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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, April 5, 2049
SAN ALEJO PICKED OVER TURON IN CLOSE TU SOUTH
The Southport Sun Sox have really shined with six Tycobbian South pennants and two Pro Cup trophies in the last seven seasons, but they have been slightly shunned by the baseball gurus this year. San Alejo and Turon are picked to finish ahead of the Sun Sox. The Montaneros are favored to edge the Typhoons in a very tight race with Southport coming in a distant third. The Sun Sox and the Cape Coral Hurricanes will duke it out for third place according to the preseason prognosticators.
1. SAN ALEJO: the Monties have finished in the first division for 12 consecutive seasons, but the last pennant was in 2037... last year they came in third with an 87-67 record... San Alejo has quality starters and can score runs... top hurlers are last year's TU Golden Arm honoree Will McKinney (22-12/2.31) and Matt Bell (19-14/2.57), who won it in 2045 and 2047... one weakness: the Montaneros could use some help in the bullpen... providing the offense will be star CF Paulo Teixeira (.311/37 HR/99 RBI/115 runs), last year's rookie standout RF Erik Landau (.300/3 HR/43 RBI/102 runs), LF Royce Grantham (.275/37 HR/113 RBI/90 runs), 1B Sal McAlister (.272/10 HR/82 RBI/81 runs) and last year's rookie SS Benito Clemente (.273/6 HR/59 RBI/91 runs).
2. TURON: the Typhoons have improved each season since 2045, rising up from 8th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd... now they are ready to take it all... Turon has a really good offense with RF Guido Gervasio (.315/26 HR/95 RBI/94 runs), star 2B C. C. Kingsford (.302/33 HR/98 RBI/81 runs), SS Rafer Robertson (.275/27 HR/90 RBI/80 runs), 3B Al Salisbury (.287/23 HR/73 RBI/96 runs) and 1B Buford Cloninger (.282/34/83/82)... the Typhoons have two solid starters in Tom Fuller (23-14/3.20) and vet Nate Scottsdale (17-16/3.17), but will need improvement from number three, four and five, Izzy Beasley (19-16/3.96), Mel Hansford (9-5/4.09/10 saves) and Clayton Petit (14-10/4.64) to overtake San Alejo.
3. SOUTHPORT: the Sun Sox are coming off a great 101-win season, but were not picked to repeat as division champ... perhaps age is catching up with them... still they have two strong starters in superstars Billy Hoover (16-7/2.72) and Johnny Swanson (22-11/2.41)... along with two reliables in Gordon Forbes (26-10/3.64) and Brandon Delmore (21-10/3.49)... there's quality in the bullpen with Troy Hill (7-3/2.18/18 saves) and Hal Combs (4-7/3.23/8 saves)... the Sun Sox have a impressive bunch of hitters with 1B Eddy Douglas (.340/26 HR/93 RBI/88 runs), last year's standout rookie RF Tony Patrano (.280/32 HR/92 RBI/85 runs), C Vasilis Vlachos (.285/19 HR/94 RBI/81 runs), 2B Ricky Whitaker (.319/10 HR/87 RBI/72 runs), 3B Craig Glennon (.267/21 HR/82 RBI/71 runs) and CF Barney Lewis (.247/25 HR/62 RBI/60 runs)... with talent like this, it hard not to see Southport right up there with San Alejo and Turon.
4. CAPE CORAL: the Hurricanes wound up fifth last year with a 74-80 mark (27 GB)... in an effort to move up in the standings they traded one of their best batters RF Rikky Van Dalen to LaClaire for super closer Terry Baird, a trade that didn't sit well with the fans... Van Dalen is 32, Golden Bat winner and MVP and a career .321 hitter, while Baird is 35 with 256 saves, 101-79 record and a 2.25 ERA... the 'Canes have a high-powered attack, but have always been hampered on the hill... Baird should make starters Benton McCall (18-19/4.60) Stacy Boyle (12-16/3.92) and Rik De Meester (12-6/3.28) better... the offense is still there with superstar 1B Stan Ferguson (.344/27 HR/90 RBI), superstar LF William Snyder (.305/25 HR/65 RBI), CF Teddy Plimpton (.298/21 HR/74 RBI/81 runs), SS Scotty Jackson (.264/25 HR/74 RBI/71 runs) and 3B Kent Mantle (.259/24/63 RBI).
5. GINZA: the Ninjas are a middle-of-the-road club, pretty much just average, but they play in the toughest division in the IPA... Ginza was fourth last year with an 82-72 record (19 GB)... for the four previous seasons they came in fifth, but with good records... 2031 was the last time the Ninjas made the playoffs... Charley Waskins (22-14/3.38) and Tokuji Takahara (20-12/3.98) both won 20 games, though Carlos Del Toro (13-18/3.09) was the most effective starter... the top reliever Timmy Hickens (10-5/2.60/17 saves) is a good one... Ginza suffers at the plate... 3B Jiro Yamamura (.310/9 HR/35 RBI/64 runs) and SS Kuzuki Tamura (.304/17 HR/71 RBI/99 runs) are the top contact hitters, while superstar Sogo Takagi (.278/26 HR/83 RBI/94 runs) and C Whip Harrell (.248/29 HR/70 RBI) supply the power.
6. SUMMERLAND: the Sunsets were sixth a year ago with a 71-83 mark (30 GB)... since taking the division flag in 2046 with great pitching, they have finished in sixth place in the standings... now the pitching is just pretty good and the run-scoring is modest... former standouts Jayson Hallstrom (15-19/3.50), Billy King (16-19/3.82) and Dutch De Boer (14-17/3.94) might be showing their ages now... De Boer is 38 and King 36... rookie starter Lanny Meredith and reliever Dicky Towers might help some... they showed progress in Spring training... the only dependable bats are 3B Jip Maas (.284/19 HR/80 RBI/74 runs), RF Rick Mayes (.275/23 HR/64 RBI/94 runs), LF Tony Vargas (.305/4 HR/50 RBI/77 runs) and 2B Alex Abbotson (.277/19 HR/75 RBI/82 runs).
6. COLCHESTER: the Elites wound up deep in the TU South cellar last year with a terrible 59-95 mark (42 GB)... they haven't been in the first division for 12 successive seasons, winding up sixth or worse each year... the last playoff appearance was in 2036... the Elites have a weak staff and poor bats... Denzel Durand (15-13/3.46) was the only reliable starter and Haden Fraser (5-5/2.28/13 saves) the only reliable reliever last year... young 1B Claude Garson put up some very fine numbers in his second year in the league at age 26... Garson walloped 44 out of the park, hit .295 and drove in 93 runs... he got a little help from 3B Jasper Matthews with 25 HRs and 79 RBIs, but he batted only .239... rookie RF Eldon McLennan showed well during the spring and should contribute this season.
8. ARROYO GRANDE: the Suns have been awful for 15 years, usually finishing near the bottom... 2049 looks like another bad year... they were seventh last season with a 65-89 record (36 GB)... Anthony Lombardi (19-16/3.80) led the team in wins... Enrique Lopez (14-20/3.57) had the best ERA... SS Russell Taylor (.290/22 HR/75 RBI/98 runs) and 1B Vince Kinson (.288/27/73 RBI) are the most reliable bats in the lineup... the future is not bright in Arroyo Grande.
2049 Tycobbian South Preseason Predictions and Projected Statistics
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