Friday, October 14, 2061
V'S AND RED CAPS IN PRO CUP FINALS
If the postseason pollsters had their way, it would be #1 Rolling Hills and #2 Wynnamac in the Pro Cup Finals... if it has played out according to the experts that's who would be playing for the much-coveted IPA Pro Cup trophy this October... but it was played out on the baseball diamond where the #7 Volusia Vigilantes and the #3 Oxford Red Caps reigned supreme... the Vigilantes are the Ruthlandian Union champion for 2061 and the Red Caps are the Tycobbian Union titlewinners... they will tangle in a best-of-seven series beginning this Saturday at the Jailhouse in Volusia... games one and two will be played there, then will shift to Oxford for games three, four and five... if needed, games six and seven will be played in Volusia... the V's got the homefield advantage because they were 97-57 this season... the Red Caps posted a 96-58 mark.
This year's Pro Cup Finals has the makings of a rootin' tootin' shootout... both clubs can hit the ball and score runs... they each possess high-octane attacks... whoever gets the best pitching will win the Pro Cup this year... Volusia beat a fine, well-rounded Wynnamac squad in the first round four games to two... in the Ruthlandian title series, the Vigilantes bested a solid St. John team four games to two... now they get the pleasure of playing the high-powered Oxford Red Caps, who toyed with Turon in round one, winning in six games... and lo and behold, the Oxfordians waylaid the defending Pro Cup holder, the Rolling Hills Racers, in the Tycobbian Finals in a stirring seven-game set.
Well, EC, who's gonna win?... to be honest, I just don't rightly know... I have picked Volusia to lose both of their series... and they didn't... and I picked Oxford to lose in seven games to Rolling Hills... and they didn't... continuing that same line of thinking, Volusia will beat Oxford in seven games... but that's not really how I feel... if the high-powered Red Caps can whip the high-octane Racers, then they should defeat the Vigilantes... and it might take them six games... am I making any sense?... don't think so.
It appears to me that I'm just hedging my bets and picking both teams to win... hey, call me "wishy washy", if you like.
Here's what I'm a gonna do... my wife is an experimental statistician, so I will ask her to analyze both ballclubs very scientifically and help me out... maybe she can figure it all out for me... one thing for sure, she's a much better scorekeeper at games than I am... too often I have to use "ww" on my scorecard... "ww" means "wasn't watching".
Maybe that's my problem in assessing the Pro Cup playoffs... too much "ww".
In a nutshell, Oxford will whip Volusia because they have better starting pitching... Pat McFarlane (3-0, 2.92 ERA), Rico Alessi (2-0, 1.42 ERA) and Maury Statler (2-1, 3.47) are more dependable than the Vigilantes' Lonny Rinehart (2-1, 5.73 ERA), Tomaz Mota (1-0, 2.41 ERA) and Reynaldo Medrano (2-1, 4.67 ERA)... plus Red Cap pitching gives up fewer home runs than the V's.
But Volusia has a much better bullpen... Dan Hunt (2-0, 2.30 ERA, 2 saves, 6 games) and Ron Beeman (1-1, 2.21 ERA, 2 saves, 7 games) are superior and more reliable than Chucker Pitts (1-2, 4.70 ERA, 1 save, 6 games) and Freddy Tilford (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 0 saves, 5 games).
At the plate Oxford also has the advantage there... the Red Caps have hit 27 doubles, 3 triples and 14 home runs... the Vigilantes show 20 doubles, 7 triples and only 7 homers... one of the keys to Oxford's Pro Cup aspirations was whether or not their two superstars, Buddy Blackford and Showboat Lynn, would get any help offensively... in past years they didn't... this year they did... Errol Sears (.340 BA), Roland Latimer (.308 BA, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 11 R), Scott Schneider (.271 BA, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R) and Frankie Beckwith (.290 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 5 R) have helped out considerably, while Blackford (.267 BA, 6 doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBIs, 11 runs) and Lynn (.250 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 12 runs) have done their part.
Taking a gander at Volusia: they hit very well for average, but come up short in longballs... that could be critical in the Pro Cup Finals... however, Carlos Silva (.404 BA, 4 doubles, 11 RBI), Bandy Barnwell (.306 BA, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 8 RBI, 9 runs), Ellie Hudgins (.333 BA, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 11 RBI, 9 runs) and Clement Beliveau (.293 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 10 runs) have done well so far and beat two good teams with solid pitching, Wynnamac and St. John.
Volusia might have the better defense... the V's are very good with the gloves with a .979 FA... Oxford is only average with a .975 FA.
So who's gonna win after all of this scientific and wishy washy analyses?... maybe I should just flip a coin and decide... look, the nickel is in the air... heads it's Oxford... tails it's Volusia... or maybe it should be the other way around? ... oh, what the heck, the 2061 IPA Pro Cup champion will be __________ in _________ games.
I think I will just come back after the Pro Cup Series is over and fill in the blanks.
Just joshing... Oxford in six games... as they say in Loosiana, "for true"... the Red Caps have better starters... hit a lot of homers... and beat last year's Pro Cup winner... that should be enough "for true"... I went to school with some guys from the Ninth Ward in Noo Awlins... and that's "for true", too.
