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Eugene Church · 07-16-2010, 09:19 PM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 19, 2013

Redhawks RU North Champs 5th Year In A Row
The defending IPA Pro Cup crownbearers, the Far Mountain Redhawks, captured their phenomenal 5th successive Ruthlandian North title with relative ease and will now go in quest of its 3rd consecutive Pro Cup. Alex Groveland's Redhawks pulled away in hot days of summer and finished 7 games up on second place Kilkenny, 9 games ahead of Taranto and beat Glasco by 15 to claim the division again.

Far Mountain (93-61) did it with great pitching. The Redhawk staff compiled a superlative 3.18 team ERA, first in the RU. Youngsters Woody Crawford (23-9 2.47) and Rich Burton (14-4 2.47) combined with veterans Robby Kelly (19-16 3.17) and Boomerang Hines (14-5 2.53) to form one of the best rotations in the IPA. Dependable 3B Duane Parsons (.293/27/106/92) and SS Don Nichols (.293/20/82/89) led the fair offense, which hit only .258 (14th).

The second place Kilkenny Cats (86-68) featured a good starting foursome in a good year under manager Kieran McKenna. His pitching corps was headed up by southpaw Sidney McFarlane (19-9 3.46), who blossomed in his sophomore season. Matt DeRosa (18-10 3.49), obtained in a trade with Hartsdale of the TU, stood out as well. Rounding out the starters were vet Roger Davidson (18-14 3.03) and rookie Kyle Ferguson (10-3 3.01). The Cats have never made the Pro Cup playoffs. They missed this year because of a lack of offense. Kilkenny hit only .257 (18th), but does have a fine defensive club with a .977 FA, second-best in the league. McKenna's Cats need more run production. CF Kevin McPhail (.325/17/92/86) is his best bat.

Manager Tommaso Lazzorda guided his hard-hitting Taranto Tars (84-70) to third place with a long ball attack. The Tars totaled 225 homers to lead the entire IPA. 10 players hit 10 or more home runs, paced by the talented rookie RF Augie Marshall (.315/42/126/106), LF Arnie Kennedy (.303/27/88/85), 2B Ed Miles (.281/25/85/105) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.205/26/83/114). It is a plus and minus playing in the Palazzo di Sport with its short dimensions. The hitters love it, but not so for the pitchers. Lazzorda's staff put up a 4.29 ERA (28th) and ranked near the bottom. However, Jay Cervini (14-11 3.11) and Anthony Zinacola (15-9 3.94) both did a fine job for him. A few more like them would give the Tars a fighting chance to challenge the powerful Far Mountain Redhawks.

The Glasco Athletics (78-76) were just an ordinary ballclub and wound up fourth in the RU North standings with McDuffie Hughes at the helm. The A's had no power with only 89 home runs (32nd) and only average pitching with a 3.59 team ERA (12th). Glasco does possess two impressive hurlers in Nicky Perrier (20-12 2.25), who has won 20 games each year since he has been in the league. Perrier has played 3 years now and chalked up 63 victories. Hughes' other quality arm is lefty Nick Deville, who came over from the Tycobbian Union in a trade with Kenwood. Deville fashioned a solid 17-10 year with a 3.02 ERA. The Athletics top run producers are SS Lee Sullivan (.290/16/87) and 40-year-old RF Ike Plunkett (.288/18/72), who is winding down an excellent career. Plunkett has over 300 homers and over a 1,000 RBIs and runs in his 13 years in the league. Plunkett has a lifetime .301 batting average. He is a shoo-in for the IPA Hall of Fame.

The LaGrange Sports (76-78) came in fifth this year, but trailed by 17 games. Foxy Jimison did not have a lot to smile about this year. His hitting was poor with a .248 BA (28th) and pitching was only average with a 3.80 ERA (17th). 36-year-old vet LF Quincy Peterson (.277/30/77/101) can still fill the bill with the bat, but had little help. LaGrange has just three pitchers of note: starters Pablo Orantes (17-14 3.25) and portsider Denny Kristensen (15-18 3.03), along with a super closer Andre Dupas (6-5 2.18), who had 31 saves.

It was another disappointing season for the Ancona Red Elephants (70-84) and manager Manny Mickens. The club ended the year sixth and trailed by 23 games. They hit .259 (13th) with decent power. The Red Elephants rapped 141 homers (8th). On the mound they were pathetic with a 4.48 ERA (31st). Team leaders at plate were their veteran 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.319/24/108/88), who had another standout season, a terrific rookie LF Kenny Willard (.290/26/92/90) and dependable RF Louis DiMucci (.280/26/72/77). On the hill, it was starter Yannis Vardakis (19-14 3.92) and superb closer John Sharpe, who was 6-3 on the season with 33 saves and a microscopic 1.99 ERA in 54 games.

For the fifth year in a row the once-proud Ranford Bulls (68-86) of Page Satcher have staggered home in the second division. They have not made the playoffs in 8 years after being a postseason power in its first four seasons in the IPA. This season the Bulls languished in seventh place, 25 games off the pace. Satcher just doesn't have much talent in Ranford. 37-year-old lefty Chris Bernhoffer (15-16 3.63) is his best pitcher, while his top bats are rookie 3B Vic Scalzi (.293/27/97/94) and 9-year-veteran 1B Billy Massengale (.279/25/83/89).

For the first seven seasons in the IPA the Valmara Vipers (63-91) prospered under the leadership of skipper J. Jackson Samuel. The Vipers won 2 pennants and regularly contended for the RU North title, but not lately. For the last 6 years Valmara has only one first division finish and that was only fourth place in 2012. 2013 was the Vipers worst year ever. They plunged to the cellar and wound up 30 games in back of the champion Far Mountain. Valmara is at the bottom in all categories. They batted a paltry .241 (32nd) and registered a very poor 4.39 team ERA (29th). 13-year man Vanya Vasylenko (11-16 3.76) is still around at age 31 and still a capable starter. He has won 190 games in his career. Samuel's best batter is 31-year-old RF Lou Gdowski (.282/18/90/80). Sadly Valmara doesn't have much after those two vets.

07-16-2010, 09:19 PM	#1814
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,867	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 19, 2013 Redhawks RU North Champs 5th Year In A Row The defending IPA Pro Cup crownbearers, the Far Mountain Redhawks, captured their phenomenal 5th successive Ruthlandian North title with relative ease and will now go in quest of its 3rd consecutive Pro Cup. Alex Groveland's Redhawks pulled away in hot days of summer and finished 7 games up on second place Kilkenny, 9 games ahead of Taranto and beat Glasco by 15 to claim the division again. Far Mountain (93-61) did it with great pitching. The Redhawk staff compiled a superlative 3.18 team ERA, first in the RU. Youngsters Woody Crawford (23-9 2.47) and Rich Burton (14-4 2.47) combined with veterans Robby Kelly (19-16 3.17) and Boomerang Hines (14-5 2.53) to form one of the best rotations in the IPA. Dependable 3B Duane Parsons (.293/27/106/92) and SS Don Nichols (.293/20/82/89) led the fair offense, which hit only .258 (14th). The second place Kilkenny Cats (86-68) featured a good starting foursome in a good year under manager Kieran McKenna. His pitching corps was headed up by southpaw Sidney McFarlane (19-9 3.46), who blossomed in his sophomore season. Matt DeRosa (18-10 3.49), obtained in a trade with Hartsdale of the TU, stood out as well. Rounding out the starters were vet Roger Davidson (18-14 3.03) and rookie Kyle Ferguson (10-3 3.01). The Cats have never made the Pro Cup playoffs. They missed this year because of a lack of offense. Kilkenny hit only .257 (18th), but does have a fine defensive club with a .977 FA, second-best in the league. McKenna's Cats need more run production. CF Kevin McPhail (.325/17/92/86) is his best bat. Manager Tommaso Lazzorda guided his hard-hitting Taranto Tars (84-70) to third place with a long ball attack. The Tars totaled 225 homers to lead the entire IPA. 10 players hit 10 or more home runs, paced by the talented rookie RF Augie Marshall (.315/42/126/106), LF Arnie Kennedy (.303/27/88/85), 2B Ed Miles (.281/25/85/105) and 1B Pietro Skrmetta (.205/26/83/114). It is a plus and minus playing in the Palazzo di Sport with its short dimensions. The hitters love it, but not so for the pitchers. Lazzorda's staff put up a 4.29 ERA (28th) and ranked near the bottom. However, Jay Cervini (14-11 3.11) and Anthony Zinacola (15-9 3.94) both did a fine job for him. A few more like them would give the Tars a fighting chance to challenge the powerful Far Mountain Redhawks. The Glasco Athletics (78-76) were just an ordinary ballclub and wound up fourth in the RU North standings with McDuffie Hughes at the helm. The A's had no power with only 89 home runs (32nd) and only average pitching with a 3.59 team ERA (12th). Glasco does possess two impressive hurlers in Nicky Perrier (20-12 2.25), who has won 20 games each year since he has been in the league. Perrier has played 3 years now and chalked up 63 victories. Hughes' other quality arm is lefty Nick Deville, who came over from the Tycobbian Union in a trade with Kenwood. Deville fashioned a solid 17-10 year with a 3.02 ERA. The Athletics top run producers are SS Lee Sullivan (.290/16/87) and 40-year-old RF Ike Plunkett (.288/18/72), who is winding down an excellent career. Plunkett has over 300 homers and over a 1,000 RBIs and runs in his 13 years in the league. Plunkett has a lifetime .301 batting average. He is a shoo-in for the IPA Hall of Fame. The LaGrange Sports (76-78) came in fifth this year, but trailed by 17 games. Foxy Jimison did not have a lot to smile about this year. His hitting was poor with a .248 BA (28th) and pitching was only average with a 3.80 ERA (17th). 36-year-old vet LF Quincy Peterson (.277/30/77/101) can still fill the bill with the bat, but had little help. LaGrange has just three pitchers of note: starters Pablo Orantes (17-14 3.25) and portsider Denny Kristensen (15-18 3.03), along with a super closer Andre Dupas (6-5 2.18), who had 31 saves. It was another disappointing season for the Ancona Red Elephants (70-84) and manager Manny Mickens. The club ended the year sixth and trailed by 23 games. They hit .259 (13th) with decent power. The Red Elephants rapped 141 homers (8th). On the mound they were pathetic with a 4.48 ERA (31st). Team leaders at plate were their veteran 1B Johnny Lee Harder (.319/24/108/88), who had another standout season, a terrific rookie LF Kenny Willard (.290/26/92/90) and dependable RF Louis DiMucci (.280/26/72/77). On the hill, it was starter Yannis Vardakis (19-14 3.92) and superb closer John Sharpe, who was 6-3 on the season with 33 saves and a microscopic 1.99 ERA in 54 games. For the fifth year in a row the once-proud Ranford Bulls (68-86) of Page Satcher have staggered home in the second division. They have not made the playoffs in 8 years after being a postseason power in its first four seasons in the IPA. This season the Bulls languished in seventh place, 25 games off the pace. Satcher just doesn't have much talent in Ranford. 37-year-old lefty Chris Bernhoffer (15-16 3.63) is his best pitcher, while his top bats are rookie 3B Vic Scalzi (.293/27/97/94) and 9-year-veteran 1B Billy Massengale (.279/25/83/89). For the first seven seasons in the IPA the Valmara Vipers (63-91) prospered under the leadership of skipper J. Jackson Samuel. The Vipers won 2 pennants and regularly contended for the RU North title, but not lately. For the last 6 years Valmara has only one first division finish and that was only fourth place in 2012. 2013 was the Vipers worst year ever. They plunged to the cellar and wound up 30 games in back of the champion Far Mountain. Valmara is at the bottom in all categories. They batted a paltry .241 (32nd) and registered a very poor 4.39 team ERA (29th). 13-year man Vanya Vasylenko (11-16 3.76) is still around at age 31 and still a capable starter. He has won 190 games in his career. Samuel's best batter is 31-year-old RF Lou Gdowski (.282/18/90/80). Sadly Valmara doesn't have much after those two vets. Last edited by Eugene Church; 07-16-2010 at 09:29 PM.