[Eugene Church]

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.