That wraps up Year 8 in the Islandian Pro Alliance.

Year 9 is on the way.

I will only cover the league from now on with just a summary of each season followed by the playoffs and award winners and final league stats. This should speed up the process quite a bit.

I hope this is enough for you. Sorry, 64 teams is just too much to cover in detail. But I plan to continue it if you guys are still interested. I think I get around 30 views per day, which to me is pretty good.

I hope to continue to 2050.

I am going to attempt to convert to OOTP10 and see how things go. But it will be 2010 before I do it.

The Islandian Times

Monday, June 22, 2009

IPA All-Star Game Set For Wynnamac Wednesday
It's All-Star Game time - time for the superstars to shine! Every year the Islandian Pro Alliance takes a break in the schedule to play the annual All-Star Game. It's a battle of the superstars -- the Ruthlandian Union All-Stars versus the Tycobbian Union All-Stars. The All-Star Game will spotlight the best hitters, the best pitchers and the best fielders, all doing battle against one another, all trying to prove their league is best.

This year's midsummer's dream game will be played at Wynnamac's Granger Field this Wednesday afternoon. 60 of the IPA's best players will be there playing for the pride of their league. Phil Gravelli and Cody Burg are playing in their sixth All-Star games, Karol Zodoka and Jet Kazmarek are in their fifth, Dan Phillips and Rolf Kellgren will be appearing in number four and Jasper LaForge, Mike Luzzatti, Don Nichols, Big Hoss Burkhalter, Ryan Raines, Kippy Doyle, John Dougherty, Nathan Ferrell and Zeppy Deshotel will be participatiing for the third time.

The Tycobbian Stars are on a tear with six consecutive victories and seven wins in eight games overall. Ruthlandia's only triumph came in 2002.

The Ruthlandian Union roster will feature these outstanding players:
SP Jasper LaForge (CFX)
SP Hernando Espaderos (STO)
SP Emmitt Yates (GC )
SP Charlie Murphy (CLX)
SP Al Thibaut (FC)
SP Chris Bernhoffer (RAN)
SP Steve Ohlinger (KIL)
SP Johnny Bond (MDF)
CL Morgan Gilman (RR)
CL John Sharpe (ANC)
CL John Updike (MAR)

C Little Jake Bungarooba (BB)
C Hal Stevenson (SV)
C Davis Teed (MAR)
1B Mike Luzzatti (CLX)
1B Johnny Lee Harder (ANC)
1B Phil Gravelli (CL)
2B Ed Miles (TAR)
2B Dmitri Vrotsos (ELN)
3B Bob Arlin (ANC)
3B Zippy Parks (BB)
SS Karol Zodoka (STO)
SS Hollis Waldrup (SLI)
SS Don Nichols (FM)
LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (WYN)
LF Moose Scoggins (MDF)
CF Austen Conover (SV)
CF Mel Ballard (CL)
CF Ryan Raines (CFX)
RF Lloyd Voss (ELN)
RF Kippy Doyle (WLK)

And the Tycobbian Union roster will have these elite performers:
SP Cody Burg (CC)
SP Emerson Carnell (OXF)
SP Norm Roy (BAY)
SP John Dougherty (RB)
SP Todd Combs (KEN)
SP Dan Phillips (KEN)
SP Delaney Elliott (TUC)
CL Todd Turner (SPT)
CL Niles Applewhite (TUC)

C Herschel Pennington (GIN)
C Todd Boyd (CC)
C Geronimo Paytah (MDW)
1B Mick Abbott (DC)
1B Sherm Miles (AG)
1B Masaichi Okawa (NH)
2B Ray Bassett (HIL)
2B Loren Babcock (BL)
3B Cameron Kamara (OXF)
3B John Cottrell (TUR)
3B Nathan Ferrell (OZK)
SS Bob Steitz (LC)
SS Rolf Kellgren (SF)
LF Zeppy Deshotel (LC)
LF Todd Bryant (BSC)
CF Rick Hilliard (BL)
CF Tommy Riddle (BAY)
CF Stan Helmke (RB)
RF Jet Kazmarek (AG)
RF Dane Wesner (FFX)

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TU Twirlers Too Tough, Blank RU Stars 2-0
No ones knows whether it's voodoo or black magic or whatever, but the Tycobbian All-Stars continued their hex over the Ruthlandian All-Stars in the annual midsummer's classic... the TU twirlers tamed them 2-0 and allowed them only five hits... it was Tycobbia's eighth win in the nine-game series... Ruthlandia's only triumph came in 2002... CF Tommy Riddle (Bayview) was the hero with a two-run two-bagger in the bottom of the fourth... with two away 3B Cameron Kamara (Oxford) and 2B Loren Babcock (Blue Lake) singled and put runners on first and second... Riddle doubled to left to drive in the only runs in the game and was voted the game's MVP... the TU Stars only got four hits in the game, but it was enough... Emerson Carnell (Oxford) got credit for the victory as he held Ruthlandia runless in the top of the fourth... Hernando Espaderos (Stoner) was tagged with the loss as he gave up two runs in his two innings... Tycobbia pitchers fanned seven and walked only one, while Ruthlandia hurlers struck out six and issued four bases on balls. Ruthlandia committed the only error in the game.

Previous All-Star Game Scores:
2001 Tycobbia 6-0
2002 Ruthlandia 5-4
2003 Tycobbia 2-0
2004 Tycobbia 4-3
2005 Tycobbia 2-1
2006 Tycobbia 13-4
2007 Tycobbia 3-2
2008 Tycobbia 14-6

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 IPA Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings

The Islandian Union

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

IPA Completes 9th Season, Readies For the Pro Cup Playoffs

2009 was another great year for the Islandian Pro Alliance with seven close races, only Turon in the Tycobbian South had an easy time, winning by 12 games. Defending Pro Cup champions Wynnamac will not be back to defend its title. The Sundowners lost out by one game to Belle Plaine in the Ruthlandian East. However, Denton City will be back. The Redbirds went to the finals last season, but were beaten by Wynnamac. The Pro Cup playoffs are slated to begin tomorrow with 8 clubs in action.

Colfax had the best record in the RU with a 94-60 mark, a half-game better than Far Mountain, which finished 94-61. The Redhawks had to play an extra game to win its division to capture a playoff spot. Claxton was the other division winner. It will be Belle Plaine (81-73), Colfax, Far Mountain and Claxton (85-69) representing Ruthlandia in the Pro Cup postseason. To the west in Tycobbia it will be Denton City (92-62), Hartsdale (92-62), Turon (91-63) and Red Bluff (86-68) in the playoffs.

Ruthlandian Union North Division

It was quite a finish in the RU North as two clubs tied for first at the end of the regular season and needed an extra game to decide the pennant. It wasn't decided until Far Mountain edged Ancona 5-4 with a dramatic rally in the last two innings of the playoff game. The Redhawks trailed 4-1 after seven innings and need three runs in the ninth to claim the division crown. The Red Elephants faded in the last week of the season and allowed Far Mountain to overtake them. Ancona lost its last three games, all by one-run margins.

Alex Groveland has it all in Far Mountain (94-61), good hitting (.278), good power (179 HR) and good pitching (3.42)... climbed from seventh to first this year... first time in six years to make the playoffs... top pitchers are Leroy Hill (20-15 2.90), Boomerang Hines (9-4 3.10) and Robby King (17-13 3.34)... Dave McDonald (19-9 4.46) benefited greatly from excellent offensive support... All-Star SS Don Nichols (.336/22/106) tops the hitters with help from C Otis Ott (.297/26/89) and 2B Duane Parsons (.336/22/106)... good defense with .976 FA.

Manny Mickens' Ancona Red Elephants (93-62) won the pennant in 2007, fell to eighth in 2008 and turned it around this season... Pitching was the difference, improved from 4.63 to 3.68 ERA, led by starters Gary Culver (21-12 3.80), Sollie Yakis (17-13 3.07) and Nikon Maragos (20-11 3.64)... and superb All-Star closer John Sharpe (1-3 1.12) who posted 27 saves... average hitting (.270) and power (137 HR) with two All-Stars... 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.313/32/117/107) and 3B Bob Arlin (.294/13/85)... also helped by CF Lacey Tompkins (.312/15/90/101) and LF Louie Dimucci (.309/16/70)... good defense with .976 FA.

Last year's division champ LaGrange (80-74) slipped back to third place, 13.5 games back... awesome hitting in 2008 (.292) fell off to .270 this season... Foxy Jimison still has a solid core of hitters, but none hit like they did last year... CF Karl Perret (.315/12/69/106), LF Quincy Peterson (.301/24/98/96), C Otto Kronvath (.270/29/106/82) and SS Bill Nilsen (.274/25/85/96)... best hurlers were Jay-Jay DeJarnette (16-14 3.83) and Denny Kristensen (20-16 4.53).

There was a three-way log-jam for fourth place with Kilkenny, Ranford, and Taranto all at 78-76 for the season and 15.5 games off the pace... the Kilkenny Cats were the worst hitting team in the RU North, batting only .262 with 111 homers and only so-so on the hill (4.07)... Manager Kieran McKenna has two veterans starters in Gregg Neal (17-18 3.94) and Roger Davidson (14-17 3.98)... Steve Ohlinger (13-14 3.59) made the All-Star staff, but tailed off severely in the second half of the year with a 4-11 mark... not a whole lot at the plate... the Cats best batters are LF Ben Butler (.288/23/91/79) who came over from Crystal Lake in August, RF Marv Nolan (.285/16/76/86), SS Stu Ashford (.302/10/71/69) and 9-year vet 2B Scooter Perez (.261/7/59/101) who can still scoot at age 33... best defense in the RU North with a .977 FA.

Page Satcher's Ranford Bulls are just an average ball club, similar to Kilkenny... BA .265 with only 115 roundtrippers and a 3.90 ERA... 8-year vet and All-Star Chris Bernhoffer (19-15 2.83) is as good a pitcher as there is in the IPA... Cleve Skinner (13-13 3.79) is the number two man... Gerry Fisher (13-9 4.04) shines at times... hitting-wise C Walt Horvath (.314/12/91/76) and Jose Castillo (.310/13/65) provide what little offense the Bulls have.

Taranto manager Tommaso Lazzorda has the power (197 HR) and solid hitting (.274), but not the pitching (4.61) to compete like the Tars did in the playoff years of 2005 and 2006... All-Star 2B Ed Miles (.340/33/124/117) is one of the top 10 players in the IPA and a slick fielder, too... RF Wayne Pounders (.272/46/110/103) had a career year... ditto for SS Jake Travanti (.300/30/95)... Taranto's top pitchers are Sal Pascioni (13-14 4.19) and Ralph Mauriello (12-4 4.12), but they have to pitch in the Palazzo di Sport, one of the smallest ballparks in the IPA with 320 feet down the lines and only 385 in center... but the fans love the home-run haven.

Looking at it on paper McDuffie Hughes' Glasco Athletics (76-78) are the best seventh-place team in the IPA... the A's wound up 17.5 games behind the division leader, but hit .273 with 152 homers with a fine 3.54 team ERA... defensively, however, they were the worst fielders with a poor .969 FA... it's a strange situation... Glasco has talent in pitchers Felipe Branco (18-13 3.00), Andrei Marsiske (19-10 3.15) and Bobby Joe Trent (17-15 3.78)... and in the batter's box Hughes boasts 2B George Ferguson (.304/35/118/88), CF Ike Plunkett (.280/24/81/79), LF Aidan Lattimer (.311/14/74/87), Gold Glove 1B Russ Honor (.293/18/71/72) and C Les Ferguson (.287/17/56)... but it doesn't show in the standings.

The Valmara Vipers (71-83) have been one of the better franchises over the years, but not the last two... skipper J. Jackson Samuel's team sunk from a dismal sixth last year to an even worse last in 2009, 22.5 games in back of the flag-winning Far Mountain Redhawks... atrocious pitching (4.72) is the problem... Tommy Betanzos (17-15 3.98) was traded from Volusia in August, but did not fare well the rest of the season (3-6 4.88)... 37-year-old Daryl Vannoy (14-14 4.20) may be showing his age... while ace Vanya Vasylenko (12-20 4.41) went from 20 wins to 20 losses in a year... the Viper fans miss the glory days of Jet Kazmarek, Jan Szymanski and Masaichi Okawa... losing them to free agency has been fatal to Valmara... the current Vipers can't compare to them... Valmara is hitting .267 with 123 homers... 3B Joe Courtney's (.287/19/85/74) best days are behind him... he no longer hits 35-40 homers and drives in a 100 runs as he did with Oxford... C Erich Adamcyzk (.297/20/75/78), 2B Pat Sanders (.291/7/71/78) and LF Lou Gdowski (.290/12/65/87) are better-than-average, but can't lift the Vipers out of the second division.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Claxton Fights Off Belair Beach For RU South Crown

The Claxton Diamonds prevailed over the tough Belair Beach Sunbirds in a down-to-wire pennant battle in the Ruthlandian Union South Division this season, winning by just one game. They both won four of the final five games on the regular season schedule. Both teams lost on the last day of the season in a very exciting race.

Claxton jumped from fifth place to penthouse this season and captured its first RU South flag... Stacy Engel has the highest-scoring club in the IPA and his line-up is packed with fine hitters... the Claxton Diamonds (85-69) chalked up a .267 batting average, but hit 193 out of the park... pitching-wise Engel has a capable foursome that notched a 3.92 ERA... Claxton potent batting order consists of All-Star 1B Mike Luzzatti (.343/44/109/116), who had another colossal year... CF Dixie Baker (.260/32/114/92), LF Helmut Graczyk (.317/24/88/102), SS Erik Carducci (.285/18 81/61), 2B Paco Benitez (.281/2/37/93) and 3B Artie Sherman (.276/20/77/91)... Engel's starting rotation is All-Star Charlie Murphy (17-14 3.08), Peter Brenneman (18-13 3.96), Paul Grange (15-7 3.79) and Bob Grba (13-8 4.26)... Claxton is only average in the field with a .971 FA.

It's been four years since the Belair Beach Sunbirds (84-70) made the Pro Cup playoffs and they just barely missed making it this season... nonetheless the Sunbirds of Marty Pedroza had an impressive season and advanced from 6th place and a sub .500 record to second place in the standings and almost got a postseason spot... three All-Stars head up the squad, led CF Billy Martz (.320/29/114/94), 3B Zippy Parks (.304/11/61/98) and C Little Jake Bungarooba (.268/12/63/81)... SS Ronnie Nossek had a break-out season with a .338 batting percentage with 16 homers, 75 RBIs and scored 94 times... Pedroza could use some help on the mound, although he still has vets Tiny Lindgren (16-16 3.56) and Jeff Nieman (16-12 4.04)... comparing the line-ups, it's amazing that the Sunbirds came as close as they did to the champion Diamonds... Belair Beach is one of the best fielding club in the IPA with a .978 FA.

At the helm of the Waleska Westerners (76-78) is McGraw Johnson... he brought them in third for the second straight season... the Westerners finished 9 games back... Johnson's club is lacking long-ball power and hit only 101 homers... they have fairly good pitching with starters Toshiya Tamura (17-15 3.32), Wilson Whitmore (18-16 3.55) and Von Pearce (15-12 3.93)... but are sorely lacking in the bullpen... at the plate All-Star RF Kippy Doyle (.293/27/132/87) tied with Tommy Klegg of Red Bluff for the IPA RBI lead with 132... other good bats are 2B DePaul Lebat (.303/10/74/80) and 3B Grant Betzer (.322/8/72/96).

The fourth-place St. John Crusaders (74-80) are just an average ball club in all respects... manager Dickie Billings wound up 11 games off the pace... his best hurler is Ken Wheeler (20-13 3.00)... Teddy Garson (15-17 3.93) is also a quality arm... Billings has a decent relief corps, but suffers with his starters... St. John is short on hitters, too... RF Clayton Luck (.342/24/73/97) and CF Rusty Cannatella (.328/14/50/48) are the Crusaders best sticks, although Cannatella is platooned and played in only 114 games.

Holding forth in fifth place in the RU South are the Valka Blackhawks (73-81), who trailed by 12 games... manager Jaan Kurus must improve his offense as the Blackhawks only batted a .256 clip... RF Vic Gelder (.260/23/76/91) is one of his few productive bats... but Kurus has some fair pitchers in Connie Krueger (17-15 3.19), Erke Tonisson (13-17 3.44) and Jerry Harrison (14-14 3.77)... Valka gets little bullpen help.

The Crystal Lake Crushers (65-89) and Grand City Cybercats (65-89) were 20 games off the pace and were tied for sixth... Herman "Baby" George is the head man in Crystal Lake and this year the Crushers lived up to their name with 188 roundtrippers, but were next-to-last in both batting average (.258) and team ERA (4.33)... hence they finished deep in the second division... Crystal Lake's All-Star 1B Phil Gravelli (.320/36/96/94) continued to be one of the IPA's premier players... CF Mel Ballard (.287/31/82/85) also made the All-Star team... 2B Cristian Avajos (.243/29/95) didn't hit much for average, but did have some pop in his bat... George's only pitcher of note was starter Tony D'Albini (14-17 4.11).

Torry Joseph in Grand City suffers from offense... the Cybercats batted only .265 with just 72 homers, the fewest in the IPA by far... Joseph also had a poor bullpen... his only plus is his starting rotation of All-Star Emmitt Yates (21-11 2.35), Adrian Morris (11-16 3.69) and Paul Felkner (12-22 4.04)... Yates had a brilliant season considering his lack of run support... Grand City bats are few in number... the top hitters are 1B Marlin Kiefer (.323/9/81/86), LF Vern Tobin (.294/15/54/90) and RF Russ Baumer (.286/17/80/72).

Not too much to brag about in San Dimas (63-91), which had a terrible season and ended up in the RU South cellar after winning the pennant in 2008... the Rancheros were 22 games out of first place... skipper Paco Banderos' hitting fell off quite a bit (.260) and his pitching was almost non-existent (4.33 ERA) compared to the previous year... dependable Carl Schmitz (16-15 3.39) was the only decent starter and 1B Ron Armstrong (.275/20/87) only had a fair season for him... 2B Augie Ippolito (.255/19/86/87) was productive, but did not hit for very much average.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union East Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

September Surge Wins Belle Plaine RU East Crown
The Belle Plaine Musketeers came out of nowhere and edged the defending Pro Cup champs, the Wynnamac Sundowners by one game to win the RU East this year. In a dramatic turnaround Boo Ladrieux's boys put up a 14-5 record in September, while Matt Donnelly's team went into the tank with a 5-14 mark, thus enabling the Musketeers to past them and Cold Creek in the final weeks of the campaign to take the 2009 pennant.

Belle Plaine (81-73) copped the flag mainly because of a pretty good group of starters in Jorge Bonilla (14-12 3.57), Tony Saroyan (17-13 3.75) and Danny Griffin (15-13 3.91... closer Denny Reynaud (6-5 4.11) was a plus, despite sometimes being inconsistent, but he saved 25 games... Ladrieux's line-up was solid with a .276 BA, but not too powerful with only 105 home runs... the Musketeers were led by RF Juan Mendez (.326/7/45/96), 1B Rory Dickenson (.314/16/92/101), CF Harry Klyman (.285/26/107/79) and 3B Warren McDaniel (.273/17/78/87)... 2B Floyd Vinson (.286/1/64/89) played good defense and chipped in some offense, while SS Dave Torregrossa (.330/4/53) really had a great year after taking over at midseason... Torregrossa only played in 103 games.

The Wynnamac Sundowners (80-74) seemed headed for the Pro Cup playoffs to defend their title, but Matt Donnelly's club collapsed down the stretch and were edged out by one game... Wynnamac had the bats with a .275 BA and 152 homers... they were one of the higher-scoring squads in the IPA with 812 runs, but Donnelly's pitchers were awful (4.61 ERA)... the Sundowners were also the worst fielding team with a poor .969 FA... Wynnamac was strong throughout the batting order with All-Star LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.346/30/103/91), 1B Nate Cockcroft (.305/21/93), CF Dalton Leeds (.310/12/66/101), RF Mark Buchanan (.274/20/87/87), 2B J. L. Lawrence (.310/9/72), C Juanito (.262/13/61/94) and SS Warren Lee (.274/9/59/93)... the Sundowners won with their hitting... none of the pitchers were under 4.00 this year... Skeets Hobart (16-14 4.41), Lefty Paddison (16-8 4.58), Jay Clay (10-14 4.71) and Angus Conroy (12-7 4.14) suffered sub-par seasons and did not perform like last year... the staff ERA jumped from 3.86 to 4.61 this season... the Sundowners still almost hit their way to a second straight division pennant.

The Cold Creek Catamounts (76-78) skippered by T. Kelly Holmes rode the fine arm of Terence Gilbert (20-11 3.14) and a few good hitters to the third spot in the RU East standings, 5 games back of the leader... the Catamounts hit well (.275) with 158 homers with a 3.88 team ERA... LF Nickie Troxell (.284/37/124/90) had another fine year finishing high among the leaders in RBIs and home runs... RF Emile Stosha (.336/25/94/107) and CF Trip Holmes (.284/25/85/114) were also standouts... SS Russ Russell (.312/13/70/74) and C Trace Crittenden (.299/10/74) had good years with the bat, too.

The Elnora All-Stars (73-81) claimed fourth place in the RU East, trailing first-place Belle Plaine by 8 games... Zoggy White's team put up some good numbers offensively with a .277 BA and 138 home runs, but fell short in the pitching department with a 4.29 ERA... Elnora's only effective pitchers were Jim Tarzetti (15-7 3.38) and Lou Horn (15-16 3.27)... the All-Stars boast a potent line-up with four .300 hitters: All-Star 2B Dmitri Vrotsos (.313/26/121/78), the RU's leading batter RF Lloyd Voss (.368/20/89/101), LF Rick Mulloy (.300/18/90/97) and 1B Ricky Page (.320/13/69/97)... 3B Erik Bernhardt (.267/13/57/102) had his best season at age 38... he walked 132 times to lead the IPA.

Bret George at Beechwood (72-82) was 9 games behind Belle Plaine in the pennant chase, winding up in fifth place.. George has never made the playoffs in his eight-year tenure, primarily because of mediocre pitching... the Bobcats have had adequate hitting in the past, including this year... This season Beechwood batted .273 with 138 homers, but the mound staff compiled a poor 4.47 ERA... only Dek Jumonville (17-17 3.06) consistently gave them good outings... all the rest were over 4.00 in ERA... at bat the Bobcats were sparked by 2B Jared McCarthy (.323/26/97/79), C Billy Gorham (.286/24/89), LF Jakie Creekmore (.329/12/66/74), CF Clifton Czabo (.279/16/73/89), 3B Guy Cassidy (.279/10/68/83) and 1B Ray Slater (.299/7/61/81).

Marston (71-83) and Sugar Valley (71-83) tied for sixth, 10 games off the pace... the Nine had little pitching with 4.24 ERA and little batting with a .264 batting average and 114 roundtrippers... Mark Falzone (19-14 3.81) was Johnny Walters' best pitcher... Ernie Arredondo (13-16 3.89) was second in the rotation... Marston had an All-Star closer in Johnny Updike (5-8 3.83), who had 19 saves, but he really faded in the second half of the season... Walters had another All-Star in C Davis Teed (.279/23/91)... free agent SS Danny Church (.308/8/65) had his best offensive year and was strong in the field as usual... the team finished with a .975 FA... 1B Pat Farris (.343/5/56) hit for average, but not with much power... outstanding 3B Jimmy Holman (.251/19/71) had a bad year... in 2008 he batted .334 with 33 homers and 132 RBIs.

The only thing the Sugar Valley Rattlers do very well is hit home runs (164)... they batted only .260 and registered a sky-high 4.48 ERA... good defensively with a .975 FA... it was another dismal season for manager Gibby Bobkins, who didn't make the playoffs for the third successive year... All-Star C Hal Stevenson (.313/43/127/94) had a terrific year and ranked highly in home runs and RBIs... 6-year man 1B Val Schlagel (.290/22/101/90) blossomed with a career year... and All-Star CF Austen Conover (.303/7/64/110) sparkled as well... 2B Johnny Smith (.287/22/72) had by far the best year of his 8-year career... Charles Darby (20-11 3.93) was the ace of the mound staff.

The Eastshore Elegants (66-88) finished last in the RU East, 15 games back... Killer Brewster's crew hit with authority (.270) and power (144 homers), but did poorly on the hill (4.34)... top hitters are 2B Tucker Hill (.358/5/70/91), LF Darrel Alston (.273/30/84/70) and RF Stan Cuccinello (.307/19/68/68)... Eddie Lance (14-13 3.61) was Eastshore's top pitcher.

I was just reading through the first page of posts, and I was stunned to see that this has been going on now for over two years REAL TIME! that is impressive my friend. One day when I get a chance, I'm gonna sit back and just read through from the beginning. Good, good stuff.

Thanks for the nice comments.

Boy, you have a lot of reading to do. :D

Yeah, the IPA has been going for quite a time. It is a lot of work. I bit off more than I could chew with a 64-team league to cover and administer. It has been much easier since I stopped controlling all rosters and let the AI do it. It really doesn't do a good job. The AI has benched All-Star players and platooned them with lesser players - that didn't happen with me. It will trade for a star player and then put him on the bench for lesser players.

It is frustrating to me, but I have learned to live with it in order to continue the league and watch how players and teams develop. I really love the IPA. I plan to play 30 years or so this way, Good Lord willing. But I better get busy, I will soon be 70.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union West Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Colfax Wins RU West By 2 Games Over Rocky Rapids
The Colfax Blasters racked up their second straight Ruthlandian West pennant, but they had a tough time holding off the fast-closing Rocky Rapids Snappers, who closed out the season with seven consecutive victories. Ryan Noland's Snappers closed the gap to just 2 games, but finally ran of season. Clem Rogers, the Blaster manager, has another formidable ball club that won 94 games, tied with Far Mountain for the most wins in the Islandian Pro Alliance.

Colfax (94-60) has a fantastic pitching rotation that chalked up an unbelievable 2.69 ERA, led by Ilya Szabo (22-15 2.39), Stony Blackwell (19-11 2.64), Jimmy Joe Cartner (17-13 2.53) and All-Star Jasper LaForge (23-10 3.23)... Colfax broke Cape Coral's record (2.82) for the best team ERA set in 2004... Rogers also has a capable closer Dallas Somerville (5-8 2.14), who saved 24 games... mix in a fine fielding team with a .978 FA and the Blasters are hard to score against... offensively Colfax hit for a .262 batting average with 140 home runs, which was adequate in the runs department... Leading the Blasters line-up was All-Star CF Ryan Raines (.302/26/99/99), LF Paul Coniglio (.302/27/111/96), 3B Mike Janocko (.284/19/72) and RF Karl Heidelberg (.319/17/50/72).

The Rocky Rapids Snappers (92-62) could outhit Colfax with a .268 BA and outscore them, but they couldn't match their pitching... Noland's mound corps did well with a 3.69 ERA and were paced by Pat Brown (22-8 3.48), Leland Clinkscales (13-7 3.32) and Ben Mashburn (16-10 3.59)... the Snappers also had an All-Star closer Morgan Gilman (4-7 3.38), who had 27 saves... C Hank Bethel (.311/29/101/86) sparked a solid batting order that included LF Scott Camden (.269/19/95/98), SS Cooter Bermudez (.308/6/79/95), RF Ronnie Patterson (.268/19/79/70), CF Carl Johnson (.294/18/77) and 2B Hoppy Hill (.287/0/39/92)... defensively Rocky Rapids was solid with a .976 FA.

The only problem the third-place Forest City Lumberjacks (85-69) had was playing in the same division with Colfax and Rocky Rapids... 85 wins would have won or tied in the RU South and RU East... as it was they wound up 9 games behind... manager Robbie Jackson depended on his pitching corps to get the job done... the 'Jacks compiled a good 3.61 ERA, while batting .268 with 144 home runs... Jackson best pitchers were All-Star Al Thibaut (20-13 3.28), Ernie Hill (17-16 3.43), Knucks Nomellini (16-9 3.46) and Brian Charles (18-14 3.72)... at the plate his best batters were LF Joe Judlin (.296/26/94/85), 1B Andy Doiron (.309/14/82/89) and RF Stan Maples (.288/21/75/79)... less-than-average defense with a .971 FA.

The Volusia Vigilantes (81-73) came in fourth in the RU West standings, 13 games off the pace... skipper Alfonso Feliz had his typical club... good pitching with a 3.70 ERA... excellent fielding with a .978 FA... and this year the V's are hitting better with a .269 BA and 127 homers... they just have too much competition for them in the RU West... on the hill Todd Wolfe (19-12 2.53) had a splendid year... Asa Klem (15-18 3.39) had a solid ERA, but still lost a lot of games... Alejandro Rio (16-6 3.81) responded well in his first real chance at starting in his three seasons in the IPA... Volusia could still use some hitting... its top batters were 8-year vet RF Briscoe Crowder (.326/25/87/90), who had his best season ever at age 30... SS Bobby Farias (.264/19/80/92) and 2B Mario Castro (.290/7/51/83) were the best of the rest... the Vigilantes have to hit better to climb in the standings.

The Sligo Rovers (78-76) are just a second-division ball club... they ended up over .500 and trailed in the standings by 16 games... manager Eddie Keys has little better than average pitching (3.90 ERA), hitting (.269 BA) and power (147 HR), but lousy defense with a poor .968 FA... Jordy Crockett (20-10 3.55) and Colin McGrath (17-10 3.29) carried the team... Sligo has two long-time veterans Bomber Belinsky (16-18 3.99) and Alec DiMaggio (11-19 4.10) that could turn things around if they regain their former form... both still have quite a few years left in their arms... on offense Keys has one of the better outfielders in the IPA in CF Fred Collins (.304/23/98/100)... LF Zeb Baker (.270/23/84/83) still has some punch in his bat at age 38... and SS Hollis Waldrup (.295/16/67/113), who can hit and also cover as much ground as any shortstop in the IPA... Waldrup was third-best with 538 assists, topped only by Bill Nilsen of LaGrange and Rolf Kellgren of South Fork.

Smitty Michaels' Middlefield Roosters (74-80) failed to make the playoffs for the third year in a row... the Roosters made the playoffs its first five seasons in the IPA and won the Pro Cup in 2005... Middlefield has wallowed in the second division ever since... this season the Roosters were sixth and 20 games out... Middlefield still hits the ball with abandon with a .276 BA, 204 homers and 792 runs... the Roosters are an offensive powerhouse, pitching is the thing holding them back... a 4.35 team ERA just won't do it... Johnny Bond (19-7 2.80) came over from North Hills in a trade in June and did wonders for the team... Bond may be 36, but he still has some wins in his arm... he and reliever Jared Robillard (8-6 2.74) were Michaels only strong pitchers... leading the offensive attack were All-Star LF Moose Scoggins (.308/29/108/88), who came up with a career year at age 35, his fourth season in the IPA... other threats are 2B Sammy Ragsdale (.275/31/88/100), CF Cecil Clark (.297/29/74/82), SS Jim Rose (.284/17/87/95), C Mike Kanjorsky (.294/14/60) and 1B J. D. Earnshaw (.283/18/61).

Willie Dickens won the RU West in 2007, but it has been downhill for the Stoner Stars (73-81) ever since... this season the Stars slumped to seventh place, 21 games behind the flag-winning Colfax Blasters... Dickens' team doesn't hit especially well with a .263 batting average and 134 homers... they pitch fairly well with a 3.99 ERA... All-Star Hernando Espaderos (18-13 3.05) stood out on the mound... Norman Canfield (19-15 3.94) also did well this year... not much after those two, though... SS Karol Zodoka (.315/27/84/105) still hits with authority and plays strong defense at age 34... LF Tommy Lee Hensley (.278/23/82/79) and C Benny Stern (.296/20/81/76) are capable run producers, too.

The Fort Benton Defenders (65-89) have occupied the basement six times in its eight years of existence... that is exactly where they ended up for the third season in a row and 29 games off the pace... manager Robbie Brooks has the worst hitting team in the IPA... the Defenders hit only .247 this year with just 82 home runs... Brooks has decent pitching with a 3.93 ERA and average defense with a .972 FA... Tom Waltenbury (18-14 3.27) had a magnificent year considering he played for a last-place team with almost no hitting... Brooks doesn't possess a top-flight player other than Waltenbury... 33-year-old RF Nicky Swift (.266/21/71) is his top offensive producer, but Swift's best years are behind him... LF Tommy Pfeffer (.319/22/61) and 2B Artie Vicknair (.281/12/70) are just average ballplayers.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union North Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hartsdale Heads For The Playoffs, Outlasts Mahaska by 4 Games In TU North
Two teams on the rebound after poor seasons fought it out in the Tycobbian North. Zim Donner's Hartsdale Hellcats rose from seventh to the top spot this year, while Mahaska under Rusty Lanussa came from fifth place last year to the runner-up spot this season, falling four games short. A bad 9-17 record in June cost the Haymakers the crown. Hartsdale had a winning record in every month of the season.

Hartsdale (92-62) tied Denton City of the TU West for the most wins in the TU this year with 92... the keys to success for Donner were a solid set of starters, good closer, good power, good hitting and good defense... Hartsdale batted .269 with 171 homers and had a .976 FA... Hellcat starters were Ben Manderson (16-9 2.89), Tony Lane (14-12 3.11), Matt DeRosa (17-14 3.53), Nico Carnera (13-4 3.62) and Rip Arnold (17-14 4.12)... closer Mitch Yassen (7-5 2.74) was also a vital part of the team's success with 23 saves... the Hellcats also featured a solid core of hitters with good pop... Donner's top bats were 1B Tom Brabant (.321/35/110/78), 3B Kendry Moulton (.290/25/99/93), 2B Jud Turchin (.286/21/82/89) and CF Mac Faulkner (.299/24/75/82).

The second-place Mahaska Haymakers (88-66) couldn't match the talent of Hartsdale, but Rusty Lanussa's bunch gave the Hellcats quite a tussle anyway... they hit only .259 with 139 roundtrippers, yet they outscored Hartsdale, mainly because of a very good OBP, one of the highest in the IPA... the Haymakers top bats belong to 38-year-old 3B Domingo Rios (.257/29/115/95), who had his most productive season... other contributors were LF Reynaldo Quezada (.285/24/96/83) and 2B Walt Long (.309/13/80/101), who both had career seasons... on the hill Lanussa has three solid starters in 37-year-old Johnny Spears (22-11 3.31), Don Shaw (15-10 3.37) and Dain Abner (17-15 3.56)... fielding-wise Mahaska had a good .975 FA.

2009 was a fine year for the North Hills Hawks (79-75) as manager Hub Carlson's club jumped from last place to a tie for third place this season and wound up 13 games back in the TU pennant chase... the Hawks did it mainly on the arms of three pitchers... Ozzy Burton (17-14 3.45), Ben Dewberry (18-12 3.46) and Lou Dozier (15-15 3.65) kept them in most ballgames, only to have the bullpen let them down... overall the team has a 4.01 ERA... Offensively All-Star 1B Masaichi Okawa carried the team with a .281 batting average, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 97 runs scored... North Hills only batted .257 as a team and hit only 128 home runs... C Yoshi Motsuzaki offered some help with a .299 BA, 11 roundtrippers, 57 RBIs and 81 runs... the Hawks were just average on defense with a .972 mark.

The Oxford Red Caps (79-75) were also in third place... manager Campy Roy has some good sticks in his line-up who put up a strong .275 average with 162 homers, paced by All-Star 3B Cameron Kamara (.321/32/118/95), who had a career year, talented CF Wayne McDonald (.311/29/90/98) and LF Mac Spencer (.324/24/75/79)... Roy's pitching rotation is decent with a 3.99 team ERA... the Red Caps best pitchers are All-Star Emerson Carnell (15-10 3.96), Del Anderson (14-11 3.65), Nicky Nicholson (16-17 3.84) and Dean Wilder (14-14 4.00)... Carnell staggered in the second half after going 11-4 in the first half with a 2.83 ERA... Oxford is solid on defense with a .977 FA.

After two good years in the first division, the Fairfax Frogs (75-79) fell back to the fifth spot in the standings, trailing by 17 games... skipper Harry Buckley had good pitching with a 3.63 ERA, led by starters Scotty Marshall (18-13 3.11) and Wally Tidwell (16-16 2.79)... and Bobby Ray Trent (4-3 2.91) in middle relief...only average in hitting, the Frogs batted .267 and hit 130 homers... All-Star Dane Wesner (.349/39/126/95) had another great year, his best ever... 1B Chancey Quibedeaux (.286/18/72/92), SS Wes Hickox (.283/19/74/81) and C Bryan Pippin (.291/13/72/75) were good bats, too... on defense Fairfax had a .972 FA.

Tyson Cobb's Blue Lake Blue Sox (74-80) ended up 18 games out of first and in fifth place... the Blue Sox tailed off in the second half of the season and dropped to the second division... hitting is the team's main strength with a .273 batting average and 141 home runs... Blue Lake had three batters that drove in at least 100 runs... pitching is only average with a 3.87 ERA... defensively the Blue Sox are only average with a .972 FA... three fine hitters top Cobb's batting order: All-Star 2B Loren Babcock (.320/25/102/113), All-Star CF Rick Hilliard (.326/19/100/78) and RF Tad Kirklin (.285/33/102/91)... the Blue Sox hurlers were led by Happy McManus (16-12 3.72), Pete Henry (15-13 3.95) and Pat Grange (12-13 3.73).

There was much disappointment in Luxora (72-82) as the Zorros spiraled downward from the top of the TU North in 2008 to seventh place in 2009, 20 games out... both Rip Calkin's pitching and hitting collapsed this year... the Z's hit only .254 with 112 homers and the team ERA skied to 4.09... Elio Laurente (18-17 3.30) and Anthony Glaser (16-8 3.79) were Luxora's best starters, while closer Ricardo Topez (5-8 2.94) was again effective with 26 saves... RF Bob Havilland (.269/29/87/71) and 2B Pablo Santa Cruz (.285/10/54/93) were Calkin's top hitters.

Last year the White River Rascals (71-83) were on the upswing with a fourth-place finish, but it didn't last too long as they were back at the bottom this season, 21 games to the rear... John Randison's team swung the bat pretty good with a .267 average and 134 home runs... on the hill the Rascal rotation rang up a 4.09 ERA... Randison had two fine starters in Mick Cronyn (19-15 3.21) and Mark Morse (16-10 3.41)... in the batter's box White River was led by LF Bernie Valente (.316/30/114/106), 3B Riley Cloy (.256/23/97/85), 2B Vinny Ulrich (.288/7/55/83) and CF Ronnie Lee (.292/5/47/83)... the Rascals were average defensively with a .974 FA.

I believe you're still using OOTP 9 right? If so, X is a lot better with the rosters, perfect by no means, but better. What I do, that seems to help is edit each manager as well as each team strategy so that all of their player preferences stay right at 50%(there are 20 clicks to the sliders, I keep them at 10) This has helped with the daily stuff like lineups a ton. I also edit each team's in game strategies to one, make them a bit better with their decision making, and two, make them play to a style more like their R/L counterparts.

Yes, I'm still using OOTP9. I plan to convert to OOTP10 now that there will be no more patches. I'll try your suggestions and see if it helps.

Thanks for the help.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union South Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Turon Typhoons Blow Away TU South
The Turon Typhoons raged through the Tycobbian Union South with little opposition and easily took the title by 12 games over second place Colchester. Manager Whitey Richburn will now get a shot at Turon's third Pro Cup.

The Turon Typhoons (91-63) are on quite a roll with their third TU South pennant in four years... Richburn has a sound club in all respects... hitting, power, pitching... and decent defense... Turon's team batting average is .274... they hit 154 homers... have a fine 3.66 team ERA... and a .974 FA... the pitching rotation consists of Anthony Nardone (20-12 3.03), Jacques Lemaire (24-6 3.42) and James Stuart (17-13 3.61)... Freddi Spiegel (7-1 2.80) stands out in middle relief... at the plate Richburn has a bunch of good bats in CF Mac McCurnan (.306/34/105/106), 1B Johnny Carducci (.297/23/91/69) and 2B Alan Hansen (.299/1/49/109) with help from All-Star 3B John Cottrell (.304/8/63/57), LF Jimmy Tremayne (.306/14/80/67) and RF Andy Porter (.298/21/71/62).

Runner-up Colchester (79-75) was a distant 12 games behind Turon... manager Robbie Wilbertson's Elites don't hit much for average (.259), but can go deep (155 homers)... they have only average pitching (4.05 ERA)... and good defense (.975)... Colchester best bats are 1B Harlan Roscoe (.278/27/90/78) and C Benny Walker (.303/29/83/62)... RF Lou Cutrer (.238/23/91/75) doesn't hit for high average, but does produce runs... Wilbertson has a couple of quality arms in Jimmy Simmons (17-17 3.36) and Frank Payne (17-11 3.63), both are veterans and consistent winners.

Third place in the TU South belongs to the Cape Coral Hurricanes (75-79), skippered by Marty Pedroza... The 'Canes ended up 16 games behind Turon, primarily because of the hitting (.259 BA) and terrible defense (.966 FA)... pitching carried Cape Coral (3.75 ERA)... the staff is anchored by 6-time All-Star Cody Burg (20-12 3.22)... he is only 27 and has already won 153 games in his 9 seasons... other quality pitchers are Nasty Naymick (16-12 3.66) and Steve Aaron (13-11 3.85), along with closer Jesse Balfour (3-5 2.55), who racked up 17 saves... the Hurricane hitters are led by SS Bobby Josker (.307/16 HR/101/100), LF Rich Osolinsky (.325/13/73/105), 1B Lonnie Moon (.259/20/69/103) and C Todd Boyd (.292/16/85).

There was a real log-jam for the fourth spot in the TU South with a four-way tie among Ginza, San Alejo, Southport and Summerland, all 19 games back... the Ginza Ninjas (72-82) are guided by Huroko Uchiyama and the club's strong point is its pitching (3.53 ERA), headed by 8-year veteran Carl Trebek (20-12 3.33) and rookie Joji Azuma (11-18 3.38), who didn't deserve his 18 defeats... in the bullpen is capable closer Ernie Teague (3-6 2.83), who notched 25 saves... after going 16-10 last year with a 2.90 ERA Toshio Nozaki ballooned to an 11-18 and 4.29 ERA... the Ninjas are hampered by poor defense with a .968 FA... Uchiyama plays everybody on his roster in an effort to get some run production, but to no avail, as is apparent by his top hitters: LF Domingo DeLeon (.259/11/61/97), OF Andy Willingham (.307/9/50/59) and OF Jack Vorland (.291/10/63/52).

The San Alejo Montaneros (72-82) also suffer from a lack of hitting (.259), but can hit with power (149 homers)... pitching is the name of the game in San Alejo... as team they have a 3.73 ERA and are led by 35-year-old southpaw Alberto Herrera (16-17 2.79), the 8-year vet with 119 wins and a superlative 2.86 lifetime ERA... manager Lando Peceda has two other capable pitchers in his rotation in Jaime Serrano (15-13 3.64) and Roberto Concepcion (15-10 4.05)... the Montaneros get most of their offense from homers, spearheaded by 1B Miles Shufford (.265/31/81) and LF Dennis Riley (.250/26/71)... defensively San Alejo is just slightly below average with a .971 FA.

The Southport Sun Sox (72-82) are part of the four-way deadlock for fourth place... Charley Oscar is at the helm of the Sun Sox... the TU South doesn't have a lot of hitting except for home runs... Southport hit only .258, but rapped 145 out of the park... Oscar's mound staff is decent with a 3.89 ERA with two veteran starters Keith Callahan (13-14 3.59) and Russ Courtney (15-20 3.80)... in the bullpen the Sun Sox have All-Star closer Todd Turner (11-7 1.88), who had an outstanding season with 26 saves... Oscar's defense is poor with a .969 FA... Southport's best bats belong to 35-year-old SS Charlie Gamble (.260/36/110/85), who had twice hit over 50 home runs in a season... LF Big Stick Takala (.313/22/85/72)... CF Tom Barella (.297/9/42/95)... and 2B Bill McCann (.287/19/68).

The Summerland Sunsets (72-82) are also tied for the fourth spot in the standings... Will Hackett's ball club is also hitting like most of the teams in the TU South... the Sunsets sport an atrocious .246 batting average and have hit only 108 home runs... but they have compiled a good 3.67 ERA... Hackett's top hurlers are vets Denny Coulon (16-13 3.11), Eddie Hoffman (13-16 3.43) and Bill Taft (11-11 3.56)... Coulon has piled up 144 victories in his career with a superlative 2.89 ERA... third-year man Pat Dreux (15-18 3.50) fills out the rotation... Summerland's main run suppliers are SS Don Hanks (.304/16/71/83), 2B Randy Rudelmeier (.281/12/77/58) and 1B Charlie Marks (.272/10/67/83)... the Sunsets are only average defenders with a .973 FA.

Only two clubs in the TU South batted above .260, the first place Turon Typhoons at .274 and the last place Arroyo Grande Suns (70-84) with a .276 mark... apparently it didn't do manager Jean-Luc Marchand's club much good as the Suns finished 21 games off the pace... the culprit was its subpar pitching corps with a pathetic 4.26 ERA... Marchand had only one pitcher under 4.00... that was 30-year-old Miguel Aguilera (14-19 3.87), who has labored long and hard for 8 seasons in Arroyo Grande... but the Suns can score runs with the likes of 7-time batting champion RF Jet Kazmarek (.349/14/82/115), a career .358 hitter, 1B Sherm Miles (.301/29/126/82) and SS Johnny Nowitzki (.321/0/53/88)... Kazmarek has failed to win the batting title twice, last year when hit .338 and finished third and his rookie year in 2001 when he hit only .314... in the field Arroyo Grande is average with a .974 FA.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union East Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Red Bluff Wins TU East For 4th Time, Tuckanarra Runner-up
It took Mack Connery and the Red Bluff Red Sox several years to get their fourth Tycobbian East pennant, but they did it this year, whipping the second place Tuckanarra Blue Jays by 4 games. The Red Sox and the Blue Jays battled neck-and-neck until July when Red Bluff got a little buffer between them. Connery's club won consecutive division titles in 2003, 2004 and 2,005 and took the Pro Cup in 2004.

Red Bluff (86-68) took advantage of a strong pitching staff to win the TU East this season... Connery had four fine starters, two very good ones and two that were quite dependable... the Red Sox notched a 3.82 ERA and were paced by All-Star John Dougherty (19-12 3.10), Frank Beaudoin (21-12 3.29), Jim Melanakos (14-10 4.13) and Cloyd Harris (18-18 4.04)... firepower also set Red Bluff apart from Tuckanarra... they outhomered the Blue Jays 149 to 99... both clubs hit about the same for average with Tuckanarra batting .268 and Red Bluff .267... Tuckanarra also had a slight edge defensively .978 FA to .976 FA... Connery's best bat was 3B Tommy Klegg (.281/36/132/85), who topped the IPA with 132 RBIs, along with Waleska's Kippy Doyle... other strong contributors were All-Star CF Stan Helmke (.317/14/62/100), SS Jose Aguilar (.290/13/66/106) and 1B Kris Grabowski (.299/17/72).

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays (82-72) were near the top again, but slumped in July and it cost manager Carlton "Lefty" Stevens a chance for a sixth playoff appearance... Stevens has a good mound corps, but not as deep as Red Bluff... Titus Bristow (17-17 2.81), an 8-year veteran, is as good as it gets in the IPA... lifetime Bristow is 145-101 with a 2.85 ERA... Bristow could have easily won 25 games this season except for poor bat support... Tuckanarra has two good pitchers in All-Star Delaney Elliott (23-13 3.94) and Coorain Janama (18-16 3.81)... the Blue Jays also have a solid closer Niles Applewhite (4-5 3.14), who racked up 32 saves... Stevens needs to find a fourth starter to compete with Red Bluff... he also needs some power-hitters... his best bats are 1B Erik Vayda (.296/9/76/84), 3B Rocky Fuqua (.305/8/58/84), CF Earl O'Brien (.257/9/47/91), LF Tony Blundell (.254/14/66/71) and Lee Thomson (.271/14/71)... nowhere near the quality that Red Bluff possesses.

The High Mesa Cowboys (76-78) and Ozarka Naturals tied for the third spot in the TU East and trailed first place Red Bluff by 10 games... The glory years of 2002 and 2003 are long gone for Frisky Franks when High Mesa was riding high in the standings... his Cowboys won the division and the Pro Cup in their first IPA season... High Mesa came in second in 2003... they have only been an average club since... Queen Ranch Stadium is one of the smaller venues in the league, so High Mesa usually ranks high in homers... this season the Cowboys clouted 184 into the stands and batted .269... in the pitching department they registered a 3.92 ERA, which is not so bad considering the short fences at Queen Ranch Stadium... Franks' team is only fair on defense with a .971 FA... the top hitters are 1B Nat Thurlow (.312/34/83/72), SS Wild Deer Etchimin (.275/22/79/81) and 3B Lloyd Windham (.316/15/63/83)... top hurlers are Kent Wells (20-16 3.46), Johnny Falcon (14-15 3.72) and John Rainer (13-19 3.93).

Joe Mac Carney's Ozarka Naturals (76-78) have been in the thick of things the last four seasons in the TU East with a first or second place finish, but slipped some this year... Carney's pitching wasn't what it has been recently as the team ERA dropped to 4.05... the Nats best pitchers were Tyrus Yokum (12-9 3.25) and Karl Kleinert (14-14 4.25)... Ozarka was only average at the plate with a .263 batting average and 130 homers... the Nats best bats were LF Vic Weinstein (.311/13/73/93), 2B Gil Lantz (.303/9/76/83), 3B Todd Chadwick (.254/24/77/107) and SS Nathan Ferrell (.272/22/100/92).

The Hillsboro Blazers (75-79) made some progress this season and completed the year in fifth place, only 11 games back... manager Arky Spanderson's club has finished last five times, has never been above .500, never been in the first division and never made the postseason... the Blazers hit pretty well with a .271 BA and 139 homers, but are woefully weak with a 4.46 team ERA... Hillsboro is average with a .973 FA... only one good pitcher to speak of: Ed Dupard (16-14 3.48)... Spanderson's top batters are All-Star 2B Ray Bassett (.316/33/108/80), 3B Brad Walker (.282/13/64/102) , Rickey Alfonso (.269/18/78/89) and 1B Bobby Bayas (.294/9/62/77)... the Blazers could use an infusion of power and pitching.

After two seasons in the first division, including winning the TU East in 2008, the East Point Panthers (74-80) are back in the second division, in the sixth spot in the standings and a dozen games off the pace... Griff Clarke can blame it on his very poor pitching... the team carry a pathetic 4.67 ERA, which is the second worst in the entire IPA, topped only by Midway with a 4.73 ERA... even his top aces from a year ago faltered... Tommy Fuller (15-16 3.55) and Smokey Joe Carter (14-17 4.05) were much more effective last season, when they piled up 20 and 19 wins respectively... However at bat, the Panthers put some runs on the scoreboard with 184 roundtrippers, sparked by 2B Jesse Goodwin (.279/44/119/95), CF Joey Olson (.277/28/83/84) and LF Karl Dietz (.249/30/82/65)... defensively East Point was only adequate and fielded at a .972 rate.

The Midway Wolves (67-87) have never made the playoffs... this season Cochise Chandler's club came in seventh and tied with South Fork for last place, winding up 19 games out... not much to cheer about in Midway... the Wolves batted only .259, but did hit 141 homers... on the hill they were appalling with a 4.73 ERA and ranked absolutely last among the 64 IPA teams... Chandler has some decent starters in Antonio Anaya (13-17 4.25), Ted Chambers (10-19 4.08) and Kojiro Matsumoto (11-17 3.97), but no one after them... the rest have atmospheric ERAs... Midway's best bats are 1B Don Piper (.269/28/92/88), RF Lou Sturge (.254/27/81/105) and SS J. T. Edmonds (.316/11/61/65)... with the glove the Wolves have a .974 FA.

Lips Leon is not a happy camper in South Fork (67-87)... the Stallions finished in the TU East cellar for the second year in a row and in the second division for the seventh straight year... South Fork doesn't hit much and sports a .260 BA with 120 homers... on the mound Leon does have some dependable starters in Leonard Urban (15-12 3.57), Bobby Karu (16-17 3.48) and Dave Small (11-15 3.82)... at bat the Stallions rely on RF Robby Michael (.295/19/80/75), LF Gary Horn (.281/14/78/81) and All-Star SS Rolf Kellgren (.299/12/60/93), who had a Gold Glove year.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union West Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Denton City Fights Off Bayview For 3rd TU West Flag
For the second season in a row the Denton City Redbirds were victorious in the Tycobbian Union West. Ford Whiteman's Redbirds fought off a determined bid by the resurgent Bayview Vikings to win their third division championship with a three-game margin to spare. Denton City pulled away in August and September and will get another chance at the IPA Pro Cup. They lost in the finals last season to the Wynnamac Sundowners of the Ruthlandian Union.

Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA.

To revitalize the Bayview Vikings (89-65) from a very disappointing last-place finish in 2008, manager Walter Johanssen went to work on his pitching staff and they came back with a vengeance and improved the team ERA from a mediocre 4.24 to a solid 3.65... Bayview vets All-Star Norm Roy (18-14), Tony Vardaman (18-7 3.23) and Georgie Fambreau (16-12 3.76) combined for a strong starting rotation... at the plate the Vikings rebounded as well, raising the team batting average from solid .269 to an outstanding .281 BA... and increasing homers from 188 to 202... Johanssen's vaunted attack was led by All-Star CF Tommy Riddle, who had a monstrous season with 41 home runs, 119 RBIs and 112 runs, while batting .316... RF Ted Karno was almost as good with a .323 batting average, 28 homers, 106 RBIs and 108 runs... and 3B Karl Benson was a standout, too, batting .318 with 34 home runs, 110 RBIs and 94 runs scored... Bayview is sound defensively with a .976 FA.

The last two years have been good ones for Rip Calkin and his La Claire Lynx (83-71), who have to play in a very tough division... the Lynx wound up third this season and trailed by 9 games... Calkin has a well-balanced team with a .272 batting average with 156 homers, 3.79 ERA and a .974 FA... not equal to Denton City and Bayview, but still a competitive ball club... the strength lies in its four quality starters: Bernie Halsey (14-6 3.08), Nosyt Sani (19-13 3.59), Ronnie Holt (11-11 3.72) and Doug Lyons (16-20 3.22)... La Claire has two All-Stars in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.318/32/110/110) and SS Bob Steitz (.271/9/49/110)... Calkin has four other offensive contributors in 2B Dale Pace (.313/16/75/93), 3B Roberto Vargas (.280/19/87/58), RF Jay D'Armond (.275/20/72/58) and CF Chazzie Lombardo (.288/21/69/81).

The Chicopee Braves (79-75) were fourth in the TU West... manager Harry Fleetfoot is still waiting for the team's first postseason appearance... but they did make progress this year... it's the first time the Braves have made the top four teams in the division... Chicopee is pretty much average down the line, hitting .265 and 127 homers and a 3.84 team ERA... average defense as well with a .974 FA... Fleetfoot does have a good group in his starting rotation, led by a solid vet Desmond Quartermain (18-13 3.50), Wayne Baxley (14-14 3.20) and Bill Branch (15-12 3.68)... and it looks like Frank Daigle (2-4 3.01) might develop into a good closer... the Braves batting order features 2B Randy Knowles (.324/21/93/79), CF Billy Adenauer (.299/14/50/90), RF Dutch Rheinecker (.287/17/71/67) and C Ivan Burkholder (.277/12/73/76).

The Kenwood Wildcats (78-76) just barely missed the first division this year... Aaron Hankins' crew missed out by a game, finishing 14 games off the pace and came in fifth... It's been a while since the Wildcats played in the playoffs... they made them in 2001, but not since... Kenwood played very well in April and June and compiled a 32-20 record, but fell off in the last four months of the season... pitching is Hankins' strong point with a 3.83 ERA... the Wildcat starters chalked up a fine 3.65 ERA... All-Star Todd Combs (15-14 2.94), Dan Phillips (20-12 3.49) and Corey Brabham (14-9 2.99) were solid, but suffered from poor run support... Kenwood hit only .259 with only 99 home runs... Hankins' top bats were few... RF Dayton Walker (.333/10/68/95), 3B Leo Gambetta (.296/11/63/95) and 1B Scott McKinley (.253/20/98/71)... the Wildcats were just average on defense with a .973 FA.

The Arlon Champions (69-85) tied for sixth place with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers and the Rolling Hills Reds, 23 games back of the division-winning Denton City Redbirds... Arlon is managed by Gary Louis... the Champs depend on pitching and have a fairly good set of starters in Kimo Orlando (17-15 3.40), Armando Cruz (15-18 3.65), Kurt DeHaan (12-12 4.02) and Andre Masson (11-18 4.22)... 2009 was Orlando's best year at age 37... he is a six-year veteran... 21-year-old rookie Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.45) really flourished in the closer role during the final six weeks of the season with 18 saves... the future really looks bright for him... Arlon is a poor-hitting team with a .255 BA and 132 roundtrippers... Louis is really handicapped when it comes to good bats... his only good stick is RF Rocco Belasario (.310/26/88/103)... SS Allan Black (.250/23/87/84) and RF Chucky Gilton (.256/19/91/66) don't hit for much average, but do provide the long-ball occasionally and do drive in runs... defensively the Champions are not much with a .972 FA.

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers (69-85) are piloted by Guy Rondre... It's been four years since the Bucs made postseason play, but they did win the TU West title in 2002... Rondre's team hit a solid .269 this season with 128 home runs... on the mound the Buccaneers compiled a mediocre 4.10 ERA... but were a little bit above average on the field with a .975 FA... Rondre's top hurlers were few in number with Sean Lawrence (13-3 3.44) and vet Duke DeVree (14-18 3.71) the most effective... Bay St. Clair's batting order had four .300 hitters... leading the way were All-Star LF Todd Bryant (.303/26/101/99), 2B Jimmy Sawyer (.306/16/87/74), 1B Gerry Fields (.300/26/73/65) and RF Emile Djorovich (.300/12/56/71).

The Rolling Hills Reds (69-85) also were in the three-way jam for sixth place... manager Matty Christianson's ball club failed to break even on the season for only the second time in the Reds 8-year history... it's been six years since they made the postseason... Rolling Hills is not a good team... with poor batting (.255 BA), little power (104 HR), high team ERA (4.24) and average fielding (.972 FA)... Christianson has few, if any quality hitters... his best are OF Roy Stainbrook (.290/13/64/84), OF Frankie Holman (.285/15/64/58), 3B Lonnie Mason (.299/9/62/60) and SS Bobby Ritter (.294/8/47/86)... few good pitchers as well... 7-year vet Toshihiro Ito (16-19 3.80) did decent work, while second-year man Fran Tomaselli (8-7 2.98) really blossomed as a reliever and starter.

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Pro Cup Playoffs Begin, 8 Teams Tangle For IPA Championship

The Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs start today! Only a handful of teams remain in the running for the ultimate prize - the Pro Cup. It's playoff time. A time of glory and victory awaits one of the 8 clubs. The team that rises to each eventful occasion - the team that makes all the right plays at the right time. The defending IPA champions, the Wynnamac Sundowners, failed to win its division and will not defend its crown. They lost out by one game to the Belle Plaine Musketeers. However, last season's Pro Cup runner-up, the Denton City Redbirds, will get another crack at the Island title.

Today is the start of the Islandian Pro Alliance Elite 8 Series. Each series will be the best-of-seven. In the opening round of Ruthlandian Union games the Claxton Diamonds will meet the Far Mountain Redhawks in Far Mountain and Belle Plaine travels to the Colfax Blasters. Over in the Tycobbian Union the schedule pits Red Bluff at Denton City and Turon at Hartsdale.

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

IPA Leaderboards

2009 Ruthlandian Union Batting Leaders

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

.368 AVG Earns Voss RU Bat Crown
Lloyd Voss, Elnora's 27-year-old right fielder, nabbed the Ruthlandian Union batting crown with an IPA-leading .368 average. Voss collected 191 hits with 22 doubles, 5 triples and 20 homers, while playing in 140 games for the All-Stars. Voss had 89 RBIs and scored 101 runs. In his four seasons in the IPA Voss has a career .333 batting average.

9-year vet Tucker Hill of Eastshore was the runner-up with a .358 mark. Hill topped the IPA in hits with 204. The 32-year-old second baseman had 25 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, scored 91 times and batted in 70 runs in 147 games.

31-year-old Big Hoss Burkhalter ranked third with a .346 batting average, 30 homers and 103 RBIs. The Wynnamac left fielder appeared in 141 games.

Kazmarek Takes Home 7th Batting Title
When it comes to hitting a baseball consistently no one does it like Jet Kazmarek of the Arroyo Grande Suns. Kazmarek won his 7th batting title in 9 years, but just by the very smallest of margins. Kazmarek edged out Dane Wesner of Fairfax .3489208 to .3487972 to take this year's Ruthlandian Union batting trophy. Only one base hit separated the two. 34-year-old Kazmarek has missed winning only twice, in 2008 when he hit .335 and his rookie season when he batted .314.

Kazmarek, who plays right field for Arroyo Grande notched 194 hits in 149 games this season with 36 doubles, 10 triples and 14 roundtrippers. Kazmarek scored 115 runs and drove in 82, while stealing 54 bases. He led the TU in runs and tied for the most stolen bases. Lifetime Kazmarek sports a .358 batting average, by far the best in the IPA.

The 24-year-old Wesner, who plays right field for the Frogs, had a marvelous season, pacing the Tycobbian Union with 203 hits. Wesner cracked 30 doubles, 5 triples and 39 homers. He also had 126 RBIs and scored 95 times in 149 game appearances.

Dayton Walker of Kenwood came in third with a .333 batting average. The 26-year-old Walker plays left field for the Wildcats. In 140 games Walker rapped 177 hits, including 38 doubles, 8 triples and 10 home runs, while scoring 95 runs and batting in 68.

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Colfax Favored in RU, Denton City in TU
The IPA Pro Cup Playoffs get underway this afternoon at four sites around the Islands. In the RU Elite 8 Series it will be Far Mountain entertaining Claxton and Colfax will host the Belle Plaine Musketeers. Over in the Tycobbian Union the Red Bluff Red Sox travel to Denton City and Turon will be in Hartsdale against the Hellcats. According to baseball scribes and gurus Colfax will prevail in the RU and Denton City gets the call in the TU and will battle for the Pro Cup in the postseason finals.

Ruthlandian Union Elite 8 Series
Head-to-head against the other teams in the regular season Colfax had the best record at 8-4, followed by Belle Plaine 8-7, Claxton 8-10 and Far Mountain 6-9. Colfax is expected to defeat Belle Plaine in the Elite 8 Series and Far Mountain will play the favorite's role in the other series against Claxton. Both series will be best-of-seven. The Blasters are forecast to whip the Redhawks in the RU Finals.

Colfax (94-60) has a fantastic pitching rotation that chalked up an unbelievable 2.69 ERA, led by Ilya Szabo (22-15 2.39), Stony Blackwell (19-11 2.64), Jimmy Joe Cartner (17-13 2.53) and All-Star Jasper LaForge (23-10 3.23)... Colfax broke Cape Coral's record (2.82) for the best team ERA set in 2004... Clem Rogers also has a capable closer Dallas Somerville (5-8 2.14), who saved 24 games... mix in a fine fielding team with a .978 FA and the Blasters are hard to score against... offensively Colfax hit for a .262 batting average with 140 home runs, which was adequate in the runs department... Leading the Blasters line-up was All-Star CF Ryan Raines (.302/26/99/99), LF Paul Coniglio (.302/27/111/96), 3B Mike Janocko (.284/19/72) and RF Karl Heidelberg (.319/17/50/72).

Alex Groveland has it all in Far Mountain (94-61), good hitting (.278), good power (179 HR) and good pitching (3.42)... climbed from seventh to first this year... first time in six years to make the playoffs... top pitchers are Leroy Hill (20-15 2.90), Boomerang Hines (9-4 3.10) and Robby Kelly (17-13 3.34)... Dave McDonald (19-9 4.46) benefited greatly from excellent offensive support... All-Star SS Don Nichols (.336/22/106) tops the hitters with help from C Otis Ott (.297/26/89) and 2B Duane Parsons (.336/22/106)... good defense with .976 FA.

Claxton jumped from fifth place to penthouse this season and captured its first RU South flag... Stacy Engel has the highest-scoring club in the IPA and his line-up is packed with fine hitters... the Claxton Diamonds (85-69) chalked up a .267 batting average, but hit 193 out of the park... pitching-wise Engel has a capable foursome that notched a 3.92 ERA... Claxton potent batting order consists of All-Star 1B Mike Luzzatti (.343/44/109/116), who had another colossal year... along with CF Dixie Baker (.260/32/114/92), LF Helmut Graczyk (.317/24/88/102), SS Erik Carducci (.285/18 81/61), 2B Paco Benitez (.281/2/37/93) and 3B Artie Sherman (.276/20/77/91)... Engel's starting rotation is All-Star Charlie Murphy (17-14 3.08), Peter Brenneman (18-13 3.96), Paul Grange (15-7 3.79) and Bob Grba (13-8 4.26)... Claxton is only average in the field with a .971 FA.

In a surprising turn of events Belle Plaine surged in September and outplayed the defending Pro Cup champs, the Wynnamac Sundowners. Belle Plaine (81-73) copped the flag mainly because of a pretty good group of starters in Jorge Bonilla (14-12 3.57), Tony Saroyan (17-13 3.75) and Danny Griffin (15-13 3.91... closer Denny Reynaud (6-5 4.11) was a plus, despite sometimes being inconsistent, but he saved 25 games... Boo Ladrieux's line-up was solid with a .276 BA, but not too powerful with only 105 home runs... the Musketeers were led by RF Juan Mendez (.326/7/45/96), 1B Rory Dickenson (.314/16/92/101), CF Harry Klyman (.285/26/107/79) and 3B Warren McDaniel (.273/17/78/87)... 2B Floyd Vinson (.286/1/64/89) played good defense and chipped in some offense, while SS Dave Torregrossa (.330/4/53) really had a great year after taking over at midseason... Torregrossa only played in 103 games.

Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series
Over in Tycobbia the Denton City Redbirds compiled the best record against the other three playoff challengers, going 9-6, while Hartsdale was 8-7, Red Bluff 9-9 and Turon 4-8. The Redbirds will have a rough time with the Red Bluff Red Sox, but should survive to face the Hartsdale Hellcats in the TU Finals. However, Turon should give the Hellcats quite a tussle. Any one of the four clubs could go to the Pro Cup championship, they are all evenly matched. All playoff series are best-out-of-seven.

Hitting is apparently not enough to win a division... the Denton City Redbirds (92-62) didn't hit as well as Bayview, didn't go deep as much as Bayview and didn't score as much as Bayview, but they did well enough offensively to stay with the Vikings... and they outpitched them... DC hit a respectable .269 with 143 homers and had the best team ERA in the TU with a strong 3.46 ERA... Ford Whiteman has a solid threesome as starters: Kenyon MacKenzie (20-8 3.22), Mila Mohoski (20-15 3.54) and Mike Danek (13-7 3.36)... but the real separator between the two contenders might have been Roger Ramsey (7-3 2.69) in the Redbird bullpen... Ramsey had 24 saves after being converted to closer this season... Denton City was paced at bat by RF Lavon Gooch (.273/30/125/97), All-Star 1B Mick Abbott (.307/23/98/92) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.307/8/47/113)... the Redbirds play good defense, too, with a .976 FA.

Hartsdale (92-62) tied Denton City of the TU West for the most wins in the TU this year with 92... the keys to success for Zim Donner were a solid set of starters, good closer, good power, good hitting and good defense... Hartsdale batted .269 with 171 homers and had a .976 FA... Hellcat starters were Ben Manderson (16-9 2.89), Tony Lane (14-12 3.11), Matt DeRosa (17-14 3.53), Nico Carnera (13-4 3.62) and Rip Arnold (17-14 4.12)... closer Mitch Yassen (7-5 2.74) was also a vital part of the team's success with 23 saves... overall the hill corps fashioned a fine 3.52 team ERA... the Hellcats also featured a solid core of hitters with good pop... Donner's top bats were 1B Tom Brabant (.321/35/110/78), 3B Kendry Moulton (.290/25/99/93), 2B Jud Turchin (.286/21/82/89) and CF Mac Faulkner (.299/24/75/82).

Red Bluff (86-68) took advantage of a strong pitching staff to win the TU East this season... Mack Connery had four fine starters, two very good ones and two that were quite dependable... the Red Sox notched a 3.82 ERA and were paced by All-Star John Dougherty (19-12 3.10), Frank Beaudoin (21-12 3.29), Jim Melanakos (14-10 4.13) and Cloyd Harris (18-18 4.04)... firepower also set Red Bluff apart from Tuckanarra... they outhomered the Blue Jays 149 to 99... both clubs hit about the same for average with Tuckanarra batting .268 and Red Bluff .267... Tuckanarra also had a slight edge defensively .978 FA to .976 FA... Connery's best bat was 3B Tommy Klegg (.281/36/132/85), who topped the IPA with 132 RBIs, along with Waleska's Kippy Doyle... other strong contributors were All-Star CF Stan Helmke (.317/14/62/100), SS Jose Aguilar (.290/13/66/106) and 1B Kris Grabowski (.299/17/72).

The Turon Typhoons (91-63) are on quite a roll with their third TU South pennant in four years... Whitey Richburn has a sound club in all respects... hitting, power, pitching... and decent defense... Turon's team batting average is .274... they hit 154 homers... have a fine 3.66 team ERA... and a .974 FA... the pitching rotation consists of Anthony Nardone (20-12 3.03), Jacques Lemaire (24-6 3.42) and James Stuart (17-13 3.61)... Freddi Spiegel (7-1 2.80) stands out in middle relief... at the plate Richburn has a bunch of good bats in CF Mac McCurnan (.306/34/105/106), 1B Johnny Carducci (.297/23/91/69) and 2B Alan Hansen (.299/1/49/109) with help from All-Star 3B John Cottrell (.304/8/63/57), LF Jimmy Tremayne (.306/14/80/67) and RF Andy Porter (.298/21/71/62).

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Belle Plaine, Far Mountain, Turon, Denton City Win Elite 8 Openers

Torregrossa Homers Twice, BP Nips Colfax in 10
Belle Plaine got some muscle from an unlikely source to nip Colfax 5-4 in 10 innings and snatch game one of the RU Elite 8 Series... light-hitting SS Dave Torregrossa went deep twice to led the Musketeers in the comeback victory... Torregrossa only hit two homers in the regular season... Belle Plaine rallied from a 3-1 deficit after four frames and trailed 4-3 going into the top of the ninth when Torregrossa tied it with a clutch home run... the winning run came of balk by pitcher Dallas Somerville allowing Jose Mendez to score from third... Mendez led off the inning with a double... Denny Reynaud (1-0) notched the win with two spotless innings and the loss went to Blaster starter Ilya Szabo (0-1)... he worked into the tenth but was relieved by Somerville after Mendez doubled... Colfax outhit the Musketeers 10-8, but stranded 13 baserunners... Torregrossa had three hits to spark Belle Plaine and RF Mendez collected a pair... Colfax's best bats were 2B Ilya Ivanchuk with 3-for-5 and LF Paul Coniglio and CF Ryan Raines, both with 2 hits in four tries.

FM Redhawks Win Opener, Dump Claxton Diamonds 7-5
Far Mountain fell behind 4-0 in the second, trailed 5-3 after three, but then erupted for four runs in the fourth to take the Elite 8 opener from the Claxton Diamonds 7-5... 1B Fran Grzanka and SS Don Nichols doubled in the game-deciding runs to deal the Diamonds the defeat even though Claxton outgunned the Redhawks 12 to 9 in hits... Robby Kelly (1-0) labored early, but got stronger as the game progressed... Kelly and reliever Dave McDonald shut the Diamonds out after the third inning... Kelly pitched seven and two-thirds innings for the victory, but yielded 12 hits and 5 runs... McDonald was effective as he retired all four batters he faced for the save... Charlie Murphy (0-1) bit the dust for the Diamonds as he was slammed for seven runs in just three-plus innings... Far Mountain was paced by Grzanka, 2B Duane Parsons, 3B Keith Wasik and LF Hank Burleigh, all with two hits apiece... Claxton was led by 2B Paco Benitez, CF Dixie Baker, C Alan Lemay and SS Eric Carducci, each with a pair of hits... there were no homers in the game.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Tames Hellcats 7-4 in Elite 8 Opener
On the the road at Pioneer Park in Hartsdale, the Turon Typhoons tamed the Hellcats 7-4 in workman-like fashion... Anthony Nardone (1-0) went the route, but it wasn't pretty... Nardone allowed only five hits, but walked five and gave up four runs, but it was good enough... Turon tagged four Hartsdale hurlers for 10 hits with 1B Johnny Carducci providing a three-run homer in the opening frame and C Fats Dalton getting a two-run shot in the sixth to build up a 7-2 lead... 2B Alan Hansen whacked three hits, scored twice and batted in a run for the winners. RF Sundown Helaku had a fifth-inning homer and CF Mac Faulkner slammed another in the eighth for the Hellcats... Ben Manderson (0-1) caught the loss and departed after two innings trailing 4-1... Turon is trying to win its third Pro Cup... the Typhoons won in 2003 and 2006.

DC Redbirds Edge RB Red Sox 2-1, Mohoski Winner
It's playoff time and that's when Mila Mohoski turns it up a notch... The 30-year-old Denton City Redbird hurler worked eight strong innings to stop Red Bluff 2-1 in the first game of their Elite 8 Series... the talented left-hander whipped his old team for his 12th postseason win... Mohoski has only lost three times in 18 career starts... He held the Red Sox to five hits and just one run in eight innings, struck out six and gave up no walks... manager Ford Whiteman then called on his excellent closer Roger Ramsey to finish out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth... 2B Moses Redwine doubled in the winning runs in the fourth inning and put the Redbirds up 2-1... Red Sox starter Frank Beaudoin deserved better... he surrendered only two runs in six innings, but was the loser... Denton City got 8 hits off Red Bluff pitching... Redwine topped the Redbirds with three base hits... Mohoski was traded by Red Bluff to Denton City in 2006 for 1B-3B Tommy Klegg thinking his best years were behind him... it's been a great deal for both teams.

The Islandian Times

Thursday, September 24, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

BP Muskies Thump Colfax Again, Up 2-0 in Elite 8
Boo Ladrieux told the press after today game, "We know Colfax is the big dog in RU this year, but that don't mean we have lie down and just go through the motions. I told my players, since we have to show up and play the game, that means we have a chance to win." The Belle Plaine Musketeers did it again... they knocked off the favored Colfax Blasters for the second day in a row and are now up two games to none in the RU Elite 8 Series. The Musketeers thumped them 6-2 at Mountain View Stadium in Colfax... Danny Griffin (1-0) gave Ladrieux a good start... he gave up a 11 hits in eight innings, but held the hard-hitting Blasters to just two runs... Tony Pariseau closed out the game, but loaded the bases before he shakily got the third out... Colfax collected 13 hits in all, but stranded 12 baserunners... Jimmy Joe Cartner (0-1) suffered the defeat as he allowed four runs and eight hits in his seven innings... 2B Floyd Vinson led the Muskies 11-hit attack with two hits and two RBIs... C Tibby Charbert chipped in two doubles, scored twice and batted across one run... and SS Dave Torregrossa also had two hits and scored two runs... SS Phil Amundsen homered in defeat for the Blasters... Belle Plaine ran up a 4-0 lead after seven innings... Colfax didn't score until the eighth when they cut the gap to 4-2.

Manager Clem Rogers complained, "We just can't get a hit with runners on base. It better change soon otherwise it's adios for us. But that will soon change. We hit the ball too good to be silenced like this for very long."

Redhawks Stomp Diamonds 11-3, Take 2-Game Lead
The fans at Sky High Stadium rejoiced again today as their Far Mountain Redhawks stomped Claxton 11-3 in game two of the Pro Cup Elite 8 Series... The Redhawks easily took their second straight victory with a 17-hit barrage... 2B Duane Parsons and SS Don Nichols each hit two-run homers and C Otis Ott smacked a solo shot... Alex Groveland got a solid performance from Leroy Hill (1-0), who went the route, fanned six, walked two and held the Diamonds to just three runs on nine hits... He was tagged for homers by 1B Mike Luzzatti and LF Helmut Graczyk... Far Mountain leaped ahead right off the bat with four runs in each of the first two innings... Loser Pat Grange (0-1) was totally ineffective... he was slammed for seven runs in one-plus innings.

Tycobbian Union

Denton Wins On Northern's Walk-Off HR In 12th
CF Johnny Northern sent the Douglas Denton Field crowd home happy with a twelfth-inning walk-off home run... his clout made the Denton City Redbirds a 4-3 victor over the Red Bluff Red Sox and gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Elite 8 Series... Northern slapped four hits and scored twice in the game... LF Rod MacCormack also lent a hand with a two-run home run... Skipper Ford Whiteman also got strong outings from his two pitchers... Kenyon MacKenzie worked the first eight and allowed three runs on eight hits with five Ks and three walks... Closer Roger Ramsey (1-0) was brilliant with four runless innings and got the win... Ramsey permitted only one hit and fanned three batters, while walking none... Red Bluff reliever Rog Udall (0-1) lost it... Udall allowed one hit and one run in his two-thirds of an inning... Denton City outhit the Red Sox 13-9... Red Sox starter John Dougherty pitched well... he departed after eight innings with the scored tied at 3-3... Dougherty gave up eight hits.

Turon Takes Game 2, Too, Porter's HR Wins It 6-5
Turon got great relief from Freddi Spiegel and a game-winning homer from Andy Porter to whip Hartsdale 6-5 in ten innings... Porter won the game with a solo homer in the top of the tenth and Spiegel (1-0) blanked the Hellcats on one hit over the last five frames to pick the victory... the Typhoons have now won the opening two games of the best-of-seven TU Elite 8 series... Turon took a 4-0 edge with four runs in the third inning, but Hartsdale rallied in the fourth and fifth to nudge ahead 5-4... 2B Alan Hansen's RBI single evened the score at 5-all in the seventh... Hellcat closer Mitch Yassen (0-1) was the victim of Porter's blast and lost it, though he only gave up one run in his three and two-thirds innings... Hartsdale had an 11-6 hit advantage and were paced by LF Mac Faulkner with 3-for-5, including a two-run roundtripper... Hansen and Porter topped the Typhoons with two runs batted in apiece.

The Islandian Times

Friday, September 25, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Amundsen's 3-Run HR Stuns BP, Colfax Wins 4-2
Things were looking dark and dismal for the Colfax Blasters... they were already down two games to none and trailing 2-1 going into the ninth inning of the third game... but suddenly the dormant bats of the so-called Blasters suddenly came alive... with one away 3B Mike Janocko (.333) doubled, 1B Kevin Warren (.286) walked and then SS Phil Amundsen (.250) unloaded a three-run homer to give Colfax a come-from-behind 4-2 triumph... Jasper LaForge (1-0) pitched a fine five-hitter for the victory... LaForge walked two and stuck out five... Denny Reynaud (1-1) gave up the ill-faded home run in the top of the ninth and caught the loss... Reynaud couldn't preserve the win for Tony Saroyan, who hurled a strong game, holding the Blasters to just four hits and a run in seven innings... Both team totaled six hits each... Janocko also homered for the Musketeers... 1B Rory Dickenson (.214) and CF Harry Klyman (.231) drove in the Belle Plaine runs... the Musketeers were up 2-0 after six innings and 2-1 after seven, but couldn't hold it.

Claxton Slows Down FM 2-1, Cuts Lead to 1 Game
39-year-old right-hander Peter Brenneman put the stops to Far Mountain as the Claxton Diamonds edged the Redhawks 2-1 at Avalon Stadium... the win got the Diamonds back into the RU Elite 8 series... Claxton now trails two games to one in the best-of-seven series... Brenneman gave up a lot of hits, but not many runs... Far Mountain racked up 11 hits, but left 12 men on base... Brenneman (1-0) struck out three and issued only one walk in the win... losing pitcher Boomerang Hines (0-1) also had a good effort, limiting Claxton to just four hits and one earned run... the Diamonds struck paydirt first in the second inning when LF Helmut Graczyk (.200) walked, went to second on a ground-out and came around to score on an error by RF Greg Reynolds... the Redhawks came right back and tied it a 1-1 in the third... RF Hank Burleigh (.417) doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice and scored on 1B Fran Grzanka's (.500) single... Claxton went back to work in the bottom of the inning and made it 2-1... with one out 2B Paco Benitez (.417) singled, advanced to second base on a sac bunt and was plated by 1B Mike Luzzatti's (.417) two-bagger... Far Mountain's Grzanka and Burleigh topped the hitters with three hits each.

Tycobbian Union

Game 3 Goes To Hellcats, Turon Falls 6-1
Hartsdale's 35-year-old right-hander Matt DeRosa was in command at Typhoon Stadium as he shut down Turon 7-1 on six hits in game three of the TU Pro Cup Elite 8 Series... this was the Hellcats first win in the series after two losses... DeRosa fanned five and walked four in a complete-game performance... 2B Jud Turchin (.182) and 3B Kendry Moulton (.400) paved the way offensively with two RBIs each... Turchin had the game's only home run, a two-run shot in the third... Hartsdale led 4-0 after three innings, Turon got its only run in the seventh and the Hellcats wrapped up the scoring with two in the eighth frame... James Stuart (0-1) was the losing pitcher... he allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

Red Bluff Back In It, Melanakos Defeats DC 4-1
Red Bluff got back into the race on the strength of Jim Melanakos... He fashioned a 4-1 victory over Denton City at Red Bluff Park and captured game three of the TU Elite 8 Series and cut the Redbirds lead to two games to one in the best-of-seven affair... Melanakos (1-0) went the distance and allowed nine hits, while striking out five and walking two... Both clubs got nine hits each... Leading the Red Sox was 3B Tommy Klegg, who had two hits and two RBIs, including a homer... 3B Jay Petit (.500) accounted for the Redbirds only run with a second-inning clout... Mike Danek (0-1) toiled in defeat, giving up four runs on six hits in his six innings.

The Islandian Times

Saturday, September 26, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

BP Beats Colfax 7-3, Leads Series 3-1
The underdog Belle Plaine Musketeers have the favored Colfax Blasters on the edge of extinction in the RU Elite 8 Series... the Muskies upended the Blasters 7-3 to take a huge three games to one lead in the best-of-seven series... one more Belle Plaine win and the season is over for Clem Rogers' crew... Once again Colfax outhit the Musketeers, but Boo Ladrieux's boys scored more runs... this time Colfax chalked up 11 hits to 10 for Belle Plaine, but still came away empty... the wily left-hander Jorge Bonilla (1-0 4.30) bent a little, but didn't break... Bonilla tossed seven and two-thirds innings for the win, giving up three runs and 10 hits... Chris Sweeney closed it out for the save and held the Blasters scoreless over the last one and one-third innings... the Belle Plaine bats were led by CF Harry Klyman (.294) with two hits, including a homer and three RBIs, 1B Rory Dickenson (.176) batted in a pair of scores and C Tibby Charbert (.364) picked up two hits and 2 RBIs... The Musketeers got the best of Ilya Szabo (0-2 6.00), who lost for the second time in the series... Szabo allowed four runs in three innings... Belle Plaine drew first blood with two first-inning runs... Colfax tied it 2-2 in the top of the third... the Muskies regained the lead for good with two in bottom of the third and two more in the fourth, running it to 6-2.

FM Slams Claxton 11-6, Up 3 Games to 1
At Avalon Stadium in Claxton, the Far Mountain Redhawks took a gigantic step toward the next round by slamming out 11 hits in an 11-6 shellacking of the Blasters... the triumph put the Redhawks up three games to one in the RU Elite 8 Series... it was a seesaw battle until Far Mountain shelled the Diamonds for eight unearned runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away... LF Helmut Graczyk opened the gates when he dropped a two-out fly with the bases loaded and allowed the Redhawks to get back in the game. Claxton starter Charlie Murphy (0-1 4.63) exited after 8 innings and left a 5-3 lead, but Tom Dahl blew it... Dahl (0-1 0.00) was the losing pitching, although he didn't allow an earned run... Hummer Romig (1-0) got credit for the victory as he got the final out in the eighth inning... Far Mountain was led by C Otis Ott (.438) with 3-5 and two RBIs and 1B Fran Grzanka (.500) with 2-4 and two RBIs... SS Don Nichols (.389) also had a pair of hits for the winners... 2B Paco Benitez (.412), LF Helmut Graczyk (.286) and C Alan Lemay (.429) topped the Claxton hitters with two hits apiece.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Trips Hartsdale 5-3 behind Nardone
The Turon Typhoons have the Hartsdale Hellcats on the brink of elimination after they tripped them up 5-3 behind some solid pitching by Anthony Nardone... Nardone was 20-12 during the regular campaign and he has copped two more victories in the postseason so far... Nardone (2-0 3.06) blanked the Hellcats for the first seven frames 5-0, but weakened in the late innings... he allowed three runs on eight hits, whiffed five and walked three... when Hartsdale rallied in the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, Ford Whiteman summoned his main reliever Freddi Spiegel from the bullpen and he promptly sealed it by getting the final out on a routine ground-ball... The Typhoons totaled 10 hits to 8 for the Hellcats with 3B John Cottrell (.538) going 3-4, RF Andy Porter (.294) 2-4 and 2B Alan Hansen (.400) 2-4... Porter went deep for the winners... Turon CF Mac McCurnan drove in a pair of runs... RF Sundown Helaku (.286) homered and batted in two runs for Hellcats, while 2B Jud Turchin (.267), 3B Kendry Moulton (.429) and LF Rob Welch (.250) collected two hits each... the loss went to starter Ben Manderson (0-2 9.00), who was torched for five runs in seven innings.

Beaudoin Best Mohoski, RB Nips DC 2-1
It was a classic pitching duel at picturesque Red Bluff Park between two of the top pitchers in the IPA... Denton City's Mila Mohoski and Red Bluff's Frank Beaudoin matched zeros on the scoreboard until the Redbirds broke the ice with a run in the top of the eighth... only to have the Red Sox come back and rally for two runs in the last of the eighth to snatch away the victory... Red Bluff and Beaudoin triumphed 2-1 over Denton City and Mohoski... the game-winning hit was delivered by LF Rod Hart (.375), who fouled off three 3-2 pitches before slamming a line drive single to center that plated two runs... Beaudoin (1-1 1.29) didn't do it all himself... he worked eight innings before leaving for a crucial pinchhitter in the ninth... Beaudoin was masterful, limiting the Redbirds to just three hits, while striking out seven... Ivan Brasco gave up a two-out single in the ninth, but quickly closed it out and saved it for Beaudoin... Mohoski (1-1 1.13) had nothing to be ashamed of as he went the distance, yielded only one earned run and seven hits... Mohoski fanned three and walked nobody... the series is now tied at two games each with game five set for tomorrow at Red Bluff Park.

The Islandian Times

Sunday, September 27, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Blasters Still Alive, Beat BP 8-5 in Game 5
It was a topsy-turvy contest at Musketeer Field in Belle Plaine... the Musketeers had a good chance to knock favored Colfax out of the playoffs, but couldn't pull it off... Belle Plaine played well early by taking a 4-0 lead over Colfax in the first inning, lousy in the middle innings when they gave away the lead and fell behind 8-4, then Boo Ladrieux's crew rallied late and almost pulled it out... but not quite... the Blasters held on for dear life and remained alive in the Pro Cup Elite 8 Series with a slim 8-7 victory... the series stands at 3-2 in favor of Belle Plaine... losing pitcher Danny Griffin (1-1 1.98) caused his own downfall with a critical two-out error on a misplayed grounder in the sixth inning that opened the floodgates for seven undeserved runs... Starter Jimmy Joe Cartner (1-1 5.79) wasn't very effective, but registered the win anyhow... Cartner allowed five runs in seven innings, but left with an 8-5 lead in the eighth... his relief, the normally reliable Dallas Somerville almost blew the game in the ninth... He gave up a two-run homer to 1B Rory Dickenson (.318) and a double to CF Harry Klyman (.318), putting the tying run on second base... Clem Rogers pulled in Vito Incardona from the bullpen and he got the final out and the save after an intentional walk... Colfax pounded out 11 hits and were sparked by LF Paul Coniglio (.304), C Tino Leonetti (.250) and pitcher Jimmy Joe Cartner (.250), who all batted in two runs each... Topping Belle Plaine's 14-hit attack were 1B Dickenson (.318) with four hits and three RBIs and C Tibby Charbert (.357) with a two-run single... Game six is schedule for tomorrow at Colfax... game seven will also be there, if necessary.

Grange Halts FM On 3 Hits, Claxton Remains Alive
It took a sterling performance by Pat Grange to keep Claxton alive in the RU Elite 8 Series... Grange (1-1 7.84) fired a 3-hitter and defeated the Far Mountain Redhawks 5-2, redeeming himself for the horrible 11-3 loss in game two... Far Mountain still has a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series... 1B Mike Luzzatti (.333) hammered a homer in the eighth off losing pitcher Leroy Hill to give the Diamonds a 3-2 edge... C Allen Lemay (.444) connected on a two-run double later in the inning to seal the victory... Hill (1-1 4.32) gave up five runs on nine hits and took the loss... the Redhawks took an early 2-0 lead in the second, but Claxton tied it with single runs in the third and sixth. The rest of the series will revert back to Far Mountain.

Tycobbian Union

Turon Advances To TU Final 4, KO's Hartsdale 4-3
Turon, the only team in IPA history with two Pro Cups, is headed to the TU Final 4... the Typhoons slipped by the Hartsdale Hellcats 4-3 and knocked them out of the playoffs by taking four out of the five games... Turon recovered from a 3-1 deficit today to even the score at 3-3 in the seventh and won it in the ninth on CF Mac McCurnan's (.261) deep sacrifice fly that scored pinchhitter Marty Poe (.500) with the winning run... 24-game winner Jacques Lemaire (1-0 5.14) only permitted four hits and three runs in a complete-game effort... Lemaire walked three and had 6 Ks... Hellcat closer Mitch Yassen (0-2 3.18) sustained the loss.. he allowed three hits and a run in two innings... the Typhoons numbered 10 hits and were led by SS Roy Flanagan (.278) and Lemaire (.500), who drilled two hits apiece... Hartsdale 1B Tom Brabant (.263) cracked two hits and drove in three runs... Turon will now await the winner of Denton City and Red Bluff.

DC Clips RB 6-5, Leads Elite 8 Series 3-2
Denton City claimed a 6-5 road victory over Red Bluff to go up three games to two in the best-of-seven TU Elite 8 Series... the Redbirds got the game-winner in the top of the ninth... after two were out, SS Trevor Tomlinson (.238) singled, stole second and rode home on RF Lavon Gooch's (.333) single... DC's fine closer Roger Ramsey then finished off the Red Sox to collect the save in the bottom of the ninth... it was Ramsey's second save in the series... Reliever Tom Duroncelay kept Denton City in the game with three strong innings... he allowed no runs and fanned four in his stint... There were no homers in the game as Red Bluff topped the Redbirds in hits 12-8... Tomlinson paced the winners with three hits in five at-bats... he scored twice and batted in one run... Gooch had two hits and two RBIs... Red Bluff SS Jose Aguilar (.429) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and LF Bryan Wessels (.118) delivered two hits and two runs batted in... reliever Ivan Brasco (0-1 5.40) lost the game... Denton City will try and wrap up the series tomorrow at home at Douglas Denton Field... if needed, game seven will also be there.

The Islandian Times

Monday, September 28, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

FM Redhawks Final 4 Bound, Whips Claxton in 6
Far Mountain took advantage of a wild throw and has advanced to the RU Final 4... the Redhawks squeezed by the Claxton Diamonds 3-2 and eliminated them from the postseason... with two away in the bottom of the eighth CF Shotgun Boggs (.250) walked, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by C Allen Lemay... that set the stage for 1B Fran Grzanka's (.440) game-breaking single... Boomerang Hines (1-1 1.59) outpitched Peter Brenneman (1-1 1.59) in a fine pitching duel... Hines stopped the Diamonds on five hits and went the distance, striking out five and issuing one walk... Brenneman was just about his equal except for the unearned score... Brenneman pitched the entire game as well and surrendered three runs on seven hits... SS Don Nichols (.360) and 3B Keith Wasik (.273) batted across the other two Redhawk scores, while 1B Mike Luzzatti (.375) and SS Erik Carducci (.368) drove in the runs for Claxton... Far Mountain will contend with the winner of the Colfax-Belle Plaine series for the Ruthlandian Union title in the Final 4.

Colfax Skims By BP 8-6 On Stanton's HR In 15th
In a stunning comeback the Colfax Blasters tied up the RU Elite Series with the determined Belle Plaine Musketeers at three games apiece and forced a seventh-game finale tomorrow at Mountain View Stadium... The game carried on for fifteen innings before journeyman 1B Niles Stanton ended it with a three-run homer, giving Colfax a hard-earned, comeback 8-6 victory... It wasn't easy and the Musketeers came so close to ending the series by taking a seemingly safe 6-4 lead in the top of the fifteenth... but it just wasn't to be... Colfax prevailed against the odds and lives another day... the Blasters had it made for the first seven frames and took a 4-0 lead behind some strong pitching by 23-game winner Jasper LaForge, but it didn't last as Belle Plaine rallied with four runs in the top of the eighth... then for the next six innings the relievers really shined and silenced the bats... no one scored until the 15th... Scotty Blackwell (1-0 2.35) picked up the win with seven and one-third innings of great relief... Blackwell permitted just two runs on four hits... Denny Reynaud was outstanding for Belle Plaine... from the eighth through the eleventh he gave up no runs on three hits... loser Chris Sweeney( 0-1 1.80), who came on in the 12th, allowed four runs on two hits, though three of them were not earned... the Blasters unleashed three homers among 11 hits, one each by LF Paul Coniglio (.310), 2B Kevin Warren (.250) and Stanton (.333)... Sparking the Musketeer 13-hit attack were LF Chuck Hill (.143) with three hits and three RBIs, 3B Warren McDaniel (.160) with two hits and two RBIs and 1B Rory Dickenson (.345) with three hits, two runs and an RBI.

Tycobbian Union

DC Smacks RB 8-5, Now Takes on Turon In Final 4
The bats boomed out today at Douglas Denton Field as Denton City dumped Red Bluff out of the postseason with an 8-5 decision... For the second straight day reliever Tom Duroncelay stood out with four shutout innings to nail down the Redhawk victory... they topped the Red Sox four games to two and will now challenge Turon for the Tycobbian Union title in the league's Final 4 Series... Denton City punished four Red Bluff hurlers for 14 hits, led by homers from CF Rob MacCormack (.364) and C Byron Goldston (.500)... MacCormack went 3-for-3, scored three times and drove in three runs, while RF Lavon Gooch (.333) had two RBIs... the Red Sox also bashed 14 hits and were paced by C Hank Mitchell (.500) with three hits and two RBIs, including a home run, and CF Stan Helmke (.320) with 3-5 and two runs scored... Mike Danek (1-1 6.55) got credit for the win, but was not very effective... Danek was tagged for 10 hits and five runs in his five innings... Duroncelay saved it for him... Jim Melanakos (1-1 5.25) suffered the loss for Red Bluff... he yielded six runs in three innings.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series

Ruthlandian Union

Colfax Fights Off Belle Plaine, Szabo Wins Game 7
Favored Colfax was really tested by a valiant bunch of Belle Plaine Musketeers, who almost knocked off the team many experts say will win the IPA Pro Cup this year... the testy Musketeers had a three games to one lead but just couldn't finished off a very good Colfax club... when crunch time came, the Blasters rose to the occasion and won the last three games of the series... in game seven it was their veteran ace Ilya Szabo, who rose to the occasion and came up with a clutch performance... Szabo (1-2 4.29) stopped Belle Plaine on seven hits and two runs, fanned six and walked three and went the route in a 6-2 victory... Szabo, who has won 20 games the last three seasons, had not looked good in two previous postseason outings and was beaten both times by the Musketeers... but not today when it was do or die... the Blasters had their hitting shoes on today and rifled 12 hits around Mountain View Stadium, led by RF Pat Coniglio (.333), who homered and doubled, scored twice and batted in two runs... and SS Phil Amundsen (.393) went 3-for-5, scored twice and batted in one... Colfax took a 4-0 after four frames and got rid of the Muskie starter Jorge Bonilla (1-1 5.40)... they ripped Bonilla for four runs and nine hits... two more runs in the seventh gave the Blasters a lot of breathing room... CF Harry Klyman (.323) led Belle Plaine at bat with a homer and a single... Colfax will now move on to the RU Final 4 against the Far Mountain Redhawks, who disposed of the Claxton Diamonds in six games... the series will open on Thursday in Far Mountain.

Pardon my French... VIVE LES NEW ORLEANS SAINTS!

I lived in New Orleans from 1960 to 1977... went to the University of New Orleans... met and married one of its gorgeous cheerleaders... and lived and died every Sunday following the Saints for many years... but not in the last 30 years or so... I finally gave up on them in 1977.

Tonight was a great experience... Thank heaven the Saints recovered that onside kick and Manning threw that interception.

This was a great win for my long-suffering sister, niece and my brother, who never gave up on them. They and the city of New Orleans truly deserved to win the Super Bowl. It took the Saints 21 years to have a winning record. They have won only two playoff games in their history before this season. However, the Who Dat Nation never gave up on their beloved Saints.

The Islandian Times

Thursday, October 1, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final Four Series

FM Redhawks Outdo Colfax Blasters 6-3 in 1st Game
Robby Kelly finally broke the spell... the Far Mountain Redhawks whipped the Colfax Blasters 6-3 today at Mountain View Stadium in game one of the RU Final 4 Series... it the first time in four games this season that the Redhawks managed to beat the Blasters... Kelly (2-0 3.65) struck out six, walked one and allowed 10 hits, while pitching the entire game... Far Mountain racked up 14 hits off three Colfax hurlers with starter Stony Blackwell (1-1 1.98) taking the loss... Blackwell was peppered for seven hits and walked five in six innings... he surrendered four runs, but three were not earned... RF Karl Heidelberg (.556) got the Blasters off to a good start with a two-run homer in the opening frame... Redhawk CF Shotgun Boggs (.250) made it 2-1 with a sac fly in the top of the second... Far Mountain went up 4-3 with three scores in the top of the fourth, getting one on a two-out error and RBI singles by 1B Fran Grzanka (.400) and SS Don Nichols (.379)... Boggs led the Redhawks with two RBIs and LF Nick Montag (.500) went 3-4 and scored twice... Heidelberg sparked Colfax at the plate with 3-3 and three RBIs.

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

DC Redbirds Nose Out Turon 5-4 in TU Opener
It was a nip-and-tuck 10-inning affair with quite a few lead changes before Denton City squeaked by Turon 5-4 in the opening game of the Tycobbian Union Final 4... It was decided when RF Lavon Gooch (.346) doubled to lead off the 10th and moved to third on a single by 1B Mick Abbott (.208)... with one away 2B Moses Redwine (.333) brought home the winning run with a sacrifice fly... Joe Hoffman, who came on in relief in the 10th picked up the victory with a runless inning... Jeb Pickett (0-1) also came on in the 10th and was the losing pitcher... Both clubs notched nine hits apiece... SS Trevor Tomlinson (.345) had three hits with two RBIs for Denton City and drove in the run in the ninth that sent the game into extra innings... both starters pitched well with Turon's James Stuart allowing only two runs in six innings and DC's Mila Mohoski permitting just two runs in his seven innings.

The Islandian Times

Friday, October 2, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final Four Series

Hines Blanks Blasters 5-0, Redhawks Up By 2 Games
Far Mountain skipper Alex Groveland got a superlative outing from Boomerang Hines to take a two-game lead over Colfax in the best-of-seven RU Final 4 Series... Hines (2-1 1.04) stymied the Blasters on four hits with three Ks and two bases on balls... Hines outpitched 23-game winner Jasper LaForge (1-1 3.42), who left after seven innings after giving up five runs on seven hits, only three of them earned... LaForge also issued six walks... the Redhawks best bats were SS Don Nichols (.382) with two hits in five tries with an RBI and C Otis Ott (.355), who unloaded a home run... CF Ryan Raines (.256) paced Colfax with two hits.

Tycobbian Union Final Four Series

DC Tops Turon 8-7, Gooch's Triple Wins It
At home at Douglas Denton Field, the Denton City Redbirds rallied to win 8-7 over Turon in game number two of the TU Final 4 Series... it was the Redbirds second successive victory... RF Lavon Gooch tripled in the winning run in the last of the eighth... DC outhit the Typhoons 12 to 9 and outhomered them 3-2... 3B Jay Petit (.250), Gooch (.355) and C Byron Goldston (.500) swatted roundtrippers... Goldston drove in three runs and LF Danny Nash (.429) batted in a pair... Turon was led by CF Mac McCurnan (.303) with four RBIs, while RF Andy Porter (.320) scored two runs and batted in one... Both McCurnan and Porter went deep... Johnny Andrews (1-0 0.00) nabbed the victory with one and two-thirds scoreless innings... Andrews retired five batters in a row... Glenn Mann (0-1) blew the save and lost the game as he gave up three runs in the eighth.

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 3, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final 4 Series

Szabo Sharp, Colfax Edges FM Redhawks 3-2
Colfax's main man came through again in a crisis situation... Ilya Szabo disposed of the red-hot Far Mountain Redhawks 3-2 to salvage game three in the RU Final 4 Series... the win cut the Redhawks lead to two games to one... Szabo (2-2 3.60) went the distance, was touched for nine hits, but held them at bay until they got to him for two runs in the bottom of the ninth... Szabo walked only one batter and whiffed five in a strong performance... loser Leroy Hill (1-2 3.65) also had a good outing for the Redhawks... he yielded three runs on six hits with seven Ks and three bases on balls... only two runs were earned... Colfax chalked up its first run in the top of the fourth when LF Paul Coniglio (.318) doubled, advanced to third on a ground-out and scored on SS Don Nichols' error... the Blasters added on two more in the eighth on a bases-loaded base hit by 3B Mike Janocko (.209)... Far Mountain mounted a serious rally in the last of the ninth... C Otis Ott (.353) made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly... and RF Nick Montag (.357) cut it to one run with an RBI single... but Szabo stiffened and ended the game when he got 3B Keith Wasik (.219) on an infield pop-up... Colfax only got six hits and were led by Coniglio with two hits and two runs scored... CF Shotgun Boggs (.306) went 3-3 for the Redhawks... SS Don Nichols (.395) also collected a pair of hits.

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

Lemaire Stops DC Redbirds 5-1, Typhoons Trail 2-1
In an almost-must win, Turon's 24-game winner Jacques Lemaire rose to the occasion and stopped Denton City at Typhoon Stadium 5-1, cutting the Redbirds lead in the best-of-seven series to two games to one... Lemaire (2-0 3.52) was marvelous, holding DC to six hits, while striking out eight and walking just two in a complete-game outing... Turon was led at bat by 1B Johnny Carducci (.267), who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored... Carducci slugged a two-run homer in the third inning and gave the Typhoons a 4-0 advantage... CF Mac McCurnan (.324) also had two hits and scored a run... Tom Duroncelay (1-1 2.57) suffered the loss as Turon got to him for four runs and seven hits in seven innings... He exited with the score 4-1... the Typhoons picked up 8 hits in the contest.

The Islandian Times

Sunday, October 4, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final 4 Series

Kelly Too Tough For Colfax, FM Takes 3-1 Lead
Far Mountain workhorse righthander Robby Kelly spun his magic again... pitching at home at Sky High Mountain, Kelly stopped Colfax 6-1 to take a big three games to one lead in the best-of-seven RU Final 4 Series... it was his third postseason victory this year... one more Redhawk victory and its on to the Pro Cup Finals. Kelly (3-0 2.94) waltzed through the Blaster line-up with ease, holding them to one run and six hits, while fanning four and walking two... SS Don Nichols, CF Shotgun Boggs, 1B Fran Grzanka and RF Hank Burleigh furnished the offense... Nichols (.415) cracked a double and a single and drove in three runs, Boggs (.325) singled twice and scored three runs, Grzanka (.357) doubled and singled, scored twice and batted in a run and Burleigh had a home run... Colfax starter Sonny Blackwell (1-2 3.60) was the loser... he was battered for six runs in six-plus innings.

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

Typhoons Batter Redbirds 10-2, Series Even at 2-2
Manager Whitey Richburn got excellent pitching and hitting as his Turon Typhoons battered Denton City 10-2 in game four of the Tycobbian Union Final 4... Turon unloaded 16 hits, while southpaw James Stuart (1-1 3.27) tossed a complete-game victory... Stuart held the Redbirds to just five hits, struck out six and walked three... at the plate the Typhoons were sparked by RF Marty Poe (.429), who homered and doubled with three hits in all, three runs scored and one RBI... CF Mac McCurnan (.357), 1B Johnny Carducci (.314) and SS Roy Flanagan (.207) all batted in two runs each... Denton City had two solo roundtrippers with CF Johnny Northern (.400) homering in the first and RF Lavon Gooch (.342) going deep in the third... that gave the Redbirds a short-lived 2-1 margin... Turon tore up DC's ace Mila Mohoski (1-2 3.00) for six runs in just four innings... Mohoski departed trailing 6-2.

The Islandian Times

Monday, October 5, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Ruthlandian Union Final 4 Series

Hines Eliminates Colfax 6-1, FM Pro Cup Bound
For the first time in the club's history, Alex Groveland and his Far Mountain Redhawks are headed for the IPA Pro Cup Finals, courtesy of Boomerang Hines, who shackled heavy-hitting Colfax on six hits in the 6-1 victory... the Redhawks eliminated the team favored by many to win the Pro Cup this season and they did it in just five games... It was Hines' (3-1 1.03) third playoff win this year... he fanned five and walked none in a fine performance... Hines and Jasper LaForge were locked in a tense 2-1 struggle going into the bottom of the sixth when RF Hank Burleigh (.278) clouted a decisive grand slam homer that dealt a death blow to the Blasters... C Otis Ott (.350) also walloped a two-run blast putting Far Mountain in front in the second inning 2-1... LaForge (1-2 4.66), a 23-game winner during the regular season, caught the loss as he allowed six runs in five-plus innings... Far Mountain will get a few days' rest as they await the Tycobbian Union winner... Going into today's contest, Turon and Denton City are deadlocked at two games apiece in the best-of-seven series... if the TU Final 4 goes seven games, the Redhawks could be off as much as three days.

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

DC Powers By Turon 8-4 in 13 Innings, Lead Series
DC power shocked the Turon crowd at Typhoon Stadium with a pair of two-run homers in the 13th inning to take 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven TU Final 4 Series... SS Trevor Tomlinson (.267) and RF Lavon Gooch (.333) both went deep to give the Redbirds a hard-earned 8-4 triumph over the Typhoons... Roger Ramsey (2-0 1.38) continued his bullpen brilliance with five shutout innings for the win and a 3-2 lead in the series... Denton City bolted to a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth, but Turon came back and knotted it up 4-4 after six innings... Tomlinson topped the Redbird bats with three RBIs, Gooch had two RBIs and 1B Mick Abbott drove in two more... LF Danny Nash (.455) led the victors with four hits in seven tries and 2B Moses Redwine (.326) went 3-for-6... In all, DC had 16 hits to 11 for the Typhoons... Turon 2B Alan Hansen (.250) had two hits and two RBIs, while RF Andy Porter (.333) and C Fats Dalton (.289) had three hits apiece... Ronnie Zetterberg (0-1) came on in the 13th and was tagged with the defeat.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

Turon Forces 7th Game, Lemaire Beats DC 7-2
A masterful pitching job by Turon's Jacques Lemaire forced a decisive seventh game in the Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series... Lemaire fired a five-hitter to beat Denton City 7-2 and evened it up at three games each... Lemaire (3-0 3.09) struck out nine and walked three in the victory... at the plate the Typhoons were paced by 1B Johnny Carducci (.279) and 3B John Cottrell (.375) with two RBIs each... Turon slapped 11 hits... Taking the loss was starter Tom Duroncelay (1-2 5.06), who was ripped for six runs in two innings... Duroncelay also issued 6 walks in a dismal performance... Game seven will be played tomorrow afternoon at Douglas Denton Field in Denton City.

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

2009 IPA Pro Cup Playoffs

Tycobbian Union Final 4 Series

Turon Wins TU Title, Thumps DC 7-4 in 7th Game
Manager Whitey Richburn will get a chance to make history... his Turon Typhoons will get a chance for their third IPA Pro Cup championship... they were victorious in 2003 and 2006... the Typhoons thumped the Denton City Redbirds 7-4 to take the TU Final 4 in seven games... the Typhoons lit up Redbird pitching for 15 hits in the decisive game and got a creditable start from James Stuart, who went all the way... Turon busted open a tight 4-3 thriller with three runs in the seventh inning to go in front 7-3 and Stuart made it stand up... Stuart (2-1 3.19) scattered 10 hits... Turon's top bats were 3B John Cottrell (.400) with 3-5 and 1B Johnny Carducci (.313) with 3-5... Cottrell had a two-run double to give the Typhoons a 2-0 lead in the opening inning... DC retaliated with two in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by CF Johnny Northern (.421) and 1B Mick Abbott's (.170) ground-out... back-to-back doubles by 2B Alan Hansen (.250) and LF Marty Poe (.355) made it 3-2 Turon in the third... the Redbirds tied the score at 3-3 in the fifth on RF Lavon Gooch's double only to have Turon go back ahead in the sixth on Hansen's base hit... in the game-breaking seventh Cottrell, C Fats Dalton (.277) and Stuart (.455) each knocked in a run with singles... Northern led the Redbirds with three hits and two RBIs... Mila Mohoski (1-3 3.55) dropped his third game in the postseason... in four previous playoffs Mohoski was 11-3 and almost unbeatable.

After a layoff of one day, Turon will challenge the Far Mountain Redhawks for the overall Island crown... Far Mountain was 94-61 during the regular season... they had to beat Ancona in a one-game playoff for the RU North pennant... Turon easily won the TU South with a 91-63 mark, 12 games better that the runner-up team... the Redhawks will have the home team advantage in the best-of-seven set... it will be Far Mountain first appearance in the Pro Cup Finals.

The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 8, 2009

FM Redhawks Critics' Choice To Win Pro Cup
The BNN baseball gurus are predicting the Far Mountain Redhawks of the Ruthlandian Union to reign supreme in this year's IPA Pro Cup Series with the Turon Typhoons of the Tycobbian Union. Manager Alex Groveland's club has the edge in pitching, hitting and fielding over Whitey Richburn's squad. This is the Redhawks first appearance in the Pro Cup finals, while the Typhoons have been here twice before and won each time. Turon was victorious in 2003 and 2006, despite being the underdogs both times. Thus far, Tycobbia has won five of the eight Pro Cups.

During the regular season Far Mountain hit .278 (2nd) with 179 homers (5th) and scored 798 runs (4th). In comparison Turon batted .274 (4th) with 157 roundtrippers (6th) and chalked up 799 runs (2nd). On the mound the Redhawks were impressive with a 3.42 team ERA (2nd), 63 complete games and surrendered 132 home runs (16th-tied). The Typhoon staff put up a good 3.66 ERA (7th), 39 complete games and allowed 126 homers (11th-tied).

In the postseason so far, Turon sports a .284 mark with 8 home runs and Far Mountain is hitting .273 with 7 homers. On the hill the Redhawks have a decided advantage with a superb 2.64 ERA to the Typhoons 3.43 ERA.

Both ball clubs are good defensively. In the regular season Far Mountain had a .976 FA (5th- tied) and Turon logged a .974 fielding percentage (11th - tied).

The Islandian Times
Friday, October 9, 2009

2009 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Finals - Game 1

Kelly King In Opener, FM Blanks Turon 5-0
Robby Kelly was certainly King of the Hill in the opening game of the Pro Cup Series at his home park Sky High Stadium in Far Mountain... Kelly (4-0 2.32) was absolutely terrific... The 32-year-old right-hander totally shut down Turon 5-0 on two singles, struck out six and walked only two batters...Kelly was so dominant that he no-hit the Typhoons until the sixth frame... It was a scoreless struggle until the last of the fifth when RF Hank Burleigh (.275) got new life on an error by first baseman Johnny Carducci, who dropped a pop-up... Burleigh was sacrificed to second and then driven in by 3B Keith Wasik (.220)... Burleigh scored again to make it 2-0 after seven innings... Burleigh doubled and LF Nick Montag (.292) drove him in with a single... Back-to-back homers sealed the verdict in the eighth inning when 2B Duane Parsons (.295) slugged a two-run homer and C Otis Ott (.341) belted a solo shot off shell-shocked reliever Radley Long... Anthony Nardone (2-1 2.06) worked seven fine innings in defeat, yielding just two runs - one earned - and seven hits... the winners got 10 hits overall.

The Islandian Times
Saturday, October 10, 2009

2009 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Finals - Game 2

Redhawks Nip Typhoons 5-4 on Parsons' Homer
Far Mountain depended on the long ball and gutsy pitching by Boomerang Hines to nip Turon 5-4 in game two of the IPA Pro Cup... SS Don Nichols (.392) knotted it up 4-4 with a two-run blast in the fifth inning and 2B Duane Parsons (.319) smacked the game-winner in the last of the eighth... Boomerang Hines labored early but got better as the game progressed... Hines (4-1 1.64) was knocked around hard in the first five frames when the Typhoons got all of their runs... Hines settled down and blanked them over the final four innings... Hines went the distance and allowed seven hits... Reliever Freddi Spiegel (1-1 2.13) garnered the loss by giving up the homer to Parsons... Nichols with 3 RBIs and Parsons with a pair paced the Redhawk 9-hit attack... LF Jimmy Tremayne (.273) and C Fats Dalton (.278) led Turon with two hits and two runs batted in apiece... Tremayne tripled and singled and Dalton homered and doubled.

The Islandian Times
Sunday, October 11, 2009

2009 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Finals - Game 3

FM Edges Turon 5-4, Leads Pro Cup 3-0
On the road in Turon at Typhoon Stadium the Far Mountain Redhawks cracked open a 1-1 tie with three runs in the sixth inning on the way to a third straight victory in the IPA Pro Cup... Far Mountan won game three 5-4 and now needs only one more victory to win the best-of-seven series... the Redhawks took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on SS Don Nichols (.389) 15th postseason RBI... the Typhoons evened it at 1-all on 1B Johnny Carducci's (.298) RBI single... in the sixth Redhawk RF Hank Burleigh (.250) broke the tie with an RBI ground-out and LF Nick Montag (.281) made it 4-1 with a two-run single... Turon shaved it to 4-2 when LF Marty Poe (.289) forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk... for the third day in a row 2B Duane Parsons (.340) homered and increased the margin to 5-2... 1B Johnny Carducci (.298) made it close with a two-run clout in the last of the eighth, but Redhawk relievers Milos Annensky and David McDonald got the last six Typhoons in order... FM starter Leroy Hill (2-2 3.98) claimed the win... Hill worked seven innings and allowed four runs... Turon starter James Stuart (2-2 3.65) lost it... Stuart permitted four runs and six hits in his six innings... the Typhoons had the edge in hits 8-7... 1B Fran Grzanka (.379), Parsons and Montag sparked Far Mountain with two hits each... Carducci was Turon top bat with two RBIs and two runs scored.