[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2054

TEAMS JAMMED UP IN TU NORTH
After the first month of action five teams are .500 or better and within four games of each other in the tight Tycobbian North Division... the North Hills Hawks (14-10) and Luxora Zorros (14-10) are deadlocked for the top spot, followed closely by last year's champ, the Oxford Red Caps (13-11) and the Mahaska Haymakers (13-10), who are tied for third place... the White River Rascals (12-12), the preseason favorite, is right at the .500 mark and just two games back of the leaders... Oxford handily won the pennant last season and is forecast to battle the Rascals this year... none of the other six clubs were given much of a chance in the preseason prognostications.

Neither North Hills, nor Luxora did especially well last year... the Hawks (76-78/15 GB) tied for the fourth spot in the standings... neither of them was picked to be contenders... so far in the early going North Hills (14-10) is prospering on it pitching, but is short on offense... manager David Michael (315-234/3.11 ERA) is a Hall of Fame hurler, inducted in 2047... he has a pretty good rotation with Johnny Kristoff (3-3/2.85), Heck Radborne (4-1/3.95), Thad Vachon (4-2/3.56) and Stan Kallis (2-4/3.75)... the staff has posted a fine 3.33 ERA (6th)... but the team is hitting .264 (17th) with only 12 HR (28th-tied) and ranked 21st in scoring runs with 99... the lineup is nondescript with the likes of RF Ryan Webbe (.276 BA/4 HR/15 RBI/10 R), 2B Tony Durant (.277/2/13/8), SS Eddie Rojek (.295/0/8/12/3 SB) and LF Clifton Mahaffey (.299/0/8/12/2 SB)... it's doubtful the Hawks can stay with the offensive prowess of Oxford with its .281 BA (9th), 145 runs (6th-tied) and 30 HR (2nd-tied)... at best North Hills will finish no better than third place.

The Luxora Zorros (14-10) wound up in fifth place (67-87/24 GB) last year... the Z's have average pitching (3.90 ERA/13th) and average offense (116 R/13th) with little power... skipper Kent Halloran's club was picked to finish sixth this season with a losing record... Halloran had a career 258-206 mark with a superb 2.69 ERA in his 18 years with lackluster Luxora... this year Juliano Machado (4-2/3.11) has been solid on the hill so far with some help from Wendell Hasbro (4-1/4.57) and Paolo De Freitas (3-3/4.57)... the only decent bats belong to 1B Tuff McLendon (.310 BA/2 HR/16 RBI/13 R) and CF Tommy Lee Townsend (.265/1/15/12/6 SB)... the Z's are not likely to challenge White River or Oxford this year... Luxora has made the playoffs 11 times in its history, but it's been years since they won a pennant... 2031 was the last time... the Zorros have never won a Pro Cup trophy and have never come close to winning one... and it's not likely soon.

The Oxford Red Caps (13-11) ran away with the TU North last year, winning by 11 games over White River... they got off to a sluggish start in April, but they should be one of the prime contenders... scoring runs is the Red Caps' strength... .281 BA (9th) with 30 HR (2nd-tied) and 145 runs (6th-tied), coupled with good starting pitching (3.49 ERA/7th)... but manager Dennis Hartwig has a lousy bullpen (7.57 ERA/32nd)... his top bats are RF Wade McGrew (.333 BA/7 HR/22 RBI/14 R), CF Dwayne Wagner (.306/5/22/14), LF Ozzy Ackerman (.330/3/16/14/8 SB), 1B Russell Perkins (.320/3/9/9), 2B Roger Bajon (.300/2/8/17) and C Giles Gilliam (.339/2/10/11)... Oxford has two standout hurlers in Rudy Mellancamp (4-0/1.80), who was last year's Tycobbian MVP and Golden Arm winner with a remarkable 27-3 record and 1.97 ERA... and Lou Ellison (4-1/1.84)... Hartwig has absolutely no one else on the staff that he can rely on... the Red Caps are desperate for good pitchers... might be a good idea to trade some of their bats for pitching... Oxford's history shows one Pro Cup, won in 2007... they have made the postseason only 7 times, but have won the TU North the past two seasons and should have a good shot at it this season.

The Mahaska Haymakers (13-11) were seventh last year in the Tycobbian North Division and picked fifth in the preseason polls... manager Travis Tuttle played 11 years with club batting .308 with 273 homers and 875 RBIs... he was a 4-time All-Star outfielder... his Haymakers have average hitting (.267 BA/16th) and pitching (4.08 ERA/15th), but can go deep (27 HR/5th-tied) and score some runs (124 R/8th)... Mahaska's top guns are RF Dub Forester (.293 BA/5 HR/23 RBI/16 R/3 SB), LF Will Parkerson (.404/4/12/14) and LF Marty Jackson (.340/4/11/8)... on the hill it's been Morrie Dalman (3-1/1.37) and Pip Cordice (2-3/3.06)... the pitching corps will have to step it up for the Haymakers to make a lot of hay this year... Mahaska has rarely made the IPA playoffs... only 4 times in its history... last pennant came years ago in 2028... never won a Pro Cup crown.

The White River Rascals (12-12) under manager Marty Blake are the favorites to knock off Oxford this season... the Rascals won the TU North flag four times in a row '48 to '51... and they came close in '53, coming in a close third... and were runner-up last season, but finishing a distant 11 games behind champion Oxford... Blake seems to have put together a strong pitching staff like he had a few years ago, but he doesn't have the same offensive firepower... the Rascals are batting only .241 (27th) with 96 runs (26th) and only 14 HR (27th)... but mound corps has been outstanding with a 2.91 ERA (3rd)... his four starters are formidable: Artie Wynyard (1-0/1.80), Keil Trickett (3-1/2.03), Nicky Palmer (3-4/2.90) and Glen Horton (1-3/2.87)... all they need is a few runs and they can win... so far the offensive output has been poor... Blake's best bats are 1B Roy Hart (.303 BA/5 HR/12 RBI/6 R), CF Jed Small (.321/2/11/11/2 SB) and C Yancy Carlton (.275/1/10/5)... White River has appeared 8 times in the postseason playoffs... they have never won a Pro Cup, but came close twice, losing to Valmara in the Finals in '49 and '50... in '51 they lost in the Tycobbian title game to IPA champion Arlon... the experts are predicting that the winner of the Tycobbian North this year will come down to White River and Oxford... no one else seems to be in the race.

The Hartsdale Hellcats (10-14) are sixth after one month of play... manager Wayne Dawson has a pretty good offense with a .262 BA (19th), 20 HR (18th-tied) and 119 runs (11th), but almost no pitching (4.84 ERA/24th)... his most productive hitters are 1B Bruno Bardella (.283 BA/6 HR/20 RBI/14 R), RF Rico Visaggi (.310/3/15/15) and SS Jan Krystosek (.339/1/10/6/3 SB), along with 3B Smokey Nix (.266/1/8/17/4SB) and LF Jules Randolph (.309/1/6/13/2 SB)... the Hellcats do have two solid pitchers in starter Perry Givens (3-2/3.07) and reliever Roy Krieger (1-0/1.30/3 saves/13 G), but little else... last year Hartsdale (65-89) wound up in the TU North cellar (26 GB)... looks like a second-division finish again this year... it's been six seasons since the Hellcats won the pennant... that was in '46 and '47... they won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2046... and lost to IPA champion Southport in the 2047 Tycobbian title series... Hartsdale has made 9 appearances in the playoffs.

The Fairfax Frogs (8-16) are off to a poor start and tied for the Tycobbian North basement with the Blue Lake Blue Sox... skipper Scott Courtney (.308 BA/289 HR/1159 RBI) is both catcher and player-manager for the Frogs... he has a double whammy: terrible pitching and not a lot of offense... the team ERA is 5.25 (30th) and the team has scored on 87 runs (30th)... no surprise the Frogs are croaking this year in a negative way... Courtney's best starters are just ordinary: Jay Jay Dillaway (3-3/3.68) and Lenny Burdick (3-2/4.50)... there is nothing at all in the bullpen... and not a lot at the plate... LF Paddy Fenroy (.333 BA/1 HR/9 RBI/7 R/3 SB) and RF Downtown Wyatt (.296/1/7/8/2 SB) are his best contact hitters, while his most productive is CF Kaz Ozaki (.247/3/14/13/5 SB) and Courtney himself (.280/2/7/7)... Fairfax has made the postseason 8 times in its history... never won a Pro Cup, nor come close to winning one... the last pennants came in '32 and '33... the outlook is not too good for '54 either.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (8-16) are last in the TU North and headed nowhere... manager Frankie Quinn is a Hall of Famer pitcher with the most wins ever in IPA history with a 391-297 record and a 3.04 ERA... he will be officially inducted at the All-Star Game this season... Quinn has yet to work his mound magic as a manager yet... the Blue Sox staff has posted a miserable 4.89 team ERA this season... and the offense is also just mediocre... they are hitting just .258 (22nd-tied) with 22 homers (15th-tied) and scored 100 runs (23rd)... no wonder Blue Lake is in last place... they were picked for last place, along with Fairfax in the preseason polls... and that looks like the outcome... both clubs could battle it out for the basement this year... Blue Lake has had very little success in the IPA... they have only made the playoffs 3 times, but lo and behold, the Blue Sox did win the Pro Cup when they pulled a major upset and won it in 2030, beating the powerful Valmara Vipers in 7 games... sadly that was the club's last pennant year, too... Quinn's best starter is Weldon Nettleton (1-1/3.02)... the rest of them have 5.00 ERAs or worse... same way in the bullpen... Blue Lake has a few quality hitters in C Juan Luis Barcelona (.348 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/18 R), CF Johnny Harding (.345/3/17/8), 2B Perry Wilkins (.344/2/7/6) and 1B Ty Blake (.303/0/8/11/2 SB)... two regulars don't hit much for average, but they are productive bats with power: RF Burl Baugh (.246/7/15/11) and 3B Jim Makin (.247/4/14/12).