RACERS ARE A SHOO-IN TO COP 9TH CONSECUTIVE TU WEST CROWN
No surprises expected in the Tycobbian West this year... perennial powerhouse Rolling Hills (97-57) is forecast to steamroll everybody again this season and gather in its 9th consecutive division flag... no one has tested the Racers since 2064 when they won the pennant by the scant total of 4 games over the La Claire Lynx... most of the last decade Rolling Hills has made shambles of the pennant race by winning by 8 games to 25 games... only one team is given any chance of challenging... according to the baseball forecasters the Bayview Vikings (89-65) might finish within 10 games of first place this season... 5 of the clubs will be vying for third place... the final team, the pitiful Chicopee Braves, are destined to finish far behind and in last place for the 5th straight season.
The Racers are showing their age, but they are still going strong... no one has ever hit as well for so long in IPA history... Rolling Hills still hits over .300 as a team each year and leads the league in scoring... top batters are 34-year-old third baseman Teddy Stonich (.332 career BA), 33-year-old center fielder Jimmy Brandini (.325 career BA), 36-year-old shortstop Jameson Mulbert (.314 career BA), 32-year-old left fielder Jean-Luc Roubique (.304 career BA), 30-year-old second baseman Clayton Claiborne (.306 career BA), 29-year-old first baseman Luca Palazzi (.310 career BA), 27-year-old Hugo Sutton (.327 career BA) and 36-year-old catcher Lou Fountain (.278 career BA)... the Racers look like they have enough left in the gas tank to last several more years at the top of the TU West... pitching-wise Rolling Hills is just run-of-the-mill with the likes of graying starters Clay Callaghan, Charley Clutterbuck, and Jordy Wales... the bullpen is not much better with Brownie Ashmore, Chris Malbrough and Donny Joe Nelson... the Racers will be gunning for their 7th IPA Pro Cup trophy this season.
The Bayview Vikings are rated the number-two team in the TU West this season, but they don't really look like it... they wound up 7th last year (65-89), 35 games back of champ Rolling Hills... however, the Viks can put runs on the scoreboard in abundance, sparked by first baseman Hakon Verlander, second baseman Goldy O'Toole, third baseman Zak Smalley and Lars Kristensen... but the pitching is atrocious... maybe rookie hurlers Billy Wilkerson, Dewey Carnevale and Kerry Addington can turn the club around... but it would be remarkable if that happened... middle-of-the-pack is the most likely destination for Bayview this year.
Denton City is the choice to wind up 3rd this season... this would be a big jump for the Redbirds... they were below .500 last year (73-81), 27 GB... but they can score runs aplenty and the pitching is borderline mediocre... top bats are left fielder Winky Biggio, Ozzie Crenshaw and Ian Denny... two rookies made the starting lineup... center fielder Emmett Harman and shortstop Jay Coursey had very good Spring Trainings and impressed everybody... same thing for three rookie pitchers Lyle Hollander, Sassy Brady and Mark Mortensen... they could be a big help to so-so veterans Rance Hasbrough, Carl Coons, Alex Kuklinski and Chris Osburn... the newcomers will make or break Denton City this year.
The La Claire Lynx are coming off a fine season... they sparkled with an 89-67 record, good for second place, yet they were 13 games behind Rolling Hills... the outlook is 4th place this year... the Lynx are a solid club with good hitting and good pitching... they have lots of solid bats with right fielder Jonny Bacon, first baseman Dandy Zack, second baseman Derek Winchester, third baseman Duffy McIntosh and left fielder Howie Sarkissian... rookie center fielder Otis Marcum might be a help, too... he is a solid glove and hit very well in the Spring... La Claire has a fine ace in veteran star Ivar Rasmussen... should he get some help from the new rookie hurlers, the Lynx could prosper once again.
Bay St. Clair, Arlon and Kenwood will fight it out for the fifth spot in the TU West standings... poor Chicopee is in a class of its own and will suffer through another long and tedious season... the Braves are perhaps the worst team in the Islandian Pro Alliance... but they do have one very pretty logo and really nice jerseys.