Today in the CBO
News and Notes - Reports from around the Commonwealth
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
12 August 2298 - BMU Playoff Race
Nineteen weeks are in the books in the BMU, and the playoff chase is getting clearer with just three weeks and 11 games to play. Only four teams make the playoffs, each league winner. The league winners of the Commonwealth Association will face off in one playoff semifinal series, while the league winners of the Massachusetts Association will face off in the other semifinal series. The winners of each association will then face off in a best-of-five championship, the Boston Minor Series.
Seven teams have been eliminated: Breakheart Banks and Malden of the Dark Hollow Pond League; Bunker Hill of the Cambridge League; Postal Square and Charles View of the Downtown Boston League; and Forest Grove and Mass Pike of the Glowing Sea League.
Natick Banks of the Glowing Sea League is most likely to clinch its league first with a seven-game lead and a magic number of 5.
Below are PAM's odds to make the playoffs in each league with only contenders listed. SInce we cut off the decimal at one place, there were roundings for the results. For example, the Big Leaguers actually only have a 99.998994282364% chance to win their league.
12 August 2298 - Silver Shroud Lick Lady Killers, 14-1
A good performance from third baseman Micah Morals helped the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud defeat the Starlight Lady Killers, 14-1. Morals was 4 for 5 with a home run, a double, and 2 singles, while scoring 3 times and driving in 3 for the Silver Shroud.
The winning pitcher was Derek Green. He's now 13-9. He went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits for the Silver Shroud. With the win, Fort Hagen pushed its record to 53-38, while the Lady Killers fall six games back in the wildcard race.
Paul Grog, the 26-year old catcher, had a direct impact on the outcome. Grog contributed a 2-run single in the top of the first inning to put Fort Hagen up, 4-0.
"I like our moxie," said Silver Shroud manager Mark Andersen.
12 August 2298 - Driftwood Goes Wild, But Mirelurks Win
David Driftwood had a good game, but he could not keep the Quincy Gunners from falling, 16-7, to the Warwick Mirelurks at The Stone House. The Quincy right fielder was 2 for 3 with 2 home runs and 2 walks. He drove in 4 runs and scored twice in the loss.
Warwick reliever Brian Bridges was the winner. His record is now 1-0. Matt Ranger (10-6) took the loss. The winning streak has now reached 6 games for Warwick, putting them three up on Quincy and University Point for the Minutemen League wildcard race.
Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Joe "Whiskey" Hagen? The Warwick left fielder had a 2-run single in the top of the fourth inning to put the Mirelurks on top, 6-3. For the game, Hagen had 1 double and 2 singles in 6 at-bats.
"We can always improve and get better, but we're feeling confident after that win," said Hagen.
12 August 2298 - Schmidt Propels Yao Guai to 14-8 Win
Pistol Schmidt helped his team muscle past the Roxbury Knuckle Punchers, 14-8. In the game, the FHE third baseman was 4 for 4 with a triple, 3 singles, and a walk, while scoring 3 runs and driving in 2. The win was credited to Loop Bikameal in relief. His record improves to 1-0. Beachboy Nut took the loss. The Knuckle Punchers, now 25-66, have lost 5 in a row.
It could have been a different outcome for FHE, had it not been for Tyler Shoemaker, the top prospect . Shoemaker contributed a run-scoring single in the top of the first inning to put FHE up, 3-0.
"I just tried to make good contact," said Schmidt.
12 August 2298 - Party Boys Win, 7-2, Versus Ghouls, Now 4 Up
Nordhagen Beach Party Boys starter Julian Shed kept the The Slog Ghouls hitters in check, leading his team to a comfortable 7-2 win. The winning pitcher was Shed, now 11-7. He tossed 7.2 innings of 5-hit ball, while walking 1 and fanning 7. The victory gives Nordhagen Beach a record of 57-34 and a four-game lead over the defending league champions in the BL race.
The Party Boys picked up the win with a combination of good hitting and good pitching. Michael Fogcrawler was the best hitter for the Boys. He was 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, his 25th of the season, a run, and two RBI. Taboo Richardson hit his 13th homer of the season.
Shed said afterward that his team has grown over the course of the season, adding: "It feels good when a plan comes together."
12 August 2298 - County Crossing and Jamaica Plain Go Bye-Bye
Two more teams were eliminated from the playoffs today when the County Crossing Bloodbugs of the Brotherhood League and the Jamaica Plain Red Rockets of the Minutemen League lost today. They now join Atom and Roxbury in preparing for the 2298 Rookie Draft.
The Bloodbugs were 9-5 victims to Easy Town, the third-place team in the BL. The Red Rockets succumbed to University Point, which is tied for third place in the ML, 1-0.
Jamaica Plain has a more bitter pill to swallow for their season. PAM's preseason prediction had them finishing 58-50 and outpacing Goodneighbor (currently 1st) and Warwick (currently 2nd) for the ML wildcard. PAM predicted Quincy to win the league.
One of the key contributors was supposed to be David Seaweed, who PAM predicted would battle with Goodneighbor's Bryan Assman for the South Charles Association MVP. While Seaweed is doing OK this season, .302/17/74, he is nowhere near MVP-level production. In fact, he probably will not be his own team's MVP, which looks like it will be CF Hid Matsumoto.
In addition to Seaweed, PAM predicted Chris Teddybear to win the Pitcher of the Year award. Instead, he is only 8-10 with a 4.99 ERA in 23 starts. While those numbers are not absolutely terrible, Teddybear is the ace of the SCA's 10th best staff.