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Old 02-04-2008, 02:44 AM   #75
Eugene Church
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The Islandian Times

Sunday, May 6, 2001

Tycobbian Baseball Union
West Division

Team Won-Lost GB
La Claire Lynx 11-5 --
Fairfax Frogs 9-6 1.5
Arlon Champions 8-8 3
Bayview Vikings 7-9 4
Blue Lake Blue Sox 7-9 4
Bay St. Clair Buccaneers 5-10 5.5

Former shortstop great, Rip Calkin, is proud of his La Claire Lynx (11-5). Calkin is the manager of the top team in the Tycobbian Baseball Alliance West Division. La Claire is doing it with hitting, pitching and defense. They are batting .266 as a team, but trail Bay St. Clair (.287), Fairfax (.283) and Bayview (.275) in that category. Yet they have outscored them all. The Lynx (3.56) are a close second to Arlon (3.51) in team ERA. And they have the best defensive club in the division with an eye-opening .989 fielding percentage.

Top pitchers:
On the hill Calkin's crew has sparkled as well, but mainly in the bullpen. Jerry Smith (3-0 2.63) has been the best starter and Nick Baumgartner (1-2 3.95) has been acceptable. But it is in the relief corps where the Lynx have really prospered. Closer Monoto Kishata (0-0 0.00) has three saves, while middle relievers Frank Lamoreaux (2-0 0.87), Tony Nygaard (0-0 3.00), Andy Murray (1-0 3.12) and Nick Pilsner (0-1 3.86) have also gotten the job done.

Top hitters
3B Luis Marquez (.368/3 HR/13 RBI)
2B Darrell Boyce (.333/2 HR/13 RBI)
LF Rich Hart (.305/6 HR/18 RBI)

Defense:
C Dennis Weiss, 2B Darrell Boyce, 3B Luis Marquez and CF Lucky Collins have played like Gold Glovers so far this season. SS Dirk Lindahl and LF Rich Hart have also played very well.

The strong point of the second place Fairfax Frogs (9-6) is their offense with a .283 batting average and 20 roundtrippers. Only lowly Bay St. Clair (.287) is outhitting them and Arlon is tied for the most homers. Manager Harry Buckley is hoping the mound staff can get it together and start carrying their load. The Frogs are a distant third with a 4.28 ERA. Arlon (3.51) and La Claire (.356) both have better team ERAs. Fairfax is also third in fielding with a .979 percentage and trail La Claire (.989) and Bayview (.980).

Top pitchers:
Fairfax's pitching rotation consists of southpaws Jimmy Dalton (1-1 3.32) and Jack Leslie (2-1 4.66) and righties Robbie Meredith (1-0 3.86) and Mel Murray (2-1 4.43). Buckley has two fine relievers in closer Takehide Takahashi (1-0 1.93), who has saved two games, and middle reliever Gerry Fisher (2-0 1.00).

Top hitters:
3B Stan Cobb (.403/4 HR/14 RBI)
LF Gator Davis (.302/4 HR/10 RBI)
SS Warren Lee (.297/2 HR/7 RBI)
RF Gregg Vincent (.297/9 HR/21 RBI)

Defense:
The Frogs have quite a few average gloves, but no one who is truly outstanding.

Gary Louis is managing the third place Arlon Champions (8-8) in their inaugural season in the IPA. The Champs have the worst batting average (.252), but are doing quite well on the mound (3.51) with the best ERA in the TBU West. Arlon is doing quite well in the power department, too. They are tied with Fairfax with 20 homers each. Arlon is an average team fielding-wise with a .979 fielding average.

Top pitchers:
The Champs boast a quality mound corps with starters Craig Smith (2-1 3.09), Ray Hunt (2-1 2.49), Ace Howe (1-1 3.21) and closer Jeff Nieman (2-0 0.00). Louis also has good middle relief from Sean Dudek (0-0 1.38), lefthander Rod Kelley (1-1 3.60) and Jim Davis (0-0 3.00).

Top hitters:
CF Jerry Keller (.383/6 HR/18 RBI)
2B Karl Detwiler (.319/1 HR/4 RBI)
LF Matt Merrill (.288/3 HR/7 RBI)

Defense:
C Smoke Zakharov is the only player on the Arlon roster with Gold Glove potential. But the Champions do have some a little better than average.

The Bayview Vikings (7-9) are in a fourth-place tie with the Blue Lake Blue Sox and they are a very good offensive ballclub. The Viks are batting .275 and are a close third to La Claire (92) and Fairfax (86) in the race for the most runs scored. Bayview has put 85 runs on the scoreboard so far this season. The Vikings play good defense and have posted a .980 fielding average in the division and are ranked second to La Claire (.989).

Top pitchers:
Skipper Walter Johanssen's most effective hurlers have been closer Buzzy Lewis (0-1 2.38) and starters Frank Wells (3-0 2.62) and Adrian Strom (1-1 3.45). Johanssen was one of the best righthanded pitchers ever in Islandian amateur circles. He is making personal projects of Fred Snow (1-0 4.38) and Charley Andrews (1-1 4.43). Johanssen told The Times he sees better days ahead for Bayview.

Top hitters:
2B Alan Hansen (371/0 HR/8 RbI)
1B Dennis Cole (.349/7 HR/16 RBI)
CF Phil Kanaan (.297/1 HR/3 RBI)
SS Shorty Richards (.290/1 HR/9 RBI)
LF Glenn Burns (.274/0 HR/12 RBI)

Defense:
SS Shorty Richards and LF Glenn Burns have shots at the Golden Glove Award because of their impressive defensive work this season.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox (7-9) have had a mediocre season so far under the leadership of manager Cobb Tyson. They are tied for fourth with Bayview. Tyson is an intense competitor, who hates to lose. He told the press he has never been a loser and he doesn't intend to start here. Tyson was the best contact hitter in Islandian history. No one had a higher career batting average in the amateur leagues. The Blue Sox are batting only .259 and are ranked next-to-last in the division, but are among the leaders in home runs with 18 and are third behind the Fairfax Frogs and the Arlon Champions, who have hit 20 roundtrippers. Tyson's pitching is pretty atrocious, too. Blue Lake has a 5.08 ERA. Only last place Bay St. Clair is worse. The Blue Sox are just average on defense with a .975 fielding percentage.

Top pitchers:
Bennie West (2-2 1.95) is a fine hurler, but that is all Blue Lake has. Everyone else has a 4.50 or higher ERA.

Top hitters:
CF Donnie Frazier (.396/3 HR/11 RBI)
1B Fred Taranto (.390/3 HR/9 RBI)
SS Cy Orgeron (.306/2 HR/4 RBI)

Defense:
1B Fred Taranto, SS Cy Orgeron and CF Donnie Frazier are all having Golden Glove years and could be in the running for the award.

It looks like a long season for manager Guy Rondre and the cellar-dwelling Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (5-10) in the TBU West. The Bucs are hitting the ball at a .287 clip, but have connected for just 5 home runs. They get a lot of hits, but not many runs. And it gets worse when you look at the Bay St. Clair team ERA. It is an astronomical 5.10. And when it comes to fielding, the Bucs are not very good at defense either with an anemic .966 fielding average.

Top pitchers:
Rondre doesn't have much in the way of effective pitchers. Starter Gary Robinson (1-2 3.68) and long relief Adam Lundgren (0-0 2.79) are his only dependable ones.

Top hitters:
2B Tony Mann (.410/1 HR/6 RBI)
C Jake Singleton (.340/1 HR/9 RBI)
3B Bubba Tate (.333/1 HR/9 RBI)
LF Charley Moon (.326/1 HR/8 RBI)

Defense:
The Bucs have no potential Gold Glove Award winner as their dismal .966 fielding percentage indicates.

Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-04-2008 at 06:07 PM.
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