[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, August 2, 2059

RED CAPS ROMP IN TU NORTH
When you have high-powered firepower and decent pitching, you can do well in the Islandian Pro Alliance... Crystal Lake, the reigning Pro Cup crownholder, is proof of that... that also fits the Oxford Red Caps (69-38) to a T... the Oxies are making shambles of the Tycobbian North with a devastating attack and OK pitching... the Red Caps have ballooned to a 10-game margin over last year's division winner, the Luxora Zorros (59-48), 13 better than the Fairfax Frogs (56-51) and 15 games ahead of the fourth place North Hills Hawks (54-53)... most baseball analysts would say the race is over.

In July the Tycobbian North Division had a good month... 6 of the clubs posted winning marks... led, of course, by Oxford's 18-11 record... the Z's were 16-13... Frogs 17-12... Hawks 15-14... Blue Lake 16-13... the Hellcats and Rascals were the only losing clubs with 13-16... even the last place Haymakers were on the winning side of the ledger at 16-13.

Tycobian North Outlook:
Oxford has been terrific at the plate this season with a .284 BA (2nd), 627 runs (1st) and 173 HR (1st)... the Red Caps make it look easy with two All-Stars in the lineup: first baseman Buddy Blackford with a .338 BA, 41 HR and 86 RBI and LF Showboat Lynn batting .337 with 30 roundtrippers and 94 ribbies... and enough quality pitching to get by with Maury Statler (14-6/3.59), Meldon Eddington (15-4/3.33) and Wiley Beckford (15-5/3.73)... add in standout All-Star closer Pat McFarlane (3-3/1.40 ERA/32 saves/43 G) and you have a high-quality ball club... one that is pretty likely to win the pennant... and a team likely to be one of the favorites in the Pro Cup playoffs.

Five teams are still in the chase for second place... Luxora has the best shot at it... the Zorros have two solid starters in Wallace MacPherson (15-6/2.83) and Mack McKitrick (16-6/3.06)... but the other three starters are lousy... the offense is also good with a .262 BA, 506 runs (6th) and 113 homers (9th)... evenly-matched Fairfax, North Hills, Blue Lake and Hartsdale will fight it out for the third spot on the TU North.

KARATE KIDS ON TOP OF TU SOUTH
One of the delights of the IPA season is on top of the Tycobbian South... the karate kids in Ginza (65-42) are kickin' butts with a 7-game edge over runner-up Turon (58-49)... third place Cape Coral (57-50) and Summerland (57-50) are still hanging around, but are 8 games behind the Ninjas... a lot of people are cheering and rooting for Ginza, which has not won a pennant for 28 years... maybe Mr. Miyagi can pull off another miracle.

The Ginza Ninjas are not doing it with mirrors or martial arts, they are doing it with impressive pitching... they have three quality starters with Kurt Brophy (11-4/3.27), Yoshiro Makihara (10-8/2.62) and Franco Funicello (11-5/2.96)... plus two more reliables in Kenny Cabot (8-5/3.82) and Kodai Norimoto (7-6/3.98)... and in the bullpen All-Star closer Abram Worth (7-4/2.42 ERA/24 saves/49 G)... the team ERA is 3.42 (3rd)... the Ninjas do need help in the batter's box... they have trouble scoring runs despite a .264 BA (9th)... only 83 homers (25th) and 445 runs (23rd)... but Ginza wins ball games... the Ninjas went 17-12 in July, tied with Turon for the best record in the TU South... the Cape Coral Hurricanes did well at 16-13... the Summerland Sunsets slumped to 14-15... the Arroyo Grande Suns were 16-13... Colchester only 12-17... San Alejo 14-15... and eighth place Southport fizzled at 10-19, thus killing its chance for a second-half comeback... the Sun Sox won the TU South a year ago... but it ain't gonna happen this year... no way, Jose... no way no how.

Tycobbian South Outlook:
Ginza is sitting pretty in first place and should make the playoffs with its fine mound staff... second place Turon also has good pitching with a 3.49 ERA, but lacks offense and home-run power... the Typhoons are batting .259 (13th) with 450 runs (22nd) and only 71 HR (29th)... the Cape Coral Hurricanes will be in the battle for second place because of its robust attack... the 'Canes are thumping the ball at a .294 clip (1st), scored 575 runs (2nd) and have hit 97 balls out of the park (18th)... and they are not bad on the hill with a 3.98 ERA (17th)... Cape Coral looks like the runner-up this season... the Summerland Sunsets have the best pitching corps in the TU with a real good 3.08 ERA (1st), but they are batting a paltry .248 (29th) and only have 413 runs (31st)... it looks like fourth in the standings for Summerland... any one of the second-division clubs could wind up 5th... Arroyo Grande, Colchester, San Alejo and Southport are just about even in talent... the Tycobbian South is fairly even top to bottom... only 14 games separate Ginza from Southport.

RED SOX UP BY 7 IN TU EAST
In July the Red Bluff Red Sox (64-43) took charge of the Tycobbian East Division with a marvelous 21-8 record... they broke open a tight race and now have extended their division lead to 7 games over the High Mesa Mustangs (57-50), 8 games better than third place Tuckanarra (56-51) and 10 games over their big rival, the Midway Wolves (54-53)... the Mustangs could only muster a 14-15 mark... the Tucks 15-14... Middies 16-13... and the fifth place East Point Panthers finished the month at 14-15.... and as far as the TU East also-rans, only sixth place South Fork did well at 15-14... Ozarka was a dismal 11-18 and basement-dwelling Hillsboro had a shameful month at 8-21.

Tycobbian East Outlook:
Red Bluff is a shoo-in for the TU East division title... the club continued its fine mound work... the team ERA is 3.16 (2nd), sparked by starters Duane Sturgeon (16-6/2.02) and Wilson Sharpe (11-6/2.17)... the Red Sox also get the job done at the plate with a .258 BA (15th), 504 runs (7th) and 111 homers (10th)... slugging star RF Toni Kolkov (.279/27 HR/71 RBI), CF Paul Gaddison (.271/22 HR/69 RBI), LF Ian Driskell (.300/5 HR/40 RBI) and 1B Monty Lyons (.304/6 HR/33 RBI) are the prime run producers... High Mesa can keep up with Red Bluff offensively, but not on the hill... the Mustangs sport a .255 BA (22nd), 492 runs (8th) and 135 roundtrippers (4th), but the mound staff comes in with a 3.79 team ERA (8th)... All-Star 3B Kagetoki Miyazaki (.304/31 HR/78 RBI) and RF Billy Putman (.255/24 HR/84 RBI) are the top guns in the batting order... the pitching standouts are Weldon Harrington (7-8/2.78), Bucky Dodge (9-5/2.95) and Tuffy Hammel (7-2/3.41)... the Blue Jays have 3 good starters in Ian Timms (16-6/3.11), Ralph Ayers (8-3/2.75) and Skip Eberly (8-10/2.83)... but not much of a bullpen... weak offensively, too... no chance to catch Red Bluff... the Wolves might catch the Tucks... that's the best they can do... Midway is just a so-so ball club that hits homers, but that's about it... offense is just average with 476 runs (15th) and 149 HR (3rd)... still have two of the best players in the IPA: superstars LF Norishige Ito (.310/33 HR/75 RBI/70 R) and CF Daryl Vale (.269/33 HR/78 RBI/68 R/6 SB)... pitching is fair with a 4.03 ERA (19th)... rookie Connie Kees (10-6/3.43) and veteran Dookie Higgins (9-7/3.36) are the only quality starters... the Wolves have dropped back in the pack now due to a decline in pitching... also offense is not like it was in the Pro Cup-winning years and pennant winning years from '53 to '58.

REDS, CHAMPS, REDBIRDS... CATFIGHT IN TU WEST
And just what do we have in the Tycobbian West Division?... lo and behold, I think there is a pennant race going on... and it's a good 'un... it's a catfight between 3 teams, the first place Rolling Hills Reds (59-48), second place and defending division champ, the Arlon Champions (57-50), and the third place Denton City Redbirds (56-51)... only 3 games separate them with just 6 weeks to play in the regular season... the Reds with their explosive bats and mediocre mound corps had a slow month in July, just 15-14... the Champions played like champs with a terrific 20-9 mark and chopped down Rolling Hills lead by 5 games... the Redbirds narrowed the gap by 2 games with a 16-13 record... the Bayview Vikings (52-55), in the fourth spot in the standings, also wound up 16-13 and are 7 games off the pace... the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (51-56) struggled at 13-16... the sixth place La Claire Lynx (49-58) went 14-15... the Kenwood Wildcats (46-61) took a deep dive toward the TU West cellar with terrible 9-20 mark... the hapless last place Chicopee Braves (40-67) were even worse, going 7-22 last month.

Tycobbian West Outlook:
It should be a ding-dong dilly down the stretch... Rolling Hills has the offense to win, but doesn't seem to have the pitching... the Reds are ripping the ball at a .283 clip (3rd), score very well with 548 runs (3rd) and go deep with 98 circuit swats (16th-tied)... but on the hill it's a different story... 4.31 Team ERA (29th)... star 1B Teddy Stonich (.371/35 HR/98 RBI/92 R/3 SB) is having a sensational season... helped out by LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.280/15 HR/67 RBI/53 R), C Lee Fountain (.257/9 HR/51 RBI/36 R) and RF Larry Lamm (.282/9 HR/46 RBI/36 R/5 SB)... Rolling Hills has only two reliable starters in the rotation: Vance Dillaway (10-9/3.45) and Rob Gates (9-4/3.51)... Tommy Otis (4-1/4.11) could be a big help with a good stretch drive... he will be a key factor... bullpen is just OK... second place Arlon is sitting pretty with 4 solid starters and a good offense... the Champions will probaby repeat as TU West titlists for the 4th time in 6 seasons... the mainly over-30 staff is led by J. C. Hilburn (11-9/3.36), Ty Coffee (12-6/3.28), Dicky Towers (8-4/3.77) and Bobby Conoway (4-1/3.38)... even #5 starter Mike Winters (6-8/4.02) can get the job done... 23-year-old Conoway is the only youngster... but the bullpen is hellaciously bad with a 4.15 ERA (29th)... Arlon has a rock-solid offense with a .270 team BA (6th), 522 runs (4th) and 127 homers (6th)... the leaders are LF Jaimey Stansfield (.271/33 HR/79 R), All-Star SS Art Catlin (.309/17 HR/56 RBI), RF Zeppo Thiel (.343/7 HR/35 RBI/43 R/3 SB), 1B Rhett Harper (.304/9 HR/30 RBI/47 R/5 SB), 3B Eduardo Garaza (.290/10 HR/33 RBI/42 R), 1B Jon Cress (.327/8 HR/38 RBI/21 R) and CF Rebel Bryce (.244/16 HR/58 RBI/51 R/2 SB)... Denton City should finish well with 3 good starters in superstar Flash Stringfellow (13-6/3.24), budding star Carl Coons (11-4/2.25) and reliable veteran Rance Hasbrough (8-11/3.73)... the bullpen is in good hands with Burnell Kelley (3-2/1.89 ERA/25 saves/33 G)... the batting attack is just average with a .257 BA (18th), 473 runs (16th) and 104 HR (12th-tied)... the Redbirds will challenge both Rolling Hills and Arlon for the TU West flag... fourth place Bayview has some punch in the lineup with 1B T. D. Proudfoot (.306/30 HR/85 RBI), RF Vern Woodcock (.216/20 HR/59 RBI) and 3B Byorn Karlsen (.234/21 HR/50 RBI)... the Vikings are hitting .253 (26th) with 478 runs (12th-tied) and 128 HR (5th), but they are fair to mediocre on the mound with a 4.10 team ERA (22nd)... the Viks have two fine starters with Ivar Rasmussen (13-9/3.07) and Jules Perot (9-4/3.12)... #3 James Farnham (8-8/3.59) is capable, too... the bullpen has much improved since Harv Hays (2-3/2.95 ERA/3 saves/15 G) took over the closing role... it has been quite poor this year with a 4.37 ERA (31st)... Bay St. Clair is the best of the rest, but will probably end up in 5th place... not likely to make the first division... La Claire, Kenwood and Chicopee are obviously not very good.