[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2054

TURON TAKES 3RD STRAIGHT TITLE IN TU SOUTH
Things are just getting better and better for the Turon Typhoons and skipper C. C. Kingsford... the Typhoons just blew past everybody in the Tycobbian South Division to take their third division crown in a row... for the last three seasons Turon has notched 96 wins, 101 wins and this year recorded 104 victories, tied for the best mark in the Islandian Pro Alliance with the Middlefield Roosters of the Ruthlandian West... don't be surprised if we see these two juggernauts pitted against one another for the Holy Grail of IPA baseball -- the Pro Cup.

Turon (104-50) rolled to the title this year in rather easy fashion... the Typhoons led by six games at midseason and expanded it to 12 games by the end of the regular season... San Alejo, Cape Coral and Summerland gave them a little bit of a fight for half a season, but then fell into oblivion... Summerland (92-62) came in second, 12 GB... Southport (82-72) was third, 22 GB and Arroyo Grande (77-77) wound up in fourth place, 27 GB.

1. TURON TYPHOONS (104-50)... in the early years of the IPA, Turon was major factor with four Pro Cup championships... they won in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2018... also made the Finals in '10 and '17... success has come hard since 2020 with only five postseason appearance and no Pro Cup trophies... this will be Turon's 18th Pro Cup playoffs.

Manager C. C. Kingsford had a very impressive career with the Typhoons as star infielder from 2034 to 2051... Kingsford hit .308 with 432 homers and 1577 ribbies... his father was Hall of Famer and first sacker Clyde Kingsford (.319 BA/485 HR).

Turon has had a fantastic year... first in the Tycobbian Union with a .281 BA, fourth with 838 runs and 12th in homers with 151... on the hill they are excellent with a 3.24 ERA (4th)... Kingsford has a wealth of solid batters with All-Star CF Maxie Mullinax (.331/10 HR/62 RBI/105 R/37 SB), All-Star 3B Joel Guidry (.301/24 HR/102 RBI/97 R/5 SB), All-Star Bill Wolverton (.317/13 HR/74 RBI/67 R/11 SB), 1B Shoyo Yuro (.329/26 HR/97 RBI/79 R/5 SB) and C Doyle Ashcroft (.268/19 HR/79 RBI/61 R)... Turon has a very good starting foursome in All-Star Yancey Hedges (24-10/2.56), Nate Scottsdale (24-9/2.87), Jose Beltran (19-8/3.22) and Spunky Kinchlow (10-5/3.18)... the bullpen is fairly good with Bobby Reimer (5-4/3.49/14 saves/34 G) and Dickie Parmenter (9-7/3.07/6 saves/38 G).

Outlook: Turon has a good future, but two of their starters are up in age... Scottsdale is 38 and Beltran is 35... they will soon need replacements... the rest of the club is all under 30... the Typhoons should be a force for years to come... to go deep in the Pro Cup playoffs Turon will have to contend with the reigning Pro Cup champ Midway... also first-round foe White River has standout pitching... while White River has a well-rounded club as well... whoever survives in the Tycobbian Union will be a bonafide ballclub... the Midway Wolves will be the favorite to win it all again this year, but Turon will be in the battle, too.

2. Summerland Sunsets (92-62) (12 GB)... manager Antonio Vasques had a modest first half, but his club came on strong in the second half... Summerland came in second in '53 with an 82-72 mark (19 GB)... this is the fourth straight season of improvement... the Sunsets have the best pitching in the entire IPA with a splendid 2.63 ERA, but they can't hit a lick with a pitiful .249 BA (29th) and only 619 runs (29th)... however they have decent power with 137 home runs (15th-tied)... top to bottom Vasques has a bunch of talented twirlers with starters Tommy Underhill (20-12/2.08), 37-year-old superstar Jayson Hallstrom (18-12/2.77), All-Star Rudy Hilgendorf (20-11/2.83) and Corey Vinson (21-12/2.61)... no dropoff in the bullpen, either, with the likes of Rory Poe (3-5/2.87/18 saves/41 G)... plus, the other four relievers have better ERAs than Poe... Sunset Stadium is a tough place to hit with its distant fences... Summerland only has a few good batsmen... Vasques' most productive hitters are 3B Markus Cruyssen (.305/26 HR/86 RBI/83 R/5 SB) and 1B Kenny Douglas (.255/31 HR/82 RBI/85 R/9 SB)... other contributors are SS Jayson Nickell (.301/17 HR/67 RBI/5 R/9 SB) and LF Kinky Elkerson (.276/11 HR/42 RBI/75 R/11 SB).

Outlook: on any given day Summerland can give teams fits with its strong mound staff, but in general, until they can get better run production, it will be tough for them to win a Pro Cup... the Sunsets rarely make the playoffs... only four times in the team's history have they appeared in the postseason... they have never won a Pro Cup... however, they came very, very close in the 2040 Pro Cup Finals, falling in seven games to the Ranford Bulls... '46 was the Sunsets' last division flag... they played well in the postseason and were eliminated by Pro Cup titlist Hartsdale in the first round, four games to two.

3. Southport Sun Sox (82-72) (22 GB)... for three consecutive years manager Lorne Evans has brought his team in a distant third, but prior to that the Sun Sox glistened with seven division flags in nine seasons from '42 to '50... twice Southport captured the super prize, the Pro Cup, in '44 and '47... they also lost to Sugar Valley in the '45 Finals... it was a magnificent run... nowadays Evans has solid pitching with a 3.26 ERA (6th), average offense with 687 runs (17th) and good firepower with 164 roundtrippers (9th)... the fine young Sun Sox staff is anchored by All-Star Zack Phillips (17-10/3.04), Irv Carwell (15-6/3.28), Champ Shafer (14-19/3.03) and Lenny Clarkson (15-18/3.04)... heading up a fine bullpen is Troy Hill (7-7/1.55/20 saves/52 G)... leading Southport at the plate are RF Manuela Garcia (.321/17 HR/69 RBI/90 R/10 SB), 1B Zee Graham (.308/29 HR/94 RBI/69 R) and rookie C Johnny Chisum (.287/20 HR/68 RBI/50 R).

Outlook: Southport is probably destined for a 3rd or 4th place finish with the present roster... they need a couple of hitters and a dominant pitcher to get up with the division powers Turon and Summerland.

4. Arroyo Grande Suns (77-77) (27 GB)... new skipper Eduardo Villanueva came on board this season and for the first time in a decade the Suns had a winning record... last season they were 65-89 and finished eighth... three of the last four years they were cellar-dwellers... for only the second time in 20 years did they make the first division in the TU South... the Suns have made the IPA playoffs only four times in their existence and have never won a Pro Cup... thus far Arroyo Grande has not come close to a Pro Cup trophy... the best they have done was in '22 when they lost in the Tycobbian Union finals to Midway, who were beaten by the Crystal Lake Crushers in the Pro Cup Finals... Villanueva has a fair-to-middling club with poor hitting and fairly good pitching... the Suns batted only .249 (27th) this season, scored only 659 runs (25th) and went deep 132 times (18th)... his pitchers compiled a respectable 3.61 ERA (10th)... Arroyo Grande traded superstar All-Star Norishige Ito (.317/39 HR/124 RBI/110 R/14 SB) to Midway and slugger Vince Kinston (.284/27 HR/81 RBI/72 R) to Grand City and received in return five young, solid players with potential... three pitchers won 40 games: Beau McCloud (15-15/3.58), Roy Tuthill (14-16/2.98) and Rusty Stephens (11-5/4.04)... they formed the starting rotation along with Nap Vickerson (17-18/3.74)... Stan Chaffin (6-5/1.88/15 saves/47 G) was the best in the bullpen... newcomers RF Elton O'Leary (.293/18 HR/83 RBI/80 R/6 SB) and 3B Nate Stiles (.253/12 HR/54 RBI/69 R/7 SB) also contributed to the offense... All-Star 1B Russell Taylor (.289/19 HR/86 RBI/86 R/15 SB) was the Suns' top batter.

Outlook: at first glance the trade of Ito and Kinston may have seemed a little one-sided, considering Ito may be the best player in the IPA... time will tell... the five new additions are all young... they all did well the first year and have the talent and youth to blossom into future stars... however, the trade did enable Arroyo Grande to escape the cellar and move up to fourth place in the TU South standings.

5. Cape Coral Hurricanes (76-78) (28 GB)... new 2053 nductee to the IPA Hall of Fame, William Snyder, took over the reins of the Hurricanes this season and for the seventh year in a row they finished in the second division, winding up fifth... Snyder was a seven-time All-Star, three-time Golden Glover and won the Tycobbian Golden Bat in '35... he batted .322 lifetime with 426 HR and 1554 RBIs... Snyder ranked 10th all-time in BA... Cape Coral's last Tycobbian South pennant came in '41... they have made the postseason only eight times in the team's history... most of their appearances came long ago in the early seasons of the IPA... six times in the first 15 years... the club has never won a Pro Cup... they lost to IPA champ Turon in the second round in '06... and reached the Tycobbian Finals in '12, but lost to the Ozarka Naturals... the Hurricanes have a high-powered attack that hit .280 (2nd), scored 840 runs (3rd) and slugged 154 home runs (11th)... but they don't have much pitching to go with it... in fact, the mound corps is lousy with a whopping 4.71 ERA (30th)... that's why the team came in fifth... three All-Stars top the lineup card: 2B Jaybird Ethridge (.288/42 HR/118 RBI/108 R), SS Lynwood Barley (.321/3 HR/63 RBI/93 R/20 SB) and CF Enrique Orantez (.302/13 HR/74 RBI/84 R/12 SB)... other solid bats are 1B Kalian Coston (.296/24 HR/71 RBI/80 R/8 SB) and 3B Sammy Ashcraft (.316/16 HR/63 RBI/82 R/4 SB)... as far as mound staff, Davis Tyrrell (11-12/3.67) is the only respectable starter... in the bullpen Vinny McAfee (10-4/3.23/10 saves/55 G) had a solid year... not much after them.

Outlook: Snyder has a bunch of fine hitters in Cape Coral, but is in bad need of pitching... they will be trying to trade some of their talented bench players to improve the mound staff... till they get improved pitching, fourth or fifth place may be the best the Hurricanes can hope for in the standings.

6. San Alejo Montaneros (75-79) (29 GB)... it wasn't a good season at all for the Monties this year... it was their worst season in almost two decades... they had finished in the TU South first division and posted winning records for the last 17 years... manager Filipe Zamora's club came in sixth this year... Zamora was a six-time All-Star catcher for the Monties (2035-2047)... a career .299 BA with 322 dingers and 1170 RBIs... San Alejo has been on a downward spiral for the last three seasons... they won the pennant in '51 (92-63)... slipped to second in '52 (81-73)... and dipped down to fourth place in '53 (79-75)... the Montaneros have been to the postseason playoffs eight times in their history and have chalked up one Pro Cup trophy... that was in 2032... on five other occasions they performed well... lost to the IPA champ High Mesa Cowboys in 2002 in Tycobbian Finals... fell to the IPA titlewinner Turon Typhoons in second round 2003... were beaten in the first round by the Pro Cup-winning North Hills Hawks in a thrilling seven-game series in 2034... reached the TU Finals in 2035, but were defeated by the Tuckanarra Blue Jays... and the Monties made the Pro Cup Finals in 2037 and lost to the Waleska Westerners in six games.

Zamora's problem at San Alejo is his pitching... he still has the greatest tandem in IPA history on his staff, but Matt Bell (347-185/2.38) and Will McKinney (288-149/2.53) are now in their mid 30s and may not be around for too many more years... they are the primary reasons for the Montaneros' success in the last 15 years, along with 35-year-old superstar center fielder Paulo Teixeira (.300 BA/515 HR/1471 RBI)... the Monties' stats are better-than-average at the plate and on the hill... the bullpen is the dilemna with an awful 4.96 ERA... they simply can not protect leads... All-Star Matt Bell (23-11/2.19) had a super season... Will McKinney (19-15/2.84) also had a strong year... starter number three Tommy Carter (12-16/3.72) gave the team some quality starts, too... Carter is the oldest of the bunch at age 36... Zamora never found a quality number four and five starter... the Monties wound up with a fairly good 3.74 ERA... Jesse Joyner (0-1/0.93/11 saves/27 G) really came on strong with 10 saves in the second half of the season... San Alejo played well until midsummer, then tumbled back to the second division ... they were in second place and only trailed Turon by six games at midyear (43-35)... the Monties are pretty good at scoring runs with 713 (12th)... they batted .267 (13th) and had fair firepower with 137 roundtrippers (15th-tied)... Teixeira (.289/32 HR/90 RBI/89 R) had an All-Star season and was the big man in the lineup... other consistent run producers were veterans RF Erik Landau (.311/9 HR/71 RBI/81 R/6 SB) and LF Royce Grantham (.244/29 HR/82 RBI/71 R/5 SB)... and the first-base platoon duo of Alanzo Grassi (.303/13 HR/59 RBI/42 R) and young Dontrelle Bradbury (.315/12 HR/31 RBI/29 R) were reliable threats, too.

Outlook: Zamora needs to shore up his bullpen and get two more dependable starters in his rotation to get out of the second division... third or fourth place is not beyond them next year, but San Alejo can forget moving up into the elite class of Turon and Southport for a few seasons.

7. Ginza Ninjas (61-93) (43 GB)... the Ninjas got a new skipper this year, but Tokuji Takahara had a tough time in his first season... the club was 59-95 (8th) in '52... improved a bit to 71-83 (7th) in '53... but this year fizzled back to seventh place with 10 fewer victories... Takahara (190-164/4.10 ERA) was a better-than-average jouneyman pitcher for Ginza from 2040 to 2052, when he was traded to Forest City for the last two years of his career... Takahara retired from the Firebirds after a slow start this season and was appointed manager of the Ninjas in May... the pitching improved under his tutelage, but the hitting was horrendous... Ginza only hit .241 (30th) with 581 runs (32nd) and only 118 homers (25th)... just about the worst offense in the IPA... Ninja pitching was decent with a 4.04 ERA (20th), mainly because of a fine bullpen... they notched an impressive 2.40 ERA (3rd), sparked by Abram Worth (4-3/1.47/17 saves/57 G) and Georgie Wicker (5-3/2.03/1 save/47 G)... the starters were just plain bad with a 4.61 ERA (26th)... Tommy Paige (13-18/4.81) was the biggest winner... followed by Calvin Nickell (11-19/4.01) and Delmer Guthrie (11-22/4.69)... one plus on the mound staff was 22-year-old rookie twirler Jacky Hebb (7-6/2.66), who joined the Ninjas in late summer and showed some real promise in 13 starts... Takahara only has two decent hitters in his batting order: two-time All-Star SS Kuzuki Tamura (.286/20 HR/78 RBI/83 R/19 SB) and 3B Horace Dyson (.287/8 HR/53 RBI/69 R)... very little after them except for 1B Takuya Toyota (.247/16 HR/60 RBI/50 R) and RF Chris Pfeiffer (.224/18 HR/67 RBI/49 R/4 SB)... they both have some power, but don't hit much for average.

Outlook: Takahara has a mighty tough task in Ginza... it's been 23 years since the Ninjas made the Pro Cup playoffs... they have only made the postseason seven times and have never won a Pro Cup... but they have put four IPA champions to the test on four occasions... Volusia swept them in four games in the first-ever Pro Cup in 2001... IPA winner South Fork whipped them in the Tycobbian Finals in 2025... and the Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Reds spoiled the Ginza hopes twice in the TU Finals... beating them in six games in 2029 and in seven games in 2031... Ginza fans shouldn't get their hopes up anytime soon for a contending club... the Ninjas need a lot of help in a lot of places and look to be stuck near the bottom of the Tycobbian South for some time to come.

8. Colchester Elites (60-94) (44 GB)... sad to say, but Colchester is one of the worst franchises in IPA history... the Elites have graced the playoffs only four times... with no Pro Cups so far... three of the appearances were in their first six seasons... the last pennant came in 2036, 18 years ago... just one time in that drought did the Elites have a winning season... that was in 2051 when they were 81-73 and finished in fourth place... Colchester did push IPA champ Oxford to the limits in the 2007 Tycobbian Finals... the Red Caps whipped them in a tense seven-game series that year... in 2036 Pro Cup winner North Hills easily disposed of the Elites in five games in first-round action.

Former Colchester star outfielder, Blake Barrister, is in charge of the club now... in 11 years with the Elites he batted .264 with 453 homers and 1182 RBIs... four times he was a TU All-Star... the team hasn't done well since he took over in 2046... nothing but second-division finishes except for fourth place in '51 (81-73)... Barrister's current club batted only .255 this season (22nd), was pathetic at scoring runs with 599 (31st), but did have fair power with 144 home runs (13th)... except for the bullpen (2.99 ERA/11th), the pitching was a disaster with a sky-high 4.49 ERA (27th)... closer Haden Fraser (7-9/2.49/23 saves/66 G) did his job well... none of the starters were effective... Colchester's best chunkers weren't much to brag about: Champ Meadows (12-20/4.45), Zip Sharpe (12-17/4.62) and Denzel Durand (11-18/4.58)... Barrister didn't have much to boast about at the plate, either, except for the likes of 1B Erroll Waldrep (.324/25 HR/68 RBI/43 R), who really blossomed in his sophomore season in the second half of the year... 25 homers in half a year is outstanding... the Elites do have two reliable infielders in veteran 3B James Murchison (.278/11 HR/54 RBI/74 R/15 SB) and youngster SS Ernie Larmon (.269/5 HR/34 RBI/56 R/11 SB), but both had down years... both of them are Golden Glovers.

Outlook: Colchester may be looking for a new manager soon... Barrister has not had much success in his tenure... his main problem is a severe lack of talent... the future is dismal for the Elite fans... could be a while before they escaped the bottom half of the Tycobbian South Division.