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Eugene Church · 07-18-2011, 08:23 PM

The Islandian Times
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

2025 Ruthlandian West Mid-Season Recap

Rovers, Roosters, Stars Top RU West
Three teams are hotly-contesting in the Ruthlandian West at the All-Star break. The Sligo Rovers have a very slight one-game lead over runners-up Middlefield and Stoner at the season's mid-point. The Volusia Vigilantes are fourth and trail by 6 games.

The Sligo Rovers (43-30) recently went on tear and took over the top spot with 9 wins in 10 games... Eddie Keys relies on two fine starters to get the job done... All-Star Les Patterson (11-7 2.50) and Sam Tate (9-5 2.56) are veterans and as good as you'll find in the league... in his 9 years Patterson is 167-109 and a 6-time All-Star... Tate in 10 years is 153-102... young Milt Flanagan (0-2) has stepped into the closer position and done extremely well with a 1.11 ERA and 14 saves... however, Keys' club struggles at the plate, hitting only .240 (28th) with 38 home runs (29th)... LF Biff Blauer (.292 BA/6 HR/33 RBI/46 R) is the only credible bat.

Defending champ Middlefield (42-31) took a big hit when they lost superstar 1B Allan Stewart for the season... Stewart, a 4-time All-Star and Golden Bat winner, suffered a skull fracture in June and will be out a year... Stewart was batting .282 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs at the time of the injury... manager Bailey Norcross depends on starters Danny Denver (13-4 3.07) and Frank Dean (8-7 3.47), a strong closer Waylon Hillman (4-4 1.85) with 14 saves and the longball... the Roosters rule the RU with 82 homers, second-best in the IPA to High Mesa's 93... All-Star C Rod Buckley leads the line-up with a .359 BA and 10 homers... LF Floyd McClellan is batting only .258, but has 47 RBIs and 10 roundtrippers... Middlefield's other quality players have been subpar so far this year and will need to pick it up in the second half to make up for the loss of Stewart and win a third straight division flag.

Benny Stern's Stoner Stars (42-31) are great on the mound, but mediocre at the plate... they are the best in the IPA with a splendid 2.68 ERA... Stern's starters are strong and his bullpen, too... All-Star Billy Chapel (12-4 2.28) is the ace with help from vet Tommy Tuckman (8-5 3.42), vet Charley Norton (8-9 3.02) and rookie Raul Hidalgo (8-9 2.46)... All-Star closer Joel Shepard (2-2) leads the relievers with 19 saves and a superb 1.32 ERA... 1B Fletch Fowler (.330 BA/10 HR/48 RBI) is Stoner's only real threat in the batter's box.

Fourth-place Volusia (37-36) is the only other team in the RU West with a winning record... the Vigilantes are 6 games back of Sligo... the V's are only an ordinary ballclub with a .244 team BA (21st) and a 3.82 ERA (26th)... Sixto Moreno (7-6 2.97) is a solid starter... so is Duane Jenkins (8-9 2.63)... leading the offense are CF Joe DeLucca (.284 BA/6 HR/38 RBI), LF Marty Hollenbeck (.278 BA/7 HR/39 RBI) and SS Vince Wilson (.309 BA/4 HR/18 RBI/31 R).

The Rocky Rapids Snappers (35-38), guided by skipper Ryan Noland, are 8 games off the pace in fifth place in the RU West... Noland's pluses are veteran starter Don Chaney (6-8 2.69) and 20-year-old Walter Noland (10-6 2.94), one of four Noland brothers on the team... the Snappers are just an average team that has trouble scoring runs... they are ranked 29th in scoring despite a .255 BA (9th)... All-Star Paul Shelton (.293 BA/12 HR/46 RBI/38 R), a Golden Bat winner and 7-time All-Star, is the club's offensive leader... 1B Angelo Nardone (.287 BA/5 HR/39 RBI), CF Tiger Noland (.311 BA/2 HR/26 RBI) and SS Tommy Noland (.293 BA/5 HR/21 RBI) also contribute... Rocky Rapids has no power, only 41 homers (28th).

The sixth spot in the standings is held by the Forest City Lumberjacks (33-40), who are 10 games behind the leader... manager Rob Jackson only has a so-so club this year... the 'Jacks have three quality starters, but little else... Stephen Phillips (6-7 2.36), Norm Dawson (5-8 3.33) and Doug Haynes (7-10 3.53) could use some bat support... RF Luc St. Germain (.304 BA/5 HR/40 RBI) and LF Ryan Ray (.271 BA/14 HR/37 RBI) lead the team at the plate... 3B Rusty Hood has 12 home runs and 42 RBIs, but is hitting only .240.

Fort Benton (32-41) is one of the least successful franchises in the IPA... the Defenders have never won a pennant or made the playoffs and have been cellar-dwellers 10 times in their history... but having said that, the team has made great progress this season on the hill with a fine 3.20 ERA (9th), but they are still in seventh place and 11 games behind... the mound staff is led by two youngsters, rookie Paul Flowers (3-8 2.48), and second-year man Matt Harmon (7-7 3.77)... plus 35-year-old veteran Nick Walker (7-8 3.27)... manager Robbie Brooks has a fine bullpen, too, with closer Kurt Cobb (4-7) with 10 saves and an impressive 1.26 ERA... Cobb is only 24 and in his third season... CF Vince Boylan paces the offense with a .280 BA, 11 homers, 43 RBIs and 44 runs... not much else in the batting order.

Over the last decade, the Colfax Blasters (27-46) under manager Clem Rogers have declined from a perennial pennant winner, 7 pennants and one Pro Cup, to a chronic also-ran... this could be the worst season in the club's history... the Blasters are last and 16 games back... a .231 BA (31st) and 4.26 ERA (29th) will not get you very high in the standings... vets James Elliott (7-9 3.99) and Cliff James (6-13 3.83) are the best of the starters... RF Glen Smith (.292 BA/7 HR/39 RBI) tops the team in average, while 1B Doug Kirkwood leads with 12 homers and 47 RBIs, but is hitting just .259.

Rutlandian West Outlook:
And who's going to win the pennant?... Go with the defending champs, the Middlefield Roosters, who will perk up at the plate in the second half and surpass the Sligo Rovers for a third title in a row... the Stoner Stars with a wealth of starters will also move ahead of the Rovers into second place, but will not catch the Roosters... Stoner bats are just too lame... Sligo will wind up in third place... fourth place will go to Volusia... the Vigilantes have an edge in pitching and hitting over Rocky Rapids, who will be fifth... Forest City should hold on to the sixth spot... Fort Benton's fine young staff should keep them ahead of Colfax.

07-18-2011, 08:23 PM	#2632
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,875	*The Islandian Times* Tuesday, June 24, 2025 2025 Ruthlandian West Mid-Season Recap Rovers, Roosters, Stars Top RU West Three teams are hotly-contesting in the Ruthlandian West at the All-Star break. The Sligo Rovers have a very slight one-game lead over runners-up Middlefield and Stoner at the season's mid-point. The Volusia Vigilantes are fourth and trail by 6 games. The Sligo Rovers (43-30) recently went on tear and took over the top spot with 9 wins in 10 games... Eddie Keys relies on two fine starters to get the job done... All-Star Les Patterson (11-7 2.50) and Sam Tate (9-5 2.56) are veterans and as good as you'll find in the league... in his 9 years Patterson is 167-109 and a 6-time All-Star... Tate in 10 years is 153-102... young Milt Flanagan (0-2) has stepped into the closer position and done extremely well with a 1.11 ERA and 14 saves... however, Keys' club struggles at the plate, hitting only .240 (28th) with 38 home runs (29th)... LF Biff Blauer (.292 BA/6 HR/33 RBI/46 R) is the only credible bat. Defending champ Middlefield (42-31) took a big hit when they lost superstar 1B Allan Stewart for the season... Stewart, a 4-time All-Star and Golden Bat winner, suffered a skull fracture in June and will be out a year... Stewart was batting .282 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs at the time of the injury... manager Bailey Norcross depends on starters Danny Denver (13-4 3.07) and Frank Dean (8-7 3.47), a strong closer Waylon Hillman (4-4 1.85) with 14 saves and the longball... the Roosters rule the RU with 82 homers, second-best in the IPA to High Mesa's 93... All-Star C Rod Buckley leads the line-up with a .359 BA and 10 homers... LF Floyd McClellan is batting only .258, but has 47 RBIs and 10 roundtrippers... Middlefield's other quality players have been subpar so far this year and will need to pick it up in the second half to make up for the loss of Stewart and win a third straight division flag. Benny Stern's Stoner Stars (42-31) are great on the mound, but mediocre at the plate... they are the best in the IPA with a splendid 2.68 ERA... Stern's starters are strong and his bullpen, too... All-Star Billy Chapel (12-4 2.28) is the ace with help from vet Tommy Tuckman (8-5 3.42), vet Charley Norton (8-9 3.02) and rookie Raul Hidalgo (8-9 2.46)... All-Star closer Joel Shepard (2-2) leads the relievers with 19 saves and a superb 1.32 ERA... 1B Fletch Fowler (.330 BA/10 HR/48 RBI) is Stoner's only real threat in the batter's box. Fourth-place Volusia (37-36) is the only other team in the RU West with a winning record... the Vigilantes are 6 games back of Sligo... the V's are only an ordinary ballclub with a .244 team BA (21st) and a 3.82 ERA (26th)... Sixto Moreno (7-6 2.97) is a solid starter... so is Duane Jenkins (8-9 2.63)... leading the offense are CF Joe DeLucca (.284 BA/6 HR/38 RBI), LF Marty Hollenbeck (.278 BA/7 HR/39 RBI) and SS Vince Wilson (.309 BA/4 HR/18 RBI/31 R). The Rocky Rapids Snappers (35-38), guided by skipper Ryan Noland, are 8 games off the pace in fifth place in the RU West... Noland's pluses are veteran starter Don Chaney (6-8 2.69) and 20-year-old Walter Noland (10-6 2.94), one of four Noland brothers on the team... the Snappers are just an average team that has trouble scoring runs... they are ranked 29th in scoring despite a .255 BA (9th)... All-Star Paul Shelton (.293 BA/12 HR/46 RBI/38 R), a Golden Bat winner and 7-time All-Star, is the club's offensive leader... 1B Angelo Nardone (.287 BA/5 HR/39 RBI), CF Tiger Noland (.311 BA/2 HR/26 RBI) and SS Tommy Noland (.293 BA/5 HR/21 RBI) also contribute... Rocky Rapids has no power, only 41 homers (28th). The sixth spot in the standings is held by the Forest City Lumberjacks (33-40), who are 10 games behind the leader... manager Rob Jackson only has a so-so club this year... the 'Jacks have three quality starters, but little else... Stephen Phillips (6-7 2.36), Norm Dawson (5-8 3.33) and Doug Haynes (7-10 3.53) could use some bat support... RF Luc St. Germain (.304 BA/5 HR/40 RBI) and LF Ryan Ray (.271 BA/14 HR/37 RBI) lead the team at the plate... 3B Rusty Hood has 12 home runs and 42 RBIs, but is hitting only .240. Fort Benton (32-41) is one of the least successful franchises in the IPA... the Defenders have never won a pennant or made the playoffs and have been cellar-dwellers 10 times in their history... but having said that, the team has made great progress this season on the hill with a fine 3.20 ERA (9th), but they are still in seventh place and 11 games behind... the mound staff is led by two youngsters, rookie Paul Flowers (3-8 2.48), and second-year man Matt Harmon (7-7 3.77)... plus 35-year-old veteran Nick Walker (7-8 3.27)... manager Robbie Brooks has a fine bullpen, too, with closer Kurt Cobb (4-7) with 10 saves and an impressive 1.26 ERA... Cobb is only 24 and in his third season... CF Vince Boylan paces the offense with a .280 BA, 11 homers, 43 RBIs and 44 runs... not much else in the batting order. Over the last decade, the Colfax Blasters (27-46) under manager Clem Rogers have declined from a perennial pennant winner, 7 pennants and one Pro Cup, to a chronic also-ran... this could be the worst season in the club's history... the Blasters are last and 16 games back... a .231 BA (31st) and 4.26 ERA (29th) will not get you very high in the standings... vets James Elliott (7-9 3.99) and Cliff James (6-13 3.83) are the best of the starters... RF Glen Smith (.292 BA/7 HR/39 RBI) tops the team in average, while 1B Doug Kirkwood leads with 12 homers and 47 RBIs, but is hitting just .259. Rutlandian West Outlook: And who's going to win the pennant?... Go with the defending champs, the Middlefield Roosters, who will perk up at the plate in the second half and surpass the Sligo Rovers for a third title in a row... the Stoner Stars with a wealth of starters will also move ahead of the Rovers into second place, but will not catch the Roosters... Stoner bats are just too lame... Sligo will wind up in third place... fourth place will go to Volusia... the Vigilantes have an edge in pitching and hitting over Rocky Rapids, who will be fifth... Forest City should hold on to the sixth spot... Fort Benton's fine young staff should keep them ahead of Colfax.