Hey Fishman ... I can sympathise with your frustration, I was having the same difficulty and also with very thin ply splintering. One of the suggestions was to minimise blade movement by way of reducing the blade slot - technically it was described as a zero clearance insert. There are a number of different ways, but the simplest and most cost effective way I found was to tape an old business card across the area and poke a hole through the centre with the blade (probably not conventional but it worked for me!)
I'm not as experienced as a lot of the guys but I hope this suggestion helps ease the pain.
There is a bit more info on the 'plywood tearout' thread (pg 4).
Although I'm not familiar with the Craftsman 16" perhaps check the blade you are using is suitable for the thickness of timber.
Please don't give up on scrolling...you do wonderful work and there is always a solution.
Cheers
L