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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 22, 2042
KENWOOD CRUISES TO TU WEST TITLE
Nobody challlenged the Kenwood Wildcats this season in the weak Tycobbian West Division, only two clubs had winning records. The Wildcats scampered out to a five-game lead at the halfway mark and then zoomed away in the second half to win by 15 games to win the pennant for the second year in a row. Denton City was the distant runner-up, followed by La Claire in third place, 21 games behind and Rolling Hills in the fourth spot, 22 games out. Last year the Wildcats had a much tougher task - they had to squeak by Rolling Hills in a single-game playoff. Kenwood is a very well-rounded ballclub and should be a serious Pro Cup contender.The Wildcats last won it years ago in 2014.
1. Kenwood: the Wildcats posted the second-best record in the IPA this year with 94 victories... Southport of the TU South was number one with 100 wins... the Wildcats have few weaknesses with a .282 BA (3rd), 809 runs (3rd), 3.37 ERA (7th) and .975 FA... they come up lacking in longballs with 135 (26th)... Kenwood had pitchers galore with Rusty Bradford (22-11/2.77), Clyde Myers (19-9/3.51), Freddy Gooch (18-17/3.42), Tommy Carter (11-3/2.29) and Glen Murray (17-12/4.12) in starting roles... Artemus Hale (4-5/2.98/14 saves) was solid in the bullpen... at the plate they were paced by star All-Star C Corky DiNozzo (.304/43/114/91), All-Star 2B Country Crowder (.349/2/65/91), 3B Rod Jenkins (.272/18/84/77) and rookie 1B Aldon Belew (.294/6/72/65)... Kenwood should be one of the favorites to win this year's Pro Cup trophy.
2. Denton City: the Redbirds were the only other team in the TU West with a wiinning record... they were four games above .500... last year the Redbirds came in fifth, 13 and a half-game behind Kenwood... they had won the division in 2040... Denton City has never won a Pro Cup, but did make the Finals twice in 2005 and 2008... the Redbirds have good balance with a .254 BA (10th), 726 runs (11th), 173 HRs (12th), 3.58 ERA (11th) and a .976 FA... on the hill Francisco Salcido (17-17/2.92) is the ace, but he had help from Freddy Hogue (14-8/3.61), Harry Elliott (17-14/3.48) and Kevin Blevins (15-18/3.85)... the offense is led by superstar All-Star 1B Wayman Stetson (.301/46/137/85)... he was second to IPA RBI leader Nioka Inkamara of Wynnamac, who batted in 141 runs... 2B Morten Jonassen (.331/5/64/99) led the club in BA... RF Pete Doyle (.265/26/67/105) scored the most runs... Stetson has the most homers with 46... All-Star SS Sammy Thornton (.312/10/76/89) had another good year... LF Sadaharu Utchiyama (.301/18/83/87) also had a productive season, his second full year with the club since coming over from Ginza in 2040.
3. La Claire: it was another lackluster year for the Lynx... 21 games behind in third place... last year they were fourth and 11 and a half games out... La Claire has never captured a Pro Cup, but they have won the division in recent years (2037 and 2038)... just an average club overall... top pitchers are Marcel LaPlante (20-13/4.01) and 300-game winner Pat Kovacs (15-21/4.28)... Kovacs may be nearing the end of a great career at 38... this was his worst season ever... he is 308-228 in 18 years with a sparkling 2.84 ERA and over 4000 strikeouts... the offense is weak... no real sticks on the team... the best of the lot was RF Hank Morton, who led the club with a .318 BA (10 HR/70 RBI/67 runs)... other fair bats were CF Billy Holland (.288/17/67/76), 2B Royce Hill (.291/17/67/76) and 3B Phil Lyons (.252/20/83/72).
4. Rolling Hills: the Reds lost a heartbreaker in a playoff in 2041 (1GB), but didn't come close this year (22 GB) in fourth place... Rolling Hills has two Pro Cups won in 2029 and 2031 with the last pennant coming in 2032... they had a super stretch from 2019 to 2032 when they won eight division crowns... Matthew Christianson (19-11/2.93) was the top starter with help from Calvin Lee (17-18/3.49)... RF Jimbo Foxx (.280/48/131/113) carried the club offensively... he was third in the IPA in homers with 46, beaten only by David Kelso (56) of Red Bluff and Nioka Inkamara (49) of Wynnamac... Colchester's Blake Barrister also hit 48 out of the park... Foxx also ranked fourth in the IPA with 131 RBIs... other runs producers were LF Trent Hutchins (.271) with 30 HRs and 77 RBIs, 1B Darwin Tard (.287) with 21 roundtrippers, 100 runs and 75 RBIs... SS Buffy Kowalczyk (.300/12/68/84) was the only .300 hitter... 2B Dana Hudson (.248) banged out 25 HRs and drove in 81 runs... vet star 3B Billy Christianson (.243) is still hanging in there at age 37 with 82 RBIs and 82 runs and playing great defense.
5. Bayview: the Vikings had two good seasons back-to-back in 2040 and 2041 with second-place (8.5 GB) and third-place (26 GB) finishes... but dipped to fifth this year (26 GB)... it's been years (2016) since the Viks grace the postseason... Bayview has never won the Pro Cup trophy... they have decent batting, lousy pitching and bad defense... super slugger 3B Jerry Culpepper made the All-Star team for the ninth time in his illustrious career... Culpepper batted .321 with 44 HRs, 121 RBIs and 90 runs... SS Andreas Stokke added 29 HRs and 82 RBIs, but hit only .241... Vance Codsworth (18-17/3.70) and Johnny Young (17-15/3.61) were the top starters.
6. Chicopee: after two years in the TU West cellar, 36 and 30 games back, they improved a tare to sixth place (30 GB)... the Braves' pitching got much better, but the hitting was just about the worst in the IPA... the club hasn't made the first division since winning three consecutive pennants from 2034 to 2036... that is Chicopee's only playoff experience... they have never come close to a Pro Cup trophy... long-time vet Heyoka Chaska (18-12/3.30) had a fine year... Paul Foster (12-21/3.58) was effective at times, too... a couple of relievers Josh Dougherty (0-3/2.97) and Wakan Ko (2-1/2.60) showed some progress and potential... 16-year vet 2B Kurt Gustavsen (.307/26/77/76) was the only reliable threat in the line-up... at 36 Gustavsen is a lifetime .308 batter.
7. Arlon: after a good run from 2037 to 2040, when the Champions won a pennant and finished in the top three each year, they have fallen on hard times and dropped to seventh place the last two seasons, 23.5 GB and 37 GB... Arlon has yet to win a Pro Cup in its history, though they came close in 2039, when they lost to Waleska in six games... the Champs are just plain bad... the only quality pitcher they have is Lanny Gray (13-21/3.11)... he ranked sixth in the IPA with 269 Ks and pitched 20 complete games... top bats were RF Mark Cameron (.252) with 38 HRs and 84 RBIs, C Nick Shafer (.277) with 25 HRs and 80 RBIs, 1B Robby Westin (.288) with 23 HRs and 93 RBIs and SS Gilberto Cabral (.226) with 20 HRs and 57 RBIs.
8. Bay St. Clair: the Buccaneers have walked the plank for about a decade now... the last pennant and playoff appearance was in 2030... the last winning season was in 2035... the Bucs have no Pro Cups in its 42-year history... for the seventh straight season they finished in the second division... they rank near the bottom in scoring and pitching... Freddi Hahn (11-21/4.86), John Karlsen (14-22/5.15) and Dale Greene (10-19/4.90) all had terrible seasons... only standout reliever Clark Van Vreeland (4-5/0.42/12 saves) is a quality pitcher... the only decent bats are 3B Zip Lowery (.323/11/53/71) and C Johnny Martin (.309/5/67/49).
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