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Eugene Church · 12-07-2013, 07:22 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, October 7, 2041

NORTH HILLS GETS FAVORITE ROLE IN PRO CUP FINALS
The 2041 IPA Pro Cup Finals should be whale of a series... both finalists are perennially-strong franchises, especially in the last decade... North Hills has won the IPA title three times since 2034 and was expected to win it several other times... the Hawks have run up a new IPA record by winning its division for eight successive seasons... Cold Creek is on a roll, too, with five division titles in the last six years... the Catamounts have also been expected to win the Pro Cup several times in recent years, but haven't... in fact, this is Cold Creek's first appearance in the championship series... North Hills, on the other hand, has won it all three times they have made the Finals... 2034, 2036 and 2038.

Oddsmakers have made North Hills the favorite over Cold Creek, citing the Catamounts' weak offense as being the main difference between the two clubs... Cold Creek did well during the regular season, but has slumped in the postseason thus far... the Hawks were the third choice in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll, while the Catamounts were picked a lowly seventh... North Hills disposed of number one Cape Coral and number five Kenwood on the way to the Finals... Cold Creek whipped number four Middlefield and number six Ranford in the earlier rounds.

North Hills (95-59) (TU North): the Hawks have won three Pro Cups since 2034... they have great pitching, good bats and good gloves... however they lost their ace Tony Mack (23-9/2.69) in September... still they have strong pitching despite the huge loss... North Hills led the IPA with a superb 2.73 ERA.

The Hawks will be going for a record-tying fourth Pro Cup this year... they won it in 2034, 2036 and 2038, but failed the last two years despite being the favorite... second-best record in the IPA with 95 wins... only Cape Coral of the TU South was better with 97... the Hawks have great pitching with a 2.76 ERA (1st) and pretty good offense... and better-than-average defense (.975 FA).

The North Hills starters are All-Star Jeff Owens (22-11/2.33), Joey Santini (14-5/2.45/7 saves) and Nelson Hooper (14-11/2.59)... ace Tony Mack (23-9/2.69) will miss the playoffs due to injury... that's a big loss, but Hooper and Santini have been able to fill in the huge gap so far in the postseason.

The Hawks' offense is led by 30-year-old superstar LF Adam Thurgood (.307/35/99/95)... he still carries the team, but has solid help from CF Kris Anastas (.294/22/82/78), 3B Jim McDermott (.307/19/79/70), 1B Ric Hamilton (.264/19/78/71) and 2B Tommy Vavas (.273/16/70/98).

Cold Creek (86-68) (RU East): the Catamounts lived and died with its excellent pitching staff in recent years... they never had enough offense to win a Pro Cup... this year the hitting is up a bit, but the pitching is down a bit... experts don't think the 'Cats are as good as in the past. For the first time in seven years the Catamounts failed to win at least 90 games... but they still prevailed with good pitching, good offense and standout defense (.978 FA).

All-Star superstar J. J. Gillespie (22-12/2.72) is still the ace... at age 36 he won 20 games for the seventh time in his brilliant career... however 35-year-old Joey Baker (18-18/3.71) and Rob Hutchins (14-12/3.65) were down a bit from last year... Baker was 20-8 in 2040 and Hutchins was 17-11.

The offense was more than adequate, but didn't have much power... the Catamounts hit only 109 homers (31st-tied), but ranked sixth with a .274 BA and tied for fourth with 774 runs... 35-year-old CF Guy St. Laurent was the club leader with a .313 BA, 25 HRs, 90 RBIs, 92 runs and 16 SBs... SS Jeremy Hall (.307/7/79/82) and LF Jimmy Howell (.305/5/57/64) both had fairly good years.

12-07-2013, 07:22 PM	#3882
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,891	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Monday, October 7, 2041 NORTH HILLS GETS FAVORITE ROLE IN PRO CUP FINALS The 2041 IPA Pro Cup Finals should be whale of a series... both finalists are perennially-strong franchises, especially in the last decade... North Hills has won the IPA title three times since 2034 and was expected to win it several other times... the Hawks have run up a new IPA record by winning its division for eight successive seasons... Cold Creek is on a roll, too, with five division titles in the last six years... the Catamounts have also been expected to win the Pro Cup several times in recent years, but haven't... in fact, this is Cold Creek's first appearance in the championship series... North Hills, on the other hand, has won it all three times they have made the Finals... 2034, 2036 and 2038. Oddsmakers have made North Hills the favorite over Cold Creek, citing the Catamounts' weak offense as being the main difference between the two clubs... Cold Creek did well during the regular season, but has slumped in the postseason thus far... the Hawks were the third choice in The Islandian Times Pro Cup poll, while the Catamounts were picked a lowly seventh... North Hills disposed of number one Cape Coral and number five Kenwood on the way to the Finals... Cold Creek whipped number four Middlefield and number six Ranford in the earlier rounds. North Hills (95-59) (TU North): the Hawks have won three Pro Cups since 2034... they have great pitching, good bats and good gloves... however they lost their ace Tony Mack (23-9/2.69) in September... still they have strong pitching despite the huge loss... North Hills led the IPA with a superb 2.73 ERA. The Hawks will be going for a record-tying fourth Pro Cup this year... they won it in 2034, 2036 and 2038, but failed the last two years despite being the favorite... second-best record in the IPA with 95 wins... only Cape Coral of the TU South was better with 97... the Hawks have great pitching with a 2.76 ERA (1st) and pretty good offense... and better-than-average defense (.975 FA). The North Hills starters are All-Star Jeff Owens (22-11/2.33), Joey Santini (14-5/2.45/7 saves) and Nelson Hooper (14-11/2.59)... ace Tony Mack (23-9/2.69) will miss the playoffs due to injury... that's a big loss, but Hooper and Santini have been able to fill in the huge gap so far in the postseason. The Hawks' offense is led by 30-year-old superstar LF Adam Thurgood (.307/35/99/95)... he still carries the team, but has solid help from CF Kris Anastas (.294/22/82/78), 3B Jim McDermott (.307/19/79/70), 1B Ric Hamilton (.264/19/78/71) and 2B Tommy Vavas (.273/16/70/98). Cold Creek (86-68) (RU East): the Catamounts lived and died with its excellent pitching staff in recent years... they never had enough offense to win a Pro Cup... this year the hitting is up a bit, but the pitching is down a bit... experts don't think the 'Cats are as good as in the past. For the first time in seven years the Catamounts failed to win at least 90 games... but they still prevailed with good pitching, good offense and standout defense (.978 FA). All-Star superstar J. J. Gillespie (22-12/2.72) is still the ace... at age 36 he won 20 games for the seventh time in his brilliant career... however 35-year-old Joey Baker (18-18/3.71) and Rob Hutchins (14-12/3.65) were down a bit from last year... Baker was 20-8 in 2040 and Hutchins was 17-11. The offense was more than adequate, but didn't have much power... the Catamounts hit only 109 homers (31st-tied), but ranked sixth with a .274 BA and tied for fourth with 774 runs... 35-year-old CF Guy St. Laurent was the club leader with a .313 BA, 25 HRs, 90 RBIs, 92 runs and 16 SBs... SS Jeremy Hall (.307/7/79/82) and LF Jimmy Howell (.305/5/57/64) both had fairly good years.