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Eugene Church · 11-20-2012, 09:46 PM

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.

11-20-2012, 09:46 PM	#3337
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,079	*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.