notebook: d.j. mitchell's big finish

Sunday, August 5, 2007

notebook: d.j. mitchell's big finish

Bourne's D.J. Mitchell struck out 15 in eight shutout innings Friday night, tying Brett Jacobson's mark for most strikeouts in a game this year. It's part of a really strong stretch for Mitchell, who wasn't an all-star but is pitching like one now.

His last three starts:

July 20 - 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 2 BB
July 26 - 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 0 BB
August 3 - 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 15 K, 3 BB

That's 31 strikeouts and five walks in 21 innings. Before these last three starts, Mitchell had struck out 27 and walked 18 so he's turned his strikeout to walk ratio completely upside down and with the 15 K night, he's vaulted into the league lead in strikeouts. Mitchell's ERA is 1.47, good for fourth in the league.

Mitchell, who will be a junior at Clemson, also plays in the outfield, but if the last few weeks are any indication, his future may be on the mound.

Anonymous relievers

Relievers never draw as much attention as starters, at any level. In a way, that's more pronounced on the Cape, where a fairly short season and deep pitching staffs mean relievers -- even the best ones -- might not get more than 20 or 25 innings.

But that doesn't mean there isn't quality in the bullpens. And I'm not talking closers -- there are really only 10 of those guys on the Cape anyway. Plenty of guys who have been starters in college and may project as starters in the pros pitch in relatively small roles out of the bullpen on the Cape, in some cases to rest their arms a bit. Aaron Crow, for instance, who has been the top starting pitcher in the league this summer, was originally planning on working out of the bullpen. Tim Lincecum, a top draft pick in '06 who is already up with the Giants, was Harwich's closer in 2005.

The other guys who have been relievers and will stay relievers often have great arms, too. Brandon Morrow, for instance, was a Cape leaguer in '05 who pitched out of the pen and flashed a high-90s fastball. He's now with the Seattle Mariners. This year, Ryan Perry, who works in a non-closing relief role for Orleans, projects as one of the top prospects in the league.

So there's definitely talent in the relief corps -- and the stage is set for them to succeed. Throwing an inning or two, as hard as they can, against hitters who are constantly adjusting to wood, creates an environments where relievers can thrive, even moreso than starters.

Plenty of them thrive. Here's a look at some of the numbers of the top relievers this summer.

PLAYER	CAPE TEAM	COLLEGE	ERA	IP	K	BB
Rob Catapano	Orleans	North Carolina	.00	17.2	15	2
Evan Crawford	Harwich	Auburn	.76	23.2	35	11
Jeff Dietz	Wareham	Brown	.84	21.1	24	8
Trevor Holder	Y-D	Georgia	.90	30	28	8
Kevin Couture	Chatham	USC	.96	28	24	6
Brett Graffy	Falmouth	Notre Dame	.96	18.2	21	11
Kyle Kamppi	Orleans	Georgia Southern	1.06	17	12	5
Stephen Penney	Hyannis	UC Riverside	1.07	25.1	30	6
Keith Shinaberry	Brewster	Texas	1.62	16.2	10	0
Garrett Sherrill	Hyannis	Appalachian St.	1.98	27.1	28	7
Ben Hornbeck	Brewster	Kansas St.	2.08	26	31	12
Tyler Stohr	Hyannis	North Florida	2.08	13	14	7
Rob Wooten	Chatham	North Carolina	2.20	16.1	27	6
Will Atwood	Orleans	South Carolina	2.32	31	26	12
Preston Claiborne	Falmouth	Tulane	2.37	19	22	10
Matt Gorgen	Bourne	California	2.45	22	21	8
Kyle Weiland	Falmouth	Notre Dame	2.49	21.2	26	12
Collin McHugh	Wareham	Berry College	2.74	23	23	16
Hunter Harris	Hyannis	Texas	2.78	22.2	26	7
Kyle Thebeau	Falmouth	Texas A&M	3.00	15	23	9
Jeff Richard	Bourne	Central Michigan	3.08	26.1	27	13
Sam Brown	Orleans	NC State	3.15	20	24	12
Mitch Houk	Chatham	Central Florida	3.31	16.1	19	9
Ryan Perry	Orleans	Arizona	3.48	20.2	30	9

A few things of note:

It's no surprise that the guys at the top of this list have great strikeout-to-walk ratios. That's definitely a key in short outings.
Shinaberry is the leader in appearances with Atwood posting the most innings pitched.
Catapano hasn't even allowed an unearned run
Orleans' bullpen is pretty nasty . . . Y-D's, interestingly, is not, which could be interesting come playoff time
A few of these guys have made spot starts, and it appears Y-D's Holder may be moving to the rotation for the postseason

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as the fog settles in

The left-field sunset has faded. It is chilly now. You slip a sweatshirt on. The stat sheet you hold in your hands almost feels wet, the air is so damp. But the ink doesn't run. You can read it. That kid from LSU is still leading the league in home runs. That pitcher who they say throws 95 -- he's way up on the list in strikeouts.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.

Stop waxing poetic

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the top college summer league in the nation. Plenty of other leagues have cropped up of late, and some are having success, but the Cape League is still the model -- and the pinnacle. In 2006, 198 Major Leaguers had spent time in the Cape League.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.

Sunday, August 5, 2007