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06-12-2010, 09:30 PM
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#1745 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Ruthlandian North Final Recap FM Redhawks Runaway With RU North The defending Pro Cup champion Far Mountain Redhawks went on a second-half rampage and won the RU North in a rout by 12 games over second place LaGrange. The Sports led by 4 games at the All-Star game, but could not withstand the Far Mountain onslaught. The Redhawks bats came alive in a sensational second-half surge. Kilkenny and Valmara tied for third place, 18 games out, Glasco and Taranto finished fifth, 19 games back, Ranford was seventh, 20 games behind and Ancona was last, 22 games off the pace. In Far Mountain (96-58), manager Alex Groveland won more games than anyone in the IPA with a two-prong attack - a .272 team batting average (2nd) and a splendid 2.88 team ERA (2nd)... two 20-game winners sparked the Redhawk rotation... Boomerang Hines (23-14 2.55) and All-Star Robby Kelly (22-8 2.38) had excellent seasons with help from Wayne Baxley (13-7 3.14) and rookie Woody Crawford (10-6 3.19)... FM got good bullpen work from closer Erich Dumont (2-7 3.11) with 23 saves... However, Hines suffered an injury in early September and will be out 9 months and will miss the Pro Cup playoffs... Groveland also has an outstanding line-up with C Otis Ott (.306/21/96/68), LF Phil Stewart (.306/7/62/91), SS Don Nichols (.302/17/99/97), 3B Duane Parsons (.283/19/88/106) and CF Xavier Sosa (.275/20/58/107), all veterans from last year's IPA Pro Cup title team... even with the severe loss of Hines, the Redhawks may be a bit better this year. Hines was the Pro Cup MVP last season with a 5-1 record and a microscopic 1.11 ERA in 6 starts and one relief effort. Hines won the title game in relief. Foxy Jimison's LaGrange Sports (84-70)) did not have the overall talent to compete with the likes of Far Mountain... All-Stars Pablo Orantes (18-13 2.63) and rookie closer Andre Dupas (8-2 1.65) were his best arms... Dupas saved 30 games... at the plate All-Star LF Quincy Peterson (.296/29/98/96), All-Star C Otto Kronvath (.290/27/81/76) and SS Bill Nilsen (.247/30/92/86) were standouts. The Valmara Vipers (78-76) and Kilkenny Cats (78-76) were tied for third in the standings... Neither approached the caliber of Far Mountain and LaGrange... In Valmara manager J. Jackson Samuel's best performers were pitchers Vanya Vasylenko (15-13 3.18) and Jasek Zielinski (18-12 3.52) and position players LF Stan Czerwinski (.297/7/67/124), RF Lou Gdowski (.296/21/95/91) and rookie slugger 2B Jan Dvorak, who only batted .230, but homered 37 times and drove in 107 runs... Czerwinski topped the IPA with 124 runs, tied with Hollis Waldrup of Sligo... Kilkenny skipper Kieran McKenna's top players were pitcher Roger Davidson (15-13 3.06), All-Star CF Kevin McPhail (.353/9/87/105), who was second in batting average to Cris Willis of Eastshore (.371)... 2B Scooter Perez hit .274 and scored 108 runs. Tied for fifth place in the RU North were the Glasco A's (77-77) and the Taranto Tars (77-77)... McDuffie Hughes' ballclub couldn't hit (.246 BA), but had pretty fair pitching (3.51 ERA), paced by All-Star Nicky Perrier (23-9 2.34), who surpassed his first season when he won the Rookie of the Year Award... Felipe Branco (18-18 3.87) and Bobby Joe Belvin (15-19 3.35) also effective starters, but suffered from lack of run support... All-Star SS Lee Sullivan (.268/22/69/82) had a good first half, but faded in the second half... 39-year old CF Ike Plunkett (.289/15/61/72) was Glasco's best batter... Tommaso Lazzorda in Taranto had the offense, but totally lacked pitching... The Tars led the league with a .277 BA and 855 runs, while ranking 3rd with 176 roundtrippers... however on the mound his staff compiled a pathetic 4.56 team ERA (29th)... Taranto's top contributors were LF Wayne Pounders (.274/32/108/94), RF Arnie Kennedy (.316/29/96/99) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.304/14/64/111) with the bats and Vito Incardona (20-10 4.05) and Dan Phillips (15-18 4.10) on the hill... considering they have to pitch in the Palazzo di Sport, one of the league smallest venues, Incardona and Phillips did very well. The Ranford Bulls (76-78) wound up in seventh place under Page Satcher, but only 2 games under the .500 mark... Satcher had decent pitching, but woeful hitting... The Bulls had workhorses in their rotation, headed up by Chris Bernhoffer (14-21 3.44) and Val Hudson (14-16 3.64)... the other two starters Stanley Ross (14-15 4.19) and Shane Hall (13-16 4.45) were also effective at times... CF Tommy Reiner led the TU with 50 stolen bases and scored 102 runs, but batted only .246... 1B Billy Massengale walloped 27 homers and batted in 110 runs, but hit only .254... they were the Bulls best offense. Manny Mickens' Ancona Red Elephants (74-80) do well in odd years and poorly in even years... this was the year to do badly and they did... Ancona ended up dead last, trailing pennant-winning Far Mountain by 22 games... Last year they were fourth and only 5 games off the pace... Mickens has some talented performers, but just not enough of them... Kenny Flack (19-10) was a 19-game winner with a 4.08 ERA in a hitter's ballpark... George Agelakos (16-22 3.90) and Yannis Vardakis (13-17 3.61) were dependable starters, too... At the plate Ancona was tough with 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.312/22/101/99), RF Louis DiMucci (.304/28/107/77) and LF Lacey Tompkins (.300/15/82/77)... Tompkins is a 12-year vet, who should reach the 1000-mark milestones with 1000 RBIs and 1000 runs early next season. Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-17-2010 at 09:55 PM. |
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06-13-2010, 11:21 PM
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#1747 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Ruthlandian South Final Recap BB Sunbirds Knock Off Claxton For RU South Flag It was season-long battle between Belair Beach and Claxton with the Sunbirds getting the best of the Diamonds in the Ruthlandian South. Belair Beach outlasted preseason favorite Claxton by 4 games. Coming in third was San Dimas, 10 games out. The fourth spot went to Grand City, who trailed by 15. Crystal Lake and Waleska tied for fifth, 19 games off the pace. St. John was seventh, 21 games back and Valka wound up last, 24 games off the pace. Belair Beach (89-65) overtook Claxton this year with some excellent pitching, good power-hitting and solid defense... Claxton won the RU South twice in the last four years and came in second in the other two seasons... This was the Sunbirds third division crown and first since the 2005 season... Manager Marty Pedroza had a strong pitching staff with four fine starters... Overall the team ERA was 3.28, third best in the RU, led by Tiny Lindgren (17-7 3.38), Slim Mosley (15-12 2.94), Pete Krohn (14-10 3.06) and Jeff Nieman (17-16 3.31)... A solid core of hitters provided the offense with a .263 BA (13th) and 163 homers (4th)... Sunbird bat leaders were RF Ron Dizon (.298/25/75/74), CF Billy Martz (.294/16/71/83), C Little Jake Bungarooba (.271/20/66/93) and All-Star 3B Zippy Parks (.278/72/73)... On defense the Sunbirds were the best in the division with a .976 FA. The Old Perfesser Stacy Engel has a very fine ballclub in Claxton (85-69)... a bad August cost them the pennant... the Diamonds went 14-15, while Belair Beach was blistering 20-9 for the month... Claxton was right at the top with a .271 BA (3rd), 777 runs (5th) and 157 home runs (7th)... on the hill the Diamonds registered a good 3.54 team ERA... Defensively they were below average at .971 FA... Engel has some impressive veteran hurlers in Charlie Murphy (21-12 3.10), Doug Torvik (21-16 3.53), Alex Vanzetti (13-11 3.62) and Paul Grange (15-19 3.54)... coupled with a strong closer Tony Haverkamp (5-5 2.98), Claxton could give Belair Beach a good run... Haverkamp chalked up 29 saves... Engel had some powerful bats, too... All-Star 1B Mike Luzzatti had a wonderful year with 40 homers, 124 RBIs, 116 runs and a .332 batting average... Luzzatti will be a strong contender for the Golden Bat honors as he ranked in the top 5 in most offensive categories... Also chipping in some run production were RF Helmut Grazcyk (.297/23/81/95), 3B Paco Benitez (.304/2/54/99) and All-Star C Allen Lemay (.271/15/75/55). The third place San Dimas Rancheros (79-75) just didn't have the offense to keep pace with Belair Beach and Claxton and they wound up 10 games back... But they did have the pitching... Paco Banderos' mound staff notched a rock-solid 3.29 ERA (4th)... his top hurlers were Carl Schmitz (22-11 2.55), Bobby Prince (17-15 2.51), Rudy Nasquez (9-5 3.28) and Rafael Vargas (10-9 3.92)... closer Raul Marroquin (4-11 2.35) had 31 saves... Schmitz, Prince and Marroquin were All-Stars... at the plate the Rancheros faltered badly with a poor .249 BA (27th)... Banderos' one decent bat was CF Rickey Alfonso with a .274 average, 13 homers, 54 RBIs and 98 runs scored... 1B Ron Armstrong (.282/16/65/59) added a little bit of offense. The rest of the teams in the RU South had lackluster seasons and were fair to middlin' to mediocre in most respects... The Grand City Cybercats (74-80) were fourth in the standings and trailed by 15 games... Torry Joseph's top performers were closer Paul McBride (6-6 2.48) with 33 saves, starter Randy Andrews (17-15 3.71) and CF Jimmy Tremayne (.324/12/84/84)... the Cybercats moved up from last place in 2011. Fifth place went to the Crystal Lake Crushers (70-84) and Waleska Westerners (70-84), who were tied, winding up 19 games off the pace... Herman "Baby" George at Crystal Lake has one of the best players in the IPA, 1B Phil Gravelli (.291/34/110/95), who year-after-year produces great numbers... Gravelli was an All-Star for the 8th time and is a lifetime .318 hitter with 416 homers, 1280 RBIs and 1095 runs scored... Gravelli is the all-time IPA leader in home runs and RBIs... The Cybercats have a pair of fine pitchers in closer Jeff Jernigan (8-6 1.91) with 21 saves and starter Ben Dewberry (16-17 3.19)... In Waleska, McGraw Johnson has a 4-time All-Star LF Kippy Doyle (.285/28/97/91), who is closing in on 1000 career RBIs... 2B DePaul Labat (.287/15/59/112) put up some good numbers for the Westerners. The seventh place St. John Crusaders (68-86) have Dickie Billings at the helm... They ended up 21 games behind in the pennant race... Paul Tarkovsky (15-15 3.29) and Teddy Garson (16-16 3.47) give Billings two quality arms... the Crusaders best run producers are C Virgil Carpenter (.285/27/90/72), 2B Tony Borcellino (.282/23/84/73) and RF Clayton Luck (.267/13/64/96). The Valka Blackhawks under the leadership of Jaan Kurus fell into the cellar this season, but they did have one of the most exciting players in the IPA... All-Star LF Kurt Jankauskas flirted with the home run record for awhile and ended up with 40... the powerhitter batted .303, scored 107 times and drove in 114 runs in a standout season... RF Mike Nordmann (.294/29/86/73) also had a solid year... on the hill the Blackhawks had two capable starters with Connie Krueger (14-16 2.95) and Erke Tonisson (17-12 4.10). Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-17-2010 at 09:57 PM. |
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06-15-2010, 10:44 PM
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#1749 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Ruthlandian East Final Recap Cold Creek Prevails In RU East, Wynnamac 2nd The Cold Creek Catamounts don't care that they are in the weakest division in the IPA - they won the pennant and will be in the Pro Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007. It was the Catamounts second RU East title. They beat out Wynnamac by 2 games in a close race. The Marston Nine came in third and trailed by 4 games. Fourth place went to Beechwood and Belle Plaine, who finished 6 games off the pace. The Elnora All-Stars were sixth and 9 games behind with defending champ Sugar Valley a surprising seventh and 16 games back. Eastshore was eighth and last, 21 games out. Only two teams in the division managed to break even for the season. Champion Cold Creek was 79-75 and Wynnamac was 77-77. Manager T. Kelly Holmes' Catamounts played their best ball during the hot months of Summer and rallied past everybody to take the RU East crown... Good pitching and good power were the keys to victory. Cold Creek (79-75) had three solid starters in Payton Saunders (16-12 2.85), Tommy Weeks (16-15 3.39) and Russell Thurber (16-12 3.78)... At the plate Holmes had a trio of talented performers, paced by his grandson and CF Trip Holmes (.293/30/91/106), LF Nickie Troxell (.299/28/101/78) and RF Emile Stosha (.287/18/69/114). Wynnamac's (77-77) starting pitching probably cost them the division, although overall the staff was steady and consistent with a 3.48 team ERA (7th). His starters were just not as strong as his relief corps... The bullpen notched a 3.05 ERA (4th)... Matt Donnelly only had one reliable starter and he was a very good one... Jerry Meeks posted a 22-12 mark with a terrific 2.17 ERA... The Sundowners had some punch in their line-up with All-Star 1B Nate Cockcroft (.342/27/87/84), LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.290/21/82/78), RF Joey Eaton (.314/22/79/69) and CF Clive Farnham (.330/19/78/64). The Marston Nine (75-79) improved to third place this season, up from seventh last year... Johnny Walters' crew wound up only 4 games out of first... Pitching carried Marston, especially its relievers... The bullpen registered a sensational 2.70 ERA (2nd), while the starters put up 3.55 ERA (7th)... Better hitting would have carried the day and quite possibly would have produced a pennant... Marston ranked 29th and 30th in runs and homers... Closer John Updike (7-5 2.20) sparked the bullpen with 20 saves and Zippy Hodge (19-19 2.87) and Milt Wilson (11-12 3.13) led the starters... Walters' best batters were All-Star 3B Jimmy Holman (.310/23/86/85) and RF Richie Mazzone (.284/12/52/90). The Beechwood Bobcats (73-81) and Belle Plaine Musketeers (73-81) deadlocked for fourth place in the standings, 6 games off the pace... Both teams tailed off in the last two months of the season... The Bobcats with skipper Bret George in charge had some quality bats with the likes of 1B Ray Slater (.308/13/65/120), 2B Darrell Woods (.273/23/94/57), C Billy Gorham (.313/17/68/80), LF Clifton Czako (.289/18/76/74) and RF Dale Strickland (.279/19/83/65)... on the hill Beechwood's best were starters Dek Jumonville (18-15 2.75) and Harry Dye (17-16 3.11)... All-Star closer Carl Costas (6-6 4.60) was switched to a starting role at mid-year and saw his ERA shoot up from a brilliant 1.82 to an astronomical 4.60 by season's end. Boo Ladrieux's Musketeers stayed in the chase because of some good pitching by starters Jorge Bonilla (19-13 3.24) and Brad Anderson (16-16 3.53) with some very strong help from closer Denny Reynaud (5-8 2.04), who chalked up 26 saves... Belle Plaine's poor hitting cost them dearly... The Muskies hit only .256 (19th) and were rated last in scoring and next-to-last in home runs... Ladrieux's leading hitter was 1B Rory Dickenson, who batted only .275 with 12 homers, 79 RBIs and 88 runs scored. The Elnora All-Stars (70-84) of Zoggy White came in sixth, 9 games behind in the race... White had a mediocre team with few standouts... The All-Stars had little power and did not score well, ranking near the bottom of the league... Poor run support hampered a pretty fair staff... Taylor Gibbs (18-16 3.81), Robby Meredith (10-9 3.54) and Matty Wilkerson (13-18 3.88) were White's best pitchers... In late July Leroy Hill (15-14 3.250 was secured in a trade with Far Mountain for the stretch run and he pitched well, but went 3-4 despite a 3.09 ERA... RF Lloyd Voss (.348/19/95/950, one of the top bats in the IPA, had another fine season... CF Denny Sawyer (.287/23/87/73) also had a decent year. The powerful Sugar Valley Rattlers (63-91) with 5 RU East titles and 7 playoff appearances in its 12-year history slithered in to a startling seventh-place finish... Terrible pitching was the crux of manager Gibby Bobkins problems... The Rattlers ballooned to a 5.13 team ERA, worst in the entire IPA... Bobkins' ace Charles Darby went from 20-6 with 2.71 ERA in 2011 to 17-20 and a 4.40 ERA... However, Sugar Valley could still rattle the fences with 154 roundtrippers... Superstar All-Star C Hal Stevenson had monster year with 39 homers, 128 RBIs and a .293 batting average... Stevenson lead the RU in RBIs... Pitching in more offense were LF Emile Djoravich (.286/20/59/115), CF Austen Conover (.263/4/56/103) and SS Johnny Smith (.278/29/75/82). Twas another bad year for Killer Brewster's Eastshore Elegants (58-96), who laid claim to the RU East basement for the fifth time in its history... Not much you can do with a 4.71 ERA (31st)... There were only two bright stars on the club... CF Cris Willis topped the RU and the IPA with a .371 batting average... Willis had 11 homers, 77 RBIs and scored 85 times... LF Stan Cuccinello (285/29/102/82) put up some good numbers, too. Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-16-2010 at 11:38 PM. |
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06-16-2010, 11:39 PM
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#1751 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Ruthlandian West Final Recap Sligo Whips Powerful Colfax In RU West Last season the Sligo Rovers lost the Ruthlandian West by 4 games to the Colfax Blasters. This year Sligo repaid the Blasters by sneaking by them by 4 games to claim the team's first-ever division championship. In a huge reversal of fortune, the Middlefield Roosters climbed out of oblivion and rose up to third place, just 6 games behind. The Roosters have been doomed to the cellar and second division for 6 long years. Rocky Rapids came in fourth, trailing by 13 games, followed by fifth place Volusia, who finished 16 games out. The Fort Benton Defenders were sixth and 19 games behind with Forest City seventh and 21 games off the pace. Last place went to the Stoner Stars. They were 25 games behind winning Sligo. The Ruthlandian West rivals the Ruthlandian North as the toughest division in the league. Sligo (95-59), Colfax (91-63) and Middlefield (89-65) were second, third and fourth behind Far Mountain (96-58) for the best record. Two other RU West clubs also finished above the .500 mark. Sligo won the pennant in the final week of the season... Eddie Keys' club swept three crucial games from Colfax and won four of their last six games, while the Blasters blew all six games to lose the division by 4 games... Sligo finished strong with a 28-16 mark over the last six weeks. Colfax faltered with a 23-21 record, mainly due to the loss of pitching ace Ilya Szabo (16-10 2.80)... Szabo went out with an arm injury on August 29, which was a critical loss for the Blasters... The Rovers have a tremendous team with a .270 BA (5th), fine firepower with 143 home runs (12th) and 740 runs (3rd)... plus strong pitching with a 3.18 ERA (2nd)... Keys' starting rotation includes All-Star Vinnie Rastelli (22-12 2.76), Dek Jumonville (22-8 3.22) and Colin McGrath (19-13 3.00)... in the bullpen closer Lenny Ciaccio (9-7 3.79) saved 27 games... Offensively the Rovers were led by All-Star RF Clell Renshaw (.332/15/101/86), superstar LF Fred Collins (.332/28/96/110), 2B Hollis Waldrup (.290/22/86/124) and SS Vic Carlin (.271/27/93/83). The Colfax Blasters had won 4 straight division titles and the 2010 Pro Cup... So Sligo had to be a very fine team and should do well in the postseason... It was no fluke... Defending Pro Cup champs, the Far Mountain Redhawks, could have quite a battle on their hands for the RU overall crown and the right to play for the IPA Pro Cup trophy... Clem Rogers has a good bunch of players in Colfax... The Blasters batted .266 (10th), hit 158 homers (6th) and tallied 770 runs (6th)... on the mound they compiled a very fine 3.34 ERA (5th)... Rogers' top hurlers were Ilya Szabo (16-10 2.80), Jasper LaForge (20-15 3.40), Bryan Vidmar (13-4 3.10) and Jimmy Joe Cartner (19-18 3.14)... relief ace Dallas Somerville chalked up 31 saves with a 5-6 record and a 3.40 ERA... Colfax has some heavy hitters, too, paced by All-Star CF Ryan Raines (.277/33/111/100), LF Paul Coniglio (.300/26/94/99), All-Star RF Karl Heidelberg (.318/14/50/78) and C Joe Alexander (.268/27/84/68). One of the surprise teams in the IPA this year was Smitty Michaels' Middlefield Roosters (89-65), who ran neck-and-neck with powerful Sligo and Colfax in the final weeks of the season and wound up a pretty close third, 6 games back... Middlefield was in the RU West basement and 40 games out last year... The Roosters were a potent team with a .271 BA (4th), 178 roundtrippers (2nd) and 804 runs (2nd)... on the hill, considering Middlefield plays in a very small ballpark, Michaels' starting rotation did fairly well with a 3.70 team ERA (13th)... it was in the bullpen where the Roosters suffered with a 4.72 ERA (30th)... Overall the team had a decent 3.87 ERA (20th)... Middlefield had good defense with a .976 FA... Michaels' steady rotation was composed of Johnny Bond (22-13 2.67), Buddy Kennedy (15-9 4.18), James Newberry (18-13 4.28) and Danny Stewart (17-16 3.75)... Better relievers would have put the Roosters right up there with the Ruthlandian elites, Far Mountain, Sligo and Colfax... 5 players hit 20 or more homers, led by All-Star 2B Jim Rose (.304/20/79/113), CF John Hartung (.292/25/87/123), 1B Ricky Tinker (.292/23/96/79), 3B Lowell Satterwhite (.307/23/88/67) and LF Moose Scoggins (.302/21/79/58). Improved pitching made Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers (82-72) a better team this season as they rose from seventh to fourth place, 13 games behind the leader... Don Chaney (18-14 2.83) and Herbie Drahm (18-14 4.10) sparked the revival along with great relief work from Earl Pitts (5-3 1.56), who posted 29 saves... The Snappers were only average at the plate with a .260 BA (15th) with 118 home runs (21st)... the mound staff had a 3.88 ERA, down from a sky-high 4.53 ERA last year... Noland's top bats were two standout IPA stars LF Scott Camden (.293/30/116/92) and All-Star C Hank Bethel (.313/18/94/81). For the first time in its 12-year IPA history the Volusia Vigilantes (79-75) failed to finish in the first division... the V's fell to fifth in the standings, 16 games back... Manager Alfonso Feliz only had average pitching and average batting... 1B Rafael Garza (.318/7/47/59) and 2B Tucker Hill (.317/2/45/52) were Volusia's best hitters, but they had no power... LF Briscoe Crowder hit 15 homers to lead the club, but batted only .267 with 61 RBIs and 71 runs scored... All-Star Todd Wolfe (21-15 3.88) and Gerry Hersh (17-14 3.70) were the Vigilantes top twirlers. Hit .247 (30th) and it is difficult to win in any league... The Fort Benton Defenders (76-78) were sixth in the RU West, 19 games off the pace... However, Robbie Brooks had excellent relievers and two fair starters... Closer Dave Osborn (10-7 1.70) was outstanding with 27 saves and a minuscule ERA... Tom Waltenbury was 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA in long relief... starters Ivan Gloeckner (17-10 4.00) and Tucker Dawes (18-17 3.72) were steady and consistent... Stronger bats would have really helped the Defenders... Brooks only reliable hitter was CF Ryan Smith, who batted .286, hit 20 out of the park, drove in 79 runs and scored 97 times... The Defenders are the best defensive team in the division with a fine .978 FA. It was another down year for manager Rob Jackson and his Forest City Lumberjacks (74-80), who came in seventh in the standings, trailing first place Sligo by 21 games... Weak hitting with a .250 BA (25th) was the 'Jacks biggest flaw... Jackson's pitching corps did a good job with a 3.69 team ERA (10th)... Hard-luck Al Thibaut (16-20 2.64) kept Forest City in almost every game, but lacked run support... Paul Crews (16-12 3.61) did a good job, too... At the plate the Lumberjacks most dependable bats were 1B Andy Doiron (.297/20/98/76), All-Star SS/3B Royce Robinson (.299/19/61/82) and LF Joe Judlin (.284/24/69/70). The Stoner Stars (70-84) ended up in the RU West cellar, but they were an entertaining ballclub with 193 homers, tops in the RU and number two in the IPA... Bayview of the TU West hammered the most with 202 (1st)... 8 Stars has 17 or more roundtrippers, led by C Benny Stern (.309/30/112/85), 2B Karol Zodoka (.285/24/78/86) and RF Lamar Proctor (.292/23/71/76)... but manager Willie Dickens had lousy pitching with a 4.73 team ERA (30th)... Don Patterson (14-14 4.20) was the best of the lot. Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-16-2010 at 11:41 PM. |
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06-17-2010, 10:00 PM
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#1753 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Tycobbian North Final Recap NH Hawks Hold On, TU North Champs It was a great four-team donnybrook in the Tycobbian North with the amazing North Hills Hawks emerging from the pack to win the pennant by 2 games over runner-ups Blue Lake and Hartsdale with fourth place Fairfax only 3 games back. The Luxora Zorros were 10 games behind in fifth place, followed by sixth place Mahaska and White River, both 14 games out, with the Oxford Red Caps last, 22 games off the pace. Manager Hub Carlson guided the North Hills Hawks (89-65) from last place to first place in a miraculous season... The Hawks had wallowed in the basement for last two years... North Hills had a slight lead at midseason, but none of the experts thought they could win, but they did... Carlson said, "It's a good thing the game is decided on the field rather than in the paper. Nobody had any faith in us but our fans and us."... The Hawks hit only .249 (26th), but had solid pitching with a 3.40 ERA (6th)... Ronnie Kerensky (16-12 3.18) and Lou Dozier (18-16 3.27) led the starters, while All-Star Denny Stuart (7-4 2.04) excelled in relief with 27 saves... at the plate Carlson's only run producer was 1B Masaichi Okawa (.255/27/93/84)... The Hawks were one of the better defensive clubs with a .975 FA. Blue Lake (87-67) and Hartsdale (87-67) tied for second place, losing by only 2 games... nobody could put together a winning streak in the last week of the season and time ran out on them... The Blue Sox had the best pitching staff in the league with an impressive 3.10 ERA (1st) and were especially deep in the bullpen... Cobb Tyson's starters were Justin Eckhardt (19-12 3.24), Pat Henry (18-9 2.91), Dan Whitfield (11-10 2.76) and Jerry Harrison (12-13 3.36)... Relievers Mark Carey (4-5 2.77) saved 24 games and Tony Reed (5-8 3.02) had 16 saves for a fine 1-2 punch... Tyson's best batters were All-Star CF Rick Hilliard (.286/30/85/110) and 2B Loren Babcock (.285/23/84/96)... The Blue Sox led the division with a .976 field percentage. Zim Donner in Hartsdale has a fine ballclub... The Hellcats batted .258 (16th) with 177 homers (3rd) and possessed a good 3.39 team ERA (5th)... Donner's bullpen was the best in the league with a super 2.52 ERA (1st)... on the hill Hartsdale was headed up by starters Tony Lane (21-8 2.80) and Rip Arnold (18-10 3.47)... in the bullpen closer Ben Clermont (5-6 2.44) led the way with 30 saves... Offensively Donner has the strong trio of All-Star 1B Tom Brabant (.302/34/96/98), 2B Jud Turchin (.297/28/98/99) and 3B Kendry Moulton (.304/24/77/94). The Fairfax Frogs ((86-68) were the defending TU North champs and the preseason favorite, but a poor 5-10 mark in September sunk the Frogs to fourth place, 3 games back... on paper they looked to be the strongest team with a .268 BA (6th) with 149 home runs (10th), coupled with an excellent 3.20 team ERA (2nd)... But the September swan dive cost them a good season... Skipper Harry Buckley's best hitters were superstud and All-Star LF Dane Wesner (.331/34/83/88), SS Wes Hickox (.309/18/85/87) and 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.298/12/88/82)... Fairfax had one of the best starting foursomes in the league with Joe Hampton (21-14 2.99), Ken Hill (16-17 2.98), Steve Aaron (17-12 3.82) and Wally Tidwell (14-14 3.32)... Bullpen ace Floyd Bennett (1-5 1.20) had a standout season with 22 saves. Fifth-place Luxora (79-75) wound up 10 games out with weak hitting and average pitching... Alejandro Rodrigo's best arms were Tommy Wrightman (17-15 3.17) and Elio Laurente (19-16 3.62)... Connie Jahnke (4-6 1.81) sparkled in relief with 20 saves... at the plate RF Bob Haviland (.257/32/118/85) and LF Dickie Nordhagen (.289/3/61/99) were the Zorros best. The Mahaska Haymakers (75-59) and the White River Rascals (75-79) ended up tied for the sixth spot in the TU North and trailed by 14 games... Both are just so-so ballclubs... In Mahaska, Rudy Lanussa's top performers were pitchers Johnny Picou (21-11 3.41), Johnny Spears (16-18 3.50) and closer Robby Sampson (1-2 1.81) with 24 saved games... Mahaska's best position players were LF Dalton Leeds (.305/16/79/89) and All-Star CF Reynaldo Quezada (.286/16/88/76). Manager John Randison's White River Rascals had another disappointing season... The Rascals have finished in the first division only one time in its 11-year IPA history, a fourth-place finish in 2008... Randison's top pitchers were Clinton Banfield (20-13 3.13) and Lance Logan (16-15 2.98), along with closer Stan Clermont (4-5 2.53), who posted 28 saves... White River's top batters were RF Joey Jarrett (.285/15/68/101), 1B Wayne Harris (.265/33/80/85) and SS Jesse Crockhart (.333/10/57/70). Once-mighty Oxford (67-87) once again suffered the indignity of a second-division finish, this time they were absolutely last, 22 games off the pace... For their first 9 years in the league, the Red Caps were a power with 4 division pennants and one Pro Cup... Oxford was a first-division team for its first 9 seasons, but Campy Roy's boys have been near the bottom the last two... Lousy pitching is the culprit with a 4.31 team ERA (28th)... The best thing the Red Caps do is hit homers... They slammed 165 (8th) this year, led by 3B Cameron Kamara (.283/32/87/80) and All-Star 1B Eddy Dowler (.297/25/86/97)... Oxford has a sensational closer... Ronnie D'Abo (1-2) had a terrific 1.12 ERA with 25 saves... Roy's best starter was Emerson Carnell (17-19 3.74). Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-17-2010 at 10:01 PM. |
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06-18-2010, 08:14 PM
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#1755 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Tycobbian South Final Recap CC Hurricanes KO's Turon, End Title String At 4 In the Tycobbian South the Cape Coral Hurricanes put an end to Turon's four-year reign as division champs. The Hurricanes hung close at the All-Star break and then took over in July when Turon went into a mild slump. The Typhoons led by 2 games at midseason. None of the other teams put up much of a challenge. Summerland was third and 10 games back, Ginza was fourth and 11 games out. Heading up the second division were the Colchester Elites, who trailed by 12, followed by Arroyo Grande in sixth place, 18 games behind, San Alejo was seventh and 24 off the pace, with Southport in the cellar and 27 games back. Manager Huggy Miller had a great starter and a great reliever in Cape Coral (90-64)... also the best defense in the division with a .977 FA... and adequate scoring... All-Star Cody Burg (24-10 2.08) had another outstanding season and was the 'Canes ace, the fifth time he has copped 20 victories... All-Star closer Bobby Maas (7-5 1.62) was truly remarkable with 37 saves... Maas came within one save of tying the IPA record... Nasty Naymick (18-13 3.47) was a consistent starter, too... Miller's top bats were CF Derek Ryckman (.305/28/99/95), 3B Bobby Josker (.278/18/90/89) and SS Flipper Bird (.239/14/57/98). It's surprising that the Turon Typhoons (88-66) failed to win their 5th title in a row... Whitey Richburn's crew hit .277 (2nd), scored 790 runs (3rd) and compiled a 3.27 team ERA (4th), but fell short in the bullpen... Closer Merle Studebaker (7-9 4.35) had a dismal second half and finished with only 21 saves... Turon's top pitchers were All-Star Nicky Engstrom (20-13 3.26), who has won 20 games in each of his first three seasons, Jeb Pickett (19-11 3.18) and James Stuart (20-10 2.86)... The Typhoons have some solid bats, too... Leading the way were a tremendous rookie 1B Clyde Kingsford (.330/38/127/99), SS Mickey O'Malley (.310/10/70/78), LF Andy Porter (.290/21/73/81) and 2B Andy Hansen (.290/1/29/97). The Summerland Sunsets (80-74) improved from sixth to third in the standings this year... Skipper Will Hackett had better-than-average hitting and some fine pitching... Denny Coulon (17-17) lost a lot of games he shouldn't, especially with a 2.53 ERA... Pat Dreux (18-10 2.84) was excellent, too... and Mark Falzone (19-14 3.60) was more than effective... In the bullpen closer Frank Gerber (1-5 2.61) piled up 36 saves... at bat the Sunsets were paced by 1B Don Hanks (.314/14/78/72) and CF Jim Garrison (.296/27/88/86)... Hackett's main problem was putting runs on the scoreboard. The fourth-place Ginza Ninjas (79-75) suffered from a lack of runs, but had good pitching... Huroko Uchiyama's top hurlers were closer Kakuzo Harimoto (4-4 1.60) with 23 saves and starters Joji Azuma (20-15 3.09), Koichi Ishikawa (16-12 3.73) and tough-luck Carl Trebek, who was only 15-18 with a strong 2.89 ERA... CF Chazzie Lombardi led the Ninjas with a .303 batting average, 17 homers, 73 RBIs and 82 runs... All-Star LF Mark Buchanan tailed off after mid-year, but still batted .297 with 25 roundtrippers, 79 RBIs and scored 84 runs... SS Ed Dorland topped the team with 110 runs, but hit only .254 with 12 home runs and 72 runs batted in. The Colchester Elites (78-76) were one game short of the first division, 11 games behind winning Cape Coral... Uncle Robbie Wilbertson had a few good men, but not enough to make any great noise in the TU South this season... on the mound Jimmy Simmons (16-18 2.69) is still a very fine pitcher at age 37... a few runs could do wonders for his won-loss record... rookie closer Don Richard (3-4) gave the team a big boost this year with an impressive 1.83 ERA and 21 saves... Two fine veterans CF Douglas Tilford (.290/18/65/109) and 1B Harlan Roscoe (.288/22/98/79) led the Elite bats. It was another long year for the Arroyo Grande Suns (72-82) and manager Jean-Luc Marchand... the Suns wound up 6th and trailed by 18 games... Arroyo Grande has never made the postseason in its 11-year history... they have only finished in the first division one time... that was a stunning second place in 2010... the rest of the time it was sixth or worse... The Suns are an entertaining team with a .280 BA (1st), but their pitching gives up more than they can score with a 4.60 ERA (31st)... Their home field Capet Stadium is a tiny park, good for the bats and bad for the pitchers... Super hitter and All-Star RF Jet Kazmarek won his 9th batting title in his 12-year IPA career... Kazmarek hit .351 with 36 doubles, 16 triples, 17 homers, 67 RBIs, stole 45 bases and scored 115 runs, while striking out only 19 times, all at the ripe old age of 37... 1B Sherm Miles also helped out with a .306 BA, 28 home runs, 110 RBIs and 84 runs scored... Arroyo Grande's best pitchers were Chuck Kowalczyk (17-14 4.27) and Tommy Archer (17-15 4.47). The San Alejo Montaneros (66-88) continue to haunt the bottom of the TU South with the seventh-place spot in the standings and 24 games off the pace... San Alejo won pennants in its first two IPA seasons, but hasn't made the Pro Cup playoffs since 2003... Manager Lando Peceda has pretty solid pitching with a 3.57 ERA, but lousy hitting with a .246 BA (29th)... The mound staff is led by Alberto Herrera (13-17 2.93) and Chad Gilmore (18-17 3.22) and at the plate by C Coco D'Abadie (.272/39/92/70), who slammed 39 out of the park this season and 1B Dominique Poirot (.289/25/82/91), who had 25. The Southport Sun Sox (63-91) ended up 27 games out of first and in last place... It was a disappointing year for manager Charley Oscar, who had piloted the Sun Sox to two straight fourth place finishes the last two seasons... 2002 was the club's last playoff appearance... Southport is not strong in any aspect of the game with a .251 BA (24th) and a 4.29 ERA (27th)... pitcher Keith Callahan (15-15 3.89) and LF Big Stick Takala (.314/28/98/73) are the Sun Sox best players. |
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06-25-2010, 06:29 PM
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#1758 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 2012 Tycobbian East Final Recap Ozarka Wins 3rd Straight TU East, SF Flops In 2nd Half In an unlikely turn of events, the Ozarka Naturals rallied from a 7-game deficit at the All-Star Game to capture the Tycobbian East for the third year in a row. At that point the South Fork Stallions were playing the best ball of any team in the IPA, but in the second half of the season they faltered, floundered and flopped, winding up a frustrated second by a 2-game margin. The third place Red Bluff Red Sox made it a three-way chase and finished just 4 games off the pace. The Midway Wolves were fourth and 9 games back. At the top of the second division and in fifth place was Tuckanarra, 15 games behind. Sixth place went to the High Mesa Cowboys, who were 18 games out. Hillsboro was seventh, trailing by 30 games, with 106-game losing East Point in the cellar and 40 games behind the TU East champions, the Ozarka Naturals. It was Ozarka's (88-66) fourth division crown... Joe Mac Carney has a top-notch batting order with a tough out in each spot and five .300 hitters like LF Vic Weinstein (.325/16/86/116), All-Star 3B Todd Chadwick (.320/22/95/122), All-Star C Todd Pepper (.315/11/71/87), 2B Gil Lantz (.314/19/65/81) and 3B Nathan Ferrell (.301/19/85/75)... Other contributors are RF Chris Hughes (.277/19/97/72) and 1B Al Wesner (.263/17/72/58)... Eddie Roberts (18-8 2.94) and Emile Leduc (18-11 3.63) are the prime starters. Everything went Lips Leon's way in the opening half of the season, but not too much went right when his South Fork Stallions (86-68) played sub-.500 ball in the last half and allowed Ozarka to overtake and beat them... The Stallions bullpen was atrocious with a 5.08 ERA (32nd), the worst in the IPA... In comparison Ozarka's relief corps compiled a strong 3.10 ERA and ranked 5th in the league... South Fork couldn't compete with the Stallion bats, either... Their top bats were 3B Bobby Ritter (.326/9/62/90), CF Robby Michael (.304/18/91/85), LF Gary Horn (.283/24/85/96) and 1B Joe Peters (.268/20/104/86)... It was the fantastic pitching of Blackie Terranova, who almost single-handedly kept the Stallions in the race with a 25-6 record and a 2.59 ERA... Kurt Glinka also chipped in with a 17-16 mark and a 3.71 ERA. Mack Connery had his Red Bluff Red Sox (84-70) in the hunt this year as in most years, but the deciding factor was a weak bullpen... Red Sox relievers were hit hard with a 4.94 ERA (31st)... otherwise they could hang with Ozarka and South Fork, winding up just 4 games out of the top spot... Red Bluff batted at a .267 clip (8th) with 160 homers (9th) and a good 3.55 ERA (11th)... Connery had a solid starting four with Jim Melanakos (20-9 3.06), John Dougherty (17-17 2.82) leading the mound corps with help from spot starter Ray Schiller (13-3 3.16), Frank Beaudoin (11-14 3.66) and Ivan Brasco (13-15 3.65)... The normally-reliable closer Ricardo Topez had a down year with a 2-8 record, lofty 4.37 ERA, yet still notched 31 saves... hitting-wise the Red Sox had a good offense with 1B Tommy Klegg (.275/39/119/84), All-Star SS Jose Aguilar (.315/17/81/103) and 3B Ty Knight (.315/17/74/61). Cochise Chandler led the Midway Wolves (79-75) to a fourth-place finish and 9 games back... Chandler has never made the playoffs in the club's 11-year IPA history... Midway is just an average team with good power... the Wolves walloped 168 homers (7th)... Chandler's top hitters were 1B Don Piper (.294/22/97/96), CF Johnny Lee (.300/29/88/90) and RF Lou Sturge (.257/28/54/87)... on the hill the Midway moundsmen were paced by Matt Niemeyer (23-10 3.02), Sherm Jarvis (17-16 3.64) and bullpen ace Dom Vilaggio (5-4 2.53), who totaled 32 saves. The fifth-place Tuckanarra Blue Jays (73-81) were hampered greatly by a lack of scoring and were 15 games behind in the race... The Blue Jays offense produced only 600 runs (32nd)... However, Carlton "Lefty" Stevens' pitching corps was one of the best in the league with a 3.21 team ERA (3rd), anchored by four quality starters and a good closer... Titus Bristow pitched extremely well, but had little to show for it with a 10-21 record, despite a very fine 2.65 ERA... Delaney Elliott (16-20 3.32), Roy Spence (18-15 3.30) and Mook Epperson (12-11 3.44) all could have used better run support... Closer Neil Hilton (5-4 3.02) did well with 26 saves... Tuckanarra's bats were not in abundance with only two average run producers in SS Wayne Snider (.327/14/77/60) and 3B Rocky Fuqua (.298/11/46/80). The sixth place High Mesa Cowboys (70-84) can hit, but so can the opposition in the tiny bandbox of Queen Ranch Stadium, where almost anyone is a powerhitter... Frisky Franks' Cowpokes poked 182 out of the ballpark this year and ranked 2nd in the league, only the Bayview Vikings outdid them with 202 circuit clouts... All-Star 2B Wild Deer Etchimin (.279) led the hit parade with 34 roundtrippers and 104 RBIs, LF Darrel Alston (.263) rapped 26 and 3B Ed Albrecht (.312) and 1B Maury Duncan (.290) collected 18 apiece... Veteran CF Kermit Wiggins stood out with a .318 BA, but only had 3 home runs... On the mound Johnny Falcon had a truly fine season considering he has to pitch half his games in such a small stadium... Falcon was 21-11 with a 3.33 ERA... Overall the Cowboys pitchers posted a mediocre 4.26 ERA (26th). The seventh place Hillsboro Blazers (58-96) had their worst season in history with only 58 victories... The Blazers were 30 games back in the standings under the leadership of Arky Spanderson... They have never finished higher that 5th and have never come close to making the postseason... Hillsboro batted only .242 (32nd) and scored just 650 runs (27th), but slugged 176 homers (4th)... The mound staff logged a poor 4.32 team ERA (29th)... Spanderson's best performers were SP Domenico Belizon (13-17 3.67), MR Lou Zanelli (4-2 3.06), closer Randy Love (2-4 3.18) with 18 saves, 1B Dominic Carbonetti (.257/33/87/64), C Pete Robinson (.266/26/77/75) and SS Tommy Cooper (.255/26/60/80). Griff Clarke won the pennant in 2008, but his East Point Panthers (48-106) haven't been close since... This season the Panthers were pathetic and set an IPA record for losses with 106... The Arroyo Grande Suns set the record in 2002 with a 49-105 mark... East Point was last with a 4.70 ERA (32nd), hit for a .249 (27th) average, pounded out 171 longballs (6th) and scored 675 times (23rd)... Superstar All-Star 2B Jesse Goodwin had a monster year with 50 homers, 138 RBIs, .333 BA and scored 114 runs... Goodwin topped everyone in the IPA in home runs and RBIs... LF Karl Dietz hit 33 out of the park and drove in 82 runs, but hit only .248... rookie closer Mark Hobbs chalked up 18 saves with a strong 2.23 ERA, but suffered with an 0-8 record. Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-25-2010 at 06:53 PM. |
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06-26-2010, 07:11 PM
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#1760 |
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Hall Of Famer
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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 17, 2012 2012 Tycobbian West Final Recap Arlon Triumphs In TU West, Takes 6-Team Tussle Going into the last two weeks of the Tycobbian West, six teams were tightly bunched with a chance to take the crown. The Arlon Champions survived by edging the Kenwood Wildcats 5-4 in 10 innings in a one-game playoff and copped the title by one game. The Chicopee Braves were only 1.5 games back in the third spot. There was a 3-way tie for fourth place between Bay St. Clair, Bayview and Denton City, all only 4.5 games off the pace. In seventh place were the Luxora Zorros, 7.5 games behind with last place going to the Rolling Hills Reds, who finished 11.5 games out. No one can explain it, but for the last few seasons the Arlon Champs (82-73) only play well in even years... Manager Gary Louis jumped his club from sixth to first with some solid pitching to capture his second TU West title... the first came in 2006... they trailed Bay St. Clair by 4 games at the halfway mark... Arlon caught fire and past them with a great September... The Champs sported the best staff in the division with a 3.49 team ERA (8th) and the second-best defense with a good .976 FA... Offensively Arlon was not so good with a .249 BA (25th)... The Champs solid starting rotation consisted of Hubie Croft (19-1 3.78), All-Star Armando Cruz (16-16 2.99) and Happy McManus (10-7 2.89) as the top 3... Louis' bullpen was outstanding with closer Johnny Rabelais (5-5 1.28), who notched 38 saves, which tied Coorain Janama of Tuckanarra for the most in IPA history... Janama set the mark in 2008... Arlon had three capable batters in LF Rocco Belasario (.278/28/85/94), RF Chucky Gilton (.287/27/87/84) and CF Charley Turner (.285/7/51/98). The runner-up Kenwood Wildcats (81-74) of Aaron Hankins fell short by one game and a couple of runs... The Wildcats came on strong in August and September and caught up with Arlon, but were edged out in the decisive playoff game... Kenwood was pretty much like Arlon with good pitching and poor offense... Hankins' hurlers put up a credible 3.64 ERA (15th) with a weak .245 BA (30th)... Defensively the Wildcats were good with a .976 mark... Hankins had a solid core of starters, led by All-Star Todd Combs (19-14 2.26), Nick DeVille (14-13 3.79) and Denny Yarrow (19-15 4.04)... in the bullpen closer Fred Kimball (6-8 2.65) did a fine job with 31 saves... Most of Kenwood's offensive punch was supplied by RF Jimmy Brewer (.253/24/70/71), LF Dennis Riley (.257/19/66/56), 2B Paul Lassak (.286/18/53/72) and CF Dayton Walker (.301/2/44/54). The third-place Chicopee Braves (80-74) came within an eyelash of the top spot in the TU West standings this season, just 1.5 games behind... Skipper Harry Blackfoot possessed good pitching with a 3.59 team ERA (13th), but could have used some better bats... The Braves batted only .253 (20th) with 136 roundtrippers (17th - tied)... Chicopee's top performers were pitcher Des Quartermain (22-12 2.84) and C Ivan Burkholder (.301/28/101/80)... 1B Robby Maynard (.313/13/61/49) started strong and made the All-Star team, but chilled off in the hot months of the season... Maynard led the league with a .381 mark at midseason, but dipped to .313 by year's end. Three clubs were tied for fourth place, only 4.5 games back in the race... Bay St. Clair, Bayview and Denton City all registered 77-77 seasons... The Bucs stumbled down the stretch after leading at midseason... Both the Vikings and the Redbirds had good second halves... Bay St. Clair is piloted by Guy Rondre... The Buccaneers hit well with a .264 batting average, scored well with 736 runs (7th), but are dreadful when it comes to pitching... They had a 4.12 ERA (24th)... at the plate 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.290/22/101/102), All-Star LF Bruno DiPirro (.318/15/81/99) and 1B Gerry Fields (.262/26/94/76) led the way... All-Star SS Kelly Wright (.280/12/80/63) peaked at mid-year... Rondre's top twirlers were Duke DeVree (15-13 3.33), Norm Gross (16-13 4.02), Dean Dailey (16-13 3.91) and closer Sean Lawrence (7-8 2.29) with 20 saved games. Walter Johanssen had a bunch of bombers in Bayview... The Vikings exploded for 202 homers to lead the entire IPA, but didn't have the pitching to go with it... The mound corps registered a mediocre 4.12 team ERA (24th)... Rookie Rick Pritchard (10-3 3.38) joined the team in June and sparkled thereafter... Norm Roy (15-15 4.01), Manny Tettelbach (15-19 3.53) and Tony Vardaman (16-16 4.30) were inconsistent starters... However Johanssen had 7 players with 17 or more home runs, sparked by RF Russ Murphy (.297/33/92/103), All-Star 3B Karl Benson (.309/23/92/86), All-Star CF Tommy Riddle (.286/23/86/85), 1B Mickey Quinn (.230/33/82/70), LF Kelton Carpenter (.307/29/69/59), SS Dan Conroy (.298/21/61/86) and C Joe Lootah (.275/17/54/58). Denton City, which had won the TU West the last four years, had a very disappointing first half and floundered way under .500 and were next-to-last in the division... Very poor pitching cost the Redbirds another possible division crown... Ford Whiteman's staff could only manage a 4.18 ERA (25th)... last year it was a fine 3.42 ERA... But Whiteman had the bats with an impressive .276 BA (3rd) and 172 home runs (5th)... his Redbirds topped the TU with 813 runs (1st)... Denton City's attack were paced by All-Star 3B Jay Petit (.316/31/106/101), 1B Mick Abbott (.263/19/88/94), RF Ted Wagner (.284/26/85/70), SS Trevor Tomlinson (.285/18/73/96) and CF Rod MacCormack (.281/78/99)... on the hill the great Mila Mohoski was 17-16 with a solid 3.05 ERA, while Roger Ramsey posted a 20-8 mark with a 3.64 ERA... Mohoski has won 208 games in his 11-year career... He and Cody Burg of Cape Coral are tied for the most career IPA victories. For the 12th consecutive year the La Claire Lynx will miss the playoffs... Rip Calkin's club ran a good race this year and had four All-Stars, but still wound up seventh, but just 7.5 games out... The Lynx have decent hitting with a .262 average (10th), but come up short with a 4.11 ERA (23rd)... All-Star Rick Novronski (21-15 3.39) was the club ace with help from Bernie Halsey (18-12 3.80)... top bats belonged to All-Star LF Zeppy Deshotel (.281/26/101/98), All-Star 2B Dale Pace (.302/13/46/84) and 3B Luis Marquez (.301/14/87/82)... C Maka Bardinda (.266/12/62/47) also made the All-Star squad. The Rolling Hills Reds (70-84) have not made the playoffs since their first two IPA seasons in 2002 and 2003... This year Matty Christianson's Reds ended up in the basement, 11.5 games behind pennant-winning Arlon... Rolling Hills has mediocre hitting and pitching... they compiled a .254 BA (21st) with a 3.94 ERA (19th)... Mound leaders were Toshiharu Ito (19-16 3.60) and Clem Boutte (14-19 3.30)... in the batter's box it was CF Donnie Lewis (.300/5/64/83), SS Bobby Farias (.252/13/83/88) and 3B Clay Hoffman (.274/24/78/68) putting up the best numbers. |
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