[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 19, 2045

WIDE-OPEN SHOOTOUT IN PLAYOFFS
Glasco led the IPA with 100 wins this year... Red Bluff hit a record-breaking 283 homers... defending Pro Cup champ Southport is back and better-than-ever... of the eight qualifying teams only Kenwood is given very little chance of taking home the title... all of the other seven are in the running according to the baseball experts around the Islands... rarely do the favorites bring home the bacon... lesser lights seem to thrive in the postseason.

The 45th edition of the IPA playoffs are scheduled to start Thursday afternoon. In the Ruthlandian Union the homestanding Glasco Athletics will take on the visiting Claxton Diamonds and the Middlefield Roosters will be at home against the Sugar Valley Rattlers... Over in Tycobbia the Southport Sun Sox will be defending their Pro Cup title at home against the North Hills Hawks, while the Red Bluff Red Sox go up against the Kenwood Wildcats at Red Bluff Park. All postseason series in the IPA are the best-of-seven.

Six of the playoff clubs were given support to win it all this year... The Islandian Times' annual Pro Cup poll gave a slight edge to the Glasco Athletics, citing three solid starters, a fine bullpen and solid bats... Red Bluff was the number-two choice with its super firepower... the Red Sox are sizzling hot entering the postseason... they were 33-12 in the final weeks of the regular season and have the greatest momentum... third pick Middlefield is considered dangerous with its strong bats, very good starters and deep bullpen... the Roosters are red-hot going into the playoffs with a 31-14 mark the last six weeks of the campaign... current IPA titleholder Southport was ranked fourth in the poll... the Sun Sox are playoff-tested with many seasoned vets still in their primes... the North Hills Hawks always play well in the postseason and have four Pro Cup titles in the last 11 years, but none in the last four seasons... they are the fifth choice and are showing signs of aging... the Sugar Valley Rattlers are rated number six in the poll, but don't seem to have enough pitching depth in their starters to do a lot of damage, but their bats could... Claxton is pretty much in the same boat as Sugar Valley... the pitching is not strong enough... the Diamonds are a long shot... Kenwood had the worst record of any of the division winners and was rated the least likely to win the title this year... however, once they got the boycotters back, the Wildcats did much better after floundering badly in the first two months of the season... they were 28-17 during the stretch drive.

1. Glasco Athletics (100-54): Glasco had an almost perfect season, ringing up the most wins in the IPA this season with an even 100... the A's were up near the top in offense and pitching... they were fourth last year (11 GB) with an 82-72 record... this is only the third time the Athletics have made the playoffs... the last appearance was in 2003... Glasco will be one of the favorites in this year's Pro Cup playoffs... they are going into the playoffs on a high note... the Athletics played well the entire season... they have never won the IPA title... Pat Meyers (20-14/2.78) and Benny McDaniel (23-6/2/54) led a fearsome staff... leading the offense were All-Star CF John Rumford (.318/25/96/101), All-Star 3B Billy Stroud (.308/9/78/66) and RF Travis Houston (.270/17/87/67).

2. Red Bluff Red Sox: Red Bluff took its second straight division title... both seasons they came in with 95-59 records... the Red Sox will be appearing in their sixth postseason... they won their only Pro Cup years ago in 2004... the Red Sox can score runs (6th) and they have very good pitching (4th)... defensively they are just average (.972 FA)... the Red Sox have all the elements to do well in the postseason... all 8 regulars hit 16 or more homers, paced by superstar All-Star LF David Kelso (.289/65/130/111), the IPA leader with 65 homers, just one short of the league record... he was also fourth in RBIs and sixth in scoring runs... Kelso is Hall of Fame material with 437 homers in 12 seasons... 1B Josh Stevens (.252/43/91/96) smacked 43 homers, 3B Fran Blanchard (.291/36/90/94) had 36, C Phil White (.214/32/80/58) hit 32 home runs, SS Leemon O'Donovan (.262/27/79/74) numbered 27, CF Ike Sweetwater (.327/23/63/59) socked 23 out of the park, LF Jesse Shaw (.273/19/46/40) popped 19 HRs and 2B Big Boy Payne (.249/16/46/88) chipped in 16... Sweetwater and Shaw didn't play the first two months because of the player boycott... heading up the mound staff were Jud Cox (16-12/2.57), Mickey Rosen (17-8/3.00), Jack Wallace (12-6/3.64) and George Reynolds (18-12/3.61)... the top reliever was Carson Jamara (7-8/3.30/18 saves)... Jamara was ninth in saves this year in the IPA.

3. Middlefield Roosters: 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: All-Star 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.

4. Southport Sun Sox: Southport is only a recent powerhouse in the IPA... overall the Sun Sox have seldom been in the postseason... this will be their seventh appearance... they will be shooting for their second IPA crown... last year the Sun Sox piled up a 104-50 record... the season started on a very sour note for them... three primary starters, Billy Hoover (16-7/1.87), Johnny Swanson (14-8/3.46) and Brandon Forbes (15-8/3.36), were out on boycott, along with two regular position players 1B Eddy Douglas (.323/21/63/58) and 3B Craig Glennon (.296/15/63/49)... it's amazing that they won 95 games this year... the number five starter Cade Brocton (20-13/3.73) and an obscure pitcher on the reserve roster, 34-year-old Tiger Tartaglia (9-4/2.97) rose to the occasion and took up the slack, along with the superb bullpen... prior to this year Tartaglia was only 10-12 in three seasons with a mediocre 4.35 ERA... with the return of the prime starters, there was no room on the roster for Tartaglia.

5. North Hills Hawks: the Hawks were 92-62 in 2044 and 90-64 this year... they have won the TU North Division the last three years and a remarkable 11 times in 12 seasons.. North Hills is still a solid team, but not as good as in the past decade when they won four Pro Cups in eight years... vets 38-year-old David Michael (21-18/3.58) and 33-year-old Tony Mack (16-17/3.12) are still capable starters, but are past their primes... Alex Peters (17-6/3.20) is now the club ace... after 17 years Michael is approaching 300 victories... he is 295-212 with a fine 3.05 ERA... he is especially potent in the postseason and possesses a 20-11 record and a great 2.25 ERA in 35 starts... 34-year-old superstar All-Star Adam Thurgood (.305/39/118/95) still anchors the attack... he made the All-Stars for the ninth time in his illustrious career... Thurgood is a lifetime .314 batter with 450 homers and shoo-in first-ballot Hall-of-Famer... 3B Jim McDermott (.301/17/91/90) and 2B Tommy Vavas (.259/15/63/105) are the other good run producers on the club... the Hawks' bats are not as good as they were in the Pro Cup glory days... defensively the Hawks are excellent with a .979 FA.

6. Sugar Valley Rattlers: Sugar Valley will be making its 13th appearance in the postseason, but they will still be seeking their first Pro Cup... last season the club lost a three-way playoff for the division title, going 96-59 (1.5 GB)... the Rattlers were just as good this year with a 94-60 mark, good enough to win the pennant this year... they have an experienced crew with very good firepower and fairly good pitching and could be troublesome in the playoffs... the Rattlers hit 198 homers (3rd) and were 5th in scoring runs... they still won comfortably despite having three of their main starters Jeremy Blanchard (12-6/3.75), Davey Brennan (12-9/3.13) and Christopher Dunsberry (10-8/3.90) holding out until June... Joe Snow (21-12/3.47) and Antonio Cedeno (9-8/2.90) filled in for them capably... the Rattler line-up featured three guys that hit over 30 homers: All-Star CF Carl Ramsey (.291) led the club with 46 roundtrippers and 123 RBIs, superstar All-Star RF Bobby Gamble (.336) socked 33 HRs and topped the team with 123 runs and C Delmer Campbell (.244) rapped 30 out of the park... Gamble led the IPA in runs scored and ranked fifth in BA... Ramsey was fourth in homers, sixth in RBIs and fourth in runs scored... add in two more reliable bats in 2B Richie Fry (.291/7/54/88) and holdout SS Roger Hobbs (.286/15/40/65) and you've got a powerful batting order.

7. Claxton Diamonds: Claxton rose up from fourth place ... they were 80-74 last year and 5 GB... they improved to 93-61 this season and captured the division crown... this will be the Diamonds 11th playoff appearance, but they have yet to pick up an IPA Pro Cup... their last pennant came in 2038... good bats, better-than-average pitching and excellent defense got the job done for them this season... they posted a 3.53 ERA, batted .272 (3rd), scored 744 runs (3rd) and knocked 145 homers (11th-tied)... their defense was one of the best in the IPA with a great .979 FA... sparking the attack was superstar All-Star 1B Jojo DeLucca, who had a spectacular season, leading the IPA with 213 hits, third with a .341 BA, ninth in homers with 43, fifth with 129 RBIs and ninth with 107 runs scored... DeLucca led the RU in batting average... other contributors were 3B-SS Rick Clayburne (.32/6/46/81), LF Foxy Fuchs (.285/29/77/74), SS Stevie Wynn (.325/8/41/43), 3B Jack Brumfield (.291/11/59/42) and RF Roger Jackson (.253/6/52/96)... Wynn missed the first two months of the season with the players' boycott... top pitchers were Abe Schiffman (18-7/2.78), Eddie Dizon (22-12/3.86) and Stan Yudash (12-5/2.84)... how far Claxton goes in the playoffs will depend on its pitching corps.

8. Kenwood Wildcats: Kenwood won its only Pro Cup in 2014... this will be the Wildcats' seventh postseason appearance... they were 90-84 last year and slipped a bit to 84-70 this season... solid pitching with a 3.30 ERA (5th) and an adequate offense with a .269 BA (5th), 674 runs (19th) and 152 HRs (17th) won it for them... plus solid defense (.976 FA)... Clyde Meyers (21-13/3.32) and Tommy Carter (17-13/3.13) were the biggest winners on the staff... two veterans Freddy Gooch (8-10/2.63) and Rusty Bradford (8-8/3.76/4 saves) boycotted the club the first two months... rookie Gregg Campbell (13-9/2.83) filled in for them quite well... in the bullpen Artemus Hale (.6-3/2.16/7 saves) and Mike Jones (2-3/2.31/7 saves) did their jobs well, too... four regulars were missing in the early months: superstar C Corky DiNozzo (.296/22/71/45), rookie RF Billy Nix (.268/22/69/51), CF Warren Vickers (.305/10/40/70) and 1B Bert Henrich (.277/15/50/400... their absence had a lot to do with the slow start... the only regulars that played a full season were 3B Country Crowder (.329/6/63/88) and LF Dorsey Faircloth (.305/22/71/70).