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Eugene Church · 02-02-2008, 06:33 PM

Islandian Times

Sunday, May 6, 2001

The Islands have always been enamoured with the game of baseball for the past 100 years. And now the obsession is even worse -- we have our own professional baseball league -- the Islandian Pro Alliance.

We are now just in the third week of play and the Islands are abuzz with baseball more than ever. All the clubs are playing to full ballparks and the caliber of play is mesmerizing. The new pro teams are quickly replacing the industrial teams as fan favorites.

And who is the best team in the IPA? We at the Islandian Times will try to access that. We are now beginning a series where we will analyze each of the four divisions.

The Ruthlandian Baseball Union has two divisions, the RBU North and the RBU South. Here are the standings:

Ruthlandian Baseball Union
North Division

Team Won-Lost GB
Glasco Athletics 10-5 --
Valmara Vipers 10-5 --
Colfax Blasters 9-7 1.5
Far Mountain Redhawks 7-8 3
Elnora All-Stars 6-9 4
Volusia Vigilantes 4-12 6.5

The Glasco Athletics (10-5) so far are the class of the North Division on paper. The A's are tied with Valmara for the top spot and are managed by McDuffie Hughes and he has put together quite a pitching staff. You name the category and they are first. His pitching corps is far and away the best in the division with a brilliant 2.13 ERA. Colfax is the closest at 3.28 with Valmara at 3.73. The Athletic relievers are even better than the starters and have put a superb 0.96 ERA.

Top pitchers:
Starters Charles Darby (2-0 1.44) and Jesse Balfour (2-1 1.21), both lefthanders. Righthanded reliever Jeremiah McDonald (1-0 0.00) has not allowed a run in 13 innings and 6 relief appearances.

Glasco is only average when it comes to hitting with a .269 batting average, ranking third behind Elnora .291 and Colfax .270. But they do have power with 19 homers, number one in the division.

Top hitters:
LF Ox Beauvais (.429/6 HR/14 RBI)
RF Jose Valenzuela (.408/1 HR/6 RBI)
C Scotty McPherson (.325/0 HR/8 RBI)
2B Barry McCord (.298/2 HR/8 RBI)

Glasco is third in fielding with a .980 average. Valmara is tops with a .989 FA and Volusia is second with a .980 FA.

Defense:
Only 2B Barry McCord is an excellent gloveman, the rest of the lineup is only average. In the outfield, less than average with Beauvais and Valenzuela in the lineup only because of their hitting prowess.

Hughes told the Times that top to bottom his has the best pitching in the North Division and said his hitting has been sufficient. Given a choice Hughes said pitching is the key to having a good season.

But the A's might have some good competition in the RBU North co-leader, the Valmara Vipers (10-5). Everyone is looking forward to their first series in about two weeks.

The Vipers are skippered by J. Jackson Samuel and they top the league in scoring, despite hitting only .256 with 9 home runs, rated next to last in those categories.

Top hitters:
LF Louis Sharp (.352/0 HR/6 RBI)
C Yoshi Motsuzuki (.277/1 HR/6 RBI)
CF Jan Szymanski (.245/3 HR/13 RBI)

Top pitchers:
Valmara is a distance third with a 3.73 ERA. Samuel has only one, maybe two reliable starters and two fine relievers. Pitching may be the Vipers Achilles' heel. Righthander Zarek Zalewski (3-0 0.49) may be one of the best pitchers in the Islands. Southpaw starter Gerry Bart (1-0 1.00) shows promise. LHP Danny Blauser (2-0 0.50) has stood out in middle relief and closer Andre Trepagnier (1-0 2.61) has done his job well, too.

Defense:
Thus far Valmara is leading the RBU North with a great .989 FA, but looking at their lineup, they seem to be playing over their heads. Only shortstop Matt Mazurek is a strong defensive player. The rest are at best average.

Solid pitching and good hitting are the strong points of the third place Colfax Blasters (9-7), who are managed by one of Islandia's all-time great pitchers, Clem Rogers.

Top pitchers:
Rogers has two fine starters in righthander Flash Guidry (1-3 2.06) and portsider Harry Manning (2-0 1.59). In the bullpen righthanders Jim Dreyer (0-0 1.42) and Walt Sellers (0-0 1.80) and lefthander Robbie Smith (0-1 3.18) have pitched well. Rogers says he needs a closer. Pat Langlais (0-1 7.20) has struggled so far.

The Blasters are second in hitting to Elnora (.291) with a .270 mark and a close second in runs scored to Valmara. Colfax is severely lacking in home run power and ranks last with only 6 this season.

Top hitters:
2B Tucker Hill (.353/0 HR/6 RBI)
C Howie Peterson (.350/0 HR/9 RBI)
3B Russ Ferrell (.348/0 HR/5 RBI)
CF Blinky Brandon (.290/0 HR/5 RBI)
RF Pat Lott (.275/0 HR/13 RBI)
1B Dennis Cole (.264/4 HR/12 RBI)

Defense:
Colfax is fourth in fielding with a .978 average. But there are no Golden Glovers on the squad. Outfielders Pat Lott and Tatsuya Suzaki are above average in range, arm and defensive skill. The Blasters defense could use some improvement.

The fourth place Far Mountain Redhawks (7-8) have had only mediocre success this season. Skipper Alex Groveland is an all-time great pitcher and has always had much success in company and industrial league play, both as a player and a manager. He is well-known for molding a mound staff and developing pitchers. Groveland told the Times that this staff has good possibilities, but he needs a couple more good pitchers to round out the staff. He said good pitchers are hard to find these days because of the new pro league. There isn't enough to go around. The teams that can develop their own will be the ones to prosper.

The Redhawks are in the middle of the pack in pitching (4.10 ERA) and hitting (.253/12 HR) and dead last in defense (.962). It is a wonder they have won as many games as they have with such poor defense.

Top hitters:
1B Royce Benson (.371/0 HR/3 RBI)
CF Hawk Gallagher (.311/0 HJR/6 RBI)
SS Al Nixon (.283/0 HR/8 RBI)
3B Johnny Strickland (.262/6 HR/12 RBI)

Top pitchers:
Groveland only has righthanders on the roster, headed by starters Sonny Elliott (2-1 1.91), John Luzzatti (0-1 3.27) and Denny Arthur (1-2 4.18). In the bullpen middle reliever Mike McCabe (0-1 1.29) and closer Doc Rutledge (1-0 1.42) have been superb. Rutledge has logged 3 saves on the year. Groveland forecast good things from Vic Vaux (2-0 4.64), who has shown good promise in several outings this year.

Defense:
The pitiful .962 fielding average speaks for itself. Far Mountain has much to do in this important area of the game. Shortstop and catcher have been a big problem. Shoring up those two positions would go along way to making them a much better defensive club. Groveland's best glove is CF Hawk Gallagher, who is Gold Glove material. Shortstop Artie Montgomery may be in the lineup soon, just to get his good glove in the game. Groveland told Times reporters that good defense can do wonder for a mound staff.

The Elnora All-Stars (6-9) are piloted by manager Zoggy White and he told reporters, if his pitching was half as good as his hitting, his fifth place club would be in first place. Elnora is batting a lofty .291, 21 points better than the second place team. But those great numbers are counter-balanced by a sky-high 5.18 ERA, next to last in the RBU North. The All-Stars can score, but so can the opposition.

Top Hitters:
2B Gil Foster (.491/4 HR/12 RBI)
RF Art Atkins (.458/1 HR/6 RBI)
C Todd Simons (.300/0 HR/8 RBI)
LF Quincey Peterson (.270/3 HR/12 RBI)
SS Richie Franklin (.283/1 HR/7 RBI)

Top Pitchers:
White only has three dependable pitchers, all starters. Two of them are lefties, Carl Costas (1-3 3.81) and Sean Sykes (2-1 4.13). Tyrone Gray (1-2 4.08) is a righthander. Once he goes to the bullpen, it is all over. There is no way a 7.68 ERA can hold on to many leads.

Defense:
Only Far Mountain (.962) is worst in this category than Elnora (.975). The Redhawks have out-errored the All-Stars 23 to 15. 2B Gil Foster (.969 FA) and RF Art Atkins (.967 FA) can hit, but they might give up more runs than they produce. Shortstop Richie Franklin has a poor .929 fielding average. There doesn't seem to be many Gold Gloves for Elnora this year.

The worst ballclub in the IPA might just be the Volusia Vigilantes (4-12). They have the worst ERA (5.73) in the RBU North, also in the entire IPA. Their .246 batting average is last in the division and the third worst in the IPA. The only place where the V's excel is defense with a fine .983 fielding average, second best behind Valmara's outstanding .989.

Top pitchers:
Manager Alfonso Feliz has only two decent pitchers, both starters. Righthander Hank Massey (1-2 3.91) and southpaw Raul Sandoval (2-2 3.62).

Top hitters:
SS Scooter Perez (.338/0 HR/3 RBI)
C Jojo Nunez (.302/2 HR/5 RBI)
CF Alex Luna (.297/0 HR/3 RBI)
3B Alejandro Salazar (.273/5 HR/14 RBI)

Defense:
Shortstop Scooter Perez looks like a Gold Glover with his .987 fielding average.
3B Alejandro Salazar had played very well and is fielding .983. Outfielders Domingo DeLeon and Alex Luna have played errorless ball this season and could be in the running for postseason defensive awards,

But the overall outlook for the Volusia Vigilantes is not very good. They look very comfortable in last place in the RBU North Division.

02-02-2008, 06:33 PM	#72
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,094 Blog Entries: 1	Islandian Times Sunday, May 6, 2001 The Islands have always been enamoured with the game of baseball for the past 100 years. And now the obsession is even worse -- we have our own professional baseball league -- the Islandian Pro Alliance. We are now just in the third week of play and the Islands are abuzz with baseball more than ever. All the clubs are playing to full ballparks and the caliber of play is mesmerizing. The new pro teams are quickly replacing the industrial teams as fan favorites. And who is the best team in the IPA? We at the Islandian Times will try to access that. We are now beginning a series where we will analyze each of the four divisions. The Ruthlandian Baseball Union has two divisions, the RBU North and the RBU South. Here are the standings: Ruthlandian Baseball Union North Division Team Won-Lost GB Glasco Athletics 10-5 -- Valmara Vipers 10-5 -- Colfax Blasters 9-7 1.5 Far Mountain Redhawks 7-8 3 Elnora All-Stars 6-9 4 Volusia Vigilantes 4-12 6.5 The Glasco Athletics (10-5) so far are the class of the North Division on paper. The A's are tied with Valmara for the top spot and are managed by McDuffie Hughes and he has put together quite a pitching staff. You name the category and they are first. His pitching corps is far and away the best in the division with a brilliant 2.13 ERA. Colfax is the closest at 3.28 with Valmara at 3.73. The Athletic relievers are even better than the starters and have put a superb 0.96 ERA. Top pitchers: Starters Charles Darby (2-0 1.44) and Jesse Balfour (2-1 1.21), both lefthanders. Righthanded reliever Jeremiah McDonald (1-0 0.00) has not allowed a run in 13 innings and 6 relief appearances. Glasco is only average when it comes to hitting with a .269 batting average, ranking third behind Elnora .291 and Colfax .270. But they do have power with 19 homers, number one in the division. Top hitters: LF Ox Beauvais (.429/6 HR/14 RBI) RF Jose Valenzuela (.408/1 HR/6 RBI) C Scotty McPherson (.325/0 HR/8 RBI) 2B Barry McCord (.298/2 HR/8 RBI) Glasco is third in fielding with a .980 average. Valmara is tops with a .989 FA and Volusia is second with a .980 FA. Defense: Only 2B Barry McCord is an excellent gloveman, the rest of the lineup is only average. In the outfield, less than average with Beauvais and Valenzuela in the lineup only because of their hitting prowess. Hughes told the Times that top to bottom his has the best pitching in the North Division and said his hitting has been sufficient. Given a choice Hughes said pitching is the key to having a good season. But the A's might have some good competition in the RBU North co-leader, the Valmara Vipers (10-5). Everyone is looking forward to their first series in about two weeks. The Vipers are skippered by J. Jackson Samuel and they top the league in scoring, despite hitting only .256 with 9 home runs, rated next to last in those categories. Top hitters: LF Louis Sharp (.352/0 HR/6 RBI) C Yoshi Motsuzuki (.277/1 HR/6 RBI) CF Jan Szymanski (.245/3 HR/13 RBI) Top pitchers: Valmara is a distance third with a 3.73 ERA. Samuel has only one, maybe two reliable starters and two fine relievers. Pitching may be the Vipers Achilles' heel. Righthander Zarek Zalewski (3-0 0.49) may be one of the best pitchers in the Islands. Southpaw starter Gerry Bart (1-0 1.00) shows promise. LHP Danny Blauser (2-0 0.50) has stood out in middle relief and closer Andre Trepagnier (1-0 2.61) has done his job well, too. Defense: Thus far Valmara is leading the RBU North with a great .989 FA, but looking at their lineup, they seem to be playing over their heads. Only shortstop Matt Mazurek is a strong defensive player. The rest are at best average. Solid pitching and good hitting are the strong points of the third place Colfax Blasters (9-7), who are managed by one of Islandia's all-time great pitchers, Clem Rogers. Top pitchers: Rogers has two fine starters in righthander Flash Guidry (1-3 2.06) and portsider Harry Manning (2-0 1.59). In the bullpen righthanders Jim Dreyer (0-0 1.42) and Walt Sellers (0-0 1.80) and lefthander Robbie Smith (0-1 3.18) have pitched well. Rogers says he needs a closer. Pat Langlais (0-1 7.20) has struggled so far. The Blasters are second in hitting to Elnora (.291) with a .270 mark and a close second in runs scored to Valmara. Colfax is severely lacking in home run power and ranks last with only 6 this season. Top hitters: 2B Tucker Hill (.353/0 HR/6 RBI) C Howie Peterson (.350/0 HR/9 RBI) 3B Russ Ferrell (.348/0 HR/5 RBI) CF Blinky Brandon (.290/0 HR/5 RBI) RF Pat Lott (.275/0 HR/13 RBI) 1B Dennis Cole (.264/4 HR/12 RBI) Defense: Colfax is fourth in fielding with a .978 average. But there are no Golden Glovers on the squad. Outfielders Pat Lott and Tatsuya Suzaki are above average in range, arm and defensive skill. The Blasters defense could use some improvement. The fourth place Far Mountain Redhawks (7-8) have had only mediocre success this season. Skipper Alex Groveland is an all-time great pitcher and has always had much success in company and industrial league play, both as a player and a manager. He is well-known for molding a mound staff and developing pitchers. Groveland told the Times that this staff has good possibilities, but he needs a couple more good pitchers to round out the staff. He said good pitchers are hard to find these days because of the new pro league. There isn't enough to go around. The teams that can develop their own will be the ones to prosper. The Redhawks are in the middle of the pack in pitching (4.10 ERA) and hitting (.253/12 HR) and dead last in defense (.962). It is a wonder they have won as many games as they have with such poor defense. Top hitters: 1B Royce Benson (.371/0 HR/3 RBI) CF Hawk Gallagher (.311/0 HJR/6 RBI) SS Al Nixon (.283/0 HR/8 RBI) 3B Johnny Strickland (.262/6 HR/12 RBI) Top pitchers: Groveland only has righthanders on the roster, headed by starters Sonny Elliott (2-1 1.91), John Luzzatti (0-1 3.27) and Denny Arthur (1-2 4.18). In the bullpen middle reliever Mike McCabe (0-1 1.29) and closer Doc Rutledge (1-0 1.42) have been superb. Rutledge has logged 3 saves on the year. Groveland forecast good things from Vic Vaux (2-0 4.64), who has shown good promise in several outings this year. Defense: The pitiful .962 fielding average speaks for itself. Far Mountain has much to do in this important area of the game. Shortstop and catcher have been a big problem. Shoring up those two positions would go along way to making them a much better defensive club. Groveland's best glove is CF Hawk Gallagher, who is Gold Glove material. Shortstop Artie Montgomery may be in the lineup soon, just to get his good glove in the game. Groveland told Times reporters that good defense can do wonder for a mound staff. The Elnora All-Stars (6-9) are piloted by manager Zoggy White and he told reporters, if his pitching was half as good as his hitting, his fifth place club would be in first place. Elnora is batting a lofty .291, 21 points better than the second place team. But those great numbers are counter-balanced by a sky-high 5.18 ERA, next to last in the RBU North. The All-Stars can score, but so can the opposition. Top Hitters: 2B Gil Foster (.491/4 HR/12 RBI) RF Art Atkins (.458/1 HR/6 RBI) C Todd Simons (.300/0 HR/8 RBI) LF Quincey Peterson (.270/3 HR/12 RBI) SS Richie Franklin (.283/1 HR/7 RBI) Top Pitchers: White only has three dependable pitchers, all starters. Two of them are lefties, Carl Costas (1-3 3.81) and Sean Sykes (2-1 4.13). Tyrone Gray (1-2 4.08) is a righthander. Once he goes to the bullpen, it is all over. There is no way a 7.68 ERA can hold on to many leads. Defense: Only Far Mountain (.962) is worst in this category than Elnora (.975). The Redhawks have out-errored the All-Stars 23 to 15. 2B Gil Foster (.969 FA) and RF Art Atkins (.967 FA) can hit, but they might give up more runs than they produce. Shortstop Richie Franklin has a poor .929 fielding average. There doesn't seem to be many Gold Gloves for Elnora this year. The worst ballclub in the IPA might just be the Volusia Vigilantes (4-12). They have the worst ERA (5.73) in the RBU North, also in the entire IPA. Their .246 batting average is last in the division and the third worst in the IPA. The only place where the V's excel is defense with a fine .983 fielding average, second best behind Valmara's outstanding .989. Top pitchers: Manager Alfonso Feliz has only two decent pitchers, both starters. Righthander Hank Massey (1-2 3.91) and southpaw Raul Sandoval (2-2 3.62). Top hitters: SS Scooter Perez (.338/0 HR/3 RBI) C Jojo Nunez (.302/2 HR/5 RBI) CF Alex Luna (.297/0 HR/3 RBI) 3B Alejandro Salazar (.273/5 HR/14 RBI) Defense: Shortstop Scooter Perez looks like a Gold Glover with his .987 fielding average. 3B Alejandro Salazar had played very well and is fielding .983. Outfielders Domingo DeLeon and Alex Luna have played errorless ball this season and could be in the running for postseason defensive awards, But the overall outlook for the Volusia Vigilantes is not very good. They look very comfortable in last place in the RBU North Division. Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-03-2008 at 03:34 PM.