BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, CYL, and CBA
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
16 March 2314
CYL Preview
The The 88-team Commonwealth Youth League is set to begin its 2314 season today. Last season, the Covenant Dandy Boys topped the Braintree Schoolboys in the Commonwealth Youth Series. This season, PAM expects the Dandy Boys to again be the CYL's best team with the Hope Firestarters expected to be the top team in the South. Braintree is expected to win the South's Samuel Morse Division.
Based on PAM's predictions, this is how the 32-team field, 16 per region, would look in the first round (note: division winners are the top five seeds per region):
North Region
#1 Covenant Dandy Boys (Fuller Division winner) vs #16 South Charles Bank Moonies (Revere)
#2 Rockport Seafarers (DuBois Division winner) vs #15 Worcester Crows (Franklin)
#3 Lowell Frags (Emerson Division winner) vs #14 Reading Rhinos (DuBois)
#4 Circle Jerks (Revere Division winner) vs #13 Manchester Rocketeers (DuBois)
#5 Needham Radstorm (Franklin Division winner) vs #12 Marblehead Mess (Emerson)
#6 Beantown Sprouts (Fuller) vs #11 Boston Common Baby Bellies (Revere)
#7 Saugus Launchers (Fuller) vs #10 Woburn Diners (Emerson)
#8 Lynn Pier Gamers (Emerson) vs #9 North Charles Bank Goonies (Revere)
South Region
#1 Hope Firestarters (Adams Division winner) vs #16 Jamaica Plain Treasures (Alcott)
#2 Dennis Menaces (Attucks Division winner) vs #15 Kingstown Royals (Adams)
#3 Braintree Schoolboys (Morse Division winner) vs #14 East Providence Skulls (Adams)
#4 New Bedford Whales (Alcott Division winner) vs #13 Truro Hatchlings (Attucks)
#5 New Haven Sailors (Hancock Division winner) vs #12 GSP Venom (Alcott)
#6 Coventry Quads (Adams) vs #11 Andrew Station Southies (Alcott)
#7 Wellfleet Tarberries (Attucks) vs #10 Swansea Nuka Sox (Alcott)
#8 Plymouth Hunters (Morse) vs #9 North Providence Phantoms (Adams)
In the North Region, the Saugus Launchers' sophomore C Clam Krasnicki returns after winning the 2313 Most Valuable Player Award with a .407/22/52 line. This season, Krasnicki is not in the Top Ten prediction of top hitters. The top five are 1B Fuzz Copman (Castle Freedom), 1B Bruce Spring (Lowell Frags), 3B Merlin Hodges (Diamond City Newsboys), RF Bow Wow Vargas (Boston Common Baby Bellies), and SS Early Duvet (Worcester Crows).
The 2313 Pitcher of the Year winner in the North was SP Izzy Ratishvili (7-2, 1.03) of the Newburyport Cubs. Like Krasnicki above, Ratishvili is not in the Top Ten for PAM's predictions. The top five pitchers predicted are SP Talley O'Reilly (Rockport Seafarers), SP Oscar Anvil (Woburn Diners), SP Mike Saerocker (Lowell Frags), SP Facehand Pankhurst (Rockport Seafarers), and SP Saracen Hottel (Rockport Seafarers). Three players from one team tells us that the Seafarers are a team to watch.
The South Region's top hitter in 2313 was the Nuka Academy Colamakers' RF Darby O'Doherty (.442/27/61). Again, last season's winner is not expected to be a top competitor for the 2314 Most Valuable Player Award. The top five are 2B Headcase Stepniewski (New Haven Sailors), LF Glory Thea (Dennis Menaces), LF Grady Holster (Wareham Comets), RF Quirke Lyons (Coventry Quads), and RF Xavier Miller (Jamaica Plain Treasures).
Rounding out the 2313 winners of awards--all freshmen--SP Nutball Solc (7-2, 1.71) of the Attleboro Deejays was the Pitcher of the Year winner. Solc is the first of last season's award winners to be in the Top Ten (8th prediction). The top five are SP Gerard Michon (Hope Firestarters), SP Wing Kawolski (Old Lyme Lake Monsters), SP Wayne Bruce (Coventry Quads), SP Hunter Kitchen (Old Lyme Lake Monsters), and SP Big Dog Monaghan (Jamaica Plain Treasures).