[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, March 31, 2058

REDBIRDS WILL FLY HIGH IN TU WEST
Denton City has been the dominant club in the Tycobbian West Division for the past five years... the Redbirds won it three times and came in a very close second twice... losing both times to the Arlon Champions by a single game... Denton City won the pennant last season, in '53 and '55 and they are the top choice to take the title again... no one is forecast to challenge the Redbirds this year... but a 6-way fight is expected for the second spot... the Tycobbian West has a bunch of pretty fair ballclubs... most of them are evenly matched except for Denton City... the Rolling Hills Reds are picked second in the pennant race, followed by the Bayview Vikings in the third spot and the Chicopee Braves coming in fourth in the standings... and close behind will be the other three teams, Kenwood, Bay St. Clair and Arlon... the Tycobbian West fans are set to enjoy a hard-fought and highly-charged catfight for the division bragging rights... the only team left out will be the hapless, last place La Claire Lynx.

1st: DENTON CITY REDBIRDS
Last Year: 1st Place (95-60)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (96-59) (1 GB)
Outlook: manager Pete Gibbs depends on his standout staff and fairly good home-run power for success... his mound staff is clearly superior to the rest of the TU West... and he thinks it's even better this year with the addition of 4 hurlers... Howie Malcolm is also back for a fourth try to make the squad and won the #5 spot in spring training... he will join Flash Stringfellow (24-12/2.82), Jayson Mannon (22-9/3.43), Carl Coons (21-14/2.58) and Rance Hasbrough (14-16/3.10) in the rotation... Gibbs was also pleased with 3 rookies, Brett Whatley, Gary Jackson and P. J. Medford... they will join superb closer Burnell Kelley (3-2/0.81 ERA/37 saves/54 G) in the bullpen... Denton City's offense will be led by SS Vincent McCloud (.306/31 HR/104 RBI/90 R/4 SB), 1B Val Anniston (.269/27 HR/83 RBI/78 R), C Ozzy Crenshaw (.319/15 HR/56 RBI/71 R) and 3B Ronnie Lambert (.290/10 HR/59 RBI/89 R/8 SB)... Gibbs is also expecting big things from rookie outfielder Skeets De Vrees... De Vrees will begin the season as the first-string right fielder... the Redbirds are an elite team in the IPA and they look like serious Pro Cup contenders again this year.

2nd: Rolling Hills Reds
Last Year: 2nd Place (94-61) (1 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (79-75) (17.5 GB)
Outlook: manager Billy Christianson just missed winning the TU West flag last season with a rock-solid arsenal and a good starting rotation... his top guns are 1B Teddy Stonich (.307/36 HR/121 RBI/109 R), LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.295/28 HR/95 RBI/77 R) and 2B Justin Thibodeau (.289/16 HR98 RBI/75 R), along with SS Jameson Mulbert (.294/6 HR/48 RBI/107 R/5 SB), CF Mike Josephson (.325/7 HR/55 RBI/74 R/12 SB), C Lee Fountain (.299/9 HR/71 RBI/55 R) and RF Rory Teed (.308/13 HR/65 RBI/76 R)... on the hill Tommy Otis (21-15/3.21), Rob Gates (19-9/3.30), Vance Dillaway (20-16/3.40) and P. J. Dunham (21-9/3.95) are the starting four... newcomers will be vets Chris Brolin and Darrell Cook, who are back again for another try at sticking... they will join with closer Matty Mosby (6-8/2.52 ERA/28 saves/51 G) in the bullpen... the Reds are still an explosive club with good pitching... one would think they will test the powerful Denton City club again like last year.

3rd: Bayview Vikings
Last Year: 4th Place (84-70) (10.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (72-82) (24.5 GB)
Outlook: manager Jerry Culpepper has his Vikings on the rise and ready to get serious about pennant contention in the TU West... the Viks have gotten better on the mound and hope to get better this year... where Culpepper really needs improvement is at the plate... Bayview can go deep, but needs to hit for a much better average... 3B Byorn Karlen (.267/36 HR/97 RBI/81 R) is the only bonafide threat in the lineup... but the Vikings have several solid starters in Ivar Rasmussen (17-16/3.16), Jules Perot (20-14/4.05) and Lars Konigsen (16-14/3.76)... Culpepper has 3 rookies... one of them, Ragnar Rasmussen, will get a shot at the #4 spot... after not making the club last year, Pedro Montalvo (career 78-136/5.17), is back for his 8th season and will be the #5 starter... Rasmussen is the younger brother of the Bayview ace, Ivar Rasmussen... second-year 1B T. D. Proudfoot (.331/12 HR/36 RBI/29 R) will be the fulltime first stringer this season and should spruce up the offense a bit... and rookie C Larry Sprinkles could also add a little punch to batting order... third place is about as high in the standings that the Vikings can reach.

4th: Chicopee Braves
Last Year: 7th Place (75-79) (19.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (75-79) (21.5 GB)
Outlook: Paul Foster is back for his second year at the helm of the Braves... his Braves are just fair-to-middling... nothing special on the mound or at the plate... Foster has added 6 newcomers to his staff to kickstart the club... 2 rookie infielders may help out as well... his lackluster starters are Gavin Kinville (17-18/3.64), Chuta Shaman (17-14/3.89) and Russ Clooney (12-14/4.39)... rookie Johnny Brown had fine spring and will step into the #5 slot... the other newcomers will be in the bullpen... they all did a good job in the spring... closer Rocky Dowling (2-2/2.44 ERA/25 saves/45 G) should have decent help this year... LF Travis Ledger (.352/3 HR/61 RBI/72 R/5 SB) topped the IPA last year in batting average... he leads the Braves at bat, but has little pop... 1B Andre Weston (.279/21 HR/81 RBI/63 R) 2B Kohana Chaska (.240/22 HR/93 RBI/78 R) are the main run producers... Foster is hopeful two rookies hitters will perk up the club's attack... 3B Chatan Sikis really got high ratings from the scouts... SS Tripper Tomlinson also looks like a fine defender and a good contact hitter... Chicopee will probably battle Bayview for the third spot in the TU West...neither team is in the class of Denton City and Rolling Hills.

5th: Kenwood Wildcats
Last Year: 5th Place (81-73) (13.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (88-66) (8.5 GB)
Outlook: manager Babe Hankins has a hot-hitting and high-scoring club, but totally lacks any pitching... he hasn't had any solid pitching since the '40s when they captured 6 TU West pennants... Hankins has added 8 newcomers to the Kenwood roster to boost the club up to the playoff level... 3 of them are relatives... his son, Satchell, is the first member of the Hankins clan to be a pitcher... all the rest have been pretty good position players... Babe has two other relatives on the squad, too... his nephews, SS Jackie Hankins and 3B Josh Hankins, the sons of former Wildcat Matthew Hankins... Satchell only had a fair showing in the spring and will be in the bullpen to start the season... the infielders may get some playing time in backup roles... Josh could work his way into the starting lineup... it's tough to get a spot in the batting order with the likes of RF Ziggy Faircloth (.290/23 HR/95 RBI/67 R/9 SB), C John Michael Lansdell (.287/17 HR/76 RBI/85 R), SS Joe Kellogg (.291/13 HR/65 RBI/89 R/9 SB), 1B Bralen Connally (.312/17 HR/64 RBI/69 R), LF Chris McNeal (.289/21 HR/64 RBI/49 R/5 SB) and CF Ezra McCloskey (.336/10 HR/65 RBI/89 R/9 SB)... Kenwood only has modest starters in Herm Monday (18-14/3.98), Mickey Maughan (17-10/3.77) and Al Bryan (13-18/4.12)... and nothing in the bullpen... Hankins has 4 new hurlers in the pen to try and raise the talent level... the Wildcats can put lots of runs on the scoreboard, improved pitching will be the key to the season... if Hankins gets better pitching, he will be right up there with Denton City and Rolling Hills... a serious pennant contender.

6th: Bay St. Clair Buccaneers
Last Year: 3rd Place (85-69) (9.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (77-77) (19.5 GB)
Outlook: Buc skipper Cotton Cornwall won the TU West Division flags in '49 and '50 with a balanced ballclub... solid mound staff and good bats... the Buccaneers still possess the pitching, but could use some offense... Kermo Jarvi (11-8/2.75) is the ace and a tough competitor, but he is still recovering from an arm injury... the others in the starting rotation are reliable, too: #2 Jerry MacIntyre (19-11/3.72) and #3 Benny Daye (15-11/3.85)... #4 Kyle Eastman (12-13/4.12) and #5 Scotty Hedwall (11-13/4.25) needs some consistency... vets Cadillac Bogart (5-3/2.00 ERA/17 saves/41 G) and Darcey Kennedy (5-4/0.94 ERA/13 saves/49 G) give Bay St. Clair a good 1-2 punch in the bullpen... improved offense would do wonders for the Bucs... it would make them contenders in the TU West... 1B Clive Caveness (.290/26 HR/82 RBI/89 R) is the only solid bat... SS Ike Ritter (.312/1 HR/66 RBI/77 R/2 SB) is a fine contact hitter, but is a punch-and-Judy batter... and C Hersh Cranmore (.251/13 HR/82 RBI/55 R) is a good RBI guy... Cornwall is expecting big things from rookie OF Hal Driscoll this year... looks like a second-division season for Bay St. Clair... but, they might sneak up as high as fourth place in the TU West standings.

7th: Arlon Champions
Last Year: 6th Place (77-77) (17.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (97-58)
Outlook: manager Mark Cameron has an up-and-down ballclub... they won the IPA Pro Cup in '51 with absolutely great pitching... dropped to second place in the TU West in '52, losing out to Kenwood by a single game... had another tremendous year in '54 winning the division crown with 99 wins... slipped to 91 victories in '55 and second place behind Denton City... won the TU West in '56 with 97 wins, then dropped back to 6th last year... when Cameron has the hurlers, the Champs do well... the prospects for a good season don't look good... the Arlon roster is pretty much the same as last year... only rookie pitcher is Stephen Youngblood and he had a very tough spring... third-year man, Mike Winters, looked good in the bullpen this spring... he will get the #5 spot in the rotation... the Arlon aging mound mainstays, 35-year-old Ty Coffee (18-12/3.28) and 36-year-old J. C. Hilburn (17-18/3.74) are back again in the top two spots in the rotation... #3 Oscar Mathewson (11-14/4.02) and #4 Dicky Towers (10-11/4.14) are just decent starters... the bullpen is just fair with Mack Blair (3-6/3.89 ERA/12 saves/35 G)... at age 34, Blair is not as reliable and consistent as he used to be... Arlon's prime run producers are CF Jaimey Stansfield (.257/35 HR/103 RBI/94 R/13 SB), 1B Jon Cress (.308/21 HR/80 RBI/69 R), 2B Leon Normand (.293/17 HR/57 RBI/49 R) and SS Art Catlin (.262/20 HR/83 RBI/71 R/3 SB)... there is only one rookie position player on the squad... OF Zeppo Thiel will get some time in backup roles... he hit well in the spring... 3B Eduardo Garaza had a fine spring at the plate and has won a regular spot in the lineup after being dropped from the roster all of last season, despite a pretty solid year in '56 with a .260 BA, 15 HRs, 66 RBIs and 97 runs... it will take a breakout year by all of the newcomers for the Champions to have another breakout year... not likely to happen in 2058.

8th: La Claire Lynx
Last Year: 8th Place (58-96) (36.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (74-80) (22.5 GB)
Outlook: La Claire has had only one winning season in the last 15 years... that was in '53 with an 81-73 mark when they came in third and 8 GB... after a miserable cellar-dwelling year last year... things don't look much better this year... the Lynx will languish at the bottom of the TU West Division for a second straight season... in his first year as manager, Pat Kovacs, had a horrific year... not a lot went right for him... 6 newcomers made the roster... 4 position players and 2 pitchers... Kovacs said it's a rebuilding project and will take some time... the Lynx have very little to brag about on the mound or at the plate... the starters are all youngsters: #1 is Tommy Trantham (13-16/3.38), #2 is Kelly Hudgins (15-21/3.51), #3 is Kellen Debussy (7-15/3.70) and #4 is Hank Raborn (7-10/4.04)... Kovacs doesn't have much in the bullpen, either... and the cupboard is pretty bare in the batting order with only so-so batters: 3B Horace Rutherford (.288/18 HR/78 RBI/61 R), RF Taro Lansing (.307/15 HR/48 RBI/80 R/25 SB), CF Sean McEuen (.283/16 HR/52 RBI/52 RBI/15 SB), 1B Charlie Rodgers (.271/19 HR/59 RBI/45 R), 2B Derek Winchester (.275/8 HR/50 RBI/71 R/13 SB) and LF Wilmer Burgess (.285/12 HR/37 RBI/59 R)... none of the 6 new roster additions looked especially good in spring training... that's not a good sign for manager Pat Kovacs and his La Claire Lynx... 2058 looks like a long, long year for the Lynx.