[Eugene Church]

Sorry, I forgot to post this in the right order.


THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 17, 2040

SUNSETS RISE IN TU SOUTH, WIN IN A ROMP
Sensational pitching by the Summerland Sunsets created a runaway in the Tycobbian South this season... the Sunsets made shambles of the pennant race by whipping second place Southport by 13 games, Ginza by 14 and San Alejo by 15 games... Turon, the winner for the previous two years, tumbled to fifth place, 21 games off the pace... Summerland really took charge in the second half with a torrid 52-20 record.

1. SUMMERLAND SUNSETS (98-56): the Sunsets won the most games in the Tycobbian Union with super slabwork: 2.83 team ERA, the best in the IPA... they didn't hit much (.243 BA-29th) or score much (661 runs-24th tied), but neither did the opposing teams... the Sunsets are also one of the best defensive teams with a .978 FA... this will be only the third playoff appearance in the club's history... the others were in 2005 and 2033... look for Summerland to shine in the postseason this year.
Top Pitchers: Jayson Hallstrom (24-7/2.08) led the Tycobbian Union in wins, ERA and shutouts (8)... Dutch De Boer (10-1/2.11) and Johnny Young (22-11/3.120 had strong seasons, too... the bullpen excelled as well with Ronald Shaddock (12-6/2.27/27 saves) and Pete Ashley (5-4/2.70/4 saves)... Shaddock was number one in saves in the IPA with 27.
Top Batters: RF Eamon O'Toole (.296/19/93/68), 1B Stan Terry (.290/14/69/70) and 2B Todd Cummins (.241/21/85/540 were the only decent hitters in the batting order.

2. SOUTHPORT SUN SOXX (85-69) (13 GB): this was the Sun Soxx's best record since back-to-back pennants in 2027 and 2028... they had a potent attack with a .270 BA (4th), 813 runs (2nd-tied), 171 HRs (13th) and adequate pitching with a 3.92 ERA (21st)... defensively they were lacking with a .970 FA.
Top Pitchers: Johnny Swanson (21-9/3.32) and Billy Hoover (18-18/3.45) were quality starters... Hal Combs (8-4/3.69/19 saves) was hit-and-miss in the bullpen.
Top Batters: leading the offense were 3B Craig Glennon (.259/43/136/91), 1B Eddy Douglas (.335/33/98/93) and 2B James Long (.299/26/73/72)... Glennon was third in the IPA with 43 homers and seventh in RBIs with 136.

3. GINZA NINJAS (84-70) (14GB): they shot up from seventh place in 2039 to third place this year... the Ninjas were 59-95 and 35 games out of the running last year... the team's last playoff appearance was in 2031... better hitting and better pitching made the difference... Ginza went from .259 to .273 (3rd) in BA and from 4.66 ERA to 4.23 ERA (25th)... they were second in scoring with 813 runs and fourth in homers with 218... and better-than-average with the gloves with a .975 FA.
Top Pitchers: Charley Waskins (15-10/3.53) was the most reliable starter... Timmy Hitchens (9-8/4.23/22 saves) made the All-Star team, but fizzled in the second half badly... yet he posted 22 saves.
Top Batters: LF Ichiro Kazumi (.343/19/80/97) won the TU batting crown with a .343 BA... All-Star CF Sogo Takagi (.298 BA) had a super season with 50 homers, 117 RBIs and 119 runs... Takagi was second to record-breaking Jerry Culpepper of the Bayview Vikings in homers... Culpepper broke Jack Elliott's all-time IPA mark with 66 this year... Elliott hit 65 in 2013 for High Mesa... other Ginza guns were All-Star Whip Harrell (.296 BA) with 32 HRs, 99 RBIs and 85 runs... 3B Sam Essex (.287 BA) with 31 roundtrippers, 100 RBIs and 91 runs... RF Scott Sparks (.247 BA) also chipped in with 27 HRs, 71 RBIs and 62 runs.

4. SAN ALEJO MONTANEROS (83-71) (15 GB): the Monties won four pennants in the last nine years and one Pro Cup in 2032... but this year they slipped a bit to fourth place... mainly because their pitching declined from a very good 3.02 ERA to 3.70 (12th)... San Alejo can still put runs on the scoreboard with a .266 BA (10th), 738 runs (8th) and 185 HRs (9th-tied)... mediocre defense with a .970 FA.
Top Pitchers: 21-year-old Matt Bell (20-15/2.89) topped the team in wins and ERA... Johnny Brown (15-11/3.17) was solid, too... but Benny Buckmaster (16-16/3.98) and Tommy Smith (11-15/4.27) had sub-par seasons... Buckmaster was 22-10 last year with a sparkling 2.53 ERA and Smith was 15-14 with a 3.20 ERA.
Top Batters: All-Star CF Dusty Rogan (.333/31/105/77) and C Filipe Zamora (.292/26/102/66) sparked the team at the plate... 1B Ted Hatch added 35 HRs and 83 RBIs, but batted only .232.

5. TURON TYPHOONS (77-77) (21 GB): after winning the TU South the past two years, the Typhoons' pitching went into the pits, rising up from 3.20 to 3.69 (11th)... the bats suffered, too, dropping from .277 to .264 (12th)... their offense is just average, despite 182 HRs (11th).,, defense is average, too, with a .973 FA.
Top Pitchers: Clyde Engstrom (15-15/3.34), Armin Boehm (16-14/3.65) and Nate Scottsdale (17-18/3.46) all had off-years... all were 20-game winners last season... Ralph Fulton (8-10/2.05/14 saves) was the best in the bullpen.
Top Batters: most of the regulars had sub-par seasons, though they had some good numbers. just not what they were accustomed to... 2B C. C. Kingsford (.294/30/93/85), RF Guido Gervasio (.278/29/95/83), CF J. P. Trevenot (.266/29/88/88), 3B Rafer Robertson (.287/26/89/66), SS George Jordan (.257/21/63/45).

6. CAPE CORAL HURRICANES (74-80) (24 GB): the 'Canes were fourth last year and fell to sixth this year... super bats with a .282 BA (1st), 821 runs (1st), 189 HRs (8th), but lousy on the hill with a 4.40 ERA (29th)... and bad on defense with a .969 FA.
Top Pitchers: Tommy Van Noord (17-17/3.20) was the only effective starter.
Top Batters: superstar All-Star RF William Snyder (.341/37/104/101) had another fine season with help from C Stan Ferguson (.341/29/88/86), 3B Rikky Van Dalen (.308/28/82/109), LF Paul Law (.298/26/87/103) and All-Star SS Joel Collins (.301/12/69/83).

7. COLCHESTER ELITES (64-90) (34 GB): a second-rate, second-division club for the fourth year in a row with a .252 BA (24th) and 4.49 ERA (30th)... but the Elites can handle the gloves well with a .976 FA.
Top Pitchers: Dan Scott (13-9/4.06) was the only decent starter... Tony Dazzi (8-4/2.74) was the only good reliever.
Top Batters: star All-Star RF Blake Barrister (.278/49/136/99), LF Chet Porter (.308/11/64/87) and 3B Joey Rogers (.284/14/74/86) pretty much carried the club offensively... Barrister came in third in the IPA with 49 HRs and 136 RBIs.

8. ARROYO GRANDE SUNS (59-95) (39 GB): the Suns are one of the worst teams in the IPA... they have finished near the bottom of the division for the seventh year in a row... the last three in the cellar... the Suns haven't been to the playoffs in 17 years (2023)... they hit only .237 (32nd) and have a mediocre 3.94 ERA (23rd)... but are a little better-than-average defensively with a .974 mark.
Top Pitchers: Mateus Castro (14-18/3.89), Anthony Lombardi (13-20/3.75) and Ramiro Marrero (12-15/3.61) are fairly decent starters with no run support... and Cody Simmons (3-6/2.52/17 saves) and Duane Russell (2-0/2.70) are pretty good relievers.
Top Batters: 3B Rene Jesclard is the club leader with 27 homers, 69 RBIs and 85 runs, but he batted a poor .235 for average... CF Rafael Montoya has the best batting average with .293... Montoya had 13 HRs, 44 RBIs and scored 62 runs.