OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 11-03-2014, 09:36 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 30, 2049

IPA DOWN TO A FIELD OF FOUR
The 64 teams from the regular season have been whittled down to just four teams now. It's the IPA League Championship Series with the winners getting a crack at the much-coveted Pro Cup trophy presented to the best team in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The mighty and powerful will go against one another in best-of seven showdowns. Pro Cup favorite White River has the easier task in the Tycobbian Union. They are opposed by lightly-regarded Tuckanarra, while two titans, Sugar Valley and Valmara clash in the Ruthlandian LCS. Both of them chalked up over 100 wins in the regular season.

Three of the four were in the playoffs last year. Only Tuckanarra missed the playoffs in 2048. Sugar Valley and Valmara lost to Claxton last year with the Vipers falling in the first round and the Rattlers in the League Championship Series. White River was eliminated in the first round by Southport last season in the postseason. All of them are seeking to redeem themselves and capture the Pro Cup.

The White River Rascals have never enjoyed a Pro Cup year. In their only Pro Cup Finals' appearance, they lost out in 2021 to the Sligo Rovers. Manager Mick Cronyn grinningly said he didn't mind being the favorite. "I hope the press and media predictions come true and we win it all... I have no problem at all with that." He added, "We certainly have the hosses to win... but first we have to get past a fine Tuckanarra team and then whip one of the Ruthlandian powerhouses... a lot of things will have to go our way... Palmer (20-10/2.59), Slattery (21-10/2.88) and Warren (21-12/2.84) are very good starters and our bullpen is excellent, too... from top to bottom with Cole (10-8/2.76/17 saves), Hudson (13-8/3.30) and Trickett (4-4/2.24/2 saves)... and we can hit with anybody... when you got four guys that hit over 30 homers in your lineup, you got some good ones." Billy Joe Hickman led the Rascals with 48 homers... Ryne Hyland (36), Ryan Byrd (32) and Ruben Reaves (30) were other longballers.

Tuckanarra has racked up three Pro Cups, beating Valmara in '23, Sugar Valley in '24 and Elnora in '35. The Blue Jays also appeared in the '28 Pro Cup Finals, but lost out to the Waleska Westerners. Blue Jays skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens would like nothing better than to add his fourth Pro Cup to the trophy case. "My Tucks have a chance even if the sportswriters think differently... they have been wrong far more often in Pro Cup predictions than right... I have a well-balanced club with the likes of starters Ozzie Leslie (20-15/2.84) and Dickie Pittman (19-9/2.42)... plus we can score runs... no big sticks in the batting order, but Rodger Parsons (.343/25 HR), Cedric Dennison (.320/15 HR) and Glenn Tinker (.302/9 HR) are pretty reliable... in a short series, it's anybody's ballgame."

The Valmara Vipers have won two Pro Cups in the team's history. They were victors in 2026 and 2043 and defeated Mahaska and North Hills in the Finals. The Vipers have been to the Finals on four other occasions ('03, '23, '30, '31), but came away empty-handed... Viper pilot Vanya Vasylenko has a standout ballclub with superlative pitching and plenty of solid threats at the plate... heading up the mound staff are starters Primo Sirak (25-11/2.32), Darus Grajek (21-9/2.43) and Teddy Twardzik (22-14/2.79)... Valmara has plenty of offense with CF Don Ritchie (.327/9 HR), Tomek Abranczyk (.333/27 HR), Jose Vargas (.306 7 HR) and Jorge Aparicio (.300/10 HR). Vasylenko told the press, "We have the talent to win, but we will have to execute and play good fundamental baseball... the playoffs are never easy and it gets tougher the deeper you go into the postseason... the Vipers are going to have to be at their best to get by Sugar Valley and the Tycobbian champ."

Sugar Valley picked up its only Pro Cup recently in 2045, knocking off the Southport Sun Sox. The Rattlers also played for the Pro Cup in 2004 and 2024, but went down to defeat both times. Manager Bobby Gamble finally hung up his spikes this year after being a player-manager since the '47 season. He's excited about his club and thinks it's even better than the Pro Cup year. "I think this team can score a little bit better than the '45 club and the pitching is even better with pretty much the same staff... they're like a vintage of fine wine and have improved with age." This season the Rattler staff set a new IPA team ERA record with a phenomenal 2.41 ERA... the top hurlers are Cullen Winslow (23-6/2.18), Antonio Cedeno (22-17/2.42) and Joe Snow (26-8/2.46)... the bullpen is led by Christopher Dunsberry (10-4/2.42/10 saves) and Domenico Renterias (9-6/3.51/12 saves). "How far we go in the postseason will depend on the bats... According to Gamble, "Vets like Carl Ramsey (.282/32 HR), Smokey Nix (.285/24 HR), Roger Hobbs (.251/15 HR), Richie Fry (.274/7 HR)... along with rookie Duncan McEllicott (.267/27 HR) must produce enough runs for us."

11-03-2014, 09:36 PM	#4437
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,956	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Thursday, September 30, 2049 IPA DOWN TO A FIELD OF FOUR The 64 teams from the regular season have been whittled down to just four teams now. It's the IPA League Championship Series with the winners getting a crack at the much-coveted Pro Cup trophy presented to the best team in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The mighty and powerful will go against one another in best-of seven showdowns. Pro Cup favorite White River has the easier task in the Tycobbian Union. They are opposed by lightly-regarded Tuckanarra, while two titans, Sugar Valley and Valmara clash in the Ruthlandian LCS. Both of them chalked up over 100 wins in the regular season. Three of the four were in the playoffs last year. Only Tuckanarra missed the playoffs in 2048. Sugar Valley and Valmara lost to Claxton last year with the Vipers falling in the first round and the Rattlers in the League Championship Series. White River was eliminated in the first round by Southport last season in the postseason. All of them are seeking to redeem themselves and capture the Pro Cup. The White River Rascals have never enjoyed a Pro Cup year. In their only Pro Cup Finals' appearance, they lost out in 2021 to the Sligo Rovers. Manager Mick Cronyn grinningly said he didn't mind being the favorite. "I hope the press and media predictions come true and we win it all... I have no problem at all with that." He added, "We certainly have the hosses to win... but first we have to get past a fine Tuckanarra team and then whip one of the Ruthlandian powerhouses... a lot of things will have to go our way... Palmer (20-10/2.59), Slattery (21-10/2.88) and Warren (21-12/2.84) are very good starters and our bullpen is excellent, too... from top to bottom with Cole (10-8/2.76/17 saves), Hudson (13-8/3.30) and Trickett (4-4/2.24/2 saves)... and we can hit with anybody... when you got four guys that hit over 30 homers in your lineup, you got some good ones." Billy Joe Hickman led the Rascals with 48 homers... Ryne Hyland (36), Ryan Byrd (32) and Ruben Reaves (30) were other longballers. Tuckanarra has racked up three Pro Cups, beating Valmara in '23, Sugar Valley in '24 and Elnora in '35. The Blue Jays also appeared in the '28 Pro Cup Finals, but lost out to the Waleska Westerners. Blue Jays skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens would like nothing better than to add his fourth Pro Cup to the trophy case. "My Tucks have a chance even if the sportswriters think differently... they have been wrong far more often in Pro Cup predictions than right... I have a well-balanced club with the likes of starters Ozzie Leslie (20-15/2.84) and Dickie Pittman (19-9/2.42)... plus we can score runs... no big sticks in the batting order, but Rodger Parsons (.343/25 HR), Cedric Dennison (.320/15 HR) and Glenn Tinker (.302/9 HR) are pretty reliable... in a short series, it's anybody's ballgame." The Valmara Vipers have won two Pro Cups in the team's history. They were victors in 2026 and 2043 and defeated Mahaska and North Hills in the Finals. The Vipers have been to the Finals on four other occasions ('03, '23, '30, '31), but came away empty-handed... Viper pilot Vanya Vasylenko has a standout ballclub with superlative pitching and plenty of solid threats at the plate... heading up the mound staff are starters Primo Sirak (25-11/2.32), Darus Grajek (21-9/2.43) and Teddy Twardzik (22-14/2.79)... Valmara has plenty of offense with CF Don Ritchie (.327/9 HR), Tomek Abranczyk (.333/27 HR), Jose Vargas (.306 7 HR) and Jorge Aparicio (.300/10 HR). Vasylenko told the press, "We have the talent to win, but we will have to execute and play good fundamental baseball... the playoffs are never easy and it gets tougher the deeper you go into the postseason... the Vipers are going to have to be at their best to get by Sugar Valley and the Tycobbian champ." Sugar Valley picked up its only Pro Cup recently in 2045, knocking off the Southport Sun Sox. The Rattlers also played for the Pro Cup in 2004 and 2024, but went down to defeat both times. Manager Bobby Gamble finally hung up his spikes this year after being a player-manager since the '47 season. He's excited about his club and thinks it's even better than the Pro Cup year. "I think this team can score a little bit better than the '45 club and the pitching is even better with pretty much the same staff... they're like a vintage of fine wine and have improved with age." This season the Rattler staff set a new IPA team ERA record with a phenomenal 2.41 ERA... the top hurlers are Cullen Winslow (23-6/2.18), Antonio Cedeno (22-17/2.42) and Joe Snow (26-8/2.46)... the bullpen is led by Christopher Dunsberry (10-4/2.42/10 saves) and Domenico Renterias (9-6/3.51/12 saves). "How far we go in the postseason will depend on the bats... According to Gamble, "Vets like Carl Ramsey (.282/32 HR), Smokey Nix (.285/24 HR), Roger Hobbs (.251/15 HR), Richie Fry (.274/7 HR)... along with rookie Duncan McEllicott (.267/27 HR) must produce enough runs for us." Last edited by Eugene Church; 11-03-2014 at 10:39 PM.