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Eugene Church · 06-05-2018, 12:51 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 18, 2057

ELNORA NABS RU EAST
The Elnora All-Stars (86-68) put an end to its three-decade long famine and feasted on its first Ruthlandian East Division crown since 2035... but it wasn't easy... they had to fend off Wynnamac Sundowners (82-72) and the defending champion Eastshore Cotton Kings (80-74) to end the drought... the All-Stars prevailed by 4 games over the Macs and whipped the Cotton Kings by 6 games... the Marston Nine (77-77) came in 9 games off the pace in fourth place... it was a season-long struggle for Elnora... the biggest lead they had was 6 games in July... most of the time, the All-Stars rarely had much more than a 1 or 2-game edge... manager Stan Kivas finally brought home a pennant with a standout offense and adequate pitching... the only slump was in July when they dipped to 11-17... but they righted the ship and staved off Wynnamac and Eastshore in the last few weeks... the stubborn Sundowners won 4 straight titles, 2052 to 2055, and copped the Pro Cup in '55... and they ran strong races in '56 and '57... the All-Stars could pose a problem in the playoffs with their lethal firepower and fairly good pitching.

1ST PLACE: ELNORA ALL-STARS (86-68)
Last Year: (79-75) (13 GB) (4th Place)
Two Years Ago: (80-74) (16 GB) (4th Place)
Last Postseason: 2035 (1 Pro Cup - 2033) (10 Pennants)

Team Stats: .284 BA (1st), 825 runs (1st), 165 HR (6th), 4.01 ERA (21st), .975 FA (Fair)

Top Pitchers: rookie Bud Hathaway (24-10/3.74), Matt Makowiak (18-13/3.74) and Jerry Bertrand (18-11/3.94)... starters are very young... Hathaway is the oldest at 23... bullpen is just fair with Stan Everett (1-5/2.97 ERA/21 saves/39 G) and Stevie Tucker (7-4/3.38 ERA/8 saves/48 G).

Top Batters: led by two All-Stars, 1B Gus Abreu (.320/16 HR/69 RBI/100 R) and SS Dickie DeBusshere (.314/31 HR/105 RBI/97 R/5 SB)... other capable hitters are CF Keith Colburn (.296/10 HR/48 RBI/80 R/15 SB), C Kuro Ishihara (.284/9 HR/70 RBI/65 R), 2B Mickey Wilbur (.267/23 HR/86 RBI/95 R)... several platooners wield good bats, too... paced by 1B Denny Rhymes (.350/1 HR/38 RBI/32 R), RF Robb Norwood (.318/16 HR/67 RBI/45 R) and RF Radley Lunsford (.272/15 HR/34 RBI/55 R/17 SB).

2nd Place: Wynnamac Sundowners (82-72) (4 GB)
Last Year: (90-64) (2 GB) (2nd Place)
Two Years Ago: (96-58) (1st Place)
Last Postseason: 2055 (2 Pro Cups - 2008, 2055) (11 Pennants)

Team Stats: .274 BA (6th), 749 runs (5th), 158 HR (8th), 3.85 ERA (15th), .979 FA (Good to Very Good)

Top Pitchers: Meeks' mound corps let him down this year... in the last two years the team ERA has dropped from a strong 3.24 to 3.61 and down to an average 3.85 this year... at 37, ace Sammy Hayes (16-17/3.67) had a really bad year for him... the rest of the veteran staff, Duncan Heathershaw (15-11/3.90) and Luc Ogburn (13-11/3.78) fared alright... one very bright spot in the rotation was George Medworth (11-3/2.62), who was strangely left out of the starting mix until July... even terrific closer Tike Collazo (5-5/2.34 ERA/22 saves/48 G) saw his super stats rise this season... in his first two seasons Collazo chalked up 63 saves and posted a 1.48 ERA in '55 and 0.21 ERA in '56.

Top Batters: quality hitters abound in the Macs lineup, sparked by RF Manny Sendejas (.252/37 HR/116 RBI/101 R/6 SB), 1B Enos Benham (.330/27 HR/80 RBI/107 R and CF Snooky Bartels (.340/21 HR/83 RBI/66 R)... 2B Phil McLemore (.300/15 HR/69 RBI/78 R/7 SB) and SS Whiz Ivie (.286/3 HR/40 RBI/78 R/15 SB) had solid years, too.

3rd Place: Eastshore Cotton Kings (80-74) (6 GB)
Last Year: (92-62) (1st Place)
Two Years Ago: (70-84) (26 GB)
Last Postseason: 2056 (2 Pro Cups, 2016, 2017) (8 Pennants)

Team Stats: .254 BA (26th), 662 runs (22nd), 129 HR (21st), 3.35 ERA (2nd), .971 FA (poor)

Top Pitchers: manager Scotty Lagrange's staff slipped a lot... three of them won 20 or more games in '56, the pennant-winning season... blame a lot on unproductive bats... and a little on the hurlers... Sam Carmon (14-14/2.71) could have easily won 20 games... Bebe Kinney (19-12/3.16), too... maybe even Dain Moore (13-13/3.54), but that might be a stretch... thank goodness, fourth-year man Homer Lawler (20-4/2.71) really blossomed this year... the bullpen was just average with Ted Weiss (2-5/2.85 ERA/20 saves/36 G), the best by far.

Top Batters: Lagrange has no real sticks, but some decent ones in LF Rook Copley (.245/23 HR/83 RBI/86 R/6 SB), CF Elton Woody (.266/16 HR/70 RBI/89 R/13 SB), RF Ian Kelehan (.278/22 HR/67 RBI/78 R/6 SB), rookie SS Sidney Krause (.293/2 HR/59 RBI/64 R/1 SB), C Ezra Cummings (.283/14 HR/63 RBI/58 R) and 3B Logan Moncriffe (.267/14 HR/60 RBI/40 R/5 SB).

4th Place: Marston Nine (77-77) (9 GB)
Last Year: (82-72) (10 GB) (3rd Place)
Two Years Ago: (85-69) (11 GB) (2nd Place)
Last Postseason: 2047 (No Pro Cups) (7 Pennants)

Team Stats: .279 BA (4th), 730 runs (11th), 153 HR (9th), 4.22 ERA (27th), .976 FA (average)... club tumbled because of pitching plunge... team ERA shot up from a good 3.61 to a poor 4.22.

Top Pitchers: Lance McElveen (17-12/3.63), Mark Henley (16-10/3.96), Billy Rogen (15-16/3.57)... Toby Claypool took a tumble from 17-12 to 13-17 and saw his 3.40 ERA skyrocket to 4.71... in a addition the bullpen was terrible with a 5.26 ERA (32nd)... even star closer Robert Tingle (5-7/4.26 ERA/17 saves/47 G) struggled badly this year.

5th Place: Sugar Valley Rattlers (74-80) (12 GB)
Last Year: (78-76) (14 GB) (5th Place)
Two Years Ago: (67-87) (29 GB) (7th Place)
Last Postseason: 2051 (1 Pro Cup - 2045) (18 Pennants)

Team Stats: .250 BA (31st), 628 runs (28th), 187 HR (2nd), 4.10 ERA (25th), .978 FA (fairly good)... new skipper Carl Ramsey did OK his first year, but was hoping for a higher finish... the Rattlers need improved contact hitting and better pitching to get back into the RU East first division and contend for the pennant.

Top Pitchers: Elvis Bonham (21-15/3.40) was the only solid starter... long-time star 37-year-old Antonio Cedeno (14-15/4.19) is thinking of retiring after a poor season... the bullpen was just mediocre... rookie Claudio Quezada (2-4/3.41 ERA/19 saves/30 G) was inconsistent and suffered at times.

Top Batters: other than the home runs (helped out by short fences), the offense is nil... not one single hitter is worthy of mention... that's how bad Sugar Valley has gotten since the glory days 2043 to 2051 when current skipper Carl Ramsey (.270 BA/505 HR/1544 RBI) and his predesessor HOF-er Bobby Gamble (.315 BA/530 HR/1735 RBI) roamed the outfield and terrorized the IPA pitchers.

6th Place: Belle Plaine Musketeers (73-81) (13 GB)
Last Year: (72-82) (20 GB) (7th Place)
Two Years Ago: (85-69) (11 GB) (3rd Place)
Last Postseason: 2009 (No Pro Cups) (1 Pennant)

Team Stats: .258 BA (21st), 659 runs (24th), 145 HR (12th), 4.07 ERA (23rd), .978 FA (fairly good)... manager Slick Hammill kept his job with a good finish in '55... but he will have to step up next season and produce a contender or at least get into the first division with a winning record... currently the Muskies are just lackluster second-division club.

Top Pitchers: Joe-Joe Bouvier (18-15/3.99), Ike Alister (16-16/3.95), Jerome Kincade (16-14/4.00)... Hammill has three pretty good starters... and a good bullpen, led by Julian Bayles (2-3/1.43 ERA/17 saves/46 G) and Adrien Renaud (5-6/2.20 ERA/14 saves/46 G).

Top Batters: he also has some reliable run producers in star 1B Chuck Gregory (.302/23 HR/78 RBI/84 R), All-Star C Eliott Somers (.309/23 HR/90 RBI/72 R), 3B Levi Teed (.291/3 HR/41 RBI/84 R/23 SB) and RF Cody Losby (.254/28 HR/86 RBI/69 R/1 SB).

7th Place: Cold Creek Catamounts (68-86) (18 GB)
Last Year: (73-81) (19 GB) (6th Place)
Two Years Ago: (71-83) (25 GB) (5th Place)
Last Postseason: 2041 (No Pro Cups) (8 Pennants)

Team Stats: .255 BA (25th), 635 runs (27th), 131 HR (20th), 4.29 ERA (29th), .980 FA (good)
At 37, 2B Joe Cochrane also took the helm of the C'Cats and was not pleased with the undistinguished outcome of his rookie year... even at his age, Cochrane is the best player on the team... it looks like a rebuilding process for Cochrane... right now he has a humdrum and second-rate ballclub.

Top Pitchers: rookie Lenny Toscano (16-17/4.06) is his most effective starter... the others are rookie Jake Fischer (12-17/4.34) and Rusty Rotherham (15-17/4.52)... All-Star closer Rodger Brockhoff (3-3/1.70 ERA/27 saves/42 G) is the top dog in a good bullpen.

Top Batters: Player-Manager 2B-SS Joe Cochrane (.303/14 HR/63 RBI/73 R/1 SB) still handles the bat well and play solid defense... Cold Creek has few players with good potential: 1B Bobby Dundee (.282/18 HR/76 RBI/84 R), 3B Sandy Ketteridge (.257/17 HR/73 RBI/80 R/7 SB) and rookie RF Ziggy Baggs (.302/14 HR/39 RBI/63 R/10 SB).

8th Place: Beechwood Blues (54-100) (32 GB)
Last Year: (63-91) (29 GB) (8th Place)
Two Years Ago: (54-100) (42 GB) (8th Place)
Last Postseason: 2027 (No Pro Cups) (3 Pennants)

Team Stats: .241 BA (32nd), 547 runs (32nd), 136 HR (18th), 4.34 ERA (31st)
New manager Ken Arby started off the season with one of the worst clubs in the IPA and ended the year in a little worse condition... Arby made a little progress in the pitching department, lowering the team ERA down to a poor 4.34 this year instead of a horrible 4.68 ERA in '56, but the team offense went from bad to worse.

Top Pitchers: Corvell Eddins (9-21/3.84) and Craig Gillespie 9-21/3.51) were the only two decent starters on the club... there were also a couple pretty good relievers in the bullpen with Owen Greenacre (5-3/2.02 ERA/11 saves/38 G) and rookie Luis Villavaso (6-5/2.59 ERA/2 saves/51 G).

Top Batters: not much talent at all at the plate... 1B Thad Backman (.256/24 HR/67 RBI/67 R), 2B Eldon Gilbert (.287/10 HR/54 RBI/46 R/1 SB) and CF Tiger Tansey (.244/24 HR/62 RBI/60 R/2 SB) were the most productive.

******************** May 1st Standings *************************** July 1st Standings ***************************

06-05-2018, 12:51 PM	#5826
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,897	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Wednesday, September 18, 2057 ELNORA NABS RU EAST The Elnora All-Stars (86-68) put an end to its three-decade long famine and feasted on its first Ruthlandian East Division crown since 2035... but it wasn't easy... they had to fend off Wynnamac Sundowners (82-72) and the defending champion Eastshore Cotton Kings (80-74) to end the drought... the All-Stars prevailed by 4 games over the Macs and whipped the Cotton Kings by 6 games... the Marston Nine (77-77) came in 9 games off the pace in fourth place... it was a season-long struggle for Elnora... the biggest lead they had was 6 games in July... most of the time, the All-Stars rarely had much more than a 1 or 2-game edge... manager Stan Kivas finally brought home a pennant with a standout offense and adequate pitching... the only slump was in July when they dipped to 11-17... but they righted the ship and staved off Wynnamac and Eastshore in the last few weeks... the stubborn Sundowners won 4 straight titles, 2052 to 2055, and copped the Pro Cup in '55... and they ran strong races in '56 and '57... the All-Stars could pose a problem in the playoffs with their lethal firepower and fairly good pitching. 1ST PLACE: ELNORA ALL-STARS (86-68) Last Year: (79-75) (13 GB) (4th Place) Two Years Ago: (80-74) (16 GB) (4th Place) Last Postseason: 2035 (1 Pro Cup - 2033) (10 Pennants) Team Stats: .284 BA (1st), 825 runs (1st), 165 HR (6th), 4.01 ERA (21st), .975 FA (Fair) Top Pitchers: rookie Bud Hathaway (24-10/3.74), Matt Makowiak (18-13/3.74) and Jerry Bertrand (18-11/3.94)... starters are very young... Hathaway is the oldest at 23... bullpen is just fair with Stan Everett (1-5/2.97 ERA/21 saves/39 G) and Stevie Tucker (7-4/3.38 ERA/8 saves/48 G). Top Batters: led by two All-Stars, 1B Gus Abreu (.320/16 HR/69 RBI/100 R) and SS Dickie DeBusshere (.314/31 HR/105 RBI/97 R/5 SB)... other capable hitters are CF Keith Colburn (.296/10 HR/48 RBI/80 R/15 SB), C Kuro Ishihara (.284/9 HR/70 RBI/65 R), 2B Mickey Wilbur (.267/23 HR/86 RBI/95 R)... several platooners wield good bats, too... paced by 1B Denny Rhymes (.350/1 HR/38 RBI/32 R), RF Robb Norwood (.318/16 HR/67 RBI/45 R) and RF Radley Lunsford (.272/15 HR/34 RBI/55 R/17 SB). 2nd Place: Wynnamac Sundowners (82-72) (4 GB) Last Year: (90-64) (2 GB) (2nd Place) Two Years Ago: (96-58) (1st Place) Last Postseason: 2055 (2 Pro Cups - 2008, 2055) (11 Pennants) Team Stats: .274 BA (6th), 749 runs (5th), 158 HR (8th), 3.85 ERA (15th), .979 FA (Good to Very Good) Top Pitchers: Meeks' mound corps let him down this year... in the last two years the team ERA has dropped from a strong 3.24 to 3.61 and down to an average 3.85 this year... at 37, ace Sammy Hayes (16-17/3.67) had a really bad year for him... the rest of the veteran staff, Duncan Heathershaw (15-11/3.90) and Luc Ogburn (13-11/3.78) fared alright... one very bright spot in the rotation was George Medworth (11-3/2.62), who was strangely left out of the starting mix until July... even terrific closer Tike Collazo (5-5/2.34 ERA/22 saves/48 G) saw his super stats rise this season... in his first two seasons Collazo chalked up 63 saves and posted a 1.48 ERA in '55 and 0.21 ERA in '56. Top Batters: quality hitters abound in the Macs lineup, sparked by RF Manny Sendejas (.252/37 HR/116 RBI/101 R/6 SB), 1B Enos Benham (.330/27 HR/80 RBI/107 R and CF Snooky Bartels (.340/21 HR/83 RBI/66 R)... 2B Phil McLemore (.300/15 HR/69 RBI/78 R/7 SB) and SS Whiz Ivie (.286/3 HR/40 RBI/78 R/15 SB) had solid years, too. 3rd Place: Eastshore Cotton Kings (80-74) (6 GB) Last Year: (92-62) (1st Place) Two Years Ago: (70-84) (26 GB) Last Postseason: 2056 (2 Pro Cups, 2016, 2017) (8 Pennants) Team Stats: .254 BA (26th), 662 runs (22nd), 129 HR (21st), 3.35 ERA (2nd), .971 FA (poor) Top Pitchers: manager Scotty Lagrange's staff slipped a lot... three of them won 20 or more games in '56, the pennant-winning season... blame a lot on unproductive bats... and a little on the hurlers... Sam Carmon (14-14/2.71) could have easily won 20 games... Bebe Kinney (19-12/3.16), too... maybe even Dain Moore (13-13/3.54), but that might be a stretch... thank goodness, fourth-year man Homer Lawler (20-4/2.71) really blossomed this year... the bullpen was just average with Ted Weiss (2-5/2.85 ERA/20 saves/36 G), the best by far. Top Batters: Lagrange has no real sticks, but some decent ones in LF Rook Copley (.245/23 HR/83 RBI/86 R/6 SB), CF Elton Woody (.266/16 HR/70 RBI/89 R/13 SB), RF Ian Kelehan (.278/22 HR/67 RBI/78 R/6 SB), rookie SS Sidney Krause (.293/2 HR/59 RBI/64 R/1 SB), C Ezra Cummings (.283/14 HR/63 RBI/58 R) and 3B Logan Moncriffe (.267/14 HR/60 RBI/40 R/5 SB). 4th Place: Marston Nine (77-77) (9 GB) Last Year: (82-72) (10 GB) (3rd Place) Two Years Ago: (85-69) (11 GB) (2nd Place) Last Postseason: 2047 (No Pro Cups) (7 Pennants) Team Stats: .279 BA (4th), 730 runs (11th), 153 HR (9th), 4.22 ERA (27th), .976 FA (average)... club tumbled because of pitching plunge... team ERA shot up from a good 3.61 to a poor 4.22. Top Pitchers: Lance McElveen (17-12/3.63), Mark Henley (16-10/3.96), Billy Rogen (15-16/3.57)... Toby Claypool took a tumble from 17-12 to 13-17 and saw his 3.40 ERA skyrocket to 4.71... in a addition the bullpen was terrible with a 5.26 ERA (32nd)... even star closer Robert Tingle (5-7/4.26 ERA/17 saves/47 G) struggled badly this year. 5th Place: Sugar Valley Rattlers (74-80) (12 GB) Last Year: (78-76) (14 GB) (5th Place) Two Years Ago: (67-87) (29 GB) (7th Place) Last Postseason: 2051 (1 Pro Cup - 2045) (18 Pennants) Team Stats: .250 BA (31st), 628 runs (28th), 187 HR (2nd), 4.10 ERA (25th), .978 FA (fairly good)... new skipper Carl Ramsey did OK his first year, but was hoping for a higher finish... the Rattlers need improved contact hitting and better pitching to get back into the RU East first division and contend for the pennant. Top Pitchers: Elvis Bonham (21-15/3.40) was the only solid starter... long-time star 37-year-old Antonio Cedeno (14-15/4.19) is thinking of retiring after a poor season... the bullpen was just mediocre... rookie Claudio Quezada (2-4/3.41 ERA/19 saves/30 G) was inconsistent and suffered at times. Top Batters: other than the home runs (helped out by short fences), the offense is nil... not one single hitter is worthy of mention... that's how bad Sugar Valley has gotten since the glory days 2043 to 2051 when current skipper Carl Ramsey (.270 BA/505 HR/1544 RBI) and his predesessor HOF-er Bobby Gamble (.315 BA/530 HR/1735 RBI) roamed the outfield and terrorized the IPA pitchers. 6th Place: Belle Plaine Musketeers (73-81) (13 GB) Last Year: (72-82) (20 GB) (7th Place) Two Years Ago: (85-69) (11 GB) (3rd Place) Last Postseason: 2009 (No Pro Cups) (1 Pennant) Team Stats: .258 BA (21st), 659 runs (24th), 145 HR (12th), 4.07 ERA (23rd), .978 FA (fairly good)... manager Slick Hammill kept his job with a good finish in '55... but he will have to step up next season and produce a contender or at least get into the first division with a winning record... currently the Muskies are just lackluster second-division club. Top Pitchers: Joe-Joe Bouvier (18-15/3.99), Ike Alister (16-16/3.95), Jerome Kincade (16-14/4.00)... Hammill has three pretty good starters... and a good bullpen, led by Julian Bayles (2-3/1.43 ERA/17 saves/46 G) and Adrien Renaud (5-6/2.20 ERA/14 saves/46 G). Top Batters: he also has some reliable run producers in star 1B Chuck Gregory (.302/23 HR/78 RBI/84 R), All-Star C Eliott Somers (.309/23 HR/90 RBI/72 R), 3B Levi Teed (.291/3 HR/41 RBI/84 R/23 SB) and RF Cody Losby (.254/28 HR/86 RBI/69 R/1 SB). 7th Place: Cold Creek Catamounts (68-86) (18 GB) Last Year: (73-81) (19 GB) (6th Place) Two Years Ago: (71-83) (25 GB) (5th Place) Last Postseason: 2041 (No Pro Cups) (8 Pennants) Team Stats: .255 BA (25th), 635 runs (27th), 131 HR (20th), 4.29 ERA (29th), .980 FA (good) At 37, 2B Joe Cochrane also took the helm of the C'Cats and was not pleased with the undistinguished outcome of his rookie year... even at his age, Cochrane is the best player on the team... it looks like a rebuilding process for Cochrane... right now he has a humdrum and second-rate ballclub. Top Pitchers: rookie Lenny Toscano (16-17/4.06) is his most effective starter... the others are rookie Jake Fischer (12-17/4.34) and Rusty Rotherham (15-17/4.52)... All-Star closer Rodger Brockhoff (3-3/1.70 ERA/27 saves/42 G) is the top dog in a good bullpen. Top Batters: Player-Manager 2B-SS Joe Cochrane (.303/14 HR/63 RBI/73 R/1 SB) still handles the bat well and play solid defense... Cold Creek has few players with good potential: 1B Bobby Dundee (.282/18 HR/76 RBI/84 R), 3B Sandy Ketteridge (.257/17 HR/73 RBI/80 R/7 SB) and rookie RF Ziggy Baggs (.302/14 HR/39 RBI/63 R/10 SB). 8th Place: Beechwood Blues (54-100) (32 GB) Last Year: (63-91) (29 GB) (8th Place) Two Years Ago: (54-100) (42 GB) (8th Place) Last Postseason: 2027 (No Pro Cups) (3 Pennants) Team Stats: .241 BA (32nd), 547 runs (32nd), 136 HR (18th), 4.34 ERA (31st) New manager Ken Arby started off the season with one of the worst clubs in the IPA and ended the year in a little worse condition... Arby made a little progress in the pitching department, lowering the team ERA down to a poor 4.34 this year instead of a horrible 4.68 ERA in '56, but the team offense went from bad to worse. Top Pitchers: Corvell Eddins (9-21/3.84) and Craig Gillespie 9-21/3.51) were the only two decent starters on the club... there were also a couple pretty good relievers in the bullpen with Owen Greenacre (5-3/2.02 ERA/11 saves/38 G) and rookie Luis Villavaso (6-5/2.59 ERA/2 saves/51 G). Top Batters: not much talent at all at the plate... 1B Thad Backman (.256/24 HR/67 RBI/67 R), 2B Eldon Gilbert (.287/10 HR/54 RBI/46 R/1 SB) and CF Tiger Tansey (.244/24 HR/62 RBI/60 R/2 SB) were the most productive. ****************** May 1st Standings *********************** July 1st Standings ************************* Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-05-2018 at 10:56 PM.