[StLee]

Analysis

Four teams have started out on fire, one in each league, and three of the four are surprises. The one that is not a surprise is Oberland in the Railroad League. The T-51s finished 2296 tied for the best record in the CBO, which should lead them towards being the current favorites to win it all this season.

The other three leagues have teams that may not be expected to keep up their quick start. The most impressive so far is of course the lone undefeated team, the Lexington Synths. In six games, the Synths have only allowed a total of 14 runs. Third starter Chris Morgen has been the most impressive, pitching 17 innings of shutout ball so far.

County Crossing is atop the Brotherhood League with its pitching, also, though not as impressive as Lexington's performances. The Bloodbugs are tops in the BL in runs allowed with 22. Every pitcher who has stepped on the mound has been effective so far, with the starters and bullpen currently leading the league in ERA. If they keep up their efforts, they can be a worst-to-first story.

Quincy has been winning in the Minutemen League with both offense and defense, making them the best of the bunch. In addition to leading the league in runs (47), the Gunners also lead in runs allowed (24). Minus the one loss in the series opener against Jamaica Plain, the Gunners have won by an average of almost six runs in their five victories.

Just as it contains the only undefeated team, the Institute League also has the lone winless team. Concord has been inept at scoring and keeping teams off the board, being outscored 58-18 in their six games. After a fifth place finish in 2296, the Radstags seem to be trending down instead of up.

The surprise team struggling in the IL is 2296 league winner Abernathy. The Adamantium are 1-5 so far, mostly because the offense cannot do anything. Although they have allowed only 24 runs, the Adamantium are worst in runs scored (16). Seven of those 16 runs came in their lone victory, meaning they are only scoring fewer than two runs a game in their losses.

The Atom Cats were a playoff team in 2296, but they are starting out could in the Minutemen League. The middle of the lineup back has been the biggest bummer for the team so far, with Jeremy Schoolboy, Will Ashfire, Ray McMillen, and Garrett Machine all hitting below .300. While the pitching is doing a decent job keeping opponents runs down, a lack of offense has been a killer.

The Brotherhood League has a pair of teams sitting at 1-5, but those two teams have not known success yet in the CBO. The one caveat is that both Easy Town and Nordhagen Beach were predicted to be very much in the playoff race, with the Assaultrons being PAM's pick as the league champion for 2297. Each team is having the opposite problem: Easy Town's offense is last in the BL in production, and Nordhagen Beach's pitching is last. For these teams to crawl out of the sewer, they will need to find production in those areas.

It is still a long season. We are 6 of 60 in, but teams are already telling stories. Let's see if things remain the same in Week 3 or start changing.