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4th Place: East Point Panthers (80-74) (6.5 GB)
Last Year: (86-68) (15 GB) (2nd Place)
Two Years Ago: (85-69) (13 GB) (2nd Place)
Last Postseason: 2052 (No Pro Cups) (7 Pennants)
Manager Frank Blair has played second fiddle 5 times in the last 7 seasons to the TU East division champion... this year was the Panthers worst finish in 8 years... they came in fourth in the standings, yet the Panthers were only 6 and a half games out of first place... that's the closest since 2051... Midway ran away with the division by double-digits the last 4 years... no one at all challenged them... Blair is excited by the improvement in this pitching corps... they lowered the ERA to 3.36 from 3.76... East Point has always put runs on the scoreboard... pitching was always their shortcoming... Blair had two 20-game winners this year with vet Benny Allen and youngster Eddy Winbourne... he has a third quality pitcher in his rotation with Chip Dowler... if Al Coatsworth can step it up... voila... the Panthers can win the pennant.
Team Stats: .259 BA (15th), 674 runs (19th), 153 HR (16th), 3.36 ERA (3rd), .976 FA (average)
Top Players: East Point is not far from a very solid rotation with the likes of Winbourne, Allen, Dowler and Coatsworth.... bullpen is excellent with Kerry Woodburn... the Panthers need some contact hitters... Manny Powers and Justin McRae need help... the longballers don't hit for average, but Skip Donley has 32 homers with a .233 BA... Kenny Bailey had 25, but only batted .246... manager Blair has signed 5 new rookies for the 2058 season in hopes of making the Panthers a potent force in the TU East.
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