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

Eugene Church · 01-01-2017, 06:01 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2052

EP PANTHERS PREVAIL IN TU EAST
For the second time in three seasons the East Point Panthers (96-58) are back on top of the Tycobbian East Division... after losing the pennant by 2 games last year to the Hillsboro Blazers, the Panthers are back in business... they ran up good 8-game lead at mid-year and then held off the Midway Wolves (91-63) by 5 games... Red Bluff (88-66) came in third, 8 games back... and last year's champ Hillsdale (86-68) was 10 games behind and finished fourth.

Overall the TU East may be the best division in the IPA... 5 of the clubs were over .500... fifth place High Mesa (82-72) was 10 games over .500... sixth place Tuckanarra (76-78) and South Fork (76-78) were only 2 games below .500... even last place Ozarka won 70 games.

1st Place: EAST POINT PANTHERS (96-58)
Last Year: 2nd Place (96-58) (2 GB)
Season Forecast: 3rd Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 6
Last Appearance: 2050

Team Stats: .280 BA (3rd)/909 runs (2nd)/207 HR (2nd)/3.63 ERA (9th)/.965 FA
Pitchers: Ralph Wallace (21-16/2.62) is the ace of the staff with quality help from Benny Allen (20-11/3.84) and Lee Price (23-9/4.61)... Armed Forces Stadium is not a pitcher-friendly park... the Panthers had a solid bullpen, too, with Pudgy Putnam (10-4/1.79/9 saves/52 G) and Kerry Woodburn (7-5/3.35/11 saves/48 G).
Batters: this is where manager Frank Blair is blessed... he has a plethora of solid hitters: RF Doug Dennhardt (.312/35 HR/109 RBI/77 R/8 SB), 1B Alvaro Cavacas (.301/27 HR/92 RBI/71 R/19 SB), C Kenny Bailey (.309/32 HR/113 RBI/80 R), 3B Justin McRae (.313/12 HR/69 RBI/108 R/24 SB), CF Pokie Ash (.280/16 HR/61 RBI/102 R/21 SB) and 2B Major Woods (.307/12 HR/67 RBI/78 R/8 SB).

Outlook: East Point is a talented and young ballclub... can hit with power and score... if the Panthers get solid pitching they can go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... tied for the best record in the Tycobbian Union with Turon... the Tycobbian champ will come from East Point or Kenwood... it could be the Year of the Cats in the TU.

2nd Place: Midway Wolves (91-63) (5 GB)
Last Year: 5th Place (83-71) (15 GB)
Season Forecast: 2nd Place
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 3
Last Appearance: 2027

Team Stats: .265 BA (21st)/759 runs/16th)/145 HR (16th)/2.99 ERA (2nd)/.962 FA
Pitchers: with HOF pitcher Bobby Dorignac (315-228/2.96) as skipper, the name of the game in Midway is pitching... Beau McCloud (13-13/2.37) and Charlie Chase (17-16/3.14) were the prime starters, along with rookie Will Deberry (13-9/2.54)... McCloud was injured in August and Chase in September... hurt Midway for the stretch drive... but Yank Atchley (7-5/3.58) and Arnie McGill (7-0/2.81) did well filling in... and the bullpen is one of the IPA's best with Rocket Rhodes (11-2/1.86/8 saves/56 G) and Jeffrey Leonard (8-2/2.37/10 saves/47 G).
Batters: the Wolves have a lot of fairly good hitters, but no real threats... SS Kax Clark (.317/8 HR/76 RBI/101 R/15 SB) is one of the few productive bats... Dorignac platoons a lot... the best of the rest are rookie 3B Jamey Southwick (.296/18 HR/57 RBI/56 R) and LF Alfie Kincade (.298/17 HR/51 RBI/45 R)... rookie 2B Odis Tomlin (.243/21 HR/71 RBI/48 R), rookie RF Daryl Vale (.266/16 HR/58 RBI/61 R/13 SB) and rookie Norbert Karns (.12 HR/41 RBI/43 R) show some power potential.

Outlook: good young team with fine pitching and good potential... Midway should be a contender for a few years.

3rd Place: Red Bluff Red Sox (88-66) (8 GB)
Last Year: 4th Place (88-66) (10 GB)
Season Forecast: 4th Place
Pro Cups: 1 (2004)... whipped Sugar Valley Rattlers in 5 games
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2047... the Red Sox had a nice run with pennants from '44 to '47

Team Stats: .251 BA (29th)/753 runs (18th)/176 HR (5th)/3.40 ERA (5th)/.965 FA
Pitchers: ace is veteran Sonny Wheat (23-13/2.50)... Mickey Rosen (22-12/3.42) is still a fine starter at age 35... Felix Delatte (9-10/3.23) is a reliable starter, too... team needs help in the bullpen.
Batters: LF Toni Kolkov (.291/35 HR/85 RBI/93 R/8 SB) is manager Ike Sweetwater's top batsman... 3B Dazzy Bevis (.243/26 HR/86 RBI/93 R/18 SB) doesn't hit for average, but can go deep and drive in runs... SS Joe Patrick (.260/13 HR/63 RBI/70 R/11 SB) and 1B Monty Lyons (.263/13 HR/59 RBI/69 R/15 SB) are good, solid regulars... rookie RF Marty Parker (.340/21 HR/59 RBI/48 R) looks like a hitter with fine potential... but he needs to play everyday... currently platooned.

Outlook: Prospects are on the upgrade for Red Bluff skipper Ike Sweetwater... he needs to perk up his hitters... the Red Sox would be a threat if they get another solid starter and a good closer... it's wouldn't hurt to beef up the bats, either.

4th Place: Hillsboro Blazers (86-68) (10 GB)
Last Year: 1st Place (98-56)
Season Forecast: 7th
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 1
Last Appearance: 2051

Team Stats: .250 BA (31st)/727 runs (22nd-tied)/179 HR (4th)/3.28 ERA (3rd)/.971 FA
Pitchers: Clay Spencer (18-10/3.81), Steve Cooper (12-10/3.10), Hank Greenberry (15-17/2.79) and Scott Cole (16-9/3.89) were a good rotation, but didn't perform as well as last year... Jamie Lee Bradley (8-4/2.67) had a fine half season, but was injured in June and was greatly missed... would have challenged for the top spot with him... bullpen needs help... Ron Pryor (9-12/3.40/10 saves/64 G) was the best.
Batters: the offensive output was much less this year... homers down from 217 to 179... LF Rupert Calkins (.266/29 HR/78 RBI/69 R), RF Eli Nickelson (.271/27 HR/73 RBI/94 R/20 SB), C Harry Edwards (.271/15 HR/84 RBI/62 R/5 SB) and 2B Bob Foster (.297/12 HR/63 RBI/82 R/11 SB) didn't hit for average, but did have some pop... no one on the club hit .300.

Outlook: considering the loss of Bradley and the power drop, manager Andy Jefferson did fine job keeping his Blazers in the first division... Hillsboro is an aging club... especially needs younger pitchers.

5th Place: High Mesa Mustangs (82-72) (14 GB)
Last Year: 3rd Place (91-63) (7 GB)
Season Forecast: 8th Place
Pro Cups: 1 (2002)... swept Elnora in three games... back when 32 teams qualified for the playoffs... IPA Pro Cup was best-of-five back in the early days.
Playoffs: 3
Last Appearance: 2048

Team Stats: .260 BA (23rd)/841 runs (5th)/205 HR (3rd)/3.98 ERA (16th)/.958 FA
Pitchers: pitching slumped badly this year... team ERA went from 3.23 to 3.89... stars Tuffy Hammel (15-13/3.57) and Lucius Quarles (19-15/3.93) had off-years... Dickie Sternfeld (17-10/3.93) is a dependable #3 starter... Sal Delliger (10-12/4.42) is a fair #4.... bullpen doesn't offer much help.
Batters: HOF legendary slugger Jack Elliott (848 career homers) has club that can go deep and put runs on the scoreboard... rookies were a big part of the improved hitting... led by All-Star Joe Duplantis (.310 BA/41 HR/102 RBI/87 R/5 SB), 3B Kagetoki Myazaki (.236/24 HR/80 RBI/61 R), SS Tommy Yost (.269/14 HR/71 RBI/78 R), CF Tracy McGriff (.286/22 HR/64 RBI/73 R/3 SB), RF Dix McIntosh (.275/19 HR/51 RBI/48 R) and C Gerry Glidden (.272/15 HR/49 RBI/31 R)... plus one of the few vets on the team 2B Randy Sweetland (.313/2 HR/47 RBI/75 R/12 SB), a slick fielder and reliable hitter.

Outlook: pitching staff is getting old... could be a problem... but the hitters are young and very productive... as long as Quarles and Hammel are effective, the Mustangs will do alright... might even contend in the coming season... defense is also a huge problem... one of the worst in the IPA.

6th Place (tie): Tuckanarra Blue Jays (76-78) (20 GB)
Last Year: 6th Place (79-75) (19 GB)
Season Forecast: 5th Place
Pro Cups: 3 (2023) beat Valmara in 6 games... (2024) swept Sugar Valley in 4... (2035) swept Elnora in 4... also were Pro Cup finalists in '12 and '28, losing to the great Far Mountain Redhawks in a 4-game sweep and to Waleska in 7 games.
Playoffs: 18
Last Appearance: 2049

Team Stats: .271 BA (10th)/781 runs (14th)/153 HR (11th)/4.08 ERA (20th)/.972 FA
Pitchers: mound mainstays Dickie Pittman (13-18/3.51) and Ozzie Leslie (15-13/3.44) in their 30s and may be on the downgrade... no quality starters after them in the rotation... young Paul Landale (13-5/2.91/15 saves/78 G) is a fine reliever... but not much after him in the bullpen.
Batters: top bats are All-Star CF Harv Bannerman (.278/34 HR/102 RBI/102 R/40 SB) and All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.305/20 HR/89 RBI/97 R)... three rookies contributed: LF Jali Toba (.274/17 HR/60 RBI/89 R/20 SB), 3B Newt Crutchfield (.325/16 HR/69 RBI/68 R) and RF Jay Jay Bachelor (.277/13 HR/72 RBI/47 R/6 SB).

Outlook: the Tucks have fairly good offense, average pitching and very good defense... manager Junior Bristow needs help in at the plate and on the hill to move up in the standings... looks like a second-division club for the next few seasons.

6th Place (tie): South Fork Stallions (76-78) (20 GB)
Last Year: 8th Place (56-98) (42 GB)
Season Forecast: 1st Place
Pro Cups: 2 (2025... edged Middlefield in 7 games... 2042... swept the Colfax Blasters in 4 games)
Playoffs: 6
Last Appearance: 2043

Team Stats: .267 BA (18th)/721 runs (25th)/127 HR (20th-tied)/3.57 ERA (8th)/.973 FA
Pitchers: most of the staff was rookies... led by Brett McCracken (17-15/3.21) and Bud Bowens (14-12/3.26)... vet Jay Murphy (14-17/3.90) was one of the few to survive the postseason firesale last year... young bullpen did well with a 2.30 ERA (3rd)
Batters: All-Star C Rudy Maroney (.295/27 HR/89 RBI/76 R) was the club leader, along with All-Star LF Jack Boswell (.310/24 HR/79 RBI/80 R/7 SB)... CF Frank Stewart (.263/18 HR/79 RBI/61 R/6 SB) also provided a little offense.

Outlook: the baseball forecasters really thought South Fork had improved greatly in the off-season with some really fine rookies and surprisingly picked them to win the division, but no serious sportswriter or broadcaster took them seriously and they turned out to be right... manager Eldon Jacoby's young squad did well, but no where near first place... but they did get 20 games better... but South Fork is still pretty much a second-division team.

8th Place: Ozarka Naturals (70-84) (26 GB)
Last Year: 7th Place (77-77) (21 GB)
Season Forecast: 6th Place
Pro Cups: None (but the Nats did make the finals 5 times... lost to super power Far Mountain in '11 and '12, IPA juggernaut Eastshore in '18, Rocky Rapids in '19 and Crystal Lake in '20)
Playoffs: 15
Last Appearance: 2040

Team Stats: .269 BA (16th)/718 runs (26th-tied)/95 HR (30th)/4.07 ERA (19th)/.965 FA
Pitchers: ace is vet Carl Hemus (16-19/308), a quality IPA starter... not much after him... he got some help from rookie Toby Rivera (15-12/4.22)... bullpen is fairly good, but inconsistent... top reliever is vet Jim Greene (6-11/2.78/18 saves/78 G).
Batters: team has no home-run power... doesn't score well... just a bunch of fairly-reliable contact hitter paced by CF Frank Mason (.309/19 HR/57 RBI/86 R/15 SB), 1B Kyle Hartman (.280/11 HR/89 RBI/78 R/23 SB), rookie RF Miron Lezak (.282/21 HR/82 RBI/73 R/3 SB), rookie LF Donny Joe Jacks (.293/11 HR/62 RBI/84 R/17 SB) and C Tuffy Palmiero (.282/2 HR/52 RBI/67 R).

Outlook: Ozarka will be skippered by Jaak Pajukivi next season... the club has been stuck in the second division of the Tycobbian East for the last 8 years... it will take Pajukivi a few years to be a first-division contender... much longer to be in the pennant race... the Naturals have a weak offense and mediocre pitching.

01-01-2017, 06:01 PM	#5363
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,084	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, September 17, 2052 EP PANTHERS PREVAIL IN TU EAST For the second time in three seasons the East Point Panthers (96-58) are back on top of the Tycobbian East Division... after losing the pennant by 2 games last year to the Hillsboro Blazers, the Panthers are back in business... they ran up good 8-game lead at mid-year and then held off the Midway Wolves (91-63) by 5 games... Red Bluff (88-66) came in third, 8 games back... and last year's champ Hillsdale (86-68) was 10 games behind and finished fourth. Overall the TU East may be the best division in the IPA... 5 of the clubs were over .500... fifth place High Mesa (82-72) was 10 games over .500... sixth place Tuckanarra (76-78) and South Fork (76-78) were only 2 games below .500... even last place Ozarka won 70 games. 1st Place: EAST POINT PANTHERS (96-58) Last Year: 2nd Place (96-58) (2 GB) Season Forecast: 3rd Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 6 Last Appearance: 2050 Team Stats: .280 BA (3rd)/909 runs (2nd)/207 HR (2nd)/3.63 ERA (9th)/.965 FA Pitchers: Ralph Wallace (21-16/2.62) is the ace of the staff with quality help from Benny Allen (20-11/3.84) and Lee Price (23-9/4.61)... Armed Forces Stadium is not a pitcher-friendly park... the Panthers had a solid bullpen, too, with Pudgy Putnam (10-4/1.79/9 saves/52 G) and Kerry Woodburn (7-5/3.35/11 saves/48 G). Batters: this is where manager Frank Blair is blessed... he has a plethora of solid hitters: RF Doug Dennhardt (.312/35 HR/109 RBI/77 R/8 SB), 1B Alvaro Cavacas (.301/27 HR/92 RBI/71 R/19 SB), C Kenny Bailey (.309/32 HR/113 RBI/80 R), 3B Justin McRae (.313/12 HR/69 RBI/108 R/24 SB), CF Pokie Ash (.280/16 HR/61 RBI/102 R/21 SB) and 2B Major Woods (.307/12 HR/67 RBI/78 R/8 SB). Outlook: East Point is a talented and young ballclub... can hit with power and score... if the Panthers get solid pitching they can go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... tied for the best record in the Tycobbian Union with Turon... the Tycobbian champ will come from East Point or Kenwood... it could be the Year of the Cats in the TU. 2nd Place: Midway Wolves (91-63) (5 GB) Last Year: 5th Place (83-71) (15 GB) Season Forecast: 2nd Place Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 3 Last Appearance: 2027 Team Stats: .265 BA (21st)/759 runs/16th)/145 HR (16th)/2.99 ERA (2nd)/.962 FA Pitchers: with HOF pitcher Bobby Dorignac (315-228/2.96) as skipper, the name of the game in Midway is pitching... Beau McCloud (13-13/2.37) and Charlie Chase (17-16/3.14) were the prime starters, along with rookie Will Deberry (13-9/2.54)... McCloud was injured in August and Chase in September... hurt Midway for the stretch drive... but Yank Atchley (7-5/3.58) and Arnie McGill (7-0/2.81) did well filling in... and the bullpen is one of the IPA's best with Rocket Rhodes (11-2/1.86/8 saves/56 G) and Jeffrey Leonard (8-2/2.37/10 saves/47 G). Batters: the Wolves have a lot of fairly good hitters, but no real threats... SS Kax Clark (.317/8 HR/76 RBI/101 R/15 SB) is one of the few productive bats... Dorignac platoons a lot... the best of the rest are rookie 3B Jamey Southwick (.296/18 HR/57 RBI/56 R) and LF Alfie Kincade (.298/17 HR/51 RBI/45 R)... rookie 2B Odis Tomlin (.243/21 HR/71 RBI/48 R), rookie RF Daryl Vale (.266/16 HR/58 RBI/61 R/13 SB) and rookie Norbert Karns (.12 HR/41 RBI/43 R) show some power potential. Outlook: good young team with fine pitching and good potential... Midway should be a contender for a few years. 3rd Place: Red Bluff Red Sox (88-66) (8 GB) Last Year: 4th Place (88-66) (10 GB) Season Forecast: 4th Place Pro Cups: 1 (2004)... whipped Sugar Valley Rattlers in 5 games Playoffs: 8 Last Appearance: 2047... the Red Sox had a nice run with pennants from '44 to '47 Team Stats: .251 BA (29th)/753 runs (18th)/176 HR (5th)/3.40 ERA (5th)/.965 FA Pitchers: ace is veteran Sonny Wheat (23-13/2.50)... Mickey Rosen (22-12/3.42) is still a fine starter at age 35... Felix Delatte (9-10/3.23) is a reliable starter, too... team needs help in the bullpen. Batters: LF Toni Kolkov (.291/35 HR/85 RBI/93 R/8 SB) is manager Ike Sweetwater's top batsman... 3B Dazzy Bevis (.243/26 HR/86 RBI/93 R/18 SB) doesn't hit for average, but can go deep and drive in runs... SS Joe Patrick (.260/13 HR/63 RBI/70 R/11 SB) and 1B Monty Lyons (.263/13 HR/59 RBI/69 R/15 SB) are good, solid regulars... rookie RF Marty Parker (.340/21 HR/59 RBI/48 R) looks like a hitter with fine potential... but he needs to play everyday... currently platooned. Outlook: Prospects are on the upgrade for Red Bluff skipper Ike Sweetwater... he needs to perk up his hitters... the Red Sox would be a threat if they get another solid starter and a good closer... it's wouldn't hurt to beef up the bats, either. 4th Place: Hillsboro Blazers (86-68) (10 GB) Last Year: 1st Place (98-56) Season Forecast: 7th Pro Cups: None Playoffs: 1 Last Appearance: 2051 Team Stats: .250 BA (31st)/727 runs (22nd-tied)/179 HR (4th)/3.28 ERA (3rd)/.971 FA Pitchers: Clay Spencer (18-10/3.81), Steve Cooper (12-10/3.10), Hank Greenberry (15-17/2.79) and Scott Cole (16-9/3.89) were a good rotation, but didn't perform as well as last year... Jamie Lee Bradley (8-4/2.67) had a fine half season, but was injured in June and was greatly missed... would have challenged for the top spot with him... bullpen needs help... Ron Pryor (9-12/3.40/10 saves/64 G) was the best. Batters: the offensive output was much less this year... homers down from 217 to 179... LF Rupert Calkins (.266/29 HR/78 RBI/69 R), RF Eli Nickelson (.271/27 HR/73 RBI/94 R/20 SB), C Harry Edwards (.271/15 HR/84 RBI/62 R/5 SB) and 2B Bob Foster (.297/12 HR/63 RBI/82 R/11 SB) didn't hit for average, but did have some pop... no one on the club hit .300. Outlook: considering the loss of Bradley and the power drop, manager Andy Jefferson did fine job keeping his Blazers in the first division... Hillsboro is an aging club... especially needs younger pitchers. 5th Place: High Mesa Mustangs (82-72) (14 GB) Last Year: 3rd Place (91-63) (7 GB) Season Forecast: 8th Place Pro Cups: 1 (2002)... swept Elnora in three games... back when 32 teams qualified for the playoffs... IPA Pro Cup was best-of-five back in the early days. Playoffs: 3 Last Appearance: 2048 Team Stats: .260 BA (23rd)/841 runs (5th)/205 HR (3rd)/3.98 ERA (16th)/.958 FA Pitchers: pitching slumped badly this year... team ERA went from 3.23 to 3.89... stars Tuffy Hammel (15-13/3.57) and Lucius Quarles (19-15/3.93) had off-years... Dickie Sternfeld (17-10/3.93) is a dependable #3 starter... Sal Delliger (10-12/4.42) is a fair #4.... bullpen doesn't offer much help. Batters: HOF legendary slugger Jack Elliott (848 career homers) has club that can go deep and put runs on the scoreboard... rookies were a big part of the improved hitting... led by All-Star Joe Duplantis (.310 BA/41 HR/102 RBI/87 R/5 SB), 3B Kagetoki Myazaki (.236/24 HR/80 RBI/61 R), SS Tommy Yost (.269/14 HR/71 RBI/78 R), CF Tracy McGriff (.286/22 HR/64 RBI/73 R/3 SB), RF Dix McIntosh (.275/19 HR/51 RBI/48 R) and C Gerry Glidden (.272/15 HR/49 RBI/31 R)... plus one of the few vets on the team 2B Randy Sweetland (.313/2 HR/47 RBI/75 R/12 SB), a slick fielder and reliable hitter. Outlook: pitching staff is getting old... could be a problem... but the hitters are young and very productive... as long as Quarles and Hammel are effective, the Mustangs will do alright... might even contend in the coming season... defense is also a huge problem... one of the worst in the IPA. 6th Place (tie): Tuckanarra Blue Jays (76-78) (20 GB) Last Year: 6th Place (79-75) (19 GB) Season Forecast: 5th Place Pro Cups: 3 (2023) beat Valmara in 6 games... (2024) swept Sugar Valley in 4... (2035) swept Elnora in 4... also were Pro Cup finalists in '12 and '28, losing to the great Far Mountain Redhawks in a 4-game sweep and to Waleska in 7 games. Playoffs: 18 Last Appearance: 2049 Team Stats: .271 BA (10th)/781 runs (14th)/153 HR (11th)/4.08 ERA (20th)/.972 FA Pitchers: mound mainstays Dickie Pittman (13-18/3.51) and Ozzie Leslie (15-13/3.44) in their 30s and may be on the downgrade... no quality starters after them in the rotation... young Paul Landale (13-5/2.91/15 saves/78 G) is a fine reliever... but not much after him in the bullpen. Batters: top bats are All-Star CF Harv Bannerman (.278/34 HR/102 RBI/102 R/40 SB) and All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.305/20 HR/89 RBI/97 R)... three rookies contributed: LF Jali Toba (.274/17 HR/60 RBI/89 R/20 SB), 3B Newt Crutchfield (.325/16 HR/69 RBI/68 R) and RF Jay Jay Bachelor (.277/13 HR/72 RBI/47 R/6 SB). Outlook: the Tucks have fairly good offense, average pitching and very good defense... manager Junior Bristow needs help in at the plate and on the hill to move up in the standings... looks like a second-division club for the next few seasons. 6th Place (tie): South Fork Stallions (76-78) (20 GB) Last Year: 8th Place (56-98) (42 GB) Season Forecast: 1st Place Pro Cups: 2 (2025... edged Middlefield in 7 games... 2042... swept the Colfax Blasters in 4 games) Playoffs: 6 Last Appearance: 2043 Team Stats: .267 BA (18th)/721 runs (25th)/127 HR (20th-tied)/3.57 ERA (8th)/.973 FA Pitchers: most of the staff was rookies... led by Brett McCracken (17-15/3.21) and Bud Bowens (14-12/3.26)... vet Jay Murphy (14-17/3.90) was one of the few to survive the postseason firesale last year... young bullpen did well with a 2.30 ERA (3rd) Batters: All-Star C Rudy Maroney (.295/27 HR/89 RBI/76 R) was the club leader, along with All-Star LF Jack Boswell (.310/24 HR/79 RBI/80 R/7 SB)... CF Frank Stewart (.263/18 HR/79 RBI/61 R/6 SB) also provided a little offense. Outlook: the baseball forecasters really thought South Fork had improved greatly in the off-season with some really fine rookies and surprisingly picked them to win the division, but no serious sportswriter or broadcaster took them seriously and they turned out to be right... manager Eldon Jacoby's young squad did well, but no where near first place... but they did get 20 games better... but South Fork is still pretty much a second-division team. 8th Place: Ozarka Naturals (70-84) (26 GB) Last Year: 7th Place (77-77) (21 GB) Season Forecast: 6th Place Pro Cups: None (but the Nats did make the finals 5 times... lost to super power Far Mountain in '11 and '12, IPA juggernaut Eastshore in '18, Rocky Rapids in '19 and Crystal Lake in '20) Playoffs: 15 Last Appearance: 2040 Team Stats: .269 BA (16th)/718 runs (26th-tied)/95 HR (30th)/4.07 ERA (19th)/.965 FA Pitchers: ace is vet Carl Hemus (16-19/308), a quality IPA starter... not much after him... he got some help from rookie Toby Rivera (15-12/4.22)... bullpen is fairly good, but inconsistent... top reliever is vet Jim Greene (6-11/2.78/18 saves/78 G). Batters: team has no home-run power... doesn't score well... just a bunch of fairly-reliable contact hitter paced by CF Frank Mason (.309/19 HR/57 RBI/86 R/15 SB), 1B Kyle Hartman (.280/11 HR/89 RBI/78 R/23 SB), rookie RF Miron Lezak (.282/21 HR/82 RBI/73 R/3 SB), rookie LF Donny Joe Jacks (.293/11 HR/62 RBI/84 R/17 SB) and C Tuffy Palmiero (.282/2 HR/52 RBI/67 R). Outlook: Ozarka will be skippered by Jaak Pajukivi next season... the club has been stuck in the second division of the Tycobbian East for the last 8 years... it will take Pajukivi a few years to be a first-division contender... much longer to be in the pennant race... the Naturals have a weak offense and mediocre pitching. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 01-01-2017 at 06:04 PM.