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Eugene Church · 12-27-2016, 10:08 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2052

RED CAPS END RASCALS' RUN IN TU NORTH
The White River Rascals have been running roughshod over the Tycobbian North Division for the past four seasons... but the Rascals' run came to an end in 2052 at the hands of the Oxford Red Caps... it could have easily been the Mahaska Haymakers that did it, but they lost a sudden-death playoff game to Oxford... the Red Caps ravaged them 11-3 for the TU North pennant... third place did go to White River... the Rascals lost out by 3 and a half games... in the fourth spot were the Hartsdale Hellcats, just 4 and a half game out.

This will be the first time Oxford has been to the playoffs since 2007, when they won their only Pro Cup over four decades ago... it's been a long, long, long time coming.

It really was a fierce, year-long battle in the Tycobbian North between Oxford (86-69), Mahaska (85-70) and Hartsdale (81-73)... White River (82-72) didn't play well in the first half of the season and trailed by 12 games at mid-year... they got hot late, but couldn't catch Oxford or Mahaska, but they came close to winning again.

1st Place: OXFORD RED CAPS (86-69)
Last Year: 5th Place (75-79) (22 GB)
Season Forecast: 2nd Place
Pro Cups: 1 (2007)... Oxford captured its only IPA crown by beating Stoner in 5 games... hasn't made the postseason since.
Playoffs: 5
Last Appearance: 2007

Team Stats: .270 BA (11th)/900 runs (3rd)/167 HR (7th)/4.19 ERA (23rd)/.960 FA
Pitchers: good trio of starters in Lou Ellison (21-16/4.02), Rudy Mellancamp (21-14/3.66) and Tekkan Nishikawa (18-12/4.75)... they have to pitch in a small ballyard with close fences down the lines... not much of a bullpen.
Batters: the Red Caps can really swing a bat... sparked by All-Star CF Dwayne Wagner (.287/28 HR/125 RBI/101 R), All-Star SS Mito Fujikawa (.265/25 HR/108 RBI/100 R/24 SB), LF Ozzy Ackerman (.294/29 HR/98 RBI/96 R/37 SB), 3B Allen Spears (.290/10 HR/80 RBI/90 R/8 SB) and RF Wade McGrew (.277/27 HR/81 RBI/74 R/5 SB)

Outlook: Oxford manager Dennis Hartwig has plenty of hitters, but lacks the pitching to go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... East Point, Kenwood and Turon can all hit well, but has superior pitching staffs... the Red Caps can look forward to the future... they are a relatively young club.

2nd Place: Mahaska Haymakers (85-70) (1 GB)
Last Year: 2nd Place (87-67) (10 GB)
Season Forecast: 3rd Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 4
Last Appearance: 2028

Team Stats: .275 BA (5th)/769 runs (15th)/98 HR (28th-tied)/3.73 ERA (11th)/.965 FA
Pitchers: Pip Cordice (20-15/3.04), Bobby Kelman (22-7/3.57) are the only quality starters... bullpen is just average
Batters: Haymakers don't have a knockout punch... not much punch and power... but can make contact and score runs... RF Roy Wilson (.328/3 HR/67 RBI/82 R/18 SB), rookie SS Paul Waldrep (.311/2 HR/66 RBI/77 R/10 SB), CF Tom Norborne (.301/19 HR/61 RBI/71 R/7 SB), 3B Goose Fulton (.266/12 HR/79 RBI/58 R) and C Johnny Samarin (.262/7 HR/69 RBI/60 R)

Outlook: Haymaker skipper Travis Tuttle has the club on the rise with a fairly young team... looking good for the future.

3rd Place: White River Rascals (82-72) (3.5 GB)
Last Year: 1st Place
Season Forecast: 1st Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2048 to 2051... won TU North four years in a row... lost to IPA champ three straight years in the playoffs... Pro Cup finalist in '49 and '50... lost to Valmara... fell to Arlon in Tycobbian LCS in '51

Team Stats: .255 BA (26th)/725 runs (24th)/144 HR (17th)/3.50 ERA (7th)/.969 FA
Pitchers: only Nicky Palmer (21-12/2.41) had a good year... the other starters slipped a notch or two this season... Keil Trickett (15-13/3.63) and Artie Wynyard (15-13/4.13) had fair years, but not standout years as they did a year ago.
Batters: club leaders were All-Star CF Pudge Tate (.298/30 HR/84 RBI/91 R/13 SB), LF Ryne Hyland (.295/27 HR/82 RBI/106 R/33 SB) and 1B Billy Joe Hickman (.293/24 HR/79 RBI/59 R)

Outlook: White River manager Marty Blake still has a young ballclub... the Rascals should be around and in contention for the next few years... they just need to get their pitching staff back to where it was last year... too many of them had down years this year... the core of the team is still there.

4th Place: Hartsdale Hellcats (81-73) (4.5 GB)
Last Year: 4th Place (80-74) (17 GB)
Season Forecast: 5th Place
Pro Cups: 1 (2046)... the Hellcats took an exciting 7-game series from Valmara
Playoffs: 9
Last Appearance: 2047

Team Stats: .266 BA (19th)/738 runs (21st)/148 HR/13th-tied)/3.84 ERA (12th)/.964 FA
Pitchers: two fine starters in Perry Givens (19-9/3.25) and Gil Younger (15-17/3.77)... reliable bullpen with Roy Krieger (12-6/1.48/20 saves/78 G) and Steve Owens (8-5/2.22/10 saves/59 G)
Batters: just a bunch of average hitters... the top run producers are All-Star C Kenton Carmichael (.292/26 HR/82 RBI/89 R), 3B Smokey Nix (.274/17 HR/62 RBI/78 R.7 SB) and CF Justin Cutler (.264/14 HR/64 RBI/57 R/8 SB)

Outlook: Hellcat manager Wayne Dawson had them in contention the entire year... all he needs is a solid starter or two... and one or two longball threats to step it up another notch to hoist the TU North pennant over their ballpark.

5th Place: Blue Lake Blue Sox (72-82) (13.5 GB)
Last Year: 6th Place (61-93) (36 GB)
Season Forecast: 7th Place
Pro Cups: 1 (2030)... the Blue Sox were surprise victors over the Valmara Vipers in 7 games
Playoffs: 3
Last Appearance: 2030... the Pro Cup year

Team Stats: .235 BA (32nd)/629 runs (31st)/98 HR (28th-tied)/3.86 ERA (14th)/.962 FA
Pitchers: a pair of pretty good starters in Al Easley (14-12/3.08) and Dookie Denham (13-12/3.00)... Marty Manush (13-11/2.40/10 saves/71 G) is the best in the bullpen... overall a better-than-averge mound staff
Batters: poor offense... best of the worst is C Juan Luis Barcelona (.284/12 HR/70 RBI/66 R)... LF Burl Baugh (.242/25 HR/83 RBI/64 R) can produce runs on occasion with longballs... best of the bad are 2B Tyler Blake (.268/2 HR/50 RBI/61 R) and 1B Jude Rupp (.248/13 HR/64 RBI/69 R)

Outlook: Blue Sox skipper Frankie Quinn has a tough row to hoe... not a lot of talent in Blue Lake... just a second-division team.

6th Place: North Hills Hawks (71-83) (14.5 GB)
Last Year: 8th Place (46-108) (51 GB)
Season Forecast: 4th Place
Pro Cups: 4... won them all '34 to '41... whipping Crystal Lake (2034), St. John (2036), Far Mountain (2038), Cold Creek (2041)
Playoffs: 13
Last Appearance: 2045... won 11 pennants in 12 years from 2034

Team Stats: .268 BA (17th)/718 runs (26th-tied)/65 HR (32nd)/4.01 ERA (17th)/.972 FA
Pitchers: Thad Vachon (15-18/3.36), Stan Kallis (14-17/4.06) and Doyle Blalock (13-15/4.18) are decent starters... and DeWitt Dobkins (10-6/2.96/12 saves/75 G) is a solid closer
Batters: no power at the plate... but they have several pretty fair hitters in 2B Sam Dunstone (.327/0 HR/47 RBI/102 R/21 SB), RF Cliff Mahaffey (.289/6 HR/81 RBI/99 R/18 SB) and 3B Justin Roscoe (.291/11 HR/98 RBI/59 R)

Outlook: North Hills manager David Michael did well in his first season, improving from a disasterous 46-108 in '51 to a decent 71-81 this season... the team still has a ways to go get into contention for the division flag.

7th Place: Luxora Zorros (68-86) (17.5 GB)
Last Year: 3rd Place (82-72) (15 GB)
Season Forecast: 8th Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 11
Last Appearance: 2031

Team Stats: .257 BA (25th)/713 runs (29th)/127 HR (20th-tied)/4.08 ERA (21st)/.967 FA
Pitchers: Mack Wellman (16-16/3.62) and Paolo De Freitas (15-13/4.25) are the most reliable starters... the overall staff is fairly good, but is aging a little.
Batters: just a bunch of decent hitters... no one special... led by 1B Tuff McLendon (.291/17 HR/97 RBI/74 R)... and SS Emmett Cusack (.280/10 HR/57 RBI/96 R/42 SB)

Outlook: Manager Kent Halloran took over the Zorros this year, but the season wasn't as bad as expected... it will take quite a few talented players to get Luxora up into contention... not likely to happen soon.

8th Place: Fairfax Frogs (64-90) (21.5 GB)
Last Year: 7th Place (57-97) (40 GB)
Season Forecast: 6th Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2033

Team Stats: .273 BA (9th)/714 runs (28th)/85 HR (31st)/4.48 ERA (25th)/.969 FA
Pitchers: staff is bad at best... Shaun O'Riley (11-16/3.92), Jay Jay Dillaway (13-14/4.20) and Luca Cusimano (15-18/4.35) are just mediocre starters... bullpen isn't much better... closer is Lyle Linden (8-10/3.45/15 saves/86 G) is fairly reliable.
Batters: no power... but some fairly decent contact hitters in RF rookie Paddy Fenroy (.291/3 HR/60 RBI/102 R/26 SB), CF Kaz Ozaki (.291/10 HR/57 RBI/93 R/22 SB), C Scott Courtney (.296/21 HR/84 RBI/68 R), rookie RF Downtown Wyatt (.301/7 HR/81 RBI/65 R/8 SB) and SS Cade Durning (.290/5 HR/49 RBI/80 R)

Outlook: new Fairfax manager John Velasco saw modest improvements this season, mainly from the influx of several talented rookies... still has a long, long way to go... improvement needed in all aspect of the team... could be a few years from contention.

12-27-2016, 10:08 PM	#5359
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,900	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, September 17, 2052 RED CAPS END RASCALS' RUN IN TU NORTH The White River Rascals have been running roughshod over the Tycobbian North Division for the past four seasons... but the Rascals' run came to an end in 2052 at the hands of the Oxford Red Caps... it could have easily been the Mahaska Haymakers that did it, but they lost a sudden-death playoff game to Oxford... the Red Caps ravaged them 11-3 for the TU North pennant... third place did go to White River... the Rascals lost out by 3 and a half games... in the fourth spot were the Hartsdale Hellcats, just 4 and a half game out. This will be the first time Oxford has been to the playoffs since 2007, when they won their only Pro Cup over four decades ago... it's been a long, long, long time coming. It really was a fierce, year-long battle in the Tycobbian North between Oxford (86-69), Mahaska (85-70) and Hartsdale (81-73)... White River (82-72) didn't play well in the first half of the season and trailed by 12 games at mid-year... they got hot late, but couldn't catch Oxford or Mahaska, but they came close to winning again. 1st Place: OXFORD RED CAPS (86-69) Last Year: 5th Place (75-79) (22 GB) Season Forecast: 2nd Place Pro Cups: 1 (2007)... Oxford captured its only IPA crown by beating Stoner in 5 games... hasn't made the postseason since. Playoffs: 5 Last Appearance: 2007 Team Stats: .270 BA (11th)/900 runs (3rd)/167 HR (7th)/4.19 ERA (23rd)/.960 FA Pitchers: good trio of starters in Lou Ellison (21-16/4.02), Rudy Mellancamp (21-14/3.66) and Tekkan Nishikawa (18-12/4.75)... they have to pitch in a small ballyard with close fences down the lines... not much of a bullpen. Batters: the Red Caps can really swing a bat... sparked by All-Star CF Dwayne Wagner (.287/28 HR/125 RBI/101 R), All-Star SS Mito Fujikawa (.265/25 HR/108 RBI/100 R/24 SB), LF Ozzy Ackerman (.294/29 HR/98 RBI/96 R/37 SB), 3B Allen Spears (.290/10 HR/80 RBI/90 R/8 SB) and RF Wade McGrew (.277/27 HR/81 RBI/74 R/5 SB) Outlook: Oxford manager Dennis Hartwig has plenty of hitters, but lacks the pitching to go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... East Point, Kenwood and Turon can all hit well, but has superior pitching staffs... the Red Caps can look forward to the future... they are a relatively young club. 2nd Place: Mahaska Haymakers (85-70) (1 GB) Last Year: 2nd Place (87-67) (10 GB) Season Forecast: 3rd Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 4 Last Appearance: 2028 Team Stats: .275 BA (5th)/769 runs (15th)/98 HR (28th-tied)/3.73 ERA (11th)/.965 FA Pitchers: Pip Cordice (20-15/3.04), Bobby Kelman (22-7/3.57) are the only quality starters... bullpen is just average Batters: Haymakers don't have a knockout punch... not much punch and power... but can make contact and score runs... RF Roy Wilson (.328/3 HR/67 RBI/82 R/18 SB), rookie SS Paul Waldrep (.311/2 HR/66 RBI/77 R/10 SB), CF Tom Norborne (.301/19 HR/61 RBI/71 R/7 SB), 3B Goose Fulton (.266/12 HR/79 RBI/58 R) and C Johnny Samarin (.262/7 HR/69 RBI/60 R) Outlook: Haymaker skipper Travis Tuttle has the club on the rise with a fairly young team... looking good for the future. 3rd Place: White River Rascals (82-72) (3.5 GB) Last Year: 1st Place Season Forecast: 1st Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 8 Last Appearance: 2048 to 2051... won TU North four years in a row... lost to IPA champ three straight years in the playoffs... Pro Cup finalist in '49 and '50... lost to Valmara... fell to Arlon in Tycobbian LCS in '51 Team Stats: .255 BA (26th)/725 runs (24th)/144 HR (17th)/3.50 ERA (7th)/.969 FA Pitchers: only Nicky Palmer (21-12/2.41) had a good year... the other starters slipped a notch or two this season... Keil Trickett (15-13/3.63) and Artie Wynyard (15-13/4.13) had fair years, but not standout years as they did a year ago. Batters: club leaders were All-Star CF Pudge Tate (.298/30 HR/84 RBI/91 R/13 SB), LF Ryne Hyland (.295/27 HR/82 RBI/106 R/33 SB) and 1B Billy Joe Hickman (.293/24 HR/79 RBI/59 R) Outlook: White River manager Marty Blake still has a young ballclub... the Rascals should be around and in contention for the next few years... they just need to get their pitching staff back to where it was last year... too many of them had down years this year... the core of the team is still there. 4th Place: Hartsdale Hellcats (81-73) (4.5 GB) Last Year: 4th Place (80-74) (17 GB) Season Forecast: 5th Place Pro Cups: 1 (2046)... the Hellcats took an exciting 7-game series from Valmara Playoffs: 9 Last Appearance: 2047 Team Stats: .266 BA (19th)/738 runs (21st)/148 HR/13th-tied)/3.84 ERA (12th)/.964 FA Pitchers: two fine starters in Perry Givens (19-9/3.25) and Gil Younger (15-17/3.77)... reliable bullpen with Roy Krieger (12-6/1.48/20 saves/78 G) and Steve Owens (8-5/2.22/10 saves/59 G) Batters: just a bunch of average hitters... the top run producers are All-Star C Kenton Carmichael (.292/26 HR/82 RBI/89 R), 3B Smokey Nix (.274/17 HR/62 RBI/78 R.7 SB) and CF Justin Cutler (.264/14 HR/64 RBI/57 R/8 SB) Outlook: Hellcat manager Wayne Dawson had them in contention the entire year... all he needs is a solid starter or two... and one or two longball threats to step it up another notch to hoist the TU North pennant over their ballpark. 5th Place: Blue Lake Blue Sox (72-82) (13.5 GB) Last Year: 6th Place (61-93) (36 GB) Season Forecast: 7th Place Pro Cups: 1 (2030)... the Blue Sox were surprise victors over the Valmara Vipers in 7 games Playoffs: 3 Last Appearance: 2030... the Pro Cup year Team Stats: .235 BA (32nd)/629 runs (31st)/98 HR (28th-tied)/3.86 ERA (14th)/.962 FA Pitchers: a pair of pretty good starters in Al Easley (14-12/3.08) and Dookie Denham (13-12/3.00)... Marty Manush (13-11/2.40/10 saves/71 G) is the best in the bullpen... overall a better-than-averge mound staff Batters: poor offense... best of the worst is C Juan Luis Barcelona (.284/12 HR/70 RBI/66 R)... LF Burl Baugh (.242/25 HR/83 RBI/64 R) can produce runs on occasion with longballs... best of the bad are 2B Tyler Blake (.268/2 HR/50 RBI/61 R) and 1B Jude Rupp (.248/13 HR/64 RBI/69 R) Outlook: Blue Sox skipper Frankie Quinn has a tough row to hoe... not a lot of talent in Blue Lake... just a second-division team. 6th Place: North Hills Hawks (71-83) (14.5 GB) Last Year: 8th Place (46-108) (51 GB) Season Forecast: 4th Place Pro Cups: 4... won them all '34 to '41... whipping Crystal Lake (2034), St. John (2036), Far Mountain (2038), Cold Creek (2041) Playoffs: 13 Last Appearance: 2045... won 11 pennants in 12 years from 2034 Team Stats: .268 BA (17th)/718 runs (26th-tied)/65 HR (32nd)/4.01 ERA (17th)/.972 FA Pitchers: Thad Vachon (15-18/3.36), Stan Kallis (14-17/4.06) and Doyle Blalock (13-15/4.18) are decent starters... and DeWitt Dobkins (10-6/2.96/12 saves/75 G) is a solid closer Batters: no power at the plate... but they have several pretty fair hitters in 2B Sam Dunstone (.327/0 HR/47 RBI/102 R/21 SB), RF Cliff Mahaffey (.289/6 HR/81 RBI/99 R/18 SB) and 3B Justin Roscoe (.291/11 HR/98 RBI/59 R) Outlook: North Hills manager David Michael did well in his first season, improving from a disasterous 46-108 in '51 to a decent 71-81 this season... the team still has a ways to go get into contention for the division flag. 7th Place: Luxora Zorros (68-86) (17.5 GB) Last Year: 3rd Place (82-72) (15 GB) Season Forecast: 8th Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 11 Last Appearance: 2031 Team Stats: .257 BA (25th)/713 runs (29th)/127 HR (20th-tied)/4.08 ERA (21st)/.967 FA Pitchers: Mack Wellman (16-16/3.62) and Paolo De Freitas (15-13/4.25) are the most reliable starters... the overall staff is fairly good, but is aging a little. Batters: just a bunch of decent hitters... no one special... led by 1B Tuff McLendon (.291/17 HR/97 RBI/74 R)... and SS Emmett Cusack (.280/10 HR/57 RBI/96 R/42 SB) Outlook: Manager Kent Halloran took over the Zorros this year, but the season wasn't as bad as expected... it will take quite a few talented players to get Luxora up into contention... not likely to happen soon. 8th Place: Fairfax Frogs (64-90) (21.5 GB) Last Year: 7th Place (57-97) (40 GB) Season Forecast: 6th Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 8 Last Appearance: 2033 Team Stats: .273 BA (9th)/714 runs (28th)/85 HR (31st)/4.48 ERA (25th)/.969 FA Pitchers: staff is bad at best... Shaun O'Riley (11-16/3.92), Jay Jay Dillaway (13-14/4.20) and Luca Cusimano (15-18/4.35) are just mediocre starters... bullpen isn't much better... closer is Lyle Linden (8-10/3.45/15 saves/86 G) is fairly reliable. Batters: no power... but some fairly decent contact hitters in RF rookie Paddy Fenroy (.291/3 HR/60 RBI/102 R/26 SB), CF Kaz Ozaki (.291/10 HR/57 RBI/93 R/22 SB), C Scott Courtney (.296/21 HR/84 RBI/68 R), rookie RF Downtown Wyatt (.301/7 HR/81 RBI/65 R/8 SB) and SS Cade Durning (.290/5 HR/49 RBI/80 R) Outlook: new Fairfax manager John Velasco saw modest improvements this season, mainly from the influx of several talented rookies... still has a long, long way to go... improvement needed in all aspect of the team... could be a few years from contention. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-28-2016 at 07:58 PM.