[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 17, 2052

WESTERNERS WIN AGAIN IN RU SOUTH
The Ruthlandian South Division title went to Waleska (90-64) for the second year in a row... Waleska was challenged by Valka (81-73) and Grand City (81-73) until mid-season, leading by only 2 and 4 games, then the Westerners took the pretty girl in hand and rode off into the sunset with the pennant, galloping off in easy fashion by 9 games... four clubs were far back in the race, 20 games behind and tied for 4th place: San Dimas (70-84), Crystal Lake (70-84), Claxton (70-84) and Belair Beach (70-84)... and the St. John Crusaders (66-88) came in last.

1st Place: WALESKA WESTERNERS (90-64)
Last Year: 1st Place (87-67)
Pro Cups: 3 (2028, 2037, 2039)
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2051

Waleska went to the IPA Pro Cup Finals last year and lost to Arlon in 5 games... manager Roy Hobbs hopes to do better this year and win it all... the Westerners hit the cover off the ball with a sensational .288 BA (3rd), scoring 819 runs (4th), but they come up short in long-distance power with only 101 HRs (26th)... pitching is better-than-average with a 3.56 ERA (13th)... the bullpen is excellent with a 2.26 ERA (4th)... on defense Hobbs has an average club with a .966 FA... Waleska upset the powerhouses Valmara and Sugar Valley last year... maybe they can do the same thing to Taranto (98-56), Wynnamac (95-69) and Middlefield (106-48), the other three Ruthlandian playoff teams.

Hobbs heavily platoons and has a slew of hitters, none with power... heading up the Waleska attack are 2B Richie Fry (.350/4 HR/55 RBI/83 R/10 SB), 3B Hisachi Yamaguchi (.335/7 HR/53 RBI/81 R), LF Allie Connors (.328/10 HR/58 RBI/63 R/32 SB), 1B Rob Rice (.323/8 HR/46 RBI/51 R), CF Lynn Washington (.313/13 HR/80 RBI/70 R) and SS Jingo Jernigan (.268/12 HR/73 RBI/83 R/23 SB)... on the hill Hobbs has a young and talented staff... the Westerner ace is Lou Carlson (20-10/3.85) with help from Kenny Foster (16-12/3.40), Vince Foster (15-11/3.49), Trey Earnest (18-16/3.51) and Niles Nielsen (14-13/3.98/12 saves/51 G)... problem is the latter two are injured and will miss the first weeks of the playoffs.

2nd Place (tie): Valka Blackhawks (81-73) (9 GB)
Last Year: 5th Place (tie) (70-84) (17 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 4
Last Appearance: 2017

The natives are restless in Valka... it's been over 3 decades since they last made the postseason... the Blackhawks have never won the Pro Cup... not likely to happen soon either... manager Arno Vainmaa has good pitching with a 3.52 ERA (11th), only fair offense with a .260 BA (19th), 693 runs (24th) and 110 HR (19th) and a fine defense with a .969 FA.

Valka has some fine pitchers in Arvi Tamm (19-13/2.63), Adrian Stenhouse (17-16/2.84), Maksim Moroz (15-9/3.73/10 saves/55 G) and rookie Snooky Knaup (10-4/3.10/2 saves/33 G)... the Blackhawks lack scoring... LF Marcos Arredondo (.284/13 HR/78 RBI/101 R/36 SB) is a fine talent, but needs help... SS Corey Belk (.313/4 HR/52 RBI/85 R), CF Peetrus Vaher (.252/15 HR/80 RBI/70 R/19 SB) and C Gunnar Kikkas (.268/18 HR/73 RBI/45 R) are the other run producers.

2nd Place (tie): Grand City Cybercats (81-73) (9 GB)
Last Year: 5th Place (tie)(70-84) (17 GB)
Pro Cup: None
Playoffs: 2
Last Appearance: 2030

There are many years of frustration in Grand City... despite being one of the the wealthier clubs, that has not enabled the Cybercats to compete very well... skipper Thomas Hall only has a little-better-than-average ballclub with a .267 BA (13th), 756 runs (12th), not much power with 102 HR (25th), modest mound staff with a 3.78 ERA (17th) and a good defense with a .969 FA.

Grand City has fair talent... rookie CF Rocky Valverdi (.289/15 HR/71 RBI/86 R/28 SB) made the RU All-Stars with a great first half, but tailed off in the summer... other reliables are 1B Hot Rod Gwin (.290/12 HR/76 RBI/60 R), LF Joe Crystal (.284/11 HR/67 RBI/65 R/8 SB), RF Harland Blankenship (.324/6 HR/56 RBI/74 R/10 SB), 3B Scott McIntyre (.292/8 HR/63 RBI/56 R/5 SB) and SS Laney Carrigan (.286/2 HR/50 RBI/51 R/10 SB)... the Cybercats have some quality arms in the rotation with veterans Roy Tuthill (18-16/3.98), Jimmy Engels (17-19/3.72) and Joel Eaton (15-16/3.61)... 35-year-old closer Kent Douglas (11-4/2.18/8 saves/67 G) can still get the job done.

4th Place (tie): San Dimas Rancheros (70-84) (20 GB)
Last Year: 3rd Place (tie) (74-80) (13 GB)
Pro Cup: None
Playoffs: 4
Last Appearance: 2041

The San Dimas Rancheros have not had much success in the IPA... former pitching star Shannon White (227-186/3.29 ERA) is in charge of the team... he has a pretty good offense with a .275 BA (4th), 762 runs (9th), 126 HR (12th), but is mediocre on the mound with a 4.06 ERA (22nd) and has a terrible defense with a .957 FA.

San Dimas' best bats are CF Enrique Orantez (.309/17 HR/86 RBI/103 R/11 SB), C Yunesky Villanueva (.345/2 HR/62 RBI/64 R), rookie 3B Mickey Booth (.303/20 HR/78 RBI/65 R), rookie SS Eduardo Ortiz (.305/11 HR/59 RBI/49 R) and 40-year-old vet star RF Denny Hendrix (.301/23 HR/75 RBI/59 R)... rookie starters Tomas Olmeda (20-14/3.73), Tyler Tydings (18-14/4.00) and Enrique Hernandez (11-15/3.80) all had good first campaigns... vet closer Kenny Robinson (4-11/2.71/11 saves/65 G) is the best in the bullpen.

4th Place (tie): Crystal Lake Skippers (70-84) (20 GB)
Last Year: 8th Place (65-89) (22 GB)
Pro Cups: 2 (2020, 2022)
Playoffs: 10
Last Appearance: 2044

The Crystal Lake Skippers have had success in the Islandian Pro Alliance with two Pro Cups and 10 playoff appearances... but not lately... the current manager is HOF hurler Duncan Welch (262-170/2.50 ERA)... he only has so-so talent, bordering more on the mediocre side... the Skippers hit .264 this season (16th), with 714 runs (20th-tied), good power with 130 homers (11th), but bad pitching with a lofty 4.22 ERA (25th)... not a lot of defense, either, with a poor .962 FA.

Crystal Lake's offense is led by vet star C Del Peevy (.320/20 HR/68 RBI/72 R), RF Alex Mundy (.281/16 HR/82 RBI/70 R/11 SB), rookie LF Irv Waterman (.306/13 HR/65 RBI/79 R/25 SB) and 2B Oscar Jeffers (.255/24 HR/84 RBI/65 R)... Haden Mackowiak (14-19/3.69) was the only effective starter... Josh Crosby (10-6/2.52/16 saves/80 G) stood out in the bullpen.

4th Place (tie): Claxton Diamonds (70-84) (20 GB)
Last Year: 3rd Place (tie) (74-80) (13 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 14
Last Appearance: 2049

The Claxton Diamonds have a player-manager... Jojo DeLucca (.310/511 HR/1953 RBI) is one of the all-time great IPA players, the son of HOF Joe DeLucca (.305/384 HR/1508 RBI/1812 R/325 SB)... the Diamonds are just borderline average... some good bats in vets 1B Jimmy John Ramsey (.287/23 HR/80 RBI/55 R), All-Star RF Whit Miley (.322/15 HR/67 RBI/105 R/21 SB), 3B Reece Somerset (.271/13 HR/80 RBI/69 R) and SS Rick Clayburne (.274/10 HR/64 RBI/84 R)... DeLucca (.269/16 HR/102 RBI/71 R/7 SB) is slowing down at age 37, but can still play the game... it's in the starting rotation that Claxton can't cut the mustard... Jared Lipton (13-18/3.65) is the only consistent starter... in the bullpen 24-year-old Ramon Santos (10-6/1.31/10 saves/71 G) had a brilliant season and is one of the league's best closers.

4th Place (tie): Belair Beach (74-80) (20 GB)
Last Year: 7th (68-86) (19 GB)
Pro Cups: None
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2047

Bob Meusel's Belair Beach Sunbirds have been stuck below the .500 mark for four straight years... he has fairly good pitching, but little offense... only once in almost 40 years have they made the playoffs... it looks like the drought is going to continue... Meusel has the worst-hitting club in the Ruthlandian Union with a pathetic .248 BA (32nd), 659 runs (28th-tied), decent power with 115 homers (15th) and fairly good pitching with a 3.57 ERA (14th)... the bullpen is quite good with a 2.54 ERA (5th)... the Sunbirds have two quality starters in Jeffrey Verblen (15-16/2.98) and Kevin Tolbert (17-18/3.28)... youngsters Claus Antoon (14-18/4.48) and Tommy Hester (11-16/4.33) have been good at times and might develop... in the bullpen the tandem of Tom Cook (7-7/2.59/16 saves/83 G) and Kyle Gibson (3-1/1.24/7 saves/37 G) have been impressive.

8th Place: St. John Crusaders (66-86) (24 GB)
Last Year: 2nd Place (82-72) (5 GB)
Pro Cup: None
Playoffs: 8
Last Appearance: 2050

2052 was suppose to be the year for St. John's manager Nicky Farrugia... they won the RU South pennant in '50, came in a fairly close second last year to Waleska and was forecast to be in the thick of the race this year... but no so... the pitching went south on Farrugia and they came in dead last... the Crusaders are still a pretty fair team... they hit and score well with a .274 BA (5th) and 773 runs (7th)... not a lot of power with only 107 HR (22nd)... less-than-adequate pitching with a 4.07 ERA (23rd)... defense is sub-standard, too, with a poor .965 FA.

St. John has a few good bats... Nolan Cramer (.342/20 HR/81 RBI/86 R/17 SB) is an RU All-Star in RF... other reliable hitters are SS Derek McKendrick (.296/8 HR/56 RBI/68 R), 1B Duncan Murrell (.302/11 HR/55 RBI/66 R), LF Chuck Coltharpe (.292/10 HR/69 RBI/55 R) and LF Ben Runnels (.282/6 HR/64 RBI/63 R/19 SB)... most of the pitching staff had off-years, all at the same time... Teddy de Grom (19-16/3.56), Frank Long (13-12/4.02/4 saves/42 G) and Liam Spears (11-24/4.41) got most of the starts.