[StLee]

Analysis

Last week we did a break down of three of the leagues and their current playoff races. That has not changed, so we are going to concentrate on the most jumbled league, the Railroad League.

At 14-4, the Oberland T-51s seem to pull away more from the pack each week. That does not bode well for the team that has to face the T-51s each week. Oberland has won every series this season. The next unlucky opponent is Vault 81. We will write about Vault 81, but they may being looking up more than they currently are at the end of last week.

Right now, the two teams in the playoff race at the top of the wildcard chase are Fairline Hill Estates and Egret. Both teams are currently 9-9. with the Dwellers and Shaw Knuckle Punchers right behind at 8-10. Diamond City is not considered to be in the race, though the Swatters are only three back of the wildcard at 6-12.

The Yao Guai seem to have a slight edge in the power rankings over Egret due to a 2-1 season advantage, so we will start by looking at them. At this time, FHE is tied for runs scored (115) and are 2nd in runs allowed (103), meaning they are doing it right in all areas. SS Hose Wallcrawler has been outstanding on offense, batting .377 with 6 home runs and 21 RBI. LF Adam Crook has also been good in average and power, with a .368/5/20 line. At the top of the lineup, Noah Arch is batting .405. For pitching, Bow Rome has mixed results with a 3-3 record and a 3.38 ERA. The bullpen has the RL's best ERA at 3.79 with Tommie Lightbulb and Bus Paula getting the job done.

For the Scrappers, the stats do not look as good. Egret is 4th in runs scored (109) and tied for 3rd in runs against (119). Their best stat is leading the RL in home runs (33). The team is led by all-world LF Paladin Danse. He is batting with a .365/10/24 line. RF Crops Gerdenheimer is also doing well (.414/7/18). Ace Phil Wallace is struggling considerably this season. He is 2-3 with a 9.93 ERA. Nick Poppa (2-2, 4.38) and Ronnie Gipper (2-1, 5.32) are picking up the slack.

Vault 81 is looking bad in stats categories, so improvement could mean that the Dwellers surge into the wildcard slot. Currently the Dwellers are 5th in runs scored (100) and 6th in runs allowed (125). On offense, RF Deer Quickwalker has been the offense (.493/3/12). 1B Erns Gold has added a .278/6/22 line. None of the starters are pitching particularly well, but ace Curt Redcoats is 2-4 with a 5.88 ERA to give the team some chance in Day 1 games.

The final playoff contender from the RL is Shaw. The Knuckle Punchers have found their niche with their offense - 1st in the BL in runs scored (125). Their pitching is holding them down, though, with all three starters with a plus-7 ERA. LF Rocky Gourd leads the team in batting average at .420. RF Damani Beebe continually produces (.387/8/32). 3B Grognak Inman is not far behind in production (.366/7/18). In all, five starters are batting over .300 to help the entire team batting average of .314 (1st in RL).