[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, May 1, 2059

TIGHT SQUEEZE IN TU WEST
Goodness gracious, what a longjam in the Tycobbian West at the end of April... definitely not the strongest division in the Islandian Pro Alliance, but from top to bottom, it's a very tight squeeze... only 3 games separate first place Kenwood (12-11) from last place La Claire (9-14)... four clubs are tied for second place with 11-12 records: Rolling Hills, Denton City, Bayview and Bay St. Clair are just one game back... and Chicopee (10-13) and last season's champ Arlon (10-13) are just 2 games behind, tied for 6th... last year division winner Arlon won by 8 games... from first to last was a 33-game difference... wonder what was the closest division race in IPA history was?

Well, I just happened to have those figures right off the top of my head... just kidding... it took me a little while to peruse the IPA history page... the closest division in history was the 2008 Tycobbian West when only 8 games separated the 8 teams... the tightest Ruthlandian race was the RU West in 2033 with a spread of 10.5 games.

The Kenwood Wildcats (12-11) are the king of the hill this week in the tightly bunched Tycobbian West... who knows where they will next week in such a topsy-turvy race?... the Wildcats are blistering the ball with a .277 BA (5th), tied for first first in run scoring with 128 and have socked 21 out of the park (15th-tied)... but it's an entirely different story on the mound... the Kenwood team ERA is a skyscraping 4.64 (28th)... Mickey Maughan (4-1/3.96) and Ben Warwick (2-0/2.20) are the only effective starters... the bullpen is in much better shape with closer Pee Wee Windham (0-0/1.59 ERA/6 saves/7 G) leading the way... Kenwood is chocked full of hotshot hitters: CF Rick Lundgren (.361/1 HR/16 RBI/21 R/8 SB), SS Jackie Hawkins (.366/4 HR/9 RBI/15 R), 2B Joe Kellogg (.329/1 HR/15 RBI/13 R), 1B Bralen Connolly (.306/3 HR/14 RBI/14 R) and LF Gabriel Macedo (.290/5 HR/12 RBI/14 R)... if the Wildcats want to win their first TU West Division flag since '52, they must improve their pitching.

The Rolling Hills Reds (11-12) are in a 4-team tie for the runner-up spot... they are in the same boat as Kenwood... good offense, lousy pitching... the Reds had it all when they won the 2048 Pro Cup... that's the last time they made the postseason playoffs... this season the Reds are batting a solid .276 (7th), scored 109 runs (8th) and have poked 19 homers (20th-tied)... heading up the batting order are star 1B Teddy Stonich (.308/7 HR/16 RBI/19 R/1 SB), 3B Lloyd Bearden (.344/1 HR/8 RBI/12 R), LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.301/3 HR/10 RBI/12 R), rookie CF Gil Arthur (.281/2 HR/10 RBI/12 R/2 SB) and C Lee Fountain (.277/2 HR/12 RBI/8 R)... pitching is something else though... the team ERA is a very poor 4.66 (30th)... Rolling Hills has three fairly effective starters in Tommy Otis (1-0/2.57), Donny Joe Nelson (3-1/3.96) and veteran workhorse Vance Dillaway (1-4/3.80), but little else on the staff... the rest of the starters have ERAs over 5.00... in addition, the bullpen is not dependable.

The Denton City Redbirds (11-12) have had great success in the regular season the past 7 years... the Redbirds hauled in 3 pennants ('53, '55, '57) during that run, but they had some really fine pitching... not so, this year... DC is tied with three other teams for the the runner-up position in the standings... the Redbirds are very similar to Kenwood and Rolling Hills... good at the plate, weak on the mound... they are hitting a solid .274 (8th), score well with 115 runs (5th) and have pounded 29 roundtrippers (3rd-tied), but are skyhigh with an awful 4.63 team ERA (29th)... leading the Denton City attack are star SS Vincent McCloud (.390/5 HR/18 RBI/13 R) and old reliable 1B Val Anniston (.321/4 HR/4 RBI/17 R/1 SB), but they have a little bit of help from CF Winky Biggio (.247/4 HR/16 RBI/15 R), RF Elmer Salinger (.244/4 HR/13 RBI/12 R/4 SB) and 2B Sherm Dobkins (.290/2 HR/10 RBI/7 R/1 SB)... the only decent pitching comes from two vet starters, Flash Stringfellow (2-1/3.00) and Rance Hasbrough (2-1/3.57)... plus super closer Brunell Kelley (1-0/0.84 ERA/7 saves/9 G)... the Redbirds have use 9 starters this year... most of them with ERAs 5.00 and above... Denton pitching is usually much better than this... time will tell if it was just a bad April.

The Bayview Vikings) (11-12) are also in second place, mainly because of home-run power and pretty good starting pitching... the Viks don't hit for average, batting only .231 (31st)... they are just average in scoring with 93 runs (21st-tied), but have slammed 29 HR (3rd-tied)... the team ERA is so-so at 4.12 (17th)... the Bayview fans have been longsuffering... no pennants since 2016... with only one winning season (2057) in the last 15 years... the current starting rotation is doing pretty well with Jules Perot (4-1/2.87), Ivar Rasmussen (4-1/3.95), Wade Ramsey (1-2/2.08), Pedro Montalvo (0-1/2.91) and Sherm Crowley (0-0/3.31)... but the bullpen is really hurting with a 4.56 ERA (27th)... only two batters are hitting above the .250 mark: CF Jesus Silva (.284/5 HR/12 RBI/16 R/3 SB) and SS Gunnar Lindberg (.282/0 HR/3 RBI/17 R/2 SB)... the other contributors are swinging for the fences: 1B T. D. Proudfoot (.216/5 HR/14 RBI/6 R), RF Vern Woodcock (.246/5 HR/14 RBI/13 R), C Lou Fairhead (.238/4 HR/11 RBI/6 R) and 3B Byorn Karlsen (.211/3 HR/7 RBI/7 R)... Bayview finished 7th in the TU West standings last year (64-90)... could do a little bit better this year... but will probably remain a second-division team.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (11-12) stunk last year, winding up 8th with a 60-94 mark... they may be a tad better on the mound this year, but are pretty much the same old also-ran team... the last times the Bucs really contended were in '49 and '50 when they won the TU West... this year they are tied for 2nd place... the pitching is fair with a 4.30 team ERA (21st)... heading up a decent staff are journeymem starters Darcey Kennedy (4-1/3.50), Kermo Jarvi (3-2/3.62) and Jerry MacIntyre (1-1/3.33)... another quality pitcher may be Cookie Cranch (1-0/1.29), who had looked very good in his 2 starts... the bullpen is only fair... longtime closer Cadillac Bogart (1-1/3.86 ERA/8 saves/15 G) has been inconsistent thus far this year... could be a little overused... the Buccaneer bats are not very good... they are batting only .250... don't score many runs... ranked 28th with 85... don't go deep a lot with 18 longballs (24th)... most of the offensive load is carried by RF Manny Cedeno (.338/5 HR/14 RBI/9 R) with some help from LF Jed Killick (.259/4 HR/13 RBI/10 R) and CF Hal Driscoll (.254/3 HR/5 RBI/11 R/1 SB)... not an impressive batting order at all... Bay St. Clair will probably end up like last year... near the bottom of the TU West.

The Chicopee Braves had a solid season last year, finishing second to division champion Arlon with an 85-69 record (8 GB)... the Tribe was looking forward to this season, but they have been slow out of the gate, going a disappointing 11-12 in April and tied for the 6th spot in the standings... it's been over two decades since the Braves made the postseason playoffs ('34, '35, '36)... there was hope that this would be the year... however, offense is way down from last year... Chicopee is batting only .238 (30th), scored only 83 runs (30th-tied) and totaled just 12 home runs (29th)... pitching has declined, too... the team ERA is up to 4.24 (20th)... last year the Braves batted .272 and posted a fairly good 3.81 ERA... but give them time, it's still early in the campaign... despite the poor play, they are still only 2 games out of the top spot... the three main starters from last season have struggled so far... 20-game winner Johnny Brown (1-2/5.40), 15-game winner Manny Spaulding (0-2/6.33) and 15-game winner Chuta Shaman (1-0/3.52) have not been up to stuff yet... the most reliable starter has been Dave Rose (2-2/2.27), a 32-year-old rookie... the bullpen has done its job well with a 2.56 ERA (7th)... Chipper Gilton (3-0/2.59 ERA/1 save/12 G) is the prime closer... no one in the lineup is worth mentioning... that's how bad the Braves are at the plate... last year CF Mooki Ahanu hit .324, LF Travis Ledger .313, Luke Oxford .308 with 18 homers and 94 ribbies and 2B Kohana Chaska batted .267 with 22 HR and 105 RBIs... surely Chicopee will perk up at the plate and on the hill soon... there's too much talent on the team.

It's been tough going in the early going this year for the defending Tycobbian West champ... the Arlon Champions went all the way to the Pro Cup Finals last year before losing out to Crystal Lake... so we know they have talent... but it might be aging pitcher-wise... 4 of the main guys on the mound are 34 and older... time does take its toll... currently Arlon (10-13) is in 6th place... but that is not as bad as it sounds... they are just 2 games behind first place Kenwood... the Champions could move to the top of the heap with a short winning streak... Arlon is down at the plate in April... but the pitching is holding up well... last season they hit very well with a .273 BA... this year it's down to .258 (16th)... run-scoring is just average with 95 runs (18th-tied) and 22 homers (13th-tied)... on the mound the team ERA is a healthy 3.75 (12th)... so don't give up on the Champions just yet... solid vets Ty Coffee (3-1/3.15), Dicky Towers (2-1/2.59) and J. C. Hilburn (3-1k/4.32) are doing alright, but Eric Branham (0-6/6.03) has slipped badly and he's one of the youngsters on the staff, just 30 years old... Coffee is 36, Hilburn is 37 and Towers is 31... 34-year-old journeyman Mike Winters (2-2/2.53) has really helped out with 4 solid starts... 35-year-old closer Mack Blair (0-1/1.17 ERA/5 saves/9 G) is still going strong... Arlon still has a few good bats in the lineup, led by star LF Jamey Stansfield (.308/5 HR/17 RBI/14 R/1 SB), 3B Eduardo Garaza (.341/2 HR/5 RBI/11 R), solid threat SS Art Catlin (.310/4 HR/6 RBI/13 R/1 SB), 1B Jon Cress (.313/2 HR/11 RBI/5 R) and 2B Mel Hawkes (.244/3 HR/13 RBI/16 R)... if CF Rebel Bryce (.179/3 HR/14 RBI/6 R) and RF Zeppo Thiel (.256/1 HR/3 RBI/8 R) perk up at the plate to their usual levels, all will be fine in Arlon... the Champs will be near the top by season's end.

All is not well in La Claire... the Lynx have posted only one winning season in the last 15 years (2053)... the last playoff appearance was in '37 and '38... they have been under the .500 mark for the last 6 years... finishing 6th last year (66-88)... they are mediocre on the mound with a 4.43 ERA and really terrible in the bullpen with an atrocious 6.55 ERA (31st)... La Claire is just average at the plate with a .253 BA (18th), 95 runs (18th-tied) and 21 circuit swats (15th-tied)... this year the Lynx are 9-14 and last in the TU West, but only 3 games out... they have three pretty good starters in Hank Raborn (3-1/3.12), Chance Coursey (2-1/2.30) and Tommy Trantham (2-2/3.12)... with absolutely nothing in the bullpen... La Claire has some pretty good bats in the batting order with LF Taro Lansing (.269/6 HR/17 RBI/12 R/3 SB), 1B Charlie Rodgers (.342/3 HR/10 RBI/12 R), reliable 2B Derek Winchester (.333/2 HR/16 RBI/15 R/1 SB), 3B Horace Rutherford (.269/3 HR/7 RBI/10 R), CF Wynn Bennington (.258/2 HR/10 RBI/10 R/2 SB) and LF Sean McEuen (.256/2 HR/9 RBI/12 R/1 SB)... it looks like La Claire might climb up a little in the TU West standings... 5th might be possible this year.