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Eugene Church · 05-10-2011, 11:14 PM

The Islandian Times
Thursday, June 22, 2023

2023 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Recap

Glasco A's Rise To Top Of RU North
Stronger pitching has moved the Glasco Athletics up from fourth place to first place at mid-season in the Ruthlandian North, rising ahead of longtime power Ancona, who has won four of the last five pennants... manager Charles Darby's A's (45-28) have a 5-game edge over runner-up Valmara (40-33), who has jumped from sixth last year, also due to better pitching... neither club has much offense... Valmara stole Billy Ray from Beechwood and he has made a great addition to the pitching corps with a 10-6 record and a 2.24 ERA... Ray made the RU All-Stars and is only 30 years old... Glasco has a solid starting foursome... day-after-day Darby gets a good start from his impressive rotation of Bradley (10-6 2.78), Davidson (9-6 3.67), McAdams (7-4 3.15) and Todd (9-6 3.48)... Far Mountain (38-35) stands in third place and trails by 7 games... the Redhawks also rely on pitching... the fourth-place Ancona Red Elephants (36-37) have been decimated by retirements... ace Clete Dukas (143-84 2.91) called it a career at age 40 and Nikos Maragos (212-198 3.90) left at age 42 and 18 seasons... Ancona is 9 games off the pace.

RU North Outlook:
Glasco should win, but may get a battle from Valmara... no one else is a likely challenger.

CL Crushers Best In RU South Again
As long as Baby George can write Welch (13-6 1.94), McCullough (11-6 3.48), Taylor (11-5 2.31) and Bauer (6-5 2.21) on the line-up card, the Crystal Lake Crushers will be in the running for the Ruthlandian South flag... George has the best staff in the IPA with a super 2.63 ERA... the Crushers (48-25) are 5 games up on the vastly-improved Waleska Westerners (43-30), who lead the RU with a .282 team BA... brilliant CF Roy Hobbs (.368 BA/10 HR/48 RBI) has offense help now with rookie LF Loco Dillinger (.340 BA/9 HR/47 RBI)... but Crystal Lake has too much of an edge on the hill... forget about the rest of the RU South... third place is up for grabs with only last-place Belair Beach out of the running.

RU South Outlook:
Great pitching is hard to beat... look for Crystal Lake to pull away and win the division by around 10 games.

Eastshore and Elnora 1-2 In Tight RU East
The Ruthlandian East is the tighest race in the RU with five teams within 9 games of first place... Eastshore (47-26) is back in the thick of things after an off-year last year when they suffered a huge drop in offense and fell to fifth in the standings... this year Killer Brewster has strong pitching, headed up by longtime star Melvin Key (10-6 2.50) and rookie Randy Boone (13-4 2.15), both All-Stars... the Elegants long suit is the 3.02 team ERA (3rd)... Brewster has just adequate scoring, ranking 15th... Eastshore has a scant one-game lead over up-and-coming Elnora (46-27), who has bolted from seventh last season to second this year and doing it on the arms of some young twirlers... rookies Will Hamilton (8-4 2.49) and Lucien Vachon (9-4 2.66), along with vet Hal Wilkerson (9-8 3.12) give manager Sam Malone a solid starting nucleus... Wilkerson is 23, Hamilton 20 and Vachon is only 19... budding 22-year-old superstar RF Travis Glass (.329 BA/18 HR/49 RBI) has to carry almost all of the offense... the Beechwood Bobcats under Bret George are still a good club... the Bobcats (41-32) are third and within striking distance, just 6 games behind... George has pretty fair pitching and solid scoring... superstud CF Vic Valenti (.376 BA/16 HR/54 RBI) is leading the entire IPA in hitting and he has lots of help from standout rookie 3B-1B Skipper Smith (.336 BA/5 HR/31 RBI), RF Jojo Davis (.316 BA/2 HR/22 RBI) and LF Ryan Ray (.281 BA/10 HR/49 RBI)... the high-scoring Sugar Valley Rattlers (40-33) are in fourth place and trail by 7 games... skipper Gibby Bobkins has some big guns in CF Randall Hawson (.288 BA/18 HR/49 RBI), and two rookie sluggers, 1B Dean Woods (.342 BA/23 HR/53 RBI) and LF Marty Beckett (.308 BA/21 HR/59 RBI)... both Woods and Beckett made the All-Star team... rookie 2B Jan Kessinger (.307 BA/1 HR/25 RBI/43 R) has been a fine addition, too... the Rattlers just don't have the pitching to compete with the top teams... in Belle Plaine (38-35) Dave Torregrossa has posted a winning record... the Musketeers are in fifth place and 9 games out... Torregrossa has two fine starters in Johnny Davenport (11-5 3.03) and Rick Lafleur (10-7 3.33), along with some solid sticks in SS Slick Hammill (.343 BA/6 HR/36 RBI), rookie RF Leon Bourque (.311 BA/8 HR/44 RBI), CF Noel Norbert (.291 BA/2 HR/21 RBI/57 R) and 3B Tyler Verret (.272 BA/12 HR/41 RBI)... but the Musketeers will not challenge the leaders... Belle Plaine is a pitcher or two away from being a serious contender... sixth place Marston (34-39) and last place Cold Creek (30-43) will battle it out to stay out of the basement... last year's RU East winner Wynnamac (32-41) has collapsed to seventh place, 15 games back... Matt Donnelly still has outstanding pitching with Lon Marshall (10-6 2.23), Dean Barber (8-6 2.56) and all-time ace Jerry Meeks (4-12 3.04), but the bats have shriveled to nothing... the Sundowners have sunk to the bottom of the barrel offensively... Wynnamac had fallen from a respectable .263 BA last year to a pathetic .238 BA this year... still Donnelly's pitching is so good, the Sundowners could get hot with the bats in the second half and climb up as high as fourth in the standings.

RU East Outlook:
Eastshore should pull away from the pack in the second half due to its great mound staff... Elnora lacks the hitting to stay up with them... Beechwood is a well-rounded club... Sugar Valley can hit the cover off the ball, but its pitchers will hold them back... look for the Elnora All-Stars to drop back a bit and for Beechwood to move up to second place... Sugar Valley will be third... Elnora will probably stave off Wynnamac and Belle Plaine for the fourth spot.

Roosters Rule The Roost In RU West
The Middlefield Roosters are mowing down the opposition in the Ruthlandian West with a high-scoring machine... manager Bailey Norcross has led the Roosters (48-25) to the best record in the RU, tied with Crystal Lake of the RU South... Middlefield has a slight 3-game advantage over second place Forest City (45-28) and 7 games over third place Volusia (41-32)... the Roosters are the top IPA team scoring-wise (421 runs) and in homers (200), while ranking number two with a .279 team BA... vets RF Vic Ivarsson (.356 BA/5 HR/40 RBI), 1B Allan Stewart (.298 BA/19 HR/52 RBI), CF Tom Daniels (.279 BA/14 HR/44 RBI), C Rod Buckley (.297 BA/11 HR/31 RBI) and RF Chuck Larkin (.275 BA/12 HR/37 RBI) provide a potent attack... and rookie sensation Glenn Tackett (13-4 3.49), Dicky Damato (9-5 3.27) and Frank Dean (8-7 3.48) give Norcross good starts considering the band box they play in... skipper Robby Jackson has his Forest City Lumberjacks leaping up from a fifth-place finish last season to the runner-up spot this season... the 'Jacks have greatly improved on the hill with a sparkling 3.06 team ERA (4th)... Jackson has a good hitting club, too, with a .265 BA (7th)... excellent starters Stephen Phillips (11-4 2.97), Tommy Zenon (8-9 3.07) and Grover Haygood (4-4 2.93) keep the Lumberjacks in most games... closer Andy Velasco is strong, too, with 13 saves, 5-1 record and an impressive 1.44 ERA... the prime bats belong to 2B Stan Tipton (.315 BA/8 HR/45 RBI), SS Rusty Hood (.304 BA/4 HR/32 RBI) and 1B Andy Doiron (.309 BA/4 HR/31 RBI)... Jackson's biggest shortcoming is a lack of longball power, ranking 24th with only 43 home runs... the Volusia Vigilantes (41-32) have a good season going and are in third place in the RU West, 7 games off the pace... the V's have three quality starters in rookie Alvaro Branco (10-1 3.69), Roman Clemente (10-4 3.53) and Rio Lobo (10-6 3.47)... veteran ace Sixto Moreno (7-8 3.75) is having an off-year at the young age of 25, but is still capable of turning his season around... Moreno will have to do just that for Volusia to contend with the top two teams... Alfonso Feliz's Vigilantes can generate some offense with the likes of CF Joe DeLucca (.312 BA/9 HR/49 RBI), C Ismael Gomez (.313 BA/10 HR/49 RBI), LF Carlos Quintana (.280 BA/9 HR/39 RBI) and 3B Bobby Carpenter (.295 BA/7 HR/37 RBI)... as a team Volusia bats .264 (8th)... Stoner (32-41), Rocky Rapids (35-38), Sligo (32-41), Fort Benton (27-46) and Colfax (21-52) round out the standings... none of them will be in the pennant chase.

RU West Outlook:
Middlefield should prevail with its high-scoring ability and adequate pitching... Volusia just might surpass Forest City because of better bats... Stoner, Rocky Rapids and Sligo will contest for fourth, while Fort Benton and Colfax will battle for seventh place.

05-10-2011, 11:14 PM	#2508
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,900	*The Islandian Times* Thursday, June 22, 2023 2023 Ruthlandian Union Mid-Season Recap Glasco A's Rise To Top Of RU North Stronger pitching has moved the Glasco Athletics up from fourth place to first place at mid-season in the Ruthlandian North, rising ahead of longtime power Ancona, who has won four of the last five pennants... manager Charles Darby's A's (45-28) have a 5-game edge over runner-up Valmara (40-33), who has jumped from sixth last year, also due to better pitching... neither club has much offense... Valmara stole Billy Ray from Beechwood and he has made a great addition to the pitching corps with a 10-6 record and a 2.24 ERA... Ray made the RU All-Stars and is only 30 years old... Glasco has a solid starting foursome... day-after-day Darby gets a good start from his impressive rotation of Bradley (10-6 2.78), Davidson (9-6 3.67), McAdams (7-4 3.15) and Todd (9-6 3.48)... Far Mountain (38-35) stands in third place and trails by 7 games... the Redhawks also rely on pitching... the fourth-place Ancona Red Elephants (36-37) have been decimated by retirements... ace Clete Dukas (143-84 2.91) called it a career at age 40 and Nikos Maragos (212-198 3.90) left at age 42 and 18 seasons... Ancona is 9 games off the pace. RU North Outlook: Glasco should win, but may get a battle from Valmara... no one else is a likely challenger. CL Crushers Best In RU South Again As long as Baby George can write Welch (13-6 1.94), McCullough (11-6 3.48), Taylor (11-5 2.31) and Bauer (6-5 2.21) on the line-up card, the Crystal Lake Crushers will be in the running for the Ruthlandian South flag... George has the best staff in the IPA with a super 2.63 ERA... the Crushers (48-25) are 5 games up on the vastly-improved Waleska Westerners (43-30), who lead the RU with a .282 team BA... brilliant CF Roy Hobbs (.368 BA/10 HR/48 RBI) has offense help now with rookie LF Loco Dillinger (.340 BA/9 HR/47 RBI)... but Crystal Lake has too much of an edge on the hill... forget about the rest of the RU South... third place is up for grabs with only last-place Belair Beach out of the running. RU South Outlook: Great pitching is hard to beat... look for Crystal Lake to pull away and win the division by around 10 games. Eastshore and Elnora 1-2 In Tight RU East The Ruthlandian East is the tighest race in the RU with five teams within 9 games of first place... Eastshore (47-26) is back in the thick of things after an off-year last year when they suffered a huge drop in offense and fell to fifth in the standings... this year Killer Brewster has strong pitching, headed up by longtime star Melvin Key (10-6 2.50) and rookie Randy Boone (13-4 2.15), both All-Stars... the Elegants long suit is the 3.02 team ERA (3rd)... Brewster has just adequate scoring, ranking 15th... Eastshore has a scant one-game lead over up-and-coming Elnora (46-27), who has bolted from seventh last season to second this year and doing it on the arms of some young twirlers... rookies Will Hamilton (8-4 2.49) and Lucien Vachon (9-4 2.66), along with vet Hal Wilkerson (9-8 3.12) give manager Sam Malone a solid starting nucleus... Wilkerson is 23, Hamilton 20 and Vachon is only 19... budding 22-year-old superstar RF Travis Glass (.329 BA/18 HR/49 RBI) has to carry almost all of the offense... the Beechwood Bobcats under Bret George are still a good club... the Bobcats (41-32) are third and within striking distance, just 6 games behind... George has pretty fair pitching and solid scoring... superstud CF Vic Valenti (.376 BA/16 HR/54 RBI) is leading the entire IPA in hitting and he has lots of help from standout rookie 3B-1B Skipper Smith (.336 BA/5 HR/31 RBI), RF Jojo Davis (.316 BA/2 HR/22 RBI) and LF Ryan Ray (.281 BA/10 HR/49 RBI)... the high-scoring Sugar Valley Rattlers (40-33) are in fourth place and trail by 7 games... skipper Gibby Bobkins has some big guns in CF Randall Hawson (.288 BA/18 HR/49 RBI), and two rookie sluggers, 1B Dean Woods (.342 BA/23 HR/53 RBI) and LF Marty Beckett (.308 BA/21 HR/59 RBI)... both Woods and Beckett made the All-Star team... rookie 2B Jan Kessinger (.307 BA/1 HR/25 RBI/43 R) has been a fine addition, too... the Rattlers just don't have the pitching to compete with the top teams... in Belle Plaine (38-35) Dave Torregrossa has posted a winning record... the Musketeers are in fifth place and 9 games out... Torregrossa has two fine starters in Johnny Davenport (11-5 3.03) and Rick Lafleur (10-7 3.33), along with some solid sticks in SS Slick Hammill (.343 BA/6 HR/36 RBI), rookie RF Leon Bourque (.311 BA/8 HR/44 RBI), CF Noel Norbert (.291 BA/2 HR/21 RBI/57 R) and 3B Tyler Verret (.272 BA/12 HR/41 RBI)... but the Musketeers will not challenge the leaders... Belle Plaine is a pitcher or two away from being a serious contender... sixth place Marston (34-39) and last place Cold Creek (30-43) will battle it out to stay out of the basement... last year's RU East winner Wynnamac (32-41) has collapsed to seventh place, 15 games back... Matt Donnelly still has outstanding pitching with Lon Marshall (10-6 2.23), Dean Barber (8-6 2.56) and all-time ace Jerry Meeks (4-12 3.04), but the bats have shriveled to nothing... the Sundowners have sunk to the bottom of the barrel offensively... Wynnamac had fallen from a respectable .263 BA last year to a pathetic .238 BA this year... still Donnelly's pitching is so good, the Sundowners could get hot with the bats in the second half and climb up as high as fourth in the standings. RU East Outlook: Eastshore should pull away from the pack in the second half due to its great mound staff... Elnora lacks the hitting to stay up with them... Beechwood is a well-rounded club... Sugar Valley can hit the cover off the ball, but its pitchers will hold them back... look for the Elnora All-Stars to drop back a bit and for Beechwood to move up to second place... Sugar Valley will be third... Elnora will probably stave off Wynnamac and Belle Plaine for the fourth spot. Roosters Rule The Roost In RU West The Middlefield Roosters are mowing down the opposition in the Ruthlandian West with a high-scoring machine... manager Bailey Norcross has led the Roosters (48-25) to the best record in the RU, tied with Crystal Lake of the RU South... Middlefield has a slight 3-game advantage over second place Forest City (45-28) and 7 games over third place Volusia (41-32)... the Roosters are the top IPA team scoring-wise (421 runs) and in homers (200), while ranking number two with a .279 team BA... vets RF Vic Ivarsson (.356 BA/5 HR/40 RBI), 1B Allan Stewart (.298 BA/19 HR/52 RBI), CF Tom Daniels (.279 BA/14 HR/44 RBI), C Rod Buckley (.297 BA/11 HR/31 RBI) and RF Chuck Larkin (.275 BA/12 HR/37 RBI) provide a potent attack... and rookie sensation Glenn Tackett (13-4 3.49), Dicky Damato (9-5 3.27) and Frank Dean (8-7 3.48) give Norcross good starts considering the band box they play in... skipper Robby Jackson has his Forest City Lumberjacks leaping up from a fifth-place finish last season to the runner-up spot this season... the 'Jacks have greatly improved on the hill with a sparkling 3.06 team ERA (4th)... Jackson has a good hitting club, too, with a .265 BA (7th)... excellent starters Stephen Phillips (11-4 2.97), Tommy Zenon (8-9 3.07) and Grover Haygood (4-4 2.93) keep the Lumberjacks in most games... closer Andy Velasco is strong, too, with 13 saves, 5-1 record and an impressive 1.44 ERA... the prime bats belong to 2B Stan Tipton (.315 BA/8 HR/45 RBI), SS Rusty Hood (.304 BA/4 HR/32 RBI) and 1B Andy Doiron (.309 BA/4 HR/31 RBI)... Jackson's biggest shortcoming is a lack of longball power, ranking 24th with only 43 home runs... the Volusia Vigilantes (41-32) have a good season going and are in third place in the RU West, 7 games off the pace... the V's have three quality starters in rookie Alvaro Branco (10-1 3.69), Roman Clemente (10-4 3.53) and Rio Lobo (10-6 3.47)... veteran ace Sixto Moreno (7-8 3.75) is having an off-year at the young age of 25, but is still capable of turning his season around... Moreno will have to do just that for Volusia to contend with the top two teams... Alfonso Feliz's Vigilantes can generate some offense with the likes of CF Joe DeLucca (.312 BA/9 HR/49 RBI), C Ismael Gomez (.313 BA/10 HR/49 RBI), LF Carlos Quintana (.280 BA/9 HR/39 RBI) and 3B Bobby Carpenter (.295 BA/7 HR/37 RBI)... as a team Volusia bats .264 (8th)... Stoner (32-41), Rocky Rapids (35-38), Sligo (32-41), Fort Benton (27-46) and Colfax (21-52) round out the standings... none of them will be in the pennant chase. RU West Outlook: Middlefield should prevail with its high-scoring ability and adequate pitching... Volusia just might surpass Forest City because of better bats... Stoner, Rocky Rapids and Sligo will contest for fourth, while Fort Benton and Colfax will battle for seventh place. Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-12-2011 at 10:54 PM.