Friday, September 1, 2079
SEPTEMBER IS THE TIME TO SURGE, NOT SWOON
About half of the division leaders in the Islandian Pro Alliance have pretty safe leads going into the the final month of the regular season... this is the time to surge or soar, not to swoon... In the Ruthlandian Union Crystal Lake, Elnora and Fort Benton have confortable margins... only defending Pro Cup champion Turon is really safe and secure with a whopping 13 and a half-game edge.
RUTHLANDIAN UNION RECAP
VALMARA ATOP RU NORTH, BUT STILL IN DANGER AFTER BAD MONTH
Around the IPA going into September... in the Ruthlandian North Valmara is up by 3 and a half games over last year's champ and Pro Cup finalist Kilkenny... LaGrange and Ranford are in the race, too, hanging just 5 games off the pace... the Vipers had a terrible August (10-17) and is slumping, the Cats (14-13) are playing steady ball, while the hot teams are the Gators and the Bulls... but LaGrange (19-9) and Ranford (16-11) have a lot of ground to catch up... history may favor Kilkenny with its solid pitching corps.
PRESEASON FAVORITE SKIPPERS LEAVE EVERYBODY IN THE WAKE
In the Ruthlandian South it is coming down to the Crystal Lake Skippers and the Belair Beach Sunbirds... last year's flag winner Valka is totally out of it this season... the Skippers were the preseason pick and they have a 5 and a half-game lead over the Sunbirds... Belair Beach ((18-9) had a great August, but it may be hard to catch the solid and steady Skippers (14-14)... time is on Crystal Lake's side.
CLIPPERS SAILING HIGH IN RU EAST
The Elnora Clippers had a splendid first half in the Ruthlandian East, topping the division by over 11 games July first, but a poor month (7-18) shaved it to just 6 games by August... last month the Clippers (15-12) righted the ship and maintained that lead sailing into September, the final month of the season... if Elnora can just play .500 the rest of the year, they should win the RU East... Wynnamac won the division crown last year and was forecast to take it again... four clubs have a remote shot at the pennant... Cold Creek is running second right now, 6 GB... Marston is third and 6 and a half off the pace... the Macs are fourth and 7 and a half games behind... and Eastshore is fifth and 8 and a half games out... Elnora is sitting pretty and should win it.
CANNONS BOOMING IN THE RU WEST, SLIGO SLIPS BADLY
The Sligo Rovers were the choice to repeat in the Ruthlandian West this year, but they have played like dogs and fallen on hard times, tumbling to sixth place and 16 and a half games behind... Fort Benton, Sligo's main nemesis in recent seasons has taken command and taken over... the Cannons won the pennant 2 years ago and wound up a squeakingly-close second last year, just one game behind the Rovers... they lost a sudden-death playoff game... the Cannons have made a lot of noise this year and top the RU West by 6 games going into the final month... only the Forest City Firebirds are within striking distance, 6 GB... based on the 9-18 mark in August, Forest City doesn't look capable of overcoming the Cannons lead... Stoner 9 GB and Colfax 11 and a half GB can call it a season... nope, nobody will catch the Cannons.
TYCOBBIAN UNION RECAP
TU NORTH NOT TRUE TO FORECAST... ZORROS ZAPPED BIGTIME... HAYMAKERS ON TOP
Out of the blue the baseball forecasters selected 7th place Luxora to have a splendid season and soar to the Ruthlandian North title this year... nope, it didn't happen...Zounds!... the Zorros are again in 7th place and the Mahaska Haymakers and White River Rascals are battling for first place down the stretch drive, trying to dethrone the Hartsdale Hellcats, the champ the last 2 years and 3 of the last 4 seasons... the Haymakers are 3 games up on second place White River... neither of them are playing well... both were just .500 teams in August... third place Oxford (8 GB) and fourth place Hartsdale (9 GB) have no chance at the division flag... it should be a fight to the finish... the Rascals are playing better than the Haymakers heading into September... White River home-run power may be the difference... the pitching is fairly even.
PRO CUP CHAMP TYPHOONS STORM PAST ALL COMERS IN TU SOUTH
Not much of a pennant race in the Tycobbian South this year... it ended by midseason... the current IPA champion Turon Typhoons have stormed past everybody in the second half, building up a preposterous 13-game edge over Cape Coral and Arroyo Grande with only one month to go... 'nuff said... nobody is going to catch Turon this year.
4 CHALLENGERS TRYING TO CATCH OZARKA IN TU EAST
No telling who will prevail in the highly-competitive Tycobbian East this year... it's a four-team fracas with the Ozarka Naturals momentarily in first place with a precarious one-game margin over the runner-up Red Bluff Red Sox... the Tuckanarra Blue Jays are flying high in the third spot, just 3 games behind... last year's division winner and preseason favorite South Fork is tied for fourth place, 5 and a half games out, along with the High Mesa Buckaroos... the Stallions have won the title the last two years... all of the contenders played well in August except for South Fork (7-20)... Ozarka (17-10), Red Bluff (15-13), Tuckanarra (19-9) and High Mesa (19-9)... it has been an up-and-down seesaw season... High Mesa was in the top spot in May, Red Bluff in June, Ozarka in July and South Fork in August... take your pick... any one of the three leading teams could win it... right now the Tucks are the best team.
SUPER-DUPER 5-TEAM CHASE IN THE TU WEST
The best pennant race in the Islandian Pro Alliance this season is in the Tycobbian West where 5 teams are separated by less than 5 games... the Bayview Vikings got the nod in the preseason poll to win a close race with 4 or 5 challengers... the Kenwood Wildcats are the defending division winner... heading into the final month Bayview and Rolling Hills are deadlocked for the top spot... Kenwood is just 2 GB... Denton City 4 GB... and Chicopee trails by only 4 and a half games... who's going to prevail?... Rolling Hills (17-11), Kenwood (17-10) and Chicopee (16-11) are playing the best going into September... the Vikings (13-15) and Denton City (11-17) floundered in August... the Racers are back to their old ways of beating people with the blazing bats... the Vikings depend on good pitching, defense and home runs... the Wildcats on its pitching... the Redbirds flew high until July, but they have fizzled in the second half... the Braves are a well-balanced club... no telling who will win it... flip a coin between Bayview, Rolling Hills and Kenwood... lean towards the Vikings.
Ruthlandian Union Standings
Tycobbian Union Standings
