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Eugene Church · 02-28-2020, 06:49 PM

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SUN SOX TO REPEAT IN TU SOUTH IN CLOSE RACE
The Southport Sun Sox were the supreme team in the Tycobbian South Division last season... they won it by double-digit figures by piling up 100 victories... Southport is favored to repeat this year, but according to the preseason prognosticators it looks like a closer race... Ginza and San Alejo will be their main challengers with the possibility that Turon and Cape Coral might make a race of it, too... Summerland is on the decline and is forecast to finish in the sixth spot in the standings... followed by the division's perennial also-rans Arroyo Grande and Colchester.

Southport pitching carried them last season (3.14 ERA) all the way to the Tycobbian title series, which the Sun Sox lost to IPA champ Rolling Hills in six games... to perk up the bats they made a trade with the Racers and got an aging first baseman Dayton Mayfield... they had to give up some young pitchers to get him... Southport thinks the 33-year-old Mayfield may be just what they need to put more runs on the scoreboard... and that he has a few more productive years left at a top level... last year Mayfield (.364) played little... he was third string to two fine first sackers Luca Palazzi (.303) and Mark Carmickle (.300/18 HR)... the Sun Sox have been one of the better teams in the TU South the last decade, winning three pennants, '55, '58 and last year... they may have improved on the mound and also at the plate this year... Southport is the top-rated team in The Islandian Times Pro Cup Preseason Poll... anchoring the mound corps is budding star Roman Littrell (16-8/2.72) with some good help from solid vets Jeff Moncriffe (14-7/3.13) and Jake Shank (16-7/3.45)... heading up the bullpen is closer Greg Brisbourne (13-7/2.88 ERA/ 26 saves/81 games), aided by Billy Ray Echols (12-5/3.36 ERA/5 saves/29 games)... the Sun Sox hit pretty well for average (.270 BA), but lack the longball... the club leaders are Buzzy McGinnis (.301/14 HR), Walt Walmsley (.295/14 HR) and Maurice Garcia (.296/10 HR) and Keiland Forrester (.331/13 HR)... adding newcomer Mayfield into the batting order bodes well for the team... on paper Southport looks better than last year... they could run away with the Tycobbian West again.

The Ginza Ninjas flopped last year, winding up near the bottom in sixth place, trailing Southport by 34 games... the Islandian baseball experts have made them the second choice to win the pennant... that's hard to see, but what do I know... Ginza has had only two good seasons in the last decade, but my goodness, they were really special... the Karate Kids surprisingly won the IPA Pro Cup in '59 and went to the TU Finals in '60 and lost in seven games to Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills... not very likely to happen this year... Ginza starting pitching is nothing special... Kurt Brophy (15-11/4.00) is the best of the bunch, followed by Marcelo Cervantes (9-15/3.40), Sparky Dane (9-13/3.50) and Frank Funicello (8-13/4.32)... even at age 33 the bullpen is still in good hands with Abram Worth (7-7/2.84 ERA/23 saves/53 games)... but he's not as dominant as he once was... the Ninjas are not much at the plate... don't hit for average... don't have any powerhitters... the best of the lot are so-so at best: Jamie Fellows (.317/1 HR), Tamotsu Saikawa (.269/4 HR), Vic Carnaggio (.264/10 HR), Masato Okamura (.288/6 HR) and Yota Fujishima (.254/13 HR)... if Ginza contends for the pennant that would surprise me... at best, middle-of-the-pack is what the Ninjas appear to be.

The past decade has not been good to the San Alejo Montaneros... no pennants... no pennant races... only two winning seasons, '53 and '62... the Monties rebounded greatly last year with an abundance of hurlers and came in second to Southport, but trailed by a lot, 12 games... the last time San Alejo won the TU South was in 2051, when they had two of the finest starters in IPA history: Matt Bell (391-225/2.42 ERA) and Will McKinney (314-187/2.66 ERA), both inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2057... they are well-staffed this season with returnees Paolo Passos (16-6/2.76), Joca Qartez (14-8/3.04), Moises Chavallos (11-6/3.23) and closer-turned-starter Adrian Acosta (8-10/3.00 ERA/15 saves/67 games)... toss in Jimmy Doak (10-5/3.66) and Alvaro Muniz (3-3/3.13) and you come up with a fine starting rotation... Elmer Cane (6-10/2.35 ERA/12 saves/51 games) will take over as the closer... San Alejo should be improved on the mound this year and also in the batting order, too... the Monties are not a good-hitting team, in fact, they are a bad-hitting team (.246 BA)... the only one in the lineup that is reliable is Dominque Juban (.288/11 HR)... he gets a little bit of help from Hector Cavazos (.255/13 HR), Hershel McKowen (.271/15 HR) and Roman Redondo (.231/16 HR)... the club is optimistic about new rookie shortstop Bob Raven (.319 BA/3 HR/21 RBI), who drew rave notices in the Spring and won a spot in the lineup... San Alejo should do well again this season in the Tycobbian South... they probably won't challenge Southport, but they certainly look like they could finish as high as second for the second straight season... the future looks bright for the Montaneros.

The Turon Typhoons are slated for the fourth spot in the TU South standings this season by The Islandian Times pollsters... that's where they came in last year, 19 games back of Southport... that is a reasonable expectation... Turon has been the best overall franchise over the last 10 seasons with 6 division flags ('52, '53, '54, '56, '57, '61), but they are not quite as talented... both the pitching and the hitting has declined the last two years... the Typhoons are swooning just a little bit downward mainly due to one huge loss... Neil Riley (16-11/2.72 ERA), one of their prime starters will be out for about 12 months with an elbow injury suffered in the Spring... but they will still have ace Ollie Dickenson (14-5/2.68)... Riley is a big gap to fill... without him, Turon may drop in the standings... the offense is about average in the TU South with the likes of Maxie Mullinax (.304/8 HR), Matthew Fears (.296/14 HR) and Andy Wilkerson (.266/13 HR)... no rookies excelled in the Spring... fourth, fifth or sixth may be the best Turon can do this year.

The Cape Coral Hurricanes haven't blown anybody away since they won the pennant way back in 2041... they haven't done well in the last decade, rarely competing with the contenders... they wound up a distant seventh last season... but optimism is back... the 'Canes might be an improved club this year... may even be a winning team... improved bats and improved pitching could do it... the Hurricanes are forecast to wind up fifth this season in the preseason predictions... Cape Coral has the best-scoring team in the TU South with two fine contact hitters Lynwood Barley (.327/3 HR) and Barney Fiske (.327/6 HR)... Kalian Coston (.278/18 HR), Dain Coxson (.278/17 HR), Marvin Cordice (.283/11 HR) and Lenny Larker (.272/8 HR) are reliable, too... not a lot on the hill... best of the returnees are Michael Nagy (12-12/4.17) and Frisco Francis (11-13/4.29)... the other starters will be untried rookies Vinny McAfee, Johnny McCormick and Cedric Ashford... only McAfee had a good Spring Training... manning the closer spot will be 6-year vet Manny Rosetti (6-9/3.62 ERA/25 saves/68 games)... he was only adequate last season... the bullpen needs improvement.

It's been years and years since the Summerland Sunsets won the Tycobbian South pennant... the last crown came in 2046... however, the Sunsets ran really good races in '60 and '61, losing out by four games to Ginza and 5 games to Turon... they always do it with superior pitching... offense in Summerland is non-existent... as always the hurlers are back, led by solid veterans like Rudy Hilgendorf (16-8/2.70), Mick Marlow (10-8/2.70), Marty Westhuizen (17-10/3.05 ERA), Tommy Underhill (12-7/3.75) and rookie Kip Dzerko... Jared Drobish (7-6/2.93 ERA/10 saves/38 games) and Jacob Vandenboom (6-8/2.83 ERA/17 saves/58 games) will again handle the strong bullpen... last year the Sunsets had a solid season and came in third, 13 games behind TU South champ Southport... one would think with such good pitching, they would be a higher pick in the preseason ratings than sixth place... sadly, the Sunsets just can't score runs... they depend almost entirely on three bats for offense... Johnny Pendergrass (.296/11 HR), Klaus Kronenberg (.296/18 HR) and Gerrit Peerenboom (.287/11 HR)... a fourth, Rip Norfield (.228/18 HR), hits for power and drives in runs, but just doesn't make contact often enough... rookie shortstop Bernie Erstad (.304/2 HR/11 RBI, 12 R) impressed in Spring Training and will begin the season as one of their prime hitters.

The Arroyo Grande Suns would probably be in the running for the worst franchise in Islandian Pro Alliance history... only four times have they made the postseason playoffs... the last TU South pennant came in 2024... they have never won a Pro Cup trophy... only three times in the last decade did they put up winning numbers ('55, '56, '61)... the Suns had a special season in 2061, losing out by just one game to Turon... but they couldn't stand prosperity and dropped back into oblivion to last place last year, 39 games behind Southport... awful pitching (4.59 ERA) and pathetic hitting (.228 BA) will do it every time... nobody hits for average, but they can hit it out of the ballpark, mainly because Capet Stadium is a "homer haven" with short fences all around... Arroyo Grande is led at bat by Rueben Jones (.259/29 HR), Chris Hardcastle (.223/25 HR), Gaston Robin (.241/23 HR), Dan Fargo (.223/17 HR) and Dick Barney (.236/15 HR)... none of the five rookies, three hurlers and two position players, did well in the Spring... Carlos Jaromillo (11-12/3.78) is the only decent starter on the club... former ace Beau McCloud (8-17/5.07) has had trouble in recent years... overall he is 207-173 in his 13 years in the IPA with a 3.39 ERA... 4 seasons with Midway and 9 with the Suns... at age 32, McCloud should still have a few more productive seasons... The Islandian Times preseason poll has it pegged just about right... this season Arroyo Grande will finish near the bottom of the Tycobbian South standings... mostly likely in the seventh spot.

The Colchester Elites are another of the least successful franchises in IPA history... never won a Pro Cup... appeared only 4 times in the playoffs... last time was in 2036... the last time Colchester finished above .500 was 13 seasons ago in 2051... otherwise they are almost always in the bottom depths of the TU South... the closest they have come to first place in recent years has been 20 games... last year they were pretty good, comparatively speaking, Colchester wound up 71-83 and in fifth place, 29 games out of first place... not expected to be that good this year... the baseball world has picked them to end up dead last in the Tycobbian South in 2063... Johnny Walker (16-8/3.20) was easily the best starter last year... no one came close to his success... Jud Chesbro (11-14/4.37) was good at times... not much in the bullpen, either... closer Elliott Sexton (8-10/4.06 ERA/22 saves/58 games) was fairly good at times... the Elites have no standout players... 24-year-old center fielder Howie Sarkisian (.265/22 HR/102 RBI/90 R/16 SB) is a solid, good-around player... Mel Albertson (.296/17 HR/71 RBI) and Paddy Terry (.254/21 HR/59 RBI) have a little pop in their bats, too... but that's it as far as offense... the baseball gurus are probably right... Colchester will be last in the TU South this year.

*********************************************** 2063 Preseason Prediction ************************************************** ****************************************** 2062 Tycobbian South Final Standings *********************************

02-28-2020, 06:49 PM	#6981
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,946	SUN SOX TO REPEAT IN TU SOUTH IN CLOSE RACE The Southport Sun Sox were the supreme team in the Tycobbian South Division last season... they won it by double-digit figures by piling up 100 victories... Southport is favored to repeat this year, but according to the preseason prognosticators it looks like a closer race... Ginza and San Alejo will be their main challengers with the possibility that Turon and Cape Coral might make a race of it, too... Summerland is on the decline and is forecast to finish in the sixth spot in the standings... followed by the division's perennial also-rans Arroyo Grande and Colchester. Southport pitching carried them last season (3.14 ERA) all the way to the Tycobbian title series, which the Sun Sox lost to IPA champ Rolling Hills in six games... to perk up the bats they made a trade with the Racers and got an aging first baseman Dayton Mayfield... they had to give up some young pitchers to get him... Southport thinks the 33-year-old Mayfield may be just what they need to put more runs on the scoreboard... and that he has a few more productive years left at a top level... last year Mayfield (.364) played little... he was third string to two fine first sackers Luca Palazzi (.303) and Mark Carmickle (.300/18 HR)... the Sun Sox have been one of the better teams in the TU South the last decade, winning three pennants, '55, '58 and last year... they may have improved on the mound and also at the plate this year... Southport is the top-rated team in The Islandian Times Pro Cup Preseason Poll... anchoring the mound corps is budding star Roman Littrell (16-8/2.72) with some good help from solid vets Jeff Moncriffe (14-7/3.13) and Jake Shank (16-7/3.45)... heading up the bullpen is closer Greg Brisbourne (13-7/2.88 ERA/ 26 saves/81 games), aided by Billy Ray Echols (12-5/3.36 ERA/5 saves/29 games)... the Sun Sox hit pretty well for average (.270 BA), but lack the longball... the club leaders are Buzzy McGinnis (.301/14 HR), Walt Walmsley (.295/14 HR) and Maurice Garcia (.296/10 HR) and Keiland Forrester (.331/13 HR)... adding newcomer Mayfield into the batting order bodes well for the team... on paper Southport looks better than last year... they could run away with the Tycobbian West again. The Ginza Ninjas flopped last year, winding up near the bottom in sixth place, trailing Southport by 34 games... the Islandian baseball experts have made them the second choice to win the pennant... that's hard to see, but what do I know... Ginza has had only two good seasons in the last decade, but my goodness, they were really special... the Karate Kids surprisingly won the IPA Pro Cup in '59 and went to the TU Finals in '60 and lost in seven games to Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills... not very likely to happen this year... Ginza starting pitching is nothing special... Kurt Brophy (15-11/4.00) is the best of the bunch, followed by Marcelo Cervantes (9-15/3.40), Sparky Dane (9-13/3.50) and Frank Funicello (8-13/4.32)... even at age 33 the bullpen is still in good hands with Abram Worth (7-7/2.84 ERA/23 saves/53 games)... but he's not as dominant as he once was... the Ninjas are not much at the plate... don't hit for average... don't have any powerhitters... the best of the lot are so-so at best: Jamie Fellows (.317/1 HR), Tamotsu Saikawa (.269/4 HR), Vic Carnaggio (.264/10 HR), Masato Okamura (.288/6 HR) and Yota Fujishima (.254/13 HR)... if Ginza contends for the pennant that would surprise me... at best, middle-of-the-pack is what the Ninjas appear to be. The past decade has not been good to the San Alejo Montaneros... no pennants... no pennant races... only two winning seasons, '53 and '62... the Monties rebounded greatly last year with an abundance of hurlers and came in second to Southport, but trailed by a lot, 12 games... the last time San Alejo won the TU South was in 2051, when they had two of the finest starters in IPA history: Matt Bell (391-225/2.42 ERA) and Will McKinney (314-187/2.66 ERA), both inducted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2057... they are well-staffed this season with returnees Paolo Passos (16-6/2.76), Joca Qartez (14-8/3.04), Moises Chavallos (11-6/3.23) and closer-turned-starter Adrian Acosta (8-10/3.00 ERA/15 saves/67 games)... toss in Jimmy Doak (10-5/3.66) and Alvaro Muniz (3-3/3.13) and you come up with a fine starting rotation... Elmer Cane (6-10/2.35 ERA/12 saves/51 games) will take over as the closer... San Alejo should be improved on the mound this year and also in the batting order, too... the Monties are not a good-hitting team, in fact, they are a bad-hitting team (.246 BA)... the only one in the lineup that is reliable is Dominque Juban (.288/11 HR)... he gets a little bit of help from Hector Cavazos (.255/13 HR), Hershel McKowen (.271/15 HR) and Roman Redondo (.231/16 HR)... the club is optimistic about new rookie shortstop Bob Raven (.319 BA/3 HR/21 RBI), who drew rave notices in the Spring and won a spot in the lineup... San Alejo should do well again this season in the Tycobbian South... they probably won't challenge Southport, but they certainly look like they could finish as high as second for the second straight season... the future looks bright for the Montaneros. The Turon Typhoons are slated for the fourth spot in the TU South standings this season by The Islandian Times pollsters... that's where they came in last year, 19 games back of Southport... that is a reasonable expectation... Turon has been the best overall franchise over the last 10 seasons with 6 division flags ('52, '53, '54, '56, '57, '61), but they are not quite as talented... both the pitching and the hitting has declined the last two years... the Typhoons are swooning just a little bit downward mainly due to one huge loss... Neil Riley (16-11/2.72 ERA), one of their prime starters will be out for about 12 months with an elbow injury suffered in the Spring... but they will still have ace Ollie Dickenson (14-5/2.68)... Riley is a big gap to fill... without him, Turon may drop in the standings... the offense is about average in the TU South with the likes of Maxie Mullinax (.304/8 HR), Matthew Fears (.296/14 HR) and Andy Wilkerson (.266/13 HR)... no rookies excelled in the Spring... fourth, fifth or sixth may be the best Turon can do this year. The Cape Coral Hurricanes haven't blown anybody away since they won the pennant way back in 2041... they haven't done well in the last decade, rarely competing with the contenders... they wound up a distant seventh last season... but optimism is back... the 'Canes might be an improved club this year... may even be a winning team... improved bats and improved pitching could do it... the Hurricanes are forecast to wind up fifth this season in the preseason predictions... Cape Coral has the best-scoring team in the TU South with two fine contact hitters Lynwood Barley (.327/3 HR) and Barney Fiske (.327/6 HR)... Kalian Coston (.278/18 HR), Dain Coxson (.278/17 HR), Marvin Cordice (.283/11 HR) and Lenny Larker (.272/8 HR) are reliable, too... not a lot on the hill... best of the returnees are Michael Nagy (12-12/4.17) and Frisco Francis (11-13/4.29)... the other starters will be untried rookies Vinny McAfee, Johnny McCormick and Cedric Ashford... only McAfee had a good Spring Training... manning the closer spot will be 6-year vet Manny Rosetti (6-9/3.62 ERA/25 saves/68 games)... he was only adequate last season... the bullpen needs improvement. It's been years and years since the Summerland Sunsets won the Tycobbian South pennant... the last crown came in 2046... however, the Sunsets ran really good races in '60 and '61, losing out by four games to Ginza and 5 games to Turon... they always do it with superior pitching... offense in Summerland is non-existent... as always the hurlers are back, led by solid veterans like Rudy Hilgendorf (16-8/2.70), Mick Marlow (10-8/2.70), Marty Westhuizen (17-10/3.05 ERA), Tommy Underhill (12-7/3.75) and rookie Kip Dzerko... Jared Drobish (7-6/2.93 ERA/10 saves/38 games) and Jacob Vandenboom (6-8/2.83 ERA/17 saves/58 games) will again handle the strong bullpen... last year the Sunsets had a solid season and came in third, 13 games behind TU South champ Southport... one would think with such good pitching, they would be a higher pick in the preseason ratings than sixth place... sadly, the Sunsets just can't score runs... they depend almost entirely on three bats for offense... Johnny Pendergrass (.296/11 HR), Klaus Kronenberg (.296/18 HR) and Gerrit Peerenboom (.287/11 HR)... a fourth, Rip Norfield (.228/18 HR), hits for power and drives in runs, but just doesn't make contact often enough... rookie shortstop Bernie Erstad (.304/2 HR/11 RBI, 12 R) impressed in Spring Training and will begin the season as one of their prime hitters. The Arroyo Grande Suns would probably be in the running for the worst franchise in Islandian Pro Alliance history... only four times have they made the postseason playoffs... the last TU South pennant came in 2024... they have never won a Pro Cup trophy... only three times in the last decade did they put up winning numbers ('55, '56, '61)... the Suns had a special season in 2061, losing out by just one game to Turon... but they couldn't stand prosperity and dropped back into oblivion to last place last year, 39 games behind Southport... awful pitching (4.59 ERA) and pathetic hitting (.228 BA) will do it every time... nobody hits for average, but they can hit it out of the ballpark, mainly because Capet Stadium is a "homer haven" with short fences all around... Arroyo Grande is led at bat by Rueben Jones (.259/29 HR), Chris Hardcastle (.223/25 HR), Gaston Robin (.241/23 HR), Dan Fargo (.223/17 HR) and Dick Barney (.236/15 HR)... none of the five rookies, three hurlers and two position players, did well in the Spring... Carlos Jaromillo (11-12/3.78) is the only decent starter on the club... former ace Beau McCloud (8-17/5.07) has had trouble in recent years... overall he is 207-173 in his 13 years in the IPA with a 3.39 ERA... 4 seasons with Midway and 9 with the Suns... at age 32, McCloud should still have a few more productive seasons... The Islandian Times preseason poll has it pegged just about right... this season Arroyo Grande will finish near the bottom of the Tycobbian South standings... mostly likely in the seventh spot. The Colchester Elites are another of the least successful franchises in IPA history... never won a Pro Cup... appeared only 4 times in the playoffs... last time was in 2036... the last time Colchester finished above .500 was 13 seasons ago in 2051... otherwise they are almost always in the bottom depths of the TU South... the closest they have come to first place in recent years has been 20 games... last year they were pretty good, comparatively speaking, Colchester wound up 71-83 and in fifth place, 29 games out of first place... not expected to be that good this year... the baseball world has picked them to end up dead last in the Tycobbian South in 2063... Johnny Walker (16-8/3.20) was easily the best starter last year... no one came close to his success... Jud Chesbro (11-14/4.37) was good at times... not much in the bullpen, either... closer Elliott Sexton (8-10/4.06 ERA/22 saves/58 games) was fairly good at times... the Elites have no standout players... 24-year-old center fielder Howie Sarkisian (.265/22 HR/102 RBI/90 R/16 SB) is a solid, good-around player... Mel Albertson (.296/17 HR/71 RBI) and Paddy Terry (.254/21 HR/59 RBI) have a little pop in their bats, too... but that's it as far as offense... the baseball gurus are probably right... Colchester will be last in the TU South this year. ********************************************* 2063 Preseason Prediction ********************************************** ************************************** 2062 Tycobbian South Final Standings ******************************* Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-28-2020 at 06:52 PM.