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Eugene Church · 01-08-2010, 09:57 PM

The Islandian Times

Sunday, September 21, 2008

East Point Survives 4-Team Battle, Wins TU East Flag

1st – East Point Panthers (85-69)

It was a donnybrook all year long in the Tycobbian East... four clubs fought a fierce battle and there was a chance of a four-way tie going into the last day of the season... the East Point Panthers came out victorious and took the title by one game over Ozarka and Tuckanarra with Red Bluff only two games back... Manager Griff Clarke depended on firepower to bring home the pennant to East Point for the first time in its history... his Panthers hit 170 homers (5th) and scored 779 runs (2nd)... Clarke also had two veteran workhorses Smokey Joe Carter (19-14 3.69) and Tommy Fuller (20-11 3.11) to solidly anchor his pitching rotation, but the rest of the staff is highly suspect with a 4.37 team ERA (31st)... Clarke plays a lot of different players with a different line-up each day... East Point's key hitters are 2B Jesse Goodwin (.263/35 HR/100 RBI/95 R) and 3B George Barnes (.302/23 HR/63 RBI/74 R)... other valuable contributors are 1B Hank Archer (.284/11 HR/63 RBI/73 R) and RF Cisco Perales (.294/11 HR/51 RBI/47 R)... it will be interesting to see how Clarke's endless platooning and manipulations will work in the Pro Cup playoffs... however if Carter and Fuller can kept winning and the Panthers can continue to thrive off the long-ball, it could be an exciting postseason.

2nd tied – Ozarka Naturals (84-70)

Poor Joe Mac Carney... his Ozarka Naturals are the bridesmaid for the second straight year, finishing second by one measly game both times... a crucial injury to his ace Karl Kleinert (16-6 2.13) cost him dearly over the last two months of the season... Kleinert's loss made Ozarka an average team down the stretch... they were only 24-24 during August and September... The Nats compiled a solid 3.68 team ERA (8th)... combined with excellent defense (.981 FA) and adequate hitting (.265 BA - 20th), they stayed in the race the entire season and only dropped out when they lost two of the last three games... Carney's batting order included 3B Nathan Ferrell (.306/30 HR/105 RBI/93 R), 2B Todd Chadwick (.290/23 HR/89 RBI/114 R/35 SB), LF Vic Weinstein (.284/9 HR/81 RBI/76 R/15 SB), SS Gil Lantz (.285/711 HR/55 RBI/75 R) and C Todd Pepper (.287/7 HR/52 RBI/76 R/16 SB).

2nd tied – Tuckanarra Blue Jays (84-70)

The defending TU East titlists, the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, tried valiantly, but also came up a game short and came in second this season...they won three of their final four games and almost forced a playoff... skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens depends solely on his pitching for success... the Blue Jay staff has the best ERA in the league with an outstanding 3.21 ERA (1st), headed by four superb starters: Delaney Elliott (16-9 2.70), Flash Guidry (17-13 2.99), Titus Bristow (18-15 3.14) and Roy Spence (20-14 3.29)... it is doubtful there is a better group of starters anywhere in the IPA... toss in closer Coorain Janama (4-6 2.19), who set an IPA record with 38 saves and you have a team that could easily win it all... the only thing holding Tuckanarra back is its lack of hitting... the Blue Jays batted only .257 (27th) with just 95 home runs (32nd) and scored the fewest runs (617 – 32nd) in the Tycobbian Union... it's tough to compete with no offense... Carney's best bats are 1B Erik Vayda (.306/12 HR/75 RBI), CF Earl O'Brien (.282/7 HR/66 RBI/79 R/33 SB) and 2B Duncan Renwick (.275/12 HR/53 RBI/71 R/23 SB).

4th – Red Bluff Red Sox (83-71)

Fourth place Red Bluff went into a tailspin in the last week of the season and suffered four defeats in six games to tumble down to fourth place, only two games behind... Mack Connery pretty much used the same formula as East Point: good hitting and two solid starters... the Red Sox rotation included two seven-year veterans in Frank Beaudoin (19-12 2.79) and John Dougherty (21-11 3.34) and some solid hitters like 3B Tommy Klegg (.270/39 HR/113 RBI/90 R), SS Jose Aguilar (.279/18 HR/77 RBI/85 R/20 SB), LF Bryan Wessels (.319/18 HR/71 RBI) and RF Kris Grabowski (.316/16 HR/70 RBI)... as a team Red Bluff hit at a .275 pace (1st) with 166 homers (7th)... the Red Sox defense was top-notch with a .980 FA... the team ERA was only mediocre at best with a 4.12 ERA (22nd).

5th – High Mesa Cowboys (75-79)

Frisky Franks piloted the High Mesa Cowboys to the fifth spot in the TU East. They trailed the leader by 10 games... the Cowpokes were long on hitting and short on pitching... they batted .274 (3rd) and topped the league with 798 runs and 190 roundtrippers, while compiling a poor 4.20 team ERA (25th)... Leading High Mesa at bat were 1B Nat Thurlow (.263/34 HR/91 RBI), LF Sookie Givens (.296/31 HR/86 RBI/78 R), SS Wild Deer Etchimin (.268/23 HR/70 RBI/77 R), 2B Ed Albrecht (.298/19 HR/64 RBI/78 R) and LF Matt Merrill (.309/22 HR/62 RBI)... Franks only had one go-to guy on the hill... that was Kent Wells (19-16 3.26).

6th – Midway Wolves (73-81)

It was another sad season for the Midway Wolves, who missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year and were 12 games off the pace, completing the year in sixth place... Offense is manager Cochise Chandler's despair... the Wolves hit well with a .270 average (8th), but hit only 131 home runs (17th) and scored only 704 runs (22nd) with a 4.16 team ERA (24th)... Fortunately Midway has two wily pitching vets who have been around the IPA for quite a few years... Ted Chambers (18-12 3.55) and Phil Reed (18-18 3.81) both enjoyed good years... at the plate it was SS J. T. Edmonds (.313/22 HR/82 RBI/82 R) and 1B Don Piper (.274/17 HR/71 RBI/70 R) who generated most of the team's offense.

7th – Hillsboro Blazers (70-84)

Hillsboro is in the same boat as Midway and has never made the IPA postseason... the Blazers hit only .253 (28th) and have no power numbers with a sorry 4.26 ERA (28th) – 'nuff said - teams with those numbers are doomed to the depths of the division... Hillsboro with Arky Spanderson at the helm ended the season seventh and 15 games behind East Point... Lou Zanelli (16-16 3.35) and Ed Dupard (13-21 3.63) pitched well and deserved better records... Spanderson really suffered from a lack of offense... his best bats were LF Ricky Alfonso (.276/12 HR/76 RBI/79 R/31 SB), 3B George Longmire (.270/14 HR/69 RBI/98 R/36 SB) and RF Winky Rush (.324/10 HR/44 RBI/44 R), who had a fine season, but plays only against righties and was in only 72 games.

8th – South Fork Stallions (64-90)

2008 was another bad year for the South Fork Stallions and Lips Leon... after winning the pennants in 2001 and 2002, it's been all downhill ever since with no playoff appearances... this season the Stallions fell as far as you can go – last place – and 21 games away from first... Leon only has average hitting (.268 BA – 16th) and awful pitching with a 4.41 ERA (32nd)... top batsmen are CF Gary Horn (.292/35 HR/87 RBI/96 R), SS Rolf Kellgren (.275/9 HR/50 RBI/102 R/30 SB), RF Robby Michael (.326/18 HR/80 RBI) and LF Chris Krychevsky (.326/14 HR/74 RBI)... six-year vet Bobby Karu (10-20 3.69) can still do the job at age 36, but suffered from lack of run support... the rest of the rotation has ERAs ranging from 4.21 to 5.38.

01-08-2010, 09:57 PM	#1459
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,869	The Islandian Times Sunday, September 21, 2008 East Point Survives 4-Team Battle, Wins TU East Flag 1st – East Point Panthers (85-69) It was a donnybrook all year long in the Tycobbian East... four clubs fought a fierce battle and there was a chance of a four-way tie going into the last day of the season... the East Point Panthers came out victorious and took the title by one game over Ozarka and Tuckanarra with Red Bluff only two games back... Manager Griff Clarke depended on firepower to bring home the pennant to East Point for the first time in its history... his Panthers hit 170 homers (5th) and scored 779 runs (2nd)... Clarke also had two veteran workhorses Smokey Joe Carter (19-14 3.69) and Tommy Fuller (20-11 3.11) to solidly anchor his pitching rotation, but the rest of the staff is highly suspect with a 4.37 team ERA (31st)... Clarke plays a lot of different players with a different line-up each day... East Point's key hitters are 2B Jesse Goodwin (.263/35 HR/100 RBI/95 R) and 3B George Barnes (.302/23 HR/63 RBI/74 R)... other valuable contributors are 1B Hank Archer (.284/11 HR/63 RBI/73 R) and RF Cisco Perales (.294/11 HR/51 RBI/47 R)... it will be interesting to see how Clarke's endless platooning and manipulations will work in the Pro Cup playoffs... however if Carter and Fuller can kept winning and the Panthers can continue to thrive off the long-ball, it could be an exciting postseason. 2nd tied – Ozarka Naturals (84-70) Poor Joe Mac Carney... his Ozarka Naturals are the bridesmaid for the second straight year, finishing second by one measly game both times... a crucial injury to his ace Karl Kleinert (16-6 2.13) cost him dearly over the last two months of the season... Kleinert's loss made Ozarka an average team down the stretch... they were only 24-24 during August and September... The Nats compiled a solid 3.68 team ERA (8th)... combined with excellent defense (.981 FA) and adequate hitting (.265 BA - 20th), they stayed in the race the entire season and only dropped out when they lost two of the last three games... Carney's batting order included 3B Nathan Ferrell (.306/30 HR/105 RBI/93 R), 2B Todd Chadwick (.290/23 HR/89 RBI/114 R/35 SB), LF Vic Weinstein (.284/9 HR/81 RBI/76 R/15 SB), SS Gil Lantz (.285/711 HR/55 RBI/75 R) and C Todd Pepper (.287/7 HR/52 RBI/76 R/16 SB). 2nd tied – Tuckanarra Blue Jays (84-70) The defending TU East titlists, the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, tried valiantly, but also came up a game short and came in second this season...they won three of their final four games and almost forced a playoff... skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens depends solely on his pitching for success... the Blue Jay staff has the best ERA in the league with an outstanding 3.21 ERA (1st), headed by four superb starters: Delaney Elliott (16-9 2.70), Flash Guidry (17-13 2.99), Titus Bristow (18-15 3.14) and Roy Spence (20-14 3.29)... it is doubtful there is a better group of starters anywhere in the IPA... toss in closer Coorain Janama (4-6 2.19), who set an IPA record with 38 saves and you have a team that could easily win it all... the only thing holding Tuckanarra back is its lack of hitting... the Blue Jays batted only .257 (27th) with just 95 home runs (32nd) and scored the fewest runs (617 – 32nd) in the Tycobbian Union... it's tough to compete with no offense... Carney's best bats are 1B Erik Vayda (.306/12 HR/75 RBI), CF Earl O'Brien (.282/7 HR/66 RBI/79 R/33 SB) and 2B Duncan Renwick (.275/12 HR/53 RBI/71 R/23 SB). 4th – Red Bluff Red Sox (83-71) Fourth place Red Bluff went into a tailspin in the last week of the season and suffered four defeats in six games to tumble down to fourth place, only two games behind... Mack Connery pretty much used the same formula as East Point: good hitting and two solid starters... the Red Sox rotation included two seven-year veterans in Frank Beaudoin (19-12 2.79) and John Dougherty (21-11 3.34) and some solid hitters like 3B Tommy Klegg (.270/39 HR/113 RBI/90 R), SS Jose Aguilar (.279/18 HR/77 RBI/85 R/20 SB), LF Bryan Wessels (.319/18 HR/71 RBI) and RF Kris Grabowski (.316/16 HR/70 RBI)... as a team Red Bluff hit at a .275 pace (1st) with 166 homers (7th)... the Red Sox defense was top-notch with a .980 FA... the team ERA was only mediocre at best with a 4.12 ERA (22nd). 5th – High Mesa Cowboys (75-79) Frisky Franks piloted the High Mesa Cowboys to the fifth spot in the TU East. They trailed the leader by 10 games... the Cowpokes were long on hitting and short on pitching... they batted .274 (3rd) and topped the league with 798 runs and 190 roundtrippers, while compiling a poor 4.20 team ERA (25th)... Leading High Mesa at bat were 1B Nat Thurlow (.263/34 HR/91 RBI), LF Sookie Givens (.296/31 HR/86 RBI/78 R), SS Wild Deer Etchimin (.268/23 HR/70 RBI/77 R), 2B Ed Albrecht (.298/19 HR/64 RBI/78 R) and LF Matt Merrill (.309/22 HR/62 RBI)... Franks only had one go-to guy on the hill... that was Kent Wells (19-16 3.26). 6th – Midway Wolves (73-81) It was another sad season for the Midway Wolves, who missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year and were 12 games off the pace, completing the year in sixth place... Offense is manager Cochise Chandler's despair... the Wolves hit well with a .270 average (8th), but hit only 131 home runs (17th) and scored only 704 runs (22nd) with a 4.16 team ERA (24th)... Fortunately Midway has two wily pitching vets who have been around the IPA for quite a few years... Ted Chambers (18-12 3.55) and Phil Reed (18-18 3.81) both enjoyed good years... at the plate it was SS J. T. Edmonds (.313/22 HR/82 RBI/82 R) and 1B Don Piper (.274/17 HR/71 RBI/70 R) who generated most of the team's offense. 7th – Hillsboro Blazers (70-84) Hillsboro is in the same boat as Midway and has never made the IPA postseason... the Blazers hit only .253 (28th) and have no power numbers with a sorry 4.26 ERA (28th) – 'nuff said - teams with those numbers are doomed to the depths of the division... Hillsboro with Arky Spanderson at the helm ended the season seventh and 15 games behind East Point... Lou Zanelli (16-16 3.35) and Ed Dupard (13-21 3.63) pitched well and deserved better records... Spanderson really suffered from a lack of offense... his best bats were LF Ricky Alfonso (.276/12 HR/76 RBI/79 R/31 SB), 3B George Longmire (.270/14 HR/69 RBI/98 R/36 SB) and RF Winky Rush (.324/10 HR/44 RBI/44 R), who had a fine season, but plays only against righties and was in only 72 games. 8th – South Fork Stallions (64-90) 2008 was another bad year for the South Fork Stallions and Lips Leon... after winning the pennants in 2001 and 2002, it's been all downhill ever since with no playoff appearances... this season the Stallions fell as far as you can go – last place – and 21 games away from first... Leon only has average hitting (.268 BA – 16th) and awful pitching with a 4.41 ERA (32nd)... top batsmen are CF Gary Horn (.292/35 HR/87 RBI/96 R), SS Rolf Kellgren (.275/9 HR/50 RBI/102 R/30 SB), RF Robby Michael (.326/18 HR/80 RBI) and LF Chris Krychevsky (.326/14 HR/74 RBI)... six-year vet Bobby Karu (10-20 3.69) can still do the job at age 36, but suffered from lack of run support... the rest of the rotation has ERAs ranging from 4.21 to 5.38. Last edited by Eugene Church; 01-09-2010 at 06:19 PM.