[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 21, 2054

VALKA WINS RU SOUTH, 1ST TIME IN 38 YRS
The long, long wait is over... after 38 long, long seasons the Valka Blackhawks have finally captured another Ruthlandian South pennant... the Blackhawks will be in the Pro Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017... you might say they were lucky to be in one of the weaker divisions in the IPA... only two teams were above the .500 mark - Valka and second place St. John.

Valka (82-72) defeated the St. John Crusaders (77-77) by five games... rounding out the first division were the Grand City Cybercats (72-82) and Claxton Diamonds (72-82), both tied for the third spot in the RU South standings... the wound up 10 games off the pace... the division champ for the past three years, the Waleska Westerners (71-83) finished fifth this season and 11 games out.

1. VALKA BLACKHAWKS (82-72)... rose up from fifth place (75-79) and 15 games behind in '53 to win the division flag... manager Arno Vainmaa has just a so-so ballclub and not very likely to make any waves in the postseason playoffs... this is only the fifth appearance in the Pro Cup playoffs... Valka has never contended for a Pro Cup trophy... never even reached the IPA Finals.

The future is looking good for the Blackhawks... they are a very young club... anchoring the pitching staff are Eerik Jogi (18-16/3.27), Adrian Stanhouse (19-10/3.29) and Arvi Tamm (14-18/3.65)... 34-year-old closer Ricky Cockburn (4-3/2.47/14 saves/35 G) is the only one on the roster showing any age... however, this year is his best season... All-Star RF Mel Shadwell (.323/17 HR/86 RBI?85 R/17 SB) is Valka's most productive hitter, helped out by CF Marcos Arredondo (.252/11 HR/55 RBI/102 R/45 SB), 2B Olev Tarvas (.289/11 HR/51 RBI/82 R) and 3B Corey Belk (.289/9 HR/65 RBI/66 R/8 SB).

Outlook: the Blackhawks are coming up in the IPA world, but is 2-3 players away from challenging Middlefield and Taranto... still they should be able to compete well in the Ruthlandian South for several more seasons... things are looking up in Valka... but in the Pro Cup playoffs, look for the Blackhawks to bite the dust early... Vainmaa just doesn't have enough hosses.

2. St. John Crusaders (77-77) (5 GB)... the Crusaders won their last pennant in '50... have made the postseason on 8 occasions, but have never won the Pro Cup... but they made the Finals in '36 when they lost in six games to a really fine North Hills team... in '53 St. John came in third (79-75), 11 GB... manager Nicky Farrugia has some fine hitters, but lacks the mound corps... the team hit .288, tops for the entire IPA... rated 4th in scoring in the Ruthlandian Union with 808 runs... but the pitchers ranked 28th with a 4.35 ERA... the Crusaders didn't make their move until the second half, when they played well... at midseason they were 10 games behind Valka... 21-year-old southpaw Whitlow Cornwell (16-13/3.53) showed good potential this season, his third... 24-year-old Gibby Pritchell (12-12/3.60), a lefty, too, had a pretty good year... the St. John bullpen is worthless... but at the plate they dazzle with newcomer CF Freddie Woodruff (.317/10 HR/72 RBI/104 R/16 SB), a fine defender and hitter, obtained from Fort Benton for pitcher Zeke Yoder (16-16/3.65)... All-Star C Tuffy Palmieri (.325/11 HR/74 RBI/96 R) was also a tough out... LF Joe Crystal (.309/13 HR/77 RBI/57 R) and RF Cris Hershey (.327/9 HR/63 RBI/70 R/3 SB) did well as well... and 1B James Winwood (.284/19 HR/86 RBI/80 R/7 SB) really blossomed in his seventh season with the club... he led the club in homers.

Outlook: St. John needs to vastly improve its pitching rotation and bullpen... due to the weak talent in the RU South, they might hit their way to the division crown, but they will need solid pitching to get up with the big boys like Middlefield and Taranto.

3. Grand City Cybercats (72-82) (10 GB)... many years have come and gone since the Cybercats made the IPA playoffs... 2030 was the last time... the club has made the postseason just three times in its history... never come close to a Pro Cup trophy... manager Thomas Hall made great progress in '52 (81-73) and '53 (85-69), but he slipped backwards this season with both his pitching and hitting falling off... both are just lackluster and mediocre... Grand City came in third this year tied with Claxton... Steve Shirley (9-8/3.35/4 saves/46 G) ended up the most effective starter at season's end... 34-year-old vet Frank Long (13-18/4.08) is not the same pitcher he was several years ago, but he is still capable of a quality start... and young George Martz (15-8/3.90) showed some promise this year... in the bullpen 37-year-old Kent Douglas (4-9/4.31/20 saves/53 G) was often shaky and inconsistent, but he still posted 20 saves... 1B Vince Kinston (.284/27 HR/81 RBI/72 R) was a solid longball hitter... Kinston was obtained in a big trade with Arroyo Grande of the Tycobbian Union... 3B Scott McIntyre (.284/13 HR/65 RBI/79 R/8 SB) and RF Rocky Valverdi (.288/11 HR/52 RBI/77 R/27 SB) also contributed to the Cybercat attack.

Outlook: if Grand City can snap back to the way their played in '52 and '53, they could win the RU South, but the Cybercats wouldn't be a force in Ruthlandian circles... scores of teams are better than them.

3. Claxton Diamonds (72-82) (10 GB)... for the third straight year playing skipper Jojo DeLucca has had a down year record-wise winding up way under the .500 mark... this season they improved a bit, but still were 10 games under the breakeven point... it's been 5 years since Claxton won a pennant... overall the Diamonds have made the playoffs 14 times, but haven't ever won a Pro Cup... once they did reach the Pro Cup Finals in '48, but fell to the Rolling Hills Reds in five games.

Claxton started the season well and remained in contention until July, but faded in the second half... at midseason they were in second place, just four games back of leading Valka... the Diamonds can score, ranking 7th with 736 runs, 163 homers (4th) and a .264 BA (14th), but they have shoddy pitching with a 4.26 ERA (25th)... Wilfredo Barceros (21-11/4.69) won a lot of games, but because of the Claxton bats... Claus Antoon (15-13/3.90) was the only effective starter... Wyatt Parnell (1-6/2.65/11 saves/33 G) was hit-and-miss in the bullpen, but he was their best reliever... even at age 39, second baseman DeLucca (.272/27 HR/88 RBI/63 R) is the best threat on the team... helping him out a lot are CF Dude Rafferty (.311/17 HR/63 RBI/98 R/28 SB), RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.303/12 HR/53 RBI/65 R5 SB), LF Konrad Neumann (.310/14 HR/62 RBI/55 R/14 SB) and 3B Reece Somerset (.260/17 HR/64 RBI/57 R).

Outlook: The Diamonds are two-three good pitchers short of a solid team that could play with the best of them... it's easy to say "two-three good pitchers"... but much harder to really find them.

5. Waleska Westerners (71-83) (11 GB)... manager Roy Hobbs has won the RU South for three years prior to this season... the Westerners have appeared in the playoffs on 10 occasions with three Pro Cup trophies... the IPA crowns came in '28, '37 and '39... this year they dipped down to fifth place... poor offense was the culprit... Waleska ranked 31st in scoring runs with only 611 and 32nd in homers with just 81... however, Hobbs has some fairly good hurlers on roster, anchored by Vince Gibson (23-12/2.89)... others in the rotation are Carl Tilton (9-11/2.93/1 save/29 G), Lou Carlson (12-17/3.55/2 saves/38 G) and John McElveen (7-3/3.32/1 save/27 G)... the staff suffered from a lack of offense... mainstay starter Trey Earnest (9-15/3.61/5 saves/36 G) ended up in the bullpen this season... not a lot of threats in the batting order... the best Hobbs had were LF Boomer Barnes (.301/12 HR/56 RBI/83 R/8 SB), 2B Richie Fry (.310/5 HR/58 RBI/80 R/7 SB), CF Allie Connors (.299/12 HR/56 RBI/66 R/28 SB), RF Zip McHan (.294/10 HR/51 RBI/54 R) and All-Star SS Jingo Jernigan (.263/6 HR/63 RBI/47 R/11 SB).

Outlook: Waleska may be stuck in the second division of the Ruthlandian South for a few years until the Westerners can rebuild... they have fairly good pitching, but zilch when it comes to offense.

6. Belair Beach Sunbirds (68-86) (14 GB)... manager Bob Meusel has a lackluster club... they don't do anything very well... 28th in runs with 626... 24th in pitching with a 4.19 ERA... the Sunbirds came in fourth last year (76-78) after coming in seventh the previous three seasons... Belair Beach last made the postseason in '47... they have been to the playoffs only eight times and have never won the Pro Cup... back in 2014 the Sunbirds came close, losing a seven-game series to IPA champion Kenwood... none of the rotation is reliable, consisting of Kevin Tolbert (14-21/3.82), Zak Culbertson (14-17/4.18), Jeffrey Verblen (13-16/4.44) and Glen Long (14-18/4.72)... the best in the bullpen is Kyle Gibson (3-7/3.16/16 saves/42 G)... not much at the plate, either, with the likes of LF Corky Goodnight (.288/3 HR/57 RBI/79 R/39 SB), C Johnny Samarin (.287/15 HR/72 RBI/58 R)... and 2B Alvara Abreu (.290/3 HR/37 RBI/64 R/6 SB)... supplying most of the longballs are CF Huey Greene (.231/27 HR/66 RBI/69 R/14 SB) and RF Nappy Kiggins (.230/18 HR/68 RBI/59 R/13 SB), but they hit very poorly for average.

Outlook: Belair Beach is just a second division team... not likely to be a pennant contender for awhile.

7. Crystal Lake Skippers (64-90) (18 GB)... it's been a decade since manager Duncan Welch has hiked up a pennant... 2044 was the last time they appeared in the playoffs... overall the Skippers have been to the postseason 10 times with two Pro Cups (2020, 2022)... for five consecutive seasons they have wound up with losing records... Welch has a fair offense, ranked 12th in scoring runs with 702, 10th with a .268 BA and 17th in roundtrippers with 116... 2B Gib Conlan (.253/26 HR/81 RBI/90 R) is the only good run producer... his top hitter is LF Zippy Coburn (.323/11 HR/56 RBI/60 R)... not much past them... the best of the rest are CF Irv Waterman (.271/10 HR/59 RBI/58 R/28 SB) and 3B Jasper Shackelford (.273/13 HR/54 RBI/47 R)... very little on the hill with a 4.30 ERA (26th)... Ozzie McLendon (13-16/4.30) and Hokie Faircloth (12-13/4.58) are the best of the lot... however the Skipper relief corps is solid with a 2.95 ERA (6th), headed up by Josh Crosby (8-7/3.02/16 saves/63 G).

Outlook: not so good... team is young and will take a while to develop... destined for the bottom part of the division for some time.

8. San Dimas Rancheros (60-94) (22 GB)... the cowpokes have come in last for the last two seasons... with a losing record for eight of the last 10 years... no pennant or postseason since 2040... never won a Pro Cup... never come close to a Pro Cup trophy... in its dismal IPA history the Rancheros have only made four appearances in the playoffs... Shannon White is the skipper... he was a solid starter for 13 years in his playing days with a 227-186 mark for a fair-to-middling club... White has a career 3.29 ERA... the current club is poor at hitting and pitching... not a bunch of talent... ranks 30th in run scoring with 617... ranks 27th in pitching with a 4.35 ERA... Tyler Tydings (16-14/4.26) and Tomas Olmeda (13-20/4.51) chalked up the most wins... veteran closer Kenny Robinson (4-6/1.89/14 saves/46 G) had a fine year in the bullpen... at the plate light-hitting LF Manuel Madura (.311/3 HR/42 RBI/71 R/25 SB) led the club in average... RF Gilberto Gallardo (.285/22 HR/72 RBI/69 R) and 1B Joaquin Vargas (.262/20 HR/83 RBI/66 R/5 SB) were the main run providers with some help from 3B Mickey Booth (.251/17 HR/56 RBI/54 R) and 2B Carlos Alcantara (.255/14 HR/46 RBI/53 R/5 SB).

Outlook: sparse future for San Dimas... nothing to look forward to... just a bad team for now.