THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Tycobbian North Preseason Poll

RANK/TEAM (LAST YEAR)
1. White River Rascals (5th)
2. Fairfax Frogs (1st)
3. Oxford Red Caps (4th)
4. North Hills Hawks (6th)
5. Blue Lake Blue Sox (8th)
6. Luxora Zorros (3rd)
7. Mahaska Haymakers (7th)
8. Hartsdale Hellcats (2nd)

NH Hawks Bolt To The Top In TU North
The forecast called for a two-team tussle between White River and Fairfax. So far it hasn't transpired that way. The North Hills Hawks weren't high on too many lists in the Tycobbian North pennant chase, but they have been an eye-opener in the early going, running off a sparkling 18-8 record in April. Last season's champion Fairfax is right on the Hawks' tail with a 17-9 mark, along with the Oxford Reds, tied for the second spot in the standings. The critics' choice in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, the White River Rascals, are nestled in fourth place at 16-10, only two games back. Fifth place Hartsdale (14-12) is four games out of first, followed by Luxora (13-13) in sixth place, Mahaska (12-14) seventh and Blue Lake (10-16) is last in the division and 8 games off the pace.

It's been years since North Hills made the Pro Cup playoffs, last participating in 2016... manager Todd Simons has them going in an amazing reversal from last season when the Hawks wound up sixth... batting is up 25 points over a season ago and the team ERA has dropped almost a run a game... North Hills is hitting a very hefty .287 (2nd) and has registered a brilliant 2.63 ERA (1st)... only Wynnamac of the RU East has a better team ERA (2.36)... the Hawks rotation consists of Jeff Owens (6-1/2.67), Tony Mack (3-1/1.77), Terry Costanza (3-1/2.15) and David Michael (4-3/3.19)... Simons has a string of good hitters in his batting order, sparked by C/IF Mikhail Romanovsky (.383), 3B Dean O'Donnell (.330), LF Adam Thurgood (.324), C Joe King (.329) and 1B Skippy Shearer (.291)... Thurgood has 8 homers and 20 RBIs this year... time will tell if the Hawks can sustain such an impressive start.

Last year Dane Wesner's Fairfax Frogs dominated the TU North and won it by 20 games... the Frogs have captured it two years running and have a strong shot at adding a third straight to their laurels... however in the season's first month the Frogs' hitting and pitching is not as good as last year... they lead the TU in scoring, have a .278 BA and a mediocre 4.13 ERA, despite signing free agents Jay Barajas (4-3/3.67) from San Dimas and Manny Mateo (3-1/4.15) from Ranford... only Mac Flowers (2-0/2.25) is performing well... last year's ace and 23-game winner Dudley Dickens (1-3/6.25) has been dismal this year... but the bats are solid again this year with 2B John Velasco (.301), 3B Jim McDermott (.296), CF Michael Hudson (.283), LF Max Lebowitz (.279) and RF Eric Kusek (.265).

The Oxford Red Caps, guided by Cameron Kamara, were rated the third-best team in the preseason by the sportswriters and media... the Red Caps have lived up to it in the initial going... last year they finished a distant fourth... it's been almost 30 years since the club made it into the playoffs... in 2007 Oxford won its first and only Pro Cup... Kamara has a powerhouse at the plate... the Red Caps and Bayview top the IPA with 42 homers... Oxford ranks high in the TU in scoring runs (5th)... his pitching is not on par with his hitters... the team ERA is 4.00 (20th)... the lineup is power-packed with vet 1B Kerry Sterling (.298/7 HR), rookie 2B Alonso Norris (.313/6 HR), CF Crusher Derringer (.264/6 HR) and rookie 3B Boyd Olsen (.278/6 HR)... C John Fitzpatrick (.326) leads the team in batting average... Kelly Morton (4-1/2.58) and Mario Lopez (4-2/2.63) have stood out as starters, along with reliever Kurt Jelesko (4-0/0.51/2 saves).

The preseason pick White River Rascals are hanging close in fourth place, just 2 games back... Mick Cronyn's club has floundered in the second division for four of the last five years... this could be a year of revival... the Rascals are long on the hill with a 2.90 team ERA (5th), can go deep with 38 homers (3rd tied) and score (7th tied)... they should be a serious challenger for the TU North flag... Paul Sartini (4-0/1.52) heads up a potent staff of veterans... free agent from High Mesa Emil Kaltenborn (3-2/2.57), Gregg Moore (4-1/2.81) and Kenny Nikas (1-4/3.78) are the other quality starters... Nikas has won 46 games in the last two seasons and won the Tycobbian MVP honor in 2032... leading the way in the power department are platooners at 1B Davey Sloan with 7 homers and Allan Ferris with 5, 3B Koora Nawajuk with 5 and CF Clive Kenyon with 4... top batters are 3B Dan Zalewski (.327), Sloan (.304), Ferris (.295) and free agent 2B Derek Kristensen (.283) from Rolling Hills... RF Hal Littleton (.324) was re-signed as a free agent after spending 2031-2033 in the Ruthlandian Union... Littleton was with the Rascals his first 11 seasons in the league.

The Hartsdale Hellcats last won the TU North pennant in 2029... since then it has been all down hill except for a remarkable rise to second last year... predictions were another flip-flop to the cellar again this year, but it has yet to happen... the Hellcats are riding high in fifth place, but they are just 4 games out of first... skipper Kendry Moulton has better-than-average hitting and pitching with a .274 BA (10th) and a 3.44 ERA (11th)... the Hellcats are 16th in run scoring with 120 and 10th in roundtrippers with 30... the veteran mound staff consists of Lou Chylak (3-3/3.12), Erik Isenhart (2-1/1.52), Wayne Dawson (1-2/2.87) and Hank Cooke (4-3/4.99)... the most productive hitters have been 3B Duffy Day (.344/5 HR), CF Joe McGarrett (.310/8 HR). C Don Pontros (.273/4 HR), rookie SS Robinson Alomar (.262/4 HR) and 3B Giancarlo Orlandini (.263/4 HR)... rookie 3B Wilfred Byers (.385) and free agent LF Tom Gildersleeve (.357) from Summerland have also done very well when in the lineup... the critics might be wrong about Hartsdale... they have not played like a last-place club this season... time will tell.

Under manager Lacey Tompkins the Luxora Zorros have wound up in the TU North first division for the last 6 seasons... the Z's won the pennant in 2031... Tompkins doesn't think they are a sixth-place club as forecast in the preseason poll... with a 3.29 team ERA (7th) pitching has been good and will get better when ace Benny DeVito returns in June... DeVito will miss the first two months with an ankle injury... DeVito is 121-104 and a fine 3.15 ERA in 8 seasons with Luxora... Kent Halloran (2-3/1.94) has been Tompkins' best starter... closer Fernando Sanches (4-0/2.21/6 saves) has been outstanding this year and is tied with Cape Coral's Travis Arthur for the IPA lead in saves... however, the Zorros are in bad shape at the plate with a pathetic .235 BA (31st)... it's a wonder they have broken even at 13-13 this year... vet 1B Gerry Hathaway is the club leader with 17 RBIs and 6 HRs, but is batting only .211, about a 100 points under his .306 career average... LF Forest Orr with a .283 BA, 3 homers and 12 RBIs and RF Buster Landry with a .284 mark, 3 homers and 12 runs have also lent a hand to the offense... the Luxora lineup will have to perk up quite a lot to end up in the first division this season.

Four of the last five years the Mahaska Haymakers have languished in the second division of the TU North... manager Rusty Lanussa's last success was pennants in 2026 and 2028... the Haymakers are in seventh place this year at 12-14 and 6 games behind first place North Hills... Lanussa has average hitting (.266) and pitching (3.72 ERA) with pitiful power, only 12 homers (31st)... his bullpen is atrocious with a 5.64 ERA (31st)... Mahaska has been picked for seventh place this season, but last looks more like it... Mark Pennington (3-2/3.13), Greg Douglas (3-2/3.00) and Carl Dreux (2-3/2.59) are capable starters... at the plate the Haymakers most reliable batters has been rookie 3B Gunnar Norheim (.364), C Ronald Reid (.371) and 1B Lyndon Washington (.345)... the rest of the batting order is hitting .250 or less.

In a remarkable season, the Blue Lake Blue Sox unexpectedly captured the 2030 Pro Cup... manager Rick Hilliard did it with wonderful pitching... this year pitching is almost non-existent with a 4.89 ERA (29th)... the Blue Sox are batting fairly well with a .270 BA (12th) and scores pretty well with 124 runs (10th tied), but woeful with 22 home runs (21st) and a poor bullpen with a 5.40 ERA (29th)... since the golden year of 2030 Blue Lake has slipped to third, seventh and eighth place... the Blue Sox ranked fifth in the preseason poll... are currently in last place, but could climb a little higher in the final standings... star pitchers Dallas Casey (2-4/5.29) and Frankie Quinn (3-4/4.92) are having tough years... Casey might be showing his age at 36... Quinn came over from Fort Benton of the Ruthlandian Union and has had a difficult adjustment period... Casey was 15-9 with an impressive 2.50 ERA and 17-12 with a 2.68 ERA the last two seasons... Quinn was 133-99 in 7 seasons with a career 3.01 ERA in Fort Benton... three sparkling rookies have been at the forefront for the Blue Sox this year: CF Jack Ryan tops the IPA with a .418 BA with 3 HRs, 17 RBIs and 19 runs... 2B James Hamilton is hitting .337 with 8 RBIs and 15 runs scored... and RF Greg Robinson has 8 homers, 26 RBIs and 17 runs, while batting .268... Blue Lake signed free agent LF Jojo Davis from Beechwood in the RU... the 35-year-old Davis is a career .329 hitter in his 13 seasons in the IPA... thus far Davis is hitting at a .290 clip for the Blue Sox.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Tycobbian South Preseason Poll

RANK/TEAM (LAST YEAR)
1. Turon Typhoons (2nd)
2. Southport Sun Sox (5th tied)
3. San Alejo Montaneros (5th tied)
4. Arroyo Grande Suns (4th)
5. Cape Coral Hurricanes (8th)
6. Summerland Sunsets (1st)
7. Ginza Ninjas (3rd)
8. Colchester Elites (7th)

Turon, Southport Tied For TU South
So far the Tycobbian South is playing out just like expected. The forecast called for the Turon Typhoons to slip by the Southport Sun Sox in a close affair with the San Alejo Montaneros coming in a distant third. Arroyo Grande was picked to finished fourth. At the end of April the Typhoons (15-11) and and Sun Sox (15-11) are dead even with the Monties (14-12) just one game back. Rounding out the first division are the Suns (13-13) and the Cape Coral Hurricanes (13-13), tied for the fourth spot in the standings and trailing by just two games. The Colchester Elites (10-16) are 5 games off the pace in sixth, last year's champion Summerland (9-17) has played poorly and is in seventh place with Ginza (6-20) buried deep in the cellar. The Sunsets are 8 games out and the Ninjas are behind by 9 games.

In its first 18 seasons in the IPA Turon enjoyed great success with 13 playoff appearances... four times in six tries the Typhoons won it all, taking the Pro Cup more than any other club in IPA history... but it's been 15 long years since Turon has made a postseason appearance... last year was a good one with a second-place finish... manager Alan Hansen has them poised to be a strong contender for the TU South title... they were chosen as the division favorite in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... so far, so good, the Typhoons have lived up expectations, though they are tied with Southport for the top spot... statistically Turon looks like an average team with a .268 BA (13th) and a 3.71 ERA (17th)... Hansen's best pitchers are starter Errol Gaudet (4-3/2.60) and relievers Ralph Fulton (0-1/2.45/3 saves), Jonathan Pitri (3-0/0.52/2 saves) and Victor Stravinsky (0-0/0.00)... the bullpen is ranked 8th in the TU with a 2.22 ERA... Hansen took a chance and traded for the 40-year-old Gaudet two years ago, who is 276-174 lifetime with a great 2.90 ERA... Gaudet spent 13 great seasons with Rolling Hills... he sparked them to 8 pennants and 2 Pro Cups and is destined for the IPA Hall of Fame... Turon's top bats belong to rookie 2B C. C. Kingsford with a .347 BA, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs and 22 runs, CF Clint Dunn with a .305 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBIs and 10 runs, and LF Edwin Asher with a .265 mark, 3 HRs, 16 RBIs and 15 runs... Kingsford is the son of Typhoon great 1B and Hall of Famer Clyde Kingsford... Kingsford ravaged IPA pitchers for a .319 average in his 14 seasons with 485 homers and 1523 RBIs.

The Southport Sun Sox snapped a string of eight consecutive first-division finishes last season with a fifth-place finish... those years included two pennants in 2027 and 2028... skipper Charley Oscar has them tied atop the division this season with a solid pitching rotation and offense... the Sun Sox have posted a 3.85 team ERA (19th) and a .280 BA... starters Bob Bondy (3-2/2.76), Don Pascioni (3-2/3.00) and Chip Bickford (3-2/3.00) have all been very reliable... Oscar's reliable bats are CF Billy Gray (.338), C Davy Reichert (.263) and 3B Yancy Duvicque (.389)... Gray tops the club with 20 RBIs and 6 roundtrippers... However, the big story in Southport is the huge loss of legendary slugging RF Lorne Evans through free agency... He signed with the Tuckanarra Blue Jays of the TU East... Evans, in his 10th year in the IPA, is a career .314 hitter with 371 home runs and will be sorely missed.

Two years ago in 2032 the San Alejo Montaneros came out of nowhere to win the TU South for the first time in 28 years... the next year the Monties faded back into the second division... now manager Alberto Herrera has them cranked up again and forecast to be in the race this season... San Alejo is currently in third place, just one game out of first... they have an average offense with a .261 BA (18th) and a better-than-average mound staff with a 3.47 ERA (12th)... vet Johnny Brown (3-3/2.23) leads the staff, aided by Pablo Pilar (2-1/3.07)... free agent acquisition from Tucknarra CF Dusty Rogan (.327) has been worth it.. other reliable hitters are 1B Rob Lewis (.288) and LF Adrian Otero (.283)... Lewis tops the team in RBIs with 13... Otero has the most runs scored with 18... they both have 4 home runs.

After two good back-to-back seasons in 2029 (4th) and 2029 (1st), the Cape Coral Hurricanes have sunk back into mediocrity, falling deep in the second division the last three years... manager Flipper Bird's team has been basement-bound for the last two years... things are looking up for them, though, Cape Coral signed quite a few free agents in a spending spree... that's why the 'Canes were ranked fifth in the preseason poll... in the early going they are in a third-place tie with Arroyo Grande. only 2 games behind the division leader... however, stats-wise they don't look very potent with a .267 BA (15th) with little power, only 16 HRs (30th), and a pretty bad 4.29 ERA (25th)... ace Tommy Van Noord (2-3/2.01) is the most capable hurler, along with free agent Billy Trakas (3-0/3.57) from Blue Lake... 20-year-old RF William Snyder is the Hurricanes' top batsman with a .333 mark and 17 RBIs... free agent SS Jeff Lang from Kenwood has been solid with a .276 BA and 18 RBIs... other contributors are CF Alan Ellis with a .294 BA and 18 runs, 2B Vic Hayes with a .282 BA and 13 RBIs and free agent 3B Joel Collins from Colchester with a .359 OBP and 11 RBIs, but with a subpar .241 BA... rookie 1B Buddy Brando (.296/3 HR/12 RBI) shows promise.

Buddy Bechtel has had a fairly good team in Arroyo Grande, at least record-wise with a third-place finish two years ago and fourth last year... the Suns are picked for fourth this season... the Suns are tied with Cape Coral for fourth place and are rated the fifth-best team in the TU South... it's been over a decade since Arroyo Grande graced the Pro Cup playoffs... this year they broke even in month one using home-run power (8th) and fairly good starting pitching with a 3.52 ERA (12th)... however at the plate it's been terrible with a .234 BA (32nd)... Bechtel's bunch has trouble scoring runs (28th) and a lousy bullpen with a 4.46 ERA (23rd)... a trio of starters have carried the club: Meteus Castro (5-1/2.28), veteran Matt Stevens (4-2/2.95) and rookie Fernando Campos (1-2/2.97)... longtime reliever John Nelson (2-1/0.92) has been very effective so far... newcomer 2B Frank Marcello and C Frank Jourdan have been the only quality bats in the Suns' lineup... Marcello is hitting .303 with 7 homers and 21 RBIs and Jourdan is batting .288 with 7 homers and 17 RBIs... all the rest of the regulars are .250 and below.

The Colchester Elites haven't been in the playoffs since 2007 and it's not likely this is the year for manager Patsy Bates' squad... the baseball scribes give them little chance, ranking the Elites the worst team in the division... they are in sixth place and already 5 games off the pace after just one month of play... the pitching corps is horrendous with a 5.00 ERA (30th)... the batting is a little better with a .253 average (24th)... Colchester can score fairly well with 123 runs (12th) and 31 HRs (9th)... superstar LF Jim Lewellen had a super April with a .388 BA, 12 homers, 23 RBIs and 20 runs... free agent C Benny Donaldson from Chicopee is batting .353 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs... the Elites grabbed free agent 1B-3B Billy Christianson, the longtime Rolling Hills star (.273) and he has driven in 19 runs... 2B Jackie Jackson is having a solid season with a .316 average and 17 runs scored... and free agent 3B from Tuckanarra Charley Taylor has moved into the regular lineup, hit .267 and batted across 13 runs... Dave Lacoste (1-1/2.61) and Roy Watson (3-0/3.58) have been the only effective pitchers... longtime ace Mackie McGinnity (109-75/3.47) is really suffering with an 0-7 mark and an atrocious 5.52 ERA.

In a huge surprise the Summerland Sunsets climbed from seventh to first last season, but they seem to be doing a complete reversal again this year... the baseball experts chose them to wind up sixth in the TU South this year... after a month's play skipper Will Hackett's club is near the bottom in everything... his Sunsets are in the seventh spot in the standings... star pitchers Freddi Rossi (0-6/5.40) and Ron McDonald (1-5/6.00) haven't been able to get anyone out this season... last year Rossi won 22 games with a 2.04 ERA and McDonald was 14-11 and a 2.77 ERA... rookie Johnny Young (2-1/3.67) and Toshikuni Tanaka (1-1/3.52) have been the best of the lot... Hackett's best bat has been LF Nicky Titov with 7 roundtrippers, 17 RBIs and a .298 BA... 2B Ken Wyman (.313) and SS Norm Van Kleeken (.306) sport the best averages... 15-year veteran 1B Mandu Purula, a career .319 hitter, had a slow April with a .268 average, but did hit 3 HRs and bat in 10 runs.

The proud Ginza Ninjas with five TU South flags since 2023 had an embarrassing month with a 6-20 record and are solidly in last place... manager Huroko Uchiyama's club was forecast to come in seventh in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... the only thing the Ninjas do well is go deep... they have poked 33 out of the park (7th)... the team ERA was a lofty 5.56 (32nd)... leading the Ginza lineup are 2B Roger Lanier (.329/6/16/13), LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.302/4/17/11), 1B Kazzy Nishimura (.318/4/14/10) and rookie RF Scott Sparks (.303/5/10/11)... on the hill only veteran Hollis Pace (2-4/3.71) has been decent... Gary Mills (2-4/4.92) is the next best starter... the rest of the staff are 5.23 and higher... looks like a long, long season for Ginza this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Tycobbian East Preseason Poll

RANK/TEAM (LAST YEAR)
1. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (4th)
2. East Point Panthers (1st)
3. Midway Wolves (3rd)
4. Ozarka Naturals (6th)
5. Hillsboro Blazers (2nd)
6. Red Bluff Red Sox (7th)
7. South Fork Stallions (5th)
8. High Mesa Cowboys (8th)

Tight 4-Team Race In TU East
For the most part, the good teams in the preseason poll are playing well in the Tycobbian East and the bad teams in the predictions poorly after a month into the new season. Tuckanarra (16-10), the favored team in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, has a game edge over last year's champ and number two pick, the East Point Panthers (15-11), and the Ozarka Naturals (15-11), rated the fourth-best club in the division. The third choice Midway (14-12) is in the fourth spot, but just two games away from the top of the standings. Red Bluff (12-14) is fifth and trails by four games, followed by sixth place South Fork (11-15) and High Mesa (11-15). Last year's division runner-up Hillsboro (8-18) has performed miserably this season and is in last place. The baseball gurus are calling for it to be a two-team race between Tuckanarra and East Point. The Blue Jays and Panthers are the cream of the crop in the TU East.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are on a 12-season tear... the Blue Jays have ended up in the first division every year since 2023... during that stretch manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens has won two Pro Cups and 6 pennants... the Blue Jays signed four bonifide stars in the off-season, picking up IPA icon Lorne Evans from Southport in the TU South, Bobby Reid from Cold Creek in the Ruthlandian Union, Duke Mahoney from rival Hillsboro in the TU East and Jeff Buttrum from La Claire of the TU West... Evans, a lifetime .314 hitter, is already ablaze this year with a .343 mark, 7 homers, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored... Reid is 5-1 with a 2.33 ERA and Buttrum is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA... Mahoney is off to a slow start with a 1-1 record and a 4.58 ERA... all three hurlers won 20 games last season... the Blue Jays understandedly have a solid ballclub with a .276 BA (9th) and a standout 2.73 ERA (2nd)... other solid hitters in the lineup are CF Pancho Villa with a .295 BA, 5 HRs, 16 runs and 17 RBIs and RF Spade Weldon with a .300 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBIs and 12 runs... other dependable bats include C Paul Jackson (.295) and 1B Nicky Weill (.302).

For the last seven seasons the East Point Panthers of skipper Karol Zodoka have finished no worst than third and have taken the TU East flag in two of the previous three years... last season they almost copped the IPA Pro Cup, falling to Elnora in seven games in the Finals... the Panthers possess great pitching and good power... this year the team ERA is 2.76 (3rd) and they have hit 38 homers (3rd-tied)... the Killer B's head up a superb staff... last year's TU MVP, Golden Arm winner and Golden Glover Dixie Brooks signed a long-term contract... Brooks is 3-4 with a 3.34 ERA... Jack Bolden is 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA and Frank Blair is 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA... together they have chalked up 367 victories in their careers... the heart and soul of the batting order are 1B Jaxon Shatner (.322/4/19/14), LF Steve Stroud (.329/4/13/14), C Chris Cardinale (.274/5/14/13) and 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.299/8/16/20)... the Panthers spent most of their money in resigning Brooks and Bolden and didn't go after free agents otherwise.

The Ozarka Naturals are tied with East Point for second place, up from sixth in 2032... the Nats have a fine history and have made the postseason 14 times, an IPA record... but only once in the last 13 years, last winning in 2030... sadly they have never won the Pro Cup despite making the Finals five times... on paper Ozarka doesn't look like it can play with the big boys over the long haul with its .256 team BA (21st), 21 HRs (24-tied) and 3.59 ERA (13th)... but so far they are 15-11 and tied with East Point for second... Leon Bernard (3-2/2.72), Glen Jenkins (3-2/3.78) and Teddy O'Shea (3-2/3.86) have led the pitching corps... at the plate it's CF Lonnie Gillespie (.341) and C Russell Smith (.308) carrying the club... the Nats bats and twirlers are going to have to really perk up to challenge Tuckanarra and East Point.

Cochise Chandler's Midway Wolves have been very respectable the last two years, winding up a very strong second in 2032 and a solid third in 2033... they lost the pennant in a single-game playoff two years ago to Tuckanarra and only wound up five games out last year... the media has forecast them to come in third this season... currently the Wolves are in fourth place, but just 2 games back... Chandler has better-than-average offense with a .276 BA (8th) and a less-than-average mound staff with a mediocre 4.12 team ERA... leading the attack are SS Albert Wherry (.351), 22-year-old CF Yancey Tanner (.343) and veteran LF Justin McCall (.373)... Wherry has hit 8 homers and driven in 18 runs this season... other productive bats are 3B Rusty Graves (.286), C Matt Grimmer (.289), RF Shaman Sakima (.268) and 1B Jake Welsh (.283)... Taima Nodin (3-2/2.61) and Cary Snead (3-2/3.04) have been Midway's most effective hurlers.

Only once in the last 12 years have the Red Bluff Red Sox managed a first-division finish... that was in 2031... it's been almost 25 years since they won a pennant and played in the postseason... however, the Red Sox do have a Pro Cup in their history... it came in 2004... last year manager Jim Schubert's team came in next-to-last in the TU East... this season Red Bluff was picked to come in sixth in the race... they are currently four games behind Tuckanarra and holding fifth place in the standings... the Red Sox are an average team with a .267 BA (14th) and a 3.62 ERA (15th)... Tony Defazio (2-2/2.64) and Jimmy McMillan (3-3/3.70) are the most productive starters... veterans CF Ike Sweetwater (.326/7/22/15) and 2B Pat Ellis (.293/4/18/14) spark the offense with help from super rookie Cody Hanks (.340/4/11/17), 3B Fran Blanchard (.289/1/8/18), rookie CF Giovanni Rizzo (.341) and SS Gene Bates (.323/4/7/10).

The South Fork Stallions and High Mesa Cowboys are deadlocked in sixth place heading into the second month of play, behind by 5 games... South Fork came in fifth last season and is forecast for seventh this year in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason prognostications... the last real success manager Deroche "Lips" Leon has had was the Pro Cup-winning season in 2025... South Fork has made the playoffs only three times in its IPA existence... the Stallions are only average on the hill with a team ERA of 3.59 (14th) and weak and meek at the plate with a .240 BA (29th)... a fine free agent pickup, Alex Gillespie, came over from LaGrange of the RU North... Gillespie (2-5/2.88) has pitched well, but has suffered from a lack of run support in his new league... rookie Chris Sorensen (3-3/2.84) has done quite well, too... rookie SS Jess Wilkerson has been excellent, hitting .375 with 2 HRs and 11 RBIs... 11-year vet CF Corbett Brooks tops the team with 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 15 runs scored... Brooks is batting .277.

The High Mesa Cowboys are long overdue in the TU East... eight straight seasons in the TU East second division and three decades without a postseason appearance... the only things the Cowpokes have to be proud of are the Pro Cup trophy in its first season in the IPA in 2002 and one of the greatest sluggers the Islands has ever seen - the wonderful 1B and Hall of Famer Jack Elliott, who hit .332 in his 19-year career and is the IPA home run king with 848... that's 112 dingers ahead of the number-two guy, Phil Gravelli, who walloped 726 in his illustrious career in 25 seasons, mainly with Crystal Lake of the Ruthlandian Union... Rolf Kellgren, who played SS on the Cowboys' Pro Cup team, recently took over as manager... a .285 lifetime hitter in his 17 seasons, Kellgren was the Pro Cup MVP with a .466 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBIs and 14 runs in 13 playoff games... this season the Cowboys are hitting well for average with a .283 mark (4th), but don't score well (24th) or have much power with only 23 homers (17th-tied)... they usually are among the league leaders in the home run department... pitching is always tough in the tiny bandbox Queen Ranch Stadium... the team ERA is a horrendous 4.81 (28th)... Kellgren's best bats are C Brodie Fitzpatrick (.325/6/16/17), 2B Timmy Marsh (.354/3/9/11), RF Matt Marsh (.288/3/12/5), 3B Tony O'Neill (.274/2/12/11) and LF Randy Williams (.333/2/7/9)... ace Doug Hansack (4-2/3.71) and Russ Krolle (3-2/2.54) have been the best starters.

Sadly the Hillsboro Blazers have never made the playoffs in its 32-year history... the closest they ever came to a TU East flag was 4 games last year, when they were second... it looks like they will continue their tradition to miss the postseason.. the Hillsboro Blazers under skipper Andy Jefferson were ranked fifth in the preseason... this season, the Blazers have been terrible with an 8-18 record, already 8 games out at the end of April... pitching has been the main culprit, falling from an impressive 3.06 last year to 4.09 (21st) this year... Jefferson lost two important starters to free agency when 20-game winner Duke Mahoney (20-10/2.37) left for division rival Tuckanarra and Gregg Hughes (14-16/2.19) signed with San Dimas of the Ruthlandian Union... with six new pitchers, three of them rookies, the staff has been mediocre at best... Russell McIntosh 19-11 last season with a 2.97 ERA has struggled so far with a 3-4 record and a sky-high 4.89 ERA... rookies Fred Berry (2-4/3.33) and Ralph Quick (0-4/3.38) top the starters in ERA... like last year the Blazers don't do much at the plate with a poor .240 BA and very little power with only 18 roundtrippers (29th)... thank goodness for two newcomers, rookies C Teddy Funkhouser (.329/1/11/7) and RF Rhett Scarlett (.273/5/15/14), the club's best offensive weapons ... Funkhouser came in a trade with Fairfax for 3B Stan Bajek, a good-fielding utility infielder... veteran SS Dandy Meredith has also been reliable with a .293 mark.

I'll recap the Tycobbian West race tomorrow and then play the league until the All-Star break. I might give condensed monthly reports on each division. I think it would be good to show how each club does during each month of the season. In the past I just reported at mid-season and at the end of the season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Tycobbian West Preseason Poll

RANK/TEAM (LAST YEAR)
1. Chicopee Braves (3rd-tied)
2. Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (3rd-tied)
3. Kenwood Wildcats (2nd)
4. La Claire Lynx (1st)
5. Bayview Vikings (8th)
6. Denton City Redbirds (6th)
7. Rolling Hills Reds (5th)
8. Arlon Champions (7th)

4-Club Battle In TU West
Only one game separates the first four teams in the Tycobbian West. Defending champion La Claire (16-10) and Chicopee (16-10) share the lead at the beginning of May with Kenwood (15-11) and Denton City (15-11) just a game off the pace. Arlon (12-14) is in fifth, trailing by four games, followed by Bay St. Clair (11-15) in sixth, 5 games behind, Bayview (10-16) seventh, six games out and Rolling Hills (9-17) in the cellar and 7 games behind the leaders. Chicopee is the favorite to take the crown this season according to The Islandian Times preseason poll. Bay St. Clair was chosen second best, Kenwood number three and last season's pennant winner La Claire fourth. All of the second division clubs from last year are not expected to contend for a first-division spot.

Zeppy Deshotel has his La Claire Lynx rolling right out of the gate this season in defense of their TU West title... the Lynx grabbed their second flag in six years last season and certainly look like they intend to be a prime-time player... La Claire is even better than last year with a healthy .285 BA (3rd), 144 runs (3rd) and an impressive 2.86 ERA (4th)... top performers on the mound are starters Pat Kovacs (4-2/1.90) and Rance Raymond (4-1/2.77), both 20-game winners in 2033, along with closer Alvar Vickers (3-0/1.07/3 saves)... veteran first sacker Stan Hynoski is having a crackerjack start with 8 homers, 34 RBIs and a .306 BA... LF Kelly Chamberlain has added 18 RBIs and scored 17 runs, while batting .297... C Craig Peck had batted in 16 runs and scored 20 with a .343 BA... CF Andy Tibbett has been a solid bat with a .298 BA and 23 runs... and RF Leif Steinbrenner has hit .319 with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs.

The Chicopee Braves have never made the Pro Cup playoffs, but they have played well in recent seasons... this could be the year... manager Ivan Burkholder's team is the favorite to win the pennant this season and they have played very well in April and are tied with La Claire for the top spot in the TU West... the Braves don't really have very good stats, but they manage to get runs on the scoreboard, ranking sixth with 133... Chicopee is hitting only .250 (26th), but have blasted 35 out of the park (6th)... offensive leaders are 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.283/7/19/18), CF Alfredo Cobos (.309/6 HR/21/15), 2B Todd Goodwin (.311/3/15/13) and LF Charley Kota with 14 RBIs and 19 runs scored, but is hitting only .202 for average... Kota is a career .315 hitter and due to break loose at anytime... ... on the hill the team ERA is only 4.21... Burkholder's best pitchers have been starters Kajika Fleetwood (4-2/3.95), Ryan Ledbetter (2-2/3.72) and Byron Wilson (3-1/4.31) as well as Heyoka Chaska (2-1/1.93), who recently moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation.

The Kenwood Wildcats, piloted by Aaron Hankins, are deadlocked in third place with improved Denton City... the Wildcats are expected to contend with Chicopee and La Claire for the TU West flag... April has been a very fine month... the glory year for the Wildcats was 2014, when they were the Pro Cup champions... 2024 was the last year Kenwood hauled in a pennant... most of the time under Hankins the Wildcats end up in the first division... this season they are rated the third-best club and have really sizzled in the first month of play... the Wildcats picked up some talented free agents, namely RF Pettis Pentleton from Pro Cup champ Elnora and CF Vince Barbieri from Denton City... Hankins has bevy of batters batting .300 or better... as a team the Wildcats are hitting .301 and are second in run scoring with 149... pitching is solid, too, with a 3.09 ERA... 1B Glenn Carraway is the top hitter with a .407 average with 4 homers and 13 RBIs... CF Barbieri has chalked up a .337 BA with 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 26 runs... Pentleton is at .309 with 3 home runs, 13 RBIs and 13 runs... C Antonio Dominguez sports a .307 mark with 12 RBIs and LF Babe Hankins' average is .316 with 14 RBIs... OF Rodney Harrison (.340), 3B Danny Hillman (.311) and 3B Cal Copeland (.333) are the other three over .300... on the hill Kenwood has some quality arms in Freddy Gooch (3-1/2.85), Claude Watson (4-1/3.48), Doug Kirkpartrick (3-4/3.40) and Lee Dixon (3-2/3.94).

The Denton City Redbirds were a league powerhouse in the early years of the IPA with 6 pennants and 8 playoff appearances between 2003 and 2013... twice they made it to the Pro Cup Finals, but lost in in '05 and '08... 2013 was the Redbirds last postseason appearance... only four times since has the club even been in the first division... this year, at least in the early going, skipper Trevor Tomlinson has them making some noise... Denton City has some punch in its lineup with a .273 team BA (11th), 37 HRs (5th) and 130 runs (7th-tied)... but the mound corps is mediocre with a 4.31 ERA (26th) except for Ralph Elnore (5-1/3.67) and Francisco Salcido (4-1/3.42)... free agent from San Dimas 1B Barry McKnight (.343/8/21/14) and LF Alden Evans (.338/5/21/9) ramrod the attack with sufficient help from rookie RF Kenny Kuebler (.304/4/11/14), CF Sam Carson (.284/5/15/20) and rookie OF Pete Doyle (.435/0/6/9)... on the bench are three more .300 hitters: Howie Sanders (.333), C Joel Gamble (.370) and LF Sakima Shaman (.303)... Denton City is picked to finish sixth in the race... lack of pitching is the problem.

Rocco Belasario's Arlon Champions have rarely contended in their history with only three postseason appearances, the last in 2020... they were forecast sixth in The Islandian Times preseason poll... the Champs have a good mound staff with a 3.34 ERA, but lack offense with a .249 BA... they are ranked 31st in run scoring and 32nd in homers with only 11 so far... Alex Beckner (3-3/1.98), Emil Novak (3-0/2.23) and Ken Lawson (3-1/2.90) have been excellent... Frankie Gauthier (3-3/3.48) has been reliable, too... pacing the Champs at the plate are CF Paco Diaz (.341/0/9/11), 1B Fred Schuessler (.291/4/13/12), RF Mark Cameron (.298/4/13/12) and newcomer free agent from Colfax of the Ruthlandian Union Hank Lunsford (.294/0/9/12).

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers have had relatively good success in the IPA, now in its 34th season... the Bucs have garnered nine playoffs appearances, but no Pro Cups... however, they have been in the first division for the last four years in a row... the experts voted them the second-best team in the TU West this season... so far, manager Denny Coulon's club has stumbled out of of the starting block, but should be a factor in the pennant hunt before all is said and done... Coulon has strong starters with a 2.80 ERA (3rd), but an awful bullpen with a 5.46 ERA... batting-wise the Buccaneers are hitting just .254 (23rd)... Carlo Nardini (2-2/1.87), John Karlsen (3-2/2.45), Jim McBride (4-3/3.26) and Conrad Coleman (1-1/3.65) have been a very good starting rotation... 2B Terry Adams has the best average with .320... he has 4 homers and 11 RBIs... 3B Kimmy Burnsides is next at .300... CF Cotton Cornwall (.284) and RF Milt Powers (.240) are the RBI leaders with 13 apiece.

For the 12th successive season the Bayview Vikings have been an also-ran in the TU West... five times in the first six IPA seasons the Vikings were a playoff team, but little since... the last division flag came in 2016... the Viks have yet to bring in a Pro Cup... manager Chancey Quibedeaux's squad was rated the fifth-best in the preseason vote... presently after a month's play, Bayview is in the seventh spot in the standings, 6 games out... the Vikings have firepower, can go deep and lead the IPA with 42 roundtrippers, tied with Oxford of the TU North... however, they are batting only .256 (20th) and are 19th with 117 runs... Bayview's strong point is its pitching (3.38 ERA/10th), especially in the bullpen with a 1.82 ERA (4th)... Sam Dunbar (2-2/1.10) has been a standout as a starter and reliever... ditto Eric Mayes (1-1/2.03)... Chris Landry, a free-agent signee from Blue Lake, had done well, too, with a 1-1 mark and a 2.04 ERA in one start and four relief jobs... in the batter's box the top producers have been 3B Jerry Culpepper (.267) with 8 HRs and 13 RBIs, SS Marius Lokken (.293) with 7 HRs and 15 RBIs, LF Roy Ricks (.253) with 4 HRs and 16 RBIs and CF Cleve Belton (.300) with 4 roundtrippers and 8 runs batted in.

The Rolling Hills Reds have totaled 8 division titles since 2019 with two Pro Cup championships (2029 and 2031), but things have been on the downturn with a fifth-place finish last year and has extended into this year... manager Matty Christianson and his Reds are in the TU West basement, 7 games out of first place and were picked to end up seventh this year... Christianson's pitching is atrocious with a 4.80 ERA (27th)... batting is only average with a .262 BA (17th)... not a good formula for success... Buck Myers (4-3/4.18) is the only decent pitcher... the Reds picked up a solid starter in free agent Maxim Petrosian from Mahaska, but he has stuggled with a 4.44 ERA and a 2-4 record... the only dependable bats are rookie star 3B Marty O'Reilly with a .354 BA, 4 HR and 23 RBIs, LF Scotty Yiska with a .284 BA, 4 HRs and 11 RBIs and free agent from Rocky Rapids 1B Angelo Nardone with 3 homers, 15 RBIs and a .288 mark... RF Carroll Candy, a free agent from La Claire, has surprisingly seen limited action with only 22 at-bats... Candy is a career .304 hitter.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 IPA Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 IPA Mid-Season Standings

2-Team Race In RU North
It's a two-team race in the Ruthlandian North at mid-year with favorite Far Mountain (43-30) being challenged only by the Ranford Bulls (39-34)... the Redhawks boast a four-game edge at the All-Star break... the other six clubs are below the .500 mark and not likely to contend... the Kilkenny Cats (#2 pick) and LaGrange Sports (#3 pick) have flopped so far... the Sports are in the third spot, 9 games behind and the Cats way back at 15 games, tied for sixth.

Far Mountain's mound corps is carrying the club with an impressive 3.08 team ERA... top pitchers are Frankie Moreland (10-7/2.45), Jakob Wagner (9-6/2.44), Paul Zimmer (7-4/3.24) and Keith Griggs (10-6/3.82)... the Redhawks offense is not much on paper, but they do put runs on the scoreboard and rank 11th in scoring with a .262 BA (11th) and tied for 18th in homers with 62... main contributors are CF Ernie Schleicher (.338/8/28/36) and RF Jeffrey Karkinos (.333/11/30/27).

Ranford doesn't quite match up to the Redhawks stats with a 3.40 team ERA (6th) and a .260 BA (24th) and 54 homers (27th-tied)... they are 25th in scoring runs... the Bulls are paced All-Star hurler Jimmy Collins (12-3/3.38) and Rube Satcher (7-6/2.32)... Chad Cummings (7-10/2.91) has pitched well, but his record doesn't show it... top batters are 2B Sonny Statum (.300/4/27/44), 3B Alex Vanno (.287/13/36/45) and 1B Elton Graff (.282/6/38/29)... Ranford lost a good bat in LF Rickey Urbina (.321) for five weeks with a bad knee... he should be back in July.

Battle Royal In RU South
There's a battle royal going on in the Ruthlandian South with five teams tightly bunched and all eight still in the pennant hunt... at mid-season St. John (41-32) and Grand City (41-32) are tied for the top spot, followed very closely by Crystal Lake (40-33) and Belair Beach (40-33), deadlocked for third in the standings, only one game out... Waleska (37-36) is in fifth place and just 4 games behind the leaders... don't count out the other teams... San Dimas (35-38), Valka (34-39) and preseason pick Claxton (33-40) are just a short winning streak away from contention.

The St. John Crusaders have a potent attack despite losing their number-one RBI guy C Tony Brinkerhoff (.245/8/33) with a fractured thumb... Brinkerhoff is expected back in July... the Crusaders are sparked by All-Star 1B Johnny Zahn (.333), SS Hal Burton (.327), 3B Norm Murdoch (.285), CF Ted Price (.317), Gerry Sives (.299) and 2B Byron Johanssen (.297)... the Crusaders are hitting .283 (2nd) and have scored 368 runs (2nd)... they are pretty fair on the hill, too, with a 3.66 ERA (14th)... All-Star Jeremy Kirk (11-4/2.25) is the ace with help from Nelson Hawthorne (8-6/3.25) and Russell Larsen (8-5/3.51).

The only difference between St. John and the Grand City Cybercats is in the power department... the Cybercats have a wide edge over the Crusaders with 80 homers (3rd) to 40 (32nd)... otherwise they are quite similar... Grand City is batting .273 (7th), scored 365 runs (3rd) and has compiled a 3.77 team ERA (18th)... leading the way on offense are rookie RF Bull Durham (.286/16/44/44), All-Star 2B Teddy Grantham (.322/13/35/44), 3B Dave Sulligent (.333/3/34/24) and SS Tony Ptacek (.288/6/29/38)... on the mound the top arms have been All-Star Herb Stewart (12-5/2.87), Norm Dawson (10-3/2.95) and Jay Nebel (8-4/3.83)... the Cybercats got a big jolt when 2-time All-Star and Gold Glover CF Thomas Hall (.329/9/25/29) was injured in mid-May and will miss two months with a hernia.

The Crystal Lake Crushers are tied for third with the Belair Beach Sunbirds... they were chosen the second-best team in the preseason poll, outranked only by the Kilkenny Cats... they may now be the odds-on favorite to win the flag, since the Cats have slumped badly in the first half of the season... the Crushers are hitting .276 (5th), score decently with 317 runs (21st) and 57 roundtrippers (23rd-tied)... and possess a 3.45 team ERA (7th)... Denny Mills (11-6/2.65) and Arnie Cason (10-3/3.07) have been strong starters... but the bullpen has been horrendous with a 4.41 ERA (22nd)... top bats belong to 1B Big Sam Takota (.289/17/48/33), 2B Mackie Cummings (.317/10/41/42), RF Paul Dillon (.329/4/27/42) and All-Star C Stan Stanek (.301/8/39/30).

Belair Beach is another good ballclub in the RU South and picked fifth in the preseason poll... the Sunbirds are batting .267 (13th) with 355 runs (6th) and 62 home runs (18th-tied)... on the hill they do well with a 3.46 team ERA (10th)... the starting foursome are solid with Kerstan Mak (9-4/3.23), Todd Clyman (8-4/3.47), Joel Gregg (8-10/3.40) and Stefan Zeeman (6-8/2.86)... All-Star CF Bobby Meusel (.317/12/47/47) is the big man in the batting order, but has plenty of help from 3B Johnny Wofford (.293/6/40/35), RF Pat Webb (.305/8/33/36) and 2B Joey Harris (.276/6/33/46).

The Waleska Westerners had a poor April, but have been revived since with a 29-21 mark in the last six weeks... the Westerners have some punch with a .273 BA (6th), 364 runs (4th) and pretty fair power with 60 homers (20th-tied)... they are only average on the mound with a 3.76 team ERA (17th)... the loss of superstar LF Loco Dillinger (.340/7/32/30) for a month certainly didn't help, although rookie SS Roger Hobbs (.336/2/19/42) took up some of the slack... Hobbs is the son of IPA icon and Hall of Famer Roy Hobbs, the Waleska skipper... 1B Glenn Childress (.264/11/51/41) and RF Niles Gregory (.241/14/47/57) haven't hit for much average, but have been great run producers... 3B Monty McMurtry (.306/4/24/46) has been strong at the plate, too... another missing element was ace Kevin Meeks (4-2/1.58), who didn't sign until late May and then showed management what they had been missing... Dillinger and Meeks could have the Westerners in the thick of things in September... starters Terry Richards (6-7/3.12) and Vern Bass (7-6/3.87) have been effective at times... Waleska was named the fourth-best club in the preseason polling.

The San Dimas Rancheros, Valka Blackhawks and preseason choice Claxton Diamonds are all within striking distance... the Rancheros are in the sixth spot in the RU South standings... they have a good offense with a .268 BA (12th), 347 runs (8th) and 75 homers (5th-tied), but not quite so strong on the hill with a 3.93 team ERA (22nd)... at the plate LF Wes Stanley (.296/12/45/33) and 1B Mick Langston (.290/10/38/24) have been the main RBI guys... SS Glendon Pratt (.365/5/30/31) has really blossomed this year at bat and in the field... C Arved Tarand (.296/4/25/35) and RF Denny Hendrix (.298/8/23/35) have helped the cause, too... free agent and All-Star Gregg Hughes (12-3/2.88) has been outstanding... vet Zack Dowdle (6-6/2.89) has been strong, too.

Seventh-place Valka has a high-powered offense, but very little pitching... the Blackhawks staff ERA is a lofty 4.87 (32nd), but they are the highest-scoring club in the Ruthlandian Union with 380 runs (1st), .278 BA (4th) and 66 homers (14th-tied)... All-Star SS Olari Ojastu (.295/12/43/44), 1B Mikk Kukk (.294/8/42/37), 2B Bill Bradford (.308/8/39/34) and RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.286/5/37/34) have put up solid stats... what they need to rival the leaders is some pitching... the best of the lot are Jake Weiland (7-7/4.11), Vanni Lakos (4-5/3.64) and Nicky Palermo (7-5/4.77).

The Claxton Diamonds were expected to be a prime contender for the pennant this season, but it hasn't worked out that way... at the halfway point, the Diamonds have plummeted to last place... during spring training their top player 2-time All-Star and 2032 RU Most Valuable Player 2B Gary Colton, a career .298 hitter and 20-homer and 90-RBI man was lost for the season with a broken kneecap... still the Diamonds have a quality team, headed up by RF Ivan Krause (.299/15/37/40) and C Jaan Hoogendoorn (.333/7/32/32)... a trio of starters have turned in credible performances, but don't have a lot of victories to show for it except Tommy Brothers, who is 9-5 with a 3.18 ERA... Sam Nathan (6-9/2.95) and Max Jung (4-5/3.12) deserve better.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian East Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian East Mid-Season Standings

Wide-Open Race In RU East At All-Star Break
The picks of the litter in the preseason polls had Wynnamac and Cold Creek as the top dogs in the Ruthlandian East... halfway through the year they are tied for third in the standings... Eastshore (47-26), the third-rated club has a slight 3-game lead over Beechwood (44-29), the number six team, which is in the runner-up spot... Wynnamac (43-30) and Cold Creek (43-30) trail by four games... the Ruthlandian East may be the dominant division in the IPA along with the Tycobbian North... both of them have seven clubs playing .500 or better... last year's Pro Cup champ and division winner Elnora (41-32) has performed well, but is in fifth place, six games off the pace... Marston (40-33) and Belle Plaine (38-35) are also good clubs, but still find themselves in sixth and seventh place respectively... even last place Sugar Valley (36-37) is just one game away from the break-even mark.

The first place Eastshore Elegants have the best record in the RU and feature fine hitting and pitching... the Elegants are hitting .297 (1st) with 3.10 ERA (2nd), tied for 9th in scoring with 346 runs and ranked 12th in homers with 71... All-Star CF Scotty Lagrange (.361/24/71/59) is having a marvelous year, along with All-Star Neil Richard (.371/5/31/33) and 3B Glenn Fields (.364/8/28/16)... top mound staffers are All-Star Don Klingenberg (12-3/2.55), Ramon Contreras (10-4/3.21), Teddy Noble (5-2/2.20) and Koy Clampett (9-8/3.38).

The Beechwood Bobcats have greatly improved since last year's cellar-dwelling preformance... statistically they can't compare to Eastshore, but so far the Bobcats are hanging close, just three games behind... they are hitting only .262 (22nd) with 48 HRs (31st)... but do possess good pitching with a 3.47 ERA (11th)... starters Neil Palmer (11-3/3.18), Maury Patterson (10-5/3.07) and Ken Arby (10-5/3.26) are all quality hurlers... RF Howie Baldwin (.249/9/49/43), C Keith Meredith (.296/7/33/27) and CF Pat Pizarro (.293/1/26/27) are the best run producers... Beechwood just might be playing over their heads right now, they were rated sixth in the preseason... baseball scribes expect them to come down-to-earth in the second half of the season.

The Wynnamac Sundowners are trying for a tenth straight season in the RU East first division... picked as the preseason favorite, the Sundowners are a good, well-balanced club with a 3.28 team ERA (4th), .270 BA (10th), 352 runs (7th) and 66 HRs (14th-tied)... all of the starting rotation are veterans: Killara Bardo (10-6/2.66), Jason Meeks (10-5/3.13), Pancho Romero (8-5/3.78) and Jeremy Vincent (7-6/3.40)... All-Star LF Allen Dundee (.307/9/58/42) tops the batting order, helped out by SS Lou Borcellino (.319/6/30/23) and platooners 3B Bailey Holmsworth (.321/5/16/17) and 1B Mick Saunders (.331/2/18/23)... the Sundowners are in the same division as Eastshore, but may not be in the same league competitively this year... Wynnamac needs more offense to stay in the hunt.

This is the year for the Cold Creek Catamounts to step it up and challenge for the pennant... they have excellent pitching with a 2.73 team ERA (1st), no one is close to them in the RU... in fact, the Catamounts lead the entire IPA... All-Star J. J. Gillespie (15-4/1.62) could be headed for a record-breaking 30-win season... it's never been done before in IPA history... Shane Farmer of Turon holds the record with a fabulous 29-3 mark in 2018... other staffers George Bailey (9-8/2.85), Harvey Fullerton (8-4/3.28) and Pete Heller (7-7/3.03) are solid performers... and closer Eddie Brasher (3-3/2.79/10 saves) gets the job done in the bullpen... in the batter's box leading the way are All-Star Guy St. Laurent (.314/14/50/48), 1B Steve Daniels (.298/12/51/32), LF Walt Babin (.326/2/13/31) and 2B Maska Chandler (.267/9/37/40)... Cold Creek has adequate bats with a .270 BA (8th), 314 runs (22nd) and 57 HRs (23rd-tied)... the Catamounts could be in it for the long haul with such good pitching... it should be a heck of race between them, Eastshore, Wynnamac and Elnora.

The fifth place Elnora All-Stars are not the juggernaut they were last year when they copped the Pro Cup... both offense and pitching is on the decline compared to last season... the All-Stars are only average this year with a .269 BA (11th), 338 runs (14th) and 63 HRs (16th-tied)... on the hill they have registered a 3.61 ERA (13th)... yet they are still playing .562 baseball, good in any league and just six games back... the big difference is Freddy Pfeffer, a 20-game winner the last two years, but only 6-6 with a sky-high 4.50 ERA this season... and Jeremy Sellers, a 20-game winner the last three years, is just 7-10 with 3.68 ERA... if they can get it going in the last half of the season, Elnora would be a shoo-in for the division title... All-Star Stan Kivas (8-3/1.77) and Jesus Robles (7-3/3.64) have been the most reliable pitchers... topping the attack has been All-Star 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.343/6/25/42) and All-Star RF Travis Glass (.278/18/51/42)... LF Clint Thomas (.299/7/41/49) and 1B Matt Boyd (.308/10/38/34) have been rock solid, too... 3B-1B Danny Bierhoff (.320/6/23/16) is back in the lineup after missing a month in May with an injured thumb.

The Marston Nine have been a second-division also-ran the last five years... in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll Marston was predicted to be the worst team in the division, however this year they are doing quite well with a .548 percentage, but are still 7 games out in sixth in the RU East... the Nine carry a .264 BA (16th), have scored 328 runs (18th) and ripped 73 out of the park (8th-tied)... and they sport a pretty fair 3.45 ERA (9th)... Pat Brown (11-6/2.78) and Alex Ehrlich (9-8/3.21) are both quality arms and lead the staff... bat leaders All-Star 1B Marco Ameche (.315/11/50/45), SS Johnny Church (.313/5/22/40) and RF Warren Cleveland (.290/13/46/51)... Marston has some talent, but just not enough of it... may fade in the second half.

In seventh place and nine games behind leading Eastshore are the Belle Plaine Musketeers... the Muskies were forecast to wind up seventh, so the pros are on target...nonetheless the Musketeers are three games over .500 in a very tough division... Belle Plaine is batting .266 (14th), scored 339 runs (13th) and have 60 HRs (20th-tied)... on the hill they have chalked up a 3.83 ERA (21st)... All-Star RF Noel Martin (.323/11/61/50), CF Harry Tashina (.313/8/31/59) and C Derek Roman (.317/10/35/31) have sparked the offense, but they need more support... the rest of the batting order has come up way short... the Musketeers miss 1B Carl Bentley and his .337 BA... he was injured in May and will be out until sometime in August... Leon Lacombe (12-2/2.74) and Benny Lucas (11-4/3.50) are the top hurlers as well as closer Johnny Duncan (5-3/2.82/10 saves).

The Sugar Valley Rattlers were expecting a better season this year... they wound up fifth last year, 8 games above .500... in the preseason poll they were selected to finish fourth... thus far, they are dead last and 11 games out of first... compared to last year, both pitching and batting is off, especially on the mound with a 4.06 ERA (26th)... the Rattlers still can go deep with 89 homers (2nd), but so can the opposition in the tiny Farmers Memorial Park with its 310 feet down each line... the Rattler staff has permitted 98 roundtrippers (30th)... Juan Navarro won 20 games last season, but is only 6-9 this year... however his ERA is still a standout 2.93... All-Star CF Bobby Gamble (.335/14/49/48) and SS Jesse Burns (.324/2/20/42) are the best hitters... LF Tyler White supplied 15 homers and 51 RBIs, but is batting only .253... as a team Sugar Valley is hitting only .249 (28th) with 322 runs scored (20th).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian West Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

Volusia V's In Driver's Seat In RU West
The surprising Volusia Vigilantes (44-29) have taken charge in the Ruthlandian West by putting some daylight between them and the rest of the division... the V's now have a seven-game cushion over runner-up Fort Benton (37-36) at the All-Star game... The Vigilantes and the Defenders are the only winning teams in the RU West... Volusia has risen from last place last year to the top spot this year with basically the same team... the V's were forecast to wind up in seventh place in the preseason poll... Stoner (36-37) is third and 8 games behind... Middlefield (33-40) and Forest City (33-40) are a distant 11 games off the pace and tied for fourth place in the standings... Rocky Rapids (32-41) is sixth and trailing by 12 games... Colfax (31-42) is seventh and 13 back... and Sligo (29-44) is pulling up the rear in the basement and 15 games out... Colfax was predicted to run away with the pennant in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... Sligo is the defending division champion.

The Volusia V's have worked wonders this season with almost the same roster of players except for two solid rookies, All-Star 3B Antonio Diaz and C Tubby Tarkanian... the rest have blossomed into career years all at the same time.
First Place (-)
Team BA: .283 (3rd), 358 runs (5th), 77 HRs (4th), 3.68 Team ERA (15th)
Top Hitters: 1B Ernie Pryor (.330), RF Sonny Oliver (.310/10/48/34), 3B Antonio Diaz (.310/11/44/42), CF Ernesto Andujar (.293/13/41/42), 2B Carl Kendall (.354/6/33/23), LF Stan Kovachuk (.351/2/14/33), C Tubby Tarkanian (.275/10/34/32)
Top Pitchers: All-Star Tommy Smith (13-4/1.98), All-Star Marv Webb (11-5/3.12), Jacy Chandler (9-3/3.57)

The Fort Benton Defenders missed out on the playoffs last season by just one single playoff game loss to champ Colfax... the Defenders have never been in the postseason... this year they were expected to end up a distant second to the Colfax Blasters... Fort Benton had a poor April, but has surged in May and June... still they are seven games behind Volusia... they lost ace and 19-game winner Edd Farmer for the first four months of the season with a shoulder injury... if he returns soon, Farmer could get them back in the race.
Second Place (7 GB)
Team BA: .263 (17th), 335 runs (16th), 52 HRs (29th-tied), 4.16 Team ERA (27th)
Top Batters: rookie All-Star 3B Edmund Daisak (.299/12/52/36), LF Darrell Daly (.304/6/33/31), rookie CF Cloyd McCloskey (.360/2/18/27).
Top Pitchers: Chris Calsworth (9-6/3.52), Augie Marquis (9-10/3.47)

The Stoner Stars were a close third last year and forecast to be fourth this season... they are currently in third and 8 games behind in the pennant chase... doesn't appear the Stars will contend this year.
Third Place (8 GB)
Team BA: .260 (25th), 324 runs (19th), 57 HRs (23rd-tied), 3.97 Team ERA (23rd)
Top Batters: LF Felix Jobin (.335/11/40/39), 1B Fletch Fowler (.318/6/34/28), CF Don Cain (.318/3/26/35), RF George Shepherd (.292/6/28/34), 3B Dorak Aranda (.260/9/34/28)
Top Pitchers: Frank Robichaux (8-6/3.79), Lou Neuman (6-5/4.03)

The Middlefield Roosters were fifth in 2033 and picked to wind up in fourth this season... this will be the eighth year in a row the Roosters have stayed home in the postseason.
Fourth Place - Tied (11 GB)
Team BA: .266 (15th), 346 runs (9th-tied), 91 HRs (1st), 4.04 Team ERA (25th)
Top Hitters: All-Star 2B Paul Coker (.285/18/50/35), All-Star SS Kenny Johnston (.327/3/33/48), rookie 3B Colt Chadwick (.309/5/38/38)
Top Pitchers: Peder Ree (5-5/3.44), Tyrus Cobb (5-6/3.64)

The Forest City Lumberjacks finished sixth last year and were rated the fourth-best team in the RU West this season... it's been over 20 years since the 'Jacks graced the Pro Cup playoffs... and the string will continue this year.
Fourth Place - Tied (11 GB)
Team BA: .249 (27th), 313 runs (23rd), 55 HRs (26th), 3.79 Team ERA (20th)
Top Batters: rookie C Bob Brisdon (.310/13/39/29), 2B Jerry Rembert (.302/8/27/34), LF Chuck Kramer (.268/7/28/29)
Top Pitchers: Rich Barstow (9-8/3.45), Jeff Watford (7-8/3.25), Judson Davis (6-7/3.49)

The Rocky Rapids Snappers haven't made the playoffs since 2019... not much expected of the Snappers this season... they were picked for the cellar... last year they came in seventh.
Sixth Place (12 GB)
Team BA: .261 (23rd), 296 runs (29th), 63 HRs (16th-tied), 3.77 Team ERA (19th)
Top Batters: 3B Kelvin Cassidy (.327/11/30/30), All-Star C Allie Blackwell (.291/4/23/32)
Top Pitchers: rookie Ed Ayers (8-5/2.98), rookie Hank Bowman (6-5/3.33), John Young (5-3/1.97/5 saves)

Not a good year so far for the Colfax Blasters... they were close last year, tied for third place with Stoner... in the preseason forecast the Blasters were slated to win the RU West this year... at mid-season Colfax is nowhere to be found in the flag chase.
Seventh Place (13 GB)
Team BA: .249 (29th), 291 runs (31st), 69 HRs (13th), 3.45 Team ERA (8th)
Best Bats: C Mitch Fullerton (.282/7/24/31), 3B Lou Wilhoit (.265/10/31/18), rookie SS Kristian McEly (.259/10/35/24)
Best Pitchers: Rudy Rosario (7-6/1.49)

The Sligo Rovers are an enigma... won the division crown in 2031, fell to last in 2032, won it again last year... and now, back to the basement.
Eighth Place (15 GB)
Team BA: .262 (20th), 295 runs (30th), 74 HR (7th), 4.29 Team ERA (28th)
Top Hitters: 3B Paul Newton (.278/17/48/35), 2B Neil Mitchell (.263/9/26/42), LF Vasco Aguilar (.257/12/28/29), rookie All-Star C Kyell Rindahl (.266/11/31/23)
Top Pitchers: Mark Smith (9-8/2.90)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

3-Team Tangle In TU North
It's quite a race in the Tycobbian North at the mid-point in the season with North Hills (47-26) slighty ahead of favored White River (46-27) by a game and three up on last year's winner Fairfax (44-29). Oxford (39-34) and Hartsdale (39-34) are knotted up in fourth place, 8 games off the pace, followed by Mahaska (37-36) and Luxora (37-36) tied for sixth and trailing by 10 games. Hapless Blue Lake (31-42) is in the cellar and 16 games back. In THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll White River got the call as the best team in the division with Fairfax a close second, Oxford third and North Hills fourth. The TU North is one of the stronger divisions around the IPA with seven clubs playing .500 or better ball.

After a sixth-place finish last season, the North Hills Hawks have exploded at the plate and on the hill with a .281 BA (4th) and 2.82 ERA (3rd)... the Hawks have four players on the TU All-Stars... last year's TU Rookie of the Year and All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.341/17/58/52) is even better... adding to the attack are All-Star 3B Dean O'Donnell (.329/10/38/47) and C Mikhael Romanovsky (.304/4/29/39), along with a sensational starting rotation which includes two All-Stars: David Michael (13-6/2.97) and Jeff Owens (11-6/2.47)... all of the Hawks starters are under the 3.00 ERA mark... Terry Costanza (9-6/2.53) and Nelson Hooper (6-4/2.62) have been very effective, too... look for North Hills to be in the flag fight until the finish... they are a strong club.

The White River Rascals have their best team since the title-winning year of 2027... in the last five years the Rascals have gone from a bad club with three consecutive last-place finishes and two more also-ran seasons to a good ballclub... they have power with 82 homers (6th-tied), score very well with 408 runs (2nd), while batting .269 (13th)... the Rascals are fairly good on the mound with a 3.61 ERA (11th)... top bats are All-Star 1B Davey Sloan (.330/19.54/47), 2B Koora Nawajuk (.282/12/41/43) and RF Hal Littleton (.342/2/23/28)... Paul Sardini (10-3/2.83) and Emil Kaltenborn (8-4/3.97) are the best pitchers... the other starters Kenny Nikas (7-8/4.27) and Gregg Moore (8-6/4.19) will have to pick it up for White River to prevail over North Hills and Fairfax... Nikas was the TU MVP just two seasons ago and has won 25 and 21 games the last two years.

Since 2029 the Fairfax Frogs has been the best team in the TU North, winning the pennants in 2032 and 2033... like White River, the Frogs have a potent attack, but have lackluster pitching... Fairfax is hitting .285 BA (3rd) scored 397 runs (4th) and slugged 70 homers (14th)... but they are just 3.96 on the hill (19th) in team ERA... the Frogs have a solid core of hitters in All-Star 2B John Velasco (.327/12/46/49), rookie CF Michael Hudson (.321/4/42/41), LF Max Lebowitz (.305/9/34/39) and 3B Jim McDermott (.286/9/39/32)... Fairfax has a trio of quality starters in Jay Barajas (9-8/3.12), Manny Hunsinger (6-2/3.71) and Steven McLeod (5-2/3.51), but falls flat in the bullpen except for Manny Mateo (6-3/2.35/8 saves).

For the past eight years the Oxford Red Caps have been a run-of-the-mill ballclub, always winding up in the middle of the pack... the Red Caps' last really good year was in 2007, when they were the IPA Pro Cup champion... this season Oxford has muscled its way into the first division with 109 homers (3rd)... the Red Caps have scored 399 runs (3rd) and are batting .269 (14th) as a team, good enough for a tie for the fourth spot in the standings with improved Hartsdale... however, they just don't have the pitching to really contend... the team ERA is a poor 4.30 (26th)... five Red Caps are on pace to hit 30 or more homers, led by rookie 3B Boyd Olsen (.276/17/41/37), rookie 2B Alonso Norris (.300/15/50/40), CF Crusher Derringer (.273/15/50/35), 1B Kerry Sterling (.305/15/39/42) and RF Dennis Hartwig (.279/15/38/48)... rookie LF Donny Braun (.272/8/34/47) is a run producer, too... Mario Lopez (10-7/3.25) is the only reliable starter on the club... the baseball scribes rank Oxford number three in the TU North behind White River and Fairfax.

The Hartsdale Hellcats have been much improved over 2032 when they came in last... last year they were second, but 20 games behind Fairfax, which ran away with the division... the Hellcats have gotten a little better this season with better hitting and better pitching... Hartsdale sports a fair .267 mark (17th), 348 runs (14th) and are 23th in roundtrippers with 61... mound-wise the Hellcats have posted a very respectable 3.46 ERA (9th)... heading the list is Eric Isenhart (10-4/3.30) and steady vet Lou Chylak (6-9/2.99), along with bullpen ace Art Reese (4-2/2.03/7 saves)... CF Joe McGarrett (.287/14/48/45) is the top bat with help from 2B Duffy Day (.318/8/42/42) and C Don Pontros (.274/9/34/32)... platooner LF Tom Gildersleeve (.333/3/29/22) has also put up some fine numbers.

The Luxora Zorros and Mahaska Haymakers are deadlocked for sixth place, 10 games out of first place, but they are still playing winning baseball... The Zorros have been in the top three teams every year since 2029 with their last pennant coming in 2031... the Z's still have good pitching with a 3.41 team ERA (7th), but is dismal at the plate with only 55 homers (28th), 292 runs (27th-tied) and a poor .245 BA (29th)... Kent Halloran (8-6/1.99) has been excellent as usual, but needs better run support... All-Star Fernando Sanches (7-3/2.86/11 saves) and Francisco Guerrero (5-4/2.79/5 saves) have also been effective... ace Benny DeVito missed three months because of a bad ankle and has just returned to the regular rotation... but he may not be enough... Luxora was ranked sixth in the preseason poll... the only decent bat in the lineup is veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway and he is hitting only .269, but has 10 homers and 42 RBIs... it looks like the Zorros will be in the bottom half of the TU North this year... the hitting is that bad.

The last good season for the Mahaska Haymakers was the 2028 season when they captured the division crown... since that time they have chalked up only one winning season in 2032... the Haymakers have pretty good pitching with a 3.47 ERA (10th), but are pathetic with the bats... they have little firepower with 46 home runs (30th) and have trouble scoring with only 292 runs (27th-tied)... average-wise Mahaska is batting a decent .267 (16th)... All-Star Mark Pennington (11-4/2.50) has been great this season... rookie Rob Randolph (6-2/3.40), Greg Douglas (7-9/3.26) and Carl Dreux (6-8/3.26) have done well, too... most of the Haymakers are light punch-and-judy hitters, good at contact, but with little power... C Ronald Reid (.323/7/27/22), rookie 3B Gunnar Norheim (.306/2/20/30) and 1B Lyndon Washington (.357/1/21/11) are the best bats Mahaska has.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox were on top of the world just four years ago when they captured the 2030 Pro Cup... it's been downhill ever since... the Blue Sox were rated fourth in the preseason, but they are deep in the basement, 16 games behind first-place North Hills... a 4.28 team ERA (24th) is the problem... the Blue Lake bats are pretty good with .277 BA (5th), they score runs with 354 (11th), but come up short with 60 HRs (24th)... the Blue Sox have a bevy of good hitters like LF Jojo Davis (.368/2/20/18), CF Jack Ryan (.329/5/34/42), 2B James Hamilton (.321/7/32/37), 3B Matt Thompson (.304/3/25/33), SS Joe Korman (.297/7/38/34) and RF Greg Robinson (.295/13/43/38)... the starting rotation is fairly reliable with Dallas Casey (8-9/3.96), Derek Joubert (6-7/3.28) and Frankie Quinn (9-8/4.04), but the bullpen is a mess with an astronomical 6.13 ERA (31st)... the offense is there... what Blue Lake needs is a decent bullpen.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian South Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian South Mid-Season Recap

San Alejo Up By 2 Games In TU South At Break
The San Alejo Montaneros (40-33) have been on a seesaw the last few years winning the Tycobbian South in 2032, dropping back to sixth last season and now back on top this year with a two-game margin over Turon (38-35) and Southport (38-35) at the mid-season break. Also within striking distance, but playing under .500 ball are the Colchester Elites (35-38) and Arroyo Grande Suns (35-38), who are tied for fourth place. Nobody else will likely challenge in the run for the flag. Cape Coral (30-43) is sixth and 10 games off the pace. Last year's division champ Summerland (24-49) and Ginza (20-53) are having terrible seasons and are seventh and eighth respectively.

First place San Alejo has impressive pitching with a 3.19 team ERA (5th), but just barely gets by offensively with a .263 BA (21st), 306 runs (25th) and 72 homers (12th-tied)... Pablo Pilar (10-3/2.04), Clete Lawson (8-5/3.09) and Johnny Brown (8-9/2.44) are strong starters on a day-to-day basis... and Frank Jankowski (5-5/3.54) is a fair number-four man in the rotation... the Monties' most productive bats are CF Dusty Rogan (.282/12/41/37), LF Adrian Otero (.279/15/30/50) and 3B Bubby Blackwell (.297/7/35).

The Turon Typhoons are on the rise in the TU West... they were cast as favorites for the division title in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... San Alejo was rated second best and Southport third in the voting... last season Turon came in a close second, losing out by a scant game to surprising division champ Summerland... it's been almost 15 years since the Typhoons have been in the Pro Cup playoffs... they are currently deadlocked with the Southport Sun Sox for the runnerup spot in the standings... Turon is just average on paper with a 3.70 team ERA (14th), .269 BA (15th), 315 runs (22nd) and 62 roundtrippers (22nd)... Emile Papajohn (9-6/4.30) leads the club in victories... however rookie All-Star closer Ralph Fulton (4-1/1.51/6 saves) is the most effective hurler... the top bats in the lineup are rookie 2B C. C. Kingsford (.306/7/29/47), CF Clint Dunn (.291/8/27/31/27), C Clyde Willis (.284/6/23/20) and 1B Steve Burns (.296/4/26/20).

Except for a fifth-place finish last year, the Southport Sun Sox have been strong contenders for the last 9 seasons... the Sun Sox captured back-to-back division crowns in 2027 and 2028... Southport won the IPA Pro Cup in 2027... this season in spite of poor work on the hill they have managed to stay close in a second-place tie with Turon, trailing by just two games... the team ERA is not very good at 4.23 (22nd)... at the plate the Sun Sox hit fairly well with a .273 BA (8th), have scored well with 351 runs (12th) and gone deep 67 times (16th-tied)... the club offensive leaders are CF Billy Gray (.335/5/36/29), LF Cody Daugherty (.281/12/38/28) and 2B Chuck Claymont (.296/3/27/34), along with 3B Yancey Duvicque (.318/3/25/26)... except for All-Star pitcher Don Pascioni (10-5/2.99), the mound corps is suffering.

2007 was the last postseason appearance for the Colchester Elites... and it's apparent that 2034 will be more of the same... they are presently tied with Arroyo Grande for the fourth spot in the TU South standings, trailing San Alejo by 5 games... the Elite swingers do a good job with a .271 BA (11th), 375 runs (7th-tied) and 82 home runs (6th-tied), but not so well on the hill... the mound staff has posted a poor 4.26 team ERA (23rd)... Dave Lacoste (6-4/3.16) is the best of the lot with some help from Roy Watson (7-3/4.15) and Mackie McGinnity (7-10/4.08)... top batting performers are All-Star superstar CF Jim Lewellen (.308/29/70/55), All-Star C Benny Donaldson (.341/8/34/28), 1B Billy Christianson (.277/8/43/39), SS Jackie Jackson (.288/4/25/47) and 3B Charley Taylor (.293/8/33/23).

The glory years for the Arroyo Grande Suns were from 2020 to 2024 when they copped the TU South flag four times in five seasons... the Suns are a sub .500 team with poor hitting and less-than-average pitching... they are batting only .232 (32nd) with 302 runs (26th), but have belted 85 out of the park (5th)... in the pitching department Arroyo Grande has a 4.00 team ERA (21st)... C Frank Jourdan (.301/14/32/22) has the team's top BA and has good power... 2B Frank Marcello has poked 21 homers and driven 59 runs, but is batting only .249... RF Gregorio Oliviera is hitting just .237, but has 10 home runs and 39 RBIs... Mateus Castro (9-7/3.65) and Matt Stevens (8-6/3.49), along with reliever John Nelson (3-1/2.11/3 saves) top the mound corps.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes haven't had a lot of success lately, but did flourish for a couple of years 2030-2031 with a fourth-place and first-place finish, but have since been deep near the bottom of the division... two eighth-places and sixth place so far this year... the 'Canes are 10 games out of first... pathetic pitching with a 4.59 team ERA (29th) and modest offense with a .264 mark (20th), 328 runs (20th) and very little power with only 45 homers (31st) makes it tough to compete... 20-year-old All-Star RF William Snyder is one of the few productive batters with a .301 BA, 10 roundtrippers, 46 RBIs and 40 runs scored... 2B Vic Hayes has lent a bat with a .297 BA, 2 HRs, 27 RBIs and 34 runs... vet Billy Trakas (7-5/4.44) leads the club in victories, but Tommy Van Noord (4-8/2.30) has been the most impressive... Van Noord was 19-15 last year as a rookie... he is better this year, but the record doesn't show it.

The Summerland Sunsets came out of nowhere to win the TU South last season, only the second time in history they made the postseason... the Sunsets also appeared way back in 2005... of late in the previous four years they were a second-division club... now they are back in that mode again in seventh place and 16 games behind in the race... forget winning back-to-back pennants with a 4.70 team ERA (30th) and a .244 BA (30th)... ace Freddi Rossi has slipped from 22-12 and a 2.09 ERA last year to 4-11 and 3.87 thus far this season... Ron McDonald was 14-11 last year and only 4-13 this year... Lloyd Anderson was 18-14 and now just 1-8... last year the team ERA was a strong 3.20 and the Sunsets hit well with a .268 BA... LF Nicky Titov (.284/16/39/30), RF Eamon O'Toole (.258/10/38/37), CF Antonio Vasquez (.290/1/28/23), 2B Ken Wyman (.287/5/22/37) and SS Norm Van Kieken (.258/10/28/28) are what little offense Summerland has... the Sunsets won last year because of fine pitching, which is missing this year.

Since 2023 the Ginza Ninjas have claimed five TU South crowns, but the well has gone dry, especially this year... the Ninjas are having the worst season in the club's history with a 20-53 mark at mid-season, deep in the cellar and 20 games behind division-leading San Alejo... the 5.27 team ERA (32nd) is a killer, by far the worst in the entire IPA... the only reliable hurler on the team is veteran Hollis Pace (7-10/2.92)... Ginza has some quality bats, but not enough to make up the vast difference... the Ninjas best batters are LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.289/6/36/32), 2B Roger Lanier (.300/14/32/35), 1B Kazzy Nishimura (.287/10/32/28) and rookie RF Scott Sparks (.286/11/34/24)... 3B Juzo Tamura has improved with a .292 BA, 11 HRs, 28 RBIs and 26 runs scored.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Recap

Tucks Atop TU East By 5 Games
The Tuckanarra Blue Jays have a regular habit of always being at or near the top of the Tycobbian East... this year is no exception... the Blue Jays (47-26) are sitting pretty at mid-season with a five-game bulge over runnerup Ozarka (42-31), seven games up on third place East Point (40-33) and last year's champion, and eight games ahead of Midway (39-34) in fourth place... the remainder of the division hasn't been much of a challenge this year and will likely stay that way... Red Bluff (35-38) is fifth and 12 games back... High Mesa (34-39) is sixth and trails by 13... South Fork (29-44) is 18 games out and seventh in the standings... and Hillsboro (27-46) pulls up the rear in last place, 20 games off the pace of first place Tuckanarra.

Last season Tuckanarra came in fourth, but did make a race of it... improved pitching and hitting has helped out... the Blue Jays have the most explosive offense in the IPA with a .286 team BA (2nd), 421 runs (1st) and 69 HRs (15th) to go along with a rock-solid pitching corps that has compiled a 3.30 ERA (6th)... the Blue Jays were picked to win the TU East in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll and they are walking the talk... four .300 hitters grace the batting order: All-Star LF and free agent signee Lorne Evans (.327/17/54/69), CF Pancho Villa (.304/13/48/44), 1B Josh George (.328/11/45/41) and RF Spade Weldon (.302/8/39/44)... free agent and All-Star pitcher Bobby Reid (13-4/2.40) has been brilliant... rookie All-Star Junior Bristow (11-6/2.90) has been a standout, too... he is the son of IPA Hall of Famer hurler Titus Bristow (342-258/2.75 ERA), a former Tuckanarra star... another free agent signee Jeff Buttrum (7-3/3.28) has also been effective in the rotation... the Blue Jays look to be a strong contender for the Tycobbian title, along with the Chicopee Braves of the TU West and three standout clubs from the TU North: North Hills, White River and Fairfax... the Braves top the IPA with 51 victories... North Hills and Tuckanarra are second with 47 each... Eastshore has the most wins in the Ruthlandian Union with 47.

The Ozarka Naturals have risen up from sixth last season to second this year... they were chosen the fourth-best club in the division in the preseason poll... the Nats bats are hitting .272 (10th) with 370 runs (9th) and 58 HRs (25th-tied)... they are average on the hill with a 3.89 ERA (16th)... heading up the hitters are CF Lonnie Gillespie (.338/5/37/52), 3B Jimmy Woods (.289/6/42/30) and 1B George Jenkins (.297/7/34/33)... pithers Glen Jenkins (8-5/3.32), Brady Bell (6-6/3.61) and Teddy O'Shea (8-5/4.06) are the best of the lot... Ozarka according to the baseball experts will fade in the second half of the season... not likely to compete with the likes of Tuckanarra, East Point and Midway.

Last year's crownbearer and Pro Cup finalist, the East Point Panthers, are right smack dab in the middle of the fight again, holding forth in third and an even better ballclub... the Panthers sport a very effective 2.79 team ERA (1st) and cracked 115 HRs (1st-tied), but are only batting a poor .248 for average... every pitcher on the squad has less than a 3.00 ERA at mid-year, led by Stephen Edwards (10-4/2.95), Dixie Brooks (8-8/2.98), Frank Blair (9-7/2.93) and Jack Bolden (3-4/2.73)... potent bats include All-Star 1B Jaxon Shatner (.295/18/50/44), 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.293/14/36/50), RF Steve Stroud (.269/11/33/38) and C Chris Cardinale (.266/13/38/30).

The Midway Wolves were chosen the third-best team in the preseason rankings... at the All-Star Game they are in fourth place and trail first-place Tuckanarra by 8 games... the Wolves have won three TU East flags, the last coming in 2027... they have never won a Pro Cup... Midway is pretty much an average team with a .264 BA (19th), 334 runs (18th-tied) and 66 HRs (18th)... on the hill they have posted a 3.67 team ERA (13th)... 14-year vet superstar Bobby Dorignac (8-4/3.02) is the ace... overall he has chalked up an outstanding 251-157 career mark with an excellent 2.75 ERA... Cary Snead (8-6/2.88) and Ko Yuma (8-4/3.98) have been reliable, too... pacing the Midway attack are All-Star SS Albert Wherry (.317/18/51/45), CF Yancey Tanner (.334/0/27/39), vet 3B Rusty Graves (.297/5/28/38) and C Matt Grimmer (.261/12/32/33).

The Red Bluff Red Sox history shows no recent success... they last appeared in the postseason in 2009, but do have one Pro Cup title... that came in 2004... so far in 2034 the Red Sox are in the fifth spot in the standings, 12 games back in the race... they were forecast to finish sixth in the preseason voting... Red Bluff is an average team with a .264 BA (18th), 337 runs (17th) and a 3.82 team ERA (15th), but they do hit with power... 82 homers (6th-tied)... Jimmy McMillan (10-6/3.45) is the biggest winner on the mound, but Banzuki Hasegawa (6-9/2.95) has been effective, too... however, the sophomore season has been tougher for Hasegawa, who was 21-10 with a 2.30 ERA in his rookie year... the trio of All-Star CF Ike Sweetwater (.327/15/53/46), All-Star rookie SS Cody Hanks (.326/16/40/37) and 2B Pat Ellis (.339/13/44/37) have been the big guns.

Success in the IPA came quickly for the High Mesa Cowboys when they won the Pro Cup in the team's first season in 2002... they also made the postseason in 2003... but nothing since then... this looks like the eighth year in a row the Cowpokes will wind up in the TU East second division... High Mesa was picked for the cellar this year... they are currently in sixth and are 13 games behind the division leader... the offense is pretty fair with a .270 BA (12th), 314 runs (23rd) and 67 HRs (16th-tied), but weak on the hill with a 4.29 team ERA (25th)... the Cowboys are led at the plate by two brothers, 2B Timmy Marsh (.337/7/29/25) and RF Matt Marsh (.337/12/35/32), along with 3B Tony O'Neill (.306/4/26/37)... Doug Hansack (8-7/3.64) has been the best pitcher on a weak staff.

It has not been a pleasant year for the South Fork Stallions... they are already 18 games out at mid-season and very likely to end up next-to-last or last this season... like High Mesa, South Fork started off well with pennants in its first two seasons (2001 and 2002), then went into a prolonged slump that lasted until 2025, when they surprised and captured the Pro Cup... the Stallions have had very little success since then... they are batting .258 (23rd), scored 322 runs (21st) and hit 72 roundtrippers (12th) with a poor 4.31 team ERA (27th)... South Fork's top bats are RF Keenan O'Dwyer (.309/12/39/43), 3B Elton Jacoby (.297/11/35/36) and veteran star CF Corbett Brooks (.286/13/41/41)... Alex Gillespie (5-12/3.15) and Chris Sorensen (8-9/3.73) are the most dependable pitchers... not much beyond them.

The Hillsboro Blazers have never won a Pro Cup... in fact, they have never even made the playoffs... the best the Blazers have ever done was come within two games of the pennant in 2020 and within 4 games last year... in the preseason poll this season they were slotted to finish fifth, but it won't happen... Hillsboro is deep in the basement, already 20 games behind... they have lousy hitting with a .238 BA (31st), poor scoring with 292 runs (27th) and average power with 65 home runs (19th-tied)... pitching is a little better with a 3.99 team ERA (20th)... staff leaders are Freddy Berry (7-10/3.69) and Russell McIntosh (5-10/4.11)... 1B Philip Stafford (.299/9/39/35) is the only reliable bat... LF Benny Kegel tops the team with 13 homers and 37 runs, but is batting only .238 for average.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap

One-Team Race In TU West, Chicopee On Top
Things are changing in the Tycobbian West... the long-suffering Chicopee Braves just might finally win the flag for the first time in history after more than 30 years of frustration... the Braves are far and away the best team in the division this year and possibly the best team in the IPA... Chicopee (51-22) has played marvelously at the mid-year break and piled up an almost insurmountable 12-game lead over runnerup Kenwood (39-34), 13 games up on third place Bayview (38-35) and 14 games in front of fourth place La Claire (37-36), the defending division champion... in the TU West second division are Bay St. Clair (36-37), which trails by 15... tied for sixth place are Denton City (34-39) and Arlon (34-39), both 17 games off the pace... and last place belongs to the Rolling Hills Reds (26-47), 25 games back of the leader.

The perennial division doormats, the Chicopee Braves have perked up the last two seasons with third-place finishes... this season the Braves were tagged the favorite to take the TU West title in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll and they are more than living up to the hype... Chicopee has rode a solid offense and average pitching to great success this year... their 51 victories are the best in the IPA... the Braves are hitting .272 (9th) with 87 homers (4th) and 390 runs scored (5th), while the team ERA is 3.89... the starting four are a pretty fair bunch, headed up by Heyoka Chaska (9-3/2.85), rookie Byron Wilson (11-1/3.69), Kajika Fleetfoot (12-5/3.59) and Ryan Ledbetter (8-5/3.30)... five fine hitters including three TU All-Stars spark the Braves batting order, led by All-Star Alfredo Cobos (.327/13/57/39), All-Star 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.327/16/57/51), All-Star and rookie 2B Todd Goodwin (.315/10/48/40), LF Charley Kota (.262/16/52/56) and 3B Stefan Tanner (.289/4/34/38)... it would take a colossal collapse for Chicopee not to win the pennant.

The Kenwood Wildcats wound up second last year and were forecast to be a solid contender again... the Wildcats are playing well, but not at the level of Chicopee... Kenwood is batting at a record-breaking pace with an astounding .299 team BA (1st), first in the IPA, but the Wildcats are tied for seventh with 375 runs and don't have a lot of power... they have hit only 57 homers (27th)... on the hill Kenwood is just average with a 3.90 team ERA (18th)... All-Star CF Vince Barbieri (.340/7/52/43) and RF Pettis Pentleton (.316/9/36/38) are the main bats with lots of help from 1B Glen Carraway (.379/6/24/18), 3B Rodney Harrison (.310/7/25/40), 2B Jan Kessinger (.296/0/31/31), C Antonio Dominguez (.294/2/32/30) and SS Randy Towns (.283/1/22/49)... the most dependable pitchers are Claude Watson (8-6/3.69), Freddy Gooch (8-7/3.88) and Doug Kirkpatrick (7-9/3.47).

The Bayview Vikings are in third place at the halfway mark... the Viks are coming off two bad, cellar-dwelling years and it's been almost two decades since the club made the Pro Cup playoffs... so the team is over-achieving a bit this season... the Vikings were rated the fifth-best club in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason picks... improved pitching has really helped the team... Bayview has registered a 3.44 team ERA (8th) and has a decent offense with 358 runs (10th) and 115 homers (1st-tied)... they are tied with East Point for the IPA home-run lead... six players have 10 or more homers, led by 3B Jerry Culpepper (.268/23/55/40), 1B Claude Kingston (.281/18/46/42), SS Marius Lokken (.280/16/43/42), CF Cleve Belton (.274/13/30/34), RF Tandy Connery (.279/12/37/26) and LF Roy Ricks (.239/10/33/43)... Christy Kane (6-2/2.43) and Jergen Fyelstad (9-5/3.33) pace the pitching corps.

The La Claire Lynx are a good ballclub... they are the defending TU West titleholder and have two flags in the last six seasons... pitching is the name of the game for the Lynx with a splendid 2.81 team ERA (2nd)... they are not much at the plate with a .262 mark (22nd), 341 runs (15th) and 58 roundtrippers (25th-tied)... the starting foursome are strong with Alvar Vickers (6-2/1.19), All-Star Rance Raymond (8-4/2.29), Pat Kovacs (8-8/2.43) and Angelo Rossi (9-8/3.44)... the Lynx's best offensive performers are CF Andy Tibbett (.289/2/21/47), 3B Jarred O'Neal (.282/10/27/40), 1B Stan Hynoski (.263/12/54/26) and LF Kelly Chamberlain (.244/7/38/40)... the good pitching will give La Claire a good shot at the runner-up spot in the TU West... they were forecast to finish fourth in the standings.

The fifth-place Bay St. Clair Buccaneers copped the pennant in 2030, but have since slipped with each succeeding season... mainly because of its mound staff, the Bucs were highly-touted in the preseason poll and rated the number-two squad behind Chicopee... thus far, the team ERA is an impressive 3.19 (4th) with the starters excelling and the bullpen faltering... the rotation is led by Jim McBride (11-8/2.86), John Karlsen (8-5/2.85) and Conrad Coleman (5-4/3.29)... however, offensively the Buccaneers are weak with a .252 BA (27th), 274 runs (31st-tied) and 54 home runs (29th)... RF Milt Powers (.248/8/43/33) is the best of a mediocre lot... career .316 hitter CF Cotton Cornwall (.312/11/35/26) has been sorely missed in the lineup... he has missed about a month of the season... pitcher Carlo Nardini (3-3/2.22) has also been on the DL for quite some time... both players should really help Bay St. Clair upon recovery.

The Denton City Redbirds have ended up sixth in the race the last last three years, were selected sixth in the preseason poll by the scribes and broadcasters and are currently in the sixth spot, tied with Arlon at the All-Star hiatus, playing one game under the .500 mark... after making the playoffs eight times in the first 12 years of the IPA, the Redbirds have fallen on hard times and missed the postseason every year since 2013... the pitching is bad with a 4.46 team ERA (28th), but the offense is fairly good with a .276 BA (6th), 81 HRs (9th) and 338 runs (16th)... Denton City comes up short on the mound... Francisco Salcido is the only pitcher of merit with a 10-5 record, but a 4.12 ERA.

The last time the Arlon Champions appeared in the playoffs was 2020... most of those seasons they finished in the TU West second division... the Champs have been near the bottom three of the last four years... they are tied for sixth this season and trail by 17 games at mid-year... Arlon has fairly good pitching with a 3.65 team ERA (12th), but are woefully weak at the plate with only 274 runs (31st-tied) and just 37 HRs (32nd) with a .253 BA (26th)... Alex Beckner (8-6/2.94) is the top starter... the Champs' best bats are All-Star C Paco Diaz (.343/3/30/28) and RF Mark Cameron (.301/12/39/34)... Diaz tops the TU in batting average with a .343 mark.

The bottom has dropped out for the proud Rolling Hills Reds, the winners of 8 pennants and two Pro Cups since 2019... the Reds slumped to fifth last year and all the way to the basement this year with one of the worst records in the IPA... they were ranked seventh in the preseason poll... pitching is the problem... the team ERA is an atrocious 4.86 (31st)... veteran Buck Myers (7-10/4.39) is the best starter on a struggling staff... but the Reds still have a little punch in the batting order with rookie 3B Marty O'Reilly (.303/10/45/35), CF Jason Garrett (.303/5/37/39), veteran star LF Scotty Yiska (.316/15/31/50) and veteran 1B Angelo Nardone (.293/7/38/26).

What an amazing dynasty that you have kept going for so long, EC. I think you were in the planning stages of this for at least nine years? I think it was the summer of 2003 that you first requested logos for all of these great teams. That you created all of the back story and then kept it going is really awesome. I have been working on logos again and thought I would rework a few of them to fit your dynasty. No worries if you don't use them - it's just fun for me to create them. I will post them from time to time if you don't mind me doing do.

Thanks for all you have put into this thread as well as all you have done to improve the game over the years.

In honor of Chicopee being so close to getting over the hump:

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...psdc42dc42.png

And one of my favorite teams in your world:

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps99defdef.png