BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
4 September 2313
CBO Playoffs 2313
NCA Wildcard Round: #6 Nahant Celtics (68-62) vs #3 Lexington Synths (73-57)
Season Series: Nahant 3, Lexington 1
June 17-18 @Nah: Nah 4-3, Nah 5-0
August 13-14 @Lex: Nah 6-4 (10), Lex 6-4
Analysis
This is it, the debut. Lexington was the lone holdout of the original teams to not have made the playoffs in the full CBO. The Synths did make the playoffs once before, before the CBO, in 2297, falling 3-1 in the series as a #3 seed vs #6 Nordhagen Beach. That Party Boys team went on to their first Sole Survivor Series. Since then? The Synths only had one season above .500 since then before this season when they finished with their second-highest winning percentage (.562).
For Nahant, they are not exactly playoff veterans with this season marking just their third trip since the start of the CBO in 2298. In 2302, as the Finch Farm Four Leafs, the Celtics entered as the 5th seed and won the Play-in Series before falling to the Party Boys. In 2311, Nahant won the BL and earned the #2 seed. However, they again fell to the Boys in the Semifinals. Nordhagen Beach went on to lose all three Sole Survivor Series appearances in those three seasons versus the Synths and Celtics.
The Celtics battled hard to best Bunker Hill and Nordhagen Beach for the 6th spot despite not standing out statistically. On offense, Nahant finished 7th in runs scored (647). Part of that problem was finishing tied for 12th in home runs (136). They were 1st in stolen bases (180), including three players with 30 or more steals. The two players that helped the offensive success the most were 2B Diamond Ball (.301/32/93) and 1B Bulleye Shooterson (.323/23/81). Other contributors include LF Thrifty Iraheta (.330/7/60/47 SB), CF Grandson Quarles (.294/15/75/34 SB), and RF Gene Leftswipe (.249/16/54/33 SB).
On the mound, Nahant was 9th in runs allowed (635). The top two starters--Zack Million (12-5, 3.09) and Matt Bowman (12-11, 3.96)--did well. Ibn the bullpen, there were a couple of valuable contributors in RP Butterass DeCicco (9-1, 2.15, 3 SV) and CL Ryan Roberson (38 SV, 3.08) who tied for the CBO lead in saves.
Lexington also struggled some on offense, finishing 9th in runs scored (610) with the NCA's worst OBP (.317). They finished 5th in home runs (180), though, to balance their poor ability to get on base. Two youngsters have become stars: CF Packs Ton Kling (.262/39/79) and 3B Tommy Whitetiger (.274/28/76). LF Campy Madrid (.318/13/55) was the only other major contributor.
On the mound, the Synths were much better, finishing 3rd in runs allowed (560) including 1st in Bullpen ERA (3.90). SP Lyle Pine (14-7, 4.24) had a lot of wins but also gave up a lot of runs. Trade acquisition LF/SP Admiral Kelm (4-4, 3.44) enters as the second starter after being benched by Fort Hagen earlier in the season. CL Hunter Kim (33 SV, 3.11) leads the bullpen with assistance from Slush Fundz (4-1, 2.51) among others.
Prediction
Since neither team is experienced in the playoffs, we see no advantages in that direction. Therefore, we have to go with the team that played better all season, despite their season series. Lexington 2, Nahant 1
NCA Wildcard Round: #5 Salem Witch Hats (73-57) vs #4 The Slog Ghouls (73-57)
Season Series: Salem 6, The Slog 4
April 11-13 @Slog: Sal 8-0, Sal 6-4, Slog 4-2
June 7-9 @Sal: Sal 11-10 (10), Slog 9-4, Slog 10-5
July 22-23 @Slog: Sal 4-1, Slog 3-2
August 30-31 @Sal: Sal 5-4, Sal 7-6
Analysis
Salem and The Slog slugged it out all season, completing the regular season with the same record, along with Lexington. Salem got a key sweep of The Slog in the regular season's last two official days, giving them a 1/2 game lead for the #3 seed. That was before they had to play a makeup game that they lost, sending the Witch Hats to the 5th seed and avoiding the Synths in the first round.
In their playoff history, Salem is relatively new to the playoff hunt. The Hats' first trip came in 2308 and then they had return trips in 2311 and 2312, making this season their third-straight. Last season as the #3 seed, the Witch Hats got their first series win, a 2-0 sweep of the Party Boys. Salem ended up advancing all the way to the NCA Championship Series, where they fell to Fort Hagen, 4-1.
This will be The Slog's fifth trip to the playoffs and second straight. The Ghouls were there in 2299, 2300, 2310, and 2312. In 2299, in a four-team field, the Ghouls lost as the #4 seed to Nordhagen Beach (we feel a theme among these four Wildcard Round teams!). And then got to the semifinals in 2300 as the first #5 seed in the NCA before again falling to the Boys. The Ghouls again advanced to the semifinals in 2312, but again they fell, this time to the Silver Shroud. That means, the Ghouls are one of just a few teams never to reach the Championship Series.
Looking at the teams this season, Salem comes in as the NCA's top-scoring team (726 runs scored), as well as the best OPS team (.800). Rookie RF Thatch Heard (.361/27/95), the batting title winner and likely Red Rocket Rookie Award winner, is part of that success. However, 1B Brian DeLong (.345/36/102) is the star of the team. Other top contributors are 2B Peter Pan Calvillo (.276/21/70) and LF Dan Erb (.270/19/77).
On the mound, the Hats were 6th in runs allowed (593) with their staff right around that ranking in ERA. The acquisition of SP Paul Stains (14-9, 3.45), who had a terrible start to his 2313 season (0-3, 9.98 with Diamond City when they traded him), has made a lot of difference and gives a reason to think that Salem can win a championship this season. Jaa Thirtysix (13-5, 3.36) thus gives the Witch Hats one of the best 1-2 punches in the CBO. SP Pokey Chatman (11-9, 5.09) struggled a bit on the season and will move to the closer spot for the playoffs. CL David Lunchtime (22 SV, 4.68) will move to a supporting role.
The Slog was also pretty good statistically, showing they belong. The Ghouls were 3rd in runs scored (692) with the help of the top batting average (.282). That average was not from some players having really high averages, but a team that spread around the hits with the lowest 8-man lineup average coming from LF President Washington (.264/27/63) He led the teams in homers. SS Gavin Deux-Gas (.337/19/91), 2B Puddle Norman (.341/14/39 in 48 games), RF Cypher Raige (.306/9/45 in 75 games), and CF Bill Lazarus (.302/4/42) all finished with more than a .300 average.
For pitching, the Ghouls allowed 569 runs to rank 4th, which included the 2nd-best Bullpen ERA (4.20). Ace SP Flirt Perez (13-8, 3.69) has been great. The other starters, Scott Fuhr (11-15, 4.18) and Isaiah Swindler (10-7, 4.61) were serviceable. Two players split the closer duties in Austen Austin (16 SV, 3.17) and Crisco Caristo (10 SV, 3.10), but SP Make Money (12-12, 3.98) is expected to take that role in the playoffs, though the Ghouls could probably use his low run output against the Hats.
Prediction
This is the series most even, and we are almost willing to call these two teams the best two teams in the Wildcard Round with the talent to make a deep run. In the end, we think Salem is the better team and upset they lost home-field advantage. Salem 2, The Slog 1