y-d wins cape league title

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox put together one of the best offensive seasons in recent Cape Cod Baseball League history. They hit .278 as a team, an almost unheard-of number. They hit 41 home runs in the regular season, almost double any other team’s total. And they scored 241 runs in 44 games, an average of more than five a game.

Who knew they’d win their second consecutive league championship on a bunt?

With the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a scoreless game Tuesday night in Falmouth, Nick Romero put down a perfect suicide squeeze against flame-throwing closer Luke Burnett, scoring Buster Posey and sending Y-D on its way to a 2-0 victory and a championship series sweep.

In a way, it was strangely fitting. The team that did everything all season added one more thing to the list. Win a pitchers’ duel without a big hit? No problem.

The victory secured the 2007 Red Sox’ legacy as one of the best teams in Cape League history. They finished with 35 wins and just 12 losses. In the process, they built on the tremendous amount of success Y-D has had in recent years. The title is the Red Sox’ third in four summers.

Some people say Y-D can’t be called a dynasty because this is a summer league, because the turnover in players is so great. But that’s a narrow definition of a dynasty, one that applies to other leagues. If you tweak the definition and you believe a dynasty can happen on the Cape, then this? This is a dynasty.

The latest chapter closed with a flourish. The Red Sox were the most complete team on the Cape all summer, and if it’s possible to be something more than complete, that’s what the Red Sox were in the playoffs. The offense scored 18 runs in four games, hitting six home runs in the process. The pitching staff allowed just five runs and tossed two shutouts. And The defense made only two errors.

On the final night, the heroes represented exactly how this Y-D team – and all these Y-D teams – succeeded. Trevor Holder and Nick Romero – they were the solid players. Holder put up great numbers, yes, but he did it in a number of different roles. And Romero wasn’t one of the team’s top hitters, just an anchor in the lineup and a rock at third base.

For all the stars the Red Sox lineup boasts, it’s players like Holder and Romero who lay the foundation for the team’s success. Every team on the Cape has a handful of stars. Very few teams have solid players at every position.

The Red Sox did, and it’s why they finished off Falmouth with a sweep.

Holder was dominant from the get-go. A reliever-turned starter, the sophomore righty from Georgia was stretched out more than he had been all season and it suited him just fine. He allowed just one hit in eight innings, matching all-star Christian Friedrich scoreless frame for scoreless frame.

And thanks to Romero, Holder was a winner. After a walk to Buster Posey and a double by Jason Castro in the top of the eighth, Burnett struck out Gordon Beckham for the first out then intentionally walked Aaron Luna to load the bases. Y-D manager Scott Pickler called for the squeeze and Romero delivered, bunting a Burnett fastball to a perfect spot. Y-D added another run on a passed ball, but it was Romero’s bunt that won the game. It had to be gratifying for Romero – and for everyone in the dugout. Romero, a sophomore from San Diego State, is one of the guys you love. He plays every day. He won’t ever let you down with his glove. And every once in a while, he’ll come up very big with the bat. Romero was an unsung hero all year. He should be unsung no more.

With a 2-0 lead, Y- D turned to closer Nick Cassavechia, the league’s top reliever. He didn’t disappoint in the ninth, working around a one-out double and striking out two straight to end the game.

That launched the celebration, and it was undoubtedly a big one. In a summer league, where players are as concerned – and rightfully so – with showcasing their own skills as they are with team success, the Red Sox have separated themselves by establishing a tradition and challenging every season’s crop of players to live up to it. The entire organization gets players believing that winning a Cape League title means something. They assemble a talented group, certainly. You don’t win three titles in four years in a stacked league without talent. But getting players to buy into team success is a big part of the formula.

And that formula, it just keeps working.

(I’ll have more on this game and on Y-D’s season later this week. Also, the Cape League summer may be done but I am not. I’ve got tons of wrap-up things to do, including seasons in review for each team, my own all-league teams, some final extra stats, a final top 50 players list, a closer look at the award winners, final stats sorted by position and a lot more. So keep checking back in the coming weeks. I'll also be doing regular updates on various topics throughout the year.)