Today in the CBO
News and Notes - Reports from around the Commonwealth
by Nat Wright-Kowalski
1 August 2297 - Players of the Week
Star of the Week Awarded in BL: Mike Laughingman demonstrated his potential to be a star in the game last week and today he took home the Brotherhood League Player of the Week Award.
The Salem catcher wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers last week, pounding them for a .615 average (8-for-13) with 1 home run and 3 RBIs on his way to claiming the honor.
This year Laughingman is batting .329 with 53 hits, 5 home runs, 24 RBIs, 17 walks, .393 OBP and has scored 23 runs.
IL Awards Player of the Week: Brightsun Ramos has the tools to stick in this league for many years. The 18-year-old right fielder of the Sunshine Tidings Chemists had a hot bat in the Institute League over the past seven days and won the Player of the Week honors.
Ramos batted .571 with 8 hits in 14 at-bats, no home runs and 8 RBIs.
This year Ramos is batting .313 with 8 home runs and 43 RBIs.
ML Star of the Week Chosen: One of the league's most exciting young players, Jumper Hayes of the Goodneighbor Hancocks earned himself Minutemen League Player of the Week honors with a standout performance in last week's games.
For the week the 17-year-old second baseman had a lofty .692 average (9-for-13), collecting 2 home runs, 8 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
In his season totals Hayes has 10 home runs and a .396 batting average.
Week's #1 Player: Diamond City's Bishop: So far in his young career, Allen Bishop has kept a low profile, but after his performance at the plate last week, he attracted the notice of the rest of the Railroad League in a big way as he was named the Player of the Week today for his efforts.
The 19-year-old Diamond City Swatters third baseman hit at a torrid .692 clip as he collected 9 hits in 13 at-bats, 1 home run, 1 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
This season in 51 games, Bishop has hit at a .341 clip with 72 hits, 2 home runs, 22 RBIs and 28 runs scored.
1 August 2297 - Rumbles in Vault 81 from Players
The Vault 81 Dwellers have two verifiable stars in first baseman Erns Gold and right fielder Deer Quickwalker, but neither have a good relationship with manager Crow Monitor.
One of issues seems to be Monitor's playstyle which is called "smallball." Though Gold and Quickwalker, along with Knud Bather, all have double-digit home runs, the team's offense is overall inept.
The Dwellers are 5th in the Railroad League in runs scored (266), batting average (.283), on-base percentage (.332), and WAR (4.6). With the Dwellers in the position to earn a playoff spot, a different approach to offense may be the way to get those numbers up and better than average.
However, reports are that Monitor disagrees and will still ask Steve Gunkill (.295/9/29) and the bottom of the lineup to bunt more than any other team in the CBO. That seems to be a problem as one of the team leaders, Gunkill has tried to be neutral. Gold and Quickwalker are groaaning.
Should the Dwellers miss the playoffs, there may be a standoff between management and players. A team with this much talent probably does not want that to happen.
2 August 2297 - Lifegivers Reliever Sacked
In other disgruntled news where a player took action, Union Hope Cathedral Lifegivers reliever Rob Thurston.
Thurston, who has been verbally angry that he has not been given playing time. Scouts put him on the fringe of CBO talent but expect him to be out of the league.
He may have quickened the end of his career, as he verbally lashed out at his manager, Greg Tannenbaum, and pitching coach, Jesse Silverbullet. The team decided to suspend him a total of 10 games, which will end his 2297 season.
Thurston appeared in only one game for the Lifegivers. In 2.0 innings, he allowed one hit and struck out four.