Originally Posted by Eugene Church
THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, May 1, 2059
BAD TEAMS OFF TO GOOD START IN IPA
Go figure... four of the teams leading the IPA divisions this season were deep in the second division last year... Ranford, Rocky Rapids, Ozarka and La Claire have come out of nowhere in the first month of the 2059 season and are riding high unexpectedly in the top spots of the standings... three other races are going fairly true to form with St. John, Fairfax and Southport in the first place spots... and Eastshore has climbed up from 4th to the top spot in its division... there are a whole lot of happy fans around the Islands... and some sad ones, too.
Last year the Ranford Bulls (62-92) finished 7th in the Ruthlandian North... last year the Eastshore Cotton Kings (79-75) were 4th in the RU East... last year the Rocky Rapids Snappers (67-87) were 7th in the RU West... last year the Ozarka Naturals (75-79) came in 7th in the TU East... last year the La Claire Lynx (66-88) wound in 6th place in the TU West... what a difference a year makes.
Ruthlandian Union North Division
UNHERALDED BULLS TOP RU NORTH IN APRIL
1st Place: RANFORD BULLS (14-9)
Last Year: 7th Place (62-92) (37 GB)
Two Years Ago: 7th Place (71-83) (25 GB)
Last Pennant: 2040, 2041
Pro Cups: 1 (2040)
Playoff Appearances: 7
Ranford has shot to the top of the heap under new rookie manager Bert Skippman... fresh out of the college ranks Shippman has certainly turned things around for the Bulls... after the initial month of play in the RU North, Ranford (14-9) has a 2-game lead on Taranto (12-11) and favored Valmara (12-11)... Far Mountain (11-12) is fourth in the standings... rounding out the rest of the division are Kilkenny (10-13), Glasco (10-13) and LaGrange (10-13), all tied for the 5th spot... with Ancona (8-15) pulling up the year in the cellar... Shippman has a solid attack with a .293 team batting average, good scoring, fair power and fair-to-middling pitching... Dave Brewster (4-0/1.72) and Rick Reichhart (3-0/2.95) are staff leaders... the Bulls are sparked at the plate by C Glen Cambliss (.362/4 HR), LF Jeff Blodgett (.354/3 HR), 1B Cal O'Leary (.337/0 HR), SS Gonzie Spencer (.337/0 HR), 3B Don Connell (.309/4 HR) and rookie CF Tommy Slater (.286/4 HR).
2nd Place (tied): Valmara Vipers (12-11) (2 GB)
Last Year: 1st Place (99-55)
Two Years Ago: 1st Place (96-58)
Last Pennant: 2058
Pro Cups: 4 (2026, 2043, 2049, 2050)
Playoff Appearances: 22
Last year Valmara won 98 games and won the RU North... this year 12-11 was not an especially good month for the Vipers and manager Don Ritchie... the Vips didn't hit well, nor pitch as well as they would have liked... but they are just 2 games off the pace going into May... top pitchers are Tony Joe Carnes (3-1/2.25) and rookie Wlad Plotka (2-0/0.45)... top bats are RF Harv Shepard (.371/4 HR), 2B Borys Balicki (.366/3 HR) and 1B Timmy Benford (.264/4 HR)... Benford won the 2058 RU Golden Bat.
2nd Place (tied): Taranto Tars (12-11) (2 GB)
Last Year: 4th Place (82-72) (17 GB)
Two Years Ago: 4th Place (78-76) (18 GB)
Last Pennant: 2056
Pro Cups: 1 (2015)
Playoff Appearances: 8
Manager Augie Marshall brought his Taranto Tars (82-72) in 4th last year... this year they are 12-11 and 2 games behind surprise leader Ranford (14-9)... topping his talented attack are C Niccolo Parisi (.419/5 HR), CF Dan Timmons (.337/1 HR), SS Dan Armistead (.300/5 HR), RF Lenny Buisson (.295/4 HR) and 2B Mark Trupiano (.290/2 HR)... on the hill Phil Castle (2-0/0.85) is the ace and Valerio Rossi (2-2/3.97) is number two in the rotation... if they can get some help, the Tars will be in fine shape.
4th Place: Far Mountain Redhawks (11-12) (3 GB)
Last Year: 2nd Place (90-64) (9 GB)
Two Years Ago: 3rd Place (81-73) (15 GB)
Last Pennant: 2055
Pro Cups: 3 (2011, 2012, 2013)
Playoff Appearances: 15
Far Mountain skipper Benjy Donahue did exceedingly well in his first year last year recording a second place finish with an impressive 90-64 mark, but winding up 9 games behind first place Valmara... at the end of April the Redhawks (12-11) are 2 games out of the top spot in 4th place... they hit well, score well and have solid pitching... the most productive hitters have been 2B Luke Hazlett (.349/5 HR), CF Ox Gless (.321/5 HR), C Maxie Seidel (.354/1 HR), 1B Jarrick Beauchamp (.295/0 HR) and LF Oskar Neumann (.268/2 HR)... on the mound the best starters have been Dylan O'Connor (4-1/1.62) and Jeffrey Chandler (3-1/3.44)... Carl Gray (0-0/1.54 ERA/4 saves/11 G) has stood out in the closer role.
5th Place (tied): Glasco Athletics (10-13) (4 GB)
Last Year: 5th Place (82-72) (17 GB)
Two Years Ago: 2nd Place (89-65) (7 GB)
Last Pennant: 2045
Pro Cups: None
Playoff Appearances: 3
Manager Charles Darby has a poor offense and just run-of-the-mill pitching this year... he has a fairly good starting rotation with Monte Franco (2-2/2.35), Jonathan Burnett (2-3/3.38), Jayden Furman (0-3/3.67) and Herb Goodman (2-2/3.82)... his most productive bats are CF Callum Slattery (.308/2 HR), C Gordy Glisson (.286/3 HR), SS Ben Jobe (.276/1 HR) and LF Tuff Danford (.288/0 HR).
5th Place (tied): Kilkenny Cats (10-13) (4 GB)
Last Year: 6th Place (76-78) (23 GB)
Two Years Ago: 5th Place (78-76) (18 GB)
Last Pennant: 2042
Pro Cups: None
Playoff Appearances: 1 (2042)
Skipper Dave Whitaker has a terrible offense, but the mound staff is quite good, anchored by a good set of starters: Braydon Washbourne (2-2/1.69), Larry Henley (2-2/2.31), Bubba Kenaston (0-1/2.08), Billy Joe Wooster (1-1/3.43) and Bretton McKay (3.72)... plus Butch Baird (2-1/1.27 ERA/4 saves/12 G) has done well as the closer... the team's offense is provided by three players: CF Vance Snead (.388/0 HR), RF Jimmy Gunn (.240/5 HR) and 1B Rod Darcy (.194/3 HR)... Snead is having a career year so far and is second in the Ruthlandian Union in hits (33) and 5th in BA (.388).
5th Place (tied): LaGrange Sports (10-13) (4 GB)
Last Year: 8th Place (56-98) (43 GB)
Two Years Ago: 8th Place (69-85) (27 GB)
Last Pennant: 2037
Pro Cups: None
Playoff Appearances: 6
New manager John Rodgers has the club playing somewhat better this year... he inherited a basement-dwelling club with an atrocious record the last two seasons... the Sports don't score well, but have solid pitching... top starters are Amos Wadsworth (3-1/1.90), Dave Loxley (2.43) and Kelvin Delacroix (1-1/3.00)... the LaGrange lineup is paced by vet 1B Billy Broadway (.345/9 HR), who is off to his best season ever with 9 roundtrippers in April... 21 is his top season total... two rookies have perked up the team, too... SS Norbert Putnam (.338/1 HR) and C Danny Alexander (.320/1 HR) have been good additions... LF Robby Rousseau has hit .341 with 3 homers since taking over a regular spot in the lineup.
8th Place: Ancona Red Elephants (8-15) (6 GB)
Last Year: 3rd Place (83-71) (16 GB)
Two Years Ago: 6th Place (74-80) (22 GB)
Last Pennant: 2022
Pro Cups: None
Playoff Appearances: 5
A really rough beginning for manager Tommy Richardson, who enjoyed his first two seasons... his Red Elephants are on the rise... going from 6th to 3rd last year... Ancona pitching has gotten off to a very slow start... the offense is average, but the hurlers have been borderline bad... heading up the offense is 1B Franco Brigatti (.341/6 HR), C Robin Hargroder (.328/3 HR) and 3B Jason Seleznick (.270/3 HR)... and rookie CF Chris Bernadakis (.289/0 HR) may have earned a starting spot in the outfield with his recent play... Ancona still has some good starters... Yannis Bubas (3-2/2.06) is a solid mound performer in his 4 seasons (52-32 record/2.99 ERA)... Burnell Simms (1-3/3.38) is better than his record this year... so is Benny Arledge (0-3/3.82)... give the Red Elephants a little time and they will right the ship... there's no way they are a last place club.
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