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Eugene Church · 02-22-2011, 10:51 PM

The Islandian Times
Thursday, June 24, 2021

2021 Ruthlanian South Mid-Season Recap

Cybercats, Crushers, Crusaders Compete For RU South
The defending Pro Cup champion Crystal Lake Crushers have some stiff competition at the midway point in the Ruthlandian South. They are getting it from a likely source, the Grand City Cybercats, and from an unlikely source, the division doormat, the St. John Crusaders. Grand City is in first place with a game edge over the Crushers. The two clubs battled tooth-and-nail last season before Crystal Lake nudged them out in the final days of the year. St. John, a perpetual cellar-dweller, is the surprise of the IPA. The Crusaders are in third place and only 2 games back in the race. In the fourth spot are the Valka Blackhawks, 7 games behind.

Manager Wade Joslin has put together a solid club in Grand City with good hitting and scoring as well adequate pitching with four quality starters... The Cybercats are not scared of Crystal Lake and should make it quite a tussle this year in the RU South... They don't have a lot of firepower, but do hit for average (.270) and can score runs... heading up the batting order are All-Star LF Ricky Rich (.358/7 HR), RF Nick Baldini (.295/9 HR) and 3B Jug Slavin (.288/3 HR)... in addition, Grand City is a good club defensively with a .977 FA... the Cybercats handle themselves well on the mound with Clint Brewer (9-5 3.01), Jimbo Stearns (6-6 2.99), Randy Andrews (7-5 3.50) and Brent Sturgis (6-4 3.71)... in the bullpen Ralph Teague (1-1) has been dominating with a 1.01 ERA and 12 saves... Grand City's overall balance may give them the edge over Crystal Lake this season.

Crystal Lake was the Cinderella club of the Islands last season, when they unexpectedly went all the way and upset mighty Ozarka in the Pro Cup in 5 games... Baby George has the same squad back this year with the same good pitching, same weak hitting and same excellent defense... last year's all-everything Duncan Welch (10-7 2.48) and Ralph McCollough (10-4 2.11) lead the pitching corps again... as long as they stay healthy the Crushers will be in the hunt... at the plate only 1B Phil Gravelli (.260/9 HR) offers any threat at all.

The St. John Crusaders have a new manager and a new attitude... playing manager Skinny Kisecawchuk has certainly turned things around for the perennial losers... They have jumped from last to third this season, doing it with fine pitching, especially in the bullpen... As long as Teddy Garson (11-4 2.97), Pat Long (11-6 2.37) and great rookie closer Jeremy Vincent keep pitching well, the Crusaders might be able to hang close the Grand City and Crystal Lake... at the plate the club can't hit a lick... only long-time star 3B Vinny Sardisco (.293/11 HR) can get the job done.

The Valka Blackhawks are below the .500 mark... Andrei Kokk relies on good pitching, but has mediocre hitting... veteran Arno Vainmaa (9-6 3.49) leads the starter staff and closer Robby Riley (0-3) leads a very fine bullpen with 13 saves and a 1.99 ERA... CF Tomi Viikberg (.309/9 HR) tops the hitters... LF Glen Nance (.209/15 HR) hits with power, but doesn't connect often enough... Valka lack of offense makes them a middle-of-the-pack team.

Fifth-place Claxton has the hitting, but is woefully lacking in pitching with a 5.05 ERA, one of the worst in the IPA... The Diamonds trail by 10 games at the All-Star break... if skipper Stacy Engel can find some decent arms in the second half, they can move up a little, perhaps fourth or third, but are no threat to Grand City and Crystal Lake... Engel has some quality bats with 1B Mike Luzzatti (.330/9 HR), LF George McKay (.303/8 HR), All-Star C Allen Lemay (.294/11 HR) and 2B Donnie Pilsner (.279/11 HR).

In the past few years Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds have gone from contender to just so-so... they have dropped to sixth this season and are 9 games under .500 and 10 games off the pace... the Sunbirds have two quality pitchers in Denny Whitaker (7-6 2.76) and Rik Flippen (5-8 2.81), but they get very little batting support... only LF Carlos Gomez (.294/13 HR) lends much offense.

Long-time San Dimas star 1B Ron Armstrong has taken over for manager Paco Banderos this year, but he just doesn't have much talent... the Rancheros don't hit, don't pitch and don't win... they are deadlocked with Waleska for last place, 12 games behind RU South leader Grand City... closer Raul Marroquin (2-3) at age 32 still gets the job done in the bullpen with 14 saves and a fine 1.47 ERA... CF Andre Drexel (.299/6 HR) is the only hitter of any note... not much after that.

It's gonna be another long season in Waleska for McGraw Johnson... his Westerners are last again with not too much hope of getting higher because of pitiful hitting... Waleska has a quality pitching staff, but just can't put runs on the scoreboard... a team should be able to win with a 3.49 ERA (9th) if it has decent hitting and run production... Doug Watts (5-12 3.18) and Sammy Grimaldi (5-11 3.34) are solid and steady starters and deserve better... closer Marv Cook (3-2) is strong in the bullpen with 12 saves and a 2.11 ERA... superstar CF Roy Hobbs (.325/17 HR) and rock-solid 3B Grant Betzer (.320/5 HR) have to carry the entire offensive load and get little help from anyone else.

02-22-2011, 10:51 PM	#2378
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,924	*The Islandian Times* Thursday, June 24, 2021 2021 Ruthlanian South Mid-Season Recap Cybercats, Crushers, Crusaders Compete For RU South The defending Pro Cup champion Crystal Lake Crushers have some stiff competition at the midway point in the Ruthlandian South. They are getting it from a likely source, the Grand City Cybercats, and from an unlikely source, the division doormat, the St. John Crusaders. Grand City is in first place with a game edge over the Crushers. The two clubs battled tooth-and-nail last season before Crystal Lake nudged them out in the final days of the year. St. John, a perpetual cellar-dweller, is the surprise of the IPA. The Crusaders are in third place and only 2 games back in the race. In the fourth spot are the Valka Blackhawks, 7 games behind. Manager Wade Joslin has put together a solid club in Grand City with good hitting and scoring as well adequate pitching with four quality starters... The Cybercats are not scared of Crystal Lake and should make it quite a tussle this year in the RU South... They don't have a lot of firepower, but do hit for average (.270) and can score runs... heading up the batting order are All-Star LF Ricky Rich (.358/7 HR), RF Nick Baldini (.295/9 HR) and 3B Jug Slavin (.288/3 HR)... in addition, Grand City is a good club defensively with a .977 FA... the Cybercats handle themselves well on the mound with Clint Brewer (9-5 3.01), Jimbo Stearns (6-6 2.99), Randy Andrews (7-5 3.50) and Brent Sturgis (6-4 3.71)... in the bullpen Ralph Teague (1-1) has been dominating with a 1.01 ERA and 12 saves... Grand City's overall balance may give them the edge over Crystal Lake this season. Crystal Lake was the Cinderella club of the Islands last season, when they unexpectedly went all the way and upset mighty Ozarka in the Pro Cup in 5 games... Baby George has the same squad back this year with the same good pitching, same weak hitting and same excellent defense... last year's all-everything Duncan Welch (10-7 2.48) and Ralph McCollough (10-4 2.11) lead the pitching corps again... as long as they stay healthy the Crushers will be in the hunt... at the plate only 1B Phil Gravelli (.260/9 HR) offers any threat at all. The St. John Crusaders have a new manager and a new attitude... playing manager Skinny Kisecawchuk has certainly turned things around for the perennial losers... They have jumped from last to third this season, doing it with fine pitching, especially in the bullpen... As long as Teddy Garson (11-4 2.97), Pat Long (11-6 2.37) and great rookie closer Jeremy Vincent keep pitching well, the Crusaders might be able to hang close the Grand City and Crystal Lake... at the plate the club can't hit a lick... only long-time star 3B Vinny Sardisco (.293/11 HR) can get the job done. The Valka Blackhawks are below the .500 mark... Andrei Kokk relies on good pitching, but has mediocre hitting... veteran Arno Vainmaa (9-6 3.49) leads the starter staff and closer Robby Riley (0-3) leads a very fine bullpen with 13 saves and a 1.99 ERA... CF Tomi Viikberg (.309/9 HR) tops the hitters... LF Glen Nance (.209/15 HR) hits with power, but doesn't connect often enough... Valka lack of offense makes them a middle-of-the-pack team. Fifth-place Claxton has the hitting, but is woefully lacking in pitching with a 5.05 ERA, one of the worst in the IPA... The Diamonds trail by 10 games at the All-Star break... if skipper Stacy Engel can find some decent arms in the second half, they can move up a little, perhaps fourth or third, but are no threat to Grand City and Crystal Lake... Engel has some quality bats with 1B Mike Luzzatti (.330/9 HR), LF George McKay (.303/8 HR), All-Star C Allen Lemay (.294/11 HR) and 2B Donnie Pilsner (.279/11 HR). In the past few years Marty Pedroza's Belair Beach Sunbirds have gone from contender to just so-so... they have dropped to sixth this season and are 9 games under .500 and 10 games off the pace... the Sunbirds have two quality pitchers in Denny Whitaker (7-6 2.76) and Rik Flippen (5-8 2.81), but they get very little batting support... only LF Carlos Gomez (.294/13 HR) lends much offense. Long-time San Dimas star 1B Ron Armstrong has taken over for manager Paco Banderos this year, but he just doesn't have much talent... the Rancheros don't hit, don't pitch and don't win... they are deadlocked with Waleska for last place, 12 games behind RU South leader Grand City... closer Raul Marroquin (2-3) at age 32 still gets the job done in the bullpen with 14 saves and a fine 1.47 ERA... CF Andre Drexel (.299/6 HR) is the only hitter of any note... not much after that. It's gonna be another long season in Waleska for McGraw Johnson... his Westerners are last again with not too much hope of getting higher because of pitiful hitting... Waleska has a quality pitching staff, but just can't put runs on the scoreboard... a team should be able to win with a 3.49 ERA (9th) if it has decent hitting and run production... Doug Watts (5-12 3.18) and Sammy Grimaldi (5-11 3.34) are solid and steady starters and deserve better... closer Marv Cook (3-2) is strong in the bullpen with 12 saves and a 2.11 ERA... superstar CF Roy Hobbs (.325/17 HR) and rock-solid 3B Grant Betzer (.320/5 HR) have to carry the entire offensive load and get little help from anyone else. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-22-2011 at 11:18 PM.