[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, April 3. 2051

PANTHERS PICKED TO REPEAT IN TU EAST
According to the oddsmakers not a lot will change in the Tycobbian East Division this season... it's going to pretty much be a repeat of last year with the East Point Panthers picking up a second straight division title after years of losing, but they will have competition from two other clubs, the Midway Wolves and the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, who were fairly close last year... the Wolves were four games off the pace and the Tucks were six games back... Red Bluff is slated to come in fourth in the standings this season.

The Panthers had fair pitching last year, headed by Milt Easterling (22-7/3.58) and Joey Hilton (20-12/4.09) in the starting rotation... in the bullpen Pudgy Putnam (11-8/2.38/14 saves) and Kerry Woodburn (3-3/2.92/4 saves) did a good job... it's in the batter's box that the Panthers stood out with Kenny Bailey (.309/40/111/80), Doug Dennhardt (.275/39/105/81) and Alvaro Cavacos (.262/38/110/78), who slugged 117 out of the park and drove in 326 runs between them... perhaps the best trio of hitters in the IPA... add in Justin McRae (.306/14/75/110) and you got pretty good offensive force... pitching is the East Point's problem in the postseason.

Midway made a good run for the pennant last year, moving from fifth to a fairly close second... the Wolves got better on the hill and at the plate... they are hoping to win their first pennant since 2027... Midway has never claimed the IPA championship, never winning a Pro Cup... in 2022 they got their only chance and blew it in a six-game loss to Crystal Lake in the Finals... carrying the pitching load are 20-year-old sensation Beau McCloud (22-12/2.47), who had a phenomenal freshman year... and veteran Charlie Chase (23-14/2.90)... the best in the bullen is Rocket Rhodes (7-5/2.21/9 saves)... Midway can handle the bats very well with the likes of Justin Morrison (.324/27/103/93), Kax Clark (.306/13/67/103), Alfie Kincade (.292/31/98/76), Mel Morrison (.283/30/96/77), Joey Keswick (.260/12/43/106) and A. J. McLouth (.245/29/91/60)... give the Wolves another starter or two and they could make some noise in the playoffs.

For the 29th consecutive year the Tuckanarra Blue Jays have finished fourth or better in the Tycobbian East... not a lot of teams can say that... the Tucks won the pennant in '49, but fell to third last year, six games back of East Point... it's been quite awhile since the Blue Jays captured a Pro Cup... their third and last came in 2035... the other two were in 2023- and 2024... they have a trio of pretty good starters in Dickie Pittman (18-9/2.70), Alfie Rutledge (22-12/3.23) and Ozzie Leslie (20-14/3.48)... but they are not too strong in the relief corps... not very good at the plate, either... the forecasters have ranked them a strong contender in the division, but on paper it doesn't look like they are in the class of East Point and Midway... their best hitters are only so-so... Bud Bostic (.313/5/55/61), Rodger Parsons (.299/18/70/68), Harv Bannerman (.277/21/54/82) and Sebastien O'Brien (.289/13/60/41) are the best of the lot.

After a great run from 2043 to 2049 when they won four division crowns and came in second three times, the Red Bluff Red Sox slipped down to fifth place and 79-75 last year (12 GB)... the club has won only one Pro cup when they whipped Sugar Valley long ago in 2004... the baseball polls have placed them fourth this year... the Red Sox can still go deep and led the IPA in homers with 238 last year, led by 38-year-old Fran Blanchard (.281/37/98/74) and 25-year-old Dazzy Bevis (.299/34/101/109), who is playing in his third season in the IPA and is a rising star... Jud Cox (16-12/3.17), Mickey Rosen (17-16/3.76) and Felix Delatte (13-13/3.56) are the best of a ho-hum staff.

The High Mesa Cowboys wound up having a winning season for last four years in a row... they won the division in '48 and came in fourth with a fine 83-71 mark in '50... good starters are the key to success and the Cowpokes have four pretty good ones in 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)... and William Morris (5-3/2.93/3 saves) is solid in the bullpen... Andreas Stokke (.279/40/89/70) is still a damaging hitter at age 38... so is Kris Wilson at 38 with a .300 BA, 22 HRs, 91 RBIs and 76 run... veteran Randy Sweetland hit only .260, but scored 94 runs, drove in 59/ and scored 94 times... it looks like High Mesa pitching is good enough to get them into the first divsion of the Tycobbian East... fifth place may be too low for them.

Hillsboro is still looking for its first postseason appearance... and it looks like the Blazers will have to wait at least another year... they are picked for sixth place this year after winding up dead last in 2050 with a 75-79 mark (16 GB_... the club has decent starting pitching paced by Jamie Lee Bradley (22-16/3.58) and Clay Spencer (16-11/3.39)... Steve Cooper (11-15/3.33) gives them another quality arm... Hillsdale has no help in the bullpen... and 37-year-old Jurrien Bellini (262/37/102/89) is the only dangerous threat in the batting order.

It's not going be a good year for the South Fork Stallions according the baseball critics... they are picked to finish seventh this season... the Hosses have been in a second-division funk since 2048... dropping from fifth to seventh to sixth last year... the last TU East title came in 2043... but South Fork does have a Pro Cup... in fact, they have won twice... '42 and '25... but not this year... Jonas Clay (12-8/2.82/3 saves), Kip Cleaver (20-17/3.13) and Tony Haskell (16-13/3.69) are reliable starters... Haskell's career got a rebirth after South Fork got him in a trade from Waleska in the Rutlandian Union.... the offense is weak... Jack Boswell (.284/27/86/92), Rudy Maroney (.299/27/81/77), Pete Arnold (.275/15/61/93) and Artie Winslow (.303/12/56/68) don't put a lot of runs on the scoreboard.

The Ozarka Naturals wound up seventh last year at 75-79 (16 GB) and are not likely to do much better in 2051... the Nats last pennant came in '40... and they have never won the Pro Cup crown, but have had their chances... five times they made the Finals and five times they were beaten... appearing in '11, '12 '16, '19 and '20... the pollsters are placing them last this year in the Tycobbian East... Marlin Matthewson (17-13/4.15) led the staff in victories... and Carl Hemus (15-19/2.89) was the most effective... Gene White (9-5/1.36/14 saves) led the bullpen with a fine season and had help from Jim Greene (6-3/2.72/11 saves)... the main bat in the lineup is the productive Artie Clayton... he hit only .264, but belted 42 homers, drove in 117 runs and scored 97 runs... he was pretty much the whole Ozarka offense... except for Kyler Hartman, who added a .296 BA, 11 homers, 73 RBIs and 60 runs.

BUCS SOLID FAVORITE IN TYCOBBIAN WEST
The preseason prognosticators have made last year's Tycobbian West winner Bay St. Clair Buccaneers a solid favorite in this year's pennant race... this will make it the third successive season the Bucs have prevailed... the three challengers are expected to be the Denton City Redbirds, Arlon Champions and Chicopee Braves... it was no contest last year for the Buccaneers, who won by 13 games... the experts say it could happen again.

Bay St. Clair really blistered the ball last year hitting .283 and scored almost 6 runs a game... leading the Buccaneer attack are Clive Caviness (.315/28/107/86), Stan Kovalenko (.307/13/80/119), Butch Thornhill (.282/21/98/99), Hersh Cranmore (.305/90/82) and Dwayne Mungle (.288/7/76/106)... Kovalenko ran second to Norishige Ito of Arroyo Grande and Ryan Reagan of Kilkenny for the IPA lead in runs scored... Ito and Reagan were first with 120, while Kovalenko scored 119... Bay St. Clair is strong on the hill, too, with two fine starters Dion Hawkins (20-7/2.96) and Scotty Hedwall (22-10/2.85)... the bullpen is well-stocked with Cadillac Bogart (8-8/2.41/11 saves) and Ian Abercrombie (10-5/1.70/13 saves)... the Buccaneers will have to get past powerful White River in the playoffs... last year they succumbed in six games to the Rascals.

Denton City came in a three-way tie for fifth last year with a not-so-good 69-85 mark when the pitching went into the pits... they were 92-63 the year before losing a heartbreaking playoff game to White River... the experts gave them a good bill of health this year and slotted the Redbirds for second place... Denton City has just been a so-so ballclub the last decade or so... the last pennant came in 2040... and the Redbirds have never won a Pro Cup, but they came close twice, in 2005 and 2008, when they reach the Pro Cup Finals... Flash Stringfellow (17-16/3.56) and James Webb (13-12/3.62) were the only starters with winning marks.. however Johnny Wingate (13-20/3.13) is the ace... Harry Elliott (1-16/4.33) and Mel Coley (9-14/4.35/9 saves) stumbled badly after having such fine years in 2049, when both were 20-game winners... Rich Prince (.315/13/64/72) and Matt Wakely (.313/53/70) had the best batting averages, but Val Anniston (.270/21/99/66) had more punch in his bat and was more productive... the Redbirds traded long-time star 34-year-old 1B Wayman Stetson (.248/6/30/20) to Valmara of the Ruthlandian Union... disgruntled about his lack of playing time, Stetson asked to be traded... in return Denton City got two promising players 30-year-old CF Paul McMahon (.263/7/52/37) and 23-year-old pitcher Danek Dzik (1-3/2.30)... it could be a win-win for both clubs.

The Arlon Champions were a poor fourth last year at 70-84 (29 GB), but are forecast for a much better season... the last pennant for the Champs came in '43... still no IPA Pro Cup in their trophy room, though they got to Finals and lost to Waleska in '39... superstar southpaw Lanny Gray (19-10/2.68) is still hacking it at age 34 and he just might get some help this year on the mound from some highly-touted rookies Erik Branham and J. C. Hilburn... and Mack Blair (10-5/1.58/20 saves) heads up a good bullpen... Ivan Cisneros (.281/23/91/82) and Cary Rockwell (.311/15/81/53) are the most reliable threats in the batting order... it all depends on the rookies how high the Champs climb... not likely they'll catch Bay St. Clair.

Chicopee is another club on the rise according to the pollsters... the Braves were dead last and 65-94 last year (34 GB)... they haven't had a winning season in 14 years... the last division flag came in '36... there are no Pro Cup victories in their history.. looking at the Braves' roster they don't appear to be a fourth-place team... Tony Dazzi (16-19/3.87), Sharlon Barbour (13-19/3.84) and Gary Robinson (11-12/3.62) are fairly good starters with nothing much in the bullpen... and the bats are just fair, too... the best of the lot are Johnny Helwig (.337/13/70/69), 35-year-old Pat Kinney (.289/4/60/75), Arlen Buchanan (.285/8/72/83) and Sam Patrick (.269/25/76/62)... not much punch in the line-up... only 101 homers last year.

Rolling Hills is rated the fifth-best team in the TU West this year... the Reds had a good season last year, finishing a distant second to Bay St. Clair with an 86-69 mark(13 GB)... they have been in the top three for the past six years... won the pennant and their third Pro Cup in '48... the Reds can rock the ball with the likes of Miguel Romeros (.327/28/121/105), Dustin Thibodeau (.304/21/77/117), superstar Darwin Tard (.281/21/92/86), Orrin Phillips (.288/25/92/74), Taddy McKeown (.290/11/69/71) and Kyle Edwards (.304/1/50/53).... veteran starters Matthew Christianson (18-9/3.42) and Johnny Howard (15-19) are both 36... Marty Phillips (19-15/4.25) and Steve Adams (17-9/4.22/1 save) win games, but have high ERAs... no reliable bullpenders... with an offense like Rolling Hills has, you wouldn't think they would fall to the second division.

The La Claire Lynx haven't put up a winning season for the previous seven seasons... third last year with a 75-79 record (24 GB), they are rated number six this year... with a below .500-season forecast... the Lynx haven't won a pennant since '38 and have no Pro Cups in 49 seasons... they don't have much on the slabs... Joel Orgeron (16-12/3.72) is the best of the mediocre starting rotation... however, the bullpen is pretty good with Al Nixon (6-1/2.19/7 saves) and Derrick Kajlich (7-3/2.72/5 saves)... superstar Rikki Van Dalen (.303/13/62/80) hit well, but missed one-third of the season due to injury... Sam Essex (.267/32/90/94) led the club in everything but batting average... Doug Stewart hit .329 with 10 homers, 88 RBIs and 76 runs... and J. D. Landy chipped in with 13 homers, 75 RBIs, scored 76 runs, but batted a lowly .238 for average.

The Kenwood Wildcats had their worst year in 15 seasons with a 69-85 mark (30 GB), coming in fifth and tied with two other teams... they have won the division crown six times since '41 and have one Pro Cup trophy in their possession... that was way back in 2014... the Wildcats have some pretty fair bats in superstar Corky DiNozzo (.306/43/108/96) and star Country Crowder (.340/6/56/95), who carry the club offensively with a little help from Jasper Matthews (.275/19/76/66)... 35-year-old vet Rusty Bradford (19-14/3.06) is the best of the starting staff with little help in the bullpen.

The Bayview Vikings were tied for fifth in 2050 with a 69-85 record (30 GB)... they have one winning season in the last 10 and haven't made the postseason since 2016... never come close to winning a Pro Cup... but the Viks do have firepower with superstar sluggers Nioka Inkamara (.317/50/120/93) and Jack Culpepper (.297/39/109/72)... Inkamara was the Tycobbian Golden Bat winner... he was second to Middlefield's Johnny Wyatt with 57 in the IPA home run derby, while the 37-year-old Culpepper eclipsed the legendary Jack Elliott on the all-time home run list with 875 roundtrippers... Elliott poled 848 out of the park in his great career in High Mesa... Cooter Cannon didn't hit for much, only .238, but did collect 26 homers, 91 RBIs and scored 97 runs... and Mac Garris added in 21 dingers, 73 RBIs and scored 87 runs, while hitting .270... Bayview was second to Red Bluff in power numbers... the Red Sox totaled 238 rondtrippers to lead the IPA... the Vikings slammed 231... the pitching was terrible... only Bobby Knudsen (18-19/3.80) had an ERA under 5.00.

2051 Tycobbian Union East and West Divisions Preseason Predictions