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Eugene Church · 10-28-2011, 03:57 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, September 21, 2027

2027 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

CL Crushers Win Out In RU South
Going into the last 10 days of the Ruthlandian South it was a four-team scramble, finally won by the Crystal Lake Crushers, who finished one game ahead of the hard-closing Valka Blackhawks, just 2 in front of favored Waleska and 3 up on the San Dimas Rancheros. Only the Blackhawks played .500 ball, winning 7 of its final 10. The other three contenders did not play well. Crystal Lake was the best with a 4-6 mark. Waleska was a terrible 2-8 and Sam Dimas only 4-6. All of them had their chance to take the pennnat. Last year's division winner St. John dipped to fifth this year, 7 games off the pace.

Crystal Lake (83-71) manager Baby George used his bats to climb up from fifth to first this season... his Crushers were 3rd with a .266 team BA and 4th in scoring... sparked by CF Herm Taylor (.343/2/58/101), 1B Josh George (.284/25/97/95) and 3B Carl Bentley (.269/10/91/74)... T. D. Burnham (21-8 3.00), Duncan Welch (19-15 3.49) and rookie Arnie Cason (13-7 3.30) topped the pitchers... Keith Hunter was a pretty fair closer with 30 saves, but a 4-7 record and a 3.12 ERA... George is blessed with a solid defense (.977 FA)

The Valka Blackhawks (82-72) rose up from 7th place to the runner-up spot this season and came within a bee's knee of winning the division... productive hitting and better pitching helped manager Ron Landauer's turnabout... the Blackhawks batted .259 (11th), were 5th in scoring and posted a 3.73 team ERA (17th)... on defense, the Blackhawks are sure-handed with a .979 FA... Adam Aru (24-12 3.01) and Glenn Cadman (22-16 3.57) paced the starters, while Earl Davidson (1-4) led the bullpen with 31 saves and a 2.44 ERA... at the plate rookie 3B Leevi Viru (.277/17/89/72) and RF Tonu Viks (.288/15/65/96) led the lineup.

The Waleska Westerners (81-73) flopped right when it mattered most, losing 7 of its last 8 games and wound up in third place, after being the favorite to win it this season... skipper McGraw Johnson's team led the division for most of the year... it was the Westerners mound corps that faltered... the offense still put runs on the scoreboard with a .264 BA (6th), were 5th in homers with 135 and topped the RU in scoring... one weakness is defense with a .973 FA... superstar All-Star CF Roy Hobbs (.348/30/93/124) paved the way with lots of help from LF Loco Dillinger (.300/33/102/113), 1B Glenn Childress (.288/8/96/93), RF Wilson James (.298/11/63/90) and All-Star SS Jose De Leon (.288/9/88/75... rookie Wild Bill Butler (23-14 3.40) more than lived up to his nickhame and had trouble finding the strike zone, but nobody could hit him... Butler led the RU with 298 strikeouts... Rick Dunham (12-6 3.06) moved up into a starting role for the first time in his 7 years in the league and did quite well... veteran Jarred Laclair is a brilliant closer, who posted 25 saves with a superb 1.40 ERA and a 4-3 record.

For the fourth successive season the San Dimas Rancheros (80-74) ended up in fourth place in the RU South standings... skipper Wesley Pate saw his club stumble down the stretch by dropping 3 of its final 4 games... the Rancheros are just an average ball club, but they play fine defense with a .978 FA... Pate has a good starting rotation, headed up by rookie Joaquin Lima (20-14 3.49), All-Star rookie Miguel Valdes (21-14 3.29) and veteran Shannon White (18-17 3.69)... closer Matt Stevens saved 33 games and was 4-3 with a very impressive 1.51 ERA... San Dimas suffered at the plate, batting only .248 (20th)... CF Ray Ford was the most reliable bat, batting only .272 BA... but Ford hit 25 homers, drove in 98 runs and scored 87 runs... 3B Hector Cuellar chipped in with a .272 BA, 10 homersm, 75 RBIs and 67 runs.

The St. John Crusaders (76-78) were a dismal fifth this year after a marvelous 2026, when they won 98 games and captured the division... they tied with Grand City this season, both 7 games out... great pitching turned sour this season, rising up from 2.79 to a 3.54 ERA.. Clayton Luck's best starter was Don Baillie (16-12 3.05)... Glenn Pierce went from 20-9 to 10-15 this year... closer Nelson Hawthorne fell off some, too... he was 8-9 with 27 saves and a 2.30 ERA... last year Hawthorne was outstanding with an 1.88 ERA, 32 saves and a 7-3 mark... the Crusaders hit for average (.262 BA-9th), but don't score well (29th)... only LF Joey Daigrepont stood out with a .283 average, 21 homers, 93 RBIs and 64 runs.

The Grand City Cybercats (76-78) were managed by Wade Joslin, who guided them to a fifth-place tie this season after a third-place finish last year... the Cybercats can hit (.273 BA-2nd) and score with the best of them (2nd)... plus they have a little power (117 HR-17th), but Joslin's club falls flat on its face on the hill with a horrible 4.55 team ERA (32nd)... Joslin put his excellent closer in as a starter to try and help the situation... Teague was an All-Star closer this year... He was 10-5 overall with a 2.67 ERA... in 7 starts Teague was 4-2... as a closer he was 5-2 with a 1.56 ERA and 15 saves... rookie Charley Chisholm (16-16 3.72) was the Cybercats best starter... when it came to hitting Joslin was all smiles with All-Star CF Thomas Hall (.321/28/102/107), rookie 1B Mick Langston (.268/29/96/88), SS Jared Lindquist (.304/2/60/84), RF Nick Baldini (.289/5/50/90) and C Rob Stern (.309/3/58/50).

The Claxton Diamonds (65-89) were again near the bottom in seventh place... it was another rough season for longtime skipper Stacy Engel... the Diamonds haven't been a contender for years since winning back-to-back pennants in 2018 and 2019... Engel retired at the end of this season and will be replaced by his bench coach and former Diamond outfielder Dixie Baker... Baker starred for Claxton from 2001 to 2014... he won 3 Gold Gloves, hit .266 in his career with over 350 homers and 1000 RBIs...Baker made the first All-Star team in 2001... not much talent in Claxton... the cupboard is bare with only All-Star LF George McKay (.300/35/91/84) and Jack Vogel (16-10 3.59).

Another tough year for manager Marty Pedroza in Belair Beach (60-94) as his Sunbirds swooned from sixth to eighth in the RU South... bad pitching is the culprit... rookie starter Rob Thrasher (13-18 3.36) was the best in Pedroza's rotation... Sunbird superstar All-Star 1B Kees Draeger has to carry the offense all by himself... in another super season Draeger did it all with 40 homers, 100 runs batted in, scored 98 runs, while batting at a .337 clip... Draeger tied with Sugar Valley slugger Dean Woods for the RU home run crown.

10-28-2011, 03:57 PM	#2800
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,896	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, September 21, 2027 2027 Ruthlandian South Final Recap CL Crushers Win Out In RU South Going into the last 10 days of the Ruthlandian South it was a four-team scramble, finally won by the Crystal Lake Crushers, who finished one game ahead of the hard-closing Valka Blackhawks, just 2 in front of favored Waleska and 3 up on the San Dimas Rancheros. Only the Blackhawks played .500 ball, winning 7 of its final 10. The other three contenders did not play well. Crystal Lake was the best with a 4-6 mark. Waleska was a terrible 2-8 and Sam Dimas only 4-6. All of them had their chance to take the pennnat. Last year's division winner St. John dipped to fifth this year, 7 games off the pace. Crystal Lake (83-71) manager Baby George used his bats to climb up from fifth to first this season... his Crushers were 3rd with a .266 team BA and 4th in scoring... sparked by CF Herm Taylor (.343/2/58/101), 1B Josh George (.284/25/97/95) and 3B Carl Bentley (.269/10/91/74)... T. D. Burnham (21-8 3.00), Duncan Welch (19-15 3.49) and rookie Arnie Cason (13-7 3.30) topped the pitchers... Keith Hunter was a pretty fair closer with 30 saves, but a 4-7 record and a 3.12 ERA... George is blessed with a solid defense (.977 FA) The Valka Blackhawks (82-72) rose up from 7th place to the runner-up spot this season and came within a bee's knee of winning the division... productive hitting and better pitching helped manager Ron Landauer's turnabout... the Blackhawks batted .259 (11th), were 5th in scoring and posted a 3.73 team ERA (17th)... on defense, the Blackhawks are sure-handed with a .979 FA... Adam Aru (24-12 3.01) and Glenn Cadman (22-16 3.57) paced the starters, while Earl Davidson (1-4) led the bullpen with 31 saves and a 2.44 ERA... at the plate rookie 3B Leevi Viru (.277/17/89/72) and RF Tonu Viks (.288/15/65/96) led the lineup. The Waleska Westerners (81-73) flopped right when it mattered most, losing 7 of its last 8 games and wound up in third place, after being the favorite to win it this season... skipper McGraw Johnson's team led the division for most of the year... it was the Westerners mound corps that faltered... the offense still put runs on the scoreboard with a .264 BA (6th), were 5th in homers with 135 and topped the RU in scoring... one weakness is defense with a .973 FA... superstar All-Star CF Roy Hobbs (.348/30/93/124) paved the way with lots of help from LF Loco Dillinger (.300/33/102/113), 1B Glenn Childress (.288/8/96/93), RF Wilson James (.298/11/63/90) and All-Star SS Jose De Leon (.288/9/88/75... rookie Wild Bill Butler (23-14 3.40) more than lived up to his nickhame and had trouble finding the strike zone, but nobody could hit him... Butler led the RU with 298 strikeouts... Rick Dunham (12-6 3.06) moved up into a starting role for the first time in his 7 years in the league and did quite well... veteran Jarred Laclair is a brilliant closer, who posted 25 saves with a superb 1.40 ERA and a 4-3 record. For the fourth successive season the San Dimas Rancheros (80-74) ended up in fourth place in the RU South standings... skipper Wesley Pate saw his club stumble down the stretch by dropping 3 of its final 4 games... the Rancheros are just an average ball club, but they play fine defense with a .978 FA... Pate has a good starting rotation, headed up by rookie Joaquin Lima (20-14 3.49), All-Star rookie Miguel Valdes (21-14 3.29) and veteran Shannon White (18-17 3.69)... closer Matt Stevens saved 33 games and was 4-3 with a very impressive 1.51 ERA... San Dimas suffered at the plate, batting only .248 (20th)... CF Ray Ford was the most reliable bat, batting only .272 BA... but Ford hit 25 homers, drove in 98 runs and scored 87 runs... 3B Hector Cuellar chipped in with a .272 BA, 10 homersm, 75 RBIs and 67 runs. The St. John Crusaders (76-78) were a dismal fifth this year after a marvelous 2026, when they won 98 games and captured the division... they tied with Grand City this season, both 7 games out... great pitching turned sour this season, rising up from 2.79 to a 3.54 ERA.. Clayton Luck's best starter was Don Baillie (16-12 3.05)... Glenn Pierce went from 20-9 to 10-15 this year... closer Nelson Hawthorne fell off some, too... he was 8-9 with 27 saves and a 2.30 ERA... last year Hawthorne was outstanding with an 1.88 ERA, 32 saves and a 7-3 mark... the Crusaders hit for average (.262 BA-9th), but don't score well (29th)... only LF Joey Daigrepont stood out with a .283 average, 21 homers, 93 RBIs and 64 runs. The Grand City Cybercats (76-78) were managed by Wade Joslin, who guided them to a fifth-place tie this season after a third-place finish last year... the Cybercats can hit (.273 BA-2nd) and score with the best of them (2nd)... plus they have a little power (117 HR-17th), but Joslin's club falls flat on its face on the hill with a horrible 4.55 team ERA (32nd)... Joslin put his excellent closer in as a starter to try and help the situation... Teague was an All-Star closer this year... He was 10-5 overall with a 2.67 ERA... in 7 starts Teague was 4-2... as a closer he was 5-2 with a 1.56 ERA and 15 saves... rookie Charley Chisholm (16-16 3.72) was the Cybercats best starter... when it came to hitting Joslin was all smiles with All-Star CF Thomas Hall (.321/28/102/107), rookie 1B Mick Langston (.268/29/96/88), SS Jared Lindquist (.304/2/60/84), RF Nick Baldini (.289/5/50/90) and C Rob Stern (.309/3/58/50). The Claxton Diamonds (65-89) were again near the bottom in seventh place... it was another rough season for longtime skipper Stacy Engel... the Diamonds haven't been a contender for years since winning back-to-back pennants in 2018 and 2019... Engel retired at the end of this season and will be replaced by his bench coach and former Diamond outfielder Dixie Baker... Baker starred for Claxton from 2001 to 2014... he won 3 Gold Gloves, hit .266 in his career with over 350 homers and 1000 RBIs...Baker made the first All-Star team in 2001... not much talent in Claxton... the cupboard is bare with only All-Star LF George McKay (.300/35/91/84) and Jack Vogel (16-10 3.59). Another tough year for manager Marty Pedroza in Belair Beach (60-94) as his Sunbirds swooned from sixth to eighth in the RU South... bad pitching is the culprit... rookie starter Rob Thrasher (13-18 3.36) was the best in Pedroza's rotation... Sunbird superstar All-Star 1B Kees Draeger has to carry the offense all by himself... in another super season Draeger did it all with 40 homers, 100 runs batted in, scored 98 runs, while batting at a .337 clip... Draeger tied with Sugar Valley slugger Dean Woods for the RU home run crown. Last edited by Eugene Church; 10-28-2011 at 04:20 PM.