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The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 22, 2027
2027 Ruthlandian North Final Recap
Vipers Wins RU North Again, 4th In 5 Years
The best team in the Ruthlandian North again this year was the defending IPA Pro Cup titleholder, the Valmara Vipers... Manager Jet Kazmarek's club easily cruised to its fourth pennant in the last five years... They whipped runner-up Ancona by 9 games and had the second-best record in the RU with 97-57. Only Beechwood was better at 98-56... solid pitching, outstanding defense (.981 FA) and productive bats paved the Vipers way... several rookies have moved into the starting lineup and made Valmara even better than last year.
Valmara Vipers (97-57): 1st Place (First Place last year)
Starters:
Billy Ray (15-11 2.74), Pavel Volkov (16-12 3.43), Clem Carmouche (17-15 3.56) and Chris Phillips (17-8 3.69)
Bullpen:
All-Star Ivan Guzek (9-0/1.43/31 saves)
Batters:
CF Teddy Szymanski (.283/25/90/91), LF Sonny Oliver (.292/28/92/79)
Rookies:
C Floyd Randolph (.247/18/85/71), 2B Alec Leclerc (.268/0/46/98)
Ancona Red Elephants (88-66): 2nd Place - 9 GB (2nd last year - 11 GB)
Manny Mickens' offense didn't put up the numbers his clubs usually do... yet his pitching stood out for the second year in a row... strong defensively with a .978 FA... Big Red slumps in May and August gave Valmara an easy time.
Starters:
Razzy Angelis (20-14 2.79), Kyros Halkias (17-15 2.88), Hal Holmes (14-13 3.40), Vince Arndt (15-15 3.44)
Bullpen:
Kenny Nikas (7-3/1.80/30 saves)
Batters:
All-Star RF Donnie Lewis (.320/7/50/120), SS Vic Zaro (.295/2/52/77), All-Star Kenny Willard (.287/23/101/90), 1B Alekos Kotas (.259/19/109/75), 3B Todd Nasso (.2578/21/83/89)
Rookies:
Reliever Frank Reid (6-1 2.42)
Far Mountain Redhawks (84-70): 3rd Place - 13 GB (3rd Place last year- 18 GB)
Alex Groveland's mound corps was better, strong starters, but the bats were bad... good with the gloves with .978 FA.
Starters: All-Star Jeff Cooper (22-11 2.40), All-Star Jacob Wagner (21-12 2.47), Frankie Moreland (14-11 2.98)
Bullpen:
Weak in the bullpen... closer Hans Becker was 0-9 with 25 saves and a 4.00 ERA
Batters:
All-Star 2B Johnny Becker (.280/9/51/84)
Rookies:
RF Jess Haydn (.273/3/38/38)
Taranto Tars (81-73): 4th Place - 16 GB (7th last year - 31 GB)
Taranto got a good lift from having pitcher Rod Bailey for the entire season and better relief work... however, Tommaso Lazzorda's hitters were not much of a threat, except to hit homers with 127 (10th)... still the Tars had a winning season 8 games over .500.
Pitchers:
All-Star Rod Bailey (20-13 2.88), Alfredo Barsotti (15-10 4.34)
Batters:
All-Star 3B Cody Wilson (.285/19/100/77), 2B Greg Murphy (.301/15/67/84), 1B Denny Zaffino (.235/24/96/65)
Rookies:
Paulie Pieroni (9-8 3.77)
Ranford Bulls (75-79): 5th Place - 22 GB (4th last year - 19 GB)
The Bulls hit well, but didn't score a lot, ranking first with a .273 BA and 21st in runs... with less than average pitching (3.86 ERA- 22nd)... very good on defense with a .981 FA
Pitchers:
Manny Mateo (17-15 3.07), Scotty Simmons (15-11 3.26)
Bullpen:
Manager Rick Fargnoli needs a lot of help with a 3.76 ERA (22nd)
Batters:
All-Star C Kyle Hunt (.344/9/73/61), 1B Elton Graff (.312/8/61/70), CF Thomas Strickland (.294/19/66/62), SS Terry Kerr (.261/18/86/65)
Rookies:
LF Percy Whitehead (.305/2/53/74)
Glasco Athletics (74-80) 6th Place - 23 GB (8th last year - 36 GB)
Manager Charles Darby saw modest mound improvement this year and his hitters improved some, too... it got the A's out of the cellar... good power with 129 homers (8th) and good gloves (.977 FA), but not much else.
Pitchers:
Luka Abromowitz (17-12 3.14), Jimmy Nichols (16-12 3.67), Darien Russell (15-19 3.45)
Bullpen:
closer needed for incumbent Rusty McIntosh (1-9 3.44)... young relievers Jim Butler (3-1 2.87) and Sam Gilmore (6-5 2.59) showed promise
Batters:
RF Warren Steele (.314/18/85/67), 1B Garris Aiken (.285/19/77/101), C Eddy Martin (.307/14/70/66)
Rookies:
SS Skippy Shearer (.244/11/52/50), PH/1B Wallace Buchanan (.303/4/14/11)
Kilkenny Cats (70-84): 7th Place - 27 GB (5th last year 22 GB)
Skipper Kevin McPhail got much improved pitching but his club really fizzled at the plate... the Cats are the worst hitting team in IPA history with a .221 BA... they broke Cold Creek's old record of .228 set in 2024... on the hill the Cats sparkle with a 3.21 team ERA (5th)... the Cats are fine defenders, too, with a .977 FA.
Pitchers:
Dave Whitaker (20-13 3.01), Dean Harris (13-15 3.05)
Bullpen:
Sherm Innis (3-9/2.56/27 saves)
Batters:
CF Ronnie Roussell (.271/15/55/61)
Rookies:
SS Johnny Gentry (.268/16/82/65)
LaGrange Sports (69-85): 8th Place - 28 GB (6th last year - 26 GB)
The LaGrange Sports are on a bad run - no pennant since 2008 and nothing but second-division finishes since 2012... Quincy Peterson's club is prone to poor hitting and mediocre pitching with lousy relievers... fielding is average (.976 FA).
Pitchers:
All-Star Niles Wooten (20-13 3.32), Mike York (15-16 3.06)
Bullpen:
terrible bullpen with 4.75 ERA (32nd)
Batters:
1B Chris Charbonnier (.307/18/64/57)
Rookies:
SP Alex Gillespie (16-18 3.41), RF Russell Watkins (.286/24/86/68), C All-Star C Bernard Babineaux (.273/11/58/73)
Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-28-2011 at 05:23 PM.
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