/39 RBI) had added some needed punch to the batting order, too. After winning 7 of 9 pennants beginning with the '42 season, Southport dipped down to fifth place last year... seem to be about the same this year... the Sun Sox don't look like a contender on paper or on the diamond... their wonderful pitching has deserted them in the last two years... but the offense is still fairly good... veterans Hal Combs (8-8/3.32), Champ Shafer (8-9/3.63) and Daron O'Rourke (6-6/4.29) are the mound mainstays... Troy Hill (6-2/2.43/11 saves/34 G) is still a very fine closer... rookie standout RF Manuelo Garcia (.376/9 HR/34 RBI), vet 3B Ricky Whitaker (.332/3 HR/29 RBI) and vet LF Tony Pastrano (.306/10 HR/36 RBI) are the top hitters. Summerland is an oxymoron... first in pitching in the Tycobbian Union and last in scoring... 35-year-old veteran star Jayson Hallstrom (7-9/2.35) is still the ace, but now has some help from Tommy Underhill (10-2/2.26) and rookie Corey Vinson (8-4/3.38)... the Sunsets have no hitters at all... the best of the worst are RF Rick Mayes (.265/8 HR/29 RBI) and 3B Zane Howe (.256/6 HR/31 RBI). The TU South race will get down to just Turon and San Alejo... Southport and Summerland will fade in the second-half run. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-18-2016 at 03:35 PM.