[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Sunday, March 31, 2058

2058 Ruthlandian Union South Division Preview

CYBERCATS CHOICE IN RU SOUTH
The Grand City Cybercats are the choice to capture the Ruthlandian South flag in 2058... they got the call over their main challenger, the Crystal Lake Skippers, the runner-up last year... defending champion St. John came in third in the preseason poll... only a two-team race is forecast... the RU South is generally the weakest division in the Ruthlandian Union... none of the teams except the Waleska Westerners have ever won the Pro Cup and it was decades ago when they won the IPA crown ('28, '37 and '39)... rarely do the teams do well in the postseason playoffs.

1st: GRAND CITY CYBERCATS
Last Year: 5th Place (74-80) (13 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (tied) (81-73) (5 GB)
Outlook: Manager Thomas Hall led the Cybercats to the pennant in '55... had them close in '56 and then slipped last year... a rookie starter and two rookie relievers has gotten the team excited... Gil Lloyd made the starting rotation and Goose Guthrie and Elton Poindexter will get a lot of innings in the bullpen... all of them performed well in the spring... Hall said this is the best staff he's ever had... while the staff is solid, Hall's hitters are subpar... he really needs help at the plate.... anchoring the staff are Steve Shirley (16-11/2.78), Jozef Chojnaki (14-17/3.75), Arnie McConnell (10-4/3.80) and Fred Barrow (17-18/4.09)... the bullpen is strong with closer Yuri Kirchoff (3-3/2.64 ERA/21 saves/42 G)… Grand City's main shortcoming is scoring runs... they only have three reliable hitters: 1B Vince Kinston (.329/22 HR/74 RBI/75 R), LF Dave Durocher (.260/20 HR/80 RBI/72 R) and 2B Zane Faulkner (.298/4 HR/64 RBI/81 R)… the Cybercats can win in the weak RU South, but must get much better at the plate to get far in the Pro Cup playoffs.

2nd: Crystal Lake Skippers
Last Year: 2nd Place (86-68) (1 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (78-76) (8 GB)
Outlook: skipper Duncan Welch's club has done well the last few years... the Skippers have a winning record the past three seasons... this could be his year to win the RU South... new rookie starter Jedd Hartwick is the reason for the optimism... he will join an already quality starting rotation with Merle Pitts (19-13/2.90), Robin Norborne (19-15/3.74) and Tony Calamari (9-5/2.90)... the offense is pretty solid with the likes of SS Gib Conlan (.275/24 HR/101 RBI/90 R), RF Mel Brouwer (.308/23 HR/92 RBI/94 R), LF Zippy Coburn (.314/23 HR/100 RBI/98 R) and 3B Jasper Shackleford (.292/22 HR/75 RBI/81 R).

3rd: St. John Crusaders
Last Year: 1st Place (87-67)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (tied) (5 GB)
Outlook: manager Nicky Farrugia doesn't agree with the sportswriters... he thinks his club is better this year... he will have his ace Whitlow Cornwell (12-5/3.69) back very early in the season... he was sorely missed in the second half of the season and in the playoffs last year... Farrugia also is encouraged by rookie hurlers Don Rainer and Harry Barden, along with 4-year vet Ira Newhouser... all of them showed potential in spring training... according to Farrugia the Crusaders are ready to repeat in the RU South with Tom Smithson (16-13/3.37), Teddy Howell (14-12/3.35), Deke Eubanks (12-14/3.83), Teddy de Grom (18-12/4.06) and Gibby Pritchell (5-5/2.73) joining with Cornwell... St. John is healthy on the hill, but woeful on HR power... CF Freddie Woodruff (.293/9 HR/59 RBI/79 R), 3B Jimmy Upchurch (.296/10 HR/63 RBI/65 R), LF Lou Endicott (.348/11 HR/50 RBI/50 R), C Tuffy Palmieri (.283/13 HR/61 RBI/76 R) and 2B Ozwaldo Romero (.288/19 HR/80 RBI/63 R) are just modest run producers... the offense keeps St. John from having an elite team.

4th: Belair Beach Sunbirds
Last Year: 7th Place (67-87) (20 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (76-78) (13 GB)
Outlook: the Sunbirds digressed last year under new manager Jason Butler... 5 new rookies on the squad this year... starting rotation is good with Chris Malbrough (18-14/3.00), Jeffrey Verblen (13-15/3.50), Glen Long (10-17/3.54) and Jeff Chojnacki (11-11/4.07)... four rookie pitchers will decide the Sunbirds' season... Lucky Calvanico, Doyle Hicks, Alastair Howerton and Anxo Matsukas... Belair Beach has one outstanding talent in All-Star and Gold Glove CF Curtis Cochran (.348/9 HR/69 RBI/86 R/26 SB)... he led the RU with a sparkling .348 mark, but doesn't hit with power... the rest of the lineup is just so-so with 2B Rusty Van Slyke (.272/20 HR/78 RBI/55 R), C Johnny Samarin (.269/11 HR/44 RBI/71 R), 3B Mark Hawkins (.294/10 HR/43 RBI/32 R) and LF Douglas Duff (.292/4 HR/42 RBI/52 R)... the Sunbirds will be just a run-of-the-mill ballclub until they get some strong bats in the lineup.

5th: Valka Blackhawks
Last Year: 8th Place (62-92) (25 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (80-74) (6 GB)
Outlook: skipper Arno Vainmaa has had the Blackhawks in contention in recent years... he won the RU South pennant in '54 and stayed close in '55 and '56, but plummeted last year to the cellar... the Valka offense is terrible... the only decent bats are 1B Taavi Soosaar (.296/26 HR/81 RBI/68 R), C Freddie Civik (.286/15 HR/67 RBI/67 R) and RF Mel Shadwell (.269/12 HR/56 RBI/74 R)... and there's no help coming from the sparse rookie class unless LF Erki Hookfin provides it... he arrived at spring training with great credentials... Vainmaa only has a fair staff, led by Norbert Borden (15-12/3.94), Clark Harrington (9-23/3.47), Eerik Jogi (9-16/3.77) and Aavo Keskkula (8-16/4.31)... rookie Vidrik Valdma stood out in training camp and won a spot in the rotation... he's the only newcomer on the staff... until the Blackhawks can put some runs on the scoreboard, Vainmaa will have a hard time winning.

6th: Claxton Diamonds
Last Year: 4th Place (75-79) (12 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (68-86) (18 GB)
Outlook: last year rookie manager Abe Schiffman perked up the Diamonds with the long ball and got them out of the RU South basement... he also possessed two capable starters in Leon Reynolds (20-9/3.70) and Matt Goodrum (20-13/3.82), along with a super closer in Mark Meisner (2-3/1.34 ERA/25 saves/46 G), but the rest of the staff stunk... Schiffman is hoping to get help from two rookies on the hill... Sammy Proudfoot and Jerry Urban showed some promise in camp... Claxton will be led again at the plate by LF Bobby Bright (.277/33 HR/87 RBI/97 R), 42-year-old 15-time All-Star and IPA icon, 2B Jojo DeLucca (.296/26 HR/107 RBI/73 R), 3B Fred Hahn (.300/23 HR/90 RBI/94 R) and RF Jimmy John Ramsey (.285/22 HR/70 RBI/51 R).

7th: Waleska Westerners
Last Year: 3rd Place (80-74) (7 GB)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (86-68)
Outlook: manager Roy Hobbs has won 4 RU South division titles since 2051... so he's not accustomed to being assigned a spot deep in the second division... his key to success is how well the offense performs... Hobbs has good pitching, at least on paper... Bret Shockley (19-15/3.16), Johnny Merriman (22-9/3.48) and Lou Carlson (8-9/3.36) are all vets... rookie right-hander Theron Pritchett did well in spring training and should see a lot of action in the bullpen and maybe work his way into the starting rotation... Ethan Addy, in his second year, stood out as well and got the spot starter spot in the rotation... not a lot of standout hitters in the Westerners' batting order... most of them are just adequate... CF Boomer Barnes (.281/21 HR/84 RBI/92 R) is the best bat, followed by 1B/3B Johnny Dillinger (.273/15 HR/74 RBI/76 R), LF Bitsy Boccabella (.264/22 HR/65 RBI/70 R), SS Javon Grammer (.273/9 HR/70 RBI/50 R) and C Cubby Nash (.258/15 HR/67 RBI/59 R).

Hobbs has his grandson, Royce, on the team this year as a backup at first base... the scouts say he is an excellent fielder with modest ability at the plate... can play anywhere on the diamond well... both infield and outfield... but rookie Hobbs is nothing like his old Hall-of-Famer granddad, who was one of the greatest players ever in IPA history with a .345 career batting average, nearly 600 homers and over 2000 RBIs and runs... Roy Hobbs was a 15-time All-Star infielder, Golden Glover and 7 times captured the Ruthlandian Golden Bat Award... Royce's dad, Roger Hobbs, also was a standout player and had a fine career with Sugar Valley, batting .289 overall with 412 homers and 1500 RBIs... he was a prime element in the Rattlers winning 8 RU West pennants and the 2045 Pro Cup... a 5-time All-Star Hobbs played from 2034 to 2052... he began his career with hometown Waleska, but was traded in his second year... that was huge mistake by the Westerners' front office... Hobbs needs a lot more pop in this lineup to return to the top of the standings again.

8th: San Dimas Rancheros
Last Year: 6th Place (71-83) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (73-81) (13 GB)
Outlook: Ranchero manager Leonard Purkey is in his second year... he has very little run-scoring capability except for RF Gilberto Gallardo (.324/27 HR/100 RBI/80 R) and 3B Julian Ortiz (.290/17 HR/72 RBI/68 R)... San Dimas is a little better on the mound with starters Emile Wade (19-11/3.51), Hernando Almora (19-17/3.40) and Tomas Olmeda (11-13/4.03)... closer Kenny Robinson (5-9/3.02 ERA/22 saves/46 G) is slowing down a bit at age 36... last year was not a real good one for him... Purkey has added three rookies to his mound corps... Adrian Garza is in the starting rotation and two others, Gail Backman and Diego Rivera will see action as relievers... no new position players made the team this year... and that's, by far, their biggest need... looks like a long year for Purkey and his Rancheros this season.