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Eugene Church · 10-17-2010, 10:16 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 20, 2016

2016 Ruthlandian West Final Recap

Nothing New, Colfax Wins RU West Again
It's old hat in the Ruthlandian West, the Colfax Blasters claimed their 7th division flag in the last 9 years, but it wasn't easy. Runner-up Rocky Rapids held a 3-game lead with 3 games to go, but lost all 3 games and allowed Colfax to catch them on the final day of the season. The Blasters won their final 3 games, then beat the Snappers 6-0 in a one-game playoff for the division crown. Volusia was a very close third, just 1.5 games off the pace. The Vigilantes took its final 4 games, but needed Colfax to stumble to force a 3-way playoff, which didn't happen. The Forest City Lumberjacks finished fourth, 5.5 games behind Colfax. The RU West is the strongest division in the IPA with five top-level teams. Even fifth-place Fort Benton was 14 games over the .500 mark.

Clem Rogers' Colfax Blasters (93-62) won again with super pitching... his mound staff compiled a sensational 2.92 team ERA, the best in the IPA... rookie Cliff James (18-5 2.17) was his ace... vets Rodger Wright (18-15 2.98) and Jimmy Joe Cartner ( 17-12 3.09) could have easily won 20 games with better run support... Colfax won despite losing its ace hurler Ilya Szabo (10-6 2.07) due to back injury in mid-June... Szabo will not be back this year... offense is a big hurdle for the Blasters, who batted a lowly .243 (30th)... Rogers' best batters are CF Ryan Raines (.292/22/101/94) and 2B Ilya Ivanchuk (.292/8/55/111)... other contributors are LF Tony Tanaka (.263/16/61/111) and C Joe Alexander (.222/30/95/78)... in the past few seasons Colfax has not been able to overcome better-hitting teams in the Pro Cup playoffs... could be the same outcome this year.

For the past four seasons the Rocky Rapids Snappers (92-63) have strongly contended for the RU West title, but lost out each time... this was the year for Ryan Noland's ball club, but it wasn't to be... the Snappers went into a fatal tailspin, winning just 2 of the last 10 games, while Colfax was 7-3 down the stretch... Noland has a rock-solid team with excellent hitting and fine pitching, but dismal defense... the Snappers committed 75 more errors during the season than Colfax... Rocky Rapids has a poor .966 FA to Colfax's .973 FA... the top Snappers at the plate were All-Star LF Scott Camden (.292/51/133/123), All-Star C Hank Bethel (.325/29/98/91), 3B Paul Shelton (.287/30/103/85) and SS Cooter Bermudez (.280/5/54/101)... Camden had great season and led the RU with 51 homers... Bethel made the All-Star team for a record 10th time... closer Earl Pitts (9-3 2.49) had an excellent year with 32 saves... All-Star Don Chaney (19-12 2.82) was also outstanding... Norrie Wickham (17-11 3.69) and Junior Noland (16-16 3.50) were solid starters, too.

Just like Rocky Rapids, the Volusia Vigilantes (91-63) have also been in the thick of things the last four seasons with nothing to show for it... Alfonso Feliz has a fine ball club with standout pitching and good hitting... The V's compiled a 3.09 team ERA (2nd), were fourth in scoring and had a .273 batting average (2nd)... heading up the pitching rotation were All-Star Gerry Hersh (18-11 2.79), Todd Wolfe (21-12 2.82) and Tanner Jacobs (18-14 3.61), along with closer Mark Carey (4-3 1.71), who saved 15 games... Feliz lost his 2015 ace Alejandro Rio (5-4 4.00) in mid-May for the season... Rio was 16-5 last year... topping the hitters were All-Star SS Vince Wilson (.335/31/120/111), All-Star CF Joe DeLucca (.377/36/110/146) and 1B Rafael Garza (.318/6/46/91)... DeLucca had a marvelous year and led the IPA with a .377 BA and 146 runs.

The Forest City Lumberjacks (84-70) were right up there with the three leaders until they collapsed in September with a 4-13 record... They lost All-Star rookie pitcher Tommy Zenon (13-3 2.63) for the season due to an arm injury in mid-July... Rob Jackson's Lumberjacks wound up fourth and 5.5 games off the pace... Power hitting and good pitching paved the way... the 'Jacks were fourth with a 3.29 ERA and sixth with 153 roundtrippers... 12-year-vet Ernie Hill (22-11 2.98) led the staff with his best season ever... 15-year vet Al Thibaut (19-12 2.77) also posted his best season... 22-year-old closer Andy Velasco (4-6 2.01) was quite stingy as the closer... Velasco had 19 saves... All-Star LF Joe Judlin (.276/32/95/89) and RF Sonny Harrison (.252/30/80/63) were the Lumberjacks best run producers, along with 1B Andy Doiron (.280/13/79/84) and CF Luc St. Germain (.282/16/70/91).

Manager Robbie Brooks has a quality team in Fort Benton (84-70) that finished fifth in the standings, but only 8.5 games behind leading Colfax... the Defenders hit .268 (4th), but had trouble scoring (12th) with only 110 home runs (27th)... Brooks' pitching was a little better than average with a 3.64 ERA (10th)... Cal Walger (15-15 3.14) was his best starter and All-Star David Osborn (9-9 2.47) led his bullpen with 26 saves... CF Ryan Smith (.299/21/90/84), LF Forest Cummings (.287/19/96/53) and 1B Stretch Stookey (.319/13/74/91) sparked the offense.

Even the the sixth-place Middlefield Roosters and Sligo Rovers almost played .500 ball in a very tough division... Both teams were 17.5 games out of first... Middlefield (75-79) hit well with a .268 BA (6th), but lacked scoring with only 118 homers (18th), despite playing in a small stadium... skipper Smitty Michaels' best bats belonged to 1B Ricky Tinker (.315/18/89/99), RF Cecil Clark (.305/24/86/80) and SS Jim Rose (.301/14/66/88)... rookie CF Chuck Larkin led the squad with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in, but batted only .251... Overall, the Roosters rotation fared poorly with a 4.47 team ERA (29th), but did have some quality arms... starters Buddy Kennedy (16-10 4.14) and Frank Dean (17-16 3.75) both had much better ERA's on the road, away from the short fences at Middlefield Park.

The Sligo Rovers (75-79) had four quality starters, but not much of a bullpen or offense... Eddie Keys's club chalked up a 3.69 ERA (13th), but hit only .245 (28th)... Sligo had two fine starters in veteran Jasper LaForge (23-11 2.81) and Luka Abromowitz (17-16 3.35)... LaForge won 20 games for the 7th time in his 16 IPA seasons... He is only 34 and has a shot at 300 victories before he retires... LaForge is 268-191 in his career... CF Chris Michel (.321/20/70/109) and 3B Manny Alou (.255/37/100/86) were the Rovers biggest run producers.

Statistically the Stoner Stars (69-85) were an average team, but record-wise they ended up in the cellar, 23.5 games back of first place Colfax... the Stars batted .265 (12th) and registered a 3.84 ERA (16th)... but they do have several very talented players in pitcher Billy Chapel (17-14 2.83) and LF Mike Jaffe (.330/31/101/96)... 28-year-old 1B Robert Dunbar (.328/22/73/73) could be a budding star that's about to bloom.

10-17-2010, 10:16 PM	#2051
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,695 Blog Entries: 1	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 20, 2016 2016 Ruthlandian West Final Recap Nothing New, Colfax Wins RU West Again It's old hat in the Ruthlandian West, the Colfax Blasters claimed their 7th division flag in the last 9 years, but it wasn't easy. Runner-up Rocky Rapids held a 3-game lead with 3 games to go, but lost all 3 games and allowed Colfax to catch them on the final day of the season. The Blasters won their final 3 games, then beat the Snappers 6-0 in a one-game playoff for the division crown. Volusia was a very close third, just 1.5 games off the pace. The Vigilantes took its final 4 games, but needed Colfax to stumble to force a 3-way playoff, which didn't happen. The Forest City Lumberjacks finished fourth, 5.5 games behind Colfax. The RU West is the strongest division in the IPA with five top-level teams. Even fifth-place Fort Benton was 14 games over the .500 mark. Clem Rogers' Colfax Blasters (93-62) won again with super pitching... his mound staff compiled a sensational 2.92 team ERA, the best in the IPA... rookie Cliff James (18-5 2.17) was his ace... vets Rodger Wright (18-15 2.98) and Jimmy Joe Cartner ( 17-12 3.09) could have easily won 20 games with better run support... Colfax won despite losing its ace hurler Ilya Szabo (10-6 2.07) due to back injury in mid-June... Szabo will not be back this year... offense is a big hurdle for the Blasters, who batted a lowly .243 (30th)... Rogers' best batters are CF Ryan Raines (.292/22/101/94) and 2B Ilya Ivanchuk (.292/8/55/111)... other contributors are LF Tony Tanaka (.263/16/61/111) and C Joe Alexander (.222/30/95/78)... in the past few seasons Colfax has not been able to overcome better-hitting teams in the Pro Cup playoffs... could be the same outcome this year. For the past four seasons the Rocky Rapids Snappers (92-63) have strongly contended for the RU West title, but lost out each time... this was the year for Ryan Noland's ball club, but it wasn't to be... the Snappers went into a fatal tailspin, winning just 2 of the last 10 games, while Colfax was 7-3 down the stretch... Noland has a rock-solid team with excellent hitting and fine pitching, but dismal defense... the Snappers committed 75 more errors during the season than Colfax... Rocky Rapids has a poor .966 FA to Colfax's .973 FA... the top Snappers at the plate were All-Star LF Scott Camden (.292/51/133/123), All-Star C Hank Bethel (.325/29/98/91), 3B Paul Shelton (.287/30/103/85) and SS Cooter Bermudez (.280/5/54/101)... Camden had great season and led the RU with 51 homers... Bethel made the All-Star team for a record 10th time... closer Earl Pitts (9-3 2.49) had an excellent year with 32 saves... All-Star Don Chaney (19-12 2.82) was also outstanding... Norrie Wickham (17-11 3.69) and Junior Noland (16-16 3.50) were solid starters, too. Just like Rocky Rapids, the Volusia Vigilantes (91-63) have also been in the thick of things the last four seasons with nothing to show for it... Alfonso Feliz has a fine ball club with standout pitching and good hitting... The V's compiled a 3.09 team ERA (2nd), were fourth in scoring and had a .273 batting average (2nd)... heading up the pitching rotation were All-Star Gerry Hersh (18-11 2.79), Todd Wolfe (21-12 2.82) and Tanner Jacobs (18-14 3.61), along with closer Mark Carey (4-3 1.71), who saved 15 games... Feliz lost his 2015 ace Alejandro Rio (5-4 4.00) in mid-May for the season... Rio was 16-5 last year... topping the hitters were All-Star SS Vince Wilson (.335/31/120/111), All-Star CF Joe DeLucca (.377/36/110/146) and 1B Rafael Garza (.318/6/46/91)... DeLucca had a marvelous year and led the IPA with a .377 BA and 146 runs. The Forest City Lumberjacks (84-70) were right up there with the three leaders until they collapsed in September with a 4-13 record... They lost All-Star rookie pitcher Tommy Zenon (13-3 2.63) for the season due to an arm injury in mid-July... Rob Jackson's Lumberjacks wound up fourth and 5.5 games off the pace... Power hitting and good pitching paved the way... the 'Jacks were fourth with a 3.29 ERA and sixth with 153 roundtrippers... 12-year-vet Ernie Hill (22-11 2.98) led the staff with his best season ever... 15-year vet Al Thibaut (19-12 2.77) also posted his best season... 22-year-old closer Andy Velasco (4-6 2.01) was quite stingy as the closer... Velasco had 19 saves... All-Star LF Joe Judlin (.276/32/95/89) and RF Sonny Harrison (.252/30/80/63) were the Lumberjacks best run producers, along with 1B Andy Doiron (.280/13/79/84) and CF Luc St. Germain (.282/16/70/91). Manager Robbie Brooks has a quality team in Fort Benton (84-70) that finished fifth in the standings, but only 8.5 games behind leading Colfax... the Defenders hit .268 (4th), but had trouble scoring (12th) with only 110 home runs (27th)... Brooks' pitching was a little better than average with a 3.64 ERA (10th)... Cal Walger (15-15 3.14) was his best starter and All-Star David Osborn (9-9 2.47) led his bullpen with 26 saves... CF Ryan Smith (.299/21/90/84), LF Forest Cummings (.287/19/96/53) and 1B Stretch Stookey (.319/13/74/91) sparked the offense. Even the the sixth-place Middlefield Roosters and Sligo Rovers almost played .500 ball in a very tough division... Both teams were 17.5 games out of first... Middlefield (75-79) hit well with a .268 BA (6th), but lacked scoring with only 118 homers (18th), despite playing in a small stadium... skipper Smitty Michaels' best bats belonged to 1B Ricky Tinker (.315/18/89/99), RF Cecil Clark (.305/24/86/80) and SS Jim Rose (.301/14/66/88)... rookie CF Chuck Larkin led the squad with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in, but batted only .251... Overall, the Roosters rotation fared poorly with a 4.47 team ERA (29th), but did have some quality arms... starters Buddy Kennedy (16-10 4.14) and Frank Dean (17-16 3.75) both had much better ERA's on the road, away from the short fences at Middlefield Park. The Sligo Rovers (75-79) had four quality starters, but not much of a bullpen or offense... Eddie Keys's club chalked up a 3.69 ERA (13th), but hit only .245 (28th)... Sligo had two fine starters in veteran Jasper LaForge (23-11 2.81) and Luka Abromowitz (17-16 3.35)... LaForge won 20 games for the 7th time in his 16 IPA seasons... He is only 34 and has a shot at 300 victories before he retires... LaForge is 268-191 in his career... CF Chris Michel (.321/20/70/109) and 3B Manny Alou (.255/37/100/86) were the Rovers biggest run producers. Statistically the Stoner Stars (69-85) were an average team, but record-wise they ended up in the cellar, 23.5 games back of first place Colfax... the Stars batted .265 (12th) and registered a 3.84 ERA (16th)... but they do have several very talented players in pitcher Billy Chapel (17-14 2.83) and LF Mike Jaffe (.330/31/101/96)... 28-year-old 1B Robert Dunbar (.328/22/73/73) could be a budding star that's about to bloom. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-17-2010 at 11:49 PM.