[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, July 1, 2058

TIGHT RACES ALL AROUND THE IPA
Halfway through the 2058 Islandian Pro Alliance season almost half of the 64 clubs are still in the hunt for the pennant... all of the pennant races around the league are tightly bunched... the biggest lead any division leader has is just 4 games... that would be the Midway Wolves of the Tycobbian East Division.

Tycobbian North Division

One of the best races in the IPA this year is in the Tycobbian North Division, where the defending division champion Oxford Red Caps (50-33) are only one game in front of the Luxora Zorros (49-34) and 3 up on the third place North Hills Hawks (47-36)... the Red Caps registered a 15-11 record last month with the Z's at 16-10 and the Hawks falling to 12-14... North Hills had been tied for the division lead with Oxford going into the month... the same trio were the top three teams last year, but the Red Caps had an easier time, whipping the Hawks by 7 games and the Zorros by 8.

Oxford is using the same formula again this year: average pitching and home-run power... the Red Caps are first in the IPA with 146 homers, led by Buddy Blackford (.267/29 HR/62 RBI), Frankie Beckwith (.277/26 HR/54 RBI), rookie Showboat Lynn (.268/15 HR/44 RBI) and Wade McGrew (.302/13 HR/22 RBI)... heading the so-so staff is Maury Statler (10-9/3.37), Dingo Willmon (9-9/3.79) and Meldon Eddington (7-6/3.64)... in the bullpen closer Pat McFarlane (2-2/1.71 ERA/17 saves/26 G) is excellent.

Luxora will put pressure on Oxford this year with its good pitching and fine offense... Wallace MacPherson (9-4/2.94), Juliano Machado (11-2/3.10) and Jimmy Hollis (9-8/3.56) are a solid threesome in the rotation... the bullpen could be bolstered... closer Bartolo Baptista (2-4/3.15 ERA/18 saves/30 G) only does a reliable job... at the plate the leaders are Wade Tibbs (.337/16 HR/57 RBI), Francisco Queiro (.329/21 HR/58 RBI), Felipe Alvares (.331/7 HR/36 RBI) and Marvin Harrelson (.273/13 HR/47 RBI).

The North Hill Hawks have fine pitching with Eddy Salem (14-5/3.37), Zip Harben (7-7/2.85), Johnny Kristoff (7-9/2.79) and Juan Cintron (9-7/4.08)... and closer Bobby Antonio (2-3/1.88 ERA/15 saves/23 G) is rock-solid in the pen... the Hawks are short on power, but do hit well for average, paced by Jarred Creed (.341/9 HR/53 RBI), Victor Bates (.363/4 HR/41 RBI), Clifton Mahaffey (.314/4 HR/49 RBI), Cliff Butler (.306/1 HR/19 RBI) , Pat Johnston (.279/2 HR/40 RBI) and Sam Dunstone (.261/4 HR/51 RBI)... North Hills should make it a close 3-team race again this season.

Tycobbian South Division

The Tycobbian South Division appears to be a 2-team race this year... last year's winner Turon (49-34) is still on top of the standings, 3 games ahead of second place Southport, the preseason selection... both did well in June... the Typhoons were a solid 16-10 and the Sun Sox were 15-11.

The Typhoons have a pretty good offense with Andy Wilkerson (.315/15 HR/51 RBI), Matthew Fears (.281/11 HR/61 RBI), Tank Shepperton (.271/9 HR/40 RBI), Bo Kaline (.299/6 HR/36 RBI) and Shoyo Yuro (.235/11 HR/46 RBI)... Turon needs more longballers in the batting order... on the hill they have a good group of veterans in Yancey Hedges (13-7/4.18), Dickie Parmenter (9-8/3.78), Ivar Jevicks (7-8/3.40) and Judson Bacall (5-3/3.12)... the bullpen is in good hands with closer Bobby Reimer (5-2/1.77 ERA/9 saves/21 G).

A terrible start in April (10-18) set the Southport Sun Sox in disarray for awhile, but they have since gotten it together and now are close on the heels of Turon, just 3 games back in the race... the Sun Sox's strength is the pitching corps, sparked by Jordy Wales (12-6/3.35), Champ Shafer (8-9/3.23) and rookie Jeff Moncriffe (8-9/2.79)... Troy Hill (2-1/2.57 ERA/11 saves/20 G) is a steady and reliable closer... Southport only has an average offense with average firepower... rookie Happy Trudeau (.356/5 HR/22 RBI) has sparkled with the bat, but only has fair power... the RBI guys are Walt Walmsley (.253/12 HR/52 RBI) and Emmitt Waters (.317/15 HR/37 RBI)... Turon should beware... the Sun Sox were the preseason choice to capture the TU South this year... Southport seems to have righted the ship and are they are ready to play some good, pennant-winning baseball.

Tycobbian East Division

In the Tycobbian East Division, the Midway Wolves (49-34) have a 4-game edge over the two runners-up, the Red Bluff Red Sox (45-38) and the lightly-regarded Hillsboro Blazers (45-38)... three other clubs are over the .500 mark... the fourth place South Fork Stallions (43-40) and two teams tied for the fifth place spot, the Tuckanarra Blue Jays (42-41) and the Ozarka Naturals (42-41)... the Wolves did not play especially well in June with a 13-13 mark... the defending Pro Cup champion Red Bluff picked up some good ground in the race at 16-10... the upstart Blazers dipped to 11-15... the Stallions were just 10-16... both the Bluebirds and the Nats are on the rise with 16-10 for June.

The Middies are good all-around... good pitching, good run scoring and good power... led by two of the best all-around ballplayers in the IPA, Norishige Ito (.342/26 HR/63 RBI) and Daryl Vale (.327/17 HR/60 RBI), who get good help and support from Kax Clark (.296/5 HR/37 RBI), Jamey Southwick (.287/9 HR/32 RBI), Kody Kenyon (.304/10 HR/26 RBI) and Ted Merritt (.252/11 HR/45 RBI)... on the mound rookie Mel Merlo (7-4/2.60) has been the most effective, but Arnie McGill (10-8/3.25), Yank Atchley (8-10/3.41) and Rob Land (7-2/3.40) have been effective, too... the one trouble spot for the Wolves is in the relief corps... the bullpen needs to get better... longtime closer Jeff Leonard (1-4/4.97 ERA/3 saves/12 G) retired in June rather than accept his release... his numbers and stuff were in rapid decline this season... Leonard was a good one for Midway... he was 47-34 in 372 games, posting a superb 1.83 ERA in his 12-year career... Leonard was just 32 years old.

The reigning Pro Cup champion Red Bluff Red Sox did not play well for the first two months, but did step it up in June with a 16-10 mark... they may be primed to make a run at Midway in the second half of the season and primed to repeat as IPA champ... the Red Sox can score runs, mainly via the home run... and have reliable starters... top hitters are Toni Kolkov (.282/23 HR/67 RBI), Jonathan Haworth (.271/19 HR/62 RBI), rookie Ian Driskell (.335/5 HR/24 RBI), Paul Gaddison (.306/15 HR/46 RBI) and Monty Lyons (.277/11 HR/46 RBI)... the best starters are Wilson Sharpe (10-6/3.49), Duane Sturgeon (10-8/2.31) and Fred Taylor (11-4/4.08)... taking good care of the bullpen is closer Dontrelle Gilbreath (1-2/2.18 ERA/15 saves/25 G)... Red Bluff surprised everybody last year... the Red Sox are a good ballclub and could do it all over again.

Hillsboro is last year's Red Bluff... no one expected the Blazers to be 45-38 at this point in the season... they had a great May (20-9), but slipped back into reality with an 11-15 mark in June... could be Hillsboro played over-their-heads so far this year... July will tell the tale... the Blazers don't score well... and their starters are bad... 'nuff said... Hillsboro is probably second division bound in the second half of the season... Ian Barrie (9-7/2.91) is a solid starter... Clay Spencer (9-5/3.74) is pretty fair, too... but the talent ends there... however, the Blazers have a very fine closer in Ron Pryor (1-1/1.57 ERA/24 saves/28 G)... he has been brilliant this year... the bats are only modestly productive with the likes of Ichiro Ichikawa (.274/13 HR/44 RBI), Eli Nickelson (.265/12 HR/36 RBI), Dennis Kepler (.286/7 HR/39 RBI), Rube Nealy (.300/9 HR/33 RBI) and Bobby Bartell (.274/10 HR/31 RBI).

The South Fork Stallions (43-40) are in fourth place in the TU East standings, 6 games out, but doesn't appear to be any threat to Midway and Red Bluff... the Stallions didn't have a good June (10-16)... they only have three quality hurlers: starters Emmett Coogan (14-6/2.94), Brett McCracken (11-5/3.94) and closer Herm McClanahan (1-2/1.69 ERA/16 saves/21 G)... South Fork has one outstanding batsman, Bob Purkey (.322/22 HR/59 RBI)... young Rudi Eberhardt (.326/14 HR/43 RBI) has blossomed at the plate this year... the best of the rest is Rudy Maroney (.280/7 HR/46 RBI), Ernie Chambers (.283/1 HR/29 RBI) and Ward Calvin (.279/5 HR/33 RBI).

Tuckanarra and Ozarka are not out of the race yet... they are tied for fifth place and trail by 7 games... both has good Junes (16-10) and they just might be on the rise... Ian Timms (11-8/3.19) and Deron Dayton (8-1/2.06) give the Blue Jays two very good starters... but there is not much talent after them... the only good thing in the bullpen is Paul Landale (1-2/2.84 ERA/14 saves/22 G)... Boomer Carlton (.303/13 HR/54 RBI) and Foxy Frye (.266/21 HR/51) are the only reliable bats in the lineup.

The Ozarka Naturals have a strong pitching staff as far as starters... Ronny Belzer (10-7/3.03), Ezra Hancock (10-6/2.49), Willis Reece (10-6/2.59) and John Dickinson (5-5/3.03) could carry them into the first division... but the bullpen is highly suspect... the Nats don't have a lot of power at the plate, but Foxy Alderson (.315/9 HR/55 RBI), Donny Joe Jacks (.329/1 HR/20 RBI), Sookie Lagerberg (.284/13 HR/43 RBI), Chris Kile (.292/1 HR/21 RBI) and Scotty Hannon (.271/2 HR/28 RBI) can manufacture a few runs.

Tycobbian West Division

5 challengers are still going at it hot-and-heavy in the Tycobbian West Division, headed up by the surprising Chicopee Braves (50-33)... they are stirred up and on the warpath... the Braves were rated just a run-of-the-mill team in the preseason poll and not likely to contend for the division flag... for the third straight month, Chicopee has played winning baseball with a 15-11 record... the Braves have a 3-game lead over the runner-up Arlon Champions (47-36)... the Rolling Hills Reds (45-38) are third in the standings, 5 games back... the Kenwood Wildcats (44-39) trail by 6... and last year's division winner, the Denton City Redbirds (43-40) are 7 games out in fifth place... the Champions had an excellent 17-9 record last month... the Reds were 13-13... the Wildcats 15-11... and the Redbirds were a disappointing 12-14 in June.

Chicopee is ranked second with runs in the Tycobbian Union... they don't hit a lot out of the park, but they do score... and the Braves have better-than-average pitching staff... but they have a lot of competition from the Champions, Reds, Wildcats and Redbirds... it's a 5-team donnybrook in the TU West this year... the potent Chicopee offense is led by Kohana Chaska (.290/14 HR/61 RBI), Mooki Ahanu (.332/1 HR/34 RBI), last year's batting champ Travis Ledger (.302/2 HR/39 RBI), Lou Stankowski (.308/5 HR/49 RBI) and Andrew Weston (.284/9 HR/44 RBI)... Johnny Brown (12-8/3.27) is the ace of the staff with help from Russ Clooney (9-5/3.64), Manny Spaulding (7-6/3.66) and Chuta Shaman (11-6/4.31)... in the bullpen Rocky Dowling (2-2/2.89 ERA/9 saves/21 G) is a reliable closer.

Surprise, Surprise... the Arlon Champions hit better than they pitch this year... in the past, that was the Champs shortcoming... they are 4th in scoring runs in the TU and 5th in roundtrippers (110 HR)... leading the offense are Art Catlin (.290/15 HR/55 RBI), Jamey Stansfield (.234/20 HR/64 RBI), Rebel Bryce (.331/10 HR/37 RBI), Riley Earnshaw (.314/6 HR/37 RBI), Jon Cress (.310/13 HR/40 RBI), rookie Zeppo Thiel (.307/6 HR/28 RBI) and Mel Hawkes (.288/8 HR/35 RBI)... and the veteran pitching staff is still pretty good with Ty Coffee (10-10/3.49), Dicky Towers (9-6/3.37) and Erik Branham (5-1/3.09)...and in the bullpen closer Mack Blair (1-1/1.04 ERA/13 saves/25 G) is lights out... the Champs are apparently back after slipping to 6th place last year (77-77).

Third place Rolling Hills is 5 games off the pace of Chicopee... the Reds have pretty good pitching, especially the starters... and they have an average offense... the Reds had a really good April (18-10), but have just been a so-so 27-28 since... they have three quality starters in Vance Dillaway (12-7/3.57), P. J. Dunham (11-5/3.94) and Tommy Otis (11-7/3.87)... even Rob Gates (4-11/3.92) had given them some quality outings... recently a youngster Dwight Hebbens (4-1/2.93) stood out in 3 starts... he could really give them a boost in the standings... Rolling Hills' top guns are Teddy Stonich (.281/13 HR/54 RBI), Dustin Thibodeau (.281/13 HR/46 RBI) and Jameson Mulbert (.321/3 HR/41 RBI) and rookie Enrique Marantos (.286/8 HR/39 RBI).

The fourth place Kenwood Wildcats bombed in April, managing only a 10-18 mark... but since they have sizzled with a 34-21 record... Kenwood does it entirely in the batter's box... they literally have no pitching (4.93 ERA)... the Wildcats are hitting a blistering .286 (1st), are 2nd in runs and 8th in homers with 99... leading them at the plate are Gabriel Macedo (.267/17 HR/60 RBI), Bralen Connally (.291/11 HR/54 RBI), Joe Kellogg (.263/8 HR/54 RBI), Ziggy Faircloth (.280/21 HR/49 RBI), John Michael Lansdell (.300/10 HR/43 RBI), Bailey Brumley (.312/7 HR/40 RBI) and Chris McNeal (.270/10 HR/34 RBI)... the Wildcats have only two decent starters: Herm Monday (11-6/4.01) and Elroy Malone (7-3/4.37)... Kenwood has zilch in the bullpen.

Denton City has won the Tybobbian West Division 3 times in the last 5 seasons and were picked to win it again this year in the preseason poll, but the Redbirds have floundered, just barely over the .500 mark... pitching is very good with Flash Stringfellow (9-4/2.69), Rance Hasbrough (8-8/3.29), Robert Currie (9-2/3.64) and Carl Coons (8-11/3.82)... the bullpen has been just fair with closer Burnell Kelley (4-5/3.09/18 saves/33 G) with an inflated ERA this year, after 37 saves and a remarkable 0.81 ERA in 2057... not a lot of offense this year... Ozzie Crenshaw (.316/8 HR/31 RBI), Vincent McCloud (.276/11 HR/35 RBI) and Val Anniston (.255/12 HR/38 RBI) have been the most productive bats... the Redbirds just might be destined for the second division this year.

Tycobbian Union Standings
Monday, July 1, 2058