[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Tuesday, September 19, 2056

ROOSTERS ROLL TO 8TH STRAIGHT RU WEST TITLE
By their standards it wasn't a great season for the Middlefield Roosters... they only won 95 games, but they ruled the roost in the Ruthlandian West again for the 8th straight season... Middlefield led the race start-to-finish, piling up a 12-game lead by the All-Star Game and then the Roosters just breezed to the division crown... however, the tough little Sligo Rovers (89-65) closed in on them in the stretch drive a little bit... still Middlefield (95-59) beat them by 6 games... it's the closest race they had in the 8-year run... most of the time the Roosters romp by 10 or more games... the Stoner Stars wound up 14 games back in third place and the Fort Benton Defenders (77-77) finished fourth, trailing by 18 games... the RU West played true-to-form this season... the top four picks in the preseason poll came in exactly that way.

Middlefield (95-59) will not have to deal with its nemesis Wynnamac in the playoffs this year... the Sundowners whipped them the last two seasons in first-round play and spoiled their Pro Cup hopes... but Middlefield will still have to get by a tough and talented team, the Eastshore Cotton Kings in the opening matchup... the Roosters are seeking their third Pro Cup, having won in 2052 and 2005.

Middlefield has the most potent offense in the Ruthlandian Union... the Roosters are the top-scoring club with 895 runs (1st), primarily because of 173 homers (4th)... but they hit fairly well, too, with a .265 BA... the pitching is fairly good with a 3.88 ERA (17th), not a bad ERA considering the small park they play in... however, the Middlefield staff gave up the most home runs in the league with 196 (32nd)... that could really hurt them in the playoffs... the Roosters are just average with the gloves (.974 FA).

Middlefield only has one solid starter... to compete for the Pro Cup trophy, you need three quality hurlers... All-Star James Long (20-9/2.21)... starter number two Scott Cole (19-13/3.53) is pretty good, too... but there is nothing after them... luckily the Roosters possess a good bullpen with Norm Coventry (1-2/1.21/24 saves/42 G) and Yazzy Yastrzemski (7-2/2.33/7 saves/35 G)... where Middlefield shines is with the bats... they have a bunch of them, sparked by last year's RU MVP superstud LF Trip Agarn (.284/43/125/104/5 SB), who had another super season... he tied with High Mesa's Kagetoki Miyazaki for the IPA lead with 43 roundtrippers... was second in the RU with 125 RBIs and third in scoring with 104 runs... other good run providers in the linuep are CF Johnny Wyatt (.255/30/104/67/3 SB), who won the RU MVP in '54, SS Stan Radzikowski (.276/22/92/102/8 SB), 1B Natty Colclough (.298/18/79/59)/2 SB) and 3B Donnie Hix (.271/13/69/92)... Middlefield lives and dies with the long balls... without a solid starting rotation, the Roosters will not go deep into the playoffs... many suspect they will fall in the first round to the Eastshore Cotton Kings.

The second place Sligo Rovers (89-65) have come in second to Middlefield the last four seasons and drew nearer this year, losing out by just 6 games... the Rovers have solid pitching with a 3.08 ERA (2nd), excellent fielding (.977 FA), but lack scoring... they batted .268 (12th), hit 109 HRs (24th) and scored only 671 runs (25th)... to win the division, they need more offense... Sligo's last RU West titles came in '39 and '40... the Rovers won their only Pro Cup in 2021... they are on the rise and have a young team... the future is shining bright in Sligo... Judah Carmack (21-10/2.48) was the biggest winner, but veteran All-Star Mickey Walsh (19-17/2.70) is the ace... Jacky Harshman (17-15/3.02) is a very good number three in the rotation... the bullpen is pretty good with closer Tiger Snodgrass (9-7/3.07/22 saves/46 G)... the Rovers have a lot of fairly good hitters, but no superstuds... SS Clancy Beaufort (.267/25/84/58/3 SB) is the main power and RBI guy... RF Scooter Pugh (.344/8/62/75/14 SB) is the best average... CF Merle Bliss (.290/16/54/80/28 SB) is a good, all-around performer... other contributors are 1B Cliff Hawthorne (.279/15/78/62/14 SB) and LF Josh Brolin (.275/13/58/78/17 SB)... a pennant may soon be on the horizon for the Sligo Rovers... another starter and another good bat could do it.

The Stoner Stars (81-73) have finished a distant third the last two seasons, 22 GB and 14 GB... they haven't won a pennant since 2029... have seldom made the playoffs... just 3 times in the club's history... never won a Pro Cup... the Stars hit well with a .278 BA (6th), average home-run power with 130 (15th) and score well with 757 runs (5th)... pitching is pretty good with a 3.80 ERA (12th)... and they are average defensively (.974 FA)... Stoner's starting rotation has five dependable arms, led by Al Raver (17-10/3.69), Donald Gilpin (16-11/3.92), Brad Squires (15-15/3.66), Ivan Kleczko (13-12/3.75/6 saves/39 G) and Stan Ulmer (12-12/3.48/7 saves/38 G)... none are standouts... nothing special in the bullpen since Ulmer and Kleczko were promoted to starting rotation... the Stars do have a budding star in 1B Tyler Stoddard (.289/22/94/105)... he was the RU Rookie of the Year and Golden Bat last year, but his numbers were down in his sophomore season... still Stoddard had a good year... Stoner has several .300 hitters in the lineup: SS Mac Lord (.325/7/65/67/11 SB), LF Anton Schindler (.315/7/34/59/9 SB), 3B Lance Andre (.313/10/70/77) and RF Tommy Boutwell (.306/14/41/54/8 SB)... plus several that missed it by just a little bit: CF Floyd Baxter (.297/7/50/46/16 SB) and 2B Doug Moody (.292/6/52/56/5 SB)... when the pitching kicks it up to another level, Stoner will be a solid flag contender, not just on the outside looking in from a distant third or fourth place in the standings.

For the first time in 14 years, the chronic also-ran Fort Benton Defenders (77-77) broke even and came in fourth in the Ruthlandian West... they have a horrendous history in the IPA with only one postseason playoff... that was back 2037... 9 times in the last 14 seasons the Defenders finished in the division cellar... so this year was really something to the fans... Fort Benton has a bunch of contact hitters, but no power... they hit really well with a .285 BA (2nd), scored better-than-average with 712 runs (14th), but were terrible with just 74 homers (32nd)... pretty good on the hill with a 3.63 ERA (10th)... and just average defense with a .974 FA... the leading hitters are CF Teddy Keyes (.302/4/73/103/35 SB), 1B Mel Lightfoot (.305/15/82/73), 3B Steve Hornblower (.303/9/76/64/11 SB), SS Sandy Harling (.312/3/67/59/11 SB) and LF Charlie Bondy (.290/6/58/56/2 SB)... heading the mound corps were Zeke Yoder (17-14/3.71), Dave Llewellyn (14-13/2.83) and Gil Hicks (13-19/3.82)... the Fort Benton bullpen is ranked first in the RU with a 2.43 ERA (1st), led by 37-year-old Randy Rinehart (5-5/2.17/25 saves/56 G), Julian Le Carre (3-5/2.56/7 saves/44 G) and Darius Kimberly (5-1/2.11/2 saves/31 G)... the Defenders may hover around the first division in the fourth or fifth slot at best unless they can get a few power hitters... that's their biggest need.

The Rocky Rapids Snappers (71-83) have digressed the past two seasons and slumped into the second division of the RU West... they are fifth this season, 24 GB... last year they were sixth (72-82) and wound up 32 GB... the Snappers are just a lackluster club with a poor offense overall (32nd), average long ball power (17th), solid defense (.975 FA) and good pitching with a 3.55 ERA (5th)... anchoring the staff is Clay Callaghan (21-12/3.14), Lance Obermueller (14-11/3.52) and Kip Golden (15-17/3.73)... but the Snappers have nothing noteworthy in the bullpen... closer Rance Donnelly (5-6/3.72/25 saves/49 G) is inconsistent... sometimes good, sometimes not... not much at the plate, either... best of the lot are just decent hitters: 2B Charles Stradley (.265/13/73/85/20 SB), LF Joe Clarkson (.263/20/74/68/3 SB) and 1B Deke Lundy (.304/20/63/56)... Rocky Rapids has made the postseason playoffs only 6 times in its history with one Pro Cup (2019)... the last pennant came in 2046... a couple of power hitters could make the Snappers contenders in the RU West... help in the bullpen is also a vital need.

The Volusia Vigilantes (69-85) wound up tied for sixth in the RU West, 26 GB... they make contact well with a .276 BA (7th), but have no power with only 86 HRs (30th) and are just average with 710 runs (15th)... the pitching is just so-so with a 4.06 ERA (24th)... and they are not good defensively (.968 FA)... Lonny Rinehart (20-15/2.98) is a very good starter with help from Cloyd Queen (15-17/4.07) and rookie Reynaldo Medrano (10-17/4.11)... young rookie Philip Duron (4-1/3.65) showed well in the last six weeks of the season in 9 starts... nothing much in the bullpen... leading the V's at the plate were 3B Teddy Cornelius (.301/13/69/95/2 SB), 1B Kees Tenbrook (.301/11/61/77/25 SB) and CF Rupert Myles (.290/16/47/57/6 SB)... the Vigilantes have been stuck in the second division for four straight seasons... they were in the RU West cellar last year (62-92)... Volusia has made the playoffs 9 times and won the very first IPA Pro Cup trophy back in the inaugural season 2001... the V's won their most recent pennant in 2043... Volusia is not likely to move up in the RU West... at least, not in the near future.

Colfax (69-85) is a contradiction... they have four All-Stars... and yet the best they could do this year was tie for sixth place in the RU West standings... the All-Stars sparked the offense: CF Stan Kovalenko (.316/9/82/111/20 SB), 1B Nicky Yorke (.303/24/85/84), 3B Nigel Colvin (.296/20/68/89) and C Darrell Dillon (.270/15/81/62)... but the mound corps didn't help them out... Larry McDuffie (14-13/3.66) is the only quality starter... Keith Himmel (12-13/4.23) is just fair... and the top winner Alan Schmitt (18-11/4.76) had the best record because of good run support... and the bullpen is terrible... it's been 7 years since the Colfax Blasters (69-85) posted a winning mark (2049)... they have come in seventh 3 times in the last 5 seasons... Colfax has a fairly good offense with 720 runs (11th), solid hitting with a .272 BA (9th), good home-run power with 138 (11th-tied), average defense (.972 FA), but the pitching is pretty bad with a 4.46 ERA (31st)... Colfax last won the RU West in 2042... in all, the Blasters have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, but most of them in the club's Golden Years... they won 7 pennants in 9 years from 2008 to 2016 with one Pro Cup trophy (2010)... in that glorious season they set an all-time IPA record with 107 victories... Midway tied that mark in 2054... two HOF-ers led that club in that historic year: Ilya Szabo (27-4/1.79) and Jasper LaForge (19-10/3.35)... Jimmy Joe Cartner (27-4/2.86) also played a prime part that season... the top bats were CF Ryan Raines (.293/28 HR/122 RBI/108 R/21 SB), LF Paul Coniglio (.290/30/104/99/9 SB) and 3B Mike Janocko (.344/15/71/48)... a return of the glory years doesn't seem to be in the Blasters' future anytime soon.

The last place Forest City Firebirds (65-89) didn't do very much well this season... they batted .255 (28th), scored 675 runs (23rd), had good power with 153 roundtrippers (7th), poor defense (.969 FA) and a lofty 4.30 ERA (30th)... this is the third straight losing season... no pennants since '48... only 5 postseason playoff appearances... and no Pro Cups... not a very impressive history at all... CF Randy Snow (.296/30/84/89/6 SB) was the club leader in almost every category... you name it and he led it... 175 hits, 26 doubles, 4 triples, 30 home runs, 89 RBIs, 89 runs and .296 batting average... Snow didn't get a lot of help... 1B Edward Pierson (.237/26/76/64/1 SB) and C Dan Brownmiller (.221/14/68/59/11 SB) helped out a little with a few homers and some RBIs... on the hill the Firebirds had a couple of fair starters in Cale Ballantine (20-14/3.71) and Ben Drummond (13-16/3.82)... and closer Tim Varnado (3-7/2.72/18 saves/40 G) had a pretty good year... not much else to brag about... it's going to take Forest City some time to get out of the second division, much less become a contender... the Firebirds have a tough row to hoe.