Saturday, June 13, 1953
BOBCATS FAVORED IN NISD STRETCH DRIVE
With only 5 games remaining to be played this season in the North Island Recreational League Second Division the pennant race has been whittled down to just three teams... first place Theodore (10-5) is in the driver's season, but the runner-up Union Heights Hackers (9-6) and third place Kofa Kings (8-7) are still in the chase for the league title... fourth place West Chester (7-8) and fifth place Kinston (6-9) are technically still in the hunt, but they will have a difficult time catching Theodore and Union Heights... the pennant race will probably come down to the power bats of the Theodore Bobcats and the good pitching and fine defense of the Union Heights Hackers... the Kofa Kings don't have the offense to keep up with the two other contenders.
First place
Theodore (10-5) just outhits everybody and then hopes to have enough pitching to hold off the opposition... the Bobcats are batting a lofty .312 as a team, led by a crackerjack lineup of Hank Waldvogel (.333), Elliot James (.361), Ivan Orsak (.425), Bobby Brunow (.309), Justin Hines (.393), Sidney Kimball (.310) and Tommy Collins (.364)... Theodore is far-and-away the top offensive machine in the NISD... no one can match them at the plate or on the scoreboard... but the Bobcat pitching is suspect... number-one starter Walter Johnson is 7-1 this season, but the 30-year-old right-hander has struggled in 3 of this last four starts... and none of the other hurlers have been able to get anyone out in relief of Johnson... Theodore also plays terrible defense with a .937 fielding average, the worst in the league... the Bobcats have made 38 errors this season... if Johnson can get the job done, Theodore will win it... if he can't, Union Heights might catch and overcome them... the Bobcats have avoided losing streaks this year and have played fairly consistently... Theodore should take 3 out of the final 5 games and take the North Island Second League pennant and get promoted back up to the premier showcase league, the NIRL First Division, along with Union Heights..
Union Heights (9-6) has good pitching with Eddie Beal (6-4, 2.82 ERA) taking care of most of the starting assignments... the Hackers have more depth on the mound than Theodore... their bullpen is solid with Morgan Powell (0-0, 0.96 ERA) and Tony Giarusso (2-1, 2.66 ERA)... however, the Union Heights' offense is questionable... the Hackers are batting a lowly .235... as a group Jimmy Brandt (.290), Greg Banning (.316), Joey Madera (.304), Adrian Bryant (.291) and Augie Peccorara (.262) are no match for the Theodore threats... but the Hackers can really handle the gloves... a big plus in the pennant race... they are easily the top defense in the league with a standout .974 fielding average... Union Heights started off slowly this season, going 2-3 in March, but since has done well with a 7-3 mark... momentum just might be with the Hackers down the stretch.
The third place
Kofa Kings (8-7) began the season in grand style, going 4-1 in March, but have cooled off quite a bit since with 4 wins and 6 losses in the last 10 games... the Kings just don't put runs on the scoreboard... they are batting only .215 as a team... two players are carrying the team offensively... Angelo Cantarella (.323) and Bobby Seals (.279)... Kofa has been hampered with poor defenders... the productive hitters early in the season had too many errors... the Kings may be forced to go back to those bats to try and gain on Theodore and Union Heights... third baseman Adam Morris (.260) and right fielder Joey Mason (.159) will return to the starting lineup this Sunday... Kofa's prime starter this year has been Cody Doll (5-5, 2.77 ERA)... he has pitched quite well, but the Kings' offense has let him down... don't expect Kofa to win the pennant this year.
The
West Chester Comets (7-8) are in the fourth spot in the NISD standings... they may be better than Kofa at this point in the season... the Comets started poorly with a 3-6 record in March and April... they kicked it up into high gear in May and have won 4 games out of 6 the last 6 weeks... West Chester has a fairly good offense, sparked by Tom Carroll (.356), Lynn Burgess (.339), Chris Cox (.298), Chris Cavaliere (.242) and Tim Marko (.245)... it's the pitching that plagues the Comets... Cloyd Benton (5-5, 3.61) is an alright starter, but there is no one in the bullpen... no one at all... defensively West Chester is just average (.952 FA)... the Comets just might sneak past Kofa and snatch the third spot in the standings.
Fifth place
Kinston (6-9) suffers from a lack of good starters... their pitchers pitch well in relief (2.55 ERA), but not as starters (3.91 ERA)... Mick Morrison (1-1, 2.30 ERA) will be the fourth starter this season... the Firebirds don't hit very well (.231 BA)... top run producers are Dan Dusenberry (.302), Danny Brown (.279), Brad Robertson (.262) and Fernando De Leon (.242)... in addition, the Firebirds do not play good defense (.942 FA)... Kinston will not get any higher than fifth place this year.
Not much good to say about the last place
Avalon Oldtimers (5-10)... they don't hit (.237 BA)... they don't score much (58 runs)... they don't pitch much (4.65 ERA)... they don't play good defense (.945 FA)... actually, there is nothing good to say about the Oldtimers, except that Skyler Johnson (.367) and Bobby Bannister (.371) are doing well at the plate... on the mound Nick Brewer (5-5, 3.96 ERA) has been the only halfway effective starter... I would say that there is a good chance that Avalon will come in dead last this season in the North Island Second Division... yep... EC says they sho 'nuff will finish sixth, y'all.
