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Eugene Church · 12-01-2014, 11:21 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 19, 2050

CRUSADERS CRUISE TO RU SOUTH PENNANT
In the second half of the year the St. John Crusaders kicked it up a notch and pulled away from the pack in the Ruthlandian South Division and won going away by 11 games over runner-up San Dimas... third in the running were the defending champ Claxton Diamonds, who wound up 14 games behind... and fourth place went to the Crystal Lake Crushers, 16 games off the pace... only the Rancheros ever contended with the Crusaders... they were only three games behind at the All-Star break... the preseason favorite Belair Beach Sunbirds never were in the race at all as they came in a pathetic seventh.

1. ST. JOHN: the Crusaders won their first pennant since 2042... they went from 8th (26 GB) to 5th (16 GB) to 5th (10 GB) to the division crown in four seasons... St. John is still seeking its first Pro Cup trophy... however, they almost won it in 2036, but lost out in six games to the legendary North Hills Hawks... right off the bat the Crusaders will have to get by the defending Pro Cup champion Valmara Vipers to entertain any hopes of winning the IPA crown... the bats can go up against the Vipers, but St. John's pitching is suspect.

Top Pitchers: All-Star Frank Long (26-11/3.00) and Teddy de Grom (19-13/3.10) are the best starters... Long tied Will McKinney (26-12/1.93) of San Alejo and Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41) of White River for the most wins in the IPA this year... Jimmy Chambers (10-7/3.38/11 saves), Zeke Yoder (15-8/3.94) and Liam Spears (15-13/3.77) were also quality starters.

Top Batters: All-Star 1B Al Pace (.321/26/119/76), LF Sherrill Westerfield (.343/6/48/91), RF Cris Hershey (.321/11/88/86), SS Bubba Ralston (.296/12/59/105) and 2B Herbie Gruen (.265/17/92/73) led a solid core of hitters.

2. San Dimas: the Rancheros broke a sting of six straight second division finishes this year... they were on or near the bottom the previous three seasons, going 62-92 (7th), 55-99 (8th) and 57-97 (8th)... San Dimas improved to 79-75 this season... they have never won a Pro Cup... the last postseason appearance was nine years ago... the Rancheros have fairly decent hitting and fairly decent pitching.

Top Pitchers: Gary Widmer (16-11/3.79) was the club leader in wins... in the bullpen it was Kenny Robinson (14-7/1.91/21 saves), who really excelled... Robinson made 84 appearances and had the third best ERA in the IPA, topped only by Middlefield's James Long (25-8/1.78) and St. Alejo's Matt Bell (23-8/1.83)... Robinson also tied for third in saves... only Ranford rookie Martin Futch (8-5/2.35/26 saves) and Sugar Valley's Domenico Renterias (6-6/4.17/25 saves) were better.

Top Batters: All-Star CF Enrique Orestez (.308/34/113/106) had a fantastic season and was helped out by LF Johnny Locke (.305/10/63/98), 38-year-old RF Denny Hendrix (.279/32/99/80), 35-year-old 3B Leonard Purkey (.295/21/89/54) and 2B Ricardo Cepeda (.297/7/46/81).

3. Claxton: last year's division winner, the Diamonds, were terrible on the mound this year, ranking 31st with a pitiful 4.69 ERA... but they led the Ruthlandian Union in scoring runs with 861... only Bay St. Clair in the Tycobbian Union outscored them with 903 runs... Claxton won four of the last six pennants in the RU South... 14 times they made the postseason, but never won the Pro Cup... but the Diamonds did make the Finals two years ago and lost out to the Rolling Hills Reds in five games.

Top Pitchers: long-time vets Abe Schiffman (19-14/4.13) and Steven Ellison (19-13/4.82) won 19 games apiece, but got many of the wins because of the high-powered attack... closer Ramon Santos (9-9/3.29/14 saves) was the best in the bullpen.

Top Batters: All-Star RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.338/38/125/118) had a fabulous year and got plenty of help from 35-year-old superstar All-Star 2B Jojo DeLucca (.326/18/87/67), SS Rick Clayburne (.306/7/52/105), CF Whit Miley (.293/11/71/91) and LF Konrad Neumann (.308/12/61/83)... Ramsey was fourth in the IPA in RBIs with 125 and runs with 118.

4. Crystal Lake: the Crushers were fourth for the second year in a row, but declined a bit from 82-72 (6 GB) to 74-80 (16 GB)... they have made the postseason on 10 occasions in the club's history and captured two Pro Cups, winning in 2020 and 2022... basically, Crystal Lake is just a mediocre ball club.

Top Pitchers: Haden Mackowiak (19-15/3.38) and Jeth Limbrick (17-17) are reliable starters... but the others in the starting rotation struggled mightily... the bullpen, however, is good... headed up by vet closer Josh Crosby (6-7/2.54/10 saves).

Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.307/8/54/72), All-Star C Del Peevy (.299/15.74/71) and LF Jed Murphree (.281/5/59/79) were the best of the lot... at age 35 Dillon is a .322 career hitter with 2729 hits, 168 homers, 1166 RBIs and 1367 runs.

5. Waleska: the Westerners are just a so-so team... they were third the in '48 (16 GB) and '49 (6 GB) and in strong contention with second place finishes in '46 (3 GB) and '47 (3 GB)... but the Westerners tumbled to fifth this year (20 GB)... Waleska has three Pro Cups in their trophy case collection, winning it in 2028, 2037 and 2039... only Turon and North Hills with four each have won more.

Top Pitchers: Niles Neilsen (20-15/2.27) is easily the ace of the mound staff... at age 33 he is 193-172 in his career with a solid 3.16 ERA... Vince Gibson (8-4/3.47/13 saves) is the most dependable reliever.

Top Batters: not much offense at the plate... 1B Rob Rice (.298/18/64/56) and LF Gene Stevenson (.281/12/63/55) are the only decent hitters.

6. Grand City: the Cybercats haven't had much success in the IPA... only made the playoffs three times with no Pro Cups... the last appearance was years ago in 2030... for the last five seasons they have stuck in the second division... 73-81 last year (15 GB) and 69-85 (21 GB) this year... the Cybercats can put runs on the scoreboard, but are not much on the hill.

Top Pitchers: Jimmy Engels (18-15/2.91) had a solid year and is the best in the starting rotation, while Kent Douglas (8-4/1.76/16 saves) had a great year in the bullpen.

Top Batters: superstar All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.288/47/135/103) had a monster year, leading the IPA with 135 RBIs and ranking third in the in homers with 47, topped only by Middlefield's Johnny Wyatt with 57 and Bayview's Nioka Inkamara with 50... other capable contributors were CF Harland Blankenship (.302/6/55/93), All-Star SS Scott McIntyre (.297/10/58/96) and LF Hot Rod Gwin (.326/22/76/70).

7. Belair Beach: a very disappointing season for the Sunbirds... they were poised for a fine season after being picked by the pollsters to win the division, but they never did anything and wound up next-to-last with a 69-85 mark (21 GB)... the Sunbirds were also seventh in '49 with a 70-84 record (18 GB)... Belair Beach was the division champ in 2047... they have been to the postseason eight times in history, but have never claimed a Pro Cup... the Sunbirds did reach the Pro Cup Finals in 2014, but lost a seven-game series to champion Kenwood.

Top Pitchers: only one starter is dependable... that's Jeffrey Verblen (17-18/3.62)... two in the bullpen stand out... Tom Cook (10-5/2.31/10 saves) and Kyle Gibson (4-5/2.43/8 saves).

Top Batters: CF Norm Ellis (.281/33/108/67) is the club leader in homers and RBIs... 2B Alvaro Abreu (.312/1/42/75) has the best batting average... long-time star 1B Jason Butler is now 37 and hit .276 with 18 HRs and 70 RBIs... the 8-time All-Star Butler now has 574 career homers and 1677 RBIs... and RF Shannon Stewart is adequate with a .287 BA, 9 HRs, 53 RBIs and 59 runs.

8. Valka: the Blackhawks plunged from second place in '49 (83-71), just five games behind division champ Claxton, to deep into the cellar with a 68-88 record (22 GB)... Valka has made the playoffs only four times in its IPA existence and has never gained a Pro Cup title.

Top Pitchers: 23-year-old Arvi Tamm (14-13/3.44) was the most effective starter... two others gave them some quality starts: 32-year-old vet Matvey Kazak (15-17/4.03) and 24-year-old Adrian Stenhouse (16-17/4.09).

Top Batters: at age 36 star CF Kenny Mitzusaka is still going strong with a .298 BA, 33 HRs, 101 RBIs and 86 runs... he is the only threat in the lineup... lifetime Mitzusaka is a .314 hitter with 3067 hits, 424 HRs and 1624 RBIs... no one else is worth mentioning in the batting order.

2050 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics

12-01-2014, 11:21 PM	#4482
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Monday, September 19, 2050 CRUSADERS CRUISE TO RU SOUTH PENNANT In the second half of the year the St. John Crusaders kicked it up a notch and pulled away from the pack in the Ruthlandian South Division and won going away by 11 games over runner-up San Dimas... third in the running were the defending champ Claxton Diamonds, who wound up 14 games behind... and fourth place went to the Crystal Lake Crushers, 16 games off the pace... only the Rancheros ever contended with the Crusaders... they were only three games behind at the All-Star break... the preseason favorite Belair Beach Sunbirds never were in the race at all as they came in a pathetic seventh. *1. ST. JOHN:* the Crusaders won their first pennant since 2042... they went from 8th (26 GB) to 5th (16 GB) to 5th (10 GB) to the division crown in four seasons... St. John is still seeking its first Pro Cup trophy... however, they almost won it in 2036, but lost out in six games to the legendary North Hills Hawks... right off the bat the Crusaders will have to get by the defending Pro Cup champion Valmara Vipers to entertain any hopes of winning the IPA crown... the bats can go up against the Vipers, but St. John's pitching is suspect. Top Pitchers: All-Star Frank Long (26-11/3.00) and Teddy de Grom (19-13/3.10) are the best starters... Long tied Will McKinney (26-12/1.93) of San Alejo and Butch Slattery (26-8/2.41) of White River for the most wins in the IPA this year... Jimmy Chambers (10-7/3.38/11 saves), Zeke Yoder (15-8/3.94) and Liam Spears (15-13/3.77) were also quality starters. Top Batters: All-Star 1B Al Pace (.321/26/119/76), LF Sherrill Westerfield (.343/6/48/91), RF Cris Hershey (.321/11/88/86), SS Bubba Ralston (.296/12/59/105) and 2B Herbie Gruen (.265/17/92/73) led a solid core of hitters. 2. San Dimas: the Rancheros broke a sting of six straight second division finishes this year... they were on or near the bottom the previous three seasons, going 62-92 (7th), 55-99 (8th) and 57-97 (8th)... San Dimas improved to 79-75 this season... they have never won a Pro Cup... the last postseason appearance was nine years ago... the Rancheros have fairly decent hitting and fairly decent pitching. Top Pitchers: Gary Widmer (16-11/3.79) was the club leader in wins... in the bullpen it was Kenny Robinson (14-7/1.91/21 saves), who really excelled... Robinson made 84 appearances and had the third best ERA in the IPA, topped only by Middlefield's James Long (25-8/1.78) and St. Alejo's Matt Bell (23-8/1.83)... Robinson also tied for third in saves... only Ranford rookie Martin Futch (8-5/2.35/26 saves) and Sugar Valley's Domenico Renterias (6-6/4.17/25 saves) were better. Top Batters: All-Star CF Enrique Orestez (.308/34/113/106) had a fantastic season and was helped out by LF Johnny Locke (.305/10/63/98), 38-year-old RF Denny Hendrix (.279/32/99/80), 35-year-old 3B Leonard Purkey (.295/21/89/54) and 2B Ricardo Cepeda (.297/7/46/81). 3. Claxton: last year's division winner, the Diamonds, were terrible on the mound this year, ranking 31st with a pitiful 4.69 ERA... but they led the Ruthlandian Union in scoring runs with 861... only Bay St. Clair in the Tycobbian Union outscored them with 903 runs... Claxton won four of the last six pennants in the RU South... 14 times they made the postseason, but never won the Pro Cup... but the Diamonds did make the Finals two years ago and lost out to the Rolling Hills Reds in five games. Top Pitchers: long-time vets Abe Schiffman (19-14/4.13) and Steven Ellison (19-13/4.82) won 19 games apiece, but got many of the wins because of the high-powered attack... closer Ramon Santos (9-9/3.29/14 saves) was the best in the bullpen. Top Batters: All-Star RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.338/38/125/118) had a fabulous year and got plenty of help from 35-year-old superstar All-Star 2B Jojo DeLucca (.326/18/87/67), SS Rick Clayburne (.306/7/52/105), CF Whit Miley (.293/11/71/91) and LF Konrad Neumann (.308/12/61/83)... Ramsey was fourth in the IPA in RBIs with 125 and runs with 118. 4. Crystal Lake: the Crushers were fourth for the second year in a row, but declined a bit from 82-72 (6 GB) to 74-80 (16 GB)... they have made the postseason on 10 occasions in the club's history and captured two Pro Cups, winning in 2020 and 2022... basically, Crystal Lake is just a mediocre ball club. Top Pitchers: Haden Mackowiak (19-15/3.38) and Jeth Limbrick (17-17) are reliable starters... but the others in the starting rotation struggled mightily... the bullpen, however, is good... headed up by vet closer Josh Crosby (6-7/2.54/10 saves). Top Batters: RF Paul Dillon (.307/8/54/72), All-Star C Del Peevy (.299/15.74/71) and LF Jed Murphree (.281/5/59/79) were the best of the lot... at age 35 Dillon is a .322 career hitter with 2729 hits, 168 homers, 1166 RBIs and 1367 runs. 5. Waleska: the Westerners are just a so-so team... they were third the in '48 (16 GB) and '49 (6 GB) and in strong contention with second place finishes in '46 (3 GB) and '47 (3 GB)... but the Westerners tumbled to fifth this year (20 GB)... Waleska has three Pro Cups in their trophy case collection, winning it in 2028, 2037 and 2039... only Turon and North Hills with four each have won more. Top Pitchers: Niles Neilsen (20-15/2.27) is easily the ace of the mound staff... at age 33 he is 193-172 in his career with a solid 3.16 ERA... Vince Gibson (8-4/3.47/13 saves) is the most dependable reliever. Top Batters: not much offense at the plate... 1B Rob Rice (.298/18/64/56) and LF Gene Stevenson (.281/12/63/55) are the only decent hitters. 6. Grand City: the Cybercats haven't had much success in the IPA... only made the playoffs three times with no Pro Cups... the last appearance was years ago in 2030... for the last five seasons they have stuck in the second division... 73-81 last year (15 GB) and 69-85 (21 GB) this year... the Cybercats can put runs on the scoreboard, but are not much on the hill. Top Pitchers: Jimmy Engels (18-15/2.91) had a solid year and is the best in the starting rotation, while Kent Douglas (8-4/1.76/16 saves) had a great year in the bullpen. Top Batters: superstar All-Star 1B Benny Hull (.288/47/135/103) had a monster year, leading the IPA with 135 RBIs and ranking third in the in homers with 47, topped only by Middlefield's Johnny Wyatt with 57 and Bayview's Nioka Inkamara with 50... other capable contributors were CF Harland Blankenship (.302/6/55/93), All-Star SS Scott McIntyre (.297/10/58/96) and LF Hot Rod Gwin (.326/22/76/70). 7. Belair Beach: a very disappointing season for the Sunbirds... they were poised for a fine season after being picked by the pollsters to win the division, but they never did anything and wound up next-to-last with a 69-85 mark (21 GB)... the Sunbirds were also seventh in '49 with a 70-84 record (18 GB)... Belair Beach was the division champ in 2047... they have been to the postseason eight times in history, but have never claimed a Pro Cup... the Sunbirds did reach the Pro Cup Finals in 2014, but lost a seven-game series to champion Kenwood. Top Pitchers: only one starter is dependable... that's Jeffrey Verblen (17-18/3.62)... two in the bullpen stand out... Tom Cook (10-5/2.31/10 saves) and Kyle Gibson (4-5/2.43/8 saves). Top Batters: CF Norm Ellis (.281/33/108/67) is the club leader in homers and RBIs... 2B Alvaro Abreu (.312/1/42/75) has the best batting average... long-time star 1B Jason Butler is now 37 and hit .276 with 18 HRs and 70 RBIs... the 8-time All-Star Butler now has 574 career homers and 1677 RBIs... and RF Shannon Stewart is adequate with a .287 BA, 9 HRs, 53 RBIs and 59 runs. 8. Valka: the Blackhawks plunged from second place in '49 (83-71), just five games behind division champ Claxton, to deep into the cellar with a 68-88 record (22 GB)... Valka has made the playoffs only four times in its IPA existence and has never gained a Pro Cup title. Top Pitchers: 23-year-old Arvi Tamm (14-13/3.44) was the most effective starter... two others gave them some quality starts: 32-year-old vet Matvey Kazak (15-17/4.03) and 24-year-old Adrian Stenhouse (16-17/4.09). Top Batters: at age 36 star CF Kenny Mitzusaka is still going strong with a .298 BA, 33 HRs, 101 RBIs and 86 runs... he is the only threat in the lineup... lifetime Mitzusaka is a .314 hitter with 3067 hits, 424 HRs and 1624 RBIs... no one else is worth mentioning in the batting order. 2050 Ruthlandian South Division Final Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 12-03-2014 at 10:14 PM.