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Eugene Church · 04-15-2018, 04:34 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, April 1, 2057

UNLIKELY A'S FAVORED IN RU NORTH
The baseball media says the Glasco Athletics will emerge the victor in a fairly competitive 4-team race with Valmara, last year's Ruthlandian North Division winner Taranto and Kilkenny... the A's are the surprising pick this season... many are wondering also why the Far Mountain Redhawks fared so poorly in The Islandian Times' preseason survey... the Redhawks were a close second last year to Taranto... the RU North is one of the lesser divisions in the Islandian Pro Alliance... six of the clubs finished below the .500 mark last year.

This Year/Team Name/Last Year's Record/Position)

1. Glasco Athletics (68-86) (23 GB) (6th-tied)
Still pretty much the same as last year with only one new rookie pitcher, Jayden Furman... the A's were not very impressive last year... hard to see them winning the division... more likely to be Valmara, Taranto or Far Mountain... Glasco can score runs with the likes of CF Ross McFalls (.272/26 HR), RF Karl Merkel (.259/21 HR), LF Callum Slattery (.317/13 HR) and 3B Allen Spears (.302/8 HR)... but don't have much on the mound... best in the rotation are Monte France (17-14/3.85), Herb Goodman (13-16/3.32)... Rip Scobie (3-8/2.83/8 saves) and Coy Gosselin (1-3/3.13/15 saves) are just fair in the bullpen... the Athletics look like a second-rate team to me... will wind up in second division of the RU North.

2. Valmara Vipers (72-82)(19 GB)(4th Place)
The V's have fallen in quality the last five years when they were an elite team... Vips still have some quality players... best returnees are 1B Timmy Benford (.315/23 HR) and 2B Vladimir Szymanski (.294/16 HR) and C Karol Koska (.254/24 HR)... six quality rookies could really shake up the division... if 2-3 of them produce, Valmara could really jump in statue and in the standings... keep an eye on C Piotr Zacek, 3B Alek Solarski, SS Bazyli Ciesla and outfielders Borys Balicki, Jozef Kuklinski and Semyon Tomczak... solid pitching staff is good, but getting old fast... 33-year-old Darius Grajek (16-12/3.38), 37-year-old Primo Sirak (16-14/3.38) and 34-year-old Carver Dillon (6-4/3.50/16 saves) might be able to make one last good run or two before retirement... rookie hurler Tony Joe Carnes could be a good one.

3. Taranto Tars (91-63) (1st Place)
Still has strong overall pitching and quite a few powerhitters... still a very good ballclub... best of rotation are Freddy De Angelis (22-7/2.61) and Valerio Rossi (20-11/2.54)... top bats are RF Lenny Buisson (.275/31 HR), CF Renzo Caruso (.233/31 HR)... need some contact hitters to get on base for the sluggers... only one rookie... 1B Buddy Lark will be a good addition... excellent contact hitter with good power.

4. Kilkenny Cats (65-89) (26 GB) (8th Place)
Good influx of young talent that will have to prove itself... includes starter Bretton MacKay (better-than-average starter), C Niles Bedford (very good average with good power, average defensively), RF Cliff Savio (pure contact hitter, fine speed, little power, poor defender) and LF Tory Bettis (fine hitter, fair power, weak defense)... finished last in '56... don't really look like a first-division club yet... but is improving... best holdovers are starter Billy Joe Wooster (16-18/3.27), 1B Ryan Reagan (.287/19 HR) and CF Vance Snead (.304/3 HR).

5. Ancona Red Elephants (68-86) (23 GB) (6th-tied)
Just a run-of-mill second-division club... starter Yannis Bubas (16-12/3.69) and closer Chet Sheldon (4-5/1.63/19 saves) are staff leaders... nothing to brag about in the batting order... best of the lot are RF Franco Briganti (.295/19 HR), LF Horace Nickens (.285/12 HR), 3B Jerry Coppock (.278/18 HR) and C Robin Hargroder (.269/15 HR)... best rookies are reliever Kontos Christakis and good-glove, contact-hitter 2B Pablo Dias... both are expected to contribute this year.

6. Ranford Bulls (71-83) (20 GB) (5th Place)
Lost 361-game winner, superstar and future HOF-er Ralph Hawk (13-15/3.63) to retirement... the Bulls have declined in the last season... probably will get worse without the great Hawk... holdover starters Mac Roberts (13-9/4.22) and Primo Uzzo (11-14/4.46) are not likely to make fans forget Ralph Hawk... neither will rookie starter Darrell Askew... still have strong closer Martin Futch (7-6/2.05/24 saves)... only real threat in the batting order is LF Jedd Blodgett (.296/18 HR)... Blodgett is a bonafide batter... just not a lot of talent on the Bulls... top rookie is 2B Erik Neilson, only fair with the glove, but can go deep and hit for average... good potential.

7. Far Mountain Redhawks (88-66) (3 GB) (2nd Place)
Don't know why they have been downgraded to 7th place... still one of the better teams in the RU North... won the pennant in '55... second place last season... did it with solid pitching... really needs some offense... capable starters are still around, but aging somewhat... mound leaders are Benny Van (21-14/2.98), 36-year-old Stan Smith (17-12/3.05), Eldon Bittner (15-13/3.68) and Frankie Frasier (10-8/3.37)... Brian Townsend (5-6/2.01) is 36 in the bullpen, but he had a crackerjack year with 29 saves... the trio of 1B Ox Gless (.287/20 HR), CF Lew Aston (.268/23 HR) and 2B Lew Hazlett (.305/10 HR) provide most of the offense... newcomer LF Oskar Neumann is forecast to be a special player... hits with power and for a high average... handles the glove well, too... could be wrong, but I think Far Mountain will be in the pennant hunt this year... definitely still a first-division ballclub.

8. LaGrange Sports (73-81) (18 GB) (3rd Place)
Not a lot of talent on the team... not a lot of talent in the division with six teams under the .500 mark... the Sports didn't get much in the offseason... not much in the way of rookies... CF Tony Rojas will start the season as a regular... good contact hitter, good pop... just a decent defender... returning starters J. T. Dwyer (16-15/3.77) and Pat Causey (12-13/3.69) are quality arms... just fair hitters in the lineup, led by 1B Billy Broadway (.295/18 HR), RF Sonny Ricard (.278/17 HR) and LF Robby Rousseau (.278/16 HR)... the bullpen is just so-so... Rob Fullmer (6-10/3.99/30 saves) is sometimes very good, but also sometimes awful ... it'll be a long season for the Sports... could be a cellar-dwelling season... most of the other division rivals have improved.

04-15-2018, 04:34 PM	#5724
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,896	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Sunday, April 1, 2057 UNLIKELY A'S FAVORED IN RU NORTH The baseball media says the Glasco Athletics will emerge the victor in a fairly competitive 4-team race with Valmara, last year's Ruthlandian North Division winner Taranto and Kilkenny... the A's are the surprising pick this season... many are wondering also why the Far Mountain Redhawks fared so poorly in The Islandian Times' preseason survey... the Redhawks were a close second last year to Taranto... the RU North is one of the lesser divisions in the Islandian Pro Alliance... six of the clubs finished below the .500 mark last year. This Year/Team Name/Last Year's Record/Position) 1. Glasco Athletics (68-86) (23 GB) (6th-tied) Still pretty much the same as last year with only one new rookie pitcher, Jayden Furman... the A's were not very impressive last year... hard to see them winning the division... more likely to be Valmara, Taranto or Far Mountain... Glasco can score runs with the likes of CF Ross McFalls (.272/26 HR), RF Karl Merkel (.259/21 HR), LF Callum Slattery (.317/13 HR) and 3B Allen Spears (.302/8 HR)... but don't have much on the mound... best in the rotation are Monte France (17-14/3.85), Herb Goodman (13-16/3.32)... Rip Scobie (3-8/2.83/8 saves) and Coy Gosselin (1-3/3.13/15 saves) are just fair in the bullpen... the Athletics look like a second-rate team to me... will wind up in second division of the RU North. 2. Valmara Vipers (72-82)(19 GB)(4th Place) The V's have fallen in quality the last five years when they were an elite team... Vips still have some quality players... best returnees are 1B Timmy Benford (.315/23 HR) and 2B Vladimir Szymanski (.294/16 HR) and C Karol Koska (.254/24 HR)... six quality rookies could really shake up the division... if 2-3 of them produce, Valmara could really jump in statue and in the standings... keep an eye on C Piotr Zacek, 3B Alek Solarski, SS Bazyli Ciesla and outfielders Borys Balicki, Jozef Kuklinski and Semyon Tomczak... solid pitching staff is good, but getting old fast... 33-year-old Darius Grajek (16-12/3.38), 37-year-old Primo Sirak (16-14/3.38) and 34-year-old Carver Dillon (6-4/3.50/16 saves) might be able to make one last good run or two before retirement... rookie hurler Tony Joe Carnes could be a good one. 3. Taranto Tars (91-63) (1st Place) Still has strong overall pitching and quite a few powerhitters... still a very good ballclub... best of rotation are Freddy De Angelis (22-7/2.61) and Valerio Rossi (20-11/2.54)... top bats are RF Lenny Buisson (.275/31 HR), CF Renzo Caruso (.233/31 HR)... need some contact hitters to get on base for the sluggers... only one rookie... 1B Buddy Lark will be a good addition... excellent contact hitter with good power. 4. Kilkenny Cats (65-89) (26 GB) (8th Place) Good influx of young talent that will have to prove itself... includes starter Bretton MacKay (better-than-average starter), C Niles Bedford (very good average with good power, average defensively), RF Cliff Savio (pure contact hitter, fine speed, little power, poor defender) and LF Tory Bettis (fine hitter, fair power, weak defense)... finished last in '56... don't really look like a first-division club yet... but is improving... best holdovers are starter Billy Joe Wooster (16-18/3.27), 1B Ryan Reagan (.287/19 HR) and CF Vance Snead (.304/3 HR). 5. Ancona Red Elephants (68-86) (23 GB) (6th-tied) Just a run-of-mill second-division club... starter Yannis Bubas (16-12/3.69) and closer Chet Sheldon (4-5/1.63/19 saves) are staff leaders... nothing to brag about in the batting order... best of the lot are RF Franco Briganti (.295/19 HR), LF Horace Nickens (.285/12 HR), 3B Jerry Coppock (.278/18 HR) and C Robin Hargroder (.269/15 HR)... best rookies are reliever Kontos Christakis and good-glove, contact-hitter 2B Pablo Dias... both are expected to contribute this year. 6. Ranford Bulls (71-83) (20 GB) (5th Place) Lost 361-game winner, superstar and future HOF-er Ralph Hawk (13-15/3.63) to retirement... the Bulls have declined in the last season... probably will get worse without the great Hawk... holdover starters Mac Roberts (13-9/4.22) and Primo Uzzo (11-14/4.46) are not likely to make fans forget Ralph Hawk... neither will rookie starter Darrell Askew... still have strong closer Martin Futch (7-6/2.05/24 saves)... only real threat in the batting order is LF Jedd Blodgett (.296/18 HR)... Blodgett is a bonafide batter... just not a lot of talent on the Bulls... top rookie is 2B Erik Neilson, only fair with the glove, but can go deep and hit for average... good potential. 7. Far Mountain Redhawks (88-66) (3 GB) (2nd Place) Don't know why they have been downgraded to 7th place... still one of the better teams in the RU North... won the pennant in '55... second place last season... did it with solid pitching... really needs some offense... capable starters are still around, but aging somewhat... mound leaders are Benny Van (21-14/2.98), 36-year-old Stan Smith (17-12/3.05), Eldon Bittner (15-13/3.68) and Frankie Frasier (10-8/3.37)... Brian Townsend (5-6/2.01) is 36 in the bullpen, but he had a crackerjack year with 29 saves... the trio of 1B Ox Gless (.287/20 HR), CF Lew Aston (.268/23 HR) and 2B Lew Hazlett (.305/10 HR) provide most of the offense... newcomer LF Oskar Neumann is forecast to be a special player... hits with power and for a high average... handles the glove well, too... could be wrong, but I think Far Mountain will be in the pennant hunt this year... definitely still a first-division ballclub. 8. LaGrange Sports (73-81) (18 GB) (3rd Place) Not a lot of talent on the team... not a lot of talent in the division with six teams under the .500 mark... the Sports didn't get much in the offseason... not much in the way of rookies... CF Tony Rojas will start the season as a regular... good contact hitter, good pop... just a decent defender... returning starters J. T. Dwyer (16-15/3.77) and Pat Causey (12-13/3.69) are quality arms... just fair hitters in the lineup, led by 1B Billy Broadway (.295/18 HR), RF Sonny Ricard (.278/17 HR) and LF Robby Rousseau (.278/16 HR)... the bullpen is just so-so... Rob Fullmer (6-10/3.99/30 saves) is sometimes very good, but also sometimes awful ... it'll be a long season for the Sports... could be a cellar-dwelling season... most of the other division rivals have improved. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-03-2018 at 08:32 PM.