BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
25 June 2300
News from Around the League
20 June - Quincy Loses McDuff for Season: The news was not unexpected, but that didn't make it easier to accept for the Quincy Gunners: starting pitcher Manny McDuff is out for the year. McDuff suffered a torn rotator cuff on 06/19/2300. The team knew that the chances of seeing him return were slim to none. But today it was made official.
McDuff has made 15 starts this season, posting 7 wins and 6 losses. Opposing clubs are batting .243 against him and he has 76 strikeouts in 109 innings with a 3.30 ERA.
21 June - Setback for Diamond City and Wayne Lacy: The Diamond City Swatters trainer was the bearer of bad news today, as it was learned Wayne Lacy's injury will keep him out of the lineup for longer than expected. The Swatters right fielder is being treated for a strained oblique. During a routine exam, Lacy's condition was found to be worse than originally diagnosed and he is now expected to rehab at least another 3 weeks.
This year Lacy is batting .256 with 6 home runs.
23 June - Hitting Streak Still Alive for Schoolboy: Jeremy Schoolboy collected 3 hits in today's game and extended his hitting streak to 20 games. His club, the Atom Cats, beat the Warwick Mirelurks 10-6.
"Right now, when they throw me the ball, it looks the size of a softball," Schoolboy quipped to a BNN reporter after the game. "I'm excited about how things are clicking."
Jeremy Schoolboy doubled in the 1st, struck out in the 2nd, singled in the 4th, doubled in the 6th and grounded out in the 8th.
Schoolboy is hitting .323 this year with 11 home runs and 44 RBIs. He also has an OBP of .373, 19 walks and scored 34 times.
Scores
Tue 19 June
Con 10 at Slog 3 / ST 2 at NB 11 / Sal 3 at Lex 2 / ET 7 at Abe 6, 11 inn / CC 4 at FtH 12 / Star 11 at FF 9
Good 3 at V81 1 / Atom 1 at DC 9 / UP 5 at FHE 11 / Egr 1 at War 2 / Obe 4 at Qui 5 / Rox 6 at JP 8
Performance of the Day: RF David Seaweed, Starlight, 3 for 3, 2 HR, BB, 2 R, 7 RBI
Wed 20 June
Con 8 at Slog 9, 11 inn. / ST 9 at NB 6 / Sal 1 at Lex 2 / ET 1 at Abe 2 / CC 8 at FtH 9 / Star 6 at FF 2
Good 4 at V81 1 / Atom 5 at DC 6 / UP 2 at FHE 12 / Egr 8 at War 7 / Obe 1 at Qui 5 / Rox 2 at JP 6
Performance of the Day:3B Pistol Schmidt, FHE, 3 for 5, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R
Fri 22 June
ST 6 at Lex 13 / Sal 6 at NB 4 / FF 13 at ET 6 / CC 4 at Slog 5 / Abe 2 at FtH 1 / Star 6 at Con 8
Good 4 at JP 3 / War 3 at Atom 4, 11 inn / UP 6 at Qui 0 / DC 1 at FHE 0 / Egr 14 at Obe 4 / Rox 5 at V81 3
Performance of the Day: CF Kurt Kilgore, Egret, 3 for 5, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R
Sat 23 June
CC 4 at Slog 2 / Sal 5 at NB 6 / Abe 2 at FtH 4 / FF 2 at ET 5 / ST 5 at Lex 8 / Star 7 at Con 1
Rox 9 at V81 2 / UP 5 at Qui 8 / Egr 21 at Obe 10 / War 6 at Atom 10 / DC 3 at FHE 4, 11 inn / Good 9 at JP 4
Performance of the Day: 2B Phil Harmon, Oberland, 2 for 2, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
Sun 24 June
ST 6 at Lex 10 / FF 5 at ET 2 / CC 2 at Slog 3 / Abe 1 at FtH 5 / Star 6 at Con 2 / Sal 8 at NB 10
Good 2 at JP 5 / War 2 at Atom 4 / Egr 2 at War 4 / Rox 4 at V81 7 / UP 9 at Qui 5 / DC 8 at FHE 7
Performance of the Day: 1B Dustin Mart, Nordhagen Beach, 2 for 3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
Players of the Week
Red-Hot Rampage Reaps NCA Reward: It's always a thrill for fans of the team and students of the game alike when a superstar in the making shows what he's got. Lernz Tentsleep, the The Slog Ghouls 22-year-old shortstop, put himself in the spotlight last week making him the clear-cut choice for North Charles Association Player of the Week honors.
He ripped 10 hits in 19 at-bats, compiling a .526 average with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.
Tentsleep on the season is hitting .259 with 11 home runs. His stats include 34 RBIs and 37 runs scored.
Roxbury Center Fielder Nets SCA Award: Edward Cox demonstrated his potential to be a star in the game last week and today he took home the South Charles Association Player of the Week Award.
The Roxbury center fielder wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers last week, pounding them for a .579 average (11-for-19) with 1 home run and 5 RBIs on his way to claiming the honor.
This year Cox is batting .272 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs.
Transactions
Sunday, June 24th, 2300
Salem Witch Hats: Activated SP Roberto Gonzales from the injured list.
Nordhagen Beach Party Boys: Activated SS Pointie Shroud from the injured list.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets: Placed C Ayag Mour on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/23/2300.
Saturday, June 23rd, 2300
Starlight Lady Killers: Placed RF David Seaweed on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/22/2300.
Friday, June 22nd, 2300
Nordhagen Beach Party Boys: SP Julian Shed returns from his rehab assignment.
Thursday, June 21st, 2300
Lexington Synths: SP Chris Ciccone returns from his rehab assignment.
Starlight Lady Killers: Activated SP Jonathan Newman from the injured list.
Atom Cats: Activated RP Trent Gentilcore from the injured list.
Wednesday, June 20th, 2300
FHE Yao Guai: Placed RP Gabe Faulhaber on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/19/2300.
Quincy Gunners: Placed SP Manny McDuff on the 60-day injured list.
Diamond City Swatters: Placed SP Burp Taylor on the 60-day injured list.
Tuesday, June 19th, 2300
Abernathy Adamantium: Placed SP Gerald Jerry on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/17/2300.
The Slog Ghouls: Placed 3B Stoop Bugwing on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/17/2300.
Atom Cats: Signed 2B Bill Morals.
Standings
Team Power Rankings
Weekly Team Power Rankings: Here are the current team power rankings for Commonwealth Baseball Organization:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Goodneighbor Hancocks (120.0, ++)
2) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (120.0, +)
3) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (117.0, ++)
4) Easy Town Assaultrons (111.0, -)
5) Vault 81 Dwellers (111.0, --)
6) Diamond City Swatters (106.0, ++)
7) The Slog Ghouls (106.0, o)
8) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (104.0, o)
9) Concord Radstags (101.0, --)
10) Lexington Synths (101.0, +)
11) Quincy Gunners (100.0, -)
12) FHE Yao Guai (92.0, o)
13) Starlight Lady Killers (86.0, ++)
14) University Point Deathclaws (86.0, o)
15) Abernathy Adamantium (85.0, o)
16) Salem Witch Hats (84.0, --)
17) Egret Ninjas (82.0, o)
18) Oberland T-51s (79.0, -)
19) Atom Cats (76.0, ++)
20) County Crossing Bloodbugs (65.0, o)
21) Roxbury Rad Sox (63.0, o)
22) Warwick Mirelurks (60.0, --)
23) Finch Farm Four Leafs (60.0, o)
24) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (45.0, o)
Analysis
After making a drop in the rankings a week ago, the Goodneighbor Hancocks moved into the #1 position this week thanks to a 4-1 week and the best record in the CBO. Goodneighbor swept Vault 81 (#5), holding them to two total runs. They then won the first two games at Jamaica Plain (#8) in what looked to be a tough week. Vault 81 dropped from the #1 spot to #5, thanks to the sweep at the hands of the Cocks and losing the first two games at home versus Roxbury (#21).
Nordhagen Beach did not have the best week, but the Boys from the Beach went 3-2 to move to the #2 position. The Party Boys have the North Charles Association’s best record, only one game back of Goodneighbor. Nordhagen Beach split with Sunshine Tidings (#24) and then beat Salem (#16) two out of three times.
Fort Hagen moved back into the Top 5, moving into the #3 slot this week. The Silver Shroud went 4-1 on the week, sweeping County Crossing (#20) and then beating Abernathy (#15) two times. The Shroud now hold a four-game league lead thanks to Concord (#9) going 2-3 on the week.
After going 2-3, Easy Town dropped two spots to #4 this week. The Assaultrons split a series with the Adamantium and then lost two in the weekend series versus Finch Farm (#23). That one extra loss dropped the Trons one extra game back in the Brotherhood League to first-place Nordhagen Beach.
Our featured team this week is Diamond City (#6). After going ???, the Swatters moved from #9. Now the defending Sole Survivor Series champions are in a serious playoff push for the second half of the season. DC has rebounded from their terrible May to sport a 12-6 record so far in June thanks to having the weaker part of their schedule right now. In fact, the highest-ranked team they played in June has been FHE, in which the Swatters have been 4-2 against.
Team Focus: Diamond City Swatters
With a good June, including a current 8-2 record in their last 10, the Diamond City Swatters are starting to look dangerous again for the 2300 playoffs. In 2299, they were always near the top in the Power Rankings and finished off the season as the strong team that everyone expected them to be. This season has been something else, but at 33-27 and only three games back of the suddenly struggling Vault 81 in the Railroad League, the Swatters may find themselves as the eventual #2 seed.
Offense is definitely not the reason Diamond City has been successful. They are in the bottom half of the league in most offensive categories, including the most important of Runs Scored (10th) with 277. Part of their offensive dropoff can be because of star RF Wayne Lacy’s injury, though he did not have great stats before we went down: .256/6/29. Still, his six home runs ties him for 5th on the team that is 5th in the SCA in homers (69). Of course, the true star of the team is 1B Oren Gep (.364/25/54), a legitimate CBO MVP candidate. SS Wally Warwick (.332/10/44) and LF Tyler Ross (.275/10/30) has produced some pop, but the Swatters definitely miss Lacy’s big bat.
Where the batting has struggled, the pitching has stepped it up. Diamond City is 2nd in Runs Allowed (264), 6th in Starters ERA (4.55) and 2nd in Bullpen ERA (3.57). The biggest surprise is not success, but the failures of Tim Fusion (2-11, 6.61). The 26-year-old and 2298 winner of the Vim! Pitcher Award, Fusion’s fall off the cliff has perplexed him, as well as manager Bucky Bachelor and pitching coach Brent Younger. Staff ace X10-44 Mannson (8-2, 2.72) and starter Tyler Powers (10-1, 2.80) are in the Vim! Pitcher Award talks. Fourth pitcher Jason Haynes (0-6, 6.00) is also not a helpful starter. The bullpen has helped in late close games. The leader is closer Josh Samm (17 SV, 2.08). Mike Pond (1-0, 1.77) and Kyle Grogg (1-0, 1.86) have also been dominant in their opportunities.
This 2300 version of the Swatters does not seem as strong as the 2299 version. However, do not let that fool you. A team that has experience winning it all is a dangerous team, especially come playoff time. Then again, July may prove to be less successful for the defending champions.