[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 16, 2058

V'S FOR VICTORY IN RU WEST
The Volusia Vigilantes (105-49) had a mind-blowing season in 2058 with 105 victories... no one saw it coming... the V's went wild in the Ruthlandian West Division and won it by 10 games over the runner-up Sligo Rovers (95-59)... and Sligo was no slouch with 95 wins... the third place Middlefield Roosters (82-72) were a stunning 23 games behind and the fourth place Colfax Blasters (75-79) 30 games off the pace... suffice to say there wasn't much of a pennant race in the RU West this season... Sligo and Middlefield stayed close until July, then Volusia blew them away.

1st Place: VOLUSIA VIGILANTES (105-49)
Preseason Rating: 3rd Place
Last Year: 4th Place (78-76) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (69-85) (26 GB)
Outlook: Tubby Tarkanian and his V's jolted the IPA this year by winning the RU West... they were expected to have a good year and come in third, maybe 10 games over the .500 mark... instead, they had an extraordinary year, rising up from fourth place the previous season... Tubby's pitching staff just jelled and blossomed.

25-year-old Lonny Rinehart set a new IPA mark with 31 victories, breaking the old 2046 record of 30 by Rocky Rapids right-hander Jamie Taylor (30-7/1.85)... Rinehart posted a sparkling 31-6 record with a 1.96 ERA... and he had plenty, plenty help from Reynaldo Medrano (22-10/2.51), Philip Duron (16-16/3.31), rookie Gustavo Clemente (11-4/2.46) and Cloyd Queen (15-6/3.79)... the bullpen was strong, too, with closer Dan Hurt (2-2/1.44 ERA/31 saves/45 G)... Volusia gets by offensively, but they are not overpowering... SS Teddy Cornelius (.318 BA/20 HR/99 RBI/86 R/4 SB), C Carlos Silva (.307/10/52/78) and 1B Clement Belliveau (.285/14/59/70/10 SB) are the prime run producers... primarily, the Vigilantes depend on their hurlers to win games... it will be tougher in the Pro Cup playoffs as they will face teams with strong attacks and more firepower... still, the V's should do well... you are a pretty good ballclub when you win 105 games.

2nd Place: Sligo Rovers (95-59) (10 GB)
Preseason Rating: 2nd Place
Last Year: 2nd Place (84-70) (3 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (89-65) (6 GB)
Outlook: for the 6th consecutive season manager Les Patterson has come in second in the RU West standings... it's been almost 2 decades since Sligo made the postseason... the Rovers last appearance was in 2040... they have won the Pro Cup one time (2021).

Patterson, a Hall of Fame hurler (306-230/2.79 ERA), has outstanding pitching, but a weak offense... Patterson's pitchers may be the best starting five in the IPA with all veterans, Mitch Taylor (22-13/2.49), Mickey Walsh (20-12/2.78), Judah Carmack (18-12/2.85), Jacky Harshman (16-5/2.25) and Ayden Evans (7-9/3.35)... overall the bullpen is lackluster except for closer Tiger Snodgrass (9-4/2.53 ERA/23 saves/43 G)... LF Josh Brolin (.315 BA/16 HR/81 RBI/81 R/9 SB) leads the attack with some help from SS Clancy Beaufort (.256/23/80/74/7 SB), 3B Paddy Durham (.264/18/85/60/5 SB), 2B Dallas Patton (.299/3/35/90/25 SB) and 1B Duncan Murrell (.284/14/57/38)... Silver Mountain Park is a huge ballpark, great for pitchers and not so good for sluggers.

3rd Place: Middlefield Roosters (82-72) (23 GB)
Preseason Rating: 1st Place
Last Year: 3rd Place (83-71) (4 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (95-59)
Outlook: after much success Ricky Tinker retired last year... in his managerial tenure Tinker won 11 pennants and 2 Pro Cups ('52, '56) and turned the Roosters over to former pitching star Hollis Dale (246-170/3.74 ERA)... the rookie skipper inherited a club that was the preseason pick to win the pennant... Dale has a high-powered arsenal with plenty of runs, but he only has average pitching... that was his downfall this season... still he finished third and 10 games over the .500 mark.

Middlefield only has one solid starter and he is a 38-year-old dandy... James Long is the all-time wins leader in the IPA with a 428-237 mark and a 2.65 lifetime ERA... he just might win his 5th straight Ruthlandian Union Golden Arm this year... Long wants to retire on top and may hang up his spikes this year... Long was 23-10 with a strong 2.73 ERA this season... Dale is hoping he will reconsider and come back in 2059... Frank Williams (16-13/3.90) did fairly well this year on the hill and Rick Goldman (11-12/4.09) was so-so... but that was it in the Roosters' rotation... Dale does have a strong closer in Norm Coventry (3-5/1.58 ERA/27 saves/45 G)... superstar LF Trip Agarn (.281 BA/38 HR/122 RBI/81 R/3 SB) had another standout season with help from CF Luke Green (.316/13/49/91/7 SB), 3B Donnie Hix (.324/7/79/89/3 SB), star SS Stan Radzikowski (.253/32/96/85/9 SB) and OF Skyler Hanson (.296/9/51/80/6 SB)... the Roosters need a couple of solid starters to get back on top in the RU West... that's what they're missing.

4th Place: Colfax Blasters (75-79) (30 GB)
Preseason Rating: 8th Place
Last Year: 8th Place (70-84) (17 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (69-85) (26 GB)
Outlook: Jorgen Krogstad and his Blasters were slated to finish in the RU West cellar this season, but they unexpectedly made the first division, winding up in the fourth spot... the Blasters used to make the playoffs... they have done it 13 times in the team's history, but not lately... the last postseason appearance was 17 years ago in '42... Colfax has captured one Pro Cup trophy (2010)... that was one of the best teams in IPA annals with 107 wins... that is still the IPA mark for most victories in a season... the Midway Wolves of the Tycobbian East Division tied the record in 2054.

Krogstad only has an ordinary team... average scoring, fair power and ho-hum pitching... the mound staff is only modest with starters Terry Dubrovnik (13-21/3.66), Keith Himmel (12-17/4.13), Larry McDuffie (14-11/4.24) and Alan Schmitt (13-9/4.24)... at age 34 LF Stan Kovalenko (.297 BA/17 HR/64 RBI/106 R/15 SB) is still a rock-solid, all-around performer... so is 1B Nicky Yorke (.300/22/92/64)... two other regulars are reliable bats: RF Lanny Waldrep (.295/24/80/82/2 SB) and CF Emile Schwarz (.278/15/80/63/10 SB)... Colfax is still a long way from the top teams of the RU West.

5th Place: Fort Benton Defenders (74-80) (31 GB)
Preseason Rating: 5th Place
Last Year: 1st Place (87-67)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (77-77) (18 GB)
Outlook: after a year in paradise, manager Augie Marquis and the Defenders are back down-to-earth... some way, somehow they won the RU West in '57... this was only the 2nd time in its history to make the playoffs... the only other time was in 2037.

The Fort Benton offense is still excellent, but the pitching went to heck and a little bit further (from 3.75 ERA to 4.52 ERA)... thus Fort Benton is back to the humdrum life in fifth place and 6 games under .500... Zeke Yoder (20-10/2.74) won the Ruthlandian MVP last year... he also got a lot of help from Noel Blissard (19-12/4.01) and Gil Hicks (17-16/3.88)... Yoder (11-9/4.68), Blissard (3-9/5.28) and Hicks (10-6/4.70) all floundered and bellied up this year... rookie Joe Ramey (16-17/3.95) was the only decent starter... another rookie Rick Provenzo (8-4/3.34) did well in the second half of the season... in the bullpen Randy Rinehart (5-7/1.92 ERA/32 saves/49 G) had a superlative year... offensively CF Kip Drumm (.332 BA/4 HR/69 RBI/93 R/12 SB) had a fine season again... and he got some good help from rookie SS Marcos Aguilar (.324/7/66/91/3 SB), rookie LF Sid Lydecker (.297/20/72/46/5 SB), rookie CF Cowboy Felton (.284/17/77/82), SS Eamon Hooper (.280/13/68/85/6 SB), 2B Murph Eldard (.277/20/83/70/2 SB), rookie RF Nate Bryson (.298/9/72/64/5 SB) and C Terry Caslin (.295/9/63/57)... Fort Benton has some fine talent with 6 new rookies making good contributions... Marquis has to find some pitchers to get back into the pennant hunt... it may take him a while.

6th Place: Forest City Firebirds (69-84) (36 GB)
Preseason Rating: 7th Place
Last Year: 5th Place (78-76) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (65-89) (30 GB)
Outlook: sunk in the RU West second division the last three years... no pennants since '48... no Pro Cups in 5 playoff appearances... Rich Barstow has been dismissed and replaced by former journeyman catcher, 29-year-old Dan Brownmiller (.247 BA/109 HR), who played 7 seasons with the Firebirds (2050-2056)... he has been the bench coach for the past two seasons.

Forest City has an OK offense with fairly good pop, but second-class pitching... rookie Harry Jasper (17-7/4.25) had the best record, but also had a high ERA... the most effective starters are Mike Fryar (13-16/3.20) and Cale Ballantine (12-19/3.28)... the bullpen is in good hands with veteran Tim Varnado (2-5/2.64 ERA/22 saves/43 G)... at the plate the Firebirds are sparked by top gun CF Randy Snow (.312 BA/31 HR/90 RBI/94 R/6 SB) with help from 2B Marcel Poirot (.309/17/77/59/2 SB) and RF Dedrick Crone (.248/30/76/71/7 SB)... new skipper Dan Brownmiller has a lot of holes to plug up before Forest City gets back to respectability in the Ruthlandian West Division.

7th Place: Rocky Rapids Snappers (67-87) (38 GB)
Preseason Rating: 6th Place
Last Year: 7th Place (76-78) (11 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (71-83) (24 GB)
Outlook: More of the same mediocrity for manager Buster Noland, who just finished his first season... his pitching slipped some and so did his won-lost record... for four straight seasons Rocky Rapids has been mired in the RU West second division... it's been 13 years since the last pennant (2046)... the Snappers won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2019.

The Snapper rotation has three decent starters with Clay Callaghan (17-14/3.17), Lance Obermueller (17-18/3.88) and Sammy Sterling (11-12/3.60)... nothing worth mentioning in the bullpen... heading up the offense are two fine hitters: CF Corey McGee (.311 BA/16 HR/76 RBI/93 R/5 SB) and 1B Deke Lundy (.278/29/104/62)... rookie LF Bernie Tillis (.267/15/55/77/8 SB) also contributes some offense... the batting order really needs some new blood... since the Noland family own the Snappers, they will probably give Buster time to turn the team around... family is like that... good pitching runs in the family... Buster was 214-155 with a 3.43 ERA in his 14 seasons from 2039 to 2052.... his daddy, Junior Noland, compiled a 169-144 mark in his 11 years from 2013 to 2023... and of course, his granddaddy was Ryan Noland, the legendary strikeout king of the industrial leagues, noted for pitching no-hitters... prior to 2001, there was no professional baseball in the Islands... it was all amateur, college and company baseball.

8th Place: Stoner Stars (65-89) (40 GB)
Preseason Rating: 4th Place
Last Year: 6th Place (76-78) (11 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (81-73) (14 GB)
Outlook: his rookie season as skipper didn't go well for Took Noonan... the Stars fell all the way to Alabama and last place... that hadn't happened in 15 years... Stoner rarely makes the playoffs... just 3 postseason appearences... the last RU West division flag came three decades back (2029)... the Stars have yet to capture a Pro Cup trophy... overall in its history Stoner has one of the worst overall record in the IPA.

As far as the current crop of Stars, the offense is bad and the mound corps is borderline adequate... Noonan does have two solid starters with Alberto Temozos (12-23/3.18) and Jake Warrick (12-15/3.10), but little else... the bullpen is bad... he also has a couple of pretty fair sticks with C Jean St. Julien (.313 BA/27 HR/95 RBI/66 R) and RF Tyler Stoddard (.265/31/95/86)... two other batters, 3B Hector Francisco (.278/13/71/50/4 SB) and CF Reynaldo Dantes (.284/1/50/78) help out a little.

2058 Ruthlandian West Division Final Standings