OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 07-04-2013, 09:24 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2037

FB DEFENDERS FINALLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS
The 35-year-old drought is over... In a nip-and-tuck race the preseason favorite Fort Benton Defenders rode home the winner in the Ruthlandian West Division, toppling the Colfax Blasters and the Sligo Rovers by three and four games respectively... the Defenders started off slowly and were just above the .500 mark in the first two months, but they played very well from June on to take the division flag for the first time in the club's history... Fort Benton played well in crunch time, going 12-7 in September... Colfax and Sligo could only go 10-9 down the stretch.

Manager Robbie Brooks ended 36 years of frustration... Fort Benton finally made the Pro Cup playoffs with their best record ever 91-63... the Defenders' previous best was 90-64 in 2017 when they finished in second place... Brooks has good pitching and credible offense... Augie Marquis (21-13/2.93), Jordy Raeburn (20-13/3.20), Tommy Baylor (18-12/3.30) and Brady Bell (18-12/4.00) gives him a solid set of starters... Fort Benton's best bats belong to 3B Mitch Hamilton (.327/5/51/103), SS D. D. Badeaux (.309/19/58/101) and 1B Oscar Pendleton (.302/17/88/52)... the Defenders are in the postseason, but won't get a lot of support to bring home the club's first Pro Cup... it's doubtful their season will have a fairy tale ending - winning their first Pro Cup in their first postseason appearance.

The second-place and defending division champ Colfax Blasters, managed by HOF hurler Ilya Szabo, had a bunch of standout batters with the top hitter in the IPA, LF Chet Penn (.378/25/125/102), SS Gerry Sives (.350/6/80/109), 3B Kristian McEly (.309/36/136/99) and C Mitch Fullerton (.285/19/80/81)... Penn led the IPA with 226 hits... Sives was third with 216... McEly came in second in the IPA with 136 RBIs, topped only by Roger Hobbs of Sugar Valley with 145... Colfax had some capable pitchers, too, with the IPA's biggest winner, Randell Perkins (25-11/3.51), who tied J. J. Gillespie (Cold Creek) and Dan Pitts (Elnora) with 25 victories apiece... other quality starters were Norm Harbison (18-15/2.90) and Bobby Porter (14-13/3.39)... Jack Scanlon stood out in the bullpen with 11 saves, 7-5 record and a 2.57 ERA in 46 appearances.

The Sligo Rovers had a well-rounded club with good hitting and pitching... skipper Eddie Keys' lineup consisted of 1B Denny Simmons (.324/18/76/101), 3B Neil Mitchell (.301/20/77/97), CF Peder Svensson (.275/27/91/78), RF Pat Foreman (.278/30/72/80) and C Damon Klein (.312/12/64/65)... top hurlers were Tom Pierson (19-9/3.27), Randall Steele (18-16/3.26) and Joey Hicks (14-6/3.44)... the best in the bullpen was Scotty Price (6-8/2.11), who paced the IPA with 28 saves and 68 relief appearances.

In his second year as manager Forest City had a winning season under George Arnick as the Lumberjacks came in fourth, 11 games back of Fort Benton... the 'Jacks are just an average club with lackluster pitchers and batters... Walter Gibbons (17-14/4.27), Rich Barstow (16-16/3.73) and Marv Sanders (15-17/3.85) were the main starters... club leaders at the plate were 3B Kelly Hardison (.294/21/75/74), C Bob Brisdon (.300/17/67/60), SS Hal Burton (.244/2/53/100), Pistol Pete Picard (.279/18/63/67) and LF Mitch Frye (.267/18/75/73).

All of the other clubs in the RU West wound with losing records, well under the .500 mark... the Middlefield Roosters were at the top of the second division in fifth place, 23 games off the pace... manager Rinky Tinker's team doesn't do much very well, but they have good home-run numbers because of the short dimensions of Middlefield Park, led by LF Alejandro Dominguez (.253/39/109/100), C Brad Alexander (.255/30/101/62), RF Norman Antonioni (.280/29/67/58), CF Tony Parsons (.282/21/77/95) and 1B Cliff Patterson (.277/18/68/58)... Larry Wheelhouse (16-20/4.05) led the Roosters in wins and ERA... closer Ray Owens (2-6/1.52/21 saves) was effective in the bullpen.

The other three teams in the division battled to stay out of last place... the Volusia Vigilantes and Stoner Stars wound up tied for sixth place, trailing Fort Benton by 28 games... the V's had terrible hitting, ranking last in the league in scoring... CF Cazzie Carvalho (.290/18/67/52), C Tubby Tarkanian (.272/17/72/61), SS Charlie Farmer (.283/7/58/74) and LF Felipe Henriques (.282/14/46/55) were the most dependable batters manager and HOF-er Joe DeLucca had, but they were nothing to boast about... Hector Vargas was the only effective starter with an impressive 2.72 ERA, but his record was only 16-17 because of the poor run support.

The Stoner Stars didn't have a good year with manager Mike Jaffe... for the third consecutive year the club finished in the second division... his most talented players are C Barney Swindell (.307/30/111/63), CF Don Cain (.306/17/73/99) and 1B Don Schoenweiss (.264/17/79/88) at the plate... and Larry Urban (18-13/3.18) on the hill.

For the twelfth year in the last thirteen the Rocky Rapids Snappers had a losing season, winding up deep in the second division in the RU West basement, 28 games behind in the pennant race... HOF-er and manager Hank Bethel could use a great infusion of talent... his only decent pitcher is in the bullpen... veteran closer John Young (6-3/1.85/12 saves) is a good one... Paulie Pieroni (10-14/4.48) and Nelson Carter (11-17/4.46) are the most dependable starters... CF Crusher Derringer (.273/23/85/63) is the only decent hitter.

07-04-2013, 09:24 PM	#3587
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,946	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, September 22, 2037 FB DEFENDERS FINALLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS The 35-year-old drought is over... In a nip-and-tuck race the preseason favorite Fort Benton Defenders rode home the winner in the Ruthlandian West Division, toppling the Colfax Blasters and the Sligo Rovers by three and four games respectively... the Defenders started off slowly and were just above the .500 mark in the first two months, but they played very well from June on to take the division flag for the first time in the club's history... Fort Benton played well in crunch time, going 12-7 in September... Colfax and Sligo could only go 10-9 down the stretch. Manager Robbie Brooks ended 36 years of frustration... Fort Benton finally made the Pro Cup playoffs with their best record ever 91-63... the Defenders' previous best was 90-64 in 2017 when they finished in second place... Brooks has good pitching and credible offense... Augie Marquis (21-13/2.93), Jordy Raeburn (20-13/3.20), Tommy Baylor (18-12/3.30) and Brady Bell (18-12/4.00) gives him a solid set of starters... Fort Benton's best bats belong to 3B Mitch Hamilton (.327/5/51/103), SS D. D. Badeaux (.309/19/58/101) and 1B Oscar Pendleton (.302/17/88/52)... the Defenders are in the postseason, but won't get a lot of support to bring home the club's first Pro Cup... it's doubtful their season will have a fairy tale ending - winning their first Pro Cup in their first postseason appearance. The second-place and defending division champ Colfax Blasters, managed by HOF hurler Ilya Szabo, had a bunch of standout batters with the top hitter in the IPA, LF Chet Penn (.378/25/125/102), SS Gerry Sives (.350/6/80/109), 3B Kristian McEly (.309/36/136/99) and C Mitch Fullerton (.285/19/80/81)... Penn led the IPA with 226 hits... Sives was third with 216... McEly came in second in the IPA with 136 RBIs, topped only by Roger Hobbs of Sugar Valley with 145... Colfax had some capable pitchers, too, with the IPA's biggest winner, Randell Perkins (25-11/3.51), who tied J. J. Gillespie (Cold Creek) and Dan Pitts (Elnora) with 25 victories apiece... other quality starters were Norm Harbison (18-15/2.90) and Bobby Porter (14-13/3.39)... Jack Scanlon stood out in the bullpen with 11 saves, 7-5 record and a 2.57 ERA in 46 appearances. The Sligo Rovers had a well-rounded club with good hitting and pitching... skipper Eddie Keys' lineup consisted of 1B Denny Simmons (.324/18/76/101), 3B Neil Mitchell (.301/20/77/97), CF Peder Svensson (.275/27/91/78), RF Pat Foreman (.278/30/72/80) and C Damon Klein (.312/12/64/65)... top hurlers were Tom Pierson (19-9/3.27), Randall Steele (18-16/3.26) and Joey Hicks (14-6/3.44)... the best in the bullpen was Scotty Price (6-8/2.11), who paced the IPA with 28 saves and 68 relief appearances. In his second year as manager Forest City had a winning season under George Arnick as the Lumberjacks came in fourth, 11 games back of Fort Benton... the 'Jacks are just an average club with lackluster pitchers and batters... Walter Gibbons (17-14/4.27), Rich Barstow (16-16/3.73) and Marv Sanders (15-17/3.85) were the main starters... club leaders at the plate were 3B Kelly Hardison (.294/21/75/74), C Bob Brisdon (.300/17/67/60), SS Hal Burton (.244/2/53/100), Pistol Pete Picard (.279/18/63/67) and LF Mitch Frye (.267/18/75/73). All of the other clubs in the RU West wound with losing records, well under the .500 mark... the Middlefield Roosters were at the top of the second division in fifth place, 23 games off the pace... manager Rinky Tinker's team doesn't do much very well, but they have good home-run numbers because of the short dimensions of Middlefield Park, led by LF Alejandro Dominguez (.253/39/109/100), C Brad Alexander (.255/30/101/62), RF Norman Antonioni (.280/29/67/58), CF Tony Parsons (.282/21/77/95) and 1B Cliff Patterson (.277/18/68/58)... Larry Wheelhouse (16-20/4.05) led the Roosters in wins and ERA... closer Ray Owens (2-6/1.52/21 saves) was effective in the bullpen. The other three teams in the division battled to stay out of last place... the Volusia Vigilantes and Stoner Stars wound up tied for sixth place, trailing Fort Benton by 28 games... the V's had terrible hitting, ranking last in the league in scoring... CF Cazzie Carvalho (.290/18/67/52), C Tubby Tarkanian (.272/17/72/61), SS Charlie Farmer (.283/7/58/74) and LF Felipe Henriques (.282/14/46/55) were the most dependable batters manager and HOF-er Joe DeLucca had, but they were nothing to boast about... Hector Vargas was the only effective starter with an impressive 2.72 ERA, but his record was only 16-17 because of the poor run support. The Stoner Stars didn't have a good year with manager Mike Jaffe... for the third consecutive year the club finished in the second division... his most talented players are C Barney Swindell (.307/30/111/63), CF Don Cain (.306/17/73/99) and 1B Don Schoenweiss (.264/17/79/88) at the plate... and Larry Urban (18-13/3.18) on the hill. For the twelfth year in the last thirteen the Rocky Rapids Snappers had a losing season, winding up deep in the second division in the RU West basement, 28 games behind in the pennant race... HOF-er and manager Hank Bethel could use a great infusion of talent... his only decent pitcher is in the bullpen... veteran closer John Young (6-3/1.85/12 saves) is a good one... Paulie Pieroni (10-14/4.48) and Nelson Carter (11-17/4.46) are the most dependable starters... CF Crusher Derringer (.273/23/85/63) is the only decent hitter. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-04-2013 at 09:33 PM.