ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

I will begin the 2045 season today.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, April 1, 2045

HOLDOUTS GALORE IN IPA, FREE AGENTS REFUSE TO SIGN
The Islandian Pro Alliance will began its 45th season under chaotic terms. For the first time in its history players are holding out in abundant numbers, vowing not to sign unless their salary demands are met. Two days before the season opens, they are sticking to their word. The current Pro Cup champion Southport Sun Sox are missing their entire starting rotation from last year. Every team is missing a few standout players. The fans are hoping saner heads will prevail. The general consensus of most team owners is they cannot afford to give into such a blatant power grab by the players, stating they would all lose money this season if they give the players what they are asking. Time will tell the outcome. The owners said they will go on with the season as planned. They said there is no shortage of good ballplayers in the Islands. The season gets underway this Monday.

[Eugene Church]

2045 IPA Mid-Season Standings

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, April 1, 2045

HOLDOUTS GALORE IN IPA, FREE AGENTS REFUSE TO SIGN
The Islandian Pro Alliance will began its 45th season under chaotic terms. For the first time in its history players are holding out in abundant numbers, vowing not to sign unless their salary demands are met. Two days before the season opens, they are sticking to their word. The current Pro Cup champion Southport Sun Sox are missing their entire starting rotation from last year. Every team is missing a few standout players. The fans are hoping saner heads will prevail. The general consensus of most team owners is they cannot afford to give into such a blatant power grab by the players, stating they would all lose money this season if they give the players what they are asking. Time will tell the outcome. The owners said they will go on with the season as planned. They said there is no shortage of good ballplayers in the Islands. The season gets underway this Monday.

EC - how did this turn out? Did those stars sign? Just looking at the standings if the Sun Sox are still missing their rotation from last season, they found some pretty good replacements. Back in first with a 50-31 record, not to shabby.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by illeracula

EC - how did this turn out? Did those stars sign? Just looking at the standings if the Sun Sox are still missing their rotation from last season, they found some pretty good replacements. Back in first with a 50-31 record, not to shabby.

No, they didn't sign... I manually put each of the free agents on their teams. It took me two full days to do it... was very tedious to do.

I just used the boycott to explain why teams were missing their stars.

The Sun Sox got great work from two pitchers and also the relief corps, which was still intact... the number 5 Sun Sox starter became the ace of the team... Cade Brockton went 11-6 with a 3.46 ERA... Tiger Tartaglia, age 34, was taken from the reserve roster and posted a 9-4 record with a 2.97 ERA... Tartaglia had only played sporatically from 2034 to 2037 with a 10-12 record and an ERA around 4.75... sadly when the regular starters came back, he was sent back to the reserve roster... I tried to put him back as a reliever on the main roster, but the AI would just put him back on the reserve roster... despite his great season, he was not good enough to make the staff.

[Eugene Church]

2045 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Team Batting and Pitching

[Eugene Church]

2045 Tycobbian Union Midseason Team Batting and Pitching

[Eugene Church]

2045 Ruthlandian Union Midseason Batting and Pitching Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

2045 Tycobbian Union Midseason Batting and Pitching Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, June 1, 2045

IPA BOYCOTT OVER! PLAYERS COMING BACK!
Sanity reigned in the Islandian Pro Alliance as the players and owners came together and reached an agreement to end the player boycott. The owners agreed to pay the players their full salary for the two months they missed, if they would sign contract that gave them a five per cent salary increase for the remainder of the season.

The pay deadlock ended after the owners agreed to open up their financials records to the players. Apparently the auditors proved that it would put about half of the IPA clubs in financial jeopardy should they acquiesce to the players demands.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, June 18, 2045

IPA ALL-STARS ANNOUNCED, GAME WED IN SOUTHPORT
Because of the two-month boycott by many of the IPA stars, the 2045 All-Star Classic is missing many of the game's superstars and mainstays. The boycott has open the door for some new blood on the All-Star squads. The Midsummer Classic is scheduled for this Wednesday afternoon at Pleasure Beach Park in Southport, the home of the defending Pro Cup champion.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers lead all comers with four players on the Ruthlandian Stars, Cold Creek and Middlefield of the RU have three apiece and San Alejo tops the Tycobbian Stars with three selections.

Bobby Gamble and Jojo DeLucca will be leading the RU Stars. This is Gamble's 10th year to play in the classic and DeLucca is making his eighth appearance. Heading up the TU Stars is 12-time All-Star Jack Culpeppr. This season C. C. Kingsford and Filipe Zamora are on the squad for the sixth time in their careers. It's the fifth year for Jayson Hallstrom and fourth appearance for Darwin Tard and Guido Geravasio. No rookies made the teams this season. There are 15 first timers on the Ruthlandian Stars and 14 for Tycobbia.

RUTHLANDIAN ALL-STARS:

SP Ciaran Culler (Kilkenny) (14-5/3.13)
SP Carroll Collier (Middlefield) (13-5/2.53)
SP Duffy Davidson (Ranford) (12-5/2.93)
SP Dirk Halstad (Rocky Rapids) (13-2/2.34)
SP Jamie Taylor (Rocky Rapids) (13-6/1.73) (2nd Year)
SP James Long (Middlefield) (14-6/2.09) (2nd Year)
MR Jamie Pananga (Elnora) (5-3/1.41/9 saves)
MR Georgie Walker (San Dimas) (5-1/0.95/6 saves)
C George Ruffino (Volusia) (.300/11/36/33)
C Carney Kirkpatrick (Rocky Rapids) (.304/11/35/41)
C Keith Henry (Cold Creek) (.225/19/58/41)
1B Jojo DeLucca (Claxton) (.308/19/60/52) (8th Year)
1B Benny Hull (Grand City) (.295/20/57/44) (3rd Year)
2B Jim Henley (Crystal Lake) (.308/0/32/31)
2B Marty Featherstone (Rocky Rapids) (2nd Year)
3B Billy Stroud (Glasco) (.328/5/34/34)
3B Eric Hollister (Cold Creek) (.279/11/53/41) (2nd Year)
SS Jimmy Beach (Middlefield) (.296/16/51/41)
SS Joe Cochrane (Cold Creek) (.310/12/40/42) (2nd Year)
LF Bobby Gamble (Sugar Valley) (.316/18/45/61) (10th Year)
LF Joe Don Baker (Belair Beach) (.287/16/50/36)
CF John Rumford (Glasco) (.345/15/51/54)
CF Carl Ramsey (Sugar Valley) (.262/17/53/51) (2nd Year)
RF Troy McFarland (Eastshore) (.305/16/48/60)
RF Rich Henson (Valka) (.276/14/57/44)

TYCOBBIAN ALL-STARS:

SP Tony Dazzi (Chicopee) (13-6/2.17)
SP Clyde Myers (Kenwood) (12-6/2.36)
SP Matt Bell (San Alejo) (13-6/1.59)
SP Dave Lacoste (Colchester) (13-5/1.91)
SP Jayson Hallstrom (Summerland) (11-5/1.92) (5th Year)
SP Will McKinney (San Alejo) (12-3/2.17)
MR Alfonso Cervera (Hartsdale) (4-3/1.20/11 saves)
MR Jerry Jankins (Luxora) (6-1/2.05/10 saves)
C Scott Courtney (Fairfax) (.348/8/41/41) (3rd Year)
C Glen Lee (Oxford) (.347/8/32/38)
C Filipe Zamora (San Alejo) (.284/14/55/41) (6th Year)
1B Mel Morrison (Blue Lake) (.294/11/43/44)
1B Darwin Tard (Rolling Hills) (.297/10/45/55) (4th Year)
2B Ferrell Dillard (Fairfax) (.330/2/38/31)
2B Randy Sweetland (High Mesa) (.313/2/20/54)
3B Jack Culpepper (Bayview) (.321/29/70/51) (12th Year)
3B Paul Ferrell (East Point) (.293/7/44/43)
SS Duffy Morrison (Ozarka) (.332/13/49/60) (4th Year)
SS C. C. Kingsford (Turon) (.313/16/51/53) (6th Year)
LF Derrek Jackson (Luxora) (.384/23/61/49)
LF David Kelso (Red Bluff) (.297/37/76/54) (3rd Year)
CF Guido Gervasio (Turon) (.296/8/38/48) (4th Year)
CF Brad Johnston (Fairfax) (.283/6/41/54)
RF Jimbo Foxx (Rolling Hills) (.274/24/83/52) (2nd Year)
RF Ichiro Kazumi (Ginza) (.298/10/45/46) (3rd Year)

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, June 21, 2045

TU STARS NIP RU STARS 2-1 IN 10
In a very well-pitched and very well-played game at Pleasure Beach Park in Southport, the Tycobbian All-Stars nipped the Ruthlandian All-Stars 2-1 in 10 innings and snapped their two-game losing streak in the 45th IPA All-Star classic... with runners on first and third and one away Ferrell Dillard (Fairfax) lined a single to left field and scored C. C. Kingsford (Turon) with the winning run... the TU Stars upped their substantial lead in the series to a whopping 29-16.

The win went to Will McKinney (San Alejo), who blanked Ruthlandia over the last two frames... Georgie Walker (San Dimas) was charged with the loss... he came on in the eighth and worked two scoreless innings, but was tagged for two hits in the tenth... the game-winning hit came off Duffy Davidson... he only faced one batter.

Tycobbia notched 7 hits in the game to 6 for Ruthlandia... they racked their first run in the last of the second... 3B Jerry Culpepper (Bayview) led off the inning with a single, moved up on a wild pitch by Ruthlandian starter Dirk Halstad (Rocky Rapids) and was doubled in by Brad Johnston (Fairfax)... Ruthlandia tied it up in the top of the seventh on a two-out single by Joe Cochrane (Cold Creek) off Alfonso Cervera (Hartsdale) and an RBI double by Eric Hollister (Cold Creek).

Ferrell Dillard was voted the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player for his winning hit... he went 1-for-3 in the game... both clubs sparkled on defense with 5 double plays... 3 of them were turned in by the TU Stars... at the plate C. C. Kingsford had a double and a single for the RU Stars, while Joe Cochrane socked a pair hits for Tycobbia.

Many notable stars were missing from the All-Star rosters because of the two-month ill-fated player boycott.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, July 1, 2045

IPA MID-YEAR ROUNDUP
Four of the pennant winners from last year took up where they left off and are on top of their respective divisions again... Rocky Rapids, Red Bluff, North Hills and Pro Cup champion Southport are riding high in first place again... a fifth champ Valmara is just a game out of first... as far as the other three winners, Kenwood has dipped to fourth... Wynnamac and Crystal Lake have plunged to seventh place.

The Glasco Athletics are the surprise team of the year, resting in first place in the Ruthlandian North with an IPA-leading 55 victories, but the A's have last year's division champ Valmara right on their heels, just a game back... there are no other challengers in the RU North with third-place LaGrange and Kilkenny 11 games out.

In the Ruthlandian South the Claxton Diamonds are much improved over last season... they have a 4-game edge over perennial loser Grand City at midseason... the Cybercats were sixth last year and rarely even make the first division... but they are hanging close this year... pitching has bombed out for the defending division champion Crystal Lake... the Crushers are 17 games off the pace and in seventh place.

In the Ruthlandian East, Sugar Valley has been a serious contender for the last decade and has the lead at the halfway point... the Rattlers are up by 3 games over Beechwood, 6 ahead of Eastshore and 7 in front of Cold Creek... Sugar Valley was hindered by the boycott loss of three of their prime starters for the first two months of the season... otherwise they might have a double-digit bulge... watch them take off now that they are back in the rotation... last year's strong clubs, division champ Wynnamac Sundowners and runner-up Elnora All-Stars, have encountered problems and fallen deep into the second division... the All-Stars are sixth and 11 games behind, while the Sundowners have slipped to seventh and 13 GB... Wynnamac's main offense thrust outfielder Nioka Inkamara went out for two months recently with an injured hamstring... Inkamara already has missed April and May out on boycott... when he returned he blistered the ball at a .351 clip with 6 homers and 25 RBIs in June... Inkamara will be severely missed.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers are still ruling the roost in the Ruthlandian West and they have a 4-game margin over the tough Middlefield Roosters, 7 up on the Stoner Stars and 9 ahead of the Volusia Vigilantes... it looks like a race between the Snappers and the Roosters... Rocky Rapids still rang up 53 wins despite the loss of #2 starter Randy Peters and star 3B Duncan Musselwhite... Peters is 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA since he resigned in June... Musselwhite has hit a sizzling .343 since he came back from the boycott... the Roosters' #3 starter Larry Wheelhouse boycotted the first two months of the year, but has now signed and was 2-4 in June, but with a super 2.29 ERA... talented slugger Alejandro Dominguez was also a boycotter... his big bat came back in June and he hit .266 with 6 homers and 14 RBIs... it should be a down-to-wire battle between the Snappers and Roosters... Stoner will have a better offense the second half with the return of boycotters 3B Ralph Sackett and 1B Richie Strickland, two of their best batters... Volusia got its ace Drew Selby back in June and he has gone 4-2 so far with a 3.72 ERA... he missed about 13 starts sitting it out in the pay dispute... the Stars and Vigilantes could also get back in the mix and make it one heck of race.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Saturday, July 1, 2045

North Hills has again taken charge of the Tycobbian North Division... the Hawks have won the pennant 10 times in the last 11 years and look like the team to win this year... at midseason they are 4 games up on an unlikely challenger, the Oxford Red Caps, who haven't grace the playoffs in almost four decades... two dark horses Blue Lake and Hartsdale are still in the running... the Blue Sox are just 5 games back in third place... and the Hellcats are within striking distance, only 6 games off the pace... both have been strong contenders in the last few seasons.

North Hills wasn't effected much by the player boycott in April and May... only two regulars Ric Hamilton (.326/5/16/17) and Timmy Stevens (.261/3/12/11) were missing from the lineup... the Hawks still have strong pitching and solid bats... veterans Tony Mack (10-8/2.58), David Michael (11-9/3.49) and Kyle Oliver (9-6/3.57) head up an effective starting rotation and superstar LF Adam Thurgood (.286/22/62/52) and reliable 3B Jim McDermott (.294/10/50/49) lead a good core of hitters.

For the last seven years Oxford has been near the bottom or on bottom of the TU North... this year they have improved both at the plate and on the hill... Tekkan Nishikawa (10-4/3.25) and Rudy Mellancamp (12-7/2.94) have been terrific this year, along with C Glen Lee (.347/8/32/38) and 2B Yoshi Sugawara (.330/10/46/33)... the Red Caps may not be a flash in the pan and may be around for the long haul.

Blue Lake's strong points are its starters... veteran Frankie Quinn (11-5/1.78) is still a very capable starter at 39 and has gotten help from Greg Mortimer (12-6/2.89) in his fourth year with the club... offensive leaders are 3B Rick Bridges (.289/16/59/49), RF Johnny Harding (.303/10/37/41) and CF Raddy Pajak (.272/11/41/55).

Hartsdale is not the same club as the past few seasons... the only strong starter has been Perry Givens (11-4/2.86)... it's been a tough first half for ace Gil Younger (8-10/4.31), who notched 23 wins last year... but closer Alfonso Cervera (4-3/1.20/11 saves) is still quite a force in the bullpen... RF Emilian Burgess (.306/11/29/57) and 1B John Ford (.293/18/48/38) have been the best bats... scoring is down for the Hellcats this year.

Southport is a remarkable story in the Tycobbian South this year... in spite of losing three-fourths of their vaunted starting rotation to the April-May boycott, the defending Pro Cup champion has chalked up 50 victories and are atop the division... but they are only one game in front of San Alejo, 3 games better than third place Cape Coral and 5 ahead of Summerland in fourth place in the standings... it's going to be quite a tussle in the TU South.

Southport starters Billy Hoover (6-0/2.39), Johnny Swanson (4-1/2.98) and Brandon Forbes (3-3/3.12) are back in the swing of thing after sitting out the first two months of the season... Cade Brockton was the only starter from last year and he did very well with an 11-6 mark and 3.46 ERA... little-known Tiger Tartaglia saved the day for the Sun Sox with a 9-4 record and an excellent 2.97 ERA... sadly, there was no room on the superb staff when the boycotters retured... the strong bullpen has been intact the whole year... only two regulars participated in the boycott: 3B Craig Glennon (.375/6/23/16) and 1B Eddy Douglas (.272/6/18/17)... upon their reture they added some good punch to the batting order in June... sparking the Sun Sox attack thus far are LF Chris Jones (.333/6/33/51), Pro Cup MVP CF Barney Lewis (.245/16/51/55) and SS Gonzalo Topez (.297/4/30/52).

San Alejo has been a contender most years since 2032... the pitching has been superb in the first half with an IPA best 2.75 ERA, anchored by Matt Bell (13-6/1.59) and Will McKinney (12-3/2.52)... the Monties' offense suffered the first half without boycotting slugger RF Paulo Teixeira, who hit .304 in June with 6 homers, 17 RBIs and scored 19 runs... C Filipe Zamora (.284/14/55/41) and 1B Sal McAllister (.306/6/26/40) took up some of the slack of the missing Teixeira.

Always potent offensively, the Cape Coral Hurricanes came on strong with very good pitching in the first half, paced by Benton McCall (14-4/2.26)... at the plate the club leaders were LF Rikky Van Dalen (.312/19/53/64), RF William Snyder (.318/10/32/34), 3B Kent Mantle (.266/13/45/34) and SS Scotty Jackson (.303/13/46/39)... two regulars CF Maxi Tselika (.296/2/8/12) and 1B Stan Ferguson (.284/6/17/12) will be pluses in the second-half pennant run.

Summerland with its great pitching is hanging close, just 5 games behind... the Sunsets' starting foursome is darn good with Jayson Hallstrom (11-5/1.92), Dutch De Boer (13-6/2.59), Jacob Gillen (6-6/2.87) and Billy King (7-6/3.20)... the team ERA is an excellent 2.80, second in the IPA to San Alejo's 2.75 ERA... as per usual the Sunsets could use some good hitters... RF Rick Mayes (.293/14/50/37), LF Tony Vargas (.312/2.37/41) and CF Antonio Vasquez (.288/4/28/40) provide most of the run production.

Don't count fifth place Ginza out... with such a good offense and two quality starters, the Ninjas could make some noise in the second half of the season... they are only 7 games out of first... add boycotter 3B Jiro Yamamura (.374/1/14/28) to the rest of the wrecking crew and you've got a dynamite attack... leading the way so far are superstar Sogo Takagi (.325/17/59/66), SS Sam Essex (.324/20/62/53), RF Ichiro Kazumi (.298/10/45/46) and 1B Vic Booker (.287/12/38/38)... the Ninjas have two capable starters in Carlos Del Toro (14-4/3.17) and T. C. Gallimore (9-7/3.29).

Current division champ Red Bluff is on a pace to set a new home-run record in the IPA... they already have 151 and the league mark is 260 by Arroyo Grande in 2005... the Red Sox did this without CF Ike Sweetwater (.273/5/10/11) and LF Jesse Shaw (.302/6/11/11), who missed April and May due to the boycott... LF David Kelso also has a solid chance to smash the HR record of 65 by Bayview's Jerry Culpepper in 2040... Kelso already had 37 this season... Kelso is hitting .297 with 76 RBIs and 54 runs scored... other longball contributors are 1B Josh Stevens (.253/31/54/53) and 3B Fran Blanchard (.286/19/46/45)... and George Reynolds (12-7/2.85), Mickey Rosen (8-3/3.11) and Jud Cox (7-9/2.87) give Red Bluff a strong staff, too... the Red Sox will be tough to beat in the TU East.

High Mesa is in second place and trails by just a single game, but the Cowboys don't seem to have the hosses to do the Red Sox in... even with the addition of slugger LF Clay Johnston (.270/10/21/20) in June, the Cowpokes can't match the Red Sox... High Mesa's top bats are 2B Randy Sweetland (.313/2/2054), 3B Wes McGovern (.281/13/42/45) and SS Clifford Coleman (.264/16/46/35)... Lucius Quarles (8-6/1.50) can't carry the pitching load all by himself.

The South Fork Stallions are given the best chance to take a shot at Red Bluff... the Stallions won three straight pennants from 2041 to 2043 and finished second to the Red Sox last year, losing out by a scant two games... they were seriously handicapped by the lost of two major starters Jay Murphy and Big Murph McAlister due to the player boycott... their return could be crucial in the pennant chase... McAlister came back like a ball of fire in June and posted a 4-1 record with a 3.57 ERA, but Murphy stumbled to an 0-5 mark and a 3.46 ERA... rookie standout Labron Holt has been the top starter this season with a 6-6 record and a 3.37 ERA... offense has always been South Fork's main problem... only 2B Elton Jacoby (.277/16/54/50) and SS Pete Arnold (.298/4/26/51) are reliable hitters.

Denton City is rocking and rolling in the Tycobbian West with an 8-game bulge over Rolling Hills and Chicopee with defending division titleholder Kenwood and Bayview 9 games out... the Redbirds did it with some impressive pitching from Harry Elliott (11-6/2.83), Jimmy Ellerbee (8-4/2.65) and Mel Coley (8-4/3.20)... missing from the rotation for the first two months was ace Francisco Salcido... he came back in June and went 3-3 with a strong 2.80 ERA... the offense is woeful... superstud 1B Wayman Stetson still has to carry the load... he has been the Tycobbian Golden Bat winner for the last two seasons... this year Stetson has 19 homers, 52 RBIs and has scored 43 runs, while batting .285... his only help has come from LF Frankie Montgomery with a .304 BA, 8 roundtrippers, 48 RBIs and 40 runs... boycotter OF Pete Doyle will add some punch to the lineup... he returned in June, but batted only .245 with 3 homers and 9 RBIs.

Last year's division champ Kenwood suffered the loss of two fine hurlers due to the April-May player boycott... Rusty Bradford and Freddy Gooch missed 33 starts between them by sitting out the first two months of the season... Gooch did extremely well his first month back with a 3-0 mark and a great 1.08 ERA in his three starts... Bradford has had it rocky with a 2-4 record and a very lofty 6.17 ERA... Tommy Carter has not had a good season with a horrendous 4-12 record, but does have a respectable 3.70 ERA... should the mound corps shift it into high gear, the Wildcats could make it uncomfortable for Denton City... Clyde Myers had an outstanding first half with a 12-6 record and an impressive 2.36 ERA... Kenwood was also missing superstar C Corky DiNozzo due to the player boycott... two other solid performers also didn't play the first two months, CF Warren Vickers and 1B Bert Richter... DiNozzo (.348/6/15/15) and Richter (.358/6/18/12) flourished upon their return to the club in June... Vickers also did pretty well with a .280 BA, 2 homers and 15 runs scored.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, August 1,2045

IPA HEADED INTO THE STRETCH DRIVE
Heading into the final stretch, only the Claxton Diamonds (RU South) and Sugar Valley Rattlers (RU East) have substantial leads in the IPA pennant races... the Diamonds are 10 games up on runners-up St. John and Grand City... and the Rattlers are ahead by 8 games over the Beechwood Bobcats... the other two races are just about as close as you can get... Valmara is a game in front of the Glasco Athletics in the RU North and Rocky Rapids has a one-game edge over the Middlefield Roosters in the RU West... the Stoner Stars are not out of the West Division race just yet... they are 7 games behind in third... the LaGrange Sports are third in the RU North standings, but 8 games back.

All four races in the Tycobbian Union are still in doubt... two of the divisions are tied... Rolling Hills and Denton City are deadlocked for first place in the TU West with Kenwood just four games back in third... IPA defending champ Southport and San Alejo are tied in the TU South with Summerland close by, just 5 games behind... North Hills is the top club in the TU North... the Hawks are 4 games in front of the unheralded Oxford Red Caps... Hartsdale is a distant third, trailing by 7 games... and Blue Lake is 8 games off the pace... the Red Bluff Red Sox are leading the TU East by 4 over the High Mesa Cowboys... the third place Midway Wolves are a good ways back at 6 games.

[Eugene Church]

2045 Ruthlandian Union Batting and Pitching Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

Tycobbian Union Batting and Pitching Leaderboards
Tuesday, August 1, 2045

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 1,2045

5 OF IPA RACES RED-HOT, 3 ALMOST DECIDED
The September stretch drive in the IPA should be another dilly with five of the divisions featuring tight pennant races... three of the divisions have pretty much been decided with Claxton 9 games up in the RU South, Sugar Valley leading by 9 in the RU East and Red Bluff way ahead with a 10-game margin in the TU East... all the others are up in the air.

Going into September, Valmara and Glasco are still deadlocked in the RU North... Rocky Rapids and Middlefield are having a tense duel in the RU West... the Snappers have one-game edge over the Roosters... in the Tycobbian West Kenwood has vaulted past Rolling Hills by 2 games and Denton City by 3 games... Chicopee still has an outside chance, but is trailing by 5... current IPA Pro Cup titleholder Southport has a precarious 2-game margin over Summerland and 4 up on San Alejo... Cape Coral is 7 games behind, but it looks like they will have trouble making up that much ground... North Hills goes into the last month of the season with a 4-game edge over second place Hartsdale, 5 over Oxford and 6 ahead of Blue Lake.

For August, Valmara was 17-12, while Glasco gained on them with an 18-11 mark... both clubs are playing well... both Rocky Rapids and Middlefield had hot Augusts with 19-10 records... momentum might favor the Summerland Sunsets in the TU South... they were a sizzling 19-10, while Southport was 16-13... San Alejo suffered a lousy month with a 12-17 record... Kenwood racked up a 19-10 mark last month and surged past Rolling Hills (13-16) and Denton City (12-17).

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Friday, September 1,2045

KELSO AND FOXX IN REACH OF IPA MARKS
Two IPA records are within reach this season, but not likely to be breached... the HR and RBI marks... Red Bluff slugger David Kelso enters the last 16 games of the season needing 9 homers to tie the great Jerry Culpepper for the all-time IPA record... Culpepper hit 66 for the Bayview Vikings in 2040... Jimbo Foxx of Rolling Hills has his work cut out for him, too... he needs 28 RBIs in 16 games to tie Adam Zitek's 170 in 2005 ... Zitek played for High Mesa.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 11, 2045

DIAMONDS, RATTLERS, RED SOX CLINCH FLAGS
We still have two super close pennant races in the IPA with three divisions almost decided and three that have been nailed down... the Claxton Diamonds, Sugar Valley Rattlers and the Red Bluff Red Sox have already secured their Pro Cup playoff spots, while the Middlefield Roosters and Kenwood Wildcats are in very tight races with seven games to go in the regular season... the Roosters are 1-up on Rocky Rapids in the RU West, while the Wildcats are 1 game better than Denton City in the TU West... two other clubs in the West, Rolling Hills and Chicopee are still in the hunt... the Reds are 2 games back and the Braves just 3 out... Glasco and North Hills have slight leads in their divisions... the A's are 3 games ahead of Valmara in the RU North, the Hawks have a 4-game advantage over Hartsdale and 5 over Blue Lake in the TU North and defending IPA champ Southport has a 5-game cushion in the TU South over Summerland.

[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Monday, September 18, 2045

IPA SEASON ENDS, 4 REPEAT CHAMPS
It's all over but the shouting and the crying in the Islandian Pro Alliance. There were four repeat division winners and no real surprises among the other four pennant winners in the 2045 season.

Defending Pro Cup champion Southport is back again to try and capture another IPA title, but it wasn't easy. The Sun Sox pulled away in the last week to defeat Summerland and San Alejo in the Tycobbian South. It's the fourth year in a row the Sun Sox have taken the division crown.

Southport's biggest antagonists, North Hills and Red Bluff, are also back again. The Hawks just barely beat out Hartsdale in the Tycobbian North by a single game. This was North Hills' 11th division title in 12 years. Red Bluff rolled to 95 wins and handily took the Tycobbian East by a whopping 14 games. The Red Sox set a new home-run mark in the IPA with 283 roundtrippers, topping the old record set by Arroyo Grande. The Suns smashed 260 out of the park in 2005.

The Kenwood Wildcats prevailed in the Tycobbian West by a game over Denton City and Rolling Hills. The Wildcats have won the division two straight seasons and four times in the last five years.

Over in the Ruthlandian Union there were no repeat winners. Glasco edged out last year's champ Valmara by 2 games in a hotly-contested race in the Ruthlandian North. It was quite a race. The Athletics had to win 100 games, tops in the IPA this season, to whip the Vipers, who were victors in 98 games, second best in both alliances.

Claxton and Sugar Valley easily bagged their divisions. The Diamonds won by 10 in the Ruthlandian South and the Rattlers got the Ruthlandian East flag by 9 games.

In the Ruthlandian West Middlefield snatched the division title from Rocky Rapids, last year's champion, by winning 6 of its final 7 contests, while the Snappers could only manage 2 wins and suffered 5 defeats the last week of the season.

Season number two in the IPA will begin this Thursday, when the IPA Pro Cup playoffs get underway at four locations. In the Ruthlandian Division Championship Series the Glasco A's play host to the Claxton Diamonds and the Middlefield Roosters will be at home against the Sugar Valley Rattlers.

The Tycobbian Division Championship Series will have current IPA champ Southport entertaining the North Hills Hawks and Red Bluff welcoming Kenwood.

2045 IPA Final Standings