[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2052

TARANTO UPSETS VALMARA IN RU NORTH
The Valmara Vipers (94-60) have almost totally dominated the Ruthlandian North Division, winning the pennant 7 of the previous 9 years and capturing 3 Pro Cups ('43, '49, '50), but they were knocked off of their lofty perch by the Taranto Tars (99-55) this season... the Tars beat them in a season-long battle by 5 games and won the division for the first time since 2019... Valmara had a slight lead at mid-year, but just couldn't keep up with Taranto in the second half, despite playing very good baseball... the third place Ranford Bulls (83-71) ran a good race until the All-Star Game, then went on the fritz and wound up 16 games back... Kilkenny (81-73) was never really close, trailed by 18 games and finished fourth.

1st Place: TARANTO TARS (98-56)
Last Year: 5th Place (82-72) 22 GB
Pro Cups: 1 (2019)... beat Bay St. Clair in 5 games.
Playoffs: 5
Last Appearance: 2019

The last time the Tars made the Pro Cup playoffs was decades ago... their current manager Augie Marshall was the team's star and he sparked them to the 2019 playoffs that season, belting 40 homers and driving 130 runs... Taranto won its only Pro Cup in 2015 when the 21-year-old Marshall (.323 BA/47 HR/131 RBI) propelled them to the IPA title, topping the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers in 5 games.

Marshall's club depends on standout pitching and home-run power... Taranto (99-55) ranks 2nd with an exceptional 2.74 ERA and 191 homers, topped only by Rocky Rapids (2.66 ERA) and Middlefield (206 HR)... they are 6th in scoring runs with 775 runs... and on defense the Tars are just average with a .965 FA.

Taranto's twirlers were paced by rookie Phil Castle (23-3/1.83), who had a marvelous year, and two vets Valerio Rossi (20-11/2.52 and Armani Pizzoconi (10-5/2.98)... however, Pizzoconi was injured at mid-season and will not be available for the playoffs... a severe loss for Marshall... filling in for Pizzoconi will be rookies Enzo Ferrara (17-15/3.58) and Freddy DeAngelis (8-8/3.48)... the Tars are strong in the bullpen, led by rookie Louie Toscano (10-1/0.70/8 saves/33 G)... offensively the prime run providers are 1B Phil Wilson (.292/21 HR/88 RBI/99 R) and rookie C Niccolo Parisi (.291/24 HR/86 RBI/73 R)... vet LF Kuma Toyota (.266/30 HR/65 RBI/70 R) and rookie CF Renzo Caruso (.240/26 HR/62 RBI/72 R/16 SB) were productive bats, too... Castle, Rossi and Parisi all made the Ruthlandian All-Star team... Taranto may not have the mound depth to challenge in the Pro Cup playoffs... three solid starters are usually needed to contend.

2nd Place: Valmara Vipers (94-60) (5 GB)
Last Year: 1st (104-50)
Pro Cups: 4 (2026, 2043, 2049, 2050)
Playoffs: 20
Last Appearance: 2051

Valmara skipper Vanya Vasylenko had the hurlers this year, but his offense was just average... the Vipers were still 94-60, but came out 5 games short of first place... they ranked 5th with a fine 3.19 ERA, but only scored 726 runs (16th) and hit 115 homers (17th-tied)... Valmara defense was good with a .969 FA.

The Vipers' impressive rotation consisted of All-Star Primo Sirak (22-8/2.40), Darus Grajek (20-11/2.31) and Darek Polaski (18-10/3.42)... Mirko Musial (13-13/4.05/6 saves/50 G) was a capable starter, too... Valmara also had an excellent closer in Carver Dillon (11-5/2.31/16 saves/69 G)... at the plate the Vipers were just fair-to-middling with SS Ken Jensen (.274/4 HR/55 RBI/94 R/21 SB), RF Boyd Holmes (.295/20 HR/64 RBI/70 R), rookie 3B Yancey Evers (.266/18 HR/62 RBI/49 R) and vet C Karol Koska (.224/18 HR/72 RBI/54 R)... 12-year vet CF Don Ritchie (.230/2 HR/50 RBI/55 R/8 SB), normally a .293 hitter slipped considerable this season at age 33.

3rd Place: Ranford Bulls (83-31) (16 GB)
Last Year: 3rd (100-54) (4 GB)
Pro Cups: 1 (2040)
Playoffs: 7
Last Appearance: 2041

Manager Kyle Hunt and his Ranford Bulls were looking forward to the 2052 season... they were coming off a 100-win season... and had finished third, just 4 games behind Valmara... the team was ready and poised to take it to another level and take the division flag... but Hunt's hurlers let him down... they wound up with a 3.53 team ERA (12th)... the Bull bats did well with a .273 BA (6th), 135 HR (10th) and 757 runs (11th)... and they did well in the field with a fine .969 FA... but they couldn't keep with Taranto and Valmara past the All-Star Game... slowly fading in the race in the second half of the season and winding up with a disappointing 83-71 mark... Ranford hasn't been to the Pro Cup playoffs since 2040 and 2041... the Bulls were IPA champs in '40, when they whipped the Summerland Sunsets in a 7-game series... that's the only time Ranford brought home the Pro Cup trophy.

The Bulls have one of the top pitchers in the IPA in 36-year-old All-Star ace Ralph Hawk (23-7/1.97), who had a great season, but didn't get much help... Rik de Meester (18-15/3.90), Neil Martin (16-15/4.24) and Duffy Davidson (14-20/4.65) had off years... in the bullpen Martin Futch (10-9/3.28/19 saves/81 G) was inconsistent, great at times, mediocre at times.... Hunt's mound corps is aging, most of them in their mid-30s... Hunt had three All-Stars on his club... the most productive Ranford batters are All-Star CF Joey Hawkins (.322/19 HR/76 RBI/73 R/10 SB), LF Zach Isom (.297/19 HR/78 RBI/99 R), All-Star 1B Virgil Belisle (.308/18 HR/69 RBI/70 R), 3B Joel Rimes (.312/12 HR/66 RBI/79 R/9 SB) and 2B Don Connell (.246/15 HR/81 RBI/72 R)... the Bulls can compete offensively, but need an infusion of talented youth in its pitching to get to the next level to go up against Taranto and Valmara.

4th Place: Kilkenny Cats (81-73) (18 GB)
Last Year: 6th Place (78-76) (26 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 1
Last Appearance: 2042

The Kilkenny Cats got a new manager this season... Kevin McLaglen played outfield for them 12 years (2035-2046)... he only had an average career... batting .267 with 157 home runs and 832 RBIs... just a reliable journeyman... he inherited a so-so club that hadn't appeared in the postseason since 2042... in fact, that is the only time the Cats have made the Pro Cup playoffs in the team's history.

Kilkenny (81-73) ended up in fourth place in the RU North Division, 18 GB... the Cats possess pretty good pitching with a 3.47 ERA (8th)... they have average scoring with 740 HR (14th), but don't hit well... only .252 (29th), but they have a bit of power with 136 HR (8th-tied)... the defense is atrocious with a .957 FA.

The staff is stocked full of veterans, led by Josh Andrews (15-12/2.95), Dewayne Hague (14-12/2.59), Glen Caswell (15-17/3.96) and Dave Stratford (12-14/4.59)... the bullpen is solid with Larry Burke (9-6/2.74/22 saves/84 G)... the most reliable bats are RF Les Utley (.269/30 HR/106 RBI/75 R/11 SB) and 1B Ryan Reagan (.270/27 HR/90 RBI/98 R)... CF Vance Snead (.286/1 HR/36 RBI/103 R/27 SB) and SS Ray Vayda (.282/10 HR/78 RBI/70 R/22 SB) are quality players, too.

5th Place: Glasco Athletics (80-74) (19 GB)
Last Year: 2nd (101-53) (3 GB)
Pro Cup: None
Playoffs: 3
Last Appearance: 2045

Aspirations were high for the Glasco Athletics this year... coming off a splendid second-place season in '51 with a 100-54 mark (3 GB), many just knew the A's would make the playoffs this year... but the mound staff staggered and slumped with the ERA rising from a brilliant 2.71 to just an average 3.48 ERA... Glasco fell to 5th place in the RU North with a record of 80-74.

2051 Ruthlandian Manager of the Year Charles Darby is still at the helm... he pitched 6 of his 18 seasons in Glasco... overall he was 241-226 with a 4.08 ERA... a lousy attack done Darby dirty this year... the A's only batted .252 (30th), only scored 631 runs (31st) with 109 HR (20th)... pitching was good with a 3.48 ERA (9th), but absolutely nothing like the previous year... however, Glasco plays good defense with a .970 FA.

Glasco's starters all saw their ERAs soar some this season... they still performed well except for Dylan McCord (7-15/4.27)... last year he was 21-7 with a 3.34 ERA... others in the rotation were Pat Meyers (22-14/3.56), Evan Walsh (18-12/3.12) and Benny McDaniel (16-16/3.10)... the bullpen was inconsistent this year... Ken McLin (5-10/2.61/21 saves/70 G) was the best reliever... Darby has an older staff with most of them 32-36 in age... rookie and All-Star LF Callum Slattery (.325/8 HR/64 RBI/85 R/15 SB) and vet 2B Ross McFalls (.270/24 HR/88 RBI/85 R/6 SB) were the only quality hitters in the batting order.

6th Place: Far Mountain Redhawks (75-79) (24 GB)
Last Year: 7th Place (73-81) (31 GB)
Pro Cups: 3 (2011 2012 2013)
Playoffs: 14
Last Appearance: 2047

For the fourth season in a row the Far Mountain Redhawks (75-79) have been stucked in the RU South second division with a below .500 record... finishing 6th and 24 games off the pace of division champ Taranto... skipper Robby Kelly has better-than-average pitching with a 3.51 ERA (10th), is just average scoring with 712 runs (22nd) and 117 HR (16th)... defensively the club is poor with a .961 FA... Kelly spent 19 years with the Redhawks, posting a fine 279-196 mark with an impressive 3.23 ERA... he was voted into the IPA Hall of Fame in 2030.

On the hill rookie Benny Van (17-15/3.46), vet Stan Smith (12-16/3.50) and vet Ryan Kolb (12-17/3.45) are three capable starters... so is reliever Jack McKinney (12-12/3.04/15 saves/89 G)... at the plate rookie CF Ox Gless (.301/23 HR/97 RBI/99 R) really had a fine season and pretty much carried the club... LF Terry Crawford (.264/13 HR/50 RBI/81 R/11 SB) was the best of the rest.

7th Place: Ancona Red Elephants (69-85) (30 GB)
Last Year: 8th (57-97) (47 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 5
Last Appearance: 2022

The Ancona Red Elephants (69-85) have been cellar-dwellers and division doormats in the Ruthlandian South for at least the last decade of so... coming in 7th and 8th most of those years... only twice in the last 25 years have they compiled a winning record ('30, '39)... the last postseason appearance was in 2022... this year new skipper Alekos Kotas improved the mark to 69-85, but the Red Elephants still wound up in 7th place, 30 GB... Kotas prospered as a 2-time All-Star first basement for the Elephants, hitting .288 in his 14-year career with 284 homers and 1190 RBIs... Ancona has a poor attack with a .255 BA (26th), only 96 roundtrippers (28th) and 654 runs (30th)... pitching is average with a 3.92 ERA (20th)... defense is mediocre with a .963 FA.

Ancona has two quality starters in rookie Hank Worsley (16-17/3.40) and vet Roger Kostas (13-15/3.45)... and Kasey Tharp (7-4/2.19/11 saves/61 G) stood out in the bullpen... 1B Anton Cormier (.308/13 HR/63 RBI/60 R), LF Denver Blanton (.279/7 HR/54 RBI/46 R), SS Ron Drinkwater (.270/6 HR/50 RBI/55 R) and CF Dwayne Langdon (.276/6 HR/46 RBI/72 R/13 SB) are just average hitters at best.

8th Place: LaGrange Sports (54-100) (45 GB)
Last Year: 4th Place (85-69) (19 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 6
Last Appearance: 2037

No wonder the LaGrange Sports (54-100) came in last in the Ruthlandian North... lousy pitching (4.81 ERA), poor scoring (28th) and bad defense (.963 FA)... the Sports haven't won the RU North flag since '37... LaGrange is managed by Mike York... this was his first year in charge... York pitched from 2023-2044 for the club registering 266-250 record with a fine 3.12 ERA.

Leading the LaGrange staff are Rodger Gagnier (10-21/4.57), Justin Menard (11-22/4.68) and Arnie Ayers (10-13/5.72)... 15-year vet and star SS John Rodgers (.345/12 HR/55 RBI/66 R/9 SB) had a strong year at 35, though he missed 50 games with injury... rookie 1B Rene Broadway (.324/21 HR/58 RBI/50 R) showed his stuff when given the opportunity... and CF Andre Chirac (.311/13 HR/51 RBI/51 R/13 SB) can still swing a good bat... not much in the lineup after these three guys.