OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

Eugene Church · 01-21-2011, 10:07 PM

The Islandian Times
Monday, September 21, 2020

2020 Ruthlandian South Final Recap

2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats
After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games.

Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) was just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting.

A bad August (11-17) cost the second-place Grand City Cybercats the pennant... Wade Joslin's crew hits well for average with a .269 batting average, but has little power (27th) and little scoring ability (17th)... but has a good group of decent starters in Jimbo Sterns (17-10 3.42), Brent Sturgis (.18-12 3.97), Luis Perez (14-13 3.46) and Randy Andrews (13-17 3.42)... the Cypercats also have a great bullpen led by Ralph Teague (6-4) with an extraordinary 1.31 ERA and 21 saves... most of the offense is provided by RF Ricky Rich (.338/26/113/92) and 3B Jug Slavin (.313/16/61/100).

Andrei Kokk in Valka can match Crystal Lake and Grand City on the hill as far as starting pitchers, but not in the bullpen... the third-place Blackhawks have four competent starters with Richie Jost (18-15 3.27), Arno Vainmaa (18-15 3.60), Eddie Lasky (14-14 3.67) and Ivo Jaanson (14-12 3.04)... Valka doesn't have a potent attack with a .262 BA (13th), much power with 119 homers (20th) and is 24th in scoring... rookie CF Tomi Viikberg topped the team with a .316 BA, 75 RBIs and 92 runs... no others were close to his stats.

The San Dimas Rancheros made progress this season under Paco Banderos, moving up from seventh to fourth... however, the Rancheros are far from a pennant contender... the only talented hurler is closer Raul Marroquin, who was 9-3 with 24 saves and a super-low 1.82 ERA... at the plate All-Star and Gold Glover Norm Owens (.284/23/97/100) and fine-fielding CF Andre Drexel (.293/22/101/85) supply most of the scoring.

The Belair Beach Sunbirds with Marty Pedroza at the helm came in a disappointing fifth for the fifth year in a row, 15 games behind... the Sunbird fans are not happy... from 2011 to 2016 Pedroza wound up in first place three times and in second place 3 times... poor hitting is the main culprit... but this year pitching was off, too... Pedroza's only two reliable pitchers are Rik Flippen (16-12 3.42) and Denny Whitaker (16-17 3.32)... in the batter's box the only dependable hitter was 1B Danny Sommers, a great trade acquision from Turon in the Tycobbian Union... the 26-year-old Sommers blossomed in his first chance at starting with 29 homers and 102 runs batted in and a .274 BA... He was being wasted on the bench in Turon behind future HOF-er Clyde Kingsford... 27-year-old RF Jim White also shows promise with a .312 season and 15 roundtrippers.

The "Old Perfesser" Stacy Engel really took a tumble this season... his Claxton Diamonds had two great pennant-winning years in 2018-19, but dipped to sixth place and 15 games behind Crystal Lake... Terrible pitching cost the Diamonds... Claxton was 31st with a sky-high 4.63 team ERA and the offense fell off decidedly from last year... Only star LF George McKay (.314/34/104/103) and all-time IPA superstud 1B Mike Luzzatti (.306/24/99/82) performed well... RF K. C. Moerdijk rapped 40 homers, scored 128 runs, batted in 79, but batted only .257 for average... most of Engel's starters and bullpen had 4.25 or worse ERAs.

McGraw Johnson could be in trouble in Waleska... his Westerners have been near the bottom of the RU South for four successive seasons and this does not sit well with its owner J. R. Ewing... After winding up seventh this year and 20 games in back of first place Crystal Lake, Johnson has been given blunt notice it is time to turn things around... the only talent the Westerners have is the brilliant CF Roy Hobbs, who has single-handedly carried the club since he joined them as a rookie in 2013... Hobbs led the team with a .347 average, 25 homers, 95 RBIs and 97 runs... and even his numbers are down from a career-average 35 homers, 120 RBIs and 115 runs per season... the 27-year-old Hobbs is still as good as ever, but the cast of players is down in quality... only SS Grant Betzer gives much help with a .310 BA, 16 home runs, 85 RBIs and 87 runs scored... 22-year-old closer Marv Cook is the only decent pitcher... Cook posted a 6-8 record with 30 saves and a 3.08 ERA.

The last-place St. John Crusaders are one of the worst teams in the IPA with terrible hitting (.238 BA) and average pitching (3.91 ERA)... for the second year in a row Dickie Billings' bunch has been doomed to the basement... Pat Long (14-17 3.34) was the Crusaders only quality starter and closer Will Baxter (8-7) did a very good job with a 2.98 ERA and 17 saves... 11-year vet 3B Vinny Sardisco continues to do a fine job season-after-season, but with no help at all in the line-up... Sardisco had one of his best years with a .333 BA, 43 doubles, 21 home runs and 79 RBIs.

01-21-2011, 10:07 PM	#2313
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,877	The Islandian Times Monday, September 21, 2020 2020 Ruthlandian South Final Recap 2-Team Battle In RU South, Crushers Nip Cybercats After three straight heart-rendering second-place finishes in the Ruthlandian South, the Crystal Lake Crushers finally pulled in a pennant with a 2-game victory over the Grand City Cybercats. The first-half leader, the Valka Blackhawks, folded badly in the second half and wound up in third place 11 games off the pace. The San Dimas Rancheros also peaked at mid-season and dropped back. The Rancheros were fourth, just 4 games behind at the All-Star break, but ended up 12 games out. The Claxton Diamonds, who won the RU South the previous two seasons, took a sudden turn for the worst and fell into oblivion and into sixth place,trailing by 15 games. Skipper Herman "Baby" George gives most of the credit to Crystal Lake's starting threesome and strong defense (.977 FA-2nd) for ending 19 years of frustration... this was the Crushers first RU flag in history... George featured two 20-game winners in his rotation led by Duncan Welch (24-12 2.00) and Ralph McCullough (23-11 3.16)... his number three Vic Bauer (18-13 3.45) was also solid... barring injury they should be around quite a while... Bauer is only 22 and Welch and McCullough are just 26... it was a tough win for Crystal Lake because of its pathetic .248 BA (30th)... all-time great 1B Phil Gravelli (.345/22/94/91) was just about the only offensive force... 36-year-old Gravelli, a .320 lifetime batter, is the IPA career home-run hitter with 652 and also tops with 2173 RBIs, 3619 hits and 2987 games... It will be difficult for the Crushers in the postseason facing clubs that have both pitching and hitting. A bad August (11-17) cost the second-place Grand City Cybercats the pennant... Wade Joslin's crew hits well for average with a .269 batting average, but has little power (27th) and little scoring ability (17th)... but has a good group of decent starters in Jimbo Sterns (17-10 3.42), Brent Sturgis (.18-12 3.97), Luis Perez (14-13 3.46) and Randy Andrews (13-17 3.42)... the Cypercats also have a great bullpen led by Ralph Teague (6-4) with an extraordinary 1.31 ERA and 21 saves... most of the offense is provided by RF Ricky Rich (.338/26/113/92) and 3B Jug Slavin (.313/16/61/100). Andrei Kokk in Valka can match Crystal Lake and Grand City on the hill as far as starting pitchers, but not in the bullpen... the third-place Blackhawks have four competent starters with Richie Jost (18-15 3.27), Arno Vainmaa (18-15 3.60), Eddie Lasky (14-14 3.67) and Ivo Jaanson (14-12 3.04)... Valka doesn't have a potent attack with a .262 BA (13th), much power with 119 homers (20th) and is 24th in scoring... rookie CF Tomi Viikberg topped the team with a .316 BA, 75 RBIs and 92 runs... no others were close to his stats. The San Dimas Rancheros made progress this season under Paco Banderos, moving up from seventh to fourth... however, the Rancheros are far from a pennant contender... the only talented hurler is closer Raul Marroquin, who was 9-3 with 24 saves and a super-low 1.82 ERA... at the plate All-Star and Gold Glover Norm Owens (.284/23/97/100) and fine-fielding CF Andre Drexel (.293/22/101/85) supply most of the scoring. The Belair Beach Sunbirds with Marty Pedroza at the helm came in a disappointing fifth for the fifth year in a row, 15 games behind... the Sunbird fans are not happy... from 2011 to 2016 Pedroza wound up in first place three times and in second place 3 times... poor hitting is the main culprit... but this year pitching was off, too... Pedroza's only two reliable pitchers are Rik Flippen (16-12 3.42) and Denny Whitaker (16-17 3.32)... in the batter's box the only dependable hitter was 1B Danny Sommers, a great trade acquision from Turon in the Tycobbian Union... the 26-year-old Sommers blossomed in his first chance at starting with 29 homers and 102 runs batted in and a .274 BA... He was being wasted on the bench in Turon behind future HOF-er Clyde Kingsford... 27-year-old RF Jim White also shows promise with a .312 season and 15 roundtrippers. The "Old Perfesser" Stacy Engel really took a tumble this season... his Claxton Diamonds had two great pennant-winning years in 2018-19, but dipped to sixth place and 15 games behind Crystal Lake... Terrible pitching cost the Diamonds... Claxton was 31st with a sky-high 4.63 team ERA and the offense fell off decidedly from last year... Only star LF George McKay (.314/34/104/103) and all-time IPA superstud 1B Mike Luzzatti (.306/24/99/82) performed well... RF K. C. Moerdijk rapped 40 homers, scored 128 runs, batted in 79, but batted only .257 for average... most of Engel's starters and bullpen had 4.25 or worse ERAs. McGraw Johnson could be in trouble in Waleska... his Westerners have been near the bottom of the RU South for four successive seasons and this does not sit well with its owner J. R. Ewing... After winding up seventh this year and 20 games in back of first place Crystal Lake, Johnson has been given blunt notice it is time to turn things around... the only talent the Westerners have is the brilliant CF Roy Hobbs, who has single-handedly carried the club since he joined them as a rookie in 2013... Hobbs led the team with a .347 average, 25 homers, 95 RBIs and 97 runs... and even his numbers are down from a career-average 35 homers, 120 RBIs and 115 runs per season... the 27-year-old Hobbs is still as good as ever, but the cast of players is down in quality... only SS Grant Betzer gives much help with a .310 BA, 16 home runs, 85 RBIs and 87 runs scored... 22-year-old closer Marv Cook is the only decent pitcher... Cook posted a 6-8 record with 30 saves and a 3.08 ERA. The last-place St. John Crusaders are one of the worst teams in the IPA with terrible hitting (.238 BA) and average pitching (3.91 ERA)... for the second year in a row Dickie Billings' bunch has been doomed to the basement... Pat Long (14-17 3.34) was the Crusaders only quality starter and closer Will Baxter (8-7) did a very good job with a 2.98 ERA and 17 saves... 11-year vet 3B Vinny Sardisco continues to do a fine job season-after-season, but with no help at all in the line-up... Sardisco had one of his best years with a .333 BA, 43 doubles, 21 home runs and 79 RBIs. Last edited by Eugene Church; 01-21-2011 at 10:17 PM.