#1 Goodneighbor Hancocks (77-31) vs #4 Diamond City Swatters (56-52)
Season Series: Goodneighbor 5, Diamond City 3
March 5-6 @DC: Good 6-3, DC 8-4
May 17-18 @Good: Good 8-7, DC 12-2
June 21-22 @DC: DC 3-1, Good 13-7
June 28-29 @Good: Good 7-3, Good 12-2
Goodneighbor Home Page
Diamond City Home Page
Game 1 Matchup
Analysis
It must first be mentioned that the Goodneighbor Hancocks enter the playoffs riding an 11-game winning streak to end the regular season. If it were not for the domination of the Oberland pitching, there would be very little doubt that the 2298 Hancocks were the best team the CBO had ever seen. Offensively, Goodneighbor has no peers. Ranked first in the South Charles Association in runs scored (696) at almost 6.5 per game, the Hancocks are a nightmare for opposing pitching. Just for perspective, as you can see on the Goodneighbor home page posted above, the Hancocks were also first in batting average, OBP, OPS, WAR, and wOBA. They were only 5th, though, in home runs (128). Likely CBO MVP 1B Bryan Assman (.376/35/102) mans the third spot in the lineup. He’s flanked by RF Good Don Duck (.355/15/71), CF John Rose (.321/18/88), 2B Jumper Hayes (.360/12/85), LF Zachary Utsinger (.354/12/88), and SS Burtie Cuttooth (.307/19/91). How the Hancocks obtained all that talent is a story for the offseason, but opposing pitching feels like it can relax once it gets to the 7th hitter.
The pitching is really good, too, just not Oberland good. Goodneighbor is second in runs allowed (435) and has the second-best Starters ERA (3.59). The three-man rotation is formidable with Quincy Eloquent (19-6, 2.77), Bruce Iddings (17-4, 3.41), and John Oldsink (16-5, 4.09). Usual starter Steve Rocky (12-8, 4.30) moves to the bullpen for the playoffs. If opposing teams can force out the starters, then they get a bit of relief with the 9th-best team in Bullpen ERA (4.81). Since acquiring Bus Paula (3-5 , 3.43, 16 SV) from FHE, he has held the closer’s spot, replacing Bryan Punchline (4-2 , 1.86, 16 SV), who was doing fine. Outside of those two guys, though, the rest of the bullpen can be a liability.
Where the Hancocks score runs at will, the Swatters have not been able to generate runs consistently throughout the season, relying on low-scoring games to earn their victories. Diamond City is 10th in the SCA in runs scored (527), relying heavily on their top batters to generate runs. However, they rank in the bottom half of the SCA in almost every offensive category. Leading the way on offense is possible CBO MVP RF Wayne Lacy (.333/37/102) with help from the rest of the middle of the lineup, SS Wally Warwick (.313/22/85) and 1B Jeffrey Curatolo (.279/20/80). Second hitter 3B Allen Bishop (.331/12/42) has also contributed on offense.
The pitching has been the strength of the team with the SCA’s 6th-best record—they would have finished in 5th place in the Minutemen League. Diamond City is 4th in runs allowed (485) with both the 4th-best Starters and Bullpen ERA (4.30 and 3.72). Their top two pitchers have been amazing in Tim Fusion (17-7, 2.60) and X10-44 Mannson (14-5, 3.72), while their other two starters, Tyler Powers (8-12, 5.37) and Mark Stuhlsatz (13-12, 4.81), have not been as successful. It appears that Powers may get the nod as the third starter in the playoffs. In the bullpen, closer Josh Samm (4-5, 3.09, 26 SV) is one of the best-rated closers. Burt Oldshoe (2-2, 3.48) and Mike Pond (0-5, 4.40) will need to help out.
Prediction
Goodneighbor continues their win streak and takes this series, 3-0.