Friday, September 1, 2073
RASCALS, VIGILANTES, VIPERS, TYPHOONS, LOOKING LIKE IPA PENNANT WINNERS... HOWEVER 4 DIVISIONS STILL UP FOR GRABS HEADING INTO SEPTEMBER STRETCH DRIVE
Go with the White River Rascals in the Tycobbian North... yep, many gifted and clairvoyant pundits are already picking them the winner... 3 other division leaders, the Valmara Vipers in the Ruthlandian North, Volusia Vigilantes in the RU West and the reigning Pro Cup titlist Turon Typhoons in the TU South, look to be fairly safe bets to make the Pro Cup playoffs this season... rarely does a team lose that sort of lead in the final month... but it does happen... remember Red Bluff in 2069... the Red Sox flopped badly in September... they blew a 7 and one-half game lead to South Fork.
Rounding the turn and heading into the September stretch drive, White River is far, far ahead with a 19-game bulge over the runner-up Mahaska Haymakers... Volusia is up by 7 and a half games on the Stoner Silver Sox, Turon tops the San Alejo Monteneros by 7 and a half and Valmara is 7 games better than the second place Taranto Tars... but the other 4 divisions are going at it hot-and-heavy in torrid races.
It's a 3-team affair in the Ruthlandian South with one month left in the season... the Crystal Lake Skippers have a 2-game edge on the St. John Crusaders and 2 and a half games on the Valka Blackhawks... the Skippers sizzled in August with a 19-8 mark, while the Crusaders and Blackhawks floundered... St. John fell to 13-14 and Valka was 14-13... starting pitching will be key down the stretch... a slight nod goes to the preseason favorite and last year's flag winner, Valka.
A trio of clubs, Eastshore, Wynnamac and Sugar Valley, are still going at it in the Ruthlandian East race... the Macs posted a great 19-8 in August, the Cotton Kings were 17-11, but the Rattlers slipped to 13-14... Eastshore now is just 1 game ahead of red-hot Wynnamac... and 4 better than slumping Sugar Valley... the teams that get the best pitching will win it... advantage to the Cotton Pickers and the Sundowners.
The South Fork Stallions stayed on top with a great 19-9 run last month, but the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats hung tight with a 17-11 mark, just 3 games behind in the Tycobbian East... it was a so-so August for defending champion Red Bluff... the Red Sox could only muster a 14-14 mark and dropped out of first place, 5 games out... Red Bluff topped the league by 6 games at midseason... the Stallions may have the edge with 3 fine starters in their rotation... the clubs are pretty much even offensively.
The tightest and best race going in the IPA is in the Tycobbian West with 3 teams snarling and grappling with each other... the Bayview Vikings and Kenwood Wildcats are deadlocked for the top spot with the fast-closing Chicopee Braves just 3 games off the pace... the Braves had the best August, compiling a sparkling 18-10 mark... the Vikings went 14-13, while the Wildcats did poorly, going 12-16... Kenwood began the month a game and a half up on Bayview and 8 games ahead of Chicopee... the Braves have very strong pitching, while the Wildcats and Vikings have the bats.
2073 Ruthlandian Union Standings on September 1st
2073 Tycobbian Union Standings on September 1st
