Assessing the CBA in the Second Half
The first half of the season is in the books, and with the Presidents cup now firmly in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look at the state of the league as we approach the home stretch. With the trade deadline approaching, this is the time for contenders to stock their teams in an attempt to make a run at promotion and the Tournament of Champions. Let’s take a look at where each league stands in mid-July.
Premier League
What was a blowout for first place is . . . still pretty much a blowout. The Cincinnati Royals have utterly dominated the premier league this year, en route to a 53-20 record at the writing of this article, and are sitting as a stunning 99.6% favorite for first place. Jason Isley is playing at an MVP pace, and the youth of this team suggests it will be a dominant force for years to come. However, even juggernauts have their bumps in the road: Cincy is a mere 4-8 in their last 12 games. Still, it seems all but certain that they will be Premier League champs and a heavy favorite in the ToC.
The real battle in the PL is the one happening underneath the Royals on the leaderboard. The Dallas Devils sit at 43 wins, while the Detroit Motors and the newly promoted Bay Area Pandas sit at 41 wins. As of now they all have a place in the ToC, but the fight for seeding is on while Miami and DC nick at their heels.
Then, there’s relegation. As of today, the Sacramento Golden Bears are on pace for automatic relegation with a 25-49 record, while the Los Angeles Chilis and Florida Giants sit close behind with 28 and 30 wins apiece. This has been an incredibly tough season for the Golden Bears, who had just climbed back out of the Silver League. Meanwhile, the Chilis, hoping to build upon their promising first season in the PL, have had a backslide, party as a result of a dreadful 5.85 team era. This relegation series will be very interesting to watch.
Silver League
The Silver League is possibly the most stressful place to be in the entire CBA, as it’s the only league you can be promoted from OR relegated from. In terms of promotion, it’s an absolute dogfight by the top 3 teams for automatic promotion. The Oklahoma Mammoths sit in first at the moment, sporting a 46-27 record. However, only 1.5 games back are the Indianapolis Hawks, and only one game back from them is the Chicago Gale.
Perhaps what’s so impressive about Oklahoma’s prowess is that it’s been such a team effort, especially from position players. Everyone on the team is playing good, solid, in-sync baseball. No one is having a superstar season, but everyone is playing well. That’s the sign of a well put together baseball team. Meanwhile, the pitching has been exemplary, thanks to a superb top 3 rotation of Albert Castro, Oscar Dominguez, and Germao Paulus. Indianapolis, meanwhile, have been very impressive in their first season in the SL. GM Robbie Chamberlain’s squad utterly dominated the BL last year, and can take a lot of pride in competing in the SL so quickly. Chicago, relegated from the PL at the end of last year, has quickly geared back up and is making a strong push to get right back into it. Expect a bloodbath that goes down to the wire.
At the bottom of the standings, the Houston Moondogs and Boston Rogers are tied at 30-44 records. Houston’s squad has a lot of holes in the infield and Boston is struggling with the curve after a promotion from the BL. However, perhaps there is no bigger surprise in the entire CBA than the fall of the Midwest Plainsmen. After finishing in 2nd in the SL last year, the Plainsmen have utterly tanked to a 31-43 record. Though their batting average is virtually identical to last year’s, their team ERA has shot up from 3.41 to 5.19, and they are in danger of relegation to the BL for the first time in their history.
Bronze League
Perhaps nowhere provides more intrigue, humor, surprise, and disappointment than the CBA’s lowest league, and this year has been no exception; “A dumpster fire,” as one anonymous GM put it. Here you have teams desperately pushing to be out of the cellar, while an entire other contingent has their minds in the opposite direction —tanking for the best draft pick they can get. The promotional series in particular is about to get very interesting.
For the first time this season, the Iowa Predators will not be at the top of the standings going into the week. The scorching hot Wichita Weasels have won 10 straight, and now sit 2 games in front of them at 48-26. Wichita’s young rotation is simply superb, notching a league best 2.88 team ERA. Iowa is not out of the race however. 19 year old Rookie phenom David Higgins leads one of the league’s top offenses, no easy feat in a notoriously pitcher friendly park. However, the rotation is spotty to say the least, and second year GM Knox Van Horn has to hope that newly acquired pitcher Qi-chao Kuang can replicate the success he’s had this year in New York and Austin. And right behind the Predators, at 5 games back of the lead, are the Carolina Aces, a team living up to it’s name with a rotation that could compete for best in the CBA.The loss of 21 year old Alberto Cruz will be tough to deal with, but with Chris Anderson en route to a Paddock Pitching Award, this team is very much in contention for promotion.
With no relegation in the BL, tanking is alive and well. The practice of loaning out all your players for picks and losing as many games as possible to secure a top 5 selection has proven success, and with no penalty for doing so, it has become it’s own sort of competition. No one is winning that game more than the hapless Portland Axemen. After notching a .325 winning percentage in the SL last year, GM Ray Alston has embraced the tank and sits at an even worse .311 winning percentage. Their roster is a barren wasteland, everyone having been sent to contenders for a boatload of picks. The New York Roar, the Great Lakes Monsters, and the Austin Outlaws are also in contention, but Portland seems to be locked and loaded for the first pick, with a league worst ELO of 1353.4.
