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Eugene Church · 10-15-2010, 02:50 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 20, 2016

2016 Ruthlandian North Final Recap

FM Redhawks Back On Top, Edge Tars
2015 was an "off-year" for Far Mountain - they finished second to the Pro Cup champion Taranto Tars - but this season the Redhawks regrouped, recharged and captured their seventh RU North pennant in eight years, topping Taranto by 3 games. Kilkenny was third, 7 games back. No other team was close.

Far Mountain Redhawks (89-65) were paced by All-Star SS Don Nichols (.324/27/104/121) and CF Jonas Boehm (.322/22/98/93)... however manager Alex Groveland's strong point was his pitching staff, led by 39-year-old Robby Kelly (18-8 3.82) and 24-year-old Woody Crawford (20-14 3.12)... the Redhawks play good defense with a healthy .976 FA... offensively they are only average with a .260 average (17th), but Far Mountain was 9th in scoring... look for the Redhawks to be a serious contender for the Pro Cup trophy in this year's playoffs.

Tommaso Lazzorda was disappointed that the Taranto Tars (86-68) will not get a chance to defend its IPA title... the Tars still hit the dickens out of the ball with 216 homers (1st), still have good starters and still play good defense, but they just couldn't beat Far Mountain... Taranto led the RU with a .277 BA, had decent pitching considering they play in a very small stadium and are good defensively with a .977 FA... Vito Incardona (21-11 2.83) had a brilliant season... former closer Angelo Zinacola (19-6 3.70) made a good transition to starting... and Chazzie DeBartolo (16-11 4.18) had a good season, too... at bat it was All-Stars LF Arnie Kennedy (.324/37/107/114) and RF Augie Marshall (.313/39/122/95) that led the way with help from 2B Ed Miles (.288/23/99/116).

The Kilkenny Cats (82-72) are a good ball club, but can't match the bats of Far Mountain and Taranto... skipper Kieran McKenna has two strong starters in Sidney McFarland (20-15 2.36) and Kyle Ferguson (19-13 3.15)... but only one good hitter in 1B Monty Edwards (.294/13/103/71).

The LaGrange Sports (76-78) wound up in fourth place and trailed by 13 games... Foxy Jimison has two quality starters: vets Pablo Orantes (18-14 3.10) and Denny Kristensen (17-14 3.30)... and two quality bats in future HOF'er LF Quincy Peterson (.272/22/94/98) and RF Joel Reed (.299/24/114/79)... both are getting up in age and tapering off in offensive numbers... at 39 and 37, both have over 1000 RBIs and 1000 runs lifetime... the Sports are a bad fielding team with a .967 FA.

Page Satcher's Ranford Bulls (75-79) improved a bit over last year and came in fifth in the RU North, 14 games off the pace... Ranford's top hurlers were Val Hudson (20-14 3.40) and Charlie Aston (17-15 3.67)... the Bulls were wretched at the plate with a .247 (25th) batting average... bad defense, too, with a .968 FA.

The Ancona Red Elephants (73-81) were the darlings of the league at mid-season... Manny Mickens actually had them in first place, but they swooned in the second half and fell 16 games behind and into the sixth spot in the standings... standouts were rookie Clete Dukas (17-15 3.54) and veteran reliever John Sharpe (5-6 2.90) on the mound... Sharpe posted 23 saves... and All-Star LF Kenny Willard (.332/43/117/111), who had a career season... and LF Louie DiMucci (.302/25/81/87), who started strong, but fell off in the second half.

It was not a good year for manager J. Jackson Samuel in Valmara (69-85)... the Vipers finished seventh, 20 games out... they were terrible at the plate with .241 mark (32nd)... however All-Star Vanya Vasylenko (20-13 2.94) had a remarkable season on the hill... and rookie closer Frank Favazzo (3-1 1.99) stood out and showed potential with 16 saves after taking over the spot at mid-year.

The Glasco Athletics (64-90) slumped badly and wound up 25 games behind and in the cellar... McDuffie Hughes is accustomed to being a first-division team... it's the first time the A's have finished last in the RU North... his best performers were starter Nick DeVille (17-15 3.64), reliever Jack Hatcher (2-2 2.81) with 22 saves and All-Star SS Lee Sullivan (.281/22/88/80).

10-15-2010, 02:50 PM	#2045
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,695 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 20, 2016 2016 Ruthlandian North Final Recap FM Redhawks Back On Top, Edge Tars 2015 was an "off-year" for Far Mountain - they finished second to the Pro Cup champion Taranto Tars - but this season the Redhawks regrouped, recharged and captured their seventh RU North pennant in eight years, topping Taranto by 3 games. Kilkenny was third, 7 games back. No other team was close. Far Mountain Redhawks (89-65) were paced by All-Star SS Don Nichols (.324/27/104/121) and CF Jonas Boehm (.322/22/98/93)... however manager Alex Groveland's strong point was his pitching staff, led by 39-year-old Robby Kelly (18-8 3.82) and 24-year-old Woody Crawford (20-14 3.12)... the Redhawks play good defense with a healthy .976 FA... offensively they are only average with a .260 average (17th), but Far Mountain was 9th in scoring... look for the Redhawks to be a serious contender for the Pro Cup trophy in this year's playoffs. Tommaso Lazzorda was disappointed that the Taranto Tars (86-68) will not get a chance to defend its IPA title... the Tars still hit the dickens out of the ball with 216 homers (1st), still have good starters and still play good defense, but they just couldn't beat Far Mountain... Taranto led the RU with a .277 BA, had decent pitching considering they play in a very small stadium and are good defensively with a .977 FA... Vito Incardona (21-11 2.83) had a brilliant season... former closer Angelo Zinacola (19-6 3.70) made a good transition to starting... and Chazzie DeBartolo (16-11 4.18) had a good season, too... at bat it was All-Stars LF Arnie Kennedy (.324/37/107/114) and RF Augie Marshall (.313/39/122/95) that led the way with help from 2B Ed Miles (.288/23/99/116). The Kilkenny Cats (82-72) are a good ball club, but can't match the bats of Far Mountain and Taranto... skipper Kieran McKenna has two strong starters in Sidney McFarland (20-15 2.36) and Kyle Ferguson (19-13 3.15)... but only one good hitter in 1B Monty Edwards (.294/13/103/71). The LaGrange Sports (76-78) wound up in fourth place and trailed by 13 games... Foxy Jimison has two quality starters: vets Pablo Orantes (18-14 3.10) and Denny Kristensen (17-14 3.30)... and two quality bats in future HOF'er LF Quincy Peterson (.272/22/94/98) and RF Joel Reed (.299/24/114/79)... both are getting up in age and tapering off in offensive numbers... at 39 and 37, both have over 1000 RBIs and 1000 runs lifetime... the Sports are a bad fielding team with a .967 FA. Page Satcher's Ranford Bulls (75-79) improved a bit over last year and came in fifth in the RU North, 14 games off the pace... Ranford's top hurlers were Val Hudson (20-14 3.40) and Charlie Aston (17-15 3.67)... the Bulls were wretched at the plate with a .247 (25th) batting average... bad defense, too, with a .968 FA. The Ancona Red Elephants (73-81) were the darlings of the league at mid-season... Manny Mickens actually had them in first place, but they swooned in the second half and fell 16 games behind and into the sixth spot in the standings... standouts were rookie Clete Dukas (17-15 3.54) and veteran reliever John Sharpe (5-6 2.90) on the mound... Sharpe posted 23 saves... and All-Star LF Kenny Willard (.332/43/117/111), who had a career season... and LF Louie DiMucci (.302/25/81/87), who started strong, but fell off in the second half. It was not a good year for manager J. Jackson Samuel in Valmara (69-85)... the Vipers finished seventh, 20 games out... they were terrible at the plate with .241 mark (32nd)... however All-Star Vanya Vasylenko (20-13 2.94) had a remarkable season on the hill... and rookie closer Frank Favazzo (3-1 1.99) stood out and showed potential with 16 saves after taking over the spot at mid-year. The Glasco Athletics (64-90) slumped badly and wound up 25 games behind and in the cellar... McDuffie Hughes is accustomed to being a first-division team... it's the first time the A's have finished last in the RU North... his best performers were starter Nick DeVille (17-15 3.64), reliever Jack Hatcher (2-2 2.81) with 22 saves and All-Star SS Lee Sullivan (.281/22/88/80). Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-16-2010 at 10:23 PM.