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Eugene Church · 02-22-2010, 11:41 AM

The Islandian Times

Sunday, June 20, 2010

2010 IPA Mid-Season Recap

Ruthlandian Union South Division

Waleska and Claxton Tied At All-Star Break
So far it's been a hotly-contested affair in the Ruthlandian Union South Division at mid-season. The Waleska Westerners with McGraw Johnson at the helm are all even with Stacy Engel's Claxton Diamonds. Belair Beach is in third place, 5 games behind and San Dimas and Valka are tied for fourth and trail by 7 games. Will Waleska's strong pitching eventually knock off Claxton's powerful line-up as the second half of the season unfolds?

Best Team BA: .274 Grand City
Most HR: 79 Crystal Lake
Most Runs: 358 Claxton
Best Team ERA: 3.45 Waleska
Best Team Defense: .980 FA Belair Beach

Worst Team BA: .241 St. John
Fewest HR: 36 Grand City
Fewest Runs: San Dimas
Worst Team ERA: 5.17 Grand City
Worst Team Defense: .966 St. John

Most Promising Rookies:
All-Star CL Vinko Markovic (VLK) 4-1 2.70 17 SV
LF Kurt Jankauskas (VLK) .290/9/31/34

Most Improved Team: San Dimas (8th to 4th)
Most Disappointing Team: St. John (4th to 7th)

It looks like a two-or-three team race in the RU South this season between Waleska, Claxton and Belair Beach... with Valka and San Dimas having only a remote chance at the playoffs because of pitching and hitting woes. The Waleska Westerners (40-30) and the Claxton Diamonds (40-30) are all knotted up at the top of the standings at the halfway mark in the season with a 5-game edge over third place Belair Beach (35-35).

The Waleska Westerners (40-30) have three fine starters in Lenny Milazzo (8-4 2.72), Von Pearce (6-3 3.23) and Wilson Whitmore (7-6 2.73) and some capable hitters in LF Johnny Stratton (.321/8/39/32), All-Star 3B Grant Betzer (.319/6/38/44), CF Harold Betser (.303/11/34/36) and RF Kippy Doyle (.271/12/45/36)... Johnson's solid rotation and bullpen have put up a strong 3.45 team ERA and his bats have been sufficient with a .257 mark... defensively the Westerners are only average (.972 FA).

The Claxton Diamonds (40-30) are stronger with the sticks with All-Star LF Helmut Graczyk (.340/14/53/50), CF Dixie Baker (.269/14/45/46), 3B Artie Sherman (.268/11/35/44) and 1B Mike Luzzatti (.284/8/32/41), last year's Golden Bat winner, who has had a slow first half... Overall the Diamonds have a .270 to .257 edge in batting average, while trailing in ERA by a wide margin 4.22 to a 3.45 team ERA... manager Stacy Engel has a solid group of defenders with a .976 FA.

The Belair Beach Sunbirds (35-35) are skippered by Marty Pedroza and they could make it a three-team pennant chase... Pedroza has the pitching (3.72 ERA), but lacks the hitting (.260 BA)... 35-year-old vet Jeff Nieman (8-5 2.46) and Sandy Kozicz (2-2 1.95) gives the Sunbirds a strong duo for the second half of the year... the only decent bat is C Little Jake Bungarooba (.287/6/26/38)... Belair Beach has excellent defense with a .980 fielding average.

The San Dimas Rancheros (33-37) are the most-improved club in the RU South and tied for fourth with Valka, both 7 games behind... Paco Banderos has two fine starters with Charlie Tully (8-7 3.38) and Carl Schmitz (7-10 3.08), but only one adequate hitter in CF Merle McClain (.309/4/31/23)... if Banderos can get seasoned veterans Jerry Harrison (4-7 3.74), Connie Krueger (6-9 3.92), Jerry Harrison (4-7 3.74) and Jerry Smith (4-9 3.98) to kick it up a notch and also get better run support, it could really enliven the pennant race... San Dimas is batting only .247 and carries a 4.04 ERA, while fielding at a .971 rate.

The Valka Blackhawks (33-37) are sparked by pitchers Erke Tonisson (9-6 3.38) and rookie All-Star closer Vinko Markovic (5-1 2.84), who has chalked up 14 saves... at the plate Valka's best bats are the impressive rookie LF Kurt Jankauskas (.291/10/34/35), C Tom Hewlett (.319/4/24/33) and CF Arno Allik (.294/7/18/36)... as a team the Blackhawks are sub-par with a .250 batting average and a 4.15 ERA.

The Crystal Lake Crushers (28-42) are tied for sixth-place in the RU South standings along with the St. John Crusaders... Crystal Lake is under the direction of the legendary home run slugger, Baby George... his best talent are pitchers Tony D'Albini (9-6 2.85) and Pablo Orantes (5-0 2.17) and position players 1B Phil Gravelli (.307/12/37/42) and CF Mel Ballard (.311/11/31/36)... but the Crushers have little beyond them... Crystal Lake hits only .247 with little power and sports a poor 4.53 team ERA.

The St. John Crusaders (28-42) are managed by Dickie Billings and have continued their downward decline since 2007's flag-winning season... lousy hitting (.241 BA) is the culprit... the Crusaders hit .271 last year... pitching is fair overall with a 3.75 ERA, led by Denny Copeland (6-2 2.65)... better run support would help veterans Teddy Garson (4-8 3.51) and Ken Wheeler (6-7 3.79) as well as closer Fuzzy Olnick (3-4 2.87)... RF Clayton Luck heads up the hitters with a .289 average, 12 homers, 37 RBIs and 39 runs scored.

Last place goes to perennial also-ran, the Grand City Cybercats (23-47), who are 17 games off the pace...Torry Joseph is the head man... his club hits for average (.274), but with anemic power (38 homers)... his mound staff is terrible with a 5.17 ERA, by far the worst in the IPA, despite having last year's Golden Arm winner and RU MVP Emmitt Yates... even Yates' (5-6 3.27) numbers are down for this season... last year Yates was 21-11 with a 2.35 ERA... rookie closer Paul McBride (2-1 3.38) has shown well so far in limited appearances... Grand City has some modestly good hitters in SS Shannon Sorrell (.293/2/40/34), vet CF Val Krol (.296/32/31) and 3B Lindy Collins (.297/5/27/39).

02-22-2010, 11:41 AM	#1574
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,956	The Islandian Times Sunday, June 20, 2010 2010 IPA Mid-Season Recap Ruthlandian Union South Division Waleska and Claxton Tied At All-Star Break So far it's been a hotly-contested affair in the Ruthlandian Union South Division at mid-season. The Waleska Westerners with McGraw Johnson at the helm are all even with Stacy Engel's Claxton Diamonds. Belair Beach is in third place, 5 games behind and San Dimas and Valka are tied for fourth and trail by 7 games. Will Waleska's strong pitching eventually knock off Claxton's powerful line-up as the second half of the season unfolds? Best Team BA: .274 Grand City Most HR: 79 Crystal Lake Most Runs: 358 Claxton Best Team ERA: 3.45 Waleska Best Team Defense: .980 FA Belair Beach Worst Team BA: .241 St. John Fewest HR: 36 Grand City Fewest Runs: San Dimas Worst Team ERA: 5.17 Grand City Worst Team Defense: .966 St. John Most Promising Rookies: All-Star CL Vinko Markovic (VLK) 4-1 2.70 17 SV LF Kurt Jankauskas (VLK) .290/9/31/34 Most Improved Team: San Dimas (8th to 4th) Most Disappointing Team: St. John (4th to 7th) It looks like a two-or-three team race in the RU South this season between Waleska, Claxton and Belair Beach... with Valka and San Dimas having only a remote chance at the playoffs because of pitching and hitting woes. The Waleska Westerners (40-30) and the Claxton Diamonds (40-30) are all knotted up at the top of the standings at the halfway mark in the season with a 5-game edge over third place Belair Beach (35-35). The Waleska Westerners (40-30) have three fine starters in Lenny Milazzo (8-4 2.72), Von Pearce (6-3 3.23) and Wilson Whitmore (7-6 2.73) and some capable hitters in LF Johnny Stratton (.321/8/39/32), All-Star 3B Grant Betzer (.319/6/38/44), CF Harold Betser (.303/11/34/36) and RF Kippy Doyle (.271/12/45/36)... Johnson's solid rotation and bullpen have put up a strong 3.45 team ERA and his bats have been sufficient with a .257 mark... defensively the Westerners are only average (.972 FA). The Claxton Diamonds (40-30) are stronger with the sticks with All-Star LF Helmut Graczyk (.340/14/53/50), CF Dixie Baker (.269/14/45/46), 3B Artie Sherman (.268/11/35/44) and 1B Mike Luzzatti (.284/8/32/41), last year's Golden Bat winner, who has had a slow first half... Overall the Diamonds have a .270 to .257 edge in batting average, while trailing in ERA by a wide margin 4.22 to a 3.45 team ERA... manager Stacy Engel has a solid group of defenders with a .976 FA. The Belair Beach Sunbirds (35-35) are skippered by Marty Pedroza and they could make it a three-team pennant chase... Pedroza has the pitching (3.72 ERA), but lacks the hitting (.260 BA)... 35-year-old vet Jeff Nieman (8-5 2.46) and Sandy Kozicz (2-2 1.95) gives the Sunbirds a strong duo for the second half of the year... the only decent bat is C Little Jake Bungarooba (.287/6/26/38)... Belair Beach has excellent defense with a .980 fielding average. The San Dimas Rancheros (33-37) are the most-improved club in the RU South and tied for fourth with Valka, both 7 games behind... Paco Banderos has two fine starters with Charlie Tully (8-7 3.38) and Carl Schmitz (7-10 3.08), but only one adequate hitter in CF Merle McClain (.309/4/31/23)... if Banderos can get seasoned veterans Jerry Harrison (4-7 3.74), Connie Krueger (6-9 3.92), Jerry Harrison (4-7 3.74) and Jerry Smith (4-9 3.98) to kick it up a notch and also get better run support, it could really enliven the pennant race... San Dimas is batting only .247 and carries a 4.04 ERA, while fielding at a .971 rate. The Valka Blackhawks (33-37) are sparked by pitchers Erke Tonisson (9-6 3.38) and rookie All-Star closer Vinko Markovic (5-1 2.84), who has chalked up 14 saves... at the plate Valka's best bats are the impressive rookie LF Kurt Jankauskas (.291/10/34/35), C Tom Hewlett (.319/4/24/33) and CF Arno Allik (.294/7/18/36)... as a team the Blackhawks are sub-par with a .250 batting average and a 4.15 ERA. The Crystal Lake Crushers (28-42) are tied for sixth-place in the RU South standings along with the St. John Crusaders... Crystal Lake is under the direction of the legendary home run slugger, Baby George... his best talent are pitchers Tony D'Albini (9-6 2.85) and Pablo Orantes (5-0 2.17) and position players 1B Phil Gravelli (.307/12/37/42) and CF Mel Ballard (.311/11/31/36)... but the Crushers have little beyond them... Crystal Lake hits only .247 with little power and sports a poor 4.53 team ERA. The St. John Crusaders (28-42) are managed by Dickie Billings and have continued their downward decline since 2007's flag-winning season... lousy hitting (.241 BA) is the culprit... the Crusaders hit .271 last year... pitching is fair overall with a 3.75 ERA, led by Denny Copeland (6-2 2.65)... better run support would help veterans Teddy Garson (4-8 3.51) and Ken Wheeler (6-7 3.79) as well as closer Fuzzy Olnick (3-4 2.87)... RF Clayton Luck heads up the hitters with a .289 average, 12 homers, 37 RBIs and 39 runs scored. Last place goes to perennial also-ran, the Grand City Cybercats (23-47), who are 17 games off the pace...Torry Joseph is the head man... his club hits for average (.274), but with anemic power (38 homers)... his mound staff is terrible with a 5.17 ERA, by far the worst in the IPA, despite having last year's Golden Arm winner and RU MVP Emmitt Yates... even Yates' (5-6 3.27) numbers are down for this season... last year Yates was 21-11 with a 2.35 ERA... rookie closer Paul McBride (2-1 3.38) has shown well so far in limited appearances... Grand City has some modestly good hitters in SS Shannon Sorrell (.293/2/40/34), vet CF Val Krol (.296/32/31) and 3B Lindy Collins (.297/5/27/39). Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-22-2010 at 11:52 AM.