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Eugene Church · 10-31-2011, 09:24 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2027

2027 Tycobbian North Final Recap

WR Rascals TU North Pennant Winner
Four clubs fought the whole season long for the Tycobbian North division crown... very few games separated them at anytime during the regular campaign... they all had their chances, but couldn't quite pull it off... all except for the White River Rascals, who managed to squeeze out a 2-game victory over the Luxora Zorros, beat the reigning champ Mahaska Haymakers by 3 and fourth place Hartsdale Hellcats by 4. All of the challengers could have snatched it in the last six weeks of the year... no one seemed to want to win it... as it was, White River backed into the title, they really didn't win it... the Rascals played less than .500 ball the last two months of the season, but still hung on to win.

Mick Cronyn's pitchers carried the first place White River Rascals (84-70) to the division title... the Rascals moved up from fourth place in 2026... vets Ron Hendrix (21-14 2.54) and Paul Sardini (15-15 2.92) were the workhorses of the staff, along with solid closer Jeffrey Lloyd (5-7), who compiled a 1.83 ERA and 31 saves... All-Star 1B and cinch IPA Hall-of-Famer Marty Blake (.299/24/87/80) and CF Hal Littleton (.293/7/42/80) anchored the batting order.

The runner-up Luxora Zorros (82-72) came out of nowhere and within 2 games of the flag... in the past four seasons the Z's were terrible, coming in last three times and seventh once... new manager Lacey Tompkins had four wonderful starters: all 23 and under... Toby White (18-9 2.49), Benny DeVito (19-15 3.07), rookie Fabio Medeiros (16-15 3.09) and Tommy Ellefson (11-12 2.98)... in the bullpen Paulo Da Gama (4-3) stood out with 20 saves and a 2.00 ERA... the Zorros were average bats (.246 BA-17th), but with power (146 HR-6th)... 1B Gerry Hathaway topped the team with a .296 BA, 30 HRs and 92 RBIs... but he didn't get much help... All-Star C Pete Gibbs (.230/12/56/50) didn't hit much, but played great defense.

The third place Mahaska Haymakers (81-73) had a disappointing season... last year's Pro Cup finalist and TU North division winner was favored to win it again, but manager Rusty Tanussa couldn't quite do it, falling 3 games short... the Haymakers had the hitters, but were only average on the mound... they batted .270 (1st), led the league in runs and hit 129 home runs (14th-tied)... however on the hill Mahaska had a 3.53 team ERA (15th)... the best bats belonged to All-Star 2B Todd Tarkovsky (.286/23/102/86), RF Travis Tuttle (.288/29/88/93), star C Bucky O'Brian (.314/12/83/75), CF Pasha Yablonski (.290/5/56/100) and 1B Paul Davies (.295/17/71/58)... the pitching mainstays were Sammy Kafelnikov (19-14 2.92) and Arno Vainmaa (18-8 3.23) and closer Victor Stravinsky (8-6) with 18 saves and a 2.52 ERA.

Fourth in the TU North were the Hartsdale Hellcats (80-74), missing out on the pennant by 4 games... up from sixth in 2026... Kendry Moulton took over for Zim Donner as skipper this year... Moulton played for the Hellcats for 17 years and will likely end up in the IPA Hall of Fame after hitting over 500 homers with a .297 career average in 26 seasons... the Hellcats had fine starting pitching (3.21 ERA-6th), but were weak in the bullpen (4.25 ERA-32nd)... only average with a .246 team BA (18th) and 105 homers (23rd), ranking 13th in scoring... starters were rookie Lou Chylak (16-14 2.37), rookie Eric Isenhart (12-9 2.89), Donovan Lee (14-6 3.48) and Jim Starks (12-15 3.30)... Lee was lost in early August, a crucial loss in the stretch drive... closer Chris Marvin chalked up 24 saves with a fine 1.63 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 won-lost mark... Hartsdale's most productive bats were 1B Johnny Scott (.249/19/86/89), RF Fred Wasikowski (.276/16/70/75) and CF Ken Wessel (.248/10/81/63).

The North Hills Hawks (70-84) came in fifth this season, slipping from third place last year... skipper Masaichi Okawa featured good pitching (3.32 ERA-11th) and poor batting (.233 BA-27th) and ranked 31st in scoring runs... Terry Costanza (18-12 2.68) and Rich Hanson (12-16 2.95) were standouts, but suffered from run support... closer Augie Dreyer (3-3) was a plus with 9 saves and an impressive 1.93 ERA in 52 appearances... offense was almost non-existent... C Mikhail Romanovsky led the club with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and 66 runs, while batting just .252.

Dane Wesner's pitching has gotten progressively worse over the past two years... as a consequence the Fairfax Frogs (68-86) have gone from pennant winner in 2025 to second in 2026 to a dreadful sixth this season... Walt Smith (11-11 3.70) was the only decent pitcher... 18-year veteran Ken Hill went over the 300-victory mark this year, but wound up only 11-23 with a 3.69 ERA... 2B John Velasco (.281/10/56/92), CF Eric Kusek (.263/6/91/75), Alan Dale (.254/20/64/94) and RF Randall Crawford (.283/16/77/69) were the most reliable hitters.

The Oxford Red Caps (66-88) continued a four-year slide from second to third to fifth and finally the seventh spot this year... Mack Spencer's team wasn't much at the plate or on the mound... batting just .233 (23rd) with 99 home runs (24th-tied) and ranked 31st in run scoring... budding superstar Dennis Hartwig came down to earth this year with a .284 BA, 21 homers, 80 RBIs and 87 runs scored... Lifetime Hartwig is a .333 hitter... second year 1B Kerry Sterling didn't hit much for average (.240), but made up for it with 40 home runs and 105 runs batted in... Kenny Gorham topped the pitchers with an 18-16 record and a 4.19 ERA.

Since placing second in 2021, the Blue Lake Blue Sox (62-92) have been the pits with six straight second division finishes, falling all the way down to last place this season... not a good rookie year for new manager Rick Hilliard, who lack any sort of hitting (.234 BA/22nd) or much pitching (3.68 ERA-23rd) except for Billy Trakas (17-13 2.93), Chris Landry (18-15 2.94) and Doug Kirkpatrick (10-21 3.03)... CF Chris Halley (.286/2/36/81), 2B Roger Wilson (.242/15/86/68) and Gil Willis (.254/13/65/80) put up modest stats for the Sox.

10-31-2011, 09:24 PM	#2804
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,875	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, September 21, 2027 2027 Tycobbian North Final Recap WR Rascals TU North Pennant Winner Four clubs fought the whole season long for the Tycobbian North division crown... very few games separated them at anytime during the regular campaign... they all had their chances, but couldn't quite pull it off... all except for the White River Rascals, who managed to squeeze out a 2-game victory over the Luxora Zorros, beat the reigning champ Mahaska Haymakers by 3 and fourth place Hartsdale Hellcats by 4. All of the challengers could have snatched it in the last six weeks of the year... no one seemed to want to win it... as it was, White River backed into the title, they really didn't win it... the Rascals played less than .500 ball the last two months of the season, but still hung on to win. Mick Cronyn's pitchers carried the first place White River Rascals (84-70) to the division title... the Rascals moved up from fourth place in 2026... vets Ron Hendrix (21-14 2.54) and Paul Sardini (15-15 2.92) were the workhorses of the staff, along with solid closer Jeffrey Lloyd (5-7), who compiled a 1.83 ERA and 31 saves... All-Star 1B and cinch IPA Hall-of-Famer Marty Blake (.299/24/87/80) and CF Hal Littleton (.293/7/42/80) anchored the batting order. The runner-up Luxora Zorros (82-72) came out of nowhere and within 2 games of the flag... in the past four seasons the Z's were terrible, coming in last three times and seventh once... new manager Lacey Tompkins had four wonderful starters: all 23 and under... Toby White (18-9 2.49), Benny DeVito (19-15 3.07), rookie Fabio Medeiros (16-15 3.09) and Tommy Ellefson (11-12 2.98)... in the bullpen Paulo Da Gama (4-3) stood out with 20 saves and a 2.00 ERA... the Zorros were average bats (.246 BA-17th), but with power (146 HR-6th)... 1B Gerry Hathaway topped the team with a .296 BA, 30 HRs and 92 RBIs... but he didn't get much help... All-Star C Pete Gibbs (.230/12/56/50) didn't hit much, but played great defense. The third place Mahaska Haymakers (81-73) had a disappointing season... last year's Pro Cup finalist and TU North division winner was favored to win it again, but manager Rusty Tanussa couldn't quite do it, falling 3 games short... the Haymakers had the hitters, but were only average on the mound... they batted .270 (1st), led the league in runs and hit 129 home runs (14th-tied)... however on the hill Mahaska had a 3.53 team ERA (15th)... the best bats belonged to All-Star 2B Todd Tarkovsky (.286/23/102/86), RF Travis Tuttle (.288/29/88/93), star C Bucky O'Brian (.314/12/83/75), CF Pasha Yablonski (.290/5/56/100) and 1B Paul Davies (.295/17/71/58)... the pitching mainstays were Sammy Kafelnikov (19-14 2.92) and Arno Vainmaa (18-8 3.23) and closer Victor Stravinsky (8-6) with 18 saves and a 2.52 ERA. Fourth in the TU North were the Hartsdale Hellcats (80-74), missing out on the pennant by 4 games... up from sixth in 2026... Kendry Moulton took over for Zim Donner as skipper this year... Moulton played for the Hellcats for 17 years and will likely end up in the IPA Hall of Fame after hitting over 500 homers with a .297 career average in 26 seasons... the Hellcats had fine starting pitching (3.21 ERA-6th), but were weak in the bullpen (4.25 ERA-32nd)... only average with a .246 team BA (18th) and 105 homers (23rd), ranking 13th in scoring... starters were rookie Lou Chylak (16-14 2.37), rookie Eric Isenhart (12-9 2.89), Donovan Lee (14-6 3.48) and Jim Starks (12-15 3.30)... Lee was lost in early August, a crucial loss in the stretch drive... closer Chris Marvin chalked up 24 saves with a fine 1.63 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 won-lost mark... Hartsdale's most productive bats were 1B Johnny Scott (.249/19/86/89), RF Fred Wasikowski (.276/16/70/75) and CF Ken Wessel (.248/10/81/63). The North Hills Hawks (70-84) came in fifth this season, slipping from third place last year... skipper Masaichi Okawa featured good pitching (3.32 ERA-11th) and poor batting (.233 BA-27th) and ranked 31st in scoring runs... Terry Costanza (18-12 2.68) and Rich Hanson (12-16 2.95) were standouts, but suffered from run support... closer Augie Dreyer (3-3) was a plus with 9 saves and an impressive 1.93 ERA in 52 appearances... offense was almost non-existent... C Mikhail Romanovsky led the club with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and 66 runs, while batting just .252. Dane Wesner's pitching has gotten progressively worse over the past two years... as a consequence the Fairfax Frogs (68-86) have gone from pennant winner in 2025 to second in 2026 to a dreadful sixth this season... Walt Smith (11-11 3.70) was the only decent pitcher... 18-year veteran Ken Hill went over the 300-victory mark this year, but wound up only 11-23 with a 3.69 ERA... 2B John Velasco (.281/10/56/92), CF Eric Kusek (.263/6/91/75), Alan Dale (.254/20/64/94) and RF Randall Crawford (.283/16/77/69) were the most reliable hitters. The Oxford Red Caps (66-88) continued a four-year slide from second to third to fifth and finally the seventh spot this year... Mack Spencer's team wasn't much at the plate or on the mound... batting just .233 (23rd) with 99 home runs (24th-tied) and ranked 31st in run scoring... budding superstar Dennis Hartwig came down to earth this year with a .284 BA, 21 homers, 80 RBIs and 87 runs scored... Lifetime Hartwig is a .333 hitter... second year 1B Kerry Sterling didn't hit much for average (.240), but made up for it with 40 home runs and 105 runs batted in... Kenny Gorham topped the pitchers with an 18-16 record and a 4.19 ERA. Since placing second in 2021, the Blue Lake Blue Sox (62-92) have been the pits with six straight second division finishes, falling all the way down to last place this season... not a good rookie year for new manager Rick Hilliard, who lack any sort of hitting (.234 BA/22nd) or much pitching (3.68 ERA-23rd) except for Billy Trakas (17-13 2.93), Chris Landry (18-15 2.94) and Doug Kirkpatrick (10-21 3.03)... CF Chris Halley (.286/2/36/81), 2B Roger Wilson (.242/15/86/68) and Gil Willis (.254/13/65/80) put up modest stats for the Sox. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-31-2011 at 09:29 PM.