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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 19, 2035
Tucks 1st In TU East, Nats 2nd At Summer Break
Powerhouse Tuckanarra is on top of the Tycobbian East and shooting for its third flag in four years... at the All-Star break the Blue Jays lead the Ozarka Naturals by 3 games, third place Midway by 7 and fourth place South Fork, Red Bluff and High Mesa by 9 games... seventh place belongs to the preseason pick, the East Point Panthers, who have slumbered most of the season and trail by 10 games... in last place are the Hillsboro Blazers, who started off like wildfire in April, but have slumped to the cellar in the last six weeks.
On paper few teams in the IPA are as good as Tuckanarra... the Blue Jays appear to have no weakness and they excel at everything... only Elnora of the RU East matches Tuckanarra's statistical rankings... top starters are All-Star Bobby Reid (11-4/2.34), Junior Bristow (10-6/2.52) and 31-year-old free agent from Colfax (RU) Rudy Rosario (8-6/3.45)... the bullpen is impressive, too, with James Warner (1-2/1.88/10 saves) and Philip Marston (4-1/2.67/2 saves)... superstar and All-Star LF Lorne Evans (.305/21/64/56) is having another standout season... also lending a helpful hand at the plate are All-Star RF Spade Weldon (.322/10/39/43), 1B Josh George (.243/18/54/46), CF Pancho Villa (.284/11/49/26) and SS Eddie Darby (.291/6/32/38)... the Tucks are aiming for a rematch with Chicopee in the Pro Cup playoffs... the Blue Jays were favored to win the IPA crown last year, but stumbled in the first round against the big bats of the Braves.
The Ozarka Naturals have a good-scoring offense, but are only average on the hill... but they have hung tough with Tuckanarra so far... heading up the attack are a rock solid group of hitters: RF Bob Banachak (.332/8/26/41), SS Nick Nova (.329/6/29/48), CF Lonnie Gillespie (.308/4/31/53), 3B Duffy Morrison (.284/5/49/27), 1B Kent Harmon (.295/9/42/35) and LF Reggie Davidson (.289/10/25/35)... the top hurlers are Stan Carey (10-4/3.31) and Glen Jenkins (10-6/3.09)... a team can do well in the IPA with two strong starters and good hitting.
The third-place Midway Wolves are only average at the plate and mediocre on the mound... the most reliable hitters are 1B Shaman Sakima (.321/7/40/34), CF Yancey Tanner (.325/0/17/38) and 3B Rusty Graves (.294/5/21/20)... the Wolves lack longball power... vets Bobby Dorignac (8-7/3.24) and All-Star reliever Freddi Hahn (5-2/3.34/11 saves) are the only quality pitchers.
South Fork, Red Bluff and High Mesa are all tied for fourth in the TU East standing and all are struggling under the .500 mark at mid-year... the Stallions have decent pitching, but fall short at the plate... Yancy Garrett (9-4/2.26) and Alex Gillespie (9-7/2.91) have been strong on the mound with good help in the bullpen from Nicky Palermo (5-4/3.25/6 saves)... youngsters CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.266/11/35/34) and SS Elton Jacoby (.273/9/36/39) aren't any great shakes, but they are the most dependable run producers in the lineup.
The Red Bluff Red Sox have been stuck in the TU East second division for the last three years and have a chance to move up this year, but not much... the Red Sox are short on pitching and hitting for average, but they can go deep... All-Star CF Ike Sweetwater (.328/13/39/50) is getting better with each season... 2B Cody Hanks (.280/11/36/38) and 1B Garris Aiken (.249/10/38/33) also put some punch in the batting order... the starters are pretty fair with Ayden Carmack (7-4/3.45), Lloyd Clagsdale (8-7/3.50) and Tony Defazio (7-8/3.33)... last year's 20-game winner Jimmy McMillian has slipped to 6-10 and a 4.34 ERA this year.
The High Mesa Cowboys are trying to break an 8-year stretch in the second division this year... and just might make it with their good pitching paced by starters Virgil Hasper (10-5/3.19), Darrell Geoffrey (9-7/2.18) and Ronald Schmitt (5-3/3.51)... however, the Cowpokes are miserable on offense except for an occasional home-run blast... RF Clay Johnston (.268/23/51/39) and C John Paul (.235/15/34/35) are the power guys... Johnston is the TU leader with 23 home runs, second in the IPA to Taranto's Angelo Rossi, who has 24 in the Ruthlandian Union.
For the past 8 years the East Point Panthers have been pennant contenders, winding up with two division titles in 2031 and 2033 and never finishing worst than third place... the season started off great as the Panthers were picked to win the division in The Islandian Times preseason poll, but they have not lived up to expectations... they are in seventh place and 10 games off the pace... but all is not lost... the Panthers have been red-hot in June and may be turning the season around, but probably too late to catch Tuckanarra and Ozarka... third place is not out of the question... starting pitching has been fairly good, but the bullpen has been horrendous... two starters Johnny Moore (10-6/2.54) and Dixie Brooks (9-7/2.69) have stood out and Frank Blair (8-7/3.49) gives East Point a solid number-three man... after them the quality falls off considerably... spicing up the offense is All-Star 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.278/19/62/49)... also chipping in are RF Ed Milsted (.304/10/31/33) and rookie LF Ricky Arnold (.272/4/28/39).
The last-place Hillsboro Blazers sizzled in April with an 18-9 mark, good for second place behind Ozarka, but have gone stone cold since, going a pathetic 12-34... Eddie Brasher (7-8/3.03) and Russell McIntosh (9-5/4.11) lead the mound staff, while rookie LF Jurrien Bellini (.261/15/39/43) and CF Benny Kegel (.306/11/36/32) top the hitters.
Tycobbian East Forecast: Tuckanarra is a super club and it should pull away in the second half and take the TU East in easy fashion... Ozarka will hold on to second, but could be pushed by East Point's second-half resurgence... the Panthers will come out third... followed by Midway and Red Bluff, who will battle for the fourth and fifth positions... High Mesa with its good pitching might sneak into sixth place ahead of South Fork, while it's the basement for poor Hillsboro for the second year in a row and third time 2031.
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