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Eugene Church · 10-12-2014, 08:12 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, April 5, 2049

IPA CHAMP REDS ROLL ON IN TU WEST
Last season the Rolling Hills Reds not only put an end to a 15-year postseason drought, but they went all the way and captured their third Pro Cup. So this year the Reds have dreams of repeating in the Tycobbian West and getting another crack at the IPA title. Rolling Hills was ranked first the preseason poll by the baseball experts in the Islands and is forecast to have an easy time of it. In a surprise Bay St. Clair was the second choice, Kenwood third and Chicopee fourth.

1. ROLLING HILLS: the Reds absolutely dominated the TU West last year, winning by 14 games and chalking up a 95-59 record and then rolled through the Pro Cup playoffs, too, with a 12-2 record... they did it with impressive pitching from Matthew Christianson (22-11/2.19) and Johnny Howard (18-12/2.60)... number three and number four Steve Adams (17-11/3.59) and Marty Phillips (14-14/3.76) were reliable, too... and the bullpen was manned well by Benny Young (9-5/2.37/15 saves)... the Reds blistered the ball, sparked by RF Jimbo Foxx (.247/37/100/75), 1B Darwin Tard (.294/30/94/100), LF Orin Phillips (.300/24/95/87) and rookie SS Dustin Thibodeau (.322/18/65/101)... Foxx posted great numbers, but missed one-fourth of the regular season and all of the playoffs... the offense could be improved with the addition or rookie 3B Taddy McKeown, who hit well in the Spring games.

2. BAY ST. CLAIR: the Buccaneers have been bad for 13 consecutive seasons, a hapless second-division club... it's been over 20 years since they won a pennant... last year the Bucs were 57-97 and in the TU West basement... a pretty bad ballclub... desperate times demand desperate action... so the BSC management had a fire sale and got rid of almost everybody... there are 17 newcomers on the roster... 4 of them pitchers... and it seemed to have worked... suddenly the press is picking them to jump up to second place in the standings... 2B Reece Somerset (.259/25/79/68) was one of the few holdover regulars... and Dion Hawkins (14-14/3.20), one of the few hurlers retained... look for rookie Scotty Hedwall to move into the starting rotation and Cadillac Bogart, Ian Abercrombie and Steve Swanwick to take charge of the bullpen... look for rookies CF Stan Kovalenko, SS Dwayne Mungle, OF Chucker McConnell, 3B Trace Burney, OF Coy Champion, 3B Hisashi Yamaguchi and 2B Izzy Ritter to give Bay St. Clair fans something to cheer about.

3. KENWOOD: the Wildcats had their run of six division titles in seven years broken by Rolling Hills... they came in second with an 81-73 mark (14 GB)... age could be creeping up on them... a drop in pitching hurt them last season... Kenwood has a solid set of starters headed up by Rusty Bradford (20-16/3.00) and Tommy Carter (18-14/2.99)... to shore up the rotation 38-year-old Freddy Gooch (7-5/3.08/17 saves) has been moved back into a starting role... Milt Cochrane (16-16/3.85) a decent starter rounds out the staff... Mike Jones (1-2/2.69/11 saves) will anchor the bullpen... pacing the offense will be last year Tycobbian MVP and Golden Bat winner C Corky DiNozzo, who had a marvelous season with a .335 BA, 52 homers, 126 RBIs and 104 runs... star IF Country Crowder was the only other reliable threat... he batted .346 with 3 HRs, 51 RBIs and 74 runs... RF Billy Nix hit 26 homers and drove in 51 runs, but hit only .242... rookie infielders SS Errol Phelps and 2B Jace McFalls could end up regulars... they looked good in Spring training.

4. CHICOPEE: the Braves were fourth last year for the second year in a row with a 74-80 record (21 GB), down from the year before when they were 77-77 (8 GB)... pitching was not as good... expect some improvement... rookie Sharlon Barbour looks like the real thing... he will join some pretty good arms in Paul Foster (14-8/2.39), Tony Dazzi (17-20/3.39) and Tom Chambers (14-10/3.84) in the rotation... the club leaders at the plate are 1B Sam Patrick (.308/43/104/76), CF Marty Hogart (.324/19/72/85) and 3B Ken Smith (.341/8/77/78)... they could get some help from rookies OF Johnny Helwig and SS Ethan Mandell, who really showed well in the Spring.

5. DENTON CITY: the Redbirds finished third last season, 18 games behind champ Rolling Hills with a 79-75 record... their last playoff appearance was in 2040... but they are on the rise in recent seasons, moving up from 8th to 5th to 3rd... the Redbirds hit the ball well, led by superstar 1B Wayman Stetson (.295/40/95/96), LF Frankie Montgomery (.322/23/97/65), RF Pete Doyle (.319/19/66/77) and CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.280/12/71/58)... the press has marked rookie RF Trace Marcum for stardom... he had an excellent Spring... not great with glove, but he can sure hit... the mound staff has some fine additions, too... Flash Stringfellow and Johnny Wingate will join Harry Elliott (19-16/3.09) and Mel Coley (14-20/4.05) in starting roles... James Webb (22-11/3.94) will be the number five man in the rotation... if the rookies come through, Denton City should be much better than fifth in the standings.

6. ARLON: the Champions have been on a downward spiral in recent years, falling from second (10 GB) to third (5 GB) to fifth last year (22 GB) and posting a 73-81 record... the Champs last made the playoffs in 2043... the pitching is so-so... mound ace Lanny Gray (17-17/3.04) is just as good as ever... he led the league in strikeouts for the fourth time and stuck 294 batters, a career high... but he can't do it by himself... vets Pat Stuyvesant (16-13/4.18) and Peter Shannon (13-20/4.41), both in their mid 30s could be slowing down... Arlon has a decent offense, led by CF Cary Rockwell (.306/24/89/72), 1B Robby Westin (.274/21/72/67) and C Nick Shafer (.259/21/79/57)... reliever Claudio Guerrero is the only rookie that might help out this year.

7. BAYVIEW: the Vikings last winning season was 2044 when they came in third with an 82-72 mark (8 GB)... they've been near the bottom ever since, finishing seventh last year with a very poor 59-95 record (36 GB)... it's been over three decades since they played in the postseason... 2016 was the last time... not much talent on the Vikings except for superstar slugger and all-time IPA great 3B Jerry Culpepper (.323/46/116/99), showing no signs of slowing down at age 35... he is only 49 homers shy of Jack Elliott's all-time HR mark of 849... this could be an historic season for him and the IPA fans... Culpepper does get some help offensively from vet 1B Andreas Stokke (.260/36/102/77), LF Jose Rosario (.256/23/72/80) and 2B Zack Mason (..280/12/62/68)... nothing much on the mound for Bayview... Bobby Knudsen (14-20/3.55) is the only fairly decent starter... there's nothing on the horizon from the rookie ranks.

8. LA CLAIRE: the Lynx are picked for last this year in the Tycobbian West... should it happen, it will be the fourth time in six years... last year La Claire was 60-94 (35 GB)... they haven't been to the playoffs since 2038... not much talent on the hill... Bruce Kinson (14-16/3.10) is a solid starter... rookies Al Nixon and Trey Pless might help some in the bullpen... they did pretty well in Spring Training... not much talent at the plate, either, except for off-season acquisition RF Rikky Van Dalen... the Lynx got him in a trade for star closer Terry Baird... Van Dalen was injured last year and only played 60 games, but hit .340 with 13 homers, 36 RBIs and scored 45 runs... if his back problems are a thing of the past, La Claire got one of the best hitters in the IPA... Van Dalen is 32... with a lifetime .321 BA and 326 homers in 13 seasons... three times he has led the league in BA... a 5-time All-Star Van Dalen won the Tycobbian MVP and Golden Bat honors in 2042... 1B Doug Stewart (.313/19/85/71) and LF Hank Morton (.316/9/62/61) are the only other decent bats in the Lynx's lineup... nothing expected from the rookie batter crop.

2049 Tycobbian West Preseason Predictions and Projected Statistics

10-12-2014, 08:12 PM	#4399
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,898	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Monday, April 5, 2049 IPA CHAMP REDS ROLL ON IN TU WEST Last season the Rolling Hills Reds not only put an end to a 15-year postseason drought, but they went all the way and captured their third Pro Cup. So this year the Reds have dreams of repeating in the Tycobbian West and getting another crack at the IPA title. Rolling Hills was ranked first the preseason poll by the baseball experts in the Islands and is forecast to have an easy time of it. In a surprise Bay St. Clair was the second choice, Kenwood third and Chicopee fourth. 1. ROLLING HILLS: the Reds absolutely dominated the TU West last year, winning by 14 games and chalking up a 95-59 record and then rolled through the Pro Cup playoffs, too, with a 12-2 record... they did it with impressive pitching from Matthew Christianson (22-11/2.19) and Johnny Howard (18-12/2.60)... number three and number four Steve Adams (17-11/3.59) and Marty Phillips (14-14/3.76) were reliable, too... and the bullpen was manned well by Benny Young (9-5/2.37/15 saves)... the Reds blistered the ball, sparked by RF Jimbo Foxx (.247/37/100/75), 1B Darwin Tard (.294/30/94/100), LF Orin Phillips (.300/24/95/87) and rookie SS Dustin Thibodeau (.322/18/65/101)... Foxx posted great numbers, but missed one-fourth of the regular season and all of the playoffs... the offense could be improved with the addition or rookie 3B Taddy McKeown, who hit well in the Spring games. 2. BAY ST. CLAIR: the Buccaneers have been bad for 13 consecutive seasons, a hapless second-division club... it's been over 20 years since they won a pennant... last year the Bucs were 57-97 and in the TU West basement... a pretty bad ballclub... desperate times demand desperate action... so the BSC management had a fire sale and got rid of almost everybody... there are 17 newcomers on the roster... 4 of them pitchers... and it seemed to have worked... suddenly the press is picking them to jump up to second place in the standings... 2B Reece Somerset (.259/25/79/68) was one of the few holdover regulars... and Dion Hawkins (14-14/3.20), one of the few hurlers retained... look for rookie Scotty Hedwall to move into the starting rotation and Cadillac Bogart, Ian Abercrombie and Steve Swanwick to take charge of the bullpen... look for rookies CF Stan Kovalenko, SS Dwayne Mungle, OF Chucker McConnell, 3B Trace Burney, OF Coy Champion, 3B Hisashi Yamaguchi and 2B Izzy Ritter to give Bay St. Clair fans something to cheer about. 3. KENWOOD: the Wildcats had their run of six division titles in seven years broken by Rolling Hills... they came in second with an 81-73 mark (14 GB)... age could be creeping up on them... a drop in pitching hurt them last season... Kenwood has a solid set of starters headed up by Rusty Bradford (20-16/3.00) and Tommy Carter (18-14/2.99)... to shore up the rotation 38-year-old Freddy Gooch (7-5/3.08/17 saves) has been moved back into a starting role... Milt Cochrane (16-16/3.85) a decent starter rounds out the staff... Mike Jones (1-2/2.69/11 saves) will anchor the bullpen... pacing the offense will be last year Tycobbian MVP and Golden Bat winner C Corky DiNozzo, who had a marvelous season with a .335 BA, 52 homers, 126 RBIs and 104 runs... star IF Country Crowder was the only other reliable threat... he batted .346 with 3 HRs, 51 RBIs and 74 runs... RF Billy Nix hit 26 homers and drove in 51 runs, but hit only .242... rookie infielders SS Errol Phelps and 2B Jace McFalls could end up regulars... they looked good in Spring training. 4. CHICOPEE: the Braves were fourth last year for the second year in a row with a 74-80 record (21 GB), down from the year before when they were 77-77 (8 GB)... pitching was not as good... expect some improvement... rookie Sharlon Barbour looks like the real thing... he will join some pretty good arms in Paul Foster (14-8/2.39), Tony Dazzi (17-20/3.39) and Tom Chambers (14-10/3.84) in the rotation... the club leaders at the plate are 1B Sam Patrick (.308/43/104/76), CF Marty Hogart (.324/19/72/85) and 3B Ken Smith (.341/8/77/78)... they could get some help from rookies OF Johnny Helwig and SS Ethan Mandell, who really showed well in the Spring. 5. DENTON CITY: the Redbirds finished third last season, 18 games behind champ Rolling Hills with a 79-75 record... their last playoff appearance was in 2040... but they are on the rise in recent seasons, moving up from 8th to 5th to 3rd... the Redbirds hit the ball well, led by superstar 1B Wayman Stetson (.295/40/95/96), LF Frankie Montgomery (.322/23/97/65), RF Pete Doyle (.319/19/66/77) and CF Jimmy Jay Ferguson (.280/12/71/58)... the press has marked rookie RF Trace Marcum for stardom... he had an excellent Spring... not great with glove, but he can sure hit... the mound staff has some fine additions, too... Flash Stringfellow and Johnny Wingate will join Harry Elliott (19-16/3.09) and Mel Coley (14-20/4.05) in starting roles... James Webb (22-11/3.94) will be the number five man in the rotation... if the rookies come through, Denton City should be much better than fifth in the standings. 6. ARLON: the Champions have been on a downward spiral in recent years, falling from second (10 GB) to third (5 GB) to fifth last year (22 GB) and posting a 73-81 record... the Champs last made the playoffs in 2043... the pitching is so-so... mound ace Lanny Gray (17-17/3.04) is just as good as ever... he led the league in strikeouts for the fourth time and stuck 294 batters, a career high... but he can't do it by himself... vets Pat Stuyvesant (16-13/4.18) and Peter Shannon (13-20/4.41), both in their mid 30s could be slowing down... Arlon has a decent offense, led by CF Cary Rockwell (.306/24/89/72), 1B Robby Westin (.274/21/72/67) and C Nick Shafer (.259/21/79/57)... reliever Claudio Guerrero is the only rookie that might help out this year. 7. BAYVIEW: the Vikings last winning season was 2044 when they came in third with an 82-72 mark (8 GB)... they've been near the bottom ever since, finishing seventh last year with a very poor 59-95 record (36 GB)... it's been over three decades since they played in the postseason... 2016 was the last time... not much talent on the Vikings except for superstar slugger and all-time IPA great 3B Jerry Culpepper (.323/46/116/99), showing no signs of slowing down at age 35... he is only 49 homers shy of Jack Elliott's all-time HR mark of 849... this could be an historic season for him and the IPA fans... Culpepper does get some help offensively from vet 1B Andreas Stokke (.260/36/102/77), LF Jose Rosario (.256/23/72/80) and 2B Zack Mason (..280/12/62/68)... nothing much on the mound for Bayview... Bobby Knudsen (14-20/3.55) is the only fairly decent starter... there's nothing on the horizon from the rookie ranks. 8. LA CLAIRE: the Lynx are picked for last this year in the Tycobbian West... should it happen, it will be the fourth time in six years... last year La Claire was 60-94 (35 GB)... they haven't been to the playoffs since 2038... not much talent on the hill... Bruce Kinson (14-16/3.10) is a solid starter... rookies Al Nixon and Trey Pless might help some in the bullpen... they did pretty well in Spring Training... not much talent at the plate, either, except for off-season acquisition RF Rikky Van Dalen... the Lynx got him in a trade for star closer Terry Baird... Van Dalen was injured last year and only played 60 games, but hit .340 with 13 homers, 36 RBIs and scored 45 runs... if his back problems are a thing of the past, La Claire got one of the best hitters in the IPA... Van Dalen is 32... with a lifetime .321 BA and 326 homers in 13 seasons... three times he has led the league in BA... a 5-time All-Star Van Dalen won the Tycobbian MVP and Golden Bat honors in 2042... 1B Doug Stewart (.313/19/85/71) and LF Hank Morton (.316/9/62/61) are the only other decent bats in the Lynx's lineup... nothing expected from the rookie batter crop. 2049 Tycobbian West Preseason Predictions and Projected Statistics Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-13-2014 at 11:42 PM.