THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

VIPERS ROLL TO 2ND STRAIGHT RU NORTH TITLE
The Valmara Vipers (99-55) took charge of the Ruthlandian North Division in July and won going away, rolling past the Far Mountain Redhawks (90-64) by 9 games... the Ancona Red Elephants (83-71) finished a very distant third, 16 GB and the Taranto Tars (82-72) flopped badly in the second half of the season and wound up tied for fourth with the Glasco Athletics (82-72)... they were both 17 games off the pace of the champion Vipers... Taranto led the RU North until the All-Star break, then fizzled and fell far back in the pennant race... this is Valmara's 22nd pennant in its illustrious IPA history... no other team has more... the Vipers will be seeking their 5th Pro Cup trophy in the playoffs... second-year skipper Don Ritchie has a fine, all-around team that chalked up 99 wins this year... Pro Cup #5 is a possibility... Valmara will be one of the favorites... they came in second in victories to Volusia, which won 105 games this year.

1st Place: VALMARA VIPERS (99-55)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 1st Place (96-58)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (72-82) (19 GB)
Outlook: Valmara is back on track... after missing the playoffs 5 years in a row, the Vipers have won the RU North the last two seasons... they are the elite team in the division... from '43 to '51 Valmara was a powerhouse with 7 division titles and 3 Pro Cups... the Vipers are back!

Valmara under the leadership of second-year skipper, Don Ritchie, was even better than last year, running up 99 wins, second best in the IPA... only Volusia in the RU West won more games with 105 victories... the Vipers can do it all, pitch, hit with power, score runs and play defense... the only weakness is in the bullpen... they will be a potent force in the Pro Cup playoffs... top performers on the mound for Valmara were Darus Grajek (22-9/3.39), Lukasz Chojnicki (18-10/3.38), Mirko Musial (15-6/2.87), Jozef Duczynski (12-4/2.72) and Tony Joe Carnes (10-5/3.14)... the top batsmen were 1B Timmy Benford (.321/40 HR/140 RBI/101 R), SS Alek Stolarski (.312/13 HR/91 RBI/119 R/21 SB), rookie CF Jud Gilbride (.295/33 HR/96 RBI/127 R/32 SB), LF Doc Pollins (.278/27 HR/64 RBI/62 R), RF Harv Shepard (.298/14 HR/60 RBI/70 R/11 SB) and 2B Vladimir Szymanski (.273/23 HR/84 RBI/77 R/3 SB).

2nd Place: Far Mountain Redhawks (90-64) (9 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (81-73) (15 GB)
Two Years Ago. 2nd Place (88-66) (3 GB)
Outlook: The Redhawks have a solid IPA ledger with 15 postseason appearances and 3 Pro Cups, but not in recent times... '55 was the last pennant... the Pro Cups came years ago... 2011, 2012 and 2013... Far Mountain is just one home-run slugger short of being a really good ballclub... they have everything else... the Redhawks should be contenders for years to come... Far Mountain needs to perk up the offense to move up into serious contention in the Ruthlandian North race.

It was another good season for runner-up Far Mountain and rookie manager Benjy Donahue... fine pitching and good run scoring, but not enough offense to beat out Valmara... heading up a solid mound staff were starters Benny Van (22-9/2.92), Jeffrey Chandler (19-14/2.81), Bob Speed (18-13/4.09) and Howie Haywood (11-12/3.43)... closer Sid Michaels (1-1/2.08 ERA/27 saves/39 G) did very well in the bullpen... leading the offense were 3B Jarrick Beauchamp (.303/13 HR/70 RBI/108 R/3 SB), 2B Luke Hazlett (.277/23 HR/108 RBI/80 R/3 SB), rookie 1B Curt Miley (.326/20 HR/73 RBI/93 R/9 SB) and CF Ox Gless (.267/17 HR/95 RBI/77 R/8 SB).

Third Place: Angona Red Elephants (83-71) (16 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (74-80) (22 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (68-86) (23 GB)
Outlook: Manager Tommy Richardson is in his second year and has improved the Red Elephants each season... this season with the 3rd-place finish, he snapped a 4-year run in the second division... it's been 37 years since Ancona last made the playoffs... they have never won a Pro Cup... the club has had only two winning seasons in the last 25 years... the Red Elephants last won pennants in '18, '20, '21 and '22... so, it's a definite "yes" that the fans are happy this year... very good pitching and pretty good power is the reason.

Richardson has a solid threesome in his rotation: Yanni Bubas (14-6/2.25), Burnell Simms (19-10/2.90) and Bill Bumgardener (15-15/3.23)... rookie Benny Arledge (13-14/3.86) showed good promise, too... and his bullpen is in good hands with Kontos Christakis (3-4/2.53 ERA/29 saves/50 G)... Ancona is just average at the plate with 1B Skeets Barker (.301/26 HR/73 RBI/93 R), LF Franco Briganti (.336/23 HR/78 RBI/79 R/2 SB), C Robin Hargroder (.315/23 HR/87 RBI/70 R) and CF Horace Nickens (.266/13 HR/58 RBI/91 R/18 SB).

4th Place (tied): Taranto Tars (82-72) (17 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (78-76) (18 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place
Outlook: In its history Taranto has garnered 8 pennants and 1 Pro Cup (2015)… since the '52 season the Tars have won the RU North 4 times ('52, '53, '54, '56)… the club is still a first-division contender, but may not have the talent to overtake Valmara and Far Mountain... Taranto has slipped a tad or two in the last two seasons.

Augie Marshall has seen his Tars slip in the last couple of years... they won the pennant in '56... since then, his pitching has declined... Taranto started off well this season and topped the division at midseason, but fritzed out badly in the last half of the year... the pitching is a little above average... the Tars have good power and good scoring... they just couldn't stay with Valmara and Far Mountain for the long haul... Phil Castle (19-15/2.92) and Valerio Rossi (18-17/3.07) were tough starters this year... and they got some help from Alvio Sartori (13-8/3.55) and Freddy DeAngelis (12-4/3.86)... but Marshall had nothing in the bullpen... the Taranto attack is sparked by superstar slugger Lenny Buisson (.292/47 HR/127 RBI/91 R/6 SB), who led the RU with 47 homers and came in second with 127 RBIs... only IPA leader Buddy Blackford of the Oxford Red Caps outhomered him with 56... in his sophomore season 1B Buddy Lark (.345/27 HR/71 RBI/85 R) did very well and was second in batting to Wynnamac's Enos Benham, who led the IPA with a skyhigh .379 BA... and 3B Mark Trupiano (.259/21 HR/86 RBI/74 R/9 SB) also contributed to the offense... the Tars need to hit better for average and the mound corps needs to improve to get back among the serious contenders again.

4th Place (tied): Glasco Athletics (82-72) (17 GB)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (89-75) (7 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (68-86) (23 GB)
Outlook: The A's have only made the Pro Cup playoffs on 3 occasions in its IPA history with no Pro Cups... the last postseason appearance was in 2045 when they won 100 games... they ever won 101 in 2051, but came in second, 3 games behind champ Valmara with 104 victories... what a race that was... third place Ranford won even 100 games that historic season... at best, these days, Glasco is a 3rd-4th place club... the Athletics can't play with Valmara and Far Mountain.

Longtime skipper Charles Darby had a good season record-wise, but never was in the hunt for the division flag... but the A's made progress in the second half of the year and worked their way back to fourth place and finished 10 games above the .500 mark... the Athletics were picked to give Valmara and Far Mountain a run for their money... but a lackluster first half killed the season... Darby has good starters in Monte France (19-14/2.85), Jonathan Burnett (16-15/3.39) and rookie Tom Bloodworth (10-4/3.34)... #4 Jayden Furman (14-14/4.08) also gave him some quality starts... the Glasco bullpen is top-notched, too, with closer Rip Scobie (5-4/0.89 ERA/32 saves/47 G)... but the bats need improvement... the best of the lot is LF Callum Slattery (.292/17 HR/81 RBI/86 R/10 SB), rookie 1B Colin Carr (.301/16 HR/80 RBI/58 R) and SS Rick Farns (.254/16 HR/82 RBI/67 R)... the offense is going to have to really step it up to compete with the Vipers and Redhawks.

6th Place: Kilkenny Cats (76-78) (23 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (78-76) (18 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (65-89) (26 GB)
Outlook: The Cats have one of the poorest records in the IPA with only one postseason appearance and no Pro Cups... Kilkenny last made the playoffs 17 years ago... they won't be a contender in the RU North until they improve their offense... they have solid pitching, but the Cats need to put more runs on the scoreboard to move up in the standings... still just a second-division team.

Kilkenny manager Dave Whitaker took over the team in 2057 and they have improved a bit, especially on the hill... it's the lack of runs that hampers the longsuffering Cats, who have only made the Pro Cup playoffs one time... that was long ago in 2042... Billy Joe Wooster (17-11/2.96) and Jamie Ayers (16-11/2.60) give Kilkenny two standout starters... Bretton MacKay (14-18/3.43) and Carroll Hudsmith (10-8/3.92) are pretty fair in the number 3 and 4 spots in the rotation... but the Cats' relievers are not very good... Whitaker doesn't have a real solid threat at the plate... all of his hitters just put up modest numbers... he's not gonna win the RU North with the likes of LF Tory Bettis (.295/11 HR/70 RBI/74 R/14 SB), SS Rex Parkhill (.285/8 HR/57 RBI/71 R/16 SB) and CF Vance Snead (.283/4 HR/51 RBI/76 R/11 SB)... the only one with any kind of power is 2B Tommy Upton (.227/19 HR/85 RBI/68 R/5 SB), but he bats a poor .227 for average.

7th Place: Ranford Bulls (62-92) (37 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (71-83) (25 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (71-83) (20 GB)
Outlook: The Bulls have a modest history in the IPA with 7 playoff appearances and 1 Pro Cup (2040)… the last pennant came 18 years ago in '41... Ranford has been stuck in the RU North second division for the last 4 years, mainly because its mound staff has drifted into dismay and despair... actually, it's atrocious this season with a 4.73 ERA... the times are ripe for rebuilding revamping in Ranford.

At the end of the regular season, the Bulls fired manager Kyle Hunt... he had been the GM and manager since 2042... he finished in the first division 10 times during his 16-year tenure, but things have been on the downgrade for four straight years... Ranford has decided to reach into the collegiate circles to replace Hunt... they hired the very successful Bert Skippmann... he has been at St. John University for the last decade and has won the collegiate title in 8 of those years... Skippmann is unique... he never played anything but high school baseball... in college he majored in sports management and worked his way up to athletic director at St. John... he served as AD for 10 years and then took over the baseball team which had struggled for decades and they became instant winners... now Skippmann is ready for the challenge of IPA baseball... he has conquered the college baseball world and now will attempt to do the same in professional baseball.

And what kind of talent awaits Skippmann in Ranford?... the current Bulls were lousy on the hill and lousy at the plate... most of the talent is mediocre at best with a few exceptions... rookie Troy Chisholm (12-19/4.57) and Mac Roberts (11-16/4.38) are the best of a bad batch of starters... but the Bulls have a fine closer in Martin Futch (5-4/2.52 ERA/23 saves/40 G)... a couple of young position players have some pop: LF Jedd Blodgett (.276/31 HR/94 RBI/88 R/18 SB) and C Glen Chambliss (.265/31 HR/97 RBI/73 R)... and RF Stephen Littrell (.285/10 HR/59 RBI/93 R/18 SB) is a fairly good bat... Skippmann told the Ranford fans and the sports scribes to expect wholesale changes in the 2059 edition of the Bulls... they were not going to lose with the same old bunch year after year after year... Ranford is headed for a very interesting year next year.

8th Place: LaGrange Sports (56-98) (43 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (69-85) (27 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (73-81) (18 GB)
Outlook: Historically and ironically, the Sports are not a good sports franchise... they have won only 6 division crowns in 57 seasons... never won the Pro Cup... their glory days were short and sweet, '32 to '37, when they won 5 pennants... looking at the team's future, it is not so very good... there is a severe lack of IPA caliber talent in LaGrange... they have been glued to the RU North basement in 4 of the last 7 seasons... the last two years in a row.

Rookie skipper John Rodgers was welcomed into IPA managerial circles in very rude fashion... his Sports had the worst record in both leagues... it's been two decades since LaGrange made the postseason playoffs... they have won only 6 pennants in their IPA history and have never won the Pro Cup... and you would have to say it may be a few years before prospects get better... Rodgers has absolutely no offense, but has a decent starting rotation with Amos Wadsworth (15-20/3.76), Rodger Gagnier (14-14/3.73) and rookie Spike Swearingen (12-18/3.77)... the LaGrange bullpen is just average with no standout closer... Rudy Bonnett (2-9/3.13 ERA/26 saves/44 G) is hit-and-miss, but does save a game or two every now and then... not much talent at the plate... just mediocre at best... LF Sonny Picard (.272/20 HR/75 RBI/71 R/9 SB) and 3B Rick Wade (.298/10 HR/51 RBI/45 R) are just fair batters... there is zilch after them.

2058 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings

Good run, Fairfax. Next year is your year!

The Frogs were very good... almost caught the Zorros… they came up one game short.

They were 8 games behind at midseason... 6 in August... and 5 going into September.

I never saw this coming... doubted them the whole season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

SKIPPERS SAIL AWAY WITH RU SOUTH FLAG
It was just a 2-team affair in the Ruthlandian South Division this season... Crystal Lake and St. John went toe-to-toe most of the year, swapping out the top spot several times... the Crusaders were the top team until July... then the Skippers took command and sailed away with the division flag in the last six weeks of the season... the Skips (89-65) whipped the Crusaders (84-70) by 5 games.

1st Place: CRYSTAL LAKE SKIPPERS (89-65)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (86-68) (1 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (78-76) (8 GB)
Outlook: Last year Red Bluff won the Pro Cup with a good attack and so-so pitching... Elnora made the Pro Cup Finals with the same formula... could be the Skippers could make a little noise in the postseason playoffs... Crystal Lake has fair pitching, but a strong offense... this is the 11th postseason appearance by Crystal Lake, the last time they made the Pro Cup playoffs was in 2044... the Skippers play in one of the weakest divisions in the IPA... only 2 teams had winning records this year... Crystal Lake will be seeking their third Pro Cup trophy... they won the IPA crown in 2020 and 2022.

Famed IPA HOF hurler Duncan Welch runs the Skippers... Welch has lackluster pitching, but good enough to get by... Crystal Lake thrives on its abundant offense... top contributors: RF Mel Brouwer (.343/29 HR/94 RBI/114 R/18 SB), LF Zippy Coburn (.320/27/103/91/7 SB), 3B Jasper Shackleford (.315/28/91/100), CF Speedy McCormick (.305/25/61/111/17 SB) and 2B Gib Conlan (.288/26/110/85/1 SB)... on the hill Merle Pitts (23-6/2.35) is his only standout starter... Robin Norborne (21-11/4.32) is occasionally a good starter... he's lucky the Skippers score so many runs... not a lot in the bullpen, either... closer Yuri Kirchoff (4-4/3.31 ERA/29 saves/49 G) is just adequate.

2nd Place: St. John Crusaders (84-70) (5 GB)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 1st Place (87-67)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (81-73) (5 GB)
Outlook: solid club, well-balanced... should be a contender for a few years.

Manager Nicky Farrugia has a good nucleus of players: a good rotation featuring Tom Smithson (23-10/3.18), Deke Eubanks (17-12/3.16), Teddy Howell (16-13/3.41) and Gibby Pritchell (11-12/3.64)... Smoke Early (4-1/0.26 ERA/18 saves/29 G) stood out as the closer... top bats are CF Freddie Woodruff (.314/11 HR/71 RBI/104 R/18 SB), C Tuffy Palmieri (.311/12/80/75), 3B Ozwaldo Romero (.297/19/79/79/2 SB) and 2B Michael Cheeks (.333/10/51/60/8 SB).

3rd Place: Grand City Cybercats (77-77) (12 GB)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 5th Place (74-80) (13 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (81-73) (5 GB)
Outlook: won the pennant in '55... picked to do it again this year... just fairly good on the hill and a little above average at the plate... fair power... not quite as good as Crystal Lake and St. John.

Thomas Hall is the GM and manager... he has a good group of starters with Fred Barrow (18-12/2.84), Gil Lloyd (17-11/3.05), Brodie Ezzell (16-16/3.76) and Zac Borden (10-14/3.65)... and a good closer in Steve Shirley (4-6/2.87 ERA/27 saves/48 G)... best run producers are slugger Vince Kinston (.337/23 HR/81 RBI/73 R), rookie RF Zippy Balencia (.273/16/80/80/26 SB), LF Dave Durocher (.254/15/83/69/11 SB) CF Rocky Valverdi (.285/16/49/70/35 SB).

4th Place: Belair Beach Sunbirds (73-81) (16 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (67-87) (20 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (76-78) (10 GB)
Outlook: in his second season manager Jason Butler just has an average ballclub... lucky to make the first division this year... his offense is solid, needs a couple of starters on the hill to compete for the pennant.

Just an average mound corps with Jeffrey Verblen (18-16/3.35) and Chris Malbrough (13-13/3.08) the most reliable starters with some help from rookie Gaylen Aycock (11-14/3.92) and Jeff Chojnacki (12-9/4.61)... Glen Christ (3-2/1.98 ERA/17 saves/40 G) is a fine closer... mainstays at the plate are CF Curtis Cochran (.340 BA/9 HR/64 RBI/89 R/29 SB), rookie RF Alfie Elborne (.288/25/61/115/15 SB), rookie 3B Deron Nelson (.284/13/70 /66/5 SB), SS Rusty Van Slyke (.274/22/92/70/1 SB) and 1B Dylan Lanier (.286/27/91/67)

5th Place: Waleska Westerners (71-83) (18 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (80-74) (7 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (86-68)
Outlook: Since winning the RU South flag in '56, manager Roy Hobbs has seen his Westerners slip back into mediocrity... the offense is second rate... the pitching is fair.

For the most part club leaders at the plate only have modest numbers except for CF Boomer Barnes (.285 BA/22 HR/70 RBI/93 R/6 SB)... 3B Johnny Dillinger (.259/21/78/63) and LF Bitsy Boccabella (.273/24/71/76/6 SB) also contribute... just an average bunch of starters with Cal Tilton (13-15/3.41), Bret Shockley (10-16/3.94) and Ethan Addy (10-19/3.63)... young Kieran Roy (10-2/3.55) moved into the rotation in August and did well... Hobbs has some rebuilding to do in Waleska.

6th Place: Valka Blackhawks (69-85) (20 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (62-92) (25 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (80-74) (6 GB)
Outlook: manager Arno Vainmaa won the division crown in '54, slipped to 3rd in '55, but has not been a factor in the pennant race the last two seasons... lackluster offense with average power... and just average on the mound.

Short on scoring runs, the main producers are C Freddie Civik (.308 BA/11 HR/62 RBI/69 R/4 SB), 1B Taavi Soosaar (.293/20/76/52), rookie CF Jonas Kahn (.263/23/69/77/2 SB), rookie RF Doyle Gambrell (.251/22/49/71/23 SB), 2B Olev Tarvas (.287/4 HR/57/81/15 SB) and LF Mel Shadwell (.281/11/62/55)... the staff is just so-so, but Aavo Keskkula (14-9/3.10) is a solid starter and rookie Vidrik Valdma (16-15/3.69) led the Ruthlandian Union with 215 strikeouts... Norbert Borden (12-13/3.70) and Clark Harrington (9-16/4.13) complete the starting rotation... another rookie hurler Carlos Santa Ana (5-2/1.61) made 9 very impressive starts late in the season and looks like an excellent addition to the staff... and the Blackhawks' bullpen is just plain bad.

7th Place: San Dimas Rancheros (63-91) (26 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (71-83) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (73-81) (13 GB)
Outlook: skipper Leonard Purkey took charge of the Rancheros in '57, but hasn't made any progress...San Dimas is near the bottom in hitting and pitching... for the fifth consecutive season they are also near the bottom of the RU South standings... the last winning season was 2050... the last pennant came in 2041... the Rancheros have only been in the postseason playoffs on 4 occasions... and have never won the Pro Cup.

Hernando Almora (12-19/3.50) and rookie Diego Rivera (11-8/3.59) are the biggest winners and most reliable starters for San Dimas... the bullpen has no one who is effective... and no one in the batting order is very productive... 3B Juan Ortiz (.285 BA/15 HR/61 RBI/77 R) and RF Gilberto Gallardo (.270/19/60/71) are the only batters over the .270 mark... but they do have several that can go deep occasionally: rookie LF Jedd Bolden (.246/22/62/75/21 SB), rookie CF Jon Brock (.241/22/66/56/7 SB) and SS Emiliano Martinez (.234/21/75/68/2 SB), but none of them hit very much for average.

8th Place: Claxton Diamonds (63-91) (26 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (75-79) (12 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (68-86) (18 GB)
Outlook: manager Abe Shiffman became the head man in Claxton in '57, made a little progress rising up into the 4th spot in the standings, but slipped back into the RU South basement this year with the team's worst record since 2026 when they were 58-96... the Diamonds have made the playoffs 14 times in their history... the last time was in 2049... Claxton has never won the Pro Cup.

Shiffman has terrible pitching and only average offense... all his starters have a 5.00 and higher ERA... Toni Albrecht (14-21/5.11) and Matt Goodrum (12-18/5.26) are the best he has... the only good pitcher is in the bullpen, where closer Mark Meisner (5-3/2.16 ERA/23 saves/37 G) is a darn good one... however, the Diamonds do have some talented hitters, especially 3B Fred Hahn (.319 BA/27 HR/100 RBI/94 R)... Hahn gets a little help from LF Bobby Bright (.278/33/87/84/2 SB) and C Jeff Stubbs (.293/11/75/66).

2058 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

MACS MASSACRE IN RU EAST
It was not much of a race in the Ruthlandian East Division this year... the Wynnamac Sundowners (96-58) won the pennant by a monstrous 13 games... nobody came close... the Macs were the preseason pick to take the title, but it was supposed to be a tight 4-5 team battle... it was pretty close for about two months... at the end of May, the 7th place Cold Creek Catamounts were only 5 games behind the first place Sundowners... it was still ups for grabs... then the Sundowners really began to shine by running wild in July, August and September... they plowed through everybody and left them in the dust... defending division champ Elnora (83-71) was far behind in the second spot, followed by third place Sugar Valley (80-74) and fourth place Eastshore (79-75).

1st Place: WYNNAMAC SUNDOWNERS (96-58)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (82-72) (4 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (90-64) (2 GB)
Outlook: Under manager Jerry Meeks, a HOF pitcher, the Macs have excelled since 2050... after finishing second for the last two years, his club is back on top... and looking to win their 3rd Pro Cup trophy... Wynnamac last won the IPA in '55... look for the Sundowners to do well in the playoffs.

Wynnamac has a rock-solid ballclub... excellent pitching and scoring... plus good HR power... top hurlers are George Medworth (22-13/2.49), rookie Kuparr Bunji (21-11/3.19) and superstar Sammy Hayes (19-11/2.61) still doing quite well at age 38 and 328 wins... closer Tike Collazo (4-3/1.52 ERA/28 saves/44 G) can be a bit wild, but still does the job well, but he could use some good middle relievers... at the plate the Macs can smack the ball very well with the IPA leading batter, 1B Enos Benham (.379 BA/24 HR/93 RBI/100 R), CF Snooky Bartels (.337/28/109/100), RF Manny Sendejas (.291/34/119/109/8 SB) and 2B Phil McLemore (.242/14 HR/86/75).

2nd Place: Elnora All-Stars (83-71) (13 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 1st Place (86-68)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (78-76) (13 GB)
Outlook: Manager Stan Kivas has the best arsenal in the Ruthlandian Union, the highest-scoring team, but doesn't have the pitching... it didn't hurt him last year as Elnora reached the IPA Pro Cup Finals and lost to IPA winner Red Bluff... but the All-Stars could not repeat as RU East champion... in fact, they didn't even come close... Kivas needs to find some pitchers in the coming year.

But Elnora has a wealth of offense in its batting order with LF Donald Ray Mooney (.270 BA/28 HR/120 RBI/95 R), 2B Mickey Wilbur (.311/25/99/91), CF Keith Coburn (.300/20/64/95/27 SB), 1B Gus Abreu (.306/19/65/97), C Kuro Ishihara (.302/14/79/83), RF Robb Norwood (.338/14/70/67/7 SB) and SS Dickie DeBusshere (.317/13/70/67/5 SB)... on the hill the only reliable starter Kivas has is Matt Mackowiak (22-10/3.80), a fairly decent arm... another good one, Freddy Grosscup (13-6/3.53), was hurt in August and will miss all of next year... he's a pretty big loss... Kivas is hoping 22-year-old southpaw Barney Newberry (8-1/3.94) may blossom as a fulltime starter next year... Elnora's bullpen is not very good, either... maybe a little better than the starting rotation.

3rd Place: Sugar Valley Rattlers (80-74) (16 GB)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 5th Place (74-80) (12 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (78-76) (14 GB)
Outlook: Carl Ramsey became skipper in '57 and the future is a little brighter for the Rattlers, a one-time perennial powerhouse in the IPA with 18 postseason appearances... from '43 to '51 Sugar Valley won 7 pennants and the 2045 Pro Cup trophy... after 5 successive seasons in the second division, Ramsey brought them in third this year.

The Rattlers always had good success with solid pitching and home-run power... heading up the pitching rotation is Antonio Cedeno (21-14/2.87), who had a standout season at age 38... also helping out were Hector De Andres (18-14/3.25), Elvis Bonham (13-16/3.74) and Alan Montreuil (8-8/3.86)... the bullpen is manned well by young closer Claudio Quezada (5-5/2.89 ERA/25 saves/45 G)... the firepower is not like the good old days, but is decent with 3B Dino Lazzeri (.252 BA/33 HR/97 RBI/76 R/5 SB), but he needs help... the Rattlers just don't hit for average... the best of the rest are mediocre hitters, but with a little pop: LF Fuzzy Durel (.236/18/52/56), 2B Bobby Mingo (.274/16/56/52), CF Pierre LaPlante (.224/15/48/55/8 SB), 2B Lucky Brockton (.268/12/48/64/12 SB) and 1B Freddy Lipton (.295/10/33/25)... Sugar Valley needs some contact hitters with some punch to become a real contender in the RU East again.

4th Place: Eastshore Cotton Kings (79-75) (17 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (80-74) (6 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (92-62)
Outlook: '56 was a turnaround year for manager Scotty Lagrange and his Cotton Kings... they prospered with standout pitching and captured the pennant... but it didn't last... two years later, the club has slipped back into just being fair-to-middling, but it does have some talent.

The starting four are good with Sam Carmon (17-17/2.80), Bebe Kinney (16-11/3.28), Ted Weiss (14-13/3.23) and Dain Moore (10-11/3.83), but the bullpen needs help... more offense is needed... that may be why Eastshore has slipped... RF Ian Kelehan (.320 BA/30 HR/105 RBI/102 R/6 SB) had a career year and got some much needed help from rookie LF Percy Basford (.300/3/47/100 R/18 SB), CF Elton Woody (.270/18/68/75/18 SB) and OF Rook Copley (.288/23/65/50/8 SB)... Eastshore needs to put more runs on the scoreboard.

5th Place: Cold Creek Catamounts (75-79) (21 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (68-86) (18 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (73-81) (19 GB)
Outlook: 38-year-old 2B Joe Cochrane is doing double duty as a manager and as player... if the C'Cats did as well as Cochrane plays, then they would be right up their with Wynnamac at the top of the standings... he even made the All-Star team for the 9th time... actually Cold Creek had its best season in 8 years... the last winning season was in '50 (83-71), good for 3rd place in the RU East standings... so maybe a little progress is better than none.

Cold Creek is just a second-rate team with a better-than-average offense and a subpar mound staff... 3B Cochrane (.297 BA/23 HR/89 RBI/105 R) is still very much a threat in the lineup... other capable bats are 1B Bobby Dundee (.286/15 HR/76/78), SS Sandy Ketteridge (.291/15/76/78/7 SB), LF Dave Lord (.286/11/63/63/9 SB) and CF Ziggy Baggs (.261/19/57/91/11 SB)... the pitching corps is crummy overall... Cold Creek's best starter is Steve Singletary (14-15/3.14)... number two is Steve Pyburn (9-10/3.52)... number three is Rusty Rotherham (15-16/4.09) and number four is Lenny Toscano (10-13/4.46)... the bullpen is not worth mentioning... Cochrane is going to have to rebuild the Catamounts and it may take a few years.

6th Place: Marston Nine (73-81) (23 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (77-77) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (82-72) (10 GB)
Outlook: manager Russ Woodward had a good first-division run in recent years... 7 straight seasons they finished in the top 4 in the RU East race (2051-2057)... the last playoff appearance was in '47... Marston has never won the IPA Pro Cup... Woodward's squad is on the downgrade... pitching is his problem.

Lance McElveen is Marston's only quality starter... Billy Rogen (10-16/4.12) and Buddy Wilkes (17-17/4.32) are just fair... and Mark Henley (8-7/3.69) did a pretty good job in the second half of the season and will get a good, long look see next year... in the bullpen veteran closer Robert Tingle (3-5/2.12 ERA/31 saves/50 G) had an impressive season... at the plate for the Nine the most productive batters were 2B Damien D'Amboise (.306 BA/12 HR/67 RBI/96 R/12 SB), RF Luke Cranshaw (.303/9/78/82/9 SB), 1B Gustavo Arredondo (.297/4/63/66/2 SB), SS Gino Mastroianni (.289/2/55/77/7 SB), C Boomer Merritt (.243/23/90/64/3 SB), Ramsey Everett (.271/11/71/49/6 SB), Joe Duplanis (.301/16/66/48/4 SB), and 3B Jarrod Crutchfield (.255/15/50/56).

7th Place: Belle Plaine Musketeers (70-84) (26 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (73-81) (13 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (72-82) (20 GB)
Outlook: poor Belle Plaine has only garnered one pennant in its 57 seasons in the IPA... that was long ago and far away in 2009... despite a losing record the last three years, the Musketeers had some winning ways in '49, '50, '54 and '55... the new skipper Boo Boudreaux dipped a little in his rookie season, but he is not far from winning season... Belle Plaine has a poor offense and just average pitching.

The Muskies are led at the plate by veteran 1B Chuck Gregory (.275 BA/21 HR/74 RBI/50 R), LF Cody Losby (.297/17/71/66/3 SB), C Eliott Somers (.294/15/59/68) and RF Eliot Marcum (.265/18/80/60/1 SB)... just modest numbers at best... longtime ace Joe-Joe Bouvier (5-7/2.92) missed half the season with an arm injury... might be tough to come back at age 34... Boudreaux was impressed with rookie right-hander Antoine Simon (17-11/3.89) this year... not a lot on the hill after those two... however, in the bullpen, Adrien Renaud (3-2/1.17 ERA/24 saves/41 G) was excellent in his second year.

8th Place: Beechwood Blues (57-97) (39 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (54-100) (32 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (63-91) (29 GB)
Outlook: given the recent history, one could easily say the future is not so good for the sad Beechwood Blues... former star hurler Ken Arby (293-242/3.39 ERA) took over in '57 and not a lot has changed... the Blues are still at the bottom of the barrell in the RU East Divison... the team has never won a Pro Cup... and has appeared only 3 times in the playoffs... the most recent appearences were in '26 and '27.

The Beechwood Blues don't hit at all and they are just mediocre on the mound... they only have two so-so starters in Craig Gillespie (13-19/3.71) and Covell Eddins (12-22/3.97)... but the closer, Owen Greenacre (2-4/0.81 ERA/25 saves/41 G), is a standout... the most productive hitter, 1B Thad Backman (.249 BA/27 HR/87 RBI/71 R), has good power, but doesn't hit for average... still he produces runs... 2B Eldon Gilbert (.313/7/49/61) is the only .300 hitter... the rest of the roster is forgettable.

2058 Ruthlandian East Division Final Standings

Looks like the Bulls are making some radical changes in Ranford. Maybe Bert Skippman is the skipper they need to turn things around.

Skipper Bert Skippmann makes an interesting storyline... a college baseball coach with no professional experience... that's unique for the Islandian Pro Alliance... I don't often do this in the IPA, but I should have done it more often... I think it would make for better reading and create more interest.

In the early days of the IPA all of the GMs and managers came from amateur baseball in the Islands... I gave them names like Alex Groveland (Grover Cleveland Alexander), Cobb Tyson (Ty Cobb), Herman "Baby" George (George Herman "Babe" Ruth), Gerry Louis (Lou Gehrig), Aaron Hankins (Hank Aaron), Matty Christianson (Christy Matthewson), Stacy Engel ( Casey Stengel), Ford Whiteman (Whitey Ford), Carlton "Lefty" Stevens (Steve Carlton). Foxy Jimason (Jimmy Foxx), O'Neal Buckman (Buck O'Neal), Page Satcher (Satchel Page), McGraw Johnson (John McGraw), Gibby Bobkins (Bob Gibson), Matt Donnelly (Don Mattingly), Rob Jackson (Jackie Robinson), Clem Rogers (Roger Clemens), Ryan Noland (Nolan Ryan), Tommaso Lazzorda (Tommy Lasorda), Robbie Brooks (Brooks Robinson), Zim Donner (Don Zimmer), Rusty Tannusa (Tony Larussa), Huggy Miller (Miller Huggins), Charlie Oscar (Oscar Charlton), Frisky Franks (Frankie Frisch), Will Hackett (Hack Wilson), Ashton "Whitey" Richburn (Richie Ashburn), Deroche "Lips" Leon (Leo Durocher), Guy Rondre (Ron Guidry), Walter Johanssen (Walter Johnson), Marty Pedroza (Pedro Martinez), Boo Ladrieux (Lou Boudreau), Killer Brewster (Harmon Killebrew) and Bret George (George Brett).

Sadly, I did not develop and expand the concept and give each manager personal qualities like his namesake.

Let's see if anyone figures out Bert Skippmann.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

V'S FOR VICTORY IN RU WEST
The Volusia Vigilantes (105-49) had a mind-blowing season in 2058 with 105 victories... no one saw it coming... the V's went wild in the Ruthlandian West Division and won it by 10 games over the runner-up Sligo Rovers (95-59)... and Sligo was no slouch with 95 wins... the third place Middlefield Roosters (82-72) were a stunning 23 games behind and the fourth place Colfax Blasters (75-79) 30 games off the pace... suffice to say there wasn't much of a pennant race in the RU West this season... Sligo and Middlefield stayed close until July, then Volusia blew them away.

1st Place: VOLUSIA VIGILANTES (105-49)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 4th Place (78-76) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (69-85) (26 GB)
Outlook: Tubby Tarkanian and his V's jolted the IPA this year by winning the RU West... they were expected to have a good year and come in third, maybe 10 games over the .500 mark... instead, they had an extraordinary year, rising up from fourth place the previous season... Tubby's pitching staff just jelled and blossomed.

25-year-old Lonny Rinehart set a new IPA mark with 31 victories, breaking the old 2046 record of 30 by Rocky Rapids right-hander Jamie Taylor (30-7/1.85)... Rinehart posted a sparkling 31-6 record with a 1.96 ERA... and he had plenty, plenty help from Reynaldo Medrano (22-10/2.51), Philip Duron (16-16/3.31), rookie Gustavo Clemente (11-4/2.46) and Cloyd Queen (15-6/3.79)... the bullpen was strong, too, with closer Dan Hurt (2-2/1.44 ERA/31 saves/45 G)... Volusia gets by offensively, but they are not overpowering... SS Teddy Cornelius (.318 BA/20 HR/99 RBI/86 R/4 SB), C Carlos Silva (.307/10/52/78) and 1B Clement Belliveau (.285/14/59/70/10 SB) are the prime run producers... primarily, the Vigilantes depend on their hurlers to win games... it will be tougher in the Pro Cup playoffs as they will face teams with strong attacks and more firepower... still, the V's should do well... you are a pretty good ballclub when you win 105 games.

2nd Place: Sligo Rovers (95-59) (10 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (84-70) (3 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (89-65) (6 GB)
Outlook: for the 6th consecutive season manager Les Patterson has come in second in the RU West standings... it's been almost 2 decades since Sligo made the postseason... the Rovers last appearance was in 2040... they have won the Pro Cup one time (2021).

Patterson, a Hall of Fame hurler (306-230/2.79 ERA), has outstanding pitching, but a weak offense... Patterson's pitchers may be the best starting five in the IPA with all veterans, Mitch Taylor (22-13/2.49), Mickey Walsh (20-12/2.78), Judah Carmack (18-12/2.85), Jacky Harshman (16-5/2.25) and Ayden Evans (7-9/3.35)... overall the bullpen is lackluster except for closer Tiger Snodgrass (9-4/2.53 ERA/23 saves/43 G)... LF Josh Brolin (.315 BA/16 HR/81 RBI/81 R/9 SB) leads the attack with some help from SS Clancy Beaufort (.256/23/80/74/7 SB), 3B Paddy Durham (.264/18/85/60/5 SB), 2B Dallas Patton (.299/3/35/90/25 SB) and 1B Duncan Murrell (.284/14/57/38)... Silver Mountain Park is a huge ballpark, great for pitchers and not so good for sluggers.

3rd Place: Middlefield Roosters (82-72) (23 GB)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (83-71) (4 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (95-59)
Outlook: after much success Ricky Tinker retired last year... in his managerial tenure Tinker won 11 pennants and 2 Pro Cups ('52, '56) and turned the Roosters over to former pitching star Hollis Dale (246-170/3.74 ERA)... the rookie skipper inherited a club that was the preseason pick to win the pennant... Dale has a high-powered arsenal with plenty of runs, but he only has average pitching... that was his downfall this season... still he finished third and 10 games over the .500 mark.

Middlefield only has one solid starter and he is a 38-year-old dandy... James Long is the all-time wins leader in the IPA with a 428-237 mark and a 2.65 lifetime ERA... he just might win his 5th straight Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm this year... Long wants to retire on top and may hang up his spikes this year... Long was 23-10 with a strong 2.73 ERA this season... Dale is hoping he will reconsider and come back in 2059... Frank Williams (16-13/3.90) did fairly well this year on the hill and Rick Goldman (11-12/4.09) was so-so... but that was it in the Roosters' rotation... Dale does have a strong closer in Norm Coventry (3-5/1.58 ERA/27 saves/45 G)... superstar LF Trip Agarn (.281 BA/38 HR/122 RBI/81 R/3 SB) had another standout season with help from CF Luke Green (.316/13/49/91/7 SB), 3B Donnie Hix (.324/7/79/89/3 SB), star SS Stan Radzikowski (.253/32/96/85/9 SB) and OF Skyler Hanson (.296/9/51/80/6 SB)... the Roosters need a couple of solid starters to get back on top in the RU West... that's what they're missing.

4th Place: Colfax Blasters (75-79) (30 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (70-84) (17 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (69-85) (26 GB)
Outlook: Jorgen Krogstad and his Blasters were slated to finish in the RU West cellar this season, but they unexpectedly made the first division, winding up in the fourth spot... the Blasters used to make the playoffs... they have done it 13 times in the team's history, but not lately... the last postseason appearance was 17 years ago in '42... Colfax has captured one Pro Cup trophy (2010)... that was one of the best teams in IPA annals with 107 wins... that is still the IPA mark for most victories in a season... the Midway Wolves of the Tycobbian East Division tied the record in 2054.

Krogstad only has an ordinary team... average scoring, fair power and ho-hum pitching... the mound staff is only modest with starters Terry Dubrovnik (13-21/3.66), Keith Himmel (12-17/4.13), Larry McDuffie (14-11/4.24) and Alan Schmitt (13-9/4.24)... at age 34 LF Stan Kovalenko (.297 BA/17 HR/64 RBI/106 R/15 SB) is still a rock-solid, all-around performer... so is 1B Nicky Yorke (.300/22/92/64)... two other regulars are reliable bats: RF Lanny Waldrep (.295/24/80/82/2 SB) and CF Emile Schwarz (.278/15/80/63/10 SB)... Colfax is still a long way from the top teams of the RU West.

5th Place: Fort Benton Defenders (74-80) (31 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 1st Place (87-67)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (77-77) (18 GB)
Outlook: after a year in paradise, manager Augie Marquis and the Defenders are back down-to-earth... some way, somehow they won the RU West in '57... this was only the 2nd time in its history to make the playoffs... the only other time was in 2037.

The Fort Benton offense is still excellent, but the pitching went to heck and a little bit further (from 3.75 ERA to 4.52 ERA)... thus Fort Benton is back to the humdrum life in fifth place and 6 games under .500... Zeke Yoder (20-10/2.74) won the Ruthlandian MVP last year... he also got a lot of help from Noel Blissard (19-12/4.01) and Gil Hicks (17-16/3.88)... Yoder (11-9/4.68), Blissard (3-9/5.28) and Hicks (10-6/4.70) all floundered and bellied up this year... rookie Joe Ramey (16-17/3.95) was the only decent starter... another rookie Rick Provenzo (8-4/3.34) did well in the second half of the season... in the bullpen Randy Rinehart (5-7/1.92 ERA/32 saves/49 G) had a superlative year... offensively CF Kip Drumm (.332 BA/4 HR/69 RBI/93 R/12 SB) had a fine season again... and he got some good help from rookie SS Marcos Aguilar (.324/7/66/91/3 SB), rookie LF Sid Lydecker (.297/20/72/46/5 SB), rookie CF Cowboy Felton (.284/17/77/82), SS Eamon Hooper (.280/13/68/85/6 SB), 2B Murph Eldard (.277/20/83/70/2 SB), rookie RF Nate Bryson (.298/9/72/64/5 SB) and C Terry Caslin (.295/9/63/57)... Fort Benton has some fine talent with 6 new rookies making good contributions... Marquis has to find some pitchers to get back into the pennant hunt... it may take him a while.

6th Place: Forest City Firebirds (69-84) (36 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (78-76) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (65-89) (30 GB)
Outlook: sunk in the RU West second division the last three years... no pennants since '48... no Pro Cups in 5 playoff appearances... Rich Barstow has been dismissed and replaced by former journeyman catcher, 29-year-old Dan Brownmiller (.247 BA/109 HR), who played 7 seasons with the Firebirds (2050-2056)... he has been the bench coach for the past two seasons.

Forest City has an OK offense with fairly good pop, but second-class pitching... rookie Harry Jasper (17-7/4.25) had the best record, but also had a high ERA... the most effective starters are Mike Fryar (13-16/3.20) and Cale Ballantine (12-19/3.28)... the bullpen is in good hands with veteran Tim Varnado (2-5/2.64 ERA/22 saves/43 G)... at the plate the Firebirds are sparked by top gun CF Randy Snow (.312 BA/31 HR/90 RBI/94 R/6 SB) with help from 2B Marcel Poirot (.309/17/77/59/2 SB) and RF Dedrick Crone (.248/30/76/71/7 SB)... new skipper Dan Brownmiller has a lot of holes to plug up before Forest City gets back to respectability in the Ruthlandian West Division.

7th Place: Rocky Rapids Snappers (67-87) (38 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (76-78) (11 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (71-83) (24 GB)
Outlook: More of the same mediocrity for manager Buster Noland, who just finished his first season... his pitching slipped some and so did his won-lost record... for four straight seasons Rocky Rapids has been mired in the RU West second division... it's been 13 years since the last pennant (2046)... the Snappers won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2019.

The Snapper rotation has three decent starters with Clay Callaghan (17-14/3.17), Lance Obermueller (17-18/3.88) and Sammy Sterling (11-12/3.60)... nothing worth mentioning in the bullpen... heading up the offense are two fine hitters: CF Corey McGee (.311 BA/16 HR/76 RBI/93 R/5 SB) and 1B Deke Lundy (.278/29/104/62)... rookie LF Bernie Tillis (.267/15/55/77/8 SB) also contributes some offense... the batting order really needs some new blood... since the Noland family own the Snappers, they will probably give Buster time to turn the team around... family is like that... good pitching runs in the family... Buster was 214-155 with a 3.43 ERA in his 14 seasons from 2039 to 2052.... his daddy, Junior Noland, compiled a 169-144 mark in his 11 years from 2013 to 2023... and of course, his granddaddy was Ryan Noland, the legendary strikeout king of the industrial leagues, noted for pitching no-hitters... prior to 2001, there was no professional baseball in the Islands... it was all amateur, college and company baseball.

8th Place: Stoner Stars (65-89) (40 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (76-78) (11 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (81-73) (14 GB)
Outlook: his rookie season as skipper didn't go well for Took Noonan... the Stars fell all the way to Alabama and last place... that hadn't happened in 15 years... Stoner rarely makes the playoffs... just 3 postseason appearences... the last RU West division flag came three decades back (2029)... the Stars have yet to capture a Pro Cup trophy... overall in its history Stoner has one of the worst overall record in the IPA.

As far as the current crop of Stars, the offense is bad and the mound corps is borderline adequate... Noonan does have two solid starters with Alberto Temozos (12-23/3.18) and Jake Warrick (12-15/3.10), but little else... the bullpen is bad... he also has a couple of pretty fair sticks with C Jean St. Julien (.313 BA/27 HR/95 RBI/66 R) and RF Tyler Stoddard (.265/31/95/86)... two other batters, 3B Hector Francisco (.278/13/71/50/4 SB) and CF Reynaldo Dantes (.284/1/50/78) help out a little.

2058 Ruthlandian West Division Final Standings

I have updated the Ruthlandian North Division Season Recap.

I forgot to include the teams' past histories.

It's post #6021 on page #302.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

Z'S EDGE FROGS, RED CAPS AND HAWKS IN TU NORTH
All year long in the Tycobbian North Division the race was intense and nerve-wracking... three teams, Luxora, Oxford and North Hills, played seesaw most of the season... there wasn't very much daylight between them the entire year... then suddenly, the preseason favorite Fairfax Frogs, leaped up and made them all sweat with a tremendous stretch-drive run... when the torrid race was final settled, it was the underrated Luxora Zorros (89-65), who rode high in the saddle and raced away with the TU North title... the Z's just barely held off the high-flying Frogs (88-66) by one game... two other contenders, Oxford (86-68) and North Hills (86-68), ended in a tie for third place, just 3 games off the pace.

1st Place: LUXORA ZORROS (89-65)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (80-74) (8 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (69-86) (13 GB)
Outlook: In his 7th year at the helm of the Zorros, Kent Halloran won the Tycobbian North division flag, their first since 2031... the Z's have made the postseason 12 times, but have yet to capture the much-desired Pro Cup trophy... his club is on the rise with good hitting, scoring and home-run power... plus the mound staff is a good one... all the elements needed to win a Pro Cup... all of this came out of the blue... the Zorros were picked to finished 6th this year in the standings... surprise, surprise... they won the pennant... and now Luxora wants to win the whole shebang... the overall IPA championship.

Halloran has a fine foursome in his rotation with Juliano Machado (22-8/3.36), Jimmy Hollis (16-11/3.21), Paolo De Freitas (15-13/3.42) and Wallace MacPherson (15-14/3.72)... Luxora's only weakness is a so-so bullpen... Bartolo Baptista (2-5/3.60 ERA/31 saves/50 G) was somewhat erratic, but still had a lot of saves to his credit... this will hurt in the playoffs... Halloran has a slew full of run producers with 1B Wade Tibbs (.323 BA/28 HR/95 RBI/95 R/2 SB), C Francisco Queiro (.316/35/100/91), LF Marvin Harrelson (.289/25/77/103/13 SB), CF Vito Angeletti (.251/25/83/76), RF Omar Solis (.290/21/64/61) and 2B Ryo Nijo (.280/18/66/58/4 SB)... the Z's hammered 210 out of the park this year, second to Oxford's IPA-leading 260 roundtrippers... good pitching and lots of home runs is a good formula for success in the postseason.

2nd Place: Fairfax Frogs (88-66) (1 GB)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 7th Place (72-82) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (73-81) (9 GB)
Outlook: 26 years have come and gone since Fairfax was last blessed with a division championship... that was way back in 2033... lo and behold, the lily pads are in profuse abundance in Fairfax... and The Frog Pond is ablaze with delectable delicacies in the form of flying insects and such... for a change times are good for the Fairfax Frogs and they almost won the TU North... for 11 straight years they were a bad, second-division team... then, out of nowhere in the sportswriters' preseason poll, the Frogs were chosen as the best team in the Tycobbian North... and they might well be the best team, but they fell short of the pennant by only one game... the team started slowly, had a bad May, but then kick it in gear and went to town the rest of the year... all in all, it was a fantastic season for the Frogs and the longsuffering Fairfax fans... the Frogs have made the playoffs 8 times in their existence, but have not won a Pro Cup.

Second-year skipper Ken Hill has them firing on all cylinders since taking over in '57... many felt that Hill was too old for the job... he was a fine starter for the Frogs from 2010 to 2029, posting a 313-271 mark with a fine 3.03 career ERA... many felt that modern baseball had past him by... but the 68-year-old Hall of Famer has proven his critics wrong... Hill came close to winning the team's first pennant since 2033... Fairfax has the second best pitching in the Tycobbian Union... only Southport did better... and the Frogs have a little better-than-average offense... Hall has a heck of a staff with rookie Ronnie Custer (22-10/2.45), Claude Elliot (16-4/2.70), Clyde Sowers (14-13/3.29) and Norb Eberly (12-13/3.99)... his bullpen is well-stocked with excellent closer Val Jackson (2-2/1/54 ERA/38 saves/52 G)... the Frog attack is pretty good with the likes of rookie LF Ron Travis (.330/23/92/87/9 SB), SS Kirk Waner (.298 BA/23 HR/85 RBI/100 R/15 SB), CF Paddy Fenroy (.278/5/64/95/17 SB), rookie RF Rory Sutcliffe (.279/14/80/89/13 SB) and C Mike Mitchell (.280/13/66/77)... the future for Ken Hall and his Fairfax Frogs is looking mighty good... the Frog fans are leaping for joy!

3rd Place (tied): Oxford Red Caps (86-66) (3 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 1st Place (88-66)
Two Years Ago: (2nd Place 78-76) (4 GB)
Outlook: For the previous 7 seasons Dennis Hartwig has had his Red Caps in the thick of things in the TU North pennant chase... 3 times they won it ('52, '53, '57) and 3 times they came close to winning it... Oxford has made the postseason playoffs 8 times in its history with one Pro Cup trophy (2007)... the present team can hit homers, score runs and get the job done on the hill... they just had some stiff competition this year.

Hartwig has a bunch of big bats and a potent arsenal... young star 1B Buddy Blackford (.28 BA/56 HR/132 RBI/115 R) had a massive year, topping the IPA with 56 homers and leading the Tycobbian Union with 132 RBIs and coming in third with 115 runs scored... other longballers were CF Frankie Beckwith (.287/45/102/80/8 SB, LF Showboat Lynn (.283/37/93/102/15 SB) and LF Wade McGrew (.332/24/50/52/3 SB)... on the hill it was starters Maury Statler (18-17/3.22), Dingo Willmon (17-14/3.87), Wiley Beckford (14-8/3.39) and Meldon Eddington (13-12/3.55)... the bullpen was in good hands with closer Pat McFarlane (3-5/2.36 ERA/29 saves/45 G) and Chucker Pitts (9-3/2.70 ERA/1 save/27 G).

3rd Place (tied): North Hills Hawks (86-66) (3 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (81-73) (7 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (78-76) (4 GB)
Outlook: 13 times North Hills has won the TU North title... they did it 11 times from '34 to '45... also during that spectacular run the Hawks claimed 4 Pro Cups ('34, '36, '38, '41)... then they went into a bad funk for 6 years.

Now under the direction of Hall of Fame hurler David Michael (315-234/2.77) they have been revived a bit... North Hills wound up a very close third this season...Michael has good pitching with Eddy Salem (22-9/3.56), Zip Harben (15-14/3.12) and Johnny Kristoff (15-16/3.36)... the Hawks are just average at the plate... they hit for average, but have no punch... really lack the longball... Michael's best run producers are C Jared Creed (.303 BA/18 HR/89 RBI/70 R), 3B Sam Dunstone (.280/5/86/78/7 SB), LF Clifton Mahaffey (.301/10/75/88/22 SB), SS Pat Johnston (.276/3/72/73/12 SB), 1B Victor Bates (.317/7/62/82) and CF Cliff Butler (.317/34/56/14 SB)… the Hawks are flying high and are once again back in the TU North race.

5th Place: Hartsdale Hellcats (77-77) (12 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (74-80) (14 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (74-80) (8 GB)
Outlook: the Hellcats have been stuck in a second-division rut for the last 6 seasons... for the 5th straight year they have finished 5th in the TU North Division... overall in their history they have done OK with 9 pennants and 1 Pro Cup... the last pennant came in '47, the only Pro Cup in '46... Hartsdale inproved a tad this year under first-year manager Emilian Burgess, a solid outfielder that spent 15 years in the IPA, 13 with the Hellcats (2040-2052)... he put up good numbers, batting .287 with 189 homers and 840 RBIs.

For the first time in 6 years Hartsdale broke even at 77-77... they stayed close to the frontrunners until June, then faded back into the second division... the Hellcats look good on paper... they score well, have good power and fine pitching... Chet Salsbury (17-13/3.35), Christopher Wolfe (16-15/2.99), Bradley Barr (15-9/3.62) and Tommy Johnson (11-10/3.57) give Burgess a good starting foursome... but he lacks a good bullpen... Hartsdale doesn't any great sticks, but they have a bunch of solid ones in 1B Al Wakefield (.282 BA/27 HR/96 RBI/90 R/4 SB), 3B Guido Pesci (.302/16/81/97/2 SB), LF Nathan Ivy (.286/15/80/67/19 SB), 2B Smokey Nix (.293/16/73/87/6 SB), SS Walt Ivy (.275/14/70/74/23 SB) and RF Harry Harlin (.266/18/65/44)... the Hellcats should be a contender next year in the IPA... an improved bullpen might just do it.

6th Place: Mahaska Haymakers (76-78) (13 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (73-81) (15 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (75-79) (7 GB)
Outlook: the Haymakers have had little success in their IPA history... just 4 playoff appearances... the most recent one was years and years ago in '28... never won the IPA Pro Cup... the last winning season was in '52... rookie skipper Rocco Bertara made a little progress with an average offense and lackluster pitching... Bertara starred at shortstop for Mahaska from 2035 to 2054... he was a 2-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glover... Bertara hit .279 in his career with 137 roundtrippers, 917 RBIs, scored 1258 runs and stole 204 bases... the sixth-place Haymakers are hoping to make a good run at the TU North first division next year... it might be a little longer before they win another division flag.

The Haymakers' top run producers are RF Dub Forrester (.285 BA/20 HR/99 RBI/88 R/8 SB), 1B Timothy Honor (.273/28/88/101/13 SB), C Stefano Matrisciano (.267/17/86/64) and 2B Elvis Gifford (.287/9/59/102/9 SB)... Mahaska has 3 decent starters with Marty Mobley (21-11/4.08), Pip Cordice (19-15/3.54) and rookie Luke Grantham (11-12/4.08)... and Cubby Darville (5-6/2.64 ERA/33 saves/49 G) is a solid and reliable closer.

7th Place: White River Rascals (75-79) (14 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (78-76) (10 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (82-72)
Outlook: The Rascals have been to the postseason 11 times, but have never captured a cherished Pro Cup... tough times have now come to White River and manager Marty Blake... the Rascals have won 7 of the last 11 pennants in the TU North... Blake took over for the successful Mick Cronyn in '52 and has done a very good job with division crowns in '54, '55 and '56... but the Rascals dropped to 4th in '57 and to 7th this season... White River had mediocre pitching and an awful offense... the future is bleak and gloomy... but note White River is only 4 games under .500 and could very easily turn it around in the tightly-bunched Tycobbian North Division.

Blake has two fine starters in Greg Zacharie (17-17/2.80) and rookie Robby Ralston (13-8/3.06 ERA)... Glen Horton (14-21/4.03) and Wes Chadwick (13-10/4.13) give the Rascals a reliable #3 and #4... however, the White River bullpen needs some work... closer Butch Slattery (6-9/3.69 ERA/17 saves/39 G) had a rough season... except for home runs, the offense is pathetic... Blake has no reliable batters in his lineup... longtime star CF Pudge Tate (.281 BA/34 HR/80 RBI/88 R/9 SB) is still doing the job at 31, but he doesn't have much help... RF Jake Bohannon (.273/23/72/58/17 SB) and LF Jed Small (.234/24/69/40) provide a little pop every now and then, but don't hit for much average.

8th Place: Blue Lake Blue Sox (74-80)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (72-82) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (59-95) (23 GB)
Outlook: It's been 11 years since the Blue Sox posted a winning season (2058)... only 3 times has Blue Lake made the playoffs... the last time they did, the Blue Sox won the whole kit and caboodle... they won the prestigious IPA Pro Cup in 2030... 4 of the last 5 seasons Blue Lake finished in the TU North basement... rookie manager Juan Luis Barcelona was hired this year... the team got better, but still was stuck in the cellar... the Blue Sox's offense perked up a bit under his guidance... the good news is the team is just 6 games under .500... a winning year may soon be on the horizon for Barcelona and Blue Lake.

Barcelona only has average hitting and scoring... and not a lot of power... and the Blue Sox pitching staff is second rate... his starters are pretty good with Dale Schubert (18-8/3.28), Weldon Nettleton (17-12/3.22), Hank Kingman (12-13/3.86) and Dookie Denton (13-14/4.13), but his bullpen is horrible with a skyhigh 4.65 ERA this year... Blue Lake does have some quality bats in its lineup with C Daryl Monaghan (.343 BA/13 HR/93 RBI/99 R/17 SB), who has the top batting average in the Tycobbian Union... 1B Victor McDuffen (.315/17/96/66) and 3B Billy Blue (.286/20/59/104) carry big sticks, too... other capable hitters are CF Steve Schueler (.311/1/60/95/25 SB) and 2B John Gilbert (.289/11/68/64).

2058 Tycobbian North Division Final Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

SUN SOX BLISTER TU SOUTH, WIN BY 13 GAMES
This year the baseball gurus and pollsters knew their stuff when they predicted Southport (95-59) would easily triumph in the Tycobbian South Division... nobody came close... the Sun Sox blistered them by 13 games... they easily knocked off defending division winner Turon, who had captured 5 of the last 6 flags... third place Cape Coral (71-83) was even further behind at 24 games... Ginza (68-86) and Arroyo Grande (68-86) tied for the fourth spot in the standings, trailing by 27 games... Southport won going away despite going a very poor 10-18 in April... the Sun Sox were dead last in the division, 7 games back of Turon… but they roared past everybody with a great turnaround and rebound.

1st Place: SOUTHPORT SUN SOX (95-59)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (76-78) (17 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (80-74) (16 GB)
Outlook: Lorne Evans has been in charge of the Southport Sun Sox since the '47 season, when he took them all the way to the IPA Pro Cup title... this is the 5th time Evans has won the TU South in his 12-year tenure... overall in the club's history the Sun Sox will be making their 12th playoff appearence and will shooting for their 4th Pro Cup trophy... they won it previously in '27, '42 and '47... '58 could be another Pro Cup year for Southport... they had the fourth-best record in the IPA... only Volusia (105), Valmara (99) and Wynnamac (96) had more victories.

Southport has it all this season... they hit well, score well, have decent longball power and standout pitching... Evans has a good starting rotation with Jordy Wales (23-10/3.15), Champ Shafer (19-12/3.31), rookie Jeff Moncriffe (17-15/3.04) and Lenny Clarkson (12-11/3.63)... the bullpen is even better, anchored by veteran closer Troy Hill (8-2/1.37 ERA/29 saves/45 G)... the batting order is solid, too, with CF Walt Walmsley (.254 BA/16 HR/82 RBI/93 R/17 SB), LF Keiland Forrester (.302/24/81/79/4 SB), 1B Zee Graham (.326/19/66/69), RF Manuelo Garcia (.311/13/66/69), C Goldy Zellmer (.284/8/43/80) and SS Happy Trudeau (.320/6/51/52/6 SB).

2nd Place: Turon Typhoons (82-72) (13 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 1st Place (93-61)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (96-58)
Outlook: 5 times in the past 7 seasons the Typhoons won the TU South Division crown... they had the lead this year into July, but fell to the wayside with a terrible August (12-17), while Southport was blitzing everybody in sight by going 40-17 in July and August... pitching let Turon down this season... the Typhoons are one of the more prosperous clubs in the IPA with 20 postseason appearances and 4 Pro Cup titles ('03, '06, '09, '18).

Manager C. C. Kingsford has led Turon since the '51 season... the only years they lost the pennant they finished second, just one game out of first both times... that's a pretty amazing run... however, this year his pitching slipped from 3.14 ERA to 3.84 ERA... both offensively and on the hill the Typhoons were just average and it showed in the standings... the primary pitchers the previous year Yancey Hedges (15-10/4.17), Dickie Parmenter (12-10/3.81), Bobby Reimer (9-11/3.49), Ivar Jevicks (7-8/3.80) and Ollie Dickinson (1-7/6.24) all had down seasons this year... 38-year-old Judson Bacall (13-9/2.95) was the only reliable starter this season... Turon only had modest success at the plate with LF Andy Wilkerson (.294/24/95/82/11 SB), RF Tank Shepperton (.296/14/69/83/20 SB), RF Matthew Fears (.288/18/87/78/2 SB), 2B Bo Kaline (.298/10/57/77/31 SB) and 1B Shoyo Yuro (.253 BA/18 HR/83 RBI/93 R/2 SB)... Kingsford has got to upgrade his pitching corps.

3rd Place: Cape Coral Hurricanes (71-83) (24 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (77-77) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (67-87) (29 GB)
Outlook: William Snyder is out at Cape Coral after 9 lackluster years as skipper... Snyder, a fine hitter, never had a good season, nor a real bad one, but he's gone... this time for a pitcher... the new manager is Benton McCall, a pretty good hurler for the 'Canes from '34 to '51... he recorded a 217-194 mark and a career 3.92 ERA... Cape Coral has only made the playoffs on 8 occasions, the last time was in 2041... the Hurricanes have never won a Pro Cup championship.

McCall is getting a team with horrible pitching... Cape Coral has the worst ERA in the IPA at 4.90... but the team can hit for average, hit homers and score runs... leading the lineup are 3B Barney Fiske (.335 BA/14 HR/68 RBI/115 R/3 SB), 1B Kalian Coston (.313/30/88/92/8 SB), LF Marvin Cordice (.280/10/48/104/21 SB) and 2B Jaybird Ethridge (.276/33/113/91)... while the mound staff is poor, at least the closer Manny Rosetti (2-3/1.14 ERA/30 saves/44 G) can really do the job... in the starting rotation Davis Tyrrell (9-10/4.28) is the best, but he's less than adequate... all of the starters are young and not so good: Edgardo Arriaza (13-10/5.29), Jerrod Kipling (13-21/4.70) and Frisco Francis (12-11/5.33) are the rest... the Hurricanes are a mediocre team playing in a very weak division... that's why they came in third... it will be a while before Cape Coral will be challenging Southport... or even Turon... the Sun Sox and Typhoons are the only good teams in the Tycobbian South.

4th Place (tied): Ginza Ninjas (68-86) (27 GB)
Preseason Rating : 3rd Place
Last Year: 5th Place (66-88) (27 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (64-90) (32 GB)
Outlook: While it didn't show up in the team record very much, rookie manager Sogo Takagi got the pitching on the right track... but his bats are really bad... like most of the clubs in the TU South, the Ninjas are not very good... historically, Ginza has only made the postseason 7 times and has never won the IPA Pro Cup... the last pennant came almost 3 decades ago in 2031... patience, Grasshopper, patience (quote from on old TV show in the 70s)... most likely, it could be awhile longer.

Ginza has three pretty good starters in Kenny Cabot (17-19/3.12), Fran Kercheval (14-17/3.44) and Kurt Brophy (12-15/3.01)... none are up in age... Abram Worth (1-6/2.27 ERA/22 saves/38 G) is a better-than-average closer, too... not much to say about the Ninja offense... RF Gideon Tracy (.289 BA/20 HR/92 RBI/63 R/14 SB) is a good one and he gets a little help from SS Kuzuki Tamura (.250/12/71/79/11 SB) and C Gerry Glidden (.231/18/77/55/1 SB).

4th Place (tied): Arroyo Grande Suns (68-86) (27 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (66-88) (27 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (84-70) (12 GB)
Outlook: Manager Eduardo Villanueva took over in '54 and broke even at the .500 mark, coming in 4th... upped it to 3rd place in '55 with an 89-65 record... went 84-70 in '56, winding up in 2nd place... but in the last two years his pitching and hitting has gone to pot and the Suns are back in the TU South second division... overall in IPA play Arroyo Grande has not been successful... only 4 times have the Suns made the playoffs... you have to go back to 2024 for the last pennant... and they have never won the Pro Cup trophy... the Suns can't hit a lick, nor can they pitch very well... Villanueva may be looking for another job soon, if he doesn't turn it around.

Arroyo Grande is led on the mound by rookie starter Diego Avalos (13-19/3.44)... the rest of the rotation is lackluster with Beau McCloud (13-17/4.61), Nap Vickerson (12-20/4.16 and Audie Glynn (8-10/4.22)... the bullpen is paced by a fairly reliable closer, Kurt Wolf (5-3/2.90 ERA/27 saves/41 G)... at the plate the Suns only hit homers and nothing else... they are pathetic... none of the regulars are hitting more than .257... CF Rueben James (.245 BA/42 HR/82 RBI/73 R/4 SB) can good deep, along with 1B Russell Taylor (.257/22/67/90/10 SB), RF Gaston Robin (.235/29/71/76/9 SB) and 3B Mateo Estada (.244/20/57/61).

6th Place: San Alejo Montaneros (63-91) (32 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (63-91) (30 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (62-92) (34 GB)
Outlook: Since winning their last TU South pennant in '51, the Monties have tumbled badly with a losing record the last 5 seasons... 2 last-place finishes and 3 sixth-place finishes... San Alejo has made the playoffs 8 times, most of them in the last 25 years... the Montaneros won its only Pro Cup trophy in 2031... rookie skipper and former player Paolo Teixeira is now in charge... there wasn't much improvement in his freshman season... the Monties have a rinky-dink offense and shoddy pitching... the forecast is bleak and barren for San Alejo.

San Alejo hit homers, but doesn't hit for much average... the longballers are LF Wilfredo Peralta (.258 BA/32 HR/89 RBI/79 R/14 SB), C Afonso Marques (.255/28/73/71/2 SB), 2B Roman Redondo (.237/26/75/69/2 SB) and 1B Alonzo Grassi (.263/21/92/45)... Teixeira only has one good starter with Elmer Cane (15-19/3.18)... the others are second-rate: Terry Starr (15-12/4.51), Adrian Acosta (10-18/4.38) and Tonico Ribiero (8-16/4.30)... there is no one worth mentioning in the bullpen.

7th Place: Colchester Elites (61-93) (34 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (65-89) (28 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (67-87) (29 GB)
Outlook: In his first year as manager, Dave Lacoste did not do very well... the string of bad seasons continued for the Colchester Elites... it's been 4 straight losing years... not a lot of offense and not a lot of pitching will do it every time in the IPA... Colchester is one of the weaker franchises with just 4 postseason appearances and no Pro Cups... 2036 was the last time the Elites won the pennant... since then they have had only one winning season (2051)... and twice they managed the .500 mark (2042, 2053).

Colchester has a substandard pitching staff... Warner Washam (11-9/3.60) and Bucky McCracken (11-19/3.89) are just decent at best... no one else worth mentioning.... but the Elites do have some pretty fair sticks in their lineup, led by RF Graig Sutton (.295 BA/41 HR/94 RBI/80 R), 1B Erroll Waldrep (.309/31/95/86) and CF Eldon McLennan (.314/8/64/94/26 SB).

8th Place: Summerland Sunsets (60-94) (35 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (72-82) (21 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (78-76) (18 GB)
Outlook: Antonio Varques has been the headman in Summerland for the last decade with mixed results... he has had 3 winning seasons, but no pennants... the Sunsets have not been very successful in the IPA... they only have won the Tycobbian South 4 times... never has Summerland won the Pro Cup... and this lack of success will continue... Vasques has an absolutely terrible offense and very little on the hill.

Summerland has one solid starter in Tommy Underhill (17-15/3.03) and a decent one in Rudy Hilgendorf (14-19/4.12)... not a lot on the staff except for them... not a lot of offense on the club, either... the best of the lot in the subpar batting order is RF Rip Norfield (.243 BA/28 HR/87 RBI/70 R), CF Gerrit Peerenboom (.268/12/57/66/15 SB), 2B Jayson Nickell (.238/12/53/62) and LF Cy Brigman (.248/15/49).

2058 Tycobbian South Division Final Standings

Geaux Tigers!

Yep, you nailed it... Skip Bertman of the LSU Tigers... a really special college baseball coach.

It helps to be an alum :D

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

MIDDIES CLOSE FAST, EDGE IPA KING RED BLUFF IN TU EAST
The Red Bluff Red Sox will not repeat as the IPA champion this year... the preseason favorite Midway Wolves (92-62) got hot in September and put away the reigning Pro Cup champion Red Sox (88-66) by 4 games... the Middies finished the month with a standout 11-3 mark to pull away from the Red Sox by winning 9 of their last 10 games... Red Bluff did well with a 9-5 record, but couldn't derail Midway this year like they did last season... the third place Hillsboro Blazers (85-69) had a great season for them and wound up 7 games off the pace... when it mattered most, the Blazers fizzled out and fell to 5-9 in September... ending up distant fourth in the race was the South Fork Stallions (82-72), 10 games off the pace... Midway has won the Tycobbian East Division 5 times in the last 6 seasons.

1st Place: MIDWAY WOLVES (92-62)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (86-69) (1 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (101-53)
Outlook: The hungry Wolves are back and ready to devour the IPA in the Pro Cup playoffs... they were the IPA champion in '53 and '54... Midway has made the playoffs 7 times in its history and garnered 2 Pro Cup trophies... they will be gunning for their 3rd IPA crown this year... manager Bobby Dorignac has a rock-solid club that will be one of the favorites in the postseason playoffs.

Midway can do it all on the diamond... they hit well for average and for power... they score well and have good pitching... the Wolves can sock it to you with superstar CF Norishige Ito (.334 BA/41 HR/112 RBI/120 R/ 7 SB), superstar RF Daryl Vale (.330/33/117/96/29 SB), SS Kax Clark (.297/8/67/102/2 SB), 2B Jamey Southwick (.296/18/80/67/1 SB), LF Robb Withers (.315/16/50/73/4 SB) and OF Kody Kenyon (.278/16/47/65/6 SB)... Dorignac has some quality starters in Rob Land (18-4/2.90), Yank Atchley (17-14/3.45), Mel Merlo (15-12/3.46) and Arnie McGill (15-19/3.83)... and Steve Swanwick (9-3/2.79 ERA/21 saves/46 G) is a capable closer.

2nd Place: Red Bluff Red Sox (88-66) (4 GB)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 1st Place (87-68)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (71-83) (30 GB)
Outlook: Record-wise the poor Red Sox did better this year than last year when they won the Pro Cup, but they won't get the chance to repeat because of the fast-finishing Midway Wolves... Red Bluff manager Ike Sweetwater's club started slowly, just playing .500 ball until June, then they kicked it in gear the next two months (36-18) and got into the race, but a cold August (14-15) pretty much cost them the division title... the Red Sox have made the postseason 9 times in their history with 2 Pro Cups to show for it... they won last year and 2004.

Red Bluff has a robust attack, ranked 2nd in scoring runs (829) and 6th in homers (198)... and the pitching was fairly good (13th)... but the bullpen was a disaster (26th)... topping the Red Sox offense was RF Toni Kolkov (.272 BA/42 HR/119 RBI/105 R/1 SB), 1B Jonathan Haworth (.267/28/95/91/2 SB), CF Paul Gaddison (.292/26/75/92/16 SB), 2B Dazzy Bevis (.244/25/84/74/9 SB), 3B Monty Lyons (.250/18/80/74/10 SB) and rookie LF Ian Driskell (.305/7/50/73),... Sweetwater's best moundsmen were starters Wilson Sharpe (19-10/3.09), Duane Sturgeon (17-15/2.95) and Ian Goldsmith (16-8/3.68)... his #4 starter Fred Taylor (20-8/4.35) won 20 games with the aid of the big bats... Dontrelle Gilbreath (1-5/1.79 ERA/30 saves/48 G) was a pretty good closer, but didn't have any help at all... the Red Sox are still a contender in the Tycobbian East.

3rd Place: Hillsboro Blazers (85-69) (7 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (66-88) (20.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (64-90) (37 GB)
Outlook: It was an amazing year for Hillsboro, one of the least successful IPA franchises... the Blazers have only made the playoffs on one occasion (2051)... they have no Pro Cups in the team history... but this year, Hillsboro rose up from the TU East basement and wound up in the third spot in the standings and even made a serious bid for the division flag... the Blazers dropped out of the race with Midway and Red Bluff in the final weeks of the season... new skipper Steve Cooper made a big impact on the club... the bats improved and the pitching got better... Cooper toiled for 20 years and compiled a decent 254-276 mark with a poor team, registering a pretty good 3.36 ERA.

Cooper has three solid starters in Ian Barrie (18-11/3.13), Elliot Frampton (19-17/3.49) and Clay Spencer (18-9/3.77)... plus a pretty good closer in Ron Pryor (4-3/3.03 ERA/41 saves/55 G), the IPA leader in saves... offensively, Hillsboro needs some improvement... they have some power (13th), but don't hit for average (28th)... the Blazers have trouble scoring runs (21st)... 3B Rube Neely (.328 BA/17 HR/81 RBI/86 R/6 SB) is the club leader... a very solid performer at bat and in the field... other contributors are LF Ichiro Ichikawa (.276/21/77/68/14 SB), RF Eli Nickelson (.259/22/76/81/10 SB), SS Bobby Bartell (.257/19/53/91/24 SB) and CF Dennis Kepler (.259/14/77/77/28 SB)... Hillsboro had a really good season, but it may be difficult to sustain... some of the key players are up in age and decline could set in soon... still the Blazers played very well in the second half of the season and could have been a pennant threat except for the September slump.

4th Place: South Fork Stallions (82-72) (10 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (70-84) (16.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (63-91) (38 GB)
Outlook: the Hosses made good strides this year under rookie manager Jay Murphy, a quality pitcher for 16 seasons (2038-2053) with South Fork... with a run-of-the-mill club he had a career record of 250-185 with a 3.24 ERA and won two TU Golden Arms ('42, '44) and one Tycobbian MVP ('44)... the Stallions moved up in the standings from 6th to 4th this year.

South Fork scores well (12th) with average power (17th), but the pitching (24th) is not very good... RF Bob Purkey (.332 BA/38 HR/103 RBI/111 R/14 SB) had a career year and is a budding superstar... 3B Terrence Staton (.235/22/90/86/7 SB) didn't hit for much average, but was a productive hitter... other contributors were C Rudy Maroney (.303/13/76/65/1 SB), LF Rudi Eberhardt (.301/21/71/57/1 SB), CF Artie Greer (.274/19/61/75/12 SB) and 1B Lyle Tatton (.256/20/72/84/15 SB)... on the hill side of the ledger Emmett Coogan (25-10/3.27) carried the pitching staff with a great season... Brett McCracken (17-12/4.08) helped out as well... no other starters stood out... in the pen Herm McClanahan (6-6/2.24 ERA/34 saves/53 G) had a very impressive year.... but overall the relievers are substandard... better pitching next year and the Stallions might get up with the big guns of the Tycobbian East.

5th Place: High Mesa Mustangs (81-73) (11 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (85-69) (1.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (75-79) (26 GB)
Outlook: The Mustangs came real close in the TU East last year, losing out in the pennant race by a scrawny one and a half games and winding up in third place behind champ Red Bluff and runner-up Midway... manager Jack Elliott was excited going into his 21st season at the helm... but his club stumbled badly out of the gate with a 22-35 mark after two months of play... the Mustangs were deep in the second division most of the season... however, they closed really well with a 28-15 record the final six weeks and wound up 8 games over .500 and came in 5th, 11 GB... High Mesa had average scoring (18th) and average pitching (18th) with good home-run power (7th)... the Mustangs have done fairly well under Elliott, but have only made the playoffs one time with him (2048)... High Mesa has made the postseason only 3 times in its history... Elliott is again excited about the coming season... he said he had a good ballclub at the end of this season.

Leading High Mesa at the plate are a fine core of hitters: 25-year-old superstar 3B Kagetoki Miyazaki (.296 BA/47 HR/107 RBI/105 R/2 SB), one of the top young players in the IPA... along with CF Tracy McGriff (.257/30/94/79/3 SB), 2B Tommy Yost (.284/16/78/75), LF Curly Yeats (.280/19/58/99/20 SB) and SS Ivan Cook (.245/24/72/74)... on the hill the Mustangs have 22-year-old ace Weldon Herringdon (18-11/2.54) with 41 wins his first two seasons... vets David Newell (16-13/3.59) and Tuffy Hammel (17-14/4.16) are quality arms, too... sadly High Mesa has no bullpen... the closer Val Vannoy (4-10/6.02 ERA/24 saves/48 G) surely will be replaced next year... almost anybody would be better... Elliott promised shoring up the mound staff will be his prime purpose in the offseason.

6th Place: Tuckanarra Blue Jays (78-76) (14 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (77-77) (9.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (78-76) (23 GB)
Outlook: Former Tuck second sacker and rookie skipper, Eddie Darby, guided them this year... and he did much better than expected... last place was the forecast... Darby played for the Blue Jays his last 12 seasons in the IPA... he spent his first 5 years with his hometown Glasco Athletics in the Ruthlandian Union... his dad, Charles Darby, runs the A's... in all Eddie played from '22 to '38... Darby was a 4-time Golden Glove infielder and 3-time All-Star... his career batting average was .288 with 143 homers, 1005 RBIs and 1293 runs... he also stole 265 bases... Tuckanarra came in 6th this season, but posted a winning record (78-76)... the Tucks have a fine history in the IPA, but not recently... they have won only one pennant in the last two decades ('49)... overall they have made the postseason playoffs 18 times and have captured 3 Pro Cups ('23, '24, '35)... Darby helped the Blue Jays win the IPA Pro Cup in 2035.

Darby only has a so-so ballclub, rated 22nd in scoring and 20th in pitching... the top twirlers for Tuckanarra are Ian Timms (22-12/2.74), Deron Dayton (13-8/3.20) and Justin Shank (10-8/3.30)... Timms has won 48 games the last two seasons... however, the Bluebirds are lousy in the bullpen, ranking 28th in the Tycobbian Union... heading up the batting order is 1B Boomer Carlton (.310 BA/26 HR/96 RBI/88 R/1 SB), RF Foxy Frye (.258/37/89/100/15 SB), 3B Jamie Thomas (.284/17/77/69) and C Odell Overstreet (.287/13/57/71/12 SB)... Darby did well in his freshman season at Tuckanarra... improving the bullpen and the bats are his highest priorities for the coming year.

7th Place: Ozarka Naturals (75-79) (17 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (70-84) (16.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (83-71) (18 GB)
Outlook: It was a lackluster year for manager Duffy Morrison and his Nats... they only played good ball in one month of the season with a 16-10 mark in June... the offense is decent (23rd), but totally lacks power (31st)... Ozarka only hit 96 out of the park... the starting rotation is quite good, ranking 11th in the Tycobbian Union, but the bullpen stinks... yet the Naturals were just 4 games under the .500 mark... it wouldn't take a whole lot for them to move back into the first division... it's been almost two decades since Ozarka won the TU East flag (2040)... they have only won it twice since 2022... prior to that the Nats were regular contenders and tough competitors... from 2003 to 2022 they won 13 pennants and made the Pro Cup Finals 5 times, but they never won it.

Ozarka has three solid starters in Willis Reece (16-12/2.96), Ezra Hancock (19-11/3.30) and Ronnie Belzer (18-15/3.35)... all under age 25, too... at the plate the best of the lot is SS Foxy Alderson (.294 BA/12 HR/100 RBI/77 R/11 SB), 1B Sookie Lagerberg (.275/27/86/71), RF Scotty Hannon (.289/11/67/84/6 SB) and CF Chris Kile (.292/2/46/88/7 SB)... Morrison could certainly use a little more punch in the lineup... and he really needs to boost his bullpen corps... otherwise it will be more of the same... near the bottom of the TU East Division.

8th Place: East Point Panthers (66-68) (26 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 4th Place (80-74) (6.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (86-68) (15 GB)
Outlook: Not so good for manager Frank Blair and his Panthers... they took quite a fall this year after being perennial contenders for the division title for the last decade... twice East Point won it ('50, '52) and 5 times they were the runner-up... pitching killed the Panthers this year... overall in the club's history they have only appeared in the postseason 7 times and have never won the Pro Cup.

East Point still has a good offense, ranking 14th in scoring and 10th in longballs, but just 25th in the pitching department... Blair still has three good sticks in the lineup: 1B Alvaro Cavacos (.242 BA/40 HR/103 RBI/107 R/13 SB), CF Skip Donley (.287/30/104/93/18 SB) and C Kenny Bailey (.292/23/77/65), but they can't do it all... on the mound only vets Benny Allen (15-20/3.66) and Eddy Winbourne (13-18/3.83) were dependable... and the both suffered subpar seasons... they both won 20 games the year before... and at age 34 closer Kerry Woodburn (1-7/3.32 ERA/26 saves/42 G) had an off-year... there will lots of new pitchers on the Panthers next year according to manager Frank Blair.

2058 Tycobbian East Division Final Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

ARLON SUMMER SURGE WINS TU WEST
The lightly-regarded Arlon Champions (93-61) trailed most of the season in the Tycobbian West Division, but they hung close to leader Chicopee (85-69), then in June the Champs began to take care of business and ran away with the division flag... by August they had past up the second place Braves and taken the top spot in the division... Chicopee finished 8 games off the pace, followed by the Rolling Hills Reds (80-74) in third place, 13 games out... and by the Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) in the fourth spot and 15 games back of Arlon... the Champions are an excellent ballclub and certainly will make their present known in the IPA playoffs... this was Arlon's 4th pennant in the last 8 years.

1st Place: ARLON CHAMPIONS (93-61)
Preseason Rating: 7th place
Last Year: 6th Place (77-77) (17.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (97-58)
Outlook: Manager Mark Cameron's Champions are back and ready to go for their second Pro Cup trophy in 7 years... they won it in 2051... after winning the TU West in '51, '54 and '56, Arlon slipped back to the second division in '57... Cameron's club does everything well... they score (3rd), hit homers (4th) and have very capable pitching (8th)... this will be Arlon's 9th postseason appearance... the Champs have won only one Pro Cup in the club's history.

Arlon can put a lot of runs on the scoreboard with the likes of star slugger CF Jamie Stansfield (.262 BA/44 HR/116 RBI/98 R/15 SB), talented SS Art Catlin (.278/25/93/92/6 SB), 1B Jon Cress (.327/25/80/67), 2B Mel Hawkes (.290/11/64/79/10 SB), rookie LF Zeppo Thiel (.279/16/58/66/13 SB) and 3B Eduardo Garaza (.270/15/66/56/1 SB)... the Champs have a fine veteran 5-man rotation with Dicky Towers (19-11/3.17), Erik Branham (18-5/3.12), Ty Coffee (17-19/3.57), Oscar Mathewson (14-8/3.79) and J. C. Hilburn (8-5/3.63)... anchoring the good bullpen is a strong closer Mack Blair (4-2/2.23 ERA/24 saves/44 G)... Arlon should be one of the favorites to win the Pro Cup this year.

2nd Place: Chicopee Braves (85-69) (8 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (75-79) (19.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (75-79) (21.5 GB)
Outlook: In his second season as skipper Paul Foster made his present known in the Chicopee dugout, taking them from 7th place last year to 2nd place this year... the Braves were in first place longer than anybody in the TU West this year... they tailed off in the second half, but did hang on to the runner-up spot... this would have been the first pennant since 2036, 23 years ago... Chicopee has only made the postseason on 3 occasions and have never won a Pro Cup... historically the Braves are one of the lesser franchises in the IPA, however they look to be on the rise.

Foster credits his offense with the team's improvement... 6th in hitting, 5th in scoring, but he lacks the longball (29th)... the pitching is better-than-average, ranking 15th in the Tycobbian Union... leading the Braves at the plate are CF Mooki Ahanu (.324 BA/3 HR/64 RBI/99 R/29 SB), 1B Luke Oxford (.308/18/94/56/6 SB), RF Travis Ledger (.313/3/56/86/13 SB), SS Kohana Chaska (.267/22/105/79/2 SB) and C Ricky Penn (.277/6/54/90)... Chicopee has two fairly good starters in Johnny Brown (20-16/3.74) and Manny Spaulding (15-10/3.64)... and a couple of so-so starters in Russ Clooney (14-10/4.14) and Chuta Shaman (15-11/4.14)... Rocky Dowling (3-6/2.72 ERA/25 saves/46 G) heads up the good bullpen.

3rd Place: Rolling Hills Reds (80-74) (13 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (94-61) (1 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (79-75) (17.5 GB)
Outlook: Hall of Famer Billy Christianson completed his 7th year as manager of the Reds... a talented infielder, he was a vital part of two Pro Cup titles... it's been 10 years since the last pennant... they also won the Pro Cup that season... Rolling Hills has won 3 Pro Cups ('29, '31, '48)... and made the playoffs 11 times... Christianson came close a year ago, but lost a single-game playoff to Denton City... his Reds dipped at the plate and on the hill this year... they began the year with a strong April (18-10) and led the TU West, but then drifted back to a .500 existence the rest of year and wound up a distant 3rd, 13 GB.

On paper Rolling Hills looks good with a fine team batting average (4th), good scoring (11th) and average pitching (17th)... but they fall short on power (26th) and in the bullpen (20th)... second-year 1B Teddy Stonich (.308 BA/22 HR/103 RBI/91 R) is rock-solid hitter... he was the TU top rookie last year... SS Jameson Mulbert (.318/6/59/92/19 SB) has the best average... other productive bats are 2B Dustin Thibodeau (.289/22/72/71), CF Enrique Marantos (.281/19/74/80/12 SB), C Lee Fountain (.262/14/89/59/2 SB), 3B Jasper Bowling (.279/2/46/94/28 SB) and LF Jean-Luc Roubique (.260/15/60/63/4 SB)... the Reds have a pretty good rotation, headed up by veterans Vance Dillaway (18-15/3.46), P. J. Dunham (18-8/3.68) and Tommy Otis (18-13/3.56)... the closer Matty Mosby (5-6/4.35 ERA/24 saves/44 G) is inconsistent and his ERA is much too high... Christianson needs a lot of help in his relief corps... this could be a big part of his problem.

4th Place: Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) (15 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (81-73) (13.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (88-66) (8.5 GB)
Outlook: Boy, what a little pitching would do for Babe Hankins and his fourth place Kenwood Wildcats... they hit the cover off the ball, but so does the opposition... two bad months took the Wildcats out of the race... they led the Tycobbian Union with a .282 BA (1st), scored 840 runs (1st) and ripped 187 roundtrippers (8th-tied), but on the hill they were horrible with a 4.77 ERA (31st)... Kenwood has made the playoffs on 10 occasions and came home with one Pro Cup in 2014... they had a good run in the 40s with 6 division crowns... the last pennant came in '52... until they get some semblance of pitching, the Wildcats will be entertaining, but they won't win the TU West.

Kenwood can really put the wood to the ball with RF Ziggy Faircloth (.301 BA/37 HR/90 RBI/118 R/20 SB), rookie LF Gabriel Macedo (.294/31/115/86/2 SB), 1B Bralen Connally (.282/22/92/96), C John Michael Lansdell (.290/20/83/70), SS Joe Kellogg (.286/18/91/82/12 SB), 3B Bailey Brumley (.266/14/69/53/3 SB), rookie 3B Josh Hankins (.370/6/41/40/1 SB) and CF Ezra McCluskey (.344/2/35/68/6 SB)... not a lot to say about the mound corps... Herm Monday (19-14/4.00), Ben Warwick (11-3/4.10) and Mickey Maughan (11-17/4.34) are just passable starters... that's all you can say about the relievers, too... just getting by... Pee Wee Windham (2-4/3.90 ERA/22 saves/36 G) is just a mediocre closer... after him it gets much worse.

5th Place: Denton City Redbirds (72-82) (21 GB)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 1st Place (95-60)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (96-59) (1 GB)
Outlook: The good days of recent seasons may be over for Pete Gibbs and his Redbirds... hitting and pitching both declined drastically this season and they went from a team that had won an average of 95 games for the past 5 years to a second-division also-ran, 10 games under .500 with only 72 wins... the Redbirds did this after being picked to win their 4th TU West in the last 6 years... Denton City's IPA history is pretty good with 12 postseason appearences, most of them in their first 15 seasons... they made the playoffs 8 times in 12 years... 3 times in the last 6 seasons the Redbirds made the postseason... in 2 of years they lost in single-game playoffs and finished second... Denton City either won the TU West or they came darn close for 5 years in a row.

The Redbird offense was pathetic this year with only 588 runs (31st)... but the pitching was still quite effective (4th), just nowhere near as good as it has been in recent years... in '55 and '56 the Denton City team ERA was 2.86 and 2.78... it went up to 3.06 last year and to 3.46 this year... Flash Stringfellow (15-15/2.72), Carl Coons (16-15/3.37), Robert Currie (12-3/3.44) and Rance Hasbrough (14-16/3.62) are still a pretty good rotation... and closer Burnell Kelley (6-6/2.15 ERA/28 saves/49 G) can still get the job done very well in the bullpen... Gibbs needs to find some bats and do it soon to get the Denton City Redbirds back into the hunt in the TU West Division.

6th Place: La Claire Lynx (66-88) (27 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (58-96) (36.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (74-80) (22.5 GB)
Outlook: Not especially good for skipper Pat Kovacs and the La Claire Lynx... Kovacs took over a bad team in '57 and made it a tiny bit better this year, but he still a has quite a task facing him... La Claire hasn't made the playoffs in 21 years (2038)... only 4 times has the club made the postseason and they have never hauled in a Pro Cup trophy... the Lynx have one of the worst overall records in the IPA.

Kovacs has a decent starting rotation headed up by Hank Raborn (20-14/3.48), Tommy Trantham (13-19/3.78) and Kelly Hudgins (11-21/3.70) and his closer Howard Draper (5-2/1.91 ERA/15 saves/31 G) stood out in the bullpen... La Claire has a couple of impressive contact hitters in 2B Derek Winchester (.319 BA/12 HR/66 RBI/83 R/11 SB) and 3B Horace Rutherford (.321/12/73/59/8 SB), but neither goes deep often... only 1B Charlie Rodgers (.276/22/65/41) has much punch... overall, La Claire has a fair staff, but little at the plate... not a rosy future for Kovacs and the Lynx.

7th Place: Bayview Vikings (64-90) (29 GB)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 4th Place (84-70) (10.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (72-62) (24.5 GB)
Outlook: Manager Jerry Culpepper thought he turned the Vikings around last year with a 4th place finish, but his pitching failed him miserably this year and Bayview is back at the bottom of the Tycobbian West... the preview pollsters thought the Viks could get into the pennant chase this year... Bayview hasn't done well in the IPA, making only 6 playoff appearances... the last pennant was eons ago in 2016... that's a 42-year drought... no Pro Cups, either... and there is nothing looking good over the horizon.

Bayview does hit homers (200) and can score runs (710), but they don't rank high in the division in scoring (20th)... pitching is lousy with a skyhigh 4.65 ERA (30th)... 21-year-old 1B T. D. Proudfoot (.287 BA/38 HR/112 RBI/90 R) is easily the top hitter on the club... he gets help from C Lou Fairhead (.287/26/84/77), 3B Byorn Karlsen (.232/35/79/70/3 SB), SS Gunnar Lindberg (.296/17/67/90/23 SB), RF Vern Woodcock (.229/30/81/77/2 SB) and CF Cale Darcy (.266/17/52/79/27 SB)... heading up the mound corps is 24-year-old Ivar Rasmussen (15-12/3.08), his 22-year-old brother Ragnar Rasmussen (14-13/4.57) and Lars Konigsen (8-14/5.07)... Ivar was lost in August to a shoulder injury, but he should be ready to go next year, if the surgery is successful... even with him the pitching is still bad... the bullpen is also terrible... even worse than the starters.

8th Place: Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (60-94) (33 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (85-69) (9.5 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (77-77) (19.5 GB)
Outlook: Manager Cotton Cornwall took over a bad ballteam 15 years ago and spent 5 years rebuilding it... then his Bucs won two pennants in '49 and '50 and they had a winning record 6 straight years... things were looking up in Bay St. Clair until this season when his pitching department totally collapsed, rising upward from a pretty fair 3.58 ERA to a dismal 4.60 ERA (29th).

Cornwall lost 15-game winner Benny Daye (1-1/2.89) in the first 10 days of the season after only 3 starts... the only halfway decent starters left were Kermo Jarvi (16-17/4.13) and Jerry MacIntyre (12-19/4.19)... a plus in the pen was Darcey Kennedy (1-5/2.50 ERA/27 saves/36 G)... and the Buccaneer batters weren't very good, either... they ranked 25th in average and runs scored... not a lot worth mentioning in the batting order... the best of the lot were LF Hal Driscoll (.271 BA/25 HR/69 RBI/86 R/21 SB), 1B Clive Caviness (.255/22/75/72) and SS Ike Ritter (.293/0/35/64)... Bay St. Clair might be stuck in the second division for quite sometime... the future is not bright for the Buccaneers.

2058 Tycobbian West Final Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2058

V'S PRO CUP POLL VICTOR, VIPERS 2ND CHOICE
According to a poll of the Islandian media by The Islandian Times, the amazing Volusia Vigilantes will prevail in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs with the Valmara Vipers being the second-best choice... ranking third in the balloting was the Midway Wolves... and in somewhat of a surprise, the Crystal Lake Skippers were the fourth pick... postseason activity is set to begin Thursday afternoon all around the Islands... three weeks of intense competition will decide the winner of the hallowed Pro Cup trophy... first-round action shows some really fine matchups... none of the elites are lead-pipe cinches... this just might be the tightest and hottest encounters in years... all the participants are pretty much evenly matched.

Teams from the Ruthlandian Union were favored in the vote... 4 of the top 5 clubs were from that league... only Midway managed to break up the monopoly... in the Ruthlandian Division Championship round, the favorite to win it all, Volusia (105-49), will be at home at the Jailhouse, against the tough Wynnamac Sundowners (96-58), rated the 5th-best team in the Pro Cup poll... the Vigilantes had the best record in the IPA this season... #2 Valmara (99-55) will entertain #4 Crystal Lake (89-65) at War Memorial Park... the Vipers had the second-most wins... the Tycobbian Union also has two fine matchups with #3 Midway (92-62) hosting the 7th-rated Arlon Champions (93-61) at Joe Wolf Stadium and the #6 Southport Sun Sox (95-59) welcoming the #8-ranked Luxora Zorros (89-65) at Pleasure Beach Park.

Past postseason history probably means nothing except in the short term... Midway won the IPA title in '53 and '54 and did well in '55 before losing out in the second round... Wynnamac lost to Midway in the '54 Pro Cup Finals and won it in '55... the Macs have won it twice, also winning in '08... Valmara will be in quest of Pro Cup #5, having been victors in '26, '43, '49 and '50... two other participants have captured 2 trophies... Crystal Lake was the champion in '20 and '22... and Southport claimed it in '27 and '47... the Arlon Champions have only one IPA crown... that came recently in '51... Volusia nabbed it only Pro Cup way, way back in 2001, the first year of the Islandian Pro Alliance... Luxora has never won the Pro Cup and they have never reached the Finals... the Tycobbian Union has the overall edge in the Pro Cup Series, taking 30 titles to 27 for the Ruthlandian Union... the Red Bluff Red Sox defeated the Elnora All-Stars last year in the Pro Cup Finals, 4 games to 2.

2058 The Islandian Times' Pro Cup Poll
1. Volusia Vigilantes
2. Valmara Vipers
3. Midway Wolves
4. Crystal Lake Skippers
5. Wynnamac Sundowners
6. Southport Sun Sox
7. Arlon Champions
8. Luxora Zorros

Eugene, I've been on the boards as long as you have though I only post here and there, but I always look for your posts as soon as I come back, feels like home! :)

Usually I root for the underdog, but not now. Here’s hoping Volusia gets the gold..

If the Vigilantes get the Pro Cup, it will be their second time to win it... Volusia won the very first Pro Cup Series in 2001... they swept the Ginza Ninjas in 4 games.