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Eugene Church · 02-22-2020, 10:39 PM

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Thursday, April 5, 2063

MACS ARE BACK IN RU EAST
Last year was a very, very bad year for the mighty Wynnamac Sundowners in the Ruthlandian East Division... they came in second... and finished 10 games behind the surprising flag-winning Elnora Clippers... but, hold on, all is not lost... "those in the know", the astute baseball experts around the Islands, are high on the Sundowners rebounding this year - the Macs are back according to The Islandian Times IPA Preseason Poll... according to the poll, here is how the Ruthlandian East will go this year, at least in theory... Wynnamac will win it in a very close race with the Marston Nine and defending champ Elnora... the fourth spot in the standings will be up for grabs between four clubs, Eastshore, Sugar Valley, Cold Creek and Beechwood... with hapless and hopeless Belle Plaine way behind the other seven clubs as usual.

Wynnamac won 7 pennants in 10 years... the RU East pretty much was their domain... they did it with very good pitching and fairly good hitting... but last year Wynnamac's pitching totally collapsed... they went from a very good 3.23 ERA to a devastaing 4.31 team ERA... hopefully, the Sundowners can get some pitching help from a couple of newcomers... but, more importantly, they need to have their veterans get back to the form and performance of recent seasons... the Macs are looking for better seasons from Billy Skidmore (12-8/3.66) and Kylee Callender (7-7/3.94) as starters, along with Dick Vanner (3-4/4.49)... D'Marcus Clemons is back for another try... he was 10-6 with a 4.05 ERA in '61, but didn't make the team in '62... highly-rated rookie Norm Van Brocklin will get his chance to shine this year... if he can learn to control his great stuff, he should do well... one of last year's most effective starters Luc Ogburn (14-6/3.95) will be the closer this year... last year the bullpen was pretty ineffective... Ogburn should be a much-needed improvement there, but will be missed as a starter... it may be up to the bats to get the Sundowners back on top... and the Macs have a lot of them that can really smack the ball... star players like Snooky Bartels (.363/26 HR), Manny Sendejas (.321/26 HR) and Nikki Inkamara (.337/23 HR)... Chuck Waterman (.322/7 HR) and Nathan Tuttleton (.283/13 HR) should help out, too... it should be a much batter race this year between last year's pennant winner Elnora and the third place Marston Nine.

Marston is ranked second in the Preseason Poll this year... the Nine finished third last year, 11 games behind Elnora... they have better pitching than Wynnamac and Elnora and just might surprise this season... two rookie hurlers Dean Walton and George Gaither should improve the bullpen... the starting five in the rotation are ace Jerome Kincade (18-10/2.66), Lance McElveen (15-12/4.10), Garrett Stanfield (13-13/3.90), Vince Boscarino (13-4/3.25) and Wayne Walker (3-4/3.88)... and they are raring to go and win the division title like they did in '59... and maybe the team's first-ever Pro Cup trophy... but to reach that high level, the Nine will need more power... Marston hits well for average, but just rarely goes deep... lots of Punch and Judy hitters on the team, similar to the Volusia Vigilantes... Johnny Tibbetts (.281/15 HR) and Damien D'Amboise (.299/10 HR) are the only one with any power whatsoever... but Marston has some fine contact hitters and can manufacture runs quite well, led by Harv Beauchamp (.330/3 HR), Gino Mastroianni (.320/1 HR), Luke Cranshaw (.302/8 HR) and Gus Beasley (.282/5 HR)... Marston's strength is on the mound and it could carry them a long way.

It hard to see the Elnora Clippers sinking to the third spot in the Ruthlandian East... they just hit the ball too well... for the past decade the Elnora Clippers have done well in the RU East... they have not had a losing season in 11 years... since '51... they won the pennant in '57 and last year, mainly with lackluster pitching and big bats... the Clippers ran away with the pennant last year, winning by a whopping 10 games... they got fairly good pitching last year... far better than Wynnamac... that was the difference... optimism abounds in Elnora to win back-to-back pennants... key elements last year were the high-scoring attack and the excellent work of closer Stevie Tucker (5-1/1.90 ERA/33 saves/51 games)... Tucker saved a bunch of games for so-so starters Dana Witherspoon (18-11/4.52), Norm Griffin (19-8/4.22), Matthew Minder (15-14/3.68) and Matt Mackowiak (18-8/4.70)... and the top guns are back again and ready to bang... heading up the big bad batting order are Mickey Wilbur (.296/32 HR), Donald Ray Mooney (.367/30 HR), Gus Abreu (.345/18 HR), Kuro Ishihara (.303/16 HR), Robin Staroff (.313/12 HR) and Keith Colburn (.276/10 HR)... the Clippers lost to Volusia in first-round action last year four games to two... the Vigilantes went all the way to the Pro Cup Finals for the second straight year.... there's a good chance the two powers could meet again this year in round one... if I had a ballot in the preseason voting, I would pick Elnora over Wynnamac and Marston... the Clippers are a dynamite offense and that's a lot to handle.

The Eastshore Cotton Kings were definitely not in high cotton last year... after a third-place finish in '61, they tumbled down to last place... terrible pitching did it (4.83 ERA) combined with a weak offense... it's hard to see the Cotton Kings improving enough to reach as high as fourth place, but that is where the baseball gurus are picking them... the rookie class of seven don't look like any great game changers this year... the top run producers in the lineup are rising young star Norbert Ruston (.326/2 HR), Rook Copley (.252/23 HR), Dayle Killian (.267/19 HR), Ian Kelehan (.321/10 HR) and Champ Askew (.249/10 HR)... the mound staff have a long way to go... Sam Carmon (10-10/3.55) was a decent starter last year with help at times from Bebe Kinney (12-9/4.34), but that was it... rookies Curtis Kilshaw and Karl Kuebler have good credentials and potential, but both will begin the season in the relief corps... Kilshaw had a fine Spring, while Kuebler struggled... rookie center fielder Doug Carnevale did well in Spring Training and could be an asset this year... sixth place or seventh place may be attainable for the Cotton Pickers... they would be overjoyed with fourth place in the RU East race.

The Sugar Valley Rattlers came in fifth last year, a little over the .500 mark... the outlook this year is for fifth place as well... actually the Rattlers had the best pitching in the RU East last year with a 3.62 team ERA... and the baseball people think they will be better this year... Sugar Valley has not won the division flag since 2051 and it's not likely to happen this year... but they could nudge Eastshore out of the fourth spot... good pitching and good power can go along way in the IPA... the Rattlers can go deep... 8 players hit 10 or more roundtrippers last year, paced by Dino Lazzeri (.251/39 HR), Pierre LaPlante (.253/23 HR), Davy Driskill (.265/19 HR), Gus Wingfield (.265/19 HR), Robby Gamble (.259/18 HR), Bobby Wingo (.292/18 HR), Mark Northrup (.275/14 HR) and Rick Turgeon (.268/10 HR)... however, as a team, they only batted .251... heading up the Sugar Valley mound staff is ace Bret Massey (13-6/2.67)... others in the starting rotation are likely to be Claudio Quezada (9-6/3.49), Elvis Bonham (8-9/3.11) and Harland Chaunce (8-13/3.83)... two newcomers could help out... rookie Teddy Evanek could be a find... he will be in the rotation to start the season, but he only had modest success in the Spring... ditto for journeyman Doyle Mattson... it will be a godsend if those two come through and prove to be capable starters.

The Cold Creek Raccoons can hit the ball (.278 BA) and hit with power, but they come up short on the hill (4.30 ERA)... they are picked to come in sixth in the Ruthlandian East this year... they had a fine season last year and ended up in fourth place, 6 games better than .500... it may be tough to duplicate that... the Raccoons have five workhorses on the staff... all of them worked over 200 innings each last year... Lenny Toscano (13-12/3.35) is the most reliable, followed by Bobo Troy (15-10/4.30), Jake Fischer (17-12/4.55), Charley Cayley d(11-13/4.71) and Carl Reichardt (11-15/4.82)... but they have to get their ERAs down quite a bit to contend in the RU East... the bullpen is in good hands with Zeke Dial (2-2/2.83 ERA/27 saves/37 games) in the closing role... rookie Jarrod Pennock and veteran Rodger Brockhoff could improve the bullpen... the best thing about Cold Creek is their bats, sparked by the sensational Vince Norberg (.319/40 HR), Floyd Constable (.282/26 HR), John Gaddison (.252/19 HR), Jimmy Lange (.288/12 HR) and Kent Phillips (.308/5 HR)... the Raccoons can go deep and also hit for average... rookie center fielder Sam Parker stood out in the Spring time and is hoping to win a spot in the starting lineup.

The Beechwood Jackrabbits had a lousy season in '62, winding up in seventh place, 38 games behind division champ Elnora... and it looks like more of the same this year according to the IPA preseason pollsters... the Jacks are forecast again for one of the bottom rungs in the Ruthlandian East... seventh place... they have the worst offense in the division and one of the worst pitching staffs... but they can go deep with the likes of Marcos Cienfuegos (.269/28 HR) and Kellen Dunne (.289/24 HR)... they do get a little bit of help scoring runs from Tim Baham (.269/13 HR) and Erik Coulter (.258/9 HR), but they need more than that... sadly, Beechwood is pretty much the same team as last year... no rookie newcomers... the Jackrabbits need help everywhere, especially in their mound corps... the only effective hurler on the staff is closer Luis Villavaso (8-11/2.98 ERA/21 saves/89 games)... here's the best they have coming back: Ivan Stefferson (11-14/4.54) and Junior Blauser (9-16/4.70)... they are the only starters with an ERA under 5.00... gonna be another long season for the Jackrabbits, who haven't won an RU East flag since 2027.

And who is destined for the Ruthlandian East basement?... none other than the down-and-out, disappointing and threadbare Belle Plaine Musketeers... in '62 they were last in pitching and also nearly last in scoring runs, but they scored enough runs to finish in the sixth spot in the standings, just ahead of Beechwood and Eastshore... the Muskies just might be the worst franchise in IPA history... only one time has the club won the RU East pennant... that was eons ago in 2009... and that tradition is still alive and well in 2063... Belle Plaine just might have the worst pitching corps in IPA history... for the last three years they have posted a 5.46 ERA, 5.65 ERA and last year it was a 5.25 ERA... Ike Alister (14-12/4.36) is the best of the worst... all the other starters are terrible with ERAs over 5.00... the only decent and dependable hurler is closer Adrien Renaud (.11-10/3.75 ERA/20 saves/56 games)... however, Belle Plaine has a promising rookie pitcher making his debut this year... Erroll Durbin will begin the season working in relief, but the word is that he could be a starter soon... fortunately, the Musketeers have a few talented hitters, led by blossoming star slugger Eliot Marcum (.286/38 HR), who had a career year with 108 RBIs and scored 114 runs... other good contributors are Jed McIntosh (.286/23 HR), Julien Brodnax (.291/17 HR) and Cody Losby (.308/15 HR)... Belle Plaine has a long, long way to go to be a competitive team in the IPA.

***************2063 Preseason Prediction ************************************************** ************************************************** ******************************** 2062 Ruthlandian East Final Standings

02-22-2020, 10:39 PM	#6978
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,998	Thursday, April 5, 2063 MACS ARE BACK IN RU EAST Last year was a very, very bad year for the mighty Wynnamac Sundowners in the Ruthlandian East Division... they came in second... and finished 10 games behind the surprising flag-winning Elnora Clippers... but, hold on, all is not lost... "those in the know", the astute baseball experts around the Islands, are high on the Sundowners rebounding this year - the Macs are back according to The Islandian Times IPA Preseason Poll... according to the poll, here is how the Ruthlandian East will go this year, at least in theory... Wynnamac will win it in a very close race with the Marston Nine and defending champ Elnora... the fourth spot in the standings will be up for grabs between four clubs, Eastshore, Sugar Valley, Cold Creek and Beechwood... with hapless and hopeless Belle Plaine way behind the other seven clubs as usual. Wynnamac won 7 pennants in 10 years... the RU East pretty much was their domain... they did it with very good pitching and fairly good hitting... but last year Wynnamac's pitching totally collapsed... they went from a very good 3.23 ERA to a devastaing 4.31 team ERA... hopefully, the Sundowners can get some pitching help from a couple of newcomers... but, more importantly, they need to have their veterans get back to the form and performance of recent seasons... the Macs are looking for better seasons from Billy Skidmore (12-8/3.66) and Kylee Callender (7-7/3.94) as starters, along with Dick Vanner (3-4/4.49)... D'Marcus Clemons is back for another try... he was 10-6 with a 4.05 ERA in '61, but didn't make the team in '62... highly-rated rookie Norm Van Brocklin will get his chance to shine this year... if he can learn to control his great stuff, he should do well... one of last year's most effective starters Luc Ogburn (14-6/3.95) will be the closer this year... last year the bullpen was pretty ineffective... Ogburn should be a much-needed improvement there, but will be missed as a starter... it may be up to the bats to get the Sundowners back on top... and the Macs have a lot of them that can really smack the ball... star players like Snooky Bartels (.363/26 HR), Manny Sendejas (.321/26 HR) and Nikki Inkamara (.337/23 HR)... Chuck Waterman (.322/7 HR) and Nathan Tuttleton (.283/13 HR) should help out, too... it should be a much batter race this year between last year's pennant winner Elnora and the third place Marston Nine. Marston is ranked second in the Preseason Poll this year... the Nine finished third last year, 11 games behind Elnora... they have better pitching than Wynnamac and Elnora and just might surprise this season... two rookie hurlers Dean Walton and George Gaither should improve the bullpen... the starting five in the rotation are ace Jerome Kincade (18-10/2.66), Lance McElveen (15-12/4.10), Garrett Stanfield (13-13/3.90), Vince Boscarino (13-4/3.25) and Wayne Walker (3-4/3.88)... and they are raring to go and win the division title like they did in '59... and maybe the team's first-ever Pro Cup trophy... but to reach that high level, the Nine will need more power... Marston hits well for average, but just rarely goes deep... lots of Punch and Judy hitters on the team, similar to the Volusia Vigilantes... Johnny Tibbetts (.281/15 HR) and Damien D'Amboise (.299/10 HR) are the only one with any power whatsoever... but Marston has some fine contact hitters and can manufacture runs quite well, led by Harv Beauchamp (.330/3 HR), Gino Mastroianni (.320/1 HR), Luke Cranshaw (.302/8 HR) and Gus Beasley (.282/5 HR)... Marston's strength is on the mound and it could carry them a long way. It hard to see the Elnora Clippers sinking to the third spot in the Ruthlandian East... they just hit the ball too well... for the past decade the Elnora Clippers have done well in the RU East... they have not had a losing season in 11 years... since '51... they won the pennant in '57 and last year, mainly with lackluster pitching and big bats... the Clippers ran away with the pennant last year, winning by a whopping 10 games... they got fairly good pitching last year... far better than Wynnamac... that was the difference... optimism abounds in Elnora to win back-to-back pennants... key elements last year were the high-scoring attack and the excellent work of closer Stevie Tucker (5-1/1.90 ERA/33 saves/51 games)... Tucker saved a bunch of games for so-so starters Dana Witherspoon (18-11/4.52), Norm Griffin (19-8/4.22), Matthew Minder (15-14/3.68) and Matt Mackowiak (18-8/4.70)... and the top guns are back again and ready to bang... heading up the big bad batting order are Mickey Wilbur (.296/32 HR), Donald Ray Mooney (.367/30 HR), Gus Abreu (.345/18 HR), Kuro Ishihara (.303/16 HR), Robin Staroff (.313/12 HR) and Keith Colburn (.276/10 HR)... the Clippers lost to Volusia in first-round action last year four games to two... the Vigilantes went all the way to the Pro Cup Finals for the second straight year.... there's a good chance the two powers could meet again this year in round one... if I had a ballot in the preseason voting, I would pick Elnora over Wynnamac and Marston... the Clippers are a dynamite offense and that's a lot to handle. The Eastshore Cotton Kings were definitely not in high cotton last year... after a third-place finish in '61, they tumbled down to last place... terrible pitching did it (4.83 ERA) combined with a weak offense... it's hard to see the Cotton Kings improving enough to reach as high as fourth place, but that is where the baseball gurus are picking them... the rookie class of seven don't look like any great game changers this year... the top run producers in the lineup are rising young star Norbert Ruston (.326/2 HR), Rook Copley (.252/23 HR), Dayle Killian (.267/19 HR), Ian Kelehan (.321/10 HR) and Champ Askew (.249/10 HR)... the mound staff have a long way to go... Sam Carmon (10-10/3.55) was a decent starter last year with help at times from Bebe Kinney (12-9/4.34), but that was it... rookies Curtis Kilshaw and Karl Kuebler have good credentials and potential, but both will begin the season in the relief corps... Kilshaw had a fine Spring, while Kuebler struggled... rookie center fielder Doug Carnevale did well in Spring Training and could be an asset this year... sixth place or seventh place may be attainable for the Cotton Pickers... they would be overjoyed with fourth place in the RU East race. The Sugar Valley Rattlers came in fifth last year, a little over the .500 mark... the outlook this year is for fifth place as well... actually the Rattlers had the best pitching in the RU East last year with a 3.62 team ERA... and the baseball people think they will be better this year... Sugar Valley has not won the division flag since 2051 and it's not likely to happen this year... but they could nudge Eastshore out of the fourth spot... good pitching and good power can go along way in the IPA... the Rattlers can go deep... 8 players hit 10 or more roundtrippers last year, paced by Dino Lazzeri (.251/39 HR), Pierre LaPlante (.253/23 HR), Davy Driskill (.265/19 HR), Gus Wingfield (.265/19 HR), Robby Gamble (.259/18 HR), Bobby Wingo (.292/18 HR), Mark Northrup (.275/14 HR) and Rick Turgeon (.268/10 HR)... however, as a team, they only batted .251... heading up the Sugar Valley mound staff is ace Bret Massey (13-6/2.67)... others in the starting rotation are likely to be Claudio Quezada (9-6/3.49), Elvis Bonham (8-9/3.11) and Harland Chaunce (8-13/3.83)... two newcomers could help out... rookie Teddy Evanek could be a find... he will be in the rotation to start the season, but he only had modest success in the Spring... ditto for journeyman Doyle Mattson... it will be a godsend if those two come through and prove to be capable starters. The Cold Creek Raccoons can hit the ball (.278 BA) and hit with power, but they come up short on the hill (4.30 ERA)... they are picked to come in sixth in the Ruthlandian East this year... they had a fine season last year and ended up in fourth place, 6 games better than .500... it may be tough to duplicate that... the Raccoons have five workhorses on the staff... all of them worked over 200 innings each last year... Lenny Toscano (13-12/3.35) is the most reliable, followed by Bobo Troy (15-10/4.30), Jake Fischer (17-12/4.55), Charley Cayley d(11-13/4.71) and Carl Reichardt (11-15/4.82)... but they have to get their ERAs down quite a bit to contend in the RU East... the bullpen is in good hands with Zeke Dial (2-2/2.83 ERA/27 saves/37 games) in the closing role... rookie Jarrod Pennock and veteran Rodger Brockhoff could improve the bullpen... the best thing about Cold Creek is their bats, sparked by the sensational Vince Norberg (.319/40 HR), Floyd Constable (.282/26 HR), John Gaddison (.252/19 HR), Jimmy Lange (.288/12 HR) and Kent Phillips (.308/5 HR)... the Raccoons can go deep and also hit for average... rookie center fielder Sam Parker stood out in the Spring time and is hoping to win a spot in the starting lineup. The Beechwood Jackrabbits had a lousy season in '62, winding up in seventh place, 38 games behind division champ Elnora... and it looks like more of the same this year according to the IPA preseason pollsters... the Jacks are forecast again for one of the bottom rungs in the Ruthlandian East... seventh place... they have the worst offense in the division and one of the worst pitching staffs... but they can go deep with the likes of Marcos Cienfuegos (.269/28 HR) and Kellen Dunne (.289/24 HR)... they do get a little bit of help scoring runs from Tim Baham (.269/13 HR) and Erik Coulter (.258/9 HR), but they need more than that... sadly, Beechwood is pretty much the same team as last year... no rookie newcomers... the Jackrabbits need help everywhere, especially in their mound corps... the only effective hurler on the staff is closer Luis Villavaso (8-11/2.98 ERA/21 saves/89 games)... here's the best they have coming back: Ivan Stefferson (11-14/4.54) and Junior Blauser (9-16/4.70)... they are the only starters with an ERA under 5.00... gonna be another long season for the Jackrabbits, who haven't won an RU East flag since 2027. And who is destined for the Ruthlandian East basement?... none other than the down-and-out, disappointing and threadbare Belle Plaine Musketeers... in '62 they were last in pitching and also nearly last in scoring runs, but they scored enough runs to finish in the sixth spot in the standings, just ahead of Beechwood and Eastshore... the Muskies just might be the worst franchise in IPA history... only one time has the club won the RU East pennant... that was eons ago in 2009... and that tradition is still alive and well in 2063... Belle Plaine just might have the worst pitching corps in IPA history... for the last three years they have posted a 5.46 ERA, 5.65 ERA and last year it was a 5.25 ERA... Ike Alister (14-12/4.36) is the best of the worst... all the other starters are terrible with ERAs over 5.00... the only decent and dependable hurler is closer Adrien Renaud (.11-10/3.75 ERA/20 saves/56 games)... however, Belle Plaine has a promising rookie pitcher making his debut this year... Erroll Durbin will begin the season working in relief, but the word is that he could be a starter soon... fortunately, the Musketeers have a few talented hitters, led by blossoming star slugger Eliot Marcum (.286/38 HR), who had a career year with 108 RBIs and scored 114 runs... other good contributors are Jed McIntosh (.286/23 HR), Julien Brodnax (.291/17 HR) and Cody Losby (.308/15 HR)... Belle Plaine has a long, long way to go to be a competitive team in the IPA. ***************2063 Preseason Prediction ************************************************ ********************************************** **************************** 2062 Ruthlandian East Final Standings** Attached Images Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-24-2020 at 11:03 PM.