Wednesday, July 15, 2065
AROUND THE IPA AT ALL-STAR BREAK
No huge surprises in the Island Pro Alliance races at the All-Star break, the preseason favorites are doing well, however a few unheralded Tycobbian clubs are raising some eyebrows and creating some chaos... Hartsdale is atop the TU North and Red Bluff and Cape Coral are causing waves in the TU East and TU South respectively... the division leaders in both the Ruthlandian Union and the Tycobbian Union are running pretty much true-to-form.
After a year's absence at the top of the Ruthlandian North, the LaGrange Gators (56-33) with its dynamite pitching are feasting on the teams again... the Gators have an 8-game edge over the much-improved Ancona Red Elephants (48-41), who were seventh last season...the Red Elephants are deadlocked with the Glasco Foxhounds (48-41) for the second spot in the standings... the Hounds almost won the pennant last season, but fell one game short... last year's RU North champion, the Valmara Vipers (43-46) are nowhere to be seen, mired in fifth place tie with Ranford Bulls (43-46), 13 games out... the seventh place Kilkenny Cats (38-51) and last place Taranto Tars (34-55) have no chance to win the RU North this year... both clubs have a lot to do just to reach the .500 mark.
In the Ruthlandian South Division, the Claxton Diamonds (57-32), the reigning Pro Cup kings of the IPA, have a solid lead of 6 games over runner-up Crystal Lake (51-38)... the Skippers were a distant third last year and were not highly-rated this season... they were rated seventh in the preseason poll, but they are clinging fairly close to Claxton at midyear... up-and-coming Grand City (49-40) is in third place and 8 games back in the race... and Waleska (47-42), the preseason pick, has not played up to expectations and is 10 games behind... though they were surprisingly ranked just the third-best team in the preseason picks, there's a good chance the Claxton Diamonds are going to chalk up their third straight pennant and go deep into the Pro Cup playoffs... none of the other four clubs in the division have much of a chance to take the pennant... San Dimas (44-45) and St. John (42-47) will battle it out for the fifth spot in the standings, while Belair Beach (33-56) and Valka (33-56) will be playing to stay out of the RU South cellar.
Forget a tight race in the Ruthlandian East, the Wynnamac Sundowners (60-29) have returned to their dominating ways and are making shambles of the pennant race with a massive 12-game margin over runners-up Eastshore (48-41) and Marston (48-41)... fourth place Sugar Valley (46-43) is way back at 14 games... nobody's going to catch the Macs this year... fifth place Sugar Valley (46-43) and sixth place Cold Creek (43-46) are in the middle of the pack, but still have a shot at a higher spot in the standings... Belle Plaine (35-54) and Beechwood (34-55) are just playing out the season and hoping to stay out of last place... no doubt about it... this will be the Macs' 5th division title in the last 8 seasons and 9th in the last 14 years.
Over in the Ruthlandian West chase, the Sligo Rovers (52-37) are seeking a second title in a row and are playing well, but it's a tight race with the likes of Fort Benton (49-40), Middlefield (49-40), Colfax (48-41) and Rocky Rapids (47-42)... all of them are within 5 games of the top spot... it's still anybody's ballgame, but Sligo's standout pitching makes it tough for everybody else... strangely and surprisingly. the Stoner Silver Sox (41-48) were the preseason favorite to win the RU West, but they are running sixth so far... Stoner is not very good this year and they were not good last year, winding up far behind in the seventh spot and 21 games behind champ Sligo... the seventh place Volusia Vigilantes (38-51) were also rated high in the preseason poll... the V's were picked to be a very close second to Stoner, but both clubs have flopped badly... the woeful and downtrodden Forest City Firebirds (32-57) were eighth and last in '64... were ranked the worst team in the the RU West this season... and guess what?... they are in last place again.
Over in the Tycobbian Union, are the Hartsdale Hellcats, White River Rascals, Cape Coral Hurricanes and Red Bluff Red Sox for real or just flashes in the pan?... the Hellcats are a very capable club... they won the 2063 Pro Cup... last year in the Tycobbian North race, they stumbled and tumbled to fifth place, 14 games behind pennant-winning Oxford, but this season the Hellcats look like they are much rejuvenated and back as contenders... Hartsdale (50-39) has a slight 2-game margin over the second place Oxford Red Caps (48-41)... Oxford has been a powerhouse with 6 division crowns in the last 9 seasons... the Red Caps also won the Pro Cup in 2062... after seven consecutive losing seasons and ranking near the bottom of the TU North, White River (47-32) is making a big splash in the pennant chase and running a close third place, trailing by just 3 games and are tied with the Blue Lake Skippers (47-32)... three other clubs, North Hills (44-45), Luxora (43-46) and Mahaska (43-46) are within striking distance and could get into the hunt with a good second half... only Fairfax (34-55) seems to have no chance this year... seven teams could battle down to the last day of the season to decide the TU North title.
Halfway through the year, the Tycobbian East is still a closely-bunched affair with 5 teams in the race... last year's winner Tuckanarra (51-38) has a slight 3-game edge over upstart Red Bluff (48-41), who is surprisingly tied for the second spot in the standings with this year's favorite, South Fork (48-41)... hard to figure?...yes indeed!...because the Red Sox came in sixth in '64, 15 games off the pace and were picked to end up in seventh place this season... clinging close by are fourth place Midway (47-42) and Ozarka (47-42), just 4 games off the pace... High Mesa (45-44), in sixth place, is only 6 games behind... looks like it's going to be an exciting, down-to-the-wire run for the roses in the TU East... the seventh-place Hillsboro Blazers (40-49) will have to wait until the proverbial next year... and you just feel sorry for the fans in East Point (30-59)... for the 8th successive season they will finish near the bottom... the Panthers have come in last 5 times in recent years... the last winning season was in '57... the last TU East title came in '52.
There's also a tight race going on in the Tycobbian South Division, where the perennial also-ran Cape Coral Hurricanes (49-40) are creating a storm... forecast to finish a distant sixth this year, the second place 'Canes are right up there with the big boys, just 2 games back of first place and highly-regarded Southport (51-38)... the last pennant for Cape Coral was in 2041... the last good season was 2047 when they contended for the division crown... the last winning season came in 2059... third place goes Summerland (48-41), only 3 games out... fourth place belongs to Turon (47-42), just 4 games behind the Sun Sox... the Ginza Ninjas (45-44) are playing tough again this year, 6 games behind... will the Karate Kids make another second-half comeback and win it all?... and what's happening in San Alejo?... last year's TU South winner and this year's preseason favorite, the San Alejo Montaneros, are slumbering in sixth place and trail Southport by 8 games... the Arroyo Grande Suns (41-48) are 10 games back in the race, mired in seventh place in the standings and probably won't get much higher... perennial loser Colchester (32-57) is losing again... but there was some optimism for a winning season this year... nope, forget it... just another long, long season for the poor Elites.
And we may have saved the best for last... as usual the best in the west is the Rolling Hills Racers and they just may be the best in the entire Islandian Pro Alliance... they started off slowly in April with an uncharacteristic 13-12 mark, but have righted the ship since and blown the other teams away... the Racers have won the TU West for the last 5 years and have also claimed 2 Pro Cups in '60 and '62... and almost won it last year, but lost in the Pro Cup Finals to IPA champion Claxton in six games... this year the Rolling Hills Racers (57-32) are riding high in the saddle with a 7-game margin over second place Bay St. Clair (50-39)... 9 games better than third place Kenwood (48-41) and 10 games up on the Denton City Redbirds (47-42)... La Claire (44-45) gave the Racers fits last year, but have sunk to fifth place in the standings and 13 games back... Bayview (39-50) and Arlon (39-50) will fight it out for sixth place... and as usual, last place is the private domain of the hapless and hopeless Chicopee Braves (32-57)... I suspect many Native Americans would like for Chicopee to get a new nickname.
2065 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Standings
2065 Tycobbian Union Midseason Standings
