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Eugene Church · 02-20-2010, 07:52 PM

The Islandian Times

Sunday, June 20, 2010

2010 IPA Mid-Season Report

Ruthlandian Union North Division

Far Mountain Leads RU North, Followed By Glasco and Valmara
Far Mountain, the defending Ruthlandian North champions, is right back on top again and lead runner-up Glasco by 2 games, third-place Valmara by 4 and fourth-place LaGrange by 6 games. Manager Alex Groveland has his charges on top of their game as his Redhawks have a 46-26 record at the All-Star break. The Athletics and Vipers are this year's surprise teams. They were seventh and eighth last season.

Best Team Batting Average: .278 - Far Mountain
Most Homers: 89 - Far Mountain
Most Runs: 377 - Far Mountain
Best Team ERA: 3.11 - Glasco
Best Team Defense: .978 - Taranto

Worst Team Batting Average: .252 - Kilkenny
Fewest Homers: 40 - Kilkenny
Fewest Runs: 267 - Kilkenny
Worst Team ERA: 4.56 - LaGrange
Worst Team Defense: .967 – Ranford

Most Improved Team: Glasco (7th place to 2nd place)
Most Disappointing Team: Ancona (2nd place to 5th place)

Most Promising Rookies:
All-Star SS Pete Duvalier (FTB) .341/6/41/51
All-Star CL Jack Hatcher (GLS) 1-2 2.28 16 SV
MR Dave McDonald (FM) 9-5 4.05
CF Xavier Sosa (FM) .333/9/32/36

Far Mountain (46-26) is the class of the RU North and along with Colfax (48-22) of the RU West, the class of the Ruthlandian Union... Alex Groveland's crew can hit, field and pitch with the best of them, led by a strong group of veteran starters Leroy Hill (11-5 3.51), Boomerang Hines (10-4 3.46) and Robby Kelly (7-5 2.85), veteran performers like All-Star 2B Duane Parsons (.298/19/64) and All-Star SS Don Nichols (.320/12/49), along with a fine rookie CF Xavier Sosa (.333/9/32/36), not to mention a solid starter at every position... chip in a good rookie reliever in Dave McDonald (9-5 4.05), too... it really is surprising that Glasco and Valmara have managed to stay close to the Redhawks this year.

Great pitching has been the key to the Glasco A's (42-28) huge turnaround this season... manager McDuffie Hughes has All-Star Felipe Branco (11-4 2.21) and Buddy DeMarco doing the job in starting roles and rookie All-Star closer Jack Hatcher putting out the fires... Hatcher has 16 saves thus far with a 1-2 mark and an impressive 2.28 ERA... the Athletics are first in the RU with a splendid 3.11 team ERA... Hughes get just enough offense (.263 BA) out of SS George Ferguson (.291/9/40/31), CF Ike Plunkett (.317/6/30/31), RF Aidan Latimer (.288/6/33/33) and C Les Ferguson (.274/14/3-/34) to get by...The Fergusons are brothers, one of the few siblings that play in the IPA... Glasco trails Far Mountain by just two games halfway through the season.

All-Star Vanya Vasylenko (13-2 2.86) has almost single-handedly pull the Valmara Vipers (40-30) up from the cellar to a strong third place (40-30) in 2010, just four games off the pace of the red-hot Redhawks... with some offensive support from All-Star RF Lou Gdowski (.333/10/44/46) and C Erich Adamczyk (.291/11/43/40)... it may be tough for skipper J. Jackson Samuel to maintain this pace without others stepping it up offensively and on the hill.

In LaGrange (38-32), look out if Foxy Jimison can heal his pitching woes... the Sports depend almost totally in their bats to contend in the TU North... with an astronomical 4.56 ERA it is a wonder LaGrange is in fourth place, yet only 6 games back... Jimison has some standout swingers (.276 BA) in All-Star CF Karl Perret (.332/7/28/62), C Otto Kronvath (.285/13/49/41), LF Quincy Peterson (.305/12/42/50) and SS Bill Nilsen (.259/12/44/33)... the Sports have added a new bat to the line-up with 1B Bill Nance (.298/18/48/49), who has blossomed this year after being out the IPA for five years... Nance was a part-timer in Taranto in 2005, where he hit only .235... Jimison needs to get some help for his only quality pitchers Phil Bijeaux (10-3 3.81) and Denny Kristensen (5-4 3.30), who has 11 saves as a closer and starter this year.

The fifth place Ancona Red Elephants (34-36) fall in the same category as LaGrange – strong hitting (.274 BA), but little on the mound (4.26 ERA)... Gary Culver (9-4 3.37) is manager Manny Mickens' only reliable starter... Ancona's best bats belong to two All-Stars CF Lacey Tompkins (.336/10/56/39) and 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.309/45/32)... this year has been a big disappointment to Mickens... he thought the Red Elephants were poised for another run at the pennant... they fell just one game short last year... the quick fall out of contention has been caused by the lack of quality pitching... Ancona is giving up almost a run a game more this season.

The Kilkenny Cats (33-37) don't appear to be headed anywhere this year... the Cats are 11 games out in sixth place in the RU North... skipper Kieran McKenna's top performers are 10-year vet Scooter Perez (.296/1/18/47), still a solid second sacker, SS Stu Ashford (.308/6/32/24) and pitcher Mack Harrell (7-5 3.05)... Kilkenny has the worst hitting in the division (.252 BA) and its pitching staff is only fair (3.78 ERA).

Pitching is taking a heavy toll on Tommazzo Lazzorda's seventh-place Taranto Tars (32-38)... it's tough to compete with a 4.50 ERA even if your offense is pretty good with a .268 batting average... all of Lazzorda's starting rotation are hovering near the 5.00 ERA mark... offensively LF Wayne Pounders (.298/14/39/33) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.304/7/32/32) are having to carry the club... SS Ed Miles, one of the supreme hitters in the IPA the past couple of seasons, is having an off-year with only a .264 average, just 5 homers and 32 RBIs... it is not looking good for the Tars in 2010.

The Ranford Bulls (27-43) are all by themselves in the RU North cellar, 17 games out of first... skipper Page Satcher no longer has a contending team and sorely lacks talent... Satcher only has one quality pitcher and he is a good one – 33-year-old southpaw Chris Bernhoffer, who despite a strong 2.85 ERA stands at only 5-12 on the year... Lifetime Bernhoffer has won 146 games in his 9 years in the IPA...it gets even worse for Satcher when he has to do the line-up card... his best batter is just a decent hitter... 3B Ken Aubert leads the club with 14 homers and 44 runs batted in with a .267 batting average.

02-20-2010, 07:52 PM	#1573
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,049	The Islandian Times Sunday, June 20, 2010 2010 IPA Mid-Season Report Ruthlandian Union North Division Far Mountain Leads RU North, Followed By Glasco and Valmara Far Mountain, the defending Ruthlandian North champions, is right back on top again and lead runner-up Glasco by 2 games, third-place Valmara by 4 and fourth-place LaGrange by 6 games. Manager Alex Groveland has his charges on top of their game as his Redhawks have a 46-26 record at the All-Star break. The Athletics and Vipers are this year's surprise teams. They were seventh and eighth last season. Best Team Batting Average: .278 - Far Mountain Most Homers: 89 - Far Mountain Most Runs: 377 - Far Mountain Best Team ERA: 3.11 - Glasco Best Team Defense: .978 - Taranto Worst Team Batting Average: .252 - Kilkenny Fewest Homers: 40 - Kilkenny Fewest Runs: 267 - Kilkenny Worst Team ERA: 4.56 - LaGrange Worst Team Defense: .967 – Ranford Most Improved Team: Glasco (7th place to 2nd place) Most Disappointing Team: Ancona (2nd place to 5th place) Most Promising Rookies: All-Star SS Pete Duvalier (FTB) .341/6/41/51 All-Star CL Jack Hatcher (GLS) 1-2 2.28 16 SV MR Dave McDonald (FM) 9-5 4.05 CF Xavier Sosa (FM) .333/9/32/36 Far Mountain (46-26) is the class of the RU North and along with Colfax (48-22) of the RU West, the class of the Ruthlandian Union... Alex Groveland's crew can hit, field and pitch with the best of them, led by a strong group of veteran starters Leroy Hill (11-5 3.51), Boomerang Hines (10-4 3.46) and Robby Kelly (7-5 2.85), veteran performers like All-Star 2B Duane Parsons (.298/19/64) and All-Star SS Don Nichols (.320/12/49), along with a fine rookie CF Xavier Sosa (.333/9/32/36), not to mention a solid starter at every position... chip in a good rookie reliever in Dave McDonald (9-5 4.05), too... it really is surprising that Glasco and Valmara have managed to stay close to the Redhawks this year. Great pitching has been the key to the Glasco A's (42-28) huge turnaround this season... manager McDuffie Hughes has All-Star Felipe Branco (11-4 2.21) and Buddy DeMarco doing the job in starting roles and rookie All-Star closer Jack Hatcher putting out the fires... Hatcher has 16 saves thus far with a 1-2 mark and an impressive 2.28 ERA... the Athletics are first in the RU with a splendid 3.11 team ERA... Hughes get just enough offense (.263 BA) out of SS George Ferguson (.291/9/40/31), CF Ike Plunkett (.317/6/30/31), RF Aidan Latimer (.288/6/33/33) and C Les Ferguson (.274/14/3-/34) to get by...The Fergusons are brothers, one of the few siblings that play in the IPA... Glasco trails Far Mountain by just two games halfway through the season. All-Star Vanya Vasylenko (13-2 2.86) has almost single-handedly pull the Valmara Vipers (40-30) up from the cellar to a strong third place (40-30) in 2010, just four games off the pace of the red-hot Redhawks... with some offensive support from All-Star RF Lou Gdowski (.333/10/44/46) and C Erich Adamczyk (.291/11/43/40)... it may be tough for skipper J. Jackson Samuel to maintain this pace without others stepping it up offensively and on the hill. In LaGrange (38-32), look out if Foxy Jimison can heal his pitching woes... the Sports depend almost totally in their bats to contend in the TU North... with an astronomical 4.56 ERA it is a wonder LaGrange is in fourth place, yet only 6 games back... Jimison has some standout swingers (.276 BA) in All-Star CF Karl Perret (.332/7/28/62), C Otto Kronvath (.285/13/49/41), LF Quincy Peterson (.305/12/42/50) and SS Bill Nilsen (.259/12/44/33)... the Sports have added a new bat to the line-up with 1B Bill Nance (.298/18/48/49), who has blossomed this year after being out the IPA for five years... Nance was a part-timer in Taranto in 2005, where he hit only .235... Jimison needs to get some help for his only quality pitchers Phil Bijeaux (10-3 3.81) and Denny Kristensen (5-4 3.30), who has 11 saves as a closer and starter this year. The fifth place Ancona Red Elephants (34-36) fall in the same category as LaGrange – strong hitting (.274 BA), but little on the mound (4.26 ERA)... Gary Culver (9-4 3.37) is manager Manny Mickens' only reliable starter... Ancona's best bats belong to two All-Stars CF Lacey Tompkins (.336/10/56/39) and 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.309/45/32)... this year has been a big disappointment to Mickens... he thought the Red Elephants were poised for another run at the pennant... they fell just one game short last year... the quick fall out of contention has been caused by the lack of quality pitching... Ancona is giving up almost a run a game more this season. The Kilkenny Cats (33-37) don't appear to be headed anywhere this year... the Cats are 11 games out in sixth place in the RU North... skipper Kieran McKenna's top performers are 10-year vet Scooter Perez (.296/1/18/47), still a solid second sacker, SS Stu Ashford (.308/6/32/24) and pitcher Mack Harrell (7-5 3.05)... Kilkenny has the worst hitting in the division (.252 BA) and its pitching staff is only fair (3.78 ERA). Pitching is taking a heavy toll on Tommazzo Lazzorda's seventh-place Taranto Tars (32-38)... it's tough to compete with a 4.50 ERA even if your offense is pretty good with a .268 batting average... all of Lazzorda's starting rotation are hovering near the 5.00 ERA mark... offensively LF Wayne Pounders (.298/14/39/33) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.304/7/32/32) are having to carry the club... SS Ed Miles, one of the supreme hitters in the IPA the past couple of seasons, is having an off-year with only a .264 average, just 5 homers and 32 RBIs... it is not looking good for the Tars in 2010. The Ranford Bulls (27-43) are all by themselves in the RU North cellar, 17 games out of first... skipper Page Satcher no longer has a contending team and sorely lacks talent... Satcher only has one quality pitcher and he is a good one – 33-year-old southpaw Chris Bernhoffer, who despite a strong 2.85 ERA stands at only 5-12 on the year... Lifetime Bernhoffer has won 146 games in his 9 years in the IPA...it gets even worse for Satcher when he has to do the line-up card... his best batter is just a decent hitter... 3B Ken Aubert leads the club with 14 homers and 44 runs batted in with a .267 batting average. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-21-2010 at 11:01 PM.