[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times

Monday, May 21, 2001

Around the IPA

Ruthlandian Union - South Division

It is quite a race so far in the RU South Division with five teams within two games of each other. The Sugar Valley Rattlers (17-13) are in the driver's seat, but not by much. Manager Gibson Bobkins' ballclub has two teams breathing down their necks just a half-game behind.

In the hit-happy division, the Rattlers (.274) are third in batting average, tied for first in runs with Forest City, each with 155, but tied for last in homers with Marston, each with 26.

Bobkins' line-up is chocked full of fine hitters: second baseman Rudi Oliver (.383), catcher Shotgun McFall (.382), third baseman Jorge Vargas (.330), center fielder Freddie Vaux (.303) with 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored, right fielder Karl Dietz (.293) with 4 homers, 17 RBIs and 13 runs, left fielder Cy Bartz (.293) with 15 RBIs and 14 runs, shortstop Flipper Bird (.283) with 12 RBIs and 16 runs and first baseman Ken Arnold (.278) 4 homers, 12 RBIs, 17 runs.

However, Sugar Valley falls quite short in the mound department. Only closer Gregg Neal (2-2 1.66) and starters Ron Benson (5-2 2.14) and Harvey Hines (3-2 2.91) have been effective. The Rattlers have a team ERA at 4.14, fourth in the division.

Sugar Valley is tied with Marston for the best fielding average at .981 this season.

So far, so good. But Bobkins has to find more pitching to stay at the top of the heap in the South Division.

The Belair Beach Sunbirds (17-14) and Marston Nine are in the runner-up spot. Manager Marty Pedrosa is depending on his pitching. This season the Sunbirds are second to Forest City (3.41) in team ERA with 3.63. In the batting department, Belair Beach (.255) is rated fifth in the division. They are last in scoring with 142 runs, but not by much in the tightly-bunched race. As far as power, the Sunbirds are fourth with 31.

For offense Pedrosa has depended on left fielder Nicky Swift (.345) with 13 homers, tops in the RU, 24 RBIs, 26 runs and 4 stolen bases, right fielder Matty McDermott (.323) with 5 home runs, 17 RBIs, 29 runs and 6 stolen bases, third baseman Rick Sullivan (.311) with 17 RBIs and 13 runs scored, shortstop Danny Church (.299) with 4 homers, 18 RBIs, 22 runs and 3 stolen bases and catcher Denny Everhart (.270) with 5 roundtrippers and 18 RBIs.

The top arms in the Sunbirds pitching rotation are closer Lou Zanelli (4-0 0.48) and starters Carl Thompson (5-2 1.65), Ken Frey (1-0 2.95) and Troy Wilson (2-3 3.88).

Belair Beach has an average defensive club with a .977 fielding average, good enough to tie for third with South Fork in this category.

Pedrosa's biggest need is some pitching help. He has to get another decent starter and at least one quality middle reliever. If the Sunbirds can do that, they will be able to compete in the upper echelon of the division.

The Marston Nine (17-14) are also just a half-game behind the division leader and are headed by former pitching great, manager/GM Johnny Walters. His club is hitting a robust .286 and has scored 158 runs, both figures are number one in the division. The Nine are third with a 3.76 ERA.

Marston has an abundance of fine hitters, paced by center fielder Ronnie Lee (.469), who in 12 starts has 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 9 runs and 5 stolen bases, second baseman Ken Green (.375) with 3 home runs, 18 RBIs and 20 runs, catcher Mo Chappell (.327) with 12 RBIs, right fielder Chris Deangelo (.305) with 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 14 runs scored, third baseman Roland Thomas (.296) with 17 runs, shortstop Lenny Torricelli (.292) with 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 17 runs, center fielder Tommy Reinhold (.278) with 17 RBIs, 15 runs and 11 stolen bases, left fielder Ronnie Horn (.277) with 11 RBIs, 14 runs and 4 stolen bases and first baseman Johnny Berthold (.238) with 5 roundtrippers, 22 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

The Nine has a good number of solid and dependable hurlers, such as starters Phil Azard (2-0 0.66), Casey Ledbetter (5-1 3.69), Nick Pace (5-4 4.31) and the injured Bob Lowe (1-2 3.27). Relievers Vince Gardner (0-1 1.17), Ken Bagby (0-0 2.81) and Milt Wilson (0-2 3.38) have done good bullpen work.

Marston is tied with Sugar Valley for the best fielding percentage. Both are at the .981 mark this year.

Skipper Johnny Walters has a well-balanced team. When he gets starter Bob Lowe back in five weeks, he will be set to give battle to the top clubs in the Ruthlandian Union South.

Forest City and Waleska are deadlocked for the fourth spot in the Ruthlandian Union South Division. They are all even at 16-16 and trail first place Sugar Valley by only two games.

The Forest City Lumberjacks (16-16) GM and manager is Rob Jackson. His club has the best ERA (3.41) in the division, the most home runs (45) and is number three in batting (.272 BA). It would seem the Lumberjacks have most everything going for them. Beating the Belair Beach Sunbirds is the problem. The 'Jacks are only 2-8 against them. Jackson said, "We have to turn that around and we'll be fine."

Jackson has a solid staff with starters Glenn Moore (3-0 2.41), Herm Bahr (3-3 2.48), Vince Edelman (0-2 3.23), Buddy Hutchinson (2-5 3.79) and Gene Stuart (3-1 4.13). As good as the starters have been, the bullpen has been better. Closer Timmy Brooks (1-2 1.72), Jim DiGregorio (0-0 0.00) and Nick Marceau (0-1 3.12) have been excellent so far. The Lumberjacks may have the best staff man-for-man than any team in the IPA.

The Forest City attack is sparked by center fielder and lead-off man, Ryan Morse (.368) with 4 homers, 15 RBIs, 31 runs scored and 6 stolen bases, left fielder Chuck Hill (.364) with 10 home runs, 32 RBIs and 26 runs and second baseman Jesse Wolf (.307) with 10 roundtrippers, 32 RBIs and 18 runs. Also in the potent line-up are two more powerhitters, right fielder Benny Davis (.236) with 7 homers, 17 RBIs and 16 runs, and third baseman Ricky Mitchell (.227) with 6 homers, 15 RBIs and 10 runs scored in 18 games since being put in the line-up.

In the field, the Lumberjacks are tied for third in the rankings with a .977 fielding average.

With such a well-balanced ballclub in batting and pitching, you can expect Forest City to be in the thick of the pennant race.

Looking at the team's stats, the Waleska Westerners (16-16) are doing much better record-wise than you would think. It's a wonder that McGraw Johnson's club is playing .500 ball with an atrocious 4.64 ERA, which is fifth in the division. Only last place Claxton is worse with a 4.75 ERA. Add in the mix that Waleska is hitting only .248, which is dead last in the division, and you would think they would be far down in the standings. The Westerners are less than average in fielding, too. They are fifth with a .975 fielding average. However, they have hit 35 homers and rank third in the division.

Right fielder Big Hoss Burkhalter (.306) has been a big plus with 9 home runs, 32 RBIs and 16 runs scored. First baseman Fred Shelton (.295) has been reliable with 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 18 scores. Third baseman Yoshihide Nishida (.260) has provided punch and speed to the line-up with 7 roundtrippers, 17 RBIs and 27 runs. Other contributors are left fielder Charley Williamson (.289) with 6 home runs, 14 RBIs and 14 runs scored and center fielder Rick Vaughn (.278) with 10 RBIs and 15 runs.

The Westerners pitching corps has few standouts. Smokey Joe Carter (4-4 3.00), Gary Hill (3-0 3.73) are Johnson's most dependable starters. In the bullpen his long man Andrei Marsiske (2-0 3.06) has been reliable and impressive.

If a couple of pitchers step it up, Waleska could be in the thick of the battle for the division flag. It wouldn't take much.

All alone and far away in the RU South basement are the Claxton Diamonds (11-21). Skipper Stacy Engel's crew is already seven games out of first place. The always jovial and congenial Engel was asked by reporters what was the toughest part of being a manager. He grinned and replied, "The toughest thing is to keep the guys that hate you away from the ones that are undecided."

The Old Perfesser hasn't had much to smile about on the field this season except for his hitters, who are number two in the division with a .277 team batting average. But that wonderful smile is dampened a bit when the subject gets around to his pitching corps. Engel's rotation has put up a 4.75 ERA and is last in that category. And to make matters worse, Claxton is last in fielding with a very poor .969 fielding average. Engel said he is toying with the idea to lean a little more toward defense and try to get by with a little less offense.

The Diamonds really shine in the batter's box, paced by second baseman Donny McCoy (.373) with 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 24 runs scored, shortstop Bobby Ritter (.336) with 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 19 runs, right fielder Dixie Baker (.324) with 10 home runs, 23 RBIs and 20 runs, third baseman Keith Olsen (.311) with 4 roundtrippers, 22 RBIs and 23 runs and left fielder Winky Rush (.292) 4 home runs, 17 RBIs and 13 runs.

On the hill Tetsunori Nakashima (6-2 4.10) has benefited from the high run support and leads the IPA in victories. In the bullpen Earl Weber (0-1 2.19) has been the only plus mark.

It looks like a long and dismal first season for the Claxton Diamonds.