Friday, September 30, 2078
5 CLUBS RETURN TO IPA PRO CUP PLAYOFFS - TURON PICKED TO PREVAIL
Ah... that precious time of the year is back in the Islands... the blistering dog days of Summer are gone, chilled down by the soft cooling breezes from the Southern Sea... Islandian Pro Alliance playoff time is here... 8 division winners vying for the prized 2078 IPA Pro Cup Trophy... reigning king South Fork, Turon, Kenwood, Hartsdale and Kilkenny are back once again, along with newcomers St. John, Wynnamac and Sligo... Turon tops all comers with 5 Pro Cups... South Fork has 4... Wynnamac 4... Hartsdale 2... and Kenwood 1... poor Kilkenny and St. John have never won the beloved trophy... but the Cats and Crusaders are not alone... 30 IPA franchises have never tasted the thrill of winning the IPA Pro Cup... Rolling Hills is the all-time leader with 8 Pro Cups.
According to the Island baseball forecasters this year's champion will be the Turon Typhoons... they were last year's choice, but they fell to eventual champion South Fork in the Tycobbian Union title series... the Stallions are rated the second-best team in the postseason... Kenwood is third and Sligo number four.
The Islandian Pro Alliance playoffs begin tomorrow afternoon... all rounds are best-of-seven series.
IPA Ruthlandian Union First Round:
St. John (Reggie Davis 14-8, 3.59 ERA) at Sligo (Major Rowling 13-3, 2.46 ERA)
Wynnamac (Noel Arboneaux 14-7, 3.21 ERA) at Kilkenny (Jeff Kennon 14-11, 2.25 ERA)
IPA Tycobbian Union First Round:
Hartsdale (Wayne Wolfe 15-12, 2.86 ERA) at Turon (Clete Engstrom 17-6/3.09 ERA)
South Fork (Mitch Hynes 16-9, 2.66 ERA) at Kenwood (Davis Hickerson 20-4, 1.87 ERA)
2078 IPA Pro Cup Preview
1. TURON TYPHOONS (100-54)
You name it and the Typhoons have it... no weakness except for the loss of their fine leadoff man and center fielder Eliott Carleton... for the second straight season he will miss the playoffs due to injury... Carleton is a career .320 hitter... star outfielder Robert Hazle will again lead the offense, while Clete Engstrom and Wyatt Quinlan will head up the solid rotation... this is Turon's 28th postseason appearance.
2. South Fork Stallions (90-64)
The Stallions can handle the bats... have good pitching... but come up short on defense... another problem is the loss of the ace pitcher Mick Flanders... he will not play in the postseason this year due to an arm injury... South Fork won the Pro Cup last year and has most of the same roster back again... the Stallions added pitcher Sonny James and rookie second baseman A.C. DeRouen... just might be a better club this year... 2-time Tycobbian MVP shortstop Carroll Ezzell and star center fielder Carroll Coxe are back to lead them.
3. Kenwood Wildcats (90-64)
The Wildcats have a dynamite staff of starters, but may be troubled on occasion in the bullpen... Davis Henderson led them with a 20-4 mark and a 1.87 ERA, the best in the IPA... otherwise they can play with all of the big boys in the playoffs... Kenwood doesn't hit a lot of homers, but they still can put runs on the scoreboard... it will take a good team to get by the Wildcats... two of the prime Pro Cup challengers, South Fork and Kenwood meet in first-round action.
4. Sligo Rovers (87-68)
Sligo's strength is on the hill... Major Rowling and Andrew Saul are tough competitiors... the bullpen is one of the best in the IPA... however, the Rovers suffer on defense and at the plate... teams have to score runs to win the IPA Pro Cup... it is rare for a team with just pitching to win it all... Wynnamac and St. John may be tough to beat in the Ruthlandian Union with their fairly good offenses... Sligo opens up in round one with weak-hitting Kilkenny... neither of them have much of an attack... but they can certainly pitch.
5. Wynnamac Sundowners
The Macs are the best hitting team in the IPA, along with the St. John Crusaders, their opponent in round one of the playoffs... and they play very good defense... however, neither possesses a strong pitching staff... 'nuff said... neither will win the Pro Cup this year... they will go as far as their pitching takes them.
6. St. John Crusaders (85-72)
St. John will need starters Reggie Davis and Jalen Abercrombie to take it to another level for them to take the Pro Cup... plus the bullpen will also have to produce... the Crusaders can sock the ball and score runs... another shortcoming for St. John is defense... too many errors... however, the Crusaders can cover up a lot of problems with their rock-solid batting order... it's a tough one top to bottom.
7. Kilkenny Cats (90-64)
The Cats might have the best pitching staff in the IPA, but they are near the bottom when it comes to putting runs on the scoreboard... Jeff Kennon and Jethro Firestone would have to pitch lights out for them to take the Pro Cup... the other two starters would have to do it, too... nope, it's not likely to happen.
8. Hartsdale Hellcats (82-72)
Hartsdale comes into the postseason playoffs with the worst record of the 8 division winners... the Hellcats don't hit well and they have so-so starters with a good bullpen... but they play real good defense... that combination will not win a Pro Cup... solid bats and solid pitching will win Pro Cups... that's what Turon has... what South Fork has... and what Kenwood has.