THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 23, 2049

RU STARS BLAST TU STARS 7-2 ON RODGERS 3-RUN HR
Making up a little for a lot of lost time, the Ruthlandian Stars ripped the Tycobbian Stars 7-2 in the 49th Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star Classic at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds in Rolling Hills... it's the second triumph in a row for Ruthlandia... SS John Rodgers (LaGrange), the game's MVP, blasted a three-run homer in the five-run third inning to sink the TU Stars... Tycobbia still has a commanding 31-18 lead in the series.

Rodgers went 2-for-3 and batted in 4 runs... CF Joey Hawkins (Ranford) helped out by driving in the other 3 runs... Hollis Dale (Middlefield) got the victory although he allowed an unearned run in his one inning... Matt Bell (San Alejo) was hammered for 5 runs in his one inning and took the loss.

Tycobbia outhit Ruthlandia 12 to 10 in the game and was paced by LF Emil Pasek (Luxora), who went 3-3 and scored a run... 1B Rodger Parsons (Tuckanarra) was 2-2... SS Scotty Jackson (Cape Coral) and teammate 3B Kent Mantle (Cape Coral) drove in the TU Stars' runs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, July 1, 2049

IPA MID-YEAR RECAP
Halfway through the 2049 Islandian Pro Alliance season most of the predicted contenders are still in the pennant hunt... the biggest surprise is the Middlefield Roosters soaring to a 9-game lead in the Ruthlandian West, where a close three-team battle with Forest City and Rocky Rapids was forecast... the Roosters have made shambles of the race so far with five players making the All-Star team... they are on schedule to break the Ruthlandian home-run record... they have 233 at mid-season... the league record is 246 set by the Taranto Tars in 2006.

In the Ruthlandian North, heavily-favored Valmara has been challenged by LaGrange and Ranford... the Vipers are just 2 games up on the Sports and 3 ahead of the Bulls... even fourth place Taranto and Far Mountain are within striking distance of first place, trailing by only 8 games... the Vipers' pitching should help them draw away down the stretch over the Sports and the Bulls.

As expected, it's a two-team duel in the Ruthlandian South... Claxton has a one-game edge over preseason favorite Waleska... third place Grand City and Crystal Lake are 8 games out... and fifth place Valka 9 games back... the Diamonds have the offense, while the Westerners have great pitching... good pitching usually wins.

In the Ruthlandian East it's a battle between hard-hitting Belle Plaine and Sugar Valley's superlative pitching... the Musketeers have a 4-game edge over the Rattlers at mid-season, while Marston is 8 games off the pace in third place, but is not likely to contend... the Musketeers are hitting and scoring at a near-record pace, while the Rattlers have a very impressive mound staff... the Muskies pitching may be good enough to pull away from Sugar Valley in the end.

Over in Tycobbia at the mid-season mark, all of the divisions are up in the air... in the TU North three clubs are contending... preseason favorite White River is 2 games in front of Luxora and 4 games ahead of Mahaska... the Zorros and Haymakers depend on their bats, while the Rascals feature outstanding pitching.

In the TU East, six of the teams are still in the chase... Tuckanarra has a scant one-game lead over Midway, 3 better than Red Bluff, 5 ahead of High Mesa and 6 games in front of preseason pick Hillsboro and East Point... the Tucks, Cowboys and Blazers have the better pitching... Tuckanarra and Midway have better scoring... on paper the Blue Jays look like the mostly likely club to win... Red Bluff suffered a tremendous season-changing setback when its ace Jud Cox (2-2/2.90) was lost for the year with an elbow injury in late April... he will miss the rest of the season... Cox has averaged almost 20 wins a year in his 11 seasons.

Three clubs are contesting in the TU West... the defending Pro Cup crownbearer Rolling Hills hasn't dominated as forecast... they are currently tied for first with Denton City and rejuvenated Bay St. Clair is just 2 games back... the Buccaneers haven't had a good team in years, but wholesale roster changes have injected the club with new life... it looks like the Reds have a big battle on their hands... the race will probably go down to the wire... the Redbirds have unbelievable pitching this year with a record-braking low 2.39 team ERA... the Bucs are strong, too, with a 3.02 ERA... Rolling Hills had good hitting and better-than-average pitching... that combination and balance should help them repeat as the best in the West.

And it's a two-club fight in the Tycobbian South between two longtime rivals, the San Alejo Montaneros and the Southport Sun Sox... the Monties are 4 games up at the halfway point in the schedule... San Alejo's superior pitching corps gives them the advantage in the pennant race... the two contenders are about equal at the plate.

2049 Ruthlandian Union North and South Division Mid-Season Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, August 1, 2049

IPA BATTING AND PITCHING LEADERBOARDS

Ruthlandian Union

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, August 1, 2049

Tycobbian Union Batting and Leaderboards

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 1, 2049

ONLY 3 RACES IN IPA DOWN THE STRETCH
With only 18 games remaining on the schedule, most of the pennant races in the Islandian Pro Alliance have fairly much been decided... preseason pick Valmara is 17 games ahead of Ranford in the Ruthlandian North, Middlefield is up by 13 over last year's champ and this year's choice Forest City in the Ruthlandian West and favored Sugar Valley leads Belle Plaine by 8 in the Ruthlandian East... the Rattlers are tryng to repeat... the only September stretch drive of any note is in the Ruthlandian South where defending division champ Claxton has a 3-game advantage over Valka and a 4-game margin over preseason favorite Waleska.

In the Tycobbian Union only San Alejo seems to have wrapped up the division flag... the Montaneros have a 13-game bulge over the Southport Sun Sox... the Tycobbian West will go down-to-the-wire... Denton City is just one game in front of last year's division winner and reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills and the surprise club in the IPA this year, the Bay St.Clair Buccaneers, are just 3 off the pace and still in the hunt... it's not as close in the other two divisions... in the Tycobbian East Tuckanarra. last year's victor, is 4 games better than preseason pick Hillsboro and 6 up on Red Bluff... High Mesa and Midway are still in the chase mathematically, too, but have a tough row to hoe... and in the Tycobbian North White River should win... the Rascals go into September with a 6-game edge over Luxora.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

IPA REGULAR SEASON OVER, PLAYOFFS START THURSDAY
Eight regular season division winners qualified for spots in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs, which get underway this Thursday afternoon... IPA powerhouses Middlefield, Valmara and San Alejo ran away with their divisions... Sugar Valley and Claxton won with a little to spare... and Bay St. Clair, Tuckanarra and White River had to battle down to the last few days of the season.

The Middlefield Roosters chalked up 104 victories and easily dominated in the Ruthlandian West Division, winning by 13 games.. Valmara posted 101 wins to win the Ruthlandian North by 18 games... and San Alejo captured 97 games to take the Tycobbian South by 14 games.

The Sugar Valley Rattlers had a bit of breathing room, winning the Ruthlandian East by 8 games, but had to win 103 games to do it.. and Claxton held off a fast-closing Valka in the Ruthlandian South Division by 5 games.

In a very tense race Bay St. Clair rallied down the stretch in the Tycobbian West, caught slumping Denton City on the last day of the season, and then disposed of the Redbirds in a single-game playoff... in the Tycobbian East the Tuckanarra Blue Jays whipped Red Bluff by 3 games... and White River bested Luxora in the Tycobbian North by 3.

2049 Ruthlandian Union Final Season Standings

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 20, 2049

BUCS WIN TU WEST IN PLAYOFF, REDBIRDS FALL
Almost everything went perfect for Bay St. Clair in the final days of the season. The surprising Buccaneers came on strong winning three of their last four games to tie Denton City for first place in the Tycobbian West. The Redbirds collapsed, losing the final four games of the season and then falling 7-2 in the single-game playoff for the division flag and a spot in the postseason playoffs.

Don White (13-15/4.20), the number three man in the Bucs' starting rotation, came up with a big win... he went into the eighth frame and gave up only one earned run to stifle the heartbroken Redbirds... two rookie relievers Cadillac Bogart and Steve Swanwick got the final four outs to seal the win... Val Farnsworth (14-6/2.56) took the loss for the Redbirds... he allowed all seven runs in six and two-thirds innings... four of them were earned... 1B Clive Caviness (.286) walloped two homers, good for five runs to lead the Buccaneers at the plate... LF Butch Thornhill (.256) also homered. Caviness' two-run shot in the sixth put the Bucs up for good and his three-run blast in the seventh totally finished them off.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

VIPERS RU NORTH CHAMP 5TH TIME IN 7 YEARS
For the second year in a row and fifth time in seven seasons the Valmara Vipers garnered the Ruthlandian North Division flag... and for the second straight year they ran up over 100 victories... Valmara tore up everybody in the hot summer months and ran away with the pennant, easily outdistancing second place Ranford by 18 games, LaGrange by 20 and Taranto by 21... Valmara was heavily favored to win this year and lived up to its press.

1. VALMARA: the Vipers (102-53) will be gunning for Pro Cup trophy number three in their history... they copped it in 2026 and 2043... Valmara features great pitching (2.73 ERA-2nd) and good bats (.278 BA-2nd) with 129 HRs (10th)... they are only average defensively (.974 FA)... and should be one of the Pro Cup favorites... the Viper starting four are awesome: Primo Sirak (25-11/2.32), Darus Grajek (21-9/2.43), Teddy Twardzik (22-14/2.79) and Mark Polaski (16-8/2.72)... the bullpen is not very consistent, headed up by Kasio Bajek (6-7/3.92/16 saves) and Mirko Musial (3-0/1.84/8 saves)... batting-wise the leaders are All-Star LF Tomek Abramczyk (.333/27/81/80), All-Star CF Don Ritchie (.327/9/75/86), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.300/10/68/79) and 1B Jose Vargas (.306/7/52/66)... the Vipers don't have much in the way of home-run power,which might hurt them in the postseason... C Karol Koska led them with 31 homers and 92 RBIs, but batted only .227.

2. Ranford: the Bulls have been a distant runner-up the last two seasons, 12 GB and 18 GB... just a little better-than-average club (83-71)... last pennant was in 2041... they won their only Pro Cup in 2040, beating Summerland in a seven-game series... veteran ace and last year's Ruthlandian Golden Arm winner, Ralph Hawk (20-7/1.40), had a truly super year and led the IPA with a splendid 1.40 ERA... the second best ERA in IPA history, topped only by closer Jack Rogers in 2044 with 1.31 in 159 innings and 80 relief appearances... the Bulls other two dependable starters were Neil Martin (18-16/3.40) and Duffy Davidson (15-17/3.65)... their solid closer was All-Star Emmett Pearce (6-5/1.77/20 saves), second best in the IPA... Andy Mayfield (6-5/4.04) led with 21 for Kilkenny in the RU... the only productive bats were All-Star LF Joey Hawkins (.335/16/104/90), RF Tokuji Taro (.280/9/69/70) and C Juan Peralta (.270/12/70/64).

3. LAGRANGE: the Sports moved up from fifth (23 GB) to third (20 GB) this season with an 81-73 mark with a decent offense, fair pitching and excellent defense (.981 FA)... last pennant came in 2037... still waiting on a Pro Cup crown... ace Arnie Ayers (4-6/3.74) missed most of the season with an arm injury... he came back in August... Billy Walton (18-12/3.68) was the club leader... helped out by Hot Dog Huxtable (17-15/3.40) and Justin Menard (14-13/3.59).... Sasha Krylov (10-4/3.62/9 saves) was only a so-so closer... best run producers were All-Star SS John Rodgers (.283/23/94/74), C Scott Wallace (.304/25/78/66), Robbie McGregor (.283/20/56/76) and rookie CF Andre Chirac (.284/10/64/68).

4. Taranto: the Tars posted a fourth place finish with an 80-74 record (21 GB)... second year in a row to come in fourth... the club hasn't made the postseason for the last 30 years... but the Tars did win a Pro Cup in 2015... this year the pitching was pretty good considering the Palazzo di Sport is one of the smallest stadiums in the IPA... Pablo Rivas (21-14/3.46), rookie Valerio Rossi (16-15/2.81) and Bill Walker (16-15/3.72) led the staff... the bullpen was lousy... average hitting with pretty good power, led by All-Star C Ryan Nelms (.255/44/110/75), 3B Phil Wilson (.303/14/72/75) and LF Derrick Damon (.296/12/50/74).

5. KILKENNY: the Cats have broken even at 77-77 the last two seasons... this year they were fifth in the standings and trailed Valmara by 24 games... the starters were pretty good with Jody Joss (23-10/3.01), Dave Stratford (18-17/3.55) and Glen Caswell (18-21/3.72)... the bullpen was really bad... however Andy Mayfield (6-5/4.04) topped the IPA with 21 saves... offense was not very good... the best of the mediocre lot were 1B Ryan Reagan (.267/23/64/95) and rookie C Ray Hinson (.273/18/73/57).

6. GLASCO: the Athletics improved a little, rising up from eighth last year (39 GB) to sixth this season (26 GB)... the A's last appeared in the playoffs in 2045... the club has never won a Pro Cup... they had fine pitching this year with All-Star Bennie McDaniel (15-16/2.52), Pat Meyers (13-21/3.13) and Evan Walsh (16-17/3.50)... McDaniel went 5-11 in the second half due to lousy run support... veteran closer Ken McLin (8-6/2.49/13 saves) stood out in the bullpen... Glasco has very little at the plate... SS Ross McFalls (.289/21/60/73) had the best stats with some help from rookie CF Billy Sherlock (.267/18/72/76) and 1B John Carlton (.292/17/60/46).

7. FAR MOUNTAIN: the Redhawks have fallen from first place (101-53) in 2047 to third place (87-67) in 2048 down to seventh (69-85) this season... the last playoff appearance was two years ago... they have won three Pro Cups... 2011, 2012 and 2013... the pitching is still solid with two All-Stars, but the offense is mediocre... All-Star Jonas Glover (20-12/2.93) was the ace starter... and All-Star Jack McKinney (8-11/2.01/17 saves) was the best in the bullpen... no one in the batting order put up good numbers... LF Terry Crawford (.287/17/59/56), RF Harman Silver (.268/15/66/52) and 1B Benjy Donahue (.327/7/44/64) were the club leaders.

8. Ancona: the Red Elephants (54-100) were basement dwellers for the eighth time in nine seasons... not much offense and not much on the hill... it's been almost three decades since Ancona won a pennant... they still haven't won a Pro Cup... Hali Mikos (14-23/3.95) chalked up the most wins on the team... Clint Hayes (8-13/3.67) was the only other starter under a 4.00 ERA... RF Eldon Aldridge was the club leader with a .262 BA and 88 RBIs... he was second in roundtrippers with 23... 1B Raul Suarez topped the team with 26 homers and 82 runs scored... he batted just .246, but had 83 RBIs... with so little in the way of talent, the future is dim in Ancona.

2049 Ruthlandian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

Just have to say, have always liked this dynasty and it even inspired my own fake universe once. Glad to see you're still at it after all these years.

Thanks for the nice words.

And thanks for all your hard work on OOTPB over the years.

I am going to complete 50 years and then retire the IPA.

I'm still using OOTP12 because it wouldn't transfer to the new versions. The Almanac was always messed up.

I have OOTP15 and will use it to design a new dynasty report. It will be much smaller than the IPA with its 64 teams. It has been quite a bit of work to administer such a huge league. I think the new one will be 12 to 16 teams.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

CLAXTON RU SOUTH CHAMP 4TH TIME IN 5 YEARS
In the Ruthlandian South Division the Claxton Diamonds held off fast-closing Valka to capture the pennant for the fourth time in five years... preseason favorite Waleska battled the Diamonds and Blackhawks into September, but fell to the wayside in the late going... Claxton topped runner-up Valka by 5 games, while the Westerners and the Crystal Lake Crushers tied for third place in the standings, 6 games back... the Diamonds repeated as champion and have won four of the last five division flags.

1. CLAXTON: the Diamonds are excited about the playoffs... they are still shooting for their first Pro Cup trophy... Claxton reached the Finals last season, but were quickly banished by the Rolling Hills Reds in just five games... blessed with an abundance of hitters, they hope it will be enough to win it this year... just like last year, the key to victory will be Abe Schiffman (19-12/3.76), Gilbert Clagsdale (24-11/3.79) and Stan Yudash (16-16/4.65)... they will have to step it up a level in the postseason for Claxton to prevail... the Diamonds are better in the bullpen this year with rookie closer Ramon Santos (8-2/2.06/14 saves)... the offense is even better this year with the addition of several talented rookies... leading the Diamond attack are budding superstar All-Star OF Whit Miley (.374/12/75/100), superstar All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.300/29/121/93), 3B Rick Clayburne (.270/10/74/93) and 2B Rick Emery (.253/21/83/81) with help from two fine rookies LF Konrad Neumann (.310/9/63/83) and RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.343/20/58/74)... vets SS Stevie Wynn (.283/6/50/45) and C Ryne Akins (.281/17/75/52) also are dependable bats.

2. VALKA: after trailing by 9 games at the All-Star break, the Blackhawks made a good run in the second half of the season, but ran out of gas down the stretch... after cutting the Claxton lead to just 3 games going into September, Valka fizzled with a 6-12 record to fall 5 games short of first place... the Blackhawks came in fourth in 2048, 16 games out... they have a fine mound staff, led by starters Royce Netterville (17-16/3.20), Matvey Kazak (17-16/3.23), Arvi Tamm (14-13/3.31) and rookie Adrian Stenhouse (9-9/3.12/9 saves)... and a good bullpen with closer Ricky Cockburn (9-4/3/26/9 saves)... offense is the Blackhawks' Achilles' tendon... they have trouble scoring runs... Valka club leaders are Gold Glove star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.323/27/81/67), C Aubrey Plews (.311/15/58/70), 1B Jess Evans (.288/20/59/46) and rookie All-Star SS Corey Belk (.295/9/61/63)... it's been 33 seasons since the Blackhawks graced the postseason... a little more power and scoring would send Valka soaring in IPA circles.

3. WALESKA: the Westerners were primed to takeover in the Ruthlandian South... they were third last year (16 GB), but forecast to whip Claxton this season by the baseball experts... Waleska hung on to the heels of Claxton all season long, but slumped badly in the last month to lose out by 6 games and tied for third with Crystal Lake... the Westerners had the pitching, but not the hitting to keep up with Claxton and Valka... two youngsters, rookie Trey Earnest (20-12/2.91) and Lou Carlson (20-13/2.96) topped the team in wins... vets Niles Neilsen (14-20/3.20) and Jeff Woodruff (14-17/3.39) are still capable starters, too... Vince Gibson (7-1/1.32/11 saves) had a strong season in the bullpen... All-Star CF Kenny Hardy (.298/13/77/85) was the club leader in BA, hits, RBIs and runs... but didn't have a lot of help... LF Gene Stevenson (.266/11/51/75) and CF Denver Shadwell (.279/14/52/54) only made modest contributions to the offense.

3. CRYSTAL LAKE: the Crushers never really challenged Claxton this year, but did stay within striking distance most of the season, finally finishing in a tie for third and 6 games behind the Diamonds... they rose up from sixth in 2048 (16 GB)... the Crushers hit well and scored runs, but had no power... pitching was spotty and not much of it... and they play defense very well (.978 FA)... Crystal Lake hit well for average with a .272 mark (6th), scored 740 runs (4th) with only 110 HRs (19th)... the team ERA was 3.87 (27th)... the main threat in the batting order was C Del Peevy (.293/13/84/87), followed by 1B Daryl Brady (.321/20/66/64), RF Paul Dillon (.324/6/53/70), SS Ernie Addison (.324/4/71/60), LF Jed Murphee (.299/5/37/78) and OF Kenny Gray (.345/4/71/60)... manager Duncan Welch plays a lot of players... he heavily platoons... Peevy was tops in games played with 134... 30-year-old rookie Haden Mackowiak (21-15/3.10) made the most of his first opportunity in the IPA and wound up the team's ace... the other starters Jeth Limbrick (16-14/4.33), vet Dave McCauley (16-16/4.26) and Manuel Hinojosa (10-6/3.68) were just fair... Josh Crosby (8-6/3.48/8 saves) was the best reliever, but had a down year.

5. ST. JOHN: the Crusaders (78-76) are a middle of the pack ballclub ending up in fifth place for the second year in a row (10 GB)... the last pennant was in 2042... they have never won the Pro Cup... the Crusaders hit well, score well and have average pitching... the main run providers are CF Cris Hershey (.338/9/61/109), 1B Al Pace (.316/30/93/66) and SS Bubba Ralston (.265/11/63/101)... along with parttime OFs Sherrill Westerfield (.357/6/60/48) and Roberto Campos (.341/4/34/36)... St. John has a pretty good starting rotation with Zeke Yoder (20-15/3.69), Frank Long (16-14/3.52), rookie Teddy de Grom (16-16/3.12) and Eduardo Rivera (14-10/3.07)... but the bullpen is questionable.

6. GRAND CITY: since finishing second in 2045 (10 GB), the Cybercats have wallowed near the bottom of the Ruthlandian South, winding up a poor sixth this year (15 GB)... 2030 was the last pennant for Grand City... still don't have a Pro Cup in their trophy case... they don't hit much for average (.255), but do score well with 650 runs (11th) and have fair power with 131 HRs (8th)... and the Cybercats can pitch with a 3.14 team ERA (8th)... fireballer Kenny Morrow (17-14/2.72) is the ace... he paced the Ruthlandian Union with 264 Ks... the other quality starters are Joel Eaton (16-12/3.15), Jimmy Engels (15-18/3.55) and Lee Price (14-18/3.60)... the relief corps was solid with Kent Douglas (6-7/2.17/13 saves) and Donald Denison (4-6/1.89/2 saves)... sparking the offense was legendary slugger and All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.294/51/147/97), who led the IPA with 51 roundtrippers and was second in RBIs with 147... only San Alejo's Royce Grantham topped him in RBIs with 152... at 34 Hull has gone over the 500-homer mark and is a cinch Hall-of-Famer... Hull was the club's primary runmaker, but did get some help from LF Hot Rod Gwin (.285/15/63/57), 2B Mervin Sisson (.276/13/64/58), SS Scott McIntyre (.314/10/48/66), CF Ron Stonehouse (.274/7/59/58) and RF Harland Blankenship (.278/4/43/87).

7. BELAIR BEACH: after two fine seasons, the Sunbirds sanked to the seventh spot in the standings, going 70-84 (18 GB)... they won the RU South in 2047 and challenged in 2048 with a second-place finish (7 GB)... on 8 occasions Belair Beach made the playoffs, mainly in the early years of the league, but never won the IPA crown... 25-year-old rookie Jeffrey Verblen (10-12/2.82) was the only real good starter... 22-year-old spot starter Glen Long (6-7/2.72/3 saves) also showed very good potential... veteran Tom Cook (11-11/3.41/12 saves) was the most reliable reliever... providing most of the Sunbird offense was 36-year-old superstar and All-Star 1B Jason Butler (.267/34/99/88)... Butler was the RU MVP and Golden Bat winner two years ago... he has 556 lifetime homers in his 15 seasons... other contributors were CF Norm Ellis (.253/27/83/71), C Robbie Coleman (.251/15/73/46) and RF Shannon Stewart (.293/12/52/68).

8. SAN DIMAS: the Rancheros had another pathetic season (57-97), coming in last again for the second straight year (31 GB)... the last RU South pennant came in 2041... San Dimas has yet to take home a Pro Cup title in its history... they ranked near the bottom in batting and pitching... Carl Covington (12-17/3.72) was the club's leading starter with Kenny Robinson (10-8/2.04/3 saves) and Georgie Walker (4-6/2.69/6 saves) the best in the bullpen... rookie starters 25-year-old Shan Dewhurst (9-25/3.51) and 24-year-old Gary Widmer (6-12/3.97) suffered a lot of losses, but gained some good experience... the only halfway decent bats in the lineup were vets CF Enrique Orantez (.266/26/75/88), 37-year-old RF Denny Hendrix (.246/20/81/75), LF Johnny Locke (.266/11/47/68) and C Hector Navarro (.282/9/68/54).

2049 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

RATTLERS RU EAST CHAMP AGAIN
Nobody could keep up with the Sugar Valley Rattlers the last three months of the Ruthlandian East season... the Rattlers racked up a torrid 57-18 record in a second-half surge to overwhelm Belle Plaine by 8 games for the division title... it was Sugar Valley's fifth pennant in seven years... Cold Creek was 20 games back in third place... Marston and Beechwood came in fourth, 34 games off the pace... Sugar Valley roared to 103 victories, second best to Middlefield's 104 wins in the Ruthlandian East... Valmara also went over the 100-win mark in the Ruthlandian North, finishing with 101.

1. SUGAR VALLEY: the Rattlers will be going for their second Pro Cup in five years... they nabbed it in 2045 and have much better pitching this time around... Sugar Valley ranked first in the IPA with a 2.51 team ERA... it's the second best ERA in history, topped only by Forest City record-breaking 2.41 last year... all five starters posted ERA under 3.00... All-Star Joe Snow (26-8/2.46) chalked up the most wins... Cullen Winslow (23-6/2.18) had the best ERA... and Antonio Cedeno (22-17/2.42), Davey Brennan (13-10/2.68/2 saves) and Christopher Dunsberry (10-4/2.42/10 saves) were very effective, too... leading the Rattlers at the plate were star LF Carl Ramsey (.282/32/105/88), 22-year-old rookie RF Duncan McEllicott (.267/27/80/69) and 1B Smokey Nix (.285/24/79/77)... they only hit .250 (20th), but scored pretty well with 677 runs (9th) and 160 homers (4th)... the two biggest winners in the IPA will be opponents right off the bat in the playoffs... in first-round play Sugar Valley takes on the powerful Middlefield Roosters, who seem to have it all this year... pitching, hitting and power.

2. Belle Plaine: the Muskies have been making good strides the last few years, climbing up from 8th (69-85) to fifth (76-78) to third (84-70) and up to second this season with a sparkling 95-59 mark (8 GB)... their previous best was 91-63 in 2025... the poor Muskies are still waiting for its first IPA Pro Cup... 41 years have past since the last playoff appearance... they led Sugar Valley by 4 games at mid-year, but couldn't keep up with them in the second half... the Belle Plaine bats were blistering this year with a .291 team BA (1st), 881 runs (1st) and 190 HRs (2nd)... the pitching was better than average with a 3.44 ERA (14th)... star RF Lenny Buisson (.341/45/129/109) had another marvelous season and led the club in just about all categories... 1B Chuck Gregory (.376/30/99/85) was a huge threat, too... other valuable contributors were C Nuke Borg (.282/24/80/83), CF Roy Myers (.294/16/62/76), rookie LF Nappy Kiggins (.278/14/61/86) and 3B Kale Woodard (.322/5/48/78)... top hurlers were Phil Lacey (21-11/2.91) and Henry Wade (22-12/3.07)... Pedro Castro (17-14/4.18) and Joe-Joe Bouvier (16-11/4.10) also gave them some quality strarts... the future bodes well for the Musketeers.

3. COLD CREEK: better pitching moved the Catamounts up from fourth to third this year, improving from 76-78 to 83-71... they have never won the Pro Cup... the last pennant was hoisted in 2041... vets Sammy Wright (23-14/2.97) and All-Star Rob Hutchins (19-13/2.28) had excellent seasons with some help from number three Spooky Robinson (16-16/3.36)... providing most of the offense were All-Star 2B Milt Swallow (.308/41/132/94), All-Star SS Joe Cochrane (.302/22/94/87), RF Mike Josephson (.284/6/40/79) and CF Albie Forbush (.255/11/56/74).

4. MARSTON: since the pennant-winning season of 2047 the Nine has taken a tumble to 75-79 (20 GB) and 69-85 (34 GB) the last two seasons, tying Beechwood for fourth place... Marston has never won a Pro Cup... just a mediocre club at best... they were in third place, 8 games behind at the All-Star break, then went downhill quickly... John Newton (14-20/2.91) deserved a better record... he and Thomas Stuart (11-10/3.32/2 saves) were the most effective hurlers... closer Kiki Vuk (2-2/1/46/12 saves) was quite good in the bullpen... the Nine didn't have much at the plate with All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.262/23/77/88), 2B Damien D'Amboise (.266/6/60/85), LF D'Wayne Dotson (.293/26/82/82), CF Calvin Marbury (.268/17/69/61), RF Charley Gilmore (.293/9/47/63) and SS Stan Mila (.263/12/68/55) putting up the best stats.

4. BEECHWOOD: the long-suffering Bobcats had a dismal year with a 69-85 record, tied for fourth place... 2026 was the last time they won the division... Beechwood is still winless as far as Pro Cups... Jimmy Herman (13-16/3.28), Tommy Banks (13-15/3.93) and Pete Ashley (13-21/3.93) are fair starters and Terry Collins (7-3/1.55/8 saves) did well in the bullpen... the offense is terrible... 35-year-old RF Eddie Wilson is nearing the end of a good career, but still led the club with 20 HRs and 60 RBIs, but batted a lowly .204... CF Rod McClellan topped the team with a .278 BA with 10 homers and 55 RBIs... and 2B Mike Mathews (.240) had 12 homers and led the club with 73 runs.

6. EASTSHORE: for the third year in a row the Elegants finished in the sixth spot in the standings... they were 68-86 this season (35 GB)... it's been 15 years since Eastshore won the RU East... however the Elegants have two Pro Cups to their credit, won in 2016 and 2017... not much offense, but the mound staff is pretty fair with starters Malcolm Tansbury (18-11/2.47), Jimmy Phelps (14-24/3.93), Ferrell Greenlaw (13-19/3.86) and Valdek Savisaar (12-20/3.86) and relievers Trent Niven (8-4/1.98/20 saves) and Vic Perry (2-2/2.13/6 saves)... Niven was second in saves in the IPA, topped only by Andy Mayfield of Kilkenny with 21... no standout sticks... SS Nigel Gold (.282/2/41/90), 1B Joe Washington (.282/10/73/73) and LF Bevan Shuler (.260/21/76/60) were the only decent batters... the biggest threat RF Troy McFarland (.216/16/76/70) had a down year.

7. WYNNAMAC: the Sundowners sunk low this year after spending seven straight seasons in the Ruthlandian East first division... they were last year's runner-up... the Sundowners last won the pennant in 2044... the bats were horrible this year, just about the worst in the IPA... the pitching was fairly solid with James Duncan (10-20/3.01) and Shirai Nakamura (12-10/3.10), Sammy Hayes (15-17/3.30) and Milt Easterling (.13-16/4.06)... rookie CF Dickie Key (.269/5/37/56), C Koby Howard (.254/15/52/37) and rookie RFJake Turpin (.251/13/55/55) supplied what little offense the W'Macs had.

8. ELNORA: the All-Stars endured another cellar-dwelling season for the second successive year with a sorry 53-101 mark... only Ancona of the RU North was worse with 104 defeats... Elnora has one Pro Cup trophy, won in 2033... their last postseason appearance was back in 2035... pitching is bad and the offense is average... Rod Lucas (13-24/3.91) was the club's biggest winner and the only starter with an ERA under 4.00... RF Casimiro Gessi (.323/5/41/79), 1B Joey Hagburn (.319/14/89/72) and All-Star LF Enos Conrad (.312/12/61/76) were the best hitters average-wise, while CF Preston Davies (.253/31/89/77) was the most prolific.

2049 Ruthlandian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

ROOSTERS CRUISE TO RU WEST TITLE
Picked in the preseason to finish a close third to Forest City and Rocky Rapids, the Middlefield Roosters led the IPA with 104 victories and really ruled the roost this year in the Ruthlandian West Division, made shambles of the pennant chase by racing to a 9-game bulge at the halfway mark and then increased it to 13 by season's end... the defending champ and preseason favorite Forest City came in a very distant second with Colfax third and Rocky Rapids fourth... the Roosters have racked up three division pennants in the last five seasons... they will be one of the favorites to take this year's Pro Cup trophy... Middlefield won its only IPA crown way back in 2005... the Roosters have a lot to crow about and could haul in its second Pro Cup this season... they have a lot going for them.

1. MIDDLEFIELD: the Roosters are a rock-solid ballclub with very good pitching, hitting and power... they came in fifth last year with a 73-81 record (19 GB) and made a remarkable turnaround... three rookies standouts really made the difference... out of the blue RF Johnny Wyatt slammed 41 roundtrippers and drove in 121 runs, All-Star LF Timothy Hayworth batted .315 with 12 HRs, 53 RBIs and scored 97 runs and 1B Clarence Cahoon hit .324 with 14 homers, 54 RBIs and 86 runs... add in five more All-Stars and you've got quite a team... C Johnny McDonald (.339/16/83/79), 2B Ike Gary (.300/19/95/83) and SS Jimmy Beach (.276/26/78/76) also made the RU All-Star squad, along with pitchers James Long (24-12/3.12) and Hollis Dale (22-7/2.40)... all four Middlefield starters won 20 or more games... Carroll Collier (25-10/2.72) and Larry Wheelhouse (23-10/3.41) piled up lots of wins, too... CF Russell Martin (.275 BA) put up some solid numbers, too, with 29 homers, 99 RBIs and 91 runs... the Roosters will have a tough test right out of the gate in the postseason, going up against Sugar Valley in the first round... the Rattlers won 103 games this season.

2. FOREST CITY: last year the Lumberjacks had absolutely splendid pitching and set the all-time IPA ERA record at 2.41... they couldn't match it this year and slipped to a 2.99 ERA (4th) and fell to second place, far behind Middlefield... in spite of the drop, the starting four still did their jobs very well, led by Omar Cordero (24-9/2.35), Rusty Howard (23-14/2.53), Richie Meyers (15-10/2.98) and John McKee (15-14/3.05)... the offense was better than average, but didn't compare at all to Middlefield's... their best performers were rookie 2B Ziggy Regan (.280/11/52.89), rookie 1B D. J. Ewell (.257/19/90/76), SS Timmy Tarbell (.304/11/62/59) and C Bob Brisdon (.282/13/81/62).

3. COLFAX: the Blasters improved from 77-77 and fourth place (15 GB) to 86-68 and third place this year (18 GB)... the last postseason appearance was in 2042 and the only Pro Cup was won in 2010... they are better than average as a team with good hitting and pitching... the ace was Jorgen Krogstad (22-12/3.10)... he got some help from Dante Breeland (19-14/4.20) and Rollie Abbott (16-14/3.25)... Red McCallum (13-20/3.47) was a quality starter, but lost a lot of quality starts... the Blasters have no great shakes at the place, but a good core of reliable batters in 3B Cramer Landis (.328/6/41/80), All-Star C Darrell Dillon (.275/25/89/86), 2B Hoot Glanville (.294/11/54/64), SS Dan Zalewski (.284/9/57/58)... parttimers 3B Marty Eldridge (.317/6/64/48) and RF Stu Richardson (.298/14/55/45) provided some good offense, too... the Blasters need more punch and power in their lineup to challenge Middlefield.

4. ROCKY RAPIDS: last year the Snappers were 79-75, good for the third spot in the standings (13 GB)... they got better with an 81-73 mark and dropped to fourth (23 GB)... for 11 years straight the Snappers have finished in the first division... they won pennants in 2044 and 2046 and even a Pro Cup, but long ago and far way in 2019... the aging mound corps is strong with a great 2.85 team ERA (3rd), but the offense is mediocre at best with a poor .249 BA (22nd), 622 runs (19th) and only 104 HRs (22nd-tied)... IPA superstar hurler Jamie Taylor (20-12/1.59) got some breaks this year and had a super year after two off-years, at least for him... Taylor had the second-best ERA in the IPA... only Ranford's Ralph Hawk was better with a great 1.40 ERA... Taylor had a tough time record-wise the previous two years with 19-20 and 17-16 marks, but still had impressive ERAs... Taylor was 30-7 in 2046 with a superb 1.59 ERA... that year he won the Ruthlandian MVP Award and the Golden Arm trophy... the 33-year-old Taylor holds the all-time IPA record for victories in a single season... this year he had help from 35-year-old Buster Noland (18-17/3.10), 35-year-old Dirk Halstad (15-15/3.16) and Kevin Dillard (12-12/3.53)... closer Steve Owens (8-5/1.56/16 saves) did a crackerjack job in the bullpen for the Snappers... supplying most of the offense were star 2B Marty Featherstone (.258/27/86/76), 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.286/25/87/85) and C Carney Kirkpatrick (.281/20/83/74).

5. STONER: the Stars were within striking distance of Middlefield until the All-Star Game... they were tied with Forest City for second place, 9 games back of powerhouse Middlefield... then the Stars slowly faded back into the second division in the second half of the season and came in fifth (24 GB), but with a pretty good 80-74 record... they were seventh the previous two seasons and posted identical 64-90 records... Stoner possesses three capable starters in Took Noonan (19-19/1.79), Rip Martin (18-11/3.23) and Billy Horton (13-17/3.40)... but need some help in the bullpen... the Stars have only two decent hitters: RF Emmett Tread (.287/16/64/77) and 3B Mac Lord (.291/12/66/85)... Stoner hasn't made the playoffs since 2029 and still hasn't won a Pro Cup in its history.

6. SLIGO: the Rovers have a terrible offense, ranking last in the IPA with only 548 runs... but the pitching is about average with a 3.60 team ERA (18th)... last year Sligo came out of nowhere and finished second to Forest City with an 82-72 record (10 GB), but this year they plunged to sixth place with a poor 64-90 mark (40 GB)... in the club history the Rovers have one IPA championship trophy, captured in 2021... the last RU West pennant was in 2039... heading up the Rover pitching corps was Mickey Walsh (13-21/2.72), but Freddy Avery (18-16/4.01) chalked up the most wins... veteran Randall Steele (15-19/4.29) had a subpar year for him... Davey Hunter (3-6/1.92/8 saves) did a nice job in the pen this season... the only capable batter in the lineup was veteran 3B Denny Simmons, who topped the team with a .296 BA, 23 HRs, 71 RBIs and 76 runs.

7. VOLUSIA: the Vigilantes won the first ever IPA Pro Cup in 2001, beating the Ginza Ninjas in a four-game sweep, but they haven't won one since... the most recent playoff appearance came in 2043... last year the V's were 70-64 in sixth place (22 GB), but they dipped to seventh this year with a 63-91 record (41 GB)... Volusia ranked near the bottom in scoring and in ERA... long-suffering vet Drew Selby (18-18/3.56) led the club in wins with occasional help from Casimiro Ramires (15-20/4.04) and Mateus Branco (11-20/4.28)... not a lot of talent in the batting order, either... most of them are just journeymen: CF Cazzie Carvalho (.277/21/69/76), C George Ruffino (.276/20/84/64), LF Robby Booth (.236/17/61/59), 1B Kris Wilson (.276/16/51/60) and RF Derek Jorstad (.302/12/48/74).

8. Fort Benton: the Defenders are dreadful... only one pennant in its history... that was 2037... no Pro Cups... and they have come in last in the RU West for the last five years in a row... 55-99 in 2048 (37 GB) and 61-93 this year (43 GB)... nothing to brag about on the hill or at the plate... vet Jordy Raeburn (15-18/3.74) is the club leader in wins with a little help from Arnie Patterson (11-11/3.64)... rookie Tristan Kenyon (.315/7/52/65) had the top BA at .315... vet 1B Todd Higginbotham paced the club with 20 homers and 87 RBIs, but hit just .238 for average... 2B Lucien Lindsey topped the team in scoring runs with 85, while batting .279 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs.

2049 Ruthlandian West Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

Only one more full season after this? Man, I'm gonna hate to see this league go, having followed it from Day One! :eatpop: It has inspired me, personally, to come up with ideas for my own soon-to-be leagues!

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

RASCALS REPEAT IN TU NORTH
The White River Rascals used a high-powered attack and great pitching to repeat as champion of the Tycobbian North Division... in a very close race they outdistanced Luxora by 3 games... most of the other teams fell to the wayside after midyear... the Rascals only led the Zorros by two games going into July... Mahaska was third, trailing by only four games, but the Haymakers soon swooned in the second half of the season, winding up in fifth place, 30 games back... at season's end Hartsdale came in third, 16 games off the pace and North Hills was in the fourth spot, 29 games behind.

1. WHITE RIVER: the Rascals had a wonderful season, winning their second pennant in a row and fifth overall... they topped the Tycobbian Union with 97 wins, one better than TU South titlist San Alejo... however, the club is still in search of a first Pro Cup trophy... they could prove to be a serious Pro Cup contender with the team's tremendous pitching and home-run power... the Rascals batted only .254 as a team (22nd), but walloped 198 homers (2nd) and scored 756 runs (3rd), while posting an excellent 2.82 team ERA (2nd)... in the Tycobbian Union only the Denton City Redbirds were better with a 2.72 team ERA... none of the Tycobbian playoff clubs have better pitching or offense than White River... the Rascals have an abundance of fine pitchers, led by veteran starters All-Star Nicky Palmer (22-10/2.59), Clem Warren (21-12/2.84) and Butch Slattery (21-10/2.88)... the bullpen is very sound, too, with Todd Cole (10-8/2.76/17 saves), who ranked sixth in the IPA in saves... White River boasts four players who hit 30 or more homers: superstar LF Billy Joe Hickman (.261/48/126/100), RF Ryne Hyland (.304/36/100/111), 2B Ryan Byrd (.165/32/85/83) and 1B Ruben Reaves (.300/30/76/113)... 3B Kenny Yarbrough added another good bat with a .314 BA, 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 88 runs.

2. LUXORA: the Zorros gave the Rascals fits and almost caught them in the home stretch... the Z's had excellent firepower with a .280 team BA (1st), 780 runs (1st) and 161 HRs (8th-tied), plus a pretty good pitching staff with a 3.57 team ERA (9th)... they moved up from third place and 82-72 last year (12 GB) to 95-59 (3 GB) this season... it's been a long while since Luxora had appeared in the postseason playoffs... their last pennant came in 2031... the Zorros have never won a Pro Cup... the starting four were solid with Mack Wellman (18-13/2.98), Jose Beltran (16-8/2.87), Les Liebert (18-12/3.37) and Steve Tolan (16-12/3.60/2 saves)... Wellman came over from Taranto in a July trade and posted a fine 9-2 mark in 12 starts with a 2.36 ERA... the club's offensive leaders were CF Xavier Da Nova (.318/17/77/101), rookie SS Emmett Cusack (.297/10/57/98), All-Star LF Emil Pasek (.311/19/75/88), 2B Joel Poche (.274/19/85/76), 3B Tiago Chaves (.268/20/87/71), rookie RF Jules Randolph (.312/21/73/65) and 1B Tuff McLendon (.316/14/64/62)... there are no easy outs in the Luxora lineup.

3. HARTSDALE: the Hellcats still have a good club... they won the TU North twice in recent years, 2046 and 2047, and hauled in their first Pro Cup in '46... they were second last year (11 GB) with an 83-71 record and went 82-72 (16 GB) this year, good for third place... heading up the mound staff are veteran starters Gil Younger (22-12/2.89) and Perry Givens (14-14/2.81)... Roy Krieger (6-2/2.28/12 saves) is the best in the bullpen... famed closer Alfonso Cervera (10-7/3.74/13 saves) had an up-and-down year... no great sticks in the batting order, but some good ones... LF Darrell Nesbitt (308/11/56/84), RF Emilian Burgess (.280/18/74/79), 2B Greg Melton (.293/23/80/68), C Kenton Carmichael (.253/26/83/70) and 1B John Ford (.258/24/64/54).

4. NORTH HILLS: the glory days of winning four Pro Cups (2034-2041) and dominating the TU North by taking 11 titles in 12 years, are gone now as the Hawks are in the rebuilding stage and things are getting worse... the last pennant came five seasons ago... they were in last place last year with a 71-83 record (23 GB) and got worse this year with a 69-85 mark (29 GB), but finished in fourth place because there are so many bad teams in the North Division this season... Tony Mack (14-17/4.57) is the only Pro Cup stalwart left on the squad, but he didn't have a good year and is nearing retirement at age 37... the best bats were All-Star RF Chuck Coltharpe (.297/33/99/103), CF Ryan Webbe (.283/25/100/76) and LF Bucky Winslow (.283/12/51/85).

5. MAHASKA: the Haymakers hung close to White River for the first half of the season before flaming out into oblivion... they went from four games of first place and ended up 30 games behind... Mahaska was 24-51 in the second half... not a lot to brag about on the mound staff... John Polk (16-13/4/56/2 saves) led the club in victories, but he benefited often with good run support... the Haymakers have some productive batters in C James Boswell (.244/34/94/71), 3B Goose Fulton (.261/22/91/74) and All-Star Roger Lewis (.276/20/94/71)... SS Rocco Bertara (.293/10/49/82) also made the All-Star team.

6. OXFORD: the Red Caps are still in the throes of a long, long, stretch of frustration... they have not won a pennant since the Pro Cup season of 2007... the Red Caps were 71-83 in seventh place in 2048 (23 GB) and got worse with a 66-88 mark (33 GB), coming in sixth... Rudy Mellancamp (16-17/2.98) is the only top-notch starter... he could pitch for anybody in the IPA... the offense also lacks talent... the only decent hitter is LF Kevin Carter with a .305 BA, 29 homers and 85 RBIs.

7. BLUE LAKE: the Blue Sox haven't made the postseason lately, either... last appearing in 2030, which was the year they won their only Pro Cup... last season they were in fifth place with a 79-75 record (15 GB)... this season the Blue Sox dropped to seventh place and 66-88 (32 GB)... the pitching was mediocre to bad... Sal Mays (16-17/4.19) and Greg Mortimer (15-20/4.22) had the most wins and were the most effective... the only decent bats were All-Star C Juan Luis Barcelona (.296/23/69/90) and RF Burl Baugh (.272/25/86/58).

8i. FAIRFAX: for the second time in the club's history the Frogs finished in the Tycobbian North basement... they were sixth last year with a 77-77 mark (17 GB), but slumbered to 65-89 this season (33 GB)... pitching was pretty much awful... Harold Dorman (12-18/4.41) and Shaun O'Riley (10-15/3.92) were the biggest winners... or perhaps the best losers... the Frogs had very little offense... and All-Star 2B John Velasco (.320/18/73/87), CF Trent Russell (.283/27/73/105), C Scott Courtney (.286/20/75/66) and RF Brad Johnson (.274/15/68/83) had the best numbers on the team... Velasco was amazing this year at age 43... however, his career may be over... Velasco ruptured and an Achilles tendon in September and may be forced into retirement.

2049 Tycobbian North Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

Thank you for being such a loyal follower. I much appreciate it.

I really hate to give up the IPA, but covering 64 teams and doing it well is nigh unto impossible... plus a tremendous amount of work.

It is much easier to cover a league with 16 teams all total. That will be the number of my new Dynasty series.

Eight years is a long time to cover a league, especially one as large as the IPA.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

MONTIES MASSACRE TU SOUTH
In the last 12 years the San Alejo Montaneros have been in the battle for the Tycobbian South Division crown many times, but they only came close... this year the Monties made certain they would win with a 14-game romp over runner-up Southport... in third place was Turon, 17 games back and Arroyo Grande finished fourth, 22 games behind in the race... only three of the division clubs managed winning seasons... Southport was the only team to challenge San Alejo... the Sun Sox trailed by only four games at mid-year, but couldn't even break even the rest of the year and quickly dropped out of the race.

1. SAN ALEJO: the Montaneros last won the TU South in 2037 and their only Pro Cup came a few years earlier in 2032... four years ago they were 91-63 and came in third (3 GB)... three years ago they were 90-64 and came in second (2 GB)... last year the Monties were 87-67 and came in third (14 GB)... but they won it hands down this year... San Alejo is blessed with two elite starters All-Star Matt Bell (24-12/2.13) and Will McKinney (23-9/2.43)... Bell has notched 20 wins in 8 of his 11 years in the league with two Golden Arms, while McKinney has done it 7 of his 8 seasons and has one Golden Arm trophy... the other two starters Wilfredo Bonilla (18-12/4.18) and Mickey Cronyn (14-11/4.31/10 saves) are only fair... closer Benny Buckmaster (5-5/2.99/12 saves) is solid in the bullpen... the Montaneros don't hit for much average (.254 BA-23rd), but do score runs (730-6th)... LF Royce Grantham had a great season, leading the IPA with 152 RBIs... he batted .303 with 36 homers and scored 101 runs... he had some good help from RF Erik Landau (.270/6/52/101), CF Pablo Teixeira (.276/29/88/84) and SS Benito Clemente (.292/6/69/98)... how far San Alejo goes in the postseason depends on its hitting... Bell and McKinney will take care of the pitching... San Alejo plays very good defense (.976 FA).

2. SOUTHPORT: age may be catching up with Southport... the Sun Sox won 6 of the last 8 division titles and also won two Pro Cups ('43, '47), but didn't have its usual strong pitching this year... their two veteran stars Billy Hoover (24-12/3.28) and All-Star Johnny Swanson (21-12/2.67) did their jobs very well, but didn't get any help from number three Brandon Delmore (13-17/4.59) and number four Gordon Forbes (9-23/5.74)... the bullpen is still strong with Troy Hill (10-4/1.96/14 saves) and veteran Hal Combs (6-3/2.14/10 saves)... the offense is still good and holding its own, but it is getting old... the best run providers are CF Tony Patrano (.261/28/81/66), LF Barney Lewis (.251/27/78/64), 1B Eddy Douglas (.248/24/74/62) and C Vasilis Vlachos (.237/18/68/57)... LF Chris Jones (.327/3/46/70) led the club with a .327 BA.

TURON: the Typhoons have been in the first division for the last four years...they were second last year with an 89-65 record (12 GB) and third this year with an 80-64 mark (17 GB)... Turon has one Pro Cup in its trophy case (2018) and hasn't made the playoffs in 10 seasons... they have good bats and lackluster pitching... sparking the offense are 3B Al Salisbury (.314/18/78/110), CF Eddy Spafford (.286/15/53/99), All-Star RF Guido Gervasio (.285/20/94/92), SS Rafer Robertson (.286/28/98/65) and 2B C. C. Kingsford (.280/18/52/59)... Tom Fuller (16-15/3.63) and Nate Scottsdale (18-19/3.67) are the best on the hill... in the bullpen Chris Lewis (7-4/2.87/10 saves) and Russell Mallory (5-7/2.20/7 saves) are quality relievers.

4. ARROYO GRANDE: finally after 15 years in the TU South second division, the Suns moved up from seventh to fourth place this year, improving from 65-89 (36 GB) to 75-79 (22 GB)... the club hasn't made the postseason since 2024... Arroyo Grande has never won a Pro Cup... this season's version is not very good... poor hitting and dubious pitching... Dwayne McMahon (18-17/3.94), Anthony Lombardi (17-20/3.28) and Enrique Lopez (16-20/3.42) are fairly good starters... and Russ Simmons (4-1/2.93/7 saves) is a quality reliever... not a lot in the lineup... the best of the lot are SS Russell Taylor (.265/29/83/105), 1B Vince Kinston (.261/28/72/62) and RF Norishige Ito (.287/24/80/79).

5. COLCHESTER: the Elites improved quite a bit this year, but still just finished in fifth place with a 74-80 mark (23 GB)... last year they were 59-95 (42 GB) in last place... this was the team's best finish in a dozen seasons... the last pennant came in 2036... Colchester still hasn't hauled in a Pro Cup trophy... the pitching was better this season and so was the offense... but neither are much to cheer about... however, 24-year-old starter Denzel Durand (21-15/2.96) is something to cheer about... the sophomore hurler showed very good promise this year after going 15-13 is his rookie season... closer Haden Fraser (9-4/2.69/15 saves) stood out in the bullpen... 20-year-old rookie RF Eldon McLennan (.328/8/63/79) led the club offensively and made the Tycobbian All-Star team... 1B Claude Garson topped the team in homers with 24 and RBIs with 75, but batted just .258... SS James Murchison (.294/13/57/86) also made the All-Star team... 3B Joey Rogers (.316/5/45/60) was another good contact hitter.

6. GINZA: the Ninjas have been stuck in the middle of the pack for the last 5-6 seasons... they were sixth this year with a 72-82 record (25 GB)... down from fourth and 82-72 last year (19 GB)... it's been quite awhile since Ginza made the playoffs... 2031 was the last time... the Ninjas have never won a Pro Cup... they have good power with 156 homers (10th) and can score (704 runs-12th), but have mediocre pitching (4.04 ERA-24th)... super star CF Sogo Takagi (.302/35/103/108) is 36, but still can do it all... he's a surefire Hall-of-Famer... Takagi made the All-Star team for the eighth time this year... 2B Kuzuki Tamura (.302/6/59/75) and C Whip Harrell (.280/32/86/65) are the other reliable bats in the Ninja lineup... Charley Waskins (15-18/3.81), T. C. Gallimore (14-15/3.94) and Carlos Del Toro (12-19/3.96) are just passable starters... veteran 35-year-old closer Tim Hickens (7-9/3.17/16 saves) did well most of the time.

7. CAPE CORAL: the Hurricanes are on the decline... they were 4th two years ago with an 85-69 record (7 GB), dropped to fifth in 2048 with a 74-80 mark (27 GB), then fell to seventh this season at 70-84 (27 GB)... the 'Canes offense is not what it has been in recent years, but the pitching perked up a little bit with the addition of superstud All-Star closer 36-year-old Terry Baird (9-4/1.60/14 saves), who was obtained from La Claire in a trade for superstar RF Rikky Van Dalen (.300/41/116/97)... except for Baird, the mound staff is fair to middling to bad with starters Stacy Boyle (16-16/4.02), Vernon Marks (15-20/3.42), Benton McCall (14-18/3.86) and Rik De Meester (10-19/4.34)... the top guns are All-Star 3B Kent Mantle (.306/31/86/84), All-Star SS Scotty Jackson (.299/26/84/83) and LF Eduardo Plassio (.297/5/53/77)... at 35 star RF William Snyder (.254/16/62/77) had the worst season of his 17-year career... Snyder is a lifetime .321 hitter... it's the first time he batted under the .300 mark... the Hurricane attack really missed Van Dalen this season, but they got a great season from Baird... you've got to give up something to get something... the trade was a win-win this year for both clubs... we'll have to watch how many more years Baird and Van Dalen play at an elite level to properly evaluate the trade.

8. SUMMERLAND: the Sunsets possessed remarkable pitching from '39 to '46, but they didn't score many runs... still they won two pennants ('40, '46) during that time period... in '47 they slipped from first place 94-60 to sixth place 76-78 (16 GB)... last year they fell further to 71-83 (30 GB)... and this season plunged downward to 57-97 and last place (40 GB)... the mound corps is not what it used to be... except for 6-time All-Star Jayson Hallstrom (14-16/2.81), who is still a tough customer on the hill... at 36 Billy King (12-23/4.01) had the worst season of his 12 years with Summerland... 21-year-old rookie Lanny Meredith (13-18/3.20) lost a lot of games, but was an dependable starter... as the case usually is, the Sunset bats are non-existent... as a team they batted only .239 (29th), scored only 570 runs (32nd) and hit just 109 out of the park (30th)... 1B Kenny Douglas led them in everything... 171 hits, 36 doubles, 5 triples, 27 homers, 90 RBIs, 97 runs and .282 BA... RF Rick Mayes (.264/20/54/83), CF Tony Vargas (.280/3/47/70) and SS Alex Abbotson (.253/16/51/63) helped out a little.

2049 Tycobbian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

TUCKS TAKE TIGHT RACE IN TU EAST
The fans of the Tycobbian East enjoyed a pretty fair pennant race throughout most of the season... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays were challenged by as many as five other clubs... the Bluebirds prevailed in a tight tussle, beating out Red Bluff by 3 games, preseason favorite Hillsboro by 4 and defending division champ High Mesa by 5... for the 27th year in a row the Tucks finished in the first division.

1. TUCKANARRA: the last postseason appearance for the Blue Jays came in 2038... they have captured three Pro Cups in the team's history with the most recent coming in 2035... last season the Tucks were 80-74 in fourth place (19 GB)... they stepped it up on the mound and at the plate this year and won the flag... the Bluebirds have a solid rotation with Dickie Pittman (19-9/2.42), All-Star Ozzie Leslie (20-15/2.84), Alfie Rutledge (20-12/3.42) and Neil Orr (13-9/3.59/2 saves)... closer Trevor Rutherford (12-10/2.84/17 saves) was pretty good in the bullpen... Tuckanarra hits well for average with a .272 BA (3rd), scores well with 725 runs (8th), but doesn't have a lot of power... they hit only 129 HRs (21st)... the club offensive leaders are All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.343/25/94/76), LF Cedric Dennison (.320/15/76/65) and C Glenn Tinker (.302/9/56/56)... CF Harv Bannerman (.231/20/60/86) and 3B Bud Bostic (.278/5/56/84) have been productive, too... the Blue Jays will probably be a middle-of-the-pack pick in the Pro Cup predictions.

2. RED BLUFF: the hard-hitting Red Sox tried hard to catch the Blue Jays this year, but ran out of games... they were closing the gap when the season ended... the Red Sox finished in the Tycobbian East first division for the 27th straight time, too, just like Tuckanarra... but they haven't been to the playoffs in 12 years... Red Bluff does have three Pro Cups in its possession with the last one coming in 2035... though they are getting on in years, the Red Sox still led the IPA with 229 homers and ranked third in runs scored with 764... rookie All-Star 3B Dazzy Bevis (.287/32/98/100) had a great inaugural season and was a big boost to the offense... he also had plenty of help from superstar RF David Kelso (.288/35/105/81)... in 16 seasons the 34-year-old Kelso had over 600 homers... 39-year-old CF Ike Sweetwater (.291/20/54/72) is still playing well... at age 35 SS Leemon O'Donovan (.233/29/84/92) is still a solid player... at 37 2B Fran Blanchard (.271/22/61/66) still has some pop and plays well in the field... 1B Josh Stevens (.229/27/60/52) didn't hit well, but went deep fairly often... the mound corps was only fair this year with Mickey Rosen (14-13/2.78) and George Reynolds (16-15/3.38) the most effective... Carson Jamara (19-9/4.09) and Sonny Wheat (15-18/4.39) were inconsistent, but had some quality starts... the bullpen wasn't very good... Red Bluff needs some infusion of youth... the aging vets can't go on forever.

3. HILLSBORO: the Blazers were primed for success this season... the baseball world picked them to prevail in the TU East and go to the Pro Cup playoffs for the first time in the club's history... but it didn't happen... the Blazers have quality starters, but little in the way of offense... they only hit .227 (32nd) and scored only 601 runs (30th), but did show a little bit of power with 144 HRs (14th)... you don't win a bunch of games in the IPA when your top batter 35-year-old LF Jurrien Bellini hits .229 with 25 homers and 81 RBIs... and the most dependable hitters only had modest stats... CF Rick Willis had 20 homers, 70 RBIs, scored 80 runs, while batting only .263... and SS Shane Welsh had a team high .279 BA with 11 HRs and 61 RBIs... pitching was the name of the game in Hillsboro... the pitching corps put up a fine 3.07 team ERA (4th) and were led by Steve Cooper (20-13/2.60) and Clay Spencer (18-10/3.13... Jamie Lee Bradley (12-15/2.58) and Bailey Bilbow (14-15/3.49) were capable pitchers, too... Ron Pryor (6-3/2.48) was the most effective reliever and got some help from Scott Cole (5-7/3.92/14 saves).

4. HIGH MESA: the Cowboys were coming off a great season in 2048 when they made the playoffs for the first time in over 45 years... they won the TU East pennant with an impressive 99-55 record and were expecting big things this year... but the offense stumbled badly and didn't give the excellent mound staff any run support... the Cowpokes ranked near the bottom with a .239 BA (31st) and 637 runs (26th)... despite the pitiful offense, they still managed to come in fourth and just 5 games out of first place... the starting four were fantastic... Lloyd Armstrong (19-17/2.92), rookie Tuff Hammel (13-8/2.31/6 saves), Lucius Quarles (11-14/2/54) and Dickie Sternfeld (13-10/3.04) really did their part... the bullpen did well, too, with a 2.63 ERA (5th)... overall the team ERA was 2.93 (3rd)... the only reliable threats in the lineup were two 36-year-old veterans: star slugger 3B Johnny Tallis (.269/34/102/58) and star SS Andreas Stokke (.285/39/101/88), who was obtained from Bayview in a trade of IF Clifford Coleman, age 32... Coleman had a bad year, batting only .218 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 60 games.

5. MIDWAY: the Wolves were in the race the first half of the season, but dropped out early in the Summer... they slipped from 81-73 and third place (18 GB) to 76-78 and a fifth-place finish (10 GB)... Midway has never won the Pro Cup... the last time they made the playoffs was 2027... the Wolves have average bats and lackluster pitching... Charlie Chase (18-15/3.39) is the ace and the only effective starter... there are two strong relievers in the bullpen, headed up by Rocket Rhodes (11-5/1.99/5 saves) and Jeffrey Leonard (3-2/1.31/5 saves)... the main offensive performers are All-Star LF Justin Morrison (.314/20/86/92), RF Alfie Kincade (.284/29/100/78), 2B Kax Clark (.310/9/53/97) and SS Joey Keswick (.270/15/59/106).

6. EAST POINT: record-wise the Panthers had their best season in a decade, coming in with a 75-79 mark, good for sixth place (11 GB)... they were terrible the year before with a last place finish and a 57-97 record (42 GB)... the last pennant was in '39... East Point has never won the IPA Pro Cup... the Panthers had some decent pitching, but weren't much on the scoreboard... however they had good power with 168 HRs (8th-tied)... Ralph Wallace (18-16/2.45) had a fine season and had some help from Barney Benton (18-13/3.71)... Kenneth Lawson (1-4/1.43/13 saves), Carl Jordan (2-0/2.09/2 saves) and Buford St. John (5-2/3.73/15 saves) headed up a pretty good bullpen... providing most of the club's offense were All-Star 1B Kelly Walsh (.292/27/77/88), CF Tennis Magee (.273/24/63/51), All-Star C Kenny Bailey (.275/23/70/71), LF Augie Elizondo (.253/22/61/45) and SS Justus Coles (.254/15/69/59).

7. SOUTH FORK: the Stallions have been stuck in a rut for five seasons... they were 78-76 in '48 in fifth place (21 GB), but slumped to 73-81 and seventh place with a 73-81 mark (13 GB)... '43 was the last division title... South Fork has taken Pro Cup trophies twice ('42, '25)... they have two solid starters in Kip Cleaver (23-14/2.87) and star Jay Murphy (20-12/3.35), but not much otherwise... CF Jack Boswell is the big bat and tops the team with 31 homers, 90 RBIs and 100 runs, while hitting .262... other contributors were C Rudy Maroney (.285/17/82/66), SS Pete Arnold (.271/21/62/92), RF Georgy Walter (.307/7/38/66) and LF Kyle Gottwald (.307/10/40/48) and 1B Paul Sexton (.280/17/57/37).

8. Ozarka: the Nats don't do much of anything well... the last four seasons they have been seventh, eighth, seven and eighth... 69-85 last year (30 GB) and even worse this year at 62-92 (24 GB)... the Naturals won the division flag in '40... never have they taken the Pro Cup crown... Carl Hemus (17-15/3.07) and Jerald Kidman (13-21/4.16) paced the starters... and rookie All-Star 2B Kyler Hartman (.309/10/73/75) paced the hitters with a .309 BA... 1B Artie Clayton led with 31 homers and 87 RBIs, but batted a very poor .217... RF Julien Belazaire chipped in with a .283 BA, 9 HRs, 64 RBIs and 77 runs.

2049 Tycobbian East Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 21, 2049

BUCS EDGE REDBIRDS AND REDS IN TU WEST
What a race in the Tycobbian West... it reads like a fairy tale or an unbelievable script from Hollywood... Bay St. Clair, a perennial also-ran and loser, went from the proverbial outhouse to the penthouse this year... it took a single-game playoff between Bay St. Clair and Denton City to decide the division crown after a year-long fight for the pennant... the Bucs bopped the Redbirds 7-2 to take the division flag by a game... last year's winner and reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills faltered down the stretch and finished 3 and a half games off the pace... the Kenwood Wildcats were a distant fourth, trailing by 13 and a half games.

The three contenders tussled all season long... going into September, Bay St. Clair was running third, 3 games behind Denton City, but took charge late and won the playoff game... both the Redbirds and Reds fizzled in the last week of the season... for the first time in two decades the Buccaneers will be in the playoffs... they also snapped a 13-year run in the second division... the Bucs will be going for their first Pro Cup trophy... they are trophy-less in 9 previous playoff appearances.

1. BAY ST. CLAIR: after a terrible season last year... a last place finish with a 57-97 record (38 GB) and many other bad seasons in recent years, the Buccaneers made wholesale changes to their roster... 17 new players came aboard and really made a difference... the hitting and offense greatly improved, so did the pitching... the team BA went from .228 to .261 (14th)... the Bucs were fifth in scoring with 741 runs... and the team ERA went from 3.86 last season to 3.43 this year (8th)... rookie starter Scotty Hedwall (16-14/3.03) was impressive along with three newcomers in the bullpen: All-Star Cadillac Bogart (14-2/1.52/12 saves), Ian Abercrombie (14-4/1.93) and Steve Swanwick (4-1/1.31/8 saves)... one of the few holdovers from 2048, 5-year-veteran starter Dion Hawkins (19-9/3.94) was the club's biggest winner... rookies also made a huge impact in the batting order... the productive sticks were CF Stan Kovalenko (.276/17/86/105), SS Dwayne Mungle (.265/10/76/79) and LF Butch Thornhill (.256/23/98/75)... one of the few holdover regulars 2B Reece Somerset (.302/21/82/71) topped the team with a .302 BA... rookie C Hersh Cranmore (.263/12/73/59) chipped in decent numbers, too... the Buccaneers probably don't have the starting pitching to go very far in the postseason, but the youngsters on the squad should make it interesting... sometimes fairy tales and backyard dreams come true... White River and San Alejo are the critics' choice to win the Tycobbian title and go to the Pro Cup Finals.

2. DENTON CITY: the Redbirds had a really good shot at winning its first pennant since 2040... but they lost four of the last five games and blew their chance... the Redbirds were only 8-11 in September, while Bay St. Clair took the division by posting a 12-7 mark... still the Reds came in second with a sparkling 92-63 record, beaten out by just one game... last year Denton City was third with a 79-75 mark (16 GB)... the Redbirds have never won a Pro Cup, but came close twice in the early days of the IPA... '05 and '08... the Redbirds had superb pitching with a 2.72 team ERA, tops in the Tycobbian Union and ranked second best in the IPA... Sugar Valley was the leader with a phenomenal 2.51 team ERA... however Denton City had second-rate hitting... .255 BA (20th), 642 runs (25th) and 122 homers (26th-tied)... two very impressive rookies Johnny Wingate (17-9/2.07) and Flash Stringfellow (17-14/2.24) led the staff with strong support from veterans Mel Coley (20-12/3.05/7 saves), Val Farnsworth (14-6/2.56/2 saves) and All-Star Harry Elliott (20-14/3.67/4 saves)... James Webb (2-2/2.60/10 saves) was the best reliever... at the plate the leaders were Val Anniston (.312/21/68/73), SS Vincent McCloud (.287/6/59/92) and veteran LF Pete Doyle (.279/16/78/53).

3. ROLLING HILLS: the current Pro Cup champion and last year's TU West winner Rolling Hills had the same solid ballclub, but they failed in clutch time going 6-12 in September, while Bay St. Clair went 12-7 to capture the division crown... the Reds will not be repeating as Pro Cup champion... the top starters were all vets: All-Star Matthew Christianson (23-6/2.51), All-Star Johnny Howard (22-13/2.89) and Marty Phillips (21-11/3.55)... closer Benny Young (8-4/2.08/15 saves) was a standout in the bullpen... they had a solid core of hitters led by SS Dustin Thibodeau (.308/17/67/88), 2B Miguel Romeros (.279/27/94/86), 1B Darwin Tard (.293/16/83/71), rookie Taddy McKeoun (.283/18/64/70), All-Star C Kyle Edwards (.293/0/61/47) and LF Orin Phillips (.264/20/77/76).

4. KENWOOD: the club has one Pro Cup title ('14) in its history... the Wildcats won six pennants since 2040, but have declined a little bit lately... two years ago they dipped to second place with an 81-73 record (14 GB)... this year the Wildcats slipped to fourth and 79-75 (13.5 GB)... still a solid, well-balanced team... veteran starters Rusty Bradford (16-17/3.28), Tommy Carter (15-14/3.86), Freddy Gooch (14-13/3.75) and Gregg Campbell (10-6/3.53/1 save) are still reliable... and closer Mike Jones (12-9/2.47/19 saves) was excellent... he ranked fifth in the IPA in saves... Kilkenny's Andy Mayfield (6-5/4.04) was the leader with 21... three players provided most of the offense: 2B Country Crowder (.334/2/43/90), superstar C Corky DiNozzo (.282/31/84/68) and 3B Jasper Matthews (.264/20/75/78)... however, CF Warren Vickers (.320/10/53/48), CF Dorsey Faircloth (.316/7/45/43) and RF Billy Nix (.281/18/50/41) did well in platoon roles.

5. ARLON: the Champions came in third in '47 with an 80-74 mark (5 GB)... but have dropped to fifth the past two seasons... they were 73-81 in '47 (22 GB) and 71-83 this season (21.5 GB)... just an average ballclub... the Champs won their last pennant in '43 and have yet to claim a Pro Cup... veteran star Lanny Gray (18-16/2.84) is still the ace... the 33-year-old fireballer led the IPA in strikeouts for the second year in a row and sixth time in his career... Gray fanned 282 in 313 innings... Peter Shannon (19-17/3.66) and Mike Winters (12-12/3.54) also lent a hand on the hill... the best reliever was Mack Blair (6-7/1.92/9 saves)... Arlon had no great shakes at the plate... leading the team were 1B Ivan Cisneros (.277/19/77/99), LF Davey Allen (.262/12/73/69), 3B John Foley (.342/1/39/63) , SS Todd Grant (.245/15/68/69), RF Ferdie Freese (.278/15/78/59) and CF Cary Rockwell (.268/14/60/59).

6. CHICOPEE: the Braves have made the first division only three times in the last 14 seasons... never have won the Pro Cup... last appeared in the playoffs in 2036... rarely a pennant contender in its history... they were fourth in '48 with a 74-80 record (21 GB) and fell to sixth this season with a 70-84 mark (22.5 GB)... rookie All-Star phenom starter Sharlon Barbour (23-10/2.52) raised quite a few eyebrows around the Islands... he had some help from vets Tony Dazzi (17-21/3.77) and Wakan Ko (13-16/3.90)... another rookie sensation LF Johnny Helwig (.366/8/58/80) carried a big stick and led the Tycobbian Union with a .366 BA, second in the IPA to Wade Miley of Claxton, who led with a .374 mark... other bat contributors were 1B Sam Patrick (.270/27/92/67), 3B Ken Smith (.316/4/51/80), CF Marty Hogart (.285/9/70/69) and SS Arlen Buchanan (.276/15/70/51).

7. LA CLAIRE: the Lynx tied with Bayview for seventh and last place in the TU West... both posted 68-86 records (24.5 GB)... La Claire rarely contends ... never won the Pro Cup... last made the postseason in 2038... just a poor to lackluster club... they were sixth and 60-94 in '48, 35 games back... this season the most effective starters were rookie Bill Danielson (12-8/3.46) and Bruce Kinson (17-18/3.97)... nothing special in the bullpen... the Lynx made a good trade in getting 33-year-old superstar hitter RF Rikky Van Dalen (.300/41/116/97) from Cape Coral in exchange for 36-year old star closer Terry Baird (9-4/1.60/14 saves)... no one else is in Van Dalen's class in the lineup... 3B Sam Essex hit 30 homers and drove in 90 runs, but hit only .245... CF J. D. Landy chipped in with 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 88 runs, while batting .264... other decent bats were 2B Jimmy Curtis (.287/2/41/57), LF Hank Morton (.280/6/44/56) and 1B Doug Stewart (.281/7/63/55).

8. BAYVIEW: the Vikings only claim to fame is its legendary slugger Jerry Culpepper, who is now within reach of the all-time IPA home run record... the 35-year old third baseman needs only 14 more to break Jack Elliott's 849 mark... Culpepper hit 37 roundtrippers this year, drove in 88 runs and batted .280... overall he has hit 836 homers in his 17-year career... the Viks picked up another future Hall-of-Famer RF Nioka Inkamara from Wynnamac in April... the 32-year-old Inkamara hit .277 with 37 homers and 99 RBIs... the only other decent bat in the lineup is LF Cooter Cannon, who slammed 20 homers, drove in 54 runs, while batting .264... the pitching is not very good in Bayview... Jerome Dean (18-11/4.32), Johnny Young (15-19/3.66) and Bobby Knudsen (12-24/3.51) were the most dependable.

2049 Tycobbian West Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

Eight years is a long time to do anything, but it has been especially impressive to cover a league as large as this. You've done a great job with it, and it's part of OOTP's history.

I look forward to seeing what you've got planned with your new 16 team dynasty!

Thanks for the nice comment.

I really haven't given it a lot of thought yet.

My first dynasty league was the All-Time All-Star Association which I played for 10 wonderful seasons, then lost it because of a failed hard drive and I foolishly had no backup.

I just went back and look at the writeups and throughly enjoyed reminiscing the AAA for about an hour. Basically, the league was the 16 original franchises. I chose their best 21 players (12 position players and 9 starters). Later I included Negro and Japanese greats, but limited how many each of the original franchises could have.

Here a link for the AAA if you are interested:
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...operation.html

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2049

2049 RUTHLANDIAN UNION FINAL BATTING AND PITCHING LEADERBOARDS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2049

2049 TYCOBBIAN UNION FINAL BATTING AND PITCHING LEADERBOARDS

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 22, 2049

WHITE RIVER FAVORED IN TU, MIDDLEFIELD IN RU
September is the time of the so-called "second season" - the Pro Cup playoffs. Eight elite ballclubs from around the Islands will be in a dogfight for the IPA crown. The Tycobbian Union has won the last three Pro Cups, four of the last five and six times in eight years. But overall Tycobbian only has a 26-22 edge down through the seasons. As in most years it's a toss-up between five clubs according to the baseball gurus.

White River is been given the favorite's role, but not by much. According to the oddsmakers, the Rascals will be challenged by Middlefield, Sugar Valley, Valmara and San Alejo. Tuckanarra, Bay St. Clair and Claxton didn't get a lot of votes in the postseason poll conducted by THE ISLANDIAN TIMES. The polls are notoriously unreliable. Last year Claxton was ranked last in the poll, yet made the Pro Cup Finals before being booted out in five games by the Rolling Hills Reds. Last year's champ is not returning. Rolling Hills lost out to revitalized Bay St. Clair in a tense down-to-the-wire duel. Four clubs are back: White River, Sugar Valley, Valmara and Claxton. The Rascals and Vipers were eliminated in the first round last season. White River fell to Rolling Hills in a seven-game series and Valmara lost to Claxton in a five-game set, while the Rattlers lost in second round action to the Diamonds in seven games in the Ruthlandian LCS.

In opening round Tycobbian play number-one ranked White River will tangle with tough San Alejo, rated fifth best, while number six Tuckanarra takes on number seven Bay St. Clair. In the Ruthlandian Union second-ranked Middlefield hosts number three Sugar Valley and fourth-rated Valmara entertains unheralded Claxton, again ranked last in the poll. All the series will be best-of-seven.

IPA PRO CUP POLL
1. WHITE RIVER (98-56): the Rascals had a wonderful season, winning their second pennant in a row and fifth overall... they topped the Tycobbian Union with 97 wins, one better than TU South titlist San Alejo... however, the club is still in search of a first Pro Cup trophy... they could prove to be a serious Pro Cup contender with the team's tremendous pitching and home-run power... the Rascals batted only .254 as a team (22nd), but walloped 198 homers (2nd) and scored 756 runs (3rd), while posting an excellent 2.82 team ERA (2nd)... they are better-than-average with a .974 FA... in the Tycobbian Union only the Denton City Redbirds were better with a 2.72 team ERA... none of the Tycobbian playoff clubs have better pitching or offense than White River... only Sugar Valley (2.51) and Valmara (2.73) had better team ERAs in the IPA... the Rascals have an abundance of fine pitchers, led by veteran starters All-Star Nicky Palmer (22-10/2.59), Clem Warren (21-12/2.84) and Butch Slattery (21-10/2.88)... the bullpen is very sound, too, with Todd Cole (10-8/2.76/17 saves), who ranked sixth in the IPA in saves... White River boasts four players who hit 30 or more homers: superstar LF Billy Joe Hickman (.261/48/126/100), RF Ryne Hyland (.304/36/100/111), 2B Ryan Byrd (.165/32/85/83) and 1B Ruben Reaves (.300/30/76/113)... 3B Kenny Yarbrough added another good bat with a .314 BA, 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 88 runs... the Rascals have three outstanding starters with a very strong bullpen, too... on paper White River is the best team in the IPA.

2. Middlefield (104-50): picked in the preseason to finish a close third to Forest City and Rocky Rapids, the Middlefield Roosters led the IPA with 104 victories and really ruled the roost this year in the Ruthlandian West Division, made shambles of the pennant chase by racing to a 9-game bulge at the halfway mark and then increased it to 13 by season's end... the defending champ and preseason favorite Forest City came in a very distant second with Colfax third and Rocky Rapids fourth... the Roosters have racked up three division pennants in the last five seasons... they will be one of the favorites to take this year's Pro Cup trophy... Middlefield won its only IPA crown way back in 2005... the Roosters have a lot to crow about and could haul in its second Pro Cup this season... they have a lot going for them... the Roosters are a rock-solid ballclub with very good pitching, hitting and power... they came in fifth last year with a 73-81 record (19 GB) and made a remarkable turnaround... three rookies standouts really made the difference... out of the blue RF Johnny Wyatt slammed 41 roundtrippers and drove in 121 runs, All-Star LF Timothy Hayworth batted .315 with 12 HRs, 53 RBIs and scored 97 runs and 1B Clarence Cahoon hit .324 with 14 homers, 54 RBIs and 86 runs... add in five more All-Stars and you've got quite a team... C Johnny McDonald (.339/16/83/79), 2B Ike Gary (.300/19/95/83) and SS Jimmy Beach (.276/26/78/76) also made the RU All-Star squad, along with pitchers James Long (24-12/3.12) and Hollis Dale (22-7/2.40)... all four Middlefield starters won 20 or more games... Carroll Collier (25-10/2.72) and Larry Wheelhouse (23-10/3.41) piled up lots of wins, too... CF Russell Martin (.275 BA) put up some solid numbers, too, with 29 homers, 99 RBIs and 91 runs... the Roosters will have a tough test right out of the gate in the postseason, going up against Sugar Valley in the first round... the Rattlers won 103 games this season.

3. Sugar Valley (103-51): the Rattlers will be going for their second Pro Cup in five years... they nabbed it in 2045 and have much better pitching this time around... the Rattlers have won the RU East Division five times in the last seven seasons... Sugar Valley ranked first in the IPA with a 2.51 team ERA... it's the second best ERA in history, topped only by Forest City record-breaking 2.41 last year... all five starters posted ERA under 3.00... All-Star Joe Snow (26-8/2.46) chalked up the most wins... Cullen Winslow (23-6/2.18) had the best ERA... and Antonio Cedeno (22-17/2.42), Davey Brennan (13-10/2.68/2 saves) and Christopher Dunsberry (10-4/2.42/10 saves) were very effective, too... leading the Rattlers at the plate are star LF Carl Ramsey (.282/32/105/88), 22-year-old rookie RF Duncan McEllicott (.267/27/80/69) and 1B Smokey Nix (.285/24/79/77)... they only hit .250 (20th), but scored pretty well with 677 runs (9th) and 160 homers (4th)... the two biggest winners in the IPA will be opponents right off the bat in the playoffs... in first-round play Sugar Valley takes on the powerful Middlefield Roosters, who seem to have it all this year... pitching, hitting and power.

4. Valmara (101-53): for the second year in a row and fifth time in seven seasons the Valmara Vipers garnered the Ruthlandian North Division flag... and for the second straight year they ran up over 100 victories... Valmara tore up everybody in the hot summer months and ran away with the pennant, easily outdistancing second place Ranford by 18 games... the Vipers (102-53) will be gunning for Pro Cup trophy number three in their history... they copped it in 2026 and 2043... Valmara features great pitching (2.73 ERA-2nd) and good bats (.278 BA-2nd) with 129 HRs (10th)... they are only slightly above average defensively (.974 FA)... and should be one of the Pro Cup favorites... the Viper starting four are awesome: Primo Sirak (25-11/2.32), Darus Grajek (21-9/2.43), Teddy Twardzik (22-14/2.79) and Mark Polaski (16-8/2.72)... the bullpen is not very consistent, headed up by Kasio Bajek (6-7/3.92/16 saves) and Mirko Musial (3-0/1.84/8 saves)... batting-wise the leaders are All-Star LF Tomek Abramczyk (.333/27/81/80), All-Star CF Don Ritchie (.327/9/75/86), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.300/10/68/79) and 1B Jose Vargas (.306/7/52/66)... the Vipers don't have much in the way of home-run power,which might hurt them in the postseason... C Karol Koska led them with 31 homers and 92 RBIs, but batted only .227.

5. San Alejo (97-57): in the last 12 years the San Alejo Montaneros have been in the battle for the Tycobbian South Division crown many times, but they only came close... this year the Monties made certain they would win with a 14-game romp over runner-up Southport... the Montaneros last won the TU South in 2037 and their only Pro Cup came a few years earlier in 2032... four years ago they were 91-63 and came in third (3 GB)... three years ago they were 90-64 and came in second (2 GB)... last year the Monties were 87-67 and came in third (14 GB)... but they won it hands down this year... San Alejo is blessed with two elite starters All-Star Matt Bell (24-12/2.13) and Will McKinney (23-9/2.43)... Bell has notched 20 wins in 8 of his 11 years in the league with two Golden Arms, while McKinney has done it 7 of his 8 seasons and has one Golden Arm trophy... the other two starters Wilfredo Bonilla (18-12/4.18) and Mickey Cronyn (14-11/4.31/10 saves) are only fair... closer Benny Buckmaster (5-5/2.99/12 saves) is solid in the bullpen... the Montaneros don't hit for much average (.254 BA-23rd), but do score runs (730-6th)... LF Royce Grantham had a great season, leading the IPA with 152 RBIs... he batted .303 with 36 homers and scored 101 runs... he had some good help from RF Erik Landau (.270/6/52/101), CF Pablo Teixeira (.276/29/88/84) and SS Benito Clemente (.292/6/69/98)... how far San Alejo goes in the postseason depends on its hitting... Bell and McKinney will take care of the pitching, but will need help from Bonilla and Cronyn to take it all... San Alejo plays very good defense (.976 FA).

6. Tuckanarra (86-68): the fans of the Tycobbian East enjoyed a pretty fair pennant race throughout most of the season... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays were challenged by as many as five other clubs... the Bluebirds prevailed in a tight tussle, beating out Red Bluff by 3 games, preseason favorite Hillsboro by 4 and defending division champ High Mesa by 5... for the 27th year in a row the Tucks finished in the first division... the last postseason appearance for the Blue Jays came in 2038... they have captured three Pro Cups in the team's history with the most recent coming in 2035... last season the Tucks were 80-74 in fourth place (19 GB)... they stepped it up on the mound and at the plate this year and won the flag... the Bluebirds have a solid rotation with Dickie Pittman (19-9/2.42), All-Star Ozzie Leslie (20-15/2.84), Alfie Rutledge (20-12/3.42) and Neil Orr (13-9/3.59/2 saves)... closer Trevor Rutherford (12-10/2.84/17 saves) was pretty good in the bullpen... Tuckanarra hits well for average with a .272 BA (3rd), scores well with 725 runs (8th), but doesn't have a lot of power... they hit only 129 HRs (21st)... the club offensive leaders are All-Star 1B Rodger Parsons (.343/25/94/76), LF Cedric Dennison (.320/15/76/65) and C Glenn Tinker (.302/9/56/56)... CF Harv Bannerman (.231/20/60/86) and 3B Bud Bostic (.278/5/56/84) have been productive, too... for the Tucks to go all the way, everything would have to come up roses for them... the Blue Jays only have an outside shot at the Pro Cup trophy.

7. Bay St. Clair (93-62): what a race in the Tycobbian West... it read like a fairy tale or an unbelievable script from Hollywood... Bay St. Clair, a perennial also-ran and loser, went from the proverbial outhouse to the penthouse this year... it took a single-game playoff between Bay St. Clair and Denton City to decide the division crown after a year-long fight for the pennant... the Bucs bopped the Redbirds 7-2 to take the division flag by a game... last year's winner and reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills faltered down the stretch and finished 3 and a half games off the pace... after a terrible season last year... a last place finish with a 57-97 record (38 GB) and many other bad seasons in recent years, the Buccaneers made wholesale changes to their roster... 17 new players came aboard and really made a difference... the hitting and offense greatly improved, so did the pitching... the team BA went from .228 to .261 (14th)... the Bucs were fifth in scoring with 741 runs... and the team ERA went from 3.86 last season to 3.43 this year (8th)... rookie starter Scotty Hedwall (16-14/3.03) was impressive along with three newcomers in the bullpen: All-Star Cadillac Bogart (14-2/1.52/12 saves), Ian Abercrombie (14-4/1.93) and Steve Swanwick (4-1/1.31/8 saves)... one of the few holdovers from 2048, 5-year-veteran starter Dion Hawkins (19-9/3.94) was the club's biggest winner... rookies also made a huge impact in the batting order... the productive sticks were CF Stan Kovalenko (.276/17/86/105), SS Dwayne Mungle (.265/10/76/79) and LF Butch Thornhill (.256/23/98/75)... one of the few holdover regulars 2B Reece Somerset (.302/21/82/71) topped the team with a .302 BA... rookie C Hersh Cranmore (.263/12/73/59) chipped in decent numbers, too... the Buccaneers probably don't have the starting pitching to go very far in the postseason, but the youngsters on the squad should make it interesting... sometimes fairy tales and backyard dreams come true... however, White River and San Alejo are the critics' choice to win the Tycobbian title and go to the Pro Cup Finals.

8. Claxton (88-66): in the Ruthlandian South Division the Claxton Diamonds held off fast-closing Valka to capture the pennant for the fourth time in five years... preseason favorite Waleska battled the Diamonds and Blackhawks into September, but fell to the wayside in the late going... Claxton topped runner-up Valka by 5 games, while the Westerners and the Crystal Lake Crushers tied for third place in the standings, 6 games back... the Diamonds repeated as champion and are excited about the playoffs... they are still shooting for their first Pro Cup trophy... Claxton reached the Finals last season, but were quickly banished by the Rolling Hills Reds in just five games... blessed with an abundance of hitters, they hope it will be enough to win it this year... just like last year, the key to victory will be Abe Schiffman (19-12/3.76), Gilbert Clagsdale (24-11/3.79) and Stan Yudash (16-16/4.65)... they will have to step it up a level in the postseason for Claxton to prevail... the Diamonds are better in the bullpen this year with rookie closer Ramon Santos (8-2/2.06/14 saves)... the offense is even better this year with the addition of several talented rookies... leading the Diamond attack are budding superstar All-Star OF Whit Miley (.374/12/75/100), superstar All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.300/29/121/93), 3B Rick Clayburne (.270/10/74/93) and 2B Rick Emery (.253/21/83/81) with help from two fine rookies LF Konrad Neumann (.310/9/63/83) and RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.343/20/58/74)... vets SS Stevie Wynn (.283/6/50/45) and C Ryne Akins (.281/17/75/52) also are dependable bats... the Diamonds get no respect in the polls... they are picked "least likely to win the Pro Cup"... last year Claxton was picked last and made the Finals... better pitching could take them a long way in the postseason.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 23, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 1

Ruthlandian Union

WINSLOW STOPS ROOSTERS 3-1, RATTLERS WIN OPENER
Two hard-hitting, high-scoring teams were held in check in the opening game of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series at Middlefield Park... Sugar Valley's Cullen Winslow stopped Pro Cup favorite Middlefield 3-1 on a two-hitter... the Rattlers broke up a 1-1 tie in the sixth on a triple by rookie RF Duncan McEllicott and an RBI single by CF Roger Hobbs... SS Pete McCormick added an insurance run with a solo homer in the seventh... Winslow (1-0) went eight strong innings and gave up only one run on a home run by LF Russell Martin in the top of the second... he walked two and fanned four... Davey Brennan closed out the victory with a runless ninth for the save... losing pitcher Hollis Dale (0-1), the Rooster starter, also worked eight solid frames, yielded three runs on seven hits, whiffed five and walked three.

SIRAK SHUTS OUT DIAMONDS 4-0, VIPERS WINS 1ST GAME
Hometown Valmara was victorious over visiting Claxton in game one of the Ruthlandian DCS at War Memorial Stadium... 25-game winner Primo Sirak shut out the Diamonds 4-0 on a five-hitter... both starters went the route... in an impressive outing Sirak (1-0) struck out five batters and walked three, besting Diamond ace Abe Schiffman (0-1), who also allowed five hits, walked three and fanned five in defeat... RF Boyd Holmes paced the Vipers with two hits, a homer and a double... CF Don Ritchie, C Karol Koska and 1B Jose Vargas batted in the other Valmara runs.

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS RAP MONTIES 5-1 IN OPENING GAME
Two Tycobbian powerhouses clashed at White River Stadium in the first game of the Division Championship Series and the White River Rascals rapped the San Alejo Montaneros 5-1 behind the sharp pitching of Nicky Palmer (1-0)... the 22-game winner fired a complete game and stymied the Monties on five hits... Matt Bell (0-1) suffered the loss... the Rascals ripped him for five runs in his seven innings... a four-run outburst in the seventh sealed the win for White River, highlighted by an RBI double by 2B Ryan Byrd, RBI groundout by SS Kunta Burton, RBI single by SP Nicky Palmer and a bases-loaded walk to 3B Kenny Yarbrough... LF Billy Joe Hickman got the first run in in the fourth frame on an RBI groundout... the Rascals only got six hits in the game.

TUCKS TOP BUCS 5-2 IN FIRST GAME
In the first game of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series at Shoreline Park in Bay St. Clair, visiting Tuckanarra got 8 of their 10 hits from the bottom of the batting order to knock off the Buccaneers 5-2... though wild at times with five walks, winner Dan Pittman (1-0) held the Bucs to two runs, one earned, in seven innings... Pittman permitted five hits and struck out five... two relievers, Trevor Rutherford and Neil Orr, each hurled a scoreless inning to finish it for Pittman... Scotty Hedwall (0-1) was charged with the loss...the Blue Jays shelled him for five runs and 10 hits in eight and two-thirds innings... Tuckanarra busted up a 2-1 game with two runs in the seventh and one more in the ninth.

C Glenn Tinker sparked the Tucks with two hits, two runs and three RBIs, along with SS Dale Fordham, who had three hits and scored twice... Tinker homered and doubled.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 24, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 2

Ruthlandian Union

SUGAR VALLEY SLIPS BY MIDDLEFIELD 4-3 IN 15TH
Clutch hitting and brilliant bullpen work led Sugar Valley to its second straight triumph over Middlefield in the Ruthlandian DCS... on the road at Middlefield Park, the Rattlers slipped past the Roosters 4-3 in 15 innings... Smokey Nix supplied the game-winning hit and drove in Carl Ramsey with the game-winning score... and Davey Brennan and Christopher Dunsberry provided seven spotless innings in relief... Brennan blanked the Roosters for two frames and Dunsberry (1-0) fired five scoreless innings for the win.

Middlefield jumped off to a 3-1 lead after the first inning, but the Rattlers came back with runs in the fourth and seventh to tie the score... both starters did well with Sugar Valley's Antonio Cedeno working eight innings, giving up three runs on just four hits and Middlefield's Chris Collier going 10 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits.

Sugar Valley rang up 12 hits, while Middlefield got 9... 1B Smokey Nix (.455) paced the Rattlers with 4-7... 2B Ricky Fry (.167) homered in the seventh to tie the game... he and CF Carl Ramsey (.333) collected two hits apiece... rookie CR Johnny Wyatt (.222) had two hits for the Roosters, including a two-run clout in the opening frame... C Johnny McDonald (.250) also pitched in with a pair of hits.

VIPERS WIN AGAIN VIA 3 HOMERS
Known for their great pitching, the Valmara Vipers went to the longball to capture their second game in a row from Claxton in the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series... the Vipers smacked three homers to whip the Diamonds 8-6 at War Memorial Stadium... Justin Roscoe slammed two out of the park and Jorge Aparicio got one to give Valmara a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series... but it was Aparicio's RBI base hit and Tomek Abramczyk's 2-run single in the bottom of the eighth that gave the Vipers the win.

Valmara pounded out 12 hits, while Claxton netted 11... 3B Justin Roscoe (.333) drove in four runs and scored three times for the Vipers... 1B Jose Vargas (.286) chipped in with two hits and two runs, 2B Jorge Aparicio (.429) had two hits and two RBIs and CF Don Ritchie (.286) went 2-4... pinchhitter Rupert Koenig had the big hit for the Diamonds, a three-run blast in the seventh that tied the score at 5-all... C Ryne Akins (..250) and LF Konrad Neumann (.444) added two hits each and scored twice... and SS Stevie Wynn (.286) went 2-4.

Darus Grajek (1-0) labored but picked up the win... he worked eight innings and permitted five runs on nine hits... Mark Polaski came on in the ninth and gave up a run, but still got the save... the losing pitcher was reliever Wyatt Parnell (0-1). who was victimized for three runs and five hits in his two innings, the eighth and the ninth... starter Gilbert Clagsdale surrendered the three roundtrippers... he gave up five runs on seven hits.

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS RALLY LATE AND WIN AGAIN
For the second day in a row, the White River Rascals got good mound work and came away with a 5-3 victory over San Alejo, rallying for three runs in the eighth frame to garner the their second straight win in the best-of-seven Tycobbian DCS... Butch Slattery and Todd Cole teamed up to hold the Montaneros to six hits and three runs... Slattery (1-0) notched the win by hurling eight solid innings, giving up the six hits, striking out seven and walking one... Cole worked a perfect ninth for the save... Will McKinney (0-1) caught the loss as he was battered for five runs on nine hits in seven and two-thirds innings.

In the eighth-inning uprising, a single by 1B Ruben Reaves (.286), walk to 2B Ryan Byrd (.286) and an infield error loaded the bases for SS Kunta Burton (.167), who walked and drove in the tying run... C Josh Cleveland (.333) singled and got the game-winning RBI and pinchhitter Thomas Young singled in the other run.

CF Pudge Tate (.286) and SP Butch Slattery (.667) led the Rascals with two hits each... Burton drove in a pair of runs and Byrd scored twice... CF Paolo Teixeira (.286) homered for San Alejo and scored twice... 1B Sal McAlister (.429) had two base hits... SS Benito Clemente (.125) and McAlister drove in a run apiece... White River outhit San Alejo 9 to 6 in the game.

BUCS WIN IN A "WALK" OVER BLUE JAYS, EVEN SERIES
It was truly a "walk-off" win for Bay St. Clair... Stan Terry walked with the base-loaded in the last of tenth to give the Buccaneers a 4-3 win over Tuckanarra in game two of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series and even it up at a game apiece... the Bucs' great bullpen came through for them big time with three runless innings... Cadillac Bogart worked the eight and the ninth frames, while Ian Abercrombie (1-0) hurled the tenth and chalked up the victory... Trevor Rutherford (0-1) came on in the tenth and lost it.

Both teams posted 8 hits each... Bay St. Clair was sparked by rookie RF Stan Kovalenko (.444) with three hits, an RBI and a run... 2B Reece Somerset (.500) chipped with two hits and an RBI... and 1B Stan Terry (.000) batted in two runs... leading the Tucks were C Glenn Tinker (.714) with two doubles and a single... SS Dale Fordham (.714) cracked a pair of hits and 1B Rodger Parsons (.250) went 2-3... Tinker, Fordham and Parsons drove in the Blue Jay scores.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 25, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Game 3

Ruthlandian Union

ROOSTERS RALLY TO WIN GAME 3
After dropping both games at home in the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series, Middlefield needed a win on the road in Sugar Valley in the worst way and got it, but they had to rally from a 3-0 deficit... the Roosters came away with a 4-3 decision and chopped the Rattlers' lead to two games to one... winning pitcher James Long (1-0) endured 12 hits, but was tough with men on base... he went the distance and allowed only one earned run... Middlefield knotted the score with a three-run fifth on a solo homer by rookie Timothy Hayworth and a two-run smash by rookie Johnny Wyatt, then wrapped up the game in the ninth... with one out and the bases full, Russell Martin lined out to right field and scored Hayworth from third with the winning run.... reliever Domenico Renterias (0-1) replaced starter Joe Snow in the ninth and was the loser on an unearned run... Snow went eight innings and allowed three runs on 11 hits.

Both clubs racked up 12 hits each, however Middlefield left a dozen runners on base and Sugar Valley stranded 10... RF Timothy Hayworth (.286) topped the Roosters with three hits, scored twice and scored once...while LF Russell Martin (.231) and 2B Ike Gary (.267) notched two hits apiece... CF Johnny Wyatt (.214) got his second homer in the series... leading the Rattlers at the plate were 2B Richie Fry (.294) with three hits... four others had two hits each: SS Pete McCormick (.286), LF Carl Ramsey (.357), CF Roger Hobbs (.417) and 3B Kent Rasmus (.231)... rookie RF Duncan McEllicott (.154) and Hobbs both drove in runs for Sugar Valley.

VALMARA CRUSHES CLAXTON 10-1, NEARS SWEEP
The bats were booming at Avalon Stadium, but not for the hometown Claxton Diamonds... Valmara crushed them 10-1 to take a huge 3-0 lead in the Ruthlandian DCS... Claxton was a Pro Cup finalist last year... the Vipers pounded out 16 hits with Justin Roscoe going deep twice and Tomek Abramczyk once in the rout... veteran Teddy Twardzik (1-0) hurled a five-hitter for the win... at 37 Twardzik is a postseason workhorse with an 11-4 mark in 17 starts and a great 2.30 ERA.

The Vipers started off with a bang by scoring six runs in the opening inning off loser Steve Ellison (0-1), who was battered for eight runs in just two and two-thirds innings... RF Boyd Holmes (.500) rapped four hits for Valmara and scored four times... 3B Justin Roscoe (.400) hit a pair of homers, giving him four so far in just three games... Roscoe had 5 RBIs and scored three runs... and 2B Jorge Aparicio (.417) was 2-5 with two runs batted in.

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS WIN THIRD IN A ROW
At the Casa de Beisbol in San Alejo, Ryan Byrd's three-run blast put White River in front 6-3 in the top of the fifth frame and the Rascals held off a closing charge by Montaneros to capture their third successive victory in the Tycobbian DCS by the score of 6-5... one more win for the Rascals and it's on to the Tycobbian title series... White River was the number one pick to win the Pro Cup this season and they are really playing like champions... San Alejo was the fifth choice in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll.

Clem Warren (1-0) notched the win for the Rascals... he permitted three runs on eight hits in seven innings... Todd Cole got his second save in the series, but was roughed up for two runs in the eighth... three pitchers worked for the Monties with the defeat going to starter Wilfredo Bonilla (0-1)... he was rocked for six runs and 10 hits in his seven plus frames.

White River had the edge at the plate with 11 hits to San Alejo's 10... 2B Ryan Byrd (.455) went 3-4 and batted in three runs... LF Billy Joe Hickman (.200) added two hits and drove in a pair of runs... 1B Ruben Reaves (.333) and 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.231) also collected two hits apiece for the winners... San Alejo's 1B Sal McAlister (.545) socked three hits and batted in a pair of runs... SS Benito Clemente (.231) was 2-5 and scored a run... LF Royce Grantham (.182), the IPA RBI leader this year, and C Ted Thunder (.300) each drove in a run for the Monties.

BUCS BEAT BLUE JAYS WITH 6-RUN 9TH
Playing in the friendly confines of Central Park Stadium for the first time in this postseason, Tuckanarra enjoyed an 8-3 lead going into the top of the ninth in the Tycobbian Division Championship Series, but the Blue Jays collapsed and lost 9-8 to the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers... the Bucs combined 14 hits and super relief to snatch their second victory in three games... Reece Somerset (.417) and Ike Ritter (.111) led the comeback with three RBIs apiece and Stan Terry (.375) pitched in with a pair of RBIs... two rookies in the bullpen Ian Abercrombie and Cadillac Bogart stopped the Tucks cold for the last three and one-third innings... Abercrombie (2-0/0.00) got his second win in the series and Bogart got his first save... reliever Cameron Brothers (0-1) was shelled for four runs in the ninth and took the loss.

Bay St. Clair's top guns were rookie RF Stan Kovalenko (.500), Terry and rookie 3B Trace Burney (.214), all with three hits... Tuckanarra's 13-hit attack was led by RF Frank Mason (.308) with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored... 3B Harv Bannerman (.286) had three hits, two of them doubles, two RBIs and two runs... 2B Ricky Vincent (.167) with a pair of hits, two RBIs and a run scored... and 1B Rodger Parsons (.364) with two doubles and two runs.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, September 26, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Game 4

Ruthlandian Union

RATTLERS ROMP OVER ROOSTERS 10-5
The bats finally came alive in game four of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series between Middlefield and Sugar Valley, two of the more prolific attacks in the IPA... the Rattlers struck hard and often with 14 hits in a 10-5 romp over the Roosters to gain a 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven series... Delmer Campbell led the Rattlers with two homers and five RBIs to back up the fine pitching of Cullen Winslow, who shut out Middlefield for eight innings and left with a 10-0 lead... in the ninth the Roosters mounted a modest rally with five runs off reliever Ken Britt, highlighted by Sammy Milan's grand slammer, but it was too little, too late by that time.

Winslow (2-0/0.56) was almost flawless with seven Ks and no walks... he only allowed five hits... Sugar Valley really had loser Hollis Dale's (0-2/8.74) number as he was shelled for eight runs in just three-plus innings.

Campbell (.667), making his first start in the series, homered twice, scored three and drove in five runs... he also got offensive support from 2B Richie Fry (.409) with 4-5, two runs and two RBIs and LF Carl Ramsey (.368) with 2-5 and two RBIs... Milan (.250) led Middlefield with two hits and four RBIs... and C Johnny McDonald (.438) went 4-4... they had 6 of the Roosters 7 hits.

DIAMONDS STAVE OFF VIPERS, WIN 6-3 IN GAME 4
The ace of the Claxton mound corps Abe Schiffman came up with a clutch performance... Schiffman kept the Diamonds' hopes alive by defeating the Valmara Vipers 6-3 in game four of the Ruthlandian DCS...Claxton is still on the brink of elimination, trailing by a three games to one margin.

Schiffman blanked the Diamonds for seven innings, before giving up three runs in the top of the eighth... Schiffman (1-1/3.38) left for a pinchhitter in the bottom of the frame with a 4-3 lead... he permitted six hits, fanned five and walked four for the win... rookie Ramon Santos closed out the win with a spotless ninth and got his first postseason save... Valmara starter Primo Sirak (1-1/2.25), the winner in the first game, suffered control problems with seven bases on balls... he was banged around for four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

The Diamonds collected 9 hits and were paced by 2B Rich Emery (.231) with a two-run homer and two runs scored... 1B Jojo DeLucca (.188) added two hits and an RBI... LF Konrad Neumann (.400) and pinchhitter Jimmy John Ramsey (.400) drove in the other Claxton scores... Valmara got all of its runs in the eighth when 2B Jorge Aparicio (.375) tripled in two runs and CF Don Richie (.308) singled in the other.

Tycobbian Union

WHITE RIVER SWEEPS SAN ALEJO IN RU DCS
One series down and two more to go... Pro Cup favorite White River stunned San Alejo 10-3 in game four of the Tycobbian Division Championship Series to win it in a surprising sweep... the Rascals rapped out 13 hits and Nicky Palmer went the route to win his second game of the series... Palmer (2-0/2.00) held the Montaneros to three runs on eight hits... it was the second straight bad outing for Matt Bell (0-2/7.24), who was tattooed for six runs in his six and two-thirds innings... White River snapped a 3-3 tie with two runs in the sixth and a singleton in the seventh, followed by a four-run eighth.

3B Kenny Yarbrough (.333) headed up the White River offense with 3-5, driving in a pair of runs and scoring one... SS Kunta Burton (.214) had a double and a triple, scoring two runs and driving in one... RF Ryne Hyland (.200) had a two-run homer... two other players delivered two hits apiece: 2B Ryan Byrd (.500) scored twice and batted in a run and 1B Ruben Reaves (.375) scored a run... even winning pitcher Nicky Palmer (.286) helped his cause with a two-run single... 2B Marcos Queveda (.364) socked three hits for San Alejo and scored twice... RF Erik Landau (.333), SS Benito Clemente (.250) and C Ted Thunder (.296) batted in the Monties' runs.

TUCKS TIE BUCS, 7-5 WINNER IN 4TH GAME
Down 5-3 going into the last of the eighth, Tuckanarra shocked Bay St. Clair with a four-run rally in game four of the TU Division Championship Series and tied it up at two games apiece... pinchhitter Ethan Ellingham's two-run two-bagger finished off the Buccaneers.

The Blue Jays got solid bullpen work from Trevor Rutherford and Neil Orr, who blanked the Bucs the last two frames... Rutherford (1-1/3.86) worked the eighth for the victory and Orr tossed the ninth for the save, his second of the series... Bay St. Clair starter Scotty Hedwall (0-2/6.61) took it on the chin again... he was pelted for 14 hits and 7 runs in seven and two-thirds innings.

CF Harv Bannerman (.368) shined at the plate for Tuckanarra with 3-5 and two runs... 1B Rodger Parsons (.429), RF Frank Mason (.353) and Ricky Vincent (.267) also contributed two hits each... Vincent drove in two runs, while Parsons and Mason each batted in one run... five players had RBIs for the Bucs: CF Stan Kovalenko (.444), LF Butch Thornhill (.167), SS Dwayne Mungle (.400), 2B Reece Somerset (.438) and pitcher Scotty Hedwall (.167)... Bay St. Clair had 10 hits.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 27, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Game 5

Ruthlandian Union

RATTLERS KO ROOSTERS IN 5 GAMES
In game five of the Ruthlandian DCS Sugar Valley got another sweet pitching performance and knocked Middlefield out of the Pro Cup playoffs at Farmers Memorial Park... Antonio Cedeno (1-0/1.59) hurled a superb 3-0 shutout, quelling the big bats of the Roosters on just four singles... the fireballing Cedeno threw strikes past 11 batters and walked only two... he outhurled 25-game winner Chris Collier (0-1/2.50), who allowed only five hits and three runs, while walking three and fanning six. Cedeno was 22-17 in the regular season.

Sugar Valley took the lead in the opening frame without the benefit of a base hit... 2B Richie Fry (.440) led off the game with a walk, advanced to third on an error by catcher Johnny McDonald and scored when LF Carl Ramsey (.313) grounded out to third... the Rattlers added two more in the second on 1B Smokey Nix's (.316) solo clout, followed by 3B Kent Rasmus' (.316) single, Antonio Cedeno's sacrifice bunt and Richie Fry's run-scoring single... that gave Cedeno more than enough runs to eliminate the Roosters from the playoffs... Fry and Rasmus led the Rattlers with two hits apiece.

The Sugar Valley mound staff was magnificent in the series, posting a terrific 1.24 team ERA... skipper Bobby Gamble praised both his starters and bullpen... "My staff was fantastic during the year... can you believe they were even better in the playoffs?"

That was echoed by losing manager Ricky Tinker. "No matter who the Rattlers put out there, we couldn't buy a hit... I think the only time we scored was on errors... we didn't earn too many of them."

The Rattlers will now move on to the Ruthlandian Union championship series against Valmara or Claxton... the Vipers are up 3-1 and could cinch it today with a win.

VALMARA VICTORIOUS IN 5 GAMES
Backed up by 15 hits, Valmara's Darus Grajek cruised to a 7-2 victory over Claxton in game five of the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series, sending the Vipers to the second round of the Pro Cup playoffs against the Sugar Valley Rattlers... the Vipers blew the Diamonds away four games to one... Grajek, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, limited the Diamonds to just two hits, struck out six and walked two in a complete game... Grajek was 21-9 this season.

Losing pitcher Gilbert Clagsdale (0-1/8.49) never had a chance... the Vipers battered him for seven runs and 12 hits in five-plus innings... 2B Jorge Aparicio (.421) and CF Don Richie (.353) rapped him for two hits each and drove in three runs apiece... Aparcio doubled and tripled... and SS Ken Jensen (.429) set an IPA playoff mark with three doubles... Jensen had four hits in all and scored twice... Claxton 1B Jojo DeLucca (.263) had both hits off Grajek, a homer and a triple.

Valmara manager Vanya Vasylenko told the press, "We can beat anybody when we play like we did in this series... everything went our way... the pitching was super, just how it's been the whole year... and the bats were really booming, just like it's been the whole year."

"Hopeless" is how Claxton's skipper Dixie Baker succinctly phrased it at the post-game press conference. "There's nothing you can do when you run into a team playing as well as the Vipers... we were severely outplayed in this series."

Tycobbian Union

TUCKS TAKE LEAD, EDGE BUCS 5-3 IN GAME 5
Game five wasn't a pretty win for Tuckanarra and it wasn't easy win, but the Blue Jays managed to hold off Bay St. Clair 5-3 to take a 3-2 edge in the Tycobbian DCS... the Tucks jumped off to a 5-0 lead after two innings, then had to endure 10 hits, 8 walks and 14 runners left on base to salvage the win... fortunately starter Ozzie Leslie weathered the storm and with help from closer Trevor Rutherford held the Buccaneers at bay.

The tenatious Leslie (1-0/3.24) went seven and two-third innings, yielded 10 singles and seven bases on balls, but gave up only three runs... Rutherford notched the save by getting the last four outs... the losing pitcher was starter Dion Hawkins (0-1/6.30), who was hit hard for five runs and six hits in three innings.

The Blue Jays got 8 hits and were sparked by 1B Rodger Parsons (.438), who hammered a two-run homer... CF Harv Bannerman (.364), 3B Bud Bostic (.150) and LF Cedric Dennison (.158) accounted for the other RBIs... Bay St. Clair tried hard, but just couldn't come up with a clutch hit... they were led by SS Pip Blaylock (.556) and 2B Dwayne Mungle (.462), each with a pair of singles.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 28, 2049

2049 IPA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Game 6

Tycobbian Union

TUCKS TOP BUCS IN 6 GAMES
A three-run uprising in the top of the seventh carried Tuckanarra to a 7-6 victory over Bay St. Clair and sent the Blue Jays into the second round of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... the Tucks took the series four games to two and they will now face Pro Cup favorite White River in the Tycobbian League Championship Series... a bases-loaded walk to Cedric Dennison snapped a 4-4 tie and Frank Mason added two important insurance runs with a two-run double to give the Blue Jays enough cushion to hold off a Buccaneer rally in the last of the ninth.

The Blue Jays could manage only five hits, but it was enough... CF Harv Bannerman (.346) slugged a three-run homer and scored two runs for the Tucks... RF Frank Mason (.346) had two hits and two RBIs... and LF Cedric Dennison (.217) socked a pair of hits and drove in one run... the Bucs had eight hits with 2B Reece Somerset (.385) and LF Matt Wakely (.231) leading the way with two hits and two RBIs apiece... both Somerset and Wakely homered... Somerset hit a solo salvo in the fifth to tie it up at 3-all, while Wakely belted a two-run shot in the last of the ninth, cutting Tuckanarra's lead to a single run.

Winning pitcher Alfie Rutledge (1-0/3.86) started and worked six innings, surrendering four runs on six hits... it was a very shaky outing as he walked seven batters and was constantly in hot water... what saved the Blue Jays was two scoreless innings by relievers Neil Orr (0-0/0.00/2 saves) and Trevor Rutherford (1-1/2.08/1 save)... Jack Rogers (0-0/0.00/1 save) pitched the ninth and got credit for the save, though he allowed Wakely's homer... loser Don White (0-1/10.50), the Buccaneer starter, did not fare well... he walked eight batters in six and one-third innings, gave up only three hits, but was tagged for seven runs.

Long-time Tuckanarra skipper Lefty Stevens told reporters after the game, "Coming back from a 2-1 deficit was tough... we fought hard and finally pulled it out... our bullpen saved the day... Rutherford and Orr came through for us the entire series... with Bannerman, Mason and Parsons getting the clutch hits... all the games in a series are important, but it was vital that we came back and won game four to tie the series... otherwise we would have gone down 3-1 and you usually don't come back from that."

Cotton Cornwall, the Buccaneer manager, didn't let the loss of the series get him down. "Hey, this was a great season... going from last place to first place and almost getting a chance to play for the Tycobbian title was really special... mark my word... you haven't seen the last of these young Bucs... the future is looking very bright in Bay St. Clair."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 30, 2049

LEAGUE TITLES UP FOR GRABS
All the favorites fared well in the first round of the IPA Pro Cup playoffs. Only much-heralded Middlefield flunked out and they were beaten by another powerhouse, Sugar Valley. One of the league elites had to go in that series. As forecast Pro Cup favorite White River, Valmara and Tuckanarra prevailed in the Division Championship Series. The IPA League Championship Series begin tomorrow in Sugar Valley and White River.

The Ruthlandian title series appears to be a match made in heaven. Battling for the Ruthlandian crown will be two super powers, Sugar Valley and Valmara. The Rattlers racked up 103 victories this year, while the Vipers posted 101. Only Middlefield with 104 wins was better in the regular season, but the Rattlers put a surprisingly sudden end to the Roosters' season. It should be a heck of great series between two very talented teams. The oddsmakers say just toss a coin and make your call.

Not much is being made of the Tycobbian League Championship Series. The highly-touted White River Rascals are the darlings of the baseball world and are expected to have a fairly easy time with the lightly-regarded Tuckanarra Blue Jays. The Rascals paced the Tycobbian Union with a 98-56 record this season, while the Tucks totaled only 86-68.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 30, 2049

IPA DOWN TO A FIELD OF FOUR
The 64 teams from the regular season have been whittled down to just four teams now. It's the IPA League Championship Series with the winners getting a crack at the much-coveted Pro Cup trophy presented to the best team in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The mighty and powerful will go against one another in best-of seven showdowns. Pro Cup favorite White River has the easier task in the Tycobbian Union. They are opposed by lightly-regarded Tuckanarra, while two titans, Sugar Valley and Valmara clash in the Ruthlandian LCS. Both of them chalked up over 100 wins in the regular season.

Three of the four were in the playoffs last year. Only Tuckanarra missed the playoffs in 2048. Sugar Valley and Valmara lost to Claxton last year with the Vipers falling in the first round and the Rattlers in the League Championship Series. White River was eliminated in the first round by Southport last season in the postseason. All of them are seeking to redeem themselves and capture the Pro Cup.

The White River Rascals have never enjoyed a Pro Cup year. In their only Pro Cup Finals' appearance, they lost out in 2021 to the Sligo Rovers. Manager Mick Cronyn grinningly said he didn't mind being the favorite. "I hope the press and media predictions come true and we win it all... I have no problem at all with that." He added, "We certainly have the hosses to win... but first we have to get past a fine Tuckanarra team and then whip one of the Ruthlandian powerhouses... a lot of things will have to go our way... Palmer (20-10/2.59), Slattery (21-10/2.88) and Warren (21-12/2.84) are very good starters and our bullpen is excellent, too... from top to bottom with Cole (10-8/2.76/17 saves), Hudson (13-8/3.30) and Trickett (4-4/2.24/2 saves)... and we can hit with anybody... when you got four guys that hit over 30 homers in your lineup, you got some good ones." Billy Joe Hickman led the Rascals with 48 homers... Ryne Hyland (36), Ryan Byrd (32) and Ruben Reaves (30) were other longballers.

Tuckanarra has racked up three Pro Cups, beating Valmara in '23, Sugar Valley in '24 and Elnora in '35. The Blue Jays also appeared in the '28 Pro Cup Finals, but lost out to the Waleska Westerners. Blue Jays skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens would like nothing better than to add his fourth Pro Cup to the trophy case. "My Tucks have a chance even if the sportswriters think differently... they have been wrong far more often in Pro Cup predictions than right... I have a well-balanced club with the likes of starters Ozzie Leslie (20-15/2.84) and Dickie Pittman (19-9/2.42)... plus we can score runs... no big sticks in the batting order, but Rodger Parsons (.343/25 HR), Cedric Dennison (.320/15 HR) and Glenn Tinker (.302/9 HR) are pretty reliable... in a short series, it's anybody's ballgame."

The Valmara Vipers have won two Pro Cups in the team's history. They were victors in 2026 and 2043 and defeated Mahaska and North Hills in the Finals. The Vipers have been to the Finals on four other occasions ('03, '23, '30, '31), but came away empty-handed... Viper pilot Vanya Vasylenko has a standout ballclub with superlative pitching and plenty of solid threats at the plate... heading up the mound staff are starters Primo Sirak (25-11/2.32), Darus Grajek (21-9/2.43) and Teddy Twardzik (22-14/2.79)... Valmara has plenty of offense with CF Don Ritchie (.327/9 HR), Tomek Abranczyk (.333/27 HR), Jose Vargas (.306 7 HR) and Jorge Aparicio (.300/10 HR). Vasylenko told the press, "We have the talent to win, but we will have to execute and play good fundamental baseball... the playoffs are never easy and it gets tougher the deeper you go into the postseason... the Vipers are going to have to be at their best to get by Sugar Valley and the Tycobbian champ."

Sugar Valley picked up its only Pro Cup recently in 2045, knocking off the Southport Sun Sox. The Rattlers also played for the Pro Cup in 2004 and 2024, but went down to defeat both times. Manager Bobby Gamble finally hung up his spikes this year after being a player-manager since the '47 season. He's excited about his club and thinks it's even better than the Pro Cup year. "I think this team can score a little bit better than the '45 club and the pitching is even better with pretty much the same staff... they're like a vintage of fine wine and have improved with age." This season the Rattler staff set a new IPA team ERA record with a phenomenal 2.41 ERA... the top hurlers are Cullen Winslow (23-6/2.18), Antonio Cedeno (22-17/2.42) and Joe Snow (26-8/2.46)... the bullpen is led by Christopher Dunsberry (10-4/2.42/10 saves) and Domenico Renterias (9-6/3.51/12 saves). "How far we go in the postseason will depend on the bats... According to Gamble, "Vets like Carl Ramsey (.282/32 HR), Smokey Nix (.285/24 HR), Roger Hobbs (.251/15 HR), Richie Fry (.274/7 HR)... along with rookie Duncan McEllicott (.267/27 HR) must produce enough runs for us."

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, October 1, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 1

Ruthlandian Union

VIPERS TAKE OPENER 14-10 OVER RATTLERS
So much for the pitching duel - it's never materialized as the mighty bats of the Valmara Vipers prevailed over hard-hitting Sugar Valley Rattlers in the opening game of the Ruthlandian League Championship Series... the Vipers socked four homers and 18 hits en route to a 14-10 slugfest victory over the Rattlers at Farmers Memorial Park in Sugar Valley... and they did it off of the recording-setting staff of the Rattlers, who posted a brilliant 2.41 team ERA this year, a new IPA mark.

Valmara piled up a 14-0 lead after seven innings and then had to withstand a belated 10-run rally by Sugar Valley in the last of the eighth... Viper starter Primo Sirak (2-1/2.28) looked great for seven innings, but faltered badly in the eighth... still he salvaged the win... closer Mirko Musial retired the last four men in order to end the game... Cullen Winslow (2-1/3.48) struggled, too... he was slammed for seven runs and nine hits in just four-plus innings... Domenico Renterias didn't do any better... actually he was worse... he was banged around for seven runs in just two innings.

Leading the Valmara attack were LF Tomek Abramczyk (.333) with four hits, three runs and three RBIs... SS Ken Jensen (.481) with four hits and two runs scored... and C Karol Koska (.217) had a two-run homer and 1B Jacek Prusak (.500) belted a grand slammer... Abramczyk and RF Boyd Holmes (.364) also went deep for the Vipers... the Rattlers was paced by C Yoshina Okada (.214), who blasted a four-run four-bagger... Okada, 3B Roger Hobbs (.348) and pinchhitter Kent Rasmus (.381) each had a pair of hits.

Tycobbian Union

BLUE JAYS BLANK RASCALS BEHIND LESLIE
Opening up on the road at White River Stadium, the underdog Tuckanarra Blue Jays jolted heavily-favored White River 7-0 behind the standout pitching of Ozzie Leslie (2-0/2.10), who charmed the Rascals on six hits and posted six Ks and three walks.

The Tucks' Ricky Vincent (.259) blasted three doubles and batted in three runs and Frank Mason (.367) smashed two doubles and drove in two runs in the one-sided affair... and 1B Rodger Parsons (.391) added two hits and an RBI... in all the Blue Jays hammered six doubles and 12 hits... Nicky Palmer (2-1/3.28) toiled in defeat for White River... he was slammed for six runs and nine hits in six and two-thirds innings.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, October 2, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 2

Ruthlandian Union

RATTLERS EVEN SERIES, BASH VIPERS 8-4
It's all even in the Ruthlandian League Championship Series after two games... Sugar Valley blistered Valmara 8-4 to even up the series at one game apiece... backed up well by 12 hits Antonio Cedeno (2-0/2.42) weathered his wildness and went all the way... he walked eight batters and allowed 8 hits, but managed to stop the Vipers when he had to.

Smokey Nix, Duncan McEllicott and Yoshino Okada led the Sugar Valley hit parade... 1B Nix (.321) had a two-run homer among his two hits and batted in three runs... rookie RF McEllicott (.250) swatted three hits, drove in a pair and score twice... while C Okada (.222) doubled in two runs... 2B Jorge Aparicio (.393) popped a three-run homer to lead the Vipers at the plate.

It was a rocky outing for losing pitcher Darus Grajek (2-1/3.91)... Sugar Valley slammed him for four runs and eight hits in six innings... he was behind 4-1 when he called it a day.

Tycobbian Union

BLUE JAYS WIN AGAIN, BOP RASCALS 6-2
Tuckanarra came up with another fine mound performance in the Tycobbian LCS... Dan Pittman scattered 8 hits and limited high-octane White River to just two runs in a 6-2 triumph, giving the upstart and unheralded Blue Jays their second straight stunning win over the powerful Rascals, the Pro Cup favorite... Pittman (2-0/3.43) worked seven frames, struck out four and walked just one... he got strong relief help from Neil Orr, who blanked White River in the eighth and ninth innings... an ineffective Butch Slattery (1-1/4.70) was the loser... he was rapped for six runs and 10 hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking five.

Tuckanarra broke up a 2-2 tie with four runs in the top of the eighth... 3B Ty Munster (.200) snapped the tie with a two-run single... the Blue Jays padded the lead on a sacrifice fly by RF Jimmy Markovich (.333) and a run came in on an errant pickoff throw by catcher Duke Sims.

Four Blue Jays collected two hits each: RF Markovich, 1B Rodger Parsons (.407), SS Sebastien O'Brien (.222) and C Glenn Tinker (.464)... the Tucks outhit the Rascals 11 to 9... topping White River were 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.346) with 3-4 and C Duke Sims (.267) with a homer.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 3, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 3

Ruthlandian Union

VALMARA TRIMS SUGAR VALLEY 8-6 IN GAME 3
Valmara and Sugar Valley are known for dominating pitching this season, but so far it's the bats that are getting all the headlines in the Ruthlandian League Championship Series... in game three at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara, the Vipers belted 11 hits in trimming the Rattlers 8-6 to move ahead two games to one in the best-of-seven series... Valmara had to overcome an early 4-0 deficit after two and a half innings... they also trailed 6-3 in the top of the fifth... the Vipers took command in the last of the sixth when C Karol Koska (.194) tied it up 6-6 on a solo homer and 3B Justin Roscoe (.355) singled in the eventual winning run... CF Don Ritchie (.308) provided an insurance run with home run in the seventh.

The starting pitchers didn't fare very well for either squad, but Valmara's bullpen certainly did their job... Kasio Bajek (1-0/7.20) retired all nine batters he faced for the win and Mirko Musial (0-0/0.00/1 save) tossed a perfect ninth for the save.

Roscoe (.355) led the Vipers with 3-3, two runs and an RBI... and Ritchie (.308) had two hits and two RBIs... Sugar Valley only had six hits... Roscoe now had 12 RBIs in the postseason... teammate SS Jorge Aparicio (.375) leads with 14 in the playoffs... he drove in one today.

LF Allan Hood (.300) scored twice for the Rattlers with a homer and a triple... and RF Jeff Harvey (.111) had a double and scored twice.

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS TORCH TUCKS 14-2 IN 3RD GAME
The Pro Cup favorite White River finally played like it with a resounding trouncing of Tuckanarra 14-2 in the third game of the Tycobbian LCS... the Rascals torched the Blue Jays for 17 hits to get their first win in the series after suffering two embarrassing defeats... light-hitting backup Josh Groveland drove in six runs and Kenny Yarbrough, Ryne Hyland and Kunta Burton each plated a pair of runs... 3B Yarbrough (.406) led with four hits and C Groveland (.583), SS Burton (.280) and CF Pudge Tate (.286) cracked three hits apiece.

White River also got solid pitching from Clem Warren (2-0/2.40), who hurled eight frames, permitted two runs and six hits for the victory... only one of the Blue Jay runs was earned... the defeat went to Tuckanarra starter Alfie Rutledge (1-1/4.50)... he was hit around for six runs and eight hits in his six innings.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 4, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 4

Ruthlandian Union

SIRAK STOPS SUGAR VALLEY 7-2, VIPERS UP 3-1
He's short and chubby, but Primo Sirak is quite a pitcher... the Valmara left-hander redeemed himself with a 7-2 decision over Sugar Valley at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara putting the Rattlers' postseason in serious jeopardy... it was the Vipers third win in the series, they have lost one game... Valmara can wrap up the Ruthlandian LCS tomorrow with a victory... Sirak (3-1/2.20), who was shellacked in game one, stopped the tough Rattlers on two runs and eight hits... He struck out four and issued three walks in a complete game outing... the Vipers teed off on loser Antonio Cedeno (2-1/3.48) for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings.

Topping the Valmara 11-hit attack was CF Don Ritchie (.367) with three hits, three runs scored and an RBI... Ritchie doubled and tripled... C Karol Koska (.209) got his third roundtripper of the postseason, a three-run blast in the first frame... and LF Tomek Abramczyk (.333) chipped in with two hits and two RBIs... 3B Roy Hobbs (.333) went deep for the Rattlers.

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS TIE BLUE JAYS SERIES ON GROVELAND'S HR
Josh Groveland homered for the second day in a row... this time his eighth-inning two-run blast snapped a 1-1 deadlock and gave White River a 3-2 victory over Tuckanarra in game four of the Tycobbian League Championship Series... the series is tied at two game each... Nicky Palmer (3-1/2.94) posted the win with a sparkling effort on the hill and at the plate... Palmer (.250) homered in the fifth for the first run of the game... he held the Tucks to two runs on eight hits, fanned six and walked three batters... Palmer had lost game one 7-0 to Ozzie Leslie... Leslie was strong again today as well, surrendering only one run on six hits in seven innings... the game was tied at 1-all when he exited for a pinchhitter.

Groveland is now hitting .571 in the playoffs with two homers and nine RBIs... the Blue Jay C Glenn Tinker (.528) continued a torrid postseason with three hits and an RBI... and RF Frank Mason (.342) had a double and a single with one RBI... the Tucks had 8 hits in the game, while the Rascals collected 7.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 5, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 5

Ruthlandian Union

VALMARA RU CHAMP, TOPS RATTLERS IN 5
According to the baseball experts, you would have to flip a coin to determine who would win the Ruthlandian League Championshio Series... it was just too close to call... both clubs battled long and hard in almost all of the games, but it was Valmara that finally got some pitching to win it going away with four wins in five games... it wasn't easy for the Vipers... in the fifth game they had to get a run in the ninth to send the game into overtime, where Valmara finally won out 4-3 in 11 innings to wrap up the series and send them to the Pro Cup Finals against the Tycobbian champion.

The Vipers got four back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 11th to eliminate the Rattlers... LF Tomek Abramczyk (.341), RF Boyd Holmes (.351), PH Paul McMahon (.375) and 1B Jose Vargas (.357) did the damage with Vargas driving in Abramczyk with the winning score... all the hits came off losing pitcher Christopher Dunsberry (1-1/1.59)... reliever Kasio Bajek (2-0/4.50) got the win with three scoreless innings... Viper starter Darus Grajek (2-1/3.48) performed well, working the first eight frames and allowing three runs, two earned, seven hits with six Ks and two walks... Sugar Valley starter Cullen Winslow (2-1/3.00) was solid, too... he limited Valmara to just three runs in his nine and one-third innings.

The Vipers pelted the Rattlers for 16 hits, led by Jose Vargas with a perfect 5-for-5 day which set a new IPA playoff record in an extra-inning game... Boyd Holmes had a pair of hits, including a homer, and drove in two runs... it was his third homer in the postseason... the Rattlers only managed seven hits and were paced by LF Carl Ramsey (.286) with two RBIs and RF Duncan McEllicott (.276) with one.

An overjoyed Vanya Vasylenko, the skipper of the Valmara Vipers, hailed his club, reveling in another chance at a Pro Cup, the second time in six years... the Vipers took the IPA title in 2043, defeating the powerful North Hills Hawks in that club's prime years... Vasylenko gave credit to his hitters and pitchers saying, "The offense was phenomenal the entire series... and the pitchers settled down and came through in games four and five... we just peaked at the right time to whip a fine Sugar Valley club."

Manager Bobby Gamble tongue-in-cheek gave credit to the Vipers. "When a team hits as well as Valmara did in this series, you're lucky to leave with your life... it was dangerous for my pitchers out on the mound... 37 runs and 64 hits in five games... that's lethal... I'm thinking of suing them for cruel and unusual punishment... I don't think it was safe even in our dugout."

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS TAKE THIRD STRAIGHT, 5-3 WINNER IN GAME 5
The Rascals are on a roll with three in a row... one more win and White River will be in the Pro Cup Finals for the second time in its history... the Rascals had to overcome a late-inning 2-0 deficit to come back and beat Tuckanarra 5-3 in game five of the Tycobbian LCS... White River now has a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven set... they were beaten by the Sligo Rovers in the 2023 IPA Finals.

Trailing 2-0 going into the eighth against Dickie Pittman, the Rascals shook loose and clipped him for four runs, highlighted by LF Billy Joe Hickman's (.162) RBI single and Ryan Byrd's (.273) three-run roundtripper... Butch Slattery (2-1/4.03) chalked up the victory, holding the Blue Jays to two runs on eight hits in seven innings, striking out eight batters and walking one... Todd Cole (0-0/4.05)/3 saves) tossed two frames and notched his third save of the postseason, but gave up a run in the ninth... Pittman (2-1/3.77) was the loser... White River got to him for four runs on seven hits... Pittman whiffed nine batters and walked three.

Leading the Rascals 9-hit attack were 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.429) with three hits and two runs... RF Ryne Hyland (.237) and LF Billy Joe Hickman (.162) helped out with two hits, one run and one RBI apiece... the Tucks had 10 hits and were paced by LF Cedric Dennison (.214) and C Glenn Tinker (.538)... they both had two hits.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 6, 2049

2049 IPA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Game 6

Tycobbian Union

RASCALS TU TITLIST, GO FOR PRO CUP
After falling on their face in the first two games of the Tycobbian League Championshop Series to Tuckanarra, the White Rascals gained face and rallied to win four in a row and capture the league crown and advance to the IPA Pro Cup Finals for the second time in the team's history... they will now take on the powerful Valmara Vipers, the titlewinner in the Ruthlandian Union... the Vipers eliminated tough Sugar Valley in five games.

The Rascals were behind 4-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, but starter Alfie Rutledge (1-2/4.82) faltered and couldn't hold the lead... Todd Cole (1-0/3.52) worked a scoreless inning of relief for the victory and Keil Trickett (0-0/0.00/1 save) nailed down the save with a runless ninth.

3B Kenny Yarbrough (.447), 2B Ryan Byrd (.324) and C Josh Groveland (.611) led the Rascals' 11-hit attack with three hits and an RBI each... Byrd's numbers included three runs scored and a solo homer, his third of the postseason... the Tucks socked 10 hits... LF Cedric Dennison (.277) cracked four hits and batted in two runs... CF Harv Bannerman (.231) and SS Dale Fordham (.314) drove in the other runs for the Blue Jays.

White River manager Mick Cronyn told reporters, "We won the series four games to two, but it was a lot tougher than it seemed... the Tucks made us look bad in the first two games, then we got things going... but even then the last three games could have easily been decided in their favor." Cronyn gave credit to his bullpen for putting away the Blue Jays. "Our starters kept us in the game and our bullpen won it for us."

Speaking with the press at the postgame news conference Tuckanarra's skipper Lefty Stevens told them, "White River has an excellent ballclub... solid starters, fine bullpen and a strong core of batters... that's the reason they are favored to win the Pro Cup this year... we got beat by a darn good team."

After several days off, Valmara will host White River in the 49th edition of the historic IPA Pro Cup Classic beginning this Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara... the Vipers earned the right for the homefield advantage by virtue of a better regular season record than the Rascals... it should be a great series between two powerful and talented ballclubs... Valmara chalked up 101 victories, third behind Middlefield's 104 wins and Sugar Valley's 103... White River led the Tycobbian Union with a 98-56 mark.

:)

White River with the upset in 6 games.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, October 7, 2049

WHITE RIVER AND VALMARA TANGLE FOR PRO CUP
It all begins Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara, the 2049 IPA Pro Cup Finals. The Vipers will host the Pro Cup favorite, the White River Rascals. Valmara breezed to Finals with victories over the Claxton Diamonds and Sugar Valley Rattlers, beating both of them in five games. The Rascals also cruised past tough San Alejo in a four-game sweep and topped Tuckanarra in six games after dropping the first two games.

This year's Pro Cup Finals look like a match made in Heaven with two superb and talented clubs going at it in a best-of-seven affair. Valmara will get the home field advantage with the possibility of playing four games at War Memorial Stadium. The Vipers posted 101 wins during the regular season, while the Rascals had 98. Nonetheless, the baseball world usually favors the Tycobbian Union as stronger overall than the Ruthlandian Union. In Pro Cup competition Tycobbian has a slight edge with 28 trophies to 22 for Ruthlandia.

White River possesses standout hitting and scoring, along with superb starting pitching and a great bullpen, while Valmara is almost as good as the Rascals on the mound and at the plate. One big plus for White River is its home-run power. They totaled 198 roundtrippers to just 128 for Valmara. The Rascals also have a decided edge in the relief corps.

However, Valmara has averaged over 7 runs a game in the postseason and has hammered 16 homers. White River has scored over 5 runs a game in the playoffs, but has gone deep only 8 times. Both clubs have slightly above average defense with identical .974 fielding percentages.

Pro Cup Forecast: The consensus says White River should win it in seven games... however, some writers and broadcasters have been impressed with Valmara in the playoffs and revamped their outlooks, citing the Vipers postseason power and run-scoring ability... they give Valmara the edge in starting pitching... if the offense puts up some runs, then the Vipers will win it in seven games.

**** WHITE RIVER TEAM STATISTICS **** VALMARA TEAM STATISTICS

Based on postseason play, I'm going with Valmara... offensively they have been truly awesome and the starting pitching has been solid... but the bullpen is the question mark... the Vipers in seven.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 10, 2049

2049 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - Game 1

RASCALS TOP VIPERS IN CUP OPENER 7-4
Visiting White River got the jump on Valmara in the opening game of the 2049 Pro Cup Series at War Memorial Stadium by polishing off the Vipers 7-4... the favored Rascals broke open a 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth on a two-run double by Pudge Tate, an RBI two-bagger by Kenny Yarbrough and a gift run that came in on an error by third baseman Justin Roscoe.

22-game winner Nicky Palmer (4-1/2.95) registered his fourth postseason win by gritting out a complete game... Palmer allowed four runs on nine hits, fanned three and walked two... Mirko Musial (0-1/9.00) lost it in relief of starter Primo Sirak, who left after seven frames... Musial was slammed for four runs in the eighth.

Both clubs collected nine hits each... White River CF Pudge Tate (.341) chalked up three hits, two of them doubles, and he batted in two runs... 3B Kenny Yarbrough (.442) also doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs... Valmara's top batsman was 3B Justin Roscoe, who went deep for the fifth time in the postseason... he slammed a three-run blast in the second frame... Roscoe has 16 RBIs to lead the playoffs this season.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 11, 2049

2049 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - Game 2

VALMARA'S GRAJEK HURLS 10-0 GEM IN GAME 2
Valmara pitching got the worst of it in dropping the first game of the IPA Pro Cup Finals, but came alive in the second game behind the brilliant work of Darus Grajek, who blanked the hard-hitting White River Rascals 10-0 on a four-hitter... Grajek (3-1/2.70), 21-9 during the regular season, struck out five and walked two in evening up the series at one game each... the Vipers pounded Butch Slattery and Keil Trickett for 15 hits with the defeat going to starter Slattery (2-2/5.08), who was ripped for 12 hits and eight runs in just four plus innings.

C Karol Koska (.222) and CF Don Ritchie (.409) smashed solo homers for Valmara... it was Koska's fifth in the postseason and number two for Ritchie... Ritchie collected four hits, backed up by 3B Justin Roscoe (.362) with three... and SS Ken Jensen (.407) and 2B Jose Vargas (.340) chipped in with two hits apiece... Ritchie scored three runs and batted in four... Roscoe drove in a pair and now has 18 in the playoffs this year... the league record is 23 by Southport's Barney Lewis in 2044... Vargas and RF Boyd Holmes (.356) also had two RBIs for the Vipers.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 12, 2049

2049 IPA PRO CUP SERIES - Game 3

POLASKI MASTERS RASCALS, VIPERS LEAD PRO CUP
In the third game of the Pro Cup Finals reliever Mark Polaski got a call from the bullpen, but the game hadn't started yet... Valmara's scheduled starter Teddy Twardzik was sidelined because of a bad case of food poisoning and couldn't take the mound... no problem... Polaski stepped in and stepped up with a route-going 2-1 masterpiece over the White River Rascals at White River Stadium to give the Vipers a two to one edge in the series.

Polaski, the number four starter with a 16-8 record in the regular season, had been shifted to bullpen duties in the playoffs... he showed no rust at all and held the Rascals to just a single run and six hits... Polaski got the best of Clem Warren (2-1/2.70), who got the tough loss... Warren allowed only one earned run in eight innings, though he was tagged for 11 hits.

White River took an early lead with a run in the second inning... CF Pudge Tate (.319) walked, advanced to second on a groundout, moved to third on a single by C Josh Groveland (.481) and was singled in by Clem Warren (.200)... in a critical play Groveland was thrown on at home trying to score from second on 3B Kenny Yarbrough's (.400) base hit... a fine throw by Viper LF Tomek Abramczyk saved a run that loomed large in the game.

Abramczyk (.296) had a great game... he also homered in the fourth frame to tie the score at 1-1... it was his third postseason homer... Valmara put the winning run on the scoreboard in the fifth... with two away 2B Jorge Aparicio (.268) got aboard on a two-base error by shortstop Kunta Burton (.222) and was doubled in by CF Don Richie (.417).