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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, July 1, 2039
WILDCATS ON TOP IN TU WEST
The first half of the Tycobbian West Division is over and the Kenwood Wildcats are sitting pretty on top of it with a three-game lead over preseason favorite Arlon... now all they have to do is win the second half and Kenwood will make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years... the Wildcats are tied with Fairfax of the TU West for the most wins in the IPA with 53... no other clubs are pennant contenders... third-place Rolling Hills trails by 10 games and fourth place Denton City is 12 off the pace... last year's champ La Claire is nowhere to be seen and is in seventh place and 18 games behind.
1. KENWOOD: the Wildcats are solid across-the-board with standout pitching and hitting... they rang up a 17-9 record in June, while Arlon was going 15-11... All-Star Glen Murray (11-6/2.68) has been the most effective starter, but has gotten help from Rusty Bradford (11-3/4.16) and Robby Barnhill (7-1/2.60)... closer Artemus Hale (6-0/2.53/6 saves) is the bullpen leader... top guns are brilliant rookie 2B Country Crowder (.354/4/33/41), LF Harry Tashina (.326/7/36/47), All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.298/20/49/38) and C-1B Antonio Dominguez (.295/7/36/37).
2. Arlon: the Champs are hoping the 20-year postseason drought will come to an end... they are a sharp club, too... outstanding pitching and defense with average bats, but no power... Emil Nowak (12-3/3.45), Pat Stuyvesant (9-4/3.32), Lanny Gray (8-7/3.30) and Ronny Farnsworth (6-5/3.70) are an effective foursome... Gray is the IPA strikeout leader with 143 in 153 innings... the relief corps is solid as well with Peter Shannon (1-0/0.89/6 saves), Dale Greene (3-1/1.93/4 saves) and Dirk Marek (1-0/2.20)... leading the way at the plate are All-Star LF Mark Cameron (.319/24/74/52), who is second in the Tycobbian Union in RBIs with 74 RBIs and fourth in homers with 24... All-Star C Nick Shafer chipped in with a club-high .328 BA with 10 HRs, 47 RBIs and 41 runs... other dependable bats have been CF Gussi Czajk (.275/3/30/50), 2B Todd Benson (.295/1/37/34) and 1B Ernie Pryor (.264/9/39/37).
3. Rolling Hills: the Reds slumped to a costly 11-15 in June to fall 10 games back... they are rock solid with a .279 BA (3rd), 413 runs (3rd-tied) and 95 longballs (10th)... fine defensively with a .976 FA... but on the mediocre side on the hill with a 4.16 ERA (23rd)... All-Star 3B Billy Christianson sparks the attack with a .330 BA, 9 HRs, 41 RBIs and 49 runs... with plenty of help from super rookie All-Star 1B Darwin Tard, who batted .315 with 16 HRs, 45 RBIs and 52 runs... RF Jimbo Foxx was a threat, too... he hit .305 with 16 HRs, 50 RBIs and 50 runs... the only effective pitcher on the staff has been Matty Christianson (10-3/2.69).
4. Denton City: Redbirds were picked to be a contender, but started off poorly with a 9-16 April, but have been good the last two months... went 17-12 and 15-11... good in all aspects of the game except for lackluster pitching... .269 BA (9th), 402 runs (7th) and 98 HRs (5th-tied)... potent line-up led by All-Star 1B Wayman Stetson (.302/23/62/51), All-Star RF Pete Doyle (.287/16/58/56) and SS Sammy Thornton (.285/4/24/44)... the Redbirds have a good starting rotation with Kevin Blevins (9-8/3.34), Troy McIntosh (8-8/3.14), Francisco Salcido (10-8/3.90) and Stephen Edwards (5-4/3.24/6 saves)... bullpen is suspect with a 4.23 ERA (30th).
5. Bayview: the Vikings tanked in June with a lousy 8-18 mark to fall out of the race... they were within hailing distance of first place the first two months... Bayview has strong bats, but not much on the mound... the Viks top the Tycobbian Union with 122 HRs, second in the IPA to Middlefield of the Ruthlandian league... the Roosters have gone yard 130 times... slugging All-Star 2B Jerry Culpepper is the club longball leader with 25... that is second in the TU and fourth in the IPA... Culpepper is batting .267 with 56 RBIs and 51 runs...other big bats are 1B Claude Kingston (.281/16/43/50) and RF Roy Ricks (.289/13/35/52)... Christy Kane (7-7/3.07) is the ace of the staff... he may get some help from Kris Melgaard (4-0/3.94), who has won both of his starts since being promoted to the number three man in the rotation... Bayview will never be a contender until they improve the pitching... you have to go back to 2016 to find a decent staff.
6. Chicopee: the Braves had another bad month, going 9-17 to drop 17 games out of first place... leading the pitching staff are starters Heyoka Chaska (9-6/3.65) and Lou Gianakos (9-8/3.15)... leading at the plate are star 2B Kurt Gustavsen (.322/16/44/46), star LF Charley Kota (.303/13/36/39), RF Rich Nellis (.293/9/125/40) and CF Big Jim Moran (.271/17/50/45).
7. La Claire: defending TU West champ fell apart this year at the plate and on the mound... they are in seventh place, 18 games out, but did go 14-12 in June... ace Pat Kovacs (7-10/3.21) is the most effective starter, but Tony Rossi (111-8/4.15) the biggest winner... closer Terry Baird (2-2/1.43/11 saves) has been strong again in the bullpen this year... 1B Eddy Veevers (.305/5/31/33) and 2B Sam Norman (.315/13/34/34) top the club at bat... very little after them.
8. Bay St. Clair: the Buccaneers are having a horrendous year... June was absolutely miserable with a 5-21 record... the only reliable bats are RF Cotton Cornwall (.317/19/53/42), CF Gilbert Bauer (.301/11/47/40) and 3B Bailey Holmsworth (.313/14/37/27)... no one on the staff has done well except for reliever Pete Cross, who is 5-2 with a 3.03 ERA and 5 saves.
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