Monday, October 1, 2084
BLOCKBUSTER IPA PLAYOFFS START TOMORROW
There's no rest for the weary. The Islandian Pro Alliance regular season just came to an end and the Pro Cup playoffs get going tomorrow. In first-round action in the Ruthlandian Union it will be LaGrange traveling to Belair Beach and Belle Plaine on the road in Fort Benton. Over in the Tycobbian Union Hartsdale is hosting Turon and Rolling Hills will be in Ozarka to play the Naturals. It is a wide-open affair this season. Any one of five or six clubs could be the IPA Pro Cup champion. That's how closely matched the contenders are. We'll have a new crownholder this year. Last year's winner East Point failed to make the postseason. The Panthers tumbled all the way to 7th place this season.
Four of the IPA divisions were pretty much decided going into September, but the other four went down to the last week of the season to be confirmed. Belair Beach, Fort Benton, Ozarka and Hartsdale clinched early and by good margins. However, it was tight, tense and turbulent for the LaGrange Gators, Belle Plaine Musketeers, Rolling Hills Racers and Turon Typhoons, who were pushed to the hilt to gain a postseason spot. The pressure was indeed intense for Belle Plaine. This is just the second pennant for the Muskies. Their first one came eons ago in 2009.
GATORS GRAB RU NORTH IN 2ND HALF FEAST
Here is a quick recap of the 2084 Islandian Pro Alliance season. In the Ruthlandian North preseason-favored LaGrange Gators stayed near the leaders until August, then shifted it into high gear (35-18) and outlasted rivals Ancona, Far Mountain, Taranto, Valmara. It was an exciting, down-to-the-wire 5-team race. The Gators were the only challenger to have a good month the final month of the season. They snatched the division crown with a 17-10 mark, while the others did not rise to the occasion. A September swoon befell the Jumbos (12-15) and Redhawks (12-15). The Vipers had a decent month 14-13, but it was not good enough.
Last Year's Winner: Far Mountain
Preseason Pick: LaGrange
BEHEMOTH BELAIR BEACH BULLDOZED RU SOUTH
By June the Ruthlandian South race was over. The Belair Beach Sunbirds had a monstrous season and bombed and bamboozled all comers all season long. They tormented other teams with a .285 BA, 890 runs and 178 homers. Belair Beach also had a good mound staff. The Sunbirds won the pennant by 18 games with great hitting and rock-solid pitching. 'Nuff said. The rest of the division never had a chance. It would have been a darn good pennant race if Belair Beach hadn't been in the RU South. Yeah, buddy, the Sunbirds are gonna soar high in the Pro Cup playoffs.
Last Year's Winner: Belair Beach
Preseason Pick: Belair Beach... and in a runaway, too.
MUSKETEERS WIN RU EAST 2ND TIME IN 83 YEARS
Vive les Belle Plaine Musketeers!
All for one and one for all!
They have accomplished a feat that is almost impossible. The hapless and hopeless Belle Plaine Musketeers won another Ruthlandian East pennant and it only took 75 years to do it. The Muskies didn't reach the .500 mark until August, then they went on a 37-17 rampage and copped the division crown by 5 games over stunned and shocked Cold Creek and Eastshore and 6 games better than Wynnamac. The Macs were the defending champ and also the preseason choice. And just where did the sages, scribblers and such pick the Musketeers - 7th place, of course.
Last Year's Winner: Wynnamac
Preseason Pick: Wynnamac
FORT BENTON CANNONS ROAR IN RU WEST
The Fort Benton Cannons were forecast to finish a lackluster 4th in the Ruthlandian West, just barely over the .500 mark. Lo and behold they won it in relatively easy fashion by 8 games over preseason favorite Colfax, 18 games better than 3rd place Middlefield and 19 games up on last year's division winner and Pro Cup finalist Volusia. Fort Benton hung close to the leaders until August and then took command and won going away. The Cannons were 36-19 the final two months of the season. The Black Sox went 29-25, but the Vigilantes fell apart and tumbled out of the race with a dismal 21-33 mark. The Roosters played poorly until midyear. Middlefield finished well with a 33-21 record, but they really never contended.
Last Year's Winner: Volusia
Preseason Pick: Colfax
HARTSDALE HAS ITS WAY IN TU NORTH
The Hartsdale Hellcats have a heck of team with big booming home-run power. They topped the IPA with 230 roundtrippers. Look for them to do very well in the Pro Cup playoffs. The pennant chase didn't last very long in the Tycobbian North. It was a two-team affair in the early going between Hartsdale and Mahaska. The Haymakers couldn't keep up with the Hellcats and dropped out of the race in July at midseason, finally succumbing by 8 games. The Fairfax Frogs were the only other team with a winning record in the division. They came in a distant 3rd, 12 GB.
Last Year's Winner: Hartsdale
Preseason Pick: Fairfax... the Hellcats were a close second.
2ND HALF SURGE WINS TU SOUTH FOR TURON
By August the Tycobbian South had settled down to a 4-team race between Cape Coral, Colchester, Ginza and Turon. The Typhoons went on a tear, posting a 34-21 record the final two months of the season to take the division flag by 3 games over the Hurricanes. The Ninjas wound up in 3rd place, 6 GB. There was a 3-way dead heat between the Arroyo Grande Suns, Colchester Elites and San Alejo Montaneros. Turon could be a dark horse in the Pro Cup playoffs. They have a good all-around club with very good home-run power and good pitching with a good quality starting four and one of the best closers in the IPA. That combination always seems to be successful in the postseason.
Last Year's Winner: Colchester
Preseason Pick: Turon in a 6-team race
OZARKA TAKES COMMAND OF TU EAST AT MIDYEAR
The Ozarka Naturals were favored to capture the Tycobbian East division title in a very close two-team race with the South Fork Stallions. That only lasted until July when the the Nats blitzed everybody in sight with a torrid 21-4 mark. Yep, the race was over. Ozarka soundly toppled the Stallions by 8 games, chalking up a 33-21 record in August and September. No one else was close. All the experts are saying the Naturals will be a big factor in the Pro Cup playoffs. They can do it all. Hit, hit with power, good starters, good bullpen and good defense.
Last Year's Winner: East Point (the Panthers even unexpectedly won the Pro Cup)
Preseason Pick: Ozarka
RACERS TESTED IN TU WEST, STILL THE BEST
This year the Rolling Hills Racers were supposed to win another Tycobbian West crown with ease, but it did not turn out that way. By midseason the Racers were running 3rd to the Bayview Vikings, trailing by 7 games and not looking like a champion. At that point they turned the season around with a 17-8 record and climbed into a tie for the top spot in the standings with the Viks. From then on it was all Rolling Hills. They went 36-19 the rest of the way and garnered the TU West title by 5 games over the Bayview Vikings. The Viks never quit. They also played well in the second half, just not quite as good as the red-hot Racers. Rolling Hills is rock-solid in all respects this season. Look for them to be a potent force in the postseason playoffs. The Racers are dead serious about winning their 11th Pro Cup Trophy. It will be tough. Belair Beach, Ozarka and Hartsdale are very fine clubs, too. This just might be one of the best Pro Cup playoffs ever. Turon and Fort Benton just might be in the mix, too.
Last Year's Winner: Rolling Hills
Preseason Pick: Rolling Hills
2084 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings
2084 Ruthlandian Union Final Team Statistics
