The Islandian Times

Friday, October 7, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3 at Far Mountain

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 8, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 4 at Far Mountain

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

The Islandian Times

Sunday, October 9, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 5 at Far Mountain

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

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

The Islandian Times

Monday, October 10, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 6 at Ozarka

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

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

This is a great series!

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

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

Thanks.

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

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

2011 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 7 at Ozarka

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

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

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

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

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

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

I am working on the regular season individual awards.

I will try to post them Thursday.

The Islandian Times

Thursday, October 13, 2011

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Friday, October 14, 2011

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

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Saturday, October 15, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

I quite often edit the names to fit my purposes.

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

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

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

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

Thanks for posting and viewing. Much appreciated.

The Islandian Times

Sunday, October 16, 2011

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

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

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

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

Frogs Wesner Nabs Second TU Top Player Award

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Monday, October 17, 2011

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

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

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

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See Mid-Season Recap on next page.