Friday, October 5, 2063
PRO CUP PREVIEW
Once again it is a magical time all over the Islands when all eyes and ears turn to the Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup playoffs... for the next glorious month everyone in Islandia will primarily focus on one thing and one thing only... eight IPA division champions are ready, willing and hopeful that they will soon be the overall Islandian baseball champion and the recipient of the renowned Holy Grail of IPA baseball -- the revered Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup trophy... everyone around the Islands has a favorite and an opinion... there will lots and lots of predictions and prognostications... but the bottom line is that even the baseball gurus seldom know what they are talking about... only twice in the last 10 years have the best baseball minds picked the Pro Cup winner... the Midway Wolves were the top choice in the polls in 2054 and they won it... ditto last year when the Rolling Hills Racers were the prime pick and they came home with the trophy... the other 8 times the baseball experts were wrong.
If it was just a matter of a success formula, we all can come up with a good one... which is best?... magnificence in pitching?... high-powered hitting?... fantastic fielding?... it would never hurt a team's chances if it had all of the those elements, but that rarely happens... not even powerhouses like the '49 Valmara Vipers, '52 Middlefield Roosters or the '54 Midway Wolves had everything, but they did come close... let's see, does any current club come within range of those mighty and majestic ideals?
Nope!
The heavy hitters can put runs on the scoreboard... teams like reigning IPA champ Rolling Hills, Hartsdale, Elnora and Colfax... the great pitching teams can cool off the hitters and keep runs from piling up on the scoreboards... teams like Summerland, LaGrange and Colfax... but none of them are without flaws and a few shortcomings.
In 8 of the last 10 years it's been high-explosive teams that have taken the Pro Cups... only Wynnamac in '55 and Ginza in '59 won without a good offense... if we make our decision based on this criteria, then pitching-dominated teams are not likely to win... so, we'll go with the boys with the bats, the top guns... then we find out that the superslabber Summerland Sunsets also can score runs and hit homers... so can the Colfax Blasters... perhaps we should take that into consideration, too.
Well, after much thought and deliberation, combined with a lot of guessing, it will be the Rolling Hills Racers winning their record-setting 6th Pro Cup... they should beat out their main challengers, Summerland, Colfax and Elnora.
It all begins this Sunday all around the Islands... in the first round Ruthlandian Union Division Championship Series it will be 8th-rated Claxton traveling to play 6th-ranked LaGrange and the fourth pick Elnora on the road in Colfax against the third choice Black Sox... over in the Tycobbian Union DCS, seventh-rated South Fork will be entertained by Pro Cup favorite Rolling Hills and second-ranked Summerland will host the number five pick, the Hartsdale Hellcats.
2063 IPA Pro Cup Prediction
1st: ROLLING HILLS RACER (106-48)
The Racers ran roughshod over the Tycobbian West this year, winning it by an unheard-of 25 games... the current IPA titlist has too many weapons to beat you... and the pitching is better this year than last year... it was not easy last year for the Racers because of a subpar pitching staff... all three series went to six or seven games... trades corrected that year... there may be no stopping the Rolling Hills express this year... dynamite sticks like Stonich, Sutton and Roubique coupled with pitchers like Clutterbuck, Wales and Yaden, who will now join ace Vance Dillaway in the starting foursome... the weak bullpen has also been upgraded this season.... Rolling Hills almost tied the record for most wins with 106... just one away from the all-time IPA mark... in round one the mighty Racers will take on the South Fork Stallions and their good quality .
