[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, April 1, 2057

MAC PICKED TO WIN 5TH RU EAST IN 6 YEARS
2056 was an aberation for Wynnamac Sundowners... they were upset by the Eastshore Cotton Kings by 2 games last year spoiling their run of four consecutive Ruthlandian East Division championships... and even worse, the Macs didn't get to defend their Pro Cup title.

Well, Wynnamac is back in 2057 and favored to prevail in the RU East again... but they will have a few challengers in the Elnora All-Stars and Marston Nine, both up-and-rising clubs... rounding out the contenders is last year's RU East division winner and IPA Cinderella club of the year, the Eastshore Cotton Kings.

1. Wynnamac Sundowners (90-54) (2 GB) (2nd Place)
The Macs are a solid, veteran club with three rookies this year... Luc Ogburn could be a solid starter with the already fine rotation and bullpen... bats are very capable, too... the Sundowners with Jerry Meeks still at the helm are a good Pro Cup possibility.

Top Batters:
1B Enos Benham (.312/18 HR/91 RBI), 2B Phil McLemore (.313/13 HR/89 RBI), 3B Marvin Hayes (.294/9 HR/62 RBI) and SS Whiz Ivie (.292/3 HR/54 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
Sammy Hayes (20-14/2.68), Garan Parula (18-6/3.93), James Duncas (12-8/3.90) and Duncan Heathershaw (11-6/3.30)... Tike Collazo (1-2/0.21/31 saves) was fantastic in the bullpen... Ogburn would be a good addition.

Outlook:
Wynnamac is the class of the RU East and one of the best teams in the IPA... should win the division crown again... the 5th in the last 6 seasons... should be a contender for their 3rd Pro Cup trophy.

2. Elnora All-Stars (79-75) (13 GB) (4th Place)
Manager Stan Kivas has an arsenal in his lineup... no trouble scoring runs, but he could use some pitching if the All-Stars want to make a serious bid for the RU East pennant.

Top Hitters:
1B Gus Abreu (.345/15 HR/83 RBI), CF Keith Coburn (.316/10 HR/51 RBI), SS Dickie DeBusshere (.326/10 HR/73 RBI), C Kuro Ishihara (.303/14 HR/70 RBI)... Abreu posted the top batting average in the IPA last year.

Top Pitchers:
Only two proven starters: Matt Mackowiak (19-12/3.52) and Jerry Bertrand (18-12/3.42)... if three rookies Bud Hathaway, Freddy Grosscup and Barney Mayberry produce, Elnora will be a legit contender... bullpen needs to step it up, too.

Outlook:
Things are going well in Elnora... they could make some noise in the RU East in 2057... definitely one of the top four teams in the division... not good enough to whip Wynnamac, but should be trouble for Eastshore and Marston in the fight for second place.

3. Marston Nine (82-72) (10 GB) (3rd Place)
Russ Woodward has had his club playing well the previous 7 seasons... all first-division finishes... came close to winning in 2054... lost by 2 games to Wynnamac in '54... has a good core of hitters, not a lot of power... coupled with a fine corps of starters and relievers.

Top Hitters:
3B Jarrod Crutchfield (.314/20 HR/89 RBI), RF Luke Cranshaw (.313/10 HR/84 RBI), 2B Damien D'Amboise (.289/7 HR/70 RBI), LF Joe Duplantis (.348/12 HR/54 RBI), C Boomer Merritt (.254/25 HR/91 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Mark Henley (19-13/3.21), Toby Claypool (17-12/3.40), Lance McElveen (16-18/3.68), Tris Windham (11-10/3.99)... new rookie Billy Rogen could move into the starting rotation... bullpen is excellent with Robert Tringle (3-3/1.33/28 saves), Jeffrey Fraser (2-1/1.78) and Kiki Vuk (0-2/2.67/1 save).

Outlook:
Marston looks to be a better team than Elnora because of its pitching... the Nine might be the main challenger to Wynnamac for the top spot.

4. Eastshore Cotton Kings (92-62) (1st Place)
Scotty Lagrange's club made a dramatic jump from 6th to 1st last year and surprised powerhouse Wynnamac... pretty much the same roster, but with a new talented SS Sidney Krause, who won the spot in spring training... strong contact hitter, no much punch and suspect in the field... but may make them better offensively... team's strength is its quality pitching staff.

Top Batters:
RF Ian Kelehan (.310/26 HR/75 RBI), CF Elton Woody (.279/16 HR/78 RBI), 2B Pepper Trantham (.305/8 HR/54 RBI), C Tony Brunetti (.289/12 HR/65 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
Bebe Kinney (23-10/2.57), Dain Moore (20-17/3.20), Sam Carmon (22-11/3.49), Malcolm Tansbury (12-9/2.49 ERA/13 saves)... Tansbury is moving into a starting role after a fine stint in the bullpen.

Outlook:
Eastshore should be as good this year as last... maybe a little better offensively, if SS Krause proves he can hit IPA pitchers... the Cotton Kings should stay in high cotton this season and wind up in the second or third spot in the RU East standings.

5. Sugar Valley Rattlers (78-76) (14 GB)
Carl Ramsey's Rattlers rose from 7th to 5th last year and ended up with a winning record... appears to be just about the same ballclub... only one rookie CF Chuck Toefield and he didn't play much in the spring... Sugar Valley depends on home runs... to get back into pennant contention they needs some contact hitters and some better hurlers.

Top Hitters:
1B Freddy Lipton (.274/21 HR/54 RBI), LF Fuzzy Durel (.316/13 HR/46 RBI), 2B Bobby Mingo (.306/13 HR/44 RBI), RF Marv Shaw (.349/13 HR/37 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
At age 36 Antonio Cedeno (20-13/2.87) is still going strong... others in the rotation Elvis Bonham (18-10/3.48), Linus Bourque (13-13/3.99) and Alan Montreuil (11-16/3.72) and decent starters... bullpen is lousy... really needs help.

Outlook:
Sugar Valley is still a second-rate club... not like the good old days of Bobby Gamble in the 2040s and early 2050s when they copped 7 RU East flags and the 2045 Pro Cup... looks like a .500 club... no better than 5th in the standings.

6. Belle Plaine Musketeers (72-82) (20 GB) (7th Place)
One of the worst franchises in the IPA... only one playoff appearance long ago in 2009... came in 3rd two years ago, but slipped last year back to the bottom of the division... manager Slick Hammill has some solid bats and a couple of good starters, but little else... the bullpen is just plain bad... but help may be on the way... two rookie hurlers Jerome Kincade (starter) and Adrien Renaud (reliever) did well in spring training... but newcomer CF Clem Rousseau had a tough spring... hit under .200.

Top Hitters:
2056 Golden Bat winner 1B Chuck Gregory (.311/38 HR/137 RBI), SS Jed McIntosh (.255/28 HR/88 RBI), C Eliott Somers (.318/18 HR/99 RBI), RF Cody Losby (.274/16 HR/66 RBI), LF Andy Williams (.301/6 HR/56 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
Ike Alister (18-16/3.42), Joe-Joe Bouvier (18-12/3.27)... little else on the hill.

Outlook:
Belle Plaine has a pretty good offense... needs the rookie pitchers to contribute to improve in the RU East standings... will remain in the second rung of the division... probably no better than 6th.

7. Cold Creek Catamounts (73-61) (19 GB) (6th Place)
The C'Cats have a new skipper, All-Star Joe Cochrane, who will also play SS at age 37... he replaces all-time Hall of Fame great J. J. Gillespie (294-170/2.46 ERA), who failed to get the team into contention... the best he could do was a 4-year first division run about 10 years ago... Cochrane takes over a team that has had a losing mark for the last 6 seasons... he inherits a mediocre club... rookie C Spunk Ryburn showed a good bat and good defense in spring training... and Lenny Toscano, a hard-throwing southpaw also stood out and earned a spot in the rotation.

Top Hitters:
All-Star SS/Manager Joe Cochrane (.289/23 HR/87 RBI), RF Mel Parnell (.268/19 HR/85 RBI), 3B Sandy Kettridge (.303/16 HR/67 RBI), 1B Bobby Dundee (.303/10 HR/56 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
Steve Singletary (15-17/3.77) and Rusty Rotherham (12-12/4.17) are just fair starters... but in the bullpen the Catamounts have a very fine one in CL Rodger Brockhoff (5-6/1.63 ERA/31 saves), one of the top relievers in the IPA.

Outlook:
Cold Creek could be a little better... could wind up as high as 5th, but no higher... too many question marks on the mound... not much in the batter's box either.

8. Beechwood Blues (63-91) (29 GB) (8th Place)
It's been 11 years since the Blues had a winning season in 2045... no postseason appearances since 2027... and only 3 pennants in its history... former star pitcher Maury Patterson (267-190/3.04 ERA) was fired this year and replaced by former star pitcher Ken Arby (293-242/3.39 ERA)... Beechwood has one of the worst staffs in the IPA... Arby will try to rejuvenate the Blues with 6 rookies... 21-year-old flamethrower Luis Villavaso had a good spring as the closer and seems to be the best of the lot... Beechwood is bad at the plate, too... Arby's rookie year will be arduous to say the least.

Top Hitters:
3B Erik Coulter (.302 BA/8 HR/61 RBI)... not much in the batting order beyond him.

Top Pitchers:
Corvell Eddins (13-16/3.83) is a decent starter... next best is the mediocre Sandy Wilbur (14-14/4.84)... Owen Greenacre (4-6/2.68 ERA/26 saves) is a pretty good closer... rookie Villavaso should help out a lot.

Outlook:
Beechwood will have to depend on the 6 rookies to come through for them... the likely scenario is another last place finish at the bottom of the Ruthlandian East Division... the Blues really are very properly named.