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Eugene Church · 08-30-2014, 06:47 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 22, 2048

SUN SOX SLIGHTLY FAVORED TO REPEAT IN PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
The 2048 IPA Pro Cup playoffs begin tomorrow afternoon all around the Islands and it should be one humdinger of a battle this year with six strong contenders. Last year's champion Southport (101-53) is back to defend its title and is this year's favorite. However, five other clubs are ranked almost as high as the Sun Sox. The Valmara Vipers (102-52) were the number two choice in the Pro Cup predictions. Third in the poll were the Sugar Valley Rattlers (95-59), followed closely by High Mesa (99-55) in the fourth slot and Rolling Hills (95-59) number five. Sixth in the balloting were the White River Rascals (94-60). There wasn't a lot of voting support for number seven Forest City (92-62) and number eight Claxton (92-62).

In the Ruthlandian slate Valmara has the homefield advantage over the Claxton Diamonds. The Vipers host them at War Memorial Park on Wednesday afternoon. The Sugar Valley Rattlers will open at home at Farmers Memorial Park against the Forest City Lumberjacks. In the best-of-seven series, the club with the best record get the first two games at home, then goes on the road for the next three games, and returns home for the final two games, if they are needed.

In Tycobbian action current Pro Cup trophy holder Southport entertains White River at Pleasure Beach Park in the first two games of the series. The Rolling Hills Reds will travel to High Mesa and Queen's Ranch Stadium for games one and two in the other first round series.

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES PRO CUP PREDICTIONS:

1. The Southport Sun Sox have won six of the last seven Tycobbian South titles... this will be their 9th postseason appearance... and they have corraled two Pro Cups in the last four seasons... Southport does everything well... its top starters are stars Billy Hoover (16-7/2.72), who missed a dozen starts with a bad hamstring... and Johnny Swanson (22-11/2.41)... the other two starters Gordon Forbes (26-10/3.64) and All-Star Brandon Delmore (21-10/3.49) had successful seasons, too... Forbes ranked second in the IPA with 26 wins... only Valmara's Teddy Twardzik won more with 28 victories... the bullpen was well-stocked, too, with rookie Troy Hill (7-3/2.18/18 saves) and veteran Hal Combs (4-7/3.23/8 saves)... Hill was fifth in the IPA in saves with 18... Tom Cook of Belair Beach led with 22... the Sun Sox also have a solid core of hitters, paced by rookie All-Star RF Tony Patrano (.280/32/92/85), veteran All-Star 1B Eddy Douglas (.340/26/93/88), C Vasilis Vlachos (.285/19/94/81), 2B Ricky Whitaker (.319/10/87/72) and 3B Craig Glennon (.267/21/82/71).

2. The Valmara Vipers won their fourth pennant in the last six seasons and rang up 102 victories, the best in the IPA... Valmara won the 2043 Pro Cup and will be seeking their third one this postseason... this is the Vipers' 16th playoff appearance... with four All-Stars on the club they made shambles of the race... top pitchers were All-Star Teddy Twardzik (28-7/2.53), All-Star Primo Sirak (21-11/2.55) and Mark Polaski (25-11/2.92)... Twardzik led the IPA with 28 wins... top batters were All-Star LF Tomek Abramczyk (.361/27/118/92), rookie 3B Justin Roscoe (.305/18/90/78), CF Don Ritchie (.277/14/80/107), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.313/11/63/103), All-Star C Ron MacGuinness (.295/17/86/64) and SS Ken Jensen (.314/9/68/104)... Abramczyk topped the IPA with a .361 BA... the Vipers will be a force to be reckon with in the playoffs... they are much better than the '43 Pro Cup champ with the addition of Polaski, Abramczyk, Rascoe and MacGuinness.

3. For the last 14 seasons Sugar Valley has won 5 pennants, finished second 6 times and third 3 times, always near the top and in contention... in its history 14 times the club has made the Pro Cup playoffs... but only once, in 2045, have the Rattlers claimed the IPA trophy... they are hoping to add another Pro Cup to their trophy case this season... Sugar Valley has excellent pitching with Antonio Cedeno (22-15/2.31), Joe Snow (19-4/2.29) and Cullen Winslow (18-7/2.47)... solid in the pen, too, with Domenico Renterias (13-9/2.35/10 saves)... though the Rattlers don't hit for high average, they do go deep well and can put runs on the boards, sparked by All-Star CF Carl Ramsey (.252/38/108/98), RF Bobby Gamble (.289/17/71/65), LF Walter Hanson (.311/18/77/62), RF Jeff Harvey (.258/25/73/60) and 3B Roger Hobbs (.249/21/75/81)... 9 players had 10 or more homers... rookie 1B Smokey Nix (.277/16/57/39) showed good power in a limited number of at-bats and 112 games.

4. High Mesa is a well-rounded ball club and will be a force in the playoffs... the Cowboys play in a small venue, notorious for being a home-run haven, so it's remarkable the success the pitching staff has had this year... the most effective starters were Lloyd Armstrong (22-1/2.99) and Lucius Quarles (17-11/2.55)... the number three and four starters also gave them some quality starts, too... Tee Bo Templet was 20-11 with a 4.02 ERA and Steve Tolan was 18-10 with a 4.09 ERA... the bullpen was good as well with William Morris (10-4/2.88/16 saves) and rookie Dickie Sternfeld (8-6/2.62/5 saves)... the Cowboys don't hit for a high average, but they do produce plenty of runs, led by 1B Johnny Tallis (.260/43/108/77), SS Clifford Coleman (.268/26/93/82), RF Wayne Kirkpatrick (.278/20/77/67) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.318/5/70/107).

5. 16 years have come and gone since the Rolling Hills Reds won the Tycobbian West... 2032 was the last pennant... the Reds have made the postseason 11 times and have rolled up 2 Pro Cup titles (2029 and 2031)... it was great pitching, strong defense and average offense that did it for them this year... the Reds' staff topped the TU this season paced by All-Star Matthew Christianson (22-11/2.19) and Johnny Howard (18-12/2.60)... the other two starters did pretty fair, too... Steve Adams (17-11/3.59) and Marty Phillips (14-14/3.76) were dependable in the three and four spots in the rotation... and Benny Young (9-5/2.37/15 saves) did a fine job as closer... putting the pop in the lineup were star 1B Darwin Tard (.294/30/94/100), All-Star LF Orin Phillips (.300/24/95/87), All-Star SS Dustin Thibodeau (.322/18/65/101) and rookie 2B Miguel Romeros (.288/19/65/61).

6. White River last won the TU North in 2027... this will only be the Rascals' fifth postseason appearance... they have never won a Pro Cup, but hope to make a little noise this year... good starting pitching and good firepower can take you a long ways in the playoffs... White River has three fine starters heading up its rotation: All-Star Butch Slattery (20-10/2.87), All-Star Nicky Palmer (18-15/2.89) and Clem Warren (18-14/2.98)... however the bullpen is not very good... the Rascals don't hit a lot for average (.251 BA), but they have some punch... 5 regulars hit 20 or more homers, led by All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.282/42/126/86) and rookie All-Star 1B Ruben Reaves (.311/35/98/118)... Hickman was tied for third in the IPA with 126 RBIs and ranked tenth with 42 HRs... Reeves was third in scoring runs with 118 for the season and hit for power with 35 homers... 2B Ryan Byrd (.227/25/72/75), rookie RF Ryne Hyland (.238/23/55/92) and C Billy Vaughan (.232/20/61/48) also chipped in with the longball on occasion, but didn't hit much for average... the Rascals will find out right away if they are Pro Cup material... they drew defending IPA champion Southport in the first round... the Sun Sox ranked second in the IPA this season with 101 wins, beaten only by Valmara of the RU North with 102... White River registered 94 wins this season.

7. To win the pennant, Forest City had to set a new IPA team ERA standard... the Lumberjacks compiled a fantastic 2.41 ERA, breaking the Beechwood Bobcats' mark of 2.57 in 2026... Rusty Howard (21-12/1.65) was the club and the IPA leader with a brilliant 1.65 ERA, fifth best of all-time... others in the starting rotation included Richie Meyers (10-7/2.16/13 saves), Omar Cordero (21-8/2.31), John McKee (18-15/2.63) and Walter Gibbons (15-11/2.83/2 saves)... but the experts are saying the Lumberjacks will have trouble going far in the Pro Cup playoffs because of their very poor scoring... they just don't hit well... you are in trouble when your best bats are RF Otto Glintmeyer (.293/11/65/53), C Bob Brisdon (.292/13/63/57) and SS Timmy Tarbell (.286/13/56/75)... Forest City will take on the Sugar Valley Rattlers in first round postseason play... the Rattlers have strong pitching and can score runs and go deep... they pose a big threat to the Lumberjacks, who have to depend on great pitching and defense to get by..

8. It was Claxton's third division crown in four seasons... 12 times the Diamonds have made the postseason, but they have never come up with a Pro Cup trophy... they have a solid core of hitters with fair power and good scoring... IPA superstar 1B Jojo DeLucca (.279/30/126/91) is still the big gun at age 33... and got help from an unexpected source, rookie All-Star LF Whit Miley (.357/14/72/106), the number-two batter in the IPA at .357... other offense came from 3B Rick Clayburne (.323/12/76/74), CF Darryl Daniels (.295/12/55/88) and 2B Rich Emery (.252/19/78/81)... and pretty good pitching... Claxton has two vets Abe Schiffman (21-13/2.80) and Stan Yudash (20-9/3.48) leading the mound corps with help from rookie southpaw Jared Lipton (11-6/2.71/9 saves), Steven Ellison (18-9/3.79/3 saves) and Gilbert Clagsdale (16-12/3.84)... reliever Gary Haskin (5-8/2.95/16 saves) is the best in the bullpen... the Diamonds have the scoring to do well in the playoffs, but the key will be the pitching... it's doubtful Claxton will be among the Pro Cup favorites... ace Abe Schiffman will miss the first three games of the playoffs... near the end of the regular season he was suspended for five games for a brawl he instigated... he won't get a start until game four... this is a crucial loss for Claxton.

08-30-2014, 06:47 PM	#4348
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 36,083	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, September 22, 2048 SUN SOX SLIGHTLY FAVORED TO REPEAT IN PRO CUP PLAYOFFS The 2048 IPA Pro Cup playoffs begin tomorrow afternoon all around the Islands and it should be one humdinger of a battle this year with six strong contenders. Last year's champion Southport (101-53) is back to defend its title and is this year's favorite. However, five other clubs are ranked almost as high as the Sun Sox. The Valmara Vipers (102-52) were the number two choice in the Pro Cup predictions. Third in the poll were the Sugar Valley Rattlers (95-59), followed closely by High Mesa (99-55) in the fourth slot and Rolling Hills (95-59) number five. Sixth in the balloting were the White River Rascals (94-60). There wasn't a lot of voting support for number seven Forest City (92-62) and number eight Claxton (92-62). In the Ruthlandian slate Valmara has the homefield advantage over the Claxton Diamonds. The Vipers host them at War Memorial Park on Wednesday afternoon. The Sugar Valley Rattlers will open at home at Farmers Memorial Park against the Forest City Lumberjacks. In the best-of-seven series, the club with the best record get the first two games at home, then goes on the road for the next three games, and returns home for the final two games, if they are needed. In Tycobbian action current Pro Cup trophy holder Southport entertains White River at Pleasure Beach Park in the first two games of the series. The Rolling Hills Reds will travel to High Mesa and Queen's Ranch Stadium for games one and two in the other first round series. THE ISLANDIAN TIMES PRO CUP PREDICTIONS: 1. The Southport Sun Sox have won six of the last seven Tycobbian South titles... this will be their 9th postseason appearance... and they have corraled two Pro Cups in the last four seasons... Southport does everything well... its top starters are stars Billy Hoover (16-7/2.72), who missed a dozen starts with a bad hamstring... and Johnny Swanson (22-11/2.41)... the other two starters Gordon Forbes (26-10/3.64) and All-Star Brandon Delmore (21-10/3.49) had successful seasons, too... Forbes ranked second in the IPA with 26 wins... only Valmara's Teddy Twardzik won more with 28 victories... the bullpen was well-stocked, too, with rookie Troy Hill (7-3/2.18/18 saves) and veteran Hal Combs (4-7/3.23/8 saves)... Hill was fifth in the IPA in saves with 18... Tom Cook of Belair Beach led with 22... the Sun Sox also have a solid core of hitters, paced by rookie All-Star RF Tony Patrano (.280/32/92/85), veteran All-Star 1B Eddy Douglas (.340/26/93/88), C Vasilis Vlachos (.285/19/94/81), 2B Ricky Whitaker (.319/10/87/72) and 3B Craig Glennon (.267/21/82/71). 2. The Valmara Vipers won their fourth pennant in the last six seasons and rang up 102 victories, the best in the IPA... Valmara won the 2043 Pro Cup and will be seeking their third one this postseason... this is the Vipers' 16th playoff appearance... with four All-Stars on the club they made shambles of the race... top pitchers were All-Star Teddy Twardzik (28-7/2.53), All-Star Primo Sirak (21-11/2.55) and Mark Polaski (25-11/2.92)... Twardzik led the IPA with 28 wins... top batters were All-Star LF Tomek Abramczyk (.361/27/118/92), rookie 3B Justin Roscoe (.305/18/90/78), CF Don Ritchie (.277/14/80/107), 2B Jorge Aparicio (.313/11/63/103), All-Star C Ron MacGuinness (.295/17/86/64) and SS Ken Jensen (.314/9/68/104)... Abramczyk topped the IPA with a .361 BA... the Vipers will be a force to be reckon with in the playoffs... they are much better than the '43 Pro Cup champ with the addition of Polaski, Abramczyk, Rascoe and MacGuinness. 3. For the last 14 seasons Sugar Valley has won 5 pennants, finished second 6 times and third 3 times, always near the top and in contention... in its history 14 times the club has made the Pro Cup playoffs... but only once, in 2045, have the Rattlers claimed the IPA trophy... they are hoping to add another Pro Cup to their trophy case this season... Sugar Valley has excellent pitching with Antonio Cedeno (22-15/2.31), Joe Snow (19-4/2.29) and Cullen Winslow (18-7/2.47)... solid in the pen, too, with Domenico Renterias (13-9/2.35/10 saves)... though the Rattlers don't hit for high average, they do go deep well and can put runs on the boards, sparked by All-Star CF Carl Ramsey (.252/38/108/98), RF Bobby Gamble (.289/17/71/65), LF Walter Hanson (.311/18/77/62), RF Jeff Harvey (.258/25/73/60) and 3B Roger Hobbs (.249/21/75/81)... 9 players had 10 or more homers... rookie 1B Smokey Nix (.277/16/57/39) showed good power in a limited number of at-bats and 112 games. 4. High Mesa is a well-rounded ball club and will be a force in the playoffs... the Cowboys play in a small venue, notorious for being a home-run haven, so it's remarkable the success the pitching staff has had this year... the most effective starters were Lloyd Armstrong (22-1/2.99) and Lucius Quarles (17-11/2.55)... the number three and four starters also gave them some quality starts, too... Tee Bo Templet was 20-11 with a 4.02 ERA and Steve Tolan was 18-10 with a 4.09 ERA... the bullpen was good as well with William Morris (10-4/2.88/16 saves) and rookie Dickie Sternfeld (8-6/2.62/5 saves)... the Cowboys don't hit for a high average, but they do produce plenty of runs, led by 1B Johnny Tallis (.260/43/108/77), SS Clifford Coleman (.268/26/93/82), RF Wayne Kirkpatrick (.278/20/77/67) and 2B Randy Sweetland (.318/5/70/107). 5. 16 years have come and gone since the Rolling Hills Reds won the Tycobbian West... 2032 was the last pennant... the Reds have made the postseason 11 times and have rolled up 2 Pro Cup titles (2029 and 2031)... it was great pitching, strong defense and average offense that did it for them this year... the Reds' staff topped the TU this season paced by All-Star Matthew Christianson (22-11/2.19) and Johnny Howard (18-12/2.60)... the other two starters did pretty fair, too... Steve Adams (17-11/3.59) and Marty Phillips (14-14/3.76) were dependable in the three and four spots in the rotation... and Benny Young (9-5/2.37/15 saves) did a fine job as closer... putting the pop in the lineup were star 1B Darwin Tard (.294/30/94/100), All-Star LF Orin Phillips (.300/24/95/87), All-Star SS Dustin Thibodeau (.322/18/65/101) and rookie 2B Miguel Romeros (.288/19/65/61). 6. White River last won the TU North in 2027... this will only be the Rascals' fifth postseason appearance... they have never won a Pro Cup, but hope to make a little noise this year... good starting pitching and good firepower can take you a long ways in the playoffs... White River has three fine starters heading up its rotation: All-Star Butch Slattery (20-10/2.87), All-Star Nicky Palmer (18-15/2.89) and Clem Warren (18-14/2.98)... however the bullpen is not very good... the Rascals don't hit a lot for average (.251 BA), but they have some punch... 5 regulars hit 20 or more homers, led by All-Star LF Billy Joe Hickman (.282/42/126/86) and rookie All-Star 1B Ruben Reaves (.311/35/98/118)... Hickman was tied for third in the IPA with 126 RBIs and ranked tenth with 42 HRs... Reeves was third in scoring runs with 118 for the season and hit for power with 35 homers... 2B Ryan Byrd (.227/25/72/75), rookie RF Ryne Hyland (.238/23/55/92) and C Billy Vaughan (.232/20/61/48) also chipped in with the longball on occasion, but didn't hit much for average... the Rascals will find out right away if they are Pro Cup material... they drew defending IPA champion Southport in the first round... the Sun Sox ranked second in the IPA this season with 101 wins, beaten only by Valmara of the RU North with 102... White River registered 94 wins this season. 7. To win the pennant, Forest City had to set a new IPA team ERA standard... the Lumberjacks compiled a fantastic 2.41 ERA, breaking the Beechwood Bobcats' mark of 2.57 in 2026... Rusty Howard (21-12/1.65) was the club and the IPA leader with a brilliant 1.65 ERA, fifth best of all-time... others in the starting rotation included Richie Meyers (10-7/2.16/13 saves), Omar Cordero (21-8/2.31), John McKee (18-15/2.63) and Walter Gibbons (15-11/2.83/2 saves)... but the experts are saying the Lumberjacks will have trouble going far in the Pro Cup playoffs because of their very poor scoring... they just don't hit well... you are in trouble when your best bats are RF Otto Glintmeyer (.293/11/65/53), C Bob Brisdon (.292/13/63/57) and SS Timmy Tarbell (.286/13/56/75)... Forest City will take on the Sugar Valley Rattlers in first round postseason play... the Rattlers have strong pitching and can score runs and go deep... they pose a big threat to the Lumberjacks, who have to depend on great pitching and defense to get by.. 8. It was Claxton's third division crown in four seasons... 12 times the Diamonds have made the postseason, but they have never come up with a Pro Cup trophy... they have a solid core of hitters with fair power and good scoring... IPA superstar 1B Jojo DeLucca (.279/30/126/91) is still the big gun at age 33... and got help from an unexpected source, rookie All-Star LF Whit Miley (.357/14/72/106), the number-two batter in the IPA at .357... other offense came from 3B Rick Clayburne (.323/12/76/74), CF Darryl Daniels (.295/12/55/88) and 2B Rich Emery (.252/19/78/81)... and pretty good pitching... Claxton has two vets Abe Schiffman (21-13/2.80) and Stan Yudash (20-9/3.48) leading the mound corps with help from rookie southpaw Jared Lipton (11-6/2.71/9 saves), Steven Ellison (18-9/3.79/3 saves) and Gilbert Clagsdale (16-12/3.84)... reliever Gary Haskin (5-8/2.95/16 saves) is the best in the bullpen... the Diamonds have the scoring to do well in the playoffs, but the key will be the pitching... it's doubtful Claxton will be among the Pro Cup favorites... ace Abe Schiffman will miss the first three games of the playoffs... near the end of the regular season he was suspended for five games for a brawl he instigated... he won't get a start until game four... this is a crucial loss for Claxton. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 08-30-2014 at 07:22 PM.