[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 18, 2045

ROOSTERS OVERCOME SNAPPERS IN SEPTEMBER
After trailing defending division champ Rocky Rapids by four games at mid-year in the Ruthlandian West the Middlefield Roosters took command in September and won going away by five games over the Snappers... the Roosters soared to 12-4 in September and raced past the Snappers, who fizzled with a poor 6-10 mark down the stretch... far back in third place were the Stoner Stars 15 games behind... the fourth spot went to Volusia, 17 games out of first... because of its great pitching and home-run power Middlefield should be a prime Pro Cup contender this year.

1. Middlefield finally got another pennant after finishing in the runner-up spot for the previous two seasons... the Roosters were 80-74 in 2044 (5 GB), but climbed atop the division this year with a terrific 95-59 mark... they have now won nine pennants in the club's history and have one Pro Cup in their trophy case... Middlefield wore the IPA crown in 2005... the Roosters are more known for rattling the scoreboard with homers, but his year they came in third in pitching with a strong 2.99 ERA... only Glasco (2.80) and Kilkenny (2.98) were better in the Ruthlandian Union and the IPA... Summerland topped the Tycobbian Union with a 2.99 ERA... four impressive starters propelled the Roosters, three of them 20-game winners: Carroll Collier (24-11/2.72), Hollis Dale (21-8/3.38), All-Star James Long (23-13/2.12 and Larry Wheelhouse (10-11/2.91)... veteran closer Ray Owens (4-2/1.79/9 saves) stood out in the bullpen... the Roosters bats were booming, too... they slammed 231 homers, tops in the RU and second to Red Bluff's new all-time IPA record of 283... the Roosters had seven players top 20 home runs... CF Norm Antonioni (.255/45/97/76), RF Sidney Conner (.317/37/76/72), 1B Cliff Patterson (.315/27/68/82), All-Star SS Jimmy Beach (.262/27/87/79), 3B Ike Gary (.289/25/83/81), LF Dominque Sorrell (.239/20/48/46) and LF Alejandro Dominguez (.232/20/44/48)... the Roosters don't hit for much average (.253/20th), but they sure do go deep often... Conner had a remarkable season... he sat out the first two months of the year and ended up hitting 37 homers in just 90 games.

2. Rocky Rapids won the pennant last year with an 85-69 record, did even better this year with a 90-64 mark, but lost the race by five games... the Snappers won their only Pro Cup in 2019... they have made the postseason only five times in the team's existence... very good pitching combined with very good defense and better-than-average bats helped them this year... leading the way was ERA champion and All-Star Jamie Taylor (21-14/2.00) and All-Star Dirk Halstad (23-9/3.11)... heading up the bullpen was Steve Owens (9-5/1.27/12 saves)... all total four Snappers made the All-Star club... All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.286/34/92/96) and All-Star C Carney Kirkpatrick (.308/20/84/79) were the other two... other contributors were RF Jose Ramos (.283/13/68/93), 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.261/24/77/75), SS Nick Nova (.302/6/47/53) and CF Vance Forbes (.274/15/60/56)... two boycotters put up good numbers, too, when they came back in June: reliable 3B Duncan Musselwhite (.296/9/50/42) and LF Buddy Hamilton (.244/19/51/62).

3. Stoner stayed within striking distance of Middlefield and Rocky Rapids until mid-season, then dropped totally out of contention... the Stars were fourth last year with a 75-79 record (10 GB)... improved a little this year to 80-74, but wound up 15 games out... Stoner hasn't made the postseason since 2029 and hasn't ever won a Pro Cup... only been in the playoffs on three occasions... the top three starters were Mel Glosterman (12-5/2.39/2 saves), Took Noonan (13-10/3.35) and Earl Marley (13-19/3.16)... reliever Fred Gunn had 19 saves, but posted a 7-10 record with a high 4.33 ERA in 65 appearances... he was fourth in the IPA in saves... 2B James Belasario (.313/2/47/81) led the club in BA, runs and stolen bases... he was third in the IPA with 35 thefts... LF Emmett Tread (.276/16/86/75) topped the club in HRs, SBs and RBIs... and was second in the IPA with 43 SBs... solid veterans 3B Ralph Sackett (.266/8/50/45) and 1B Richie Strickland (.301/6/40/30) were boycott holdouts and missed a third of the season.

4. Volusia came in fifth in 2044 (11 GB)... were a little bit better this year at 78-76, but were 17 games off the pace of division winner Middlefield... the Vigilantes have been a playoff team nine times with one Pro Cup trophy to show for it... they won the first Pro Cup in 2001... on the hill the most dependable starters were Will Thompson (19-15/3.44), holdout Drew Selby (12-11/3.38) and Andrew Arryn (13-10/3.08)... at the plate it was All-Star C George Ruffino (.290/20/70/62), SS Duane Blayney (.296/31/88/79), CF Cazzi Carvalho (.273/23/70/85), 1B Kris Wilson (.302/20/61/64) and RF Garth Griffin (.294/16/58/49).

5. Colfax had been stuck in the sixth spot in the standings for the last two years... and stuck with the same 71-83 record... they were 14 GB back in 2044 and 24 GB this season... 13 times the Blasters have graced the playoffs and they have garnered one IPA crown... that was in 2007 when Colfax set an IPA record with 107 victories... Ray Maxon (18-14/3.59) was the most reliable starter... Joe Murvyn (2-1/3.80/17 saves) and Robbie Parker (6-6/3.18/9 saves) led the bullpen... Murvyn was fifth in the RU in saves... the Blasters' best bat LF Chet Penn (.307/4/17/15) was lost for the season in May with an injury... his career .327 BA, 25 homers and 100 RBIs were sorely missed... C Darrell Dillon (.269/30/78/76) led the club in homers, RBIs and runs... 1B Ernie Kidd helped out with 26 HRs, 76 RBIs and 67 runs... career .303 hitter, three-time All-Star and Golden Glove SS Gerry Sives sat out April and May in the player boycott and had a sub-par season at age 36 with a .249 BA, 3 HRs, 41 RBIs and 37 runs scored.

6. Forest City was looking forward to 2045 after its third-place finish in 2044, just five games back of winning Rocky Rapids, but it didn't happen... they fell back into the second division with a 68-86 mark (27 GB)... the Lumberjacks have made the postseason only four times in the club's history and don't have a Pro Cup yet... holdout hurler Walter Gibbons (10-8/2.73) was the best starter... but Rusty Howard (14-16/2.85), John McKee (16-15/3.36) and Omar Cordero (12-12/3.00/4 saves) were effective, too, but suffered from the very poor offensive support... the 'Jacks scored only 586 runs and were ranked near the bottom of the IPA... some of the best Lumberjacks held out until June... among them were CF Carlo Velucci (.242/8/46/44) and 1B Pistol Pete Picard (.336/20/54/39)... LF Otto Glintmeyer (.306/17/74/68) was one the few productive bats on the club.

7. Sligo has been in sharp decline since back-to-back pennants in 2039 and 2040... they were terrible last year in the cellar with a 61-93 record (24 GB) and seventh this year with a 65-89 mark (30 GB)... the Rovers have made the playoffs nine times and have captured one Pro Cup long ago and far away in 2021... no one on the staff had a winning records, but they did have some decent pitchers in Buzz Bumgartner (12-15/3.55), Art Hacker (11-12/3.68), Randall Steele (10-11/3.75) and Davey Hunter (8-10/3.51/10 saves)... veteran star 1B Denny Simmons led the club in almost everything with a .312 BA, 189 hits, 27 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HRs, 77 RBIs and 80 runs scored... nobody else came close to him.

8. Fort Benton wound up near the bottom for the fourth straight season... the Defenders were 64-90 last year in seventh place (21 GB)... and down to the basement this year with a pathetic 58-96 record (37 GB)... only once in the team's history have they won a pennant and made the playoff... that was in 2037... needless to say the Defenders are not a very good ballclub... long-time star Augie Marquis (12-19/3.77) still is a capable starter at age 39... he is 368-300 with a fine 3.22 ERA in his 22 years, all with Fort Benton... he is now third on the all-time wins list in the IPA... topped only by two legendary greats, Nicky Engstrom with a 387-218 mark and Cody Burg with a 369-264 record... Marquis might have had well over 400 victories, if he had played for a better franchise... another vet Jordy Raeburn (9-12/2.93) was the most effective hurler, but he boycotted the first two months of the season... at the plate the team is just plain bad with only 73 roundtrippers (31st-tied) for the year... CF Dwight Beatty (.264) topped the team with 15 homers and 82 RBIs... RF Cayman Crittenden (.263) scored the most runs with 74 and stole the most bases with 35 (third in the IPA)... and SS Glendon Glenn led the club with a .310 BA and 186 hits.

2045 Ruthlandian West Final Team Statistics