The Islandian Times

Friday, October 7, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3 at Far Mountain

Nats Nudge Redhawks 8-7 in 11, Now Lead Series
The never-say-die Ozarka Naturals pulled out a dramatic comeback with an 8-7 triumph on the road over Far Mountain at Sky High Stadium to take the lead in the Pro Cup Series two-games-to-one... Trailing 7-4, the Nats battled back to tie the score at 7-all in the top of the 8th, then they won it in the 11th inning when LF Vic Weinstein tripled off Milos Annensky and scored on pinchhitter Lenny Payne's (.000) sac fly... Annensky (1-2 2.84) was the losing pitcher... He permitted 1 run and only 1 hit in his two innings... Taking the win was closer Billy Krsnich (1-0 1.08), who held Far Mountain without a run in the 9th and 10th frames... Emile Leduc (1-1 6.16) notched the save for Ozarka, although the Redhawks first two batters to face him got hits... pinchhitter Kelly Baxes (.500) doubled and SS Don Nichols (.327) singled him to third... Then SS Nathan Ferrell saved the game with a sensational double play... Leduc got the final out of the game when he induced the dangerous Otis Ott to ground out and end the game... The tying run was left stranded at third base.

After dominating pitching in the first two games, the bats came alive today with 21 hits in all, 12 for Far Mountain and 9 for the Naturals... Ferrell (.313) and Weinstein (.340) homered for the winners... Ferrell tied the game at 4-4 with a 2-run clout in the sixth, while Weinstein (.340) belted a 3-run job in the 8th to deadlock it 7-7 and send it to overtime... Weinstein led the Nats with 4 RBIs... Redhawk CF Xavier Sosa (.306) went deep twice and drove in 4 runs... C Ott (.277) also drilled a solo roundtripper and had 2 runs batted in.

Game 1 starters will go at it once again in game 4... It will be Robby Kelly for Far Mountain and Tyrus Yokum for Ozarka... Kelly won that one 4-2... Kelly was 12-7 with a 2.76 ERA in the regular season, while Yokum was 21-10 with a 3.76 ERA... in the postseason Kelly has been terrific with a 3-0 mark and a 2.08 ERA... Yokum is 3-2 with a 3.96 ERA.

Ozarka is unbeaten on the road in the postseason with 6 successive victories... Games 4 and 5 will be at Sky High Stadium in Far Mountain, where the Redhawks are 5-1... they are 4-2 out of town... The Naturals are only 4-3 when they play at home at Ellie Ewing Stadium.

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 8, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 4 at Far Mountain

Ozarka Crushes FM 10-3, Close To Pro Cup Title
The surprising Ozarka Naturals did it again... They crushed Far Mountain 10-3 in game 4 of the IPA Pro Cup Series and are now the odds-on favorite to take the Island baseball crown... Ozarka has won all 7 of its road games in the playoffs... The Nats now are in the driver's seat with a 3 games to 1 lead in the best-of-seven series... One more win and Joe Mac Carney and his crew will be the 2011 IPA champions... Ozarka pounded out 12 hits off 3 Redhawk pitchers, led by LF Vic Weinstein (.364) with 3 hits, including two doubles and a home run... Weinstein scored 3 times and batted in 4 runs, giving him 12 for the postseason... SS Nathan Ferrell (.340) also delivered 3 hits, scored three runs and drove in one... and 1B Al Wesner (.255) chipped in two RBIs... Carney needed a good game from Tyrus Yokum and he got it... Yokum (4-2 3.40) only surrendered one earned run and hurled a complete game... He was touched for 9 hits, fanned 3 and walked 4... Robby Kelly (3-1 3.24) was hit hard and lost for the first time in this year's playoffs... The Nats battered Kelly for 7 runs and 8 hits in 7-plus innings... Ozarka took charge of the game in the fourth with 4 runs... They led 4-2 after 4 and really went to work with one run in the seventh, 3 in the eighth and 2 more in the ninth.

The Islandian Times

Sunday, October 9, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 5 at Far Mountain

Pro Cup Ain't Over Yet, Redhawks Rout Nats 14-4
There's still a lot of life in the Far Mountain Redhawks, who stepped up to the plate and routed Ozarka 14-4 in game 5 of the Pro Cup Series to stave off elimination in the best-of-seven series... Alex Groveland's Redhawks now trail 3 games to 2 and will have to go on the road to come back and win it... It was Ozarka's first loss in 8 away games this postseason... Far Mountain cracked 16 hits in the win and were sparked by CF Xavier Sosa (.328) with 5 RBIs, 3B Duane Parsons (.254) with 3 and 1B Fran Grzanka (.265) with a pair of runs batted in... Grzanka hit a two-run blast to give the Redhawks a 3-2 lead in the second frame... Sosa's grand slam highlighted an 8-run fourth... Boomerang Hines (4-1 1.17) breezed to the victory, permitting 4 runs and 5 hits... Ozarka's superb rookie Eddie Roberts (4-1 4.41) had a terrible day and was pelted for 9 runs and 10 hits and was sent to the showers in the fourth.

In 2009 Far Mountain piled up a 3-0 lead in the Pro Cup Finals and lost it to the Turon Typhoons, who staged a tremendous comeback and won 4 in a row to take the trophy... The Redhawks know it's possible for a team to come back and win... They just hope it's them this year.

The Islandian Times

Monday, October 10, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 6 at Ozarka

Pro Cup Tied 3-3, FM Redhawks Rip Ozarka 17-1
The Pro Cup Finals is all knotted up at 3 games apiece... Far Mountain ripped Ozarka for the second day in a row, forcing a 7th and deciding game tomorrow afternoon... The Redhawks went on a 6-homer and 17-hit rampage and walloped the Naturals 17-1 in game 6 at Ellie Ewing Stadium in Ozarka... CF Xavier Sosa, RF Hank Burleigh and 3B Duane Parsons all slammed two home runs each to totally trounce Ozarka... Burleigh (.333) batted in 5 runs, Sosa (.355) had 4 RBIs and Parsons (.266) drove in 3 in the runaway win... The Redhawks Leroy Hill (2-0 4.29) fired a fine game as he stopped the Nats on one run and 7 hits, while fanning 7 and walking none... The loss went to surprise starter Rene Gautier (1-1 6.14), who was ripped for 9 runs in 2-plus innings... Manager Joe Mac Carney is still looking for a number 3 starter and gave Gautier a shot at it and he failed miserably... Far Mountain piled up a 10-0 lead after the first three frames and never looked back.

Robby Kelly (3-1 3.24) will get the call for Far Mountain tomorrow afternoon and Tyrus Yokum (4-2 3.40) will be on the mound for Ozarka. This will be the third time they have faced each other in the series... Kelly won game one 4-2, while Yokum was the winner in game four 10-3. During the regular campaign Kelly was 12-7 with a 2.76 ERA and Yokum was 21-10 with a 3.76 ERA.

This is a great series!

Agree with you that it has been an enjoyable series with lots of good hitting.

As always I appreciate that fact that you stay with me year-after-year.

Thanks.

And thanks to the others as well that check this dynasty out on a regular basis.

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 7 at Ozarka

FM Pro Cup Champs, Nips Nats 7-6 in 11 Innings
The IPA Pro Cup champions for 2011 are the Far Mountain Redhawks, who made an unbelievable comeback... Down 3 games to 1 to Ozarka after 4 games the Redhawks won the final 3 games of the series to cop the crown for the first time in club history... Far Mountain triumphed 7-6 in a hard-fought, seesaw affair that went 11 innings... LF Phil Stewart (.382) got aboard on a botched grounder by SS Nathan Ferrell, was sacrificed to second by CF Xavier Sosa (.343) and he scampered home on 3B Duane Parsons (.290) game-winning single... Boomerang Hines (5-1 1.11) got the win with 2 and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief... Hines, normally a starter, was pressed into service after only 2 days' rest... Phillip Britt (0-1 4.91) was tagged with the loss even though the only run he gave up was not earned... Britt had come on in the top of the 11th... The Nats racked up 16 hits in defeat to 13 for the winners.

Robby Kelly started for Far Mountain and Tyrus Yokum was on the hill for the Nats... Ozarka did well out of the gate with 2 runs in the first frame on RBI singles by RF Chris Pruitt (.270) and 1B Al Wesner (.276), but the Redhawks tied it up 2-all with single runs in the second and third... 1B Fran Grzanka (.263) doubled in a run and CF Sosa got the tying run in when he grounded into a double play... The Naturals regained the lead 3-2 in the last of the third when Wesner drove in another run with a base hit... Far Mountain rebounded with 3 runs in the sixth on C Otis Ott's (.295) solo homer and SP Kelly's (.200) 2-run single... That got rid of Yokum, who surrendered 5 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings, but two of them were unearned... In the top of the 8th the Redhawks added another run to go in front 6-3 on RF Lucky Collins' (.357) double, a Kelly sacrifice and a Stewart single... The Nats CF Rick McLeod (.333) narrowed the gap to 6-4 in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single that plated LF Vic Weinstein (.373), who had a lead-off single and advanced to second on a ground-out and was sacrificed to third... Ozarka had to come up with two scores in the last of the ninth to stay alive and they did it with an RBI double by Ferrell and Wesner's single to force overtime.

Stewart and Parsons had 3 hits each to led Far Mountain, while Ozarka was paced by Ferrell, Wesner and McLeod, all with 3 hits apiece... Wesner had 3 RBIs in the game.

Accessing the series to the press Redhawk manager Alex Groveland stated, "Coming in it was supposed that the team that got the best pitching would be the winner... turned out the thing that won it for us was our hitting in the last three games."

The Nats skipper Joe Mac Carney said, "Our pitching fell apart in the last three games... that was the decisive factor... we hit well enough to win it, if we had gotten better pitching."

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Hines Acclaimed Pro Cup MVP
In close balloting good pitching won out on good hitting to decide the IPA Pro Cup Most Valuable Player. Far Mountain's stylish southpaw Boomerang Hines led the Redhawks to their first Pro Cup title with a 5-1 record and a brilliant 1.11 ERA. Hines edged out teammates Xavier Sosa, Lucky Collins and Phil Stewart for the honor.

Hines made 6 starts and had 5 complete games with 2 shutouts. His only loss came in a 2-1 decision. Hines also contributed a critical win in relief in the 7th game. He worked 2 and two-thirds scoreless innings in the 11-inning victory.

CF Sosa had a marvelous postseason, too. He batted .343 with 6 homers, 20 RBIs and 12 runs scored. RF Lucky Collins hit .357 with 12 RBIs, 10 runs and 5 stolen bases and LF Stewart compiled a .382 batting average with 2 roundtrippers, 9 runs driven in and scored 16 times.

Ozarka's fine LF Vic Weinstein was fifth in the vote. Weinstein had a .373 average with a pair of home runs, 13 RBIs and 18 runs in the playoffs.

I am working on the regular season individual awards.

I will try to post them Thursday.

The Islandian Times

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Super Season, Collins Wins Golden Bat Award
Fred Collins has been around Islandian Pro Alliance for 11 years. For his standout run through the 2011 season, he's took home the Golden Bat Award in the Ruthlandian Union. The 32-year-old Sligo left fielder put up a batting average of .347 with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 29 home runs and 103 RBIs. Collins also scored 120 runs. Lifetime Collins is hitting at .306 clip with 280 roundtrippers.

Scott Camden of Rocky Rapids and Ed Miles were number two and three in the balloting. Camden batted .317 with 36 homers, 115 RBIs and scored 112 times, while Miles hit .298 with 32 home runs, 121 RBIs and 107 runs.

Dane Wesner Wins TU Best Bat Trophy
It's been another year of triumph for veteran left fielder Dane Wesner of the Fairfax Frogs as he hit his way to the 2011 Tycobbian Union Golden Bat Award. Wesner won the award for the second consecutive season. The 26-year-old veteran compiled a .342 average and .399 on-base percentage by putting together 202 hits, 23 doubles, 3 triples, 47 home runs and 56 walks. He also scored 104 times and drove in 127 runs. Wesner is hitting .339 in his 7 seasons in the IPA.

Wesner beat out two other talented players in RF Jet Kazmarek of the Arroyo Grande Suns and 3B Todd Chadwick of the Ozarka Naturals. The 36-year-old Kazmarek captured his 8th batting title with a .354 average. Kazmarek rapped 20 homers, batted in 110 and scored 100 times. Chadwick finished second in RBIs with 126 and second in runs with 116. He also collected 29 homers.

The Islandian Times

Friday, October 14, 2011

RU Awards Outstanding Pitcher Honor To Szabo
The 2011 Golden Arm Award in the Ruthlandian Union has been given to Ilya Szabo of Colfax. The Blasters ace worked 309 innings this season, crafting a 19-11 record and a 1.95 ERA in 39 starts. He has led the league the last two seasons with sub-2.00 ERAs. Szabo collected 219 strikeouts while walking 55 and limiting opponents to a .225 batting average. In his illustrious career the 32-year-old right-hander has chalked up a 162-79 record with a very impressive 2.40 ERA.

Beechwood's Dek Jumonville came in second in the survey. The 35-year-old righty registered a 20-7 record with a 2.73 ERA. Finishing third was Volusia's Gerry Hersh, who was 22-11 with a 2.50 ERA. Hersh is 32.

TU Top Pitcher Trophy Won by Typhoons Engstrom
The Turon Typhoons have a rising superstar or maybe even a budding Hall-of-Famer in the making. It's Nicky Engstrom, this year's Tycobbian Union Golden Arm Award selection. This blossoming hurler wowed fans, peers and sportswriters with a fabulous performance and he has played only two seasons. 22-year-old Engstrom compiled a 23-7 record in 39 starts, tallied 221 strikeouts in 302 innings and recorded a marvelous 1.93 ERA, which led the league. Other clubs managed only a .217 batting average against him. Last year Engstrom was the Rookie of the Year with a 20-7 season and a 2.40 ERA.

Colchester's Jimmy Simmons and Fairfax's Wally Tidwell contended for the top pitcher honors. Southpaw Simmons was second in the poll and Tidwell was third. Simmons posted a fine 23-11 mark with a 2.41 ERA and completed 20 games in his 39 starts. Tidwell was 22-10 on the year with a 2.74 ERA and 17 complete games.

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Glasco's Perrier Sweeps Up RU Rookie of the Year Award
Nicky Perrier's age didn't show very often in his first year. He performed more like a veteran on the hill for the Glasco Athletics and today he walked away with the 2011 Ruthlandian Union Rookie of the Year Award. The 20-year-old starter registered a 20-12 record this season in 39 starts. Over 289 innings he gave up 228 hits, struck out 194 and issued 104 walks as he held the opposition to a .222 batting average and fashioned a 2.77 ERA.

Middlefield's CF John Hartung was a distant second in the voting. He hit only .259, but smacked 19 homers, scored 94 runs and batted in 63 in his first year. Wynnamac pitcher Lennie Ward was third as he registered a 15-18 mark, but had a solid 3.04 ERA.

Nats Roberts Choice for Best Newcomer In Tycobbia
In his initial season, Eddie Roberts proved he could be a real big game pitcher for the Ozarka Naturals. He was so good that he was christened with the Tycobbian Union Rookie of the Year Award today. Roberts put up an 18-9 record in 33 starts. The Ozarka rookie recorded a 3.51 ERA in 246 innings as he fanned 221 hitters and walked 92.

Roberts' main competition came from closer Bobby Maas and CF Derek Ryckman, both of Cape Coral. Maas wound up in second place and Ryckman was third. Maas saved 24 games, made 47 appearances and compiled a 7-3 record with a superb 1.52 ERA. Ryckman batted .271 with 19 home runs, 77 RBIs and scored 83 runs.

Eugene, I know that you have your own convention for managers names but which name/nation files do you use for your players..do you manually edit as they are created? Great dynasty, by the way.

I quite often edit the names to fit my purposes.

I created my own name files to get better names. I have an American file, European file that has all European nations in it, Japanese file and an Hispanic file. I put British, Irish, Scottish and Australian names in with the American file.

The regular OOTPB name files just had too many weird names in it for me.

I did research to get authentic ethnic names... even Native Americans and Australian Aborigines. A lot of my towns are ethnically based, so I make sure the French towns like Belle Plaine and LaGrange have a lot of French names, the Spanish towns like Volusia, San Dimas and Luxora have lots of Spanish names, the Australian towns like Tucknarra and Wynnamac have Aussie and Aboriginal names, the Baltic towns like Valka and Valmara have Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian names and Taranto has Italian names primarily. Midway and Chicopee get a lot of Native American names since the towns were settled by them. Glasco has Scottish names, Kilkenny has Irish names, Ginza gets Japanese names, Summerland has Dutch names, Bayview is Scandanavian and Colchester, Stoner and Sligo get English names. Arroyo Grande was settled by the Spanish and the French, so both nationalities are represented.

I edit each one of the rosters at the beginning of the new year to make sure the ethnicity of each town is continued.

Thanks for posting and viewing. Much appreciated.

The Islandian Times

Sunday, October 16, 2011

RU Names Collins MVP
Fred Collins is really racking up trophies this season. The sensational Sligo left fielder just added the Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player Award to his trophy case right along side his Golden Bat trophy. It's has been quite a year for the 32-year-old Collins. He led the Rovers to their best season ever with a second place finish to the powerful Colfax Blasters in the RU West.

Collins is a jack-of-all-trades with a league-leading .347 batting average and was second in RBIs with 120. He also hit 29 homers, scored 103 times and stole 25 bases, while playing a decent left field with good range. Collins walked 105 times and compiled a lofty .461 on-base percentage.

Colfax's standout right-hander Ilya Szabo was the runner-up in the poll. Szabo easily led the RU with a microscopic 1.95 ERA and a 19-11 record and is this year's Golden Arm winner. Last season he led the league with a phenomenal 1.79 ERA and 27-4 mark. The 32-year-old Szabo was the MVP last year.

Another hard-hitting left fielder wound up third in the voting. Scott Camden of the Rocky Rapids Snappers belted 36 home runs, drove in 115 runs and scored 112 times, while hitting at .317 clip. The 34-year-old Camden played a good left field, too.

Frogs Wesner Nabs Second TU Top Player Award

Fairfax's fabulous left fielder Dane Wesner came within a dozen points of his second straight Triple Crown Award. Nonetheless, he still garnered the Tycobbian Most Valuable Player Award for the second season in a row in a hotly-contested race. The 26-year-old Wesner hit .342 to Jet Kazmarek's league-leading .354 and ended up with the fourth-best batting average, but the gifted performer topped the TU with 47 roundtrippers and 127 runs batted in and led the Frogs to the TU North title. This year he also hauled in his second straight TU Golden Bat Award.

Wesner just barely outpolled Turon's terrific Nicky Engstrom, who chalked up a great 23-7 mark and a super 1.93 ERA and led the Typhoons to a fourth consecutive TU South pennant. The 22-year-old Engstrom was last season's Rookie of the Year.

Ozarka's gifted third baseman Todd Chadwick was another tough competitor for the MVP trophy. Chadwick sparked the Naturals to their second successive West Division crown with a monumental year. The 29-year-old Chadwick cracked 36 doubles, 10 triples and 29 homers in an extraordinary performance. He hit .323, stole 39 bases, had 126 RBIs (2nd) and scored 116 runs (2nd) in an outstanding offensive display. Defensively, Chadwick is a good as it gets. He compiled a standout .984 fielding percentage.

The Islandian Times

Monday, October 17, 2011

IPA Honors Top Glovemen for 2011
Making the play is the mark of great defenders. Spearing a liner, diving in the hole or crashing headlong into the wall makes no difference to these awe-inspiring fielders. Magicians they sometimes appear to be, showing up out of nowhere to rob a batter of a hit and to turn a hit into an out. Pitchers love 'em, batters curse 'em... and fans are sometimes speechless. These defensive wizards will collect their 2011 Golden Glove Awards tonight. This is the fourth time Chancey Quibedeaux and Hal Stevenson have been honored with a Golden Glove. Second-time winners are Rocky Fuqua, Chucky Gilton, Warren McDaniel, Bill Nilsen and Stan Czerwinski.

Ruthlandian Union Golden Glove Team
Pitcher: Russell Thurber (Cold Creek Catamounts) .986 FA
Catcher: Hal Stevenson (Sugar Valley Rattlers) .990 FA/3 PB/54.5% RTO
First Baseman: John Scallini (Volusia Vigilantes) .991 FA
Second Baseman: Tony Borcellino (St. John Crusaders) .992 FA
Third Baseman: Warren McDaniel (Belle Plaine Musketeers) .971 FA
Shortstop: Bill Nilsen (LaGrange Sports) .986 FA
Left Fielder: Stan Czerwinski (Valmara Vipers) .983 FA
Center Fielder: Chris Michel (Sligo Rovers) .997 FA
Right Fielder: Lou Gdowski (Valmara Vipers) .993 FA

Tycobbian Union Golden Glove team
Pitcher: Todd Combs (Kenwood Wildcats) .981 FA
Catcher: Fitz Garvie (High Mesa Cowboys) .992 FA/7 PB/47.3% RTO
First Baseman: Chancey Quibedeaux (Fairfax Frogs) .999 FA
Second Baseman: Jorge Vargas (Red Bluff Red Sox) .990 FA
Third Baseman: Rocky Fuqua (Tuckanarra Blue Jays) .983 FA
Shortstop: Bob Steitz (La Claire Lynx) .977 FA
Left Fielder: Rocco Belasario (Arlon Champions) .991 FA
Center Fielder: Tommy Riddle (Bayview Vikings) .997 FA
Right Fielder: Chucky Gilton (Arlon Champions) .976 FA

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Sligo's Keys Cops RU Skipper Of The Year
It was a magnificent season for manager Eddie Keys and his Sligo Rovers. Not only did they run a close second to the powerful Colfax Blasters in RU West, but Keys has been selected as the Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year, edging out Clem Rogers of Colfax and Alex Groveland of Far Mountain.

Keys improved Sligo from a very distant fourth-place finish in 2010, 28 games off the pace, to the runner-up spot this year. The Rovers were right on the tail of Colfax the entire year and wound up only 4 games back at the end. Sligo has never been in playoff contention before. The Rovers have never made the playoffs in its 10-year IPA history. Keys guided them to a 92-62 record, the second-best mark in the entire league. It would have easily won any of the other three divisions. Unfortunately Sligo is in the same division with Colfax.

Clem Rogers was a close second the balloting as he won his fourth straight division title and had the best record in the RU at 96-58. Rogers has picked up the award for the past two seasons. Far Mountain's Alex Groveland was third and also a strong challenger as he captured his third consecutive RU North pennant with an 85-69 record.

Frogs Buckley Named Best TU Manager
It was a tough choice in the Tycobbian Union, too. It was a tight four-man race between Turon's Whitey Richburn, Fairfax's Harry Buckley, Cape Coral's Huggy Miller and Luxora's Alejandro Rodrigo. In the final count Buckley emerged the winner of the 2011 Tycobbian Union Manager Of The Year. Fairfax was a fifth-place team last year, but Buckley boosted the Frogs up to a league best 92-62 and the TU North crown, the first time in 8 years they had made the postseason.

Second in the voting was Turon's Whitey Richburn, who brought home his fourth TU South Division championship in a row with a sparkling 91-63 record. The Typhoons won the flag comfortably by 9 games over Cape Coral.

Third in the poll was Huggy Miller, whose Cape Coral Hurricanes were a terrible last place club in 2010 with a dismal 62-92 record in the TU South. The 'Canes did an abrupt about-face with an 82-72 mark, good enough for second place.

Luxora's Alejandro Rodrigo came in a close fourth in the vote. His Zorros climbed from seventh place (63-91) to third (86-68) this season, just 6 games off the pace of Fairfax.

I'll get busy starting IPA season number 12 in the next few days.

Deleted standings so that they would be on the same page as the recap.

See Mid-Season Recap on next page.

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian Union North Mid-Season Recap

LaGrange Powers Way Past FM Redhawks In RU North
In LaGrange Foxy Jimison's bats are booming in 2012 and have powered his Sports to first place in the Ruthlandian North at the All-Star break. LaGrange is 4 games up on the defending Pro Cup champions, the Far Mountain Redhawks. The Sports are leading the league in homers (87) and are number two in scoring (377) and have just enough pitching to get by.

Jimison told BNN, "As long as our bats stay hot, we'll be in the race. Quincy Peterson (.322/17 HR), Otto Kronvath (.298/17 HR), Bill Nance (.321/8 HR), Bill Nilsen (.248/14 HR) and Joel Reed (.274/10 HR) are solid vets and they are carrying us so far. I got two fine starters in Pedro Orantes (9-4 1.94) and Phil Bijeaux (9-4 3.86), but need some of the other guys to pick it up the second half. Rookie closer Andre Dupas (2-1 1.54) has been a godsend with 18 saves."

Alex Groveland is seeking his fourth straight RU North title and has his Far Mountain Redhawks in a good spot. They are in second place, 4 games off the pace. Groveland has a super mound staff that is leading the league with a 2.99 team ERA, headed by starters Robby Kelly (9-5 2.10), Wayne Baxley (7-2 3.18), Boomerang Hines (9-8 2.27) and Leroy Hill (7-6 3.66).

Groveland assessed it this way, "All we need is a little more offense to get back to normal and we'll be alright." Far Mountain is batting .261 (18th), but has scored only 306 runs (24th) and hit just 39 out of the park (29th).

The Kilkenny Cats are on the rise this season and are in third place, 6 games back. Manager Kieran McKenna's club finished 6th last year. The Cats have trouble scoring, but have two quality arms in vets Gregg Neal (7-6 3.75) and Mack Harrell (9-3 3.53). The 40-year-old Neal is in his 12th year and just recently won his 200th game, tops in IPA history. CF Kevin McPhail (.361 BA) has led the team at the plate, but he drastically needs some help.

The Glasco Athletics are fourth in the standings and trail by only 7 games. Last year's RU Rookie of the Year, Nicky Perrier, is having another great season and has been the team's workhorse with a sparkling 9-3 record and a strong 2.34 ERA. McDuffie Hughes' A's have been sparked at bat by 2B George Ferguson (.318/7 HR) and SS Lee Sullivan (.277/15 HR). To move up in the race, Glasco will have to have noticeable improvement both offensively and on the hill. The Athletics have decent power with 68 roundtrippers (9th).

Skipper Tommaso Lazzorda's main shortcoming in Taranto is in the bullpen. It has been absolutely lousy this season with a terrible 6.39 ERA. The Tars are doing pretty well considering that and are in 5th place and 8 games out. Starters Dan Phillips (9-7 2.93) and Angelo Zinacola (7-4 3.44) have been quality arms for Lazzorda. Taranto is 6th in hitting with a .271 batting average with 70 home runs (6th) and has been led by LR Wayne Pounders (.254) with 14 homers and RF Artie Kennedy with 11 home runs and a .309 average.

Ranford and Valmara are deadlocked for the 6th spot, 9 games behind leading LaGrange. Page Satcher at Ranford has been stuck in the cellar for the past two seasons, but he has gotten better pitching and has moved up a couple of slots this year, mainly due to Val Hudson (8-4 2.75). Hard-luck Chris Bernhoffer (5-11 2.97) has suffered greatly because of poor run support. Mediocre relief work and hitting are Satcher main problems. 1B Billy Massengale is the Bulls only run producer with 14 homers and 55 RBIs, but is hitting at a paltry .246 clip.

It's been quite a while since the Valmara Vipers have been in the first division. Manager J. Jackson Samuel's club last made the playoffs in 2006. Sadly, it looks like the Vipers will not contend this year either. Valmara has a good pitching corps that has compiled a pretty good 3.66 team ERA (10th). Samuel's starters are good ones and consist of Jasek Zielinski (9-4 3.18), Pat Kaczynski (5-6 3.22), Vasya Vasylenko (8-7 3.94) and Greg Turchin (7-9 3.69). Closer Paul Galusha (2-2 1.77) has been a rock in the bullpen. However, the Vipers are woefully weak at the plate and are batting only .246 (31st). Samuel's best bats are LF Stan Czerwinski (.283/6 HR) and RF Lou Gdowski (.284/8 HR). Rookie 2B Jan Dvorak has shown good power with 15 homers, but is hitting just .245 on the year.

Last place belongs to the Ancona Red Elephants, who are 11 games behind. Manny Mickens has some standout sticks in 2B Kevin Laroche (.355/8 HR), 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.342/8 HR) and RF Louie DiMucci (.336/10 HR). He just doesn't have enough of them. The Red Elephants sport a .267 team average (8th), but have scored only 325 runs (16th) and hit 54 homers (20th). Ancona is not doing very well on the hill either with a poor 4.23 team ERA (26th). Mickens top twirler is Kenny Flack with an 8-3 mark and a 3.88 ERA.

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian South Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian South Mid-Season Recap

BB Sunbirds RU South Leader, Top Claxton By 4 Games
Halfway through the season Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds have pitched themselves into first place in the Ruthlandian South. They have a 4-game edge over the defending champs, the Claxton Diamonds, who have dominated the division in recent years. Also in the pennant race are the San Dimas Rancheros. Paco Banderos' ballclub is in third place, only 5 games back.

Belair Beach has supplanted Claxton with three impressive starters and a solid closer. The Sunbirds have compiled a 3.28 team ERA (4th) with Pete Krohn (9-2 3.08), Slim Mosley (8-6 2.87) and Jeff Nieman (7-7 2.49) leading the way. Closer Groot Tenbrook (4-6 3.03) has also saved 15 games. The Belair Beach batsmen are doing their part, too, with a .265 batting average (4th) and 74 homers (4th). 3B Zippy Parks (.308/9 HR) and C Little Jake Bungarooba (.292/8) are Pedroza's top hitters.

Stacy Engel still has a very potent club in Claxton. His Diamonds are third with a strong .276 team batting average, second in scoring with 367 runs and third with 82 home runs. Claxton also has a solid pitching staff with a very good 3.46 ERA (7th). 1B Mike Luzzatti (.368/19 HR), RF Helmut Graczyk (.329/11 HR) and 2B Paco Benitez (.302 BA) head up the offense, while Alex Vanzetti (7-2 1.83) and Charlie Murphy (8-8 3.04) are Engel's prime pitchers.

San Dimas is nearby in third place, just 5 games out of first. Two good starters in Bobby Prince (10-5 2.45) and Carl Schmitz (12-4 3.03) are making life easy for skipper Paco Banderos, along with a standout bullpen. Closer Raul Marroquin (1-2 1.32) has been almost untouchable this season and has racked up 17 saves. However San Dimas just can't compete with Belair Beach and Claxton at the plate. The Rancheros are hitting only .245 (25th) and have scored only 272 runs (30th). Banderos only has one reliable bat in 1B Ron Armstrong (.283/10 HR). Look for it to be a two-team race between the Sunbirds and the Diamonds at season's end.

None of the other teams in the RU South are capable of challenging the top three teams. Crystal Lake and Waleska are currently tied for fourth place, but are 9 games off the pace. Both clubs are very similar, but Waleska is a better hitting team with an excellent .279 batting average (1st). Crystal Lake is batting only .247 as a team, but the Crushers are productive. They have scored 328 times (12th) and are tied with the Westerners in that category. Both clubs have decent power with Crystal Lake going deep 66 times (10th) and Waleska clouting 63 out of the park (14th). On the mound the Westerners have a slight edge with a 3.92 ERA (18th) to the Crushers 3.94 (20th).

Top performers for Herman "Baby" George at Crystal Lake are 1B Phil Gravelli (.307/22 HR) and 2B Nelson Tolliver (.297/8 HR). George's best pitchers are Rocky Trahan (5-5 3.68) and Dennis Vukovich (6-6 4.12). Waleska's McGraw Johnson is blessed with some very prolific batters. In fact, he has four .300 hitters and two more very close to it. Topping the Westerner line-up are RF Kippy Doyle (.290/16 HR), CF Hal Setser (.319/14 HR), LF Johnny Stratton (.305/7 HR), 3B Grant Betzer (.324/4 HR), 2B DePaul Lebat (.303/6 HR) and 1B Nat Mayakovsky (.298/6 HR). Johnson also has two effective starters in Lenny Milazzo (6-4 2.36) and Wilson Whitmore (6-6 3.11) and a sensational closer in Sherman Mooney (3-2 1.93), who had posted 13 saves.

The Valka Blackhawks may be in sixth place in the standings and trailing by 11 games, but they have one of the most exciting players in the IPA. Rookie LF Kurt Jankauskas is setting the league on fire with 27 homers, 66 RBIs and 66 runs. Jankauskas tops the IPA in all three categories. The Blackhawk rookie is on pace to break the home run record that stands at 54, set by Karol Zodoka of East Point in 2002. Overall Valka is a little above the league average with a .264 team batting average (13th) with 63 homers (14th). The Blackhawks are 17th in runs scored with 320. Manager Jaan Kurus has a mediocre mound staff with a 4.04 team ERA (22nd). Jankauskas gets some offensive support from 2B Mike Nordmann (.302/12 HR). Valka's best arms are starter Erke Tonisson (10-4 3.67) and closer Vinko Markovic (1-3 2.67).

The Grand City Cybercats and the St. John Crusaders pull up the rear in a last-place tie and 13 games out. Neither club has much to brag about. Both hit terribly with the Crusaders at .249 (24th) and the Cybercats at .248 (27th). St. John has the better pitching corps and has registered a pretty good 3.66 ERA (9th), while Grand City has been atrocious with a 4.45 ERA (29th).

Torry Joseph's top performers in Grand City are few in number. Closer Paul McBride (1-2) has been terrific with 12 saves and a 1.47 ERA. CF Jimmy Tremayne (.326/7 HR) tops his batting order. Dickie Billings in St. John has one fine pitcher in Pat Tarnovsky (9-6 2.97) and three fair hitters in 2B Tony Borcellino (.284/14 HR), RF Clayton Luck (.291/7 HR) and 3B Vinny Sardisco (.283/8 HR).

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian East Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian East Mid-Season Recap

5-Team Race In RU East, Wynnamac In First
Midway through the season it's still anybody's race to win in the Ruthlandian East. Matt Donnelly's Wynnamac Sundowners are atop the standings with a slight 2-game lead over second place Beechwood, 3 games over third place Belle Plaine and Cold Creek and 4 ahead of fifth place Marston. The most shocking thing about this season is the sudden collapse of the Sugar Valley Rattlers, who have plunged all the way to the bottom of the division and is 17 games behind. Sugar Valley won the division crown the past two years.

Donnelly has the best all-around club in the division. The Sundowners do well at bat and on the hill. Wynnamac has compiled a respectable .263 batting average (14th) with excellent run production. They have scored 348 runs (7th) and gone deep 66 times (10th). Pitching-wise the Sundowners have registered a fine 3.48 ERA and possess three good starters in Skeets Hobart (6-1 2.01), Jerry Meeks (8-7 2.00) and Gene Fair (7-4 3.83). At the plate vets 1B Nate Cockcroft (.335/12 HR) and LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.279/9 HR) are the leaders with help from RF Joey Eaton (.311/9 HR). Most baseball analysts have put the favorite tag on Wynnamac, citing the Sundowners team balance. However, some are concerned with their defensive shortcomings. Wynnamac is next-to-last in the division with a poor .968 fielding percentage.

The runner-up Beechwood Bobcats are guided by Bret George, who has been stuck in that position the last two seasons. George would like to move up this year and has a good shot at the RU East flag. Beechwood may be even better well-rounded than Wynnamac as they are solid defensively with a .977 fielding average. The Bobcat line-up needs to improve at the plate to challenge the Sundowners. They are hitting only .253 (21st) and are 17th with 320 runs. Homer-wise Beechwood has hit 57 (18th). George's pitching staff is chocked full of solid veterans, topped by Dek Jumonville (8-8 2.49) and closer Carl Costas (1-0 2.20), who has 18 saves at mid-year.

Belle Plaine and Cold Creek are deadlocked in third place and trail Wynnamac by 3 games. The Musketeers are staying close to the top with a group of quality pitchers, paced by Jorge Bonilla (9-6 3.24), Brad Anderson (7-6 2.75), Matt Van Rensberg (3-3 3.39) and Tony Pariseau (6-9 3.37). Closer Denny Reynaud (3-2 1.38) has been fantastic with 12 saves. Together they have put up a 3.73 team ERA (12th). Manager Boo Ladrieux's major need is in his offense, which is almost non-existent. The Muskies are batting only .246 (29th) and are dead last in scoring with only 227 runs (32nd) and just 24 home runs (32nd). Ladrieux has the top defense in the league with a .980 fielding percentage.

Manager T. Kelly Holmes and the Cold Creek Catamounts are in contention because of 5 fine players. LF Nickie Troxell (.317/15 HR) and CF Trip Holmes (.283/14 HR) sparked the attack, what little they have. And on the mound Tommy Weeks (8-5 3.23), Peyton Saunders (6-5 3.44) and Russ Thurber (6-5 3.77) have stood out. The 'Cats are hitting only .246 (30th), but do score runs and hit homers. Cold Creek has scored 327 runs (14th) and slammed 60 roundtrippers (16th). The team ERA stands at 4.10 (25th), mainly because of a faulty bullpen.

The Marston Nine and skipper Johnny Walters depend on good pitching to survive. Walters' ballclub is fifth in the standings and only 4 games off the pace. Marston is getting by because of a super relief corps, which has a tremendous 1.92 ERA (1st). Overall the Nine has chalked up a 3.75 ERA (13th) with Walters' starters compiling a 4.16 ERA (25th). Leading the bullpen are John Updike (2-3 2.05), Little Jake Liwanu (0-2 1.74), Eddie Singleton (3-0 1.32) and Hunk Sweitzer (2-0 2.35). Luke Jalpajarri (5-5 3.66) is Marston best starter. The Nine has only two batters of note: 3B Jimmy Holman (.312/11 HR) and 1B Pat Farris (.362/4 HR). Team-wise Marston is batting .266 (10th), but is 25th in scoring with only 303 runs and 28th in homers with just 41 for the year. Defense is the best thing Walters has. The Nine is fielding a strong .979 on the season.

Zoggy White's sixth-place Elnora All-Stars are still well withing striking distance of first place in the RU East, only 6 games out. They are just the reverse of Marston with strong starters and weak relievers. His starters have posted a 3.64 ERA (8th), while the bullpen is a dismal 4.83 (27th). Overall the staff has a 3.87 ERA (17th). Leading the starting rotation are Taylor Gibbs (9-4 2.80), Robby Meredith (4-2 2.95) and Matty Wilkerson (6-7 2.96). In the batter's box Elnora has a talented trio: RF Lloyd Voss (.335/11 HR), CF Denny Sawyer (.306/7 HR) and 2B Dmitri Vrotsos (.304/6 HR). As a team the All-Stars are hitting at a .261 clip (19th) with only 285 runs (27th - tiedl) and just 39 homers (29th-tied).

The Eastshore Elegants are 9 games behind at the All-Star break and are headed for another bleak season in the second-division. It's been 9 years since Killer Brewster's club made the playoffs. The Elegants hit and score, but have little pitching. You don't win much with a gaudy 4.69 team ERA (30th). They are batting a strong .271 (5th), have scored 334 times (10th), but have little power with only 49 home runs (22nd). Brewster's best performers are pitcher Mark Sakelaris (9-3 3.40), C Fran MacIntyre (.329/9 HR), CF Cris Willis (.379/4 HR) and LF Stan Cuccinello (.276/10 HR).

The fans and manager Gibson Bobkins in Sugar Valley are in shock. Their beloved Rattlers have plunged to the cellar because of a total and sudden collapse of its pitching staff. Bobkins' staff has floundered with a monstrous 5.32 ERA (32nd). But the Rattlers still are capable of lighting up the scoreboard with a .265 batting average (12th), 335 runs scored (9th) and 70 homers (6th). Leading the attack are C Hal Stevenson (.283/18 HR), LF Kent Swain (.311/8 HR) and RF Emile Djoravich (.290/9 HR).

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian West Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian West Mid-Season Recap

Colfax Controls RU West, Leads Sligo By 6
The toughest team in the toughest division is well on its way to a fifth consecutive title. The Colfax Blasters are again dominating the Ruthlandian West with a 6-game lead over second place Sligo. Six of the teams are playing .500 or better baseball. Middlefield is third, 7 games off the pace, Rocky Rapids is 10 games behind in fourth place and Fort Benton and Volusia are tied for fifth and trail by 11 games.

Clem Rogers has all the elements needed for another shot at the Pro Cup: solid hitting and solid pitching. Colfax is hitting .268 (5th) with 69 homers (8th) and is tied for fifth in scoring with 354 runs. CF Ryan Raines (.323/18 HR), LF Paul Coniglio (.301/10 HR) and RF Karl Heidelberg (.379/8 HR) are giving the pitchers good run support. Rogers' top hurlers are Bryan Vidmar (8-0 2.51), Jasper LaForge (10-4 3.19), Ilya Szabo (10-6 3.18) and Jimmy Joe Cartner (9-8 3.74). Closer Dallas Somerville (4-3 4.33) has a higher than usual ERA, but has collected 20 saves.

The Sligo Rovers are having a fine season, but still are quite far away from first place. Looking at it on paper, one wonders why Eddie Keys' Rovers are not on top in the RU West. They are second in pitching with a great 3.15 ERA, second with a .276 batting average and tied for fifth with 354 runs. Sligo also has belted 65 homers (13th). The mound staff is led by Vinnie Rastelli (12-6 2.69), Colin McGrath (10-7 2.44) and Dix Edenborough (8-6 3.74). At the plate the Rovers are sparked by six .300 hitters: RF Clell Renshaw (.317/9 HR), CF Chris Michel (.300/7 HR), LF Fred Collins (.321/9 HR), 2B Hollis Waldrup (.308/10 HR), 1B Joe Helmke (.306/6 HR) and 3B Eddy Lamar (.302/6 HR). Should Colfax falter a bit, Sligo is good enough to make it a pennant race this year in the RU West.

In Middlefield the third place Roosters are ripping the ball well, but so is the opposition. Skipper Smitty Michaels has some strong bats in 2B Jim Rose (.335/7 HR), LF Moose Scoggins (.352/10 HR) and 1B Ricky Tinker (.290/6 HR). As a team the Roosters are batting .275 (4th), have scored 356 runs (4th) and slugged 66 roundtrippers (10th). On the hill it is another story. The bullpen is especially bad with a lofty 4.86 ERA (28th). Overall the team ERA stands at a mediocre 4.09 (23rd) with Johnny Bond (9-6 2.90) and James Newberry (9-6 4.02) Michaels' top twirlers. Defensively, Middlefield is the best in the league with a superb .980 fielding average. The Roosters will not step up in class until they improve their pitching.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers are fourth in the RU West and are just a so-so ballclub. Ryan Noland's boys don't excel at much, but do have a good reliever corps with a fine 3.02 ERA (5th). Thus far, closer Earl Pitts (2-1 1.57) has totaled 14 saves and Sammy Norman (3-0 1.35) has done a splendid job in long relief. As a team the Snappers have compiled a 3.83 ERA (15th), paced by starters Herbie Drahm (10-6 2.97) and Don Chaney (9-7 3.49). Noland's main weekness is his offense. The Snappers do not hit with power. They have only 44 home runs (26th - tied) on the year, while batting .262 (17th). Standouts in the batter's box are two solid pros LF Scott Camden (.285/12 HR) and C Hank Bethel (.317/10 HR). Rocky Rapids is good with the gloves with an impressive .977 FA.

Tied for fifth place are the Fort Benton Defenders and the Volusia Vigilantes. They are 11 games in back of leading Colfax. This is the first season in its 12-year history that Volusia finds itself in the second division. As always, Alfonso Feliz has a quality pitching staff, headed by Gerry Hersh (9-5 2.73) and Todd Wolfe (10-5 2.70), two of the best starters in the IPA. The V's are third in the league with a strong 3.21 team ERA (3rd). Feliz has a very strong bullpen, too, with a 2.53 ERA (3rd). His top relievers are Hank Massey (2-2 2.43), Manny Seguin (2-0 1.73) and Warren Pittman (0-0 2.63). Volusia just can't compete at the plate with 49 homers (22nd - tied) and just 288 runs scored (26th). Volusia most productive batters are the veteran 2B Tucker Hill (.338/1 HR) and rookie 1B Rafael Garza (.338/3 HR).

Fort Benton is very similar to Volusia with little power, but some pretty fair pitching. Robbie Brooks' Defenders have an impressive bullpen with a 3.05 ERA (6th) and an overall 3.96 team ERA (21st). The top relievers are closer David Osborn (6-2 1.82) with 11 saves and long man Tom Waltenbury (2-1 2.68). Fort Benson's best starters are Curt LaFrance (5-1 2.13) and Ivan Gloeckner (7-5 3.64). Offensively the Defenders are hitting a poor .253 (22nd) with only 44 home runs (26th - tied) and only 313 runs (22nd - tied). But Brooks does have some solid hitters in SS Pete Duvalier (.306/5 HR), LF Ryan Smith (.316/6 HR) and RF Forest Cummings (.290/6 HR). Fort Benton has a strong defense with a .977 FA. The Defenders have never made the postseason in its history, but they are shooting for a first-division finish this year. Brooks' ballclub has finished over .500 the last two seasons, the only time they have succeeded in doing that.

The Stoner Stars would be in great shape if they could do everything as well as they hit home runs. The Stars lead the RU with 88 homers (1st), but they are batting only .248 (26th). Topping the batting order are 2B Karol Zodoka (.296/14 HR), RF Lamar Proctor (.307/12 HR) and C Benny Stern (.288/11 HR). On the hill, manager Willie Dickens' team is pathetic with a terrible 5.13 ERA (31st). His only dependable starter is Don Patterson (5-4 2.93). His bullpen ace Sammy Jacobs (2-2 2.16) has notched 10 saves.

It has not been a good season for Robbie Jackson's Forest City Lumberjacks, who have fallen to the cellar, 18 games out of first place. They are batting only .245 (32nd), have scored just 259 runs (31st) and collected only 48 homers (25th). Jackson has one of the worst offenses in the IPA. 1B Andy Doiron (.311/9 HR) is his only quality bat. In the pitching department the team is carrying a miserable 4.39 ERA (28th) with only one dependable pitcher in Al Thibaut (6-11 2.92), who has stood out despite a losing record.

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The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian North Mid-Season Recap

North Hills Worst To First In TU North
Everyone is wondering when the bubble will burst for the North Hills Hawks in the Tycobbian North. Manager Hub Carlson has his Hawks flying high in first place at the halfway mark. After two straight years in the cellar, North Hill has gone from worst to first this season. It's a very tight race with all 8 teams just a short winning streak away from the top perch. Only 7 games separate them in the standings. Last year's pennant-winning Fairfax and Luxora are tied for second, just a game back. The Hartsdale Hellcats are fourth, 3 games out. Blue Lake is 5th and trails by only 4 games. Sixth is is White River, just 5 games out of first. Mahaska and Oxford are seventh and last, and only 7 games off the pace of North Hills.

Hawks skipper Carlson told reporters recently, "We don't have good stats... We just win ballgames some way... somehow." Lou Dozier (9-6 2.72) and Ronnie Kerensky (7-4 2.91) head up his starting rotation. North Hills has a fine closer in Denny Stuart (2-1 1.37), who has closed out 15 wins so far. Overall the pitching is good with a 3.53 team ERA (10th). Offensively the Hawks are not much, batting only .248 (27th) with just 40 homers (32nd). CF Sozi Akayama (.311/5 HR) and 1B Masaichi Okawa (.256/14 HR) are the best bats.

None of the BNN experts are giving North Hills much of a chance to win the pennant. They are leaning toward the Fairfax Frogs, who can hit as well as pitch. Harry Buckley's Frogs were the preseason favorite and they are proving to be a strong contender. They are currently deadlocked with Luxora for the runner-up spot and just a game away from first. Fairfax has top-notch starters and relievers with a strong 3.19 team ERA. Buckley's main foursome is composed of Joe Hampton (11-5 3.02), Ken Hill (7-8 2.55), Wally Tidwell (5-7 3.32) and recent addition Gino Carmazzo (5-0 2.42). The Frog bullpen has been excellent with a 2.88 ERA (5th). Superstar RF Dane Wesner (.379/17 HR) and 2B Wes Hickox (.280/12 HR) lead the offense. As a team, Fairfax is battng .261 (13th) and has gone deep 67 times (11th).

Up in the mountains Alejandro Rodrigo has his Luxora Zorros near the top of the standings. He has two quality twirlers in Anthony Glaser (10-5 3.83) and Tommy Wrightman (8-6 3.55) and a sensational relief corps that has compiled a 2.56 ERA (2nd). Closer Connie Jahnke (3-1 0.56) is the leader with 10 saves. The Z's are very poor in offense with a .242 batting average (30th) and 51 roundtrippers (29th), but they have managed to score fairly well with 323 runs (13th). RF Bob Haviland leads with 15 homers, but is hitting a lowly .237 for the year. Rodrigo's best batsman is 1B Jack McNeal with a .300 average and 9 clouts.

Hartsdale is a Luxora with firepower. Zim Donner's boys can hit it out of the park with some regularity and he has some solid pitchers, too. The Hellcats are in fourth place in the TU North and only 4 games back in the race. They are batting .256 (20th) with 71 home runs (7th). Pitching-wise the staff carries a very solid 3.41 ERA. In the bullpen they have been terrific with a league-best 2.14 ERA (1st). Tony Lane (10-3 2.57) is Hartsdale top starter and closer Ben Clermont (3-2 2.01) is the best in the bullpen with 13 saved games. At the plate Donner has three solid veterans in 1B Tom Brabant (.315/17 HR), 2B Jud Turchin (.294/9 HR) and RF Mac Faulkner (.284/11 HR), all career .300 hitters with power. Look for Hartsdale to challenge Fairfax for the division crown.

Cobb Tyson's Blue Lake Blue Sox are in the same boat as several other clubs - strong pitching and weak bats. Currently they are in fifth place, but only 4 games out. Tyson has quality starters in Justin Eckhardt (11-5 2.78), Pete Henry (7-4 3.42), Jerry Harrison (5-9 3.37) and Dan Whitfield (3-3 3.05). Overall the team ERA is an outstanding 3.22 (6th). The bullpen is even better with a 2.84 mark (3rd). Closer Mark Carey (0-3 3.07) has registered 16 saves at mid-season. The Blue Sox are batting .253 (24th) with 56 homers (21st), paced by CF Rob Hilliard (.286/17 HR) and C Justin Kucks (.308/8 HR). In the final analysis, Tyson's offense will have to pick it up to contend with the other leaders.

The sixth-place White River Rascals are like most of the other TU North teams - they could use several more productive bats. The Rascals are batting at a so-so .259 pace (17th) with 60 home runs (16th). Skipper John Randison's top hitter is part-time SS Jesse Crockhart (.377/2 HR). Randison has a good mound staff, headed up by three fine starters in Clinton Banfield (10-4 3.17), Lance Logan (8-6 2.99) and Brian Charles (6-6 3.33). White River is 11th with a 3.54 team ERA.

The Mahaska Haymakers and Oxford Red Caps are in last place, but still technically in the running. They are only 7 games behind leading North Hills. A week-long hot streak could put them in the thick of things. However, neither ballclub appears to have the pitching of the rest of the teams in the division. Rusty Tanussa's Haymakers have a 4.12 team ERA (23rd) and Campy Roy's Red Caps are at 3.93 (20th). Both clubs hit with some power. Mahaska has hit 59 out of the park (18th) with a .261 BA (14th) and Oxford has walloped 79 (3rd) with a .259 average (18th). Lanussa's top players are RF Reynaldo Quezada (.317/12 HR), C Sollie Rees (.313/4 HR) and SS Monty Davis (.271/9 HR). On the hill Johnny Picou (9-5 3.56), Johnny Spears (8-8 3.10) and closer Robby Sampson (1-1 3.10) lead the way. Roy's top performers are position players 1B Eddy Dowler (.326/15 HR), 2B Carl Graeme (.283/11 HR) and 3B Cameron Kamara (.262/11 HR). On the mound Dean Wilder (7-7 3.26) and closer Ronnie D'Abo (0-2 1.72) have been Oxford best pitchers.

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian South Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian South Mid-Season Recap

Turon Tops TU South Again, Cape Coral Close By
Perennial kingpin Turon is perched on top of the Tycobbian South again. The Typhoons of Whitey Richburn are seeking their 5th successive division flag and just might get it. However, Turon has some competition this season from Cape Coral, who is clinging close just 2 games back, from Summerland, who is 5 games out and from Colchester, 6 games off the pace.

Turon has an illustrious record in the IPA with 3 Pro Cups, 5 division pennants and 7 postseason appearances. The Typhoons are solid at the plate and on the mound and have adequate defense (.973 FA). Richburn is steep in starters with Nicky Engstrom (10-6 2.14), Jeb Pickett (9-4 2.88), Jame Stuart (8-7 3.14) and Freddi Spiegel (8-5 3.76). He is super strong in the bullpen with a brilliant closer in Merle Studebaker (4-2 1.55), who has racked 14 saves so far. Overall the club has a very strong 3.16 ERA (3rd), while batting .275 (4th) and is 4th in run scoring with 352. Top Typhoon hitters are rookie 1B Clyde Kingsford (.294/13 HR), LF Andy Porter (.299/9 HR) and SS Mickey O'Malley (.290/8 HR). It may be a more difficult task this year with Cape Coral, Summerland and Colchester playing well, but the baseball prognosticators are still going with Turon to win the TU South again and be a strong contender for the 2012 Pro Cup in September.

Up until a 10 days ago Marty Pedroza had his Cape Coral Hurricanes blowing everybody away and in first place, but they have gone into a mild slump and Turon has won 8 of its last 10 games to move ahead in the division by a couple of games. Pedroza depends on his pitching corps and has a good one with three capable arms in his starting rotation. Cody Burg (10-6 1.98) is still one of the best at age 30 and he has plenty of help from Steve Aaron (9-6 3.51) and Nasty Naymick (7-7 3.19). Closer Bobby Maas (3-0 1.17) has fashioned 15 saves and has been almost impossible to score on. The Hurricanes need better offense to stick with Turon over the long haul. The club is only carrying a .253 BA (23rd) with only 55 home runs (25th) and 289 runs (26th). CF Derek Ryckman (.297/13 HR), 3B Bobby Josker (.287/9 HR) and LF Rich Osolinsky (.305/6 HR) head up Pedroza's hitters.

Improved hitting has helped the Summerland Sunsets rise up to third place in the standings this season. Will Hackett's bats have hit a .269 rate (7th) with 58 roundtrippers (19th-tied) and 323 runs (13th-tied). The club has carded a 3.62 team ERA (14th). However, in the bullpen, Hackett's hurlers have fine 2.95 ERA (6th). Summerland's starters are Denny Coulon (9-6 2.65), Pat Dreux (5-4 2.86) and Mark Falzone (9-5 3.43). In the closer role Frank Gerber (0-2 2.84) has put up 14 saves. SS Don Hanks (.330/6 HR) and CF Jim Garrison (.301/10 HR) have supplied most of the offense.

Cape Coral and Summerland will battle with Colchester for the second spot in the TU South. None of them are likely to surpass potent Turon. The Colchester Elites are fourth and trail by 6 games at the All-Star game. Uncle Robbie Wilbertson's charges sport a .268 batting average (9th) with 56 homers (19th-tied) and 321 runs scored (15th). He has good pitching, too, with a 3.69 team ERA (16th). Frank Payne (7-4 2.67) is Colchester's ace, along with veteran Jimmy Simmons (6-10 3.37), who is going through a tough year by his standards. Sparking the offense are 1B Harlan Roscoe (.300/8 HR), C Tommy Booker (.273/12 HR), LF Ronnie Horn (.275/9 HR) and CF Douglas Tilford (.301/6 HR).

Down in Ginza the Ninjas are in fifth place and 7 games in back of first place Turon. Ninja skipper Huroko Uchiyama has put together a good mound staff, led by Koichi Ishikawa (8-2 3.14) and Joji Azuma (10-7 3.44). The Ninjas have another fine starter in Carl Trebek (6-9 2.69), who has pitched much better than his record would indicate. Kakuzo Harimoto (1-2 2.28) had done well in the closer slot for Ginza. Uchiyama needs better offense. His best bats are few in number with LF Mark Buchanan (.339/11 HR) and CF Chazzie Lombardi (.294/6 HR) providing the best numbers at the plate.

The rest of the clubs will have to wait until the proverbial "next year" for their day in the sun. The Arroyo Grande Suns are sixth, 11 games behind with the San Alejo Montaneros and Southport Sun Sox pulling up the rear in last place, 14 games back. Jean-Luc Marchand's Suns can hit with a .276 average (3rd), but do miserably on the mound with a 4.59 ERA (31st). The Arroyo Grande batting order is led by superstar LF Jet Kazmarek (.330/9 HR), 1B Sherm Miles (.285/12 HR) and C Don Holden (.296/6 HR). Marchand's lone quality pitcher is Chuck Kowalczyk (7-6 3.81).

Basement dwellers San Alejo and Southport don't do much of anything well and have only a few talented performers. Montanero manager Lando Peceda's top players number only two: pitcher Chad Gilmore (10-7 3.25) and 1B Dominique Poirot (.293/7 HR). Charley Oscar is at the helm of the Southport Sun Sox, who are suffering from a 10-year postseason drought. His best players are LF Big Stick Takala (.333/12 HR) and 2B Charlie Gamble (.296/10 HR).

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Recap

South Fork Startling 7 Games Up On Ozarka In TU East
Deroche "Lips" Leon has a lot to talk about this year in the Tycobbian East. His South Fork Stallions have the best record in the entire Islandian Pro Alliance. The Stallions have compiled a 47-22 record, one game better than the Colfax Blasters of the RU West. Running in second place and 7 games out are the tough Ozarka Naturals, who have won the division the past two seasons. The Red Bluff Red Sox are a distant third and 10 games behind the Stallions and Tuckanarra is fourth and 13 games off the pace.

South Fork is hitting .269 (8th) with 68 home runs (10th) and has scored 356 runs (2nd). Leon's pitching is adequate with a 3.57 team ERA. However, the bullpen is lacking with a 4.36 ERA. Starters Blackie Terranova (14-3 2.78), Steffi Crotzer (6-4 3.08) and Dave Small (9-6 3.35) have done well. South Fork's closer Ernie Hostetler (4-3 3.00) has chalked up 17 saves. At the plate CF Gary Horn (.301/13 HR), RF Robby Michael (.287/8 HR) and 3B Bobby Ritter (.333/5 HR) have been the offensive leaders. The Stallions handle defense very well with a fine .978 fielding average.

Joe Mac Carney and the Ozarka Naturals have the misfortune to be in the same division as the sizzling South Fork Stallions. The Nats are playing excellent ball, but have a lot of games to make up to catch the Stallions. They are 40-27 this year and have a well-balanced team with a .273 BA (5th), 72 roundtrippers (6th) and 353 runs scored (3rd). Carney has solid pitching with a 3.39 team ERA (7th). Ozarka features three strong starters in Eddie Roberts (9-3 2.49), Emile Leduc (8-3 3.05) and Billy Krsnich (6-6 3.27). The Naturals have a strong core of hitters, led by 3B Todd Chadwick (.336/6 HR), LF Vic Weinstein (.322/10 HR), SS Nathan Ferrell (.315/10 HR), C Todd Pepper (.311/5 HR) and 1B Al Wesner (.279/12 HR).

Like Ozarka, the third-place Red Bluff Red Sox (37-32) are doing well, but still trail first place South Fork by 10 games. Manager Mack Connery has a good group of starters, anchored by Jim Melanakos (9-3 2.69) and John Dougherty (9-6 3.42), but he really has a problem when he has to go to the bullpen. His relievers are among the league's worst with a 4.52 ERA (27th). The Red Sox are not too potent in the batter's box. They are batting .261 (15th), but have difficulty scoring. Red Bluff has only 56 homers (27th-tied) and have scored only 276 runs (30th). It's not likely the Red Sox will challenge for the pennant this year. The only race will be between South Fork and Ozarka.

The Tuckanarra Blue Jays are fourth in the TU East at mid-year and are 13 games out. Carlton "Lefty" Stevens has molded quite a pitching staff that is first in the league with a standout 3.01 ERA, headed up by Delaney Elliott (8-6 2.78) and Roy Spence (10-6 3.69). Tyrus Bristow (5-9 2.59) has pitched very well, but his won-lost mark doesn't reflect it. The Blue Jays have a good closer, too. Neil Hilton (2-4 3.00) has put up 14 saves thus far. Tuckanarra will not be an elite team in the division until it hits better. As a team the Jays are last in scoring with only 262 runs (32nd) with a .256 BA (21st) and 56 home runs (21st). Carlson's top bats are SS Wayne Snider (.331/7 HR), 3B Rocky Fuqua (.299/6 HR) and RF Gilberto Montenegro (.290/6 HR).

Fifth place High Mesa is 14 games back, but the Cowboys can hit the ball and are led by the home run and RBI leader in the Tycobbian Union, 2B Wild Deer Etchimin, who is hitting .296 with 20 homers and 59 RBIs. Manager Frisky Franks has two more top guns in 3B Ed Albrecht (.333/10 HR) and LF Darrel Alston (.265/15 HR). On the hill High Mesa has an outstanding hurler in Johnny Falcon, who has had an extraordinary year with an 11-3 mark and a very impressive 2.58 ERA, especially considering he has to pitch in one of the smallest stadiums in the IPA, Queen Ranch Stadium. As a team the Cowboys have a .264 batting average (12th) with 88 home runs (2nd) and have put 345 runs on the scoreboard (5th). But they have also been tagged for a lot of runs and possess a poor 4.23 ERA (27th).

The Midway Wolves are in the sixth spot in the TU East standings, 16 games behind the top team South Fork. Manager Cochise Chandler has a few quality players, but overall the Wolves are a little less-than-average club. They are 22nd with a .254 BA and 22nd with a 4.07 ERA. Chandler's charges can go deep pretty well with 72 homers (5th) and are led by 1B Don Piper (.313/11 HR), CF Johnny Lee (.270/11 HR) and 3B Ricky Mitchell (.271/11 HR). Midway has several strong hurlers on its staff. Matt Niemeyer has notched a 10-5 record with a sub-.500 team. Niemeyer has a strong 2.84 ERA. Another able starter is Kojiro Matsumoto with a 5-5 mark and a very strong 2.32 ERA. Bullpen specialist Dom Vilaggio (0-1 2.50) has registered 12 saves.

It's another tough season for Arky Spanderson in Hillsboro where the Blazers have never made the playoffs, finished over .500 or higher than fifth place. This year Hillsboro is 7th and 22 games off the pace. They are 31st with a very poor .237 BA, 28th in scoring with 284 runs and 30th with a sky-high 4.59 ERA. The Blazers only good stat is 71 roundtrippers (7th-tied). 1B Dominic Carbonetti (.268/15 HR) and SS Tommy Cooper (.287/13 HR) are Spanderson's best sticks.

The East Point Panthers are struggling in last place, 24 games out. Skipper Griff Clarke's team is low-rated in everything but home runs. The Panthers are 25th with a .251 BA, 27th in scoring with 285 runs and 29th with a lofty 4.54 team ERA. East Point is ranked 4th with 78 home runs. Clarke's slugging 2B Jesse Goodwin has belted 20 out of the park and is hitting at a .310 pace. CF Joey Olson is also a capable bat with a .319 average and 8 homers. The Panthers best pitcher is rookie closer Mark Hobbs, who has chalked up 11 saves in his first year.

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian East Mid-Season Standings, Team Batting and Pitching

The Islandian Times

Friday, June 15, 2012

2012 Tycobbian West Mid-Season Recap

6-Team Jam In TU West, BSC Bucs Slight 2-Game Edge
Go on a short losing streak in the Tycobbian West and you could take a quick dip in the standings. 6 Teams are jammed up within 7 games of each other with the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers presently holding on to a tenuous 2-game lead over runner-ups Chicopee and Kenwood. Arlon and La Claire are only 4 games back and tied for fourth place. The Bayview Vikings are in sixth, but just 7 games off the pace. Halfway through the season, it is still a wide open race in the TU wild, wild West. There is no clear-cut favorite. What is even more surprising is the preseason favorite and division winner for the last four years - the Denton City Redbirds - has fallen all the way to seventh place and doesn't appear to have any postseason chance at all due to atrocious pitching.

Guy Rondre and Bay St. Clair haven't been in the postseason since 2005. This could be the year of the Buccaneer, but only if Rondre can find some pitching. The Bucs are 25th with a 4.22 team ERA. He has two quality starters with Duke DeVree (10-6 3.33) and Dean Dailey (8-5 3.94) and a steady closer with Sean Lawrence (3-4 2.83), who has claimed 10 saves. The situation is better at the plate with the likes of 1B Gerry Fields (.285/15 HR), SS Kelly Wright (.307/9 HR) and LF Bruno DiPirri (.373/9 HR). Bay St. Clair is hitting .265 (11th) as a team with 344 runs (6th) and 66 homers (12th-tied). One big plus for the Bucs is defense - they lead the IPA with a great .981 fielding percentage.

The Chicopee Braves may have the best shot at the flag. Harry Fleetfoot has the best-balanced squad in the division with a good 3.60 ERA (13th) coupled with a good offense. The Braves are batting .271 (6th), gone deep 66 times (12th-tied) and have tallied 332 runs (10th). Des Quartermain (9-4 3.73), Bill Branch (8-7 3.06) and Big Feather Cheveyo (5-6 3.03) top the twirlers. Albert Viho (3-2 1.80) has done a great job at closer with 16 saves. 1B Robby Maynard is the top hitter in the league with a .383 average and 10 home runs. 2B Matt Mazurek (.339/5 HR) is having a career year and RF Ernie Esteban (.293/10 HR) has contributed, too.

Over in Kenwood Aaron Hankins has the Wildcats in the thick of the pennant race in a second-place tie and only 2 games behind. Hankins has four good, consistent starters: Todd Combs (10-7 1.83), Denny Yarrow (8-8 3.84), Tank Tucker (5-5 3.57) and Nick Deville (6-5 3.87). Kenwood has a 3.60 team ERA (13th). What Hankins needs is more offense. The Wildcats struggle at the plate with a .249 BA (29th), 51 home runs (29th-tied) and 305 runs (20th). If the hitting picks up in the second half, Kenwood could contend. It has the pitching.

The Arlon Champions and La Claire Lynx are deadlocked in a fourth-place tie, trailing by just 4 games. Skipper Gary Louis has stayed in the race on the talent of starters Armando Cruz (9-5 2.18) and Kenneth Ball (5-1 3.26), along with his excellent closer Johnny Rabelais (1-1 1.59), who has saved 14 games. Overall the Champs pitching is 15th with a 3.66 ERA. Arlon's offense has just not done the job. They are only 28th in the league with a .245 average, 22nd in scoring with just 298 runs and 15th with 62 roundtrippers. Louis' top batters are RF Chucky Gilton (.283/15 HR), LF Rocco Belasario (.270/12 HR) and CF Charley Turner (.294/3 HR).

Rip Calkin in La Claire is pleased with his offensive output. The Lynx lead the league with a .280 batting average (1st) and boast 3 of the TU's top 10 hitters in LF Zeppy Deshotel (.335/10 HR), 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR) and 1B Luis Marquez (.339/6 HR). La Claire is 7th in scoring with 341 runs, but tied for 19th with just 58 home runs. Calkin has only fair pitching with a 4.01 team ERA (21st). Rick Novronski (12-7 2.85) is his best starter. Calkin recently promoted Nick Pilsner (5-2 3.38) to the starting rotation and he has responded well. The bullpen has done decently with closer Stan Clermont (1-4 3.48), who has saved 11 games. Two starters, Bernie Halsey (7-8 4.38) and Doug Lyons (5-6 3.92), may hold the key to La Claire's season. If they step it up a notch, the Lynx could sneak into the pennant chase.

Bayview will have to drastically improve on the hill to make a serious playoff challenge. Walter Johanssen's Vikings are absolutely last with a terrible 4.97 ERA (32nd). That why the team is in sixth place and 7 games back. But when it comes to hitting, Bayview is the best in the league with a standout .279 batting average (2nd), 81 dingers (1st) and 363 runs (1st). Johanssen has no end of good hitters in his batting order. They all hit with power and for average. Sparking the attack are 2B Dale Pace (.350/7 HR), LF Kelton Carpenter (.324/12 HR), 3B Karl Benson (.316/13 HR), CF Tommy Riddle (.299/12 HR), RF Russ Murphy (.280/12 HR) and C Joe Lootah (.319/7 HR).

It's hard to believe that such a dominating and powerful club like Denton City could crumble so badly in just a few months. The Redbirds rolled into 2012 looking for their 5th TU West title in a row and most people thought they would get it. But it hasn't happened due to a total collapse of its pitching. Even one of the all-time greats in the IPA has fallen on hard times. Mila Mohoski is just 6-9 record-wise, but is still a tough customer on the mound with a 2.92 ERA. Manager Ford Whiteman has seen his rotation tumble from a 3.42 ERA to a 4.23 ERA. It's still not too late for the Redbirds to turn it around. All that is needed is for Roger Ramsey (7-6 4.23), Mike Danek (4-11 6.45) and Dave Blair (6-8 4.03) to pitch like they did last year in the second half of the season. Denton City can still handle the bats with a .267 BA (10th), 70 home runs (9th) and 340 runs (8th). Vets 3B Jay Petit (.302/14 HR), RF Lavon Gooch (.307/10 HR) and SS Trevor Tomlinson (.288/6 HR) can still deliver the goods as good as ever.

Matty Christianson's Rolling Hills Reds are in the cellar and are 11 games back of leading Bay St. Clair. The Reds are just not very good. They are 26th in homers with 53, 23rd in scoring with 297 runs and are batting only .259 (16th). On the mound the team has a poor 4.20 ERA (24th). Christenson's top players are pitcher Toshiharu Ito (9-7 3.38), 3B Clay Hoffman (.290/9 HR) and LF Donnie Lewis (.301/3 HR).

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

2012 All-Star Game Tomorrow in Far Mountain
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 All-Stars versus the Tycobbian 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 the game will be played tomorrow afternoon at Sky High Stadium, the home of the defending IPA Pro Cup champions, the Far Mountain Redhawks. Tycobbia has dominated the All-Star series with 9 wins in 11 games. LaGrange led the RU with four players and Sligo and San Dimas provided 3 each. The La Claire Lynx topped the TU with 4 representatives and High Mesa and Cape Coral each had two players selected. Only one rookie, LaGrange's closer Andre Dupas, made the squad.

Hank Bethel (Rocky Rapids) made the Ruthlandian stars for the 8th time. Quincy Peterson (LaGrange), Hal Stevenson (Sugar Valley) and Ryan Raines (Colfax) are 5-time All-Stars. Mike Luzzatti (Claxton) and Jimmy Holman (Marston) have been honored 4 times. Todd Wolfe (Volusia), Otto Kronvath (LaGrange) and Hollis Waldrup (Sligo) are 3-time selections.

Jet Kazmarek (Arroyo Grande) has been picked on the Tycobbian stars for the 8th year, Cody Burg (Cape Coral) is an All-Star for the 7th time, Dane Wesner (Fairfax) and Zeppy Deshotel (La Claire) were chosen for the 5th time, Tom Brabant (Hartsdale) and Jose Aguilar (Red Bluff) have made the squad 4 times and Jay Petit (Denton City), Tommy Riddle (Bayview), Rick Hilliard and Todd Chadwick are 3-time All-Stars.

The Ruthlandian Union roster will feature these outstanding players:
SP P. Orantes (LAG) 9-4 1.94
SP N. Perrier (GLS) 12-3 2.34
SP R. Kelly (FM) 10-5 2.23
SP C. Schmitz (SD) 12-5 3.09
SP V. Rastelli (SLI) 12-7 2.89
SP B. Prince (SD) 10-5 2.45
SP T. Wolfe (VOL) 10-5 2.70
CL C. Costas (BEE) 2-0 1.82 18 SV
CL R. Marroquin (SD) 1-2 1.32 17 SV
CL A. Dupas (LAG) 3-2 1.67 18 SV
C H. Stevenson (SV) .283/18/59/38 .992 FA 38.% RTO 3 PB
C A. Lemay (CLX) .254/10/39/26 .990 FA 40.8% RTO 2 PB
C H. Bethel (RR) .317/10/48/38 .995 FA 30.6% RTO 3 PB
C O. Kronvath (LAG) .298/17/47/39 .967 27.9% RTO 9 PB
1B M. Luzzatti (CLX) .368/19/56/57
1B N. Cockcroft (WYN) .335/12/42/42
1B P. Gravelli (CL) .307/22/59/51
2B H. Waldrup (SLI) .308/10/39/59
2B J. Rose (MDF) .335/7/45/50
3B Z. Parks (BB) .308/9/36/33
3B J. Holman (MAR) .312/11/40/44
SS L. Sullivan (GLS) .277/15/32/37
SS P. Duvalier (FTB).306 5/40/35
SS R. Robinson (FC) .297/6/23/36
LF K. Jankauskas (VLK) .332/27/66/66
LF Q. Peterson (LAG) .322/17/51/51
CF R. Raines (CFX) .323/18/53/58
CF K. MacPhail (KIL) .361/3/34/49
CF C. Willis (ETS) .379/4/34/42
RF K. Heidelberg (CFX) .379/8/27/46
RF K. Doyle (WLK) .290/16/56/46
RF C. Renshaw (SLI) .317/9/50/46

And the Tycobbian Union roster will have these elite performers:
SP C. Burg (CC) 11-6 1.90
SP T. Combs (KEN) 10-7 1.83
SP B. Terranova (SF) 15-3 2.69
SP J. Falcon (HM) 13-3 2.57
SP N. Engstrom (TUR) 10-7 2.19
SP R. Novronski (LC) 13-7 3.01
SP A. Cruz (ARL) 10-5 2.17
CL D. Stuart (NH) 2-1 1.27 16 SV
CL B. Maas (CC) 3-0 1.13 16 SV
CL A. Viho (CHI) 3-3 2.25 16 SV
C M. Bardinda (LC) .275/6/39/21 .991 FA 47.4% RTO 2 PB
C S. Kisecawchuk (SUM) .201/4/24/21 .997 FA 23.5% RTO 1 PB
C T. Pepper (OZK) .311/5/20/46 .988 FA 36.2% RTO 5 PB
1B R. Maynard (CHI) .383/10/36/27
1B T. Brabant (HAR) .315/17/50/47
1B E. Dowler (OXF) .326/15/55/37
2B J. Goodwin (EP) .310/20/50/43
2B W. Etchimin (HM) .296/20/56/46
2B D. Pace (LC) .350/7/28/47
3B T. Chadwick (OZK) .336/6/47/40
3B K. Benson (BAY) .316/13/47/40
3B J. Petit (DC) .302/14/43/43
SS J. Aguilar (RB) .336/7/39/44
SS K. Wright (BSC) .307/9/46/35
LF Z. Deshotel (LC) .335/10/52/48
LF B. DiPirro (BSC) .373/9/37/57
LF M. Buchanan (GIN) .339/11/42/47
CF T. Riddle (BAY) .299/12/53/43
CF R. Hilliard (BL) .286/17/41/50
RF J. Kazmarek (AG) .330/9/38/51
RF D. Wesner (FFX) .379/17/42/43
RF R. Quezada (MAH) .317/12/46/48

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2012 IPA All-Star Game

RU Stars Nip TU Stars 5-4, Gravelli Homers In 10th
They may be only 3-9 overall in the IPA All-Star series, but the Ruthlandian Stars have won the last two from the Tycobbian Stars... After blowing a 3-0 lead after 5 innings, Ruthlandia rallied to win it 5-4 on Phil Gravelli's (Crystal Lake) walk-off blast in the bottom of the 10th at beautiful Sky High Mountain in Far Mountain. That blow dealt the loss to Denny Stuart (North Hills) and gave the victory to Carl Costas (Beechwood)... both of them came on in the last inning... The RU Stars outgunned the TU with 12 hits to 11 and 3 homers to 1... LF Kurt Jankauskas singled in the first score in the opening inning putting Ruthlandia in front early... They added to it when 1B Mike Luzzatti (Claxton) clouted a home run in the third, 3B Jimmy Holman (Marston) drilled one in the fourth and 1B Gravelli got the last one... In the top of the sixth frame after pinchhitter Jay Petit (Denton City) singled in TU's first run and cut the lead to 3-1, SS Jose Aguilar (Red Bluff) ripped a 3-run shot for Tycobbian to send them ahead 4-3... A triple by Kippy Doyle (Waleska) and a Hank Bethel (Rocky Rapids) sac fly evened it up at 4-all in the last of the sixth... Gravelli was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. Both teams played error-free baseball... Gravelli, Holman and Luzzatti all had two hits apiece.

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Batting Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian North Final Standings, Team Batting and Team Pitching

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian North Final Recap

FM Redhawks Runaway With RU North
The defending Pro Cup champion Far Mountain Redhawks went on a second-half rampage and won the RU North in a rout by 12 games over second place LaGrange. The Sports led by 4 games at the All-Star game, but could not withstand the Far Mountain onslaught. The Redhawks bats came alive in a sensational second-half surge. Kilkenny and Valmara tied for third place, 18 games out, Glasco and Taranto finished fifth, 19 games back, Ranford was seventh, 20 games behind and Ancona was last, 22 games off the pace.

In Far Mountain (96-58), manager Alex Groveland won more games than anyone in the IPA with a two-prong attack - a .272 team batting average (2nd) and a splendid 2.88 team ERA (2nd)... two 20-game winners sparked the Redhawk rotation... Boomerang Hines (23-14 2.55) and All-Star Robby Kelly (22-8 2.38) had excellent seasons with help from Wayne Baxley (13-7 3.14) and rookie Woody Crawford (10-6 3.19)... FM got good bullpen work from closer Erich Dumont (2-7 3.11) with 23 saves... However, Hines suffered an injury in early September and will be out 9 months and will miss the Pro Cup playoffs... Groveland also has an outstanding line-up with C Otis Ott (.306/21/96/68), LF Phil Stewart (.306/7/62/91), SS Don Nichols (.302/17/99/97), 3B Duane Parsons (.283/19/88/106) and CF Xavier Sosa (.275/20/58/107), all veterans from last year's IPA Pro Cup title team... even with the severe loss of Hines, the Redhawks may be a bit better this year. Hines was the Pro Cup MVP last season with a 5-1 record and a microscopic 1.11 ERA in 6 starts and one relief effort. Hines won the title game in relief.

Foxy Jimison's LaGrange Sports (84-70)) did not have the overall talent to compete with the likes of Far Mountain... All-Stars Pablo Orantes (18-13 2.63) and rookie closer Andre Dupas (8-2 1.65) were his best arms... Dupas saved 30 games... at the plate All-Star LF Quincy Peterson (.296/29/98/96), All-Star C Otto Kronvath (.290/27/81/76) and SS Bill Nilsen (.247/30/92/86) were standouts.

The Valmara Vipers (78-76) and Kilkenny Cats (78-76) were tied for third in the standings... Neither approached the caliber of Far Mountain and LaGrange... In Valmara manager J. Jackson Samuel's best performers were pitchers Vanya Vasylenko (15-13 3.18) and Jasek Zielinski (18-12 3.52) and position players LF Stan Czerwinski (.297/7/67/124), RF Lou Gdowski (.296/21/95/91) and rookie slugger 2B Jan Dvorak, who only batted .230, but homered 37 times and drove in 107 runs... Czerwinski topped the IPA with 124 runs, tied with Hollis Waldrup of Sligo... Kilkenny skipper Kieran McKenna's top players were pitcher Roger Davidson (15-13 3.06), All-Star CF Kevin McPhail (.353/9/87/105), who was second in batting average to Cris Willis of Eastshore (.371)... 2B Scooter Perez hit .274 and scored 108 runs.

Tied for fifth place in the RU North were the Glasco A's (77-77) and the Taranto Tars (77-77)... McDuffie Hughes' ballclub couldn't hit (.246 BA), but had pretty fair pitching (3.51 ERA), paced by All-Star Nicky Perrier (23-9 2.34), who surpassed his first season when he won the Rookie of the Year Award... Felipe Branco (18-18 3.87) and Bobby Joe Belvin (15-19 3.35) also effective starters, but suffered from lack of run support... All-Star SS Lee Sullivan (.268/22/69/82) had a good first half, but faded in the second half... 39-year old CF Ike Plunkett (.289/15/61/72) was Glasco's best batter... Tommaso Lazzorda in Taranto had the offense, but totally lacked pitching... The Tars led the league with a .277 BA and 855 runs, while ranking 3rd with 176 roundtrippers... however on the mound his staff compiled a pathetic 4.56 team ERA (29th)... Taranto's top contributors were LF Wayne Pounders (.274/32/108/94), RF Arnie Kennedy (.316/29/96/99) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.304/14/64/111) with the bats and Vito Incardona (20-10 4.05) and Dan Phillips (15-18 4.10) on the hill... considering they have to pitch in the Palazzo di Sport, one of the league smallest venues, Incardona and Phillips did very well.

The Ranford Bulls (76-78) wound up in seventh place under Page Satcher, but only 2 games under the .500 mark... Satcher had decent pitching, but woeful hitting... The Bulls had workhorses in their rotation, headed up by Chris Bernhoffer (14-21 3.44) and Val Hudson (14-16 3.64)... the other two starters Stanley Ross (14-15 4.19) and Shane Hall (13-16 4.45) were also effective at times... CF Tommy Reiner led the TU with 50 stolen bases and scored 102 runs, but batted only .246... 1B Billy Massengale walloped 27 homers and batted in 110 runs, but hit only .254... they were the Bulls best offense.

Manny Mickens' Ancona Red Elephants (74-80) do well in odd years and poorly in even years... this was the year to do badly and they did... Ancona ended up dead last, trailing pennant-winning Far Mountain by 22 games... Last year they were fourth and only 5 games off the pace... Mickens has some talented performers, but just not enough of them... Kenny Flack (19-10) was a 19-game winner with a 4.08 ERA in a hitter's ballpark... George Agelakos (16-22 3.90) and Yannis Vardakis (13-17 3.61) were dependable starters, too... At the plate Ancona was tough with 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.312/22/101/99), RF Louis DiMucci (.304/28/107/77) and LF Lacey Tompkins (.300/15/82/77)... Tompkins is a 12-year vet, who should reach the 1000-mark milestones with 1000 RBIs and 1000 runs early next season.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian South Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

BB Sunbirds Knock Off Claxton For RU South Flag
It was season-long battle between Belair Beach and Claxton with the Sunbirds getting the best of the Diamonds in the Ruthlandian South. Belair Beach outlasted preseason favorite Claxton by 4 games. Coming in third was San Dimas, 10 games out. The fourth spot went to Grand City, who trailed by 15. Crystal Lake and Waleska tied for fifth, 19 games off the pace. St. John was seventh, 21 games back and Valka wound up last, 24 games off the pace.

Belair Beach (89-65) overtook Claxton this year with some excellent pitching, good power-hitting and solid defense... Claxton won the RU South twice in the last four years and came in second in the other two seasons... This was the Sunbirds third division crown and first since the 2005 season... Manager Marty Pedroza had a strong pitching staff with four fine starters... Overall the team ERA was 3.28, third best in the RU, led by Tiny Lindgren (17-7 3.38), Slim Mosley (15-12 2.94), Pete Krohn (14-10 3.06) and Jeff Nieman (17-16 3.31)... A solid core of hitters provided the offense with a .263 BA (13th) and 163 homers (4th)... Sunbird bat leaders were RF Ron Dizon (.298/25/75/74), CF Billy Martz (.294/16/71/83), C Little Jake Bungarooba (.271/20/66/93) and All-Star 3B Zippy Parks (.278/72/73)... On defense the Sunbirds were the best in the division with a .976 FA.

The Old Perfesser Stacy Engel has a very fine ballclub in Claxton (85-69)... a bad August cost them the pennant... the Diamonds went 14-15, while Belair Beach was blistering 20-9 for the month... Claxton was right at the top with a .271 BA (3rd), 777 runs (5th) and 157 home runs (7th)... on the hill the Diamonds registered a good 3.54 team ERA... Defensively they were below average at .971 FA... Engel has some impressive veteran hurlers in Charlie Murphy (21-12 3.10), Doug Torvik (21-16 3.53), Alex Vanzetti (13-11 3.62) and Paul Grange (15-19 3.54)... coupled with a strong closer Tony Haverkamp (5-5 2.98), Claxton could give Belair Beach a good run... Haverkamp chalked up 29 saves... Engel had some powerful bats, too... All-Star 1B Mike Luzzatti had a wonderful year with 40 homers, 124 RBIs, 116 runs and a .332 batting average... Luzzatti will be a strong contender for the Golden Bat honors as he ranked in the top 5 in most offensive categories... Also chipping in some run production were RF Helmut Grazcyk (.297/23/81/95), 3B Paco Benitez (.304/2/54/99) and All-Star C Allen Lemay (.271/15/75/55).

The third place San Dimas Rancheros (79-75) just didn't have the offense to keep pace with Belair Beach and Claxton and they wound up 10 games back... But they did have the pitching... Paco Banderos' mound staff notched a rock-solid 3.29 ERA (4th)... his top hurlers were Carl Schmitz (22-11 2.55), Bobby Prince (17-15 2.51), Rudy Nasquez (9-5 3.28) and Rafael Vargas (10-9 3.92)... closer Raul Marroquin (4-11 2.35) had 31 saves... Schmitz, Prince and Marroquin were All-Stars... at the plate the Rancheros faltered badly with a poor .249 BA (27th)... Banderos' one decent bat was CF Rickey Alfonso with a .274 average, 13 homers, 54 RBIs and 98 runs scored... 1B Ron Armstrong (.282/16/65/59) added a little bit of offense.

The rest of the teams in the RU South had lackluster seasons and were fair to middlin' to mediocre in most respects... The Grand City Cybercats (74-80) were fourth in the standings and trailed by 15 games... Torry Joseph's top performers were closer Paul McBride (6-6 2.48) with 33 saves, starter Randy Andrews (17-15 3.71) and CF Jimmy Tremayne (.324/12/84/84)... the Cybercats moved up from last place in 2011.

Fifth place went to the Crystal Lake Crushers (70-84) and Waleska Westerners (70-84), who were tied, winding up 19 games off the pace... Herman "Baby" George at Crystal Lake has one of the best players in the IPA, 1B Phil Gravelli (.291/34/110/95), who year-after-year produces great numbers... Gravelli was an All-Star for the 8th time and is a lifetime .318 hitter with 416 homers, 1280 RBIs and 1095 runs scored... Gravelli is the all-time IPA leader in home runs and RBIs... The Cybercats have a pair of fine pitchers in closer Jeff Jernigan (8-6 1.91) with 21 saves and starter Ben Dewberry (16-17 3.19)... In Waleska, McGraw Johnson has a 4-time All-Star LF Kippy Doyle (.285/28/97/91), who is closing in on 1000 career RBIs... 2B DePaul Labat (.287/15/59/112) put up some good numbers for the Westerners.

The seventh place St. John Crusaders (68-86) have Dickie Billings at the helm... They ended up 21 games behind in the pennant race... Paul Tarkovsky (15-15 3.29) and Teddy Garson (16-16 3.47) give Billings two quality arms... the Crusaders best run producers are C Virgil Carpenter (.285/27/90/72), 2B Tony Borcellino (.282/23/84/73) and RF Clayton Luck (.267/13/64/96).

The Valka Blackhawks under the leadership of Jaan Kurus fell into the cellar this season, but they did have one of the most exciting players in the IPA... All-Star LF Kurt Jankauskas flirted with the home run record for awhile and ended up with 40... the powerhitter batted .303, scored 107 times and drove in 114 runs in a standout season... RF Mike Nordmann (.294/29/86/73) also had a solid year... on the hill the Blackhawks had two capable starters with Connie Krueger (14-16 2.95) and Erke Tonisson (17-12 4.10).

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian East Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching Statistics

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian East Final Recap

Cold Creek Prevails In RU East, Wynnamac 2nd
The Cold Creek Catamounts don't care that they are in the weakest division in the IPA - they won the pennant and will be in the Pro Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007. It was the Catamounts second RU East title. They beat out Wynnamac by 2 games in a close race. The Marston Nine came in third and trailed by 4 games. Fourth place went to Beechwood and Belle Plaine, who finished 6 games off the pace. The Elnora All-Stars were sixth and 9 games behind with defending champ Sugar Valley a surprising seventh and 16 games back. Eastshore was eighth and last, 21 games out. Only two teams in the division managed to break even for the season. Champion Cold Creek was 79-75 and Wynnamac was 77-77.

Manager T. Kelly Holmes' Catamounts played their best ball during the hot months of Summer and rallied past everybody to take the RU East crown... Good pitching and good power were the keys to victory. Cold Creek (79-75) had three solid starters in Payton Saunders (16-12 2.85), Tommy Weeks (16-15 3.39) and Russell Thurber (16-12 3.78)... At the plate Holmes had a trio of talented performers, paced by his grandson and CF Trip Holmes (.293/30/91/106), LF Nickie Troxell (.299/28/101/78) and RF Emile Stosha (.287/18/69/114).

Wynnamac's (77-77) starting pitching probably cost them the division, although overall the staff was steady and consistent with a 3.48 team ERA (7th). His starters were just not as strong as his relief corps... The bullpen notched a 3.05 ERA (4th)... Matt Donnelly only had one reliable starter and he was a very good one... Jerry Meeks posted a 22-12 mark with a terrific 2.17 ERA... The Sundowners had some punch in their line-up with All-Star 1B Nate Cockcroft (.342/27/87/84), LF Big Hoss Burkhalter (.290/21/82/78), RF Joey Eaton (.314/22/79/69) and CF Clive Farnham (.330/19/78/64).

The Marston Nine (75-79) improved to third place this season, up from seventh last year... Johnny Walters' crew wound up only 4 games out of first... Pitching carried Marston, especially its relievers... The bullpen registered a sensational 2.70 ERA (2nd), while the starters put up 3.55 ERA (7th)... Better hitting would have carried the day and quite possibly would have produced a pennant... Marston ranked 29th and 30th in runs and homers... Closer John Updike (7-5 2.20) sparked the bullpen with 20 saves and Zippy Hodge (19-19 2.87) and Milt Wilson (11-12 3.13) led the starters... Walters' best batters were All-Star 3B Jimmy Holman (.310/23/86/85) and RF Richie Mazzone (.284/12/52/90).

The Beechwood Bobcats (73-81) and Belle Plaine Musketeers (73-81) deadlocked for fourth place in the standings, 6 games off the pace... Both teams tailed off in the last two months of the season... The Bobcats with skipper Bret George in charge had some quality bats with the likes of 1B Ray Slater (.308/13/65/120), 2B Darrell Woods (.273/23/94/57), C Billy Gorham (.313/17/68/80), LF Clifton Czako (.289/18/76/74) and RF Dale Strickland (.279/19/83/65)... on the hill Beechwood's best were starters Dek Jumonville (18-15 2.75) and Harry Dye (17-16 3.11)... All-Star closer Carl Costas (6-6 4.60) was switched to a starting role at mid-year and saw his ERA shoot up from a brilliant 1.82 to an astronomical 4.60 by season's end.

Boo Ladrieux's Musketeers stayed in the chase because of some good pitching by starters Jorge Bonilla (19-13 3.24) and Brad Anderson (16-16 3.53) with some very strong help from closer Denny Reynaud (5-8 2.04), who chalked up 26 saves... Belle Plaine's poor hitting cost them dearly... The Muskies hit only .256 (19th) and were rated last in scoring and next-to-last in home runs... Ladrieux's leading hitter was 1B Rory Dickenson, who batted only .275 with 12 homers, 79 RBIs and 88 runs scored.

The Elnora All-Stars (70-84) of Zoggy White came in sixth, 9 games behind in the race... White had a mediocre team with few standouts... The All-Stars had little power and did not score well, ranking near the bottom of the league... Poor run support hampered a pretty fair staff... Taylor Gibbs (18-16 3.81), Robby Meredith (10-9 3.54) and Matty Wilkerson (13-18 3.88) were White's best pitchers... In late July Leroy Hill (15-14 3.250 was secured in a trade with Far Mountain for the stretch run and he pitched well, but went 3-4 despite a 3.09 ERA... RF Lloyd Voss (.348/19/95/950, one of the top bats in the IPA, had another fine season... CF Denny Sawyer (.287/23/87/73) also had a decent year.

The powerful Sugar Valley Rattlers (63-91) with 5 RU East titles and 7 playoff appearances in its 12-year history slithered in to a startling seventh-place finish... Terrible pitching was the crux of manager Gibby Bobkins problems... The Rattlers ballooned to a 5.13 team ERA, worst in the entire IPA... Bobkins' ace Charles Darby went from 20-6 with 2.71 ERA in 2011 to 17-20 and a 4.40 ERA... However, Sugar Valley could still rattle the fences with 154 roundtrippers... Superstar All-Star C Hal Stevenson had monster year with 39 homers, 128 RBIs and a .293 batting average... Stevenson lead the RU in RBIs... Pitching in more offense were LF Emile Djoravich (.286/20/59/115), CF Austen Conover (.263/4/56/103) and SS Johnny Smith (.278/29/75/82).

Twas another bad year for Killer Brewster's Eastshore Elegants (58-96), who laid claim to the RU East basement for the fifth time in its history... Not much you can do with a 4.71 ERA (31st)... There were only two bright stars on the club... CF Cris Willis topped the RU and the IPA with a .371 batting average... Willis had 11 homers, 77 RBIs and scored 85 times... LF Stan Cuccinello (285/29/102/82) put up some good numbers, too.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

2012 Ruthlandian West Final Standings, Team Batting and Pitching Statistics