Got some good news... Lukas Berger is going to look at my IPA and see if he can fix it so I can complete the 2079 playoffs.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 24, 2031

IPA Pro Cup Preview, Vipers Favored
The yearly quest for the IPA Pro Cup begins tomorrow with a pair of opening round games in the Ruthlandian Union featuring San Dimas and Valmara in one Elite 8 matchup and Sligo and Elnora in the other. In Tycobbia it will be Rolling Hills hosting East Point and Luxora taking on Ginza. Baseball analysts are picking Valmara to win the RU, while it's a toss-up in the TU among Luxora and Rolling Hills. The pundits are giving the edge to the Vipers in the Pro Cup Finals. All series will be best-of-seven games.

Valmara is expected to make another serious run for the Pro Cup crown... they won it in 2026 and were finalists last year and in 2023... the defending Pro Cup champion Blue Lake Blue Sox failed to make the playoff this season... for the sixth year in succession Jet Kazmarek's club is the RU North winner... Valmara (99-55) coupled great pitching and solid hitting to lead all comers in the IPA with 99 victories... the Vipers batted .275 as a team, ranked fourth in scoring and paced the IPA with a superior 2.85 team ERA... top performers were Garry Gromek (21-17/2.76), Teddy Lem (17-9/2.74), Carroll Cain (17-13/3.22), Ivan Guzek (10-3/2.06/22 saves), LF Benny Hooper (.325/25/115/92), CF Reno DiBenedetto (.285/16/100/101), RF Gerry Kazmarek (.313/10/64/105), C Floyd Randolph (.295/20/97/64) and 1B Jerry Rembert (.264/25/72/77)... Valmara is just average on defense with a .972 FA.

The San Dimas Rancheros won the Ruthlandian South for only the second time in history... the last year they took the division pennant was way back in 2008... this season the Rancheros pulled away in the second half and won comfortably by 7 games over second place St. John. Manager Wesley Pate guided division champ San Dimas (93-61) up from fourth in 2030 with standout mound work from Jay Barajas (23-10/2.68), Joaquin Lima (22-14/3.10) and Miguel Valdes (17-11/2.99), plus quality help from Shannon White (13-10/3.47) and closer Hector Villa (5-6/2.24/25 saves)... Villa topped the RU with 25 saves... Pate only has an average offense (17th) with very little power... the team hit only 79 homers (32nd)... 2B Joey Harris (.314/10/76/81) was the team's top batter, followed by SS Cloyd Middleton (.299/3/58/67), 3B Gregg Mathis (.291/9/55/73) and CF Ramon Escobar (.279/10/76/88)... San Dimas was tied with St. John defensively with .977 FAs, ranked second in the RU. Last year Blue Lake won the IPA crown with strong pitching... San Dimas thinks they can do it this year.

The Elnora All-Stars went on a second-half rampage and claimed the RU East pennant with ease, winning by 11 games over the defending division champion Wynnamac Sundowners and Beechwood Bobcats, who deadlocked for the runner-up slot... this was Elnora's first flag since 2023 and the fourth overall in its history... they have been stuck in the second division for most of the last decade. Last season was a fright for manager Leon Carter and his All-Stars (95-59) when they suddenly slipped to last place, mainly because of its pitching... this year the staff rebounded with a vengeance, improving from a poor 4.03 ERA to solid 3.42 ERA (12th), sparked by Lucien Vashon (22-10/3.18), Jeremy Sellers (22-11/3.09), Freddy Pfeffer (18-13/3.65) and 34-year-old Marv Elderson (12-8/3.89), who blossomed in a starting role after 8 years of mediocrity in the bullpen... the Elnora bats backed them up with a RU-leading .286 BA (1st) and ranked second in scoring, led by RF Pettis Pentleton (.353/15/98/111), who led the league in hitting, CF Travis Glass (.338/25/95/91), 1B Mel Long (.291/25/103/77) and 2B Matt Boyd (.314/13/85/76)... Look for the All-Stars to severely test the Valmara Vipers in the playoffs.

The Sligo Rovers captured their third RU West division flag in the last five seasons, staving off Fort Benton by 3 games and defending division champion Colfax by 6 games... Sligo has finished in the RU West first division for eight successive years... manager Eddie Keys got improvement in pitching and at the plate this year as his Sligo Rovers (86-68) claimed the RU West crown... Keys' mound staff was solid with a 3.36 ERA (10th) and his offense was sufficient with a .260 BA (19th) as the Rovers ranked 15th in scoring... defensively they were bad with a .966 FA... top pitchers were starters Earl Perkins (15-11/2.75), Bud Foster (13-11/2.60), Terry Bailey (16-13/3.36) and Lou Page (11-7/3.87), along with closer Andy Velasco (7-7/2.36/19 saves)... Sligo had no standout sticks... CF Darryl Collins (.283/22/71/82), 1B Maury Rice (.271/22/71/69) and 3B Howie Robertson (.276/2/56/82) were the most dependable... no one give the Rovers a serious chance in the Pro Cup competition, although they have played very well for the final six weeks of the season, chalking up a 29-19 mark... so have Valmara (29-19), San Dimas (31-17) and Elnora (34-14).

Over in the Tycobbian Union the pennant race in the TU North was only close for half the season... the Luxora Zorros took charge after the All-Star game and won the division handily by a whopping 13 games over the Fairfax Frogs and 16 better than the defending Pro Cup champion Blue Lake Blue Sox... the second-half surge gave the Zorros the most wins in the TU... Luxora notched 96 victories, which was second to Valmara of the RU North, who paced the IPA with 99 wins... The Z's won their 8th division title and the first since 2022. Strong pitching put Luxora (96-58) over the top this season... Manager Lacey Tompkins' hurlers compiled an impressive 3.08 team ERA (5th)... the Zorros finished second last year to Blue Lake in the TU North... good hitting in the second half of the season combined with the fine pitching to run away with the division... The Z's batted .256 (20th) with 138 home runs (12th) and ranked 11th in scoring runs... two 20-game twirlers Benny DeVito (22-14/2.29) and Fabio Medeiros (22-6/2.76) sparked the club... plus Valente Viero (16-15/2.76) and Tommy Ellefsen (13-7/3.83) were capable in the three and four spots in the rotation... relievers Kent Halloran (11-6/2.84/18 saves) and Toby White (6-3/1.98/13 saves) aided the cause, too... leading the Luxora attack were 1B Gerry Hathaway (.304/27/97/86), RF Roger Noble (.295/27/81/65), LF Carl Denton (.280/26/78/70) and CF Kevin Hanley (.283/15/64/97)... the Zorros are expected to make some noise in the Pro Cup playoffs this year... Tompkins' team is clicking on all cylinders and ready to roll in the postseason.

2031 was not a good year for the teams in the Tycobbian South. Only 3 of the them ended up winning records... down the stretch it was a 3-team battle with the Ginza Ninjas edging out the Southport Sun Sox by a single game and the Colchester Elites by 3 games... the race wasn't decided until the last day of the season. Southport could have forced a playoff, if they had won the on the final day... division champ Ginza (82-72) bounced back from a fifth-place 2030 season to take the crown... manager Huroko Uchiyama used home-run power primarily... his Ninjas cracked 169 roundtrippers (6th) and ranked fifth in runs with a .265 BA (8th)... pitching-wise Ginza was not impressive with a 3.83 team ERA (23rd)... the Ninjas featured a solid core of hitters with 1B Roger Lanier (.308/34/95/96), CF Cotton Cornwall (.278/31/108/97), 3B Johnny O'Rorke (.274/31/103/82) and LF Sadaharu Utchiyama (.305/15/72/93)... Lanier came to the Ninjas in June in a trade with St. John of the RU South... Ginza's pitching is suspect... Uchiyama's top starters were Harlan Wilson (18-12/4.19) and Andrei Schuler (16-15/3.66)... the Ninjas are not likely to get very far in the postseason.

For only the second time in its history East Point has won the Tycobbian East... the first time it happened was 23 years ago in 2008... the Panthers parlayed powerful pitching, home-run punch and good scoring to subdue the high-scoring Red Bluff Red Sox by 4 games... manager Karol Zodoka has the East Point Panthers (89-65) revved up and ready to go in the Pro Cup playoffs, which starts up tomorrrow... the Panthers scored 696 runs (9th), and socked 175 home runs (4th), but only batted .253 (22nd), while chalking up an impressive 3.05 team ERA (3rd)... Zodoka had 5 starters at various times during the season... heading up the rotation was Dixie Brooks (21-15/2.53), Frank Blair (17-16/3.11), Jack Bolden (8-5/3.07/12 saves), Stephen Edwards (15-8/3.11/11 saves) and Joe Foley (7-3/2.88)... Foley missed a year and came back in July to help fend off Red Bluff... Bolden and Edwards did double duty as starters and closers during the season... at the plate the Panthers were led by power-hitters 1B Tetsu Tanaka (.263/39/106/102) and CF Kenko Aoki (.275/35/89/87) with help from LF Wally Wright (.305/9/65/73). The Panthers will contend with Rolling Hills and Luxora for the TU title and the right to play for the IPA Pro Cup against the Ruthlandian Union champion.

For the 7th time in 13 years the Rolling Hills Reds have taken the Tycobbian West division crown and they did it by a comfortable 7 games over runner-up Bay St. Clair... Matty Christianson's Reds (91-63) led the IPA with a .290 team batting average and 785 runs... however the Reds were just average in pitching with a 3.57 ERA... Christianson has an abundance of fine bats led by his son 1B Billy Christianson (.336/16/75/133), who easily topped the IPA in runs with 133... RF Scotty Yiska (.306/27/105/89) and CF Terry Wade (.319/6/71/64) also batted .300... C Tony Brinkerhoff drove in 113 runs with 13 roundtrippers and a .262 BA... 2B Derek Kristensen (.297/5/49/76), 3B Jeff Booker (.289/1/64/63) and SS Tony Ptacek (.272/6/37/33) were productive bats, too... part-time regulars 3B Buffy Kowalczyk (.330/6/46/31), LF Lonnie Chadwick (.323/10/42/52), RF Bobby McConnell (.352/2/20/24) and Billy Jones (.301/1/15/19) hit over .300 as well... on the mound Errol Gaudet (21-8/2.75) and Tom Pierson (21-7/2.54) had super seasons... the other two starters Kenny Leonard (10-6/3.79) and Buck Myers (15-12/3.80) had quality seasons, too... closer Maury Cantrell (8-2/2.43/16 saves) was effective in the bullpen... with its high-octane attack and two very capable starters like Gaudet and Pierson, Rolling Hills will be a vibrant challenger in the TU playoffs, along with East Point and Luxora. The Tycobbian Union looks like a 3-team tussle with Ginza of the TU South not likely to be much of a contender... the hottest TU teams going into the playoffs are Luxora and Ginza... The Zorros notched an 32-16 mark, while the Ninjas were 30-18 the last six weeks... Rolling Hills was 27-21 and East Point posted a 25-23 record.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES PRO CUP POLL:
1. Valmara Vipers (RU)
2. Luxora Zorros (TU)
3. Elnora All-Stars (RU)
4. San Dimas Rancheros (RU)
5. Rolling Hills Reds (TU)
6. East Point Panthers (TU)
7. Sligo Rovers (RU)
8. Ginza Ninjas (TU)

That would be great. Hopefully this dynasty can continue for another 21 seasons and you can reach 100!

MY LIFE IN 2024
EC's Life Is An Encore In '24

Reading Joe Posnanski's fine book featuring some of the most interesting and entertaining moments in baseball history, it brought to EC's memory my wonderful old Wilson baseball gloves... goodness gracious, they were a thing of beauty and perfection because I spent many hours breaking them in, fondling and caressing them with neetsfoot oil... I treated my gloves with tender love and care... they were sorta like a sweetheart... EC never threw my beloved gloves in the dust and dirt... nope, EC treated my gloves and my gals with great respect... Posnanski listed the 5 best barehanded plays in baseball... one of them involved Cincinnati's Johnny Bench, when he was a rookie.

"Wit, Quips and Quotes From the Diamond Minds"
Here is an excerpt from Joe Posnanski's entertaining book "Why We Love Baseball - A History in 50 Moments"... actually he has 108 moments in the book.

There were no gloves in the earliest days of baseball. Those were the days -- baseball's first great chronicler Henry Chadwick wrote -- "when men donned neither glove nor mask... and left the lemonade drinker aghast."

When players started wearing gloves in the 1870s and 1880s, they tended to be flesh colored: they didn't want the fans to notice them. A. G. Spaulding, a first baseman who not only wore a glove but made it black so that everybody would see it. Soon after, he would sell gloves, as Spaulding became one of the biggest sporting goods manufacturers in the world.

Gloves have been an essential part of baseball fielding for almost 150 years.

And yet -- who doesn't love a great barehanded play?

Gerry Arrigo was pitching against the Dodgers. Arrigo was a 27- year-old lefty and by this point in his career he was a veteran. The catcher that day was Bench, who was only 20 years old and a rookie.

Bench noticed early on that Arrigo's fastball was off: he just didn't have the usual zip on it. Bench naturally started calling for more curveballs. Arrigo kept shaking him off. As the game went on -- and the Dodgers kept on hammering away on Arrigo's fastball -- Bench called for curveballs with more and more urgency. Arrigo continued to shake him off.

Finally Bench called time out and went to the mound to tell Arrigo that he didn't have anything on his fastball.

"I'll tell you what, rook," Arrigo said, or words to that effect, "why don't you shut the #*&# up and get behind the #&*# plate and catch whatever I #*#&# throw."

Bench shrugged and went back to home plate and called for another curveball. When Arrigo shook him off one final time Bench called the fastball. Arrigo threw it, and Bench reached out with his right hand and caught it barehanded.

"You should have seen his face," Bench said.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 3, 2031

Pro Cup Down To 4 Teams, Valmara Favored
Four clubs have survived in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs and they will continue their quest in the next round, the Final 4 Series. In the Ruthlandian Union it will be number-one seed Valmara hosting the third-seeded Elnora All-Stars. Over in the Tycobbian Union Rolling Hills entertains the Ginza Ninjas. The Reds are seeded fifth, while the surprising Ninjas are the last seed. All things point to a Valmara-Rolling Hills Pro Cup Finals, but it won't be easy. Elnora and Ginza have played very well in the postseason and will not be pushovers.

Valmara (99-55) manager Jet Kazmarek got exceptional pitching the the last two first-round games against San Dimas (93-61) to survive and make it to the Final 4. The Vipers won the series four games to two... starters Teddy Lem (1-0/1.80), Garry Gronek (2-1/2.14) and reliever Ivan Guzek (0-1/2.45/1 save) got them through the Elite 8... the Viper bat were adequate and sparked by CF Reno DiBenedetto (.407/1/3/5), SS Teddy Rudek (.333/1/7/4) and 2B Alec Leclerc (.318/0/2/2)... Valmara's big guns RF Gerry Kazmarek (.160/0/3/1), Benny Hooper (.240/0/3/2) and Floyd Randolph (.261/1/2/2) were quiet in the opening round... 1B Jerry Rembert, who tied with Randolph with 25 homers, will not be in the line-up for a few days... he was injured in the Elite 8... Rembert only hit .167 against San Dimas with one homer and 1 run batted in.

The Elnora All-Stars (95-59), guided by skipper Leon Carter just barely beat off hard-hitting Sligo (86-68) in a high-scoring seven-game series... if the All-Stars can good pitching from starters Freddy Pfeffer (1-2/1.71) and Lucien Vashon (2-0/1.23) and continue to hit well, they could knock off the favored Vipers... the bullpen will have to do better this time around... they were dismal against Sligo... Elnora will be led at the plate by 3B Mike Houston (.526/1/6/4), 2B Matt Boyd (.357/0/3/5), SS Jarrod Martin (.348/0/3/2), RF Pettis Pentleton (.333/1/3/6) and CF Travis Glass (.321/3/8/5)... Glass and 1B Mel Long (.226/3/6/5) supplied the firepower with 3 homers each. In the season they each went deep 25 times to top the team.

Rolling Hills (91-63) manager Matty Christianson got exceptional work from his bullpen to get by East Point (89-65) in the Tycobbian Elite 8, which was much closer than it looked... the Reds took it four games to one, but every game was nip-and-tuck... Rolling Hills won two games by a single run and the other two by two runs... the Panthers only win was by two runs... Errol Gaudet (0-1/1.84), the Reds ace, didn't win a game in the first round, neither did number two starter Tom Pierson (0-0/3.65)... to hold off the strong Ginza bats, both will have to get some wins... closer Maury Cantrell (1-0/1.50/2 saves) was especially good against East Point... he relieved in 4 of the games... the Rolling Hills bullpen allowed on one run in 11 innings in the series... the Reds offense was sufficient, but will probably have to be better against Ginza... top bats were CF Terry Wade (.350/1/4/3), 1B Billy Christianson (.300/0/1/1), C Tony Brinkerhoff (.294/0/5/3) and LF Lonnie Chadwick (.250/2/5/3)... the club home-run leader RF Scotty Yiska batted only .056 against East Point... Yiska led the Reds with 27 home runs in the regular year... Yiska was second with 105 RBIs to Brinkerhoff's 110 and batted a solid .306... in the playoffs Yiska has driven in only one run, but has scored 6 times.

The Ginza Ninjas (82-72) upset powerhouse Luxora (96-58) in six games in the first round with good pitching and timely hitting... Ginza had a poor first half, but became one of the better teams in the TU in the second half... they were 2 games under .500 entering August, but finished very strong and continued to play well into the postseason... they will not be an easy task for Rolling Hills... Harlan Wilson (2-0/2.50), Andrei Schuler (0-1/2.12) and Ryuji Kaneko (1-1/3.95) were effective starters and closer Frank Beard (1-0/0.00) got a win and a save in the series without giving up a run... manager Huroko Uchiyama's club has a chance if they continue to play like they did against Luxora, the best team in the Tycobbian Union this year with a 96-58 mark... only Valmara in the Ruthlandian Union won more games at 99-55... in first round action the Ninjas were led by SS Russ Van Kleek (.364/1/4/4), RF Hideo Kojima (.313/0/3/1), SS Taro Mori (.269/0/5/4) and 1B Roger Lanier (.250/1/4/2)... Ginza's big bats CF Cotton Cornwall (.160/0/1/2) and 3B Johnny O'Rorke (.154/1/2/3) were held in check by Luxora pitching and will need to step it up in the Final 4... they totaled 62 homers between them in the regular season... Cornwall and O'Rorke each drove in over 100 runs apiece.

Scheduled pitchers in the opening games will pit Elnora's Lucien Vashon (22-10/3.18) against Valmara's Teddy Lem (17-9/2.74) in the RU Final 4 and Ginza's Harlan Wilson (18-12/4.19) opposed by Errol Gaudet (21-8/2.75) for the Rolling Hills Reds in the TU Final 4 clash.

Those were the days. Grew up outside of Philly watching the wretched Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. All about the play on the field. Now it's sky boxes, scoreboards the size of football fields, padded walls so Schwarber doesn't get a boo boo on his elbow. 55 players make the All Star team. 33 teams make the playoffs. But, I still watch, lol

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 10, 2031

Pro Cup Preview, Vipers-Reds Toss-up
We are two days away from the IPA Pro Cup Finals between the champions of the Ruthlandian and Tycobbian Unions. The top 8 teams in the Islands have been pared down to just two - the Pro Cup favorite Valmara Vipers and the 5th-seed, the Rolling Hills Reds.

For the first time in several years there are no longshots involved. Both Valmara and Rolling Hills are very talented teams and very evenly matched. The Vipers are better on the mound, while the Reds may have the better offense. Baseball experts are split fairly evenly on the two squads. The oddsmakers have made it a "pick 'em" series with no clear favorite.

Both clubs had to survive tough series in both rounds. Valmara whipped two fine teams to get to the Finals. The Vipers defeated San Dimas in six games and were forced to go seven games against the Elnora All-Stars. The Reds took four of five from East Point in a very intense series where no game was decided by more than 2 runs. It was tough sledding against the Ginza Ninjas, too. Rolling Hills prevailed in a seven-game series. Valmara is 8-5 overall in the postseason, 4-3 at home at War Memorial Stadium and 4-2 on the road, while Rolling Hills is 8-4 in the playoffs with a 3-3 mark at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds and 5-1 out of town.

Valmara is expected to make another serious run for the Pro Cup crown... this is their fourth trip to the Finals... they won it in 2026 and were finalists last year and in 2023... the defending Pro Cup champion Blue Lake Blue Sox failed to make the playoff this season... for the sixth year in succession Jet Kazmarek's club is the RU North winner... Valmara (99-55) coupled great pitching and solid hitting to lead all comers in the IPA with 99 victories... the Vipers batted .275 as a team, ranked fourth in scoring and paced the IPA with a superior 2.85 team ERA... top performers were Garry Gromek (21-17/2.76), Teddy Lem (17-9/2.74), Carroll Cain (17-13/3.22), Ivan Guzek (10-3/2.06/22 saves), LF Benny Hooper (.325/25/115/92), CF Reno DiBenedetto (.285/16/100/101), RF Gerry Kazmarek (.313/10/64/105), C Floyd Randolph (.295/20/97/64) and 1B Jerry Rembert (.264/25/72/77)... Valmara is just average on defense with a .972 FA.

Valmara suffered a big setback when their best hitter Reno DiBenedetto hurt his back in game three of the Elnora series and will likely miss the Pro Cup Finals... DiBenedetto was batting .429 in the postseason with 3 homers, 6 RBIs and 7 runs scored... however, the Vipers really got a lift when Richie Raeburn returned after 7 weeks on the DL... Raeburn gives Valmara another top-notch starter, if he is fully recovered from his oblique strain... Raeburn was 10-4 in the regular season and posted a terrific 2.01 ERA, which led the entire IPA.

The Vipers are batting .256 as a team in the playoffs with 8 homers and 62 runs in 13 games... on the hill they have compiled a 3.44 ERA... in 5 starts Teddy Lem was 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA, Garry Gronek was 2-3 in 5 starts with a 2.75 ERA and Carroll Cain chalked up a 2-1 mark with a 3.00 ERA... in the bullpen Ivan Guzek had a 1-1 record with 1 save and a 3.24 ERA and Chris Phillips was 0-0 with 2 saves and a 4.50 ERA... Kazmarek's best hitters have been SS Teddy Ruzek (.366/1/11/7), LF Benny Hooper (.259/1/11/7), C Floyd Randolph (.286/1/6/6) and 3B Amos Gallagher (.278/0/6/8)... RF Gerry Kazmarek (.135/0/5/7) and 1B Jerry Rembert (.212/1/1/5) have struggled so far in the postseason.

This will be the second time Rolling Hills has qualified for the Pro Cup Finals... The Reds won it in 2029... For the 7th time in 13 years Rolling Hills has taken the Tycobbian West division crown and they did it by a comfortable 7 games over runner-up Bay St. Clair.

Matty Christianson's Reds (91-63) led the IPA with a .290 team batting average and 785 runs... they were also one of the best defensive teams with a .978 FA... however the Reds were just average in pitching with a 3.57 ERA... Christianson has an abundance of fine bats led by his son 1B Billy Christianson (.336/16/75/133), who easily topped the IPA in runs with 133... RF Scotty Yiska (.306/27/105/89) and CF Terry Wade (.319/6/71/64) also batted .300... C Tony Brinkerhoff drove in 113 runs with 13 roundtrippers and a .262 BA... 2B Derek Kristensen (.297/5/49/76), 3B Jeff Booker (.289/1/64/63) and SS Tony Ptacek (.272/6/37/33) were productive bats, too... part-time regulars 3B Buffy Kowalczyk (.330/6/46/31), LF Lonnie Chadwick (.323/10/42/52), RF Bobby McConnell (.352/2/20/24) and Billy Jones (.301/1/15/19) hit over .300 as well.

On the mound Errol Gaudet (21-8/2.75) and Tom Pierson (21-7/2.54) had super seasons... the other two starters Kenny Leonard (10-6/3.79) and Buck Myers (15-12/3.80) had quality seasons, too... closer Maury Cantrell (8-2/2.43/16 saves) was effective in the bullpen... with its high-octane attack and two solid starters the Reds will put up quite a fight.

In the postseason the Reds have prospered at the plate with a .271 BA, 9 homers and 61 runs in 2 games running up an 8-4 record... top hitters are 1B Billy Christianson (.396/0/2/8), CF Terry Wade (.333/1/8/8), C Tony Brinkerhoff (.289/2/10/8), RF Scotty Yiska (.261/3/14/13) and LF Lonnie Chadwick (.297/2/8/4).

On the mound the hurlers have put up a decent 3.64 ERA... Errol Gaudet (3-1/1.73) has been outstanding in the playoffs, but Tom Pierson (0-1/5.40) and Buck Myers (2-1/5.85) have had trouble... they will both have to do better against Valmara for the Reds to have a chance at the Pro Cup... closer Maury Cantrell has 3 saves with a 1-1 mark and a 3.38 ERA in 7 relief appearances.

Pro Cup Forecast:
If good pitching beats good hitting, then Valmara will triumph in 7 games over Rolling Hills.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 12, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Final Series - Game 1 at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara

Vipers Bop Reds In Pro Cup Opener 5-1, Lem Winner
Valmara's vaunted pitching staff came through for them in the opening game of the IPA Pro Cup Finals at War Memorial Stadium... Teddy Lem fired a 5-hitter to whip Rolling Hills ace Errol Gaudet 5-1... Lem (4-0/3.24) racked up his fourth postseason victory, striking out 4 and walking only one in a complete game... Gaudet (3-2/2.22) was not on top of his game as he yielded 4 runs on 8 hits in his 7 innings... Gaudet walked one and fanned 3 in defeat.

LF Benny Hooper (.259) and C Floyd Randolph (.283) got the Vipers off on the right foot with RBI singles in the opening frame... in the second 2B Alec Leclerc (.246) rapped a 2-run homer to put Valmara ahead 4-0... Lem held the Reds bats in check for most of the game and they never really challenged the Vipers... SS Billy Jones (.421) doubled in the Reds only run in the fifth, while Valmara got its last run in the eighth on Hooper's groundout... RF Gerry Kazmarek (.179) paced the winners with 3 singles in 4 at-bats.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 13, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Final Series - Game 2 at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara

Reds Romp Over Vipers 7-3 In Game 2
Rolling Hills put it all together in game two of the IPA Pro Cup championship series at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara and came away with a 7-3 win in 10 innings to even up at a game each... the Vipers took game one 5-1... the Reds snapped a 3-3 tie with 4 runs in the tenth frame... the primary hit came on a 2-run double by C Tony Brinkerhoff (.278)... a couple of insurance runs were added on 3B Jeff Booker's (.275) fielder's choice and 2B Derek Kristensen's (.262) single.

Rolling Hills got quality pitching and 12 hits, including 7 doubles and a homer... Tom Pierson hurled the first 6 frames and gave up only one unearned run and one hit... the Reds led 3-1 when he left the game for a pinchhitter... Pierson struck out 5 and walked 2... Buck Myers (3-1/5.87) blew the save in the ninth, but got credit for the victory, working 3 innings, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs... Myers couldn't hold a 3-1 lead, going into Valmara's final at-bat... Maury Cantrell (1-1/3.09) held the Vipers scoreless in the tenth to close out the game... Brinkerhoff (.278) sparked the Reds with a homer, double and 3 runs batted in... 3B Jeff Booker (.275) had 2 RBIs... Valmara starter Garry Gronek (2-3/2.80) was effective... he held the Reds to 3 runs and 8 hits in 9 innings with 7 Ks and no walks... the loss went to closer Ivan Guzek (1-2/7.00), who was laced for 4 hits and 4 runs in the tenth.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 14, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 3 at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds in Rolling Hills

RH Noses Out Valmara 3-2, Takes Pro Cup Lead
Matty Christianson made a change in his rotation and it paid off handsomely... Kenny Leonard in his first postseason start this season gave the Rolling Hills Reds a 2-1 lead in the Pro Cup Finals with a masterful 3-2 decision over Valmara in game three at the Reds' homefield, the Midtown Base Ball Grounds... Leonard got the call instead of Buck Myers (3-1/5.87) and held the Vipers to 2 runs and 6 hits in 8 and two-thirds innings... closer Maury Cantrell (1-1/3.00) was called in to get the final out with the tying run on first base... the Vipers manager Jet Kazmarek also made a change in his starting rotation and got a well-pitched game from Richie Raeburn... in his first start in seven weeks Raeburn (0-1/3.38) went the distance, gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in defeat... Raeburn replaced Carroll Cain (2-1/3.00) in Valmara's Pro Cup rotation... Raeburn led the IPA with a 2.01 ERA this season, while compiling a 10-4 record in 15 starts.

Reds RF Scotty Yiska (.241) smashed his 4th roundtripper in the playoffs to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third, which proved to be the winning runs... Yiska now has 16 RBIs in the postseason, the best total of any player... LF Benny Hooper (.246) put Valmara in front in the first frame with a double that scored 1B Jerry Rembert (.209)... it was Hooper's 14th run batted in... 3B Jeff Booker (.278) grounded out in the second and scored C Tony Brinkerhoff from third to even up the score... in the eighth CF Russ Gilmore (.214) went deep to narrow the Reds' lead to 3-2, but that was all the Vipers got... Rolling Hills outhit Valmara 8 to 6.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 15, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 4 at the Midtown Ball Grounds in Rolling Hills

Reds Edge Vipers 9-8, Take 3-1 Lead
This Pro Cup Finals supposedly pitted a good-hitting team against a good-pitching team and as the old adage goes, "good pitching beats good hitting". It may not be true this year. Hot-hitting Rolling Hills has rolled to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Pro Cup Finals and need only one more victory to wrap up the trophy against the pitching-heavy Valmara Vipers... the Reds edged Valmara 9-8 in 10 innings in game four and is now a top-heavy favorite to win the Islands pro baseball title.

The Reds had to rally from 4-0, 6-4 and 8-6 deficits to pull out the win... it was Terry Wade's two-out single and Scotty Yiska's RBI double in the last of the tenth that decided the contest... it was a 27-hit slugfest with both ace starters gone by the third frame... it was not a good day for the Reds Errol Gaudet and the Vipers Teddy Lem... Rolling Hills used 5 pitchers and Valmara used 3... the Reds banged out 17 hits to the Vipers 10... Rolling Hills RF Scotty Yiska (.270) went 3-5 and batted in 3 runs, C Tony Brinkerhoff (.286) was 2-5 with a 2-run homer and 3B Jeff Booker (.310) was 3-4 with 2 runs scored... Yiska now has 19 RBIs in the playoffs and Brinkerhoff has 4 homers and 15 RBIs... the Vipers best bats were RF Gerry Kazmarek (.191) and LF Benny Hooper (.243), each with 2 RBIs.

Little-used reliever Dave Gronkowski (2-0/0.00) got the last out in the top of the tenth and got the victory... Valmara closer Ivan Guzek (1-3/6.17) blew the save in the eighth when the Reds tied it 8-8 and sent it to extra innings, then lost it in the tenth... Rolling Hills will host game five tomorrow afternoon and could send Valmara home for the season.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 16, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 5 at the Midtown Ball Grounds in Rolling Hills

Vips Survive, Hooper HR Wins It 6-3
Game five was a "must win" for Valmara and they got it - Benny Hooper slugged a 2-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Vipers a 5-3 lead over Rolling Hills at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds en route to a 6-3 victory to remain alive in the Pro Cup Finals... the series stands at 3-2 in favor of Rolling Hills... Garry Gronek hurled a solid game, halting the Reds on 3 runs and 6 hits... Gronek (3-3/2.83) fanned 6 and walked 4, while going the distance... Dave Gronkowski (2-1/3.38) was the losing pitcher... Gronkowski gave up Hooper's decisive homer.

Valmara had 14 hits and were led by Benny Hooper (.267) with 3 hits and 4 RBIs... Hooper now has 2 home runs in the playoffs and 20 runs batted in... RF Gerry Kazmarek (.219) chipped in 3 hits and scored twice for the Vipers.

The Pro Cup Finals will continue tomorrow afternoon with game six at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara... the Vipers will send Richie Raeburn (10-4/2.01) to the mound and Kenny Leonard (10-6/3.79) will get the starting assignment for the Reds... Raeburn is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in one start in the playoffs, while Leonard is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in 2 starts and 3 relief appearances... should it be necessary, game seven will also be in Valmara.

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 17, 2031

2031 IPA Pro Cup Finals - Game 6 at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara

RH Reds Are IPA Champ Again!
For the second time in three seasons the Rolling Hills Reds are again the premier team in the IPA... the Reds knocked off slightly-favored Valmara in the Pro Cup Finals this year in six games, taking game six 5-2 on the road in Valmara... Kenny Leonard and two relievers finished off the Vipers... Leonard (2-0/3.86) notched the win as he worked into the seventh, yielded 2 runs and 7 hits... the Reds were up 5-2 when he went to the showers and Buck Myers and Maury Cantrell protected the win for him with 2 and a third scoreless innings... it was Cantrell's 5th save in the playoffs... Valmara starter Richie Raeburn (0-2/5.54) struggled in defeat by allowing 5 runs and 6 hits in 5 innings.

The Rolling Hills offense was sparked by LF Lonnie Chadwick's (.271) 2-run homer in the second, which put them ahead 2-1 and by Leonard's (.286) 2-run triple in the fifth that made it 4-1... it was Chadwick's 3rd roundtripper of the postseason... Valmara outhit the Reds 8 to 6... LF Benny Hooper (.269) and C Floyd Randolph (.301) drove in runs for the Vipers... Hooper got his with his 3rd postseason home run.

Manager Matty Christianson told the press after the game, "We won in six games, but it wasn't easy... we beat a very, very good team, an excellent team... the key was our hitting... Yiska and Brinkerhoff were the big guns, but everybody in the line-up contributed... on the mound it was Gaudet and Cantrell." Rolling Hills also won in 2029, sweeping the Stoner Stars in four games.

Losing skipper Jet Kazmarek, who lost in the Pro Cup Finals for the second straight season, said, "Losing is never fun... but we gave it another good shot and came up short again... I really thought this was going to be our year... but the Reds are just too good with the bats... that was the difference."

YESTERDAY IN THE IPA

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 18, 2031

Pro Cup MVP Goes To Reds Cantrell
The IPA Pro Cup Most Valuable Player trophy went to Rolling Hills closer Maury Cantrell in a close poll with right fielder Scotty Yiska. The two Reds teammates led the team to their second Pro Cup crown in the last three seasons. This year Cantrell was named the best player in the Pro Cup Finals by a 57-53 vote conducted by The Islandian Times. No other players received any votes in the balloting. This was the first time in IPA history that a reliever won the coveted award.

Cantrell appeared in 11 of the Reds postseason games, saved 5 of the them, while posting a 2.25 ERA and a 1-1 record. In 16 innings Cantrell allowed 7 hits, struck out 21 and walked 7. During the regular season Cantrell posted an 8-2 mark with 16 saves and a 2.43 ERA. In 18 games Yiska led the playoffs with 21 RBIs and tallied 17 runs, but only hit .257. He cracked 3 doubles and 4 homers in postseason action. In the regular campaign he batted .301 with 27 homers, drove in 105 runs and scored 89 times.

I have been waiting a month or more for help from OOTP with the IPA playoffs... my playoffs for this season were not scheduled.

I decided to try it fix it myself... I went in and advanced the date for the playoffs in the League Events... the playoffs were missing from the League Events.

It will either fix it or bust it... I'm tired of not playing and reporting the playoffs.

My viewership has dropped drastically during this down time... 300 a day to 50 a day.

So, here goes... it's do or die.
Wish me luck.

Attachment 998339
Wednesday, October 4, 2079

MAHASKA AND RED SOX FINALIZE IPA POSTSEASON PARTICIPANTS
Mahaska and Red Bluff nabbed the last two postseason spots in spirited last-week action in the Islandian Pro Alliance... the Haymakers had to go an extra game to beat
the White River Rascals... the Red Sox won on the final day of the regular season... poor Ozarka lost on the last day and fell one game short of the division flag.

IPA PENNANT WINNERS
And away we go!
Valmara was victorious in the Ruthlandian North... Crystal Lake captured the RU South... Elnora was the elite team in the RU East and Fort Benton was the best in the RU
West... reviewing the Tycobbian Union, White River won the TU North... IPA Pro Cup champion Turon tore up the TU South... Red Bluff won a 5-team barnburner in the TU
East... and Rolling Hills rolled over everybody in the tight TU West chase.

Ruthlandian Union Recap

VIPERS VICTOR IN RU NORTH
The Valmara Vipers are making their 31st appearance in the IPA postseason... the Vipers will be seeking their 5th Pro Cup... Valmara took command of the Ruthlandian North
at midseason and held off Kilkenny in September... the Cats were Pro Cup Finalists last year... the LaGrange Gators finished 6 games back in second place... Kilkenny came
in third, 7 GB... and the Ranford Bulls wound up in fourth place, 9 GB.

SKIPPERS SAILING HIGH IN RU SOUTH
Crystal Lake was never really challenged in the Ruthlandian South... most of the season they enjoyed a comfortable lead... the Skippers took charge of the race at midyear,
but they had to fend off a determined effort by the runner-up Belair Beach Sunbirds in August and September... none of the other teams offered much resisistance... Waleska
was 15 games behind in the third spot... and Grand City ended in fourth place, 17 GB.

CLIPPERS HOLD OFF LATE-CLOSING RACCOONS IN RU EAST
Most of the time the Elnora Clippers had a big lead in the RU East, several times over 10 games... they ultimately won the flag by 3 games... second place Cold Creek came
on strong in the second half of the season and made it close for the Clippers... the Marston Nine lagged way back most of the year, but got hot in August to put some mild
pressure on Elnora, but they faded in September and lost out by 8 games... preseason favorite Wynnamac struggled most of the season, got within 6 games in September,
but then swooned and slipped back in the race, winding up fourth and 11 games off the pace.

CANNONS OVERTAKE FIREBIRDS IN TU WEST IN SECOND-HALF SURGE
The Fort Benton Cannons stayed in range of the leaders most of the season, then bolted in August and won going away in September... they whipped runner-up Forest City
by 7 games and last year's champion and preseason choice Sligo by 8 games... the Rovers languished near the bottom of the standings until they started playing well in
August... but that was too late... Colfax came in fourth, trailing by 9 games... the Black Sox never really contended... Forest City had the lead in July, but could not hold on
to it... the Cannons took over first place by September and prevailed.

Tycobbian Union Recap

HAYMAKERS JUST BARELY SKIM PAST RASCALS IN SUDDEN DEATH FOR TU NORTH TITLE
'Twas a 6-team fight in the Tycobbian North for most of the season between champion Mahaska, runner-up White River (1 GB), third place Luxora (6 and a half games behind),
fourth place Blue Lake (7 and a half games behind), fifth place Oxford (8 and a half games behind) and sixth place Hartsdale (10 and a half games behind)... Luxora was
favored to win the flag in the preseason poll... Hartsdale had won it the last two years... the Luxora Zorros topped the RU North most of the first half, holding the top spot
until mid-June, then they stumbled badly and fell out of the race... the Mahaska Haymakers and White River Rascals jostled all season, battling down the last game of the year...
the Haymakers won the sudden-death game and won the division crown.

TURON WINS 103 GAMES AND EASILY TRIUMPHS IN TU SOUTH
There was no race in the Tycobbian South... nope, none at all... defending Pro Cup champ and defending division champ Turon was on top every month in the season...
it was close until June, then the Typhoons blew everybody away and romped to the title by a colossal 15 games over second place Cape Coral, 21 better than third place
Summerland and 23 games ahead of fourth place Arroyo Grande... Turon won 103 games... the Typhoons have a decent shot at repeat Pro Cup trophies... they very well
could win their 7th Pro Cup... the Rolling Hills Racers lead the IPA with 8 Pro Cups.

RED BLUFF WIN SEASON-LONG 5-TEAM DUEL IN TU EAST... RED SOX WIN ON LAST DAY OF THE SEASON
What a race in the Tycobbian East... April, May and June saw only 4 games difference between first place and last place... it settled down to a 5-team tussle in July between
Ozarka, Red Bluff, Tuckanarra, defending division winner and preseason pick South Fork and Midway... the other three clubs dropped out of contention... and what a stretch
drive it was... with two games remaining on the schedule Ozarka and Red Bluff were tied for the top spot with South Fork and High Mesa just one game behind... the Red Sox
won two 1-run games from the High Mesa Buckaroos, while the Naturals split two with last place East Point... the Stallions lost both games to tough Midway... Red Bluff earned
its first pennant since 2072.

ROLLING HILLS OUTRACES 4 TEAMS TO TAKE TU WEST CROWN
In the Tycobbian West the defending champion was the Kenwood Wildcats and the preseason choice was the Bayview Vikings... by September it settled down into a 5-team
scrum between Rolling Hills, Bayview, Kenwood, Chicopee and Denton City... the Racers finished the season with a rock-solid September and outraced all the challengers,
beating second place Kenwood by 3 games, third place Bayview by 5, fourth place Denton City by 6 games and fifth place Chicopee by 9 games... Rolling Hills never got to
the top spot until August 29... the Racers went 18-9 in the September stretch drive and won the pennant... Kenwood battled hard until the end, going 17-10... Bayview only
managed 13-14, Denton City went 16-11 and Chicopee finished 14-14... with 8 IPA Pro Cup titles, the Racers would really like to make it 9 in 2079.

2079 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings
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2079 Tycobbian Union Final Standings
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Attachment 998349
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After playing the first-round games out, everything did well, but the AI did not post the Playoff Tree or the Playoff Coverage.

However, the Newspaper did cover the game and give the winner of the first-round series.

I'm going to try and get expert help on the OOTP Dynasty Forum and the OOTP24 Discussions Forum.

I will wait to manually create the second-round schedule until I get help on those forums.

Would appreciate any help or advice from you guys that follow the IPA.
The problem appears to be in the League Events... apparently the AI didn't schedule the playoffs.

MY LIFE IN 2024
EC's Life Is An Encore In '24

Yeah, buddy, EC's life is more in '24... my cup truly overflows... life is so good today... EC is truly blessed... somebody up there must like me... I'm back on the radio after being retired for 21 years... EC is an "old has-been DJ that never was"... I had my 15 minutes of fame for a few years in the 1980s... it was all downhill the last 15 years of my radio career... I peaked early and then faded out of sight... I survived very well at bad radio stations, that nobody listened to, but never regained any popularity... surprisingly, my current 2-hour Sunday afternoon show on Christian station sounds pretty good, even if I had to say so myself... I got one request in 8 months... now that will humble you... I'm not doing it for my glory, I'm doing it my Creator that takes such good care of me.

If you would like to listen, put Sound Radio in Baton Rouge in your search engine... my show is The Gospel Truth For The Lost and Found, Sunday afternoons, 1 PM to 3 PM... I play the best Southern Gospel that I can find... nothing but the hits... music that will lift your spirit and speak to your heart... if you like old-time country music like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell and Loretta Lynn, combined with the great gospel quartets like the Oak Ridge Boys, Cathedrals, Gold City and Kingsmen, you will like my show.

So far, my peers had said, i sound like I'm 21 years again

Here is the link to the station:

https://soundradio.live/#

Yeah, buddy, the Boys of Summer are back and EC is lovin' every minute of it... can't wait for OOTP25 and the regular season... Here a little bit about Jose Canseco, taken from Joe Posnanski wonderful book.

"Wit, Quips and Quotes From the Diamond Minds"
Here is an excerpt from Joe Posnanski's entertaining book "Why We Love Baseball - A History in 50 Moments"... actually he has 108 moments in the book.

There was a time when Jose Canseco seemed destined to be the player of his generation. He had Reggie Jackson's power He had startling speed. He had charisma and good looks and a burning ambition to be an all-time great player. The ambition mostly came from his hard-driving father, who would yell, "You stink" at him for motivation.

Once in the big leagues, Canseco hit three homers in a game.

"Yeah," his father asked afterward. "What did you do in your other at-bat?"

Later, there would be steroids admissions and player accusations and bizarre turns in his personality. But in 1988, he was the first player to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season. Annie Leibovitz photographed him shirtless for a magazine cover. He started hanging out with Madonna.

"Why are you so popular?" he was asked on ABC's Primetime Live.

"I'm Jose Canseco," he said. "I do things out of the ordinary."

Over time, though, his popularity turned sour. It wasn't any one thing. Canseco was reportedly a difficult teammate. He dealt with some nagging injuries. Steroid rumors began surrounding him.

Canseco did not understand at all why people had turned on him. "I'm the most exciting player in baseball," he insisted.

Fewer and fewer people seemed to believe. Canseco got hurt in 1993 and played in only 60 games. but in one of those games, he played a key role in the funniest play in baseball history.

It was a Wednesday night in Cleveland. Kenny Rogers was pitching for the Rangers. The Cleveland hitter was Carlos Martinez, who lofted a fly ball to deep right center, where Canseco was playing.

Canseco was not, in the best of circumstances, a graceful fielder. He turned back toward the ball and lifted his golve to catch it.

And then -- no other way to say it -- the ball conked him on top of the head and bounced over the fence for a home run.

Then he looks around helplessly for the ball.

It's the most perfect piece of slapstick comedy.

"Did you ever see anything like that?" someone asked Canseco's teammate Julio Franco after the game.

"Yeah," Franco said. "In cartoons."

NOTE: You can watch the historic play here at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PVGWWjD8mI8