[StLee]

Analysis

We promised we would break down the Institute and Minutemen Leagues more this week, so let us get to it!

Last week, when starting this column, we would have put our primary focus on the domination that was Fort Hagen. However, after a bad week, the Silver Shroud find themselves suddenly two games back of the hotter Abernathy Adamantium.

The problem for the Shroud is hard to pinpoint, but they are currently on a bad run in their last nine games, going 2-7 during that stretch, with only one win so far in May. That also means that they have dropped their last two division series and stand with The Slog and Starlight, who have each lost five straight, as the coldest teams in the North Charles Association.

Other than the last two losses to Lexington where they scored six and seven runs, the offense has been held to two or fewer runs in most of their recent losses. Before, the Shroud were challenging for the best run production in the CBO, but now they have dropped to third in run production in the NCA. That would still be OK if they were not in the bottom half in the association in runs allowed. In short, Fort Hagen needs to find their bats again since most of the lineup is currently on a cold streak. That excludes, of course, the two best: Safety Langer (.446/5/23) and Jim Tiller (.442/7/26). Those guys are in talks of being MVP candidates, but the other six guys need to continue hitting at a solid clip for those two bats to matter.

Abernathy is now the team to beat in the CBO, moving themselves up to 4th in the Power Rankings, only behind behemoths Oberland, Gooidneighbor, and Nordhagen Beach. The Adamantium have mostly relied on good pitching and have seen their run production step up recently. Right now, the Adamantium are tied for 4th in run production (137) and 3rd in runs allowed (113) in the NCA, giving them an upper half advantage in each category.

Leading the Abernathy charge is Brad Westing. Westing, who was the 15th overall selection in the 2296 Inaugural Draft by the Shaw HS (now Roxbury) Knuckle Punchers, just could not get his game together in his first two years, including going a CBO worst 2-15 in 2296. After a trade to Abernathy, though, he has seen his wins and runs allowed improve. Currently, he is 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA, solidly putting him in the Pitcher of the Year mix at this point in the season.

Offensively, Donny Kowalski has been impressive, hitting .320 with 9 home runs and 21 RBI. Austin Engill (.278/4/16) has not been as good as he has been, but he is still considered the best hitting-defending quality shortstop in the CBO.

In the Minutemen League, Goodneighbor has now overtaken the hottest team in the CBO crown. The Hancocks are on a seven-game streak thanks in part to the easiest string of opponents in the last week: Jamaica Plain (10-15), Roxbury (7-18), and Atom (8-17). Still, a win is a win regardless of opponent, and the Hancocks are getting wins in bunches to push themselves up to #2 in the Power Rankings. They are now 1st in the CBO in runs (177) and are second in runs allowed (108) in the South Charles Association behind just Oberland (77).

The Hancocks do it all right now, leading some to think they can challenge the T-51s for the SCA dominance. Pitching-wise, Bruce Iddings (6-0, 3.26), Quincy Eloquent (4-2, 3.91), and Bill Little (5-0, 4.09) are all dominant with just John Oldsink (2-3, 5.74) struggling. With the swatters, 7 of 8 batters are batting over .300, with Zachary Utsinger leading the way at .408. John Rose (.385/5/24) is not showing a lot of power for the Hancocks, but he helps create runs. In fact, Rose leads the team in home runs, but Goodneighbor ranks tied for 10th in the SCA with 22. Bryan Assman (.358/4/24) is also productive in the three hole.

The rest of the ML is not as competitive as it was at the top last season, but Quincy and University Point are currently in a battle for the wildcard slot with Warwick recently falling off. The Gunners got a series win over the Red Rockets, while the Deathclaws dropped their series to the Mirelurks. Overall, Quincy probably has the advantage. Currently they are 2nd in runs scored (160) and 5th in runs allowed (134). The Claws, on the other hand, are not as successful in run production (6th with 136) but slightly better in pitching (113 runs allowed for 3rd in the SCA).

This week, we'll be watching a few key matchups. Nordhagen Beach has a gamut of games against struggling teams, but will need to bounce back from their series loss to Finch Farm. The Party Boys have Starlight, the Four Leafs, Sunshine Tidings, and The Slog in their next four series. Wins in most of those games should keep the Boys in good shape in the Brotherhood League. Easy Town already has a tough chance to break their three-game losing streak when they visit Fort Hagen for the midweek series and then host Abernathy next week. They will host The Slog over the weekend and then County Crossing the following weekend, so they may be able to keep pace with Nordhagen Beach in the league.