Tuesday, September 21, 2061
RU SOUTH RECAP
The St. John Crusaders (89-65) pulled away in the second half of the season and took the Ruthlandian South Division by five games over second place Claxton (84-70)... it was a horse race until midyear with six clubs in the mix... this was the Crusaders second consecutive division title... they have won it three of the last five seasons.
Third place went to much-improved San Dimas (83-71)... long a division doormat, the Rancheros were infused by two fine new rookies... fourth place Waleska (82-72) was the preseason pick, but the Westerners had two losing months in June and September... after a fine April and May, they slowly dropped out of the pennant race... Valka (80-74) and Belair Beach (74-80) also contended until midseason.
1st Place: ST. JOHN CRUSADERS (89-65)
St. John is solid and sound in all aspects of the game... you name it and the Crusaders have it... they hit well, score well with power, pitch well and play defense well (.978 FA).
Outlook: going into the Pro Cup playoffs, St. John has the second-worst record... also their pitching has flopped in the postseason in recent years... but the Crusaders do have a fine batting order top-to-bottom... yet, they are not expected to be a factor in the playoffs.
2nd Place: CLAXTON DIAMONDS (84-70) (5 GB)
Outlook: Probably the best thing going for the runner-up Claxton Diamonds was its starting rotation... they were consistently good... however, their bats are not impressive... not a lot of power... but they do have a good defense (.978 FA).
