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Eugene Church · 02-25-2011, 10:34 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 22, 2021

2021 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap

WR Rascals 6 Games Up In TU North
The White River Rascals went out and got them a new manager and they are playing like a champion at the mid-year break... they were second two years ago and fifth last year... Former Rascal pitcher Mick Cronyn has them riding high in the Tycobbian North in his rookie season. White River has a 6-game edge over runners-up Luxora, Hartsdale and Oxford. the Rascals are the only team above .500 in the weak division. Three other clubs are a winning streak away from being in contention. Fairfax and Mahaska are tied for fifth and trail by 7 games, while Blue Lake is seventh and 8 games out. Last place North Hills is 10 games off the pace.

Cronyn replaced John Randison this season as the White River skipper and has been blessed with four .300 hitters... All-Star Marty Blake is the team leader with a .355 BA and 18 homers, but he has help from C Tom Hewlett (.311/12 HR), RF Hal Littleton (.329/4 HR) and 3B Sandy Thompson (.301/5 HR)... Cronyn pitched 15 seasons for the Rascals and retired in 2017 with 196-201 record and a 3.73 ERA... not bad for a team that only had 3 winning seasons during his tenure... Cronyn has improved the mound staff this year... the team ERA dropped from 4.72 last year to 4.04 this season... 42-year-old Joe Hudson leads the team with a 10-5 mark and a 3.60 ERA... closer Arnie Montel (1-2) has notched 14 saves and posted a 2.52 ERA... White River's offense should keep them ahead of everybody in the TU North... Cronyn has to be wary of defending TU west champion Luxora, who have won the four years.

The Luxora Zorros still have good pitching, but have a losing record, 3 games below the .500 mark and tied with Hartsdale and Oxford in second place... manager Cristo Viamonte just needs to perk up his offense to get back to the accustomed spot atop the TU West... RF Jon Stafford (.212/12 HR) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.235/2 HR) are having dismal seasons and need to get back to their norm, which is about 50 points higher... team leaders are All-Star Jim Thorpe Chandler (.339/11 HR) and CF Francisco Ortega (.285/7 HR)... on the mound the great lefty Tiago Torres (5-7 2.47) has a fine ERA, but is struggling as far as his won-lost record... Vet Steve Aaron (8-8 3.30) and rookie Mike Boyce (7-10 3.34) give the Z's solid number two and three starters... in the bullpen is the standout closer All-Star Jay Brewer (4-1), who has saved 14 games and compiled an excellent 0.86 ERA... there's a chance Luxora will still make the race a lot closer in the second half of the season.

The Hartsdale Hellcats are tied with Luxora for the second spot in the TU North, but are not the club they were last year... manager Zim Donner won 90 games in 2020, but it's very unlikely he will approach that this year... the Hellcats have seen their bats fall off 20 points and the team ERA skyrocket from 3.34 to 4.02 (16th)... Donner still has a good starting four with Bobo Boisseau (8-6 3.49), Don Weill (.7-4 3.84), Jim Starks (7-7 3.99) and Ronnie Jernigan (5-8 3.70)... youngster 1B Johnny Scott (.338/7 HR) and vet 3B Kendry Moulton (.274/15 HR) are the only able bats... as a team Hartsdale is hitting only .247 and is ranked 27th in the league.

Mack Spencer, who played outfield for the Oxford Red Caps for 15 years, is the new man in town, replacing Campy Roy... Roy graciously retired after missing the playoffs for 13 years and finishing in the second-division for the last 5 seasons... Spencer has the Red Caps within 6 games of first place, but the club is no threat to win the flag... Oxford just doesn't have the talent except for Rick Hunt (3-2 2.22), a top-notch closer... Frankie Douglas (11-7 4.06) is Spencer's best starter... at the plate Oxford's best hitters are 2B Ricky Mullen (.311/7 HR), C Bryan Lewis (.305/1 HR) and RF Mario Marquis (.307/5 HR)... but they have little power... the Red Caps have gone deep only 40 times, next-to-last in the league.

Long-time skipper Harry Buckley stepped down and turned the Fairfax Frogs over to playing manager Dane Wesner... the Frogs have not made the Pro Cup playoffs for 7 years... this year should make it 8 straight... Fairfax and Mahaska are 7 games behind in the race and deadlocked for 5th... the Frogs sport a .250 batting average (24th) and a 3.97 ERA (14th) with little home-run power (21st)... Wesner's top performer is pitcher Ken Hill (12-6 3.22), a fine hurler in his 12th season... Hill has a lifetime 212-154 mark with an outstanding 2.87 ERA, a great record considering Fairfax is just basically a .500 team over the years... LF Wesner (.299/8 HR), rookie CF Johnny Eichhorn (.310/12 HR) and aging vet 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.273/9 HR) are the Frogs most reliable bats... prior to a shoulder injury in 2014, Wesner was just about the best player in the IPA... a future Hall-of-Famer Wesner has won 2 Golden Bat awards, 2 batting titles, a Triple Crown, 7 Gold Gloves and made the All-Star team 6 times... he is a career .320 hitter with over 400 homers and 1300 RBIs.

The Mahaska Haymakers are skippered by Rusty Tanussa, now in his 21st season... the Haymakers are not postseason material with a .260 team batting average (16th), 52 homers (24th) and a 4.26 team ERA (25th)... Johnny Picou (7-10 2.42) is Mahaska's top moundsman... top regulars are C Bucky O'Brian (.312/9 HR) and 1B Ross Burke (.296/15 HR).

Seventh in the TU North are the Blue Lake Blue Sox... manager Cobb Tyson's team is 7 games off the pace, but not likely to challenge this year because of poor hitting... the Blue Sox are batting only .244 (29th) with only 46 roundtrippers (29th)... however, Tyson has quality pitching with a 3.75 team ERA (9th)... Nick Walker (9-6 3.12) and Ron Quade (7-10 2.91) are tough customers on the hill... closer Irv Kuykendall (1-2 3.18) has chalked up 17 saves this year, second best in the league... LF Chet Alexander (.266/10 HR) is the only decent threat in the line-up.

Despite getting a new manager, the North Hills Hawks are in the TU North cellar again, for the fourth time in the last five seasons... the new skipper Masaichi Okawa, a former Hawk favorite and journeyman first sacker with good power (.273 BA/272 HR/1014 RBI), who played 11 years in the IPA, 6 with North Hills... he replaced Hub Carlson, who retired after 20 years with little success, only 2 playoff appearances... starter Ivan Glick (6-8 2.40) and closer Ben Garland (3-2 2.10) with 14 saves are the Hawks best hurlers... Okawa's best bats belong to LF Nicky Makovsky (.319/2 HR), 3B Rod Haynes (.313/9 HR) and 1B Lou Hooper (.276/10 HR)... it looks last place again for the Hawks.

02-25-2011, 10:34 PM	#2381
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,047	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, June 22, 2021 2021 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap WR Rascals 6 Games Up In TU North The White River Rascals went out and got them a new manager and they are playing like a champion at the mid-year break... they were second two years ago and fifth last year... Former Rascal pitcher Mick Cronyn has them riding high in the Tycobbian North in his rookie season. White River has a 6-game edge over runners-up Luxora, Hartsdale and Oxford. the Rascals are the only team above .500 in the weak division. Three other clubs are a winning streak away from being in contention. Fairfax and Mahaska are tied for fifth and trail by 7 games, while Blue Lake is seventh and 8 games out. Last place North Hills is 10 games off the pace. Cronyn replaced John Randison this season as the White River skipper and has been blessed with four .300 hitters... All-Star Marty Blake is the team leader with a .355 BA and 18 homers, but he has help from C Tom Hewlett (.311/12 HR), RF Hal Littleton (.329/4 HR) and 3B Sandy Thompson (.301/5 HR)... Cronyn pitched 15 seasons for the Rascals and retired in 2017 with 196-201 record and a 3.73 ERA... not bad for a team that only had 3 winning seasons during his tenure... Cronyn has improved the mound staff this year... the team ERA dropped from 4.72 last year to 4.04 this season... 42-year-old Joe Hudson leads the team with a 10-5 mark and a 3.60 ERA... closer Arnie Montel (1-2) has notched 14 saves and posted a 2.52 ERA... White River's offense should keep them ahead of everybody in the TU North... Cronyn has to be wary of defending TU west champion Luxora, who have won the four years. The Luxora Zorros still have good pitching, but have a losing record, 3 games below the .500 mark and tied with Hartsdale and Oxford in second place... manager Cristo Viamonte just needs to perk up his offense to get back to the accustomed spot atop the TU West... RF Jon Stafford (.212/12 HR) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.235/2 HR) are having dismal seasons and need to get back to their norm, which is about 50 points higher... team leaders are All-Star Jim Thorpe Chandler (.339/11 HR) and CF Francisco Ortega (.285/7 HR)... on the mound the great lefty Tiago Torres (5-7 2.47) has a fine ERA, but is struggling as far as his won-lost record... Vet Steve Aaron (8-8 3.30) and rookie Mike Boyce (7-10 3.34) give the Z's solid number two and three starters... in the bullpen is the standout closer All-Star Jay Brewer (4-1), who has saved 14 games and compiled an excellent 0.86 ERA... there's a chance Luxora will still make the race a lot closer in the second half of the season. The Hartsdale Hellcats are tied with Luxora for the second spot in the TU North, but are not the club they were last year... manager Zim Donner won 90 games in 2020, but it's very unlikely he will approach that this year... the Hellcats have seen their bats fall off 20 points and the team ERA skyrocket from 3.34 to 4.02 (16th)... Donner still has a good starting four with Bobo Boisseau (8-6 3.49), Don Weill (.7-4 3.84), Jim Starks (7-7 3.99) and Ronnie Jernigan (5-8 3.70)... youngster 1B Johnny Scott (.338/7 HR) and vet 3B Kendry Moulton (.274/15 HR) are the only able bats... as a team Hartsdale is hitting only .247 and is ranked 27th in the league. Mack Spencer, who played outfield for the Oxford Red Caps for 15 years, is the new man in town, replacing Campy Roy... Roy graciously retired after missing the playoffs for 13 years and finishing in the second-division for the last 5 seasons... Spencer has the Red Caps within 6 games of first place, but the club is no threat to win the flag... Oxford just doesn't have the talent except for Rick Hunt (3-2 2.22), a top-notch closer... Frankie Douglas (11-7 4.06) is Spencer's best starter... at the plate Oxford's best hitters are 2B Ricky Mullen (.311/7 HR), C Bryan Lewis (.305/1 HR) and RF Mario Marquis (.307/5 HR)... but they have little power... the Red Caps have gone deep only 40 times, next-to-last in the league. Long-time skipper Harry Buckley stepped down and turned the Fairfax Frogs over to playing manager Dane Wesner... the Frogs have not made the Pro Cup playoffs for 7 years... this year should make it 8 straight... Fairfax and Mahaska are 7 games behind in the race and deadlocked for 5th... the Frogs sport a .250 batting average (24th) and a 3.97 ERA (14th) with little home-run power (21st)... Wesner's top performer is pitcher Ken Hill (12-6 3.22), a fine hurler in his 12th season... Hill has a lifetime 212-154 mark with an outstanding 2.87 ERA, a great record considering Fairfax is just basically a .500 team over the years... LF Wesner (.299/8 HR), rookie CF Johnny Eichhorn (.310/12 HR) and aging vet 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.273/9 HR) are the Frogs most reliable bats... prior to a shoulder injury in 2014, Wesner was just about the best player in the IPA... a future Hall-of-Famer Wesner has won 2 Golden Bat awards, 2 batting titles, a Triple Crown, 7 Gold Gloves and made the All-Star team 6 times... he is a career .320 hitter with over 400 homers and 1300 RBIs. The Mahaska Haymakers are skippered by Rusty Tanussa, now in his 21st season... the Haymakers are not postseason material with a .260 team batting average (16th), 52 homers (24th) and a 4.26 team ERA (25th)... Johnny Picou (7-10 2.42) is Mahaska's top moundsman... top regulars are C Bucky O'Brian (.312/9 HR) and 1B Ross Burke (.296/15 HR). Seventh in the TU North are the Blue Lake Blue Sox... manager Cobb Tyson's team is 7 games off the pace, but not likely to challenge this year because of poor hitting... the Blue Sox are batting only .244 (29th) with only 46 roundtrippers (29th)... however, Tyson has quality pitching with a 3.75 team ERA (9th)... Nick Walker (9-6 3.12) and Ron Quade (7-10 2.91) are tough customers on the hill... closer Irv Kuykendall (1-2 3.18) has chalked up 17 saves this year, second best in the league... LF Chet Alexander (.266/10 HR) is the only decent threat in the line-up. Despite getting a new manager, the North Hills Hawks are in the TU North cellar again, for the fourth time in the last five seasons... the new skipper Masaichi Okawa, a former Hawk favorite and journeyman first sacker with good power (.273 BA/272 HR/1014 RBI), who played 11 years in the IPA, 6 with North Hills... he replaced Hub Carlson, who retired after 20 years with little success, only 2 playoff appearances... starter Ivan Glick (6-8 2.40) and closer Ben Garland (3-2 2.10) with 14 saves are the Hawks best hurlers... Okawa's best bats belong to LF Nicky Makovsky (.319/2 HR), 3B Rod Haynes (.313/9 HR) and 1B Lou Hooper (.276/10 HR)... it looks last place again for the Hawks. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-26-2011 at 11:46 PM.