That wraps up Year 8 in the Islandian Pro Alliance.

Year 9 is on the way.

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

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

I hope to continue to 2050.

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

The Islandian Times

Monday, June 22, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 IPA Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings

The Islandian Union

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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

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

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

Ruthlandian Union North Division

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Claxton Fights Off Belair Beach For RU South Crown

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union East Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for the nice comments.

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Ruthlandian Union West Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union North Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for the help.

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union South Division Final Standings

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

2009 Tycobbian Union East Division Final Standings