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Eugene Church · 04-20-2009, 06:14 PM

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Tycobbian Union North Division Mid-Season Standings

Hellcats Rise to the Top, lead Fairfax and Oxford by 4 Games

This season Zim Donner's Hartsdale Hellcats (44-29) have leaped from also-ran status to the top of the heap in the IPA's Tycobbian Union North. Last year they completed the season in fifth place, 14 games off the pace. At the mid-point mark in the 2003 season, the Hellcats have run up a four-game lead over the Fairfax Frogs (40-33) and last year's division-winning Oxford Red Caps (40-33). Rounding out the first division are the surprising North Hills Hawks (38-35), who were division dormats in 2002, but who are only 6 games back. Blue Lake (35-38) and Luxora (35-38)are tied for the fifth spot in the standings, trailing by 9 games, followed by seventh-place Mahaska (34-39) and last place White River (33-40). The Haymakers and the Rascals are 10 and 11 games back, respectively.

Donner, skipper of the first-place Hartsdale Hellcats told BNN, "Good pitching has made all the difference. When you have two All-Star starters like Kostro and Vaitkus, it certainly makes my job easier." Not only are the Hellcats ranked high with a superb 3.33 team ERA (2nd), but they are also hitting the cover off the ball with a .286 batting average (2nd) and 67 roundtrippers (12th). Zimmer's squad is also no sloutch on defense with a fine .977 fielding percentage (6th).

Rookie Gus Kostro (13-3 2.80) and Tal Vaitkus (11-3 2.41) head up a talented Hartsdale hill corps with some help from Danny Griffin (4-0 1.98) and closer Nico Carnera (3-6 1.78), who has 11 saves. In the batter's box the Hellcats are sparked by 1B Mac Faulker (.306/15 HR/66 RBI/59 R), who is leading the IPA in RBIs, SS Jud Turchin (.308/4 HR/32 RBI/56 R/12 SB), CF Mel Poe (.307/8 HR/27 RBI/44 R), 2B Hoppy Hill (.326/2 HR/37 RBI/37 R) and 3B Whiz Weaver (.252/11 HR/48 RBI/38 R).

Harry Buckley is in charge of the Fairfax Frogs, who are running neck-and-neck with the Oxford Red Caps, piloted by Campy Roy. The Frogs and Red Caps are deadlocked currently for second place. Fairfax's top performers are All-Star hurler Robby Meredith (9-4 2.80), and All-Star RF Gregg Vincent (.294/21 HR/54 RBI/45 R), 1B Jeff Vretsos (.312/7 HR/41 RBI/32 R) and SS Warren Lee (.290/10 HR/34 RBI/31 R)... Reason for the Frogs success? "Good pitching and the home run get us by most of the time" is what Buckley told reporters... Fairfax fields well, too, with a .975 fielding percentage (9th).

Roy and the Red Caps won the division last year and are right back near the top. Oxford uses the same formula as Fairfax - good pitching and great home run power... They are third with 85 homers and fifth with a fine 3.37 ERA... Pacing the pitchers are All-Star Dan Phillips (12-5 3.31) and Bomber Belinsky (10-6 2.63)... Roy also has Nicky Nickolson (6-8 2.31) and Alec Bowman (5-3 3.65) to round out his starting foursome... The Red Caps main run producers are 3B Joe Courtney (.347/22 HR/58 RBI/60 R), who tops the Tycobbian Union with 22 roundtrippers, CF Ike Plunkett (.275/16 HR/46 RBI/48 R/8 SB), LF Mack Spencer (.255/17 HR/43 RBI/42 R) and rookie C Brad Earp (.271/11 HR/41 RBI/25 R).

The fourth place North Hills Hawks have made a good comeback under manager Hub Carlson, a great southpaw in his day in the company leagues... The Hawks are presently 6 games behind... In 2002 they ended the season a distant 21 games off the pace and finished in last place... The turnabout has been accomplishted with good pitching... North Hills has compiled an impressive 3.35 ERA (4th) with a starting rotation of Jaybird Jackson (9-5 3.10), Ben Dewberry (8-8 2.69), Stan Ballard (4-4 2.18) and Leland Clinkscales (4-1 2.15)... The Hawks are batting a mediocre .262 (24th) with only 51 home runs (26th-tied)... Not too good defensively, either, with a poor .971 fielding average (26th)... 3B Russell Beal (.331/3 HR/43 RBI/34 R), RF Trent Gilbert (.337/5 HR/40 RBI/50 R/9 SB), CF Roy Stainbrook (.247/13 HR/42 RBI/45 R/13 SB) and LF Kevin Schmidt (.286/10 HR/48 RBI/35 R) have carried the offensive load for North Hills.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox are managed by Cobb Tyson... The club finished second in 2001 with a 79-72 mark, losing the pennant in a playoff game to the Fairfax Frogs and were eliminated by South Fork in the opening round of the playoffs 4 games to 2... Last year Blue Lake dropped to sixth with a 71-83 record... This season the Blue Sox are tied for fifth with the Luxora Zorros, both with a record of 35-38... Blue Lake was 33-30 and over .500, but have dropped 8 of the last 10 games, the last four in a row... Team stats show the Blue Sox with a .260 BA (26th), 64 homers (13th), 3.98 ERA (14th) and a .975 fielding percentage (9th-tied)...Tyson's top pitchers are Bennie West (7-7 3.17), Neil Krogstad (8-6 3.73) and Paddy O'Rourke (7-5 3.93)... Blue Lake just signed three new pitchers and demoted Jay Clay (4-8 4.48), Pat Henry (5-5 5.36) and Happy McManus (0-1 6.38)... Blue Lake's top hitters are 2B Ken Bennett (.295/8 HR/51 RBI/43 R), RF Fred Collins (.293/13 HR/46 RBI/50 R/23 SB), LF Donnie Frazier (.322/4 HR/35 RBI/24 R) and rookie CF Rick Hilliard (.293/10 HR/35 RBI/43 R/23 SB).

The fifth place Luxora Zorros are having only a so-so season and are guided by Alejandro Rodrigo... The Z's hold their own within the division, but falter outside it... The team has a .270 batting average (16th) with 59 homers (20th), a good 3.69 ERA (9th), but are fielding only .972 (23rd)... Rodrigo's best pitchers are starter Andy Stevens (6-2 2.92) and his closer, Elio Laurente (3-4 2.75) with 9 saves... Tito Tovares (8-8 3.51) and Eddie Hoffman (6-7 3.73) have started the bulk of the club's games and have done well at times... Rookie C Otto Kronvath (.275/18 HR/47 RBI/39 R) and CF Lacey Tompkins (.321/10 HR/43 RBI/49 R) are the Zorros main bats with some help from 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.327/2 HR/26 RBI/35 R/13 SB) and 1B Paul Hallenbeck (.266/8 HR/34 RBI/32 R).

Seventh in the TU North are Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers, who have fallen in the standings this season... They were a playoff team last year and ranked fourth in the race... The Haymakers are only 10 games out, just four away from a playoff spot, so all is not lost yet... Tanussa is in the same boat as many managers around the IPA that need more hitting and more home runs to compete... Mahaska has two good starters in Boomerang Hines (9-9 3.03) and Kolya Andrasko (6-7 3.14)...on the mound the team has a fairly good .365 ERA (10th)... at the plate the Haymakers are only hitting .262 (25th) with 53 homers (23rd)... CF Mel Ballard (.264/8 HR/34 RBI/29 R), RF Ira Engelstad (286/9 HR/33 RBI/32 R) and rookie C Mike Konjorsky (.282/4 HR/25 RBI/29 R) are the most productive, but poor in comparison to most teams... in the field Mahaska is better than the average team and has a .975 mark (9th).

White River is not improved over its initial foray into the IPA... Last season the Rascals was seventh, this year they are eighth and last... Fortunately skipper John Randison can still salvage the season... his club is only 4 games away from a playoff position... so it wouldn't take much to change the Rascals situation... White River is near the bottom in hitting with a pathetic .258 average (30th) and 58 home runs (21st)... pitching-wise its team ERA is 4.14 (21st)... defensively, the Rascals are quite good with a .979 fielding percentage (2nd-tied)... Topping Randison's rotation are Dante Langlais (10-4 3.61) and Mick Cronyn (4-3 2.15)... His best bats are 1B Al Joyner (.283/13 HR/36 RBI/29 R), 3B Rupert Doan (.284/7 HR/34 RBI/29 R/7 SB), CF Hal Hoover (.280/6 HR/29 R/36 R/12 SB) and LF Roy Cochran (.289/6 HR/25 RBI/24 R).

Tycobbian Union North Division Outlook:
It should be quite a second half with Hartsdale predicted to prevail... Fairfax, Oxford and North Hills will be in the thick of the fight, but they seem to have too many unknowns compared to the Hellcats... North Hills looks like they might be the second-place team due to improved pitching... Fairfax will take the third spot, followed by Oxford in the fourth spot... Luxora gets the nod for fifth place over Blue Lake because the Zorros pitching and hitting is just a little bit better than the Blue Sox... White River seems improved going into the last half of the year and will probably end up seventh... its pitchers could lift them up as high as fifth, although it is doubtful the Rascals can make the playoffs... they just don't score enough runs... Mahaska seems headed for the cellar and will finish eighth this year... Too many question marks on the roster and too little hitting.

04-20-2009, 06:14 PM	#880
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,968	The Islandian Times Wednesday, June 25, 2003 Tycobbian Union North Division Mid-Season Standings Hellcats Rise to the Top, lead Fairfax and Oxford by 4 Games This season Zim Donner's Hartsdale Hellcats (44-29) have leaped from also-ran status to the top of the heap in the IPA's Tycobbian Union North. Last year they completed the season in fifth place, 14 games off the pace. At the mid-point mark in the 2003 season, the Hellcats have run up a four-game lead over the Fairfax Frogs (40-33) and last year's division-winning Oxford Red Caps (40-33). Rounding out the first division are the surprising North Hills Hawks (38-35), who were division dormats in 2002, but who are only 6 games back. Blue Lake (35-38) and Luxora (35-38)are tied for the fifth spot in the standings, trailing by 9 games, followed by seventh-place Mahaska (34-39) and last place White River (33-40). The Haymakers and the Rascals are 10 and 11 games back, respectively. Donner, skipper of the first-place Hartsdale Hellcats told BNN, "Good pitching has made all the difference. When you have two All-Star starters like Kostro and Vaitkus, it certainly makes my job easier." Not only are the Hellcats ranked high with a superb 3.33 team ERA (2nd), but they are also hitting the cover off the ball with a .286 batting average (2nd) and 67 roundtrippers (12th). Zimmer's squad is also no sloutch on defense with a fine .977 fielding percentage (6th). Rookie Gus Kostro (13-3 2.80) and Tal Vaitkus (11-3 2.41) head up a talented Hartsdale hill corps with some help from Danny Griffin (4-0 1.98) and closer Nico Carnera (3-6 1.78), who has 11 saves. In the batter's box the Hellcats are sparked by 1B Mac Faulker (.306/15 HR/66 RBI/59 R), who is leading the IPA in RBIs, SS Jud Turchin (.308/4 HR/32 RBI/56 R/12 SB), CF Mel Poe (.307/8 HR/27 RBI/44 R), 2B Hoppy Hill (.326/2 HR/37 RBI/37 R) and 3B Whiz Weaver (.252/11 HR/48 RBI/38 R). Harry Buckley is in charge of the Fairfax Frogs, who are running neck-and-neck with the Oxford Red Caps, piloted by Campy Roy. The Frogs and Red Caps are deadlocked currently for second place. Fairfax's top performers are All-Star hurler Robby Meredith (9-4 2.80), and All-Star RF Gregg Vincent (.294/21 HR/54 RBI/45 R), 1B Jeff Vretsos (.312/7 HR/41 RBI/32 R) and SS Warren Lee (.290/10 HR/34 RBI/31 R)... Reason for the Frogs success? "Good pitching and the home run get us by most of the time" is what Buckley told reporters... Fairfax fields well, too, with a .975 fielding percentage (9th). Roy and the Red Caps won the division last year and are right back near the top. Oxford uses the same formula as Fairfax - good pitching and great home run power... They are third with 85 homers and fifth with a fine 3.37 ERA... Pacing the pitchers are All-Star Dan Phillips (12-5 3.31) and Bomber Belinsky (10-6 2.63)... Roy also has Nicky Nickolson (6-8 2.31) and Alec Bowman (5-3 3.65) to round out his starting foursome... The Red Caps main run producers are 3B Joe Courtney (.347/22 HR/58 RBI/60 R), who tops the Tycobbian Union with 22 roundtrippers, CF Ike Plunkett (.275/16 HR/46 RBI/48 R/8 SB), LF Mack Spencer (.255/17 HR/43 RBI/42 R) and rookie C Brad Earp (.271/11 HR/41 RBI/25 R). The fourth place North Hills Hawks have made a good comeback under manager Hub Carlson, a great southpaw in his day in the company leagues... The Hawks are presently 6 games behind... In 2002 they ended the season a distant 21 games off the pace and finished in last place... The turnabout has been accomplishted with good pitching... North Hills has compiled an impressive 3.35 ERA (4th) with a starting rotation of Jaybird Jackson (9-5 3.10), Ben Dewberry (8-8 2.69), Stan Ballard (4-4 2.18) and Leland Clinkscales (4-1 2.15)... The Hawks are batting a mediocre .262 (24th) with only 51 home runs (26th-tied)... Not too good defensively, either, with a poor .971 fielding average (26th)... 3B Russell Beal (.331/3 HR/43 RBI/34 R), RF Trent Gilbert (.337/5 HR/40 RBI/50 R/9 SB), CF Roy Stainbrook (.247/13 HR/42 RBI/45 R/13 SB) and LF Kevin Schmidt (.286/10 HR/48 RBI/35 R) have carried the offensive load for North Hills. The Blue Lake Blue Sox are managed by Cobb Tyson... The club finished second in 2001 with a 79-72 mark, losing the pennant in a playoff game to the Fairfax Frogs and were eliminated by South Fork in the opening round of the playoffs 4 games to 2... Last year Blue Lake dropped to sixth with a 71-83 record... This season the Blue Sox are tied for fifth with the Luxora Zorros, both with a record of 35-38... Blue Lake was 33-30 and over .500, but have dropped 8 of the last 10 games, the last four in a row... Team stats show the Blue Sox with a .260 BA (26th), 64 homers (13th), 3.98 ERA (14th) and a .975 fielding percentage (9th-tied)...Tyson's top pitchers are Bennie West (7-7 3.17), Neil Krogstad (8-6 3.73) and Paddy O'Rourke (7-5 3.93)... Blue Lake just signed three new pitchers and demoted Jay Clay (4-8 4.48), Pat Henry (5-5 5.36) and Happy McManus (0-1 6.38)... Blue Lake's top hitters are 2B Ken Bennett (.295/8 HR/51 RBI/43 R), RF Fred Collins (.293/13 HR/46 RBI/50 R/23 SB), LF Donnie Frazier (.322/4 HR/35 RBI/24 R) and rookie CF Rick Hilliard (.293/10 HR/35 RBI/43 R/23 SB). The fifth place Luxora Zorros are having only a so-so season and are guided by Alejandro Rodrigo... The Z's hold their own within the division, but falter outside it... The team has a .270 batting average (16th) with 59 homers (20th), a good 3.69 ERA (9th), but are fielding only .972 (23rd)... Rodrigo's best pitchers are starter Andy Stevens (6-2 2.92) and his closer, Elio Laurente (3-4 2.75) with 9 saves... Tito Tovares (8-8 3.51) and Eddie Hoffman (6-7 3.73) have started the bulk of the club's games and have done well at times... Rookie C Otto Kronvath (.275/18 HR/47 RBI/39 R) and CF Lacey Tompkins (.321/10 HR/43 RBI/49 R) are the Zorros main bats with some help from 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.327/2 HR/26 RBI/35 R/13 SB) and 1B Paul Hallenbeck (.266/8 HR/34 RBI/32 R). Seventh in the TU North are Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers, who have fallen in the standings this season... They were a playoff team last year and ranked fourth in the race... The Haymakers are only 10 games out, just four away from a playoff spot, so all is not lost yet... Tanussa is in the same boat as many managers around the IPA that need more hitting and more home runs to compete... Mahaska has two good starters in Boomerang Hines (9-9 3.03) and Kolya Andrasko (6-7 3.14)...on the mound the team has a fairly good .365 ERA (10th)... at the plate the Haymakers are only hitting .262 (25th) with 53 homers (23rd)... CF Mel Ballard (.264/8 HR/34 RBI/29 R), RF Ira Engelstad (286/9 HR/33 RBI/32 R) and rookie C Mike Konjorsky (.282/4 HR/25 RBI/29 R) are the most productive, but poor in comparison to most teams... in the field Mahaska is better than the average team and has a .975 mark (9th). White River is not improved over its initial foray into the IPA... Last season the Rascals was seventh, this year they are eighth and last... Fortunately skipper John Randison can still salvage the season... his club is only 4 games away from a playoff position... so it wouldn't take much to change the Rascals situation... White River is near the bottom in hitting with a pathetic .258 average (30th) and 58 home runs (21st)... pitching-wise its team ERA is 4.14 (21st)... defensively, the Rascals are quite good with a .979 fielding percentage (2nd-tied)... Topping Randison's rotation are Dante Langlais (10-4 3.61) and Mick Cronyn (4-3 2.15)... His best bats are 1B Al Joyner (.283/13 HR/36 RBI/29 R), 3B Rupert Doan (.284/7 HR/34 RBI/29 R/7 SB), CF Hal Hoover (.280/6 HR/29 R/36 R/12 SB) and LF Roy Cochran (.289/6 HR/25 RBI/24 R). Tycobbian Union North Division Outlook: It should be quite a second half with Hartsdale predicted to prevail... Fairfax, Oxford and North Hills will be in the thick of the fight, but they seem to have too many unknowns compared to the Hellcats... North Hills looks like they might be the second-place team due to improved pitching... Fairfax will take the third spot, followed by Oxford in the fourth spot... Luxora gets the nod for fifth place over Blue Lake because the Zorros pitching and hitting is just a little bit better than the Blue Sox... White River seems improved going into the last half of the year and will probably end up seventh... its pitchers could lift them up as high as fifth, although it is doubtful the Rascals can make the playoffs... they just don't score enough runs... Mahaska seems headed for the cellar and will finish eighth this year... Too many question marks on the roster and too little hitting. Last edited by Eugene Church; 04-20-2009 at 06:30 PM.