[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

Still a Wide Open Race in the TU East, South Fork Has 2-Game Edge

Only 7 games separate the best from the worst in the Tycobbian Union East. At the All-Star break the South Fork Stallions are the leader in the closest race in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The Stallions (40-33) have a 2-game lead over the runner-up High Mesa Cowboys (38-35) and Red Bluff Red Sox (38-35). Lurking only 4 games back are three more teams, the East Point Panthers (36-37), Midway Wolves (36-37) and Ozarka Naturals (36-37), all tied for fourth. Tuckanarra is seventh (35-38), only 5 games behind with basement-dwelling Hillsboro just 7 games off the pace. The closedly-bunched TU East is still wide open with every team still very much in the running for the four playoff spots.

The man in charge of the South Fork Stallions is the fiesty firebrand, Deroche "Lips" Leon. He told BNN, "Nobody outhustles the Stallions and we fight tooth-and-nail to win a ballgame. We do what it takes to win. That what separates the men from the boys in this league." Leon is right when you look at the team's stats. It must be the intangibles that make the difference. South Fork is only an average-hitting team with a .273 BA (13th) with only 41 homers (32nd), which is the tied for worst in the IPA. On the hill Leon's hurlers have chalked up a 4.16 ERA (22nd) and fielding-wise his Stallions have a .973 FA (17th-tied). Not a whole lot to brag about there. But as Leon told the press, "We don't have any All-Stars. We don't care about stats. We just want to kick butts and win ballgames."

South Fork does have some pretty fair hitters in 1B Keith Burke (.320/9 HR/59 RBI/41 R), LF Art Atkins (.323/4 HR/30 RBI/46 R), rookie RF Sam Shirley (.308/4 HR/26RBI/42 R) and SS Rick Tsoukalis (.309/2 HR/35 RBI/25 R/8 SB). They don't hit with power, but they can manufacture runs when they need them. On the mound Leon depends on his veteran starters Flint Battle (8-7 4.02), Glenn Turnbull (8-5 4.19) and his start closer Ken Marsh (5-1 2.15), who has nailed down 12 saves on the season. The Stallions have an experienced staff, which Leon thinks will come in handy at Pro Cup time. "They ain't flashy, but they get the job done."

The High Mesa Cowboys are the defending champions in the Islandian Pro Alliance and have at the helm Frisky Franks, who depends on his bats for success and he has a bunch of them. His top hitters are All-Star SS Rolf Kellgren (.307/10 HR/38RBI/62 R/15 SB), 2B Ed Grenberg (.353/9 HR/52 RBI/55 R/8 SB), LF Adam Zitek (.278/15 HR/51 RBI/45 R), RF Kenny Edelstein (.329/9 HR/42 RBI/41 R), C Johnny Fessler (.309/4 HR/41 RBI/50 R/20 SB) and 1B Babe Holloman (.267/12 HR/47 RBI). As a team the Cowboys are batting .276 (10th) with 83 homers (5th). In the pitching department, High Mesa has registered a 4.10 team ERA (20th). Manager Franks has some solid starters that have to pitch in a bandbox where homers are a dime a dozen. Franks has a good starting rotation with vets John Owens (9-5 3.34), Joey Popovich (7-5 3.29) and Donnie Rinaldi (4-4 2.55). In an effort to bolster his mound corps, Franks signed three new pitchers. High Mesa's season could hinge on these three new acquisitions, especially his new closer, Ken Edgar.

The Red Bluff Red Sox were near the bottom last season in a tough division. This year Mack Connery's crew has surged up with the top dogs. The Red Sox hit homers and pitch well in a hit-heavy division. As a team they have hit 84 roundtrippers (4th) and sport a 3.85 ERA (15th), which happens to be the best in the TU East. Connery has a strong staff, headed by starters Mila Mohoski (8-6 3.90) and Frank Baudoin (7-2 2.39). They have quite a task playing in the small confines of Red Bluff Park, one of the smaller venues in the IPA. Red Bluff's only All-Star is its fine closer John Daugherty (3-1 1.50), who has impressed with 12 saves this season. In major moves at mid-year Connery promoted John-Michael Trimble (1-0 2.08) andn Leonard Urban (3-1 3.25) from middle relief to starting roles. The Red Sox carry a .260 batting average at the All-Star break and get most of their offense from 1B Bucky Frizzell (.302/12 HR/54 RBI/43 R), LF Tony Blundell (.308/11 HR/43 RBI/57 R/14 SB), SS Brooks Cole (.293/7 HR/37 RBI/42 R) and C Virgil Carpenter (.277/12 HR/38 R).

Despite having pitching problems, skipper Griff Clarke has the East Point Panthers hanging close in the pennant chase, only four games out. Clarke depends on a few good men to get by on the mound and at the plate. Hitting is where the Panthers excel, led by two All-Stars, 2B Karol Zadoka (.286/19 HR/54 RBI/52 R/8 SB) and 3B Rex Sokolov (.294/19 HR/50 RBI/45 R) and SS Keith Wasik (.319/4 HR/28 RBI/23 R/9 SB). The Panthers have a .260 average (29th) and have whacked 73 homers (7th). Clarke also has some gifted hurlers in Charlie Hale (6-6 3.89), Jack Black (5-2 4.02) and hardluck Bill Glasscock (4-11 3.71). To move up in the standings, East Point needs its two new pitching acquisitions to come in and pick up the slack and improve on the team's lousy 4.59 ERA (29th). Clarke especially needs good work from his new closer Jarred Robillard. He also needs Carl Thompson to return to his 2001 form when he was one of the best pitchers in the IPA with a 17-14 mark and a 2.98 ERA for a poor Belair Beach ballclub. One big plus for East Point is defense. The Panthers are number one with a sparkling .981 fielding percentage (1st).

Cochise Chandler has his Midway Wolves still in the fight at mid-season in spite of pitching woes. They are just four games behind and in a three-way tie for fourth. Statisically the Wolves are just an average team in the Tycobbian Union, hitting .270 (17th) with 64 home runs (13th). His top batters are All-Star center fielder Johnny Gillespie (.329/12 HR/50 RBI/52 R/14 SB), 1B Skinny Skah (.313/9 HR/48 RBI/37 R), 2B Little John Yuma (.335/7 HR/36 RBI/44 R/6 SB) and RF Archie Greene (.280/10 HR/27 RBI/44 R/4 SB). On the hill Chandler's hurlers have chalked up a poor 4.50 ERA (28th). He has one excellent starter in Phil Northeimer (7-2 2.13) and a pretty solid one in Nosyt Sani (9-8 3.89). In the bullpen is closer Brook Millham (4-3 3.48), who has done a steady job with nine saves. The Wolves will have five new pitchers to finish out the year. Defensively Midway has a .974 FA (15th-tied).

It seems the TU East is full of average teams with pitching problems. Add the Ozark Naturals of manager Joe Mac Carney to the list. They are also tied for the fourth spot in the standings and trail by just four games. The Nats are carrying a solid .276 batting average (8th), but are weak in the power department with only 51 homers (26th-tied). Carney's mound crew has run up a 4.30 ERA (23rd) and his team is fielding at a .975 clip (9th-tied). Shouldering most of his offense are SS Duffy Douglas (.321/7 HR/44 RBI/48 R/10 SB) and CF Kermit Wiggins (.343/1 HR/32 RBI/48 R/29 SB). Ozarka has three dependable starters in Pat Schwartz (9-4 4.00), Sid Hyder (7-4 3.91) and Alex DiMaggio (6-7 3.38). Like many other teams in need of pitching the Naturals have added four newcomers to their staff. Tony Didriksen (1-1 3.56), a journeyman starter and reliever over the past three seasons will now get a shot at closer.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are guided by Carlton Stevens and find themselves in seventh place, but only five games off the pace. The Blues Jays are batting at a .270 pace (18th) and have hit just 64 roundtrippers (13th-tied), led by two All-Stars CF Monty Draycott (.282/15 HR/58 RBI/48 R/11 SB) and 2B Owen MacArthur (.367/2 HR/18 RBI/51 R/13 SB). C Clint Hardesty (.331/6 HR/45 RBI/30 R) and 1B Charley Schofield (.290/13 HR/36 RBI/50 R) have been valuable contributors, too. Stevens' pitching corps has registered a 3.76 ERA (14th), headed by Niles Applewhite (8-3 3.39), Coorain Janama (7-7 3.85), Harold Blankenship (6-6 4.11) and Titus Bristow (3-3 2.71). Tuckanarra kept its roster pretty much intact, but Stevens did revamp his line-up and will go with a new center fielder, third baseman and shortstop. The Blue Jays only play average defense with a .973 FA (17th-tied).

Though Arky Spanderson's Hillsboro Blazers are in the basement, they are only seven games behind the leading South Fork Stallions and only three games away from a playoff spot. So Spanderson still feels they have a chance to make some noise in the division. The Blazer manager is optimistic about the second half of the season. He thinks he has improved his starting rotation by promoting several good middle relievers. In the first half of the year Hillsboro put up a poor 4.42 ERA, which may not be as bad as it looks, considering the bandbox they play in. Spanderson's starting foursome will be Ronnie Greinke (9-5 3.94), Mike Larsen (4-2 2.27), Ed Dupard (0-0 2.91) and Cooper Rankin (0-1 3.62). The Blazers have also added four new pitchers to handle the bullpen.

One thing Hillsboro does well is hit the ball, especially the long ball. Helped by the short fences, they have gone deep 115 times (1st) to outdistance everybody in the IPA. As far as batting average the Blazers have hit .273 (14th). Topping the potent line-up are rookie 1B Sloan Shatner (.327/20 HR/55 RBI/52 R), 2B Tommy Emrick (.336/15 HR/51 RBI/56 R), SS Jerry Pontros (.302/15 HR/35 RBI/57 R/5 SB), CF Arnie Greco (.300/10 HR/30 RBI/48 R/9 SB), LF Kevin Baker (.256/16 HR/43 RBI/48 R/6 SB) and RF Rawhide Marshall (.238/14 HR/46 RBI/47 R). Seven regulars had double-digit homers. They are well on their way to setting a new IPA home run record. East Point holds the record with 198 in 2002. On the defensive side of the field Hillsboro is about average with a .973 mark (17th-tied).

Tycobbian Union East Division Outlook:

The quick answer to who's going to win the flag in the Tycobbian Union East this season is whoever gets the most help from the new roster additions and there are many of them. Especially important will be the new closers. Five of the eight clubs will have a new arm in the position. South Fork is in the driver's seat at the All-Star break, but has been in a tight tussle with just about all of the teams in the evenly-matched division. The Stallions are given the edge to take the pennant, mainly because they are a known quality with the fewest roster changes. High Mesa is picked number two because of their outstanding hitting and and three good starters. The Cowboys and the Stallions are the class of the division. If High Mesa gets a good closer, they will win the division. Red Bluff has the best pitching of the other six clubs and will end up in the third spot. The Red Sox can sock the ball, too. Fourth place goes to Tuckanarra, which has a good starting rotation. East Point will come in fifth. The Panthers have decent starters like Ozarka, but hit much better than the Naturals. Give Ozarka a sixth-place finish. The Midway Wolves will be pushed down to the seventh slot in the standings, leaving last place to the heavy-hitting Hillsboro Blazers, who could surprise everybody and take off in the second half and win a playoff spot. But they really have too many question marks to seriously consider that as a likely outcome.