OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 02-23-2019, 10:23 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, July 1, 2059

ONLY 3 CLOSE RACES IN THE IPA
We all love hot-and-heavy pennant races... living and dying on a daily basis for our beloved baseball teams... well, going into the fourth month of the current Islandian Pro Alliance campaign 6 of the divisions have fairly close races... in the Ruthlandian South Division the Valka Blackhawks (40-37) are up by a single game over runner-up St. John (39-38)... defending Pro Cup titleholder Crystal Lake is 2 games back in third place... Marston (52-45) is 5 up on Wynnamac in the RU East... Sligo (47-30) tops the RU West by 2 over the Colfax Blasters (45-32) with last year's flag winner Volusia (43-34) sticking close and trailing by 4 games... over in the Tycobbian East the Red Bluff Red Sox are being squeezed by runner-up High Mesa (42-35), only a game out of first and Tuckanarra (40-37), just 3 games behind in third... in the Tycobbian South the Ginza Ninjas (47-30) have a 4-game edge over second place Summerland (43-34) with last year's champ Southport (41-36) 6 games off the pace... Rolling Hills (44-33) has chalked up a 5-game lead over Denton City (39-38) in the Tycobbian West... two divisions are bordering on runaways... the Valmara Vipers (51-26) have vaulted to a comfortable 7-game margin over the Glasco A's (44-33) in the Ruthlandian North, while the biggest lead of all is enjoyed by the Oxford Red Caps (50-27) in the Tycobbian North... they have shot ahead of last year's division winner, Luxora (42-35) by 8 games.

VIPERS SUPER PLAY IN JUNE
High-scoring Valmara (51-26) soared ahead in the RU North with a torrid 21-5 mark in June... Glasco (44-33) went 18-8... Far Mountain (43-34) was 17-9... and LaGrange (43-34) ended up 16-10... Ancona (40-37) chalked up 15-11... Kilkenny (32-45) a poor 10-16... Taranto (31-46) was only 12-14 and Ranford was a lowly (29-48) 10-16.

Ruthlandian North Season Outlook:
Valmara looks like a shoo-in for its third straight pennant in the RU North... the Vipers' power-laden attack and solid pitching are just too much for the other teams... Look for Valmara to go far in the postseason this year...the Vipers are very well-balanced with no apparent weaknesses... Pro Cup trophy #5 could be in the club's future... Far Mountain and Glasco will fight it out for second place... LaGrange and Ancona will tussle for the fourth spot... all of the others are just second-rate second-division clubs.

SUPER TIGHT IN RU SOUTH
The race in the Ruthlandian South is super tight with 4 challengers trying their best to dethrone the IPA champion Crystal Lake Skippers... at the end of June, Valka (40-37) has the lead by just a game over St. John (39-38)... the Blackhawks were even for the month at 13-13... the Crusaders were 14-12... the Skips had an horrendous 8-20 May, but turned it up in June with a 16-10 mark, the best in the division... the Claxton Diamonds (37-40) could only put up a 10-16 and fell below .500... they were tied with Valka last month for the top spot... the rest of the division were bad, too... Grand City (37-40), Belair Beach (35-42) and Waleska (34-43) wound up only 11-15... and stuck in the RU South basement are the sad San Dimas Rancheros (29-49)... the Vaqueros could only manage 10-16 in May.

Ruthlandian South Outlook:
The teams are evenly matched in the RU South... nobody is heads-and-shoulders better... it's gonna be a genuine donnybrook with 6 teams in the mix... reigning Pro Cup titlist Crystal Lake gets the call, but will sweat it out... they will have to fend off more than St. John this year... Valka, Claxton and Belair Beach could be spoilers, along with Grand City... the Skippers can score runs and the pitching is good... they are just a little better than the rest of the contenders... the Skips should repeat as division champion... however, Pro Cup champ again may be quite a stretch... Crystal Lake doesn't seem to have the power it had last year.

MARSTON, MAY BE BEST NINE IN IPA
One of the strongest divisions in the Islandian Pro Alliance is the Ruthlandian East... 5 of the teams are over the .500 mark with the Marston Nine leading the way with the best record in the IPA at 52-25... the Nine can do it all... hitting with power, scoring runs and standout pitching... they are the class of the RU East, and perhaps, the best in the IPA... Marston came in a distant 6th last year, but certainly has set the league on fire this year... the Nine had the best division record in June at 16-10 and upped its lead over Wynnamac (47-30) to 5 games... the Macs registered a 13-13 record... the Sundowners won the pennant last year... Cold Creek (42-35) has done well early in the year, but slipped to 12-14 in June... the Catamounts were under .500 in '58 and wound up 5th... Elnora (42-35) only went 11-15 for the month, despite having a terrific attack... bad pitching is a killer... the Sugar Valley Rattlers (40-37) compiled a good 14-12 mark... Eastshore (33-44) continued its losing ways with 11-15... Belle Plaine (37-46) had an atrocious May with only 7 victories and 19 losses... and the dead last Beechwood Blues (24-53) were even worse at a hellacious 5-21.

Ruthlandian East Outlook:
Marston is the odds-on favorite in the RU East... and should be one of the prime Pro Cup contenders... the Macs, All-Stars, C'Cats and Rattlers will cat fight it out for the runner-up spot... Belle Plaine, Eastshore and Beechwood will be distant also-rans at the bottom of the barrel.

SLIGO STAFF SENSATIONAL IN RU WEST
Well, it is June, but the Sligo Rovers mound staff did not fling and sway and fade away... they are still going at a sensational pace with a near IPA record 2.50 team ERA... the Rovers may have the best overall pitching corps in IPA history... top to bottom all 11 pitchers can not only get the job done well, they can do it in style and quality... there are no bad pitchers on the team... but the Colfax Blasters and Volusia Vigilantes are still giving chase... Sligo (47-30) is only 2 games up on the Blasters (45-32) and 4 games in front of third place Volusia (43-34), last year's RU West flag winner... hurlers and homers are leading the way for the Rovers... they had a 15-11 mark in June, while surprising Colfax was ringing up a sparkling 17-9... the V's were 15-11... fourth place Forest City (39-38) broke even for the month at 13-13... fifth place Rocky Rapids (37-40) went 15-11, while Fort Benton (37-40) could only muster a 13-13 draw... followed by the Middlefield Roosters (36-41) and the cellar-dwelling Stoner Stars (35-42)... the Roosters wound up 11-15 and the Stars recorded 13-13 for the month.

Ruthlandian West Outlook:
It's going to continue to be a 3-team tussle with Sligo hauling in the division title this year, nipping out last year's winner Volusia... Colfax has the best offensive arsenal, but the Vigilantes have them beat on the slab... the Blasters will have to be satisfied with the third position in the standings... four clubs, Forest City, Rocky Rapids, Fort Benton and Stoner, will fight it out for fourth place... it appears the best Middlefield can do is last place.

02-23-2019, 10:23 PM	#6251
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,923	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Tuesday, July 1, 2059 ONLY 3 CLOSE RACES IN THE IPA We all love hot-and-heavy pennant races... living and dying on a daily basis for our beloved baseball teams... well, going into the fourth month of the current Islandian Pro Alliance campaign 6 of the divisions have fairly close races... in the Ruthlandian South Division the Valka Blackhawks (40-37) are up by a single game over runner-up St. John (39-38)... defending Pro Cup titleholder Crystal Lake is 2 games back in third place... Marston (52-45) is 5 up on Wynnamac in the RU East... Sligo (47-30) tops the RU West by 2 over the Colfax Blasters (45-32) with last year's flag winner Volusia (43-34) sticking close and trailing by 4 games... over in the Tycobbian East the Red Bluff Red Sox are being squeezed by runner-up High Mesa (42-35), only a game out of first and Tuckanarra (40-37), just 3 games behind in third... in the Tycobbian South the Ginza Ninjas (47-30) have a 4-game edge over second place Summerland (43-34) with last year's champ Southport (41-36) 6 games off the pace... Rolling Hills (44-33) has chalked up a 5-game lead over Denton City (39-38) in the Tycobbian West... two divisions are bordering on runaways... the Valmara Vipers (51-26) have vaulted to a comfortable 7-game margin over the Glasco A's (44-33) in the Ruthlandian North, while the biggest lead of all is enjoyed by the Oxford Red Caps (50-27) in the Tycobbian North... they have shot ahead of last year's division winner, Luxora (42-35) by 8 games. VIPERS SUPER PLAY IN JUNE High-scoring Valmara (51-26) soared ahead in the RU North with a torrid 21-5 mark in June... Glasco (44-33) went 18-8... Far Mountain (43-34) was 17-9... and LaGrange (43-34) ended up 16-10... Ancona (40-37) chalked up 15-11... Kilkenny (32-45) a poor 10-16... Taranto (31-46) was only 12-14 and Ranford was a lowly (29-48) 10-16. Ruthlandian North Season Outlook: Valmara looks like a shoo-in for its third straight pennant in the RU North... the Vipers' power-laden attack and solid pitching are just too much for the other teams... Look for Valmara to go far in the postseason this year...the Vipers are very well-balanced with no apparent weaknesses... Pro Cup trophy #5 could be in the club's future... Far Mountain and Glasco will fight it out for second place... LaGrange and Ancona will tussle for the fourth spot... all of the others are just second-rate second-division clubs. SUPER TIGHT IN RU SOUTH The race in the Ruthlandian South is super tight with 4 challengers trying their best to dethrone the IPA champion Crystal Lake Skippers... at the end of June, Valka (40-37) has the lead by just a game over St. John (39-38)... the Blackhawks were even for the month at 13-13... the Crusaders were 14-12... the Skips had an horrendous 8-20 May, but turned it up in June with a 16-10 mark, the best in the division... the Claxton Diamonds (37-40) could only put up a 10-16 and fell below .500... they were tied with Valka last month for the top spot... the rest of the division were bad, too... Grand City (37-40), Belair Beach (35-42) and Waleska (34-43) wound up only 11-15... and stuck in the RU South basement are the sad San Dimas Rancheros (29-49)... the Vaqueros could only manage 10-16 in May. Ruthlandian South Outlook: The teams are evenly matched in the RU South... nobody is heads-and-shoulders better... it's gonna be a genuine donnybrook with 6 teams in the mix... reigning Pro Cup titlist Crystal Lake gets the call, but will sweat it out... they will have to fend off more than St. John this year... Valka, Claxton and Belair Beach could be spoilers, along with Grand City... the Skippers can score runs and the pitching is good... they are just a little better than the rest of the contenders... the Skips should repeat as division champion... however, Pro Cup champ again may be quite a stretch... Crystal Lake doesn't seem to have the power it had last year. MARSTON, MAY BE BEST NINE IN IPA One of the strongest divisions in the Islandian Pro Alliance is the Ruthlandian East... 5 of the teams are over the .500 mark with the Marston Nine leading the way with the best record in the IPA at 52-25... the Nine can do it all... hitting with power, scoring runs and standout pitching... they are the class of the RU East, and perhaps, the best in the IPA... Marston came in a distant 6th last year, but certainly has set the league on fire this year... the Nine had the best division record in June at 16-10 and upped its lead over Wynnamac (47-30) to 5 games... the Macs registered a 13-13 record... the Sundowners won the pennant last year... Cold Creek (42-35) has done well early in the year, but slipped to 12-14 in June... the Catamounts were under .500 in '58 and wound up 5th... Elnora (42-35) only went 11-15 for the month, despite having a terrific attack... bad pitching is a killer... the Sugar Valley Rattlers (40-37) compiled a good 14-12 mark... Eastshore (33-44) continued its losing ways with 11-15... Belle Plaine (37-46) had an atrocious May with only 7 victories and 19 losses... and the dead last Beechwood Blues (24-53) were even worse at a hellacious 5-21. Ruthlandian East Outlook: Marston is the odds-on favorite in the RU East... and should be one of the prime Pro Cup contenders... the Macs, All-Stars, C'Cats and Rattlers will cat fight it out for the runner-up spot... Belle Plaine, Eastshore and Beechwood will be distant also-rans at the bottom of the barrel. SLIGO STAFF SENSATIONAL IN RU WEST Well, it is June, but the Sligo Rovers mound staff did not fling and sway and fade away... they are still going at a sensational pace with a near IPA record 2.50 team ERA... the Rovers may have the best overall pitching corps in IPA history... top to bottom all 11 pitchers can not only get the job done well, they can do it in style and quality... there are no bad pitchers on the team... but the Colfax Blasters and Volusia Vigilantes are still giving chase... Sligo (47-30) is only 2 games up on the Blasters (45-32) and 4 games in front of third place Volusia (43-34), last year's RU West flag winner... hurlers and homers are leading the way for the Rovers... they had a 15-11 mark in June, while surprising Colfax was ringing up a sparkling 17-9... the V's were 15-11... fourth place Forest City (39-38) broke even for the month at 13-13... fifth place Rocky Rapids (37-40) went 15-11, while Fort Benton (37-40) could only muster a 13-13 draw... followed by the Middlefield Roosters (36-41) and the cellar-dwelling Stoner Stars (35-42)... the Roosters wound up 11-15 and the Stars recorded 13-13 for the month. Ruthlandian West Outlook: It's going to continue to be a 3-team tussle with Sligo hauling in the division title this year, nipping out last year's winner Volusia... Colfax has the best offensive arsenal, but the Vigilantes have them beat on the slab... the Blasters will have to be satisfied with the third position in the standings... four clubs, Forest City, Rocky Rapids, Fort Benton and Stoner, will fight it out for fourth place... it appears the best Middlefield can do is last place. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-26-2019 at 05:03 PM.