[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, May 1, 2037

3-WAY TIE IN TU EAST
One month into the 2037 season there is a three-way tie for the top spot in the Tycobbian East Division featuring two bonifide contenders -the Tuckanarra Blue Jays and the East Point Panthers - and a possible flash-in-the-pan - the High Mesa Cowboys... only time will tell... Ozarka was made the favorite by THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason survey with perennial powerhouse Tuckanarra rated number two and East Point number three... to find High Mesa you had to go to the bottom of the list... the Cowboys were picked to end up in last place... the Red Bluff Red Sox are fourth in the standings, trailing by 4 games, while Ozarka has gotten off to a sluggish start and is in fifth place, 5 games out of first.

Tuckanarra (15-9) has won the TU East Division the last three seasons and is riled up and rarin' to do it again... the Blue Jays' goal is always the IPA Pro Cup, which they have won three times, most recently in 2035... the Tucks are a juggernaut with a Tycobbian-leading .290 BA (1st), 143 runs (1st) and 35 HRs (1st-tied)... strong on the hill, too, with a very good 3.17 ERA (6th)... Blue Jay stalwarts RF Lorne Evans (.284), 2B Josh George (.268), SS Eddie Darby (.272) and C Jon Paul (.316) have gotten some help from 31-year-old rookie IF Cliff Winter (.340) and 1B Andy Preston (.421)... Paul is the club leader with 10 homers... Evans has 6... RBI leaders are Winter with 20, Paul 19 and Evans 15... Tuckanarra still has a strong starting rotation with Bobby Reid (5-0/2.28), Jeff Buttram (3-1/2.18) and Junior Bristow (3-2/3.25), who was the TU MVP and Golden Arm winner last year... number four starter and 17-game winner Rudy Rosario (1-1/5.28) has struggled so far this season... the Blue Jays may be better than last year when they were considered the best team in the IPA.

The East Point Panthers (15-9) have had a winning record for the last decade and sport two pennants during that stretch in 2031 and 2033... the team leaders are their starting foursome of Dixie Brooks (2-2/2.62), Frank Blair (2-2/3.05), Burton Cook (4-2/2.94) and Johnny Moore (3-1/2.93)... to challenge in the race the Panthers are going to have to get better in the bullpen (6.97 ERA-32nd)... offensively they don't hit much for average with a .251 BA (22nd), but they do have some pop with 37 HRs (1st-tied)... offensive leaders are SS Dean O'Donnell (.309), LF Ricky Arnold (.304) and 3B Jack Melgaar (.328)... 1B Karl Jankauskas tops the team with 21 RBIs and 8 HRs, but is batting a lowly .209... long-time star 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.226) has gotten off to a slow start... the great pitching and good firepower should keep them in the hunt.

Is High Mesa (15-9) for real?... for the last ten seasons they have been mired in the second division... it's been 35 years since the Cowboys made the playoffs... the only success the team has ever had was the Pro Cup year in 2002 and the playoffs in 2003... the experts don't have much faith in them, slotting them in the basement in the preseason poll this year... however, a closer look reveals some pretty good ballplayers in pitchers Dean Harris (4-0/2.25), Virgil Hasper (3-2/3.05) and Max Jung (3-3/3.10)... those are really good ERAs considering they have to pitch in one of the smallest venues in the IPA... standouts at the plate are veteran 1B Michael Page (.311), 2B Tony O'Neil (.392), RF Brad Holland (.306) and LF Clay Johnston (.322)... McNeill is the third-leading batter in the TU... 34-year-old Page leads the Cowpokes with 8 HRs and 19 RBIs... 34-year-old CF Corbett Brooks (.250) is not much for average, but he produces with 5 HRs ad 16 RBIs... Page and Brooks each have over 400 career homers... I don't expect High Mesa to have the staying power for the title, but they might be able to get out of the second division, sneak into the first division and have a winning season.

The fourth place Red Bluff Red Sox (11-13) last participated in the playoffs in 2008, but do have a Pro Cup to their credit, won in 2004... last year they wound up third and were looking forward to better things this year... however, the pollsters were not that impressed and placed them no better than fourth in the pennant race... the numbers don't add up for the Red Sox with a paltry .241 BA (28th), ranked 18th in scoring and 24th in pitching... the Red Sox have only two pluses - they can go deep - they are tied for first in the TU with 37 HRs... and they have two capable starters in Ayden Carmack (4-0/2.83) and Banzuki Hasegawa (3-2/3.04)... about the best Red Bluff can do in the standings is make the first division... maybe fourth place if they keep hitting the ball out of the park and their two aces keep winning... the second division is the most likely verdict.

The Ozarka Naturals (10-14) are a disappointing fifth this season after being a very distant second the last three years to Tuckanarra... the Nats won their last TU East flag in 2030... and despite making the postseason 14 times and playing for the Pro Cup on five occasions, they have never won the IPA... but the Naturals' mound corps and solid bats impressed enough sportswriters this preseason to get the nod over Tuckanarra in the pennant chase... but it was not a good April for Ozarka... the hitters let them down with a .233 BA (30th) and they ranked 31st in scoring... however the pitchers held up with a standout 3.00 ERA (3rd) sparked by Glen Jenkins (3-3/2.30), Zenon Metaxis (3-1/3.48) and Leon Bernard (2-4/1.91)... 2B Gunnar Norheim (.321) was the only reliable bat in April... the Nats' bats should perk up and get them back in the race by season's end.

The South Fork Stallions (9-15) are in sixth in the TU East standings... last year they came in dead last... the Stallions were chosen sixth in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll... it's been a long time since they made the playoffs... South Fork had a great year in 2025 and took home its only Pro Cup in the club's history... last year the Stallions had terrible pitching with a 4.71 ERA... it's even worse this year with a miserable 5.59 ERA (32nd)... only the Grand City Cybercats of the Ruthlandian South have posted lousier numbers with a 5.61 ERA... rookie starter Cecil Alexander (3-3/4.78) is the best of the the bad... the offense is fairly decent with a .260 BA (15th), 24th in scoring and tied for ninth with 32 home runs... 3B Elton Jacoby has a great April with a .382 mark, 4 HRs and 18 RBIs... LF Joel Fowler chipped in with a .306 BA, 5 homers and 11 RBIs... and SS Jess Wilkerson added a .286 BA with 4 roundtrippers and 13 RBIs... RF Keenan O'Dwyer batted .275 and has a team high 6 HRs and 15 RBIs.

The Midway Wolves (7-17) and the Hillsboro Blazers are pulling up the rear in the division cellar... the Wolves were forecast to finish fifth this season in the preseason poll... the Blazers were picked seventh.... in recent seasons Midway managed a winning record except for last year when they wound up sixth and 10 games under .500... the Wolves are near the bottom in all stats with a very poor .238 BA (29th), 29th in scoring and 28th in HRs with 17... pitching-wise the staff is ranked 27th with a 4.48 ERA... the only good news has been the latest in a long line of Chandlers, Yuma Chandler, the youngest son of Midway manager Cochise Chandler, who burst on the IPA scene with a torrid April... the 25-year-old rookie CF batted .460 with 5 HRs and 11 RBIs in his first month in the league... the Wolves still have one of the finest hurlers in IPA history still holding his own at age 36... in his 17th year Bobby Dorignac is 3-3 with a solid 3.09 ERA... in his career he is 302-204 with a superlative 2.82 ERA... John Anderson (3-3/3.06) is the only other quality arm on the staff.

Hapless Hillsboro (7-17) has had only 10 winning seasons in its history and has never participated in the postseason playoffs... only twice in 2020 and 2033 have the Blazers been in a pennant race... they were seventh in this year's preseason pickings... the Hillsboro hitting is absolutely horrific with a microscopic .217 BA (32nd), rated 32nd in scoring and tied for 28th in HRs... pitching is mediocre with a 4.18 ERA (21st)... Freddy Berry is the only pitcher doing well with a 3-0 record and a fine 2.41 ERA... only 1B Phillip Stafford is having a good year with 7 HRs, 16 RBIs and a .342 BA.

BSC BUCS BREAK ON TOP IN TU WEST
Sentenced to the Tycobbian West cellar in THE ISLANDIAN TIMES preseason poll, the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers have not played according to script... they have bolted ahead of the more-heralded contenders, topping flag favorite La Claire and fifth pick Kenwood by one game, two in front of number three selection Denton City and three up on sixth-rated Arlon... the other shocker is the defending division champ Chicopee... the Braves had a horrible start and are tied for last place with the Rolling Hills Reds, 7 games off the pace.

First place Bay St. Clair (16-8) came in seventh last season, 24 games under .500... that was a downturn after six good seasons in a row, including a division title in 2030... now the Bucs have bounced back with a pretty good offense and some good punch in their bats and the best record in the IPA... they have hit 33 out of the park (7th-tied) with a .263 BA (13th) and are tied for sixth in scoring... the most productive performers are RF Milt Powers (.292) with 5 HRs ad 18 RBIs and 1B Ryan Dukes (.292) with 6 HRs and 16 RBIs... Jay Callahan (3-0/2.82) and John Karlsen (5-0/3.86) have led the pitching corps... it was a zippity doo dah month where everything apparently went the Buccaneers' way... will Bay St. Clair keep up this pace?... most experts think not... in the end it will come down to Chicopee, La Claire and Denton City... BSC will probably wind up in the second division.

The La Claire Lynx (15-9) are tied with Kenwood for the runner-up spot... coming off a third-place finish in 2036, they were assigned the favorite's role in the preseason poll... the Lynx have played good ball the last 10 years and have won two pennants, but never have taken the IPA Pro Cup trophy... they are a well-balanced bunch with impressive pitching and a pretty fair offense... the team ERA is 3.29 (7th), the team BA is .262 (14th) with 24 HRs (19th) and they are tied for 12th place in scoring runs... 200-game winner Pat Kovacs (3-1/1.97) is off to another fine year and is getting strong help from number two starter Tony Rossi (5-0/2.62) and bullpen ace Terry Baird (2-2/2.51/5 saves)... Konrad Keller (2-3/3.83) has been a dependable in the number three slot... the leading bats are CF Jason Baker (.330), 1B Kris Wilson (.290) and RF Billy Holland (.280).

The Kenwood Wildcats (15-9) haven't been to the postseason since 2024, but do possess a Pro Cup crown captured in 2014... the last two years have been downers with seventh and fifth place finishes... the critics said it would be pretty much the same this year, predicting another fifth place finish... but the Wildcats have looked better than that in the early going with a good attack... they are batting .278 (8th), ranked 8th in scoring runs and have decent power with 31 HRs (12th-tied)... Kenwood is just average on the hill with a respectable 3.89 ERA (19th)... the offensive leaders are SS Ricky Boyer (.388), CF Clark Chamberlain (.338), C Antonio Dominguez (.315), LF Harry Tashina (.313) and C Corky DiNozzo (.296)... DiNozzo had 7 HRs in April and Tashina clouted 5... staff leaders are Glen Murray (3-0/2.96), Doug Kirkpatrick (3-1/4.08), and Freddy Gooch (3-2/3.91)... the Wildcats have the talent to make a run this year.

Last year second place Denton City (14-10) gave the TU West champ Chicopee fits before succumbing by two games... it was a heartbreaking loss since Denton City hasn't graced the postseason since 2013... the Redbirds are forecast to be a serious challenger again this year... however the experts put them third behind La Claire and Chicopee in the preseason ratings... the Redbirds are well-rounded with solid pitching and solid bats... the pitchers have posted an impressive 3.38 ERA (10th) and the hitters have put up some very good stats with a .271 BA (10th), 33 HRs (7th-tied) and are tied for fourth in scoring runs with 129... DC has a fine veteran starting foursome consisting of Troy McIntosh (4-0/1.78), Stephen Edwards (1-0/1.76), Denny Mills (2-1/3.00) and Francisco Salcido (4-2/3.92)... topping the batting order are C Felton Welch (.383), RF Pete Doyle (.330), CF Russ Foster (.328), SS Sammy Thornton (.301), 2B Rod Hunt (.292) and LF Sam Carson (.288)... Doyle has 7 HRs to lead the club, plus 16 RBIs... Welch has 4 HRs and the most RBIs with 19... the Redbirds will be reckoned with before the curtain is drawn on the season... it should be quite a battle with La Claire, Kenwood and probably Chicopee, too... the Braves have had a bad April (9-15) and are in a last place tie with Rolling Hills.

The Arlon Champions (13-11) are in the fifth spot currently and have been stuck in the second division for the last eight years, haven't made the playoffs in 15 years and have never won a Pro Cup... last year they were sixth, but they are playing winning baseball this year, at least in the first month of the season... the preseason pronosticators have relegated them to another second-division finish, putting them in the sixth spot in the standings... the Champs' pitching has improved this season with a 3.65 ERA (14th)... the offense is about the same as last year with a .250 BA (23rd), 21 HRs (25th) and is rated 23rd in run scoring... Lanny Gray (2-2/2.39), Frankie Gauthier (2-2/3.24), Pat Stuyvesant (3-2/3.99) and Emil Nowak (3-2/4.02) have been a fairly good starting rotation thus far... but the bullpen (6.00 ERA-29th) has been awful... offensively only RF Mark Cameron (.294) and SS Roland Duvernet (.294) have been dependable hitters.

The Bayview Vikings (10-14) were in the TU West basement last season and this year look no better... 14 times in the last 16 years the Viks have been languishing in the second division with the only winning seasons in 2034 and 2035... Bayview hasn't been in the playoffs since 2016 and hasn't collected a Pro Cup... the Vikings have some power, but little else... they are batting .245 (27th) with 32 HRs (9th-tied), but are only average in scoring (17th)... mound-wise Bayview is not very good with a 4.40 ERA (25th)... RF Roy Ricks (.400) and 2B Jerry Culpepper (.267) are the dominant hitters... Ricks is leading the Tycobbian Union in batting average and sixth overall in the IPA... Ricks has 4 HRs and 11 RBIs... Culpepper is the team leader with 9 HRs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs... he is second in the TU in homers and tied for fifth in both leagues... Vance Codsworth (2-1/2.29) is the staff leader so far with some help from veterans Joaquin Lima (2-1/4.05) and Christy Kane (2-4/3.86).

The stunner of the year so far is the Chicopee Braves (9-15), who have taken the TU West Division title for the last three years... picked for second place to La Claire in the preseason, the Braves have been dismal and fallen into last place, tied with Rolling Hills... normally one of the best batting teams in the IPA, Chicopee is hitting only .246 (26th) this year, is only an average-scoring club (19th-tied) and has only 26 HRs (24th)... and to top it off, the pitching is really, really bad with a 4.88 ERA (30th)... the bullpen is even worse with an embarrassing 6.64 ERA (31st)... no wonder the Braves are in the basement... it's not likely to remain so... only star CF Charley Kota is having a good year... in fact, he is having a great year with a .389 BA, 6 HRs, 17 RBIs and 18 runs... only Ryan Ledbetter (3-1/2.34) and Judd Hampton (3-1/3.68) have prospered on the mound... 20-game winner and ace Heyoka Chaska is 0-5 with a 4.50 ERA in his 6 starts this year... the Braves better get busy and turn it around in May... they don't want to be too far behind at the All-Star break, if they want to contend this year and win their fourth successive TU West flag.

The Rolling Hills Reds (9-15) didn't expect such a bad start this year... the Reds have been fourth the last two seasons and the prediction was for another fourth-place finish in the preseason voting... the Reds have been a formidable ballclub the last 20 years... they have captured 8 pennants during that time and been IPA champions in 2029 and 2031... the Reds are missing 236-game winner Jakob Wagner from the starting rotation... he will be out until July recovering from elbow surgery... team ace Wagner was 15-9 last season with a 3.03 ERA when he was injured in early August... he was expected back this Spring, but suffered a setback... Mike Daniels (4-1/1.93) and Matthew Christianson (2-2/2.57) have done well this season, but haven't gotten much help... the main run producers have been veterans C Brian Davis (.354), 2B Buffy Kowalczyk (.322) and SS Dino Manale (.283)... as a team Rolling Hills has average pitching with a 3.81 ERA (16th) and a poor offense with a .251 BA (21st), only 20 HRs (26th-tied) and ranked 28th in scoring... without a healthy Wagner, the Reds are destined for the depths of the division this year.