[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, October 19, 2055

WYNNAMAC-WHITE RIVER MATCHUPS
A day before the Pro Cup Finals begin, let's peruse the Wynnamac Sundowners and the White River Rascals, comparing them position by position and looking at the mound matchups... Wynnamac is seeking its second Pro Cup trophy... they won their one and only long ago and far away in 2008... White River has never won the IPA crown... this will be the Macs fourth appearance in the Pro Cup Finals... they also played for the Island title in '44 and '54... the Rascals made the Finals in '21, '49 and '50.

Checking out regular-season statistics, Wynnamac hits much better than White River for average, .277 to .245... scores better 726 to 684... but gets outhomered 125 to 105... on the hill they are fairly even, 3.24 ERA for the Macs and 3.33 for the Rascals... but there is a huge disparity in home runs allowed... Wynnamac only permitted 95 homers to 200 for White River... just about even defensively... White River posted a .974 FA, while Wynnamac was .973 FA... just average clubs with the gloves.

As the old adage says "good pitching beat good batting", let's take a look at the pitching corps... statistically they are almost even... both Wynnamac and White River have strong pitching, but the Rascals have more depth in the bullpen.

#1 starters: Wynnamac gets the edge here... Sammy Hayes (23-10/2.22) gives up far fewer homers than White River's Keil Trickett (18-14/3.04)... Hayes only allowed one home run in the regular season, while Trickett permitted 35... however, the 35-year-old Hayes had two terrible starts in the playoffs and one great one... he's 1-2 with a lofty 6.04 in his 4 assignments... Trickett has been better in the postseason with a 1-1 mark in 4 games and a 3.07 ERA.

#2 starters: the Rascals look best here with George Medworth (15-5/2.88) over aging Nicky Palmer (17-12/3.39)... in the postseason Medworth is 2-0 in 3 starts with a 2.57 ERA, while 36-year-old Palmer is 2-1 in 4 starts with a 4.73 ERA.

#3 starters: White River's Cody Butler (13-6/3.16) has had an outstanding postseason with a 2-0 record and 1.35 ERA in 3 starts and is favored slightly over Dion Delgiorno (15-12/3.62)... Delgiorno has been the Sundowners best pitcher in the playoffs with a 3-0 mark and a super-low 0.70 ERA.

#4 starters: in this comparision it goes to White River... reliever Noel Woods (3-2/3.14/38 RA), only 20 years old, probably will get the call from manager Marty Blake... in the postseason Woods has started one game and won it... he has relieved in two other games... Woods is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA... Macs' skipper Jerry Meeks will go with vet Garan Parula (11-11/3.45) with a playoff mark of 1-0 with a 4.11 ERA in 2 starts and 1 relief appearance.

Bullpen: Wynnamac has the best closer by far with Tike Collazo (5-5/1.48/32 saves/57 G), but he doesn't have much reliable help after him... overall White River's relief corps is much deeper with Glen Horton (9-13/3.89/12 saves/43 G), Butch Slattery (2-1/2.34/1 save/43 G), Ronald Doss (10-12/3.46/2 saves/41 G) and Arnie Wynyard (4-4/4.03/28 G)... the Rascal relievers could be the difference in the series... they have really stood out in the playoffs... much more so than the Sundowners.

Catcher: Wynnamac's Jethro Bibbs (.305 BA/5 HR/53 RBI) hits better than White River's Wayne Carlton (.256 BA/7 HR/41 RBI)... but Carlton is the better defender... edge to Bibbs and the Macs

1st Base: it's even here... Sundowner Enos Benham (.354 BA/10 HR/63 RBI) led the RU in batting with a .354 average, but has little power... Rascal rookie Fred Kraft (.267 BA/26 HR/99 RBI) has power and is an RBI guy... also better fielder.

2nd Base: Wynnamac's Phil McLemore (.262 BA/13 HR/72 RBI/93 R/11 SB) is solid at the plate and excellent in the field... he's more productive offensively than Mark Gates (.228 BA/11 HR/66 RBI)... both are fine defenders... this spot goes to the Macs.

3rd Base: call it even with the Wynnamac's rookie Jason Meeks (.310 BA/2 HR/49 RBI/78 R/8 SB) and White River's Kenny Yarbrough (.263 BA/13 HR/65 RBI/79 R/23 SB)... both are just fair with the gloves.

Shortstop: put this in the Wynnamac column... Whiz Ivie (.293 BA/3 HR/79 RBI/71 R/17 SB) handles the bat well and is excellent in the field... neither Joey Rutigliano (.228 BA/2 HR/35 RBI/12 SB), nor Clifton Remington (.277 BA/7 HR/24 RBI) are close to Ivie's level.

Left Fielder: easily go to the Rascals' Pudge Tate (.309 BA/31 HR/98 RBI/109 R/20 SB)... he's a strong hitter and defender... Wynnamac's Marv Washburn (.273 BA/17 HR/67 RBI/9 SB) is just a dependable and reliable player... Tate is a star.

Center Fielder: not much talent here offensively or defensively on either team... Wynnamac's rookie Claude Garmon (.255 BA/17 HR/40 RBI/70 R/21 SB) is the better of the two... Garmon has more power than Elton Bellfort (.220 BA/5 HR/31 RBI)/9 SB)... don't be surprised if you see Jed Small (.229 BA/11 HR/47 RBI) in the lineup for White River and Dickie Key (.261 BA/4 HR/19 RBI/5 SB) for the Sundowners.

Right Fielder: there are mixed feelings here... rookie Manny Sendejas (.317 BA/4 HR/33 RBI/29 R/4 SB) makes more contact and hits with more power than Junior Sardini (.248 BA/2 HR/43 RBI/97 R/46 SB), but Sardini plays much better defense, scores more runs and steals a lot of bases... even split.

Pro Cup Outlook: Going head-to-head at every position, Wynnamac gets the nod 6 to 5... but the White River mound staff sets them up as the Pro Cup favorite... looks like a seven-game nail-biter with the Rascals pulling off their third big upset in a row in the postseason... the key will be holding down the Wynnamac home runs... the Rascals are also going to have to score some runs, too... the pitchers cannot shoulder the whole load.