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Eugene Church · 07-07-2008, 05:43 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 22, 2001

Around the IPA

In the early going it looks like the third place Sugar Valley Rattlers (31-31) are just going to be a middle of the pack ballclub. Manager Gibson Bobkins, the great righthander of the amateur and company leagues, has better than average hitting, but lacks pitching. The Rattlers were 14-17 in May and 10-11 in June. They do well against the weaker teams in the division, but can't play with Marston (2-8) and Forest City (3-6). They trail the top two clubs by five games.

Sugar Valley is a distant second to Marston (.286) with a .271 batting average, third in run production and last in home runs. Only third baseman Jorge Vargas (.348) (5th) is among the league's elite hitters. He has 15 homers, 51 RBIs (8th) and 47 runs (4th-tied). Bobkins has several very capable hitters in second baseman Rudi Oliver (.333), who has 6 homers, scored 34 times and batted in 27, center fielder Freddie Vaux (.329) with 2 home runs, 31 runs, 31 RBIs and 9 stolen bases and catcher Slingshot McFall (.335) with 3 homers, 18 runs and 19 RBIs. The Rattlers also have some better-than-average performers like left fielder Cy Bartz (.280) with 6 roundtrippers, 31 runs and 31 RBIs and shortstop Flipper Bird (.268) with 3 homers, 38 runs, 21 RBIs and 9 stolen bases.

McFall, Vaux and Bird are outstanding defenders as well. Defense is good overall in the RU South with Marston the best at .980 and Sugar Valley and Belair Beach last with a .977 fielding average.

Bobkins has only two real go-to guys on the mound. He has one of the best relievers in the IPA in Gregg Neal (5-3 1.93), who has appeared in 24 games and has 8 saves (1st-tied) and starter Ron Benson (8-6 2.87). Paul Haines (3-4 3.39) and Harvey Hines (6-4 4.02) are fairly effective starters. After this foursome, the quality drops off considerably.

Sugar Valley is several hitters and several pitchers away from contending with Marston and Forest City. It looks they are as high as they will get in the RU South Division this year.

McGraw Johnson is GM/manager for the fourth place Waleska Westerners (31-32). He is considered to be the greatest manager in the Islands amateur leagues. Johnson is known as a great innovator and baseball strategist. He was the first to platoon players and to use a specialist in the bullpen. But he has not done well so far in the first pro league. The Westerners are 5.5 games off the pace, finishing 17-15 in May, but dipping to 9-11 so far in June. Marston is their nemesis as the Westerners are only 3-10 in the season series with them.

Waleska doesn't standout in any category. They are hitting only .255 (last) and have a poor 4.18 ERA (4th). Fielding-wise the Westerners have a .978 fielding percentage (3rd-tied).

Johnson depends heavily on three players for offense. Right fielder Big Hoss Buckhalter (.303), who has 16 homers (5th-tied), scored 37 runs and driven in 59 (2nd-tied), first baseman Freddie Shelton (.301) with 12 home runs, 32 runs and 39 RBIs and third baseman Yoshihide Nishata (.271) with 21 doubles (4th), 9 homers, 48 runs (7th-tied), 35 RBIs and 10 SB. Secondary producers are left fielder Charley Williamson (.284) with 8 roundtrippers, 24 runs and 25 RBIs and second baseman Wiz Taylor (.271) with 4 home runs, 38 runs and 14 RBIs. Center fielder Rick Vaughn (.297) is platooned and has 3 homers, scored 18 times and driven in 15 runs.

Waleska has only two quality pitchers. Starter Smokey Joe Carter (9-6 2.82) has been very strong all season and is getting better with every start. Reliever Andrei Marsiske (3-1 2.76) has five saves and has just been promoted by Johnson to the closing role. He had been used mainly in long relief. The rest of the staff has not done well. The starters give up too many home runs. Gary Hill (6-4 4.73), Phil Kraft (4-6 3.87) and Marv Chancellor (5-8 4.95) have suffered greatly from longballs. Although Chancellor has looked especially good in his last two outings, both solid victories. There is nothing but mediocrity in the rest of the bullpen. Johnson is expected to make quite a few moves in the coming days to try and turn things around, both on offense and on the hill.

07-07-2008, 05:43 PM	#335 (permalink)
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 17,079 Thanks: 100 Thanked 100x in 52 posts	The Islandian Times Friday, June 22, 2001 Around the IPA In the early going it looks like the third place Sugar Valley Rattlers (31-31) are just going to be a middle of the pack ballclub. Manager Gibson Bobkins, the great righthander of the amateur and company leagues, has better than average hitting, but lacks pitching. The Rattlers were 14-17 in May and 10-11 in June. They do well against the weaker teams in the division, but can't play with Marston (2-8) and Forest City (3-6). They trail the top two clubs by five games. Sugar Valley is a distant second to Marston (.286) with a .271 batting average, third in run production and last in home runs. Only third baseman Jorge Vargas (.348) (5th) is among the league's elite hitters. He has 15 homers, 51 RBIs (8th) and 47 runs (4th-tied). Bobkins has several very capable hitters in second baseman Rudi Oliver (.333), who has 6 homers, scored 34 times and batted in 27, center fielder Freddie Vaux (.329) with 2 home runs, 31 runs, 31 RBIs and 9 stolen bases and catcher Slingshot McFall (.335) with 3 homers, 18 runs and 19 RBIs. The Rattlers also have some better-than-average performers like left fielder Cy Bartz (.280) with 6 roundtrippers, 31 runs and 31 RBIs and shortstop Flipper Bird (.268) with 3 homers, 38 runs, 21 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. McFall, Vaux and Bird are outstanding defenders as well. Defense is good overall in the RU South with Marston the best at .980 and Sugar Valley and Belair Beach last with a .977 fielding average. Bobkins has only two real go-to guys on the mound. He has one of the best relievers in the IPA in Gregg Neal (5-3 1.93), who has appeared in 24 games and has 8 saves (1st-tied) and starter Ron Benson (8-6 2.87). Paul Haines (3-4 3.39) and Harvey Hines (6-4 4.02) are fairly effective starters. After this foursome, the quality drops off considerably. Sugar Valley is several hitters and several pitchers away from contending with Marston and Forest City. It looks they are as high as they will get in the RU South Division this year. McGraw Johnson is GM/manager for the fourth place Waleska Westerners (31-32). He is considered to be the greatest manager in the Islands amateur leagues. Johnson is known as a great innovator and baseball strategist. He was the first to platoon players and to use a specialist in the bullpen. But he has not done well so far in the first pro league. The Westerners are 5.5 games off the pace, finishing 17-15 in May, but dipping to 9-11 so far in June. Marston is their nemesis as the Westerners are only 3-10 in the season series with them. Waleska doesn't standout in any category. They are hitting only .255 (last) and have a poor 4.18 ERA (4th). Fielding-wise the Westerners have a .978 fielding percentage (3rd-tied). Johnson depends heavily on three players for offense. Right fielder Big Hoss Buckhalter (.303), who has 16 homers (5th-tied), scored 37 runs and driven in 59 (2nd-tied), first baseman Freddie Shelton (.301) with 12 home runs, 32 runs and 39 RBIs and third baseman Yoshihide Nishata (.271) with 21 doubles (4th), 9 homers, 48 runs (7th-tied), 35 RBIs and 10 SB. Secondary producers are left fielder Charley Williamson (.284) with 8 roundtrippers, 24 runs and 25 RBIs and second baseman Wiz Taylor (.271) with 4 home runs, 38 runs and 14 RBIs. Center fielder Rick Vaughn (.297) is platooned and has 3 homers, scored 18 times and driven in 15 runs. Waleska has only two quality pitchers. Starter Smokey Joe Carter (9-6 2.82) has been very strong all season and is getting better with every start. Reliever Andrei Marsiske (3-1 2.76) has five saves and has just been promoted by Johnson to the closing role. He had been used mainly in long relief. The rest of the staff has not done well. The starters give up too many home runs. Gary Hill (6-4 4.73), Phil Kraft (4-6 3.87) and Marv Chancellor (5-8 4.95) have suffered greatly from longballs. Although Chancellor has looked especially good in his last two outings, both solid victories. There is nothing but mediocrity in the rest of the bullpen. Johnson is expected to make quite a few moves in the coming days to try and turn things around, both on offense and on the hill.