BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
8 May 2316
Winning Balance? 16 Teams Above .500
We have just completed the four-week mark of the 2316 CBO season, and there is a bizarre arrangement of teams in the standings. Sixteen of the CBO's 28 teams currently hold a record of at least two games over .500. There is also a 4-22 team, and it is not the team that started 0-13. Here are the current team power rankings for the Commonwealth Baseball Organization:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Bunker Hill 75ers (121.7, ++)
2) Glowing Sea Radscorpions (118.7, o)
3) Atom Cats (117.0, ++)
4) University Point Deathclaws (114.7, o)
5) Vault 81 Dwellers (111.7, o)
6) Cambridge Coursers (107.9, ++)
7) Malden Grognaks (107.7, --)
8) Diamond City Swatters (105.7, --)
9) Easy Town Assaultrons (104.9, -)
10) Fort Hagen Silver Shroud (104.9, ++)
11) Spectacle Island Reapers (100.9, -)
12) Lexington Synths (100.8, ++)
13) Concord Radstags (99.9, -)
14) Goodneighbor Hancocks (97.8, +)
15) Nahant Celtics (97.8, --)
16) Quincy Gunners (95.8, -)
17) County Crossing Bloodbugs (91.2, ++)
18) Oberland T-51s (89.0, -)
19) Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (84.2, -)
20) The Slog Ghouls (82.2, o)
21) Roxbury Rad Sox (81.1, -)
22) FHE Yao Guai (73.0, ++)
23) Salem Witch Hats (70.3, -)
24) Egret Ninjas (64.3, ++)
25) Southie Brews (57.3, --)
26) Jamaica Plain Red Rockets (52.4, o)
27) Sunshine Tidings Chemists (52.4, --)
28) Starlight Killers (7.7, o)
Brotherhood League
The BL is the tightest league in the CBO with the 1st place team, Malden, leading the 7th place team, Salem, by only six games. No team has had an outstanding or disappointing 10-game stretch, with County Crossing currently holding the best mark at 7-3 and The Slog the worst stretch at 4-6. In order of the league: the Grognaks, Easy Town, Nahant, a tie among Nordhagen Beach, the Slog, and the Bloodbugs for 4th place, and the Witch Hats in 7th.
The Hats did not expect to be in 7th place. In fact, with five straight playoff appearances, including the Brotherhood League crown in 2315, Salem expects to be at the top. One problem is that two star players, 1B Brian DeLong and 2B Seemly Sam Tucker, are out with injuries and will not be back before June. Salem is 10th in runs scored with CF Andy Dogleash (.375/2/12) being the only player on offense truly standing out. On the mound, the Witch Hats have allowed 125 runs (11th in NCA). Ace SP Paul Stains (2-3, 3.23) is pitching well but not getting run support. SP Gary Harvard (4-1, 2.87) has pitched well and has had run support. CL Deor Woodcutter (4 SV, 2.63) is doing OK, but the Bullpen ERA (3.94) is 11th in the NCA.
Institute League
Five teams in the Institute League are in it, while the last two, especially the last one, should consider blowing it all up. Bunker Hill is comfortably at the top with the NCA's best record and a tie with University Point and Glowing Sea for the CBO's best record. Three teams--Fort Hagen, Concord, and Cambridge--are tied for 2nd at two games back. Lexington is the final team above .500, while Sunshine Tidings at 8-18 and Starlight at 4-22 are out of the running in 2316.
The Killers really need to blow it up. On a 10-game losing streak and with a .154 clip, Starlight is on pace to blow away Cambridge's record 30-100 (.231) season in 2310. At this pace, the Killers would be about 21-109 at season's end. The most apparent struggle is that the entire team cannot hit. At 14th in the NCA in most offensive categories, including runs scored (51 or 1.96/game) and average (,222). 2B King Hippo (.216/3/9) is the only qualifying player batting over .200. 1B Jordan Young (.339/4/10) has had more time recently and should play every day. On the mound, Starlight is 12th in runs allowed (126). Ace Mercury Morris (1-2, 2.23) and fourth pitcher Sam Molina (1-4, 2.76) have pitched well but need run support to win games.
Minutemen League
We already mentioned that the Deathclaws are tied for the CBO's best record, giving them a 1.5-game lead over 2nd-place Atom. Spectacle Island, Goodneighbor, and Quincy are all above .500. Southie is in 6th, and Jamaica Plain (8-5 in the past two weeks) has recovered but still maintains the SCA's worst record.
For the Claws, the beginning of their demise has been paused. While statistically speaking, they are not dominating, the Deathclaws are showing strength across all aspects of their team. On offense, University Point is 3rd in scoring, thanks in part to being tied for 2nd in home runs (22). No player is killing it in average, with SS Rock Rampage (.294/3/15) leading in average and tied for 2nd in home runs. Both CF Ziggy Stardust and LF Pop Dylan are on the injury list, taking away two good bats. 1B Barker Cocoa (.258/3/13) has seen a drop in average but is still a leader on offense. For pitching, the Claws are 5th in runs allowed (95). Digger Vadim (1-2, 3.70) and Alex Alexson (2-0, 2.31) have been the two best starters. CL Swampy Tamraguri (5 SV, 1.08) has been outstanding.
Railroad League
There are only three teams above .500 in the Railroad League, but those three teams are in a raging battle. The Radscorpions are tied with the Claws for the top record in the SCA (and CBO). Vault 81 and Diamond City are just a game back. Oberland is at .500, while all of Roxbury, FHE, and Egret have a lot of work to do to get in the playoff discussion.
Glowing Sea may be ready after making the playoffs two of the past three seasons. The Scorpions are currently in 1st place thanks in large part to good pitching, currently 2nd in runs allowed (85) and 1st in Starters ERA (2.63). All four starters have a sub-4.00 ERA with Alex Language (2-1, 1.13) and Hot Lips Houlihan (3-2, 2.55) have been the best. The bullpen has not been great with CL Mar Gotfenning (9 SV, 6.43) struggling. RP Pink Floyd (3-0, 0.57) has been the best there. Hitting is not as good and will need to get much better for a playoff run. The Scorpions are 12th in runs scored (91) and have struggled to get on base, ranking 14th in average (.239) and OBP (.297). CF Enigma Montgomery (.258/4/17) has been the best all-around hitter.
CBO Standings
CBO Players of the Week
May 1 - Not every ball that came off Jacob Tarberry's bat last week was a line drive or a towering shot -- it just seemed that way to the teams that played the Malden Grognaks. For his exploits, Tarberry was named this week's North Charles Association Player of the Week award.
The Malden third baseman put up 13 hits in 32 at-bats and 3 home runs while hitting .406 with 13 RBIs and 6 runs scored.
This season, Tarberry is hitting .357 with 30 hits, 6 home runs, 27 RBIs, scored 20 runs and played in 20 games.
McMack Bingham demonstrated his potential to be a star in the game last week and today he took home the South Charles Association Player of the Week Award.
The Atom first baseman wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers last week, pounding them for a .524 average (11-for-21) with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs on his way to claiming the honor.
Bingham is swinging at a .354 pace on the year with 3 home runs, 15 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He has played in 17 games.
May 8 - Jim Geiger is respected by most Cambridge Coursers fans for his no-frills style of play. The 29-year-old right fielder went about his business with vigor last week to grab the North Charles Association Player of the Week honors.
He compiled a .417 average (10-for-24) with 1 home run, 9 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
So far this year in 25 games, Geiger is hitting .375 with 1 home run, 18 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
When it came to hitting the baseball, Missile Crews had few peers in the South Charles Association this past week.
The talented center fielder for FHE tagged opposing pitchers for a .591 average and was voted the Player of the Week Award. Included in his stats were 13 hits in 22 at-bats, 2 homers, 8 runs scored and 7 RBIs.
This year, Crews has hit at a .344 clip with 33 hits, 4 home runs, 13 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
CBO Noteworthy News
April 28 - The manager of the Atom Cats said the sport will be losing one of its "truly great leaders" at the end of the year. That's because 39-year-old Shane Stabb has decided to retire at year's end.
"This is the type of guy you want on your team," the manager said. "He does everything the right way and leads by example. Our organization will miss him."
Stabb is hitting at a .302 rate over his 1803-game career. Lifetime he has 375 doubles, 14 triples and 191 home runs with 871 RBIs and 868 runs scored.
April 29 - Easy Town third baseman Well Done Dungan finished the day with 2 hits in 4 at-bats and 2000 career hits. The Assaultrons also finished off the Silver Shroud, 8-6. The 38-year-old Dungan added his name to the list of players in the Commonwealth Baseball Organization 2000-hit club.
Looking at his career stats, Dungan is batting .267 and has totaled 28 home runs.
April 30 - Spectacle Island CL Mean David Green was hospitalized during a Reapers road trip in Diamond City with apparent food poisoning. Green felt ill after eating street food following the April 29 game between the Reapers and Swatters. On Sunday morning, he had to be carried to a local clinic where he was treated for a "severe bug." Green remains hospitalized at the time of this writing.
April 30 - Aesed Hayjen said years of hard work have taken their toll on him physically, and he's decided it's now time to retire.
"I don't know any way other than full throttle, I've always been that way," he said. "Going so hard for so many years might have cost me some time on my career, but I don't regret a thing."
The University Point Deathclaws first baseman is leaving the game behind at age 38.
A check of his lifetime stats shows Hayjen has a career .313 average with 2226 hits, 321 doubles, 50 triples, 353 home runs and 1081 RBIs. To date he has scored 1347 runs, walked 715 times and stolen 344 bases.
May 2 - The Goodneighbor Hancocks have talked about making some changes to their uniforms for the 2316 season. The Hancocks have had the same uniforms since the beginning of Minutemen League play in 2296. Owner John Hancock has stated that he loves the colors but wants some more edge to the jersey. We are sure companies out there will make something Hancock loves. Or, does not hate. Whichever comes first.
May 2 - Scruffy Taguchi of the Vault 81 Dwellers will go down as one of the league's legendary pitchers after his 11-1 win today against the Diamond City Swatters.
"It felt like it was a postseason game, one out at a time," said his manager. "It was something special to see."
The 36-year-old Taguchi picked up his 200th career victory at The Great Green Jewel. He hurled 5.2 innings, gave up 8 hits and registered 3 strikeouts along with 1 walk.
"I've worked a long time for this," Taguchi said. "I can't believe it's really here. It feels great!"
Taguchi has a lifetime record of 200 wins and 152 losses and a 3.76 ERA.