BNN Weekly Report
News from the CBO, Minors, College, and Youth Leagues
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
23 August 2309
CBO Analysis
One hundred games have been played. Every team has a good idea of where they stand in the playoff race. While no teams have officially clinched a playoff spot, several teams could clinch a spot as early as this week. Only two teams, Goodneighbor and FHE, are officially eliminated from contention, but two other teams, Lexington and Diamond City, will be officially eliminated probably by tomorrow. Atom, Concord, and maybe Spectacle Island are all also close to being officially eliminated. Here are the current playoff seeds:
NCA
1. Starlight
2. Nordhagen Beach
3. Bunker Hill
4. County Crossing
5t. Salem
5t. Sunshine Tidings
Starlight and Nordhagen Beach remain at the top, along with Bunker Hill and County Crossing being in good positions to clinch 2nd place in their leagues. Salem and Sunshine Tidings have split their season series, 3-3, so they are tied for the 5th seed with The Slog just one game back of each of those teams. The Witch Hats and Chemists meet this week in Sunshine Tidings. A sweep by either team would clinch the tiebreaker.
SCA
1. Oberland
2. University Point
3. Egret
4. Quincy
5. Roxbury
Oberland retakes the lead in the SCA. Jamaica Plain, which was #3 in our last update now drops to 6th but only one game back of both Quincy and Roxbury for the playoffs.
Here are the current team power rankings for Commonwealth Baseball Organization:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Oberland T-51s (129.0, +) - The T-51s return to the top spot after a 7-3 stretch that makes them the CBO's first 70-win team this season. Oberland swept University Point, won two over FHE, swept Spectacle Island, and then lost two of three at Egret.
2) University Point Deathclaws (125.4, +) - The Deathclaws only went 5-5 in their past 10 but are on a three-game winning streak to keep them far atop the Minutemen League. University Point was swept by the T-51s at home, won two at Atom, got swept at Atom, and then swept Goodneighbor.
3) Starlight Killers (124.4, -) - The Killers dropped a bit this week despite a 7-3 stretch that included a series loss this past weekend. Still, with a seven-game lead on the top seed in the NCA, Starlight looks to be set to clinch that spot. In the past two weeks, the Killers swept Nahant on the road, swept Lexington, split with The Slog, and won one over Fort Hagen.
4) Bunker Hill 75ers (118.0, +) - The 75ers went 8-2 for the top two-week span in the NCA to move them up to #4. Bunker Hill swept County Crossing, won two at the Silver Shroud, split at Nordhagen Beach, and then swept Concord.
5) Egret Ninjas (115.0, o) - The Ninjas went 8-2 in their last 10 to take control of 2nd place in the Railroad League heading into the final 20 games. Egret swept the Reapers, got a sweep at Roxbury including two shutouts to take control of 2nd place, split at the Hancocks, and won two over Oberland.
6) Quincy Gunners (113.6, +)
7) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (112.8, --)
8) County Crossing Bloodbugs (109.4, ++)
9) Roxbury Rad Sox (106.6, +)
10) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (97.8, -)
11) Vault 81 Dwellers (93.6, -)
12) Salem Witch Hats (90.6, o)
13) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (90.6, --)
14) The Slog Ghouls (88.8, o)
15) Nahant Celtics (83.6, o)
16) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (73.8, +)
17) Easy Town Assaultrons (73.0, o)
18) Diamond City Swatters (65.6, ++)
19) Spectacle Island Reapers (63.4, --)
20) Atom Cats (63.2, o)
21) FHE Yao Guai (56.8, o)
22) Lexington Synths (56.6, +)
23) Concord Radstags (54.8, --)
24) Goodneighbor Hancocks (50.6, -)
Brotherhood League
Nordhagen Beach and County Crossing look poised to take the battle for the BL down to the final week with just a three-game difference between them. Salem and The Slog are battling for 3rd place with Nahant still hanging around at five games out of the 5th seed.
The Party Boys are not a sure-fire championship contender this season despite their current place in the NCA. At 7th in runs scored (484) and 2nf in runs allowed (393), they are most certainly a good team with good pitching that can get them far in the playoffs. Most of the reason they have the 3rd-best Starters ERA (3.85) is because SP Beachboy Nut (16-5, 2.48) is hard to score on. However, second started, Deedee Martinson (7-11, 4.66), has been giving up way too many runs in his starts to be a reliable second pitcher. SP Ugio Church (11-4, 3.48) has looked like a top starter and could give the Boys a chance to win a deep series.
Institute League
This league has been a race of three for playoff contention. With a 16-game lead over Sunshine Tidings, Starlight is close to clinching a playoff spot. Bunker Hill will win at least 70 games, meaning they are almost sure to be the 3 or 4 seed.
As the defending champions, the 75ers have not seemed to level up, but they will be verifiably dangerous in the playoffs. Bunker Hill is 1st in runs scored (547) and 5th in runs allowed (443) thanks to the 2nd-best Starters (3.79 ERA). Pitcher-for-pitcher, the 75ers may have the best three-starter staff in production: Jason Tonelli (11-9, 3.70), Max Thunderdome (15-6, 3.56), and Hangman Alley (8-2, 2.93). Top that with a power-based offense that is 1st in home runs (176) with all eight starters in their lineup hitting 10 or more home runs. The middle of the lineup--SS Aaron Squire (.287/24/61), 1B Matt Stickhouse (.331/30/88), and LF Donny Kowalski (.306/28/83)--makes this team capable of repeating in 2309.
Minutemen League
With the largest lead (11 games) in the CBO, University Point is likely to cruise into one of the top two spots. Despite their injury struggles, the Deathclaws have proven to have the CBO's deepest bench and will be dangerous throughout the playoffs when they are healthier.
Quincy and Jamaica Plain are now jostling for 2nd place for an automatic playoff berth and the 5th seed, in which Egret and Roxbury also come into play in the Railroad League.
The Red Rockets seem to have the slight advantage in that race thanks to a well-balanced team overall, tied for 5th in runs scored (487) and 4th in runs allowed (440). LF Ken Debate (.317/37/88) and SS Jake Doucette (.360/18/55) are both carrying the offense, so they need more players to step up in their bid to make their first Sole Survivor Series.
Railroad League
Oberland has a Magic # of 11, and they are likely to clinch the RL by the time we next update the standings unless they collapse this week. As mentioned above, the Rad Sox and Ninjas are in contention for 2nd place. Vault 81 is a dark horse candidate for the 5th seed at 5 games back.
No team in the SCA looks to be close to where the T-51s are. 2nd in runs scored (546) and runs allowed (408), Oberland is the most balanced team in the CBO, thus its top record. Led by RF Orcin Cardinal (.311/34/70), 1B Chase Doctorman (.307/24/70), SP Emperry Alizm (13-5, 3.33), SP Mesquite Williams (13-5, 3.37), and CL William Butcherman (31 SV, 2.02), Oberland appears to be poised to win it all in 2309 after falling just short last season.
CBO Standings
CBO Players of the Week
August 16 - Sleve McDichael of the Fort Hagen Silver Shroud had an outstanding week and today was voted the Player of the Week by the North Charles Association.
For the week the 26-year-old catcher batted .476 (10-for-21) with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs.
McDichael is hitting .328 so far this season with 59 RBIs and 55 runs scored. He has 116 hits including 16 home runs, 47 walks and .404 OBP.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets shortstop Jake Doucette walked away with the South Charles Association Player of the Week Award today after putting up some impressive numbers over the past seven days.
"The Red Rockets fans are really behind me right now," said the 31-year-old. "That helps. They give you the confidence to go out there and do better."
Doucette batted .522 (12-for-23) with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs this week on his way to the award.
This year Doucette has hit at a .368 clip with 152 hits, 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and 79 runs scored.
August 23 - It was a sweet day for Babs Rooth of the County Crossing Bloodbugs, who found out he has been named the North Charles Association Player of the Week.
The Bloodbugs right fielder put up a solid .529 average and contributed 6 home runs and 10 RBIs to claim the honors.
A look at his current stats shows Rooth with a .320 average, 30 home runs, 81 RBIs and 84 runs scored. He has played in 100 games.
The premier performer in the South Charles Association this week was Chris Hirshfield of the University Point Deathclaws.
The hot-hitting 30-year-old left fielder put up a .500 average and .591 on-base percentage, piling up 9 hits in 18 at-bats, 3 home runs, 9 RBIs and 8 runs scored.
That kind of hitting got him the SCA Player of the Week honors.
For the season Hirshfield has hit .298 with 37 home runs and 126 RBIs. He has played in 88 games and scored 74 times.
CBO Draft Outlook
Last week, we looked at the top two players expected to go in the 2309 draft according to OSA scouts. Let's take a look at some of the other top prospects for the draft. These are all players that could project at 1B in the future, which means it is highly unlikely these guys are all grabbed this clumped together at the top of the draft.
3. 1B Righty Tato, East Providence - Blessed with a naturally smooth swing, Tato projects to be an outstanding all-around hitter, much like Barker Cocoa. While his defense lags, Tato can light the ball on fire and is expected to be one of the CBO's top hitters when he fully progresses.
4. 1B Token Okamoto, Beerthirty - Okamoto is one of the OSA's huge future potential, low current output players. On the team with our #7 prospect below at the same position, Okamoto had limited playing time overall. Scouts believe he may develop as a better hitter in time, showing the power potential to be a .275/30 HR player.
5. 3B Allee Bobbuh, Beantown - A senior leader for the CYL's champions, Bobbuh has only gotten better each season. Scouts believe he could be the future top hitter in the CBO with Triple Crown potential. He is also a good defensive corner infielder who may end up as a 1B in time, depending on his team's defensive teams.
6. 3B Jim Szewczyk, Rockport - Szewczyk is projected everywhere from high 1st-round to 3rd round. When he is on, he can hit with the best of them, though his numbers in the CYL were not great with the Seafarers coming from independent play. Scouts believe he has the hitting potential to be a .275/30 HR guy, which should make some team happy.
7. 1B Lone Wolf Leo Gamma-Ray, Beerthirty - The "Lone Wolf," Gamma-Ray is one of those guys who quietly does his job and takes his frustrations out on the baseball. After hitting 23 home runs in each of the past two seasons, Gamma-Ray has the power potential to hit 40+ in a full CBO season. His defense is suspect but if developed, his strong arm could land him at 3B.
CBO Transactions
Monday, August 23rd , 2309
Lexington Synths: Activated SP Ahsoka Tano from the injured list.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets: Placed RP Glenn Patnode on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/22/2309.
Atom Cats: Placed LF Figgie Legendsport on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/22/2309.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets: Released SS Matt deOldlady.
Jamaica Plain Red Rockets: Signed RP Jason Polson.
FHE Yao Guai: Fired General Manager Tissue Carroll.
FHE Yao Guai: Signed General Manager Josh Gillette.
FHE Yao Guai: Fired Manager Andy Thrash.
FHE Yao Guai: Signed Manager Dan Ferreri.
Sunday, August 22nd , 2309
Goodneighbor Hancocks: Activated 3B Artist Moody from the injured list.
Goodneighbor Hancocks: Sent 3B Artist Moody to Triple A Foxborough for injury rehab.
Saturday, August 21st , 2309
FHE Yao Guai: Activated LF Steven Themet from the injured list.
Starlight Killers: Placed RF Hurr Lee Reyes on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/20/2309.
Wednesday, August 18th , 2309
Roxbury Rad Sox: Released RF Lantern Surma.
Tuesday, August 17th , 2309
Lexington Synths: Placed SP Ahsoka Tano on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/15/2309.
Starlight Killers: Signed free agent RP Temba Widearm to a minor league contract.
Monday, August 16th , 2309
University Point Deathclaws: Activated SS Austin Engill from the restricted list.
FHE Yao Guai: Placed SP Jimmy Capcollector on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/15/2309.
Nordhagen Beach Party Boys: Activated LF Young Goodman from the injured list.
Starlight Killers: Signed free agent 1B Gutter Amputee to a minor league contract.
Starlight Killers: Released 1B Gutter Amputee.
Saturday, August 14th , 2309
University Point Deathclaws: Placed SS Austin Engill on the restricted list.
Bunker Hill 75ers: Placed CF Jig McGhee on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/13/2309.
FHE Yao Guai: Placed LF Steven Themet on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 08/13/2309.
University Point Deathclaws: Signed RP Run Backes.
Friday, August 13th, 2309
Goodneighbor Hancocks: The Hancocks premiered in their new Downtown Boston stadium with a 12-11 win over Spectacle Island.
Thursday, August 12th , 2309
The Slog Ghouls: Released RF Moxie Morris.
Wednesday, August 11th , 2309
Starlight Killers: Activated SP Digger Vadim from the restricted list.
Easy Town Assaultrons: Signed free agent CL Jess Abelle to a minor league contract.