The
High Mesa Buckaroos (62-92) were no bucking good this year... they finished smack dab dead last in the TU East, 26 GB... the Wranglers have not had a winning season since 2071... no postseason appearance since 2062... but they did have early success in the IPA... yep, High Mesa won the second Pro Cup Series... back in 2002 when they were the Cowboys... and now back to the future... when it comes to the modern day version, even the good things are bad in High Mesa... rookie shortstop hit .353 in 103 games this year... by golly that's great... but he also led the world with 53 errors... the offense is pathetic... and the pitching is just average at best... the Buckaroos do have pitchers that show up regularly... workhorses Bastian Barlow, Johnny Callaway and Percy Herrin... ace Waco Sanders was injured the whole season... Sanders was 13-8 with a 3.21 ERA in '76...he and Riku Chisaka (9-8/3.70 ERA/68 game/13 saves) will be back next year... Chisaka was hurt in early August... that gives them a bunch of quality starters and a fairly good closer... but the Buckaroos still need help in the bullpen... High Mesa is a pitcher's park... the only success over the years has come when the Buckaroos had good pitching and longball power... that's what it takes for them to compete... nope, it's not there right now... the starting pitching is fairly good, but the firepower is not... and there's no bullpen... it may take High Mesa a little time to get back into the rodeo swing of things in the TU East... but someday soon, it just might happen.
