[Eugene Church]

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

Scribes Select Ozarka 2020 Pro Cup Champs

1. Ozarka Naturals (93-61)

Ozarka TU East Champs, Spurts To 6th Straight Flag
Halfway through the 2020 season it wasn't going very well for defending Ruthlandian East champion Ozarka. The Naturals were fifth in the standings and trailed leader Hillsboro by 7 games at the All-Star Game, but they didn't give up. Ozarka put on a second-half surge and won its sixth straight pennant with a spurt at the end, scooting by second-place Midway by a game and third-place Hillsboro by 2. The Red Bluff Red Sox came in fourth in the hectic race, just 4 games off the pace... The Nats had to win 9 of the last 10 to capture the division crown. Midway dropped out of the lead with a 6-4 mark and Hillsboro played very well with a 7-3 record, but still lost out to Ozarka.

Ozarka proved itself in the toughest division in the IPA, where they are seven quality clubs ... five of them finished .500 or better... Joe Mac Carney has strong batting and strong pitching, ranking first with a .294 team batting average, fifth in scoring and ninth with 150 roundtrippers... ranking first with a 3.23 team ERA... and coming in tied for third in the IPA with a sterling .977 FA, second in the TU... That's quite a ball team heading into the Pro Cup playoffs... the Naturals feature six .300 hitters in the batting order, led by RF Ken Mayberry (.328/5/49/102), 1B Kenny Rousseau (.318/40/97/100), platooners at 2B Todd Chadwick (.330/8/53/52) and Teddy Tate (.317/4/38/25), 3B Andre Dumas (.310/36/117/99), CF Ryoma Nakayama (.306/7/54/85) and SS James Couch (.305/15/82/90)... on the mound a revitalized Eddie Roberts (18-3 2.44) led the way, adding another strong arm to the already potent rotation of Benny Osterman (21-11 2.38), Yuka Nawajuk (23-9 3.30) and Howard Hutch (14-13 3.96)... Ozarka has lost in its three Pro Cup Final appearances, but is ready again to make a serious challenge... last season Rocky Rapids swept them in the championship round... this year, however, is another year... the Nats are better this year and will be the 2020 Pro Cup champion.

2. Ancona Red Elephants (92-62)

Ancona Back On Top In RU North
After a year absence the Ancona Red Elephants have returned atop the Ruthlandian North, replacing the Taranto Tars, who fell down sixth this year. Ancona fought Valmara, Ranford and Far Mountain most of the year, finally beating the Vipers by 4 games, the resurging Bulls by 6 games and the Redhawks by 9.

Ancona manager Manny Mickens got improved pitching and solid batting, led on the hill by ace Clete Dukas (22-10 2.69), rookie standout Spiros Zodiates (17-12 3.82) and closer Lynwood Marshall (4-3 2.61 30 saves) and at the plate by 3B Todd Nasso (.317/33/112/125), LF Kenny Willard (.287/26/110/106), CF Ken Rutledge (.320/14/94/81), RF Louis DiMucci (.306/20/66/105) and 1B Alekos Kotas (.289/28/85/106)... the Red Elephants went to the Pro Cup finals two years ago... they are ready to compete again... no big surprise if the Red Elephants roar up and win it all.

3. Arroyo Grande Suns (95-59)

Suns Shine In TU South, Dethrone Turon
Cyclone Cobb has turned Arroyo Grande into a fine franchise. The Suns broke a 19-year drought and finally made the Pro Cup playoffs, knocking off the powerful Turon Typhoons in the process. The Typhoons had won the Tycobbian South for four years in succession. It was a tough race for Arroyo Grande. Runner-up Ginza fought long and hard the entire year, but finally lost out by 4 games. Third place Turon waited too late to make its move and came up 6 games short. Southport came in fourth in the standings and 8 games behind in the pennant chase.

Arroyo Grande has a well-rounded ball club and should go far in the playoffs... they led the TU with the most wins, compiling a 95-59 record... the Suns batted .270 (4th), walloped 189 homers (4th), were second-best in scoring and had a good 3.62 team ERA (8th)... numbers that should serve them well in the Pro Cup playoffs... Cobb possess three solid starters and a very capable closer... Earl O'Reilly (23-11 2.44) was outstanding this season... Ernie Matthews (25-11 3.91) was another 20-game winner... and Sixto Zamora (18-10 3.28) had a fine year... relief ace Jason Patrick (5-3) saved 29 games with a very inpressive 1.43 ERA... Arroyo Grande is deep in the batting order, too... LF Eduardo Villanueva (.318/24/101/111), SS Andy Pearson (.297/22/103/107), C Gary Troxell (.333/35/122/85), 3B Randy Warren (.328/7/51/96) and RF Buddy Bechtel are a very formidable line-up... Look for an Arroyo Grande-Ozarka Final 4, which should be a dynamite series.

4. Beechwood Bobcats (88-66)

Bobcats Upset Elegants In RU East
Beechwood ended 19 long frustrating years of failure and finally captured its first Ruthlandian East flag, but it didn't come easy. To do it the Bobcats had to beat out of of the best teams in the IPA, the powerful Eastshore Elegants, who had ruled the division with an iron fist with 4 consecutive titles. Beechwood always played second fiddle to the Elegants, at least in the last 4 seasons, when the Bobcats finished second or third. Beechwood took a close race by 2 games over Eastshore. The Bobcats also had to fight off the revitalized Wynnamac Sundowners, who closed out the season playing their best ball and came up 3 games short in third place, after trailing by 7 games at mid-year. The Sugar Valley Rattlers were fourth and wound up 9 games back.

Beechwood relied on strong pitching (6th) to subdue the Elegants, led by two standout starters in Billy Ray (19-13 2.96) and rookie Marty Panko (17-10 2.96)... Bret George's number three was no slouch either... Stephen Ladd was 18-10 with a fine 3.37 ERA... number four starter Kevin Timms did well at times with a 12-8 mark and a decent 4.06 ERA... closer Jeff Lyons (3-5) was outstanding with 34 saves and a 2.59 ERA in 51 appearances... offense was adequate with a .265 BA (6th)... the Bobcats bats were 11th with 148 homers, but did not score well (19th)... star CF Vic Valenti again led the club with a .342 BA, 39 home runs, 122 RBIs and 118 runs... LF Ryan Ray (.292/34/93/78) and RF Freddie Baxter (.287/10/84/79) chipped in some power and run production... If strong pitching can win the Pro Cup, the Bobcats have a shot... Bret George really might need a little more firepower to get past the current Pro Cup holder, the Rocky Rapids Snappers... the Snappers possess a balanced attack, but are not as strong as they have been over the past four years when the won the division crown... if Beechwood can get by Rocky Rapids, they will likely encounter another club with good pitching and good bats, the talented Ancona Red Elephants... Ancona is favored to whip Crystal Lake in the RU Elite 8... Beechwood and Rocky Rapids is mighty close... the Bobcats pitching gives them a very slight edge over the Snappers... Ancona gets the nod in the RU Final 4 over Beechwood because of a better offense.

5. Rocky Rapids Snappers (88-66)

Snappers Win 4th Straight RU West
The reigning Pro Cup champion Rocky Rapids racked up its fourth Ruthlandian West crown in a row, but didn't do it in a snap this year. The Volusia Vigilantes almost stole it with a late-season rush that fell 2 games short. The Sligo Rovers hung close most of the season and came in third in the race, just 5 games back of the Snappers. The Stoner Stars surged in the second half and finished fourth, trailing by 11 games.

Ryan Noland's Rocky Rapids Snappers head into the postseason with excellent power and scoring, good hitting and adequate pitching - a pretty good combination for winning another Pro Cup... the Snappers slugged 184 homers (3rd), ranked 4th in scoring, 9th in batting and 12th in pitching... Noland's top bats are 2B Paul Shelton (.286/40/138/94), who led the RU for the fourth straight year with 138 RBIs, CF Carl Johnson (.296/27/69/92), 1B Don Timmons (.272/25/73/66) and LF Rob Barton (.335/14/84/102)... on the hill the Snappers were paced by Don Chaney (20-12 2.62)... Joe Anderson (14-16 3.78) and Junior Noland (17-16 4.07), who usually ring up 20 wins, had lackluster years... Milt Baker (4-6) did a nice job again as closer with a strong 2.52 ERA and 22 saves... pitching may be Rocky Rapids Achilles' heel this season... All the other RU division champs appear to be stronger in that department than the Snappers... Noland is hoping he can hold his own on the mound and win with offense.

6. Crystal Lake Crushers (87-67)

2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats
After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games.

Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) is just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting.

7. Luxora Zorros (93-61)

Z's Zip To 4th TU North In A Row
The Luxora Zorros logged their fourth Tycobbian North title in a row by nipping the Hartsdale Hellcats by 3 games. But it was a little close for comfort. Going into the last two weeks the Hellcats had a slight edge. Luxora really had no other challengers. Luxora and Hartsdale were the only two teams in the division to have winning records. Third place Blue Lake wound up 20 games behind and fourth place Fairfax was 23 games off the pace.

Luxora won again because of two talented pitchers... starter Tiago Torres (25-10 2.06) and closer Jay Brewer (12-5) pretty much carried the load... Torres led the TU with a 2.06 ERA and the IPA with 8 shutouts and 23 complete games... Torres tied with two other pitchers for the most victories in the IPA... Brewer saved 21 games with a 2.67 ERA... manager Cristo Viamonte didn't have much offense... 3B Pablo Santa Cruz (.283/6/61/102), C Jim Thorpe Chandler (.277/23/87/84) and RF Jon Stafford (.264/24/86/97) put up most of the team's modest offense... it will be tough for Luxora to get very far in the postseason... the Z's just don't have the talent of other playoff teams... the only reason they get into the playoffs is because they play in one of the weakest divisions in the IPA.

8. Arlon Champions - RU West (79-75)

Champs Are Champs In TU West
Top to bottom, the closest divisional race in the IPA this season was in the Tycobbian West. Only 12 games separated first place from last place. The TU West was also the weakest division in the IPA with only one team having a winning record and that was just barely. The Arlon Champions won the crown with a 79-75 mark, edging out Chicopee by 2 games. The Braves broke even this year with a 77-77 record. Chicopee had a 3-game edge at the All-Star break, but couldn't hold off the Champs. The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers were just 4 games back and in the third spot and rounding out the first division were last year's flag winner Rolling Hills, 7 games off the pace.

Gary Louis won the his third pennant in 19 seasons in Arlon, but he really didn't have much to shout about talent-wise this year... the Champions are just an average ball club, playing in a very weak division... Arlon's top hurlers were Armando Cruz (13-11 3.76) and Terry Nuxhall (12-11 3.76), only average at best... the top hitters were superstar Rocco Belasari (.335/34/98/122), reliable CF Chucky Gilton (.289/22/108/77), RF Scott Connor (.290/23/66/99) and 3B Sandy Coburn (.265/2/54/103)... it's not likely Arlon will get very far in the Pro Cup playoffs... the first round opponent is powerhouse Ozarka, one of the strongest teams in the postseason this year and a Pro Cup finalist last year.