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Eugene Church · 12-07-2014, 08:58 AM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

EP PANTHERS HIT WAY TO TU EAST PENNANT
With a resounding roar the East Point Panthers made themselves heard for the first time in more than a decade... it was a joyful noise... the Panthers captured the Tycobbian East title for the first time since 2039 by battering their way to victory... they started off slowly in the early months of the season, but finished strongly... the Panthers were fourth in the standings and trailed Red Bluff by five games at the All-Star break, but quickly took command in July and slowly overcame all comers... they defeated Midway by four games, defending division champ Tuckanarra by six and High Mesa by eight games... Red Bluff faded to fifth place and 12 games off the pace... East Point has never won the Pro Cup... the closest they ever got was in 2033 when they lost in seven games to Elnora... the Panthers are not likely to win the overall IPA crown this year... they just don't have the pitching.

EAST POINT: for the last nine years the Panthers have been floundering around in the lower depths of the division and finally snapped out of it with a flourish... wholesale roster changes did the trick... the Panther bats came alive with 208 home runs, third-best in the IPA behind Red Bluff (238 HRs) and Bayview (231 HRs)... they were second in scoring with 849 runs, ranking third behind leader Bay St. Clair (903 runs) and Claxton (861 runs)... coupled with fair good pitching and a fine bullpen, East Point did a great turnaround.

Top Pitchers: Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) and Joey Hilton (20-12/4.09) were the main starters... in the bullpen rookie closer Pudgy Putnam (11-8/2.38/14 saves) led a solid group of four relievers, who recorded a sparkling 2.45 ERA, fifth best in the Tycobbian Union.

Top Batters: the Panther batting order featured three players with 38 or more homers and 100 RBIs, sparked by C Kenny Bailey (.309/40/111/80), rookie RF Doug Dennhardt (.275/39/105/81) and rookie 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.262/38/110/78)... rookie SS Justin McRae (.306/14/75/110) was a good one, too.

2. Midway: the Wolves are a good-around club, solid in all aspects of the game... they hit with power, too, with 181 HRs (tied for 6th)... they have no playoff appearances since winning the pennant in '27... and no Pro Cup, though they did reach the Finals in '22 and lost to Crystal Lake in six games... Midway improved from fifth place and 76-78 (10 GB) to 87-67 (4 GB) this year with much better pitching and hitting.

Top Pitchers: 22-year-old rookie All-Star Beau McCloud (22-12/2.47) had a superlative season with lots of help from veteran Charlie Chase (23-14/2.90)... the bullpen led the Tycobbian Union with a 1.98 ERA, paced by Rocket Rhodes (7-5/2.21/9 saves)... one more bonafide starter and Midway will be a tough team to beat.

Top Batters: the Wolves have a rock-solid bunch in the batter's box with All-Star LF Justin Morrison (.324/17/103/93), his older brother Mel Morrison (.283/30/96/77), RF Alfie Kincade (.292/31/98/76), rookie catcher A. J. McLouth (.245/29/91/60), 3B Kax Clark (.306/13/67/103) and SS Joey Keswick (.260/12/43/106).

3. Tuckanarra: the Blue Jays have finished in the first divsion for 28 straight seasons, an unprecedented achievement... 18 times the Tucks have made the postseason playoffs, winning three Pro Cups in '23, '24 and '35... they won the TU East flag last year... and ran a pretty good race this year, losing out to East Point by 6 games... the Blue Jays score well (732 runs/12th) and have solid pitching (3.63 ERA/11th), but could use more home-run power (123 HRs/24th-tied).

Top Pitchers: three good veteran starters in the Blue Jays rotation: Dickie Pittman (18-9/2.70), Alfie Rutledge (22-12/3.23) and Ozzie Leslie (20-14/3.46)... they need a better bullpen.

Top Batters: no big bats in the lineup... the most reliable ones were 2B Bud Bostic (.313/5/55/61), LF Cedric Dennison (.304/15/79/80), 1B Rodger Parsons (.299/18/70/68) and CF Harv Bannerman (.277/21/54/82).

4. High Mesa: the Cowboys captured the division crown in '48 with a 99-55 record... but slipped since, dipping to fourth place the last two seasons... they went 81-73 (5 GB) in '49 and 83-71 this year (8 GB)... High Mesa has only been to the playoffs three times in its existence, winning the Pro Cup once (2002)... the Cowpokes have good starters, average bullpen and average bats.

Top Pitchers: Dickie Sternfeld (19-12/3.04), Tuffy Hammel (19-14/3.02), Lucius Quarles (12-15/2.53) and Tee Bo Templet (13-13/3.89) are a quality starting four... William Morris (5-3/2.93/3 saves) is the only reliable reliever.... however, inconsistent Delwyn Anson (9-8/4.34/18 saves) collected the most saves and ranked sixth in the IPA.

Top Batters: two 37-year-old vets are the prime runmakers: 1B Kris Wilson (.300/22/91/76) and 3B Andreas Stokke (.279/40/89/78)... other contributors were CF Gilberto Spinoza (.255/12/70/93) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.260/4/59/94)... the Cowboys need some new, young bats.

5. Red Bluff: the Red Sox topped the TU East at mid-season by one game over Tuckanarra, three better than Midway and five up on East Point, but they couldn't sustain it and fell to fifth in the second half, winding up 12 GB with a 79-75 mark... for seven years the Red Sox won the pennant or came in second... from '44 to '47 they took four division crowns in a row... however, Red Bluff has pulled in only one Pro Cup trophy... that was 2004 when they whipped Sugar Valley in five games... the Red Sox led the IPA in homers with 238, can score well (799 runs-5th), but come up short on the hill with a 4.09 team ERA (21st)... better pitching would enable them to challenge for the division title.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Mickey Rosen (17-16/3.76), Jud Cox (16-12/3.17) and Felix Delatte (13-13/3.56) are the most dependable starters.

Top Batters: 25-year-old All-Star and fine-fielding SS Dazzy Bevis (.299/34/101/109) had a very impressive sophomore season, along with 38-year-old veteran star 3B Fran Blanchard (.281/37/98/74), 1B Josh Stevens (.286/27/69/51), 36-year-old SS Leemon O'Donovan (.248/22/51/63) and 40-year-old star CF Ike Sweetwater (.305/15/52/61)... Sweetwater retired at the end of the season with a lifetime .285 BA, 521 HRs, 1500 RBIs and 1598 runs... he was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glover... the Red Sox are an aging club and need an infusion of young bloods at the plate and on the mound.

6. South Fork: since winning the TU East flag in 2043, the Stallions have slipped into a fair-to-middling ball club... in '49 they went 73-81 (13 GB) and 76-78 (15 GB) this season... the Stallions won the Pro Cup in 2042 and 2025 and have appeared in the postseason playoffs on six occasions... they don't currently have the pitching or hitting to contend for the division title.

Top Pitchers: the starters are fairly good with 28-year-old Kip Cleaver (20-17/3.13) and three aging vets: 36-year-old Tony Haskell (16-13/3.69), 35-year-old Jay Murphy (15-14/4.38) and the 35-year-old number-four man Jonas Clay (12-8/2.82/3 saves)... Hatchell came in a trade with Waleska in the Spring... John Clay Whitehurst (10-9/3.46/13 saves) is one of the few good relievers in the pen.

Top Batters: the main bats in the lineup belong to LF Jack Boswell (.284/27/86/92), C Rudy Maroney (.299/17/81/77), SS Pete Arnold (.275/15/61/93) and 2B Artie Whitlow (.303/12/56/68).

7. Ozarka: for the fifth successive year the Naturals were near the bottom of the division... they were in the cellar last year with a 62-92 mark (24 GB)... seventh this year, but their record improved to 75-79 (16 G B)... better bats and better pitching was the reason... it's been 10 years since the Nats won the TU East... 15 times in the club's history they have made the playoffs, but have never won a Pro Cup, but did make the Finals on five occasions ('11, '12, '16, '19, '20).

Top Pitchers: Marlin Mathewson (17-13/4.15) has the most wins on the club, but it was veteran Carl Hemus (15-19/2.89) with the best ERA... two relievers stood out in the bullpen: Gene White (9-5/1.36/14 saves) and Jim Greene (6-3/2.72/11 saves).

Top Batters: Naturals have a poor offense, ranking 29th in the TU with a only 627 runs scored... All-Star 3B Artie Clayton is the only real threat in the lineup with 42 homers, 117 RBIs and 97 runs scored, but he batted just .264... 1B Kyler Hartman topped the team with .296, but drove in only 73 runs and scored just 60 times.

8. Hillsboro: the Blazers are the only team in the IPA to never have made the playoffs... the closest the club has ever come was 2 GB in '20, 4 GB in '33 and 4 GB again last year in '49... Beechwood, Kilkenny and Belle Plaine are the next worst franchises with only one appearance in the postseason... Hillsboro was fell from third last year with an 82-72 mark down to 75-79 this year (8th), but they finished only four games under .500... the Blazers have fairly decent pitching, but very little offense, ranking 23rd with 673 runs.

Top Pitchers: workhorse Jamie Lee Bradley (22-16/3.58) is the longtime ace... he got help from Bailey Bilbow (15-10/2.92)... Bilbow went out to injury in August... veteran Jeff Cooper (11-15/3.33) also pitched well this year, but his record didn't show it... he had racked up 20 victories the previous two seasons... there were no standouts in the bullpen.

Top Batters: only longtime slugger LF Jurrien Bellini (.262/37/102/89) and rookie 1B Boof Bagwell (.265/23/80/61) had much success... Bellini went over the 500 mark in homers this season... but he has batted a poor .248 in his career... 2B Bob Foster (.271/9/50/85) had the best batting average at just .271... that shows you how bad the offense was.

2050 Tycobbian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

12-07-2014, 08:58 AM	#4487
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Monday, September 19, 2050 EP PANTHERS HIT WAY TO TU EAST PENNANT With a resounding roar the East Point Panthers made themselves heard for the first time in more than a decade... it was a joyful noise... the Panthers captured the Tycobbian East title for the first time since 2039 by battering their way to victory... they started off slowly in the early months of the season, but finished strongly... the Panthers were fourth in the standings and trailed Red Bluff by five games at the All-Star break, but quickly took command in July and slowly overcame all comers... they defeated Midway by four games, defending division champ Tuckanarra by six and High Mesa by eight games... Red Bluff faded to fifth place and 12 games off the pace... East Point has never won the Pro Cup... the closest they ever got was in 2033 when they lost in seven games to Elnora... the Panthers are not likely to win the overall IPA crown this year... they just don't have the pitching. EAST POINT: for the last nine years the Panthers have been floundering around in the lower depths of the division and finally snapped out of it with a flourish... wholesale roster changes did the trick... the Panther bats came alive with 208 home runs, third-best in the IPA behind Red Bluff (238 HRs) and Bayview (231 HRs)... they were second in scoring with 849 runs, ranking third behind leader Bay St. Clair (903 runs) and Claxton (861 runs)... coupled with fair good pitching and a fine bullpen, East Point did a great turnaround. Top Pitchers: Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) and Joey Hilton (20-12/4.09) were the main starters... in the bullpen rookie closer Pudgy Putnam (11-8/2.38/14 saves) led a solid group of four relievers, who recorded a sparkling 2.45 ERA, fifth best in the Tycobbian Union. Top Batters: the Panther batting order featured three players with 38 or more homers and 100 RBIs, sparked by C Kenny Bailey (.309/40/111/80), rookie RF Doug Dennhardt (.275/39/105/81) and rookie 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.262/38/110/78)... rookie SS Justin McRae (.306/14/75/110) was a good one, too. 2. Midway: the Wolves are a good-around club, solid in all aspects of the game... they hit with power, too, with 181 HRs (tied for 6th)... they have no playoff appearances since winning the pennant in '27... and no Pro Cup, though they did reach the Finals in '22 and lost to Crystal Lake in six games... Midway improved from fifth place and 76-78 (10 GB) to 87-67 (4 GB) this year with much better pitching and hitting. Top Pitchers: 22-year-old rookie All-Star Beau McCloud (22-12/2.47) had a superlative season with lots of help from veteran Charlie Chase (23-14/2.90)... the bullpen led the Tycobbian Union with a 1.98 ERA, paced by Rocket Rhodes (7-5/2.21/9 saves)... one more bonafide starter and Midway will be a tough team to beat. Top Batters: the Wolves have a rock-solid bunch in the batter's box with All-Star LF Justin Morrison (.324/17/103/93), his older brother Mel Morrison (.283/30/96/77), RF Alfie Kincade (.292/31/98/76), rookie catcher A. J. McLouth (.245/29/91/60), 3B Kax Clark (.306/13/67/103) and SS Joey Keswick (.260/12/43/106). 3. Tuckanarra: the Blue Jays have finished in the first divsion for 28 straight seasons, an unprecedented achievement... 18 times the Tucks have made the postseason playoffs, winning three Pro Cups in '23, '24 and '35... they won the TU East flag last year... and ran a pretty good race this year, losing out to East Point by 6 games... the Blue Jays score well (732 runs/12th) and have solid pitching (3.63 ERA/11th), but could use more home-run power (123 HRs/24th-tied). Top Pitchers: three good veteran starters in the Blue Jays rotation: Dickie Pittman (18-9/2.70), Alfie Rutledge (22-12/3.23) and Ozzie Leslie (20-14/3.46)... they need a better bullpen. Top Batters: no big bats in the lineup... the most reliable ones were 2B Bud Bostic (.313/5/55/61), LF Cedric Dennison (.304/15/79/80), 1B Rodger Parsons (.299/18/70/68) and CF Harv Bannerman (.277/21/54/82). 4. High Mesa: the Cowboys captured the division crown in '48 with a 99-55 record... but slipped since, dipping to fourth place the last two seasons... they went 81-73 (5 GB) in '49 and 83-71 this year (8 GB)... High Mesa has only been to the playoffs three times in its existence, winning the Pro Cup once (2002)... the Cowpokes have good starters, average bullpen and average bats. Top Pitchers: Dickie Sternfeld (19-12/3.04), Tuffy Hammel (19-14/3.02), Lucius Quarles (12-15/2.53) and Tee Bo Templet (13-13/3.89) are a quality starting four... William Morris (5-3/2.93/3 saves) is the only reliable reliever.... however, inconsistent Delwyn Anson (9-8/4.34/18 saves) collected the most saves and ranked sixth in the IPA. Top Batters: two 37-year-old vets are the prime runmakers: 1B Kris Wilson (.300/22/91/76) and 3B Andreas Stokke (.279/40/89/78)... other contributors were CF Gilberto Spinoza (.255/12/70/93) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.260/4/59/94)... the Cowboys need some new, young bats. 5. Red Bluff: the Red Sox topped the TU East at mid-season by one game over Tuckanarra, three better than Midway and five up on East Point, but they couldn't sustain it and fell to fifth in the second half, winding up 12 GB with a 79-75 mark... for seven years the Red Sox won the pennant or came in second... from '44 to '47 they took four division crowns in a row... however, Red Bluff has pulled in only one Pro Cup trophy... that was 2004 when they whipped Sugar Valley in five games... the Red Sox led the IPA in homers with 238, can score well (799 runs-5th), but come up short on the hill with a 4.09 team ERA (21st)... better pitching would enable them to challenge for the division title. Top Pitchers: All-Star Mickey Rosen (17-16/3.76), Jud Cox (16-12/3.17) and Felix Delatte (13-13/3.56) are the most dependable starters. Top Batters: 25-year-old All-Star and fine-fielding SS Dazzy Bevis (.299/34/101/109) had a very impressive sophomore season, along with 38-year-old veteran star 3B Fran Blanchard (.281/37/98/74), 1B Josh Stevens (.286/27/69/51), 36-year-old SS Leemon O'Donovan (.248/22/51/63) and 40-year-old star CF Ike Sweetwater (.305/15/52/61)... Sweetwater retired at the end of the season with a lifetime .285 BA, 521 HRs, 1500 RBIs and 1598 runs... he was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glover... the Red Sox are an aging club and need an infusion of young bloods at the plate and on the mound. 6. South Fork: since winning the TU East flag in 2043, the Stallions have slipped into a fair-to-middling ball club... in '49 they went 73-81 (13 GB) and 76-78 (15 GB) this season... the Stallions won the Pro Cup in 2042 and 2025 and have appeared in the postseason playoffs on six occasions... they don't currently have the pitching or hitting to contend for the division title. Top Pitchers: the starters are fairly good with 28-year-old Kip Cleaver (20-17/3.13) and three aging vets: 36-year-old Tony Haskell (16-13/3.69), 35-year-old Jay Murphy (15-14/4.38) and the 35-year-old number-four man Jonas Clay (12-8/2.82/3 saves)... Hatchell came in a trade with Waleska in the Spring... John Clay Whitehurst (10-9/3.46/13 saves) is one of the few good relievers in the pen. Top Batters: the main bats in the lineup belong to LF Jack Boswell (.284/27/86/92), C Rudy Maroney (.299/17/81/77), SS Pete Arnold (.275/15/61/93) and 2B Artie Whitlow (.303/12/56/68). 7. Ozarka: for the fifth successive year the Naturals were near the bottom of the division... they were in the cellar last year with a 62-92 mark (24 GB)... seventh this year, but their record improved to 75-79 (16 G B)... better bats and better pitching was the reason... it's been 10 years since the Nats won the TU East... 15 times in the club's history they have made the playoffs, but have never won a Pro Cup, but did make the Finals on five occasions ('11, '12, '16, '19, '20). Top Pitchers: Marlin Mathewson (17-13/4.15) has the most wins on the club, but it was veteran Carl Hemus (15-19/2.89) with the best ERA... two relievers stood out in the bullpen: Gene White (9-5/1.36/14 saves) and Jim Greene (6-3/2.72/11 saves). Top Batters: Naturals have a poor offense, ranking 29th in the TU with a only 627 runs scored... All-Star 3B Artie Clayton is the only real threat in the lineup with 42 homers, 117 RBIs and 97 runs scored, but he batted just .264... 1B Kyler Hartman topped the team with .296, but drove in only 73 runs and scored just 60 times. 8. Hillsboro: the Blazers are the only team in the IPA to never have made the playoffs... the closest the club has ever come was 2 GB in '20, 4 GB in '33 and 4 GB again last year in '49... Beechwood, Kilkenny and Belle Plaine are the next worst franchises with only one appearance in the postseason... Hillsboro was fell from third last year with an 82-72 mark down to 75-79 this year (8th), but they finished only four games under .500... the Blazers have fairly decent pitching, but very little offense, ranking 23rd with 673 runs. Top Pitchers: workhorse Jamie Lee Bradley (22-16/3.58) is the longtime ace... he got help from Bailey Bilbow (15-10/2.92)... Bilbow went out to injury in August... veteran Jeff Cooper (11-15/3.33) also pitched well this year, but his record didn't show it... he had racked up 20 victories the previous two seasons... there were no standouts in the bullpen. Top Batters: only longtime slugger LF Jurrien Bellini (.262/37/102/89) and rookie 1B Boof Bagwell (.265/23/80/61) had much success... Bellini went over the 500 mark in homers this season... but he has batted a poor .248 in his career... 2B Bob Foster (.271/9/50/85) had the best batting average at just .271... that shows you how bad the offense was. 2050 Tycobbian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-07-2014 at 09:08 AM.