Tuesday, October 18, 2067
RH RACERS FAVORED OVER FM REDHAWKS IN PRO CUP SERIES
6 of the 8 Islandian Pro Alliance division champions have been eliminated from the postseason playoffs... only 2 remain... the #2 pick, the Rolling Hills Racers, and the #5 choice, the Far Mountain Redhawks, have survived the two intense rounds... and even they are fortunate to be here... both of them had to recover from dire 3-1 deficits to reach the 2067 IPA Pro Cup Series... that is something that rarely occurs in baseball.
Rolling Hills is making its 6th trip to the Pro Cup Finals, while Far Mountain has made it this far on 5 occasions... the Racers have won 5 Pro Cups in its 6 attempts, winning in '29, '31, '48, '60, '62 and losing it in '64... the Redhawks have prevailed 3 times in 5 tries... they captured it three years running in '11, '12 and '13... and lost it in '09 and '38.
Rolling Hills has appeared 3 times in the last 7 seasons and triumphed twice... the Racers won the IPA crown in 2060 and 2062 and came up short in 2064... the Redhawks haven't been here since 2038... and haven't won it since winning it 3 straight years from 2011 to 2013.
Who's going to prevail in this year's Pro Cup Series?... you have to say that Rolling Hills is the odds-on favorite... the Racers can really hit the ball and score runs... the only way to beat them is to have two ace pitchers that can handle them and then get a good start out of one of the other starters... that's how the Claxton Diamonds beat them in the 2064 Pro Cup Series in 7 games... that's what it takes to triumph over Rolling Hills... you also have to have a fairly good offense, too.
The Far Mountain Redhawks are a formidable foe for Rolling Hills... they proved that by upsetting this year Pro Cup pick, Claxton, in the first round... Axel Heiden, Rick Goldman and Clarence Threadgill shut down the Diamonds and won the series in a 7-game affair... they will be key in the Rolling Hills series... good bullpen work from Dylan O'Connor, Jeffrey Chandler and Linc Christopher will also be necessary... plus the Redhawks will have to hit the ball, too... Far Mountain swept a very good Marston club in the RU Finals... they did it with their offense and bullpen... the Redhawk batting order is chocked full of longballers and they could be a real challenge for the Rolling Hills pitching corps... Luke Hazlett, Mack McKendry, Curt Miley and Jeffrey Garlin are a dangerous bunch of bats... they have hit 11 homers in the postseason games... the hot-hitting Racers have belted 12 out of the park in the playoffs, batted .301 and scored 66 runs in 13 games... that's why they are favored to take home this year's Pro Cup trophy... the Redhawks have tallied 59 runs in 11 games with a .269 BA... the Racers' batting order is fearsome and scary... they have 8 All-Stars in the lineup.
The key element for Rolling Hills will be their bullpen... they have not done very well in the postseason so far... the Racers will need starters Clay Callaghan, Charley Clutterbuck, Jordy Wales and Durrell MacLeod to go very deep into the game... the Rolling Hills bullpen has been susceptible to home runs this postseason... in fact, roundtrippers have been a problem for the starters, too... relievers Brownie Ashmore and Chris Malbrough will have to do well... Hillsboro and San Alejo went deep 10 times... their bullpen has hurt them each year in the playoffs... the less they are call on, the better... Rolling Hills has suffered greatly in the past decade in the playoffs because of its weak bullpen and mediocre starters... this year they have pretty good starters, somewhat better than in the past... Callaghan, Clutterbuck and Wales have performed well in the playoffs this year.
2067 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Series Outlook:
The powerful bats of the Rolling Hills Racers will prevail... good starting pitching will help, too... the Racers will edge out Redhawks in 7 games... it should be a dandy.
