BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
16 April 2300
News from Around the League
9 April 2300 - Greentop’s Bigfish Attacked by Ghoul
Greentop Nursery SS Moby Bigfish was slightly injured when accidentally encountering an inert ghoul. When smoking behind the Galleria visiting players’ dorms, Bigfish riled the ghoul awake. The ghoul scratched him on the face, but he was able to escape before the robotic security force dispatched of the beast. Bigfish will probably miss the first week of action while he is treated against infection.
16 April 2300 - That's All She Wrote: Career Over for Beerholder
This is not how Danny Beerholder wanted his career to end -- with an injury. He wanted to go out on his terms. Instead, a torn labrum has forced him to retire from baseball. The Sunshine Tidings starting pitcher plans to meet with the media later this afternoon. In the meantime, he released a brief statement, in which he acknowledged the support of "the organization, the training staff, my teammates, and all the fans."
Beerholder was originally drafted by the Starlight Lady Killers in the 13th round of the 2296 Inaugural Draft. He was part of the “Tony Bertha Trade” that sent him along with Bertha to Sunshine Tidings one month after the draft. With the Chemists, he worked his way up from a part-time pitcher in 2296 to a regular reliever in 2297 to a starter in 2298, winning 14 games (14-6). Beerholder came back to earth a little more in 2299, going 6-8, along with earning his only career save in his one relief appearance. This season, he was 0-1 in three starts, but sported a 3.18 ERA before his injury.
At 26, Beerholder could work his way back into baseball, but he seemed to indicate he was ready to move onto something else. His statement was simply, “I’m done pitching.”
Scores
Mon 9 April
Con 2 at Slog 7 / ST 2 at Sal 4 / FtH 7 at ET 12 / Lex 8 at FF 4 / Abe 3 at NB 11 / Star 8 at CC 4
V81 5 at War 2 / DC 4 at JP 5 / Egr 3 at UP 14 / Obe 3 at Qui 11 / Rox 0 at Good 6 / FHE 11 at Atom 1
Performance of the Day: Jim Tiller, Fort Hagen, 4/4, 2B, HR, BB, 2 R, 3 RBI
Wed 11 April
Con 2 at ET 4 / ST 2 at NB 4, 11 inn / Lex 8 at CC 7 / FtH 4 at Sal 5 / Abe 5 at FF 4 / Star 1 at Slog 7
V81 9 at UP 4 / DC 5 at War 2 / Egr 13 at Qui 15 / Obe 7 at Atom 8 / Rox 5 at JP 2 / FHE 6 at Good 4
Performance of the Day: Knud Bather, Vault 81, ¾, 2B, 2 HR, BB, 4 R, 4 RBI
Thu 12 April
Star 5 at Slog 10 / Abe 5 at FF 2 / FtH 5 at Sal 6 / Lex 4 at CC 3 / ST 5 at NB 4 / Con 3 at ET 8
Rox 8 at JP 5 / Obe 8 at Atom 3 / Egr 5 at Qui 3 / DC 12 at War 1 / V81 2 at UP 5 / FHE 2 at Good 5
Performance of the Day: Hope Scrapper, Starlight, 4/4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
Sat 14 April
Con 6 at Sal 5 / ST 1 at ET 3 / FtH 6 at FF 1 / Lex 2 at Slog 1, 13 inn / Abe 2 at CC 7 / Star 5 at NB 1
V81 6 ar Qui 4 / DC 3 at UP 2 / Egr 1 at JP 8 / Obe 5 at Good 9 / Rox 0 at Atom 5 / FHE 8 at War 7
Performance of the Day: Jason Juras, Goodneighbor, 2/3, 2 HR, BB, 3 R, 3 RBI
Sun 15 April
Con 2 at Sal 0 / ST 4 at ET 2 / FtH 2 at FF 3 / Lex 1 at Slog 5 / Abe 2 at CC 1 / Star 2 at NB 6
V81 2 at Qui 3 / DC 3 at UP 2 / Egr 4 at JP 5 / Obe 6 at Good 10 / Rox 2 at Atom 7 / FHE 2 at War 1
Performance of the Day: Phil Cecil, Concord, 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 6 K, W
Players of the Week
NCA's #1 Player Named: His hard work and hustle paid off this week. The hard-working and hard-playing Shawn Cherry was rewarded with the North Charles Association Player of the Week honors.
The scrappy The Slog Ghouls catcher hit .500 while collecting 9 hits in 18 at-bats, 2 home runs and 10 RBIs.
SCA Player of the Week Named: Will Ashfire has the tools to stick in this league for many years. The 22-year-old first baseman of the Atom Cats had a hot bat in the South Charles Association over the past seven days and won the Player of the Week honors.
Ashfire batted .474 with 9 hits in 19 at-bats, 4 home runs and 8 RBIs.
Transactions
Monday, April 16th, 2300
Sunshine Tidings Chemists: Released SP Danny Beerholder.(Career-ending injury)
Sunday, April 15th, 2300
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Dan Kuehn.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Danny Callan.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed 3B John McLaughlin.
Oberland T-51s: Signed SP Rapid Roberts.
The County Crossing Bloodbugs traded 22-year-old minor league right fielder Jim White to the Sunshine Tidings Chemists, getting 23-year-old minor league reliever Dusty Lynne in return.
Saturday, April 14th, 2300
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Nate Czajka.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Tony Salas.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed 3B Nick Tarberry.
Friday, April 13th, 2300
Finch Farm Four Leafs: Placed 3B Peter Tatoeater on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 04/11/2300.
Thursday, April 12th, 2300
University Point Deathclaws: Placed SP Bobby Lidtke on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 04/11/2300.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Activated SS Travis Phillips from the injured list.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Activated 3B Deerlord Fugivmee from the injured list.
Quincy Gunners: Signed SP Mike Pitchfork.
Quincy Gunners: Signed SP Mike Knowles.
Wednesday, April 11th, 2300
Fort Hagen Silver Shroud: Placed RP Matt Demented on the 60-day injured list.
Tuesday, April 10th, 2300
Roxbury Rad Sox: Placed SP Scaredy Cat Talbott on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 04/09/2300.
Starlight Lady Killers: Placed 2B Ray McMillen on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 04/06/2300.
Salem Witch Hats: Signed SS Slim Chembaker.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Ross Flamenco.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed RP Josh Reliford.
Standings
Team Power Rankings
Weekly Team Power Rankings: Here are the current team power rankings for Commonwealth Baseball Organization:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Lexington Synths (149.0, o)
2) Goodneighbor Hancocks (133.0, ++)
3) FHE Yao Guai (132.0, ++)
4) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (131.0, -)
5) The Slog Ghouls (131.0, ++)
6) Diamond City Swatters (114.0, ++)
7) Quincy Gunners (111.0, ++)
8) Easy Town Assaultrons (109.0, ++)
9) Starlight Lady Killers (109.0, --)
10) Vault 81 Dwellers (109.0, o)
11) Salem Witch Hats (108.0, --)
12) University Point Deathclaws (108.0, --)
13) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (92.0, +)
14) Egret Ninjas (88.0, --)
15) Atom Cats (72.0, ++)
16) Concord Radstags (72.0, --)
17) Abernathy Adamantium (71.0, ++)
18) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (71.0, o)
19) Oberland T-51s (68.0, --)
20) County Crossing Bloodbugs (49.0, -)
21) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (49.0, --)
22) Roxbury Rad Sox (48.0, +)
23) Finch Farm Four Leafs (31.0, -)
24) Warwick Mirelurks (2.0, -)
Analysis
The Lexington Synths remain at the top of the Power Rankings after a second-straight 4-1 week, placing them in sole possession of the CBO’s top record. Goodneighbor did what they do best, winning, going 4-1 on the week to move into the #2 spot. The Hancocks split a home series with the FHE Yao Guai (#3), the team we will feature below in “Team Focus.” The Yao Guai also went 4-1 with the week with the split and wins at Atom (#15) and two at Warwick (#24) in a road week.
The Brotherhood League’s Nordhagen Beach and The Slog take up the next two spots in the Weekly Rankings. After completing the sweep of Abernathy (#17), the Party Boys split home series with Sunshine Tidings (#18) and Starlight (#9). The Ghouls had a 4-1 week with their only loss a 13-innings battle against the #1 team.
The most surprising two teams struggling in the first two weeks are at the bottom of the Institute League currently. Fort Hagen (#21) is the most surprising with an apparent Sole Survivor Series hangover. The Silver Shroud went 1-4 after Easy Town (#8) completed the sweep, got swept at Salem (#11), and spilt a series with Finch Farm (#23). Things don’t get easier for the Shroud, either, before league play as they face off with their rivals, the Party Boys, in the midweek games. Abernathy improved their lot slightly, going 3-2 on the week, with losses at Nordhagen Beach, sweeping the Four Leafs, and then splitting the weekend series at County Crossing.
Looking at individual players’ statistics, there are a few players starting out nicely. At the plate, The Slog’s Boots Yellowhair (.529/2/10) is looking like an early MVP candidate. The Yao Guai’s Joe Rathmann (.424/5/12), featured below, has also looked to be an early SCA Nuka-Hitter Award candidate. Diamond City’s Oren Gep (.429/5/12), Vault 81’s Aesed Hayjen (.500/3/12), and Quincy’s Steve Gunkill (.512/2/8) are all touching all bases through their at-bats. Ashfire of Atom (.400/7/16), the SCA Player of the Week, has taken over the CBO lead in both homers and RBI.
On the mound, FHE’s Peak Sizeman (2-0, 0.89), featured below, is looking to be a beast in his first three starts. Lexington’s Greg Mardis (1-0, 0.92) has also had a stellar start to the 2300 campaign.
Goodneighbor’s Quincy Eloquent (3-0, 2.16) is hitting on all cylinders early, though obviously not as dominant as Sizeman and Mardis. The Synths’ Tristan Marble (3-0, 3.10), Starlight’s City Moore (3-0, 2.63), and Vault 81’s Josh Mustang (3-0, 5.76) are all 3 for 3 in their starts. FHE’s Jonathan Drumlin is the early-season saves leader (6 for 6 attempts) despite having a 6.00 ERA. He has actually brought down the team ERA with four earned runs allowed in 6.0 innings. Salem’s Dan Beantown (0.00, 4 SV) has been the most dominant of the closers in the early season.
Team Focus: FHE Yao Guai
At 7-3, you could say that the FHE Yao Guai are an early surprise in the CBO. Sure, the season is not quite 10% of the way through, but the Yao Guai are currently a game ahead in the Railroad League over Vault 81 and the defending CBO champions, the Diamond City Swatters.
The biggest impact of FHE’s success has been their outstanding starting pitching, especially Peak Sizeman. In three starts, Sizeman is 2-0 witth a 0.89 ERA in 20.1 innings pitched. He has allowed two earned runs on 13 hits with 12 walks and 15 strikeouts. Sizeman is the main reason for the SCA-best 2.94 (only second-best to Nordhagen Beach at 2.93) Starters ERA. Bow Rome continues to be one of the CBO’s best pitchers with the worst run support. In 2300, he is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three starts, allowing seven earned runs in 20.0 innings.
The offense needs to get better before this team is truly considered a contender. Joe Rathmann seems to be holding his part, batting .424/5/12 to make the offense go round. After Rathmann? Well, Tyler Shoemaker (.333/0/3) and Noah Arch (.324/2/9) are the only two players helping the offense 9th in SCA in runs (48) and 10th in batting average (.249). Po Greenzone (.103/0/2) and Nick Waterpipe (.171/0/3) have been a detriment to the offense, so the Yao Guai need them to break out of their early-season slumps to make this team dangerous.