[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, May 1, 2059

NO SURPRISES IN RU EAST
The powers-to-be pretty much are the powers in the Ruthlandian East this season at the end of the first month of play... there are no big surprises... all is running pretty much according to preseason prognostications... Elnora (16-7) compiled the best record in the IPA in April and shot into the lead... all the other contenders, favorite Wynnamac (14-9), Marston (14-9), Sugar Valley (13-10) and Eastshore (11-12), are close by... so-so longshot Cold Creek (13-10) also had a good first month... and the down-and-outers like Beechwood (9-14) and Belle Plaine (8-15) are plainly playing down-and-out this year, too.

The Elnora All-Stars have shot to the top of the standings with a terrific high-powered arsenal and second-rate pitching... the All-Stars are batting a lofty .292 (3rd), ranked 1st with 152 runs and 33 homers... the team ERA is a lowly 4.41 (21st)... Elnora's batting order is chocked full of solid hitters, paced by 1B Gus Abreu (.419/4 HR/21 RBI/21 R), the 3rd-leading batting in the IPA with a .419 mark... and Abreu gets a tremendous amount of help from SS Dickie DeBusshere (.382/3 HR/15 RBI/13 R), LF Donald Ray Mooney (.310/5 HR/18 RBI/16 R), 2B Mickey Wilbur (.306/4 HR/18 RBI/16 R/1 SB), CF Keith Colburn (.305/5 HR/17 RBI/24 R/6 SB), RF Curt Tobolowsky (.290/8 HR/16 RBI/25 R/2 SB) and 3B Lee Carnahan (.295/0 HR/12 RBI/5 R)... the mound staff has not done well overall... one starter Billy Ehrenreich (3-1/1.25) is doing well... Barney Mayberry (3-1/4.03) is doing OK... so is Pat Vale (2-1/3.95)... but the rest have been poor with a 4.74 ERA (24th)... the bullpen has been good with closer Stevie Tucker (3-0/0.84 ERA/4 saves/7 games)... the All-Stars finished a distant second last year with the same formula, but were beaten out by the Wynnamac Sundowners by 13 games... they may make it closer this year.

Perennial division power Wynnamac (14-9) is not very far behind, tied for the runner-up spot with the Marston Nine... the Macs have won the RU East 5 of the last 7 years and are favored to win again this year... the Sundowners always have good pitching... the team ERA is 3.05 (5th)... and they can score runs, too, with a .280 BA (5th), 114 runs (4th-tied) and 22 homers (15th)... top hurlers are Kylee Callender (3-1/2.66), Sammy Hayes (2-1/1.07), James Duncan (3-1/3.57), George Medworth (2-0/3.60) and Kuparr Bunji (0-2/2.70)... the Sundowners might need help at the closer spot... Don Loewenthal (2-2/3.65 ERA/3 saves/13 G) has been inconsistent at times... the Macs can really smack the horsehide with the likes of 1B Enos Benham (.379/2 HR/20 RBI/14 R), LF Snooky Bartels (.378/1 HR/10 RBI/13 R), SS Shelly Nelson (.329/0 HR/10 RBI/15 R/1 SB) and RF Manny Sendejas (.310/5 HR/17 RBI/10 R)... Wynnamac won the Pro Cup in 2055... the Sundowners might do it again this year... they are a very sound and talented team.

The Marston Nine (14-9) had an 8-year run of first-division finishes snapped last year when they came in 6th (73-81)... but they appear to be back on track this season... currently running second in the RU East race... the Nine are really good contact hitters, leading the IPA with a flashy .307 BA (1st)... they score well with 108 runs (9th), but only have average power with 20 HR (16th-tied)... Marston is fairly good on the hill with a team ERA 3.52 (12th)... the bullpen is tops in the RU with a 1.64 ERA (1st)... the Nine are serious pennant contenders this year... top guns at the plate are SS Gino Mastroianni (.448/0 HR/11 RBI/15 R/5 SB), the top hitter in the IPA with a startling .448 mark... followed by 1B Luke Cranshaw (.383/1 HR/11 RBI/11 R/2 SB), 2B Damien D'Amboise (.333/2 HR/11 RBI/12 R/2 SB), LF Joe Duplantis (.311/4 HR/14 RBI/12 R/2 SB), CF Tommy Tuckett (.311/0 HR/8 RBI/10 R/2 SB) and RF Soseki Ishida (.284/3 HR/10 RBI/15 R/4 SB)... top starters are Mark Henley (3-1/3.00), Billy Rogen (2-1/3.90), Lance McElveen (2-3/3.82) and Toby Claypool (1-1/1.13)... star closer Robert Tringle (0-0/0.54 ERA/9 saves/9 games) has been extraordinary this year.

The Sugar Valley Rattlers (13-10) are deadlocked with Cold Creek for the fourth spot in the RU East standings... last year the Sidewinders came in third (80-74), but far off the pace of champ Wynnamac (96-58)... the Rattlers depend on their fairly good pitching... they rank 14th with a 3.71 team ERA... Sugar Valley is only hitting at a poor .234 clip (5th), have scored 103 runs (16th) and have hit 29 out of the park (2nd)... the Rattlers depend on good pitching and home runs for success... they have a good starting five with Alan Montreuil (4-1/2.02), Monte Dale (2-2/3.10), Elvis Bonham (2-3/3.53), Hector De Andres (0-1/3.71) and Antonio Cedeno (3-2/4.15)... but come up short offensively with only two decent run producers: SS Dino Lazzeri (.262/7 HR/21 RBI/15 R) and RF Tyler Alban (.282/3 HR/12 RBI/9 R/1 SB)... Sugar Valley has to add some offense to win the pennant any time soon.

It was a good April for the Cold Creek Catamounts (13-10)... tied for 4th place in the RU East... the Cats have not had a winning year since 2050... and no pennants for almost 20 years (2041)... and they are still looking for that first Pro Cup trophy... don't know how long Cold Creek can maintain this sudden prosperity... they are not too impressive statistically speaking... just an average-looking club with a .263 BA (13th) and 98 runs scored (18th-tied), however the Catamounts hit with a little punch... 26 HR (4th-tied)... pitching is just average with a 4.10 team ERA (14th)... the bullpen is terrible with a whopping 5.34 ERA (29th)... they have three reliable starters in Stephen Pyburn (4-0/2.76), Jake Fischer (3-2/2.68) and Junior Gillespie (0-1/3.18)... at the plate Cold Creek is just adequate, led by 3B Sandy Ketteridge (.323/3 HR/13 RBI/11 R), 39-year-old player-manager 2B Joe Cochrane (.297/3 HR/9 RBI/8 R), RF Ziggy Baggs (.288/3 HR/9 RBI/6 R/1 SB), 1B Bobby Dundee (.273/1 HR/10 RBI/9 R), LF Jimmy Lange (.257/3 HR/11 RBI/9 R) and CF Dave Lord (.257/1 HR/4 RBI/13 R/1 SB)... the month of May may tell us if the Catamounts are for real or not.

6th place Eastshore (11-12) is out of the gate slowly this season, mainly because of poor mound work... the team 4.53 ERA is elevated over last-year's 4th place finish... offensively the Cotton Kings score well with 111 runs (7th)... they are batting .253 (21st) with 23 roundtrippers (9th-tied)... the current rotation includes veterans Homer Lawler (1-0/2.04), Bebe Kinney (1-3/3.60), Dain Moore (1-2/3.67) and Sam Carmon (3-2/4.54)... the batting order has some solid bats like LF Percy Basford (.371/1 HR/9 RBI/16 R/3 SB), Ian Kelehan (.317/6 HR/18 RBI/10 R/3 SB), 2B Champ Askew (.287/4 HR/22 RBI/11 R/1 SB) and 1B Alvin Newell (.278/7 HR/19 RBI/12 R)... plus rookie 3B Norbert Ruston (.289/0 HR/8 RBI/16 R/1 SB) has earned a regular spot in the lineup... the Cotton Kings are a middle-of-the-pack ballclub, likely to end up anywhere from 3rd to 6th.

For the past 14 years the Beechwood Blues (9-14) have been a losing club... the last RU East pennant came long ago in 2027... and neither a winning season, nor a pennant, are visible anywhere on the far, far horizon... the Blues have been cellar-dwellers in the RU East for the last 4 years in a row and they currently are in 7th place... Beechwood has low rankings with a .251 BA (22nd), 80 runs (28th) and only 14 home runs (25th-tied)... the 4.46 team ERA (24th) is pretty low, too... the Blues don't have much to boast or brag about... Ryan Terris (3-1/3.13) is a pretty good starter, but he's just about it... no one else worth mentioning... nothing great at the plate, either... the top bats CF Tim Baham (.303/6 HR/14 RBI/12 R/2 SB) and RF Phil Orbach (.284/0 HR/10 RBI/6 R) only have modest numbers... sad to say, the hard times will continue in Bluesville.

Poor Belle Plaine has only won the RU East pennant one time in its history... that was way back in 2009... the Musketeers just might be the worst franchise in IPA history... they did have two winning seasons in recent years in '54 and '55... last year they were seventh in the standings... this year the Muskies (8-15) are wallowing in last place with a .244 BA (26th), 101 runs (17th) and 13 HR (27th)... not doing any better on the mound, either, with a 4.33 ERA (19th)... three decent batters carry the offensive load: 1B Levi Teed (.313/1 HR/14 RBI/16 R/3 SB), RF Eliot Marcum (.289/6 HR/12 RBI/10 R) and SS Shelly Busfield (.280/0 HR/10 RBI/16 R/2 SB)... and three pitchers carry the mound corps: veteran starters Ike Alister (2-2/3.48) and Joe-Joe Bouvier (2-2/3.66), along with closer Adrien Renaud (0-1/2.81 ERA/4 saves/10 G)... about the best Belle Plaine can do is beat out Beechwood for 7th place.