[StLee]

Analysis

For the first week this season, the Diamond City Swatters are not in first place, at least, not by themselves as the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud used a 4-1 week to boost themselves to the second-best record in the CBO behind the Swatters.

The Shroud have been silver hot in May, going 8-2 so far in the month with both losses coming on Wacky Wednesdays. As far as Institute League action, they are an inspiring 6-0 against the Lexington Synths, including the CBO's second-ever no-hitter and two straight shutouts in the series. Starting pitching has been dominant overall, leading the CBO in ERA (2.54) by 1 full point and 16 runs better than Nordhagen Beach for runs allowed (94). Mike Cartrette (6-1, 1.33) threw the no-hitter following his two-hitter last weekend and appears to be on the path to the Pitcher of the Year Award. Brent Hooker (5-1, 3.02) also got in on the shutout action this week.

The members of the Top 5 did not change this week, just moved around in order, with BL-leader The Slog at #3, ML-leader Goodneighbor at #4, and ML-wildcard leader Quincy at #5. The bigger story was huge moves up and down the rankings from #7-23. We will feature some of those teams below, with the biggest risers being Oberland, Roxbury, and Concord, and the biggest fallers being FHE, Jamaica Plain, and Easy Town. Atom remains at #24.

Weekly Team Power Rankings

Here are the current team power rankings for Commonwealth Baseball Organization:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1-T) Diamond City Swatters (141.0, o)
1-T) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (141.0, +2)
3) The Slog Ghouls (134.0, +2)
4) Goodneighbor Hancocks (133.0, -2)
5) Quincy Gunners (125.0, -1)
6) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (121.0, o)
7) Oberland T-51s (106.0, +10)
8) Starlight Lady Killers (103.0, -1)
9) Abernathy Adamantium (95.0, o)
10) University Point Deathclaws (93.0, +6)
11) Roxbury Knuckle Punchers (85.0, +8)
12) Egret Ninjas (83.0, o)
13) Concord Radstags (77.0, +8)
14) Finch Farm Four Leafs (77.0, o)
15) Vault 81 Dwellers (75.0, +5)
16) County Crossing Bloodbugs (73.0, +7)
17) Warwick Mirelurks (71.0, -2)
18) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (68.0, -7)
19) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (67.0, -11)
20) Salem Witch Hats (65.0, +2)
21) Easy Town Assaultrons (63.0, -8)
22) FHE Yao Guai (62.0, -12)
23) Lexington Synths (62.0, -5)
24) Atom Cats (37.0, o)

Playoff Statements

Oberland (16-14, 6-game winning streak)

The three-time Railroad League champions flexed their muscles this week, putting them in sole possession of 2nd place in the RL. The T-51s contributed to two of the biggest fallers, dropping the Red Rockets in two and the Yao Guai in three in the battle for 2nd. Things look to only get better in the rest of May as they face 12-18 Warwick four times, 7-23 Atom once, and 12-18 Vault 81 six times to close out the month. Oberland may not catch up with Diamond City this month, but they will probably gain two or three games to get to somewhere behind by only four games heading into June. Do not count this team out!

Goodneighbor (21-9, 8-2 in their last 10)

The Hancocks are tied with the Silver Shroud for the hottest May. Though they dropped two games this weekend to Warwick, Goodneighbor was on an 11-game winning streak before that loss. They are second in the South Charles Association in both runs scored (180) and runs allowed (119) showing that they can grab a win anyway they need to. RF Good Don Duck (.430/5/16) appears to be the early MVP leader in the SCA.

The Slog (21-9, Won 4 straight, 7-3 in their last 10)

If people thought that Nordhagen Beach would easily take back control of the Brotherhood League, they were mistaken as the Ghouls continue to push success. With one 10-inning loss to a good team in Abernathy, The Slog went 4-1, including a sweep over defending NCA champions, the Easy Town Assaultrons who plummeted back to last after getting swept. All of the Ghouls' success comes from their bats, leading the NCA in runs (174), batting average (.294), and four other categories. SS Lernz Tentsleep has been on fire (.344/10/32) and 2B C.T. Woodard (.404/2/20) is among the best hitters in the CBO this season, currently leading the NCA in batting average and the CBO in stolen bases (15).