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Eugene Church · 02-08-2012, 11:10 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 18, 2030

2030 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap

Luxora Leads TU North, 4-Team Race
At the mid-season mark plenty of teams are still in the running in the Tycobbian North... in what looks like a 4-team race, Luxora has a slight one-game advantage over Blue Lake... last year's winner Hartsdale is just 2 off the pace and Fairfax is only 4 games behind.

The division-leading Luxora Zorros have improved from third to the top spot this year... a great 19-11 April got them started off well... strong pitching is the Z's forte... overall the club has chalked up a 3.21 team ERA (2nd), but has been especially strong in the bullpen with a 1.86 ERA (1st)... however the Zorros are only average in scoring runs (16th) with a .261 BA (24th)... starters Benny DeVito (8-7/2.73) and Valente Viero (9-9/2.80) are the staff leaders... the Z's have a solid batting lineup with Gerry Hathaway (.322 BA/15 HR), Leandro Silva (.291 BA/6 HR), Roger Noble (.287 BA/10 HR), Kevin Hanley (.276 BA/10 HR) and Forest Orr (.275 BA/6 HR)... Luxora seems to have staying power with a pretty well-balanced team... they should be in the thick of things at season's end.

It was long ago when the Blue Lake Blue Sox last won the TU North... it was way back in 2010... they have been close only three or four times in the intervening 20 years... they are excited about their postseason chances this season... second-place Blue Lake's three fine starters are carrying the club, sparked by All-Star Chris Landry (9-4/2.30), Doug Kirkpatrick (9-6/3.54) and Willie Taskins (8-7/3.47)... the starting rotation is one of the better ones in the league with a 3.17 ERA (2nd)... the Blue Sox fall short in the bullpen with a pathetic 5.08 ERA (31st) and in the batter's box with a poor .242 BA (32nd)... Matt Thompson (.301 BA/8 HR) and Eddie Nagen (.259 BA/14 HR) are the best of the lot... Blue Lake has too many weaknesses to stay in the race.

The Hartsdale Hellcats copped the division crown last year and almost won it in 2028, too... They are still a quality ballclub in third place, just 2 games out... the Hellcats are impressive at the plate with a .286 BA (5th) and can score runs (3rd)... on the hill they are pretty fair with a 3.53 team ERA (12th)... Hartsdale has an abundance of hitters, led by Cris Wallace (.367 BA/3 HR), All-Star Johnny Scott (.350 BA/9 HR), Lynn Lundy (.304 BA/11 HR), Durward Anderson (.288 BA/3 HR) and Fred Wasikowski (.288 BA/5 HR)... the Hellcats fall short in power... only have average starters, but impressive relievers... Hank Cooke (8-6/2.98) is the only pitcher having a good season... 2029 Golden Arm winner Lou Chylak is only 7-7 with a sky-high 4.67 ERA... the Hellcats really need him to turn it around in the second half... despite the pitching woes, Hartsdale will be in the pennant fight... they are not yet ready to surrender their crown.

The Fairfax Frogs gave Hartsdale fits last year, losing out in a single-game playoff... well, the Frogs are right back again, resting fourth in the TU North standings and trailing by 4 games... except for a poor 10-18 start Fairfax has played some good baseball, going 25-18 since... they have four reliable starters in Joey Santini (9-7/3.51), Kevin Meeks (6-7/3.67), Eric Mayes (8-8/3.82) and Ricky Woods (6-5/3.85)... as a team the Frogs have registered a 3.79 ERA (19th)... the Frogs have adequate bats with Max Lebowitz (.316 BA/6 HR), Eric Kusek (.316 BA/5 HR), John Velasco (.297 BA/9 HR) and Alton Dale (.315 BA/5 HR), but not much in the way of home-run power... they are hitting .274 (10th) with 54 home runs (25th)... improved hitting makes Fairfax a better team this year... will probably battle for the pennant with Luxora and Hartsdale.

Oxford and North Hills are each 7 games out of first place and tied for the fifth spot in the TU North... the Oxford Red Caps are looking like a second-division team for the fifth year in a row... the Red Caps last contended in 2024 and last made the playoffs in 2007... a .259 team BA (25th) and a 4.25 team ERA (26th) makes Oxford a mediocre club... they won't contend this season... best arms belong to Mario Lopez (9-8/3.44) and Kenny Gorham (7-7/3.94), both starters, and to reliever Willy Heinrich (1-1/2.23/11 saves)... the Red Caps have one star ballplayer: 26-year-old 1B Kerry Sterling, who is hitting .300 with 19 homers and 53 RBIs.

It's been 15 years since the North Hills Hawks have had a competitive team... and it will be more of the same in 2030... the fifth-place Hawks possess average hitting with a .267 BA (18th) and sorry pitching with a 4.34 team ERA (27th)... Terry Costanza (7-6/3.45) is a solid pitcher... Vince Boylan (.274 BA/14 HR) and Ronnie Guillaume (.302 BA/6 HR) are the best run producers.

Since winning the division in 2028 the Mahaska Haymakers have fallen on hard times, finishing sixth and seventh the last two seasons... the Haymakers are sitting in seventh again at mid-season and are 9 games back... however, they might beat out Oxford and North Hills for fifth place... Mahaska is batting .268 (16th) as a team with a 3.90 ERA (20th)... the Haymakers don't have much power with 52 roundtrippers (27th)... only an average club in scoring (19th)... top performers are All-Star Bucky O'Brian (.281 BA/16 HR) and Travis Tuttle (.272 BA/11 HR), along with Johnny Yevtushenko (.319 BA/7 HR) and Pasha Yablonski (.289 BA/0 HR)... 16-year vet Arno Vainmaa (7-9/3.30) is still a quality arm at age 34... lifetime Vainmaa has 270 victories and 229 losses... good second halves by Joey Meisner (6-7/3.77) and Maxim Petrosian (6-7/3.75) would help.

Four times in the last 10 years the White River Rascals won the TU North flag, but they have been stuck in the cellar the last two seasons... the Rascals aren't much with the bats (.252 BA/28th) or on the hill (4.11 ERA/24th)... and they are worse than last year... they are already 13 games out of first place... Jon French (7-7/4.38) is the only decent hurler... no one is hitting very well... batting .261 Jerry Thomas leads the club in homers with 11 and RBIs with 37... Jim Abrams tops the Rascals with a .290 mark and has hit 8 home runs... the forecast calls for another last-place finish for White River.

02-08-2012, 11:10 PM	#2963
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,061	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, June 18, 2030 2030 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap Luxora Leads TU North, 4-Team Race At the mid-season mark plenty of teams are still in the running in the Tycobbian North... in what looks like a 4-team race, Luxora has a slight one-game advantage over Blue Lake... last year's winner Hartsdale is just 2 off the pace and Fairfax is only 4 games behind. The division-leading Luxora Zorros have improved from third to the top spot this year... a great 19-11 April got them started off well... strong pitching is the Z's forte... overall the club has chalked up a 3.21 team ERA (2nd), but has been especially strong in the bullpen with a 1.86 ERA (1st)... however the Zorros are only average in scoring runs (16th) with a .261 BA (24th)... starters Benny DeVito (8-7/2.73) and Valente Viero (9-9/2.80) are the staff leaders... the Z's have a solid batting lineup with Gerry Hathaway (.322 BA/15 HR), Leandro Silva (.291 BA/6 HR), Roger Noble (.287 BA/10 HR), Kevin Hanley (.276 BA/10 HR) and Forest Orr (.275 BA/6 HR)... Luxora seems to have staying power with a pretty well-balanced team... they should be in the thick of things at season's end. It was long ago when the Blue Lake Blue Sox last won the TU North... it was way back in 2010... they have been close only three or four times in the intervening 20 years... they are excited about their postseason chances this season... second-place Blue Lake's three fine starters are carrying the club, sparked by All-Star Chris Landry (9-4/2.30), Doug Kirkpatrick (9-6/3.54) and Willie Taskins (8-7/3.47)... the starting rotation is one of the better ones in the league with a 3.17 ERA (2nd)... the Blue Sox fall short in the bullpen with a pathetic 5.08 ERA (31st) and in the batter's box with a poor .242 BA (32nd)... Matt Thompson (.301 BA/8 HR) and Eddie Nagen (.259 BA/14 HR) are the best of the lot... Blue Lake has too many weaknesses to stay in the race. The Hartsdale Hellcats copped the division crown last year and almost won it in 2028, too... They are still a quality ballclub in third place, just 2 games out... the Hellcats are impressive at the plate with a .286 BA (5th) and can score runs (3rd)... on the hill they are pretty fair with a 3.53 team ERA (12th)... Hartsdale has an abundance of hitters, led by Cris Wallace (.367 BA/3 HR), All-Star Johnny Scott (.350 BA/9 HR), Lynn Lundy (.304 BA/11 HR), Durward Anderson (.288 BA/3 HR) and Fred Wasikowski (.288 BA/5 HR)... the Hellcats fall short in power... only have average starters, but impressive relievers... Hank Cooke (8-6/2.98) is the only pitcher having a good season... 2029 Golden Arm winner Lou Chylak is only 7-7 with a sky-high 4.67 ERA... the Hellcats really need him to turn it around in the second half... despite the pitching woes, Hartsdale will be in the pennant fight... they are not yet ready to surrender their crown. The Fairfax Frogs gave Hartsdale fits last year, losing out in a single-game playoff... well, the Frogs are right back again, resting fourth in the TU North standings and trailing by 4 games... except for a poor 10-18 start Fairfax has played some good baseball, going 25-18 since... they have four reliable starters in Joey Santini (9-7/3.51), Kevin Meeks (6-7/3.67), Eric Mayes (8-8/3.82) and Ricky Woods (6-5/3.85)... as a team the Frogs have registered a 3.79 ERA (19th)... the Frogs have adequate bats with Max Lebowitz (.316 BA/6 HR), Eric Kusek (.316 BA/5 HR), John Velasco (.297 BA/9 HR) and Alton Dale (.315 BA/5 HR), but not much in the way of home-run power... they are hitting .274 (10th) with 54 home runs (25th)... improved hitting makes Fairfax a better team this year... will probably battle for the pennant with Luxora and Hartsdale. Oxford and North Hills are each 7 games out of first place and tied for the fifth spot in the TU North... the Oxford Red Caps are looking like a second-division team for the fifth year in a row... the Red Caps last contended in 2024 and last made the playoffs in 2007... a .259 team BA (25th) and a 4.25 team ERA (26th) makes Oxford a mediocre club... they won't contend this season... best arms belong to Mario Lopez (9-8/3.44) and Kenny Gorham (7-7/3.94), both starters, and to reliever Willy Heinrich (1-1/2.23/11 saves)... the Red Caps have one star ballplayer: 26-year-old 1B Kerry Sterling, who is hitting .300 with 19 homers and 53 RBIs. It's been 15 years since the North Hills Hawks have had a competitive team... and it will be more of the same in 2030... the fifth-place Hawks possess average hitting with a .267 BA (18th) and sorry pitching with a 4.34 team ERA (27th)... Terry Costanza (7-6/3.45) is a solid pitcher... Vince Boylan (.274 BA/14 HR) and Ronnie Guillaume (.302 BA/6 HR) are the best run producers. Since winning the division in 2028 the Mahaska Haymakers have fallen on hard times, finishing sixth and seventh the last two seasons... the Haymakers are sitting in seventh again at mid-season and are 9 games back... however, they might beat out Oxford and North Hills for fifth place... Mahaska is batting .268 (16th) as a team with a 3.90 ERA (20th)... the Haymakers don't have much power with 52 roundtrippers (27th)... only an average club in scoring (19th)... top performers are All-Star Bucky O'Brian (.281 BA/16 HR) and Travis Tuttle (.272 BA/11 HR), along with Johnny Yevtushenko (.319 BA/7 HR) and Pasha Yablonski (.289 BA/0 HR)... 16-year vet Arno Vainmaa (7-9/3.30) is still a quality arm at age 34... lifetime Vainmaa has 270 victories and 229 losses... good second halves by Joey Meisner (6-7/3.77) and Maxim Petrosian (6-7/3.75) would help. Four times in the last 10 years the White River Rascals won the TU North flag, but they have been stuck in the cellar the last two seasons... the Rascals aren't much with the bats (.252 BA/28th) or on the hill (4.11 ERA/24th)... and they are worse than last year... they are already 13 games out of first place... Jon French (7-7/4.38) is the only decent hurler... no one is hitting very well... batting .261 Jerry Thomas leads the club in homers with 11 and RBIs with 37... Jim Abrams tops the Rascals with a .290 mark and has hit 8 home runs... the forecast calls for another last-place finish for White River. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-25-2012 at 08:48 PM.