Saturday, September 1, 2063
ALL OVER IN TU WEST AND RU NORTH
With two-thirds of the 2063 season history, two races are pretty much over in the Islandian Pro Alliance... Pro Cup champ Rolling Hills is way ahead in the Tycobbian West and the LaGrange Gators are leaps and bounds ahead in the Ruthlandian North... but there are still good races going on in the other six divisions... Claxton, Elnora and Colfax are at the top of the standings in the Ruthlandian Union... and Oxford, Southport and South Fork have the lead in the Tycobbian Union... there are 50 games remaining to be played and there are about 15 challengers for the final six postseason playoffs spots..
The LaGrange (84-44) lead in the Ruthlandian North has bulged to a colossal 17 games over the runner-up Taranto Tars (67-61)... the Gators have just about clinched the division title this year... all that is left for the other clubs is to close out well and try to catch the Tars... Kilkenny (66-62), preseason favorite Glasco (65-62), Far Mountain (63-65) and Valmara (63-65) all have a shot at second place in the standings... it's anybody's to win... no one is playing better that the others... LaGrange has dominated the RU North with exceptional pitching (2.96 ERA), less-than-average hitting (.257 BA), average scoring (14th), average power (16th-tied) and fine defense (.979 FA)... they have a fine starting rotation (3.23 ERA) with a superb bullpen (2.13 ERA).
Four clubs are in the hunt in the Ruthlandian South... the Claxton Diamonds (73-55) have led all season, but not by much... last year's division champion St. John (73-56) has been shadowing them the whole season and now trail by just one-half game... the pennant winner will most probably come from one of those two squads... both the Diamonds and Crusaders depend heavily on their pitching staffs... however, the third place Waleska Westerners (68-60) just might be a threat... the Cowpokes had a rough two months in April and May, but they have been the best team in the RU South since... they are coming off a fine month of August with a 17-10 mark and are looking very good for September, but the Westerners have 5 games to make up... the Valka Blackhawks (66-62) were highly-rated going into the season... the Blackhawks were the preseason favorite, but they have just been fair-to-middling most of the year... entering September they were only 11-16 last month.
The top three choices in the preseason polls are running neck-and-neck this year in the Ruthlandian East... defending division champion Elnora (76-52) won easily last season by 10 games, but it's been a battle this year with the Wynnamac Sundowners (71-56) and the Marston Nine (70-58)... the Clippers are up by four and a half games over the Macs and six games better than the Nine... of the three, Marston is playing the best ball, heading into the September stretch drive... in August the Nine posted a standout 19-8 mark and got back into the race... Elnora was a so-so 14-14 and Wynnamac only 13-14 last month... the Clippers have a high-scoring attack and lead the RU in scoring runs with a .286 BA and average longball power (19th-tied)... they have two good starters and a good bullpen... the Sundowners can swat the ball and score runs (4th), too... they are batting .275 (4th)... the Macs have average starting pitching (3.84 ERA), but a solid bullpen (2.79 ERA)... Marston can match Elnora on the scoreboard... they are batting .285 (2nd), rank second in scoring, have good starters (3.67 ERA), but a subpar bullpen (4.09 ERA)... it will take another redhot month by the Nine to catch Elnora... the Clippers look like they can repeat as champion in the Ruthlandian East.
It still nip-and-tuck in the Ruthlandian West with a three-team tussle between the Colfax Black Sox (75-53), Sligo Rovers (74-54) and the preseason favorite and defending division champion Volusia Vigilantes (71-57)... the spunky V's are seeking their third consecutive RU West crown... and they are making a late-season surge... Volusia is tearing up the baseball with a 34-18 record the last two months.... but the Black Sox are not giving in... they put up a 30-23 mark in July and August... the Rovers, however, were only 27-25 during that period... Colfax is a rock-solid club with outstanding pitching (2.91 ERA), best in the Ruthlandian Union this year... offensively, the Black Sox can go deep (6th), hit well with a .270 BA (8th) and they can put runs on the scoreboard, ranking 11th in runs scored... Volusia has it work cut off for them... the Vigilantes are never-say-die... the last two seasons they have been the unheralded and surprising Pro Cup Finalists, losing to powerhouses Rolling Hills and Oxford... Sligo is a good, well-balanced club, but the Rovers have slumped in the second half of the season... they will have to do a turnaround in September to beat out the Black Sox and the hard-charging Vigilantes... the fourth place Rocky Rapids Snappers (67-61) were rated a serious pennant contender in the preseason picks... the Snappers stayed close to the leaders until July... slumped since then with a 25-28 record in the last two months... now they haven fallen eight games behind... Rocky Rapids has a good offense with a .268 BA (11th), ranked 3rd in scoring runs and 4th in roundtrippers (123 HR)... the Snappers have an average starting rotation and bullpen with a 3.73 ERA (18th)... it will be hard for Rocky Rapids to get back in the race in the final month of the season.
Ruthlandian Union Standings
Saturday, September 1, 2063
