THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 12th, 2033

2033 IPA Pro Cup Final Series
(best-of-seven)

EP Evens Pro Cup 5-4 In 15 Innings
In another extra-inning thriller East Point outlasted Elnora 5-4 in 15 innings to even up the IPA Pro Cup Finals at two games apiece... pinchhitter Lee Wade (.400) hit a two-out walk-off single off Stan Kivas to score Jaxon Shatner (.185) from third base for the game-winner at Armed Forces Park in East Point... it was the Panthers second-straight home win in the series... game five will also be there.

Dixie Brooks and the Panthers had control of the game 4-1 after 8 frames... Brooks struck out 11 and only allowed 1 unearned run, but his bullpen let him down... Stephen Edwards blew the save when he was clipped for RF Pettis Pentleton's 3-run salvo in the top of the ninth... Pentleton's fourth playoff roundtripper knotted it up at 4-4 and forced the overtime... Edwards settled (0-2/3.92/2 saves) down and shut out the All-Stars the tenth through the thirteenth... Elnora's Lucien Vashon (2-1/3.48) was nailed with the loss, but he was outstanding as he only gave up 3 hits and one run in 6 innings... Vashon departed after Shatner led off the final frame with a base hit... All-Star starter Jeremy Sellers (2-0/2.28) went 8 innings and was tagged for 4 runs on 9 hits.

The teams tied with 13 hits each... SS Bob O'Brian (.471) collected 3 hits to spark the Panthers... RF Steve Stroud (.344) and 3B Lanny Lansberry (.218) pitched 2 hits each... Elnora was led by 3B Danny Bierhoff (.324) with 3 hits... three players RF Pettis Pentleton (.338), CF Travis Glass (.254) and 1B Matt Boyd (.254) cracked a pair of hits apiece.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 13, 2033

2033 IPA Pro Cup Final Series
(best-of-seven)

Elnora Takes Pro Cup Lead, Pfeffer Wins 3-2
A stellar performance by unbeaten Freddy Pfeffer put the slightly-favored Elnora All-Stars up three games to two over tough East Point in the best-of-seven IPA Pro Cup Series... Pfeffer (6-0/2.94) went all the way and stopped the Panthers 3-2 on 4 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 8 and walking only 2... the only damage was solo homers by 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.271) in the first and 1B Jaxon Shatner (.191) in the seventh... it was Tanaka's fourth home run in the postseason and Shatner's sixth.

The All-Stars scored in the first three frames to pin the defeat on Frank Blair (2-3/4.03)... Blair blanked them from the fourth through the eighth, yielding 3 runs total on 9 hits with 6 Ks and 2 bases on balls... CF Travis Glass' (.258) hit drove in a run in the first frame... LF Clint Thomas (.237) got run number two in on a sac fly in the second... and 1B Matt Boyd (.258) got the final run across with an RBI single in the third.

Elnora is now within one victory of its first Pro Cup crown in its 33-year history... East Point needs to rally and take the final two games to claim its first-ever Pro Cup... manager Leon Carter will probably send 26-year-old portsider Jose Robles to the hill tomorrow afternoon at State Fair Park in Elnora... Robles compiled a 12-5 mark this season with a 2.88 ERA... skipper Karol Zodoka has given the call to 27-year righty Jack Bolden... Bolden was 19-13 during the regular season with a solid 3.25 ERA... in the playoffs he is 1-1 in 4 starts with a 3.86 ERA... Bolden stopped the All-Stars and Robles 3-2 in game two of the series... in 4 playoff starts Robles is 1-3 with a 4.36 ERA... East Point doesn't hit lefties very well... that's why Carter will likely go with Robles... however, there is an outside chance the starter will be right-hander Paul Martina, who has an 0-2 mark in the postseason with a strong 2.45 ERA... Martina has appeared in 5 games and made one start... in the regular year Martina was 13-11 with a fine 2.94 ERA.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 14, 2033

2033 IPA Pro Cup Final Series
(best-of-seven)

Panthers Down All-Stars 5-1, Force Game 7
After six games it's all even between the Elnora All-Stars and the East Point Panthers in the IPA Pro Cup Finals... each team has captured 3 games... on the road at State Fair Park the Panthers forced a seventh game with a 5-1 decision over the All-Stars behind some quality pitching by Jack Bolden and J. D. McDermott... Bolden started and spotted the Panthers a 4-1 lead after 5 innings... Bolden allowed 7 hits, fanned 3 and walked one... McDermott relieved him and hurled one-hit ball over the final 4 frames to garner his first save of the playoffs... Bolden (2-1/3.55) notched the victory... Paul Martina (0-3/2.70) was the loser... he went the distance, gave up 5 runs, 3 of them earned, and 10 hits.

Both clubs scored in the first inning... East Point CF Sean Flynn (.343) doubled and went to third on LF Steve Stroud's (.333) single and was driven in by 1B Jaxon Shatner's sac fly... Elnora came right back and tied it on a lead-off single by LF Clint Thomas (.250), who stole second and rode home on CF Travis Glass' (.258) RBI single... the Panthers snapped the tie with 3 runs in the top of the fourth on back-to-back doubles by 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.270) and Jaxon Shatner (.211)... Shatner moved to third on a groundout and scored on an error by 1B Matt Boyd (.277)... pitcher Jack Bolden (.333) batted in the third run with a single... in the seventh East Point padded its lead to 5-1 on LF Ed Milsted's (.259) deep sacrifice fly.

The Panther attack was led by Flynn, Stroud, Shatner and SS Al Christopher (.278) with 2 hits each... Tanaka scored twice and Shatner had 2 runs batted in... Clint Thomas and Matt Boyd had 2 hits apiece for the All-Stars.

Game seven will be tomorrow afternoon also in Elnora... it should be quite a Pro Cup finale with 20-game winners Dixie Brooks (23-7/1.76) and Jeremy Sellers (22-12/2.81) on the mound... the Panthers' Brooks is a brilliant 5-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 7 playoff starts this season, while Sellers is 2-0 in 6 postseason starts for the All-Stars with an excellent 2.30 ERA... in game one of the Pro Cup Finals Sellers left with 3-1 lead after 8 innings over Brooks... neither got the decision as Elnora won 6-5 in 14 innings... they went at it again in game four... this time Brooks departed with a 4-1 edge going into the ninth, but his bullpen blew it... however, East Point pulled it out 5-4 in 15 innings.

Elnora is 7-2 at State Fair Park in the playoffs and East Point is 5-4 on the road... the All-Stars have the home-park advantage and Sellers is a southpaw... the Panthers have a tougher time against lefties with a 20-18 record in the regular season... they are 68-48 against right-handers... East Point's top five hitters are left-handed... Elnora is only 14-12 against southpaws and 79-49 against righties... the only problem is the Panthers have no left-handed starters and only one portsider in the bullpen.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 15, 2033

IPA Pro Cup Final Series
(best-of-seven)

Elnora Mauls Panthers 12-7, IPA Champ
After 32 years of frustration, the Elnora All-Stars have finally won the IPA Pro Cup... they mauled the East Point Panthers 12-7 at home in the seventh and deciding game to haul in their first championship trophy... the All-Stars made shambles of the Panther pitchers, blasting them for 15 hits... they shot out to a 5-run first-inning lead, then pretty much finished off East Point with 4 more in the sixth after the Panthers mounted a comeback and cut the lead to 6-4.

RF Pettis Pentleton had a double and a triple among his hits and ignited the All-Stars with 3 hits and 4 RBIs... he also scored 2 runs... 1B Matt Boyd (.271) slapped a 2-run double... three All-Stars had 2 hits each: 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.289), 3B Danny Bierhoff (.337), SS Bobby Greb (.314) and C Cannon Johnson (.211)... all the regulars scored at least one run with LF Clint Thomas (.241) and Cannon Johnson scoring a pair of runs.

The expected duel between 20-game winners Dixie Brooks and Jeremy Sellers never materialized... Brooks (5-1/1.71) was the loser as he was slammed for 5 runs right off the bat in the opening inning... Brooks went out for a pinchhitter in the fifth after being tagged for 5 runs and 5 hits... Elnora continued to pound 4 other Panther pitchers, none of them were effective... Sellers (3-0/2.19) picked up the win... he worked 6 innings, permitted 4 runs on 6 hits... 3 Elnora errors cost him 3 unearned runs... Sellers was up 10-4 when he was lifted for a pinchhitter in the sixth.

The elated Elnora skipper Leon Carter beaming ear-to-ear cited his two fine starters Freddy Pfeffer (6-0/2.94) and Jeremy Sellers (3-0/2.19) as the chief ingredients in the team's success this season... Carter also praised all of his regulars as a solid bunch of hitters, who did their part, too... RF Pettis Pentleton topped the club with a .369 BA in the playoffs with 4 homers, 18 RBIs and 19 runs scored... 3B Danny Bierhoff hit .337 and drove in 14 runs... 2B Akihiro Samurakami batted .289 and scored 16 runs... LF Clint Thomas helped the offense by scoring 14 runs... light-hitting SS Bobby Greb hit 4 homers, batted .314 and drove in 11 runs in a surprisingly strong offensive performance... Greb has hit only 100 homers in his 14 seasons in the IPA with a career .256 BA.

East Point manager Karol Zodoka congratulated the All-Stars, saying, "We were simply outgunned in the series, especially in today's game... Elnora got clutch hitting when they needed it most... they made my very good pitching staff look quite ordinary at times... Elnora is as good a hitting team that we have faced this season... Pfeffer and Sellers are two outstanding pitchers, too." The Panthers top producers at the plate were 1B Jaxon Shatner (.224 BA) with 7 homers and 15 RBIs, 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.282 BA) with 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 14 runs, RF Steve Stroud (.316 BA) with 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 12 runs and CF Sean Flynn (.320) with 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 9 runs... pitcher Dixie Brooks was the only effective starter in the postseason... Brooks was 5-1 with a superb 1.71 ERA... his only bad start was in game seven of the Pro Cup... Brooks will probably never forget the 5-run first inning... Brooks told reporters, "You don't get many chances to win a Pro Cup ring. You have to take advantage of it when given the opportunity. We really missed one today."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 16, 2033

Pro Cup MVP Goes To Elnora's Pentleton
It's all over but the shouting in Elnora after the All-Stars knocked off the East Point Panthers for their first-ever IPA Pro Cup. The All-Stars whipped the Panthers in a hard-fought seven-game series, highlighted by the play of right fielder Pettis Pentleton and pitcher Freddy Pfeffer. Both players were vital in Elnora's championship run. The Islandian Times announced today that Pentleton was selected as this year's outstanding player in the Pro Cup Finals. Pentleton was chosen the Pro Cup Most Valuable Player in a poll of scribes and sportscasters throughout the Islands. The 27-year-old outfielder won the honor in a close vote over his teammate Pfeffer.

Pentleton played in 19 postseason games and chalked up 31 hits in 84 at-bats for a .369 batting average. The talented Pentleton collected 6 doubles, 4 home runs, 18 RBIs and scored 19 runs to lead the All-Stars to the title. In the 12-7 victory in game seven Pentleton socked 3 hits and drove in 4 runs. For the year Pentleton had a .319 BA with 15 homers, 90 runs batted in and scored 85 times, while playing in 150 games. Lifetime in 7 IPA seasons Pentleton sports a .329 average.

Pfeffer was unbeaten in 6 starts in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs. He won half of Elnora's playoff victories. The All-Stars were 12-7 overall in the postseason. Pfeffer was a perfect 6-0 with a sparkling 2.94 ERA and 4 complete games. During the regular season he posted an impressive 21-8 mark and a 2.96 ERA. Pfeffer has carded a fine 130-73 record in 7 years with the All-Stars.

I'm working on the Awards.

Should post them tomorrow.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 17, 2033

Dillinger Wins 5th RU Golden Bat
For the fifth time in the last six years Waleska's superstar slugger Loco Dillinger has claimed the Ruthlandian Union Golden Bat Award. The Westerners left fielder posted a .316 batting average in 148 games with 188 hits, 44 homers, 137 RBIs and 97 runs scored. The 33-year-old Dillinger topped the RU in roundtrippers and runs batted in. Career-wise the 8-time All-Star is a .319 hitter with 401 home runs in his 11 seasons. While Dillinger had a fine season, Waleska (73-81) slipped into the second division and wound up a dismal fifth in the RU South. The Westerners were second in 2032.

Eastshore's star center fielder Scotty Lagrange finished a distant second to Dillinger in The Islandian Times poll. Lagrange batted .322 with 32 homers, 93 RBIs and 105 runs in 133 games. He is 26-years-old and has twice been honored as an All-Star and Golden Glover. Lagrange has posted a .300 mark in his seven seasons with the Elegants, who were 81-73 and came in tied for fifth the hotly-contested RU East.

Winding up third in the Golden Bat balloting was the RU batting champion Kelvin Cassidy, third baseman for the Rocky Rapids Snappers. Cassidy, just 23, compiled a .344 BA in 136 games with 34 homers, 90 RBIs and 83 runs. He was one bright spot in the Snappers (71-83) disappointing seventh-place finish in the RU West.

TU Gold Bat To Elites Lewellen, Edges Evans
Colchester center fielder Jim Lewellen's terrific season deprived Southport's Lorne Evans of his fifth Golden Bat Award. Lewellen paced the IPA with 54 roundtrippers and 138 RBIs, while putting up a .288 batting average in 148 games. In 10 seasons with the Elites, Lewellen has clouted 350 home runs, driven in 973 runs and chalked up a .275 average. Lewellan is 29 years of age. Colchester (70-84) had its seven-year string of first-division finishes snapped this season with a seventh-place spot in the TU South. The last time that happened was in 2025.

Lorne Evans had his usual good year for the Southport Sun Sox with 51 homers, 110 runs batted in and 119 runs scored, but it wasn't good enough to whip Lewellen. Evans batted .281 and played in 148 games. For the first time since 2024 the Sun Sox (73-81) plummeted down to the second division in the TU South and ended up in fifth place.

La Claire's standout shortstop Jarred O'Neal trailed in the balloting and was the third-highest votegetter. O'Neal notched a .310 BA with 36 homers, 116 RBIs and scored 109 runs to spark the Lynx (86-68) to the TU West title.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 18, 2033

Brooks Cops TU Gold Arm 2 Years In A Row
East Point right hander Dixie Brooks did what few pitchers in the Tycobbian Union have done - the 27-year-old Brooks has won the prestigious Golden Arm Award for past two seasons in a row. Only the great Cory Burg of the Cape Coral Hurricanes accomplished that feat in 2004 and 2005. Four hurlers in the Ruthlandian Union have that claim to fame in the IPA. Charley Boyer (Rocky Rapids) did it in 2004 and 2005, Ilya Szabo (Colfax) did it twice, 2010 and 2011 and again in 2014 and 2015, Duncan Welch (Crystal Lake) won it back-to-back in 2019 and 2020 and Les Patterson (Sligo) captured the honor in 2021 and 2022.

Dixie Brooks paced the East Point Panthers (88-66) to their second TU East crown in the last three seasons with a splendid 23-7 record and he led the IPA with a super-low 1.72 ERA. Brooks tossed 6 shutouts, posted 20 complete games and fanned 221 batters in his 318 innings. Lifetime the Panther ace is 136-90 with a superb 2.87 ERA in seven years.

The runner-up in The Islandian Times poll was La Claire's fireballer Pat Kovacs with a great 22-8 mark, 2.06 ERA, 10 complete games, 211 Ks and 3 shutouts. The Lynx (86-68) were the best team in the TU West. Number three in the vote was Freddi Rossi of the Summerland Sunsets. Rossi was very instrumental in the Sunsets (83-71) winning the TU South this year with a 22-12 season and a strong 2.09 ERA, 3 shutouts and 15 complete games.

'Cats Gillespie Grabs RU Golden Arm
J. J. Gillespie of the Cold Creek Catamounts (85-69) really blossomed this season with a 22-8 record, leading his team to a third-place finish in the RU East. For his outstanding season Gillespie was honored with the Ruthlandian Golden Arm Award, symbolic of the best pitcher in the league. The 28-year-old righty topped the IPA with 7 shutouts, while striking out 230 in 323 innings, pitching 17 complete games and registering a 2.03 ERA, which was the best in the RU. In his 5-year career in the IPA Gillespie is 51-28 with a terrific 2.42 ERA. He has only been a starter the last two seasons.

Marston's Pat Brown, only 22 years old, chalked up a fine 22-11 record in his second season and came in second in The Islandian Times Golden Arm competition. Brown had an unbelieveable 27 complete games with a 2.23 ERA, 226 strikeouts and 2 shutouts for a sixth-place club. The Nine were 76-78 for the year. Third in the voting was Bobby Reid, a teammate of Gillespie at Cold Creek. Reid was 21-10 with a 2.30 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 19, 2033

Crushers Stanek RU Top Rookie
Three rookies battled for the 2033 Ruthlandian Rookie of the Year Award with the honor going to Crystal Lake's fine frosh catcher Stan Stanek. He edged out Sugar Valley center fielder Bobby Gamble and Crystal Lake closer Eddie Lane in a poll conducted by The Islandian Times.

Stanek, age 27, sparked the Crystal Lake Crushers (81-73) to fourth place in the RU East race. Stanek posted a .340 batting average, second best to Rocky Rapids third basement Kelvin Cassidy, who led the league with a .344 BA. This season's top rookie walloped 28 homers, batted in 105 runs and scored 89 runs in 130 games.

Gamble hit .292 for the fourth-place Sugar Valley Rattlers (81-73) with 28 roundtrippers, 96 RBIs and 113 runs in 142 games. Lane appeared 74 times in relief for Crystal Lake with an 8-4 mark, 25 saves and a 2.65 ERA. Lane tied Johnny Duncan of Belle Plaine for the Ruthlandian Union lead in games and saves. Duncan was 11-7 with a 2.03 ERA. Only the Tycobbian Union's Don Sawyer of Bay St. Clair and Bud Foster of Denton City were better in the IPA. Sawyer had 26 saves for the Bucs and Foster paced the Redbirds with 77 appearances.

Hawks' Thurgood Best TU Rookie
It was a two-man race for the Tycobbian Rookie of the Year trophy. North Hills' Adam Thurgood outpolled Mahaska right hander Greg Douglas in The Islandian Times balloting. East Point catcher Chris Cardinale came in third.

North Hills 22-year-old left fielder, Thurgood, smacked 33 out of the park, collected 104 runs batted in and 80 runs, while participating in 143 games and batting .276 for average for the fifth-place Hawks (76-78). Douglas, age 25, was 19-10 for the seventh-place Haymakers (70-84), finishing with a 3.02 ERA. 26-year-old Cardinale batted only .266, but knocked 23 home runs and drove in 85 runs in 129 games for the division-winning Panthers (88-66).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 20, 2033

CC's Gillespie Heralded As RU MVP
Cold Creek's J. J. Gillespie and Bobby Reid led the Catamounts to a fine season with a third-place spot in the RU East standings. The two impressive hurlers ran one-two in The Islandian Times poll for the Ruthlandian Most Valuable Player Award. Gillespie led the balloting, followed by Reid and Elnora's ace Freddi Pfeffer.

Gillespie fashioned a 22-8 record with a league-leading 2.03 ERA and 7 shutouts. The 28-year-old right-hander was also named the best pitcher in the RU and took home the Golden Arm honor, too.

Cold Creek teammate Reid put up some strong stats as well with a 21-10 mark and a 2.30 ERA. The third-highest votegetter Pfeffer led the Elnora All-Stars to their third consecutive RU East crown with a 21-8 record and a 2.96 ERA.

EP's Brooks Wins TU MVP
What a big year for Dixie Brooks of the pennant-winning East Point Panthers of the Tycobbian East! The masterful 27-year-old right-hander wound up the 2033 season in a blaze of glory. Not only did he win the Tycobbian Golden Arm for the second successive year, Brooks also captured the much-coveted TU Most Valuable Award trophy with a 23-7 record and a superb 1.72 ERA. He and Fairfax's Dudley Dickens tied for the most wins in the IPA, while Brooks easily topped all pitchers in the IPA with a super-low ERA.

Brooks had to beat out two fine hitters for the MVP Award. La Claire's gifted shortstop Jarred O'Neal came in second in the voting. O'Neal led the Lynx to the TU West title with a .310 BA, 36 homers, 116 RBIs and 109 runs, while playing in 148 contests. Fairfax's fancy center fielder Eric Kusek had a marvelous season, too, with a .332 BA, 13 home runs, 83 RBIs and 108 runs scored. Kusek also stole 38 bases, played in 147 games and sparked the Frogs to the RU North championship.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 21, 2033

RU Awards Golden Gloves
On the defensive side of the game pitchers usually get the glory, but the best pitchers know their success many times also hinges on the gloves behind them. The St. John Crusaders topped all comers with three players being honored as superior defenders. Eastshore and Grand City had two players make the squad. The defensive dream team in the Ruthlandian Union for 2033 has been announced and the Golden Glove Award trophies will be presented to these outstanding fielders:

Pitcher: Koy Clampett (Eastshore Elegants) (15-13/3.60/1.000 FA)
Catcher: Floyd Randolph (Valmara Vipers) (.232/15/73/54) (.994 FA/6 PB/39.2% RTO)
First Baseman: Mikk Kruk (Valka Blackhawks) (.321/21/85/106) (.992 FA)
Second Baseman: Byron Johannsen (St. John Crusaders) (.294/7/78/81) (.986 FA)
Third Baseman: Norm Murdoch (St. John Crusaders) (.294/6/86/49) (.970 FA)
Shortstop: Hal Burton (St. John Crusaders) (.238/1/42/97) (.974 FA)
Left Fielder: Wes Marlowe (Grand City Cybercats) (.259/30/85/77) (.978 FA/2 Assists/304 PO)
Center Fielder: Scotty Lagrange (Eastshore Elegants) (.322/32/93/105) (.993/7 Assists/411 PO)
Right Fielder: Thomas Hall (Grand City Cybercats) (.281/28/93/88) (.989 FA/8 Assist/346 PO)

Randolph, Johannsen and Lagrange each won their second Golden Gloves, while the rest were first-time winners.

Gold Gloves Given Out By TU
Great defenders make the hard plays and are the unsung heroes in the baseball world. Home-run hitters and fireballing pitchers seem to get most of the glory. These defensive wizards will collect their 2033 Tycobbian Union Golden Glove Award at ceremonies this weekend:

Pitcher: Dixie Brooks (East Point Panthers) (23-7/1.72/.988 FA)
Catcher: Arnie Murphy (White River Rascals) (.256/13/56/45) (.999 FA/5 PB/54.2% RTO)
First Baseman: Phillip Stafford (Hillsboro Blazers) (.282/25/102/81) (.996 FA)
Second Baseman: Chuck Claymont (Southport Sun Sox) .268/3/34/52) (.979 FA)
Third Baseman: Billy Christianson (Rolling Hills Reds) (.310/15/81/71) (.976 FA)
Shortstop: James Couch (Ozarka Naturals) (.287/17/86/93) (.975 FA)
Left Fielder: Charley Kota (Chicopee Braves) (.333/22/74/110) (1.000 FA/9 Assists/358 PO)
Center Fielder: Jim Lewellen (Colchester Elites) (.288/54/138/119) (.994 FA/6 Assists/368 PO)
Right Fielder: Eamon O'Toole (Summerland Sunsets) (.289/12/56/73) (.985 FA/18 Assists/245 PO)

Billy Christianson captured his third Golden Glove and Dixie Brooks and James Couch became double winners of the coveted award. Eamon O'Toole was the only rookie named to the Golden Glovers this year.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 22, 2033

Muskies' Torregrossa Best Skipper In RU
There were strong candidates in abundance in The Islandian Times Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year Award this season. Five skippers got support in the poll. In the final tabulation the winner was Dave Torregrossa of the Belle Plaine Musketeers. Also in the running were St. John's Clayton Luck, Elnora's Leon Carter, Sligo's Eddie Keys and LaGrange's Quincy Peterson.

Dave Torregrossa took the honor by leading Belle Plaine to a second-place finish to Elnora in the RU East. His Muskies pushed the powerful All-Stars most of the season and wound up 5 games off the pace with an 88-66 record, markedly improved over last year's 70-84 sixth-place standing. This was the first time Torregrossa received the best-manager award. Torregrossa was a journeyman utility infielder for 13 years in the IPA with a career .287 batting average.

Clayton Luck was the runner-up in the balloting. He sparked the St. John Crusaders to their fifth division title in the club's history. The Crusaders bounced up from third to first in the RU South with an 87-67 mark, an improvement over the previous year's 76-78.

Leon Carter, the Manager of the Year in 2031 and 2032, had a tough act to follow. His Elnora All-Stars led the IPA with 105 wins last year. Still Carter kept his All-Stars at the top of the heap in the RU East with a strong 93-61 mark. It's the third straight season Elnora took the pennant on the way to the team's first IPA Pro Cup championship. This year Carter's All-Stars defeated the East Point Panthers in a stirring seven-game series for the Island crown.

Eddie Keys did an impressive job with the Sligo Rovers as they rebounded from a poor last-place finish in 2032 with a 61-93 record to a pennant-winning 79-76 record in the tightly-bunched RU West. His Rovers polished off Fort Benton in a playoff game for the division crown. Keys was fourth in the voting.

Quincy Peterson guided the LaGrange Sports to another impressive season. The Sports captured the RU North for the second year in a row with a 91-63 record, which was almost identical to 92-62 in 2032. Peterson ended up fifth in the vote.

Frogs' Wesner Again TU Pilot of the Year
For the second time in the last five seasons, Fairfax's Dane Wesner has been selected the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year. Wesner also was named best skipper in 2029. It was a hotly-contest race with seven managers receiving votes in The Islandian Times annual poll.

Wesner led the Fairfax Frogs to the best record in the IPA this season with 102 victories. They easily won the TU North by a whopping 20 games. The Frogs topped the division for the second year in a row. Last year Fairfax finished with a sparkling 95-59 record. Wesner was a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Frogs with a career .311 batting average and 452 homers in his 19 IPA seasons. He was inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2029.

Kendry Moulton came in number two in the balloting. His Hartsdale Hellcats rose up from the cellar in 2032 to second place in the RU North. The Hellcats improved from 61-93 to 82-72 this season.

Third in the straw vote was Will Hackett, who piloted the Summerland Sunsets to their first pennant in almost 3 decades. The Sunsets climbed from seventh to the top spot in the TU South, rising up from a dismal 64-90 mark to 83-71. Hackett fended off the Turon Typhoons and Ginza Ninjas in a tight three-team battle. Summerland outlasted the Typhoons by a one game and the Ninjas by 4.

Also receiving support in the Manager of the Year poll were La Claire's Zeppy Deshotel, the winner in the TU West, Kenwood's Aaron Hankins, whose Wildcats went from seventh to second in the TU West, Karol Zodoka of the East Point Panthers and Andy Jefferson of the Hillsboro Blazers. The Panthers moved up from third to first in the TU East and the Blazers went from sixth to second in the TU North.

That finishes off 2033. I will soon begin work on next year's rosters.

Sorry for not posting much lately... been watching real baseball.

I like the Cardinals a lot, but wish Washington would win the World Series.
It's a shame they didn't save Strasburg for the playoffs.

If not the Nationals, some of the underdogs would be nice - Oakland, Detroit, Cincinnati or Baltimore. I just hope somebody beats the Yankees.
Anybody would be great except for the Yankees.

The computer crashed today and wiped out all I had done on the rosters.
I had done 38 of the 64 teams. I lost about 20 teams' roster changes today and will have to redo them.

This has happened before whenever I am reworking rosters. I need to close out the game about every 5 teams and I can avert this happening. The most I will lose is 5 teams.

I just lost a day's work today.

I'll get back on it tomorrow. I should start the 34th IPA season in about a week.

36 of the 64 rosters have been updated.

That's about 3 days' work.

It won't be long until season 34 begins.

Finished updating the rosters today.

I will report on the new season 2034 tomorrow (Monday)

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
May 1, 2034

Ruthlandian North Preseason Poll

Ranking/Team (Last Year)
1. Far Mountain Redhawks (2nd)
2. Kilkenny Cats (4th tied)
3. LaGrange Sports (1st)
4. Ranford Bulls (3rd)
5. Glasco Athletics (4th tied)
6. Ancona Red Elephants (8th)
7. Valmara Vipers (6th)
8. Taranto Tars (7th)

Favored FM Redhawks Led By 3 In RU North
Pre-season favorite Far Mountain (17-9) opened up a 3-game lead in the first month of the Ruthlandian North over second-place Glasco (14-12), 5 ahead of third-place Ranford (12-14) and 7 up on defending champ LaGrange (10-16) in fourth-place in the standings... the rest of the league is closely bunched with Valmara (9-17), Taranto (9-17) and Kilkenny (9-17) all tied for fifth and Ancona (8-18) in the basement... the Kilkenny Cats and LaGrange Sports were forecast to give the Redhawks the most competition this season.

Far Mountain has strong hitting (.280 BA) and pitching (2.70 ERA) under the leadership of manager Don Nichols... Vets Jakob Wagner (4-2/2.05), Frankie Moreland (4-1/2.41), Keith Griggs (5-2/2.55) and Jeff Cooper (2-2/4.04) lead the mound staff... Paul Zimmer (2-1/2.70/2 saves) heads up the bullpen... at the plate it's rookie OF Jeffrey Karkinos (.340), 3B Axel Bauer (.337), SS Artie Morton (.328) and rookie Wes Wernstedt (.299) pacing the attack.

Despite poor starting pitching (4.26 ERA), the Glasco Athletics, piloted by Barry McCord, have managed to power their way to the runner-up spot with an IPA-leading 38 homers in April... SS Greg Stone hit 6 in the month, followed by Dennis Kaiser and rookies Gilbert Forbes and Taylor Hampshire with 5 each... the A's were rated the fifth-best club in The Islandian Times preseason poll.

Skipper Rick Fargnoli's third-place Ranford Bulls have very good pitching with a 3.22 team ERA, but is pathetic with the bats, hitting only .229... pitchers Chad Cummings (4-3/2.25), Jimmy Collins (.3-1/3.40) and Rube Satcher (3-4/3.11) top the team starters, along with Joah Satcher (1-1/2.70) and Frank Yosarian (0-0/1.13) in the bullpen.... the Bulls ranked fourth in the preseason poll... vet 1B Elton Graff is the only productive hitter with a .310 average, 6 homers and 21 RBIs.

In LaGrange, skipper Quincy Peterson is in desparate need of a bullpen... he has high-quality starters in vets Walt Thurber (3-2/2.32), Ryan Janssen (4-2/3.10) and Mike York (0-1/2.97), but the relievers are awful with a 6.57 ERA... the Sports are only average at the plate with a .267 BA... best bats are LF Russell Watkins with a .350 BA, 11 homers and 21 RBIs, 2B Whitlow Stokes with a .308 BA and RF Anton Hymel with a .293 mark.

Rusty Denicola's Kilkenny Cats had a bad April, but is expected to contend with Far Mountain... the Cats didn't do much right in the early going despite the addition of free agent 3B Leevi Viru from Valka, a career .323 hitter and 6-time All-Star... Viri sparked the limited offense with 5 homers and 21 RBIs, while batting .283... C Bailey Wooten (.339), 1B Luis Cisneros (.323) and 2B Thomas Rutherford (.306) topped the team in average... ace Dave Whitaker fared poorly with an 0-6 record and a lofty 6.71 ERA... vets Fred Doyle (3-2/2.05) and Ike Phelps (2-2/3.25) were the best starters... rookie relievers Andy Mayfield (1-0/0.00) and Dave Stratford (1-0/0.00) looked good in the early going.

After 33 years at the helm Ancona manager Manny Mickens called it a career this season and turned the reins over to Kenny Willard, who starred for the Red Elephants for most of his standout 19 seasons... Willard batted .301 lifetime with 441 HRs and was a 6-time All-Star and 6-time Gold Glover... in 2022 Willard was the Ruthlandian MVP... Willard inherited a weak ballclub that ranks near the bottom in almost everything... his best player is free agent LF Floyd McClellan, who came over from Forest City... the 12-year vet has 6 homers, 19 RBIs and is batting at a .278 pace.

After finishing sixth last year, Valmara manager Jet Kazmarek drastically revised his roster, adding 10 rookies to the squad... the Vipers have dominated the RU North the last 15 years with 8 pennants... vet J. B. Boutin (3-2/2.93) and rookie Janek Zoldak (4-3/2.97) are the only decent pitchers... ace Garry Gronek (0-6/6.65) has flopped miserably so far... keystone partners SS Pat Kaluza (.294) and 2B Miroslav Ciszek (.329) are Valmara's best hitters... star LF Benny Hooper (.235) has struggled with his average, but is productive, along with C Ted Jarzinski (.261)... Hooper has 3 homers and 13 RBIs, while Jarzinski had 5 roundtrippers and 14 RBIs.

Taranto manager Denny Radke got an abrupt heave-ho recently and was replaced by Augie Marshall, who retired in April after 21 seasons... Marshall played his first 10 years with the Tars and was a superstar slugger with 504 RBIs and a .287 BA... Marshall's first game will be May 1st and it looks like it's going to be a long first year for him... the Tars have little talent and rank poorly in the team stats... rookie flamethrower Fast Eddy Romano has stood out in relief so far with a 1-1 record, 3 saves and an impressive 2.94 ERA in 11 games... starters Rex Perrilloux (2-2/2.92) and rookie Sal Mongelli (3-2/3.75) show promise... 17-year vet 2B Greg Murphy (.301) and CF Alonzo Venacio (.305) are the only reliable bats.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Preseason Poll
Rank/Team (Last Year)

1. Claxton Diamonds (6th)
2. Grand City Cybercats (2nd)
3. San Dimas Rancheros (3rd)
4. Waleska Westerners (5th)
5. Belair Beach Sunbirds (7th tied)
6. St. John Crusaders (1st)
7. Crystal Lake Crushers (4th)
8. Valka Blackhawks (7th tied)

Blackhawks Surprise Leader In RU South
The booming bats of the Valka Blackhawks have new manager Eddie Lasky beaming from ear-to-ear in his first month of the season... To the surprise of almost everybody, Valka has run up a super 16-10 record and is tied for first with Crystal Lake, another Cinderella club... both the Blackhawks and the Crushers were picked near the bottom of the Ruthlandian South this year in The Islandian Times Preseason Poll... last year's division winner St. John (14-12) is right up there with them and trails by just 2 games... this year's favorite Claxton is in a fourth-place deadlock with San Dimas and Belair Beach, all 4 games back of the leaders with 12-14 marks... Waleska (11-15) and Grand City (11-15) are tied for last place, but are just 5 games out of first place. The RU South is still wide open with all 8 clubs still in contention.

Lasky took over from Ron Landauer in Valka and he has the Blackhawks running and gunning with a .285 team batting average and they are the top-scoring club in the IPA... pitching, however, is another story with a substandard 4.26 ERA... Lasky was a solid hurler for the Blackhawks for the first 10 years of his 17-year career... overall he was 248-213 with 3.54 ERA... he was a Golden Arm winner in 2023 with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers, winding up with a super 25-8 record and a 2.79 ERA... and Lasky captured 3 Golden Gloves... nine Blackhawks sport .300 averages with 3B Ed Metzinger leading at .370, followed by C Benny Douglas (.333), RF Doug Whitehouse (.333), rookie 1B Bobby Scott (.324), RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.323), rookie C Marti Kallasmaa (.310), 1B Mikk Kukk (.306), LF Luukas Palli (.301) and CF Ted Sabonis (.300)... two others are near .300: SS Olari Ojastu (.298) and LF Peetrus Raag (.293)... the top Valka pitchers are Rick Beasley (1-1/3.32) and Nicky Palermo (3-1/3.32).

Crystal Lake, under the tutelage of Herman "Baby" George, is ripping the ball, too, with a .281 batting mark, but is not quite up to snuff on the hill with a lackluster 3.97 ERA... the bullpen is especially bad with a sky-high 5.54 ERA... starters Denny Mills (4-2/2.78), Arnie Cason (2-2/3.72) and T. D. Burnham (3-2/3.99) are quality arms... Eddie Lane (2-1/1.23) is again handling bullpen chores well, but there is no one after him... 19-year-old phenom RF Paul Dillon has blistered IPA pitchers for a .376 average in his rookie year... Denton City free agent 1B Big Sam Takota has been a great addition with a .333 average, 8 homers and 25 RBIs... 2B Mackie Cummings is batting .355 and driven in 19 runs.

Third-place St. John has great pitching with a 2.90 team ERA, but has trouble scoring runs (27th) and has almost no power with just 8 home runs (32nd)... veteran starters Jeremy Kirk (4-1/1.38) and Larry Urban (4-3/2.83) top the Crusader staff... 1B Johnny Zahn (.370) and rookie RF Gerry Sives (.353) are the most potent bats... manager Clayton Luck also have several other dependable hitters in CF Tony Kreskas (.319), LF Bobby Joe Daniel (.290) and 3B Norm Murdoch (.264)... St. John lost its best pitcher to free agency when Zack Dowdle signed with San Dimas... he was 19-13 last season.

Dixie Baker's Claxton Diamonds were the number-one choice to win the RU South this season, but they have stumble a little bit out of the gate and are 2 games under .500 in the first month, tied with San Dimas and Belair Beach for the fourth spot in the standings, but just 4 games off the pace... Claxton is just playing average ball with a .271 team BA (10th) and a 3.68 ERA (13th)... Tommy Brothers has been brilliant with a 5-0 mark and a superb 1.00 ERA in 5 starts... Sam Nathan has been tough with a strong 2.52 ERA, but is just 1-5 in his 6 starts... Baker's best run producers have been RF Ivan Krause (.301) with 7 HRs and 18 RBIs, C Jaan Hoogendoorn (.359), 2B Jonas Weiss (.323), 3B Gen Langenhoven (.289) and CF Ken Brennan (.280).

According to the baseball pronosticators, skipper Wesley Pate has a contender with his San Dimas Rancheros... but they haven't played like one thus far... his pitching has skyrocketed from 3.56 to a poor 4.37 this year... the relief corps has been quite bad with a 5.95 ERA... the only thing the Rancheros do well is hit with power... they have gone deep 30 times (5th)... San Dimas has some fine hitters, but just not enough of them... SS Glendon Pratt (.379), star 1B Mick Langston (.328), CF Klaus Stordahl (.326) and C Arved Tarand (.306)... 8-year veteran Langston was signed as a free agent... previously he starred for Grand City... the Rancheros also acquired pitcher Zack Dowdle... he has held his own with a 2-3 record and a 3.29 ERA in 6 starts... Dowdle is 89-58 lifetime in 13 seasons with a very impressive 2.74 ERA... another free agent Gregg Hughes has been Pate's top pitcher with a 5-1 mark and 3.07 ERA in 7 starts... Hughes (127-109) was a solid pitcher for the Hillsboro Blazers of the Tycobbian East for 11 years.

The Belair Beach Sunbirds have a new manager... Slim Mosley has replaced Little Jake Bungarooba, who had little success in his tenure... Mosley had a fine 18-year career from 2001 to 2018 with the Sunbirds, compiling a 254-192 record with a solid 3.34 ERA... they made the playoffs 7 times when he played and won 5 pennants... Belair Beach is an average club, but they can hit the long ball... the Sunbirds have chalked up 31 this season and are ranked 3rd in the RU, led by CF Bobby Meusel with 8 home runs, 21 RBIs and a .310 batting average... 3B Johnny Wofford is hitting .329 with 18 RBIs... 1B Vander Heggen (.348) and RF Pat Webb (.304) are quality bats, too... Stefan Zeeman (3-2/2.10) and rookie Kerstan Mak (2-0/3.09) are Mosley's top twirlers.

The great Roy Hobbs is now the skipper of the Waleska Westerners... the IPA icon and superstar will replace McGraw Johnson, who decided to retire after 33 years... however, Johnson will remain as general manager... Johnson won the IPA Pro Cup in 2028 and made the playoffs only four times with three division flags... Hobbs had a spectacular career with a .345 BA, 587 homers and 3793 hits... he is second all-time to Phil Gravelli's 4260 hits, second to Jet Kazmarek's .350 BA and fifth to Jack Elliott's 848 homers... Hobbs was a 15-time All-Star, 7-time Golden Bat winner, twice a Golden Glover and won the RU Most Valuable Player Award in 2026 and 2030... Waleska hits and scores pretty well, but lacks good pitching... the Westerners are currently tied with Grand City for seventh and last place in the RU South... the baseball gurus chose them fourth in the pennant race... vets LF Loco Dillinger (.318), 1B Glenn Childress (.287) and 3B Monty McMurtry (.292) are the team's best bats with help from rookie SS Roger Hobbs (.305), the 19-year-old son of the skipper... Waleska's best mound performers are vet Terry Richards (2-3/2.30) and rookie Tucker Wilton (3-3/2.43)... the Westerners are rebuilding with 9 rookies this season... fourth place may too tough for Hobbs to reach this year.

Grand City was expected to challenge Claxton for the division title this season, but so far the Cybercats have floundered, yet are just 5 games back in the pennant race... last season they came in third... manager Wade Joslin has average hitting (.257 BA) with decent power (27 HRs) and average pitching (3.86 ERA), but he has a terrible bullpen with a 7.05 ERA (32nd)... starters Herb Stewart (2-3/2.31), Norm Dawson (2-1/1.96) and Mason Dodd (1-1/2.81) have been very effective, but have suffered from a lack of run support... CF Thomas Hall (.284) and SS Teddy Grantham (.293) tops the Cybercats with 6 homers and 14 RBIs apiece... 2B Dave Sulligent has the best BA on the squad at .324.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian East Preseason Prediction

Rank/Team (Last Year)
1. Wynnamac Sundowners (4th)
2. Cold Creek Catamounts (3rd)
3. Eastshore Elegants (6th)
4. Sugar Valley Rattlers (5th)
5. Elnora All-Stars (1st) 2033 Pro Cup Champion
6. Beechwood Bobcats (8th)
7. Belle Plaine Musketeers (2nd)
8. Marston Nine (7th)

RU East Full Of Winners, Wynnies On Top
The Ruthlandian East has more teams over .500 than the other three divisions combined... There are only 6 teams above .500 in the RU North, South and West... The RU East is power-packed with winning clubs, led by first place Wynnamac (18-8)... four teams, Sugar Valley (17-9), Marston (17-9), Eastshore (17-9) and Cold Creek (17-9) are tied for second, just one game back... the other three, defending division winner Elnora (15-11), Belle Plaine (15-11) and Beechwood (15-11) are deadlocked in sixth place and trail by only 3 games... it was almost the same last season when six clubs wound up above the .500 mark.

The top team, the Wynnamac Sundowners, have splendid pitching with an IPA-leading 2.36 ERA... Matt Donnelly's rotation is paced by Killara Bardo (6-1/1.33), Jason Meeks (3-2/2.15), Jeremy Vincent (4-3/2.83), Nick Tarkovsky (1-1/2.05) and Pancho Romero (3-1/3.25)... the Wynnies only possess modest hitting, topped by LF Allen Dundee with a .327 BA, 4 homers and 22 RBIs.

The Cold Creek Catamounts are primed for a run at the pennant for the first time in over two decades... manager Scoop Lemieux's CC 'Cats are batting .293 (1st) and have very good pitching with a 3.14 ERA (5th)... the most reliable bats are LF Walt Babin (.385), 1B Steve Daniels (.368), 2B Morten Jonassen (.344), rookie SS Jeremy Hall (.319) and CF Guy St. Laurent (.291)... Daniels and St. Laurent lead the team with 6 home runs each... Daniels has 26 RBIs and St. Laurent 18... Peter Heller (5-1/2.35), J. J. Gillespie (4-3/2.67) and George Bailey (5-2/2.69) are the main moundsmen... Gillespie was last year's RU MVP and Golden Arm winner... the best bullpen man is Eddie Brasher (1-0/1.74/4 saves) in 7 relief appearances.

The last time Danny Church's Marston Nine competed was in 2029 when they won the division crown... Church has a fine offense with a .290 BA and a good mound corps with a 3.20 ERA... leading the attack at the plate are RF Warren Cleveland (.379), skipper's son SS Johnny Church (.360), 1B Marco Ameche (.314) and LF Ken Armstrong (.313)... Cleveland has 6 roundtrippers and 23 RBIs... Pat Brown is the ace with a 5-1 record and a 2.37 ERA, followed by rookie Kris Delaney with a 5-0 mark and a 3.33 ERA.

Statistically it's not a good season for the defending IPA Pro Cup champion Elnora All-Stars, skippered by Leon Carter... his All-Stars are batting .263 (19th) and are only average in power and scoring... on the mound the squad has compiled a pretty fair 3.54 ERA (11th)... the team numbers are down from .280 and 3.05 since last year... still the All-Stars are just 3 games off the pace... Jeremy Sellers (4-2/3.64), Jesus Robles (2-1/3.60), Freddy Pfeffer (2-1/4.35) and Paul Martina (2-3/3.93) have got to get it going to equal last year's great season... Elnora's best hitters have been 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.388), LF Clint Thomas (.296) and 1B Matt Boyd (.299)... RF Travis Glass has put up a poor .242 mark, but has been productive with 7 homers and 18 RBIs... free agent acquisition SS James Couch has struggled thus far with a .261 average... he is 38 years old and has spent his first 19 seasons with Ozarka in the TU East... Couch made the All-Star team 9 times and has won two Golden Gloves... he is a career .308 hitter.

Killer Brewster's Eastshore Elegants are in a four-way tie for second place... the Elegants are near the top in team batting with a .298 average (2nd) and on the hill with a 3.09 ERA (4th)... RF Neil Richard (.413) and 1B Glenn Fields (.410) are over the .400 mark, while superstar CF Scotty Lagrange has belted 9 homers and is hitting .353... the top hurlers are Koy Clampett (5-2/2.75), Ramon Contreras (5-1/2.88) and Don Klingenberg (3-1/3.07)... Brewster suffered a huge loss in 20-game winner Ryan Ledbetter, who left for Chicopee in the offseason.

The Sugar Valley Rattlers lost its star starter Aron Libertini at age 27 due to a series of bad arm injuries that ended his impressive career... in his five seasons Libertini was 93-65, twice winning 20 games... the Rattlers play in a small ballpark, but the pitching staff has done well... rookie Rod Price is 5-0 with a 3.44 ERA, Eddie Petre is 3-1 with a 3.44 ERA and Ron Navarro 2-2 with 2.61 ERA... batting-wise CF Bobby Gamble lead the way with 5 homers, 23 RBIs and a 3.94 BA, which is second best in the RU to Eastshore's Neil Richard at .413... 1B Mike Mickelson is hitting .319 and RF Carlo Velucci sports a .294 batting mark with 6 home runs.

Manager Dave Torregrossa brought the Belle Plaine Musketeers back into prominence last season as they finished second to Elnora in the RU East and were much improved over 2032... the Muskies can score runs (5th) and have pretty good pitching, ranking 8th with a 3.41 team ERA... Benny Lucas (5-0/2.89) and rookie Leon Lacombe (3-0/3.33) have stood out so far, but need some help from veterans Johnny Davenport (0-2/3.19) and Rocket Richard (2-4 /3.72)... Johnny Duncan (3-2/2.40/4 saves) heads up the bullpen... RF Noel Martin (.306/5/25), 1B Carl Bentley (.368/5/12), LF Shelby Glasscock (.281/5/19) and C Derek Roman (.281/4/16) have been very reliable with help from CF Harry Tashina, who has scored 26 runs and batted .261.

The Beechwood Bobcats have chalked up only average numbers with a .266 BA (14th) and a 3.67 ERA (12th), but under manager Bret George they have a fine 15-11 record and are just 3 games back of leading Wynnamac... Ken Arby (4-1/2.75) and Neil Palmer (4-2/2.58) top the twirlers... 1B Kelly Hardison (.321/1/11), C Keith Meredith (.308/4/16), RF Howie Baldwin (.276/4/160 and LF Herb Douglas (.274/0/14/16) are the most dependable bats.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, May 1, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian West Preseason Poll

RANK/TEAM (LAST SEASON)
1. Colfax Blasters (3rd tied)
2. Fort Benton Defenders (2nd)
3. Forest City Lumberjacks (6th)
4. Stoner Stars (3rd tied)
5. Sligo Rovers (1st)
6. Middlefield Roosters (5th)
7. Volusia Vigilantes (8th)
8. Rocky Rapids Snappers (7th)

Vigilantes Surprise Leader In RU West
In the first month of the season the downtrodden Volusia Vigilantes(15-11) have gone from the outhouse to the penthouse in the Ruthlandian West. Last year they finished dead last, but this year they are the surprising leader with a slight one-game edge over second place Stoner (14-12). In THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll the V's were selected seventh in the rankings, but they have not played like a bottom-rung team. Forest City (13-13) is in the third spot, just two games back with Middlefield (11-15) four games out in fourth. The remaining clubs are all tied for fifth place with identical 10-16 marks and trail by five games. Sligo, Rocky Rapids, Fort Benton and Colfax are all in the second division. Colfax was the preseason favorite with Fort Benton forecast for the runner-up spot.

Manager Alfonso Feliz and his Volusia Vigilantes have not graced the postseason since 2007... the V's have turned it around with a blistering .300 team batting average, second-best in the IPA to Kenwood's .301 mark in the Tycobbian Union... this is in spite of losing capable CF Vasco Aguilar (.289 career BA) to Sligo in free agency... Feliz's pitching has taken a turn for the best, too, with a 3.72 ERA, much improved over last year's 4.21... Volusia's top hitters are CF Stan Kovalchuk (.403), 1B Ernie Pryor (.363), LF Ernesto Andujar (.344), 2B Carl Kendall (.316), vet RF Sonny Oliver (.313) and rookie 3B Antonio Diaz (.302)... Diaz has 6 homers and 24 RBIs to top the attack... rookie Tubby Tarkanian (.265) had solidified the catching with excellent defense and a good bat... anchoring the Vigilantes mound corps are starters Tommy Smith (5-1/1.45), Marv Webb (4-2/2.01) and Rio Lobo (1-0/2.74)... Feliz has got to get better results from his bullpen to remain in the pennant chase... a 4.58 ERA will not cut it.

The second place Stoner Stars have been a quality club for sometime under skipper Benny Stern... they have been a first-division team in six of the last seven seasons and won the RU West flag in 2029... four fine hitters are carrying the club: free agent sensation LF Felix Jobin (.370) from Belle Plaine, CF Don Cain (.360), vet 1B Fletch Fowler (.353) and RF George Shepherd (.284)... Shepherd (.288 BA lifetime) was a free-agent signee, who played 7 years for Eastshore... pitching is the Stars' problem with a high 4.27 ERA (26th).

The third place Forest City Lumberjacks have not been contenders in seven of the last eight years... manager Joe Judlin's 'Jacks came in third in 2029... they haven't made the Pro Cup playoffs since 2013... last year the team was sixth in the standings, but was selected to finish third this year... Judlin has good starters (3.17 ERA), but not much in the bullpen (5.87 ERA) or at the plate (.246 BA)... four vets lead the mound staff: Jimmy Willard (4-1/3.40), Judson Davis (3-1/3.06), Jerry Watford (2-3/1.93) and Rich Barstow (4-3/4.18)... 2B Jerry Rembert has sizzled with a .373 BA and has gotten help from rookie C Bob Brisdon (.258) with 6 homers and 16 RBIs and LF Chuck Kramer (.289) with 13 RBIs... Rembert was acquired in a trade with Valmara.

For the last four years the Middlefield Roosters have wallowed in the second division... it's been seven seasons since they made the postseason... not a lot is expected this year... the Roosters were chosen to come in sixth in the preseason poll... skipper Bailey Norcross is getting better hitting this season with a .264 BA, up from .243 last year... as usual Middlefield with its small ballpark is among the leaders in homers with 31 so far (3rd tied)... pitching is average with a 3.73 team ERA... top bats are 2B Paul Coker (.314) with 10 homers and 18 RBIs, SS Kenny Johnston (.284) with 18 RBIs and rookie 3B Colt Chadwick (.337) with 11 RBIs... Judd Hampton (2-2/3.19) and Ron Sinclair (2-4/3.00) are the best arms.

Last year's RU West champ Sligo is in a 4-way tie for fifth this year, five games behind Volusia and just a game from last place... the baseball scribes are not impressed with the Rovers and have slotted them for fifth in the preseason analysis... manager Eddie Keys' club hits homers, ranked second in the RU with 33, but doesn't do much else very well... free agent from San Dimas Kyell Rindahl was a good find with a .325 BA, 8 HRs and 18 RBIs... so was CF Vasco Aguilar from Volusia with a .267 BA, 4 HRs and 10 RBIs... on the hill Mark Smith (4-3/2.13) and Ricky Cooke (3-2/3.40) have been the best pitchers... solid pitchers from last year Lou Page (14-11) and Flapper Bird (15-17) have not been resigned... and Earl Perkins (15-14) signed with Glasco... Page and Bird would be good additions to the rotation.

The Colfax Blasters were one of the darlings of the press in the preseason... Ilya Szabo's boys were the choice to take the RU West division, but thus far, it hasn't happened... good pitching (3.47 ERA) with good power (28 homers) and poor batting average (.236 BA) hasn't done the job... Colfax was tied for third last season... Rudy Rosario (2-4/2.19), Randell Perkins (2-2/3.00) and Milton Garnett (3-2/3.15) are still quality pitchers, but they get very little run support... the team BA is down 28 points from last year's .264... 1B/3B Lou Wilhoit (.294) is one of the few dependable batters with 5 homers and 16 RBIs... platooners 3B Benny Reier (.333) and LF Hal Granders (.309) are hitting for average in limited roles... other regulars are batting .240 or less... Colfax still has a lot of games to repair the damage and challenge for the pennant... the season is far from done.

Fort Benton has also had a miserable April... after almost winning the pennant last year, the Defenders were ranked number two in the RU West preseason poll... Sligo won the flag in a one-game playoff... Fort Benton has never played in the postseason... this might just be their year... however, nothing has gone right for manager Robbie Brooks... a 28-point drop in BA (.240) and a 1.25 rise in ERA (4.67) has had a devastating effect on the team... free agent signee from Valmara 2B Alec Leclerc (.294) and rookie CF Chuck Sears (.274) are the only decent bats in the lineup... 18-game winner Augie Marquis (3-4/4.72) has struggled... a turnaround is still possible for the Defenders, but the nine rookies will have to produce better than they have in the first month.

There's not much optimism in Rocky Rapids... last year Junior Noland's club finished seventh in the RU West race... this year they were picked last in the preseason poll... so far the prognosticators appeared to have been right on the money... the Snappers have lousy pitching (4.66 ERA) with a pretty fair offense... they are batting .270 (11th) with 30 homers (5th)... leading the attack are last season's batting champ 3B Kelvin Cassidy (.322) and 2B Rod Cook (.310)... on the mound rookie Ed Ayers (3-1/3.41) had led the staff, along with reliever John Young (1-0/1.64/4 saves)... not much talent otherwise.

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

knuckler,

What a pleasant surprise! It's so good to hear from you again. For the viewers, who don't know who knuckler is, he is one of the best logo guys on the OOTPB Forums. He created most of my original IPA logos and several thousand for other OOTParkers over the years. They were truly works of art. Lucky for me, he was such a nice and patient guy, that he would alter them ad infinitum until they were perfect according to yours truly, EC.

knuckler also made most of the wonderful logos for my first dynasty, the All-Time All-Star Association, which I did for several years. I took the 16 original MLB franchises and picked their best 25 players of all-time. I also included drafts of the great Negro stars and Japanese stars, too. I added one of them to each team each year. Unfortunately my computer crashed and I lost it all after 11 seasons. I didn't have the heart to start it all over again. Instead, I created the Islandian Pro Alliance. I am thinking of recreating the AAA using OOTP13, even though it is frustrating when the real superstars do poorly in OOTPB. I used fictional players in the IPA because of this. You don't have any expectations for fictional players.

Certainly I would use your excellent logos. I would love for you to create new circular logos for the IPA and post them here on this thread. I didn't have the heart to get the logo geniuses to remake 64 square logos into the circular type.

Could you use the original team colors? If so, I will send you an email with the team colors and team names. Just let me know here.

Tuckanarra is one of my favorite teams in the IPA, too. I'm also excited that Chicopee may finally make the Pro Cup playoffs after all these years.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Individual Batting Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Individual Pitching Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Individual Batting Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

2034 Tycobbian Union Mid-Season Individual Pitching Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 20, 2034

34th IPA All-Star Game Set For Tomorrow
The best of the Ruthlandian Union and the best of the Tycobbian Union will gather together tomorrow afternoon at the home of the defending Pro Cup champion, the Elnora All-Stars, for the 34th annual Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star clash. Teams were announced today at IPA headquarters in Marston. The RU Stars will be managed by Leon Carter, skipper of the IPA champs Elnora, while Karol Zodoka of last year's Pro Cup runnerup East Point Panthers will lead the TU Stars. There were many first timers on the star squad this season. Just two rookies are on the Ruthlandian team, both third sackers: Antonio Diaz from Volusia and Edmund Daisak from Fort Benton. Four freshmen won a spot on the Tycobbian Stars: pitchers Junior Bristow of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays and Ralph Fulton of the Turon Typhoons, along with Chicopee second baseman Todd Goodwin and Red Bluff shortstop Cody Hanks. Bristow is the son of Hall of Fame hurler Titus Bristow, who won 342 games for the Tucks from 2002 to 2020. The elder Bristow is the Blue Jays' pitching coach.

Travis Glass of Elnora was named for the seventh time in his fine career to the RU Stars. Eastshore's Scotty Lagrange, Valka's Olari Ojastu and Rocky Rapids' Allie Blackwell were honored for the third time.

Topping the list for the TU Stars was Lorne Evans of the Tuckanarra Blue Jays. This is his seventh time to play in the game. Colchester slugger Jim Lewellen was selected for the fourth year.

Ruthlandian All-Stars

SP J. J. Gillespie (Ranford) (15-4/1.62) **
SP Jimmy Collins (Ranford) (12-3/3.38) *
SP Gregg Hughes (San Dimas) (12-3/2.88) **
SP Tommy Smith (Volusia) (13-4/1.98) *
SP Hugh Stewart (Grand City ) (12-5/2.87) *
SP Jeremy Kirk (St. John) (11-4/2.25) *
SP Don Klingenberg (Eastshore) (12-3/2.55) *
SP Marv Webb (Volusia) (11-5/3.12) *
SP Stan Kivas (Elnora) (8-3/1.77) *
MR Johnny Young (Rocky Rapids) (5-3/1.97/5 saves) *
C Steve Stanek (Crystal Lake) (.301/8/39/30) **
C Allie Blackwell (Rocky Rapids) (.291/4/23/32) ***
C Kyell Rindahl (Sligo) (.266/11/31/23) *
1B Ernie Pryor (Volusia) (.330/15/44/44) *
1B Johnny Zahn (St. John) (.333/6/44/45) *
1B Marco Ameche (Marston) (.315/11/50/45) **
2B Teddy Grantham (Grand City) (.322/13/35/44) **
2B Paul Coker (Middlefield) (.285/18/50/35) *
2B Akihiro Samurakami (Elnora) (.343/6/25/43) *
3B Antonio Diaz (Volusia) (.310/11/44/42) *
3B Edmund Daisak (Fort Benton) (.299/12/52/36) *
SS Olari Ojastu (Valka) (.295/12/43/44) ***
SS Kenny Johnston (Middlefield) (.327/3/33/48) *
LF Allen Dundee (Wynnamac) (.307/9/58/42) *
LF Russell Watkins (LaGrange) (.308/18/42/45) **
CF Scotty Lagrange (Eastshore) (.361/24/71/59) ***
CF Bobby Gamble (Sugar Valley) (.335/14/49/48) **
CF Guy St. Laurent (Cold Creek) (.314/14/50/48) *
CF Bobby Meusel (Belair Beach) (.317/12/47/47) *
RF Neil Richard (Eastshore) (.371/5/31/33) *
RF Noel Martin (Belle Plaine) (.323/11/61/50) **
RF Travis Glass (Elnora) (.278/18/51/42) ***** **

Tycobbian All-Stars

SP Pablo Pilar (San Alejo) (10-3/2.04) *
SP Mark Pennington (Mahaska) (11-4/2.50) *
SP Jeff Owens (North Hills) (11-6/2.47) *
SP David Michael (North Hills) (13-6/2.97) *
SP Junior Bristow (Tuckanarra) (11-6/2.90) *
SP Dan Pascioni (Southport) (10-5/2.99) **
SP Rance Raymond (La Claire) (8-4/2.29) *
MR Fernando Sanches (Luxora) (7-3/2.86/11 saves) *
MR Ralph Fulton (Turon) (4-1/1.51/6 saves) *
C Paco Diaz (Arlon) (.343/3/30/28) **
C Benny Donaldson (Colchester) (.341/8/34/28) *
C Chris Cardinale (East Point) (.266/13/38/30) *
1B Davey Sloan (White River) (.330/19/54/49) *
1B Kurt Gustavsen (Chicopee) (.327/16/57/51) *
1B Jaxon Shatner (East Point) (.295/18/50/44) *
2B Frank Marcello (Arroyo Grande) (.249/21/59/37) *
2B Todd Goodwin (Chicopee) (.315/10/48/40) *
2B John Velasco (Fairfax) (.327/12/46/49) **
3B Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) (.268/23/55/40) *
3B Dean O'Donnell (North Hills) (.329/10/38/47) *
SS Albert Wherry (Midway) (.317/18/51/45) *
SS Cody Hanks (Red Bluff) (.326/16/40/37) *
LF Jim Lewellen (Colchester) (.308/29/70/55) ****
LF Lorne Evans (Tuckanarra) (.327/17/54/69) ***** **
LF Adam Thurgood (.341/17/58/52) *
CF Vince Barbieri (Kenwood) (.340/7/52/43) *
CF Alfredo Cobos (Chicopee) (.327/13/57/39) *
CF Ike Sweetwater (Red Bluff) (.327/15/53/46) **
RF Pettis Pentleton (Kenwood) (.316/9/36/38) **
RF William Snyder (Cape Coral) (.306/10/46/40) *

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 21, 2034

TU Triumphs 6-1 In IPA All-Star Clash
The Tycobbian Stars made quick work of the Ruthlandian Stars 6-1 in the IPA All-Star Game at Elnora's State Fair Park with standout pitching and timely hitting... it was the TU's second win in a row and third in four years... overall Tycobbia has won 23 of the 34 games.

The hits were even in the game as both clubs collected 9 hits each... the TU All-Stars were paced by C Paco Diaz (Arlon) with 2 hits and a run scored and by 2B Todd Goodwin (Chicopee), who doubled across 2 runs in the seventh... Paco Diaz and Todd Goodwin shared the MVP Award... 3B Antonio Diaz (Volusia) and 1B Johnny Zaun (St. John) had 2 hits apiece for the RU All-Stars... Dave Michael (North Hills) got the win with a scoreless third inning and Tommy Smith (Volusia) picked up the loss when he allowed the first run of the game in the third.

Ruthlandia never was in the game as Tycobbia jumped up 1-0 after three frames, 2-0 after four and sealed the win with 3 runs in the seventh to make it 5-0... both clubs scored single runs in the ninth.

Thanks for the kind words, EC. I follow along with you dynasty quite a bit and really enjoy reading it. I would love it if you posted or sent me the colors for all the teams. I won't get to them all right away as time is limited, but I will enjoy working on them over time.

That would be great! Do them at your leisure.

Great to hear from you again! You are one of my favorite all-time OOTPB members.

I'll get the team colors to you soon. Thanks for doing them for me.

Please size them up to fit OOTPB.

I'll post them in this thread.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 21, 2034

IPA Inducts 5 New Hall-Of-Famers
The Islandian Pro Alliance Hall of Fame has five new members. Honored this year at the All-Star Game in Elnora were super greats Sal Jordan, Les Patterson, Andy Pearson, Bucky O'Brian and Kenny Willard.

Sal Jordan was a mound mainstay of the Rolling Hills Reds from 2013-2033. He retired at age 41 with a 314-242 record and a 3.07 ERA. Jordan won 20 games on 7 occasions, won the TU Golden Arm Award in 2026, made the All-Stars 4 times and led the Reds to 5 pennants. He ranks 9th in victories in the IPA.

Les Patterson starred for the Sligo Rovers for most of his 21 seasons and chalked up a 306-230 mark with a sensational 2.79 ERA in his illustrious career. He was an All-Star 7 times and won 20 games 7 times, including his first 5 seasons in the league. Patterson paced the Rovers to 4 pennants and a Pro Cup title in 2021. He won two games in the Pro Cup Finals and was named Co-MVP. Patterson played in the IPA from 2017 to 2033 and is 13th in all-time wins. He was named the best pitcher in the RU twice, winning the Golden Arm in back-to-back years, 2021 and 2022. Patterson retired at age 42.

Andy Pearson was an outstanding shortstop from 2013 to 2032, mostly with the Arroyo Grande Suns in the Tycobbian Union. He collected 3097 hits and compiled a fine .314 lifetime BA with 384 homers, 1567 RBIs and scored 1735 runs. Pearson was honored 11 times on the All-Star team and captured 3 Golden Gloves. He called it quits at age 40. Pearson sparked the Suns to 4 pennants in his career.

Bucky O'Brian played in the IPA from 2013 to 2033, the vast majority of the time with the Mahaska Haymakers. Bucky was an 11-time All-Star behind the plate, won one Golden Glove and led the Haymakers to 3 TU North flags. At the plate he posted a .299 career average with 2929 hits, 374 roundtrippers, 1559 RBIs and 1352 runs. O'Brian was 40 when he retired.

Kenny Willard was a force for the Ancona Red Elephants for most of the years from 2013 to 2031. He batted .301 lifetime with 2984 hits, 441 HRs, 1614 RBIs and 1698 runs. 7 times Willard was an All-Star, won the RU Most Valuable Player Award in 2022 and hauled in 5 Golden Gloves, while helping Ancona win 4 RU North divisional crowns. He hung up his spikes at 39.