BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO, BMU, and GBRL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
20 September 2304
CBO Playoff Play-In Series Preview
NCA Playoffs - #5 Easy Town Assaultrons (66-54) vs #4 Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (67-53)
Season Series
Fort Hagen 5, Easy Town 3
April 30-May 1 @ET: ET 5-1, FtH 5-2
June 21-22 @ FtH: ET 6-0, FtH 10-4
August 16-17 @FtH: FtH 3-2, ET 8-7
September 6-7 @ET: FtH 7-5, FtH 7-6
Analysis
Fort Hagen returns to the playoffs for the eight-straight season and as the North Charles Association's defending champions after reaching the Sole Survivor Series as the 4th seed a season ago. Easy Town makes just their third trip to the playoffs, but did see their first season taking them all the way to the Sole Survivor Series in 2298. Together, these two teams have made four trips to the Sole Survivor Series without a championship.
The Silver Shroud finished 5th in the NCA in runs scored (5th) despite having the 2nd-best team batting average (.282). They are powered by three heavy-hitting outfielders in Andrew Nuka (.297/31/100), Ben Pawlak (.373/26/96), and Ginger Rogers (.215/24/58). 3B Tutton Gatekeeper (.273/18/74) also lent a hand in producing runs. The big loss for the Shroud is midseason acquisition, SS Wally Warwick (.304/7/42), who will be out for this series and probably the next round, too, with a shoulder injury.
Fort Hagen's pitching staff is much better in keeping the team in games, ranking 3rd in runs against (488), 3rd in Starters ERA (3.98), and 2nd in Bullpen ERA (3.43). The starters are led by dominating pitcher Derek Green (18-4, 2.61) who led the CBO in quality starts (27), innings pitched (231.1), and strikeouts (223). Their one Achilles heel has been their closer, Kevin Marsh (20 SV, 4.43), who had six blown saves and finished with 11 losses on the season to tie SP/RP Jim Livermore (9-11, 3 SV, 5.16). SP X10-44 Mannson (10-11, 4.09) has been 3-4 with a 4.78 ERA since joining the Shroud after they gave up on often-injured SP Mike Cartrette and shipped him to Atom. In the bullpen, players who can help keep runs down are John Walden (3-1, 2.63), Mike Pond (8-4, 3.10), Chris Glass House (6-2, 3.09), and former closer Matt Demented (14 SV, 2.81).
For the Assaultrons, they finished second in runs scored (642) on offense. While we'll feature him in the next paragraph, too, the team revolves by the best overall player in the CBO, 1B/SP Lannie Tykeson (.348/32/101). Other top contributors in both hitting and power include 3B Dog Prairie (.264/37/94), LF Sean Samuels (.299/26/76), and C Tyler Shoemaker (.317/16/65). Other key contributors in the talented lineup include RF Dan Squirrel (.271/13/57) and CG Jig McGhee (.332/4/49).
The Easy Town pitching staff finished 5th in runs against (537), Starters ERA (4.49), and Bullpen ERA (4.17). Again, everything revolves around the ace Tykeson (16-7, 3.33). SP Angel Waterdrink (3-2, 4.02) missed four months of the season but he is now healthy and able to contribute while Good Company Schiller (7-10, 4.66) can get the occasional good start but cannot be counted on in playoff ball. Mike Dawson (10-5, 4.26) moves to the bullpen for the playoffs to pitch along with Thomas Seefar (19 SV, 2.85), Aaron Geneva (6 SV, 4.19), and Jame Functionary (7-5, 3.42).
Prediction
Easy Town may be playing for championships in coming years, but it is hard to bet against a team as successful as the Silver Shroud over the years. We'll pick the Shroud to take it, 2 games to 0.
SCA Playoffs - #5 Atom Cats (66-54) vs #4 Diamond City Swatters (69-51)
Season Series
Diamond City 5, Atom 3
April 21-22 @DC: DC 3-0, Atom 7-2
June 21-22 @Atom: Atom 15-14, DC 1-0
July 12-13 @DC: DC 6-1, DC 5-4
August 30-31 @Atom: DC 6-5, Atom 6-2
Analysis
Like Fort Hagen mentioned above, Diamond City is a team always here. While they are aging and have been surpassed for Railroad League dominance by Roxbury, the Swatters are still a team that can win any series at any time. Atom has not been as successful, but the Cats are making their fourth-straight postseason appearance despite never winning the Minutemen League.
The Swatters completed the season as the SCA's 5th-best scoring team (585) with the 3rd-best batting average (.273). The boys playing in the Great Green Jewel are led by a one-two punch of RF Waze Waiting (.304/29/95) and 1B Oren Gep (.286/29/82). Despite being so powerful on offense, Gep is considered to have had a down year, meaning he could explode even more in the playoffs. Other top contributors include LF Chris Van Benschoten (.293/15/69) and 2B Jim Synthseeker (.298/12/58). Diamond City will be without 3B Allen Bishop (.281/21/65) for the series, losing one valuable piece of their offense.
The pitching staff finished 5th in runs allowed (522), Starters ERA (4.10), and Bullpen ERA (4.09). The top two starters, Sheng Kawolski (8-8, 2.78) and City Moore (16-4, 3.78), can help Diamond City win any game. Kawolski is a possible Vim! Pitcher Award winner despite having among the worst run support in his starts in the CBO. The third starter, Aldo Sanch (5-10, 5.15), could be a problem if they get to a third game.In the bullpen, CL Josh Samm (29 SV, 2.93) is among the CBO's best. RP Jason Worry (6-2, 2.68) also contributes.
Atom finished 3rd in the SCA in runs scored (632) despite being 7th in home runs (145). However, the Cats enter the playoffs without their best offensive player, RF Melon Sanderson (.333/40/106), who will be out for the remainder of the season with a head injury. His replacement, RF Deer Quickwalker (.258/8/34) is still a talent in the CBO. Other offensive contributors include SS Jake Doucette (.302/19/77), 2B Rabbit Forest (.302/2/44), CF Earthbound Bussey (.293/15/53), and 1B Casey Roux (.236/21/82).
The Cats were 4th in runs against (498), 6th in Starters ERA (4.27), and 2nd in Bullpen ERA (3.67). SP Scruffy Taguchi (14-10, 3.13), SP Deedee Martinson (10-9, 4.26), and SP Pete Pembroke (7-13, 4.09) are the playoff starters with longtime top CBO pitcher Bow Rome (9-5, 4.58) waiting in the wings. In the bullpen, Atom made an interesting decision not to carry RP Ryan Radaway (2-0, 2.87) on the playoff roster. RP Matt Rodrigue (6-2, 2.38) was the only other bullpen pitcher to hold a sub-3.00 ERA in the regular season. CL Chopsticks McWilliams (29 SV, 4.28) has struggled at times.
Prediction
This series feels as though it could go in any direction. The matchups favor one team in certain situations and the other team in others. It is difficult to choose Atom over Diamond City, but that is what we are going to do, citing their sudden hot streak and the third-pitcher advantage. Atom 2, Swatters 1.