Saturday, February 27, 1954
SI PRIMARY UP FOR GRABS IN '54, NO CLEAR-CUT FAVORITE
Toss a coin and call it... there is no favorite in the South Island Primary League this season... the 1954 pennant is up for grabs... only two of the clubs have ever had a winning year... that would be the newcomers Claiborne and Des Allemands, recently relegated down from the South Island Supreme League... the Cardinals and the Eagles will joined holdovers Mystic and Bayou Bleu this season.
1st Place:
The Mystic Mariners are optimistic that things are on the rise... after two years in Islands' baseball, the Mariners are still looking for a winning season... they were 7-13 in the SI First and were dropped to the South Island Primary League last year... the Sailors did a little better in the lesser league (9-11)... Mystic is encouraged with several newcomers, who did well this spring... Doug Thornton will start at third base and Phil Parsons will be catching... Cecil Walsh could be the main starter... they will join last year's top producers shortstop Colin O'Shea (.341), left fielder Todd Jeansonne (.308), right fielder Paddy Murphy (.276), second baseman Sean Fitzgerald (.260) and center fielder Ethan Adcock (.260)... also first basemen Buster Baxter and Dustin Carmouche did well in the spring and could contribute this year... holdover hurlers Liam McLoughlin (9-11/4.31 ERA/career) and Shane Donovan (3-4/3.68 ERA/career) did well, too, and looked improved over the last two seasons.
2nd Place:
The Des Allemands Eagles did fine its first year in the league in 1952, going 11-9 in the SI First League, but they slipped badly to 7-13 in 1953 and were shipped down to the SI Primary this year... the Eagles are pretty much the same personnel, but they do have a new first sacker in Tommy Mazurek, who impressed in the spring games... also Billy Morgan and Kevin Dirks did pretty well on the mound in spring training... Morgan could be the top starter... reliable veteran Otto Ostwinkle (12-13/2.89 ERA/career) is still around...he was 4-6 with a 3.21 ERA last season... nobody on the Eagles hits for any kind of average... the best of the lot is center fielder Kurt Fischer (.273), left fielder Carl Dailey (.265), catcher Dieter Heinberg (.256), shortstop Dickie Hammond d(.247) and right fielder Hans Hildebrandt (.247).
3rd Place:
The Bayou Bleu Blues have been stuck in the SI Second League in both its seasons... the Blues were 9-11 in 1952 and 8-12 last year... not likely to be much better this year in the new South Island Primary League... but they have added a pretty good center fielder to the batting order... Don Abner stood out in this spring with a .455 BA... last year's best bats belonged to left fielder Luc Desselle (.250) and center fielder Germaine Clemenceau (.273)... both hit with power and drive in runs... not much besides them in the lineup... returning pitchers Carmine DeGrazio (4-7/3.57 ERA) and Barrett Bienvenu (4-2/3.61 ERA) are just average at best... rookie Tommy Wright performed well in the spring with a 1.88 ERA in 14 innings of work in 7 games... Wright will be given a shot at the number-one slot.
4th Place:
The Claiborne Cardinals played fairly well in 1952 in the SI First League (11-9), but dipped down to 8-12 in 1953 and were subject to relegation... they are pretty fair with the bats, but always short on pitching... top hitters are third baseman Bill Belliveau (.329), second baseman Adam Clement (.306), first baseman Andre Dumas (.295), center fielder Luke Arceneaux (.282) and right fielder Jeremy DeLosier (.237)... rookie second baseman James Hunter (.238) should improve the defense, but he didn't hit a lot this spring... none of the pitching staff had a good spring... Tyree Trahan (3-5/3.48 ERA) had the best mark last year... rookie Tyson Cobb is a new addition to the rotation... Artie Shaw (3-3/5.79) was a disappointment last season, but is back for another try.
1954 South Island Primary League Outlook:
Mystic looks like the most talented team, especially if the rookies make any kind of impact... it's a toss-up among the leftover also-rans, Des Allemands, Bayou Bleu and Claiborne Cardinals... no team is heads-and-shoulders better than the others... probably will be a closely-bunched battle for the pennant.