ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS) - Page 173

Eugene Church · 02-23-2013, 03:57 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 20, 2035

Tycobbia Rallies Past Ruthlandian Stars 6-5
For the third time in four years and sixth time in the last eight IPA All-Star Games the Tycobbian Stars have prevailed over Ruthlandia's best and finest... at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills this season they rallied from a 4-0 deficit with a 4-run sixth, highlighted by Charley Kota's game-tying 3-run rap... then won it 6-5 in the eighth when 2 runs scored on a critical error by third baseman Jason Butler, who let a grounder get through his legs... The TU All-Stars now lead the series 24-11.

Both clubs collected 13 hits each... 1B Kurt Gustavsen (Chicopee) and C Corky DiNozzo (Kenwood) socked 2 hits apiece to top the winners, while C Angelo Rossi (Taranto) was a perfect 3-for-3 for the RU... and 3B Jason Butler (Belair Beach), LF Noel Martin (Belle Plaine) and RF Felipe Henriques (Volusia) all chipped in with 2 hits each... Kota (Chicopee) got the game MVP award with his 3 RBIs... SS James Couch (Elnora) paced Ruthlandia with a 2-run two-bagger.

Bobby Reid (Tuckanarra) registered the win despite giving up the lead run in the top of the 8th... relievers Frankie Quinn (Blue Lake) and Frank Jankowski (San Alejo) saved it for him with scoreless innings in the eight and ninth... Jeremy Blanchard (Sugar Valley) was charged with the loss.

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 07:22 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, August 1, 2035

Stretch Drive Begins In IPA
The 2035 Islandian Pro Alliance season is now down to the final six weeks of the campaign. It's crunch time for all of the contending clubs. Four of the divisions are pretty much decided, but there are four others that might go down-to-the-wire. Waleska has an 11-game edge in the Ruthlandian South, but the other three pennant races are still up-in-the-air. In the RU North the LaGrange Sports have a scant one-game lead over Far Mountain and 4 better than Kilkenny. Glasco and Taranto have outside chances of winning, but trail by 7 and 8 games respectively. In the RU East, it's a battle between Elnora and Sugar Valley. The All-Stars have a 3-game lead on the Rattlers going into the last weeks. The Volusia Vigilantes are on top of the RU West by 2 games over Colfax. The Sligo Rovers and Forest City Lumberjacks are within striking distance at 6 and 7 games off the pace.

Over in the western part of Islandia, the Tycobbian Union really only has one pennant chase in progress. That's in the TU North where Fairfax has a one-game edge over the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills. Still in the hunt are third place Mahaska and Hartsdale, 6 games behind. San Alejo locked up the TU South long ago and is 14 games ahead of runner-up Colchester. The Tuckanarra Blue Jays have a fairly safe 9-game bulge in the TU East and the Chicopee Braves are 8 games in front in the TU West.

Ruthlandian Union Standings and Team Statistics

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 08:13 PM

Ruthlandian Union Standings and Team Statistics

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 08:19 PM

Tycobbian Union Standings and Team Statistics

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 08:23 PM

Tycobbian Union Standings and Team Statistics

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 09:00 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, September 1, 2035

Tight Races In Only 3 IPA Divisions
With only two weeks remaining, there are only three races still in doubt in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The other five divisions, barring any late-season collapses or red-hot runs, should end up the way they are going into the final days of the season. In the Ruthlandian Union two of the divisions are still much in doubt. The RU East is a two-team tussle with Sugar Valley possessing a one-game margin on the Elnora All-Stars with 15 games left on the schedule. In the wild RU West it's a 5-team battle. Volusia hold a 2-game lead over Colfax, 3 games over Sligo and Fort Benton, who are deadlocked for third place, and 4 games ahead of fifth-place Forest City. The LaGrange Sports pulled away from Kilkenny and Far Mountain in August and soared way ahead with a 10-game edge in the RU North. The Waleska Westerners are far ahead in the RU South, leading runner-up St. John by 12 games.

In the Tycobbian Union Fairfax and defending Pro Cup titleholder North Hills are still running neck-and-neck in the TU North, separated by just one game. That's the only race still in question. With a 13-game lead San Alejo will soon cinch in the TU South. Likewise for Chicopee in the TU West, which has an 11-game edge. Tuckanarra looks like it will coast in the TU East with its 7-game lead over second place Ozarka.

Eugene Church · 02-24-2013, 09:22 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 14, 2035

RU East, RU West And TU North Still In Doubt
Two IPA divisions will like go down to the last day of the season and a third could possible end that way, too. Elnora has a one-game lead over Sugar Valley with three to go in the RU East. It's even more hectic in the RU West where Volusia has a precarious one-game lead over Colfax, 2 ahead of Fort Benton and 3 up on Sligo. In the Tycobbian Union, Fairfax has just about put last year's Pro Cup champ North Hills away with a 3-game edge - one more win by the Frogs or one more loss for the Hawks will decide the issue.

All the other races have been decided. LaGrange reigned supreme in the RU North and Waleska conquered the RU South in easy fashion. The Sports won by 7 games over Far Mountain and the Westerners prevailed over St. John by a dozen games. The Tycobbian division champions all won by decisive, double-digit margins. San Alejo took the TU South by 17 games, Tuckanarra won the TU East by 12 games and Chicopee conquered the TU West by 10 games.

Eugene Church · 02-25-2013, 08:28 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

IPA Batting Crowns Awarded To RU's Richard And TU's Gustavsen
Only a smidge separated first from second in the IPA batting derbies this season. The Ruthlandian title went to Neil Richard of the Eastshore Elegants and the Tycobbian king was Kurt Gustavsen of the Chicopee Braves. Richard nudged out Waleska's Loco Dillinger by less the two-tenths of a point and Gustavsen got the best of his teammate Alfredo Cobos by one point.

In a tense duel Richard edged out Dillinger .33089 to .33066. Richard collected 181 hits in 547 trips to the plate for a .331 average. The 21-year-old Eastshore right fielder captured his second successive RU batting crown. Last year he batted a lofty .376. Richard had 27 doubles, 1 triple, 20 homers, 97 RBIs and scored 80 runs in 140 games. For his three years in the IPA Richard is a career .332 hitter.

Cobos missed the last three weeks of the season because of injury. Gustavsen had to go 3-4 on the last day to beat him. First baseman Gustavsen hit .346 to .345 for Cobos. The 29-year-old Gustavsen notched 182 hits for Chicopee with 28 doubles, 2 triples, 23 home runs, drove in 108 runs and tallied 71 runs in 142 games. After nine years with the Braves Gustavsen sports a .308 lifetime batting average with 177 roundtrippers.

Superstar Dillinger put up another outstanding season with 36 homers and 113 runs batted in in 139 games. Third in the RU batting race was Rocky Rapids shortstop Kelvin Cassidy, who hit .326. Cassidy copped the crown in 2033.

Tycobbian runner-up Cobos hammered 22 home runs and batted in 88 with a .345 BA. In the third spot was North Hills' great left fielder Adam Thurgood with a .331 batting average in 146 games. Thurgood had 32 home runs and 103 RBIs.

Eugene Church · 02-25-2013, 08:45 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Hawks Stun Frogs In TU North, Elnora And Volusia Also Winners
It's all over but the shouting and the crying in the Islandian Pro Alliance pennant races. In a miraculous comeback, defending Pro Cup champion North Hills stunned Fairfax by winning its final three games of the year, while the Frogs were losing the last three, thus forcing a one-game playoff for the Tycobbian North flag. In an unprecedented finish, the Hawks whipped the Frogs 4-2 and will now get a chance to repeat as IPA champions.

Other tight races went to the Elnora All-Stars, who held off the Sugar Valley Rattlers to win the Ruthlandian East division crown by a game. In the Ruthlandian West, the Volusia Vigilantes racked up the pennant for the second year in a row. The V's outlasted Colfax by two games and Fort Benton by three games in a hard-fought race.

The other five divisions were no contests as LaGrange won the RU North by 7 games and Waleska claimed the RU South by 12 games. In the Tycobbian Union, the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, Chicopee Braves and San Alejo Montaneros were easy repeat pennant winners. The Monties won by a whopping 18 games, the Tucks by a dozen and the Braves by 10 games.

The IPA Pro Cup playoffs are slated to begin this Friday with Waleska playing at home against LaGrange and Elnora entertaining Volusia in the Ruthlandian Union, while it will be Chicopee at Tuckanarra and North Hills in San Alejo in the Tycobbian Union. The Elite 8 Series will all be best-of-seven games.

Eugene Church · 02-26-2013, 11:16 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Sports Snag RU North Flag, 3rd In 4 Years
The LaGrange Sports snagged their third RU North flag in four seasons... beating out Far Mountain by 7 games and preseason favorite Kilkenny by 8... Taranto came in fourth, 16 games back... the Sports were not highly rated early, forecast for fourth place... LaGrange won with an offense that could score runs and hit with power, coupled with fairly good pitching.

LaGrange won the pennant with a tremendous 24-5 record in August, which Far Mountain (15-14) and Kilkenny (18-11) couldn't match... Chazz Bassett's emergence as a top-notch starter was another key factor, along with two fine rookie bats... Bassett (23-12/3.39) joined standout vets Ryan Janssen (18-16/3.90) and Walt Thurber (19-14/3.52) to give manager Quincy Peterson a strong threesome in his rotation... leading the offense were 3B Claude DesJardins (.252) with 28 HRs, 97 RBIs and 98 runs, star CF Russell Watkins (.267) with 20 HRs and 92 RBIs, vet 1B Chris Charbonnier (.282) with 22 HRs, 87 RBIs and 82 runs, rookie C Chris Heffner (.307) with 21 HRs, 76 RBIs and 85 runs and rookie RF Charles Basque (.298) with 28 HRs, 102 runs and 75 RBIs... the Sports could make some noise in the playoffs if the pitching steps it up to championship caliber... LaGrange has some solid hitters.

The Far Mountain Redhawks had trouble scoring, but possessed strong pitching... skipper Don Nichols had an impressive starting four in Chad Cummings (15-15/2.33), Frankie Moreland (19-14/2.93), Jeff Cooper (18-17/3.13) and Dennis Sasek (14-11/3.13) and a quality bullpen, too... but his only reliable hitters were CF Wes Wernstedt (.301/5/64/91) and 3B Axel Bauer (.306/16/77/73).

Kilkenny Cats' manager Rusty Denicola had the same problem as Far Mountain - not much offense... but he had a quality staff with superstar Dave Whitaker (21-12/2.34), who racked up 20 wins for the sixth time in his 13 IPA seasons, James Crockett (15-11/3.47) and Ted Flanagan (14-10/3.42)... Andy Mayfield (8-4/1.32/19 saves) led the relievers... the only run producer was 9-year vet 3B Leevi Viru with 90 RBIs, 21 HRs and 81 runs to go along with a modest .267 BA.

The Taranto Tars with Augie Marshall at the helm made good progress this year, moving up from the cellar to fourth place... that's the first time since 2027 the Tars finished in the first division... Marshall has little pitching but his club has some pop with 196 HRs, sparked by second-year phenom and All-Star C Angelo Rossi with an IPA-leading 50 roundtrippers to go with his 115 RBis and .273 BA... 10-year vet CF Wes Marlowe was a pleasant surprise in his first full season with the club... Marlowe clouted 32 homers and drove in 79 runs, but hit only .255... Taranto's best pitchers were All-Star Emilio Gallo, a rookie starter, who debuted in the league at age 31 with a 21-12 mark and a 3.80 ERA... reliever Alex Sakarian (8-7/2.00/11 saves) also stood out for the Tars.

For the third straight year once-dominant Valmara wound up in the second division in fifth place... from 2023 to 2031 manager Jet Kazmarek won 8 division titles and one Pro Cup... the Vipers don't do anything especially well, but they still have some quality pitching in veterans Garry Gronek (18-21/3.75) and J. B. Boutin (16-17/3.37)... the only bats of any consequence were vet LF Benny Hooper (.266/18/78/81), 1B Pat Sautier (.268/19/72/88) and fine rookie 3B Janek Jakubek (.265/19/80/73).

For the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, the Glasco Athletics found themselves in the second division, ranking sixth... manager Barry McCord has little pitching, little hitting and not much power... 'nuff said... 23-year pitcher Basil Newchurch (18-15/3.18) had a very fine year and looks to be a comer... aging 33-year-old star 1B Kees Draeger (.250) led the club with 21 HRs and 82 RBIs, but he is not the player he was... after 13 years Draeger has a .301 BA with 367 HRs and over 1100 RBIs... his last strong season was 2031, when he was with Belair Beach... C Eddy Martin topped the team with a .290 BA... Martin chipped in with 16 HRs and 68 RBIs.

It was a miserable year for the defending RU North champion Ranford Bulls... they fell from first to seventh in the standings... manager Rick Fargnoli's staff let him down this year and he lost several valuable players to free agency... All-Star C Kyle Hunt (.298/11/66/61) went to Eastshore and reliable SS Sonny Statum sat out the entire year and would not re-sign... Statum's .285 average and 86 runs were missed this year... veteran 3B Alex Vanno (.271) was the only bright star in the Bulls batting order with his 34 homers, 96 RBIs and 97 runs... on the hill vets Rube Satcher (19-17/2.97) and ancient Duncan Welch (19-14/2.97) performed very well... Welch, starred at the ripe old age of 41... in 19 seasons in the IPA, mainly with Crystal Lake, Welch has rung up a splendid 339-225 record and a superb 2.67 ERA... but the rest of the mound corps were very disappointing.

Manager Kenny Willard and his Ancona Red Elephants finished in the RU North basement for the second time in three years, this time losing 100 games... Ancona was the worst team in the IPA... Willard has very little talent... his best bats belong to RF Pettis Pentleton (.265/19/60/86), 2B Alex Zitek (.260/21/73/65) and 1B Danny Webber (.298/12/46/64)... 29-year-old Pentleton, a career .322 hitter, All-Star, Golden Glover and batting titlist, was obtained in a trade in July from Kenwood, but his batting average really fell off this year... Ancona's best hurlers were starters Steven Russell (8-12/2.76) and Giannis Bakas (13-18/3.63), along with reliever Buddy Palmer (4-3/3.03/16 saves)

Eugene Church · 02-27-2013, 10:41 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Westerners Wipe Out RU South
No one gave the Waleska Westerners any chance at all in the Ruthlandian South... they were rated the worst team in the division in The Islandian Times preseason poll... but after all was said and done it was a romp for the Westerners this season... the Westerners' closest competition was the St. John Crusaders, a very distant 12 games behind them... Claxton came in third, 16 games back... and San Dimas and Grand City were 23 games to the rear and tied for fourth place... last year's division champ and Pro Cup runner-up Crystal Lake floundered badly and ended up in the RU South cellar.

Waleska manager Roy Hobbs revamped his pitching staff with youngsters Craig Nash (21-14/2.96) and Tony Haskell (18-10/3.20) to go along with his veteran ace and All-Star Terry Richards (21-7/2.97) and Vern Bass (20-10/3.67) to turn the club completely around... they were fifth last year... Hobbs added in free agent Earl Perkins (5-7/3.30/25 saves) from Glasco and made him his bullpen specialist... Perkins led the IPA with 25 saves... newcomers to the batting order were rookie CF Jon Lassiter (.302/7/63/97) and free agent from St. John C Tony Brinkerhoff (.273/14/68/73), who added to the already potent attack... IPA superstar and All-Star LF Loco Dillinger (.331/36/113/85) had another superlative season... Dillinger got plenty of help from All-Star RF Niles Gregory (.292/16/83/83), 2B Monty McMurtry (.288/9/70/98), 3B Dorak Aranda (.267/21/79/73) and 1B Glenn Childress (.245/8/66/90)... Waleska and Elnora will be favored to meet in the RU title game... the winner should represent the Ruthlandian Union well in the Pro Cup Finals.

The St. John Crusaders were just pretty much average on the hill and at the plate... skipper Clayton Luck had three quality starters in Mac Shaw (18-8/3/26), Jeremy Kirk (18-12/3.24) and Raydon Burks (13-11/3.36)... Shaw was a great free agent pickup from Sugar Valley... but Luck's bullpen was a disaster... St. John's best bats were 3B Marty Blankenship (.284/30/113/74) and RF Nicky Farrugia (.318/27/113/92), along with rookie find CF Gilbert Hall (.296/5/60/84).

In Claxton, Dixie Baker had average bats wth good power and a mediocre mound corps... but the Diamonds were markedly improved over the last two seasons... this year they came in third... Claxton was sixth and seventh the previous two years... veteran 2B Gary Colton (.301/19/92/76) paced the offense with help from CF Ken Brennan (.289/8/53/97), SS Stevie Wynn (.296/10/73/77) and impressive rookie LF Foxy Fuchs (.295/27/64/70)... RF Ivan Krause (.255/20/66/63) and 3B Jonas Weiss (.240/17/82/58) also added some power, but didn't hit much for average... Sam Nathan (19-10/3.44) and Tommy Brothers (18-12/3.71) were the top twirlers.

The San Dimas Rancheros made the first division and were tied with Grand City for the fourth spot in the standings, but they were six games under the .500 mark... manager Wesley Pate's club had three dependable starters in Gregg Hughes (18-14/3.19), Zack Dowdle (18-14/3/56) and Carroll Cain (10-13/3.32), but not much beyond them... the Rancheros have no big sticks, but some decent ones... leading the offense were rookie 3B Leonard Purkey (.314/14/77/59), LF Austin Epps (.282/18/62/99), RF Denny Hendrix (.282/18/69/63) and CF Klaus Stordahl (.273/18/69/90).

Wade Joslin's Grand City Cybercats ranked in the middle offensively and down near the bottom on the mound... heading up the bats were RF Bull Durham (.281/24/80/75), CF Thomas Hall (.317/19/74/72), 2B Teddy Grantham (.283/15/61/91) and rookie LF Jason Baker (.297/9/57/77)... the 'Cats have three credible starters in Doug Hansack (19-14/4.03), Roland Oates (14-11/3.18) and Herb Stewart (13-9/3.93), but not much else after them.

2034 was a solid season for the Belair Beach Sunbirds as they rose up from 8th to 3rd in the RU South, but they came back to earth this year with a sixth-place finish... skipper Slim Mosley has a weak outfit... the best thing the Sunbirds do is go deep occasionally... LF Bobby Meusel (.313/22/75/100) sparked the club at the plate... All-Star 2B Jason Butler (.303/26/98/70) had a great freshman year... and rookie CF Marty Dierker showed some potential with 23 roundtrippers and 64 RBIs, but hit only .251... Stefan Zeeman (18-16/3.08) was the top pitcher... after fine seasons in 2034, Kerstan Mak (11-16/3.39), Joel Gregg (11-16/3.82) and Todd Clyman (9-16/4.18) slumped badly this year.

For the seventh year in a row the Valka Blackhawks wound up near the bottom... manager Eddie Lasky has nothing pitching-wise, but has a few quality batters in RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.315/22/105/72), 2B Mikk Kukk (.255/20/70/107), All-Star 1B Bobby Scott (.321/19/75/77) and SS Olari Ojastu (.276/21/64/63).

Everything went wrong for Herman "Baby" George in Crystal Lake... ace Denny Mills went to Denton City in the Tycobbian Union... Mills led the Crushers to the pennant last year and almost to the Pro Cup trophy with a 22-13 record... Mills didn't fare too well in the new league with a 14-21 mark and a high 3.96 ERA... pitchers Arnie Cason (15-17/4.56) and Douglas Merrill (11-19/4/24) both fell off from stellar seasons last year... none of the big bats of 2034 produced this year... SS Mackie Cummings (.250/18/94/71), C Stan Stanek (.307/18/94/71), 1B Big Sam Takota (.271/15/80/75) and 2B Woody Jackson (.253/21/78/61) all had lackluster years... RF Paul Dillon (.255/6/50/60) fell off almost a hundred points at the plate.

Eugene Church · 02-28-2013, 10:55 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Elnora Edges Sugar Valley For RU East Crown
The Ruthlandian East just might be the strongest overall division in the Islandian Pro Alliance... six of the eight clubs had winning records with champion Elnora and runner-up Sugar Valley winning 98 and 97 games respectively... third place Cold Creek chalked up 91 victories... Wynnamac and last season's division winner Eastshore deadlocked for fourth with 81-73 records... even Beechwood in sixth place was over the .500 mark with a 78-76 record.

Elnora won out by a single game in a September stretch-drive run over Sugar Valley... manager Leon Carter's club regained its powerhouse status this season after suffering a bit of an aberration in 2034... last season they slipped to fifth with an 81-73 record... this was the All-Stars fourth pennant in five years... Elnora has a high-octane attack with excellent pitching, but they are only average defensively... leading the high-scoring offense were All-Star SS James Couch (.313/12/81/93), 32-year-old free agent from White River (TU North) CF Clive Kenyon (.330/12/81/93), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.297/14/71/92), C Coot Bailey (.312/11/49/67) and RF Travis Glass (.260/19/72/75)... platooned 1B-3B Danny Bierhoff (.333/14/46/44) was also tough out... another good bat, regular LF Clint Thomas (.301/7/55/63), missed a third of the season with injuries and will miss the playoffs... regular 3B Matt Boyd (.255/12/76/63) will also not play in the postseason because of injury... for the fourth time in five seasons Jeremy Sellers (20-9/2.51) was a 20-game winner... other stalwarts were Stan Kivas (22-10/3.27), Dan Pitts (16-13/3.41) and Jesus Robles (16-13/3.95)... Freddy Pfeffer (7-6/2.84/6 saves) and John Kaltenbach (3-2/1.80/5 saves) manned the bullpen very well... All-Star Paul Martina (10-5/2.05/9 saves) was lost for the season in late July and will be sorely missed in the playoffs... the All-Stars won the Pro Cup in 2033 and have their eyes set on winning it again... Carter says the time is right... many baseball experts agree with him.

Manager Gibby Bobkins of the Sugar Valley Rattlers has an explosive lineup, strong defense and a very fine pitching staff, considering the small venue they have to pitch in... the Rattlers went deep 198 times, second in the RU behind Middlefield's 227... and outscored everyone in the IPA with 860 runs... three players drove in over 100 each and three scored over 100 each: All-Star CF Bobby Gamble (.324/34/105/125), All-Star LF Tyler White (.241/42/135/103), All-Star 1B Roger Hobbs (.283/20/106/99) and 2B Richie Strickland (.242/28/65/123)... White led the IPA in RBIs and Gamble led in runs... other contributors were C Frankie Testaverde (.287/23/97/63) and SS Jesse Burns (.262/1/54/92)... Bobkins also had two All-Star hurlers and three 20-game winners in Jeremy Blanchard (22-8/3.67), 29-year-old free agent from Bayview (TU West) Jergen Fyelstad (22-8/3.77) and Juan Navarro (20-14/3.52)... he almost had a fourth in 31-year-old free agent from Mahaska (TU North) James Newland (19-8/3.94), who fell just one win short... in the bullpen Josh Wilkerson (4-4/1.84/14 saves) was solid, too... he was picked up in a trade with Southport (TU South)... it's tough when you win 97 games and don't make the playoffs... this was the Rattlers' second-best year ever... they won 98 games in 2005.

This was supposed to the Cold Creek Catamounts' year... they were the favorite in The Islandian Times preseason poll... it was still a fine season as the 'Cats finished third behind two very good clubs... manager Scoop Lemieux had a solid ballclub with good hitting, good pitching and an excellent defense... he has a sound staff with J. J. Gillespie (20-10/2.17), who had the best ERA in the RU... it was Gillespie's third year in a row to win 20 games... other standouts in the rotation were George Bailey (17-10/3.44), Jules Capet (17-12/3.50) and Pete Heller (16-8/3.52)... Cold Creek is hampered by a lackluster offense... 2B Morten Jonassen (.317/6/48/62), CF Guy St. Laurent (.264/22/83/87), 3B Maska Chandler (.268/19/74/77) and RF Pat Foreman (.248/19/62/82) provide most of the offense with help from C Craig Peck (.300/6/50/51), 1B Leland Henley (.335/14/57/37) and 1B Steve Daniels (.275/16/44/43).

For the 11th successive year the Wynnamac Sundowners of Matt Donnelly finished in the first division... they were forecast to battle Cold Creek for the division flag, instead they tied with Eastshore for fourth place, 17 games back in the race... this year Donnelly's club was just average in batting and pitching, but could score runs, ranking 9th... RF Allen Dundee (.263/16/85/67), 2B Ed Lane (.278/10/64/89), 1B Mick Saunders (.255/18/68/86), 3B Lou Borcellino (.306/9/63/59) and C Lee Leslie (.244/21/68/56) were the offensive leaders... mound leaders were few, paced by vet Killara Bardo (18-16/3.52) and Geoff Hobart (19-12/3.53) in the starting rotation, along with rookie reliever Paul Payton (6-4/2.86/3 saves)... the Sundowners' bullpen was atrocious with a 5.15 ERA.

One wonders why a team as talented as the Eastshore Elegants came in tied for fourth, after winning 98 games in 2034... in essence they had more talent this year with the addition of standout All-Star and Gold Glove C Kyle Hunt (.298/11/66/60) in a midseason trade with Claxton (RU South)... and pitcher Randy Boone was back for a full season after missing a lot of last year... pitching was the culprit as the team ERA jumped from a great 2.96 in 2034 to 3.49 this year... that meant they allowed more than a run a game more than last year... Boone (20-13/3.05) led the staff, along with Koy Clampett (18-15/3.11), Ramon Contreras (18-14/3.69) and Don Klingenberg (14-14/3.72)... at age 37 Boone reached the 200-win milestone this season... he is 202-168 in 13 seasons with an impressive 3.04 career ERA... offense was no problem for the Elegants with superstar and All-Star CF Scotty Lagrange (.315/47/109/117) and RF Neil Richard (.331/29/97/80)... Lagrange was runner-up in the IPA with 47 dingers and Richard led the RU with a .331 BA... All-Star 2B Johnny Petrak (.295/14/66/84), 1B Paul Reed (.306/16/75/61) and LF Kelly Chamberlain (.255/25/66/99) also chipped valuable run production.

The sixth-place Beechwood Bobcats could use more offense and a better bullpen... skipper Bret George has the starting pitching... despite the lack of hitting the Bobcats still finished above the .500 mark... vets Ken Arby (17-16/3.27), Maury Patterson (17-17/3.06) and Joey Powers (14-16/2.95) are rock solid, but could really use more run support... Patterson should reach 200 wins early next season... in 11 years the 32-year-old right-hander is 198-143 with a strong 2.96 ERA... while the Bobcats don't hit much for average, they can go deep... leading the way are CF Howie Baldwin (.231/36/89/87), SS Cody Hanks (.277/29/75/76), RF Eddie Wilson (.256/24/59/55) and 2B Leonard Mason (.255/19/68/89)... the 29-year-old Hanks was acquired in a trade with Red Bluff (TU East) in late July... 1B Kelly Hardison (.288/16/68/70) topped the team in BA.

Danny Church has pretty fair pitching in Marston, but no offense to speak of... the Nine ended the season in sixth place, the seventh straight year in the second division... Kris Delaney (12-13/2.97) was the most effective starter... young star Pat Brown (13-21/4.16) endured an off-year after registering two consecutive 20-game seasons... two journeymen Alex Ehrlich (16-18/3.78) and Terry Bailey (13-13/3.58) were dependable starters... in the bullpen All-Star Jimbo McGinnity (7-5/2.03/15 saves) stood out... Church's modest bats are 3B Philip DeWey (.279/20/76/82), 1B Marco Ameche (.270/21/76/64), 2B Lonnie Trekell (.268/22/72/60), C Ron Marlowe (..255/16/60/58) and RF Warren Cleveland (.258/18/56/68).

It was another dismal last-place finish for the hapless Belle Plaine Musketeers and manager Dave Torregrossa... that make it two years in a row in the basement and three of the last five years... the Muskies have a strong attack that is fourth in scoring runs, but they have horrendous pitching that gives up almost 5 runs a game... bat leaders are All-Star CF Noel Martin (.297/24/75/95), All-Star 2B Carl Bentley (.292/16/84/65), 1B Mitch Mason (.284/25/85/96), 3B Kit Ritter (.287/11/57/81), IF-OF Cal Copeland (.282/18/80/64) and RF Boo Boudreaux (.282/22/69/80)... Benny Lucas (14-17/4.50) is the best of the lot pitching-wise... everybody else is 5.00 or worse.

Eugene Church · 03-02-2013, 09:39 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Volusia Hangs On For Another RU West Pennant
For the second year in a row the Volusia Vigilantes won out in the tightly-bunched Ruthlandian West... the V's held off fast-closing Colfax, Fort Benton and Sligo in the stretch drive to nail down its flag... they beat out Colfax by 2 games, Fort Benton, the preseason favorite, by 3 games and Sligo by 4... Forest City and Rocky Rapids were also in the mix winding up 7 and 8 games off the pace in fifth and sixth place... Middlefield and Stoner were never any factors in the race.

The outlook for this season was dismal according to the baseball scribes in The Islandian Times preseason poll, who ranked the Vigilantes the worst team in the RU West... Volusia stumbled in August, but regrouped in September to withstand the late-season challengers... manager Alfonso Feliz had strong bats, questionable pitching and good fielding... leading the highly potent attack were rookie 1B Jojo DeLucca (.284/20/95/83), C Tubby Tarkanian (.282/23/94/74), CF Ernesto Andujar (.314/19/87/88) and All-Star and rookie RF Felipe Hernriques (.305/15/87/73)... Fabio Medeiros (18-10/3.69) was the most effective starter... Bob Bondy (19-13/4.57) was a big winner, but gave up a lot of runs... Jacy Chandler (14-14/4.45) had a spotty season... not much is expected of the V's in the postseason... however, they did knock off vaunted Eastshore in the first round last year... this year they will take on juggernaut Elnora in the RU Elite 8 Series.

Manager Ilya Szabo only has fair offense in Colfax, but has a pretty good pitching corps and excellent defense... the second-place Blasters have four capable starters with Ron Paige (20-15/3.47), Randell Perkins (20-12/3.36), Ray Maxon (15-15/3.49) and Bobby Porter (13-11/3.50)... Szabo also possessed two fine relievers in Jack Scanlon (2-3/1.54/14 saves) and Norb Harbison (3-6/2.61/5 saves)... the most reliable bats are rookie 3B Caleb McAvoy (.297/28/86/80), LF Chet Penn (.311/19/71/67), C Mitch Fullerton (.285/19/70/65) and 1B Kristian McEly (.252/17/86/54)... bad slumps in May and August cost the Crushers dearly this season.

Fort Benton was supposed to be the team of the year in the Ruthlandian West... the Defenders were picked to win the flag, but they didn't really catch fire until the final two months and came up 3 games short... skipper Robbie Brooks' boys are quite good on the hill, but lack longball power and a good defense... All-Star Augie Marquis (20-12/2.61) stood out with his second successive 20-game season... after 11 years he is now only 11 wins short of the 200-mark...Marquis is 189-144 with a fine 3.07 ERA... other reliable starters were Carson McAfee (10-7/3.05), Chris Calsworth (14-18/3.57) and Tommy Baylor (15-16/3.88)... mainly contact hitters, rookie SS Mitch Hamilton (.303/2/66/85), rookie RF Rod Myerson (.305/7/60/63), LF Darrell Daly (.298/12/69/58), CF Cloyd McCloskey (.284/14/73/68) and 2B Alec Leclerc (.257/1/52/103) are the most dependable bats.

Sligo, a regular pennant contender over the years, suffered a sharp decline in 2034 with a last-place finish, but they rebounded well with a strong fourth place this year, missing out by just 4 games... since 2021 the Rovers have chalked up 6 pennants and a Pro Cup with only two second-division finishes... manager Eddie Keys has good power at the plate and good pitching on the mound, but not very good with the gloves... leading the Rovers' attack are All-Star LF Vasco Aguilar (.304/29/98/73), rookie RF George Stanley (.291/32/70/66), rookie 1B Denny Simmons (.296/12/62/88) and 2B Neil Mitchell (.266/17/65/97)... heading up the pitching corps are All-Star Tom Pierson (18-16/3.00), Doug Haynes (16-16/3.67) and Mark Smith (14-17/3.76).

Skipper Joe Judlin's Forest City Lumberjacks had their chance, but fizzled in September and fell back to fifth place in the standings, losing out by 7 games to Volusia... the 'Jacks hit well and score well, depending on the long ball, but could be better on the hill... C Bob Brisdon (.304/23/87/70), CF Paul Bryan (.278/24/60/71) and LF Chuck Kramer (.271/24/67/64) provide most of the runs... and Walter Gibbons (23-12/3.70) and Rich Barstow (16-17/3.34) provide most of the victories.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers haven't been to the Pro Cup playoffs for 15 years... for the last three and 9 of the last 10 seasons the Snappers have been stuck in the second division... however, manager Junior Noland's club toyed with the first division this year, ending up just 8 games out of first and in the sixth spot... he has adequate bats, but lackluster pitching... All-Star SS Kelvin Cassidy (.326/12/88/64) again led the offense with some help from 2B Dwight Dickey (.306/5/44/66) and 1B Billy Gray (.313/13/44/55)... Johnny Griffin (12-9/3.66) was the best of the starting rotation and John Young (7-2/1.49/17 saves) was the best of the bullpen.

The seventh-place Middlefield Roosters were far back in the pack this year, trailing champ Volusia by 24 games... playing in small and high-scoring Middlefield Park, the Roosters hit homers and score 5 runs a game, but also give up a lot of homers and 6 runs a game... manager Bailey Norcross has lousy pitching, easily the worst in the IPA with a 5.43 ERA... the top bats belong to All-Star C Brad Alexander (.299/42/110/77), All-Star SS Kenny Johnston (.318/9/64/90), 1B Cliff Patterson (.303/36/68/62), RF Norman Antonioni (.228/29/68/56), 3B Colt Chadwick (.297/10/61/81) and LF Alejandro Dominguez (.244/23/69/91)... Judd Hampton (11-15/4.76) was the only starter under the 5.00 ERA mark... Clive Coxford led in with a 12-12 record, but his ERA was 5.55.

The Stoner Stars under manager Benny Stern have competed well in the TU West in recent years, but not this season... they plunged to last place and 26 games off the pace... the Stars are mediocre on the mound and not too potent at the plate... the last postseason appearance was in 2029... Jorge Metaxis (11-16/3.51) was the top winner and most reliable pitcher... C Barney Swindell (.258/28/94/61) was the best bat with some help from CF Don Cain (.295/6/58/72), 3B T. C. Steele (.304/17/64/54) and 1B Fletch Fowler (.286/14/44/44).

Eugene Church · 03-06-2013, 12:25 AM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

NH Hawks Stun Fairfax, Repeat In TU North
In a remarkable finish North Hills shocked Fairfax in the Tycobbian North by winning its final four games, while the Frogs collapsed and lost the final four games... the defending IPA Pro Cup titlist will now get a chance to repeat as the Islands' champion... North Hills notched its second straight divisional crown by knocking off Fairfax 4-2 in a single-game playoff... third place went to Luxora, 6 and a half games behind... Mahaska was fourth, trailing by 9 and a half.

Skipper Todd Simons has a solid club in North Hills led by four fine starters, who include last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael (17-10/2.51), Jeff Owens (20-14/3.28), Kyle Oliver (10-6/3.32) and Nelson Hooper (15-16/3.32)... closer Frankie Lambert (7-8/3.28/23 saves) led the bullpen... Lambert topped the TU in saves... superstud All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.331/32/103/92) had another very impressive season... helping him out were 2B Dean O'Donnell (.283/21/83/89) and 1B Ric Hamilton (.283/18/82/61)... rookie RF Gerry Rice (.301/7/31/57) was a good addition to the team, which appears ready and able to make a good run at repeating as Pro Cup champion... the Hawks are a fine defensive team, too.

Fairfax built up a 7-game lead over North Hills by the All-Star break, but couldn't finish them off... the Frogs just couldn't match the Hawks' hurlers over the long haul... leading manager Dane Wesner's mound corps were All-Star Jay Barajas (20-14/3.26), Steven McLeod (17-13/3.42) and Harold Dorman (17-13/3.88), but he had some fine hitters in All-Star 1B Max Lebowitz (.300/16/71/79), All-Star RF Michael Hudson (.282/15/57/71), 2B John Velasco (.285/24/85/91), 3B Jim McDermott (.292/20/78/65), CF Eric Kusek (.291/9/67/91) and C Brain Davis (.313/9/52/54).

The third-place Luxora Zorros of manager Lacey Tompkins had pretty fair pitching, but lacked power and scoring... IPA ERA leader Kent Halloran (20-6/1.47) set a new IPA mark, topping Tiago Torres' 1.58 in the 2018 season... Torres also starred for the Zorros... other dependable starters were Francisco Guerrero (18-13/3.80) and Benny DeVito (17-16/4.08)... veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway (.291/36/88/78) led the lineup with some help from 3B Tiago Chaves (.269/20/74/73).

Manager Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers came in fourth and 2 games above the .500 mark... the Haymakers were mediocre offensively and just average on the hill winding up 9 and a half games behind North Hills... Valente Viero (21-12/3.64) was a valuable free agent pick-up from Eastshore (RU)... Mark Pennington (15-16/3.85) and Greg Douglas (16-18/3.89) were reliable starters... the club offensive leaders were RF Anton Hymel (.290/13/52/60), 3B Andy Ruffino (.290/7/45/58) and 2B Rocco Bertara (.269/4/46/56)... the Haymakers hit only 97 home runs and ranked 63rd out of 64 teams in the IPA... only division rival Blue Lake was worst with only 96.

The White River Rascals ended up fifth this year under skipper Mick Cronyn after fighting tooth-and-nail in 2034 with North Hills, losing out by just 2 games to the Pro Cup winner... White River slumped badly at the plate and ended up 11 and a half games off the pace... the Rascals had three quality pitchers with Lucien Vashon (21-11/2.82), Paul Sardini (14-13/3.33) and Kenny Nikas (11-16/2.75)... all three suffered from poor run support... Vashon was a wonderful acquisition from Elnora in the Ruthlandian Union, who also got a fine player in CF Clive Kenyon (.330/14/80/76)... what little offense the Rascals had came from C Stevie Dee Daniels (.223/31/69/68), 3B Errol Boldt (.235/16/80/540 and 1B Davey Sloan (.249/23/80/49)... none of which batted over .250... defensively White River is strong with an impressive .978 FA.

In Hartsdale manager Kendry Moulton has some capable starters and some punch in the batting order, but his Hellcats came in sixth in the standings, 12 and a half games out... leading the staff were Lou Chylak (17-14/2.81), Eric Isenhart (18-17/3.19) and Wayne Dawson (13-15/3.42)... the bullpen was one of the worst in the TU... the only bats of any consequence were CF Joe McGarrett (.277/25/86/86) and 1B Hayden Richardson (.268/24/63/67).

The Oxford Red Caps finished next-to-last and were 16 and a half games back in the race... manager Cameron Kamara's club's one redeeming factor was firepower... his Red Caps rapped 209 out of the park to rank third in the IPA behind Middlefield's 227 in the Ruthlandian Union and Bayview's 215 in Tycobbia... the team leader was CF Dalton Ward with 42 homers, 105 RBIs and 116 runs, but he batted only .224 for average... All-Star 1B Kerry Sterling rapped 33, drove in 96 runs and posted a .306 BA... SS Boyd Olsen has 26 roundtrippers, 77 RBIs and hit .274... RF Crusher Derringer had 23 home runs with 55 RBIs, 73 runs and a .264 batting mark... and 2B Alonzo Norris smacked 21 longballs with 70 RBIs, 84 runs and he hit .275 for average... a valuable bat LF Dennis Hartwig (.293/7/25/27) was missing for the last two-thirds of the year due to injury... Kent McKinley (19-14/3.51) and Mario Lopez (19-16/3.72) headed up the lackluster pitching staff.

The Blue Lake Blue Sox continued to remain at or near the bottom of the division with their second last-place finish in four years... they were seventh the other two seasons... the Blue Sox wound up 19 and half games behind champ North Hills... manager Rick Hilliard has two fine starters in Frankie Quinn (20-11/2.68) and Andre Montrose (16-13/3.33) and closer Chip Smith (6-5/2/13/14 saves), but not a lot after them... the offensive leaders were C Ben Banyon (.278/13/88/54), 3B Matt Thompson (.299/8/78/71), LF Jack Ryan (.309/9/67/78) and All-Star SS Joe Korman (.269/13/71/99)... the Blue Sox sorely lacked power and ranked last in the IPA with only 96 homers.

Eugene Church · 03-06-2013, 11:56 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

SA Monties Soar To 3rd TU South Flag In 4 Years
In 2032 San Alejo won the Tycobbian South by 7 games, 10 games in 2034 and by a landside 18 this season... that's makes it three titles in four seasons for the Montaneros... coming in a very distant second were Colchester and Turon... fourth place went to the Summerland Sunsets, who were 23 games back in the race.

It was a magnificent year for skipper Alberto Herrera and his San Alejo Montaneros... the Monties rang up an IPA-high 100 victories with excellent pitching and robust bats... they were never seriously challenged and posted an 11-game lead at midseason, this soared even higher in the second half and ran away with the division... Herrera has a great starting five in All-Star Johnny Brown (23-11/2.97), All-Star Clete Lawson (18-14/3.61), Tommy Smith (19-12/2.88), Ollie Olivares (13-6/2.28/6 saves) and All-Star Frank Jankowski (12-2/2.27/9 saves)... San Alejo has plenty of bats, too, sparked by superb rookie RF Gilberto Duarte (.323/37/104/88), CF Dusty Rogan (.287/24/99/78), LF Adrian Otero (.293/23/77/84) and rookie 1B Omar Velazquez (.252/20/70/79)... the Monties are better this year and will be seeking revenge against the defending IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills in first-round action... the Hawks upset them last year in the Tycobbian Elite 8 in seven games.

The Turon Typhoons were led by a fine pitching corps... manager Alan Hansen had a solid foursome in Wes Brynnton (16-16/2.26), Clyde Engstrom (11-10/2.94), Victor Suarez (21-13/3.36) and Armin Boehm (13-17/3.65)... in the bullpen Ralph Fulton (4-5/2.31/18 saves) excelled... the Typhoons had some capable bats, too, paced by SS Fred Bird (.293/6/58/99), rookie 3B Little Mac McCurnan (.315/17/60/66), 1B Steve Burns (.331/11/53/63), 3B-1B Michael Page (.292/12/51/39), rookie CF J. P. Trevenot (.260/20/86/76) and C Clyde Willis (.266/13/76/63)... gifted 2B C. C. Kingsford (.321/7/30/30) missed over 100 games due to a broken hand... Kingsford, McCurnan and Trevenot are sons of former Typhoon players... Turon has been getting better the last three seasons, but still has a bit to go to rival San Alejo... the Typhoons made the playoffs 14 times in the first 18 seasons, but have been shut out since for the last 15 years... Turon holds the record for winning the Pro Cup four times... 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2018... they also lost in 2010 and 2017... 6 times in the Pro Cup Finals is also an IPA record.

The Colchester Elites were tied with Turon for the runner-up spot in the TU South... manager Uncle Robbie Wilbertson has some good power with LF Jim Lewellen (.252/38/113/68) and rookie RF Blake Barrister (.269/37/89/98)... All-Star SS Joey Rogers (.327/2/45/91) sparkled as well ... reliable vets RF Sonny Oliver (.271/22/70/47) and 1B Billy Christianson (.273/18/77/82) pitched in some production, too... the Elites only had average pitching... top twirlers were Dave Lacoste (17-14/3.42), Roy Watson (16-10/3.49) and Kim Kono (14-6/3.59)... Colchester is really starved for a pennant... the last one came in 2007.

Improved pitching helped the fourth-place Summerland Sunsets move up into the TU South first division this year... skipper Will Hackett's club was sixth last year after winning the flag in 2033... but the Sunsets have trouble in the batter's box, ranking near the bottom in offense and power... Johnny Young (12-12/2.23) had a strong year on the hill, but suffered dearly from run support... others in the rotation, Mark Shoopman (13-12/3.72), Freddi Rossi (15-16/3.71) and Don French (13-16/3.59) could have used more runs, too... no one in the lineup had much of a season... the most productive regulars were 3B Cy Akins (.270/15/63/74), CF Antonio Vasquez (.273/4/50/72) and rookie 1B Mark Brenneke (.255/12/59/79)... once he worked his way out of Hackett's doghouse and into the lineup, RF Eamon O'Toole (.303/10/43/37) was the best threat they had, but he played in only 81 games.

After three cellar-dwelling season in a row, the Cape Coral Hurricanes improved to fifth place under the command of Flipper Bird... they have languished in the TU South second division since the 2030 playoff year... this season the Hurricanes had a potent attack, but possessed a pathetic pitching staff... the 'Canes hit very well and scored very well with four .300 hitters in the batting order... leading the way were All-Star RF William Snyder (.328/33/107/118), standout rookie 1B Stan Ferguson (.316/29/91/73), fine rookie CF Paul Law (.285/27/82/107), SS Joel Collins (.303/4/65/79) and 31-year-old free agent from Oxford C John Fitzpatrick (.307/4/60/53)... the only reliable hurlers were Tommy Van Noord (17-16/3.69) and Jake Cuyler (13-9/3.92/7 saves).

The Southport Sun Sox sank from third place to sixth this year as the bats went into the tank, dropping over 30 points from .275 to .243 in BA... manager Charley Oscar's club really had trouble scoring... 2B Jesse Clayton (.286/15/64/70), LF Lenny Roberson (.287/19/53/67), RF Cody Daugherty (.264/17/56/56), 3B Garlin Delk (.263/12/46/44) and 3B Pawnee Cody (.236/15/79/46) were the best Southport had at the plate... Chip Bickford (15-12/3.99) and Dan Pascioni (16-18/4.00) were the only decent starters... the Sun Sox have been to the postseason only three times in history, 2002, 2027 and 2028.

2035 wasn't a good year for the seventh-place Arroyo Grande Suns of Buddy Bechtel... for the sixth time in eight seasons the Suns wound up in the second division... it's been a dozen years since they made the Pro Cup playoffs... poor hitting except for homers, coupled with run-of-the-mill mound work is an apt description of Bechtel's ball club... Derek Joubert (11-16/3.54) was the only starter under a 4.00 ERA... reliever John Nelson (7-7/1.81/17 saves) had a very effective year... 2B Frank Marcello led the team at the plate with 26 roundtrippers, 63 RBIs and 62 runs, but batted only .244... CF Rene Jesclard had 23 home runs, 66 RBIs and scored 61 runs, while hitting .263.

It was a very disappointing year for skipper Huroko Uchiyama and his Ginza Ninjas... they were forecast for fourth in The Islandian Times preseason poll, but finished last... the Ninjas posted only 57 wins, which was worse than last year's 58... the last two seasons have been the worst in Ginza's history... atrocious pitching is the culprit... Hollis Pace (12-17/3.48) is only dependable starter... the rest of the staff are 5.00 and above in ERA... the hitters are not much better, but they do hit with some power... RF Scott Sparks (.259/25/70/66), SS Johnny O'Rourke (.250/25/75/73), 2B Roger Lanier (.254/22/68/61) deliver the power, while LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.299/9/67/63) and rookie 3B Jiro Yamamura (.290/6/50/80) top the team in BA.

Eugene Church · 03-07-2013, 10:16 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Tucks Win TU East Again, 3rd Time In 4 Years
Once again the Tuckanarra Blue Jays made a mockery of the Tycobbian East... for the second season in a row they easily disposed of everybody in sight, capturing the division by 12 games over second-place Ozarka, 17 better than South Fork and 18 in front of the Midway Wolves and East Point Panthers, who deadlocked in fourth place... in the club's illustrious history the Tucks will be making their 14th postseason appearance... four times the Blue Jays have reached the Pro Cup Finals and twice they were Islandian champions... Tuckanarra won its Pro Cups in back-to-back years 2023 and 2024. This year the Blue Jays finished second to San Alejo for the most wins in the Tycobbian Union... the Montaneros captured 100 victories and the Tucks racked up 97.

Tuckanarra skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens piloted his club to a first-division berth for the 13th consecutive year... the Blue Jays are a talented bunch with strong pitching and a strong offense... it's only defensively that they are just an average ball club... the Tucks had three 20-game winners in All-Star Bobby Reid (20-12/2.49), Rudy Rosario (20-12/3.16) and Junior Bristow (22-11/2.51)... Rosario was certainly worth his big contract... he came over from Colfax of the Ruthlandian Union through free agency... rounding out one of the best foursome in the IPA was Jeff Buttram (14-11/3.42)... the bullpen was solid, too, led by James Warner (3-6/2.47/20 saves)... Stevens' batting order was chocked full of hitters, too, paced by IPA icon and All-Star LF Lorne Evans (.277/39/125/109), All-Star RF Spade Weldon (.306/16/82/90), 1B Josh George (.252/26/96/78), CF Pancho Villa (.288/22/93/71) and SS Eddie Darby (.304/6/55/76)... Tuckanarra will have to face Chicopee again in the first round of the Pro Cup playoffs... the Braves put them away in 5 games last postseason... however 20-game winner Rosario will be a big addition this year... it should be quite a series.

The Ozarka Naturals came in a very distant second to Tuckanarra for the second straight season... manager Frank Kiffen has a good hitting squad and very good defensively, but comes up a little short in pitching after Kiffen lost his top hurler Glen Jenkins (15-6/3.03) the last two months of the season to injury... Stan Carey (11-9/3.64) was the most effective after Jenkins... Ozarka put runs on the scoreboard just about as good as Tuckanarra... Kiffin had some good bats in RF Bob Banachak (.330/16/61/83), CF Lonnie Gillespie (.294/10/61/98), SS Nick Nova (.319/11/67/91) and LF Reggie Davidson (.256/22/58/87).

Duroche "Lips" Leon turned the South Fork Stallions around this year with much-improved pitching and some pop at the plate after two dismal seasons near the bottom... knuckle-balling newcomer Yancy Garrett (20-13/2.51) was outstanding... the 35-year-old free agent from Turon (TU) had the best season by far of his 13-year IPA career... a reliever for most of his career, he turned to the flutterball this year to salvage his career... overall Garrett is just 54-52 with a 3.25 ERA... he was 12-16 with a sky-high 4.86 ERA in his only other season as a starter in 2032 at Waleska, where he spent his first 11 years... Alex Gillespie (19-14/3.46) was the Stallions' biggest winner... he improved from 12-20 last year... Denny Sorvino (14-15/3.35) was also a quality arm... Nicky Palermo (11-10/2.97/11 saves) did turns effectively in the bullpen and as a spot starter... South Fork is no great shakes in the batter's box except in going long... they ranked 8th in the TU with 176 homers... Leon's top bats were CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.281/29/96/71), SS Elton Jacoby (.280/22/76/84) and 3B Aron Nixon (.274/19/62/80).

Manager Cochise Chandler only has an average team in Midway... they were tied for fourth in the standings along with East Point... the Wolves have some good starters, but the bullpen is pathetic... Midway's top moundsman was 35-year-old veteran star Bobby Dorignac (19-13/2.95), who is one of the IPA all-time greats with a 281-188 record and a brilliant 2.78 ERA in his 13 seasons... free agent Freddi Hahn (14-6/2.96/11 saves) did quite well as the early-season closer and second-half starter... Hahn was with Waleska of the Ruthlandian Union last season... John Anderson (12-3/3.64) and Carey Snead (10-19/3.78) are dependable starters, too... the Wolves need offense to contend... CF Yancey Tanner led the club with a .316 BA and 80 runs... RF Bennett Cardwell topped the team with 81 RBIs, but batted just .248 with 17 roundtrippers... 1B Mel Quinn paced them in homers with 19, but hitting just .206 for average.

The East Point Panthers, managed by Karol Zodoka, won pennants in 2031 and 2033 and were picked to win again this season in The Islandian Times preseason poll... Zodoka had a strong staff, good power and scoring with adequate defense... Dixie Brooks (15-12/2.62), Johnny Moore (19-11/2.98), Burton Cook (11-10/3.41) and Frank Blair (13-14/3.85) are a pretty fair rotation... the reliable bats were veteran star and All-Star 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.272/39/126/96), RF Ed Milsted (.323/21/53/73), LF Ricky Arnold (.285/8/60/84) and SS Greg Stone (.282/17/66/66)... but 1B Jaxon Shatner (.226/25/86/71) and C Chris Cardinale (..237/16/62/78) had sub-par seasons.

For the ninth year in a row the High Mesa Cowboys wound up in the second division of the TU East with a sixth-place finish... the Cowpokes won the Pro Cup in 2002 and made the playoffs the next year, but haven't graced the postseason since... manager Rolf Kellgren has a decent pitching staff and a fair offense... Virgil Hasper (19-12/3.73) was the biggest winner, followed by Ronald Schmitt (13-11/3.86)... rookie RF Clay Johnson sparked the offense with 42 homers, 98 RBIs, 83 runs and a .284 BA... 28-year-old free agent from Southport (TU) C John Paul chipped in with 28 HRs, 63 RBIs and 76 runs, while batting .258... Kellgren had nobody else to boast about.

It's been a long time since the Red Bluff Red Sox made the Pro Cup playoffs... you have to go way back to 2009 for their most recent appearance, but the Red Sox do have a Pro Cup in its trophy case, winning it in 2004... skipper Jim Shaubert saw his club wind up deep in the second division... his Red Sox have finished seventh in three of the last four seasons... his club doesn't hit for much of an average, but they can good deep... the Red Sox clouted 186 out of the park and ranked 4th overall in the Tycobbian Union... pitching-wise they are pretty bad, ranking 30th... team batting leaders were All-Star CF Ike Sweetwater (.289/24/68/92), All-Star C Allie Blackwell (.283/11/50/53) and veteran 1B Garris Aiken (.241/23/78/74)... Aiken missed a third of the season with an injury... Tony DeFazio led the mound corps with a 15-14 mark and a 3.46 ERA.

The Hillsboro Blazers endured another last-place finish under manager Andy Jefferson... the Blazers have never been in the playoffs in their history... the Blazers are terrible at bat, ranking 63rd in the IPA with a .233 team BA... only White River of the TU North is worse with a .232 mark... on the hill they are just a little better, ranking 23rd with a 3.87 ERA... Hillsboro is average with the gloves... Jefferson has three decent starters in Eddie Brasher (19-16/3.44), Carmine Scalise (12-15/3.44) and Ralph Quick (10-18/3.42)... all suffer from a lack of run support... offensive leaders are 3B Marty O'Reilly (.253/27/87/67), rookie LF Jurrien Bellini (.247/27/81/83) and CF Benny Kegel (.288/22/65/54).

Eugene Church · 03-08-2013, 09:38 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 18, 2035

Braves Blow 'em Away Again In TU West
After a postseason drought that lasted over three decades, the Chicopee Braves have begun another streak with a second straight Tycobbian West division title... the Braves won in another runaway, beating runner-ups Bayview and Bay St. Clair by 10 games... the Rolling Hills Reds came in fourth in the standings, 12 games off the pace.

Chicopee won again this year with its big bats... Ivan Burkholder's Braves were the best hitting and best scoring team in the Tycobbian Union, averaging over 5 runs a game... the pitching was not great, but it was good enough... defense was a little less than average... leading the Chicopee high-powered attack were All-Star CF Charley Kota (.304/29/101/113), All-Star 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.346/23/108/71), All-Star LF Alfredo Cobos (.345/22/86/89), 2B Todd Goodwin (.305/27/98/111) and SS Felix Roubique (.291/10/60/70)... Cobos may miss the first round of the playoffs due to an injured hamstring... on the mound the Braves will be led by starter/reliever Byron Wilson (18-6/2.94/11 saves), Heyota Chaska (16-7/3.89), 31-year-old free agent from Grand City (RU) Vito Sanfratello (19-14/3.58), Kajika Fleetfoot (14-11/4.19) and Ryan Ledbetter (12-13/3.42)... closer Matt Reeves (5-5/2.13/14 saves) stood out in the bullpen... Chicopee may be a little bit better due to the addition of Sanfratello to the rotation... the Braves improved at the plate, too... Chicopee proved last year they can play with the best teams... they whipped Tuckanarra last year in the Elite 8 in just five games and fell to eventual IPA Pro Cup champ North Hills in a hard-fought seven-games series... don't be surprised if they cause some ripples in the Pro Cup playoffs this year.

For the second successive year Chancey Quibedeaux and his Bayview Vikings had another good season, winding up tied for second with Bay St. Clair, but nowhere near winning the pennant... Bayview hasn't been to the postseason since 2016 and has never won a Pro Cup... the Viks boast a bonifide offense that topped the Tycobbian Union with 215 home runs, second to IPA leader Middlefield (RU), which totaled 227... however, pitching is another story... only All-Star Joaquin Lima (22-12/3.51) stood out... this was the fifth time he has posted a 20-game season... Christy Kane (15-21/3.19) was consistent with quality starts and should have fared better record-wise... Bayview really stung the ball, led by All-Star 2B Jerry Culpepper (.282/38/105/76), LF Roy Ricks (.280/30/82/93), 3B Marius Lokken (.303/26/53/69), RF Cleve Belton (.270/27/69/66) and All-Star SS Wade Rosewall (.293/25/76/80).

The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are skippered by HOF pitcher Denny Coulon... the Bucs have finished in the first division of the Tycobbian West for the last six years and last copped the pennant in 2030... overall the Buccaneers have made the playoffs on 9 occasions, but have never won the Pro Cup... Coulon has a pretty fair rotation, paced by Jim McBride (18-13/3.17), Jay Callahan (14-11/2.99) and John Karlsen (18-17/3.28)... and his relief ace is Pete Cross (6-9/3.14/21 saves)... the Bucs bats have some punch, but are mediocre at putting runs on the scoreboard... the best of the lot are 3B Bailey Holmsworth (.274/19/74/66), 1B Ryan Dukes (.308/24/60/62), LF Cotton Cornwall (.230/21/62/66) and RF Milt Powers (.275/23/61/62)... rookie CF Leo Cazarez showed good power with 23 homers in 101 games, but batted a very poor .218 for average.

The Rolling Hills Reds put two bad seasons behind them by rising up from the TU West basement to fourth place... manager Matty Christianson got better pitching this year... the Reds have been in the playoffs 10 times in their history and have captured two Pro Cups, in 2029 and 2031... Christianson has fair offense and fair pitching... CF Scotty Yiska (.305/26/78/75), 1B Angelo Nardone (.313/20/71/60) and C Stan Ellis (.284/12/77/66) were the most productive bats... on the hill Jakob Wagner (18-15/3.72) and Mike Daniels (16-13/3.75) won the most games, but Christianson's son Matthew stood out with a 3.07 ERA in his freshman season, but was 13-14 record-wise.

Since winning the TU West in 2033, the La Claire Lynx have wound up in the fifth spot for the last two seasons... in its history La Claire had never won a Pro Cup and only make the playoffs twice... 2028 was the other time... manager Zeppy Deshotel, a HOF outfielder, has enough on the hill to contend, but not at the plate... 31-year-old Pat Kovacs (17-12/2.41) is an elite hurler rapidly approaching the 200-victory mark after 11 years in the IPA... lifetime he is 190-166 with a superb 2.66 ERA... Kovacs hold the IPA strikeout mark at 391 Ks in 310 innings in 2028... at 39 Mac Jackson (16-16/3.31) had a brilliant first half and made the All-Stars with a 12-6 record and a 1.96 ERA, but faltered badly in the second half... Tony Rossi (14-2/3.64) and Rance Raymond (14-16/3.37) also were quality starters... La Claire's best sticks were All-Star 3B Jarred O'Neal (.325/29/101/94), 1B Kris Wilson (.283/21/85/56) and RF Corbett Brooks (.253/17/70/77).

For the fifth year in a row the Denton City Redbirds have roosted in sixth place... the Redbirds haven't ever won the IPA championship and it's been 19 years since they won the TU West... in all they have been in the postseason 9 times, but not lately... Denton City was an early powerhouse in the IPA when Ford Whiteman was the skipper, but no more... things have been tough for the current manager Trevor Tomlinson... the Redbirds can score, but don't have much pitching... the best bats are SS Sammy Thornton (.305/8/70/94), rookie C Felton Welch (.283/27/105/69), 1B Barry McKnight (.286/21/86/68) and 2B Dickie Samuels (.278/9/65/71)... Francisco Salcido (22-14/3.28) really blossomed this year and led the staff in wins... vets Denny Mills (14-21/3.96) and Stephen Edwards (9-14/4.23) slumped this year after going 22-13 and 18-12 last year... Denton City was forecast to finish third in The Islandian Times preseason poll.

After contending for most the last decade, Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats have fallen on hard times, dropping all the way to seventh place this year... the offense went from setting an IPA-record .297 BA to just .259... wholesale desertions caused it as Jan Kessinger (.310 BA), Pettis Pentleton (.315 BA) and Vince Barbieri (.319) went to greener free-agency pastures... rookie sensation All-Star C Corky DiNozzo had a fantastic season with 33 homers, 93 RBIs and a .320 BA... All-Star 3B Koora Nawajuk (.297/11/61/56), 1B Randy Towns (.287/1/47/59) and LF Harry Tashina (.286/9/65/52) were the best of the rest... the lackluster staff was led by Claude Watson (16-12/3.06), Doug Kirkpatrick (16-18/3.42) and Freddy Gooch (12-16/4.04).

The Arlon Champions were picked the second-best club in the TU West in the preseason, but it didn't come close to happening... manager Rocco Belasario's team failed miserable and ended up in the cellar... this was the third time in six seasons the Champs came in last... they have been stuck in the second division since 2030 and haven't made the playoffs since 2020... Arlon has never won a Pro Cup and have participated in the postseason only 3 times in its history... Hall-of-Famer Belasario's ball club ranked near the bottom in offense and pitching, but does rate very well defensively... Emil Nowak (15-17/3.55) was the only pitcher of note, while rookie LF Charley Hastings (.290/4/68/91) and 2B Todd Benson (.277/4/49/80) were the only hitters with decent batting averages... CF Mark Cameron topped the team in homers with 20, but batted only .234 with 78 RBIs... RF Tandy Connery paced the team with 79 RBIs, but hit only .230 and had 16 HRs.

Eugene Church · 03-09-2013, 08:20 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, September 19, 2035

TIMES' POLL PREDICTS ELNORA-SAN ALEJO PRO CUP FINALISTS
When the leaves start turning brown and orange, it's serious baseball time in Islandian... The Islandian Times polled the major media outlets across the country and came up with the San Alejo Montaneros of the Tycobbian Union as the winner and champion of the Islandian Pro Alliance, at least on paper... in reality, the scribes and broadcasters are not alway right... down through the league history underdogs have had their days on quite a few occasions... the expected opponent in the Pro Cup Finals will be the Elnora All-Stars of the Ruthlandian Union... five of the eight participants from last year are back, including defending champ North Hills. Tuckanarra was the third choice in the poll with Waleska rated fourth, Chicopee fifth, reigning champ North Hills sixth, LaGrange seventh and Volusia in the eighth spot.

The IPA Pro Cup playoffs get started tomorrow with San Alejo taking on North Hills at the Casa de Beisbol and Tuckanarra hosting Chicopee in Tycobbian action, while it will be Elnora entertaining Volusia and Waleska at home against LaGrange in the Ruthlanian opening series.

Poll Rank, Team (Record)
1. San Alejo Montaneros (100-54) .260 BA, 786 R, 207 HR, 3.01 ERA, .973 FA
It was a magnificent year for skipper Alberto Herrera and his San Alejo Montaneros... the Monties rang up an IPA-high 100 victories and easily prevailed in the TU South with excellent pitching and robust bats... they were never seriously challenged and posted an 11-game lead at midseason, this soared even higher in the second half and ran away with the division, winning by 18 games... Herrera has a great starting five in All-Star Johnny Brown (23-11/2.97), All-Star Clete Lawson (18-14/3.61), Tommy Smith (19-12/2.88), Ollie Olivares (13-6/2.28/6 saves) and All-Star Frank Jankowski (12-2/2.27/9 saves)... San Alejo has plenty of bats, too, sparked by superb rookie RF Gilberto Duarte (.323/37/104/88), CF Dusty Rogan (.287/24/99/78), LF Adrian Otero (.293/23/77/84) and rookie 1B Omar Velazquez (.252/20/70/79)... the Monties are better this year and will be seeking revenge against the defending IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills in first-round action... the Hawks upset them last year in the Tycobbian Elite 8 in seven games and went on to capture the IPA crown.

2. Elnora All-Stars (98-56) .281 BA, 832 R, 132 HR, 3.16 ERA, .971 FA
Elnora won out by a single game in a September stretch-drive run over Sugar Valley in the RU East... manager Leon Carter's club regained its powerhouse status this season after suffering a bit of an aberration in 2034... last season they slipped to fifth with an 81-73 record... this was the All-Stars fourth pennant in five years... Elnora has a high-octane attack with excellent pitching, but they are only average defensively... leading the high-scoring offense were All-Star SS James Couch (.313/12/81/93), 32-year-old free agent from White River (TU North) CF Clive Kenyon (.330/12/81/93), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.297/14/71/92), C Coot Bailey (.312/11/49/67) and RF Travis Glass (.260/19/72/75)... platooned 1B-3B Danny Bierhoff (.333/14/46/44) was also tough out... another good bat, regular LF Clint Thomas (.301/7/55/63), missed a third of the season with injuries and will miss the playoffs... regular 3B Matt Boyd (.255/12/76/63) will also not play in the postseason because of injury... for the fourth time in five seasons Jeremy Sellers (20-9/2.51) was a 20-game winner... other stalwarts were Stan Kivas (22-10/3.27), Dan Pitts (16-13/3.41) and Jesus Robles (16-13/3.95)... Freddy Pfeffer (7-6/2.84/6 saves) and John Kaltenbach (3-2/1.80/5 saves) manned the bullpen very well... All-Star Paul Martina (10-5/2.05/9 saves) was lost for the season in late July and will be sorely missed in the playoffs... the All-Stars won the Pro Cup in 2033 and have their eyes set on winning it again... Carter says the time is right... many baseball experts agree with him.

3. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (97-57) .269 BA, 802 R, 168 HR, 2.95 ERA, .972 FA
Tuckanarra skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens piloted his club to a first-division berth for the 13th consecutive year... the Blue Jays are a talented bunch with strong pitching and a strong offense... it's only defensively that they are just an average ball club... they handily won the TU East by 12 games... the Tucks had three 20-game winners in All-Star Bobby Reid (20-12/2.49), Rudy Rosario (20-12/3.16) and Junior Bristow (22-11/2.51)... Rosario was certainly worth his big contract... he came over from Colfax of the Ruthlandian Union through free agency... rounding out one of the best foursome in the IPA was Jeff Buttram (14-11/3.42)... the bullpen was solid, too, led by James Warner (3-6/2.47/20 saves)... Stevens' batting order was chocked full of hitters, too, paced by IPA icon and All-Star LF Lorne Evans (.277/39/125/109), All-Star RF Spade Weldon (.306/16/82/90), 1B Josh George (.252/26/96/78), CF Pancho Villa (.288/22/93/71) and SS Eddie Darby (.304/6/55/76)... Tuckanarra will have to face Chicopee again in the first round of the Pro Cup playoffs... the Braves put them away in 5 games last postseason... however 20-game winner Rosario will be a big addition this year... it should be quite a series.

4. Waleska Westerners (97-57) .267 BA, 810 R, 134 HR, 3.27 ERA, .975 FA
Waleska manager Roy Hobbs revamped his pitching staff with youngsters Craig Nash (21-14/2.96) and Tony Haskell (18-10/3.20) to go along with his veteran ace and All-Star Terry Richards (21-7/2.97) and Vern Bass (20-10/3.67) to turn the club completely around to take the RU South by 12 games... they were fifth last year... Hobbs added in free agent Earl Perkins (5-7/3.30/25 saves) from Glasco and made him his bullpen specialist... Perkins led the IPA with 25 saves... newcomers to the batting order were rookie CF Jon Lassiter (.302/7/63/97) and free agent from St. John C Tony Brinkerhoff (.273/14/68/73), who added to the already potent attack... IPA superstar and All-Star LF Loco Dillinger (.331/36/113/85) had another superlative season... Dillinger got plenty of help from All-Star RF Niles Gregory (.292/16/83/83), 2B Monty McMurtry (.288/9/70/98), 3B Dorak Aranda (.267/21/79/73) and 1B Glenn Childress (.245/8/66/90)... Waleska and Elnora will be favored to meet in the RU title game... the winner should represent the Ruthlandian Union well in the Pro Cup Finals.

5. Chicopee Braves (90-64) .281 BA, 817 R, 183 HR, 3.60 ERA, .970 FA
In the TU West this year Chicopee won big again by 10 games with its big bats... Ivan Burkholder's Braves were the best hitting and best scoring team in the Tycobbian Union, averaging over 5 runs a game... the pitching was not great, but it was good enough... defense was a little less than average... leading the Chicopee high-powered attack were All-Star CF Charley Kota (.304/29/101/113), All-Star 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.346/23/108/71), All-Star LF Alfredo Cobos (.345/22/86/89), 2B Todd Goodwin (.305/27/98/111) and SS Felix Roubique (.291/10/60/70)... Cobos may miss the first round of the playoffs due to an injured hamstring... on the mound the Braves will be led by starter/reliever Byron Wilson (18-6/2.94/11 saves), Heyota Chaska (16-7/3.89), 31-year-old free agent from Grand City (RU) Vito Sanfratello (19-14/3.58), Kajika Fleetfoot (14-11/4.19) and Ryan Ledbetter (12-13/3.42)... closer Matt Reeves (5-5/2.13/14 saves) stood out in the bullpen... Chicopee may be a little bit better due to the addition of Sanfratello to the rotation... the Braves improved at the plate, too... Chicopee proved last year they can play with the best teams... they whipped Tuckanarra last year in the Elite 8 in just five games and fell to eventual IPA Pro Cup champ North Hills in a hard-fought seven-games series... don't be surprised if they cause some ripples in the Pro Cup playoffs this year.

6. North Hills Hawks (88-67) .270 BA, 682 R, 128 HR, 3.33 ERA, .976 FA
It took an incredible finish for North Hills to repeat in the TU North... the Hawks sneaked by Fairfax in a single-game playoff for the flag... they had to win their final four games, while the Frogs had to lose their last four... Skipper Todd Simons has a solid club in North Hills led by four fine starters, who include last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael (17-10/2.51), Jeff Owens (20-14/3.28), Kyle Oliver (10-6/3.32) and Nelson Hooper (15-16/3.32)... closer Frankie Lambert (7-8/3.28/23 saves) led the bullpen... Lambert topped the TU in saves... superstud All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.331/32/103/92) had another very impressive season... helping him out were 2B Dean O'Donnell (.283/21/83/89) and 1B Ric Hamilton (.283/18/82/61)... rookie RF Gerry Rice (.301/7/31/57) was a good addition to the team, which appears ready and able to make a good run at repeating as Pro Cup champion... the Hawks are a fine defensive team, too.

7. LaGrange Sports (92-62) .265 BA, 782 R, 172 HR, 3.60 ERA, .972 FA
LaGrange won the RU North pennant with a tremendous 24-5 record in August, which Far Mountain (15-14) and Kilkenny (18-11) couldn't match... the Sports beat the Redhawks by 7 games and the Cats by 8 to take the title... Chazz Bassett's emergence as a top-notch starter was another key factor, along with two fine rookie bats... Bassett (23-12/3.39) joined standout vets Ryan Janssen (18-16/3.90) and Walt Thurber (19-14/3.52) to give manager Quincy Peterson a strong threesome in his rotation... leading the offense were 3B Claude DesJardins (.252) with 28 HRs, 97 RBIs and 98 runs, star CF Russell Watkins (.267) with 20 HRs and 92 RBIs, vet 1B Chris Charbonnier (.282) with 22 HRs, 87 RBIs and 82 runs, rookie C Chris Heffner (.307) with 21 HRs, 76 RBIs and 85 runs and rookie RF Charles Basque (.298) with 28 HRs, 102 runs and 75 RBIs... the Sports could make some noise in the playoffs if the pitching steps it up to championship caliber... LaGrange has some solid hitters.

8. Volusia Vigilantes (84-70) .278 BA, 784 R, 155 HR, 4.05 ERA, .976 FA
The outlook for this season was dismal according to the baseball scribes in The Islandian Times preseason poll, who ranked the Vigilantes the worst team in the RU West... Volusia stumbled in August, but regrouped in September to withstand the late-season challengers... the V's whipped Colfax by 2 games, Fort Benton by 3 and Sligo by 4 in the RU West... manager Alfonso Feliz had strong bats, questionable pitching and good fielding... leading the highly potent attack were All-Star 3B Antonio Dias (.324/21/66/98), rookie 1B Jojo DeLucca (.284/20/95/83), C Tubby Tarkanian (.282/23/94/74), CF Ernesto Andujar (.314/19/87/88) and All-Star and rookie RF Felipe Hernriques (.305/15/87/73)... Dias is on the DL, but might return for some of the playoffs... Dias will be sorely missed from the Vigilantes' arsenal... Fabio Medeiros (18-10/3.69) was the most effective starter... Bob Bondy (19-13/4.57) was a big winner, but gave up a lot of runs... Jacy Chandler (14-14/4.45) had a spotty season... not much is expected of the V's in the postseason... however, they did knock off vaunted Eastshore in the first round last year... this year they will take on juggernaut Elnora in the RU Elite 8 Series.

Eugene Church · 03-10-2013, 09:27 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, September 20, 2035

2035 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series
(best-of-seven)

Ruthlandian Union

V'S VICTORIOUS IN OPENER, BARTON TOUGH
Journeyman Sammy Barton got the opening game start for underdog Volusia against heavily-favored Elnora and the slim southpaw throttled the All-Stars 4-2, holding them to just 4 hits and 2 runs in 8 innings... Barton (1-0) got the win with one-inning help from Marv Webb, who sat Elnora down in order... Barton struck out 5 and walked 3 in a strong performance... during the season Barton was 4-3 mainly as a reliever and sometime starter... he was given the start by manager Alfonso Feliz because the All-Stars have trouble against lefties.

The loss went to 20-game winner Jeremy Sellers (0-1), who worked 8 good innings, but was done in by shoddy defense... Sellers allowed 3 runs, but only none of them was earned... after three scoreless innings, Volusia scored 3 runs in the top of the fourth with 3B Ryan Krychek, SS Sal Higgins and Barton droving in the runs... in the bottom of the fifth Elnora cut it to 3-2 on a 2-run homer by 3B Danny Bierhoff... the V's got their last score in the ninth on pinchhitter Rodrigo Camara's sacrifice fly.

WALESKA EDGES LAGRANGE 3-2 IN GAME ONE
In game one of the Ruthlandian Elite 8 at Westerner Field in Waleska, the hometowners got the best of the visiting LaGrange Sports 3-2... Tony Haskell whipped Walt Thurber in a battle of left-handers... Haskell (1-0) went the distance, gave up 7 hits and 2 runs, while fanning 5 and walking 2... Thurber (0-1) worked into the seventh, yielding 3 runs on 9 hits with 4 Ks and 2 walks.

LaGrange took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth when 1B Chris Charbonnier drove in a run with an RBI groundout and another run came in via a wild pitch... the Westerners got a run in the fifth on a triple by 3B Dorak Aranda and a groundout by 1B Glenn Childress... in the sixth LF Loco Dillinger tied the score with an RBI single and C Tony Brinkerhoff doubled in the eventual game-winning run... Aranda and Brinkerhoff led Waleska with 2 hits apiece.

Tycobbian Union

MONTIES POWER PAST HAWKS 8-5 WITH 4 HR
The pitching matchup never materialized between two elite IPA hurlers... the bats prevailed in the opening game of the Tycobbian Elite 8 Series... San Alejo hammered 4 out of the park to triumph 8-5 over the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks at the Casa de Beisbol... 1B Omar Velazquez cracked two of them and batted in 3 runs... rookie RF Gilberto Duarte had a 2-run clout and batted in 3... and pinchhitter Jed Armstrong belted a solo shot.

Johnny Brown (1-0) had a rough outing, but pitched a complete game... he permitted 12 hits and 5 runs, struck out 6 and issued 4 bases on balls... last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael was pounded for 6 runs and 8 hits in his 5 innings... it was the first postseason loss for Michael in his career... he was a perfect 7-0 going into the game... Brown was 23-11 this season, while Michael was 17-10.

SS Dean O'Donnell paced the Hawks with 3-5 and 2 RBIs... he homered in seventh... 2B Tommy Vavas also went 3-5 in defeat... North Hills outhit San Alejo 12 to 10.

BRAVES BOMB BLUE JAYS 10-5 IN GAME 1
The powerful Chicopee Braves showed their stuff on the road at Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra as they roundly bombed the Blue Jays 10-5 in game one of the Tycobbian Elite 8... the Braves blistered them for 12 hits and soundly defeated Bobby Reid (0-1), ace of the Blue Jays... Chicopee's starter Byron Wilson (1-0) fared better, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits in his 6 frames... Wilson departed with a 7-3 lead and two Brave relievers preserved the victory for him... Reid left after allowing 7 runs and 7 hits in just 3-plus innings.

1B Kurt Gustavsen sparked the winners with three hits and 3 RBIs, including a 2-run homer... Big George Shunkaha also collected 3 hits... CF Pancho Villa and 2B Jim Cuervas went deep for the Blue Jays... Villa had 3 hits, while Cuervas and RF Spade Weldon had 2 each.

Eugene Church · 03-11-2013, 03:12 PM

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 21, 2035

2035 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series
(best-of-seven)

Ruthlandian Union

ELNORA RALLIES, BEATS V'S IN THE NINTH 5-4
Playing at home at State Fair Park, Elnora blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth and had to rally to win 5-4, scoring the winning run on a passed ball... the All-Stars are now tied with Volusia at a game apiece in the RU Elite 8 Series after the Vigilantes took the opener... portsider Stan Kivas was cruising along with a 3-1 lead until the V's battered him for 3 runs in the top of the ninth... Kivas permitted 4 runs - 2 earned - and 8 hits in 8 and two-thirds innings... reliever Freddy Pfeffer (1-0) got a shaky win after he blew the save... Pfeffer finally got the final out with the winning runs on base.

Lourenzo Chaves (0-1) took the loss when he could not protect his 4-3 lead... he allowed 2 runs and 2 hits in his two-thirds of an inning... Elnora had the advantage in hits 11 to 10... SS James Couch (.375) topped the All-Stars with 3 hits, including the game's only homer... CF Clive Kenyon (.333) chimed in with a 2-run double... and 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.375) and 1B Charley Taylor (.250) added 2 hits apiece... SS Sal Higgins (.500) led the V's with 2 hits and 2 RBIs... and 1B Jojo DeLucca (.429) and CF Ernesto Andujar (.250) also collected a pair of hits each.

WESTERNERS WIN AGAIN, SPANK SPORTS 10-1
In game two of the RU Elite 8 at Westerner Stadium, Waleska exploded for 9 runs in the last of the eighth to spank LaGrange 10-1... it was the Westerners second win in a row in the series... Waleska banged out 13 hits in the rout, sparked by SS Rusty Adler's (.286) 3 runs batted in... LF Loco Dillinger (.375) and 1B Glenn Childress (.333) also helped out with 2 RBIs each... RF Niles Gregory (.500) had 3 hits and scored 3 times.

Starters Terry Richards and Chazz Bassett, both 20-game winners, locked in to a 1-1 tie for the first 7 frames, but both exited in the eighth... Richards went 7 and one-third innings, gave up no earned runs and 4 hits with 7 strikeouts and 5 walks... winning pitcher Earl Perkins (1-0) came on and got the final two outs in the eighth, retiring both batters he faced... Andy Sampson finished off the Sports with a scoreless ninth... the Westerners held LaGrange to only 5 hits... Bassett (0-1) was blasted for 9 runs and 12 hits in his 7 and one-third innings.

Tycobbian Union

SAN ALEJO SLIPS BY NORTH HILLS 2-1, UP BY 2 GAMES
In a battle between this year's Pro Cup favorite San Alejo and last year's winner North Hills, light-hitting Sancho Cruz belted a game-winning home run in the seventh to give San Alejo a 2-1 triumph over North Hills in the second game of the Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series... Tommy Smith outpitched Jeff Owens to send the Montaneros up by two games over the Hawks... Smith (1-0) went all the way and held the Hawks to one run and 7 hits... he was backed by 3 double plays... Owens (0-1) had a strong outing, too, surrendering just 2 runs and 6 hits.

The Hawks scored first in the fourth when C Michael Romanovsky (.000) walked, advanced to second on a sac bunt, then scored on CF Kris Anastas' (.167) base hit... San Alejo RF rookie Gilberto Duarte (.250) tied up up at 1-all with a single in the last of the fifth... Cruz (.500) and 1B Omar Velazquez (.667) led the Monties with 2 hits apiece.

CHICOPEE SHOCKS TUCKS 6-4 ON TODD'S HR
Rudy Rosario of Tuckanarra was breezing a long with a 2-hit 4-0 lead going into the ninth against Chicopee in game number two of the TU Elite 8 Series, when the roof fell in and the Braves blistered him for 6 runs en route to a 6-4 comeback victory over the shocked Blue Jays, who now find themselves in a deep 2-0 hole... Kenny Todd (.250) busted it up with a 2-run clout to send Rosario (0-1) down to defeat and give Vito Sanfratello (1-0) the win... Sanfratello also pitched the entire game, allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, struck out 3 and walked just one... Chicopee CF Charley Kota (.250) also poked a 2-run single for the Braves... the Blue Jays were led by C Timmy Stevens (.750), who had 3 base hits.

Tuckanarra ran up a 4-0 lead with 3 runs in the second frame and one in the fifth on RBIs by RF Spade Weldon (.333), 3B Lynn Starr (.125), 2B Jim Cuervas (.286) and pitcher Rudy Rosario (.500).

02-24-2013, 07:22 PM	#3442
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	THE ISLANDIAN TIMES Wednesday, August 1, 2035 Stretch Drive Begins In IPA The 2035 Islandian Pro Alliance season is now down to the final six weeks of the campaign. It's crunch time for all of the contending clubs. Four of the divisions are pretty much decided, but there are four others that might go down-to-the-wire. Waleska has an 11-game edge in the Ruthlandian South, but the other three pennant races are still up-in-the-air. In the RU North the LaGrange Sports have a scant one-game lead over Far Mountain and 4 better than Kilkenny. Glasco and Taranto have outside chances of winning, but trail by 7 and 8 games respectively. In the RU East, it's a battle between Elnora and Sugar Valley. The All-Stars have a 3-game lead on the Rattlers going into the last weeks. The Volusia Vigilantes are on top of the RU West by 2 games over Colfax. The Sligo Rovers and Forest City Lumberjacks are within striking distance at 6 and 7 games off the pace. Over in the western part of Islandia, the Tycobbian Union really only has one pennant chase in progress. That's in the TU North where Fairfax has a one-game edge over the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills. Still in the hunt are third place Mahaska and Hartsdale, 6 games behind. San Alejo locked up the TU South long ago and is 14 games ahead of runner-up Colchester. The Tuckanarra Blue Jays have a fairly safe 9-game bulge in the TU East and the Chicopee Braves are 8 games in front in the TU West. Ruthlandian Union Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-24-2013 at 08:07 PM.

02-24-2013, 08:13 PM	#3443
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	Ruthlandian Union Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images

02-24-2013, 08:19 PM	#3444
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	Tycobbian Union Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images

02-24-2013, 08:23 PM	#3445
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	Tycobbian Union Standings and Team Statistics Attached Images

02-24-2013, 09:22 PM	#3447
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Friday, September 14, 2035 RU East, RU West And TU North Still In Doubt Two IPA divisions will like go down to the last day of the season and a third could possible end that way, too. Elnora has a one-game lead over Sugar Valley with three to go in the RU East. It's even more hectic in the RU West where Volusia has a precarious one-game lead over Colfax, 2 ahead of Fort Benton and 3 up on Sligo. In the Tycobbian Union, Fairfax has just about put last year's Pro Cup champ North Hills away with a 3-game edge - one more win by the Frogs or one more loss for the Hawks will decide the issue. All the other races have been decided. LaGrange reigned supreme in the RU North and Waleska conquered the RU South in easy fashion. The Sports won by 7 games over Far Mountain and the Westerners prevailed over St. John by a dozen games. The Tycobbian division champions all won by decisive, double-digit margins. San Alejo took the TU South by 17 games, Tuckanarra won the TU East by 12 games and Chicopee conquered the TU West by 10 games. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-25-2013 at 08:44 PM.

02-23-2013, 03:57 PM	#3441
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Wednesday, June 20, 2035 Tycobbia Rallies Past Ruthlandian Stars 6-5 For the third time in four years and sixth time in the last eight IPA All-Star Games the Tycobbian Stars have prevailed over Ruthlandia's best and finest... at the Hawk's Nest in North Hills this season they rallied from a 4-0 deficit with a 4-run sixth, highlighted by Charley Kota's game-tying 3-run rap... then won it 6-5 in the eighth when 2 runs scored on a critical error by third baseman Jason Butler, who let a grounder get through his legs... The TU All-Stars now lead the series 24-11. Both clubs collected 13 hits each... 1B Kurt Gustavsen (Chicopee) and C Corky DiNozzo (Kenwood) socked 2 hits apiece to top the winners, while C Angelo Rossi (Taranto) was a perfect 3-for-3 for the RU... and 3B Jason Butler (Belair Beach), LF Noel Martin (Belle Plaine) and RF Felipe Henriques (Volusia) all chipped in with 2 hits each... Kota (Chicopee) got the game MVP award with his 3 RBIs... SS James Couch (Elnora) paced Ruthlandia with a 2-run two-bagger. Bobby Reid (Tuckanarra) registered the win despite giving up the lead run in the top of the 8th... relievers Frankie Quinn (Blue Lake) and Frank Jankowski (San Alejo) saved it for him with scoreless innings in the eight and ninth... Jeremy Blanchard (Sugar Valley) was charged with the loss.

02-24-2013, 09:00 PM	#3446
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Saturday, September 1, 2035 Tight Races In Only 3 IPA Divisions With only two weeks remaining, there are only three races still in doubt in the Islandian Pro Alliance. The other five divisions, barring any late-season collapses or red-hot runs, should end up the way they are going into the final days of the season. In the Ruthlandian Union two of the divisions are still much in doubt. The RU East is a two-team tussle with Sugar Valley possessing a one-game margin on the Elnora All-Stars with 15 games left on the schedule. In the wild RU West it's a 5-team battle. Volusia hold a 2-game lead over Colfax, 3 games over Sligo and Fort Benton, who are deadlocked for third place, and 4 games ahead of fifth-place Forest City. The LaGrange Sports pulled away from Kilkenny and Far Mountain in August and soared way ahead with a 10-game edge in the RU North. The Waleska Westerners are far ahead in the RU South, leading runner-up St. John by 12 games. In the Tycobbian Union Fairfax and defending Pro Cup titleholder North Hills are still running neck-and-neck in the TU North, separated by just one game. That's the only race still in question. With a 13-game lead San Alejo will soon cinch in the TU South. Likewise for Chicopee in the TU West, which has an 11-game edge. Tuckanarra looks like it will coast in the TU East with its 7-game lead over second place Ozarka.

02-25-2013, 08:28 PM	#3448
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 IPA Batting Crowns Awarded To RU's Richard And TU's Gustavsen Only a smidge separated first from second in the IPA batting derbies this season. The Ruthlandian title went to Neil Richard of the Eastshore Elegants and the Tycobbian king was Kurt Gustavsen of the Chicopee Braves. Richard nudged out Waleska's Loco Dillinger by less the two-tenths of a point and Gustavsen got the best of his teammate Alfredo Cobos by one point. In a tense duel Richard edged out Dillinger .33089 to .33066. Richard collected 181 hits in 547 trips to the plate for a .331 average. The 21-year-old Eastshore right fielder captured his second successive RU batting crown. Last year he batted a lofty .376. Richard had 27 doubles, 1 triple, 20 homers, 97 RBIs and scored 80 runs in 140 games. For his three years in the IPA Richard is a career .332 hitter. Cobos missed the last three weeks of the season because of injury. Gustavsen had to go 3-4 on the last day to beat him. First baseman Gustavsen hit .346 to .345 for Cobos. The 29-year-old Gustavsen notched 182 hits for Chicopee with 28 doubles, 2 triples, 23 home runs, drove in 108 runs and tallied 71 runs in 142 games. After nine years with the Braves Gustavsen sports a .308 lifetime batting average with 177 roundtrippers. Superstar Dillinger put up another outstanding season with 36 homers and 113 runs batted in in 139 games. Third in the RU batting race was Rocky Rapids shortstop Kelvin Cassidy, who hit .326. Cassidy copped the crown in 2033. Tycobbian runner-up Cobos hammered 22 home runs and batted in 88 with a .345 BA. In the third spot was North Hills' great left fielder Adam Thurgood with a .331 batting average in 146 games. Thurgood had 32 home runs and 103 RBIs.

02-25-2013, 08:45 PM	#3449
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Hawks Stun Frogs In TU North, Elnora And Volusia Also Winners It's all over but the shouting and the crying in the Islandian Pro Alliance pennant races. In a miraculous comeback, defending Pro Cup champion North Hills stunned Fairfax by winning its final three games of the year, while the Frogs were losing the last three, thus forcing a one-game playoff for the Tycobbian North flag. In an unprecedented finish, the Hawks whipped the Frogs 4-2 and will now get a chance to repeat as IPA champions. Other tight races went to the Elnora All-Stars, who held off the Sugar Valley Rattlers to win the Ruthlandian East division crown by a game. In the Ruthlandian West, the Volusia Vigilantes racked up the pennant for the second year in a row. The V's outlasted Colfax by two games and Fort Benton by three games in a hard-fought race. The other five divisions were no contests as LaGrange won the RU North by 7 games and Waleska claimed the RU South by 12 games. In the Tycobbian Union, the Tuckanarra Blue Jays, Chicopee Braves and San Alejo Montaneros were easy repeat pennant winners. The Monties won by a whopping 18 games, the Tucks by a dozen and the Braves by 10 games. The IPA Pro Cup playoffs are slated to begin this Friday with Waleska playing at home against LaGrange and Elnora entertaining Volusia in the Ruthlandian Union, while it will be Chicopee at Tuckanarra and North Hills in San Alejo in the Tycobbian Union. The Elite 8 Series will all be best-of-seven games. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-26-2013 at 08:52 PM.

02-26-2013, 11:16 PM	#3450
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 *Sports Snag RU North Flag, 3rd In 4 Years* The LaGrange Sports snagged their third RU North flag in four seasons... beating out Far Mountain by 7 games and preseason favorite Kilkenny by 8... Taranto came in fourth, 16 games back... the Sports were not highly rated early, forecast for fourth place... LaGrange won with an offense that could score runs and hit with power, coupled with fairly good pitching. LaGrange won the pennant with a tremendous 24-5 record in August, which Far Mountain (15-14) and Kilkenny (18-11) couldn't match... Chazz Bassett's emergence as a top-notch starter was another key factor, along with two fine rookie bats... Bassett (23-12/3.39) joined standout vets Ryan Janssen (18-16/3.90) and Walt Thurber (19-14/3.52) to give manager Quincy Peterson a strong threesome in his rotation... leading the offense were 3B Claude DesJardins (.252) with 28 HRs, 97 RBIs and 98 runs, star CF Russell Watkins (.267) with 20 HRs and 92 RBIs, vet 1B Chris Charbonnier (.282) with 22 HRs, 87 RBIs and 82 runs, rookie C Chris Heffner (.307) with 21 HRs, 76 RBIs and 85 runs and rookie RF Charles Basque (.298) with 28 HRs, 102 runs and 75 RBIs... the Sports could make some noise in the playoffs if the pitching steps it up to championship caliber... LaGrange has some solid hitters. The Far Mountain Redhawks had trouble scoring, but possessed strong pitching... skipper Don Nichols had an impressive starting four in Chad Cummings (15-15/2.33), Frankie Moreland (19-14/2.93), Jeff Cooper (18-17/3.13) and Dennis Sasek (14-11/3.13) and a quality bullpen, too... but his only reliable hitters were CF Wes Wernstedt (.301/5/64/91) and 3B Axel Bauer (.306/16/77/73). Kilkenny Cats' manager Rusty Denicola had the same problem as Far Mountain - not much offense... but he had a quality staff with superstar Dave Whitaker (21-12/2.34), who racked up 20 wins for the sixth time in his 13 IPA seasons, James Crockett (15-11/3.47) and Ted Flanagan (14-10/3.42)... Andy Mayfield (8-4/1.32/19 saves) led the relievers... the only run producer was 9-year vet 3B Leevi Viru with 90 RBIs, 21 HRs and 81 runs to go along with a modest .267 BA. The Taranto Tars with Augie Marshall at the helm made good progress this year, moving up from the cellar to fourth place... that's the first time since 2027 the Tars finished in the first division... Marshall has little pitching but his club has some pop with 196 HRs, sparked by second-year phenom and All-Star C Angelo Rossi with an IPA-leading 50 roundtrippers to go with his 115 RBis and .273 BA... 10-year vet CF Wes Marlowe was a pleasant surprise in his first full season with the club... Marlowe clouted 32 homers and drove in 79 runs, but hit only .255... Taranto's best pitchers were All-Star Emilio Gallo, a rookie starter, who debuted in the league at age 31 with a 21-12 mark and a 3.80 ERA... reliever Alex Sakarian (8-7/2.00/11 saves) also stood out for the Tars. For the third straight year once-dominant Valmara wound up in the second division in fifth place... from 2023 to 2031 manager Jet Kazmarek won 8 division titles and one Pro Cup... the Vipers don't do anything especially well, but they still have some quality pitching in veterans Garry Gronek (18-21/3.75) and J. B. Boutin (16-17/3.37)... the only bats of any consequence were vet LF Benny Hooper (.266/18/78/81), 1B Pat Sautier (.268/19/72/88) and fine rookie 3B Janek Jakubek (.265/19/80/73). For the 12th time in the past 13 seasons, the Glasco Athletics found themselves in the second division, ranking sixth... manager Barry McCord has little pitching, little hitting and not much power... 'nuff said... 23-year pitcher Basil Newchurch (18-15/3.18) had a very fine year and looks to be a comer... aging 33-year-old star 1B Kees Draeger (.250) led the club with 21 HRs and 82 RBIs, but he is not the player he was... after 13 years Draeger has a .301 BA with 367 HRs and over 1100 RBIs... his last strong season was 2031, when he was with Belair Beach... C Eddy Martin topped the team with a .290 BA... Martin chipped in with 16 HRs and 68 RBIs. It was a miserable year for the defending RU North champion Ranford Bulls... they fell from first to seventh in the standings... manager Rick Fargnoli's staff let him down this year and he lost several valuable players to free agency... All-Star C Kyle Hunt (.298/11/66/61) went to Eastshore and reliable SS Sonny Statum sat out the entire year and would not re-sign... Statum's .285 average and 86 runs were missed this year... veteran 3B Alex Vanno (.271) was the only bright star in the Bulls batting order with his 34 homers, 96 RBIs and 97 runs... on the hill vets Rube Satcher (19-17/2.97) and ancient Duncan Welch (19-14/2.97) performed very well... Welch, starred at the ripe old age of 41... in 19 seasons in the IPA, mainly with Crystal Lake, Welch has rung up a splendid 339-225 record and a superb 2.67 ERA... but the rest of the mound corps were very disappointing. Manager Kenny Willard and his Ancona Red Elephants finished in the RU North basement for the second time in three years, this time losing 100 games... Ancona was the worst team in the IPA... Willard has very little talent... his best bats belong to RF Pettis Pentleton (.265/19/60/86), 2B Alex Zitek (.260/21/73/65) and 1B Danny Webber (.298/12/46/64)... 29-year-old Pentleton, a career .322 hitter, All-Star, Golden Glover and batting titlist, was obtained in a trade in July from Kenwood, but his batting average really fell off this year... Ancona's best hurlers were starters Steven Russell (8-12/2.76) and Giannis Bakas (13-18/3.63), along with reliever Buddy Palmer (4-3/3.03/16 saves) Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-08-2013 at 09:44 PM.

02-27-2013, 10:41 PM	#3451
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Westerners Wipe Out RU South No one gave the Waleska Westerners any chance at all in the Ruthlandian South... they were rated the worst team in the division in *The Islandian Times* preseason poll... but after all was said and done it was a romp for the Westerners this season... the Westerners' closest competition was the St. John Crusaders, a very distant 12 games behind them... Claxton came in third, 16 games back... and San Dimas and Grand City were 23 games to the rear and tied for fourth place... last year's division champ and Pro Cup runner-up Crystal Lake floundered badly and ended up in the RU South cellar. Waleska manager Roy Hobbs revamped his pitching staff with youngsters Craig Nash (21-14/2.96) and Tony Haskell (18-10/3.20) to go along with his veteran ace and All-Star Terry Richards (21-7/2.97) and Vern Bass (20-10/3.67) to turn the club completely around... they were fifth last year... Hobbs added in free agent Earl Perkins (5-7/3.30/25 saves) from Glasco and made him his bullpen specialist... Perkins led the IPA with 25 saves... newcomers to the batting order were rookie CF Jon Lassiter (.302/7/63/97) and free agent from St. John C Tony Brinkerhoff (.273/14/68/73), who added to the already potent attack... IPA superstar and All-Star LF Loco Dillinger (.331/36/113/85) had another superlative season... Dillinger got plenty of help from All-Star RF Niles Gregory (.292/16/83/83), 2B Monty McMurtry (.288/9/70/98), 3B Dorak Aranda (.267/21/79/73) and 1B Glenn Childress (.245/8/66/90)... Waleska and Elnora will be favored to meet in the RU title game... the winner should represent the Ruthlandian Union well in the Pro Cup Finals. The St. John Crusaders were just pretty much average on the hill and at the plate... skipper Clayton Luck had three quality starters in Mac Shaw (18-8/3/26), Jeremy Kirk (18-12/3.24) and Raydon Burks (13-11/3.36)... Shaw was a great free agent pickup from Sugar Valley... but Luck's bullpen was a disaster... St. John's best bats were 3B Marty Blankenship (.284/30/113/74) and RF Nicky Farrugia (.318/27/113/92), along with rookie find CF Gilbert Hall (.296/5/60/84). In Claxton, Dixie Baker had average bats wth good power and a mediocre mound corps... but the Diamonds were markedly improved over the last two seasons... this year they came in third... Claxton was sixth and seventh the previous two years... veteran 2B Gary Colton (.301/19/92/76) paced the offense with help from CF Ken Brennan (.289/8/53/97), SS Stevie Wynn (.296/10/73/77) and impressive rookie LF Foxy Fuchs (.295/27/64/70)... RF Ivan Krause (.255/20/66/63) and 3B Jonas Weiss (.240/17/82/58) also added some power, but didn't hit much for average... Sam Nathan (19-10/3.44) and Tommy Brothers (18-12/3.71) were the top twirlers. The San Dimas Rancheros made the first division and were tied with Grand City for the fourth spot in the standings, but they were six games under the .500 mark... manager Wesley Pate's club had three dependable starters in Gregg Hughes (18-14/3.19), Zack Dowdle (18-14/3/56) and Carroll Cain (10-13/3.32), but not much beyond them... the Rancheros have no big sticks, but some decent ones... leading the offense were rookie 3B Leonard Purkey (.314/14/77/59), LF Austin Epps (.282/18/62/99), RF Denny Hendrix (.282/18/69/63) and CF Klaus Stordahl (.273/18/69/90). Wade Joslin's Grand City Cybercats ranked in the middle offensively and down near the bottom on the mound... heading up the bats were RF Bull Durham (.281/24/80/75), CF Thomas Hall (.317/19/74/72), 2B Teddy Grantham (.283/15/61/91) and rookie LF Jason Baker (.297/9/57/77)... the 'Cats have three credible starters in Doug Hansack (19-14/4.03), Roland Oates (14-11/3.18) and Herb Stewart (13-9/3.93), but not much else after them. 2034 was a solid season for the Belair Beach Sunbirds as they rose up from 8th to 3rd in the RU South, but they came back to earth this year with a sixth-place finish... skipper Slim Mosley has a weak outfit... the best thing the Sunbirds do is go deep occasionally... LF Bobby Meusel (.313/22/75/100) sparked the club at the plate... All-Star 2B Jason Butler (.303/26/98/70) had a great freshman year... and rookie CF Marty Dierker showed some potential with 23 roundtrippers and 64 RBIs, but hit only .251... Stefan Zeeman (18-16/3.08) was the top pitcher... after fine seasons in 2034, Kerstan Mak (11-16/3.39), Joel Gregg (11-16/3.82) and Todd Clyman (9-16/4.18) slumped badly this year. For the seventh year in a row the Valka Blackhawks wound up near the bottom... manager Eddie Lasky has nothing pitching-wise, but has a few quality batters in RF Kenny Mitzusaka (.315/22/105/72), 2B Mikk Kukk (.255/20/70/107), All-Star 1B Bobby Scott (.321/19/75/77) and SS Olari Ojastu (.276/21/64/63). Everything went wrong for Herman "Baby" George in Crystal Lake... ace Denny Mills went to Denton City in the Tycobbian Union... Mills led the Crushers to the pennant last year and almost to the Pro Cup trophy with a 22-13 record... Mills didn't fare too well in the new league with a 14-21 mark and a high 3.96 ERA... pitchers Arnie Cason (15-17/4.56) and Douglas Merrill (11-19/4/24) both fell off from stellar seasons last year... none of the big bats of 2034 produced this year... SS Mackie Cummings (.250/18/94/71), C Stan Stanek (.307/18/94/71), 1B Big Sam Takota (.271/15/80/75) and 2B Woody Jackson (.253/21/78/61) all had lackluster years... RF Paul Dillon (.255/6/50/60) fell off almost a hundred points at the plate. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-27-2013 at 10:46 PM.

02-28-2013, 10:55 PM	#3452
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Elnora Edges Sugar Valley For RU East Crown The Ruthlandian East just might be the strongest overall division in the Islandian Pro Alliance... six of the eight clubs had winning records with champion Elnora and runner-up Sugar Valley winning 98 and 97 games respectively... third place Cold Creek chalked up 91 victories... Wynnamac and last season's division winner Eastshore deadlocked for fourth with 81-73 records... even Beechwood in sixth place was over the .500 mark with a 78-76 record. Elnora won out by a single game in a September stretch-drive run over Sugar Valley... manager Leon Carter's club regained its powerhouse status this season after suffering a bit of an aberration in 2034... last season they slipped to fifth with an 81-73 record... this was the All-Stars fourth pennant in five years... Elnora has a high-octane attack with excellent pitching, but they are only average defensively... leading the high-scoring offense were All-Star SS James Couch (.313/12/81/93), 32-year-old free agent from White River (TU North) CF Clive Kenyon (.330/12/81/93), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.297/14/71/92), C Coot Bailey (.312/11/49/67) and RF Travis Glass (.260/19/72/75)... platooned 1B-3B Danny Bierhoff (.333/14/46/44) was also tough out... another good bat, regular LF Clint Thomas (.301/7/55/63), missed a third of the season with injuries and will miss the playoffs... regular 3B Matt Boyd (.255/12/76/63) will also not play in the postseason because of injury... for the fourth time in five seasons Jeremy Sellers (20-9/2.51) was a 20-game winner... other stalwarts were Stan Kivas (22-10/3.27), Dan Pitts (16-13/3.41) and Jesus Robles (16-13/3.95)... Freddy Pfeffer (7-6/2.84/6 saves) and John Kaltenbach (3-2/1.80/5 saves) manned the bullpen very well... All-Star Paul Martina (10-5/2.05/9 saves) was lost for the season in late July and will be sorely missed in the playoffs... the All-Stars won the Pro Cup in 2033 and have their eyes set on winning it again... Carter says the time is right... many baseball experts agree with him. Manager Gibby Bobkins of the Sugar Valley Rattlers has an explosive lineup, strong defense and a very fine pitching staff, considering the small venue they have to pitch in... the Rattlers went deep 198 times, second in the RU behind Middlefield's 227... and outscored everyone in the IPA with 860 runs... three players drove in over 100 each and three scored over 100 each: All-Star CF Bobby Gamble (.324/34/105/125), All-Star LF Tyler White (.241/42/135/103), All-Star 1B Roger Hobbs (.283/20/106/99) and 2B Richie Strickland (.242/28/65/123)... White led the IPA in RBIs and Gamble led in runs... other contributors were C Frankie Testaverde (.287/23/97/63) and SS Jesse Burns (.262/1/54/92)... Bobkins also had two All-Star hurlers and three 20-game winners in Jeremy Blanchard (22-8/3.67), 29-year-old free agent from Bayview (TU West) Jergen Fyelstad (22-8/3.77) and Juan Navarro (20-14/3.52)... he almost had a fourth in 31-year-old free agent from Mahaska (TU North) James Newland (19-8/3.94), who fell just one win short... in the bullpen Josh Wilkerson (4-4/1.84/14 saves) was solid, too... he was picked up in a trade with Southport (TU South)... it's tough when you win 97 games and don't make the playoffs... this was the Rattlers' second-best year ever... they won 98 games in 2005. This was supposed to the Cold Creek Catamounts' year... they were the favorite in The Islandian Times preseason poll... it was still a fine season as the 'Cats finished third behind two very good clubs... manager Scoop Lemieux had a solid ballclub with good hitting, good pitching and an excellent defense... he has a sound staff with J. J. Gillespie (20-10/2.17), who had the best ERA in the RU... it was Gillespie's third year in a row to win 20 games... other standouts in the rotation were George Bailey (17-10/3.44), Jules Capet (17-12/3.50) and Pete Heller (16-8/3.52)... Cold Creek is hampered by a lackluster offense... 2B Morten Jonassen (.317/6/48/62), CF Guy St. Laurent (.264/22/83/87), 3B Maska Chandler (.268/19/74/77) and RF Pat Foreman (.248/19/62/82) provide most of the offense with help from C Craig Peck (.300/6/50/51), 1B Leland Henley (.335/14/57/37) and 1B Steve Daniels (.275/16/44/43). For the 11th successive year the Wynnamac Sundowners of Matt Donnelly finished in the first division... they were forecast to battle Cold Creek for the division flag, instead they tied with Eastshore for fourth place, 17 games back in the race... this year Donnelly's club was just average in batting and pitching, but could score runs, ranking 9th... RF Allen Dundee (.263/16/85/67), 2B Ed Lane (.278/10/64/89), 1B Mick Saunders (.255/18/68/86), 3B Lou Borcellino (.306/9/63/59) and C Lee Leslie (.244/21/68/56) were the offensive leaders... mound leaders were few, paced by vet Killara Bardo (18-16/3.52) and Geoff Hobart (19-12/3.53) in the starting rotation, along with rookie reliever Paul Payton (6-4/2.86/3 saves)... the Sundowners' bullpen was atrocious with a 5.15 ERA. One wonders why a team as talented as the Eastshore Elegants came in tied for fourth, after winning 98 games in 2034... in essence they had more talent this year with the addition of standout All-Star and Gold Glove C Kyle Hunt (.298/11/66/60) in a midseason trade with Claxton (RU South)... and pitcher Randy Boone was back for a full season after missing a lot of last year... pitching was the culprit as the team ERA jumped from a great 2.96 in 2034 to 3.49 this year... that meant they allowed more than a run a game more than last year... Boone (20-13/3.05) led the staff, along with Koy Clampett (18-15/3.11), Ramon Contreras (18-14/3.69) and Don Klingenberg (14-14/3.72)... at age 37 Boone reached the 200-win milestone this season... he is 202-168 in 13 seasons with an impressive 3.04 career ERA... offense was no problem for the Elegants with superstar and All-Star CF Scotty Lagrange (.315/47/109/117) and RF Neil Richard (.331/29/97/80)... Lagrange was runner-up in the IPA with 47 dingers and Richard led the RU with a .331 BA... All-Star 2B Johnny Petrak (.295/14/66/84), 1B Paul Reed (.306/16/75/61) and LF Kelly Chamberlain (.255/25/66/99) also chipped valuable run production. The sixth-place Beechwood Bobcats could use more offense and a better bullpen... skipper Bret George has the starting pitching... despite the lack of hitting the Bobcats still finished above the .500 mark... vets Ken Arby (17-16/3.27), Maury Patterson (17-17/3.06) and Joey Powers (14-16/2.95) are rock solid, but could really use more run support... Patterson should reach 200 wins early next season... in 11 years the 32-year-old right-hander is 198-143 with a strong 2.96 ERA... while the Bobcats don't hit much for average, they can go deep... leading the way are CF Howie Baldwin (.231/36/89/87), SS Cody Hanks (.277/29/75/76), RF Eddie Wilson (.256/24/59/55) and 2B Leonard Mason (.255/19/68/89)... the 29-year-old Hanks was acquired in a trade with Red Bluff (TU East) in late July... 1B Kelly Hardison (.288/16/68/70) topped the team in BA. Danny Church has pretty fair pitching in Marston, but no offense to speak of... the Nine ended the season in sixth place, the seventh straight year in the second division... Kris Delaney (12-13/2.97) was the most effective starter... young star Pat Brown (13-21/4.16) endured an off-year after registering two consecutive 20-game seasons... two journeymen Alex Ehrlich (16-18/3.78) and Terry Bailey (13-13/3.58) were dependable starters... in the bullpen All-Star Jimbo McGinnity (7-5/2.03/15 saves) stood out... Church's modest bats are 3B Philip DeWey (.279/20/76/82), 1B Marco Ameche (.270/21/76/64), 2B Lonnie Trekell (.268/22/72/60), C Ron Marlowe (..255/16/60/58) and RF Warren Cleveland (.258/18/56/68). It was another dismal last-place finish for the hapless Belle Plaine Musketeers and manager Dave Torregrossa... that make it two years in a row in the basement and three of the last five years... the Muskies have a strong attack that is fourth in scoring runs, but they have horrendous pitching that gives up almost 5 runs a game... bat leaders are All-Star CF Noel Martin (.297/24/75/95), All-Star 2B Carl Bentley (.292/16/84/65), 1B Mitch Mason (.284/25/85/96), 3B Kit Ritter (.287/11/57/81), IF-OF Cal Copeland (.282/18/80/64) and RF Boo Boudreaux (.282/22/69/80)... Benny Lucas (14-17/4.50) is the best of the lot pitching-wise... everybody else is 5.00 or worse. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-02-2013 at 07:38 PM.

03-02-2013, 09:39 PM	#3453
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Volusia Hangs On For Another RU West Pennant For the second year in a row the Volusia Vigilantes won out in the tightly-bunched Ruthlandian West... the V's held off fast-closing Colfax, Fort Benton and Sligo in the stretch drive to nail down its flag... they beat out Colfax by 2 games, Fort Benton, the preseason favorite, by 3 games and Sligo by 4... Forest City and Rocky Rapids were also in the mix winding up 7 and 8 games off the pace in fifth and sixth place... Middlefield and Stoner were never any factors in the race. The outlook for this season was dismal according to the baseball scribes in *The Islandian Times* preseason poll, who ranked the Vigilantes the worst team in the RU West... Volusia stumbled in August, but regrouped in September to withstand the late-season challengers... manager Alfonso Feliz had strong bats, questionable pitching and good fielding... leading the highly potent attack were rookie 1B Jojo DeLucca (.284/20/95/83), C Tubby Tarkanian (.282/23/94/74), CF Ernesto Andujar (.314/19/87/88) and All-Star and rookie RF Felipe Hernriques (.305/15/87/73)... Fabio Medeiros (18-10/3.69) was the most effective starter... Bob Bondy (19-13/4.57) was a big winner, but gave up a lot of runs... Jacy Chandler (14-14/4.45) had a spotty season... not much is expected of the V's in the postseason... however, they did knock off vaunted Eastshore in the first round last year... this year they will take on juggernaut Elnora in the RU Elite 8 Series. Manager Ilya Szabo only has fair offense in Colfax, but has a pretty good pitching corps and excellent defense... the second-place Blasters have four capable starters with Ron Paige (20-15/3.47), Randell Perkins (20-12/3.36), Ray Maxon (15-15/3.49) and Bobby Porter (13-11/3.50)... Szabo also possessed two fine relievers in Jack Scanlon (2-3/1.54/14 saves) and Norb Harbison (3-6/2.61/5 saves)... the most reliable bats are rookie 3B Caleb McAvoy (.297/28/86/80), LF Chet Penn (.311/19/71/67), C Mitch Fullerton (.285/19/70/65) and 1B Kristian McEly (.252/17/86/54)... bad slumps in May and August cost the Crushers dearly this season. Fort Benton was supposed to be the team of the year in the Ruthlandian West... the Defenders were picked to win the flag, but they didn't really catch fire until the final two months and came up 3 games short... skipper Robbie Brooks' boys are quite good on the hill, but lack longball power and a good defense... All-Star Augie Marquis (20-12/2.61) stood out with his second successive 20-game season... after 11 years he is now only 11 wins short of the 200-mark...Marquis is 189-144 with a fine 3.07 ERA... other reliable starters were Carson McAfee (10-7/3.05), Chris Calsworth (14-18/3.57) and Tommy Baylor (15-16/3.88)... mainly contact hitters, rookie SS Mitch Hamilton (.303/2/66/85), rookie RF Rod Myerson (.305/7/60/63), LF Darrell Daly (.298/12/69/58), CF Cloyd McCloskey (.284/14/73/68) and 2B Alec Leclerc (.257/1/52/103) are the most dependable bats. Sligo, a regular pennant contender over the years, suffered a sharp decline in 2034 with a last-place finish, but they rebounded well with a strong fourth place this year, missing out by just 4 games... since 2021 the Rovers have chalked up 6 pennants and a Pro Cup with only two second-division finishes... manager Eddie Keys has good power at the plate and good pitching on the mound, but not very good with the gloves... leading the Rovers' attack are All-Star LF Vasco Aguilar (.304/29/98/73), rookie RF George Stanley (.291/32/70/66), rookie 1B Denny Simmons (.296/12/62/88) and 2B Neil Mitchell (.266/17/65/97)... heading up the pitching corps are All-Star Tom Pierson (18-16/3.00), Doug Haynes (16-16/3.67) and Mark Smith (14-17/3.76). Skipper Joe Judlin's Forest City Lumberjacks had their chance, but fizzled in September and fell back to fifth place in the standings, losing out by 7 games to Volusia... the 'Jacks hit well and score well, depending on the long ball, but could be better on the hill... C Bob Brisdon (.304/23/87/70), CF Paul Bryan (.278/24/60/71) and LF Chuck Kramer (.271/24/67/64) provide most of the runs... and Walter Gibbons (23-12/3.70) and Rich Barstow (16-17/3.34) provide most of the victories. The Rocky Rapids Snappers haven't been to the Pro Cup playoffs for 15 years... for the last three and 9 of the last 10 seasons the Snappers have been stuck in the second division... however, manager Junior Noland's club toyed with the first division this year, ending up just 8 games out of first and in the sixth spot... he has adequate bats, but lackluster pitching... All-Star SS Kelvin Cassidy (.326/12/88/64) again led the offense with some help from 2B Dwight Dickey (.306/5/44/66) and 1B Billy Gray (.313/13/44/55)... Johnny Griffin (12-9/3.66) was the best of the starting rotation and John Young (7-2/1.49/17 saves) was the best of the bullpen. The seventh-place Middlefield Roosters were far back in the pack this year, trailing champ Volusia by 24 games... playing in small and high-scoring Middlefield Park, the Roosters hit homers and score 5 runs a game, but also give up a lot of homers and 6 runs a game... manager Bailey Norcross has lousy pitching, easily the worst in the IPA with a 5.43 ERA... the top bats belong to All-Star C Brad Alexander (.299/42/110/77), All-Star SS Kenny Johnston (.318/9/64/90), 1B Cliff Patterson (.303/36/68/62), RF Norman Antonioni (.228/29/68/56), 3B Colt Chadwick (.297/10/61/81) and LF Alejandro Dominguez (.244/23/69/91)... Judd Hampton (11-15/4.76) was the only starter under the 5.00 ERA mark... Clive Coxford led in with a 12-12 record, but his ERA was 5.55. The Stoner Stars under manager Benny Stern have competed well in the TU West in recent years, but not this season... they plunged to last place and 26 games off the pace... the Stars are mediocre on the mound and not too potent at the plate... the last postseason appearance was in 2029... Jorge Metaxis (11-16/3.51) was the top winner and most reliable pitcher... C Barney Swindell (.258/28/94/61) was the best bat with some help from CF Don Cain (.295/6/58/72), 3B T. C. Steele (.304/17/64/54) and 1B Fletch Fowler (.286/14/44/44). Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-02-2013 at 09:41 PM.

03-06-2013, 12:25 AM	#3454
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 NH Hawks Stun Fairfax, Repeat In TU North In a remarkable finish North Hills shocked Fairfax in the Tycobbian North by winning its final four games, while the Frogs collapsed and lost the final four games... the defending IPA Pro Cup titlist will now get a chance to repeat as the Islands' champion... North Hills notched its second straight divisional crown by knocking off Fairfax 4-2 in a single-game playoff... third place went to Luxora, 6 and a half games behind... Mahaska was fourth, trailing by 9 and a half. Skipper Todd Simons has a solid club in North Hills led by four fine starters, who include last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael (17-10/2.51), Jeff Owens (20-14/3.28), Kyle Oliver (10-6/3.32) and Nelson Hooper (15-16/3.32)... closer Frankie Lambert (7-8/3.28/23 saves) led the bullpen... Lambert topped the TU in saves... superstud All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.331/32/103/92) had another very impressive season... helping him out were 2B Dean O'Donnell (.283/21/83/89) and 1B Ric Hamilton (.283/18/82/61)... rookie RF Gerry Rice (.301/7/31/57) was a good addition to the team, which appears ready and able to make a good run at repeating as Pro Cup champion... the Hawks are a fine defensive team, too. Fairfax built up a 7-game lead over North Hills by the All-Star break, but couldn't finish them off... the Frogs just couldn't match the Hawks' hurlers over the long haul... leading manager Dane Wesner's mound corps were All-Star Jay Barajas (20-14/3.26), Steven McLeod (17-13/3.42) and Harold Dorman (17-13/3.88), but he had some fine hitters in All-Star 1B Max Lebowitz (.300/16/71/79), All-Star RF Michael Hudson (.282/15/57/71), 2B John Velasco (.285/24/85/91), 3B Jim McDermott (.292/20/78/65), CF Eric Kusek (.291/9/67/91) and C Brain Davis (.313/9/52/54). The third-place Luxora Zorros of manager Lacey Tompkins had pretty fair pitching, but lacked power and scoring... IPA ERA leader Kent Halloran (20-6/1.47) set a new IPA mark, topping Tiago Torres' 1.58 in the 2018 season... Torres also starred for the Zorros... other dependable starters were Francisco Guerrero (18-13/3.80) and Benny DeVito (17-16/4.08)... veteran 1B Gerry Hathaway (.291/36/88/78) led the lineup with some help from 3B Tiago Chaves (.269/20/74/73). Manager Rusty Tanussa's Mahaska Haymakers came in fourth and 2 games above the .500 mark... the Haymakers were mediocre offensively and just average on the hill winding up 9 and a half games behind North Hills... Valente Viero (21-12/3.64) was a valuable free agent pick-up from Eastshore (RU)... Mark Pennington (15-16/3.85) and Greg Douglas (16-18/3.89) were reliable starters... the club offensive leaders were RF Anton Hymel (.290/13/52/60), 3B Andy Ruffino (.290/7/45/58) and 2B Rocco Bertara (.269/4/46/56)... the Haymakers hit only 97 home runs and ranked 63rd out of 64 teams in the IPA... only division rival Blue Lake was worst with only 96. The White River Rascals ended up fifth this year under skipper Mick Cronyn after fighting tooth-and-nail in 2034 with North Hills, losing out by just 2 games to the Pro Cup winner... White River slumped badly at the plate and ended up 11 and a half games off the pace... the Rascals had three quality pitchers with Lucien Vashon (21-11/2.82), Paul Sardini (14-13/3.33) and Kenny Nikas (11-16/2.75)... all three suffered from poor run support... Vashon was a wonderful acquisition from Elnora in the Ruthlandian Union, who also got a fine player in CF Clive Kenyon (.330/14/80/76)... what little offense the Rascals had came from C Stevie Dee Daniels (.223/31/69/68), 3B Errol Boldt (.235/16/80/540 and 1B Davey Sloan (.249/23/80/49)... none of which batted over .250... defensively White River is strong with an impressive .978 FA. In Hartsdale manager Kendry Moulton has some capable starters and some punch in the batting order, but his Hellcats came in sixth in the standings, 12 and a half games out... leading the staff were Lou Chylak (17-14/2.81), Eric Isenhart (18-17/3.19) and Wayne Dawson (13-15/3.42)... the bullpen was one of the worst in the TU... the only bats of any consequence were CF Joe McGarrett (.277/25/86/86) and 1B Hayden Richardson (.268/24/63/67). The Oxford Red Caps finished next-to-last and were 16 and a half games back in the race... manager Cameron Kamara's club's one redeeming factor was firepower... his Red Caps rapped 209 out of the park to rank third in the IPA behind Middlefield's 227 in the Ruthlandian Union and Bayview's 215 in Tycobbia... the team leader was CF Dalton Ward with 42 homers, 105 RBIs and 116 runs, but he batted only .224 for average... All-Star 1B Kerry Sterling rapped 33, drove in 96 runs and posted a .306 BA... SS Boyd Olsen has 26 roundtrippers, 77 RBIs and hit .274... RF Crusher Derringer had 23 home runs with 55 RBIs, 73 runs and a .264 batting mark... and 2B Alonzo Norris smacked 21 longballs with 70 RBIs, 84 runs and he hit .275 for average... a valuable bat LF Dennis Hartwig (.293/7/25/27) was missing for the last two-thirds of the year due to injury... Kent McKinley (19-14/3.51) and Mario Lopez (19-16/3.72) headed up the lackluster pitching staff. The Blue Lake Blue Sox continued to remain at or near the bottom of the division with their second last-place finish in four years... they were seventh the other two seasons... the Blue Sox wound up 19 and half games behind champ North Hills... manager Rick Hilliard has two fine starters in Frankie Quinn (20-11/2.68) and Andre Montrose (16-13/3.33) and closer Chip Smith (6-5/2/13/14 saves), but not a lot after them... the offensive leaders were C Ben Banyon (.278/13/88/54), 3B Matt Thompson (.299/8/78/71), LF Jack Ryan (.309/9/67/78) and All-Star SS Joe Korman (.269/13/71/99)... the Blue Sox sorely lacked power and ranked last in the IPA with only 96 homers. Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 06-15-2013 at 08:39 PM.

03-06-2013, 11:56 PM	#3455
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 SA Monties Soar To 3rd TU South Flag In 4 Years In 2032 San Alejo won the Tycobbian South by 7 games, 10 games in 2034 and by a landside 18 this season... that's makes it three titles in four seasons for the Montaneros... coming in a very distant second were Colchester and Turon... fourth place went to the Summerland Sunsets, who were 23 games back in the race. It was a magnificent year for skipper Alberto Herrera and his San Alejo Montaneros... the Monties rang up an IPA-high 100 victories with excellent pitching and robust bats... they were never seriously challenged and posted an 11-game lead at midseason, this soared even higher in the second half and ran away with the division... Herrera has a great starting five in All-Star Johnny Brown (23-11/2.97), All-Star Clete Lawson (18-14/3.61), Tommy Smith (19-12/2.88), Ollie Olivares (13-6/2.28/6 saves) and All-Star Frank Jankowski (12-2/2.27/9 saves)... San Alejo has plenty of bats, too, sparked by superb rookie RF Gilberto Duarte (.323/37/104/88), CF Dusty Rogan (.287/24/99/78), LF Adrian Otero (.293/23/77/84) and rookie 1B Omar Velazquez (.252/20/70/79)... the Monties are better this year and will be seeking revenge against the defending IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills in first-round action... the Hawks upset them last year in the Tycobbian Elite 8 in seven games. The Turon Typhoons were led by a fine pitching corps... manager Alan Hansen had a solid foursome in Wes Brynnton (16-16/2.26), Clyde Engstrom (11-10/2.94), Victor Suarez (21-13/3.36) and Armin Boehm (13-17/3.65)... in the bullpen Ralph Fulton (4-5/2.31/18 saves) excelled... the Typhoons had some capable bats, too, paced by SS Fred Bird (.293/6/58/99), rookie 3B Little Mac McCurnan (.315/17/60/66), 1B Steve Burns (.331/11/53/63), 3B-1B Michael Page (.292/12/51/39), rookie CF J. P. Trevenot (.260/20/86/76) and C Clyde Willis (.266/13/76/63)... gifted 2B C. C. Kingsford (.321/7/30/30) missed over 100 games due to a broken hand... Kingsford, McCurnan and Trevenot are sons of former Typhoon players... Turon has been getting better the last three seasons, but still has a bit to go to rival San Alejo... the Typhoons made the playoffs 14 times in the first 18 seasons, but have been shut out since for the last 15 years... Turon holds the record for winning the Pro Cup four times... 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2018... they also lost in 2010 and 2017... 6 times in the Pro Cup Finals is also an IPA record. The Colchester Elites were tied with Turon for the runner-up spot in the TU South... manager Uncle Robbie Wilbertson has some good power with LF Jim Lewellen (.252/38/113/68) and rookie RF Blake Barrister (.269/37/89/98)... All-Star SS Joey Rogers (.327/2/45/91) sparkled as well ... reliable vets RF Sonny Oliver (.271/22/70/47) and 1B Billy Christianson (.273/18/77/82) pitched in some production, too... the Elites only had average pitching... top twirlers were Dave Lacoste (17-14/3.42), Roy Watson (16-10/3.49) and Kim Kono (14-6/3.59)... Colchester is really starved for a pennant... the last one came in 2007. Improved pitching helped the fourth-place Summerland Sunsets move up into the TU South first division this year... skipper Will Hackett's club was sixth last year after winning the flag in 2033... but the Sunsets have trouble in the batter's box, ranking near the bottom in offense and power... Johnny Young (12-12/2.23) had a strong year on the hill, but suffered dearly from run support... others in the rotation, Mark Shoopman (13-12/3.72), Freddi Rossi (15-16/3.71) and Don French (13-16/3.59) could have used more runs, too... no one in the lineup had much of a season... the most productive regulars were 3B Cy Akins (.270/15/63/74), CF Antonio Vasquez (.273/4/50/72) and rookie 1B Mark Brenneke (.255/12/59/79)... once he worked his way out of Hackett's doghouse and into the lineup, RF Eamon O'Toole (.303/10/43/37) was the best threat they had, but he played in only 81 games. After three cellar-dwelling season in a row, the Cape Coral Hurricanes improved to fifth place under the command of Flipper Bird... they have languished in the TU South second division since the 2030 playoff year... this season the Hurricanes had a potent attack, but possessed a pathetic pitching staff... the 'Canes hit very well and scored very well with four .300 hitters in the batting order... leading the way were All-Star RF William Snyder (.328/33/107/118), standout rookie 1B Stan Ferguson (.316/29/91/73), fine rookie CF Paul Law (.285/27/82/107), SS Joel Collins (.303/4/65/79) and 31-year-old free agent from Oxford C John Fitzpatrick (.307/4/60/53)... the only reliable hurlers were Tommy Van Noord (17-16/3.69) and Jake Cuyler (13-9/3.92/7 saves). The Southport Sun Sox sank from third place to sixth this year as the bats went into the tank, dropping over 30 points from .275 to .243 in BA... manager Charley Oscar's club really had trouble scoring... 2B Jesse Clayton (.286/15/64/70), LF Lenny Roberson (.287/19/53/67), RF Cody Daugherty (.264/17/56/56), 3B Garlin Delk (.263/12/46/44) and 3B Pawnee Cody (.236/15/79/46) were the best Southport had at the plate... Chip Bickford (15-12/3.99) and Dan Pascioni (16-18/4.00) were the only decent starters... the Sun Sox have been to the postseason only three times in history, 2002, 2027 and 2028. 2035 wasn't a good year for the seventh-place Arroyo Grande Suns of Buddy Bechtel... for the sixth time in eight seasons the Suns wound up in the second division... it's been a dozen years since they made the Pro Cup playoffs... poor hitting except for homers, coupled with run-of-the-mill mound work is an apt description of Bechtel's ball club... Derek Joubert (11-16/3.54) was the only starter under a 4.00 ERA... reliever John Nelson (7-7/1.81/17 saves) had a very effective year... 2B Frank Marcello led the team at the plate with 26 roundtrippers, 63 RBIs and 62 runs, but batted only .244... CF Rene Jesclard had 23 home runs, 66 RBIs and scored 61 runs, while hitting .263. It was a very disappointing year for skipper Huroko Uchiyama and his Ginza Ninjas... they were forecast for fourth in The Islandian Times preseason poll, but finished last... the Ninjas posted only 57 wins, which was worse than last year's 58... the last two seasons have been the worst in Ginza's history... atrocious pitching is the culprit... Hollis Pace (12-17/3.48) is only dependable starter... the rest of the staff are 5.00 and above in ERA... the hitters are not much better, but they do hit with some power... RF Scott Sparks (.259/25/70/66), SS Johnny O'Rourke (.250/25/75/73), 2B Roger Lanier (.254/22/68/61) deliver the power, while LF Sadaharu Uchiyama (.299/9/67/63) and rookie 3B Jiro Yamamura (.290/6/50/80) top the team in BA. Attached Images

03-07-2013, 10:16 PM	#3456
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Tucks Win TU East Again, 3rd Time In 4 Years Once again the Tuckanarra Blue Jays made a mockery of the Tycobbian East... for the second season in a row they easily disposed of everybody in sight, capturing the division by 12 games over second-place Ozarka, 17 better than South Fork and 18 in front of the Midway Wolves and East Point Panthers, who deadlocked in fourth place... in the club's illustrious history the Tucks will be making their 14th postseason appearance... four times the Blue Jays have reached the Pro Cup Finals and twice they were Islandian champions... Tuckanarra won its Pro Cups in back-to-back years 2023 and 2024. This year the Blue Jays finished second to San Alejo for the most wins in the Tycobbian Union... the Montaneros captured 100 victories and the Tucks racked up 97. Tuckanarra skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens piloted his club to a first-division berth for the 13th consecutive year... the Blue Jays are a talented bunch with strong pitching and a strong offense... it's only defensively that they are just an average ball club... the Tucks had three 20-game winners in All-Star Bobby Reid (20-12/2.49), Rudy Rosario (20-12/3.16) and Junior Bristow (22-11/2.51)... Rosario was certainly worth his big contract... he came over from Colfax of the Ruthlandian Union through free agency... rounding out one of the best foursome in the IPA was Jeff Buttram (14-11/3.42)... the bullpen was solid, too, led by James Warner (3-6/2.47/20 saves)... Stevens' batting order was chocked full of hitters, too, paced by IPA icon and All-Star LF Lorne Evans (.277/39/125/109), All-Star RF Spade Weldon (.306/16/82/90), 1B Josh George (.252/26/96/78), CF Pancho Villa (.288/22/93/71) and SS Eddie Darby (.304/6/55/76)... Tuckanarra will have to face Chicopee again in the first round of the Pro Cup playoffs... the Braves put them away in 5 games last postseason... however 20-game winner Rosario will be a big addition this year... it should be quite a series. The Ozarka Naturals came in a very distant second to Tuckanarra for the second straight season... manager Frank Kiffen has a good hitting squad and very good defensively, but comes up a little short in pitching after Kiffen lost his top hurler Glen Jenkins (15-6/3.03) the last two months of the season to injury... Stan Carey (11-9/3.64) was the most effective after Jenkins... Ozarka put runs on the scoreboard just about as good as Tuckanarra... Kiffin had some good bats in RF Bob Banachak (.330/16/61/83), CF Lonnie Gillespie (.294/10/61/98), SS Nick Nova (.319/11/67/91) and LF Reggie Davidson (.256/22/58/87). Duroche "Lips" Leon turned the South Fork Stallions around this year with much-improved pitching and some pop at the plate after two dismal seasons near the bottom... knuckle-balling newcomer Yancy Garrett (20-13/2.51) was outstanding... the 35-year-old free agent from Turon (TU) had the best season by far of his 13-year IPA career... a reliever for most of his career, he turned to the flutterball this year to salvage his career... overall Garrett is just 54-52 with a 3.25 ERA... he was 12-16 with a sky-high 4.86 ERA in his only other season as a starter in 2032 at Waleska, where he spent his first 11 years... Alex Gillespie (19-14/3.46) was the Stallions' biggest winner... he improved from 12-20 last year... Denny Sorvino (14-15/3.35) was also a quality arm... Nicky Palermo (11-10/2.97/11 saves) did turns effectively in the bullpen and as a spot starter... South Fork is no great shakes in the batter's box except in going long... they ranked 8th in the TU with 176 homers... Leon's top bats were CF Scotty O'Sullivan (.281/29/96/71), SS Elton Jacoby (.280/22/76/84) and 3B Aron Nixon (.274/19/62/80). Manager Cochise Chandler only has an average team in Midway... they were tied for fourth in the standings along with East Point... the Wolves have some good starters, but the bullpen is pathetic... Midway's top moundsman was 35-year-old veteran star Bobby Dorignac (19-13/2.95), who is one of the IPA all-time greats with a 281-188 record and a brilliant 2.78 ERA in his 13 seasons... free agent Freddi Hahn (14-6/2.96/11 saves) did quite well as the early-season closer and second-half starter... Hahn was with Waleska of the Ruthlandian Union last season... John Anderson (12-3/3.64) and Carey Snead (10-19/3.78) are dependable starters, too... the Wolves need offense to contend... CF Yancey Tanner led the club with a .316 BA and 80 runs... RF Bennett Cardwell topped the team with 81 RBIs, but batted just .248 with 17 roundtrippers... 1B Mel Quinn paced them in homers with 19, but hitting just .206 for average. The East Point Panthers, managed by Karol Zodoka, won pennants in 2031 and 2033 and were picked to win again this season in The Islandian Times preseason poll... Zodoka had a strong staff, good power and scoring with adequate defense... Dixie Brooks (15-12/2.62), Johnny Moore (19-11/2.98), Burton Cook (11-10/3.41) and Frank Blair (13-14/3.85) are a pretty fair rotation... the reliable bats were veteran star and All-Star 2B Tetsu Tanaka (.272/39/126/96), RF Ed Milsted (.323/21/53/73), LF Ricky Arnold (.285/8/60/84) and SS Greg Stone (.282/17/66/66)... but 1B Jaxon Shatner (.226/25/86/71) and C Chris Cardinale (..237/16/62/78) had sub-par seasons. For the ninth year in a row the High Mesa Cowboys wound up in the second division of the TU East with a sixth-place finish... the Cowpokes won the Pro Cup in 2002 and made the playoffs the next year, but haven't graced the postseason since... manager Rolf Kellgren has a decent pitching staff and a fair offense... Virgil Hasper (19-12/3.73) was the biggest winner, followed by Ronald Schmitt (13-11/3.86)... rookie RF Clay Johnson sparked the offense with 42 homers, 98 RBIs, 83 runs and a .284 BA... 28-year-old free agent from Southport (TU) C John Paul chipped in with 28 HRs, 63 RBIs and 76 runs, while batting .258... Kellgren had nobody else to boast about. It's been a long time since the Red Bluff Red Sox made the Pro Cup playoffs... you have to go way back to 2009 for their most recent appearance, but the Red Sox do have a Pro Cup in its trophy case, winning it in 2004... skipper Jim Shaubert saw his club wind up deep in the second division... his Red Sox have finished seventh in three of the last four seasons... his club doesn't hit for much of an average, but they can good deep... the Red Sox clouted 186 out of the park and ranked 4th overall in the Tycobbian Union... pitching-wise they are pretty bad, ranking 30th... team batting leaders were All-Star CF Ike Sweetwater (.289/24/68/92), All-Star C Allie Blackwell (.283/11/50/53) and veteran 1B Garris Aiken (.241/23/78/74)... Aiken missed a third of the season with an injury... Tony DeFazio led the mound corps with a 15-14 mark and a 3.46 ERA. The Hillsboro Blazers endured another last-place finish under manager Andy Jefferson... the Blazers have never been in the playoffs in their history... the Blazers are terrible at bat, ranking 63rd in the IPA with a .233 team BA... only White River of the TU North is worse with a .232 mark... on the hill they are just a little better, ranking 23rd with a 3.87 ERA... Hillsboro is average with the gloves... Jefferson has three decent starters in Eddie Brasher (19-16/3.44), Carmine Scalise (12-15/3.44) and Ralph Quick (10-18/3.42)... all suffer from a lack of run support... offensive leaders are 3B Marty O'Reilly (.253/27/87/67), rookie LF Jurrien Bellini (.247/27/81/83) and CF Benny Kegel (.288/22/65/54). Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-07-2013 at 10:32 PM.

03-08-2013, 09:38 PM	#3457
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Tuesday, September 18, 2035 Braves Blow 'em Away Again In TU West After a postseason drought that lasted over three decades, the Chicopee Braves have begun another streak with a second straight Tycobbian West division title... the Braves won in another runaway, beating runner-ups Bayview and Bay St. Clair by 10 games... the Rolling Hills Reds came in fourth in the standings, 12 games off the pace. Chicopee won again this year with its big bats... Ivan Burkholder's Braves were the best hitting and best scoring team in the Tycobbian Union, averaging over 5 runs a game... the pitching was not great, but it was good enough... defense was a little less than average... leading the Chicopee high-powered attack were All-Star CF Charley Kota (.304/29/101/113), All-Star 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.346/23/108/71), All-Star LF Alfredo Cobos (.345/22/86/89), 2B Todd Goodwin (.305/27/98/111) and SS Felix Roubique (.291/10/60/70)... Cobos may miss the first round of the playoffs due to an injured hamstring... on the mound the Braves will be led by starter/reliever Byron Wilson (18-6/2.94/11 saves), Heyota Chaska (16-7/3.89), 31-year-old free agent from Grand City (RU) Vito Sanfratello (19-14/3.58), Kajika Fleetfoot (14-11/4.19) and Ryan Ledbetter (12-13/3.42)... closer Matt Reeves (5-5/2.13/14 saves) stood out in the bullpen... Chicopee may be a little bit better due to the addition of Sanfratello to the rotation... the Braves improved at the plate, too... Chicopee proved last year they can play with the best teams... they whipped Tuckanarra last year in the Elite 8 in just five games and fell to eventual IPA Pro Cup champ North Hills in a hard-fought seven-games series... don't be surprised if they cause some ripples in the Pro Cup playoffs this year. For the second successive year Chancey Quibedeaux and his Bayview Vikings had another good season, winding up tied for second with Bay St. Clair, but nowhere near winning the pennant... Bayview hasn't been to the postseason since 2016 and has never won a Pro Cup... the Viks boast a bonifide offense that topped the Tycobbian Union with 215 home runs, second to IPA leader Middlefield (RU), which totaled 227... however, pitching is another story... only All-Star Joaquin Lima (22-12/3.51) stood out... this was the fifth time he has posted a 20-game season... Christy Kane (15-21/3.19) was consistent with quality starts and should have fared better record-wise... Bayview really stung the ball, led by All-Star 2B Jerry Culpepper (.282/38/105/76), LF Roy Ricks (.280/30/82/93), 3B Marius Lokken (.303/26/53/69), RF Cleve Belton (.270/27/69/66) and All-Star SS Wade Rosewall (.293/25/76/80). The Bay St. Clair Buccaneers are skippered by HOF pitcher Denny Coulon... the Bucs have finished in the first division of the Tycobbian West for the last six years and last copped the pennant in 2030... overall the Buccaneers have made the playoffs on 9 occasions, but have never won the Pro Cup... Coulon has a pretty fair rotation, paced by Jim McBride (18-13/3.17), Jay Callahan (14-11/2.99) and John Karlsen (18-17/3.28)... and his relief ace is Pete Cross (6-9/3.14/21 saves)... the Bucs bats have some punch, but are mediocre at putting runs on the scoreboard... the best of the lot are 3B Bailey Holmsworth (.274/19/74/66), 1B Ryan Dukes (.308/24/60/62), LF Cotton Cornwall (.230/21/62/66) and RF Milt Powers (.275/23/61/62)... rookie CF Leo Cazarez showed good power with 23 homers in 101 games, but batted a very poor .218 for average. The Rolling Hills Reds put two bad seasons behind them by rising up from the TU West basement to fourth place... manager Matty Christianson got better pitching this year... the Reds have been in the playoffs 10 times in their history and have captured two Pro Cups, in 2029 and 2031... Christianson has fair offense and fair pitching... CF Scotty Yiska (.305/26/78/75), 1B Angelo Nardone (.313/20/71/60) and C Stan Ellis (.284/12/77/66) were the most productive bats... on the hill Jakob Wagner (18-15/3.72) and Mike Daniels (16-13/3.75) won the most games, but Christianson's son Matthew stood out with a 3.07 ERA in his freshman season, but was 13-14 record-wise. Since winning the TU West in 2033, the La Claire Lynx have wound up in the fifth spot for the last two seasons... in its history La Claire had never won a Pro Cup and only make the playoffs twice... 2028 was the other time... manager Zeppy Deshotel, a HOF outfielder, has enough on the hill to contend, but not at the plate... 31-year-old Pat Kovacs (17-12/2.41) is an elite hurler rapidly approaching the 200-victory mark after 11 years in the IPA... lifetime he is 190-166 with a superb 2.66 ERA... Kovacs hold the IPA strikeout mark at 391 Ks in 310 innings in 2028... at 39 Mac Jackson (16-16/3.31) had a brilliant first half and made the All-Stars with a 12-6 record and a 1.96 ERA, but faltered badly in the second half... Tony Rossi (14-2/3.64) and Rance Raymond (14-16/3.37) also were quality starters... La Claire's best sticks were All-Star 3B Jarred O'Neal (.325/29/101/94), 1B Kris Wilson (.283/21/85/56) and RF Corbett Brooks (.253/17/70/77). For the fifth year in a row the Denton City Redbirds have roosted in sixth place... the Redbirds haven't ever won the IPA championship and it's been 19 years since they won the TU West... in all they have been in the postseason 9 times, but not lately... Denton City was an early powerhouse in the IPA when Ford Whiteman was the skipper, but no more... things have been tough for the current manager Trevor Tomlinson... the Redbirds can score, but don't have much pitching... the best bats are SS Sammy Thornton (.305/8/70/94), rookie C Felton Welch (.283/27/105/69), 1B Barry McKnight (.286/21/86/68) and 2B Dickie Samuels (.278/9/65/71)... Francisco Salcido (22-14/3.28) really blossomed this year and led the staff in wins... vets Denny Mills (14-21/3.96) and Stephen Edwards (9-14/4.23) slumped this year after going 22-13 and 18-12 last year... Denton City was forecast to finish third in The Islandian Times preseason poll. After contending for most the last decade, Aaron Hankins' Kenwood Wildcats have fallen on hard times, dropping all the way to seventh place this year... the offense went from setting an IPA-record .297 BA to just .259... wholesale desertions caused it as Jan Kessinger (.310 BA), Pettis Pentleton (.315 BA) and Vince Barbieri (.319) went to greener free-agency pastures... rookie sensation All-Star C Corky DiNozzo had a fantastic season with 33 homers, 93 RBIs and a .320 BA... All-Star 3B Koora Nawajuk (.297/11/61/56), 1B Randy Towns (.287/1/47/59) and LF Harry Tashina (.286/9/65/52) were the best of the rest... the lackluster staff was led by Claude Watson (16-12/3.06), Doug Kirkpatrick (16-18/3.42) and Freddy Gooch (12-16/4.04). The Arlon Champions were picked the second-best club in the TU West in the preseason, but it didn't come close to happening... manager Rocco Belasario's team failed miserable and ended up in the cellar... this was the third time in six seasons the Champs came in last... they have been stuck in the second division since 2030 and haven't made the playoffs since 2020... Arlon has never won a Pro Cup and have participated in the postseason only 3 times in its history... Hall-of-Famer Belasario's ball club ranked near the bottom in offense and pitching, but does rate very well defensively... Emil Nowak (15-17/3.55) was the only pitcher of note, while rookie LF Charley Hastings (.290/4/68/91) and 2B Todd Benson (.277/4/49/80) were the only hitters with decent batting averages... CF Mark Cameron topped the team in homers with 20, but batted only .234 with 78 RBIs... RF Tandy Connery paced the team with 79 RBIs, but hit only .230 and had 16 HRs. Attached Images

03-09-2013, 08:20 PM	#3458
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Wednesday, September 19, 2035 TIMES' POLL PREDICTS ELNORA-SAN ALEJO PRO CUP FINALISTS When the leaves start turning brown and orange, it's serious baseball time in Islandian... The Islandian Times polled the major media outlets across the country and came up with the San Alejo Montaneros of the Tycobbian Union as the winner and champion of the Islandian Pro Alliance, at least on paper... in reality, the scribes and broadcasters are not alway right... down through the league history underdogs have had their days on quite a few occasions... the expected opponent in the Pro Cup Finals will be the Elnora All-Stars of the Ruthlandian Union... five of the eight participants from last year are back, including defending champ North Hills. Tuckanarra was the third choice in the poll with Waleska rated fourth, Chicopee fifth, reigning champ North Hills sixth, LaGrange seventh and Volusia in the eighth spot. The IPA Pro Cup playoffs get started tomorrow with San Alejo taking on North Hills at the Casa de Beisbol and Tuckanarra hosting Chicopee in Tycobbian action, while it will be Elnora entertaining Volusia and Waleska at home against LaGrange in the Ruthlanian opening series. Poll Rank, Team (Record) 1. San Alejo Montaneros (100-54) .260 BA, 786 R, 207 HR, 3.01 ERA, .973 FA It was a magnificent year for skipper Alberto Herrera and his San Alejo Montaneros... the Monties rang up an IPA-high 100 victories and easily prevailed in the TU South with excellent pitching and robust bats... they were never seriously challenged and posted an 11-game lead at midseason, this soared even higher in the second half and ran away with the division, winning by 18 games... Herrera has a great starting five in All-Star Johnny Brown (23-11/2.97), All-Star Clete Lawson (18-14/3.61), Tommy Smith (19-12/2.88), Ollie Olivares (13-6/2.28/6 saves) and All-Star Frank Jankowski (12-2/2.27/9 saves)... San Alejo has plenty of bats, too, sparked by superb rookie RF Gilberto Duarte (.323/37/104/88), CF Dusty Rogan (.287/24/99/78), LF Adrian Otero (.293/23/77/84) and rookie 1B Omar Velazquez (.252/20/70/79)... the Monties are better this year and will be seeking revenge against the defending IPA Pro Cup champion North Hills in first-round action... the Hawks upset them last year in the Tycobbian Elite 8 in seven games and went on to capture the IPA crown. 2. Elnora All-Stars (98-56) .281 BA, 832 R, 132 HR, 3.16 ERA, .971 FA Elnora won out by a single game in a September stretch-drive run over Sugar Valley in the RU East... manager Leon Carter's club regained its powerhouse status this season after suffering a bit of an aberration in 2034... last season they slipped to fifth with an 81-73 record... this was the All-Stars fourth pennant in five years... Elnora has a high-octane attack with excellent pitching, but they are only average defensively... leading the high-scoring offense were All-Star SS James Couch (.313/12/81/93), 32-year-old free agent from White River (TU North) CF Clive Kenyon (.330/12/81/93), 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.297/14/71/92), C Coot Bailey (.312/11/49/67) and RF Travis Glass (.260/19/72/75)... platooned 1B-3B Danny Bierhoff (.333/14/46/44) was also tough out... another good bat, regular LF Clint Thomas (.301/7/55/63), missed a third of the season with injuries and will miss the playoffs... regular 3B Matt Boyd (.255/12/76/63) will also not play in the postseason because of injury... for the fourth time in five seasons Jeremy Sellers (20-9/2.51) was a 20-game winner... other stalwarts were Stan Kivas (22-10/3.27), Dan Pitts (16-13/3.41) and Jesus Robles (16-13/3.95)... Freddy Pfeffer (7-6/2.84/6 saves) and John Kaltenbach (3-2/1.80/5 saves) manned the bullpen very well... All-Star Paul Martina (10-5/2.05/9 saves) was lost for the season in late July and will be sorely missed in the playoffs... the All-Stars won the Pro Cup in 2033 and have their eyes set on winning it again... Carter says the time is right... many baseball experts agree with him. 3. Tuckanarra Blue Jays (97-57) .269 BA, 802 R, 168 HR, 2.95 ERA, .972 FA Tuckanarra skipper Carlton "Lefty" Stevens piloted his club to a first-division berth for the 13th consecutive year... the Blue Jays are a talented bunch with strong pitching and a strong offense... it's only defensively that they are just an average ball club... they handily won the TU East by 12 games... the Tucks had three 20-game winners in All-Star Bobby Reid (20-12/2.49), Rudy Rosario (20-12/3.16) and Junior Bristow (22-11/2.51)... Rosario was certainly worth his big contract... he came over from Colfax of the Ruthlandian Union through free agency... rounding out one of the best foursome in the IPA was Jeff Buttram (14-11/3.42)... the bullpen was solid, too, led by James Warner (3-6/2.47/20 saves)... Stevens' batting order was chocked full of hitters, too, paced by IPA icon and All-Star LF Lorne Evans (.277/39/125/109), All-Star RF Spade Weldon (.306/16/82/90), 1B Josh George (.252/26/96/78), CF Pancho Villa (.288/22/93/71) and SS Eddie Darby (.304/6/55/76)... Tuckanarra will have to face Chicopee again in the first round of the Pro Cup playoffs... the Braves put them away in 5 games last postseason... however 20-game winner Rosario will be a big addition this year... it should be quite a series. 4. Waleska Westerners (97-57) .267 BA, 810 R, 134 HR, 3.27 ERA, .975 FA Waleska manager Roy Hobbs revamped his pitching staff with youngsters Craig Nash (21-14/2.96) and Tony Haskell (18-10/3.20) to go along with his veteran ace and All-Star Terry Richards (21-7/2.97) and Vern Bass (20-10/3.67) to turn the club completely around to take the RU South by 12 games... they were fifth last year... Hobbs added in free agent Earl Perkins (5-7/3.30/25 saves) from Glasco and made him his bullpen specialist... Perkins led the IPA with 25 saves... newcomers to the batting order were rookie CF Jon Lassiter (.302/7/63/97) and free agent from St. John C Tony Brinkerhoff (.273/14/68/73), who added to the already potent attack... IPA superstar and All-Star LF Loco Dillinger (.331/36/113/85) had another superlative season... Dillinger got plenty of help from All-Star RF Niles Gregory (.292/16/83/83), 2B Monty McMurtry (.288/9/70/98), 3B Dorak Aranda (.267/21/79/73) and 1B Glenn Childress (.245/8/66/90)... Waleska and Elnora will be favored to meet in the RU title game... the winner should represent the Ruthlandian Union well in the Pro Cup Finals. 5. Chicopee Braves (90-64) .281 BA, 817 R, 183 HR, 3.60 ERA, .970 FA In the TU West this year Chicopee won big again by 10 games with its big bats... Ivan Burkholder's Braves were the best hitting and best scoring team in the Tycobbian Union, averaging over 5 runs a game... the pitching was not great, but it was good enough... defense was a little less than average... leading the Chicopee high-powered attack were All-Star CF Charley Kota (.304/29/101/113), All-Star 1B Kurt Gustavsen (.346/23/108/71), All-Star LF Alfredo Cobos (.345/22/86/89), 2B Todd Goodwin (.305/27/98/111) and SS Felix Roubique (.291/10/60/70)... Cobos may miss the first round of the playoffs due to an injured hamstring... on the mound the Braves will be led by starter/reliever Byron Wilson (18-6/2.94/11 saves), Heyota Chaska (16-7/3.89), 31-year-old free agent from Grand City (RU) Vito Sanfratello (19-14/3.58), Kajika Fleetfoot (14-11/4.19) and Ryan Ledbetter (12-13/3.42)... closer Matt Reeves (5-5/2.13/14 saves) stood out in the bullpen... Chicopee may be a little bit better due to the addition of Sanfratello to the rotation... the Braves improved at the plate, too... Chicopee proved last year they can play with the best teams... they whipped Tuckanarra last year in the Elite 8 in just five games and fell to eventual IPA Pro Cup champ North Hills in a hard-fought seven-games series... don't be surprised if they cause some ripples in the Pro Cup playoffs this year. 6. North Hills Hawks (88-67) .270 BA, 682 R, 128 HR, 3.33 ERA, .976 FA It took an incredible finish for North Hills to repeat in the TU North... the Hawks sneaked by Fairfax in a single-game playoff for the flag... they had to win their final four games, while the Frogs had to lose their last four... Skipper Todd Simons has a solid club in North Hills led by four fine starters, who include last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael (17-10/2.51), Jeff Owens (20-14/3.28), Kyle Oliver (10-6/3.32) and Nelson Hooper (15-16/3.32)... closer Frankie Lambert (7-8/3.28/23 saves) led the bullpen... Lambert topped the TU in saves... superstud All-Star LF Adam Thurgood (.331/32/103/92) had another very impressive season... helping him out were 2B Dean O'Donnell (.283/21/83/89) and 1B Ric Hamilton (.283/18/82/61)... rookie RF Gerry Rice (.301/7/31/57) was a good addition to the team, which appears ready and able to make a good run at repeating as Pro Cup champion... the Hawks are a fine defensive team, too. 7. LaGrange Sports (92-62) .265 BA, 782 R, 172 HR, 3.60 ERA, .972 FA LaGrange won the RU North pennant with a tremendous 24-5 record in August, which Far Mountain (15-14) and Kilkenny (18-11) couldn't match... the Sports beat the Redhawks by 7 games and the Cats by 8 to take the title... Chazz Bassett's emergence as a top-notch starter was another key factor, along with two fine rookie bats... Bassett (23-12/3.39) joined standout vets Ryan Janssen (18-16/3.90) and Walt Thurber (19-14/3.52) to give manager Quincy Peterson a strong threesome in his rotation... leading the offense were 3B Claude DesJardins (.252) with 28 HRs, 97 RBIs and 98 runs, star CF Russell Watkins (.267) with 20 HRs and 92 RBIs, vet 1B Chris Charbonnier (.282) with 22 HRs, 87 RBIs and 82 runs, rookie C Chris Heffner (.307) with 21 HRs, 76 RBIs and 85 runs and rookie RF Charles Basque (.298) with 28 HRs, 102 runs and 75 RBIs... the Sports could make some noise in the playoffs if the pitching steps it up to championship caliber... LaGrange has some solid hitters. 8. Volusia Vigilantes (84-70) .278 BA, 784 R, 155 HR, 4.05 ERA, .976 FA The outlook for this season was dismal according to the baseball scribes in The Islandian Times preseason poll, who ranked the Vigilantes the worst team in the RU West... Volusia stumbled in August, but regrouped in September to withstand the late-season challengers... the V's whipped Colfax by 2 games, Fort Benton by 3 and Sligo by 4 in the RU West... manager Alfonso Feliz had strong bats, questionable pitching and good fielding... leading the highly potent attack were All-Star 3B Antonio Dias (.324/21/66/98), rookie 1B Jojo DeLucca (.284/20/95/83), C Tubby Tarkanian (.282/23/94/74), CF Ernesto Andujar (.314/19/87/88) and All-Star and rookie RF Felipe Hernriques (.305/15/87/73)... Dias is on the DL, but might return for some of the playoffs... Dias will be sorely missed from the Vigilantes' arsenal... Fabio Medeiros (18-10/3.69) was the most effective starter... Bob Bondy (19-13/4.57) was a big winner, but gave up a lot of runs... Jacy Chandler (14-14/4.45) had a spotty season... not much is expected of the V's in the postseason... however, they did knock off vaunted Eastshore in the first round last year... this year they will take on juggernaut Elnora in the RU Elite 8 Series. Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-11-2013 at 12:32 PM.

03-10-2013, 09:27 PM	#3459
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Thursday, September 20, 2035 2035 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series (best-of-seven) Ruthlandian Union V'S VICTORIOUS IN OPENER, BARTON TOUGH Journeyman Sammy Barton got the opening game start for underdog Volusia against heavily-favored Elnora and the slim southpaw throttled the All-Stars 4-2, holding them to just 4 hits and 2 runs in 8 innings... Barton (1-0) got the win with one-inning help from Marv Webb, who sat Elnora down in order... Barton struck out 5 and walked 3 in a strong performance... during the season Barton was 4-3 mainly as a reliever and sometime starter... he was given the start by manager Alfonso Feliz because the All-Stars have trouble against lefties. The loss went to 20-game winner Jeremy Sellers (0-1), who worked 8 good innings, but was done in by shoddy defense... Sellers allowed 3 runs, but only none of them was earned... after three scoreless innings, Volusia scored 3 runs in the top of the fourth with 3B Ryan Krychek, SS Sal Higgins and Barton droving in the runs... in the bottom of the fifth Elnora cut it to 3-2 on a 2-run homer by 3B Danny Bierhoff... the V's got their last score in the ninth on pinchhitter Rodrigo Camara's sacrifice fly. WALESKA EDGES LAGRANGE 3-2 IN GAME ONE In game one of the Ruthlandian Elite 8 at Westerner Field in Waleska, the hometowners got the best of the visiting LaGrange Sports 3-2... Tony Haskell whipped Walt Thurber in a battle of left-handers... Haskell (1-0) went the distance, gave up 7 hits and 2 runs, while fanning 5 and walking 2... Thurber (0-1) worked into the seventh, yielding 3 runs on 9 hits with 4 Ks and 2 walks. LaGrange took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth when 1B Chris Charbonnier drove in a run with an RBI groundout and another run came in via a wild pitch... the Westerners got a run in the fifth on a triple by 3B Dorak Aranda and a groundout by 1B Glenn Childress... in the sixth LF Loco Dillinger tied the score with an RBI single and C Tony Brinkerhoff doubled in the eventual game-winning run... Aranda and Brinkerhoff led Waleska with 2 hits apiece. Tycobbian Union MONTIES POWER PAST HAWKS 8-5 WITH 4 HR The pitching matchup never materialized between two elite IPA hurlers... the bats prevailed in the opening game of the Tycobbian Elite 8 Series... San Alejo hammered 4 out of the park to triumph 8-5 over the defending Pro Cup champion North Hills Hawks at the Casa de Beisbol... 1B Omar Velazquez cracked two of them and batted in 3 runs... rookie RF Gilberto Duarte had a 2-run clout and batted in 3... and pinchhitter Jed Armstrong belted a solo shot. Johnny Brown (1-0) had a rough outing, but pitched a complete game... he permitted 12 hits and 5 runs, struck out 6 and issued 4 bases on balls... last year's Pro Cup MVP David Michael was pounded for 6 runs and 8 hits in his 5 innings... it was the first postseason loss for Michael in his career... he was a perfect 7-0 going into the game... Brown was 23-11 this season, while Michael was 17-10. SS Dean O'Donnell paced the Hawks with 3-5 and 2 RBIs... he homered in seventh... 2B Tommy Vavas also went 3-5 in defeat... North Hills outhit San Alejo 12 to 10. BRAVES BOMB BLUE JAYS 10-5 IN GAME 1 The powerful Chicopee Braves showed their stuff on the road at Central Park Stadium in Tuckanarra as they roundly bombed the Blue Jays 10-5 in game one of the Tycobbian Elite 8... the Braves blistered them for 12 hits and soundly defeated Bobby Reid (0-1), ace of the Blue Jays... Chicopee's starter Byron Wilson (1-0) fared better, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits in his 6 frames... Wilson departed with a 7-3 lead and two Brave relievers preserved the victory for him... Reid left after allowing 7 runs and 7 hits in just 3-plus innings. 1B Kurt Gustavsen sparked the winners with three hits and 3 RBIs, including a 2-run homer... Big George Shunkaha also collected 3 hits... CF Pancho Villa and 2B Jim Cuervas went deep for the Blue Jays... Villa had 3 hits, while Cuervas and RF Spade Weldon had 2 each.

03-11-2013, 03:12 PM	#3460
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,939	*THE ISLANDIAN TIMES* Friday, September 21, 2035 2035 IPA Pro Cup Elite 8 Series (best-of-seven) Ruthlandian Union ELNORA RALLIES, BEATS V'S IN THE NINTH 5-4 Playing at home at State Fair Park, Elnora blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth and had to rally to win 5-4, scoring the winning run on a passed ball... the All-Stars are now tied with Volusia at a game apiece in the RU Elite 8 Series after the Vigilantes took the opener... portsider Stan Kivas was cruising along with a 3-1 lead until the V's battered him for 3 runs in the top of the ninth... Kivas permitted 4 runs - 2 earned - and 8 hits in 8 and two-thirds innings... reliever Freddy Pfeffer (1-0) got a shaky win after he blew the save... Pfeffer finally got the final out with the winning runs on base. Lourenzo Chaves (0-1) took the loss when he could not protect his 4-3 lead... he allowed 2 runs and 2 hits in his two-thirds of an inning... Elnora had the advantage in hits 11 to 10... SS James Couch (.375) topped the All-Stars with 3 hits, including the game's only homer... CF Clive Kenyon (.333) chimed in with a 2-run double... and 2B Akihiro Samurakami (.375) and 1B Charley Taylor (.250) added 2 hits apiece... SS Sal Higgins (.500) led the V's with 2 hits and 2 RBIs... and 1B Jojo DeLucca (.429) and CF Ernesto Andujar (.250) also collected a pair of hits each. WESTERNERS WIN AGAIN, SPANK SPORTS 10-1 In game two of the RU Elite 8 at Westerner Stadium, Waleska exploded for 9 runs in the last of the eighth to spank LaGrange 10-1... it was the Westerners second win in a row in the series... Waleska banged out 13 hits in the rout, sparked by SS Rusty Adler's (.286) 3 runs batted in... LF Loco Dillinger (.375) and 1B Glenn Childress (.333) also helped out with 2 RBIs each... RF Niles Gregory (.500) had 3 hits and scored 3 times. Starters Terry Richards and Chazz Bassett, both 20-game winners, locked in to a 1-1 tie for the first 7 frames, but both exited in the eighth... Richards went 7 and one-third innings, gave up no earned runs and 4 hits with 7 strikeouts and 5 walks... winning pitcher Earl Perkins (1-0) came on and got the final two outs in the eighth, retiring both batters he faced... Andy Sampson finished off the Sports with a scoreless ninth... the Westerners held LaGrange to only 5 hits... Bassett (0-1) was blasted for 9 runs and 12 hits in his 7 and one-third innings. Tycobbian Union SAN ALEJO SLIPS BY NORTH HILLS 2-1, UP BY 2 GAMES In a battle between this year's Pro Cup favorite San Alejo and last year's winner North Hills, light-hitting Sancho Cruz belted a game-winning home run in the seventh to give San Alejo a 2-1 triumph over North Hills in the second game of the Tycobbian Union Elite 8 Series... Tommy Smith outpitched Jeff Owens to send the Montaneros up by two games over the Hawks... Smith (1-0) went all the way and held the Hawks to one run and 7 hits... he was backed by 3 double plays... Owens (0-1) had a strong outing, too, surrendering just 2 runs and 6 hits. The Hawks scored first in the fourth when C Michael Romanovsky (.000) walked, advanced to second on a sac bunt, then scored on CF Kris Anastas' (.167) base hit... San Alejo RF rookie Gilberto Duarte (.250) tied up up at 1-all with a single in the last of the fifth... Cruz (.500) and 1B Omar Velazquez (.667) led the Monties with 2 hits apiece. CHICOPEE SHOCKS TUCKS 6-4 ON TODD'S HR Rudy Rosario of Tuckanarra was breezing a long with a 2-hit 4-0 lead going into the ninth against Chicopee in game number two of the TU Elite 8 Series, when the roof fell in and the Braves blistered him for 6 runs en route to a 6-4 comeback victory over the shocked Blue Jays, who now find themselves in a deep 2-0 hole... Kenny Todd (.250) busted it up with a 2-run clout to send Rosario (0-1) down to defeat and give Vito Sanfratello (1-0) the win... Sanfratello also pitched the entire game, allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, struck out 3 and walked just one... Chicopee CF Charley Kota (.250) also poked a 2-run single for the Braves... the Blue Jays were led by C Timmy Stevens (.750), who had 3 base hits. Tuckanarra ran up a 4-0 lead with 3 runs in the second frame and one in the fifth on RBIs by RF Spade Weldon (.333), 3B Lynn Starr (.125), 2B Jim Cuervas (.286) and pitcher Rudy Rosario (.500). Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-11-2013 at 03:19 PM.