#1 Goodneighbor Hancocks (77-31) vs #2 Oberland T-51s (75-33)
Playoff Results
Goodneighbor
League Semifinals
Defeated #4 Diamond City 3-2
Game 1: GOOD 3-2
Game 2: DC 6-1
Game 3: GOOD 9-7
Game 4: DC 6-2
Game 5: GOOD 4-3
Oberland
League Semifinals
Defeated #3 Warwick 3-1
Game 1: WAR 4-2
Game 2: OBE 8-6
Game 3: OBE 11-4
Game 4: OBE 3-2
Season Series: Goodneighbor 5, Oberland 3
April 16-17 @GOOD: OBE 14-5, GOOD 6-4
June 14-15 @OBE: OBE 7-2, GOOD 9-7
July 12-13 @OBE: GOOD 6-4, OBE 2-1
August 23-24 @GOOD: GOOD 4-3, GOOD 9-0
Goodneighbor Team Stats
Oberland Team Stats
Game 1 Matchup
Analysis
This is the Battle of the Best as far as the CBO is concerned. No, this is not the final series, but it does offer the heavyweights of the CBO in the bid to win it all. The winner of this series will be a heavy favorite in the Sole Survivor Series, so this is sure to be a brutal affair.
Goodneighbor trailed Oberland for most of the season, but they finished the regular season with 11 straight wins to pull ahead of the T-51s by two games. While the T-51s have the league's best pitching staff, the Hancocks sport the league's best offense, leading the South Charles Association in most offensive categories and finishing in the top half of every category. Don't let the offensive finesse fool you. The Hancocks were also a good pitching team, outscoring their opponents by 261 runs in the 108-game season. For reference, Oberland was second in that category with a 165-run difference.
On offense, leadoff hitter Good Don Duck had a steady series in the five-game series against Diamond City. He finished the series 9 for 23 (.391) with a home run and three RBI. John Rose (7 for 21), Jumper Hayes (6 for 22), and Bryan Assman (5 for 17) all averaged at least a hit a game despite the Hancocks offense not coming close to its season average in runs against the Swatters. They will all need to do much more against the T-51s.
Quincy Eloquent not only started two games, but he also came on in relief in Game 5 against the Swatters to earn the victory in the 12-inning, 4-3 victory. For the series he was 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA. Bruce Iddings got starts in Games 2 and 5, going 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA. John Oldsink won Game 3, but he had a 6.43 ERA in 7.0 innings. In short, the Hancocks were not hot on the mound in the League Semifinals, but they will have to be steady in the League Championship Series to come out on top for three wins.
The defending champions, Oberland won the 2297 championship with great pitching throughout the playoffs. That steadiness and extreme success continued in 2298, allowing a CBO-low 418 runs. While the pitching has been great, they were not as dominant in the Legue Semifinal Series versus Warwick. Goodneighbor's offense is a lot tougher to shut down, so the T-51s will have to find their 2297 dominance to win this series.
The T-51s were led in the League Semifinal by leadoff hitter B.J. Perez. He was an impressive 8 for 19 (.421) with two RBI. Like the Hancocks, Oberland had guys contribute but not dominate in batting in Jonathan Abern (6 for 16), Curtis Slingshot (5 for 15), Pro Castillo (5 for 17), and Jeremy Bugs (5 for 20).
If I told you Sheng Kawolski pitched two games in the postseason but has no wins to show for it, you would be shocked. In two starts, Kawolski was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 12.0 innings. The T-51s were able to win Game 4, though, with a 3-2 extra-inning win. Matt Udder (1-0, 5.14) and Gerald Jerry (1-0, 5.14) both won, but neither were outstanding in their starts in Games 2 and 3, respectively. They did have much more success from the bullpen with four pitchers combining for seven scoreless innings and Aaron Still giving up two runs in four innings but getting the Game 4 win.
Prediction
Oberland is the defending champions for a reason and finds a way to pull this one out, 3 games to 2.