ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

The second place Forest City Firebirds (82-72) played well the whole season... they just couldn't overcome Fort Benton's splendid play during the summer (40-15)... the Firebirds had a lot going for them
... solid pitching rotation with Big Jim Gentile, Larry Gabrielson, Glen Boston and Andres Candelario... they led the league with 220 stolen bases and possess decent home-run power and scoring
... Royce Baker, Roy Monroe, Nicky Simcox and Johnny Stonestreet were good sticks and supplied the offense... the Birds shortcoming was in the bullpen... they lacked a good closer... on defense
(.975 FA) they were average... all in all it was a good year for the Firebirds... they came in second and only 4 games out of first place... since 2048 Forest City has only won the RU West flag one
other time... that was 2068, a very special season, when out of the blue the Firebirds captured the overall IPA crown... they upset the powerful Rolling Hills Racers to do it in a stirring 7-game series.

[Eugene Church]

2077 was looking good for the Sligo Rovers (81-73)... they were favored to win the pennant this year... they went to the Pro Cup Finals just 2 seasons ago and still had most of those players on the roster...
the Rovers still have solid pitching, good scoring, decent power, fine defense and very good team speed... all the elements needed to win the RU West... but they came up 5 games short and ended
up in third place in the standings... losing months in April (12-14) and July (10-15) did them in... the top hurlers were All-Star Andrew Saul and Major Rowling... the leading batsmen were J.D. Parmelee,
Anthony Taliaferro, Carl Hadley, Rick Draycott and Randy Butterfield... talent is in abundance in Sligo... the future is still bright for the Rovers... the Rovers have had a good history in the IPA with 16 pennants overall and one Pro Cup in 2021... in the last two decades Sligo had copped 7 division flags in 16 seasons... in 2075 they lost to Rolling Hills in the Pro Cup Finals.

[Eugene Church]

It was also a good year for the Rocky Rapids Snappers (80-74), who haven't been in pennant contention for almost a decade... the last RU West titles came in 2044 and 2046...they have only been to the playoffs 6 times in IPA history... the lone Pro Cup Trophy came years ago in 2019... the Snappers moped along in the bottom half of the division until midyear (38-42), but they were lurking fairly close, only 6 GB... Rocky Rapids finished well and wound up in 4th place, but still 6 GB... they played their best ball when pennant winner Fort Benton was playing its best ball... pitching is the Snappers strong point... Jim Brockington is their ace, followed by Rodger Kittrell and Ned McIntyre... Rusty Rudelmeier is the best bullpener... the defense is excellent, too (.980 FA)... however, the offense is subpar... Carmine Passaro, Bo Murphree and Billy Borders are the best of the lot... a few good bats would go a long ways to perking up the Rocky Rapids attack and putting them in serious pennant contention in the RU West.

[Eugene Church]

The Volusia Vigilantes (79-75) hung tough in the RU West pennant chase until July, just 2 games out of the top spot, but then Fort Benton went on a tear (40-15) and left everybody in their wake... the V's
dropped 11 games off the pace by August... they ended up in 5th place in the standings, 7 games behind the champion Defenders... tt wouldn't take much for the Volusia Vigilantes to take charge of the
Ruthlandian West... they already are the second-highest scoring team in the IPA (825 R), topped only by the Rolling Hills Racers in the Tycobbian Union (842 R)... just a twirler or two would do it...
right now Shelly Grice is the only decent starter on the club, along with closer Tommy Kilner... they sorely need help... the offense is fine with 3 players with over 100 RBIs each... yep, that is right...
this doesn't happen a lot in the IPA... the V's also have 3 players that have scored nearly a 100 runs apiece... Volusia is in good hands when it comes to scoring runs with All-Star Matt Hazelton,
All-Star Raul Bernardo, Audie James, Miguel Carillo, Dante De Jesus, Andres Sotomayor and Shig Morton... with that kind of firepower Volusia finished 5th in the standings, 7 GB... poor pitching
and poor defense takes its toll... an influx of good pitchers just might win the Vigilantes their first Pro Cup Trophy since the first season of the IPA back in 2001... they swept the Ginza Ninjas in
4 games in the first-ever Pro Cup Series... overall Volusia has done fairly well in the IPA playoffs with 15 appearances... 3 times in the last decade the V's nabbed the RU West flag... they made the postseason in '70, '71 and '73... twice the Vigilantes lost in the Pro Cup Finals (2061, 2062).

[Eugene Church]

Last year's RU West champion was the Stoner Silver Sox (75-79)... a lack of home-run power (79 HR) and offense greatly hampered them this season (612 R)... the Sox floundered around the first half
of the season, posting losing records in the first three months... Stoner was just 32-48 and 12 GB at midseason... they were well over the .500 mark (44-31) the rest of the season, but it was too late
... the Silver Sox came in 6th and 11 GB in the standings... Brayden Earwood was the only threat at the plate... the overall pitching declined compared to last year... however, Bobby West, Leon
Landers, Al Ptacek and Darryl Edmonds did a fairly good job on the hill... Casey Edgeworth and Errol Antoine were reliable in the bullpen... strong defense (.980 FA) was a big plus for the Silver Sox
... Stoner has won 3 of the last 6 pennant races in the RU West... Stoner showed it is still a capable team in the last half of this season... historically, they are still seeking their first Pro Cup crown...
the Silver Sox reached the Pro Cup Finals on 2 occasions and lost both times... Once as the Stars and one as the Silver Sox... Rolling Hills whipped the Stars in 2029 and Turon bested the Silver Sox recently in 2072... Stoner has done quite well in recent seasons with 3 RU West pennants in '72, '74 and '76.

[Eugene Church]

The Colfax Black Sox (69-85) were in the pennant chase until July with a 41-39 mark, 3 games behind, but it was all downhill the rest of the year... the Black Sox sunk to 7th place, winding up 17 games
behind RU West flag winner Fort Benton... Colfax has a superstar, 39-year-old right fielder Lanny Waldrep... in his illustrious career Waldrep has won 4 RU Golden Bats (2059, 2066, 2070, 2072),
made the All-Star team 8 times... won 4 Golden Gloves... one Ruthlandian MVP (2066)... and hit 641 homers (13th all-time), driven in 2137 runs (8th all-time) and scored 1980 times (18th)... he's
still one of the league premier players... Waldrep will be voted into the IPA Hall of Fame on the first ballot, if he ever retires... 22-year-old Ben Watkins is a budding star in Colfax... 22-year-old Tim
Bozeman also showed good potential this season... Waldrep needs lot of help in the batting order... the Black Sox lack offense... not so good on the mound, either... Ed Franz is the only dependable
starter... the bullpen is capable and steady... Colfax has made 15 trips to the playoffs, but it's been awhile since Colfax won the RU West... 2063 and 2065... the only Pro Cup came in 2010 when they were the Blasters... don't expect any pennants or Pro Cup trophies anytime soon... talent is sparse.

[Eugene Church]

The last place Middlefield Roosters (64-90) looked good in April (14-10), but they were not crowing much the rest of the season, coming in a pathetic 22 GB at the end of the season... they have a lousy offense (.237 BA and 552 R), just average pitching (3.77 ERA) and lackluster defense (.974 FA)... but the Roosters have a few hurlers in starters Sid Humphrey and Fletcher Torrence... Cliff Zednik is a young workhorse with a good future... and in the bullpen Big Tee Jarreau had an excellent season... Middlefield graced the IPA playoffs often in its history, making the postseason 20 times, but not since 2056... the Roosters have picked up 3 Pro Cup trophies (2005, 2052, 2056)... the Middlefield fans may have to wait a while longer... don't expect the Roosters to make a lot of noise anytime soon in the RU West.

[jg2977]

Suggestion: the reviews are great, but would you be able to post each team's final record in the individual team report? The history only shows the three past seasons, and in order to see what this season's record was, I need to scroll way up to the overall league standings.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Suggestion: the reviews are great, but would you be able to post each team's final record in the individual team report? The history only shows the three past seasons, and in order to see what this season's record was, I need to scroll way up to the overall league standings.

Good point... thanks, jg2977.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Good point... thanks, jg2977.

Thanks EC!

[Eugene Church]

You folks might want to re-read all of the division recaps... I updated the teams' complete league histories when I put this year's won-lost records in them as jg2977 suggested.

It might help you know the teams a little better... 64 teams is just too much to follow IMO.

I do know it helped me get to know the key players on each team...even the bad teams, which rarely make the playoffs.

I do get to know the teams in the playoffs because I play out each game... not so in the regular season, when I just sim them.

Hope you like the new recap method... I do.

[Eugene Church]

You know, one of these days I may just create one dynasty league to concentrate on... I would take all the lessons I have learned over the years and create my perfect league... I would keep the league's complete history, including games scores and box scores... I would use the archives to do this ... I never should have stop keeping the Islandian Pro Alliance archives like I did for 70 years or so... EC really regrets that... it would be nice to go back and look at each season on occasion... also to do research about the league to make the dynasty report better.

This Perfect League would be a small league... 16 teams would enable me to cover them and get to know each team the way I used to as a kid in the 1950s, when I knew every starting lineup and pitching staff in the Major Leagues... (it would be really hard to cut down to that few teams... because I will lose some of my favorite fictional teams)... it would be fictional...with great graphics, of course... you might see some of the teams from the IPA and the South Island League, plus some new additions... I would try to find teams that have been created by txranger, knuckler, low, Lawn Loaf and other skilled graphics gurus.

I might even try to get permission to use some of the Laseron Baseball Association teams, if I can locate them... (LBA participants, Dark Horse and Portlander are still around, I think)... I doubt if anyone has the jerseys and the caps any longer... I may have to get someone to recreate them for me... I will investigate getting some local graphics company in my hometown to create them... even if it cost me a little bit of money... this will be my Perfect League... it would be worth every cent.

My perfect league would be a short season... 50-70 games at most.

I would be able to become completely immersed in my Perfect League... at least in theory and in my aspirations and expectations.

That's my ultimate OOTP Dream League.

Maybe that Dream League will come true... soon.

Maybe I could enlist knuckler, txanger, low, Lawn Loaf. No Pepper, silvam14,cephasjames and some of the other great graphics people to be involved in my Perfect League.

Yep, may EC's Perfect League just might be possible.

[jg2977]

I'll have to do some research on how almanacs work. I wonder if it helps to save space and keep the dynasty's file from getting too large, while retaining the information you say it does. If it does, then I may start from scratch again someday too, and I would do much less than 64 teams as well. I'd do a 24-team league, that seems ideal to me. When I get to my 100th season, the load and save times are going to become painfully slow, even though my iMac is a strong computer.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

I'll have to do some research on how almanacs work. I wonder if it helps to save space and keep the dynasty's file from getting too large, while retaining the information you say it does. If it does, then I may start from scratch again someday too, and I would do much less than 64 teams as well. I'd do a 24-team league, that seems ideal to me. When I get to my 100th season, the load and save times are going to become painfully slow, even though my iMac is a strong computer.

It will take lot longer to save your league when you use the archive mode.

Don't know how much storage is required... I never had any problems with over 70 seasons in the archives... it just took awhile to save... but it wasn't really that much time... 10-15 minutes at the most.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

It will take lot longer to save your league when you use the archive mode.

Don't know how much storage is required... I never had any problems with over 70 seasons in the archives... it just took awhile to save... but it wasn't really that much time... 10-15 minutes at the most.

Oh, so it actually takes longer that way, but it preserves all the box scores? That's pretty cool.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

Oh, so it actually takes longer that way, but it preserves all the box scores? That's pretty cool.

You can keep the daily line scores, too... with winning and losing pitchers... and homers in the game.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

You can keep the daily line scores, too... with winning and losing pitchers... and homers in the game.

That's my favorite type of box score - the cliff notes version, easy to read.

I was thinking of doing this by bringing back my NHL dynasty in some form, separate from my IPA/MLB. I'm looking forward to being able to use all of those graphics again.

We're a little big off topic now - let's get back to your IPA. Who's the favorite to win the Pro Cup this season?

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by jg2977

That's my favorite type of box score - the cliff notes version, easy to read.

I was thinking of doing this by bringing back my NHL dynasty in some form, separate from my IPA/MLB. I'm looking forward to being able to use all of those graphics again.

We're a little big off topic now - let's get back to your IPA. Who's the favorite to win the Pro Cup this season?

Just off the top of my head... Turon is the class of the league... I would make the Typhoons the favorite... Kilkenny has a good chance to win in the Ruthlandian Union... Turon should win the Pro Cup... they hit, they pitch.

[Eugene Church]

2077 Tycobbian Union North Division Final Season Recap

HELLCATS WIN HECK OF RACE IN TU NORTH.
Yep, it was a splendid 6-team scramble in the Tycobbian North Division this season... only 5 games separated pennant-winning Hartsdale and 6th-place White River... all 7 teams were still in the hunt going into September... and 5 teams still had a chance in the last week of the season... that is a baseball fan's delight... it's as good as it can get... 6 of the 8 teams in the TU North played .500 or better baseball... the pennant race was neck-and-neck and went down the very last day of the season... Hartsdale had to go 11 innings to win the title... they had to beat 18-game winner and All-Star Shorty Meaux 4-2 to hoist the division flag high over Pioneer Park... how about that!... what a glorious way to end the season... winning it on the absolutely last day... and in extra innings to boot... life is good today in Hartsdale... yep, life is good.

This was the 3rd division title in the last 7 seasons for the Hartsdale Hellcats (82-72)... in fact, they pushed Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills to the hilt in '73, losing in 7 games in the TU Finals... the Hellcats won the division by playing well down the home stretch, going 14-9... September leader Oxford folded and went 8-14 in the final month... otherwise, it was an even-steven league... Hartsdale was paced by Benny Merckx, their top starter... the rest of the staff is just modest in quality... Wayne Wolfe is a pretty good closer... the rest of the bullpen is just so-so and fair-to-middling... not much in the batting order, either... Max Carline, Tom Colson and Tony Leone are the only fair threats in the lineup, but they can sock one out the park occasionally... don't expect the Hellcats to go far in the playoffs... Hartsdale is just an average club... not a Pro Cup contender by any stretch of the imagination.



Tycobbian North Division Final Standings

[Eugene Church]

The runner-up Blue Lake Blue Caps (81-73) came oh so close, but they fell one single, solitary, stinking game short of winning the TU North... they only had one losing month all year, 10-15 in April... thereafter, the Blue Boys hung tough, always within striking distance of the leaders... down the stretch drive, they played well at 13-10, however, the Blue Caps just ran out of games... Blue Lake did it with pitching... nobody in the TU North has much of an offense... the Blue Caps have two steady starters in Pat Buckland and Hootie Emory and Tony DiStefano did a good job in the closing role... Duane Huffty was the only menacing hitter... Blue Lake has had a lousy decade since they captured their last pennant in 2068... 5 times they finished in the cellar... twice they were 7th... and once they were 6th... yep, the Blue Caps were bad in recent years... but not this year... things are looking up in Blue Lake.