Daily Fog: Going Long

Both Harwich and Y-D played 14 innings of baseball on Sunday in the first doubleheaders of the summer.

They almost did it again Monday night.

After Harwich split its twin bill with Bourne on Sunday and Y-D swept past Falmouth, the teams played the longest game of the season on Monday in Harwich. They went 13 innings, and no one scored for 12-and-a-half of them. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th, the Mariners pushed the game-winning run across on an RBI single by Phil Gosselin (Virginia). In addition to being the longest game, it was also, amazingly, the first 1-0 game of the season.

Getting that one proved to be extremely difficult. Seven pitchers took their turn on the mound, and none of them surrendered much. Even the only run was unearned. Y-D starter Greg Peavey (Oregon State) struck out six and allowed five hits in eight shutout innings, and his might not have even been the best performance. His Harwich counterpart, Mike Gipson (Florida Atlantic), allowed just two hits in seven scoreless frames.

When the game went to the bullpens, it was more of the same. Seth Simmons (East Carolina) and Kevin Rhoderick (Oregon State) each went two scoreless innings for Y-D, with Rhoderick striking out five. For Harwich, Geoff Parker (Florida State) and Matthew Price (Virginia Tech) went three innings each. Parker, making his first appearance, didn't allow a hit and struck out five.

Harwich finally broke through in the 13th. Chris Wade (Kentucky) reached on an error to start the frame, and he went first to third on a single by Dan Grovatt (Virginia). That set things up for Gosselin, who knocked the walk-off single to right field. Gosselin and Grovatt, both late arrivals after Virginia's run to Omaha, are already in the top five in hits on the team.

The win moved Harwich to 6-7, just 2.5 games back in the suddenly tight East standings. Y-D is sitting in second place at 8-7 with the second-best record in the league.

Elsewhere

Bryan Morgado (Tennessee) might be making himself a little money. A third-round pick this year, Morgado arrived in Bourne last week and turned in a solid, but short, first start. His second start wasn't exactly long, but it didn't have to be. Morgado went five innings last night against Cotuit and struck out 13. That's a league-high for the summer. At one point, Morgado struck out 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. Clearly one of the most dominant performances we're likely to see all summer.

Bourne ended up winning the game 2-1 thanks to an eighth-inning rally. Cotuit starter Jake Buchanan (NC State) struck out five in six shutout innings, but the Braves got things going against the Kettleer bullpen. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) tripled to start the inning and Chris Wallace (Houston) knocked him in with a single to tie the game. Bourne eventually loaded the bases and Wallace trotted home with the go-ahead run on a walk to Scott Woodward (Coastal Carolina). Stephen Harrold (UNC Wilmington) stranded a runner on third in the ninth to pick up the save.

Wareham moved into first place in the West -- at least in the loss column -- thanks to a 6-1 win over Hyannis and Bourne's victory over Cotuit. Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) allowed one run in 5.1 innings and the bullpen combined for 3.2 shutout innings to secure the win. Brett Eibner (Arkansas) and Zach Wilson (Arizona State), both of whom recently arrived from the College World Series, each hit home runs to power the six-run attack. Eibner ended up 2-for-2 with three RBI. Shea Vucinich (Washington State) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Brewster hung on for a 9-8 victory and handed Chatham its fourth straight loss. The Whitecaps led 7-2 in the sixth before Chatham came all the way back to tie the game 8-8. Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) went 3-for-4 with a home run four RBI, and he started an eighth-inning rally with a single. Pinch-running for him, Tyler Thornburg (Charleston Southern) scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Stephen Yarrow (San Francisco). It proved to be the winning run when the game was called after the eighth due to darkness. John Barr (Virginia) and Colin Walsh (Stanford) each had three hits for Brewster. Dean Green (Oklahoma State) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Matt Perry (Vermont) went 2-for-4 with two RBI for Chatham.

Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) went 3-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored to help Falmouth past Orleans 4-2. Brian Fletcher (Auburn) and Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt) also drove in runs, as did the elusive Hunter Morris (Auburn). Morris was a third-round pick out of high school two years ago and has been on the Falmouth roster for two years running. He went with Team USA last year and was an invitee again this year, but apparently didn't take part in the trials. Last night's game marked his first appearance in a Falmouth uniform. Tommy Collier (San Jacinto) picked up the win for the Commodores with five shutout innings.

What to Watch For Tonight

Another high draft pick, Cotuit's Chris Dwyer (Clemson) will get the start against Y-D. Dwyer struck out nine in five shutout innings last time out. He'll actually be going up against Mario Hollands, a former Kettleer. The lefty from UC Santa Barbara played for Cotuit last year and was a 24th-round pick earlier this month. This will be his first appearance of the summer.

Daily Fog: Lucky Seven

With the rule changes implemented, I believe Sunday's seven-inning doubleheader games were the first scheduled seven-inning games played in the Cape League in a long time. I'm guessing they might have had a few somewhere along the line, maybe before the modern era. But Cape League games have been nine-inning affairs for as long as I can remember.

Either way, the Y-D Red Sox didn't mind.

Using just two pitchers -- the fewest number of pitchers they've used in any two-game stretch this summer -- the Red Sox swept past Falmouth 6-3 and 4-0 in a Sunday doubleheader. The victories gave Y-D a four-game winning streak and moved them to 8-6. They had previously lost five games in a row.

In the first game of the twin bill, Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast), the most effective starter in the league thus far, made his third appearance and delivered a strong performance again. Having not allowed a run prior to Sunday, Sale stretched his scoreless streak all the way to 20 innings when he got through six without allowing anything. Falmouth finally got to him in the seventh, touching him up for three runs. But with two men on and two out, Sale finished the game with a strikeout. He ended up striking out four and walking none in the complete-game effort. Sale leads the league in strikeouts.

Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) led the way at the plate in game one, going 2-for-2 with three RBI. Austin Wates (Virginia Tech) and Mickey Wiswall (Boston College), two of the league's top hitters, stayed hot with two hits apiece. Wates is second in the league with a .391 average. Wiswall is fourth at .360.

It was more of the same for the Red Sox in the second game of the doubleheader. John Leonard (Boston College) one-upped Sale by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He lost it with one out in the sixth but still finished off six scoreless frames and struck out five. Kevin Rhoderick (Oregon State) came on in the seventh with a runner on first and struck out the side to preserve the victory.

Wiswall went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Jordan Casas (Long Beach State) and Blake Kelso (Houston) had two hits apiece.

With the victories and a Chatham loss, the Red Sox moved within three games of the Anglers for first place in the East.

Elsewhere

In the other doubleheader, Harwich and Bourne played to a split, with Bourne winning game one 6-3 and Harwich taking game two 8-1. Stefan Romero (Oregon State) went 3-for-3 in the first game with a home run (his third) and four RBI. Chris Wallace (Houston) added a home run in the same inning as Romero. Cameron Roth (UNC Wilmington) picked up the win with six strikeouts in four strong innings. Harwich turned things around in game two, posting its second-highest run output of the season. Everybody in the lineup was on base at least once, with Trent Mummey (Auburn) driving in two Phil Gosselin (Virginia) delivering two hits. Justin Wright (Virginia Tech) and Chase Reid (Vanderbilt) combined to strike out 11. Reid struck out six and didn't allow a hit in 3.1 innings of relief.

A wild first inning was all Orleans needed to beat Chatham 2-1. Two walks and four wild pitches staked the Firebirds to a 2-0 lead. Starter Jimmy Reyes (Elon) made that lead stand up with seven strong innings. He allowed just an unearned run, struck out nine and didn't walk anybody. Matt Packer (Virginia) and Alex Hassan (Duke) went one scoreless inning each to keep the slim lead. Logan Verrett (Baylor), who had been with Team USA, struck out seven in 5.1 innings after relieving starter Thomas Keeling (Oklahoma State) in the first. The loss was Chatham's third in a row.

Cotuit broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth to beat Hyannis 2-1. An RBI single by Zach Cox (Arkansas) scored Jeff Rowland (Georgia Tech) with the go-ahead run. Benjamin Rowen (Virginia Tech) struck out four in three scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Wareham played just its second game in the last seven days, but the Gatemen certainly weren't rusty. After postponements the last two nights, the Gatemen reached double digits in runs for the first time all year in a 10-2 victory over Brewster. Shea Vucinich (Washington State), Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge), George Springer (Connecticut) and Ryan LaMarre (Michigan) all drove in two runs each, with Springer delivering a team-high three hits. Blake Monar (Indiana) allowed two runs in 5.1 innings to pick up the win. Scott Rembisz (Florida International), Keith Bilodeau (Maine) and Zach Brewster (Georgia Tech) combined for 3.2 shutout innings of relief.

What to Watch For Tonight

Jake Buchanan (NC State) goes for Cotuit against Bourne and Bryan Morgado (Tennessee), the highest-drafted player on the Cape this year. Neither pitcher allowed an earned run in his first start.

Daily Fog: An Early Statement

Chatham may have the best record in the league, but the Anglers are 0-2 against Cotuit, the team with the next-best record. The Kettleers beat the Anglers 3-1 last night. That's their second two-run victory over Chatham, which has dropped its last two after six straight wins. Amazingly, Chatham and Cotuit are the only two teams in the league with winning records.

Last night, Chatham out-hit Cotuit 10-8 but stranded 10 runners. A second-inning solo home run by Steven Brooks (Wake Forest) accounted for Chatham's only run. Cotuit responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second on a sac fly by Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) and an RBI single by Jeff Rowland (Georgia Tech). Cotuit added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI double by Cory Vaughn (San Diego State).

For the second straight night, strong pitching performances helped keep Chatham from putting together a comeback. Justin Grimm (Georgia) got the start for Cotuit and allowed just the one run in 4.1 innings. Seth Blair (Arizona State), a star on the Cape last year, made his first appearance this year since arriving from the College World series and worked four shutout innings to pick up the win. Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern) struck out two in the ninth to pick up his first save.

All in all, an impressive win for the Kettleers. Strangely enough, they didn't necessarily play their game to do it. They didn't have a stolen base, which I believe is the first time that's happened all year. They also didn't have a sacrifice bunt.

That's the thing about this team, though. For all the speed and small-ball leanings, when you look at their lineup, you realize they have some hitters who can be very productive. The combination of the two gives Cotuit a real dangerous offense.

Of course, Chatham's offense has been more dangerous. The Anglers still lead the league in runs scored, but last night, they didn't have enough.

The Kettleers and Anglers won't see each other again until July 12. It'll be interesting to see what they do then, and where they stand.

Elsewhere

In a sadly unsurprising twist, two games were postponed last night, which means that just once in the last week has a full slate of games gone off without a hitch. Crazy.

One game got impacted by weather but went far enough to be official. Y-D beat Brewster 5-3 in a game called because of lightning and rain. Remarkably, the lightning didn't flash until just after the bottom of the seventh inning. In the top half of the inning, Y-D had taken its 5-3 lead. If Brewster's at-bat in the bottom of the inning hadn't been completed, the seventh inning wouldn't have counted and the game would have gone back to a 3-3 tie. Y-D got its lead on an error and a Jonathan Jones (Long Beach State) RBI single. Seth Simmons (East Carolina) picked up the win with four strikeouts in two innings of relief. For Brewster, Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia) made his first appearance of the summer, going 1-for-3. Gyorko was at Team USA trials.

In the longest game of the summer so far, Hyannis outlasted Falmouth 6-5 in 12 innings. A passed ball on a strikeout allowed the go-ahead run to score in the top of the 12th. Cody Hawn (Tennessee) went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI to lead the Mets. He was one of five players who had two hits for Hyannis.

What to Watch For Right Today/Tonight

With doubleheaders at Y-D and Bourne, games are happening as I write this. In tonight's action, Chatham will try to stop its two-game skid with a home game against Orleans. It's the second match-up of the year between the East rivals. It appears that former Falmouth Commodore and CWS hero Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) will go for Orleans. He was not on anybody's roster this year, but has just popped up for the Firebirds. He was a 17th-round pick this year.

Daily Fog: End of the Line

The way things have been going, you got the feeling it would take something special to stop the Chatham Anglers.

Three Bourne pitchers delivered it.

Turner Phelps (James Madison), Justin Poovey (Florida) and Stephen Harrold (UNC Wilmington) combined on a four-hit shutout as the Braves toppled the Anglers by a 4-0 score, snapping Chatham's six-game winning streak.

It was the third start of the season for Phelps, who turned it into his longest and best start so far. The sophomore righty allowed just two hits, struck out nine and walked only one in six shutout innings. Bourne gave Phelps the lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth, and the bullpen helped keep the lead, a crucial part of the equation against the comeback-minded Anglers. Poovey struck out two and allowed one hit in two innings. Harrold surrendered a leadoff single in the ninth but got three straight groundouts to end the game.

It's the first time this season that Chatham has been shut out. The Anglers came into last night's game leading the league in hitting, but they dropped behind Y-D after their four-hit performance.

Kaleb Fleck (Pitt-Johnstown) got the start for Chatham and pitched well, surrendering just a run on two hits in four innings. Cody Freeman (Mississippi State) hit a solo home run for the Braves. Raynor Campbell (Baylor) scored the second run on a wild pitch and a throwing error. A dropped fly ball allowed two runs to score in the ninth.

The Anglers still sit in first by eight points, and they're the only team in the East with a winning record. Bourne improved to 4-4-2.

Elsewhere

Rob Gariano (Fairfield) got credited with the shortest complete game of the season as the Harwich-Hyannis game got called in the sixth because of rain. The Mets were trying to rally when the game was called. They had runners on second and third. Before that, Gariano had been lights-out. Making his second start, the junior righty struck out 11 and walked nobody through his 5.1 innings. For the season, he has struck out 19 without a single walk, one of the more impressive early pitching lines of the season. Harwich made a winner out of Gariano thanks to two runs in the second and one in the fifth. Levi Michael, North Carolina's freshman who was making his first appearance, drove in a run, as did David Herbek (James Madison) and Marcus Niddifer (Kentucky).

Y-D got just enough offense, and Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) delivered a lights-out relief performance to lead the Red Sox to a 3-1 victory over Orleans. After a strong start by Jared Ray (Houston), who allowed just an unearned run in six innings, Burgoon struck out seven and didn't allow a hit over the final three innings. Burgoon is establishing himself as the league's best reliever. He now has four saves and 16 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. He has not allowed a hit or an earned run. On the offensive side, Jonathan Jones (Long Beach State) led the way for the Red Sox with three hits and an RBI. Elliot Glynn (Connecticut) allowed one run in 5.2 innings for Orleans.

The other two games were postponed because of rain.

What to Watch For Tonight
Two first-place teams will get together in Cotuit as the 9-2 Chatham Anglers take on the 5-4-1 Kettleers. Before last night, Cotuit had handed Chatham its only loss. Chad Bell (Walters State) will get the start for Cotuit against Chatham's Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma State). Both have been impressive in the early going.

Historically Fast, etc.

Notes written while wondering how on Earth it rained again today . . .

I wrote the other day about Chatham's start and where it ranked in recent history. Right then, I didn't have time to go back and really look, but I did I have time tonight.

Good thing I had a lot of time.

The Anglers' 9-1 start is the best since 2002, when the Cotuit Kettleers started 13-0, breaking the all-time league record for most wins to start a season. Led by batting champ and league MVP Pete Stonard, that Cotuit team ended up tying two games before it lost its first game, which didn't happen until July 1. Pretty remarkable.

Maybe more remarkable? The Kettleers won 10 games the rest of the regular season. They still won the division title, but lost in the Western Division playoffs.

So Chatham, your cushion is nice, but it's not everything.

The league has announced some policy changes in response to all the postponements. Greg posted the full release on Codball . It looks like the big one is the allowance for seven-inning games in doubleheaders. Previously, league bylaws prevented that, but with a lot of doubleheaders on the horizon, this looks like the right move.

Some interesting names have popped up over the last few days, adding to the already large number of players drafted in 2009 who are on the Cape. Two were big names last summer on the Cape -- Baylor's Raynor Campbell and Mississippi State's Connor Powers. Campbell was a 31st-round pick while Powers went in the 11th round. Also of note is Tennessee's Bryan Morgado, who got the start for Bourne last night. Morgado was a third-round pick of the Dodgers. He missed his freshman year at Tennessee because of Tommy John surgery, but he's got a power arm that can light up radar guns. I believe he's the highest pick to play on the Cape in a few years. Last year, I think the highest pick was fifth-rounder Greg Miclat, who left pretty early in the summer.

Cotuit pitcher Drew Gagnier is the first Cape League player to come from the University of Oregon since the program was re-established. Oregon hadn't played baseball since 1981, but the program was set on course in 2007 for a return and was officially brought back to life this spring. Gagnier, a redshirt sophomore who previously played at Fresno State, is a pretty good first representative. He had a 2.70 ERA out of the bullpen for the Ducks and was a 14th-round pick of the A's earlier this month. In three appearances for Cotuit, he hasn't allowed a run and has struck out six in four innings.

Some of the Virginia contingent has arrived from the College World Series, and they're making sure everyone knows it. Dan Grovatt has gone 4-for-7 in his first two games for Harwich. John Barr went 3-for-4 last night in his first game with Brewster.

As LSU tries to defend its national championship next year, Brett Bruening may play a big role. A juco star who has committed to the Tigers, Bruening has a 0.75 ERA in two starts for Harwich. He has struck out 12 in 12 innings of work.

Speaking of LSU, it'll be very interesting to see what Anthony Ranaudo does this summer. He's on the Y-D roster, but as Dave touched on over at Codball, Ranaudo pitched a lot of innings this year -- 124.1 after just 12 last year. I too wouldn't be surprised if Ranaudo is either shut down for the summer or kept on a very tight leash. To some extent, he's done everything he needed to do this year, helping lead LSU to a title and, in the process, establishing himself as perhaps the top college prospect for the 2010 draft. On the surface, Ranaudo's situation is similar to Alex White's last year. A top prospect who carried his team deep into the tourney, White was scheduled to pitch in Chatham but was shut down for the summer. We'll find out soon enough what's going to happen with Ranaudo.

Daily Fog: Finding It

Man. It's 2:30 p.m. and I have no reasonable excuse for why this hasn't been posted yet. I have a day off, with nothing going on. I tried starting it three separate times, but no matter how many box scores I stared at, I couldn't come up with a theme.

This is rare. For all the times I've had writer's block in my life, I don't think I've ever had Cape League writer's block. In two years of putting out these daily updates, I'm pretty sure this has never happened. But today, I feel out of the loop, out of rhythm. It's like the rainy interruptions killed every ounce of momentum. Nothing connects to anything else. Wednesday's games offered a brief moment of excitement: Hey, they're playing again. Today, it's more of a "What now?"

I can only imagine how the Hyannis Mets feel.

They were on a two-game winning streak before the monsoons rolled in. Then they did nothing for four days. On that fourth day, when everyone else was back in action, they were postponed again.

Somehow, they fought through it.

Facing the same Cotuit team they beat in their last game on June 20, the Mets put a ninth-inning rally together to edge the Kettleers 3-2 last night. The bullpen shined, with Dallas Gallant (Sam Houston) and Kevin Brandt (East Carolina) tossing four shutout innings and setting the stage for the rally. The Mets delivered in the top of the ninth as Dustin Harrington (East Carolina) worked a walk and Eddie Rohan (Winthrop) knocked him in with a base hit. Brandt struck out two in the bottom of the inning to seal the victory.

That's three wins in a row for the Mets, who improved to 4-4. I can't imagine it feels much like a streak, but they'll take it.

I'll take it too. Rhythm or not, it's about time this season gets in gear.

Elsewhere

Wareham, the only other team that missed four days, didn't fare quite as well in its return. But that might have had more to do with the scorching Chatham Anglers, who came to Clem Spillane Field and beat the Gatemen 6-4 in 10 innings for their sixth straight win. That's the third extra-innings victory of the year for the Anglers, who have shown quite a flair for the dramatic. Whit Merrifield (South Carolina), who pinch-ran after a walk to Tom Belza (Oklahoma State), scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch after he had moved up two bases on sacrifice bunts. Phillip Pohl (Clemson) also scored on a wild pitch for an insurance run. Thomas Keeling worked a perfect bottom of the inning to pick up the save. The win moved Chatham to a league-best 9-1. Wareham starter Eric Pfisterer (Duke) finally allowed a hit after surrendering none in his first two starts.

Ace Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) was scheduled to start for Y-D last night against Orleans. He didn't go, but if he had, he might have been out-dueled. Orleans' Casey Gaynor (Rutgers) allowed just two hits in seven shutout innings and struck out three as the Firebirds rolled to a 6-0 victory. It was the second strong start of the year for Gaynor, who has has a 0.69 ERA. Gary Brown (Cal State Fullerton) went 3-for-5 with two RBI in his first game since arriving from the College World Series. Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) and Alex Hassan (Duke) each had two hits and two RBI. Hassan, a 20th-round pick this year, is now hitting .421 with seven RBI. He's emerging as one of the most productive hitters in the league.

Bourne got a strong start from newcomer Bryan Morgado, a third-round pick this year out of Tennessee, but it went for naught in a 5-4 loss to Falmouth. Morgado struck out five in three shutout innings, but Falmouth jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the Bourne bullpen then held off a late charge. Taylor Wall (Rice) picked up the win with six shutout innings in his first appearance of the summer. Jason Esposito (Vanderbilt) and Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) each had two hits and an RBI for the Commodores.

Harwich snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over Brewster. Eric Jokisch (Northwestern) struck out five and allowed one earned run in six innings. Recent additions Dan Grovatt (Virginia) and Connor Powers (Mississippi State) both had two hits and an RBI.

What to Watch For Tonight
Looks like a nice pitching match-up in Falmouth. Casey Schmidt (San Diego), a 15th-round pick this year, will go for Brewster against Jordan Cooper, who had an outstanding freshman year at Wichita State. Cooper allowed two runs in seven innings in his first start. Schimdt has made two starts and has a 2.70 ERA.

Daily Fog: Game On

I always try to use this space to write about what seemed important from the night before. The most important thing last night?

They played baseball. On Cape Cod.

After two full days of rainouts and one day with four rainouts, the weather finally cooperated long enough last night to get most of the games in. Hyannis had to postpone its match-up with Wareham, but that was the only one. Everyone else played, and I, for one, am glad they're back.

I'm guessing the Chatham Anglers are happy to be back, too.

I feel like I've partially lost it in all the unevenness of the early season, but it's time to take notice: the Anglers are on fire. Last night, they won their fifth straight game as they topped Y-D 8-3. They're now 8-1, a full seven points ahead of second-place Brewster in the East. They're off to a faster start than even the 2007 juggernaut Y-D Red Sox, who were 7-2 through nine games.

Last night, they wasted no time jumping on top. They batted around in the first inning and chased Y-D starter Greg Holle (TCU) before he could record an out. Mike Murray (Wake Forest) had an RBI single, with three of the other runs coming home on bases-loaded walks or hit-batsmen.

Staked to a big lead, Chatham pitcher Pete Kennelly (Fordham) was just as dominant in his first start as he has been in relief. He went four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. Kennelly now hasn't allowed a run in four appearances. Parker Bangs (South Carolina) picked up the win in relief.

Murray went 3-for-3 to lead the offense, while Tom Belza (Oklahoma State) went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Elsewhere

Chris Dwyer (Clemson) made his first start on the Cape, and it was a great one. A fourth-round pick this year as a draft-eligible freshman, Dwyer struck out nine in five scoreless innings to lead Cotuit past Falmouth 2-0. Greg Schimmel
breaks down Dwyer's performance on his blog, saying that Dwyer is the most impressive pitcher he's seen this summer. Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern), Chad Bell (Walters State CC) and Drew Gagnier (Oregon) came out of the pen to preserve the shutout, with Tillman striking out five in 2.2 innings and Gagnier striking out the side in the ninth to pick up his first save. Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) had an RBI double and Brian Guinn (California) hit an RBI single to power a two-run fifth.

Brewster has played five home games and tied three of them, including last night's 2-2 result against Bourne. Braves starter Eric Cantrell (George Washington) was strong again, striking out eight in five innings. Brewster's Kyle Blair struck out four and walked four in 4.1 scoreless innings. Stefan Romero (Oregon State) hit a two-run home run to power Bourne's attack. Mark Canha (California) drove in both of Brewster's runs with a sixth-inning single. He's tied for the league lead in RBI with seven. Raynor Campbell (Baylor), a 31st-round pick who was an all-star for Wareham last summer, was in the lineup for Bourne and went 2-for-4.

Orleans scored four runs in the top of the ninth to rally past Harwich 6-4. Kevin Muno (San Diego State) knocked in a run to get the rally going before an error allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to score. Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) knocked in two to lead Orleans.

What to Watch For Tonight
Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast), who has struck out 20 and hasn't allowed a run in 14 innings, will make his third start of the year as Y-D hosts Orleans. The Firebirds will counter with Casey Gaynor (Rutgers), who allowed one run in six innings in his first start.

Team USA Releases Final Roster

With its trials complete, USA baseball announced its final roster today. You can read the release here.

Here's the breakdown, starting with the good news. Eight players on Cape League rosters were left off the final USA roster:

Micah Gibbs - C - Y-D
Thomas Girdwood - RHP - Hyannis
Jedd Gyorko - IF - Brewster
Anthony Ranaudo - RHP - Y-D
Logan Verrett - RHP - Chatham
Alex Wimmers - RHP - Bourne
Kyle Winkler - RHP - Falmouth
Ross Wilson - IF - Harwich

Though that's not as high a number as last year, when 11 Cape Leaguers didn't make the final roster, it's still a good group. Ranaudo and Wimmers could be the two most highly-touted pitchers on the Cape if they do indeed make it. Same goes for Gibbs at the catcher spot, and Wilson and Gyorko on the infield.

The bad news is that 15 of the 22 who did make the final roster were slated for the Cape. That list includes Christian Colon, Bryce Brentz, Tyler Holt, Blake Forsythe, Gerrit Cole and Drew Pomeranz. It would have been cool to see all those guys in Cape League uniforms.

There are three names floating out there that I'm not sure about -- Hunter Morris (Falmouth), Deck McGuire (Orleans) and Danny Hultzen (Hyannis). All three were/are on Cape League rosters and were on the initial USA invite list. But the most recent trials roster -- even before the final roster came out -- did not include them. I'm not sure what that means for their summer destinations, but I suppose we'll find out soon enough. Morris and McGuire are still listed on the Falmouth and Orleans rosters, but Hultzen hasn't been on the Hyannis roster since the Team USA invites went out.

Update (11:29): Just realized I missed Casey Harman, as well. He was not on the most recent trials list either and isn't on the final roster. He's slated for Hyannis.

And Another Update (11:53): The fact that their trial roster kept changing is killing me. There's another name that falls into the unknown category, and it's a big one -- Fullerton pitcher Daniel Renken. He's on the Harwich roster and was, at one point or another, a Team USA invite. I hope I'm not missing anybody else.

Why not another one? (11:55): I'm losing it over here. Jarrett Parker. Brewster. Also a one-time invite who disappeared from the trials roster. Though I'm quietly going crazy, this is actually looking better and better for the Cape League if all these guys make it.

And We're Back

The weekend got away from me and I had to work a super long day today, so I've missed a few things. But as lost weekends go, I guess this wasn't a bad one to lose. I'm sure everyone has noticed: it's raining a bit. In the last four days, only eight of the 20 scheduled games have been played. It's kind of terrible.

With the entire slate getting washed out tonight, there will be nothing to recount tomorrow, but I'll try to catch up on a few things that may have slipped through the cracks the last few days. For now, I leave you with some marginally coherent ramblings. Proceed.

If you look at team stat rankings, you can get a pretty good idea why Chatham has the best record in the league. The Anglers lead the league in hitting at .252 and are second in ERA, sitting at 2.19. They're also coming through in the clutch: they've won half their games with late-inning rallies, including Sunday's dramatic victory over Orleans. The Anglers trailed 7-1 before scoring four in the eighth and five in the ninth to win 10-7. I'd call that the craziest game of the summer so far. It moved Chatham to 7-1, a full six points ahead of Y-D in the East. That's a nice little cushion to have this early in the season.

The league named Bourne's Eric Cantrell and Kyle Roller the Pitcher and Player of the Week for the season's first week. I can't disagree with either of those. Roller, a solid Cape Leaguer who lasted deep into the draft, could become one of the stories of the summer if he continues to shine. I'll be eager to see what Cantrell does in his second start after eight dominant innings his first time out.

So my pick for pitcher of the year, Max Russell? Yeah, he's got an X by his name on the stat sheet, which presumably means he's done. Is it too late to change my pick? I swear I was leaning toward Chris Sale all along.

Orleans' Michael Olt (Connecticut) was tabbed by Baseball America as the NECBL's top prospect last summer and he's well on his way to making a mark in the Cape League, too. Olt leads the league in extra-base hits, RBI, runs scored and he's tied for the lead in home runs. Orleans teammate Jaren Matthews is also off to a really nice start, with a .321 average, a home run and five RBI.

Tomorrow

Just a quick note. The Daily Fog will not be up tomorrow until late in the day. I'm not going to be around in the morning.

Daily Fog: Pitcher's Delight

At some point, the ERA leader board will not have 10 guys with 0.00 ERA's.

But this is not that point.

Cape League starting pitchers have been dominant so far this season, and the trend continued in a big way last night. I count five legitimately dominant starts:

Mike Dennhardt, Chatham - 8 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4 K, 1 BB
Rob Rasmussen, Orleans - 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 10 K, 1 BB
Eric Pfisterer, Wareham - 7 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 7 K, 1 BB
Sean Hoelscher, Brewster - 6.2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 8 K, 3 BB
Chris Sale, Y-D - 8.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 12 K, 1 BB

A little math tells you that those five combined to allow two runs on seven hits in 35.2 innings. They struck out 41.

Pfisterer (Duke) and Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) get special mention. This wasn't their first time at the rodeo.

Pfisterer made a splash on the second day of the season when he went didn't allow a hit in a five-inning outing. With seven more innings under his belt, he still hasn't allowed a hit. He's got 17 strikeouts and three walks. His performance Thursday helped send Wareham to a 7-0 victory over Harwich. It sounds like sloppy field conditions kept him from making a run at a full no-hitter.

Sale doesn't have the no-hit thing going, but he's been just as dominant. In 14 innings, he hasn't allowed a run. He's struck out a league-high 20 and walked only two. Thought he took a no-decision Thursday when the Y-D bullpen blew a lead, he's been perhaps the best starter in the league.

The other three pitchers on the above list were new to the party but no less impressive. Dennhardt (Boston College) needed just 81 pitches to toss his eight-inning gem. Rasmussen (UCLA), who had an up-and-down season with Orleans last year, started his new summer with a huge performance. After one start, he already leads the Firebirds in strikeouts. Hoelscher (TCU) also made his first start a very strong one.

Elsewhere

• Of course, on the day I talk about the pitching, we've also got a slugfest to discuss. Hyannis scored a league season-high in runs in a 13-5 victory over Falmouth. Tennessee's Cody Hawn made his first start and powered the offense with a grand slam. He finished 2-for-5, while Nick Crawford (UAB) and Dustin Harrington (East Carolina) also had two hits each. Seven Mets drove in runs, with Crawford and Eddie Rohan (Winthrop) knocking in two. Hyannis did most of its damage against Falmouth starter Mitch Mormann (Des Moines Area CC), who allowed seven earned in two innings after pitching four perfect innings in his first start. For the Mets, Austin Hudson (Central Florida) picked up his second win with five strong innings. In the lineup for Falmouth was a new addition -- Wichita State's Ryan Jones. He hit eight home runs for Falmouth last year and got drafted in the 38th round this year.


• Dennhardt and Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) combined on the shutout for Chatham over Bourne, with Brewer working a scoreless ninth to seal the 2-0 win. Jeff Schaus (Clemson) went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Anglers.


• Behind Rasmussen, Orleans posted a 6-1 victory over Cotuit. Michael Olt (Connecticut) drove in two runs, as did new arrival and familiar face Alex Hassan (Duke), who was a 20th round pick of the Red Sox this year. The Kettleers got four more steals -- though Chris Bisson (Kentucky) was shut out for the first time because he didn't get on base.


• Wareham had a big night from Derek Dietrich (Georgia Tech), who went 3-for-5 with two home runs, becoming the first player this season to hit two home runs in a game. Alex Dickerson (Indiana) drove in two. Harwich has now been shut-out two nights in a row.


• Sale's big effort went to waste when Brewster rallied from a 1-0 deficit with four in the ninth to win 4-1 over Y-D. The Whitecaps orchestrated their rally without getting a hit. Three errors were the biggest culprits for Y-D.

What to Watch For Tonight
Oklahoma State's Tyler Lyons, a 10th-round pick of the Yankees earlier this month, will make his first start for Chatham as the Anglers visit Falmouth. The Commodores will counter with Nick Tepesch (Missouri), who struggled his first time out. In Cotuit, a pair of 15th-round picks will duke it out, with Mike Nesseth (Nebraska) going for Cotuit and Casey Schmidt (San Diego) getting the ball for Brewster.

Another CCBL Blog

I just stumbled on a new Cape League blog that you should check out. Simply titled "Cape Cod League Blog," it's written by Greg Schimmel, a freelance scout who's following the league this summer. It looks he's catching a game every night and giving a scout's perspective on the proceedings. There's a lot of great stuff on there already.

You can find the site at http://capecodbaseballleague.blogspot.com

Two years ago, the Cape Prospects site was a real nice compliment to Cape League coverage, but it wasn't around last year. This new blog looks like it will fill the void and then some.

Daily Fog: The Total Package

I wrote about Cotuit's speed yesterday, and so did the Cape Cod Times today.

Then the Kettleers went and did it all.

They were still running loose on the base paths, stealing six bases against Harwich last night, led by three from Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina). But that's not the only thing they were doing. Cory Vaughn (San Diego State) hit a grand slam and Brandon Cumpton (Georgia Tech) tossed eight shutout innings as the Kettleers posted a 7-0 victory over the Mariners, the most lopsided win of the season for any Cape League team.

It was a season-high in runs and it tied a season-high in hits for the Kettleers, who now haven't lost since opening night. But as impressive as they've been, this one probably takes the cake.

Vaughn, the son of former Major League and Cape Leaguer Greg Vaughn, had been struggling mightily, with just one hit in his first 13 at-bats. But he broke out in a big way on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with two singles and the grand slam. Vaughn was the top prospect in the Northwoods League last year. If he continues to bust out this year, he could emerge as one of the Cape's top prospects and as a key middle-of-the-order bat for a team that's going to have a lot of runners in scoring position.

Vaughn wasn't the only piece to the offensive puzzle last night. In addition to his three steals, Noel went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a home run of his own. Like Vaughn, Noel had also been struggling but he's now hitting .278 with nine steals. Jeff Rowland (Georgia Tech) and Zach Cone (Georgia) also drove in runs for the Kettleers.

All the offense was more than enough for Cumpton. The Georgia Tech sophomore pitched for Cotuit last summer and did some good things, striking out 20 in 20.1 innings. He also had some problems with walks and his ERA was up over four. But last night, Cumpton shined. Making his first appearance of the summer, Cumpton allowed just three hits in eight innings. He only struck out three but Harwich couldn't sustain anything against him. The Mariners stranded seven runners.

All in all, a really impressive night for the Kettleers. And as if they needed a boost, Clemson's Chris Dwyer, a fourth-round pick as a draft-eligible freshman, has decided to come to the Cape.

Elsewhere

In the only other game of the night, Chatham improved to 4-1 with a 5-4 extra-innings victory over Wareham. The Gatemen led 4-1 much of the way before Chatham tied the game with three in the seventh. A two-run double by Dean Green (Oklahoma State) was the big blow.

The game stayed knotted at four until the 10th. Nick Schwaner (New Orleans) and Matt Duffy (Vermont) singled to start the inning. Brian Harris (Vanderbilt) pinch ran for Schwaner and moved to third on a bunt single by Joey Terdoslavich (Long Beach State). With the bases loaded and nobody out, Wareham reliever Keith Bilodeau (Maine) got the strikeout he needed, but the ball got away and Harris scampered home with the winning run.

Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) picked up the win for Chatham with two scoreless innings of relief.

The game was the seventh one-run game of the season in the league. There's been at least one every night.

What to Watch For Tonight

We're back to the beginning of a few pitching rotations, with several early standouts set to make their second starts. Mitch Mormann (Des Moines Area CC) will go for Falmouth against Hyannis and Austin Hudson (Central Florida). Y-D's Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) will be pitching at home against Brewster, while Wareham's Eric Pfisterer (Duke) will go against Harwich. Also of note, Cotuit's Max Russell (Florida Southern) will make his first start.

Inside the Boxes

As I mentioned the other day, I couldn't get into quite as much detail as usual in the Daily Fog because of a lack of box scores in the morning. That ended up being the case Monday, Tuesday and today. I don't know if they're going to be up late like that all year, but if they are, I'll try to do something like this most days to kind of catch up on things.

I think I eventually tracked most things down from Monday but I missed some stuff Tuesday. So let's get to some notes.

• Parker Bangs (South Carolina) batted cleanup for Chatham last night and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. It'll be interesting to see how many innings Bangs gets this year. You don't often see a true two-way player in the league. Usually they're spending the summer focusing on one thing. I believe Y-D's Mike Belfiore is the only one who saw significant time on the mound and at the plate last year.


• Devin Harris (East Carolina) and Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) are pretty big additions in Cotuit, and it looks like they'll certainly be counted on. They hit three-four in the lineup last night against Chatham.


• Some strong relief performances around the league, headed by Brewster's Steven Maxwell (TCU), who allowed one hit in four shutout innings. He struck out seven and didn't walk anybody. Other standouts: Hyannis' Kevin Moran (2 IP, 0 R, 4 K's), Wareham's Josh Slaats (2 IP, 0 R, 3 K's), Bourne's Logan Billbrough (2 IP, 0 R, 3 K's), and Falmouth's Chad Sheppard (1 IP, 0 R, 3 K's).


• Also of note in the relief department, Y-D's Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) picked up his league-leading third save. Burgoon hasn't yet allowed a hit this summer in 4.1 innings of work. He has struck out eight and walked just one.


• Tennessee's Cody Hawn, my pick for MVP, made his first appearance of the last year, pinch-hitting for Hyannis. He did not get a hit, which was par for the course for the Mets. They managed just two all night against four Orleans pitchers.


• He hasn't had a hit yet so you might not have noticed, but Florida State's Stephen Cardullo, the only Baseball America first-team All-American on the Cape, is now in the lineup for Harwich. Cardullo hit .376 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI for the Seminoles this spring, but went undrafted.


• Seriously, what's with all the stealing? Cotuit's thefts are well-known, but Bourne's Pierre LePage did the same thing Chris Bisson did opening night and stole four bases last night against Falmouth. I don't know this for sure, but I'm pretty sure nobody stole four bases in a game all of last year, and now it's happened twice. LePage is also hitting .389 for Bourne.


• Falmouth's Murray Watts (Arkansas State), a temporary player who was signed out of the invitational tryout, went 2-for-3 last night to up his average to a team-best .357. Watts is a 6'7, 250-pound redshirt freshman who hit .305 with 10 home runs this spring.


• Wareham's Derek Dietrich (Georgia Tech) broke out of a mini slump with a 2-for-5 day. Dietrich had just one hit in the first three games.

Daily Fog: Running Wild

Last year's Cotuit Kettleers finished second in the league in home runs but only fifth in steals.

That's a rare feat for a Mike Roberts-coached team. In Roberts' previous seasons at the helm in Cotuit, the Kettleers led the league in stolen bases twice, finished second once and third the other time. When Roberts managed Wareham in 2000, the Gatemen tied the all-time league record for stolen bases with 134.

So last year was an anomaly. It was a down year for speed all across the board, with the individual league leader getting only 15. The Kettleers finished with 46, less than one a game.

These days, things are back to normal.

If this can be called normal.

Roberts' Kettleers have gone crazy on the base paths so far this summer. In five games, they've stolen 23 bases. Yes, that's halfway to last year's total. In five games.

It may be the normal approach, but there's nothing normal about the results.

Chris Bisson has been the ring-leader. The sophomore from Kentucky leads the league with 10 steals. He has swiped at least two in every game, and he stole four in the season opener. You know that saying that if a certain fast guy gets a single, it's basically a triple? That's not the slightest exaggeration for Bisson. Heading into last night's game, Bisson had stolen eight bases despite having a .231 on-base percentage. He really hasn't been on base very much. Every time he gets on, though, he's stealing second and third.

I thought someone from Cotuit would win the stolen base title this year. There was a lot of speed, and when you couple that with Roberts' approach, you're going to see a lot of steals. But I thought the champ would be Rico Noel, who stole 46 bases for Coastal Carolina. Noel does have six steals, but right now it's Bisson who's stealing the show.

A sophomore who's originally from Ontario, Bisson was a second-team all-SEC pick this season after hitting a team-best .362. But he only stole 13 bases, a sign that perhaps he didn't have the green light very often.

This summer, it looks like he and the rest of the Kettleers have it all the time. In a 5-3 victory over Chatham last night, they stole seven bases. The victory moved them to 2-1-1. They're playing fairly well, and if they can get some clutch hits to go with the steals, they'll be a real tough team to beat.

Could they set a few records in the process? The league's individual record for stolen bases is 48, set by Wareham's Roy Marsh in 1993. No one's been close to that since 2005, when current San Francisco Giant Manny Burriss of Orleans stole 37. Right now, Bisson is on pace for 88. You'd think the pace would have to slow down, but even if Bisson only averages one steal per game the rest of the way, he would still get 49.

The team mark could also be challenged. The Kettleers are on pace to steal more than 200 bases, which would demolish the current record. That pace, too, will probably slow down as teams make a concerted effort to limit the running game. They'll have to, or they'll find themselves in trouble.

Either way, you can bet the Kettleers will keep running.

Elsewhere

• Cotuit's Chad Bell (Walters State CC) struck out four in five strong innings, and Craig Fritsch (Baylor), who played for Y-D last year, picked up his first save. The loss was the first of the season for the Anglers, which means there are no more undefeated teams.


• In Hyannis, Orleans' Elliott Glynn (Connecticut) struck out five and allowed one hit in six scoreless innings as the Firebirds earned their first victory of the season, 2-0 over the Mets. Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) provided all the offense with a two-run home run, his first of the year. He's now hitting .333.


• Michael Goodnight (Houston) carried a no-hitter into the fifth and ended up with a solid six-inning, three-hit line as Y-D beat Harwich 6-5. Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) notched his league-leading third save of the season to hold off a Mariners rally and Jordan Casas (Long Beach State) went 4-for-4, the league's best offensive performance of the season.


• Making his first appearance in a Bourne uniform, Stefan Romero (Oregon State) tripled to knock in the go-ahead run then scored an insurance run in the seventh inning as the Braves rallied to beat Falmouth 4-2.


• Wareham and Brewster played to a 2-2 tie, the third tie in five days of action. Wareham led 1-0 and 2-1, but Brewster came back both times, netting the second tying run on a safety squeeze by Lyle Allen.

What to Watch For Tonight

Originally an off day, two rescheduled games will be played tonight as Cotuit visits Harwich and Wareham travels to Chatham. There's no fog or rain in the forecast.

Daily Fog: The Junior Circuit

Falmouth has more junior-college players than any team in the league, and all of them are pitchers who figure to be key parts of the staff.

They certainly made an impact Monday night.

Tommy Collier (San Jacinto) and Patrick Cooper (Des Moines Area CC) combined for eight shutout innings to lead Falmouth to a 4-0 victory over Orleans in a battle of winless teams.

I said before the season that it would be interesting to see how the juco guys would do against much tougher competition. So far, so good for Falmouth's trio. Mitch Mormann, also of Des Moines CC, tossed four perfect innings in the Commodores' opener.

But until Monday, the Commodores hadn't found the win column. They tied the game Mormann pitched, then lost on Saturday and Sunday.

Collier, Cooper and another reliever, Georgia Tech's Mark Pope, finally turned things around.

Collier, a freshman who got drafted in the 29th round out of high school, had a fantastic season at San Jacinto, a juco baseball powerhouse. He finished with 13 wins, a 2.67 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 91 innings. Among pitchers who are currently on the Cape, that strikeout total ranks at the top.

Monday night, Collier picked up where he left off, allowing just two hits in six shutout innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk anybody.

In relief, Cooper also shined. He got himself into some early trouble but responded nicely to preserve the shutout. Cooper had great numbers at Des Moines this year -- 106 Ks in 72.1 IP -- and was a 34th-round pick of the Diamondbacks.

The performance by Collier and Cooper set the stage, and Pope made sure to finish it off. The Georgia Tech freshman had a high ERA this spring but also struck out a batter an inning. He worked a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his first save.

Falmouth's offense was led by Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State), who hit a home run, and Scott Lawson (Florida), who went 3-for-5 and stole four bases. He's the second player already to steal four bases in a game this season. Chris Bisson did it for Cotuit.

Elsewhere

• Falmouth's win dropped Orleans to 0-4, which is a surprising start considering how solid the offense looks on paper right now. But the Firebirds have a team ERA close to five, by far the worst in the league.


• If I told you one of the two pitchers who went for Brewster Monday night had a dominant performance, you'd probably pick Kyle Blair (San Diego), right? Blair was good -- three shutout innings -- but the real star was Mark Gormley. Brown's top starter this spring, Gormley came on in relief for Brewster in the fourth inning last night and turned in one of the top pitching performance of the night. He ended up going six scoreless innings and striking out six. The offense didn't provide much support but he didn't need it anyway. The Whitecaps scored a pair of runs on errors. Gormley has now made two appearances and has struck out 10 in nine innings.


• There was a great story playing out for Bourne last night, and I hope someone will tell it in more detail at some point. According to the Bourne broadcast crew, Braves pitcher Stephen Porlier (Oklahoma) was making perhaps the last start of his career before he enlists in the Marines. And what a start it was. Porlier, who decided to join the Marines in part because injuries were derailing his baseball career, allowed one run in six innings, struck out four and didn't walk anybody. He didn't get a decision as Bourne and Cotuit ended in a 2-2 tie, but he still went out in style. If this is indeed the end of the line for Porlier's baseball career, best of luck to him.


• For Cotuit, newcomers Devin Harris (East Carolina) and Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) each had RBI. Chris Bisson (Kentucky) stole two more bases to bring his league-leading total to eight.


• Yesterday, there was one 3-0 team. Today, there's a different one. Chatham, who's played one fewer game than most of the rest of the teams, moved to 3-0 by knocking off previously unbeaten Y-D 3-2. Former Y-D player Whit Merrifield (South Carolina), who's now with Chatham, scored what proved to be the winning run when he scampered home from third when Nick Schwaner (New Orleans) got caught in a rundown between first and second. Kaleb Fleck (Pitt-Johnston) went five shutout innings for Chatham and Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his first save. Brewer led the league in saves last year while pitching for Hyannis.


• Wareham topped Hyannis 4-2 thanks to a late rally. Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge) scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a throwing error, and Eric Pfisterer (Duke) made it a 4-2 game with an RBI single. Reliever Jack Armstrong (Vanderbilt) made his first appearance for Wareham and picked up the win in relief with 3.2 shutout innings.

What to Watch For Tonight
Looks like a good pitching match-up in Chatham as Cotuit's Chad Bell (Walter State CC) goes against Chatham's Jake Thompson (Long Beach State). Bell was a 14th-round pick in last week's draft. He'll be making his first Cape appearance.

More Dominance and Another Name

A few Monday night notes . . .

Junior-college standout Tommy Collier made his first start for Falmouth tonight and it doesn't look like the step up in competition hurt him. Collier tossed six shutout innings and struck out nine, continuing the trend early-season of dominant starting pitching.

Over in Cotuit, a highly-touted player showed up on the lineup card. Devin Harris, a draft-eligible sophomore from East Carolina who wasn't on Cotuit's original roster, was in the lineup tonight and delivered an RBI. Harris, an outfielder, was an eighth-round pick by Baltimore last week, so I believe he's the highest-picked player who's currently on the Cape.

Harris was a breakout prospect for ECU this year, hitting .344 with 14 home runs, to go with 13 steals. Here's a snippet from Baseball America's draft scouting report: "Sophomore-eligible outfielder Devin Harris has big tools and looks the part of a prototypical right fielder. He's an average runner at 6-foot-3, 227 pounds, with a plus arm suited for right field. Harris has massive raw power as well and the athletic ability to make adjustments . . . Harris fits in the first five rounds for a team that believes in his bat, but could fall because of the signing leverage he has as a sophomore."

His arrival in Cotuit means he might be looking for a little more leverage. He's definitely a player to keep an eye on this summer.

More on all of this and the rest of Monday's happenings tomorrow morning. Hopefully, we'll have some box scores.

Daily Fog: Another Gem

At this rate, we're going to get a no-hitter tomorrow.

On the first night of the season, Hyannis' Austin Hudson (Central Florida) and Y-D's Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) turned in dominant starts. Saturday, it was Wareham's Eric Pfisterer (Duke), who struck out 10 in five no-hit innings.

On the third day of the season, Bourne's Eric Cantrell topped them all.

The sophomore from George Washington tossed eight shutout innings, allowed two hits, struck out 12 and didn't walk anybody in leading Bourne to a 5-1 victory over Wareham. Two singles in the second were all the Gatemen could muster against Cantrell, who at one point, struck out six in a row and retired 16 in a row.

Cantrell wasn't on my radar for the top pitchers in the preseason. In fact, when I highlighted this game yesterday, I made special mention of the other half of this pitching match-up, Scott Rembisz.

Cantrell's numbers at GW weren't overwhelming. He had an ERA just a shade under five, and he struck out 60 while walking 26 in 72.2 innings. Cantrell actually had a slightly better freshman year, when his ERA was 4.02.

But for pitchers, college stats aren't the best predictors of Cape League success. Clearly, Cantrell is a good one, and he's getting the chance to really show it. The Bourne broadcast team last night noted that he was pounding the zone, something he probably couldn't do quite as much at school.

Cantrell's performance helped Bourne post its first victory of the year after two straight losses to open the season. Cody Freeman (Mississippi State) had an RBI single to stake Bourne to a lead and Carlos Alonso (Delaware) had a two-run double in the seventh to break it open.

Elsewhere
These might be a little lighter in detail than usual, because box scores haven't been posted yet. I'm going off the Cape Cod Times and team web sites.

• Pitching was also the story in Brewster, where Chatham's Shawn Tolleson (Baylor) picked up where he left off last summer. Tolleson pitched for Y-D last year and ranked fourth in the league in strikeouts. He's in Chatham now, and after a shaky spring -- he had one win -- he must be happy to be back on the Cape. Tolleson tossed seven one-hit innings to lead the Anglers to a 3-0 victory. Pete Kennelly (Fordham), a 38th-round pick last week who's working his way back after Tommy John Surgery, struck out four in two innings to pick up the save.


• The only two teams to start last season with three straight wins were Harwich and Cotuit, who ended up playing for the championship. This year, Y-D stands alone. The Red Sox improved to 3-0 last night with a 3-1 victory over Hyannis. Darrin Campbell (San Diego) allowed three hits in six innings to pick up the win. Blake Kelso (Houston) and Steven Chatwood (San Diego) drove in runs for the Red Sox.


• It was a rally that might have ended the game either way. With darkness creeping in, Cotuit got two runners on base in the 10th inning of their game against Falmouth. They might not have gotten to the 11th, but they didn't have to. Cody Stanley (UNC Wilmington) doubled home Kevin Patterson (Auburn) with the winning run as Cotuit posted a 3-2 victory. Justin Grimm (Georgia) was the other star for the Kettleers, going six shutout innings and allowing just one hit. Chris Bisson (Kentucky) stole two bases to bring his league-leading total to six after just two games.


• In another extra-innings thriller, Trent Mummey (Auburn) hit a walk-off home run to give Harwich a 2-1 victory over Orleans. Mummey, a sophomore who hit 15 home runs in the spring, scored both the Mariners' runs and also he had a double. He was one of the few offensive stars in a game dominated by the pitching staffs. Brian Dupra (Notre Dame) picked up the win in relief for Harwich, whose pitchers struck out 13. Harwich moved to 2-0.

What to Watch For Tonight
A familiar name gets the start for Bourne as Ricky Bowen (Mississippi State) makes his return in Cotuit. Bowen had a 3.53 ERA as a regular starter for the Braves last year and was a 43rd-round pick last year. He was not on initial rosters. In Harwich, San Diego's Kyle Blair will start for Brewster.

My head is spinning, etc.

Notes written while wishing I could revise my Outstanding Pitcher watch list to include Eric Pfisterer . . .

So we're off and running. What do we know so far? Not much.

It's always funny this time of year. I get all geared up for the season, counting down the days, doing everything I can to be prepared, to know what to expect and then all of a sudden they're playing baseball, and half the players are guys I've never heard of. But I guess that's the fun part. The beauty of a Cape League season is that when it starts, you never know which team will shine or which players will turn into stars. It's fitting that the season starts with a giant jolt of uncertainty.

I'm actually working on a list of new and temporary players (basically, guys who weren't on preseason rosters) with some brief bios, so that we can have an idea of who we're watching, even if they don't stick around for long. That should be going up in the next day or two.

For now, let's talk about a few names we've heard of, but maybe didn't expect to hear.

As I mentioned in today's Daily Fog, Brewster had Jim Klocke in its lineup last night. The Southeast Missouri State junior catcher played for the Whitecaps, and though he struggle with them, he's had a fantastic college career. Much of this year's draft, though, went by without his name popping up. He went in the 46th round.

Listening to the Bourne game tonight, I heard a familiar name who's in the same boat. East Carolina junior Kyle Roller hit .270 for Bourne last year and was one of the league's leaders in doubles last year. Roller hit .336 with 16 home runs this spring but didn't get drafted until the 47th round. He was in the Bourne lineup tonight for the first time this season. For a Bourne team that's been hit hard by Team USA, Roller could provide a big boost.

Over on Codball, Dave relayed some info he heard on WEEI. Boston Red Sox ninth-round pick Kendal Volz, a big arm who pitched for Wareham in '07 and USA in '08, will be playing on the Cape this summer, according to Jason McLeod, the Red Sox Director of Amateur Scouting. I'm assuming the Red Sox will keep an eye on him then decide what to offer based on his performance. If that is indeed the case, it'll be interesting to see where he goes. Wareham's roster is looking pretty full, so a return to the Gatemen might not be possible. We'll see.

Finally, the Georgia Tech site Beesball is reporting that Tony Plagman will play for Cotuit. A junior, Plagman hit .364 this spring with 16 home runs and a team-best 73 RBI. Like Klocke and Roller, he didn't get picked until the late rounds, so it sounds like he'll be trying to raise his stock with the Kettleers. Last year, Plagman played briefly for Orleans.

In other news, Cotuit can run. You never want to get carried away defining teams after a few games, but I think this one is going to be a safe bet. The Kettleers stole seven bases in their opener against Wareham and a few more tonight against Falmouth. Chris Bisson (Kentucky) now has six steals in two games, which is pretty close to half as many as league-leader Tim Wheeler had all of last year. I thought this year might be a return to normal in the stolen base department -- there were no true speedsters last year -- and it looks like Bisson and fellow Kettleer Rico Noel will lead the charge.

How about those Whitecaps? Mark Canha was the only player in the league to hit a home run on opening night, and he hit another one Saturday. Teammates Bobby Coyle and Tim Freguson also went yard, giving Brewster four of the eight home runs that were hit in the season's first two days.

Making an appearance for Orleans last night was one Jared Bard. A junior at Richmond, Bard is the brother of former North Carolina and Cape League star Daniel Bard. Daniel was called up to the Boston Red Sox in early May.

I made mention of this on Twitter and Dave also noted it on Codball: Rice star Anthony Rendon will not play this summer. The only freshman among the Golden Spikes Semifinalists, Rendon was signed up to play for Bourne or Team USA, but he suffered an injury in Rice's Super Regional loss to LSU.

Third-round pick Robbie Shields was on the Cape for some preseason action, but he has since moved off the active section of Cotuit's roster. If he's signing, best of luck to Shields, who's a real Cape League success story. He wasn't fully on the radar until last year, when he was an early-season star with Cotuit before an injury ended his summer. It's a shame he didn't get to play all summer, but he played enough to make people take notice.

I've written about Wareham's stability, but out in Orleans, the Firebirds are in pretty good shape, too. Guys like Devin Lohman, Michael Olt, Kevin Muno, Danny Muno, Michael Lang and Jaren Matthews -- all of whom looked like key players in the preseason -- have been in the lineup since day one. The Firebirds are still waiting for CWS participants Gary Brown, Matt Newman, Matt Packer and Riccio Torrez. Newman has also been invited to Team USA.

The start of the Cape League season is kind of the first official date on the next year's draft calendar. Over the next two months, a lot of preliminary perceptions will be established. For now, there's a little bit of talk out there about the 2010 draft. ESPN's Keith Law has an article up (for Insiders only) detailing some early thoughts, and he mentions quite a few '09 Cape Leaguers, most of whom haven't yet arrived because of the CWS or Team USA. The guys that Law mentions who have arrived: Wareham's Derek Dietrich, Y-D's Josh Rutledge, Cotuit's Justin Grimm and Falmouth's Nick Tepesch. MLB's Jonathan Mayo has also thrown out a few names for 2010: Christian Colon, Matt Harvey, Drew Pomeranz, Anthony Ranaudo and Victor Sanchez. Colon, Harvey and Ranaudo are on Cape rosters but are currently in Omaha. Pomeranz is on Team USA's trial roster, while Sanchez is out with an injury. He played in Chatham last summer.

If you're not on Twitter or at least checking CCBL Twitter pages, you should be. Several teams are on there, with broadcast teams doing most of the updates. That means lots of in-game updates, which is really nice to see. In the past, if you weren't watching or listening to the online broadcast, it was tough to know what was going on. The Cape Cod Times is also on Twitter, as is Bourne assistant Jordan Wyckoff, who apparently is posting updates from the dugout. If you want to find all these, click here for my Twitter page. I'm following all of them.

I haven't forgotten about the Chatham and Orleans not-so-early looks. They will be up this week. I feel blind when I look at those rosters, so I'll get them done.

Daily Fog: Quick and Steady

They might have to work on the finish a little, but the start was about as good as any we've seen in the young season.

Eric Pfisterer (Duke) tossed five no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts, Wareham's veteran lineup scored four runs in the first and the bullpen held off a late charge by Cotuit to seal a 5-3 victory in the season opener for both teams.

Though the game turned into a bit of a nail-biter, the first few innings were all Wareham, and the Gatemen were doing exactly what they hoped to do this season. It appears that they're the only team in the league currently fielding a lineup without any temporary players, so their lineup looks a lot like it'll look in a few weeks. That's particularly true of the middle of the order. Assuming everyone hits pretty well, it's entirely possible that the top five of Ryan LaMarre (Michigan), Derek Dietrich (Georgia Tech), Ryan Pineda (Cal State Northridge), Alex Dickerson (Indiana) and George Springer (Connecticut) won't change much all season.

After last night, that's a reason to think big. Those five combined to go 8-for-19 with two RBI and all five of the runs. A double by Dietrich sparked the four-run first inning rally. Pineda, Dickerson and Springer also had hits, and the Gatemen proceeded to capitalize on a passed ball and a key error to chase home a few more runs. Springer added an RBI single in the eighth.

Pfisterer did the rest, and for five innings, he was a bigger story than the offense. Though he allowed base runners in each of the first two innings, he had unhittable stuff. He ended up getting 10 of the 15 outs he recorded via the strikeout, and he now leads the league in strikeouts.

This early in the season, it's not surprising that he wasn't sent back out to chase the no-hitter: you want to be careful with the arm. Especially when it's one that's this good. Pfisterer, a 15th-round pick out of high school last year, had an ERA of 5.00 at Duke this year, but he also struck out 45 in 45 innings. That kind of stuff plays well on the Cape, where the ERA is bound to go down. I wasn't sure how much Pfisterer would factor into Wareham's pitching plans -- he's also a hitter -- but clearly, he'll play a big role.

He's certainly off to the right kind of start.

For a game story with a focus on John Wylde, read Ed Collins' article on South Coast Today.

Elsewhere

• Two notes on Cotuit from that game. Mike Nesseth (Nebraska), a 15th-round pick this year, didn't pitch all that badly. Three of the four runs he allowed were unearned. On the offensive side, the Kettleers ran wild. They're always one of the more aggressive teams in the league, and this year, it looked in the preseason like they would have the perfect mix of players to play that way. Cotuit ended up stealing seven bases last night, with Chris Bisson (Kentucky) swiping four, Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina) getting two and Zach Cone (Georgia) stealing another. If they can keep that up, the Kettleers are going to put a lot of pressure on people


• They had lights, so they could have played all night, but this time, the Brewster Whitecaps took care of business in the ninth. A night after their game went to 10 innings but ended in a tie because of darkness, the Whitecaps played under the lights in Orleans and rallied from an 8-6 deficit with four in the ninth to win 10-8 in probably the most dramatic game of the young season. The Whitecaps sent nine to the plate in the ninth and got all the runs home with two outs. Lyle Allen (Georgia) plated the first run with a single, Davy Wright (TCU) worked a bases-loaded walk for the second run and Jim Klocke (Southeast Missouri) hit a single that ended up bringing in two, with the help of a throwing error. Bobby Coyle (Arizona) and Tim Ferguson (Ole Miss) each had three hits and a home run, and Mark Canha (California) added his second home run in as many games. Michael Olt (Connecticut) had a home run for Orleans.


• Klocke is an interesting name to see in the lineup. He's a junior catcher who wasn't on Brewster's initial roster, but he played on the Cape last year and hit .189. He had a huge spring, hitting .394 with nine home runs, but when the draft came around, he lasted until the 46th round. It would appear he's trying to show his stuff this summer.


• Y-D is the only team in the league with two victories, as the Red Sox posted their second one-run victory last night, this one a 4-3 decision over Bourne. The Red Sox trailed 2-1 until the eighth, when Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) knocked in a run with a single and Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) drew a bases-loaded walk for the go-ahead run. Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) struck out five in two hitless innings of relief.


• The fog rolled into Chatham again last night, but this time, the Anglers at least got to make their game official. After playing one inning last night before a fog postponement, the Anglers posted a 4-1 victory over Hyannis in a game that was called in the seventh. Mike Dennhardt (Boston College), Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) and Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) combined for seven strong innings, allowing just an unearned run. Tom Belza (Oklahoma State) led the offense with a 3-for-3 night that included a fog-aided inside-the-park home run. The game was the second fog-shortened contest in as many games for Hyannis.


• Playing their first game two days after they were supposed to, the Harwich Mariners must have been chomping at the bit. They scored 10 runs on 10 hits in beating Falmouth 10-5. Chris Wade (Kentucky) went 3-for-5, Trent Mummey (Auburn) had two hits and David Herbek (James Madison) and Ryan Lockwood (South Florida) each drove in two runs. Matthew Price (Virginia Tech) worked four strong innings of relief to pick up the win.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Scott Rembisz, who put up some good numbers at Florida International (90 K's in 94 innings), makes his first start of the year for Wareham as the Gatemen visit Bourne. The Braves will counter with George Washington's Eric Cantrell.

Daily Fog: Just Like Old Times

Nobody wants weather postponements wreaking havoc on the league schedule, but I've got to say: fog, our old friend, it was nice to see you again.

Fog wasn't around much last year. Its regular appearances in Chatham didn't even happen. But last night, the Chatham game got postponed when the fog rolled in, and the Bourne-Hyannis game got called after seven innings. Disappointing, for sure, but getting a quintessential Cape League night -- with all the trappings -- isn't the worst thing in the world on opening night.

And fog wasn't the only old friend hanging around.

Back for his third year in the Cape League, it looks Hyannis' Austin Hudson (Central Florida) is happy to be in a Mets uniform, happy to be seeing a little fog, and maybe most of all, happy to be seeing those wooden bats.

Hudson has had kind of a strange college career. He has never put up great numbers at Central Florida. His career ERA there is 7.15. This year, it was over 10. But something about the Cape turns Hudson completely around. In two summers, his career Cape ERA is 2.70. Last year, he led the league in ERA.

On Friday, Hudson got the opening night start for Hyannis.

And he did what he always does on the Cape. Hudson allowed one run in six strong innings and picked up the win as Hyannis beat Bourne 4-2 in seven innings.

His ERA after last night? It's 1.50, exactly the same as his league-leading mark last year.

Welcome back, Mr. Hudson.

You too, fog.

Elsewhere

• The Hyannis offense was powered by Kenny Swab (Young Harris) and Ryan Cuneo (Delaware), who each had two hits and an RBI. Swab, whom manager Chad Gassman is really high on looked poised for a big summer from the start after hitting .342 this spring. Cuneo wasn't on Hyannis' original roster, but hit .285 this spring with 17 home runs. Also for Hyannis, Will Weidig (Brown) picked up the save when the seventh inning turned into the last inning. Jamal Austin (UAB) had two hits and stole two bases.


• Bourne's Turner Phelps (James Madison) allowed three earned runs in four innings.


• Y-D got a dominant performance by Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) and used two squeeze plays to score runs in a 4-3 victory over Orleans. Steven Chatwood (San Diego) and Blake Kelso (Houston) delivered the key bunts, and Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) went 3-for-4 with an RBI, the league's best opening night line. Sale also shined, striking out eight and walking none in six shutout innings. Orleans got two hits each from Ross Heffley (Western Carolina), Michael Olt (Connecticut) and Jaren Matthews (Rutgers), though a ninth-inning rally fell one-run short. Jimmy Reyes (Elon) allowed two runs and struck out four in five innings.


• Falmouth and Brewster played 10 innings before the game was called due to darkness, ending in a 2-2 tie. Mitch Mormann (Des Moines Area CC) worked four perfect innings for Falmouth and Casey Schmidt (San Diego) was almost as strong for Brewster, allowing three hits in five scoreless innings. Schmidt hasn't pitched a college game since 2007 -- injuries and a transfer year have kept him out -- but he was a 15th-round pick this year. Brewster's offense was led by Mark Canha (California), who hit the only home run of the night. Conner Mach (Missouri) and Murray Watts (Arkansas State) drove in runs for Falmouth.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Well, the weather looks alright now, with just scattered showers in the forecast for tonight, so Chatham, Cotuit, Harwich and Wareham might actually get to play. Nick Tepesch (Missouri), an interesting pitcher to watch, is scheduled to get the start for Falmouth at Harwich.

Stumbling out of the Gate

Cotuit and Harwich were supposed to be the first teams to play, but now it looks like they might be the last. Their game at Whitehouse Field that was pushed to tonight from last night has been postponed again, according to the Mariners' twitter page.

I haven't seen news of any other postponements yet, so hopefully the season will actually start tonight.

Falmouth at Brewster and Orleans at Y-D are both scheduled to go off at 5 p.m.

Wareham is scheduled to play in Chatham at 7 p.m. Hyannis visits Bourne at 7.

Play ball? Maybe?

Stop Any Time, Team USA

Initially, USA baseball said 36 players would be invited to national team trials. Today, the final trials roster was announced and it has 41 players. Maybe they needed a few more because of the College World Series.

Either way, there are three more with Cape League connections: Falmouth's Brad Miller (Clemson) and Kyle Winkler (TCU) and Hyannis' Casey Harman (Clemson). That brings the total number of Cape Leaguers on the trials roster up to 28.

The final 22-man roster will be announced June 24.

Season Preview: The Teams

When you're previewing Cape League teams it's hard to draw conclusions. Take last year, for instance.

I thought Wareham was the league's most talented team. Then Team USA raided the roster and the Gatemen finished with the worst record in the league.

I thought Chatham had a fantastic pitching staff and just needed a little offense. The A's had an ERA of 4.03.

I thought Orleans would have a powerful offense. The Cardinals hit .234, ninth in the league.

So, yeah, it's tough. Or I'm just wrong in everything I say, which is possible. I prefer to think it's just tough. When you get a league full of all-star teams with players in unfamiliar situations -- wooden bats, playing every day -- you just never know.

For a team to have success, a lot has to go right. They need to get the players they thought they'd get, or if they don't, get big contributions from temporary players turned regulars. They need good players to have good summers. Plenty of good players don't. And, if Harwich is any indication, that they need that extra something, chemistry or desire or whatever it is, to get over the top.

You could apply those conditions to every team. When I previewed the season last year, I tried to tailor them to each team but I felt like I kind of missed the mark, as you can see above. I thought Chatham just needed to hit a little and I thought Orleans just needed to pitch a little. I was way off.

This year, I was thinking about doing a best-case, worst-case scenario for each team, but as I started to do it, everyone's was the same. So instead of that, I'm going to offer up a general feeling for each team. At the end of the post, a prediction.

West
Bourne Braves
I like them a lot, but they're treading on the dangerous Wareham '08 territory with six Team USA invitees. Two years ago, though, the Braves went through some serious roster shuffling but ended up making the playoffs with several temporary players carrying a big load. This year, there's a lot of offensive depth, which should help the cause. Starters Robert Morey, Seth Maness and Turner Phelps will need to pick up the slack if Drew Pomeranz, Cody Wheeler and Alex Wimmers go with Team USA.

Cotuit Kettleers
Potentially the most talented team in the league, and though they've got some USA invitees, they still look strong. The pitching staff has a ton of potential, with Max Russell and Justin Grimm looking like aces who also happen to be free of CWS and USA commitments. I like the offense, too, with Cory Vaughn and Cody Stanley leading the way. There's also a ton of speed, and I'd be shocked if Rico Noel didn't lead the league in stolen bases.

Falmouth Commodores
Can I say I have no idea? There are now 41 players listed on their roster. That means at least sixteen of them will not be in a Falmouth uniform, so it's tough to make predictions. I will say that the pitching staff is going to have an interesting look, with three junior-college players who had great stats last year and two Wichita State freshmen who I like for the best freshman pitcher label. If a couple of drafted players go to Falmouth anyway, the Commodores could be a really veteran team.

Hyannis Mets
I think they're a little off the pace of the three aforementioned teams -- the three who might be the league's most talented -- but the more I look at their roster, the less I'm sure about that. I picked Cody Hawn for MVP and I think Eddie Rohan will have a big year, as well. Jackie Bradley, Jr., Trent Whitehead and Dan Burkhart also had great college seasons, giving the offense the makings of a strong nucleus. It could get a little dicey in the pitching staff. Some guys are going to have to step up.

Wareham Gatemen
Holy role reversal. Last year, the Gatemen were the Team USA-stole-everybody poster boys. Not this year. One player will be at Team USA trials, and he's a non-roster player. Derek Dietrich was on the initial invite list but he decided he'd rather be in Wareham. His presence should only add to a lineup with veterans and talent. The outfield of Ryan LaMarre, George Springer and Alex Dickerson is second-to-none, and Ryan Pineda has a Cape League track record. The pitching staff has a couple of potential aces in Scott Rembisz, Brandon Workman and Taylor Jungmann.

East
Brewster Whitecaps
Like Bourne, the Whitecaps might have some shuffling to do, with three key players at Team USA trials and a few more in Omaha. The offense doesn't look as deep as some other teams, particularly if Jarrett Parker, Jedd Gyorko and Yasmani Grandal go with Team USA. Another potential star, Tobias Streich, was a fifth-round pick earlier this week. I do think Mark Canha looks poised for a big summer, but he'll need some help. The pitching staff needs some starters to step up.

Chatham Anglers
New name and a new look. The Anglers ended up with a bunch of players who played for other Cape League teams last year. They also have quite a few small-school guys, as well as players from some schools that haven't had a big Chatham presence in the past, namely Oklahoma State. I think offensive production might hinge on some players making a leap, like Holy Cross' Matt Perry, Vermont's Matt Duffy and USC freshman Rick Oropesa. Jeff Schaus, Whit Merrifield and Tom Belza should be good Cape League hitters who can help carry the load. The pitching staff will need some rebounds from shaky springs, but Russell Brewer, Jake Thompson, Matt Harvey and Shawn Tolleson have had Cape League success before.

Harwich Mariners
Is a title repeat in the cards? There's no reason to think it isn't. The Mariners look plenty of good enough to make a run, with their offense poised to lead the way. In terms of spring production, Harwich players combined for 147, an average of almost ten per player. Bryce Brentz skews those numbers a little, but in general there is a lot of power. If Brentz doesn't go to Team USA, there's even more. The pitching staff needs to develop some starters.

Orleans Firebirds
On paper, I think they might be the most talented team in the East. The lineup features several players who had big springs, including Michael Lang, Jaren Matthews, Danny Muno, Michael Olt and Ross Heffley. The pitching staff could take a hit if Deck McGuire goes with Team USA, but I like Jimmy Reyes, Rob Rasmussen and Josh Poytress as potential aces. Orleans has had consistently strong pitching staffs over the years, and I don't think that'll change.

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox
Two of the top returning hitters in the league, Josh Rutledge and Andy Wilkins, lead the charge for a team that should be able to score runs. I'd also expect Mickey Wiswall to be a key cog, and he's a prime candidate to win the New England top prospect award. I like the pitching staff a lot even if superstar Anthony Ranaudo goes with Team USA. Chris Sale and Austin Ross are coming off great springs, while two highly-touted freshman -- Brett Mooneyham and Michael Palazzone look like breakout candidates.

And for the prediction . . .

This might be even harder than usual. With the new playoff format, six teams will be in, which increases the odds that somebody just gets hot at the right time and rolls to the finals. Apparently, we could also end up with two teams from the same division playing each other for the championship.

But enough hemming and hawing. I'm taking the Wareham Gatemen. You take nine returning players, lose nobody to Team USA and mix in top-shelf talent like Dietrich, Dickerson, LaMarre and Springer and you have the makings of something special. I worry a little about the pitching staff, but I think there are enough good arms there to do the trick. Really, the stability and experience just stands out. The ifs with this team are about performance not arrivals. I think that counts for a lot.