[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, July 1. 2039

RU SOUTH TIGHTENS, ST. JOHN FALTERS
Going into June, the St. John Crusaders possessed a solid seven-game bulge in the Ruthlandian South Division, but no more... at mid-season several of the high-preseason picks like division favorite Waleska and second-ranked San Dimas have emerged from their slumber and played like solid contenders... in June, the Westerners rolled to a 17-9 mark, the Rancheros went 15-11, while the Crusaders slumped to 12-14 to cut the Crusaders' lead to just two games... third in the standings, Crystal Lake, number four in the preseason poll, went 13-13 and is six games behind... San Dimas improved to fourth, seven games off the pace... fifth-place Claxton and sixth-place Valka are still close enough to make a race of it, trailing by eight and nine games, respectively... the Diamonds are the defending division champ.

1. St. John: though they faltered in June, the Crusaders still boast strong hitting and solid pitching and should be a force in the race... All-Star RF Nicky Farrugia is flirting with .400 with an IPA-leading .399 BA... he also has 20 doubles, 4 triples, 19 HRs, 55 RBIs and 64 runs scored... CF Art Kelley (.289/12/41/40) and LF Bobby Joe Daniel (.307/3/36/46) are also helping out... leading the team on the hill are All-Star Jeremy Kirk (13-5/2.39) and Vito Sanfratello (10-5/2.56).

2. Waleska: the mound staff is the Westerners' bread-and-butter... vets Terry Richards (9-2/2.52), All-Star Craig Nash (10-5/2.71), Jeff Woodruff (10-10/3.29) and Tony Haskell (6-8/3.33) are a formidable foursome in anybody's league... veteran homer-and-RBI guy RF Niles Gregory is the main weapon with 16 homers, 53 RBIs, 49 runs and a solid .288 BA... 1B Shayn Lambert (.319/9/33/40) and 2B Joey Harris (.280/4/34/40) have also chipped in some offensive help... look for the Westerners to be near the top at the end... they should do well in the postseason, too... they are a fine, talented and experienced team, that won the 2037 Pro Cup.

3. Crystal Lake: the Crushers can score, but don't have a lot of pitching... still they are hanging in the hunt... they were 13-13 in June... RF Paul Dillon (.326/9/37/45), SS Morten Jonassen (.294/4/42/41) and C Stan Stanek (.256/9/48/41) are the primary bats, but they have help from a solid core of regulars... journeyman Ken Lawson (9-9/3.79) is the only halfway-effective starter on the staff.

4. San Dimas: after two marginal months, the Rancheros played like contenders in June with a 15-11 record, working their way back into the pennant chase... they can be tough at the plate with RF Denny Hendrix (.288/16/51/52), LF Austin Epps (.315/10/45/39), LF Pat Sautier (.319/8/44/43), 3B Leonard Purkey (.316/8/38/44), CF Klaus Stordahl (.281/13/35/46) and C Hermie Goetz (.299/5/29/38)... with an average set of starters and suspect bullpenders... Gil Arnaud (10-7/3.87), Duffy Davidson (6-6/3.40) and Carroll Cain (6-10/3.52) are good at times.

5. Claxton: the Diamonds, who hit so well last year and won the pennant, still have pretty much the same players, but they are just not hitting... .285 last year, .250 this season... All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca (.293/19/44/410, All-Star 2B Gary Colton (.313/11/39/41) and SS Stevie Wynn (.295/5/27/45) just need help from LF Foxy Fuchs (.232), CF Ivan Krause (.251) and C Jaan Hoogendoorn (.251), all down 40 to 100 points from last year... actually the mound staff is much better this year, but the hitters are letting them down... Abe Schiffman (10-8/3.51), Stan Yudesh (9-8/3.51) and Sam Nathan (5-14/3/26) are dependable pitchers, given proper run support... the bullpen is quite good with a 2.46 ERA (6th)... if the bats surge in the second half, so will Claxton.

6. Valka: the Blackhawks can put runs on the scoreboard, but they give up more than they score... but they were good enough to go 14-12 in June, their first winning month this season... they are in sixth place, nine games out and for the 11th straight season not likely to make the first division... the Blackhawks' attack is led by star CF Kenny Mitzusaka (.334/11/53/40), All-Star 1B Bobby Scott (.327/18/50/47), rookie 2B Warren Block (.281/12/43/41) and LF Gilberto Duarte (.279/13/26/47)... Valka has only three reliable hurlers: starter Ando Lintrop (8-4/3.58) and two relievers, Julien Rouse (4-1/0.83/7 saves) and Miikael Arens (2-1/2.72).

7. Grand City: the Cybercats were chosen third in the preseason poll, but didn't live up to it in the first two months of the campaign... however in June they turned it around a bit with a 15-11 mark... still they are 13 games behind and pretty much out of it in seventh place... the team's strength is in the threesome of Kenny Morrow (8-10/3.12), second in the IPA in strikeouts, Doug Hansack (8-8/3.27) and Glen Caswell (4-11/3.36), who half the time gives them good starts... Caswell is 4-2 after losing his first nine decisions... Kent Douglas (6-3/2.00/6 saves) is the bullpen ace... the club has a few good bats in budding star 24-year-old 1B Benny Hull (.312/19/53/40), veteran star SS Teddy Grantham (.326/11/37/33), C Iggy Van Dyck (.299/11/34/37) and 3B Mickey Etheridge (.277/14/35/32).

8. Belair Beach: the Sunbirds were last in 2038 and are likely to finish in the cellar for the second consecutive year... they seem to get worse as the season progress... the 'Birds were a poor 9-17 last month... they have a lousy offense (31st) and mediocre pitching (4.01/21st)... Belair Beach does have one redeeming factor... a .980 fielding percentage... they also have some quality pitchers in starters Jose Munos (3-4/2.91/3 saves) and Joel Gregg (4-7/2.92)... Todd Clyman (8-11/3.71) has given them some quality starts, too... All-Star 1B Jason Butler has really done well this year with a .304 BA, 24 HRs, 49 RBIs and 41 runs scored... he is having his best season at age 26, but he has no help whatsoever at the plate.