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Eugene Church · 11-30-2011, 09:47 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 19, 2028

2028 Tycobbian North Final Recap

Mahaska Whips White River In TU North Playoff
It was a topsy-turvy year in the Tycobbian North, the weakest division in the IPA... the teams did a flip-flop after mid-season... the Mahaska Haymakers came from seventh place and 5 games out and 5 games under .500 at the All-Star Game to win the division... in the second half of the race they put it into high gear and came away with a hard-earned title by whipping the defending division champ White River Rascals in a one-game playoff... down the stretch Mahaska was 11-6, while White River was 8-9 and Hartsdale was 6-10... the third place Hartsdale Hellcats were nosed out by a game and a half and the Blue Lake Blue Sox were just 2 and a half games off the pace in a very tight pennant race... even fifth place Oxford Red Caps and the Luxora Zorros were close, only 5 and a half game back... the North Hills Hawks were just 7 and a half games behind in seventh place and the Fairfax Frogs were on bottom, 10 and a half games out... at the halfway point in the schedule the Hawks, Zorros and Frogs were close to the top in the standings... all of them spiraled to near the bottom by season's end.

The Mahaska Haymakers (80-75) relied heavily on its hitting prowess to cop the TU North flag... Rusty Tanussa's team hit .273 (7th), ranked 8th in scoring with 759 runs and was 24th in homers with 144... pitching-wise the Haymaker hurlers were pretty bad with a 4.40 team ERA... All-Star RF Travis Tuttle had a massive season, leading the TU with a .366 BA... Tuttle slammed 39 homers, drove in 132 runs and scored 113 times... Mahaska's lineup was filled to the brim with quality hitters: C Bucky O'Brian (.307/21/87/70), 1B Paul Davies (.313/22/76/85), LF Johnny Yevtushenko (.297/23/79/77) and 2B Todd Tarkovsky (.279/17/87/73)... on the hill it was another story... Arno Vainmaa was 22-12 with a 3.93 ERA and led the club with some help from Maxim Petrosian (17-14/3.86)... Mahaska went into September in third place, 2 games behind Hartsdale and a game in back of White River... the Haymakers got hot at the right time and came away the winner.

The second place White River Rascals (79-76) won the division in three of the last 6 years and came within a heartbeat this season... the Rascals lived and died on the right arms of two 20-game winners: All-Star Paul Sardini (23-7/2.12) and Carl Dreux (20-13/3.43)... Sardini had the best ERA in the IPA this year... manager Mick Cronyn's club's biggest problem was at the plate... the Rascals hit only .242 (28th) and ranked 25th in scoring with 674 runs... homer-wise they hit 150 (20th)... All-Star 1B Marty Blake was the most productive hitter with 27 homers, 75 RBIs, 81 runs and a .286 average... at age 34 Blake was pushed by young Valery Perkins, who hit .389 with 18 homers and 48 RBIs in 34 starts... it will be tough to keep him on the bench as a backup too much longer... no one else had much in the way of numbers this year.

Kendry Moulton has made his presence known as skipper of the Hartsdale Hellcats (78-76) and he almost got them their first pennant in 14 years, but he came up one and a half games short... they were in first place at mid-year and as late as September... Moulton lost his number two starter Les Chylak (12-11/3.35) with six weeks to go, which was a critical loss... Donovan Lee (19-14/3.53) anchored the staff... the Hellcats didn't have much after Lee and Chylak, although Hank Cooke was activated in August and he ran off a fine 6-2 record in 9 starts with a very healthy 2.16 ERA... Cooke looks good for next year... Moulton only had a modest offense... .262 BA (12th), 707 runs (18th) and 132 HR (27th)... Hartsdale's best bats were All-Star C Durward Anderson (.289/12/48/85) and 1B Johnny Scott (.281/23/82/92).

The fourth place Blue Lake Blue Sox (77-77) were the best ballclub in the TU North the last two months of the season, but they weren't very good the first four months... the Blue Sox were 30-15 in August and September and closed fast, but fell 2 and a half games short... manager Rick Hilliard saw much improvement this season as the Blue Sox rose up from last place in 2027... Hilliard had some quality starters in Doug Kirkpatrick (19-14/3.09), Chris Landry (17-11/3.35) and Billy Trakas (16-14/3.55)... Blue Lake had two All-Stars: 3B Skipper Smith (.298/15/75/89) and 2B James Mack (.278/23/77/73)... Mack is a marvel at age 43... LF Eddie Nagen (.267/27/84/92) and C Mac Williams (.273/22/83/64) hit with power and also drove in some runs.

The Oxford Red Caps (74-80) and the Luxora Zorros tied for the fifth spot in the standings, just 5 and a half games off the pace... Mack Spencer has decent bats, but little in the way of pitching... leading the Red Caps attack were LF Dennis Hartwig (.293/31/119/93), 1B Kerry Sterling (.301/38/111/78) and CF Barney Burns (.272/8/52/107)... Carmine Scalise (14-13/3.64) was the best of the lot on the hill.

The Luxora Zorros (74-80) were looking forward to this year after finishing a surprising second in 2027, but it never happened... the Z's were right up with the leaders, in third place and only 2 games back at the All-Star break, but then fell back to earth and tied for fifth... the Zorros struggled at bat, but did hit a lot of homers (192 HR/6th-tied)... they batted only .239 (30th)... Lacey Tompkins still had good pitching, but not as good as last year... this year Luxora posted a 3.69 team ERA (4th), headed up by Benny DeVito (19-14/3.29)... 1B Gerry Hathaway led a trio of sluggers, who hit 30 or more out of the park... Hathaway had 37, LF Byron Glenn slammed 32 and SS Karl Lindquist collected 30... Hathaway paced the team with a .299 BA... Glenn hit .253 and top the team with 84 RBIs... Lindquist batted only .207 for average.

The North Hills Hawks (72-82) were within a game of the top at mid-season in second place, but faltered badly the second half and sunk to seventh, trailing by 7 and a half games... 21-year-old pitcher Andy Dahlberg (18-14/3.65) had a good sophomore season to lead Masaichi Okawa's club on the mound... Terry Costanza (15-14/3.57) pitched well, too... SS Keith Ingram (.315/19/98/81) was the only position player, who had a fine year... no one else was close to his numbers.

The Fairfax Frogs (69-85) fell apart in the second half... they were tied for third with Luxora midway through the season, just 2 games behind leading Hartsdale... manager Dane Wesner lost his All-Star closer Zack Dowdle (5-1/1.58), who had racked up 18 saves by the end of July... starter Joey Santini (18-15/3.39) was the Frogs only effective pitcher... leading the offense were 2B Johnny Velasco, who walloped 30 roundtrippers, drove in 95 runs and batted .276... RF Randall Crawford smacked 23 home runs, batted in 84 runs and hit .281... LF Alton Dale had 22 homers, scored 102 runs, drove in 67 and batted .257... and CF Eric Kusek chipped in 11 home runs, 73 RBIs, 78 runs, while hitting .274.

11-30-2011, 09:47 PM	#2862
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,877	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 19, 2028 2028 Tycobbian North Final Recap Mahaska Whips White River In TU North Playoff It was a topsy-turvy year in the Tycobbian North, the weakest division in the IPA... the teams did a flip-flop after mid-season... the Mahaska Haymakers came from seventh place and 5 games out and 5 games under .500 at the All-Star Game to win the division... in the second half of the race they put it into high gear and came away with a hard-earned title by whipping the defending division champ White River Rascals in a one-game playoff... down the stretch Mahaska was 11-6, while White River was 8-9 and Hartsdale was 6-10... the third place Hartsdale Hellcats were nosed out by a game and a half and the Blue Lake Blue Sox were just 2 and a half games off the pace in a very tight pennant race... even fifth place Oxford Red Caps and the Luxora Zorros were close, only 5 and a half game back... the North Hills Hawks were just 7 and a half games behind in seventh place and the Fairfax Frogs were on bottom, 10 and a half games out... at the halfway point in the schedule the Hawks, Zorros and Frogs were close to the top in the standings... all of them spiraled to near the bottom by season's end. The Mahaska Haymakers (80-75) relied heavily on its hitting prowess to cop the TU North flag... Rusty Tanussa's team hit .273 (7th), ranked 8th in scoring with 759 runs and was 24th in homers with 144... pitching-wise the Haymaker hurlers were pretty bad with a 4.40 team ERA... All-Star RF Travis Tuttle had a massive season, leading the TU with a .366 BA... Tuttle slammed 39 homers, drove in 132 runs and scored 113 times... Mahaska's lineup was filled to the brim with quality hitters: C Bucky O'Brian (.307/21/87/70), 1B Paul Davies (.313/22/76/85), LF Johnny Yevtushenko (.297/23/79/77) and 2B Todd Tarkovsky (.279/17/87/73)... on the hill it was another story... Arno Vainmaa was 22-12 with a 3.93 ERA and led the club with some help from Maxim Petrosian (17-14/3.86)... Mahaska went into September in third place, 2 games behind Hartsdale and a game in back of White River... the Haymakers got hot at the right time and came away the winner. The second place White River Rascals (79-76) won the division in three of the last 6 years and came within a heartbeat this season... the Rascals lived and died on the right arms of two 20-game winners: All-Star Paul Sardini (23-7/2.12) and Carl Dreux (20-13/3.43)... Sardini had the best ERA in the IPA this year... manager Mick Cronyn's club's biggest problem was at the plate... the Rascals hit only .242 (28th) and ranked 25th in scoring with 674 runs... homer-wise they hit 150 (20th)... All-Star 1B Marty Blake was the most productive hitter with 27 homers, 75 RBIs, 81 runs and a .286 average... at age 34 Blake was pushed by young Valery Perkins, who hit .389 with 18 homers and 48 RBIs in 34 starts... it will be tough to keep him on the bench as a backup too much longer... no one else had much in the way of numbers this year. Kendry Moulton has made his presence known as skipper of the Hartsdale Hellcats (78-76) and he almost got them their first pennant in 14 years, but he came up one and a half games short... they were in first place at mid-year and as late as September... Moulton lost his number two starter Les Chylak (12-11/3.35) with six weeks to go, which was a critical loss... Donovan Lee (19-14/3.53) anchored the staff... the Hellcats didn't have much after Lee and Chylak, although Hank Cooke was activated in August and he ran off a fine 6-2 record in 9 starts with a very healthy 2.16 ERA... Cooke looks good for next year... Moulton only had a modest offense... .262 BA (12th), 707 runs (18th) and 132 HR (27th)... Hartsdale's best bats were All-Star C Durward Anderson (.289/12/48/85) and 1B Johnny Scott (.281/23/82/92). The fourth place Blue Lake Blue Sox (77-77) were the best ballclub in the TU North the last two months of the season, but they weren't very good the first four months... the Blue Sox were 30-15 in August and September and closed fast, but fell 2 and a half games short... manager Rick Hilliard saw much improvement this season as the Blue Sox rose up from last place in 2027... Hilliard had some quality starters in Doug Kirkpatrick (19-14/3.09), Chris Landry (17-11/3.35) and Billy Trakas (16-14/3.55)... Blue Lake had two All-Stars: 3B Skipper Smith (.298/15/75/89) and 2B James Mack (.278/23/77/73)... Mack is a marvel at age 43... LF Eddie Nagen (.267/27/84/92) and C Mac Williams (.273/22/83/64) hit with power and also drove in some runs. The Oxford Red Caps (74-80) and the Luxora Zorros tied for the fifth spot in the standings, just 5 and a half games off the pace... Mack Spencer has decent bats, but little in the way of pitching... leading the Red Caps attack were LF Dennis Hartwig (.293/31/119/93), 1B Kerry Sterling (.301/38/111/78) and CF Barney Burns (.272/8/52/107)... Carmine Scalise (14-13/3.64) was the best of the lot on the hill. The Luxora Zorros (74-80) were looking forward to this year after finishing a surprising second in 2027, but it never happened... the Z's were right up with the leaders, in third place and only 2 games back at the All-Star break, but then fell back to earth and tied for fifth... the Zorros struggled at bat, but did hit a lot of homers (192 HR/6th-tied)... they batted only .239 (30th)... Lacey Tompkins still had good pitching, but not as good as last year... this year Luxora posted a 3.69 team ERA (4th), headed up by Benny DeVito (19-14/3.29)... 1B Gerry Hathaway led a trio of sluggers, who hit 30 or more out of the park... Hathaway had 37, LF Byron Glenn slammed 32 and SS Karl Lindquist collected 30... Hathaway paced the team with a .299 BA... Glenn hit .253 and top the team with 84 RBIs... Lindquist batted only .207 for average. The North Hills Hawks (72-82) were within a game of the top at mid-season in second place, but faltered badly the second half and sunk to seventh, trailing by 7 and a half games... 21-year-old pitcher Andy Dahlberg (18-14/3.65) had a good sophomore season to lead Masaichi Okawa's club on the mound... Terry Costanza (15-14/3.57) pitched well, too... SS Keith Ingram (.315/19/98/81) was the only position player, who had a fine year... no one else was close to his numbers. The Fairfax Frogs (69-85) fell apart in the second half... they were tied for third with Luxora midway through the season, just 2 games behind leading Hartsdale... manager Dane Wesner lost his All-Star closer Zack Dowdle (5-1/1.58), who had racked up 18 saves by the end of July... starter Joey Santini (18-15/3.39) was the Frogs only effective pitcher... leading the offense were 2B Johnny Velasco, who walloped 30 roundtrippers, drove in 95 runs and batted .276... RF Randall Crawford smacked 23 home runs, batted in 84 runs and hit .281... LF Alton Dale had 22 homers, scored 102 runs, drove in 67 and batted .257... and CF Eric Kusek chipped in 11 home runs, 73 RBIs, 78 runs, while hitting .274.