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

Eugene Church · 04-12-2017, 11:39 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, October 7, 2053

PRO CUP FINALS PREVIEW
And then there were two... the #2-ranked Taranto Tars and the #3-rated Midway Wolves... the final two titans left standing so far in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... the two very talented teams will vie for the much-coveted Pro Cup, emblematic of professional baseball supremacy in the Islands... the Ruthlandian Union winner will be opposed by the Tycobbian Union titlist...the IPA title series begins tomorrow afternoon at the Palazzo di Sport in Taranto, pitting the hometown Tars against the visiting Midway Wolves.

Unbeaten Taranto got to the Pro Cup Finals by whipping the 8th-ranked Waleska Westerners in round one... and then in a mild upset knocked off the reigning Pro Cup champion and this year's favorite, the Middlefield Roosters... the Tars tore through both rounds with ease, sweeping both series with unbelievably great pitching... Taranto is 8-0 with a microscopic 1.27 ERA, yielding only 12 runs.

The Midway Wolves have been quite impressive, too, posting an 8-2 mark in the first two rounds... the Wolves disposed of the 7th-rated Denton City Redbirds in 6 games and then proceeded to sweep the tough 4th-ranked Turon Typhoons in the TU title series... the Midway mound corps has been very solid with a 2.80 ERA in 10 games against two fine-hitting clubs... and the Wolves averaged almost 5 runs a games against two very good pitching staffs.

The question everyone is asking: can Midway put any runs on the scoreboard against Taranto's terrific twirlers?... that will be the key element according all of the Islands' baseball experts.

The Wolves have the better offense, but Taranto has the superior pitching.

Taranto skipper Augie Marshall will send the trio of Valerio Rossi (15-9/2.88), Armani Pizziconi (25-9/3.09) and Freddy DeAngelis (17-12/3.17) against the Midway bats... in his bullpen the Tars will have starters Jaron Montague (14-4/3.31), Mario Martinelli (16-7/3.61), also with relievers Louis Toscano (3-4/2.13/17 saves/36 G) and Raphael Palmieri (4-1/1.52/2 saves/19 G).

Midway manager Bobby Dorignac will counter with Charlie Chase (27-10/2.51), Will DeBerry (25-10/3.25), Beau McCloud (18-10/3.38) and Yank Atchley (15-7/2.39)... the Wolves are solid in the bullpen, too, with Jeffrey Leonard (4-2/0.36/8 saves/21 G) and Rocket Rhodes (7-4/2.22/13 saves/36 G).

In the postseason Taranto's Rossi is 3-0 with a 1.07 ERA, DeAngelis 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and Pizziconi was 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA... while Midway's ace Chase is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA, Atchley 3-0 with a 3.42 ERA, McCloud 2-0 and 0.59... DeBerry did not do well with an 0-1 mark and skyhigh 9.82 ERA in 2 games... the Wolves' playoff ERA is higher because they faced much better hitting teams than Taranto did.

For offense the Wolves depend on SS Kax Clark (.368 BA/17 HR/88 RBI/108 R/16 SB), RF Daryl Vale (.332 BA/21 HR/62/RBI/57 R/17 SB), 3B Jamey Southwick (.263 BA/25 HR/70 RBI/68 R) and 1B Tom Goodnight (.289 BA/21 HR/86 RBI/86 R/2 SB).

For the Tars it will be CF Renzo Caruso (.276 BA/37 HR/85 RBI/87 R/18 SB), LF Kuma Toyota (.319 BA/29 HR/73 RBI/51 R/5 SB), C Niccolo Parisi (.276 BA/30 HR/73 RBI/60 R) and 3B Gaetano Palombo (.311 BA/18 HR/61 RBI/78 R).

In the postseason for Midway, SS Clark (.425 BA/0 HR/5 RBI/7 R), 2B Del Holloway (.406/1/7/7) and RF Daryl Vale (.370/0/5/5) have been the hottest hitters with some help from 3B Nate Stiles (.412/3/5/5) in the Turon series... 3B Southwick (.115 BA) and 1B Goodnight (.231) have struggled... Midway is batting .272 in the playoffs with 6 home runs.. they are scoring nearly 5 runs a game... Dorignac is hoping Southwick and Goodnight can get it going in the Finals... the Wolves need them to do well to gain their first Pro Cup in the club's history... they came close only one time in the team's history... in 2022 Midway lost to the Crystal Lake Crushers in the IPA Pro Cup Finals in 6 games.

The Tars faced two very good staffs in the first two rounds... they only hit .255, but did hit 10 homers... they averaged 3.5 runs a game... Taranto's top guns in the playoffs have been RF Cody Losby (.412 BA/3 HR/5 RBI/8 R/2 SB), Caruso (.257/4/6/5/1 SB) and 3B Gaetano Palombo (.314/1/3/5)... LF Toyota (.185) and C Parisi (.129 BA) have been disappointing and unproductive... the Tars will need them to beat Midway... Taranto is seeking its second Pro Cup trophy... they won the first and only way back in 2015 when they defeated the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers... Tars manager Augie Marshall played a prime role in that series as a hard-hitting outfielder.

Defensively, Taranto is a little better than Midway with a very good .977 FA...the Wolves are better-than-average at .974.

Pro Cup Forecast: Looks like a great match-up, but you've got to give the edge to Taranto... they really handled last year's winner Middlefield in a very impressive manner... the Tars in 6 games because of their tremendous pitching... Midway might win a couple of games because Taranto bats are a little timid in the playoffs.

04-12-2017, 11:39 PM	#5466
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,909	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, October 7, 2053 PRO CUP FINALS PREVIEW And then there were two... the #2-ranked Taranto Tars and the #3-rated Midway Wolves... the final two titans left standing so far in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs... the two very talented teams will vie for the much-coveted Pro Cup, emblematic of professional baseball supremacy in the Islands... the Ruthlandian Union winner will be opposed by the Tycobbian Union titlist...the IPA title series begins tomorrow afternoon at the Palazzo di Sport in Taranto, pitting the hometown Tars against the visiting Midway Wolves. Unbeaten Taranto got to the Pro Cup Finals by whipping the 8th-ranked Waleska Westerners in round one... and then in a mild upset knocked off the reigning Pro Cup champion and this year's favorite, the Middlefield Roosters... the Tars tore through both rounds with ease, sweeping both series with unbelievably great pitching... Taranto is 8-0 with a microscopic 1.27 ERA, yielding only 12 runs. The Midway Wolves have been quite impressive, too, posting an 8-2 mark in the first two rounds... the Wolves disposed of the 7th-rated Denton City Redbirds in 6 games and then proceeded to sweep the tough 4th-ranked Turon Typhoons in the TU title series... the Midway mound corps has been very solid with a 2.80 ERA in 10 games against two fine-hitting clubs... and the Wolves averaged almost 5 runs a games against two very good pitching staffs. The question everyone is asking: can Midway put any runs on the scoreboard against Taranto's terrific twirlers?... that will be the key element according all of the Islands' baseball experts. The Wolves have the better offense, but Taranto has the superior pitching. Taranto skipper Augie Marshall will send the trio of Valerio Rossi (15-9/2.88), Armani Pizziconi (25-9/3.09) and Freddy DeAngelis (17-12/3.17) against the Midway bats... in his bullpen the Tars will have starters Jaron Montague (14-4/3.31), Mario Martinelli (16-7/3.61), also with relievers Louis Toscano (3-4/2.13/17 saves/36 G) and Raphael Palmieri (4-1/1.52/2 saves/19 G). Midway manager Bobby Dorignac will counter with Charlie Chase (27-10/2.51), Will DeBerry (25-10/3.25), Beau McCloud (18-10/3.38) and Yank Atchley (15-7/2.39)... the Wolves are solid in the bullpen, too, with Jeffrey Leonard (4-2/0.36/8 saves/21 G) and Rocket Rhodes (7-4/2.22/13 saves/36 G). In the postseason Taranto's Rossi is 3-0 with a 1.07 ERA, DeAngelis 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and Pizziconi was 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA... while Midway's ace Chase is 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA, Atchley 3-0 with a 3.42 ERA, McCloud 2-0 and 0.59... DeBerry did not do well with an 0-1 mark and skyhigh 9.82 ERA in 2 games... the Wolves' playoff ERA is higher because they faced much better hitting teams than Taranto did. For offense the Wolves depend on SS Kax Clark (.368 BA/17 HR/88 RBI/108 R/16 SB), RF Daryl Vale (.332 BA/21 HR/62/RBI/57 R/17 SB), 3B Jamey Southwick (.263 BA/25 HR/70 RBI/68 R) and 1B Tom Goodnight (.289 BA/21 HR/86 RBI/86 R/2 SB). For the Tars it will be CF Renzo Caruso (.276 BA/37 HR/85 RBI/87 R/18 SB), LF Kuma Toyota (.319 BA/29 HR/73 RBI/51 R/5 SB), C Niccolo Parisi (.276 BA/30 HR/73 RBI/60 R) and 3B Gaetano Palombo (.311 BA/18 HR/61 RBI/78 R). In the postseason for Midway, SS Clark (.425 BA/0 HR/5 RBI/7 R), 2B Del Holloway (.406/1/7/7) and RF Daryl Vale (.370/0/5/5) have been the hottest hitters with some help from 3B Nate Stiles (.412/3/5/5) in the Turon series... 3B Southwick (.115 BA) and 1B Goodnight (.231) have struggled... Midway is batting .272 in the playoffs with 6 home runs.. they are scoring nearly 5 runs a game... Dorignac is hoping Southwick and Goodnight can get it going in the Finals... the Wolves need them to do well to gain their first Pro Cup in the club's history... they came close only one time in the team's history... in 2022 Midway lost to the Crystal Lake Crushers in the IPA Pro Cup Finals in 6 games. The Tars faced two very good staffs in the first two rounds... they only hit .255, but did hit 10 homers... they averaged 3.5 runs a game... Taranto's top guns in the playoffs have been RF Cody Losby (.412 BA/3 HR/5 RBI/8 R/2 SB), Caruso (.257/4/6/5/1 SB) and 3B Gaetano Palombo (.314/1/3/5)... LF Toyota (.185) and C Parisi (.129 BA) have been disappointing and unproductive... the Tars will need them to beat Midway... Taranto is seeking its second Pro Cup trophy... they won the first and only way back in 2015 when they defeated the Bay St. Clair Buccaneers... Tars manager Augie Marshall played a prime role in that series as a hard-hitting outfielder. Defensively, Taranto is a little better than Midway with a very good .977 FA...the Wolves are better-than-average at .974. Pro Cup Forecast: Looks like a great match-up, but you've got to give the edge to Taranto... they really handled last year's winner Middlefield in a very impressive manner... the Tars in 6 games because of their tremendous pitching... Midway might win a couple of games because Taranto bats are a little timid in the playoffs. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 04-13-2017 at 02:51 PM.