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Eugene Church · 10-14-2008, 10:47 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Around the IPA
Ruthlandian Union - North Division

The Glasco Athletics are fifth in the RU North Division and manager McDuffie Hughes has lived and died by his pitching, lately he has been mostly dying as several of his starting rotation has slumped badly. The A's are 12-13 this month and have lost 7 in a row to dip 7 games back in the standings.

Portsiders Charles Darby (11-10 3.59) and Jesse Balfour (8-9 3.27) have paced the Athletics on the hill. Darby has three shutouts and is a workhorse, but has tailed off severely in the last month and lost his last four starts. Darby is 5-7 and a 4.60 ERA the last two months, but made the All-Star team. Balfour is a hard-thrower with two shutouts and has dropped his last three decisions. Jerry Smith (11-10 4.00), the only righthanded starter, came to Glasco in a trade a month ago for first baseman Francisco Robles (.286). He is 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA since joining the club. Hughes has inserted new righthander Bobby Joe Trent (0-2 1.99) into the starting rotation after the 18-year-old impressed him during his 11 relief appearances over the last month. Glasco has a fine closer in Ray Cook (3-4 1.76) with 9 saves and 29 appearances. Middle relief has been mediocre and needs some shoring up. The A's have signed two new hurlers to try and turn things around. Southpaw Jake Nyberg and righty Riley McKeever have been added to the roster.

In the batter's box Glasco has a solid core of hitters, but just don't have enough of them. They are only fifth in the division with a .267 team batting average. Heading up the batting order are two All-Stars, first baseman Maury Smith (.354/11 HR/64 RBI/65 R) and left fielder Ox Beauvais (.333/18 HR/56 RBI/54 R). Second baseman Barry McCord (.310/8 HR/56 RBI/48 R) and center fielder Chet Reynolds (.297/5 HR/36 RBI/59 R/29 /SB) have been vital contributors, too. Glasco needs the other four regulars to be productive to move up in the standings. Skipper Hughes thinks outfielder Buck Bucholtz (.405) may fill part of the bill when he comes back from a short stay on the disabled list. Bucholtz has been impressive in his 8 starts since signing a month ago. The Athletics need help at catcher and third base, and more punch at shortstop. Kyle Ballentine (.298) has hit for average and played good defense, but is just a singles hitter.

Overall on defense, the A's are only fair. They are fifth in the division with a .977 fielding percentage.

Glasco could still be in the playoff mix, if Darby can return to form and Bucholtz turns out to be as good as he has looked in the short term.

Manager Zoggy White's Elnora All-Stars haven't exactly live up to their nickname this season except in the month of July when they compiled a 14-10 mark and tied fourth place Valmara for the best record in the division. The All-Stars are poor at pitching and just average hitting. They have a 4.27 team ERA, fifth in the RU North Division. At bat Elnora is hitting .271 with a solid trio in the 2-3-4 slots in the batting order. Second baseman Gil Foster (.344)/14 HR/55 RBI/57 R), left fielder Quincy Peterson (.291/17 HR/68 RBI/55 R) and right fielder Paul Giles (.277/20 HR/61 RBI/65 R) are the club's prime producers. Paul Kesler (.329) recently became the first string first baseman and has looked good in his 18 starts this year. He is a fine defender, too. White needs a lot of help at catcher, short and third, but it doesn't seem to be on the horizon.

On the mound Elnora has a good group of starters in righthanders Carl Costas (8-10 3.11) and Pat Savoie (7-2 2.86) and lefties Tyrone Gray (7-10 3.86) and Jim Tarzetti (3-2 3.03). But the quality pretty much ends there. Up to the All-Star break, none of the middle relievers were effective, neither was closer Wally Tidwell (3-6 3.97). New-signee Taylor Gibbs will take over the closing slot from Tidwell. Gibbs is a 22-year-old fireballer with good stuff and erratic control, but he throws 95-97 mph.

The All-Stars are 9-1 in their last 10 contests and the season is looking up for them, but they are 11 games in back of the pack. It may too hard to make up that many games. They recently traded for outfielder Paul Giles to get some long range punch into the lineup. He should be a big plus in the last third of the season. But it may be too late for this year.

10-14-2008, 10:47 PM	#494
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,717 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, July 24, 2001 Around the IPA Ruthlandian Union - North Division The Glasco Athletics are fifth in the RU North Division and manager McDuffie Hughes has lived and died by his pitching, lately he has been mostly dying as several of his starting rotation has slumped badly. The A's are 12-13 this month and have lost 7 in a row to dip 7 games back in the standings. Portsiders Charles Darby (11-10 3.59) and Jesse Balfour (8-9 3.27) have paced the Athletics on the hill. Darby has three shutouts and is a workhorse, but has tailed off severely in the last month and lost his last four starts. Darby is 5-7 and a 4.60 ERA the last two months, but made the All-Star team. Balfour is a hard-thrower with two shutouts and has dropped his last three decisions. Jerry Smith (11-10 4.00), the only righthanded starter, came to Glasco in a trade a month ago for first baseman Francisco Robles (.286). He is 4-3 with a 3.97 ERA since joining the club. Hughes has inserted new righthander Bobby Joe Trent (0-2 1.99) into the starting rotation after the 18-year-old impressed him during his 11 relief appearances over the last month. Glasco has a fine closer in Ray Cook (3-4 1.76) with 9 saves and 29 appearances. Middle relief has been mediocre and needs some shoring up. The A's have signed two new hurlers to try and turn things around. Southpaw Jake Nyberg and righty Riley McKeever have been added to the roster. In the batter's box Glasco has a solid core of hitters, but just don't have enough of them. They are only fifth in the division with a .267 team batting average. Heading up the batting order are two All-Stars, first baseman Maury Smith (.354/11 HR/64 RBI/65 R) and left fielder Ox Beauvais (.333/18 HR/56 RBI/54 R). Second baseman Barry McCord (.310/8 HR/56 RBI/48 R) and center fielder Chet Reynolds (.297/5 HR/36 RBI/59 R/29 /SB) have been vital contributors, too. Glasco needs the other four regulars to be productive to move up in the standings. Skipper Hughes thinks outfielder Buck Bucholtz (.405) may fill part of the bill when he comes back from a short stay on the disabled list. Bucholtz has been impressive in his 8 starts since signing a month ago. The Athletics need help at catcher and third base, and more punch at shortstop. Kyle Ballentine (.298) has hit for average and played good defense, but is just a singles hitter. Overall on defense, the A's are only fair. They are fifth in the division with a .977 fielding percentage. Glasco could still be in the playoff mix, if Darby can return to form and Bucholtz turns out to be as good as he has looked in the short term. Manager Zoggy White's Elnora All-Stars haven't exactly live up to their nickname this season except in the month of July when they compiled a 14-10 mark and tied fourth place Valmara for the best record in the division. The All-Stars are poor at pitching and just average hitting. They have a 4.27 team ERA, fifth in the RU North Division. At bat Elnora is hitting .271 with a solid trio in the 2-3-4 slots in the batting order. Second baseman Gil Foster (.344)/14 HR/55 RBI/57 R), left fielder Quincy Peterson (.291/17 HR/68 RBI/55 R) and right fielder Paul Giles (.277/20 HR/61 RBI/65 R) are the club's prime producers. Paul Kesler (.329) recently became the first string first baseman and has looked good in his 18 starts this year. He is a fine defender, too. White needs a lot of help at catcher, short and third, but it doesn't seem to be on the horizon. On the mound Elnora has a good group of starters in righthanders Carl Costas (8-10 3.11) and Pat Savoie (7-2 2.86) and lefties Tyrone Gray (7-10 3.86) and Jim Tarzetti (3-2 3.03). But the quality pretty much ends there. Up to the All-Star break, none of the middle relievers were effective, neither was closer Wally Tidwell (3-6 3.97). New-signee Taylor Gibbs will take over the closing slot from Tidwell. Gibbs is a 22-year-old fireballer with good stuff and erratic control, but he throws 95-97 mph. The All-Stars are 9-1 in their last 10 contests and the season is looking up for them, but they are 11 games in back of the pack. It may too hard to make up that many games. They recently traded for outfielder Paul Giles to get some long range punch into the lineup. He should be a big plus in the last third of the season. But it may be too late for this year. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-16-2008 at 10:37 PM.