Thursday, October 14, 2077
KILKENNY, ELNORA, TURON, SOUTH FORK - LAST TEAMS STANDING IN IPA PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
Four IPA powers have gotten one round closer to a much-desired IPA Pro Cup Trophy... playing for the Ruthlandian Union crown will be the Kilkenny Cats with no Pro Cups hosting the Elnora Clippers at Smithwick Stadium this Saturday afternoon... the Clippers won its only Pro Cup in 1933... it will be Pro Cup favorite Turon putting out the welcome mat for the South Fork Stallions in the Tycobbian Union Finals... the Typhoons have enjoyed much success over the years with 5 Pro Cups, second most in the IPA... only Rolling Hills has more with 8 IPA crown jewels... the Stallions have done well with 3 IPA titles... Turon won most recently in 2072, while South Fork captured it in 2073.
The Islands baseball Pro Cup experts are giving the advantage to their top choice to take the Pro Cup this year, the Turon Typhoons... in The Islandian Times Pro Cup Poll Kilkenny was ranked 2nd, followed by South Fork in the 5th spot and Elnora came in 6th... number 3 Valka and number 4 La Claire were eliminated in the first round.
Turon tamed number 7 pick Hartsdale 4 games to 1... South Fork easily topped 3rd-ranked La Claire in a 4-game sweep ... Kilkenny just barely beat number 8 Fort Benton 4 games to 3 in a miracle comeback from a 3-1 deficit... and Elnora put away the 4th choice Valka Blackhawks in a tense 7-game affair.
Tycobbian Union Title Series Outlook:
Turon has fine pitching, average defense,a good offense and decent home-run power... two 20-game winners All-Star Wyatt Quinton (23-9/2.21 ERA) and Clete Engstrom (20-8/2.78 ERA) lead the way... All-Star Billy Pearl (15-7/2.95 ERA) is also a very fine starter... the team posted a very good 3.27 ERA this season, third-best in the Tycobbian Union behind Midway (3.16 ERA) and Hartsdale (3.25 ERA)... the Typhoons bullpen may be suspect... Corky Apple (.315 BA/3 HR/38 RBI), Artie Falcon (.301 BA/12 HR/88 RBI), Robert Hazle (.275 BA/23 HR/100 RBI), Robert Newell (283 BA/12 HR/60 RBI) and Joe Don Goldsmith (.284 BA/8 HR/81 RBI) give them a solid core of hitters... it's a shame that injured All-Star CF Eliott Carleton will miss the entire playoffs... he only played 88 games, hit .341 with 64 runs and 57 SB... it should be a hotly-contested series... South Fork has a lot going for it: fine pitching (3.41 ERA), strong bullpen, very good defense (.978 FA) and fair power (115 HR)... Mick Flanders (21-8/2.76 ERA) is their ace... Mitch Hynes (14-9/2.99 ERA) and Russ Redford (7-7/2.93 ERA) are fine starters, too... Ron Halloran (15-10/3.30 ERA/71 games/14 saves) and Billy Lake (6-4/3.10 ERA/40 games/10 saves) are excellent relievers... offensively the Stallions have All-Star Carroll Ezzell (.336 BA/9 HR/70 RBI), Carroll Coxe (.291 BA/27 HR/121 RBI) and Raimar Ravn (.247 BA/19 HR/73 RBI) heading up their batting order... this will be a 7-game series... give Turon the slight edge... its run-scoring ability is better than South Fork... the Typhoons have a few more good hitters... Turon (97-57) had the best record in the IPA this season... South Fork was 88-60.
Ruthlandian Union Title Series Outlook:
The Kilkenny Cats can outdo Elnora in home-run power, starting pitching and in the bullpen... the Cats also play excellent defense (.980 FA)... Kilkenny doesn't hit for much average (.256 BA), but they hit 134 out of the ballpark, the best of the Final 4 teams... the Cats strong point is its pitching, which was first in the IPA (3.01 ERA)... All-Star Mervin Breckenridge (17-10/2.82 ERA), All-Star Jethro Firestone (20-10/2.37 ERA) and Dante Steelman (16-11/3.37 ERA) are a formidable trio... plus Jeff Kennon is a strong closer (16-8/2.58 ERA/55 games/8 saves)... Linus Wright (12-3/3.08 ERA/55 games/13 saves) also gives them good bullpen depth... the Kilkenny attack is led by Errol Paxton (.271 BA/27 HR/91 RBI), Claude Millican (.262 BA/20 HR/78 RBI) and Maxie Langhurst (.283 BA/16 HR/53 RBI)... Elnora probably has the best attack (.270 BA) among the league semi-finalists, sparked by All-Star Ronald Bayless (.374 BA/15 HR/88 RBI), Andre Langdon (.314 BA/17 HR/105 RBI) Eamon Carwell (.292 BA/5 HR/68 RBI) and Troy Young (.283 BA/10 HR/66 RBI)... the Clippers have capable starters in Javis Packham (17-9/3.34 ERA), Hamilton Burger (16-7/3.58 ERA) and Hawk Templeton (16-13/3.77 ERA)... the bullpen is a little above average with Jerry Burwyn (16-10/3.90 ERA) and Johnny McQuillen (9-4/2.81 ERA/44 games/13 saves), but not much depth... this series will also be 6 or 7 games... the teams are evenly matched... good pitching usually beat good batting... so give the edge to the Kilkenny Cats... Kilkenny was 93-61 in the regular season... the Cats were the only other team besides Turon to win 90 games this year... Elnora was 86-68.