break's over

And now the stretch run begins.

There are seven games left in the regular season. Barring a major collapse in those seven games, Yarmouth-Dennis and Bourne will win the East and West divisions, respectively. Y-D has been the best team in the league all summer, and really hasn't slowed down. The Sox won four straight leading up to the all-star break, and lead second-place Chatham by eight points. Bourne hasn't been quite as hot lately but still leads Falmouth by the same margin as Y-D leads Chatham.

The real races are for second place. The West tightened up in the final days before the all-star break as Hyannis won three straight to get within four points. Hyannis and Falmouth will play twice in the last week and a half of the regular season, including a match-up on Aug. 8, the season's final day. That could be an interesting one, depending on how things play out.

I still like Falmouth. The top three in the starting rotation -- Aaron Crow, Kyle Gibson and Christian Friedrich -- are three of the best pitchers in the league, and assuming all three pitch in Falmouth's final seven games, I can't see the Commodores losing much ground. When you factor in a few key offensive players who are still hot, I think Falmouth has a good shot of securing the playoff spot.

But don't count out Hyannis. In Dan Brewer and Shane Peterson, the Mets have two of the best hitters in the league, plus a major power source in James Darnell. And if the starting pitching does what it did during the three-game win streak -- 8IP, 1 ER; 7IP, 0 ER; 9 IP, 0 ER (matt daly's no-hitter) -- then look out.

In the East, Chatham used a serious hot streak in the week leading up to the break to separate itself and got a crucial win on Friday night that -- coupled with losses by Brewster and Orleans -- put the A's six points up. With seven games remaining, Brewster and Orleans will each get one game against the A's, but they won't come until the final two days of the regular season. By then, things may already be decided. Chatham does have to play both first-place teams in the next five days, but the A's also take on Wareham and Cotuit, two teams that have struggled.

The A's, of course, have not struggled. With a starting rotation that finally seems set and a lineup that's delivering, Chatham is looking like one of the best teams in the league. Tom Milone, Charles Brewer and Alex White give the A's a solid nucleus in the rotation, and the bullpen seems to have solved some of its early-season difficulties. At the plate, the A's have speed at the top and two of the premier hitters on the Cape in Jermaine Curtis and Allan Dykstra.

Brewster and Orleans have their work cut out for them. From some quick math, it looks like the A's will clinch at least a tie for second by winning four of their final seven games. That would put Chatham at 25-16-3. Brewster right now is 18-16-3 so the Whitecaps would have to win all of their last seven to force that tie.

But anything can happen. Brewster has some very solid arms at the top of its rotation. And Orleans -- which needs Chatham to lose a few more than three -- has the best pitching staff in the league. The Cardinals do have the advantage of playing last-place Harwich three times in the last seven. It should be interesting.

That's how things stack up, team-wise. There are also plenty of individuals to watch.

• Can Falmouth's Conor Gillaspie keep his average in the .370's? If he can, he'll finish with the best mark since J.C. Holt's .388 in 2003
• Can Gillaspie even hold on to his lead? Y-D's Jason Castro is closing fast.
• Will the number of players with .300 averages really stay so high?
  
• Can Y-D's Gordon Beckham put a solid finishing touch on his remarkable season?
• Will Aaron Crow's ERA ever go up?

Those are just a few of the storylines. I get a little sad this time of year, because all the stories will soon reach their endings. The all-star break means the summer's almost over. Just a few games left, then a whirlwind postseason.

But though time may be short, it's not over. There's still a lot of baseball to be played, and best of all, there are still a lot of stories yet to be written.