[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 23, 2036

BRAVES HOLD OFF DC REDBIRDS IN TU WEST
For the first time in three seasons the Chicopee Braves had a tussle on their hands... in 2034 and 2035 they swamped everybody in the Tycobbian West by double digits... however this year the Denton City Redbirds stayed right with them most of the season before losing out by just three games... Chicopee opened up a good lead in July with a sizzling 21-8 record and fought off a determined rally by Denton City in September... it was the third successive TU West title for the hard-hitting Braves... third place went to the La Claire Lynx, who were 14 games out in the race... the Rolling Hills Reds came in fourth, 17 games back.

The rest of the clubs were under the .500 mark with Kenwood 20 games behind in fifth place... sixth-place Arlon was 25 games off the pace... seventh-place Bay St. Clair finished 29 games out of first... and Bayview was eighth and 30 games behind champ Chicopee.

1st - Chicopee: they won the division for the third straight season... the Braves have registered 90 or more wins the last three years... it took them 33 years to make the playoffs... no Pro Cup so far, but they have a good shot at it this year... Chicopee's lineup is chocked full of fine hitters... the Braves batted .278 (2nd), scored 863 runs (2nd) and clouted 203 HRs (5th)... they also have quality pitchers that posted a 3.75 ERA (14th)... defensively Chicopee is only average with a .972 FA... the Braves will give Tuckanarra quite a test in first-round playoff action just like they did last year... they had the Blue Jays down 3-0 and then lost the series.
Top Performers: Heyoka Chaska (20-15/3.04), Ryan Ledbetter (17-14/3.93), 34-year-old rookie reliever Johnny Stewart (12-3/2.32/21 saves), All-Star Charley Kota (.314/48/152/114), 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.343/25/80/102), LF Alfredo Cobos (.321/24/86/86), 2B Todd Goodwin (.281/13/60/122), All-Star RF Iron Jacket Chandler (.287/22/83/75), who was signed as a 29-year-old free agent from Midway of the TU East.

2nd - Denton City: 3 GB... leaped up from sixth and 19 GB last year... this was the first time in over 20 years that the Redbirds contended... DC was a powerhouse in the early years of the IPA with 8 playoff appearances in the first 12 years, twice getting to the Pro Cup Finals in 2005 and 2008... the Redbirds scored well with 816 runs (4th), hit well with a .277 BA (4th) and have good power with 174 HRs (10th)... pitching is average with a 3.80 ERA (15th)... and they are slightly below average with a .971 FA.
Top Performers: Denny Mills (22-7/3.99), Francisco Salcido (18-12/3.66), Stephen Edwards (15-15/3.63), RF Pete Doyle (.319/30/90/103), C Felton Welch (.308/24/106/76), SS Sammy Thornton (.312/3/59/91), 1B Barry McKnight (.290/21/86/53)

3rd - La Claire: 14 GB... up from fifth place the last two years 15 and 16 GB... only made the postseason twice in its history, 2028 and 2033... no Pro Cups... the Lynx are a respectable ball club with a .258 BA (13th), 691 runs (17th) and 146 HRs (22nd)... pretty average on the hill with a 3.68 team ERA (12th)... solid in the field with a .975 FA.
Top Performers: All-Star Pat Kovacs (20-9/2.49), who went over the 200 mark in victories this year at age 32, rookie Terry Baird (12-6/2.00/26 saves), rookie C Weldon Waller (.339/13/54/62), 1B Kris Wilson (.246/20/98/68), RF Billy Holland (.263/21/83/84)

4th - Rolling Hills: 17 GB... 4th and 12 GB last year... finished eighth in 2034 (31 GB)... one of the better IPA franchises with 10 playoff appearances and two Pro Cups (2029 and 2031)... in the middle of the pack talent-wise with a .270 BA (7th), 705 runs (15th) and 153 homers (19th)... better-than-average on the mound with a 3.68 team ERA (11th)... solid on defense with a .975 FA.
Top Performers: Mike Daniels (19-11/3.15), Matthew Christianson (18-14/2.83), CF Jason Garrett (.336/20/74/78), 1B Angelo Nardone (.295/20/84/61), 3B Dino Manale (.310/7/60/84), SS Buffy Kowalczyk (.302/10/57/59)

5th - Kenwood: 20 GB... up from seventh in 2035 (23 GB)... has one Pro Cup in 2014 and three postseason appearances, last one in 2024... fair offensively with 664 runs (25th), .258 BA (12th) and 158 HRs (18th)... not so hot on the hill with a 4.09 team ERA (23rd)... a little above average on defense with a .974 FA.
Top Performers: Doug Kirkpatrick (16-16/3.90), All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.299/46/110/88), RF Stuart Pickens (.309/25/65/66)

6th - Arlon: 25 GB... up a little this year... on bottom or near the bottom the previous three years... only been in playoffs three times, last time was in 2020... no Pro Cups... mediocre ball club with 4.18 team ERA (26th)... 637 runs (30th) with a .257 BA (14th) and 127 HRs (27th)... and good defense with a .976 FA.
Top Performers: Emil Nowak (17-17/3.64), Lanny Gray (15-15/4.17), RF Mark Cameron (.293/41/118/96), LF Charley Hastings (.322/10/59/85)

7th - Bay St. Clair: 29 GB... third last season 10 GB... this year snapped a six-year first-division run... last won the pennant in 2030... 9 postseason appearances overall, but no Pro Cups... pitching took a turn for the worse this year with a 4.08 ERA (22nd)... no much offense with 671 runs (22nd-tied), but fairly good power with 151 roundtrippers (20th)... just average with the gloves (.973 FA).
Top Performers: Jay Callahan (15-12/3.71), LF Milt Powers (.289/33/101/81), CF Cotton Cornwall (.308/17/89/59), 1B Ryan Dukes (.269/22/65/71)

8th - Bayview: 30 GB... sudden drop from second-place finishes the previous two years, 11 and 10 games off the pace... six times in the playoffs, but not lately... last pennant year was 2015... no Pro Cups... plays in a small ballpark... hit 204 home runs (4th) with 686 runs (20th) and batted .253 (21st)... lousy pitching with a 4.42 team ERA (30th)... could improve on defense with its .970 FA.
Top Performers: Christy Kane (14-16/3.41), All-Star 2B Jerry Culpepper (.301/46/105/97), SS Wade Rosewall (.284/35/84/75), 3B Marius Lokken (.285/23/58/80), 1B Giles Butler (.266/23/73/54), RF Roy Ricks (.260/20/70/73)