[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, April 1, 2035

Dogfight In TU East Between Panthers And Blue Jays
Two old enemies are back at each other's throat in the Tycobbian East. It should be quite a dogfight between East Point Panthers and Tuckanarra Blue Jays before the dust settles. The pollsters in The Islandian Times preseason poll have named the Panthers a slight favorite over the Blue Jays. The rest of teams are given little chance of challenging for the pennant this year. Tuckanarra had a monstrous season with 98 victories in 2034 and handily won the pennant by a healthy margin. The Blue Jays are still a juggernaut, but the Panthers are expected to rebound from a disappointing third-place finish last year. They are still a gifted club that captured the division in 2031 and 2033. The Tucks took it in 2032 and 2034. Last year's runner-up Ozarka is rated the third-best team in the race with the Midway Wolves placed fourth in the standings. In the TU East second division will be the High Mesa Cowboys in the fifth slot, Hillsboro number six, Red Bluff seventh and South Fork eighth and last.

Poll Ranking/Team Name/2034 Record/Standings
1. East Point Panthers (80-74) (18 GB) 3rd Place
2. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (98-56) (--) * 1st Place
3. Ozarka Naturals (82-72) (16 GB) 2nd Place
4. Midway Wolves (78-76) (20 GB) 4th Place
5. High Mesa Cowboys (66-88) (32 GB) 6th Place
6. Hillsboro Blazers (59-95) (39 GB) 8th Place
7. Red Bluff Red Sox (71-83) (27 GB) 5th Place
8. South Fork Stallions (61-93) (37 GB) 7th Place

1. East Point Panthers (2.43 BA/3.21 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Dixie Brooks (17-15/3.16), Frank Blair (14-19/3.49), Jack Bolden (9-8/3.03) and Johnny Moore (6-7/2.36/15 saves)
Top Batters: 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.267/26 HR/69 RBI/79 R), 1B Jaxon Shatner (.253/29 HR/79 RBI/79 R), C Chris Cardinale (.263/25 HR/75 RBI/65 R), Ed Milstead (.274/18 HR/69 RBI/70 R) and SS Lanny Lansberry (.260/21 HR/56 RBI/66 R)
Comments: East Point still possesses a strong pitching staff... however Stephen Edwards (18-12/2.98) will be missing as he was traded to Denton City for a promising CF Alden Evans (.268/17 HR/75 RBI/56 R)... 20-year-old rookie Scotty Bentley is highly-rated, but will slowly be broken worked into the rotation... it was the bats that let them down last season... the Panthers still hit homers, but not much for average... they have no standout sticks... free agent Ricky Urbina (.291/7 HR/40 RBI/47 R) came over from Ranford (RU) and might help a little.

2. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (.288 BA/3.32 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Bobby Reid (25-8/2.59), Junior Bristow (21-13/3.23), Jeff Buttrum (17-9/3.03), Duke Mahoney (18-7/3.66), James Warner (12-5/2.39/12 saves), 31-year-old free agent Rudy Rosario (15-13/1.83) from Colfax (RU)
Top Batters: RF Spade Weldon (.323/17 HR/94 RBI/102 R), LF Lorne Evans (.331/39 HR/124 RBI/128 R/15 SB), C Paul Jackson (.316/16 HR/68 RBI/71 R), CF Pancho Villa (.299/28 HR/100 RBI/77 R), 1B Josh George (.273/23 HR/84 RBI/82 R)
Comments: The very good just got a lot better... the Tucks added free agent Rudy Rosario to its already fine staff... he led the IPA with a superb 1.83 ERA last season... the Blue Jays have it all... it's not secret they will do well this season... it should be a great pennant race with talented East Point.

3. Ozarka Naturals (.271 BA/3.75 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Glen Jenkins (18-12/2.97), Stan Carey (11-11/2.98/11 Saves), Teddy O'Shea (15-12/3.95), Leon Bernard (11-18/3.97)
Top Batters: CF Lonnie Gillespie (.319/8 HR/69 RBI/100 R/17 SB), 3B Jimmy Woods (.311/10 HR/90 RBI/59 R), 2B Jay Barbour (.284/7 HR/47 RBI/87 R/14 SB)
Comments: Nats need more offensive firepower to contend for pennant... pitching is pretty fair... not in the class of East Point and Tuckanarra.

4. Midway Wolves (.260 BA/3.77 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Bobby Dorignac (19-12/2.83), Cary Snead (20-12/3.08 ERA), Bobby Boy Wolf (9-6/3.41/6 saves)
Top Batters: 2B Albert Wherry (.294/30 HR/91 RBI/84 R), CF Yancey Tanner (.318/1 HR/55 RBI/76 R/38 SB)
Comments: Two quality starters in Dorignac and Snead, but they need a solid number three man in the rotation... Dorignac is headed for the HOF... in 14 seasons the 34-year-old is 262-175 with a terrific 2.77 ERA... at 31, Snead is going into this 12th year... lifetime he is 129-87 with a fine 3.15 ERA... they need to give free agent from Waleska (RU) Freddi Hahn a good shot at the number three spot... Hahn (1-0/4.50) was little used last year... he averaged 15 wins a year for Claxton (RU)... reliever Wolf will go into the starting rotation this year after an impressive rookie season in the bullpen... the Wolves have to score more runs, too... Midway is just a middle-of-the-road club.

5. High Mesa Cowboys (.253 BA/4.17 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Garret Danielson (10-16/4.17), Virgil Hasper (10-15/4.84)
Top Batters: C John Paul (.290/24 HR/62 RBI/49 R), LF Randy Williams (.279/23 HR/62 RBI/56 R)
Comments: Just a lackluster ball club, both in pitching and hitting... no top-notch players... they did sign a very good starter Dean Harris (15-18/3.35) from Kilkenny (RU)... Harris is 112-117 in 8 years in the IPA with a strong 2.95 ERA... the Cowpokes will remain in the second division of the TU East this year.

6. Hillsboro Blazers (.243 BA/4.49 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Freddy Berry (14-15/3.80), Ralph Quick (9-15/3.17), Russell McIntosh (12-17/4.18), free agent from Cold Creek (RU) Eddie Brasher (7-5/3.25/20 saves)
Top Batters: 1B Phillip Stafford (.295/19 HR/79 RBI/65 R), 2B Marty O'Reilly (.287/16 HR/80 RBI/75 R), LF Rhett Scarlett (.275/15 HR/68 RBI/64 R)
Comments: basically just a bad team with no hitting and no pitching to speak of... will finish near the bottom of the division again this year... the Blazers were deep in the cellar last year.

7. Red Bluff Red Sox (.261 BA/3.88 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Jimmy McMillan (20-13/3.05), reliever Dennis Austin (9-7/2.99/10 saves)
Top Batters: CF Ike Sweetwater (.309/29 HR/107 RBI/94 R), 2B Cody Hanks (.303/26 HR/84 RBI/71 R), 1B Garris Aiken (.262/23 HR/84 RBI/63 R), SS Fran Blanchard (.281/16 HR/60 RBI/76 R)
Comments: Red Sox have some power led by 24-year-old star Ike Sweetwater, Harris and Aiken, but comes up way short in the pitching department... McMillan is a solid starter at age 27... Red Bluff will be an also-ran again this season.

8. South Fork Stallions (.255 BA/4.48 ERA)
Top Pitchers: Tyrus Cobb (14-14/3.63), Alex Gillespie (12-20/3.41), Denny Sorvino (8-5/3.58)
Top Batters: RF Keenan O'Dwyer (.286/23 HR/83 RBI/87 R), SS Elton Jacoby (.283/19 HR/78 RBI/75 R/21 SB), CF Corbett Brooks (.259/24 HR/80 RBI/85 R)
Comments: Stallions have lousy pitching overall, but have three fair starters in Cobb, Gillespie and Sorvino... not much at the plate either... South Fork will be stuck in the second division again... future does not bode well for the Stallions.

My Tycobbian East Forecast: I think Tuckanarra will again capture the Tybobbian East flag for the second year in a row... The Tucks will outhit and outpitch East Point... the Panther bats are nowhere equal to the Blue Jay bats... in recent years Tuckanarra and East Point have alternated winning the pennant... but this year I think it goes to the Blue Jays, who are poised to win themselves another Pro Cup... it's been a decade since they won back-to-back IPA titles in 2023 and 2024... the Panthers will be second, followed the Midway Wolves in third place... rounding out the first division in the fourth spot will be the Ozarka Naturals, who have suspect hitting... Midway's mound staff will keep them in front of the Nats... there's no standout in the rest of the division... Red Bluff gets the nod for fifth place with its offense... give sixth to Hillsboro because of its pitching... High Mesa and Southport will battle it out for last place.