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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, June 18, 2030
2030 Ruthlandian East Mid-Season Recap
Rattlers And 'Macs Tied In RU East
The take on the Ruthlandian East pennant race is that it's a two-team affair between the Sugar Valley Rattlers and the Wynnamac Sundowners, who are deadlocked for the top spot at the All-Star break... the Rattlers have taken the divisional crown the last two seasons... now for the third year in a row the 'Macs are the team the Rattlers will have to fend off... chances are it will go down to the wire... the Eastshore Elegants and Marston Nine are third and fourth respectively, but they are not expected to challenge this year... Eastshore is 5 games behind in the race and Marston trails by 7.
Sugar Valley has excellent pitching with a 2.91 team ERA (2nd)... the starters are solid with All-Star Wes Weaver (10-2/1.72), Aron Libertini (10-6/3.25) and Jeremy Blanchard (9-7/2.40)... in the bullpen All-Star Dallas Casey (3-1/1.99/12 saves) is the main reliever... the Rattler attack is led by All-Star Johnny Doyle (.263/21/48), Silvio Salas (.24/12/33) and Tyler White (.216/11/27)... Sugar Valley doesn't hit for much average, but can go deep... the Rattlers paced the RU with 87 home runs... defense is outstanding with a .983 FA (2nd).
Wynnamac has banged its way into contention with a .272 BA (8th), rank 10th in runs and tied for 3rd with 70 homers... the 'Macs have 5 regulars with double-digit homers... batting leaders are Giles Butler (.341 BA/11 HR), Dorak Aranda (.306 BA/12 HR), All-Star Lee Leslie (.273 BA/16 HR), Lil Hoss Burkhalter (.276 BA/10 HR) and Allen Dundee (.241 BA/11 HR)... the Sundowners mound staff is a little better than average with a 3.49 team ERA (11th)... top arms are Killara Bardo (10-5/3.56), Dean Barber (9-3/3.43) and Lon Marshall (8-7/3.76)... the Sundowners are strong defenders, too, with a .978 FA.
The third-place Eastshore Elegants are an average team with a .262 BA (16th), 62 homers (12th-tied) and rank 13th in scoring... pitching-wise the Els have posted a 3.56 team ERA... they are 3 games above the .500 mark... All-Stars Cayman Kettermann (.317 BA/12 HR/55 RBI) and Larry Romney (.281 BA/6 HR/33 RBI) are the top guns with support from George Shepherd (.327 BA/6 HR/36 RBIs) and Scotty LaGrange (.268 BA/10 HR/32 RBI)... longtime pitching star Melvin Key (10-8/2.92) is still around after 17 years and still doing his job... Don Klingenberg (7-7/3.82) also had added some good starts.
Scoring is a big time problem for the fourth-place Marston Nine... they bat .269 for average (11th), have belted 62 homers (12th-tied), but rate 31st in scoring runs... the team has posted a 3.88 ERA (24th)... IPA icon and sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Russ Woodward (.318 BA/9 HR), Ron Marlowe (.302 BA/6 HR) and Lonnie Trekell (.260 BA/15 HR) are Marston's best performers at the plate... on the hill it's Doug Hansack (10-4/2.92).
The Beechwood Bobcats have escaped the cellar at the mid-point in the season... they have moved up to fifth place with average pitching and hitting... the Bobcats are 8 games away from first place... Maury Patterson has stood out on the mound with a strong 2.61 ERA, but is only 6-11 for the year... Pat Webb (.288 BA/14 HR), Travis Wagner (.281 BA/8 HR) and Norm Smith (.279 BA/7 HR) are the offensive leaders.
The sixth-place Elnora All-Stars suffer from a lack of pitching with a 4.17 team ERA (30th)... they are tied with Cold Creek and are 9 games out... only starter Freddy Pfeffer (11-6/3.18) is enjoying a good season... the All-Stars have fair power with 75 home runs (3rd), but rank 17th in runs with a .262 BA (14th)... top run producers are All-Star Matt Boyd (.309 BA/10 HR), Pettis Pendleton (.333 BA/8 HR), Travis Glass (.289 BA/18 HR) and Mel Long (.298 BA/14 HR).
Perennial second-division finisher, Cold Creek is staggering along again tied for sixth and headed nowhere... the Catamounts rarely make the first division in the RU East... the last pennent came a long time ago in 2012... they have wound up seventh or eighth for the last four seasons... Cold Creek has no offense, ranking last in runs scored and near the bottom with 48 homers (27th)... pitching is respectable with a 3.51 team ERA (12th)... Eddie Brasher (10-6/2.84) and Tommy Smith (9-8/2.11) are the top performers... Steve Daniels (.285/12 HR) is one of the few dependable batters.
This year the basement-dwelling Belle Plaine Musketeers have been the biggest disappointment in the division... the Muskies are 12 games off the pace... they were third two years ago and fourth last year... Belle Plaine has no trouble putting runs on the scoreboard with a .272 BA (6th), but the pitching has gone to the pits this season with a terrible 4.49 ERA (32nd)... only Leonard James (8-5/3.96) has posted decent stats... All-Star Derek Roman (.307 BA/9 HR), Pierre Giguere (.290 BA/16 HR) and Leon Bourque (.269 BA/12 HR) have been solid run producers.
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