[StLee]

Analysis

There are only three more weekend series, nine more games on the season, and all but two teams are mathematically still in the chase for the Sole Survivor Series. Those two teams out are the Atom Cats, a 2296 playoff team and semifinalist, and the Jamaica Plain Red Rockets. Both of those teams look to be in the first overall draft choice pool with the Diamond City Swatters. The Swatters are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but they do possess the CBO's worst record currently.

Some teams have started to make a playoff charge, while some other teams appear to be fading away. Let's take a look at our risers and fallers.

Risers:

* Sunshine Tidings Chemists (26-25, tied for 2nd in IL) - With the CBO's longest winning streak at five games and a sweep of what was the first place, the Starlight Lady Killers (see Fallers), the Chemists now control their own destiny for making the playoffs. They also finish the season against the current first place team, the Lexington Synths.

* Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (26-25, tied for 2nd in BL) - If you look at the standings just a month ago today, the Party Boys were dealing with their usual struggles: early leads with late losses. They were in a lot of close games but not winning. Now, closer Sia Abber may be the hottest in the league, and the Boys are winning a lot. They still have their work cut out for them with the next two weekends involving trips to Finch Farm (25-26, 2296 league champion) and The Slog (30-21, 1st place, 2296 CBO champion). Should the Boys from the Beach pull off those two series, the SPECIAL-11 is the limit.

* Easy Town Assaultrons (26-25, tied for 2nd in BL) - The Assaultrons aer also hot, having defeated The Slog in two of three games to move into second place along with the Party Boys. Easy Town does not have the stats to back up their position, so they are scrapping together close wins. It is yet to be seen if they will keep teh momentum from knocking off the Ghouls, but home stands against Salem and Finch Farm and then a potential knockout series in Nordhagen Beach could tell if they are in the money or lose their house.

* Fairline Hill Estates Yao Guai (27-24, 2nd in RL) - The Yao Guai took two of three from the Shaw Knuckle Punchers (23-28) to basically make the wildcard spot a two-team race between the Yao Guai and Vault 81 Dwellers (25-26). With some turmoil reported in the Dwellers clubhouse, the spot is probably FHE's to take, a nice gift for the new owner, Piper Wright, taking over.

* Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (25-26, 4th in IL) - The Shroud had a setback this past weekend against Lexington, but they were the hottest team in the IL before that series loss. As we will show in the paragraph after this one, there is a good reason the Shroud are still considered risers. The bad, though, is they do not play at home again in the regular season, so they will need to take on some weary warrior perks to overcome their lack of the well rested perk.

The Chemists, Party Boys, Yao Guai, and Silver Shroud all are tied for second for the best record in the second half of the season, 13-8. Only the CBO's best team, the Oberland T-51s, have a better second half record (14-7).

Fallers:

* Starlight Lady Killers (26-25, tied for 2nd in IL) - The Killers have ahad anything but killer instinct in the second half of the season. In fact, the Killers have been murdered in the second half of the season to the tune of a 5-16 record. The only other team close in that category is Egret (7-14).

* County Crossing Bloodbugs (25-26, tied for 4th place in BL) - The Bloodbugs met their main nemesis last weekend in the Party Boys and came away licking their wounds. In fact, they are happy to finish the 2297 not playing them again, falling to 4-8 on the season against Nordhagen Beach. They will benefit playing three teams they have winning records against.

* Quincy Gunners (27-24, 3rd in IL) - After being swept by University Point, the Gunners are likely the odd team out in the IL's three-team race. It will be highly difficult to overcome either Goodneighbor or Warwick. Still, the next two weekends give them a chance to get back in the race with matchups at Atom and versus Jamaica Plain before a season-ending series at Warwick. Should the Mirelurks get beat up by Goodneighbor the weekend before, then the Gunners could be in position to overtake them.

* Vault 81 Dwellers (25-26, 3rd in RL) - As mentioned in our previous story, the Dwellers are supposedly rebelling against the team's management, unhappy with the playstyle. Though the team is made up of several good offensive stars, they are just not hitting consistently and we doubt that changes in 2297.