catching up

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Apparently, I go into hibernation in November and December.

Time to catch up on a few things.

• The Y-D roster has been out for a little while now. At first glance, it might rival Cotuit's roster for the best group of freshmen. The most notable names in that bunch are Chase Davidson and Michael Palazzone of Georgia and Brett Mooneyham of Stanford. Other big names include LSU's star catcher Micah Gibbs, and returnees Josh Rutledge of Alabama and Andy Wilkins of Arkansas.

• It looks there are still four rosters that haven't come out -- Brewster, Chatham, Falmouth and Harwich.
  

• Brewster announced its new manager last month. It's Tom Myers, who's also the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at UC-Santa Barbara. As far as I can tell, he and Harwich's Steve Englert are the only two Cape League managers who are also D-I assistants. I believe Myers is also the only D-I pitching coach.
  

• While home for Christmas, I discovered a bunch of old Cape League programs, going back as far as 1994. I thoroughly enjoyed flipping through them and seeing all the familiar names that, back then, were just names I'd never heard before. Also, I wrote in an earlier post about Kevin Seitzer's son being on the Hyannis roster that I thought Kevin Seitzer was a Cape League alum. I didn't know for sure, but one of the old Chatham A's books did confirm it. He played for the A's, and apparently, the 12-year-old version of me who insisted on keeping every Cape League book I got knew that the 25-year-old version of me would someday need that information.

That's it for now. I'll keep an eye out for new rosters and post some thoughts whenever they come out. After that, maybe some college baseball updates, and before we know it, it'll be time for the early looks at every team. I think that was the best thing I did last year, so I'll definitely be doing it again. I'll probably plan on a March start date for those.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year, people.

two more rosters

Cotuit and Orleans have released their early rosters in the last few days, which means we've now gotten a look at half the rosters in the league. Still waiting on Falmouth, Yarmouth-Dennis, Harwich, Chatham and Brewster.

The biggest thing that stands out from these last two: Cotuit's freshmen. They've got some serious talent, rivaling that of Wareham's freshmen crop last year. Of course, a lot of those freshmen never made it to Wareham, so we'll see how this plays out.

Some first impressions:

Cotuit

• Kevin Patterson, Seth Blair, Brandon Cumpton and Drew Storen are the returning players. I'd rank Patterson and Blair among the top 10 freshmen in the league this year, and I think, at this point, you could call Patterson the top returning hitter in the league.

• Ricky Hague should be a a familiar name. The Rice shortstop was on Wareham's roster last year before getting invited to Team USA. Because of an injury, he ended up back home for the summer.
  

• Over the years, Wareham has had the market cornered on players from the University of Texas, but Cotuit has grabbed a few Longhorns for 2009, and they're good ones. Chance Ruffin was one of the top freshman pitchers in the nation, while outfielder Cameron Rupp was named the top prospect in the California Collegiate League this summer. Catcher Kevin Keyeswas third on the same list.

• Cotuit had Robbie Shields from Division II Florida Southern this year, and they've gone to the well again for pitchers Daniel Tillman and Max Russell. Tillman was PG Crosschecker's top prospect in the Clark Griffith League this year.
  

• And now to the freshmen. Righty Gerritt Cole heads to UCLA as the first unsigned first-round pick to go to college in quite some time. So, he'll also be the first unsigned first-round pick to play on the Cape in quite some time. Vanderbilt righty Sonny Gray was thought of as a first-round talent as well. Fellow Vandy recruit Navery Moore was pegged as the top pitcher in his class before an injury his junior year of high school. UC-Santa Barbara pitcher Chris Joyce was a 10th-round pick and played in the Cal Collegiate League this summer, where he was named the fifth-best prospect. Arkansas 3B/P Zach Cox was a 20th-round pick, but he's another guy who many thought would go higher.
  

Orleans

• The Cardinals (?) currently have eight players slated to come back, led by Cal-State Fullerton's Gary Brown, UCLA's Rob Rasmussen and Loyola-Marymount's Martin Viramontes, who was an all-star this summer. The list also includes three players who will be juniors: Florida's Hampton Tignor (who, if he comes to the Cape, would be playing his third summer with Orleans), Nevada's Shaun Kort and Duke's Alex Hassan. North Carolina's Rob Catapano, who pitched for Orleans in '07 but not '08, is also on the roster.
  

• In all, there are 10 juniors on the roster, which is a really high number.
  

• Long Beach State shortstop Devin Lohman played briefly for Chatham this summer before an injury sent him home. He's a player to watch.

• Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire is coming off a huge summer. After serving as a mid-week starter his freshman year, he headed to the Coastal Plain League, where he went 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA. He was named the league's top prospect by Baseball America.
  

• There are only three freshmen on the roster, but they look three real good ones. Fresno State pitcher Josh Poytress was a 16th-round pick in June, Arizona's Donnie Roach was a 27th-round pick and Arizona State's Riccio Torrez went in the 32nd round.
  

a's change name to . . . a's?

By now, you've probably heard that the Chatham Athletics changed their name to the Chatham Anglers as a result of the agreement with Major League Baseball, which would have limited their merchandise opportunities while using the Athletics' name.

I like the name, and it's a nice little slap in the face of Major League baseball.

But my question: Are they still just going to be A's?

Because, if you flip through a Chatham yearbook from any of the past few years, you won't see a single reference to the Chatham Athletics. They had become the Chatham A's.

It stands to reason that they could still be the A's, but that ground hasn't really been covered in any of the stories I've read.

Does anybody know?

moving on

As much as I like looking back on the summer, it's about time to look ahead.

(Also, I forgot what I was going to say in the last summer wrap installment.)

Anyway, Cape League teams, of course, were looking ahead a long time ago, and we're starting to see what they've been looking at. I'm a little behind in getting to these, but Bourne, Hyannis and Wareham have all put out early versions of their 2009 rosters.

My first impression: They all look awesome.

But they always all look awesome. So, some second impressions.

Bourne

• Two players with Cape League experience are on the roster, but they don't bring much experience. Pierre LePage (UConn) came to Bourne in the second half this season and played in 16 games. Tyler Holt (Florida State) played in three games early in the season for Cotuit then didn't play again.

• Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) was on the Bourne roster last year, got invited to Team USA, didn't make Team USA but still didn't end up in Bourne. He could make a big impact if he makes it to Bourne this year. A 12th-round pick in 2007, Pomeranz struck out 74 in 67 innings for Ole Miss last year.

• I would be surprised if Ryan Lockwood (South Florida) makes it to the Cape. A redshirt sophomore, Lockwood hit .415 last year for the Bulls and is eligible for the 2009 draft. I've seen projections that have him going in the first or second round. That said, we saw a lot of guys head to the Cape to gain leverage this summer, so it's possible Lockwood could do the same.

• Dan Mahoney, a righty from UConn, was named the top pro prospect in the NECBL this summer by PG Crosschecker.

• Ben Klafczynski (Kent State), a 6'3 200-pound outfielder, had a huge freshman season, hitting .339 with 11 home runs. Baseball American named him a Freshman All-American. He hit .270 in the Great Lakes League this summer. Also, that name is not going to be easy to spell.
  

• Dominic D'Anna (CS Northridge) hit .401 this summer in the MINK (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas) League, and was named the league's No. 9 prospect. Blake Forsythe (Tennessee), a catcher, was named the 10th best prospect in the Coastal Plain League.
  

• Four freshmen are on the roster: Taylor Hightower (Ole Miss), Zack MacPhee (Arizona State), Anthony Rendon (Rice) and Austin Stadler (Wake Forest).
  

• East Carolina pitcher Seth Maness was tabbed by BA as a first-team Freshman All-American last year. Coastal Carolina infielder Scott Woodward was also on that list, and he played for Team USA this summer.
  

Hyannis

• Like Bourne, not much Cape League experience returning, with Notre Dame's Ryan Sharpley as the only one who played for the Mets this summer.
  

• Hyannis went after a lot of juniors for the summer of '08 but currently have just one junior, Notre Dame's Eric Maust. Instead, they've got seven freshmen.
  

• Freshman lefty Danny Hultzen (Virginia) will bring a lot of hype with him. He was a 10th-round pick in June, but would have gone a lot higher if not for signability concerns.
  

• Ryan Duke was Oklahoma's top pitcher as a freshman, going 7-5 with a 3.57 ERA. Oklahoma teammate Casey Johnson hit .346 last year.
  

• Infielder Dustin Harrington hit .320 last spring for East Carolina, a program that seems to send more and more players to the Cape every year.
  

• Wake Forest will be sending two highly-touted freshmen to Hyannis -- infielder Shane Kroker and righthander Daniel Marrs.
  

• Oklahoma freshman Cam Seitzer is the son of former Major Leaguer Kevin Seitzer. I believe Kevin also played in the Cape League.

Wareham

• The Gatemen had a ton of freshmen this summer, so it's no surprise that they've got a long list of returnees. Eleven to be exact, a list that's headed by pitchers (Texas) and Brandon WorkmanRobby Broach (Tulane), infielder Ryan Pineda (CS Northridge )and outfielders Connor Rowe (Texas) and Brett Eibner (Arkansas). Rising junior pitcher Max Perlman is also back on the roster after a solid summer.
  

• If Workman, Broach and Perlman all make it back, that's a heck of a starting point.

• Also back on the roster is highly-touted Georgia Tech shortstop Derek Dietrich, who spent this summer with Team USA. From what I heard, Dietrich was torn between going to Wareham and staying with Team USA. If the decision needs to made again this year, it'll be interesting to see what Dietrich chooses.
  

• Again, the Gatemen have a big crop of freshmen, including Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann, Arizona State's Jordan Swagerty and Zach Wilson and Duke's Eric Pfisterer. All were drafted in June. Pfisterer went in the 15th round.
  

summer wrap: we hardly knew ye

I know it's officially autumn, but I feel that the summer has not been sufficiently wrapped. Two more installments before we can put a bow on it. Here's the first. The next one will be up sooner rather than later, and then it'll be on to a few months of randomness before some rosters pop up. Then we can officially start dreaming about next summer.


The 2008 draft was a banner one for the Cape League. Five of the top 10 picks were on the Cape less than a year before, many of them, like Aaron Crow and Jason Castro, emerging then as true stars.

When the 2009 draft rolls around, there may be even more Cape League fingerprints.

But they're not going to be quite as bold.

It's early to talk about the draft, and a lot will change between now and then, but some early previews are coming out, with the same names popping up in almost all of them.

They're familiar names to Cape League fans, but in an interesting revelation about the summer of '08, they're not as familiar as names like Crow, Castro, Beckham and Posey.

Take the top 30 prospects list at Breaking Bats. There are 14 college players on the list, and 10 of them played in the Cape League. But only three of them played on the Cape this summer.

Take the mock draft at mymlbdraft.com. Six of the top 10 are former Cape Leaguers, a number that would surpass the 2008 draft. But of those six, only two played on the Cape in 2008, and one of them, Dustin Ackley, played only briefly. That leaves just Grant Green.

I guess the point is that while the Cape League will be as prominent as ever come June, it's going to feel a little bit different. The current favorite to be the No. 1 pick, Stephen Strasburg, played in the NECBL after his freshman year, then opted for Team USA this summer. Several of the other top pitchers, like Alex White, Andy Oliver and Kyle Gibson all shined on the Cape in 2007, but White sat out the summer of '08 while Oliver and Gibson pitched for Team USA.

In the prism of looking back at the Cape League summer, this means we were watching a talented crop of players, but a crop that may have been in a different stage than normal. There were more drafted college players than I can ever remember, and at the other end of the spectrum, there was a pretty strong freshman class headed by Brandon Workman and D.J. LeMahieu. In the middle were the sophomores, the ones who will be draft eligible in June. Judging from the way things are shaking out right now, they're not as strong a class as the one we saw last year. Because one player's talent level reflects another's, I always find it tough to guage, but prospect lists and these early looks at the draft seem to reflect the same idea.

Is it some kind of trend? Maybe. It'll be worth keeping an eye on the summer destinations of some of the league's top freshmen. If a lot of them end up with Team USA next year, then we may see the trend continue.

But more likely, it was simply the way things went, and while it meant that we didn't see quite as much of a draft class this summer, that's not going to matter in June. When those Cape Leaguers get their names called, I'll be excited, even if they're not our most recent boys of summer.

summer wrap: who?

In that first week without the Cape League, when there's no games to listen to and no box scores to stare at, I find myself at a momentary loss for how to fill the time. I wasn't lost for long this year, though. The Olympics got going at the perfect time. I spent inordinate amounts of time watching synchronized diving, fencing, table tennis and the like. Fencing sucks, but still, I watched.

For all those types of sports, though, there wasn't much in the way of stories.

It seemed like in the whole of Olympics, there were only three stories -- Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the gymnastics girls. They were great stories, but at some point, could we have gotten to the other stuff?

It didn't bother me all that much. It's fencing and table tennis, after all, but it did get me thinking.

In much the same way a few names monopolize coverage at the Olympics, a few names do the same thing in the Cape League. And more than the coverage, they monopolize individual perceptions. When 300 players show up, you naturally latch onto a few. For me, the ones I latch onto early don't usually get un-latched. That's why, perception-wise, I would tell you Connor Powers had a better summer than Andy Wilkins. He didn't, but because he got off to a fast start, he was at the forefront of my mind.

He was one of many who fit into the Michael Phelps category. That's not to say that they all did well then faded, but they all worked their way into my perceptions of the league with their early play then never left. And since I can only have so many names in my head, the guys who get in early stay there at the expense of others.

But it's time to let them in.

Let's celebrate our Ma Lin's (that's your table tennis gold medalist).

Josh Rutledge - SS/OF - Yarmouth-Dennis
.294, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 12 XBH, .365 OBP
Among these guys, no one slipped through the cracks more than Rutledge. I have no idea why, but he just wasn't part of my consciousness this summer. He should have been. The freshman from Alabama started fast and never really slumped. He finished the year with the second-best average and the second-most extra base hits on the team.

Ryan Pineda - 2B - Wareham
.273, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 16 XBH, .341 OBP
Another freshman middle infielder, Pineda was among the most productive freshman in the league. He was a late addition to the Wareham roster, which is probably why I lost track of him, but he was the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year at Cal State Northridge. Definitely a player to watch.

Andy Wilkins - 1B - Yarmouth-Dennis
.271, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 15 XBH, .356 OBP
For someone who likes to keep track of which freshmen are doing well, I really must have been slacking. Wilkins, a freshman from Arkansas, ranks as one of the top DH/1B types in the league. Among the freshmen, only Kevin Patterson had a more productive season.

James Meador - OF - Brewster
.280, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 12 XBH, .321 OBP
After I saw that Meador hit .380 this spring for San Diego, I expected big things. Apparently, I'm impatient. Meador got off to a slow start and I barely noticed when he turned it on. He finished with a pretty solid season, considering he was hitting .122 after the summer's first two weeks.

Darin Ruf - 1B - Falmouth
.305, 1HR, 24 RBI, 8 XBH, .414 OBP
Ruf was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year at Creighton this spring after hitting .377 with seven home runs. He didn't make a huge impression on me in the early going, but by the end of the season, he was second on the team in batting average, with a great on-base percentage to go with it.

Mike Freeman - 2B - Brewster
.274, 1 HR, 22RBI, 9 XBH, .366 OBP
Freeman is a guy who's name I saw constantly, so constantly that it was easy to take him for granted. The sophomore from Clemson started every game for the Whitecaps and was one of their most consistent performers.

Kyle Roller -1B/DH - Bourne
.280, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 14 XBH, .352 OBP
Chicks dig the long ball, not the double. Apparently the same applies to little-known Cape League bloggers. I always knew Roller was having a good season, but I'm not sure I realized the East Carolina soph was such a doubles machine. He finished with 12, second in the league.

Caleb Cotham - RHP - Brewster
5-1, 2.54 ERA, 46 IP, 51 K
Cotham wasn't an all-star or an all-league pick, but he easily could have been both. With a great record and his strikeout numbers, the Vanderbilt sophomore was definitely one of the top pitchers in the league.

Chris Gloor - RHP - Falmouth
1-0, 2.59 ERA, 41.2 IP, 36 K
The junior from Quinnipiac isn't hard to miss. He's 6'6 and throws left-handed. But in terms of his roles on Falmouth's staff, you could easily lose track. He pitched both in relief and in the rotation. Wherever he was, he put up great numbers.

Josh Eidell - RHP - Harwich
1-0, 2.56 ERA, 31.2 IP, 33 K
I'll confess. Eidell is the only guy on this list whose name looked completely foreign to me. He was in that middle relief group that I can't seem to get a handle on, but he was one of the best. In 31.2 innings, the junior from Villanova struck out 33 and walked only four.
Graham Stoneburner - RHP - Hyannis
2-2, 2.93 ERA, 30.2 IP, 30 K
Stoneburner won't get mentioned among the top starters in the league, but outside the top guys, he was one of the most consistent.

Austin Hudson - RHP - Hyannis
1-2, 1.50 ERA, 36 IP, 25 K
Yes, he won the ERA title, but how many people knew that without looking?


And a few more guys who deserve a mention:
Tyler Cannon - UTIL - Bourne - Hit .265 and played six positions.
Jason Nappi - SS - Brewster - Started 41 games and hit .277.
Evan Ocheltree - OF/1B - Chatham - Hit .266 with 10 XBH.
Michael Gilmartin - SS - Cotuit - Robbie Shields' replacement hit .257.
Jeff Kobernus - 3B - Cotuit - Hit .263 with 11 XBH.
Trevor Coleman - C - Falmouth - Played in every game and hit .244.
Kevin Nolan - 3B - Falmouth - Opening-night star finished at .255.
Joey Wong - SS - Falmouth - Defensive wiz also hit .256
D.J. Belfonte - OF - Harwich - Catalyst for the M's offense.
Matt Bowman - 2B - Orleans - Quietly one of Cards' best hitters.
Aaron Baker - 1B - Wareham - Started every game and had 12 XBH.
Kipp Schutz - OF - Wareham - Tied for team lead in HRs.
Ricky Bowen - SP - Bourne - Struck out 46 in 43.1 IP.
Kevin Landry - RP - Bourne - Lights-out all summer.
Kevin Couture - RP - Chatham - Star last summer turned it on late.
Daniel Wolford - RP - Cotuit - Had 33 strkeouts in 24 IP.
Michael Morrison - SP/RP - Harwich - Led team in strikeouts.
Mike Belfiore - RP - Y-D - Had a 13.5 K/9. Also a hitter.
Tyler Waldron - SP/RP Y-D - Struck out 33 in swing role.

baseball america top prospects

Baseball America yesterday released its list of the Cape League's top 30 prospects. The full release, with scotuing reports, is subscriber content over there, but I'll go ahead and list the names here.

1. Grant Green, ss, Chatham (Jr., Southern California)
2. Dustin Ackley, of, Harwich (Jr., North Carolina)
3. Matt Harvey, rhp, Chatham (So., North Carolina)
4. Ben Tootle, rhp, Falmouth (Jr., Jacksonville State)
5. Brandon Workman, rhp, Wareham (So., Texas)
6. D.J. LeMahieu, ss, Harwich (So., Louisiana State)
7. A.J. Pollock, of, Falmouth (Jr., Notre Dame)
8. Brett Jackson, of, Cotuit (Jr., California)
9. Jeff Inman, rhp, Yarmouth-Dennis (Jr., Stanford)
10. Brad Stillings, rhp, Orleans (Jr., Kent State)
11. Ben Paulsen, 1b, Hyannis (Jr., Clemson)
12. Robbie Shields, ss, Cotuit (Jr., Florida Southern)
13. Matt Thomson, rhp, Orleans (Jr., San Diego)
14. Bryce Stowell, rhp, Bourne (signed with Indians)
15. Shawn Tolleson, rhp, Yarmouth-Dennis (So., Baylor)
16. Rich Poythress, 3b, Orleans (Jr., Georgia)
17. Kevin Patterson, 1b, Cotuit (So., Auburn)
18. Craig Fritsch, rhp, Yarmouth-Dennis (So., Baylor)
19. Mike Bianucci, of, Cotuit (signed with Rangers)
20. Brad Boxberger, rhp, Chatham (Jr., Southern California)
21. Chad Bettis, rhp, Falmouth (So., Texas Tech)
22. Tim Wheeler, of, Orleans (Jr., Sacramento State)
23. Dusty Coleman, ss, Bourne (signed with Athletics)
24. Evan Danieli, rhp, Falmouth (So., Notre Dame)
25. Sean Black, rhp, Harwich (Jr., Seton Hall)
26. Nick Hernandez, lhp, Cotuit (Jr., Tennessee)
27. Marc Krauss, of, Harwich/Bourne (Jr., Ohio)
28. Matt Bashore, lhp, Wareham (Jr., Indiana)
29. Ryan Wheeler, 1b, Brewster (Jr., Loyola Marymount)
30. Chris Dominguez, 3b, Hyannis (Jr., Louisville)

Some Thoughts:

• No surprise that Green and Ackley go 1-2.
  

• Kind of a surprise for me that Harvey is in the third spot. He came in with a lot of hype. The fact that he wasn't starting made me think he wouldn't have as good opportunity to live up to it, but clearly that's not the case. And Harvey actually ended up with some tremendous numbers after pitching a lot down the stretch. He had 29 strikeouts in 21.2 innings and allowed two runs all summer.

• Ben Tootle is the top junior pitcher, but after that, you see that trend where the stars in the class of '09 weren't on the Cape. That means Jeff Inman and Brad Stillings, two pitchers I wouldn't have guessed would be so high, are in the top 10.
  

• Here's another trend: you didn't have to play a lot to make a big impression. Both Ackley and No. 12 Robbie Shields played about a fourth of the season before leaving with injuries.

• The class of 2010 certainly had its say. Three are in the top 10 with Brandon Workman and D.J. LeMahieu joining Harvey. In all, there are eight from that class.
  

• Not a single catcher on the list. I thought Tommy Medica, Tony Sanchez or Robert Stock would make it.
  

• A few other notable names who I thought might crack the list but didn't: Angelo Songco, Jason Kipnis, Chris Manno, Nick McCully, Sammy Solis and Andrew Carraway.

summer wrap: a star aligns

Last summer, a shortstop from Los Angeles fresh off a big sophomore season headed East with a lot of hype. But Brandon Crawford arrived in Orleans and never quite got his feet under him. Widely considered the top shortstop prospect in his class, Crawford hit just .189 for the Cardinals, a far cry from the .335 average he had in the spring for UCLA.

Crawford still had a tremendous junior season, and he got drafted by the Giants in the fourth round this June. But at the time, the summer of '07 must have felt like a missed opportunity.

This summer, another shortstop fresh off a big sophomore season headed East with a lot of hype.

Grant Green did not have a disappointing summer.

Playing for Chatham, the USC shortstop had an incredible season and was named the league's top pro prospect. He was thought of by many as the top shortstop in his class to begin with. Now, he's drawing comparisons to Major Leaguers Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki.

I think Green's success is one of the great storylines of this Cape League summer. That's in large part because it was supposed to happen, and when things are supposed to happen in the Cape League, they rarely do.

Take Crawford, or countless other players who came in with hype and left with question marks. A lot of times, Cape League success stories come from the players who don't have all the hype. That was particularly true last year, when Aaron Crow and Conor Gillaspie burst onto the scene with big summers.

Green's success is really the first of its kind since 2006, when Matt Wieters came in as a top prospect, hit .307 with eight home runs for Orleans, and left as the top prospect. The next year, Wieters was the fifth overall pick in the draft.

It may end up being a similar path for Green. He's already being mentioned as the top prospect among positional players for the '09 draft. There's a very good chance he'll be a top-10 pick, maybe a top-five pick.

The cool part for fans of the Cape League is that you can trace much of Green's status back to his time on the Cape.

After becoming the first freshman since the 1990's to start at shortstop for the Trojans, Green headed to Yarmouth-Dennis last year and simply couldn't be kept off the field, even though Gordon Beckham was ahead of him on the depth chart at shortstop. Green played four different positions and still managed to hit .291 with four home runs.

Green was on the radar before last summer, but his performance with the Red Sox put him more firmly in the cross-hairs. He stayed there with a huge sophomore season. He hit .390 with nine home runs.

And then he came to the Cape, going to Chatham instead of returning to Y-D. He turned down Team USA because he wanted to play every day. He did play every day, and every day, he hit the ball, leading the league in batting average for much of the summer.

He brought power to the table. Some speed too, and in the field, he flashed a strong arm. He was the total package. His summer line finished up like this: .348, 6 HR, 21 RBI.

That's some serious production, and it matched the projection scouts like to talk about. So often in the Cape League, you'll see a guy struggle but still get high marks. That's the way it works. A bad summer might raise some questions, but there are so many factors at play -- small sample size, wood bats, tougher competition, the daily grind -- that it can be written off a little bit. If you're a top prospect, you want to have a good summer, but if you don't, it's not the end of the world. For scouts, projection is just as important, if not more important, than production.

I am not a scout, and frankly, I was pretty excited to see Grant Green do what he did. It's not that I don't like seeing stars come out of nowhere. And no matter how much a player struggles on the Cape, it's always cool to see his name get called in June.

But this was different.

The first Major League baseball game I ever went to was at Fenway Park. Roger Clemens was pitching, back in the days when he was flat-out dominant. I was so excited. I had visions of a no-hitter, maybe a 21-strikeout game.

He lasted something like an inning and a third. I was fairly disappointed. You go to a game to see the stars, and when the stars deliver, it's something special.

Well, Grant Green delivered. It occurs to me now that he might someday be a Cape League Hall of Famer. By then, if things go the way he wants them to, he'll have some other hardware, too.

But I bet he'll remember this summer, and I think the rest of us will, too.

summer wrap: by the numbers

Originally, I was going to find a few random stats and numbers and throw them out there for this post. That's pretty much what I did, except there are a ridiculous amount of numbers, and oddly enough, they can tell you a lot about the Cape League season. Some reveal statistical truths behind an impression, like the idea that the hittters dominated the league this summer. Others offer new confirmation on truths estbalished all summer, like the fact that there was an insane amount of parity in the league this year. And finally, some stats reveal absolutely nothing, other than my own desire to make this post longer.

Here goes, from 0 to 334,251 (Don't worry, I skipped some numbers along the way):

0 - The number of nine-inning no-hitters in the league this year. Usually, there's at least one. All we got this year was a five-inning fog-shortened perfect game from Nick McCully and a near-no-hitter from Brandon Workman.

0 - Players with a better baseball name than Dusty Coleman.

0 - Number of fog-outs in Chatham. Has to be some kind of record.

.032 - The difference in team average between league leader Y-D and last-place Hyannis. Typically, that number is in the .050 range. Kind of a clue that there was some parity, huh?

.230 - The team batting average for Hyannis, the lowest average in the league. It's also the highest league-low batting average this decade. As in, this year's worst was better than a lot of other worsts.

.473 - League-best on-base percentage posted by Marc Krauss. It's the highest mark since 2000, when none other than Kevin Youkilis had a .488 OBP.

.667 - The on-base percentage of Cotuit pitcher Sam Brown. He had three plate appearances and walked twice. Good eye, kid.

1 - The number of Harwich pitchers who made all their appearances in a starting role. Chris Manno was the only one. Everybody else pitched at least once out of the bullpen.

1 - The number of players on the Cape who had a BCS National Championship on their resume. Y-D's Jared Mitchell is a wide receiver for LSU's football team, as well as an outfielder for the baseball team. He left the Cape after five games to head to fall camp.

1.50 - The league-leading ERA belonging to Hyannis' Austin Hudson. That's the highest number this decade, and the first time since 1999 that the league-best ERA was over 1.00.

2 - Errors made by Falmouth shortstop Joey Wong, the lowest number for any everyday shortstop in the league.

3 - The number of streakers at the all-star game. They were quite the trio.

4 - The number of players on Harwich's roster who went by initials -- D.J. Belfonte, D.J. LeMahieu, J.T. Wise and J.J. Hoover.

4 - The number of players with eight home runs or more -- Chris Dominguez, Ben Paulsen, Ryan Jones and Angelo Songco. That's the most this decade.

5 - The number of qualifying players who had more walks than strikeouts. The list: Marc Krauss, Trevor Coleman, Chase Leavitt, Tommy Medica and Curt Casali. It's interesting that three of the five are catchers. The best ratio belonged to Coleman, who walked 39 times and struck out 25 times.

5 - The difference in the number of hits between Orleans catchers Travis Tartamella and Hampton Tignor. That's the biggest difference in their remarkably similar stat lines.

5 - The number of times Grant Green and Chris Dominguez were each intentionally walked. They tied for the league lead.

5:37 - Approximate length of the version of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" that played at the all-star game. Seriously. It had to be some kind of extended cut.

6 - Positions played by Bourne's Tyler Cannon. He saw time at all the infield spots, including catcher, and played one game in the outfield.

7 - The number of players who played in all 44 regular-season games for their teams. The list: Mike Freeman, Derek Poppert, Conner Powers, Trevor Coleman, Ben Paulsen, Tim Wheeler and Keenan Wiley. Interestingly, three of those guys are from Brewster. With a play-in game and three playoff games, Coleman ended up with 48 games played, the highest overall total.

8 - Consecutive games Harwich won to close out the season.

8 - Number of teams that hit 20 home runs or more, and you guessed it, that's by far the most this decade. It's not really close, either. The previous high was five, which happened four times.

9 - The number of at-bats Grant Green went without a hit on the final day of the season, when Chatham played a double-header. He hadn't had a stretch like that all summer.

10 - The number of saves Russell Brewer had on July 9, with a month of the season left.

10.53 - Combined K/9 for Team USA pitchers Kendal Volz, Blake Smith, Mike Leake, Mike Minor, Andy Oliver, Kyle Gibson, Stephen Strasburg and A.J. Griffin, all of whom would have been on the Cape. When people say the power arms were missing from the Cape this year, this is what they mean.

11 - The number of times Cole Figueroa struck out, the lowest total among players with at least 100 at-bats.

12 - The number of saves Russell Brewer finished with. It was through no fault of his own. He pitched well when he had a chance, but the Mets weren't winning consistently.

12 - The number of times Tony Sanchez was hit by a pitch, tops in the league.

13 - The single-game high for strikeouts this summer. Y-D's Jeff Inman did it in the third-to-last game of the season and Wareham's Brandon Workman pulled it off in his near no-hitter. The high last summer was 15, a mark set by Brett Jacobson and D.J. Mitchell.

13 - The number of runs scored by Hyannis slugger Chris Dominguez, an exceedingly low number when you consider his 10 home runs and 22 extra-base hits.

14 - The number of pitchers who started a game for Chatham this summer, the highest number in the league.

14 - The number of times I mis-spelled Caleb Cotham's name. I was going with Coltham for quite awhile . . . and I just had to double-check again because I couldn't remember which one was right.
15 - Decision-less appearances made by Brewster pitcher Rory McKean. That was his season total in appearances, and he finished with a 0-0 record.

18 - Games finished by Brad Boxberger and Ben Tootle. I never knew what GF stood for on the stat sheet until I looked that up.

23 - Appearances made by Bourne's David Erickson, tops in the league.

25 - The number of hits allowed by Falmouth's Nate Karns and Hyannis' Austin Hudson. Among pitchers who qualified for the ERA title, that's the best number.

45 - The number of innings Harwich played in the post-season. Typically, that number would be reserved for a team that went three games in one series, and two in another. Harwich swept both series, but had that little 18-inning game mixed in.

46 - Errors made by Harwich, fewest in the league. Y-D made 70.

49 - The combined total of games played and pitching appearances recorded by Orleans' Alex Hassan, who was the only true two-way player in the league. He was slated to just be an outfielder, but when the Cardinals lost their closer, he stepped into that role.

50 - Percentage of hits that went for extra bases off the bats of Chris Dominguez and Angelo Songco. Dominguez had 44 hits and 22 for extra bases. Songco had 36 hits, 18 for extra bases.

56 - The number of singles by Bourne's Jordan Henry. He had 60 hits total, with only four going for extra-bases.

61 - The number of hits by A.J. Pollock, the best mark since 2003, when Warner Jones had 64.

67 - The number of strikeouts recorded by Brandon Workman. That's the highest total since 2005, when Daniel Bard had 82.

135.00 - The ERA belonging to Y-D first baseman Andy Wilkins. He's not a two-way guy but he was on the mound once and allowed five runs in one-third of an inning. Proof that he should stick with hitting.

216.1 - Total innings logged by Wareham starters Robby Broach, Dallas Keuchel, Max Perlman and Brandon Workman. Each of them had over 50. By comparison, there were only four other pitchers in the whole league who got to 50 innings.

321 - The total number of players who were on the Cape this summer. That ranges from the one game played by Harwich's Patrick McKenna to the 44 played by guys like Paulsen, Coleman, etc.

334,251 - Total attendance for the year, including the all-star game and playoffs. Whether some team's estimates are inflated or not, that's still a staggering number.

stats by position

I put together lists of stats by position last year, and I found them pretty helpful when analyzing exactly what we saw over the course of the summer. So I've put them together again. I'm finding them interesting again, so hopefully you will too.

Rather than post them all here, I've got them on the right field fog geocities site. Each position has its own page, and the links are below. The players are ranked according to batting average. Next to their name is the number of games they played at the position. Players who saw time at multiple positions are listed at the spot where they played the most. If there's a star by the name, that means the player did play a lot at another spot.

I think that should explain everything. There's a little summary for the position at the bottom of each page so be sure to scroll down.

Catcher
First Base
Second Base
Shortstop
Third Base
Outfield

Enjoy.

the plan and a few notes

I've been staring at some stats lately, and though I've found that you can't conjure up any more baseball, you can learn some things. I will post some of the stuff either tonight or tomorrow, including a compilation of stats sorted by position. After that, I will get into the season wrap-up stuff that I've been promising.

For now, a few interesting tidbits.

• Santa Clara's official web site did a cool Q&A with pitcher Steve Kalush, who helped lead Harwich to the Cape League championship. Kalush and his Santa Clara teammate Tommy Medica both played big roles for the Mariners, and in the championship, they beat their teammate Nate Garcia, who played for Cotuit. Interestingly, both Kalush and Garcia won the Alaska League championship last summer with the Mat-Su Miners.

• Jim Callis of Baseball America's had some high praise for Grant Green in this week's "Ask BA" column: "Green is clearly the top shortstop for the 2009 draft at this point, and he's the top overall position prospect as well. He was an easy choice for the No. 1 prospect in the Cape this summer. One scouting director I spoke to said he embodied the best of Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria, and others compared his bat to Longoria's, high praise indeed. Though he's 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Green should be able to stay at shortstop."

• With so many of this summer's stars signing pro contracts, we're getting an earlier-than-usual look at professional returns. The short-season Northwest League has a nice little Cape League flavor, with Dusty Coleman, Mike Bianucci and Cole Figueroa all making their debuts there. Coleman is hitting .243 in 10 games with the Vancouver Canadians (Oakland); Bianucci is hitting .318 with four home runs for the Spokane Indians (Texas); and Figueroa is hitting .284 with four home runs for the Eugene Emeralds (San Diego). Also out west, but in a different league, Cape League batting champ Jimmy Cesario is hitting .271 in 17 games with the Rookie Pioneer League's Casper Ghosts (Colorado). Other guys who signed this year: Danny Meszaros has made nine appearances for the New York Penn League's Tri-City ValleyCats (Houston) and has a 3.26 ERA with 33 strikeouts in only 19.1 innings of work. J.J. Hoover made his professional debut last week for the Applachian League's Danville Braves (Atlanta). He hasn't allowed a run in two outings. Bryce Stowell has been assigned to the Penn League's Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Cleveland) but has yet to make an appearance.
  

an almost announcement

There's no official release, but if you happen to accidentally click on a link to the CCBL Awards, it does include a Pitcher of the Year. It's Bourne's Nick McCully of Coastal Carolina.

Much like last year with Tom Milone, McCully had the edge because of his record, a perfect 5-0 mark. In a year where some of the more dominant pitchers didn't win much, McCully stood apart. Only Nick Hernandez and Caleb Cotham were in the same category in terms of number of wins, and both of them had more losses than McCully.

These are McCully's final numbers: 5-0, 1.98 ERA, 50 IP, 44 K, 14 BB, .88 WHIP, 1 CG, 1 SHO

Pretty impressive stuff. It's the second straight summer that McCully has had a lot of success in New England. Playing in the NECBL last summer, McCully had a 4-1 record with a 2.15 ERA and a no-hitter to his name.

In other news, the Cape League also announced its all-league teams.

Here's what it looks like:

1B - Ben Paulsen
2B - Jimmy Cesario
SS - Grant Green
3B - Chris Dominguez
Inf. Util. - Raynor Campbell
OF - A.J. Pollock
OF - Marc Krauss
OF - Trent Ashcraft
OF - Jordan Henry
C - Tommy Medica
C - Tony Sanchez
Util. - Joseph Sanders
DH - Kevin Patterson
DH - Brent Milleville

SP - Nick McCully
SP - Nick Hernandez
SP - Matt Thomson
SP - Andrew Carraway
SP - Bryce Stowell
SP - Chris Manno
RP - Russell Brewer
RP - Ben Tootle

Just as it was with the all-star selections, I don't see too many huge snubs. I'm a little surprised Brandon Workman wasn't on there but his ERA did balloon a little bit at the end of the year, and it's tough to push any of the aforementioned guys out of a spot. A few other notable guys who didn't make it: Ryan Wheeler, Cory Olson, Ryan Jones, Angelo Songco and Ryan Pineda.

Update: I forgot the DH's, but they're in there now.

so...

Any baseball going on? I'll be honest. I'm pretty bored right now.

Does it seem to anybody else than when the Cape League season ends, somebody flips a switch and turns the whole thing off? (I'm looking at you, Cape Cod Times).

It seems to me that when you've just closed out a sprint to the finish line of a marathon, you should have a cool-down period. I've never run a marathon, though, so maybe not. I guess some people just collapse at the finish line.

But I will not collapse. It's time for a little jog. Maybe some race-walking. Anything to wind down the summer without going this cruel cold-turkey route.

So, later in the week, I'll have some season-in-review stuff up and then I'll formulate a plan for the off-season, which unlike last year, will not involve three months without a post.

For now, a few things to catch up on.

• This got lost in the shuffle for me, but Jason Stidham and Mark Fleury were named co-MVP's of the playoffs. Stidham had seven RBI, all in the first game of the championship series. Fleury only had one hit in the four-game postseason, but it was a big one.
  

• Speaking of awards, are we getting a Cape League Pitcher of the Year? Unless I missed it, nothing's been announced. I have issues with the way the awards are presented (i.e., you might find out if you're at the game where it's handed out), but the fact that this award hasn't been announced yet just muddies the waters further. Maybe there's a good reason for the delay, but I don't like it.
  

• The deadline for signing draft picks came and went on Friday night, and plenty of Cape Leaguers were in the news. Pitchers J.J. Hoover and Bryce Stowell, who had tremendous showings this summer after getting picked in June, leveraged their big summers into big contracts. Hoover, a 10th-round pick of the Braves, signed for $400,000. Stowell, who would have been a redshirt junior at UC Irvine, got an even bigger payday. A 22nd-round pick of the Indians, Stowell inked a deal worth $725,000, which is well above MLB's slotting recommendation for that pick. By my count that makes seven '08 Cape Leaguers who signed after, or in the midst of, a strong summer: Mike Bianucci, Jimmy Cesario, Dusty Coleman, Danny Meszaros and Cole Figueroa.

• In other draft news, 2007 Cape League Top Prospect Aaron Crow, the ninth overall pick in June, failed to come to terms with the Washington Nationals. Rather than return to school, Crow is now expected to pitch the rest of this season and the early part of next year with the Fort Worth Cats of the Independent American Association. That's the same team that former Tennessee star Luke Hochevar played with in 2006 after he didn't sign. The next year, Hochevar was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
  

• The other piece of news from the draft that may or may not have Cape League implications is the decision by first-rounder Gerrit Cole to stick with his commitment to UCLA. Cole, a righthander from Orange, Calif., who has an electric fastball, was selected by the Yankees near the end of the first round. He opted not to sign, which marks the first time in a long time that a high-school first-rounder will be going to college. There's a decent possibility that Cole is already on a Cape League roster for next year, and if he's not, somebody's trying to get him as we speak.

• In the first six rounds of last year's draft, there were nine high-schoolers who opted for college. Several of them, including Brandon Workman, Matt Harvey and Brett Eibner, played on the Cape this summer. The number of unsigned high-schoolers in the first six rounds was down to four this year: Cole, first baseman Chase Davidson, and outfielders Zach Cone and Khiry Cooper. Davidson and Cone are both committed to Georgia, so that's a huge coup for the Bulldogs. Cooper has committed to Nebraska, but he'll be there to play football.
  

• A few other names to remember from the group of unsigned players: seventh-rounder Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt), and 10th-rounders Drew Gagnon (Long Beach State), Ryan O'Sullivan (San Diego State), Chris Joyce (UC Santa Barbara) and Danny Hultzen (Virginia). We can expect to see many of them on the Cape next summer.
  

a championship for harwich

In some circles, the Cape League has a reputation of being a show league. To some extent, it's probably a deserved reputation. Talent dominates the storylines and the display of that talent is one of the league's main goals.

But every August, when the all-star game is over and the eyes of scouts are turned elsewhere, the Cape League is not a show league. Anything but, in fact, and the photos of Harwich celebrating last night's championship tell that story pretty well.

These aren't talented kids who happen to be playing on the same field. They're talented kids coming together to create a talented team. They're compeitors and they want to win. Individual goals and attention from scouts doesn't change that. When you're with a group of guys every night for two months, you want to succeed. Seeing players embrace that is one of the coolest things about the end of the season.

The unique thing about Harwich's championship run is that the players weren't just embracing that for each other, for their team.

They were embracing it for an organization and a town.

This is what Mark Fleury told the Cape Cod Times: “After being here a few weeks and just talking to the locals, they really wanted, not only a winning team, but a championship team. I’m glad I was a part of it.”

Judging from their reactions, a lot of other players were glad to be part of it, too. That they wanted to be part of it is probably one of the biggest reasons why this team had success.

Take Brian Kemp and Andrew Giobbi. Both got off to strong starts. Kemp, from St. Johns, was hitting the ball well, while Giobbi, a late addition from Vanderbilt, was driving in runs at a faster clip than anybody in the league.

Then they both got injured, Giobbi in scary fashion when he got hit in the face by a pitch. For several weeks, they were out of the lineup and I assumed they were done for the year. That's generally what happens when you get hurt in the Cape League. You pack it in.

Kemp and Giobbi came back. They both had hits in last night's championship clincher. And while I'm sure coming back was motivated to some extent by self-interest, I'm betting they also came back because they wanted to be part of this.

When the team caught fire in the last week of the season, they quickly became part of something bigger. Not just a team with good chemistry chasing some goals, but a team and a town chasing an improbable goal.

Last night, there were more than 6,000 fans at Whitehouse Field. I can't imagine that many people being there. They must have been climbing trees in the outfield.

The high attendance number speaks to what this title chase became. For 21 years, Harwich went without a Cape League title. Most of the players on this year's team weren't born the last time the Mariners won.

But they did it, and when the winning run crossed the plate last night, they weren't the only ones celebrating.

the drought is over

For the first time in 21 years, the Harwich Mariners won the Cape Cod League Championship, and I think this tremendous photo by Ron Schloerb of the Cape Cod Times says it all.

Much more on this game tomorrow.

For now, congratulations Harwich.

one win away

There's been so much going on with the playoff races and the sprint to the finish line, it's hard to believe the finish line might be crossed tonight.

Then again, it's always hard to believe. The season seems so short.

But I'm sure it's different for the players. While the season marches on and makes itself seem short, the players are the ones doing the marching. This time of the year, they're ready to head home.

They've just got a little business to take care of first.

By virtue of their blowout win yesterday, the Harwich Mariners are one win away from their first Cape League championship since 1987. Three weeks ago, maybe even two weeks ago, I would not have picked them to be in this spot. They've been the streakiest team in the league, but I guess the funny thing about streaks is every once in a while, you hit one at the right time.

The Mariners have done that. They won their last four regular-season games, and thus far, they've swept through the playoffs. They haven't lost since Aug. 3.

When it comes to streaky teams, it's sometimes tough to say what separates good from bad. That's the way it is for Harwich. In looking back on this winning streak, there isn't one trend that stands out.

But that's kind of what the Mariners have been like all season. Their pitching ranked second in the league, but their offense was in the middle of the pack. It took until the last few weeks of the season for them to separate themselves from the rest of the East contenders.

Through it all, though, manager Steve Englert told anyone who would listen that this team had the best chemistry of any he'd ever coached.

This is what happens when a team with good chemistry gets hot. There's no one trend because on a given day, anybody can step up. Last night, it was Jason Stidham, who almost matched his season RBI total in one game.

If someone steps up big tonight, he'll lead Harwich to a championship.

Chris Manno might be the one to do it. He's been the ace of the staff all season and he'll get the ball tonight. He seems like the kind of kid who relishes a chance like this.

But don't expect it to be a cakewalk. I wouldn't be surprised if Cotuit forces a third game. In this season of ultimate parity, that would be fitting, and if any team can do it, Cotuit can. The Kettleers have fought through injuries and won the division despite being a much different team than the one that started the season so hot. They'll have Nick Hernandez on the mound tonight, and like Manno, he's the one you want out there.

We'll see what happens. My gut feeling tells me Harwich isn't going to let this slip, but I've been wrong many, many times.

Either way, enjoy the game, people. It might be the last one.

harwich 11, cotuit 2

So much for the pitchers' duel.

Half of the marguee match-up I mentioned yesterday didn't turn out as planned, with Harwich's Michael Morrison getting the start in place of Chris Manno.

The other half didn't turn out as planned either.

Seth Blair was on the mound for Cotuit, and Harwich lit him up. Blair, who finished second in the ERA race, gave up 10 runs as Harwich cruised to the 11-2 victory.

When I got home from work and checked the very helpful Cape Cod Times live blog, I thought I was reading it wrong.

But I was not.

I guess after getting shut out for 17 innings, Harwich was ready to score some runs. In all, the Mariners had 16 hits. Jason Stidham, who had eight RBI all season, had seven in this game.

And just like that, Harwich is one win away from a Cape League championship, and, seemingly, one punch from a knockout blow. It's going to be tough for the Kettleers to bounce back from this for tomorrow's game.

They've battled through adversity all season, though, so maybe they're the team to do it.

Back later with some thoughts on tomorrow.

championship notes

After the close races and wild finish left most teams shuffling their pitching staffs for the first round of the playoffs, it just so happens that all the shuffling has brought up a pair aces for game one of the finals.

Harwich will send star lefty Chris Manno to the mound tomorrow against Seth Blair and Cotuit. Both pitchers have sub-1.00 ERAs. At 1.55, Blair's is better, and, in fact it was second in the league. But Manno has more strikeouts, and he also hasn't taken a loss. He had probably the most impressive outing of any pitcher at the all-star game, and in his one start since then, he helped Harwich clinch a playoff spot with seven innings of four-hit ball.

Blair is no stranger to the big stage, either. He started the second-to-last game of the season for Cotuit, the game that ultimately clinched them a playoff berth. He went seven shutout innings.

So this is quite a match-up, and it's pretty awesome to see in the championship series. Sometimes, it doesn't work out like this, and with the season dragging longer and longer, I was afraid this year would be one of those years.

Thankfully, it's not. I'd expect Manno and Blair to put on a show tomorrow.

Some more notes:

• This championship berth has been a long time coming for both of these teams. Cotuit was last there in 1999, when they beat Chatham. For Harwich, it's the first time since 1997. That year, the Mariners lost to Wareham.
  

• This time last summer, league MVP Conor Gillaspie was heading back to school and missing the championship series. We'll see if there any departures this year, but so far I haven't heard of any.
  

• Blair will be on the hill tomorrow for Cotuit, and Nick Hernandez, whom I'd call a co-ace, will get the ball in game two. No game two starter has been announced for Harwich, but I'm thinking it could be J.J. Hoover, just based on the calendar.
  

• The teams split the season series, with Cotuit taking the last meeting by a 6-1 score on July 28. There's also a lot of history between these teams and the pitchers they'll be facing. Hernandez picked up the win in the most recent game, allowing five hits and a run in 6.1 innings. On July 20, when Harwich won 4-3, Manno allowed three runs in 7.1 strong innings. And back on July 16, Blair had his best outing of the summer against Harwich, a complete-game, one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and no walks.
  

• Harwich has some bad playoff batting averages, but all those 0-for-7's probably have something to do with that. Tommy Medica and Joseph Sanders each have three hits to lead the Mariners. Sanders' three-run home run in game one against Orleans was the team's biggest hit of the postseason.

• For Cotuit, six players have at least two hits so far in the playoffs. That lends credence to the fact that, top to bottom, Cotuit had the best-hitting team in the league. There aren't any weak spots.
  

• Lucky for Harwich that Cotuit didn't win in two, and that Monday's game was postponed. The extra days off mean the team actually got to rest after its 18-inning marathon on Sunday. That will be especially big for the bullpen. Willie Kempf should be fine to go. Not sure about Steve Kalush, who will be on two days' rest after throwing 5.2 innings on Sunday.

• The only problem with the days off: momentum. Sometimes, when you win in wild fashion like Harwich did, you want to keep it going right away.
  

• Whatever happens, we're seeing the two hottest teams in the league meeting for the title, which is pretty awesome. Cotuit has won 9 of its last 12 games, with two losses and a tie mixed in. Harwich has won seven of eight.
  

• I was initially hoping to get over for game one, but since it's in Cotuit and it's at 3 p.m., that's probably not going to happen. If I'm home from work in time, I will be listening and doing a live blog. We'll see what happens after that. Regardless, it should be fun tomorrow. Enjoy.
  

cotuit takes it

They got the game in, and it didn't even take that long.

Cotuit beat Falmouth 3-2 today in game three of the Western Division playoffs to clinch a spot in the league championship. The Kettleers fell behind 1-0 but then grabbed a 3-1 lead and held it for most of the game. The Commodores got a run in the ninth, but Cotuit held on for the victory.

The Kettleers will take on Harwich in the championship series, which begins Wednesday. Cotuit will host the first game. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.

let's try this again

As long as that green stays away, we'll have playoff baseball today after yesterday's game three had to be postponed. The league is in quite the time crunch now, with players getting ready to head back to school. I'm sure some of them were planning on already being gone.

As far as yesterday's delay, it could help Cotuit. Ace Seth Blair was not going to pitch yesterday, but today, he's on four days rest and he might be the one getting the ball.

We'll see at 3 p.m.

harwich wins a marathon, falmouth evens series

One first-round playoff series is going three games.

The other kind of already did.

While Falmouth outlasted Cotuit 6-3 to even the Western Division series, Harwich and Orleans staged an epic game in the East. When it was over, 18 innings and more than four hours later, Harwich had a 1-0 victory and a spot in the championship.

Harwich 1, Orleans 0

I almost went to this game, but with a two-hour drive ahead of me after an 18-inning game, it's probably better that I didn't.

Except I really wish I'd seen it.

Extra-inning games that get up to the 13th or 14th inning are incredible enough. This one went 18, and it was playoff game, and throughout the game, the score was 0-0. Crazy stuff. There was tremendous pitching, tremendous defense and not-so-tremendous hitting (Shaver Hansen and his 0-for-8 can attest).

In the end, with fog possibly playing a role, Orleans outfielder Angelo Songco charged in on a fly ball from Branton Belt, and with the shortstop and centerfielder converging, the ball bounced off Songco's glove. Brian Kemp, who was on second base and going on contact with two outs, raced home to give Harwich the victory.

That's a tough way to end a game, and for Orleans, a tough way to end a season. But everything that came before the ending was the stuff classic games are made of.

• Six pitchers didn't allow a run. William Bullock went nine shutout innings for the Mariners, followed by 1.1 by Willie Kempf, 5.2 by Steve Kalush and 2 from Sean Black. For Orleans starter Matt Thomson went 7.1 scoreless frames, Adam Wilk went 3.2 and closer Alex Hassan tossed 6.2 dominant innings.
  

• Orleans left nine men on base, Harwich 13.

• The Cardinals had the game's best chance to score in the seventh. Songco was hit by a pitch then stole second and third. On a fly ball to left field with one out, Songco tagged up and headed for home, but catcher-turned-outfielder Tommy Medica cut him down at the plate.
  

• It was the longest game of the season, and it could have gone longer. The 11:30 curfew was waived.
  

In all, it was a remarkable game, one that a lot of people will remember.

Falmouth 6, Cotuit 3

Starting pitcher Chris Gloor gave Falmouth exactly what it needed, dominating until the sixth inning and setting the stage for the Commodores to tie the series. They scored two runs in the first, one in the third and one in the fifth before Cotuit finally got to Gloor with two runs in the sixth.

But the Commodores never lost the lead. Rex Brothers pitched 1.2 scoreless innings out of the pen and Ben Tootle picked up the save, stranding two in the ninth to seal the victory.

Trevor Coleman had a home run for Falmouth, Kevin Nolan went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Michael Thomas went 3-for-4.

Looking Ahead

Chad Bettis, who has been Falmouth's most consistent starter this year, will get the ball in today's decisive game three, which will be played at 3 p.m. in Cotuit, as long as the rain holds off. The Kettleers have not announced a starter.

Meanwhile, Harwich will get a well-deserved day off.

cotuit, harwich strike first

The teams that came into the postseason hot stayed hot yesterday on the opening night of the playoffs.

The top-seeded Cotuit Kettleers, who won five straight games at the end of the regular season, made it six in a row with a 6-4 victory over No. 2 Falmouth. Over in the East, the second-seeded Harwich Mariners, winners of four in a row to end the season, beat Orleans 4-3 for the 1-0 series lead.

Cotuit 6, Falmouth 4

I wasn't surprised to see that Cotuit grabbed its victory. The Kettleers have been playing better than anybody in the league and, yesterday, they had one of their aces on the mound. Nick Hernandez gave Cotuit exactly what it needed, allowing just two runs in six innings. He struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. Daniel Wolford was strong in relief, while Drew Storen allowed a run in the ninth before picking up the save.

As for the offense, Cotuit continued a recent trend -- hits from every spot. Yesterday, eight of nine starters had at least one hit, with Jason Kipnis going 2-for-3 with a home run.

Meanwhile, Falmouth actually out-hit Cotuit 11-10, but the Commodores left 11 on base. They also found themselves in an early hole, with the Kettleers scoring five in the first three innings off Falmouth starter Jorge Reyes.

Harwich 4, Orleans 3

Harwich brought momentum into the game and didn't waste any time running with it. The Mariners all of their four runs in the top of the first inning, before Orleans could even blink. The Cardinals eventually settled in but couldn't climb all the way back in.

I don't blame them. That's a real tough start to recover from, and it's impressive to see from the Mariners. I knew they were hot coming into this series, but they're also a very streaky team, and you never know when the streak is going to end.

Not last night. Shaver Hansen led off the game with a double, and the merry-go-round was quickly at top speed. A three-run home run by Joseph Sanders was the big blow.

Armed with a four-run cushion, J.J. Hoover tossed seven dominant innings, striking out 12 and allowing only one earned run. Willie Kempf and Steve Kalush finished off the victory.

Looking Ahead

The difference between winning in two and winning in three is big, especially for the pitching rotation, so both Harwich and Cotuit will really be hoping to close it out tonight.

Cotuit's road looks like it will get a little tougher, with Falmouth's Chris Gloor on the mound against Paul Applebee. Gloor has a 2.59 ERA, a little better than Applebee's 3.09 mark. Gloor also has a low WHIP, while Applebee has given up more hits than innings pitched.

The Kettleers may also have to contend with Falmouth fireballer Ben Tootle, who didn't pitch yesterday. If the Commodores get a lead, Tootle will be in there.

Over in the East, Harwich heads home with a chance to clinch. It'll be a tall task, though, with Orleans ace and all-star starter Matt Thomson on the mound. But the Mariners wil counter with a good starter of their own. In fact, William Bullock allowed one run in 6.1 innings when he beat Orleans on Aug. 2.

playoff preview: orleans vs. harwich

1 Orleans Cardinals (25-17-2) vs. 2 Harwich Mariners (24-20)

Game 1: Saturday at Orleans, 7 p.m.

Game 2: Sunday at Harwich, 7 p.m.

Game 3 (if necessary): Monday at Orleans, 7 p.m.

The Orleans Cardinals finished the regular season with the best record in the league.

Their record in July is the reason for that. Their record in August might be a reason to worry.

Orleans kind of backed into the playoffs, going 2-5 over the last two weeks of the season. That means the team that was hottest for the longest stretch this season isn't even as hot as their opponent.

Harwich enters the playoffs having won four straight games. Included in that stretch: two victories over Orleans.

So this series looks a lot more even than it would have in July.

SEASON SERIES

Six Meetings

Orleans: 3 wins (3-2, 2-1, 10-5)

Harwich: 3 wins (11-3, 3-1, 5-3)

Total Runs: Harwich 27, Orleans 22

Each team went 2-1 at home.

Last Meeting

On the second-to-last day of the season, Harwich got a big performance by ace Chris Manno to beat Orleans 5-3. That made two in a row for the Mariners over Orleans.

TEAM CAPSULE - ORLEANS

Offensive Leaders

Average: Matt Bowman - .277

Home Runs: Angelo Songco - 8

RBI: Angelo Songco - 26

For a long time, the Cardinals were the worst offensive team in the league. They snapped out of it in a big way to put their streak together, but they've hit the skids a little bit since then. Losing Rich Poythress and Cole Figueroa hurt, but the cupboard isn't bare, and the Cardinals should have enough offense to make a go of it. Bowman is the leading hitter, but there are three other key players hitting in that range. Tim Wheeler is the team's table-setter, and Songco the run producer.

Pitching Leaders

ERA: Brad Stillings - .82

Wins: Rob Rasmussen and Matt Thomson - 4

Strikeouts: Rob Rasmussen - 43

When you go down the list pitcher-by-pitcher, the Orleans staff doesn't look that impressive. But as a group, the Cardinals have led the league in ERA for most of the season. One of the keys is quality depth. You could go pretty deep into the Orleans bullpen before you hit an ERA over four. As for the starters, Thomson has been very good, but the Cardinals will need big things from Martin Viramontes and Rob Rasmussen if they're to move on.

TEAM CAPSULE - HARWICH

Offensive Leaders
Average: Tommy Medica - .352
Home Runs: Brandon Belt - 5
RBI: Brandon Belt - 25

Medica has quietly ascended the leading hitters list all summer, and he ended up finishing third. That kind of sums up the whole Harwich offense. The Mariners will sneak up on you. They're not that far up the list in team batting average or home runs, but they've scored the second-most runs in the league. Both Belt and Andrew Giobbi have driven in a lot of runs despite having low batting averages. Joseph Sanders has been hitting all year, while Shaver Hansen and D.J. LeMahieu have also played big roles.

Pitching Leaders
ERA: Chris Manno - 1.93

Wins: Sean Black, Brian Dupra, Chris Manno and Ryan Quigley - 3

Strikeouts: Michael Morrison - 46

Harwich is behind only Orleans in the team ERA category. Manno and game one starter J.J. Hoover make up maybe the best 1-2 punch of any of the playoff teams. If Willie Kempf and Steve Kalush can continue to pitch well out of the bullpen, the Mariners will be in business.

WHAT I THINK

The battle between the top two pitching teams may come down to how the pitching schedule shakes out. For instance, all-star J.J. Hoover is on the mound for Harwich tonight against Orleans' Brad Stillings. Stillings has good numbers but he's only made two starts. Then tomorrow night, it's Orleans ace Matt Thomson against William Bullock, who's had some ups and downs.

So I think that will have an impact. This isn't going to be ace-vs-ace, No. 2 vs No. 2, etc. Whoever pitches best will be proving that they really have the best "staff."

The other key will be offense. The pitching will most likely be good. The team that can get its offense going may have the edge.

As for a prediction, I've gone back and forth. I didn't like the way Orleans ended the season, and Harwich has a strong team. In the end, though, I'm going to stick with the Cardinals. It's going to go three, but just as they found a way to break out of the doldrums early in the season, they'll find a way again.

playoff preview: cotuit vs. falmouth

1 Cotuit Kettleers (24-18-2) vs. 2 Falmouth Commodores (23-20-1)
Game 1: Saturday at Cotuit, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Sunday at Falmouth, 7 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Monday at Cotuit

At times this season, the Cotuit Kettleers and Falmouth Commodores didn't get it done.

But they got it done when it counted.

The Kettleers won their last five regular-season games, which allowed them to break out of the pack and win the Western Division. Falmouth had a hot streak late in the year, hit a few bumps in the road, but bounced back in time to win its final two games when both were do-or-die.

And so they meet today, two teams who seem to deliver when there's a lot on the line.

After the first two weeks of the season, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Cotuit winning the Western Division. They were riding a powerful offense to the best start in the league. But personnel losses left them looking like a shadow of their former selves.

At least until the last week of the season. Cotuit's pitching had done enough to keep the team in the mix. The offense came back to life just in time. The Kettleers scored 26 runs in their five-game winning streak, and with players fighting through struggles, the lineup suddenly looks formidable again. It's not as powerful as it once was, but top to bottom, there aren't many weak spots.

Falmouth has also had to overcome a big personnel loss, with Jimmy Cesario signing a pro contract after the all-star game. But this team has been hanging in there all along, seemingly without the means to do that, so it's no surprise that they've hung in there again.

Whatever happens, it's going to be an interesting series.

SEASON SERIES

Six Meetings
Cotuit: 4 wins (9-2, 3-1, 4-2, 3-1)
Falmouth: 2 wins (3-2, 10-6)
Total Runs: Cotuit 27, Falmouth 19

Cotuit won two at home and two on the road. Falmouth won one at home and one on the road.

Last Meeting
Cotuit won 3-1 at home on August 3. Nick Hernandez allowed one run in 7.2 innings. Hernandez is the probable starter for game one.

TEAM CAPSULE - COTUIT

Offensive Leaders
Average: Kevin Patterson - .296
Home Runs: Kevin Patterson and Brett Jackson - 4
RBI: Kevin Patterson - 27

Patterson is the key piece for the Kettleers. Interestingly enough, he's been batting way down in the order lately, and apparently, that has helped spark the team's surge. Having Patterson bat that low also highlights the team's strength. One-through-nine, you're not going to find an easy out. Other standouts for Cotuit include Jeff Kobernus, Jason Kipnis and Dallas Poulk. Robert Stock has been on fire lately.

Pitching Leaders
ERA: Seth Blair - 1.55
Wins: Nick Hernandez - 6
Strikeouts: Nick Hernandez - 48

Hernandez and Blair make up a pretty formidable 1-2 punch. After them, you've got Paul Applebee and Mario Hollands, both of whom have been solid, especially down the stretch. Daniel Wolford, Sam Brown and Drew Storen have been good out of the bullpen.

TEAM CAPSULE - FALMOUTH

Offensive Leaders
Average: A.J. Pollock - .377
Home Runs: Ryan Jones - 8
RBI: A.J. Pollock - 25

For the second straight year, Falmouth rides into the playoffs with an MVP in their lineup. Pollock has been just as impressive as Conor Gillaspie was last year, and he has the ability to carry this team. Jones has provided some pop for the Commodores, while Darin Ruf has been hitting well lately. Much like Cotuit, Falmouth doesn't have many weak spots. Their team batting average is .261, three points higher than Cotuit's.

Pitching Leaders
ERA: Ben Tootle - 1.97
Wins: Ben Tootle, Chad Bettis and Jorge Reyes - 3
Strikeouts: Rex Brothers - 48

The fact that the team leaders in wins only have three says a lot about Falmouth's pitching staff. They've found a way, but a lot of times, it's by trotting a starter out for five innings then cobbling things together with the bullpen. But with Tootle at the back end, they can feel good about doing that. And several of the starters finished strong. Bettis, Chris Gloor and Nate Karns have been solid down the stretch.

WHAT I THINK

I didn't get to see any of Cotuit's final games, but the picture in the Cape Cod Times of Brett Jackson celebrating like a maniac in the win over Hyannis said a lot.

The Kettleers want this.

Falmouth does, too, of course, but I get the feeling that the Kettleers are really feeling that momentum right now. They've had a lot of adversity this year, and everybody knows that adversity can help forge a stronger team in the long run. I think Cotuit is seeing the benefits of that right now.

I also think the Kettleers have the advantage in the pitching department, so I'm picking them to win the series. In fact, I'm going to pick them to sweep.