BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO, BMU, and GBRL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
20 September 2305
CBO Playoff Play-In Series Preview
NCA Playoffs - #5 County Crossing Bloodbugs (72-48) vs #4 Concord Radstags (63-57)
Season Series
County Crossing 6, Concord 2
April 20-21 @Con: Con 13-12, CC 4-1
May 9-10 @CC: CC 7-0, CC 9-8
August 1-2 @CC: CC 9-3, CC 5-4
September 12-13 @Con: Con 8-6, CC 3-1
Analysis
County Crossing returns to the playoffs for the fifth-straight year though it is the first time that they enter as the fifth seed. Don't let that seeding fool you, though. This team is dangerous. They will face Concord who makes their fourth playoff appearance after a one-year hiatus. The Radstags won the Institute League two years ago.
The Bloodbugs finished 3rd in the NCA in runs scored (653). They finished 1st or 2nd in six of the nine offensive categories, so their offense is still quite dangerous. Seven players hit a double-digit number of home runs with 1B Zeldolph Violet (.327/44/118), LF Babs Rooth (.315/31/99), 3B Taygun Topaloglu (.346/18/78), and CF Long Hall (.299/18/57) leading the way.
For pitching, the Bugs were 4th in runs against (516), 3rd in Starters ERA (4.06), and 4th in Bullpen ERA (3.98). The starters will be Gavin Eviritts (15-9, 4.15), Urm Rehfeldt (17-7, 3.81), and Whip Lashley (10-7, 4.70) with Bendy Barman (12-7, 3.66) moving into the bullpen for the playoffs. CL Jesse Bibeault (36 SV, 2.05) is among the best in the business closing out games.
Concord was 7th in runs scored (545) and finished in the bottom half of every offensive category but stolen bases (2nd at 49) and base running (1st at 2.2). They do have two stars in the lineup in 1B Dusty Brownell (.271/39/93) and LF Dan Erb (.316/26/82). CF Pockets Aintfull (.285/1/38/22 SB) and RF Gene Leftswipe (.242/11/36/16 SB) help to generate runs when they get on base.
The pitching was the place where the Stags thrived in 2305. They finished 3rd in runs against (510), 5th in Starters ERA (4.36), and 3rd in Bullpen ERA (3.69). The best starter is Emperry Alizm (12-8, 3.50) with hopes that the other two starters, John Oldsink (12-9, 4.43) and Chris Radsco (7-10, 4.98) will hang with the Bugs. In the bullpen, CL Dan Beantown (28 SV, 2.38) has been good with additional help coming from RP Spider Caddell (3-4, 3.12).
Prediction
County Crossing mostly dominated this series, and we think they are too talented to fall here. We will take the Bloodbugs to win this one in two games.
SCA Playoffs - #5 Atom Cats (75-45) vs #4 Egret Ninjas (64-56)
Season Series
Atom 5, Egret 3
April 29-30 @Atom: Atom 3-2, Atom 1-0
June 20-21 @EGR: EGR 4-3, Atom 14-5
August 15-16 @EGR: EGR 5-3, EGR 7-4
September 5-6 @Atom: Atom 6-5, Atom 13-4
Analysis
Atom is here for the fifth time in a row, while Egret is making its first trip to the CBO playoffs. The Ninjas one other taste was in 2296, the first year of professional baseball, when they made a quick exit against the Institute League's Abernathy Adamantium. The Cats advanced to the Sole Survivor Series once in their history, 2301, when they became the only SCA team to lose in the Sole Survivor Series. The SCA champions have won every other year: 2298-2300, 2302-2304.
Atom finished 3rd in the SCA in runs scored (633) with base stealing and running being the only place (9th) where they didn't finish 3rd. They have a powerful trifecta of hitters in RF Melon Sanderson (.300/43/127) who came just short of setting the RBI record, 1B Casey Roux (.298/28/83), and SS Jake Doucette (.331/22/72). This team is powerfully built, and will really strain the Ninjas' pitching.
The Cats were 1st in runs allowed (457), 2nd in Starters ERA (3.50), and 2nd in Bullpen ERA (3.84). All of that was accomplished despite ace Scruffy Tagucki (8-10, 3.64) having a down year. The other three starters--Deedee Martinson (18-5, 2.60), Tristan Marble (8-10, 3.38), and Bow Rome (19-4, 3.66)--pitched better than Taguchi at times. Rome will move to the bullpen for the playoffs, joining RP Adam Forestman (13-1, 2.88) and CL Chopsticks McWilliams (28 SV, 4.21). The Cats won a lot of games late.
Egret started the season on fire but could just hang on in a weakened Railroad League. The Ninjas finished 7th in the SCA in runs scored (560) with their best statistical categories being stolen bases (2nd at 71) and base running (2nd at 2.5). There is still pop and speed in this lineup to contend with in 1B Joe Mahaney (.280/30/92), RF Rick Pickle (.314/22/82), 2B Ajani Peacock (.348/10/39/23 SB), and SS Hopper Hayes (.293/7/37/15 SB).
For pitching, the Ninjas looked to be the best early but also faded in time, finishing 6th in runs allowed (526), 5th in Starters ERA (3.97), and 10th in Bullpen ERA (5.01). The top two starters, Tup Mallory (15-7, 2.99) and Brahmin Lover Beardman (16-9, 3.40), looked good against the opponents, and Mat Nielsen (11-10, 4.49) held his own. In the bullpen, the Ninjas will rely on their two closers in Evan Before (18 SV, 2.87) and Midnight Flowers (15 SV, 4.42) to hold on to tight games late.
Prediction
Like the NCA, we expect the Atom Cats to easily pull away in this series. We expect the series to end after two games with Roxbury hoping it is an upset.