[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, August 1, 2047

RUTHLANDIAN UNION JULY RECAP

RACE OVER IN RU NORTH, REDHAWKS ROMP
There a good race going for second place in the Ruthlandian North, but the pennant race is over - Far Mountain (72-39) has beaten everything in sight and has a 14-game bulge going into the final six weeks of the season. Valmara (58-53), LaGrange (58-53) and Glasco (58-53) are tussling for the number two spot, along with the Kilkenny Cats (55-56).

The first place Redhawks have marvelous pitching and scoring, a combination hard-to-beat... they were 18-10 in July... Curt Steinhauer (15-5/1.74), Stan Smith (18-4/3.27) and Jonas Glover (16-8/3.18) have done a great job in the starting rotation, while the bullpen has been solid, headed up by Fernando Sanches (9-6/2.96/13 saves)... at the plate Far Mountain doesn't have any superstar bats with super stats... they do it as a group, but don't hit for high averages except for one parttimer... 1B Rance Hawkins is hitting .368 with 10 HRs, 40 RBIs and 44 runs as a platoon player... the most productive regulars have been CF Todd Purdom (.279/7/36/49), 2B Sammy Prejean (.261/2/37/38), SS Webster Ronstadt (.259/7/45/56) and RF Bert Richter (.245/15/42/51).

LaGrange rolled up a strong 18-10 mark for the month... the Sports' top performers are Hot Dog Huxtable (13-8/2.45/4 saves) and Arnie Ayers (15-8/2.63) on the hill and 1B Clayton Justice (.298/20/79/45) and SS Johnny Rodgers (.287/16/79/61) with the bats.

Valmara wound up 15-13 in July... veterans stars Primo Sirak (11-7/2.06) and Teddy Twardzik (10-12/2.66) have been great on the mound, but need more run support... the Vipers don't hit with much power and are only average hitters... the club leaders are All-Star SS Ken Jensen (.302/8/53/62), LF Paul McMahon (.316/5/54/29) and 2B Jorge Aparicio (.279/8/38/65).

The Glasco A's have excellent pitching and average offense... top twirlers are starters Evan Walsh (13-12/2.41), Benny McDaniel (11-8/2.71), Pat Meyers (13-10/3.04) and Brent Bolivar (9-9/3.35)... the bullpen is strong, too, with Ken McLin (7-6/2.25/9 saves)... LF George Russell (.264/9/61/57) and CF John Rumford (.260/10/44/62) lead the club offensively... the Athletics were 14-14 in July.

Fifth place Kilkenny was 15-13 during the last month... the Cats feature good pitching, but have terrible hitting... Dave Stratford (15-12/2.19) has been a terrific starter and is the ace of the staff with some help from Ciaran Cullen (13-12/3.72) and Glen Caswell (12-15/3.00)... SS Sam Norman (.268/17/62/38) and CF Scottie Spencer (.246/13/46/45) are the leaders offensively.

RU SOUTH SUPER TIGHT WITH 3-WAY BATTLE
There's a tremendous duel going on in the Ruthlandian South. Favored Waleska (60-51) has a one-game edge over Crystal Lake (59-52) and Belair Beach (59-52). The Westerners were 17-11 in July to take over the top spot in the standings, the Crushers 16-12 and the Sunbirds just 14-14... Belair Beach was the division leader at the end of May.

The Westerners have the best pitching in the IPA with a 2.76 team ERA, but are less-than-average on the scoreboard... they are sparked by four fine veteran starters in Jeff Woodruff (13-10/2.34), All-Star Niles Nielsen (12-8/2.57), Tony Haskell (13-8/2.89) and Roy Schaefer (12-11/3.15)... the main man in the bullpen has been Vince Gibson (4-5/1.10/11 saves)... SS Pete Hudson (.320/2/39/33) has the top BA... CF Kenny Hardy (.294) is the club leader in hits (132), doubles (27), homers (14), RBIs (62), runs (66) and stolen bases (28)... other contributors are 3B Pete Furness (.266/13/55/37), LF Gene Stevenson (.267/13/39/43) and 1B Rob Rice (.313/11/39/37).

The Crystal Lake Crushers hit well for average (.273-1st) and score well (10th), but lack the longball with only 67 (26th tied)... pacing the attack are RF Paul Dillon (.322/8/56/53), CF Jesse Walker (.310/0/23/37), LF Jed Murphee (.289/6/47/72) and C Del Peevy (.281/8/51/50)... the best two starters have been Manuel Hinojosa (8-4/2.59) and Dave McCauley (13-11/3.94)... All-Star closer Josh Crosby (10-5/1.89/14 saves) heads up the reliever corps.

Belair Beach's offense is keeping them in the race, but the mound staff could do better... the Sunbirds are 9th in scoring runs, but are 27th with a 3.99 team ERA... carrying the brunt of the attack is superstar All-Star 3B Jason Butler, who is having a banner year with a .320 BA, 33 HRs, 90 RBIs and 72 runs... the 34-year-old Butler is tied for fifth in the IPA in RBIs... 1B Shannon Stewart (.302/10/54/57) and CF Norm Ellis (.268/17/45/47) have also chipped in with the bats... Kevin Tolbert (11-10/3.01) has been the most effective starter, but Ronnie Roy (14-8/4.27) and Jose Munoz (13-12/4.05) have more wins... in the bullpen Tom Cook (4-3/2.47/15 saves) and Ray Dunn (3-1/2.03/6 saves) have stood out.

MARSTON ADDS TO LEAD IN RU EAST
Six of the teams in the Ruthlandian East have winning records, making it one of the stronger divisions in the the IPA. The Marston Nine (69-42) are making a serious bid to get out of the perpetual doldrums of the second division this year. The first place Nine skied to 20-8 in July and added to its lead, moving six games ahead of preseason choice Sugar Valley (63-48). The powerful Rattlers finished 18-10 for the month. The Eastshore Elegants (60-51) are in the third spot in the standings, trailing by 9 games. They were 16-12 this past month. In fourth place are the Belle Plaine Musketeers (59-52), who posted a strong 18-10 mark, but still fell two more games behind in the pennant race. The Muskies are 10 games off the pace.

Marston can swing the bat, ranking near the top in scoring runs (2nd), topped only by Belle Plaine in the RU... the Nine also has topnotch pitching (8th)... the club leaders are All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.316/17/51/78), SS Stan Mila (.308/15/77/48), RF Charley Gilmore (.310/10/50/46) and All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.289/13/66/70)... on the hill All-Star Felix Delatte (18-4/2.51) is having a banner year... Kelly Long (6-3/1.99/7 saves) recently moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation... number two starter Thomas Stuart (9-10/3.33) and number three John Newton (13-11/3.56) have struggled at times...Long looks to be an upgrade... standout Kiki Vuk (9-2/1.49/7 saves) is the bullpen specialist... Marston just has six weeks to go to get its first RU East flag in almost two decades... the Nine is certainly playing like a pennant winner this season.

But, of course, last year's division winner Sugar Valley will have a lot to say about that... the Rattlers are still a very capable ball club with solid starters and good bats... leading the rotation is Antonio Cedeno (17-10/2.89) with some help from Christopher Dunsberry (10-8/2.82), Cullen Winslow (12-8/3.60) and Davey Brennan (7-10/2.88/7 saves)... the bullpen (4.40 ERA) has not fared very well and is the sore point on the team... the Rattlers really needs some help there to get back in the pennant race... All-Star 2B Richie Fry (.363/6/54/55) is hitting everything in sight and is leading the league with a .363 BA, second in the IPA to Kenwood's Country Crowder, who is tops at .370... CF Carl Ramsey is not much for average at .235, but has been the club leader with 23 HRs, 71 RBIs and 81 runs... 1B Roger Hobbs is batting only .240, but has 17 homers, 47 RBIs and has scored 65 runs... player-manager and RF Bobby Gamble, a career .319 batter, is only hitting .274, but has 16 homers, 59 RBIs and 64 runs.

The Eastshore Elegants are pretty much average as a team... but they have two outstanding All-Star hurlers in starter Valdek Savisaar (16-5/2.81) and relief star Jody Friday (12-1/1.50/12 saves)... Friday leads the Ruthlandian Union in ERA with a splendid 1.50, topped only by Matt Bell (18-4/1.49) of San Alejo in the Tycobbian Union... Eastshore's best bat is All-Star RF Troy McFarland (.271/19/69/64), the club leader in most categories... CF Bevan Shuler is batting only .228, but has 15 HRs, 48 RBIs and scored 78 runs... 1B Gibby Houston leads with a .342 BA, plus 7 HRs and 43 RBIs... 3B Abner Bronstein is hitting .313... and 2B Odis Caswell is batting .293 with 37 RBIs and 52 runs.

Fourth place Belle Plaine is first in Ruthlandia putting runs on the scoreboard with a .272 BA (3rd) and 116 HRs (5th), but not quite average on the mound with a so-so 3.63 team ERA (21st)... 1B Chuck Gregory (.291/24/83/52), rookie RF Lenny Buisson (.328/19/58/51), CF Roy Myers (.296/15/49/63) and C Nuke Borg (.306/13/44/47) are the team leaders at the plate... 2B Mac Lord (.332/7/33/41) and 3B Kale Woodard (.327/4/32/57) have blossomed this year as hitters... the modest mound corps is paced by starters Ryne Malloy (13-13/4.15) and Joe-Joe Bouvier (11-8/3.98) and by Kurt Tandberg (5-1/2.12/9 saves) in the pen.

Cold Creek is in fifth place with pretty good pitching, but very little in the batter's box... top starters are Rob Hutchins (14-8/1.99) and Riku Takahashi (8-8/3.37/5 saves)... with Andres Padilla (7-3/3.18/7 saves) leading the relievers... the most productive bats are 1B Bradley Brim (.305/10/47/43), 3B Joe Cochrane (.328/9/47/59) and SS Nicky Thacker (.267/5/33/58).

The sixth place Beechwood Bobcats do little other than go deep fairly often... the Bobcats have hit 134 homers, second to Middlefield's 140 in the RU... 1B Corky Callahan (.276/27/65/48), RF Eddie Wilson (.269/23/49/52) and CF Keith Kalder (.313/20/46/43) are the deep threats... C Glenn Tinker (.286/9/40/51) has been productive, too... Jimmy Herman (13-13/3.87) is the only starter under 4.00 ERA... reliever Freddy Manale is unbeaten in 34 relief roles with 9 saves and a 2.74 ERA.

The Wynnamac Sundowners were forecast to be a first-division club this year, but they fizzled badly in July (11-17) and slumped to seventh place... just an average ball club in a good division... vets Sammy Hayes (14-10/3.02) and Jimmy Willard (11-7/3.31) have been sound starters... and Johnny Mitchell (6-6/2.06/8 saves) has done a good job in relief... 3B Duane Hudson (.332/6/45/58) is the club leader in BA with superstar RF Nioka Inkamara (.266/26/74/62) tops in homers, RBIs and runs, but who hasn't been the same player he was prior to the injury year in 2045.

The Elnora All-Stars are in the cellar, but are just five games under .500... they can stick the ball with a .263 BA, rank seventh in scoring and have decent power with 101 HRs (13th)... the All-Stars are just fair to middling on the mound with a 3.85 ERA (23rd)... All-Star RF Preston Davies (.332/18/48/56) and All-Star C Cannon Johnson (.270/22/62/57) are the biggest threats in the batting order with good help from LF Enos Conrad (.306/8/42/43), CF Kyle Watson (.301/4/50/54), 2B Marty Macomber (.294/16/57/59) and 3B Joey Hagburn (.286/9/57/53)... veterans starters Dan Pitts (12-12/3.42) and Stan Kivas (12-11/3.76) are the staff leaders.

ROOSTERS STILL AHEAD IN RU WEST
Middlefield (67-44) posted the best record in the Ruthlandian West this month to put a little bit more space between them and the rest of the contenders. Only Forest City (64-47) is pushing them, just three games behind. The Roosters were 16-12 during the month, while the Lumberjacks were 15-13. The third place Rocky Rapids Snappers (60-51) were 13-15 and slipped 10 games out in the race. Volusia (59-52) and Colfax (59-52), tied for fourth, went 14-14 and 13-15 respectively and now trail the Roosters by eight games. Sligo (57-54), in the sixth spot, is also three-game over .500, but was only 12-16 for July. The Rovers fell 10 games back in the pennant race.

First place Middlefield has a strong attack and strong pitching... the Roosters are batting .262 (10th), have collected 140 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in scoring runs... they have chalked up an impressive 2.91 team ERA (4th)... with those numbers you would think they would have a bigger lead in the division... the top starters are All-Star James Long (18-7/2.22), Larry Wheelhouse (16-11/2.55) and Carroll Collier (12-10/3.04)... Ray Owens (4-5/1.72/13 saves) leads a strong bullpen that has compiled a superb 2.01 ERA and is ranked number one in the Ruthlandian Union... All-Star RF Sidney Conner (.303/35/93/72) is having a terrific year... he is third in the IPA with 93 RBIs... only Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (123) and High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (121) are ahead of him... Conner is seventh in roundtrippers with 35... All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.352/6/33/58) is number four in the IPA with a .352 mark, bested only by Kenwood's Country Crowder (.370), Sugar Valley's Richie Fry (.363) and Cape Coral's Stan Ferguson (.353)... SS Jimmy Beach (.323/15/53/53) and CF Russell Martin (.304/13/48/57) are also over the .300 mark... LF Norman Antonioni has pitched in with 28 HRs, 63 RBIs and 56 runs, while batting .276... Middlefield has all of the makings of a strong Pro Cup title contender.

Runner-up Forest City gets by on its fine pitching, ranking fifth with a 3.05 team ERA... Omar Cordero (19-8/3.24) is the ace and is tied for the IPA lead with Johnny Howard (19-6/2.83) of Rolling Hills and Drew Selby (19-6/3.01) of Volusia... also lending a hand are Walter Gibbons (12-7/3.26), Rusty Howard (13-11/2.59) and Jimmy Kirkpatrick (6-3/2.63/2 saves)... Kirkpatrick is a recent addition to the starting rotation... Richie Meyers (5-4/3.30/14 saves) has been a capable closer thus far... not much in the 'Jacks line-up... C Bob Brisdon (.282/10/57), SS Timmy Tarbell (.275/8/38/47) are the best of the lot... showing promise in limited roles are 3B Nicky Knight (.271/13/47/37) and 1B Frisco Dawson (.382/10/19/25)... it's amazing the Lumberjacks have stayed this close to Middlefield.

Third place Rocky Rapids has remained in the race with its super staff of All-Star Dirk Halstad (15-7/2.29), superstar Jamie Taylor (13-15/2.69) and Buster Noland (16-6/3.19)... the Snappers' offense is just average at best with All-Star 2B Marty Featherstone (.282/18/64/69), 1B Masaharu Kawasaki (.277/18/75/56), RF Buddy Hamilton (.296/13/40/36) and 3B Duncan Musselwhite (.290/5/43/58).

Deadlocked in the fourth spot in the RU West standings are the Volusia Vigilantes and the Colfax Blasters... the V's boast a fine offense and better-than-average pitching... the top bats are All-Star C George Ruffino (.273/20/71/43), RF Lonny Womack (.300/15/64/73), All-Star 2B Cazzie Carvalho (.300/13/69/53) and All-Star 1B Kris Wilson (.328/12/53/60)... the top hurlers are Drew Selby (19-6/3.01), who is tied for the IPA lead in victories with Omar Cordero (19-8/3.24) of Forest City and Johnny Howard (19-6/2.83) of Rolling Hills... Will Thompson (15-10/3.10) is the number two man in wins on the club... Casimiro Ramires (7-7/3.13) and Alvaro Spinosa (8-8/3.20) have been quality starters, too... however, the Vigilantes are weak in the bullpen.

Colfax is a solid ball club, too... the pitching is above average and the bats are proficient... Ray Maxon (14-7/2.55) and Red McCallum (12-6/2.09) are standout starters... 3B Cramer Landis is the club leader at the plate with a .298 BA and 58 runs... he has driven 30 runs and has 8 home runs... the RBI leader is LF Robb Maddux (.265/13/63/51) with 63... C Darrell Dillon (.258/16/55/49) leads in homers with 16... and SS Marty Eldridge added 9 homers, 48 RBIs, 47 runs and a .268 BA.

The Sligo Rovers are in sixth place... just an average ball team... rookie starter Mickey Walsh (13-10/2.62) leads the staff with help from veteran Randall Steele (13-13/3.17)... All-Star 3B Denny Simmons is the club leader with a .300 BA, 65 RBIs and 52 runs... he is second in homers with 12... CF Pat Tyrrell (.253/14/42/43) is the HR leader with 14... parttimers 3B Blayne Carnick (.328/5.37/27), LF Martin Tilton (.306/3/19/31) and CF Glen Kern (.300/1/26/17) have wielded the bats well when given a chance.

Seventh place Stoner is just a mediocre club... lackluster starters Mel Glosterman (10-14/4.00) and Billy Horton (10-13/4.42) have the most wins... the hitters aren't much better with 3B Ralph Sackett (.302/11/58/45), RF Morgan Miller (.300/9/55/49) and SS Norris Henry (.286/8/34).

Last place Fort Benton is destined for the basement for the third year in a row... the Defenders can't score and they don't have a lot of pitching... Arnie Patterson (10-15/3.59) and Jordy Raeburn (9-14/3.72) are the only decent starters... and C Varnell Larrimore (.282/11/53/43) and 3B Glendon Glenn (.306/3/29/48) are the only decent bats... it's just another long, dismal season for the Fort Benton fans.

RUTHLANDIAN UNION STANDINGS AS OF JULY 1, 2047