BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
2 July 2317
The July 2 Super Post, Part 1
Easy Town, Glowing Sea on Championship Path
The top teams in each of the North Charles and South Charles associations seem to be on a championship path. Glowing Sea continues to possess the CBO's top record as we enter July. Easy Town is now a game up on Lexington for the NCA's top record and the CBO's second-best record. Things are aligning for each team. Here are the current team power rankings for Commonwealth Baseball Organization:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Glowing Sea Radscorpions (114.1, o)
2) The Slog Ghouls (112.9, ++)
3) Easy Town Assaultrons (110.6, +)
4) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (106.0, ++)
5) Diamond City Swatters (105.9, ++)
6) FHE Yao Guai (105.5, ++)
7) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (104.9, o)
8) Lexington Synths (103.2, --)
9) Malden Grognaks (103.0, +)
10) Vault 81 Dwellers (102.7, ++)
11) Starlight Killers (98.0, -)
12) Nahant Celtics (95.5, --)
13) Spectacle Island Reapers (95.0, ++)
14) Quincy Granites (94.5, --)
15) Atom Cats (93.7, --)
16) Oberland T-51s (90.7, --)
17) Southie Brews (90.3, ++)
18) Egret Ninjas (86.7, --)
19) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (86.0, +)
20) Concord Radstags (85.3, -)
21) Goodneighbor Hancocks (84.5, +)
22) University Point Deathclaws (82.3, --)
23) Cambridge Coursers (70.8, ++)
24) Roxbury Rad Sox (67.4, +)
25) Salem Witch Hats (65.2, -)
26) County Crossing Bloodbugs (63.2, o)
27) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (55.8, --)
28) Bunker Hill 75ers (46.2, o)
Current NCA Playoff Standings
1. Easy Town
2. Lexington
3. The Slog
4. Nahant
5. Starlight (5-3 vs Fort Hagen and 1-1 vs Malden)
6. Fort Hagen (leads Malden 2-0)
Current SCA Playoff Standings
1. Glowing Sea
2. Jamaica Plain
3. Diamond City
4. Quincy (leads FHE 2-0)
5. FHE
6. Vault 81 (4-1 vs Oberland, 1-1 vs Atom)
Brotherhood League
Give the Assaultrons credit for their current success, but this league is far from over. The Slog trails by two games thanks to a seven-game winning streak. Nahant has gone 4-6 in their last 10 to drop to 3rd, three games back, and Malden is four games back. On the bottom side of the BL, Nordhagen Beach, County Crossing, and Salem all have no realistic path to the playoffs.
For the Grognaks, a bid for a third-straight playoff appearance will mean winning at a higher clip. At 41-35, they are in the race but would be out of the playoffs if they started today. The Grognaks are in good shape as a well-rounded team, currently 5th in runs scored (391) and 2nd in runs allowed (328). There are lots of contributors on offense, but the big two have been 3B Jacob Tarberry (.353/17/59) and CF Floren Habern (.336/16/43). Ace SP Hrye Caje (10-5, 2.76) has been great.
Institute League
Lexington continues to lead, but Fort Hagen has suddenly made a move, going a CBO-best 8-2 in their last 10. The Silver Shroud are now tied with Starlight for 2nd place. Those three teams are the only IL teams over .500. Concord and Sunshine Tidings are still alive but need to win at a high clip the rest of the way. Cambridge and Bunker Hill can start selling. The 75ers at 25-51 possess the CBO's worst record.
The Shroud are no strangers to success but they have not found that success recently with no playoff appearances in 2315 and 2316. This season, the Shroud are looking as though they are improving and will probably be in the playoffs, assuming they stay healthy enough. Fort Hagen is 7th in runs scored (382) and 10th in runs allowed (402), so they will need to be better overall. Still, with those stats, the close games are mostly going their way (13-6 in one-run games, the best winning percentage in the CBO in one-run games). 1B Huck McFarland (.345/7/38) has been a decent all-around hitter. LF Riot Darton leads the team with 17 home runs. Wily veteran Nuke Laloosh (8-6, 3.34) is the top pitcher.
Minutemen League
With 8.5 games separating 1st from 7th, the ML is by far the CBO's most interesting league. The Rockets have the lead by a game over the defending champs, Quincy. Atom is three back, Southie is 4.5 behind, and Spectacle Island is at .500, five back. Both University Point and Goodneighbor are below .500 but still very much in the playoff race.
Southie is seeking its first playoff appearance in its eighth season. The Brews may have their best team, but they also may be overachieving. Still, the Brews are contenders, including a balance of 5th in runs scored (380) and 6th in runs allowed (361). On offense, few have stood out, but 3B Mikita Sato (.323/10/38) may be the best. Ace SP Buzzcut McDonald (11-3, 3.27) is the best pitcher, and CL Twinkle Toes Bremner (22 SV, 2.48) has been effective from the bullpen.
Railroad League
Glowing Sea has the largest league lead, six games up on 2nd place Diamond City. A stack of teams are all above .500 and in the thick of the wildcard race: FHE, Vault 81, and Oberland. The Dwellers and T-51s are tied with the Cats for the 6th seed in the SCA. Vault 81 holds the tiebreaker advantage. Egret is just under .500, while Roxbury may be out of the race, nine back of the last seed.
The Rad Sox are talented, especially on offense with stars 1B Honker Trinkl (.315/17/61) and 2B Odd Todd Walker (.330/9/35/20 SB). But the pitching is bad. Really bad. The Sox are 14th in runs allowed (437). Saint O'Fender (5-5, 4.64) is the "ace" but is rated 24th among aces in the league. There is hope that Crawdad McCarthy, the 2316 5th-overall pick out of Vim! College, is ready sooner than later. McCarthy has pitched in the BMU (A), MML (AA), and NEBL (AAA) so far this season. Currently with the Sandwich Bay Snakes of the NEBL, McCarthy is 0-2 with a 3.74 ERA in four starts. Roxbury will probably need to take another top pitcher in this season's draft.
CBO Standings
CBO Players of the Week
June 25 - A battle-tested Babs Rooth declared war on opposing pitchers last week, attacking the ball like the well-schooled veteran he is. Today the 38-year-old County Crossing first baseman collected the North Charles Association Player of the Week Award.
He wrapped up the week with a .500 average, 11 hits in 22 at-bats, 3 home runs, 12 RBIs and 7 runs scored.
Rooth is currently batting .278 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs.
When it came to hitting the baseball, Honker Trinkl was in a class by himself in the South Charles Association this past week. Nobody did it better.
The outstanding first baseman for Roxbury tagged opposing pitchers for a .500 average and was voted the Player of the Week Award. Included in his stats were 13 hits in 26 at-bats, 5 homers, 8 runs scored and 12 RBIs.
In 67 games this season, Trinkl has batted at a .320 pace with 83 hits and 16 home runs.
July 2 - This week's best performer in the North Charles Association was shortstop Gavin Deux-Gas of the The Slog Ghouls.
He slashed out a .417 average and was voted the Player of the Week. Over the last week Deux-Gas stroked 10 hits in 24 at-bats and 2 home runs, drove in 7 runs and scored 6 times.
So far this season, Deux-Gas has gotten 110 hits in 289 at-bats for a .381 batting average with 20 home runs. His stats include 46 RBIs and 72 runs scored. He has played in 70 games.
There was no one hotter in the South Charles Association last week as Brandon Larsonist attacked enemy pitching with a vengeance to collect the Player of the Week Award.
The 23-year-old Jamaica Plain second baseman batted .471 with 8 hits in 17 at-bats, 3 home runs and 9 RBIs.
Larsonist is currently batting .310 with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs and 63 runs scored. He has 84 hits in 271 at-bats.
CBO Noteworthy News
June 21 - It's all done except the paperwork. The Oberland T-51s and the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys have agreed to a trade that will send 21-year old minor league 3B Peter LaCock to Nordhagen Beach, while 32-year old LHP Yank Daley will be shipped to Oberland. A top front office executive with the T-51s described the trade talks as "quick and easy." "We're glad to get this deal done. We think it's something that helps our ball club and it didn't take too long at all to sort this one out," he said.
This year, Daley has earned no saves, worked 32.2 innings, fanned 25 hitters and recorded a 5.23 ERA. He has also put up a 2-2 won-lost mark.
June 21 - With the mid-season mark upon us, now is a great time to update the pre-season BNN Top 100 Prospect list with what we have learned to this point. This year, 20 year-old LHP Paul Bird of the Spectacle Island Reapers is the #1 prospect overall.
Here is the top 10:
1) LHP Paul Bird, 20, Spectacle Island Reapers
2) RHP Lane Phrasemaker, 21, FHE Yao Guai
3) CF Ditcher Doyle Cobbler, 20, Southie Brews
4) 3B Dodge Squallbender, 20, Quincy Granites
5) RF Wind Dale Davis, 20, Goodneighbor Hancocks
6) C Austin Sapia, 18, Sunshine Tidings Chemists
7) LHP Crawdad McCarthy, 20, Roxbury Rad Sox
8) 2B Chad Kahan, 20, FHE Yao Guai
9) 3B Malik Goodneighbor, 18, Spectacle Island Reapers
10) RF Dante Joyce, 19, Goodneighbor Hancocks
June 22 - Reports have surfaced that Cambridge has agreed to send 26-year old 2B Togie Pitt to the Diamond City Swatters in exchange for 21-year old minor league RHP Bunter Mayberry and 21-year old minor league RHP B.J. Westing. "It's a done deal," said one executive speaking on the condition of anonymity. "I'm surprised word got around so quickly. We just signed off on this an hour ago." The deal apparently is awaiting physicals before an official announcement is made by either team.
During the current season Pitt is batting at a .278 clip with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs. He has played in 59 games and scored 28 times.
June 24 - It likely won't turn either team into an instant contender or provide a huge franchise shakeup, but the Goodneighbor Hancocks and County Crossing Bloodbugs finalized a trade today. Goodneighbor will send 24-year old minor league SS Seaside Jones to the Bloodbugs, while the Hancocks will receive 26-year old CF Thrifty Iraheta.
"We think this is a deal that will help out both teams and we're glad to get it done," Hancocks general manager Rick Herbst said.
The trade is expected to be officially completed later today with the players joining their new ballclubs by the end of the day.
This season, Iraheta has hit at a .297 clip with 16 RBIs, 1 home runs and 40 runs scored. He has played in 49 games.
June 25 - Proving the old adage that one man's trash is another man's treasure, the Killers announced today the acquisition of 23-year old 1B Jimmy-James Sessoms from the Cambridge Coursers in exchange for 24-year old 1B Frigate Magdaleno. "This isn't the deal of the century," acknowledged the Killers, "but we think it will improve the direction of both teams."
For the season, Magdaleno has hit .190 with no home runs and 2 RBIs. He has played in 36 games and scored 3 times.
In 58 games this season, Sessoms has compiled a .255 batting average with 48 hits and 5 home runs. He has also scored 23 times and knocked in 25 runs.
June 26 - In a hastily called press conference, Bunker Hill announced today a trade with Southie that will send 30-year old SS Aaron Squire to the Brews in exchange for 24-year old RHP Junior Griff, 23-year old minor league RHP Seymour Kimahri, and 21-year old minor league 1B Mystic Moore. All players are expected to be in their respective new cities in time for today's games.
Currently Squire has 2 home runs and a .272 batting average.
July 2 - The Silver Shroud and Chemists announced a deal that was completed today. Fort Hagen sent 18-year old minor league C Tipper Lesueur and 22-year old minor league LF Lyky Poniros to Sunshine Tidings for 25-year old RF Blaine Stabb. Both teams appear happy with the outcome of the trade. The general managers told the Baseball News Network they felt the swap was beneficial for all parties involved.
So far this year, Stabb has hit .205 with 1 home run, 5 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
CBO Top Performances in June
Hitters - It was early in June, but Malden's Jacob Tarberry took Jamaica Plain for a ride on June 2. Tarberry went 4 for 4 with two doubles, two home runs, a walk, four runs, and five RBI in a 14-5 blowout of the Red Rockets. Tarberry's 110 game score ranks as the second-highest of the season.
Pitchers - We have a tie for the best pitching performance in June, with Lexington's Aaron Noluh and Spectacle Island's Aqua Purified each earning an 88 game score, one point behind season leader, Hot Lips Houlihan.
On June 23, Noluh threw a complete-game three-hitter in the Synths' 9-0 win over Cambridge. Noluh walked one batter abd struck out eight Coursers for the victory, pushing his record to 7-4 on the season.
Four days later, Purified also had a dominating performance in the Reapers' 5-0 triumph over University Point. Purified allowed just two hits in his complete game victory, walking two and striking out seven in the process.
CBO Players of the Month
NCA Hitter - Babs Rooth may be getting older, but he's evidently not slowing down. He may also want to change his mind about retiring.
The County Crossing Bloodbugs first baseman is the North Charles Association Batter of the Month for June after posting a stellar campaign.
Rooth batted .382, hit 11 home runs, drove in 35 runs, scored 19 times and compiled a .510 on-base percentage.
Thus far this year, Rooth has hit .281 with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs.
SCA Hitter - Tre' Morgueman battered South Charles Association pitchers all June and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award.
"I've been around Commonwealth Baseball Organization long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 28-year-old Morgueman told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I might not take the field, and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."
In 26 games, Morgueman hit .392 with 8 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 25 runs.
Morgueman is hitting at a .346 mark this season. His stats show 19 home runs, 61 RBIs and 58 runs scored. He has played 72 games for the Red Rockets.
NCA Pitcher - Deedee Martinson was on top of the world in June, capping it off with the North Charles Association Pitcher of the Month honors.
The Lexington starter was superb in 6 starts with 5 wins and no losses, 44.2 innings pitched, 38 strikeouts and a fine 1.81 ERA.
This year, Martinson has compiled a 9-6 record with a 2.82 ERA in 19 starts.
SCA Pitcher - Cutter Redman is the latest South Charles Association Pitcher of the Month award winner. The Glowing Sea starter shone on the hill repeatedly last month and finished June with a sparkling 5-1 record.
In 7 starts he tossed 44.1 innings, posted 35 strikeouts, and put up a 1.62 ERA.
This year, Redman has compiled a 10-5 record with a 3.04 ERA.
NCA Rookie - County Crossing's Puny Muljana collected 33 hits to snare the North Charles Association Rookie of the Month for June.
He batted .359 with 3 home runs, 17 RBIs and 23 runs scored.
The 21-year-old is barely old enough to shave, but he could definitely contend for Rookie of the Year if he keeps up this pace.
At the moment, Muljana is hitting .325 with 4 home runs and 29 RBIs. He has played in 42 games and scored 33 times.
SCA Rookie - Mike Searocker was in a zone all last month and zeroed in on the South Charles Association Rookie of the Month crown.
In June the Egret pitcher had a 4-1 record and breezed through opposing lineups, holding them to a .270 batting average. He started 6 games, threw 39 innings with 29 strikeouts and 10 walks. He also fashioned a fine 2.08 ERA.
In 19 starts this season, Searocker has gathered 8 wins while suffering 5 losses. He has pitched 117.1 innings, allowed 129 hits, struck out 82 and has a 3.68 ERA.