[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 25, 2005

Tycobbian Union South Division 2005 Mid-Season Standings

Hurricanes Dominate TU South, Up by 7 Games at All-Star Game
For the second consecutive season the Cape Coral Hurricanes are blowing away the competition in the Tycobbian Union South with a very solid ball club that has magnificent pitching and very good hitting. The Hurricanes have already built up a seven-game bulge over runner-up Summerland and Turon, who are tied going into the mid-season break.

Arroyo Grande and Ginza are both fourth, nine games back. Colchester, who was expected to give Cape Coral its stiffest competition has sunk down to sixth and trails by 10 games. San Alejo is seventh, 14 games off the pace and Southport is in last place, a very distant 24 games out.

The reigning Manager of the Year, Huggy Miller, told BNN, "This is a great job. These guys are talented, work together, no big egos and are a joy to work with." White has guided Cape Coral since the inception of the Islandian Pro Alliance. The Hurricanes won the TU South in 2004. Prior to that Miller was third in the first season, fell to seventh in 2002, then rebounded to second place in 2003.

The Hurricanes (48-25) have the best record in the IPA. Miller's standout mound corps has registered an unbelievable 2.86 ERA (1st). Not only do they pitch well, they hit the ball well, too. The team batting average is .270 (3rd) with 72 homers (3rd) and 356 runs (3rd). Cape Coral has five solid starters in All-Star Cody Burg (12-3 1.64), Cal Holtzman (8-1 2.45), Doug Lyons (10-5 2.91), Zane Robinson (6-2 3.07) and Jeff Salow (7-4 3.41). All Miller needs is a good closer and he would almost have the perfect team.

The Hurricanes top run producers are LF Kippy Doyle (.324/19 HR/68 RBI/46 R), All-Star 3B Hoshi Sato (.332/17 HR/39 RBI/52 R), CF Edmundo Montano (.309/1 HR/30 RBI) and RF Simon Manetas (.295/4 HR/29 RBI/40 R).

Summerland's Will Hackett has his charges running neck-and-neck with Turon. The two clubs are all even, deadlocked for the second spot in the standings at the season's halfway point. The Sunsets (41-32) and Typhoons are well-rounded teams. Summerland's main strength is two steady starters Paul Felkner (10-7 3.13) and Bill Taft (10-4 2.55) and the Sunsets top-notch closer Bobby Winwood (5-2 2.86), who has 14 saves. Hackett has some consistent hitters, too. Leading the list are All-Star 2B Tucker Hill (.351/4 HR/23 RBI/55 R), LF Hank Hamilton (.303/7 HR/43 RBI/41 R) and 1B Karl Van Kooten (.277/15 HR/49 RBI).

Turon (41-32) is back in the playoff hunt after a year's lapse. Skipper Ashton "Whitey" Richburn led the Typhoons to the postseason in his first two years. Richburn won the IPA Pro Cup in 2003, but slipped badly last season, dipping to sixth place. But he has righted the ship this year. Two excellent starters and a very good closer are the prime reasons for the resurgence. Heading the Typhoon rotation are Scotty Boswell (7-3 2.53) and James Longstreet (7-4 2.79). James Stuart (7-3 2.93) has converted from a starter to a closer this season quite successfully with 9 saves. Strong defense has helped Turon as well. The Typhoons top the TU South with a .979 fielding average.

Richburn gets a lot of offense by platooning several positions. Turon is surprisingly second in runs with 357. The Typhoons have no outstanding hitters, just a bunch of journeymen, paced by RF Andy Porter (.299/12 HR/45 RBI/39 R) and C Trace Crittenden (.272/9 HR/41 RBI/44 R). In the battle for the postseason, Summerland gets the nod over Turon because of its superior pitching.

Jean-Luc Marchand and his Arroyo Grande Suns (39-34) suffered mightily in the first three years and did not come close to even the first division, much less the postseason. The Suns lost a hundred-plus games in 2002 and 2003 and finished seventh last year. But all that has changed - suddenly Arroyo Grande is terrorizing TU pitchers with a .283 batting average (1st), 116 home runs (1st) and have scored 395 times. Offensively they are on a record-setting pace. Marchand's prolific crew is currently tied for fourth with the Ginza Ninjas.

Marchand has been rotating six outfielders and all of them have been productive. So has All-Star 1B Cristian Avajos (.307/22 HR/59 RBI/42 R) and rookie shortstop Jared McCarthy (.301/18 HR/48 RBI/42 R). C Don Holden (.317/7 HR/30 RBI/44 R) will also play in the All-Star Game in Red Bluff. Also chipping in with the bats were 2B Alberto Ibarra (.297/7 HR/37 RBI/34 R) and outfielders Ernie Estaban (.355/12 HR/27 RBI/28 R), Maurice Vidrine (.339/10 HR/26 RBI/23 R) and Willie Clarke (.300/3 HR/17 RBI/26 R/12 SB).

The Suns have absolutely no pitching except for All-Star twirler Miguel Aguilera, who has had a phenomenal year, capturing 13 wins with only two defeats and an impressive 3.09 ERA on a staff with a out-of-sight 4.76 ERA (8th). Most experts don't see the Suns continuing to hit like they have in the first half of the season. They expect Ginza to move ahead them in the second half because of superior pitching.

Huroko Uchiyama's Ginza Ninjas (39-34) are fundamentally sound with good defensive play and fine pitching. The Ninjas are second with a 3.25 ERA and .978 fielding percentage. Ginza is a fair hitting ball club with a .263 BA (4th), but pitiful in power with only 46 roundtrippers (8th).

Uchiyama has a trio of strong, veteran pitchers in All-Star Alex Sasek (11-4 1.88), Carl Trebek (9-8 3.20) and Kojiro Matsumoto (7-9 3.61). On the offensive side of the ball Ginza is led by rookie SS Ed Dorland (.292/5 HR/37 RBI), 3B Toshiro Nomura (.300/7 HR/34 RBI) and RF Lonnie Jacobson (.302/9 HR/36 R).

Colchester manager Robbie Wilbertson is looking for his Elites to pick up the pace and play up to potential in the last half of the year. Colchester (38-35) is in the sixth spot in the TU South, trailing by 10 games. Wilbertson has his eye on second place, which is only 3 games away.

Quality starters and power hitting could get the Elites in a challenging position for the division's second playoff slot. All-Star Jimmy Simmons (12-3 3.26), Frank Payne (10-5 3.80) and Hootie Boatner (5-7 2.75) give Colchester some strong and experienced arms. Wilbertson's team has put up a 3.62 ERA (4th) and gone deep 74 times (2nd). His top hitters are 1B Harlan Roscoe (.315/14 HR/52 RBI), RF Tony Barella (.303/7 HR/37 RBI/40 R/17 SB), LF Douglas Tilford (.326/12 HR/36 RBI/55 R/22 SB) and 3B Niles Stanton (.266/14 HR/39 RBI). This is not a sixth-place ball club. Look for the Elites to climb higher in the TU South standings.

The seventh place San Alejo Montaneros (34-39) are no semblance of the tremendous team that won the pennants in 2002 and 2003. The rest of the division has caught up and surpassed Lando Peceda's club. The Montaneros mound staff continues its downward spiral this season with a miserable 4.35 ERA (6th) and a .257 BA (7th). San Alejo is 14 games out going into the All-Star break.

No one on the Montaneros is having a good year. Peceda's best batters are LF Bernie Valente (.329/7 HR/28 RBI/49 R) and 3B Paolo Huerta (.303/8 HR/32 RBI/43 R). On the hill only Juliano Nuevo (8-6 3.62) is having a decent season.

You have to go back to 2002, Southport's first year in the IPA, to come up with a good season. The Sun Sox shined that year, finished third in the division and made the postseason. Manager Charley Oscar has had no success since, ending up near the bottom in seventh or eighth place. Going into 2005 the prognosis was more of the same and that is exactly what has transpired. Southport (24-49) is having a pathetic season, is in the basement again and 24 games out of first.

The Sun Sox are hitting only .258 (6th) with only 53 home runs (7th) and are last in runs scored with just 268. Southport is near the bottom with a high 4.44 ERA (7th) and is the worst defensive club in the IPA with .966 FA.

Not much to cheer about in Southport. But the Sun Sox do have a fine first baseman in Pat Mystryk (.271/14 HR/51 RBI) and a pretty fair rookie starter in Mark Mumford (5-3 3.24). Mystryk is a career .287 hitter with 86 homers and 384 RBIs in his four years with the club.