[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2047

PRO CUP PLAYOFFS START TOMORROW
Eight pennant winners are poised to begin their quest for the much-coveted IPA Pro Cup tomorrow afternoon all around the Islands. Most of the baseball analysts think that most of them have a fair shake at capturing the prize. Defending champion Hartsdale is back for a chance to repeat, but it's not very likely. Only four times in the 46-year history of the Islandian Pro Alliance has that happened. The Far Mountain Redhawks did it twice - in 2012 and 2013 - they won the title three years in succession. In 2017 the Eastshore Elegants repeated as champ and in 2024 Tuckanarra won its second Pro Cup in a row.

In the Tycobbian Union Division Series, Hartsdale, who won the IPA crown last year in a great seven-game series with Valmara, will open up on the road in Southport and this year's favorite Red Bluff is at home against the Kenwood Wildcats. In the Ruthlandian Union, Middlefield will travel to play the Nine in Marston and Far Mountain will entertain the Belair Beach Sunbirds.

The oddsmakers are leaning towards the heavy-hitting Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) with their three quality starters, who are backed up by an arsenal of 250 home runs. The second choice is the powerful Middlefield Roosters, who also feature three fine starters and good offense. Rated third in the Pro Cup predictions are the Far Mountain Redhawks (101-53), the club with the best record in the IPA. The big knock on the Redhawks is their lack of bats in the lineup. The Southport Sun Sox (92-62) were ranked fourth in the poll. The Sun Sox won the Pro Cup in 2045 and have pretty much the same roster as the title season.

Current IPA champ Hartsdale (87-67) did not play as well this year as last, that's why the critics have placed them in the number five slot, but they still have the personnel to win it, especially if number three starter Gil Younger can give them some good games. Last year's Tycobbian MVP won 28 games, but only 16 this year. The Marston Nine (96-58) are the sleeper in the postseason. The oddsmakers low rated them at sixth because of a lack of playoff experience. The Nine could very easily upset the applecart and win the Ruthlandian Union as well as the Pro Cup trophy. The other two playoff clubs aren't expected to go very far in the playoffs. The number-seven ranked Kenwood Wildcats (85-69) and eighth-rated Belair Beach Sunbirds (84-70) had the worst records of any of the division winners in the regular season.

PRO CUP PREDICTIONS:
1. Red Bluff: For the fourth year in a row the Red Bluff Red Sox (95-59) hoisted the Tycobbian East pennant over Red Bluff Park... they have captured only one Pro Cup in the club's history... that was way back in 2004... the Red Sox coupled fine pitching with super firepower to stave off the Tuckanarra Blue Jays... they led the Tycobbian Union with a 3.07 team ERA (1st), 250 homers (1st) and ranked fifth in runs with 753... the Red Sox lost a seven-game series in the Tycobbian LCS last year to Pro Cup champion Hartsdale... Red Bluff will be among the favorites this year with three strong starters: Jud Cox (22-8/1.76), George Reynolds (20-12/3.08) and Mickey Rosen (19-14/3.10)... in the bullpen Sonny Wheat had 17 saves and an impressive 2.36 ERA, but posted a poor 4-9 record... Cox had the third best ERA in the IPA behind Eastshore's Jody Friday (15-3/1.56) and San Alejo's Matt Bell (22-6/1.71)... in addition the Red Sox boast a plethora of power hitters like superstar All-Star David Kelso (.302/50/109/96), who was fourth in the IPA with 50 homers... only High Mesa's Johnny Tallis (68), Bayview's Jerry Culpepper (60) and Denton City's Wayman Stetson (54) hit more... the other Red Sox sluggers included 3B Fran Blanchard (.262/43/108/94), 2046 Tycobbian Golden Bat winner 1B Josh Stevens (.268/38/83/89), CF Ike Sweetwater (.298/26/80/75) , SS Leemon O'Donovan (.283/19/56/72) and LF Jesse Shaw (.279/18/58/61).

2. Middlefield: Middlefield hasn't won the Pro Cup since 2005... this just might be their year... it's their third pennant in the last seven seasons... the Roosters have the best starting pitching, best bullpen and best power in the Ruthlandian Union... they came in third in victories with 95, topped only by Far Mountain with 101 and Marston with 96... the starting rotation is excellent with All-Star James Long (23-10/2.05), Larry Wheelhouse (21-13/2.71) and Carroll Collier (19-13/2.88)... Ray Owens (6-7/2.48/15 saves) is the bullpen ace... All-Star C Johnny McDonald (.351/10/48/81) is the club leader with a .351 BA... he led the RU in batting and placed third in the IPA behind Country Crowder (Kenwood) at .389 and Stan Ferguson (Cape Coral) at .374... All-Star Sidney Conner (.289/47/126/94) had a super year leading the RU with 47 homers and ranking second to Jason Butler's 129 RBIs for Belair Beach... other valuable contributors were CF Norman Antonioni (.273/39/88/73), SS Jimmy Beach (.305/23/74/78) and 2B Ike Gary (.266/16/71/76).

3. Far Mountain: The Redhawks racked up the most wins in the IPA with 101, led by three 20-game winners in Stan Smith (25-6/3.60), All-Star Curt Steinhauer (22-6/2.12) and Jonas Grover (20-12/3.07)... they had a fine bullpen, too, with Fernando Sanches (9-8/2.64/19 saves) and Jack McKinney (8-3/3.08/13 saves)... the Redhawks don't have any impressive hitters, but as a group they rank third in scoring runs with 734... Far Mountain plays a lot of players... the most productive bats are SS Webster Ronstadt (.259/9/60/77), SS Sammy Prejean (.290/7/60/53), 2B Rance Hawkins (.346/11/51/53), OF Todd Purdom (.291/10/46/69) and RF Bert Richter (.237/22/58/72)... Far Mountain last appeared in the Pro Cup playoffs in back-to-back years 2038 and 2039... the Redhawks won three straight Pro Cups in 2011, 2012 and 2013, an unprecedented record.

4. Southport: The Southport Sun Sox have reigned as TU South champion in five of the last six seasons... the Sun Sox will be seeking their second Pro Cup trophy in three years... they were the IPA overall champ in 2044... the Sun Sox are a sound ball club and should show well in the playoffs this year... the Southport staff is led by two fine veteran starters... All-Star Billy Hoover (22-14/1.79) had a great season and came in fourth with a superb 1.79 ERA... Johnny Swanson (19-13/3.19) was a solid number two... and Brandon Delmore (20-13/3.71) is a dependable number three starter... All-Star closer Hal Combs (9-7/2.39) paced the IPA with 24 saves... Pro Cup champs usually need three strong starters, so Delmore could be key... Southport's offense is a little suspect... All-Star C Vasilis Vlachos (.289/25/92/74), CF Barney Lewis (.246/41/96/78), 1B Eddy Douglas (.301/25/75/67) and 3B Craig Glennon (.220/26/87/74) were the club leaders... they have good power, but don't hit for average... platooner RF Pat Kinney (.321/4/33/53) posted the best BA on the team with a .323 in 371 ABs and 111 games.

5. Hartsdale: The Hellcats won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2046... Hartsdale didn't perform as well this year as last year... the hitting and pitching suffered a slight decline... the win total dropped from 98 to 87, but the Hellcats are still a good club... All-Star Perry Givens (24-6/2.43) and Dave Payne (21-11/2.85) are excellent starters... Gil Younger is the third man in the rotation... he won 28 games a year ago and won the Tycobbian MVP trophy, but slumped to 16-18 this year with a 3.59 ERA... Hartsdale's fine closer Alfonso Cervera (7-8/2.67/19 saves) still heads up the bullpen... Cervera tied for fourth in saves with 19... and the Hellcats can still score runs with the likes of CF Darrell Nesbitt (.287/13/49/115), 3B Greg Melton (.282/24/92/88), IF-OF Marv Shaw (.281/18/59/59), RF Emilian Burgess (.280/23/95/86) and rookie C Kenton Carmichael (.264/25/68/67)... not as strong as last year, Hartsdale still has a fair shot at repeating as Pro Cup champion... five or six others club are in the same boat... there is no clear-cut Pro Cup favorite this season.

6. Marston: The Marston Nine have been bad, really bad for 20 years with only one first-division finish... they came in fourth in 2038... the Nine has never won the Pro Cup... but this season the Nine (96-58) made the first division in style... they won the Ruthlandian East by seven games over defending champ Sugar Valley (89-65)... Marston is a first-rate team with strong pitching and a rock-solid attack... the Nine racked up 96 victories, topped only by Far Mountain in the IPA with 101... Marston is forecast to do well in the postseason... their last appearance was in 2028... top starters are All-Star Felix Delatte (24-6/2.52) and John Newton (19-14/3.06)... Thomas Stuart (13-14/3.22) and Jean-Noel Waldron (17-9/3.83) are third and fourth in the rotation... the relief corps is also rated highly with closer Kiki Vuk (12-5/1.72/12 saves)... there are good bats galore in the Nine's batting order, sparked by SS Stan Mila (.331/25/112/67), All-Star 3B Gary Armitage (.291/20/68/98), All-Star LF D'Wayne Dotson (.295/17/90/99), CF Calvin Marbury (.240/15/69/74) and RF Charley Gilmore (.304/13/66/60).

7. Kenwood: The Wildcats have won only one Pro Cup... that was long ago and far away in 2014... in the recent past in the Pro Cup playoffs Kenwood has been eliminated early in the process and the experts are saying that is a likely scenario this year, especially since superstud bat Corky DiNozzo will be absent in the first round of the postseason due to injury. The Wildcats' only IPA crown came in 2014... Kenwood has a pretty fair offense with average power and scoring, along with a good mound staff... two All-Stars pretty much carry the club at the plate... 2B Country Crowder led the IPA with a sparking .389 BA and 236 hits... Crowder's hit total was the second best in history, beaten only by the legendary Jet Kazmarek's 248 in 2002 when he hit an all-time high of .428 for the Valmara Vipers... C Corky DiNozzo missed most of the second half of the season with a rotator injury, but still managed 25 homers and 66 RBIs with a .300 BA... he's expected to return in time for the second round of the postseason... SS Ben Daniels (.250/18/80/54), RF Billy Nix (.287/22/51/48) and CF Warren Vickers (.264/10/53/83) also chipped in with some offense... the Wildcats have two proven starters in Tommy Carter (17-14/2.40) and Rusty Bradford (17-14/3.17)... the number three spot in the playoff rotation will come from Freddy Gooch (14-12/3.82) and Gregg Campbell (18-12/3.64)... Kenwood had good solid relievers in Mike Jones (9-5/2.74/10 saves) and Elian Verjano (7-8/2.87/10 saves).

8. Belair Beach: The fans in Belair Beach have waited a long time for another pennant... after 31 years of mainly losing the Sunbirds finally won another Ruthlandian South flag... the Sunbirds have never won an IPA Pro Cup and it's highly unlikely to happen this year...they have only one solid starter. Kevin Tolbert racked up a 17-13 record with a 3.14 ERA... the other starters were Jose Munoz (18-15/4.20) and Ronnie Roy (18-12/4.41).... they topped the team with 18 wins, but were mediocre at best... Tom Cook (6-5/2.77/18 saves) and Ray Dunn (4-2/2.63/8 saves) both did well in the bullpen... Leading the Belair Beach bats was All-Star 3B-1B Jason Butler (.329/45/129/105), who had a fabulous season. Butler was third in the IPA with 129 RBIs, beaten out by High Mesa's Johnny Tallis, who broke Adam Zitek's 2005 all-time IPA mark of 170, and Bayview's Jerry Culpepper, who drove in 154 runs... two other capable bats in the batting order were CF Norm Ellis (.278/25/74/70) and 1B Shannon Stewart (.299/16/83/82)... it's not likely that Belair Beach can pull off the improbable - that is, win the Pro Cup - they just don't have the talent.