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Eugene Church · 07-18-2010, 12:27 AM

The Islandian Times

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

STJ September Surge Sinks Sunbirds
The surprising St. John Crusaders came on strong in crunch time and nailed down their 3rd Ruthlandian South flag. Dickie Billings' boys also won the title in 2007 and 2003. To win it, St. John had to beat the battle-tested Belair Beach Sunbirds, who wilted in September and allowed the Crusaders to surge past them by 3 games in the final week of the season. The Crystal Lake Crushers came in third, finishing just 5 games back. The San Dimas Rancheros were in the fourth spot, coming in 10 games behind.

St. John (87-67) was the comeback kids this season as they rose up from 7th place in 2012. Billings' ballclub succeeded with a good offense. They hit .265 (7th) and were one of the top-scoring teams with 790 runs (2nd). The Crusaders possess a solid batting order with decent power (129 HR-14th) and enough pitching to survive (3.63 ERA-13th). Billings' bullpen was outstanding and was anchored by left-hander Pat Chevalier, who saved 18 saves with a 9-7 mark and a fantastic 1.88 ERA. St. John's top twirler was Ken Wheeler (17-6 3.04), along with Teddy Garson (17-10 4.25). The big bats belonged to 3B Vinny Sardisco (.309/23/107/74), RF Clayton Luck (.296/12/46/127), 2B Tony Borcellino (.269/13/84) and C Virgil Carpenter (.259/17/82).

Belair Beach (84-70) slumped severely in September with a 4-10 record, while St. John swept past with a 10-4 mark. Poor hitting cost the Sunbirds their 4th RU South pennant as they came up 3 games short. Manager Marty Pedroza team hit well for average with a .264 mark (9th), but had trouble scoring (683-17th). Belair Beach's best bats were RF Billy Martz (.314/10/56/65), SS Ronnie Nossek (.298/15/70/72) and LF Ron Dizon (.259/23/70/69), none of which really had a good season. Pedroza's best pitchers were veteran starters Jeff Nieman (16-8 3.36) and Tiny Lindgren (15-11 3.66) and closer Groot Tenbrook (6-3 1.89), who piled up 29 saves. As a team they compiled a pretty good 3.72 ERA (16th). The Sunbirds are the best defensive club in Ruthlandia with a .979 FA (1st).

Manager Herman "Baby" George improved his pitching and offense over the winter and that translated into a strong 3rd place finish for Crystal Lake (82-72). The Crushers contended into the final days of the regular season, but failed to make the postseason for the 12th season in a row. Ben Dewberry (19-8 3.17), Al Duhon (17-15 3.83) and closer Jeff Jernigan (5-7 2.63) kept them in the race, along with the some good hitting from superstud 1B Phil Gravelli (.311/21/113/80), standout rookie RF Chip Fiske (.333/7/71/102/45 SB) and 2B Nelson Tolliver (.272/19/94/63). Jerrigan, a 29-year-old southpaw, led the league with 35 saves this year.

Paco Banderos' San Dimas Rancheros (77-77) ran a good race until a bad August (12-17) sent them plunging. At the end they were 10 games off the pace. Future Hall-of-Famer Carl Schmitz paced the pitching corps with a fine 18-14 record and a 2.84 ERA. The 36-year-old Schmitz is 220-160 in his 13 seasons. Closer Raul Marroquin racked up 32 saves with a 4-7 mark and an impressive 2.78 ERA in 53 games. However, San Dimas couldn't overcome an anemic offense. Banderos' most productive hitters were SS Greg Lawrence with 18 homers and 100 RBIs and 1B Ron Armstrong with 29 roundtrippers and 99 RBIs, but they batted only .241 and .258 respectively.

The 5th spot in the RU South standings went to McGraw Johnson's Waleska Westerners (75-79), who trailed first place St. John by 12 games. His club hits well for contact with a .267 batting average (6th), but lacks power with just 110 home runs (30th). Waleska's pitching is poor, too. Johnson's staff could only manage a 4.09 team ERA. 9-year vet Wilson Whitmore led the squad with a 14-14 record and a 3.19 ERA. The Westerners added a budding superstar this season. CF Roy Hobbs (.356/22/104/105) had a marvelous rookie season. Other capable run producers were LF Kippy Doyle (.307/20/90/74), 3B Grant Betzer (.296/10/64/101) and 1B DePaul Labat (.264/14/71/96). Johnson is only a pitcher or two and one hitter away from a solid pennant contender.

2013 was a very dismal year for Stacy Engel and his Claxton Diamonds (74-80), who tumbled unexpectedly from 2nd place to 6th, 13 games off the pace. Both the Diamonds pitching and hitting went south this season. Alex Vanzetti was Engel's only steady pitcher with a 13-10 record and 3.30 ERA. It wasn't much better at the plate except for 1B Mike Luzzatti (.300/31/97/97), one of the IPA all-time greats. Luzzatti got a little help from RF Helmut Graczyk, who had 24 home runs, 81 runs and 81 RBIs, but had an off-year with a .260 average. Graczyk is a .298 lifetime hitter and has averaged over 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in his 9 years in the league.

The seventh place Valka Blackhawks (72-82) are short of talent and wound up 15 games out of first. Skipper Jaan Kurus has four quality performers. Rookie Eddie Lasky (14-14 3.38) impressed the experts and looks to be a future star, while vets Connie Krueger(17-12 3.70) and closer Vinko Markovic did quality work, too. Markovic totaled 33 saves with a splendid 1.98 ERA, but he put up a very poor 4-10 mark. Valka suffers badly in the offensive department. Kurus' only top-notch hitter is 24-year-old Kurt Jankauskas. The gifted left fielder cracked 33 homers, scored 94 times and batted in 107 runs.

Last place went to the Grand City Cybercats (62-92) and deservedly so. Manager Torry Joseph's crew was the worst team in the RU and second worst in the IPA. Only East Point (53-101) of the TU East won fewer games. Poor pitching and poor hitting says it all. Grand City had only two pretty fair players. Rookie 3B Jug Slavin was Joseph's top batter with a .299 batting average, 17 homers and 93 RBIs, while closer Paul McBride was his best hurler. McBride went 7-7, saved 23 games and posted a 3.60 ERA.

07-18-2010, 12:27 AM	#1816
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,868	The Islandian Times Tuesday, September 17, 2013 STJ September Surge Sinks Sunbirds The surprising St. John Crusaders came on strong in crunch time and nailed down their 3rd Ruthlandian South flag. Dickie Billings' boys also won the title in 2007 and 2003. To win it, St. John had to beat the battle-tested Belair Beach Sunbirds, who wilted in September and allowed the Crusaders to surge past them by 3 games in the final week of the season. The Crystal Lake Crushers came in third, finishing just 5 games back. The San Dimas Rancheros were in the fourth spot, coming in 10 games behind. St. John (87-67) was the comeback kids this season as they rose up from 7th place in 2012. Billings' ballclub succeeded with a good offense. They hit .265 (7th) and were one of the top-scoring teams with 790 runs (2nd). The Crusaders possess a solid batting order with decent power (129 HR-14th) and enough pitching to survive (3.63 ERA-13th). Billings' bullpen was outstanding and was anchored by left-hander Pat Chevalier, who saved 18 saves with a 9-7 mark and a fantastic 1.88 ERA. St. John's top twirler was Ken Wheeler (17-6 3.04), along with Teddy Garson (17-10 4.25). The big bats belonged to 3B Vinny Sardisco (.309/23/107/74), RF Clayton Luck (.296/12/46/127), 2B Tony Borcellino (.269/13/84) and C Virgil Carpenter (.259/17/82). Belair Beach (84-70) slumped severely in September with a 4-10 record, while St. John swept past with a 10-4 mark. Poor hitting cost the Sunbirds their 4th RU South pennant as they came up 3 games short. Manager Marty Pedroza team hit well for average with a .264 mark (9th), but had trouble scoring (683-17th). Belair Beach's best bats were RF Billy Martz (.314/10/56/65), SS Ronnie Nossek (.298/15/70/72) and LF Ron Dizon (.259/23/70/69), none of which really had a good season. Pedroza's best pitchers were veteran starters Jeff Nieman (16-8 3.36) and Tiny Lindgren (15-11 3.66) and closer Groot Tenbrook (6-3 1.89), who piled up 29 saves. As a team they compiled a pretty good 3.72 ERA (16th). The Sunbirds are the best defensive club in Ruthlandia with a .979 FA (1st). Manager Herman "Baby" George improved his pitching and offense over the winter and that translated into a strong 3rd place finish for Crystal Lake (82-72). The Crushers contended into the final days of the regular season, but failed to make the postseason for the 12th season in a row. Ben Dewberry (19-8 3.17), Al Duhon (17-15 3.83) and closer Jeff Jernigan (5-7 2.63) kept them in the race, along with the some good hitting from superstud 1B Phil Gravelli (.311/21/113/80), standout rookie RF Chip Fiske (.333/7/71/102/45 SB) and 2B Nelson Tolliver (.272/19/94/63). Jerrigan, a 29-year-old southpaw, led the league with 35 saves this year. Paco Banderos' San Dimas Rancheros (77-77) ran a good race until a bad August (12-17) sent them plunging. At the end they were 10 games off the pace. Future Hall-of-Famer Carl Schmitz paced the pitching corps with a fine 18-14 record and a 2.84 ERA. The 36-year-old Schmitz is 220-160 in his 13 seasons. Closer Raul Marroquin racked up 32 saves with a 4-7 mark and an impressive 2.78 ERA in 53 games. However, San Dimas couldn't overcome an anemic offense. Banderos' most productive hitters were SS Greg Lawrence with 18 homers and 100 RBIs and 1B Ron Armstrong with 29 roundtrippers and 99 RBIs, but they batted only .241 and .258 respectively. The 5th spot in the RU South standings went to McGraw Johnson's Waleska Westerners (75-79), who trailed first place St. John by 12 games. His club hits well for contact with a .267 batting average (6th), but lacks power with just 110 home runs (30th). Waleska's pitching is poor, too. Johnson's staff could only manage a 4.09 team ERA. 9-year vet Wilson Whitmore led the squad with a 14-14 record and a 3.19 ERA. The Westerners added a budding superstar this season. CF Roy Hobbs (.356/22/104/105) had a marvelous rookie season. Other capable run producers were LF Kippy Doyle (.307/20/90/74), 3B Grant Betzer (.296/10/64/101) and 1B DePaul Labat (.264/14/71/96). Johnson is only a pitcher or two and one hitter away from a solid pennant contender. 2013 was a very dismal year for Stacy Engel and his Claxton Diamonds (74-80), who tumbled unexpectedly from 2nd place to 6th, 13 games off the pace. Both the Diamonds pitching and hitting went south this season. Alex Vanzetti was Engel's only steady pitcher with a 13-10 record and 3.30 ERA. It wasn't much better at the plate except for 1B Mike Luzzatti (.300/31/97/97), one of the IPA all-time greats. Luzzatti got a little help from RF Helmut Graczyk, who had 24 home runs, 81 runs and 81 RBIs, but had an off-year with a .260 average. Graczyk is a .298 lifetime hitter and has averaged over 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in his 9 years in the league. The seventh place Valka Blackhawks (72-82) are short of talent and wound up 15 games out of first. Skipper Jaan Kurus has four quality performers. Rookie Eddie Lasky (14-14 3.38) impressed the experts and looks to be a future star, while vets Connie Krueger(17-12 3.70) and closer Vinko Markovic did quality work, too. Markovic totaled 33 saves with a splendid 1.98 ERA, but he put up a very poor 4-10 mark. Valka suffers badly in the offensive department. Kurus' only top-notch hitter is 24-year-old Kurt Jankauskas. The gifted left fielder cracked 33 homers, scored 94 times and batted in 107 runs. Last place went to the Grand City Cybercats (62-92) and deservedly so. Manager Torry Joseph's crew was the worst team in the RU and second worst in the IPA. Only East Point (53-101) of the TU East won fewer games. Poor pitching and poor hitting says it all. Grand City had only two pretty fair players. Rookie 3B Jug Slavin was Joseph's top batter with a .299 batting average, 17 homers and 93 RBIs, while closer Paul McBride was his best hurler. McBride went 7-7, saved 23 games and posted a 3.60 ERA.