BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
8 September 2313
CBO Playoffs 2313
SCA Semifinal Round: #3 FHE Yao Guai (78-52) vs #2 Atom Cats (79-51)
Season Series: FHE 2, Atom 2
June 17-18 @FHE: FHE 5-4, Atom 6-5
August 13-14 @Atom: Atom 8-2, FHE 11-5
Analysis
From 2301-2305, the Atom Cats were players in the CBO playoffs, including 2301 when they advanced to the Sole Survivor Series as the #3 seed before falling to Nordhagen Beach. Still, in all those seasons, the Cats were unable to win the Minutemen League. Until this year. Atom has won its first Minutemen League crown and now enters the playoffs as the highest seed (2) that it has ever been.
The Cats' reward is to play against one of the CBO's top teams in FHE. During the season, the two teams split the series, 2-2. There was little knowledge to gain and use in that four-game series, but seeing how the teams matched up could reveal this to be the CBO's best Semifinal Round series. This season also marks only the second time that FHE and Atom are in the playoffs at the same time with the first being 2303. This will be their first playoff meeting.
Atom has not hit the cover off the ball in 2313, though their offense was decent. The Cats finished 6th in runs scored (686) with their best categories being OPS (.806) and wOBA (.349), both 3rd in the SCA. 3B Shane Stabb (.345/17/71) had a great year with the help from three other .300 hitters in RF Candy Kline (.339/13/53/17 SB), LF Gremlin T. Squearfish (.320/14/69), and SS Patrick Funday-Monday (.345/3/12). 2B Lee Mayhew (.277/22/65) led the team in homers.
On the mound, the Cats were much better, finishing 2nd in runs allowed (568), including holding the top Starters ERA (3.80). Starters Doug Creep (21-8, 3.07) and Josh Brown (9-9, 3.05) held opposing hitters down. Creep's 21 wins led the CBO and fell just one short of tying the CBO record of 22 wins. The bullpen was not bad either, with CL Lacky Luster (26 SV, 1.80) being in serious discussion for the Fallon's Reliever Award.
Prediction
We already mentioned that we feel these two teams are evenly matched, so we are predicting this one to go the distance of five games. We feel that Atom slightly overperformed this season and is at best the third-best SCA team, so we think this series will go to the Yao Guai. FHE 3, Atom 2
SCA Semifinal Round: #5 Diamond City Swatters (66-64) vs #1 Vault 81 Dwellers (89-41)
Season Series: Vault 81 6, Diamond City 4
May 16-18 @DC: DC 6-5, V81 4-2, V81 5-4
June 30-July 1 @V81: DC 5-4 (10), V81 18-4
August 22-24 @V81: V81 7-2, V81 6-1, V81 12-6
August 28-29 @DC: DC 8-5, DC 8-4
Analysis
The first and only time the Diamond City Swatters and Vault 81 Dwellers met in the playoffs, it came in the 2300 season when the #3 Swatters were trying to defend their championship over the #1 Dwellers. In the end, Diamond City took the series, 4-3, and went on to defeat Fort Hagen for the second-straight time in the Sole Survivor Series.
This season, that matchup should look much different with the Dwellers sporting the CBO's top record, 23 games better than Diamond City. In the season series, Vault 81 had the slight edge, but we are expecting something different as the Dwellers are looking to defend their SCA crown.
Vault 81 is certainly statistically the team to beat. On offense, the Dwellers were tops in every statistic but stolen bases (8th at 92). They led in runs (817) and home runs (213). Those 817 runs scored beats University Point's 2310 team record of 789. No player in the eight-man lineup hit fewer than 17 home runs, showing that the entire lineup is stacked against opposing pitchers. The top three were CF Stu Gains (.262/26/87), 3B Harry Byrd (.327/24/96), and 2B Chris Connexx (.289/23/65). 1B Jonesie Kanz (.331/17/67) was the top hitter on the team for batting average, though he had too few at bats to qualify as the team leader.
On the mound, the Dwellers were also 1st in runs allowed (563), including 2nd in Starters ERA (4.01). The three playoff starters all have ERAs below 4.00: Exxie Summerset (18-6, 3.61), Scruffy Taguchi (17-8, 3.95), and Ryan Downing (11-4, 3.89). In the bullpen, there are two players with at least 10 saves: A.K. Koblinsky (23 SV, 3.46) and Dynamite Delaney (10 SV, 3.73).
Prediction
This will not be close. Vault 81 is great. Diamond City is riding a late-season surge and a first-time playoff team matchup to get this far. The radbuck stops here. Vault 81 3, Diamond City 0