[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
September 19, 2056

ARLON NIPS DENTON CITY IN TIGHT TU WEST
Wire-to-wire it was a close race in the Tycobbian West Division... it was season-long test for a trio of teams... and was finally decided in a one-game playoff with the division crown going to the Arlon Champions (97-58), who nipped the Denton City Redbirds (96-59) by one game... third place went to the Kenwood Wildcats (88-66), 8 and a half games behind... way back in the fourth spot were the Rolling Hills Reds, trailing by 17 and a half games.

Kenwood took a slight lead in April with five clubs within close striking distance only three games apart... at the All-Star break four of them were still in the hunt, separated by just three games... Arlon had a game edge over Rolling Hills Reds and the Kenwood Wildcats with Denton City just three games out... the Reds tanked it in July and were never a factor again... the Wildcats went into a September spiral and fell out of the running.

Arlon (97-58) has been a fine team for the past 6 seasons with 3 Tycobbian West Division flags and 2 second place finishes... and they won their first and only Pro Cup in 2051... this will be the Champions' 8th time to make the playoffs... Arlon is a well-balanced team with a .265 BA (11th), 821 runs (1st), 183 HR (6th) and 3.64 ERA (13th)... defensively they are just average with a .971 FA... they should be quite dangerous in the postseason... the Champs have a good starting four with Dicky Towers (19-8/3.71), Erik Branham (21-10/3.75), J. C. Hilburn (18-12/3.27) and Ty Coffee (17-12/3.94)... coupled with a good bullpen, anchored by Mack Blair (305/3.04/36 saves/58 G), the IPA leader in saves... a big plus for Arlon is the number of solid hitters in the lineup: 22-year-old LF Jamey Stansfield (.290/40/103/104/32 SB), who really came of age this season after three lackluster seasons... other reliable batters were SS Art Catlin (.285/24/83/76), CF Rebel Bryce (.281/27/84/81/9 SB), C Riley Earnshaw (.310/9/79/61), 3B Eduardo Garaza (.260/15/66/96/4 SB), 1B Timothy Webb (.316/6/39/86/10 SB) and RF Dickie Ringer (.288/8/58/52/11 SB)... any club that whips Arlon in the playoffs will really have to earn it... don't think they will go quietly.

Second place Denton City (96-59) lost the pennant three times in the last eight seasons by a heartbreaking one game, all single-game playoffs... it happened in '49, '54 and '55... 11 times in its history they have made the playoffs, but the Redbirds have never yet collected a Pro Cup trophy... strong pitching is their strength with a magnificent 2.78 ERA (1st)... offensively Denton City is just average with a .258 BA, 698 runs (14th) and 148 HR (12th)... they are average defenders (.973 FA)... just take a gander at these starters: All-Star Flash Stringfellow (22-12/2.71), Rance Hasbrough (16-8/2.32), Jayson Mannon (17-16/2.94), Carl Coons (14-0/2.93) and Johnny Wingate (11-10/3.09)... Coons had remarkable season by going unbeaten in 12 starts and pitching in 40 games, but he didn't have enough innings to qualify as a new all-time winning percentage... Marston's Griff Hollman was 13-1 in 2051... the bullpen is superb, too, with closer Burnell Kelley (7-2/0.59/22 saves/44 G)... the Redbirds' shortfall is at the plate... they only have two quality hitters: SS Vincent McCloud (.295/28/86/84/11 SB) and 1B Val Anniston (.281/22/94/66)... with such standout pitching Denton City is set for years to come... they are still a young club... and a solid contenter for the TU West pennant.

The Kenwood Wildcats (88-66) wound up third for the third straight season... '56 was a good one... they challenged Arlon and Denton City all year long, but went sour in September and ended up 8 and a half games off the pace... the Wildcats were 82-72 in '54 and '55... overall Kenwood has been to the playoffs 10 times and they have one Pro Cup to show for it... that was over four decades ago in 2013... this year's club could score runs and the mound staff was better-than-average... the Wildcats batted .260 (16th), scored 743 runs (10th) and clouted 133 homers (18th)... on the hill they recorded a 3.79 ERA (16th)... and were super defenders with a .979 FA... All-Star 1B Bralen Connally (.275/29/113/91) tops the hitters with help from LF Chris McNeal (.252/29/77/83/15 SB), SS Bailey Brumley (.259/11/70/73/7 SB) and rookie C John Michael Lansdell (297/15/66/60)... rookie Mickey Maughan (17-9/3.58) was the most effective starter... Ward Elliott (15-17/4.12) and James Farnham (13-12/4.19) were decent with some quality starts... the bullpen has two capable relievers in Neal Wilbert (11-1/2.03/1 save/44 G) and Pee Wee Windham (8-11/3.06/30 saves/56 G)... in general Kenwood doesn't have the offense that Arlon does, or the really good pitching that Denton City possesses... the Wildcats are just a third place club at best.

The fourth place Rolling Hills Reds (79-75) took themselves out of the pennant chase with a mediocre May (14-15) and a really bad July (10-18)... for the second year in a row they came in fourth... 12 of the last 16 seasons the Reds have been a first-division team... in 2048 they won their 3rd Pro Cup trophy... the other two came in '29 and '31... this year Rolling Hills had a good offense with a .276 BA (2nd), 754 runs (8th), fair power with 119 homers (21st), decent pitching with a 3.93 ERA (20th) and a good defense with a .975 FA... the Reds are fair-to-middling ball club... All-Star SS Dustin Thibodeau (.315/24/110/87/5 SB), RF Rory Teed (.327/11/61/78/7 SB), SS Jameson Mulbert (.299/7/65/94/18 SB) and LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.291/17/100/78/5 SB) are the offensive mainstays... the Reds have a couple of fairly good starters in Vance Dillaway (18-11/3.39) and P. J. Dunham (16-10/3.88)... Tommy Otis (12-14/4.19) is also a quality arm with good potential... plus Matty Mosby (6-6/2.01/26 saves/48 G) is a very solid closer... the Reds will be a middle-of-the-pack team and should challenge for third or fourth place... but not any higher.

It was a so-so season for the fifth place Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (77-77)... they started off well in April (15-11), dipped below .500 in May (12-17) and then just settled down to breakeven ball the rest of the year, winding up 19 and a half games behind division-winner Arlon... the Bucs have a second-rate offense and well above-average pitching... they only hit for a .249 BA (23rd), scored 646 runs (24th), had 130 HR (19th), but posted a very good 3.38 ERA (8th)... the bullpen was especially good with a 2.12 ERA (2nd)... the Buccaneers have a standout defense with a .978 BA... Scotty Hedwall (19-15/2.99) is the ace of the staff... Jerry MacIntyre (14-16/3.45) is a quality #2... the other two in the rotation, Kyle Eastman (11-17/4.03) and Kermo Jarvi (12-12/4.10) are fairly good... the bullpen is excellent with closer Cadillac Bogart (3-6/1.37/26 saves/48 G), Ian Abercrombie (5-1/1.91/34 G) and Darcey Kennedy (6-3/2.69/4 saves/42 G)... at best the batting order is just mediocre with 3B Trace Burney (.265/12/51/80/12 SB), C Hersh Cranmore (.270/13/63/63) and 1B Clive Caviness (.259/20/72/67)... the longballers are CF Don Holliday (.217/25/84/77/6 SB) and LF Jed Killick (.233/23/74/71), but they don't hit for average... Bay St. Clair's last TU West title came in back-to-back years (2049, 2050) when they were 93-62 and 99-59... but they have slowly slipped in the standings since... the Bucs were third in '51 (82-72) and '52 (80-74)... fourth (81-73) in '54... and fifth in '55 (74-80)... the Buccaneers have made the postseason playoffs 11 times in the team's history, but have never the Pro Cup... they will probably straddle the line between fourth, fifth and sixth place... not likely to go higher unless the hitting improves.

The sixth place Chicopee Braves (75-79) made some progress this year in the Tycobbian West... improving from 61-93 in '55 (8th place)... much better pitching did the job... they went from a horrid 4.58 to a respectable 3.55 ERA (12th)... at the plate the Braves did fairly well with a .268 BA (9th), 674 runs (18th), but they hit only 111 HR (24th-tied)... in the field they were just fair (.971 FA)... pitching-wise Chuta Shaman (18-15/3.66) was the top winner... 35-year-old longtime ace Sharlon Barbour (13-23/3.49) still gives them quality starts... Russ Clooney (14-12/3.86) and Gavin Kinville (13-22/4.22) fill out the other two spots in the rotation... the bullpen gives the Braves some solid innings with closer Rocky Dowling (4-1/1.76/25 saves/39 G), Don Beeton (3-1/2.03/44 G) and Cy Abernathy (3-3/1.84/4 saves/38 G)... the offense is just modest... the main run-providers are RF Travis Ledger (.317/12/75/79/18 SB), LF Johnny Helwig (.317/13/57/61/6 SB), 2B Derrell Stelly (.296/10/62/54) and CF Vance Tunstall (.279/10/41/95/36 SB)... Chicopee has been a second-division club for the last two decades... they only occasionally sneak into fourth place in the standings (2045, 2047, 2048, 2053)... the Braves have won only 3 TU West pennants (2034, 2035, 2036) in their history... and have never won the Pro Cup... the future is not looking good for Chicopee... their two main starters Barbour and Clooney are both 35... the staff need some new blood in the next year or so... the Braves will be in trouble without those solid veterans.

The seventh place La Claire Lynx (74-80) wound up near the bottom of the Tycobbian West again this year, but they were improved from the previous two seasons when they were 56-98 (7th) and 67-87 (6th)... the Lynx have a poor history in the IPA with only 4 playoff appearances and no Pro Cup trophies... they last made the postseason in '37 and '38... La Claire has had only three winning seasons in the last 20 years... and the losing just might continue... the current squad can hit the ball and score runs, but the opposition does much better on the scoreboard because of lousy pitching... the Lynx batted at a .273 clip (4th), scored 733 runs (11th) and socked 140 out of the park (14th)... now let's take a look at the pitching corps... Uh Oh!... La Claire is in trouble with a sky-high 4.39 ERA (30th)... it gets even worse, when you combine bad pitching with a poor defense (.969 FA)... the Lynx have three fair-to-mediocre starters in Chance Coursey (18-12/3.82), Krisjan Valk (17-15/3.96) and Kelly Hudgins (12-10/4.29)... notice they all have winning records... that's because they get good run support... however, they get no support from a bad bullpen... heading up the La Claire attack is All-Star Charlie Rodgers (.339/31/109/83), who was the third-best batter in the Tycobbian Union... only TU batting champ Vic Carnaggio (Ginza) at .344 and Daryl Vale (Midway) at .343 were better... 2B Derek Winchester (.298/9/65/100/22 SB) and SS Horace Rutherford (.296/13/78/69/5 SB) were also reliable contact hitters at the plate... 3B Frisco Thorpe (.257/20/70/55/4 SB) and RF Kippy Born (.262/19/70/59/6 SB) both helped out with an occasional home run... several good pitchers, three or four, could put the Lynx on par with all the teams above them except Arlon and Denton City... but it's not often a club adds 3-4 good hurlers to its staff in one season.

The Bayview Vikings (72-82) ended up again in last place in the TU West, but they are in the same boat as four other clubs in the division... they could make a run at the first division with a few talented addition to their roster... fourth place Rolling Hills (79-75) finished just 7 games ahead of the Viks in the standing... that's not a lot of ground to make up... top to bottom the Tycobbian West may be the strongest division in the IPA... Bayview is pretty good at putting runs on the scoreboard with a .255 BA (20th), 186 HR (5th) and 697 runs (15th)... heading up the Vikings' hit parade are All-Star 3B Byorn Karlsen (.303/40/97/86/1 SB), 1B Eddie Beeman (.246/33/99/77/2 SB), RF Vern Woodstock (.233/30/73/67/6 SB)... they all three had over 30 homers... SS Lou Kauchak (.327/11/44/64/10 SB) is a solid contact hitter... LF Noel Connors (.272/6/49/83/19 SB) and 2B Gunnar Lindberg (.271/4/56/70/22 SB) were also productive... not a lot to brag about on the hill with a 4.27 ERA (28th)... Herm Monday (13-17/3.81) and Jules Perot (15-15/3.67) were the best of a bad lot... but Skeets Dycus (3-8/2.90/28 saves/48 G) and Harv Hayes (5-1/3.21/4 saves/59 G) did pretty good work in the bullpen... historically, Bayview is really bad... the last pennant came 40 years ago in 2016... the Vikings have appeared in the playoffs on 6 occasions... and they have never ever won a Pro Cup crown... for the last 12 years they have not posted a winning record... winding up in fifth place (1 time), sixth (2 times), seventh (4 times) and the TU West cellar (5 times)... that kind of dismal record makes a true blue Viking want to get aboard a ship... sail off into the sunset... and never come back... but as you know, in baseball, Valhalla springs eternal... just wait until next year.