Wednesday, October 2, 2069
ROLLING HILLS, SOUTHPORT AND CLAXTON ARE THE CREME DE LA CREME OF THE IPA IN THIS YEAR'S PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
The cream of the crop and the creme de la creme -- that's the best ways to describe the top choices to win the 2069 Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup this year... perennial powers Rolling Hills, Southport and Claxton are given the best chance of capturing this year's Pro Cup trophy... will there be a surprise champion this year like last year's winner, the Forest City Firebirds?... can Taranto, South Fork or Blue Lake pull off the unexpected?
Probably not... the top three Pro Cup contenders are the Rolling Hills Racers, Southport Sun Sox and Claxton Diamonds... all three clubs have superior offenses compared to the other five challengers... plus they also have better pitching, too.
Only three teams are returning from last year's postseason playoffs... defending Pro Cup champion Forest City did not make the cut this year, but Rolling Hills, Southport and Claxton are back again... they are getting the most support in the Pro Cup polls... the baseball prognosticators and pundits are not giving anyone else a chance to knock off the powerhouses... they are at another talent level than the newcomers.
Opening Day in the 2069 IPA Pro Cup playoffs is Thursday... four games are featured... in Ruthlandian Union first-round action Claxton will host the Taranto Tars at Avalon Stadium and Marston will be at home at Legends Field welcoming the Sligo Rovers... in Tycobbian Union play it will be Rolling Hills entertaining the South Fork Stallions at the Midtown Base Ball Grounds and Blue Lake going on the road to take on the Southport Sun Sox at Pleasure Beach Park... all postseason series are best-four-out-of-seven games... throughout the playoffs the team with the best-regular season record gets the homefield advantage.
Islandian Pro Alliance Pro Cup Poll:
1. Rolling Hills Racers (97-57): the Racers are head-and-shoulders ahead of the other clubs offensively... plus this year they have added some solid pitching... that makes them doubly hard to beat... the Racers just might add its 7th Pro Cup to its trophy collection... they were overall IPA champions in 2029, 2031, 2048, 2060, 2062 and 2067.
2. Southport Sun Sox (95-59): as usual, the Sun Sox are right up there with the Racers... the winner in the Tycobbian Union will probably take the Pro Cup trophy... Southport's pitching can handle the Rolling Hills' attack and put runs on the scoreboard, too... it's always a toss-up when the two powers play... this could be the year the Sun Sox win their 5th Pro Cup... they won it in 2044, 2047, 2065 and 2066.
3. Claxton Diamonds (90-64): the Diamonds are sneaky good... they possess fine pitching and can handle the bats fairly well, too... the offense sets them apart from the rest of the Ruthlandian Union... looks like Claxton will get another shot in the Pro Cup Finals... the Diamonds garnered their only Pro Cup in 2064 when they whipped mighty Rolling Hills in a stirring 7-game series.
4. Taranto Tars (89-65): the Tars whipped some pretty good clubs this year... Taranto was rated fourth in the division in the preseason... they came out of left field to outlast favored Far Mountain, Valmara and LaGrange in the RU North... good pitching, good defense and homers are Taranto's keys to success... the Tars have won the Pro Cup just one time in their history... that was long ago in 2015... Taranto has not grace the Pro Cup playoffs since 2056.
5. South Fork Stallions (84-70)... picked in the preseason poll to finish a distant 3rd to Red Bluff and Tuckanarra, the Stallions overtook several good teams in the TU East with a great September stretch drive... they raced past Red Bluff and Hillsboro... South Fork doesn't have the scoring power or pitching to upend Rolling Hills and Southport... the Stallions have two Pro Cups... 2025 and 2042... they last made the postseason in 2063.
6. Blue Lake Blue Caps (86-68)... forecast to wind up in 6th place this year, Blue Lake came out of the blue in the second half to edge out Hartsdale and Oxford in the TU North... the Blue Caps are not on par with Rolling Hills and Southport at the plate... neither is the pitching quite as good as the Racers and Sun Sox... Blue Lake has only made the postseason playoffs 3 times in its history... the last time they made it was in 2030... that was the season Blue Lake won its only Pro Cup trophy.
7. Marston Nine (88-67): the Nine can't compare to Claxton on the hill, nor with its offense... but it has a chance to make the RU Title Series... it's a first-round toss-up with the Sligo Rovers... Marston has never won the Pro Cup... this is the third time in the last four seasons they have made the playoffs.
8. Sligo Rovers (82-73): the Rovers have a woefully weak offense, but their fine mound staff can carry them in the playoffs... but Sligo has no chance against a team with good bats and good scoring... the Rovers won their only Pro Cup trophy in 2021... however, Sligo has made the playoffs four times in the last six seasons.
Rolling Hills Home Page
Southport Home Page
Claxton Home Page
Taranto Home Page
