Wednesday, April 4, 2074
ONLY VALMARA AND TURON ARE PICKED TO REPEAT AS IPA PENNANT WINNERS
Baseball is back in the Islands... it's season number 74 for the Islandian Pro Alliance... 64 clubs are poised and primed to complete in the beautiful green mansions on the pristine, well-manicured diamonds for baseball supremacy throughout Islandia... if the baseball pundits are right in their preseason predictions there will be only two repeat winners in the Islandian Pro Alliance pennant races in 2074... the Valmara Vipers in the Ruthlandian North Division and the Turon Typhoons in the Tycobbian South Division... new faces could be victorious this season... last year's IPA Pro Cup champion South Fork and Pro Cup finalist Valka may not be back to the postseason according to a poll conducted by
The Islandian Times... but we are not going to be too hasty to write-off last year's powerhouses... they could easily be right back in the postseason once again.
AND AWAY WE GO... Our Boys of Summer are back again in the Islandian Pro Alliance.
Ruthlandian North Division Preseason Preview
Valmara gets the nod in the Ruthlandian North race once again... the Vipers have collected 4 consecutive division crowns and should post another one this season... the only roadblock is the Taranto Tars, who have run second for the last 3 seasons... Valmara is propelled by high-octane hitting with very good home-run power and reasonably-good pitching... top-to-bottom in the batting order the Vipers stand out with the likes of Alex Janicki (.331 BA), Stefan Szymanski (.318 BA), Ricardo Vargas (.308 BA), Jim Diliberto (.282 BA) and Leevi Lindmaa (.274 BA)... Skarzynski homered 32 times and drove in 122 runs, Cyril Kozak went deep 21 times and drove in 89 runs and Lindmaa belted 19 out of the park and batted in 85 runs... Skarzynski has won the Ruthlandian MVP Award the past 2 seasons and was the 2073 Golden Bat... the Viper pitching rotation is paced by Jaromir Kaminski (16-6/3.52 ERA), Andre Zajac (16-10/3.76 ERA) and Cale Abercrombie (13-7/3.76 ERA)... Valmara has a quality bullpen, manned by Milosz Mazur (10-9/3.41 ERA/23 saves/76 games) and Axel Heiden (10-6/2.68 ERA/5 saves/33 games)... the Tars have added two rookie starters, Kim Madison and Wayne McLintock... Taranto already has three fine starters in Marcello Rossi (18-5/2.66 ERA), Gianni Caruso (15-8/3.46 ERA) and Junior Castle (14-10/3.70 ERA)... should Madison and McClinton live up to their potential, that could mean trouble for Valmara... offensively Taranto can't match Valmara batting average-wise, but they can go deep with them... the Tars are sparked by Nicky Battaglia (.253 BA) with 41 homers and 103 RBIs, Leon Buisson (.291 BA) with 27 roundtrippers and 89 RBIs, Ned Stark (.277 BA) with 24 homers and 93 RBIs and Santo Ferrari (.282 BA), 20 dingers and 73 ribbies...the Vipers have added depth to their bench with 3 newcomers position players... it should be a close race... last year Valmara (98-56) beat Taranto (90-64)by 8 games... Valka (95-59) eliminated the Vipers in the RU Title Series 3 games to one... two second-division clubs, last year also-rans, the Ranford Bulls (74-80) are the third choice and the Kilkenny Cats (72-82) are rated the fourth-best squad in the RU North... but neither is expected to challenge the two favored frontrunners, Valmara and Taranto... the Bulls and Cats will end up 10 or more games off the pace.
Ruthlandian South Division Preseason Preview
Last year the Valka Blackhawks (95-59) easily won the Ruthlandian South by 10 games over the Crystal Lake Skippers (85-69)... the Blackhawks are still quite talented and will seeking their 3rd straight division title... when ace pitcher Carlos Santa Ana comes back from injury early in April they will have a rock-solid set of starters... Santa Ana missed most of last season... he was a huge lost and would have made quite a difference in the playoffs... a new rookie shortstop Jimmy Clutterbuck will debut this season at age 22... he is a very good fielder and a quality bat... Clutterbuck is the younger brother of former Rolling Hills pitcher Charley Clutterbuck, who is trying to make a comeback at age 33 with the Blackhawks... he earned a starting role this spring... the baseball prognosticators have made Crystal Lake a slight choice to upset the Blackhawks... rookie hurlers Lloyd Mason and Jesse Calhoon will be the keys... Yet Valka still seems to be the big dog in the division... ranked #3 in the division are the Belair Beach Sunbirds... they might be a contender should the rookie pitcher crop prove to be a good one... newcomers Gary Ryker and Tommy Wolfe will get a shot in the starting rotation... the St. John Crusaders are forecast to finish a distant 4th in the RU South standings... they have a wealth of newcomers... including a two-way player Jared Ezzell... he will play shortstop and also be the #5 starter... the Crusaders will also give 19-year-old southpaw, Reggie Davis, a spot in the starting rotation... he is just a year out of high school.
Ruthlandian East Division Preseason Preview
Perennial RU East power Wynnamac )(91-63) slipped to the runner-up spot last season after winning the division 3 years in a row... Eastshore (96-58) ended the Macs' run by topping them by 5 games... the Marston Nine (75-79) are forecast to run second and third with the Sugar Valley Rattlers (84-70) this year with defending champion Eastshore (96-58) expected to stumble to the fourth spot this year... the Cold Creek Raccoons (64-90) are the 5th choice in the preseason poll... a boat load of rookie talent could move the Raccoons up in the standings... last year's RU East champion, the Eastshore Cotton Kings, still has some solid pitching, but they can't match the Wynnamac Sundowners at the plate... the baseball experts may be on the right track this season.
Wynnamac still has the top staff in the Ruthlandian Union, led by Mick Flanders (18-7/3.38 ERA), Rufus Crafton (14-3/3.16 ERA), Benny Merckx (11-7/3.54 ERA) and closer Nicky Mosley (14-13/4.00 ERA/11 saves/75 games)... the Macs can also put lots of runs on the scoreboard, sparked by Kenny Doncaster (.325 BA), Max Crossman (.322 BA), Kiyo Oshima (.321 BA), Tasmin Beasley (.319 BA), Jamie Glisson (.316 BA) and Jurgen Rainer (.316 BA)... Marston's success depends on 5 rookie additions, one in particular, pitcher Wayne Shafer... he is forecast to blossom this year... 4 long-ball hitters made the squad, too... if they get into the starting lineup and produce, the Nine will do well, otherwise they are overrated... if Don Grady (.253 BA/24 HR/77 RBI), Charley McLaglen (.285 BA/17 HR/90 RBI), Taylor Turnbow (.271 BA/16 HR/75 RBI) and Bingo Crosby (.324 BA/2 HR/43 RBI/102 R/78 SB) can get some offensive help, Marston will thrive... the starting rotation of Galen Busby (11-14/3.63 ERA), Sammy Lasorda (11-9/3.47 ERA), Michael Morris (11-10/3.53 ERA) and Ivan Sywanek (10-10/3.69 ERA) should be better this year... Sugar Valley is coming off a fine season with some solid hurlers... the Rattlers needs a few good bats to go with Elmo Kirkpatrick (.291 BA/29 HR/93 RBI/30 SB) and Bill Blake (.312 BA/20 HR/92 RBI/18 SB).. hard-hitting outfielder John David Crow could be a godsend this season... scouts are projecting him to be a star in the IPA... on the hill Tuffy Hatfield (16-5/3.49 ERA), Tory Tydings (15-7/3.68 ERA), Davy Dutton (14-9/3.89 ERA) and Buddy Blanchard (12-13/3.80 ERA) can take them to the next level... they just need better run support... when it comes to pitching Eastshore is still in the ball game with the likes of Lucien Dillingham (17-5/3.39 ERA), Alyasha Kanjorsky (17-6/2.93 ERA), Vinnie Harrington (14-6/2.97 ERA0 and Eric Steinhardt (12-10/3.32 ERA)... all of them are still around... at the plate and on the scoreboard Alec Lauricella (.288 BA/29 HR/112 RBI) and Hugo Cieka (.247 BA/23 HR/116 RBI) may get some help from rookie third baseman Rodney Reeson, who batted .400 this spring and won a spot in the lineup on opening day... I just don't see the Cotton Kings dropping to 4th place... they still have the talent to keep pace with Wynnamac.
Ruthlandian West Division Preseason Preview
The wild, wild Ruthlandian West is in great flux this season... the baseball crystal ballers have surprisingly named the Forest City Firebirds (71-83) the top team in the pennant race... the Firebirds came in 6th last year, a whopping 18 games behind the RU West titlist, Volusia (89-65)... and the V's supposedly will come in near the bottom this season... Volusia falls short on the hill, but still can sting the baseball... not many teams in the IPA can post a lineup with hitters like Dante De Jesus (.341 BA/8 HR/80 RBI), Valentino Robles (.328 BA/22 HR/95 RBI), Lenny Larker (.325 BA/15 HR/80 RBI/Raul Bernardo (.314 BA/18 HR/89 RBI), Benito Santana (.290 BA/12 HR/87 RBI) and Gail Scott (.277 BA/12 HR/77 RBI)... should 3 rookie starters come through, Volusia will be up near the top of the RU West standings and nowhere near 7th place... Randy Burkett, Vance Orosco and Bonifacio Soares will be the key to the season.... capable vets Tim Cayton (17-3/3.53 ERA), Nobuo Ojima (15-12/4.02 ERA) and Nickie Acosta (11-10/3.23 ERA) will still be the core of the mound staff... don't give up on the Vigilantes just yet... admittedly, the Ruthlandian West is a wide-open division that top-to-bottom is fairly close compared to other divisions around the IPA... every club in the RU West won at least 70 games last year... it looks like more of the same this year... the Sligo Rovers (79-75) and Stoner Silver Sox (71-83) are slated to be better this year, rated the #2 and #3 teams... Colfax (82-72) comes in as the #4 team... last season the Black Sox finished in the runner-up spot, 7 games behind pennant-winning Volusia... the second-division teams are not far back of the top teams... it looks like anything could happen in the chaotic Ruthlandian West this season.
Forest City will be interesting... they have a two-way player, 6-foot-7 rookie Big Jim Gentile, who will be the #1 starter and also bat in the cleanup spot and play first base... the Firebirds are forecast to have the best staff in the RU West this year... their offense is rated up with the best teams, too... Forest City has two high-quality starters with Bruno Baptista (15-8/2.91 ERA) and Skippy Simmons (10-4/2.20 ERA)... if Gentile plays the way the baseball world thinks, it will be a good season for the Firebirds... Gentile will help them on the mound and at the plate... the most productive bats for the Firebirds are Leland Carmack (.252 BA/19 HR/95 RBI), Vernon Yaxley (.279 BA/18 HR/88 RBI) and Roy Monroe (.287 BA/17 HR/65 RBI)... Stoner's staff will have to carry the Rovers... the offense is lacking... only center fielder Albie McGlone and first sacker Jordy Olsen are a legitimate threat with the bat... look for outfielder J.D. Parmelee to blossom this season... 4 new rookie starters are set to blossom in Sligo... pitcher Andrew Saul may be the real McCoy... if he and the three other newcomers like Kenny Landis, Denny Morgan and Dwayne Chamberlain can do a quality job in the rotation, good things will happen... the Rovers will be back into pennant contention... Stoner (71-83) was tied with Forest City last year for the 6th spot... they cleaned house on the hill... the Silver Sox are banking their hopes on 3 rookie hurlers, Bobby West, Coby Sessions and Keddy Berghoff... the Silver Sox are way short on power, but they do make lots of contact, paced by bunch of fine hitters like Mariano Rodrigues (.339 BA), Brayden Earwood (.339 BA), Koy Magruder (.317 BA), Tony Bellina (.312 BA), Billy Burbank (.307 BA) and Lenny Clements (302 BA)... the Colfax Black Sox can still hit the ball, led by superstar right fielder Lanny Waldrep (.286 BA/34 Hr/99 RBI), rock-solid first sacker Bralen Josephson (.335 BA/15 HR/89 RBI) and center fielder Art Pecue (.328 BA/10 HR/69 RBI)... the Black Sox are hoping get vast improvement on the mound from newcomers Ed Franz, Herm Fredrickson and Eliot Fordham... they already have one of the best in the IPA in ace Tavish Fitzroy (18-10/2.63 ERA), but he needs an abundance of help... if the new arms produce, look for Colfax to do well again this season in the RU West.
2073 Final Ruthlandian Union Standings
2074 Preseason Predictions
