Monday, September 30, 2080
LOTS OF JOY IN THE ISLANDS, 8 TEAMS QUALIFY FOR THE PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
Yes, indeed, there is lots and lots of joy, jubilation and celebration all across Islandia... the Islandian Pro Alliance just finished its 80th season... 8 towns are estatic, but there is sorrow in some of the other 56 communities... especially in Eastshore, Turon and Ozarka where they came up a wee bit short of making the Pro Cup playoffs... the Cotton Kings lost to Wynnamac in the Ruthlandian East by only 2 games and the Typhoons fell to Arroyo Grande in TU South by 3 games... the saddest end of all was Ozarka, who wound up just one game behind TU East titlist East Point... another hard-luck story was the long-suffering Arlon Champions... they fought Kenwood all season long in the TU West, but finally succumbed by 7 games... it's been several decades since Arlon made the postseason playoffs and 15 years since they had a winning record.
And away we go!
Let recap the 2080 IPA season
IPA 8 DIVISION CHAMPIONS
The Ruthlandian Union Division champions this year were the Ranford Bulls, Crystal Lake Skippers, Wynnamac Sundowners and Sligo Rovers... the Tycobbian Union Division victors were the White River Rascals, Arroyo Grande Suns, East Point Panthers and Kenwood Wildcats.
The IPA Pro Cup Playoffs start tomorrow with Wynnamac traveling to Ranford to begin the best-of-seven series and Sligo hosting Crystal Lake in the Ruthlandian First Round... in the Tycobbian First Round it will be Kenwood going to Arroyo Grande and East Point entertaining White River.
The baseball prophets see it all end like this: Crystal Lake will win the Ruthlandian Union and be victorious over Kenwood, champion of the Tycobbian Union for the treasured Pro Cup Trophy... the Skippers have won it 4 times in history, while the Wildcats have captured it only once.
2080 IPA Pro Cup Poll By The Islandian Times
1. Crystal Lake (96-58) - The Skippers won in it in 2074... have done well in recent years... good hitting, good power, good pitching and good defense... this could be the Year of the Sailors in the IPA... in 15 appearances they have 4 Pro Cup Trophies so far...
2. Kenwood (93-61) - The best thing the Wildcats have going for them - they wrestled the TU West title from the 2079 Pro Cup champion, the Rolling Hills Racers... Kenwood is a well-balanced club and a serious threat to win the whole shebang this year... the Wildcats captured their only Pro Cup years ago in 2014... this year will be the 14th time Kenwood has been in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs.
3. White River (92-62) - The Rascals can score, hit with power and have quality pitching... should go deep into the playoffs... this will be White River's 17th quest for the legendary IPA Pro Cup Trophy... the Rascals have never won it, however, the have come close four times... they lost in the Pro Cup Finals in 2021, 2049, 2050 and 2055... it's about time for White River to win it.
4. Ranford (102-52) - The Bulls racked up 102 victories this season, best in the IPA, and easily ran away with the RU North by an ungodly 18 games... power and pitching go a long way in the playoffs... yeah, buddy, Ranford has it... the baseball experts are bullish on the Bulls... Radford won their only Pro Cup in 2040.... the Bulls are appearing for the 11th time in the postseason.
5. Sligo (96-58) - The Rovers always do well on the mound, but they come up short at the plate... twice in recent years, Sligo did well in the playoffs, reaching the Pro Cup Finals in '75 and going to the Ruthlandian Title Round in '78...overall, Sligo has made the IPA playoffs on 18 occasions... if the Rovers can put some runs on the scoreboard, they will do well this year... Sligo snared its only Pro Cup Trophy in 2021.
6. Wynnamac (91-63) - The Sundowners were the 2076 Pro Cup champions... they made the playoffs in 2078... they are playoff proven with many of the same bats in the lineup that they had in '76... success will depend on the pitchers they have this year... they had them in '76 and nabbed the overall IPA crown... however, it's a new mound crew this year... the Macs have previously garnered 4 Pro Cups... this marks the 24th year Wynnamac is in the playoffs.
7. East Point (92-62) - The Panthers are one of the great IPA stories this season... they have been pathetic for decades... and I mean bad with a capital B... the last pennant was in 2052... East Point went from the outhouse to the penthouse this year... they were dead last with a 69-85 mark last season... the terrific turnaround was fostered by fine pitching... the Panthers don't have the hitting and scoring to contend for the Pro Cup Trophy this year, but it sure is great to see them in the playoffs... glory hallelujah for the dregs of IPA society... the Panthers previously appeared in the postseason 8 time... East Point has never won a Pro Cup... but they did make the Pro Cup Finals in 2033... they lost to the Elnora All-Stars in 7 games... this is their 9th time to make the Pro Cup playoffs.
8. Arroyo Grande (87-67) - The Suns are another hopeless and hapless franchise... this is the first time in eons that Arroyo Grande graced the postseason... not since long ago and faraway in 2024 have the Suns won a TU South pennant... Arroyo Grande is a great story, too, but they won't go far in the playoff this year... but thank goodness, the Suns made it this season... it's good for baseball... the Suns are still seeking their first-ever IPA crown... this will be their 6th postseason attempt... would love to see the Suns shine brightly in the Pro Cup playoffs and win it all... yeah, buddy, that would be something special.
2080 Ruthlandian Union Season Recap
It was only close for a little while in the Ruthlandian North Division... the Ranford Bulls won it in a rout... last year's pennant winner Valmara and Taranto offered some opposition until midseason and then they faded... the Vipers lost out by 18 games, the Tars by 20... preseason favorite LaGrange never really challenged and slumbered in at the fourth spot, 21 games behind the Bulls.
The Crystal Lake Skippers took command right from the start in April in the RU South pennant chase... they scatted to the top of the heap right away with a 20-3 record and were never really challenged... the Sailors were up by 9 games in June and never looked back... this was their third flag in 7 seasons... Valka was a distant second 9 games out with San Dimas and Grand City even further back in third place, trailing by a whopping 19 games... Crystal Lake has won the division for the last two years and were picked to repeat in the preseason poll.
Ruthlandian East winner Wynnamac began the season sluggishly below .500, standing 6th in the standings on May 1st... Eastshore and Cold Creek ranked near the top until midseason... the Raccoons swooned and dropped out of the race... it became a two-team tango the rest of the way with the Macs and Cotton Kings slugging out right to the end of the season... Wynnamac held off Eastshore in September and snagged the division crown by a 2-game margin... the Cotton Kings were the preseason pick... last year's flag winner Elnora wound up in third place, 10 GB... Cold Creek and Beechwood tied for the fourth spot, 16 games off the pace.
6 teams, Colfax, Middlefield, Sligo, Fort Benton, Stoner and Forest City, contended until August... then the Sligo Rovers went on a 22-3 rampage and surged ahead by 9 games... the race was over... the Rovers were the preseason choice and they won it going away by 12 games over runner-up and last year's champion Fort Benton... Stoner was third, 14 games back... Volusia and Middlefield tied for fourth, 20 GB.
2080 Tycobbian Union Season Recap
There was good competition in the Tycobbian North race most of the season... White River took charge in April and was never headed... however, Luxora, last year's winner Mahaska and Oxford stayed within striking distance until September, but never really pressed them... the Rascals were the preseason favorite and they came through... at season's end, the Zorros were 6 games behind White River, Mahaska came in 10 games off the pace and Oxford was 12 games back.
Three clubs, Turon, Arroyo Grande and Cape Coral, tussled for the league lead until August, when the Typhoons got hot, the Suns cooled off and the Hurricanes lost power and blew themselves out of the race... preseason-favored and last year's champ Turon had a 6-game bulge going into the final month of the season, September... that's when Arroyo Grande surged to 17-8, the Typhoons swooned to 9-16 and the Suns won the TU South flag by 3 games... mighty Turon had fallen... the Typhoons won the pennant 8 times in the last 10 years... Cape Coral went 16-36 the final two months of the season, yet still came in tied for third place with the Southport Sun Sox and Ginza Ninjas, all 7 games behind Arroyo Grande.
5 teams engaged in the Tycobbian East pennant chase until the halfway mark... East Point, Ozarka, Tuckanarra, Midway and High Mesa... the Tucks, Wolves and Buckaroos tumbled to the wayside beginning in July, leaving the pennant race to the Panthers and the Naturals... it was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way with East Point going 29-23 and Ozarka 28-25... the Panthers pulled it out by a single, solitary game and won their first TU East pennant in 28 years... the poor Nats have not made the playoffs since 2040... but it was great to see two perpetual losers have a shot at a tad of glory this season... it's a shame they both couldn't have won it... Tuckanarra wound up in the third spot, 13 games behind... Midway ended up fourth in the standings, 17 games out... and High Mesa fifth, trailing by 18 games.
There was another warm-and-fuzzy, feel-good story in the Islandian Pro Alliance this season -- it was the Arlon Champions -- for the first time in 15 years they had a winning record and a darn good one to boot, 86-68... and for the first time in two decades they were in the hunt for TU West title and a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs... Arlon was picked to finish seventh in the preseason prognostications... Denton City was the top choice in the preseason poll to be the best in the TU West this season... the Bayview Vikings and the reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Racers were the second and third picks... Arlon began the season near the bottom... then things began to jell... the Champions were in contention by June with 7 other clubs, all within 5 games of one another... by midseason Arlon and Kenwood were deadlocked for the top spot... the rest of the teams would soon do a June swoon and fall out of contention.. the Champs played pretty well the rest of the year posting a 41-37 mark, but the Wildcats were the better ball club and put up a sparkling 48-33 record to cop the TU West Division title by 7 games over the fiesty and very game Arlon Champions... sure would have been a magical season in the IPA to have Arlon, East Point and Ozarka in the postseason playoffs... yeah, buddy, that would have put a nice touch on a wonderful season... maybe, East Point can still win the Pro Cup... yep, that would be mighty nice... Rolling Hills came in third, 10 GB and Bayview ended up fourth, 19 GB.
2080 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings and Team Statistics
