daily fog: a long sunday night

After a week that saw several games end early due to weather or darkness, last night's game between Bourne and Falmouth did not end early.

The game started at 5:30 p.m., but four hours and 15 innings later, it was still going. Eventually, Bourne's Dusty Coleman (Wichita State) hit a two-run home run in the top of the 15th to break a 2-2 tie and give the Braves a 4-2 victory.

It was, by far, the longest game of the summer and it had all the trappings of a wild extra-inning affair. Bourne used six pitchers and Falmouth used seven. Four different players had seven at-bats, with one -- Bourne's Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma) -- taking an unceremonious 0-for-7. All that, and Bourne starter Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) actually tossed six no-hit innings before the Braves went to the bullpen.

Falmouth managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, and from there, the teams traded scoreless frame after scoreless frame until Coleman broke through. Initially a Team USA invitee, Coleman arrived on the Cape last week and made his presence felt from the start. He continued that with his heroics Sunday. He's now hitting .429.

The win moved Bourne to 6-7 and dropped Falmouth to 5-7-1.

Elsewhere

• Y-D finally got its first home run of the year, and it was a big one. Tony Sanchez (Boston College) hit a grand slam in the fifth inning last night to lead the Red Sox past Orleans 5-0. Nick Liles added a 3-for-4 day, and Craig Fritsch (Baylor) tossed seven shutout innings for the Red Sox.
• Hyannis handed Cotuit its second straight loss and got within a game of the Kettleers for first place. Colin Bates (North Carolina) tossed five solid innings for the Mets.
• Harwich got home runs by Joe Sanders (Auburn) and Jeff Cusick (UC Irvine) to blow past Chatham 10-4.
• Wareham had one of its best offensive days of the summer, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to tie Brewster 5-5. Four Gatemen had two hits apiece, and Steve Liddle (Vanderbilt) had four RBI. Caleb Coltham (Vanderbilt) struck out 10 in six strong innings for the Whitecaps. Brandon Workman (Texas) struck out seven for Wareham to take the league lead in that category.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Only two games tonight. Cotuit will try to snap its losing streak against Orleans, another team that has lost two straight. Harwich will visit Hyannis in the other game.

sunday wrap: week two

The second full week of the season was a bit of a strange one. Seven games were postponed because of rain. Two more were called early because of rain or fog. On top of that, dozens of players started arriving from Team USA and the College World Series, adding to the unsettled feeling.

But for everything that was in flux, plenty of things stayed the same. And as we start to get more settled, those are the things that may come to define the real trends, real team identities and real standouts that will mark the summer. We're through roughly one-fourth of a 44-game season, so I feel like we've got a pretty good idea of how the landscape looks.

Of course, things are bound to change, and considering how good I thought Orleans' offense would be and how good Chatham's pitching would be (both have not been good), I will probably be wrong. But for the moment, I feel the need to lay some things out, to address the state of the summer so far and how it relates to what comes next.

So, since I'm not completely sure, here are "Four Things I Think I Think."

Cotuit Can and Will Hit
The fact that they can hit isn't up for debate. The Kettleers played five games this week and scored 40 runs. They still lead the league in batting average and runs scored, leaving no doubt that they've got some serious hitters. Is it just a fast start, though? I really don't think so. Sure, a lot of the regular starters have gotten off to torrid starts and things will probably revert back to the mean at some point. But for this team, I think the mean will still be pretty good. With hitters like Mike Bianucci, Robbie Shields, Jason Kipnis, Kevin Patterson and Brett Jackson, the Kettleers have as much hitting depth as any team in the league.

The Pitching is Thin Again
Last season, for the first time in a long time, the Cape League was dominated by offense. There were good pitchers around, very good ones, in fact, but most observers agreed that the depth wasn't there. This season, it may be missing again. A couple of pitchers have turned in great starts, but in the first two weeks, it's been a lot easier to find slugfests than gems. In terms of statistics, things look very similar to last year, when the highest team ERA was 4.83 and when there were seven teams with ERA's over three. So far this year, the high is 4.51, and there are again seven teams over three. By comparison, the 2004 season -- a particularly strong one for pitching -- had just one team with an ERA over three.

Old is Good
A lot of times in the Cape League, the freshmen have the most hype. They're the ones who got an invite based purely on reputation. With not many of them on the Cape, only the best freshmen make it. As for the sophomores, they're the emerging prospects, the ones who will dominate the draft board the next year. And the juniors? In general, they don't have much of the hype. Some of them have been drafted, but not that high, so they haven't signed. Others were off the radar when their college careers began, so they're just now drawing attention. Either way, juniors on the Cape are generally a different breed. But this summer, they've been a good breed. Every leaderboard features a junior or two, with Cotuit's Mike Bianucci and Hyannis' Andrew Carraway carrying the torch. Bianucci is hitting .286 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Carraway is 2-1 with a .55 ERA and 18 strikeouts. Together, they're helping prove that having a few juniors isn't a bad thing.

MVP Numbers May Have a Different Look
Last year, all the top hitters in the league showed power, too. Conor Gillaspie, Jason Castro, Yonder Alonso, Sean Ochinko -- all those MVP candidates hit well over .300 and also had at least four home runs. But this year, if things go the way they've been going, the MVP might go to a a different kind of player. Players with average-power combos have been noticeably absent this summer. Among the top 10 hitters, no one has more than one home run. And among the top five home run hitters, only one has an average above .300. If that trend continues, a player like Grant Green or Nick Liles, high-average guys who also steal bases, might carry the day.

That's about all I've got. That was originally going to be "Ten Things..." but I couldn't come up with that many. So I guess a lot of things are still uncertain, after all.

Anyway, a few random notes:

• Orleans' offense has been pretty bad this season, but when you focus on that, you miss the fact that the Cardinals are still 5-6. Somehow, despite scoring 25 runs -- an average of 2.5 per game, the Cardinals have managed to stay afloat. That means that if the bats can come alive even a little bit, Orleans might turn into a contender.

• Chatham's pitching staff is about to get as big a boost as you can get. Four starting pitchers are expected to arrive this week -- Louisville's Justin Marks and the entire North Carolina weekend rotation of Alex White, Adam Warren and Matt Harvey. Marks was with Team USA, while the UNC trio was playing in the College World Series. All four figure to be major parts of Chatham's rotation, a rotation that has been shaky so far.
  

• Cotuit, Harwich, Hyannis and Orleans will all play makeup games tomorrow, on what was originally a scheduled off day for the entire league. As a result, those teams won't get a day off until July 14. By then, Cotuit and Harwich will have played on 19 consecutive days. It'll be 18 for Hyannis and Orleans.
  

daily fog: perfection in the fog

The Cape Cod fog finally made its presence felt last night. Sometimes, it's frustrating when the fog rolls in, and I'm sure it was last night.

But it did help finish off something special.

Bourne's Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) tossed a five-inning perfect game as the Braves beat visiting Orleans 1-0 in a fog-shortened game.

I'm sure McCully would have liked the chance to make it a nine-inning perfect game, but five is still pretty good -- and it still counts. McCully struck out five of the 15 batters he faced and was pretty much untouchable.

(Note: Reading a little more about this, I realized the game actually went into the sixth and Orleans broke up the perfect game, but that's when the fog came in, so the game reverted back to the fifth inning, and gave McCully the perfect game.)

This was McCully's third appearance and his second start. Both starts have come against Orleans. The first time, he allowed only three hits in five innings and he struck out six. With Saturday's start factored in, McCully is now 2-0 with a .82 ERA. He has struck out 11 and walked two in 11 innings.

McCully's big start comes after a very good spring at Coastal. The sophomore right-hander went 10-3 with a 3.63 ERA. He struck out 72 and walked only 27 in 89.1 innings. The year before, McCully was actually Coastal's closer, but he pitched so well in a starting role this year that he stayed in the rotation.

Bourne is using him in the rotation as well, and he's delivering. He has turned in the team's two best starts this summer.

With the victory, the Braves moved to 5-7.

Elsewhere

• Also in that Bourne game, Eric Erickson (Miami) made his first start for Orleans and gave up just one run. An RBI single by Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) in the first inning was the only blemish, but it turned out to be the difference.

• Falmouth and Y-D traveled to Brockton last night for the Cape Cod Baseball Hall of Fame Classic and gave the fans there a pretty good game. The Red Sox held off a late charge from the Commodores to win 5-4. Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts) made his first start for the Red Sox and threw 6.1 solid innings, with a three-run third inning as the only trouble spot. Joe Kelly (UC Riverside) allowed one run in the ninth but buckled down to get the save. DeAngelo Mack (South Carolina) and Sean Ochinko (LSU) each had two hits and an RBI to lead Y-D. Falmouth's Trevor Coleman (Missouri) went 3-for-4.
  

• I always have a tendency to think of non-roster players as being a notch below the guys on original rosters. But that's really not the case, and there's plenty of proof floating around. Wareham's Ryan Pineda (Cal St. Northridge) is one such example. He's still listed in the non-roster invitees section, but he was the Big West Freshman of the Year this season. He's been good this summer, and he had two hits last night to lead the Gatemen past Harwich 3-2 in extra innings. Pineda, who's hitting .262, had a home run and two RBI, including the game-winning RBI in the 10th. Starting pitchers Max Perlman (Harvard) and Chris Manno (Duke) both turned in solid six-inning starts, but the Gatemen eventually got to the Mariners' bullpen.
  

• It's always news when somebody shuts down Cotuit, and Brewster's Tim Clubb (Missouri State) did the trick last night. Clubb has been Brewster's best pitcher this season, and he continued the trend by putting the clamps on the best offense in the league. Clubb went seven innings and allowed only one run on four hits. Chris LaGrow (South Alabama) worked a scoreless inning of relief and Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) picked up the save. Mike Freeman (Clemson) drove in all three of Brewster's runs. As for the Kettleers, the two runs were the fewest they've scored in a game this year.
  

• Chatham's Corey Olson (UC Irvine) was a late arrival, but he has been scorching since the day he got to the Cape, and he continued it last night. Olson went 3-for-3 to lead the A's past Hyannis 3-2. In four games and 13 at-bats, Olson has 10 hits, putting his average at .769. The A's got good pitching last night as well. Bobby Hernandez (Barry), allowed two runs in six innings, Jeff Lorick (Virginia) went 1.2 scoreless innings and Brad Boxberger (USC) went 1.1 innings for his fifth save. That ties Boxberger for the league lead.
  

• College World Series players keep trickling in. LSU's D.J. LeMahieu made a pinch-hitting appearance last night for Harwich. I'd expect all the North Carolina players to be in lineups soon enough.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• One of those North Carolina players, Colin Bates, is expected to get the start tonight against Cotuit. That's a nice welcome to the Cape League. After getting only two runs last night, the Kettleers might also be a little angry.
  

daily fog: powerful whitecaps

Cotuit may be the best-hitting team in the league, but when it comes to home runs, not even the Kettleers can keep up with Brewster.

The Whitecaps hit two more home runs last night to bring their league-leading total to 11. James Meador (San Diego) hit his second and Connor Powers (Mississippi State) hit his third, powering Brewster to a 5-0 victory over Harwich. The win gave the Whitecaps sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division.

It also kept them well in front in the home run category. Cotuit is hanging in there with eight, but no other team has more than four. Yarmouth-Dennis, despite a strong offense, doesn't have any.

How are the Whitecaps doing it? Four players are taking care of everything. Powers, Ryan Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) and Nate Lape (Marshall) all have three and all find themselves among the top four home run hitters in the league. Meador has the other two.

It shouldn't be a surprise that those four players are delivering. All of them had great springs. Meador hit .380 with five home runs, Powers hit .348 with 11 home runs and Wheeler hit .345 with six home runs. The most impressive numbers, though, belonged to Lape, who hit .388 with 17 home runs for Marshall.

Lape is an interesting story. He's a junior who has spent the last two years at Marshall after transferring from North Carolina. Originally, he wasn't on the Brewster roster, but at 6'5 215 and showing this kind of power, he's been making a good impression.

As for Brewster, home runs weren't the only good thing. Starting pitcher Buddy Bauman gave the Whitecaps their best start of the year. The lefty from Missouri State allowed one hit in seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking three. Bauman had been Brewster's best starter, but this was his first win. He now has a 1.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts.

Elsewhere

• Someone finally beat Andrew Carraway -- barely. Orleans, which has a knack for doing just enough on offense, got one run off Carraway last night, and the pitching staff made that lead stand up. Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) went five innings and got the win, while four relievers kept the shutout intact. Carraway (Virginia), who was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowed only three hits in six innings, but was tagged with the loss. At the plate for Orleans, Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) did the damage with a fourth-inning RBI single.
  

• Cotuit kept on crushing the ball last night, beating Falmouth 9-2. Leadoff hitter Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) had his best day of the summer, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Kevin Patterson (Auburn) went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a home run, while Mike Bianucci (Auburn) took over the league lead in home runs with his fourth. Cotuit didn't need much in the way of pitching, but Matt Fairel (Florida State), making his first start since arriving from the College World Series, allowed just one run in six innings. Falmouth starter Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) had a tough night after a good showing in his first start.
  

• Wareham broke out of an offensive funk with a 9-3 victory over Chatham. In its previous five games combined, the Gatemen had scored eight runs. On this night, Cole Leonida (Georgia Tech) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Aaron Baker (Oklahoma) went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Matt Way (Washington State) turned in a solid start for the Gatemen, allowing three runs in five innings while striking out eight. He's now tied for the league lead in strikeouts. For Chatham, Grant Green continued a hot stretch with a 3-for-5 day. He's now hitting .438, just behind the league lead.
  

• Bourne beat Y-D 8-3 in a rain-shortened game. Dusty Coleman (Wichita State), playing his third game since arriving from Team USA, went 3-for-4 with an RBI to pace a balanced Bourne attack. Four players drove in runs for the Braves.
  

What to Watch For

• Suddenly, pitching rotations are taking shape, as indicated by the pitching probables link on the league website. After a few weeks of scrambling, it looks like things are finally settling down.

• There are a couple of good match-ups tonight, headed by the one in Wareham. Harwich's Chris Manno (Duke) will go against the Gatemen, who send Max Perlman (Harvard) to the hill.
  

• Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberrs) will finally (hopefully) make his first start for Y-D. He was scheduled to go last week but when the game got postponed by rain, his turn in the rotation was skipped. He will go against Falmouth in the game in Brockton.

• Speaking of the game in Brockton, here's a good article about it from the Quincy Patriot-Ledger.
  

daily fog: same old story

It gets a little old talking about Cotuit's offense.

But you kind of have to.

The Kettleers beat Y-D 10-3 last night to improve to 7-2, the best mark in the league. It was the fourth time this season that the Kettleers have hit double digits in runs. The rest of the league, combined, has done it twice.

Last night, it was another balanced attack as seven players in the lineup had hits. Kevin Patterson (Auburn) went 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the way. Jeff Kobernus (Cal) had three RBI and Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) scored three runs.

That's a typical night for the Kettleers, and it's why they're having so much success. Everybody in that lineup is hitting. I don't know if Cotuit, inherently, is the best hitting team on the Cape. But that's pretty much irrelevant. Every team in the league is essentially an all-star team. All of them have the potential to hit. Whichever one does it becomes the best hitting team in the league, whether they have the best collection of talent or not. Though, to hit like this, Cotuit clearly has some talent.

Now, I don't want to make any crazy comparisons here, but this warrants mentioning. Last year's Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, a benchmark for offensive juggernauts, also went 7-2 in their first nine games. But . . . they only hit double digits once. Just saying.

Elsewhere

• As I mentioned last night, Cotuit starter Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) had to leave the game when he got hit with a line drive. No updates on that yet.
  

• Also in the Y-D-Cotuit game, Y-D's Nick Liles (Western Carolina) had two more hits to raise his average to .462, still tops in the league.
  

• We finally had a complete game last night. Well, kind of. Brewster's Rob Gilliam (UNC Greensboro) went six innings in a game that was called after six due to rain. So it counts as a complete game. And Gilliam pitched well, allowing only one run in the 4-1 victory. Brewster got all of its runs in the top of the sixth inning. Jim Klocke (SE Missouri) and David DiNatale (Miami) combined to drive in three runs in the big sixth.
  

• DiNitale is a late addition to the Brewster roster. He played eight games on the Cape last year and hit .087. This was his first game for the Whitecaps, and he certainly is off to a better start.

• Harwich got the first big boost from a late arrival, as Tommy Medica (Santa Clara), in his second game since leaving Team USA, hit a walkoff RBI single to give the Mariners a 6-5 win over Wareham. Sean Black (Seton Hall) earned the win in relief with 5.1 dominant innings. He allowed no runs on one hit and struck out three. Now at 6-3, Harwich still has the best record in the East.
  

• Chatham got its offense going last night in a 7-4 victory over Bourne, a win that moves the A's to within a game of .500. Corey Olson (UC Irvine) made his second start and was a home run away from the cycle. Grant Green (USC) also chipped in with a 3-for-4 day. He's now hitting .419. Chatham's bullpen did the rest last night, as Matt Zoltak (Clemson), Kevin Couture (USC) and Brad Boxberger (USC) combined to allow just one run in six innings.
  

• Once again, Orleans didn't have a lot of offense. But the pitching staff kept that from being a problem. Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount), Matt Thomson (San Diego) and Kyle Kamppi (Georgia Southern) combined on a five-hit shutout as the Cardinals beat Falmouth 2-0.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Hyannis' Andrew Carraway (Virginia), probably the top pitcher in the league so far, will take the hill tonight for his third start as the Mets visit Orleans.
  

• A real good pitching matchup in Brewster as Buddy Bauman (Missouri State), one of the Whitecaps' top starters, goes against Harwich's Matt Zielinski (Richmond). Bauman has a 1.69 ERA, while Zielinski didn't allow an earned run in his only start. This is also a match-up of the top two teams in the East.
  

small school, big impression, etc.

I'll admit it. I enjoyed Summer Catch.

I've always gotten the feeling that Cape League fans aren't supposed to like it, but I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for underdog stories, and Freddie Prinze, Jr., tugged on the heartstrings, giving an outstanding performance as Ryan Dunne, a Cape Cod townie trying to make it big in the league he grew up watching.

So I enjoyed it, and now, every season, I find myself looking for the real Ryan Dunnes. Not necessarily local kids, but temporary players or guys from small schools -- anybody who's getting a huge opportunity and making the most of it.

Y-D's Nick Liles and Cotuit's Robbie Shields fit the mold this year.

They're talented players, without question, but they play in relative obscurity, compared with many of their Cape League teammates. Liles is at Western Carolina, an up-and-coming program, but not a powerhouse. Shields plays at Florida Southern, a Division II school.

But Liles and Shields are fitting right in on the Cape.

Through Wednesday's games, Liles, a third baseman/outfielder, led the league with a .457 batting average. He also led in hits and stolen bases. Shields, a shortstop, was third in the league with a .424 batting average. His two home runs were two more than any of the other top 10 hitters.

Obviously, they're both off to fast starts, but there's no reason to think they can't keep it up.

Coming out of high school, Liles was one of the top players in North Carolina. The Giants made him a 29th-round pick in the 2006 draft. Since enrolling at Western Carolina, he's done nothing but hit. His freshman year, he finished with a .335 batting average, and this year, he hit .346. Liles spent last summer in the Coastal Plain League, where he hit .317 and earned an all-star nod.


It's been a similar path for Shields. He was a tremendous high-school hitter and he put up solid numbers in his first year at Florida Southern. He then made a big splash in the Clark Griffith Baseball League last summer, hitting .307 with 10 home runs and taking home league MVP honors. This spring, Shields upped his average to .348 and continued to show power.

So for both, the stage had been set. Now, they're stealing the show, much like Freddie Prinze, Jr., would have done. They can only hope Jessica Biel is somehow involved.

A few notes:

• I listened online to a little bit of the Y-D-Cotuit game tonight. More on the game itself, tomorrow, but here's one interesting tidbit: Arizona State outfielder Jason Kipnis, a fourth-round pick earlier this month, was playing second base. That matches up with this note from PG Crosschecker's Allan Simpson: "There is a prevailing thought among scouts that he could even re-invent himself as an offensive-oriented second baseman with another year in school." We'll see if this is a regular thing for Kipnis or just something he experiments with.
  

• Also of note in that game, Cotuit starter Nick Hernandez, one of the top pitchers so far, had to leave the game after getting hit in the foot with a line drive. Cotuit manager Mike Roberts said in the postgame radio interview that he didn't think anything was broken and that Hernandez should be OK.
  

• It's no surprise that Cotuit's Mike Bianucci leads the league in home runs and RBI. It's just a surprise that he's in Cotuit at all. The Auburn junior has long been considered a premier power hitter. He played on the Cape last summer and hit three home runs before an injury sent him home early. But for all the power, scouts question his other tools, a big reason why he went in the eighth round of the draft and not earlier. Since he was a draft-eligible sophomore, this was the second time he'd been drafted in as many years (23rd round last year), but the fact that he's on the Cape again means he's in no rush. If he's out to prove something this summer, he's doing a pretty good job.
  

• Russ Charpentier noted in the Cape League Insider Blog that Chatham expects North Carolina second baseman Kyle Seager to arrive on Saturday. Seager is a returning player who's coming off a huge season with the Tar Heels.
  

• Strikeout-to-walk ratio is one of my favorite pitching stats, and it's a pretty telling one so far. Harwich and Hyannis, who have the two best team ERA's in the league, also have the best strikeout-to-walk ratios. Hyannis' ratio is 3.6. Harwich is at 2.87. Also of note, Hyannis pitchers have 90 strikeouts in just 71 innings.

• Team USA is still waiting to announce two more players to its final roster. I think a lot of people assumed the two would come from the original invite list, but that may not be the case. ESPN's Kyle Peterson mentioned in last night's CWS broadcast that Fresno State third baseman Tommy Mendonca will play for Team USA. So I guess that final spot could go to pretty much anybody. The waiting might indicate that the other player was also in the College World Series finals. Regardless, the announcment should be out soon.
  

daily fog: the hoover administration

The Harwich Mariners have the best team ERA in the league at 1.78. They don't really need another great pitcher.

But they've got one.

J.J. Hoover, a 10th round pick out of Calhoun Community College, made his first start for Harwich last night and allowed one run in six impressive innings. He struck out eight and didn't walk anybody as Harwich beat Wareham 6-1.

The victory moved the Mariners to 5-3, and in addition to the pitching -- which always seems to be there -- this was the team's best offensive day since the first game of the season, when they put up nine runs.

On this night, Brian Kemp (St. John's) went 4-for-4 with two RBI, bumping his average up more than 100 points to .345. Joe Sanders (Auburn) and Shaver Hansen (Baylor) had two hits apiece.

For Hoover, that was more than enough. A 6'4 righthander, Hoover was touching 95 on radar guns this spring, and the Braves made him a 10th-round pick. He has committed to West Virginia, and he could be on the Cape with plans to go to school in the fall. He may also be trying to drive up his price. Either way, he did himself a lot of favors last night.

Elsewhere

• The other big news for Harwich is the presence of two players who should provide big lifts. Florida State infielder Jason Stidham made his first start since arriving from the College World Series. Catcher Tommy Medica (Santa Clara), who must have jumped on a plane as soon as he found out he wasn't making Team USA, came off the bench late in the game. And the Mariners, believe it or not, aren't done. They're also waiting for North Carolina's Dustin Ackley and LSU's D.J. LeMahieu.
  

• Wareham's offense continued to struggle last night, and the Gateman may not get the boost they were hoping for. Rice shortstop Rick Hague will take the summer off because of an injury and Indiana catcher Josh Phegley is currently having an MRI. Also, at one point, Blake Dean's status was up in the air. Hopefully, that's changed by now. Dean, an LSU outfielder, was as hot as anybody at the end of the college season.

• Brewster had a chance to close out a slugfest victory over Falmouth last night, but instead ended up with a slugfest tie. The Commodores scored a pair of unearned runs in the ninth to tie the game at 9-9, and that's where it ended. On both sides, there was obviously a lot of offense. Brewster, which leads the league in home runs, got two more, one from Connor Powers (Mississippi State) and another from Ryan Wheeler (Loyola-Marymount). Falmouth got two RBI's from Rice's Diego Seastrunk, another arrival from the CWS.

• Cotuit moved into a tie for first place with an 8-3 victory over Bourne. Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) hit his second home run of the year and Mike Bianucci (Auburn) went 2-for-3 with two RBI to pace the Kettleers. Bianucci now leads the league in RBI with 14. For Bourne, former Team USA invitee Dusty Coleman (Wichita State) went 1-for-3 in his first game.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Thanks to the rain, four of the teams that played last night had taken two days off. Tonight, as we finally get back to a full schedule, Hyannis will actually be coming off three days without a game. The Mets last played on Sunday.

• Y-D will visit Cotuit tonight in a battle of the top two offensive teams in the league. They're both hitting above .300 as a team. Last time they played, Y-D won 9-8.
  

daily fog: a rainy day gem

A day after three games were postponed due to rain, four games got postponed last night.

Sammy Solis is pretty happy that Chatham and Wareham decided to play.

Solis, a freshman from San Diego, tossed seven shutout innings to lead Chatham past Wareham 2-0. The 6'4 lefthander allowed just two hits, struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. It was the second strong start of the summer by Solis, who has two of Chatham's four wins. For the season, he hasn't allowed an earned run and he has struck out 16 with just one walk in 12 innings.

Last night, Solis out-dueled another top freshmen. Wareham's Brandon Workman (Texas), struck out 10 and allowed two runs in five innings. That moved him into the league lead in strikeouts (Solis is second).

Grant Green (USC) delivered all the offense off Workman with a two-run double in the second inning. And that was all the offense Chatham needed. The USC bullpen tandem of Kevin Couture and Brad Boxberger teamed up for three scoreless innings to preserve the win. Boxberger picked up his third save.

I'd say the big news out of yesterday was still Solis. Before the season, he looked like a guy who might emerge -- a big, tall freshman, highly-touted out of high school, good college numbers. His potential had me thinking he could be the top freshman pitcher on the Cape. At this rate, you can drop the freshman label. He's tied for the league lead in wins and ERA, and he's second in strikeouts. Only Hyannis' Andrew Carraway has put up similar numbers.

What to Watch For Tonight

• No rain in the forecast -- that's the big one.
  

• There were only two games originally on the schedule for tonight. Falmouth and Brewster made it three when they pushed last night's game to tonight.
  

• Keep an eye on box scores. College World Series players should start trickling in this week.
  

team usa announces final roster

And there's plenty of good news for Cape League teams.

Eleven players who didn't make the final cut are on Cape League rosters, which means we can expect most of them to head to the Cape. The list is headed by North Carolina's Dustin Ackley (Harwich), Rice's Ryan Berry (Bourne) and Indiana's Josh Phegley (Wareham).

Here's the link to the final roster. It does say that two more players will be named, so this isn't quite set in stone.

Here are the Cape League players left off the final roster, at this point:

Dustin Ackley - 1B - North Carolina - Sophomore - Harwich
Ryan Berry - P - Rice - Sophomore - Bourne
Dusty Coleman - SS - Wichita State - Sophomore - Bourne
Brian Fletcher - OF - Auburn - Freshman - Falmouth
Justin Marks - P - Louisville - Sophomore - Chatham
Tommy Medica - C - Santa Clara - Sophomore - Harwich
Ryan Ortiz - C - Oregon State - Sophomore - Y-D
Josh Phegley - C - Indiana - Sophomore - Wareham
Drew Pomeranz - P - Ole Miss - Freshman - Bourne
Kyle Seager - 2B - North Carolina - Sophomore - Chatham
Rick Hague - SS - Rice - Freshman - Wareham

Big lifts for several teams, obviously. If Ackley does indeed head to Harwich, he becomes the best pure hitter on the Cape. Medica would also fill a big hole for the Mariners.

Bourne picks up two big-time pitchers, including Berry, one of the best in the nation. Dusty Coleman will also make a big difference.

Two teams in last place right now -- Chatham and Wareham -- should also feel pretty good. Phegley probably becomes the top catching prospect on the Cape, and Hague should be one of the top freshmen. Seager and Marks will help out a lot in Chatham.

Of the 20 players who did make the final roster, 14 were on Cape League rosters. That list includes Kyle Gibson (Falmouth), Derek Dietrich (Wareham), Stephen Strasburg (Y-D) and Ryan Jackson (Hyannis).

It will also be interesting to see if a couple of the players who didn't make it and who aren't on Cape League rosters come to the Cape as late additions. Tennessee pitcher Bryan Morgado, Texas A&M outfielder Brooks Raley, Texas pitcher Chance Ruffin and Missouri outfielder Aaron Senne all fall into that category.

daily fog: through the raindrops

Three games got postponed last night due to rain, but two games did go into the books. Brewster beat Orleans 6-5 to move to 4-4-1. Y-D blew past Chatham 7-1 to get to the same record. Both those teams have won two straight.

The Whitecaps didn't have an offensive explosion like they did Sunday when they put up eight runs against Wareham. But they got a grand slam by James Meador (San Diego) in the fifth inning to blow things open. Orleans starter Kyle Smith (Kent State) had started that inning with a perfect game intact.

Meador, who had a great season for San Diego, has struggled mightily so far this summer. The grand slam was just his second hit in 24 at-bats. However, both of his hits have gone for extra-bases, and he has six RBI. Brewster needs his bat to come alive.

As for Orleans, Smith took a 2.25 ERA into the game and it looked like it would be dropping until things unraveled. At the plate for the Cardinals, Angelo Songco (Loyola-Marymount), who's trying to wedge his way into a crowded Orleans outfield, went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Over in Chatham last night, Y-D got a dominant performance from Shawn Tolleson (Baylor). He struck out 10 and allowed just one run in 5.1 innings. Greg Peavey (Oregon State) went 3.2 scoreless innings after a rain delay and picked up a save. Peavey, a freshman, had allowed five runs in six innings last time out.

The Y-D offense, meanwhile, had another strong game. The Red Sox have scored six runs or more in four consecutive games. Five players had two hits for the Red Sox, while Nick Liles (Western Carolina) continued his hot start with one hit and two RBI. He now leads the league in batting average, hits, stolen bases and on-base percentage. He's second in RBI.

What to Watch For Tonight

• There he is. Jerry Sullivan, my pick for pitcher of the year, will make his first start tonight when Y-D visits Orleans. Sullivan, a sophomore from Oral Roberts, had a 3.61 ERA this spring with 104 strikeouts and 23 walks.
  

• Brandon Workman (Texas) and Sammy Solis (San Diego) will take the hill in a match-up of top freshmen as Wareham hosts Chatham. Workman and Solis have made one start each, probably the best start their respective teams have gotten this summer.

• Also, Team USA is set to announce its final roster today. That means we'll find out which players might be coming to the Cape, after all. I will keep an eye on their web site all day and get something up as soon as I see it.

daily fog: coming alive

We're still at a point in the season where one good day can raise a batting average dramatically. Chatham's Devin Lohman (Long Beach State), for instance, was hitting .190 through Saturday. After going 3-for-3 with three RBI on Sunday, Lohman is hitting .292 and is tied for the league lead in RBI.

A couple of teams made similar leaps last night. Chatham, Yarmouth-Dennis and Brewster, all of whom were treading water with two losses near the bottom of the Eastern Division, picked up wins last night. Brewster and Y-D are now just a point behind first-place Harwich while Chatham is two points back.

Brewster came up with the most lopsided victory, topping Wareham 8-0. Ryan Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) went 2-for-4 with three RBI, and Tim Clubb (Missouri State) turned in the team's best starting pitching performance of the year, going seven shutout innings while striking out three.

In Yarmouth, Y-D withstood a late rally from Harwich to hold on for a 6-4 victory. The Red Sox got three hits from Nick Liles, who upped his league-leading average to .484. DeAngelo Mack (South Carolina) had four hits.

Finally, Chatham squeaked out its second one-run victory in as many nights. The aforementioned Lohman led the way offensively while reliever Jeff Lorick (Virginia) tossed two shutout innings and picked up the win. A bases-loaded walk to Evan Ocheltree (Wake Forest) in the bottom of the ninth plated the winning run.

Elsewhere

• After scoring its lowest run total of the season on Saturday, Cotuit got right back on track, blowing past Orleans 11-5. Mike Bianucci (Auburn) hit a grand slam, and Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) also had a home run for the Kettleers.
  

• Hyannis gave itself the best record in the league with a 4-3 victory over Bourne. Chris Dominguez (Louisville) went 2-for-4 as the Mets scored all their runs in the first two innings. Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his fifth save, which puts him on a ridiculous pace. If he keeps up anything close to this, he will challenge Ryan Speier's league record of 16. The bullpen also shined for Bourne, who got 5.1 shutout innings from Kevin Landry (William & Mary). He struck out seven and only allowed one hit.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Harwich takes on Hyannis in a battle of first-place teams. I'd expect it to be a pitchers' duel since both teams are near the top in ERA.
  

sunday wrap: week one and two

This early in the season, it's a little tough to decide what the biggest story of the week is. Everything seems like it's in limbo, from roster movement, to lineup changes, to the parade of pitchers that take the hill every game. You can't judge much of anything.

In a sense, I guess that is the story.

I always feel like July 1 is the day when the summer really gets going. Teams aren't waiting on players anymore. Lineups are set. Contenders and leaders are emerging.

But it's not like the first two weeks don't matter. It's a 44-game season. After two weeks, almost one third of the season will be complete. By comparison, one-third of the Major League Baseball season isn't complete until late May.

So while this feels like an interim kind of period, it really isn't. The players who are shining now stand a good chance of having a great summer. Same for the teams.

If I may, let me invoke some weather imagery. You have a thermometer and a barometer. The thermometer tells you what the temperature is right now. The barometer tells you what the air pressure is right now, but the more imporant piece of information it conveys involves the future. Where the pressure is going, up or down, can tell you a lot about what the weather will be.

So. The first week of the season really can't be a barometer. It doesn't predict anything or establish trends. But the first week can obviosuly be a thermometer.

Sticking with the theme, let's take some temperatures.

On Fire
Cotuit (4-2) - The Kettleers may not be in first place anymore, but they're still the best hitting team in the league. They lead the league in runs scored (43) and batting average (.307). Their lowest single-game run total of the season is three. Six of their regulars are hitting .300 or better, led by Kevin Patterson, who sits at .435.

Falmouth (5-2) - Tied with Hyannis for the best record in the league, the Commodores have won four straight games. Their offense has heated up in a big way. In those four wins, Falmouth has scored 27 runs. A.J. Pollock, Joey Wong and A.J. Wirnsberger have done the heavy lifting. Pollock is hitting .414, Wong is at .346 and Wirnsberger is hitting .320. The pitching has been a little bit up and down but good enough so far.

Hyannis (5-2) - The Mets have probably played the best all-around baseball in the league. They rank fourth in team batting average and third in pitching. Andrew Carraway and Austin Hudson have been great in the rotation, while Russell Brewer has been dominant in the closer's role. At the plate, Trent Ashcraft, Dale Cornstubble, Steve Daniels and Casey Frawley have been very good.

Still Pretty Warm
Harwich (4-2) - The Mariners have the best record in the Eastern Division, and they've done it despite missing a big chunk of their original roster. Joe Sanders and D.J. Belfonte have given Harwich a big lift, while Andrew Giobbi has been a major run producer despite a low batting average. The Mariners' bullpen has been outstanding, with Willie Kempf leading the way. Kempf hasn't allowed an earned run in 5.1 innings.

Luke-Warm
Orleans (3-3) - So much for that great offense. On paper, the Cardinals looked like a powerful squad, but they've scored all of 12 runs in six games. Still, the pitching has done enough to keep Orleans in a lot of games. Brad Gemberling and Kyle Smith have turned in good starts, while Kyle Kamppi has been good out of the bullpen.

Yarmouth-Dennis (2-4-1) - Not a great record yet, but the offense has been there for the Red Sox. Their team batting average is third in the league and they have the top two hitters so far in Nick Liles and Greg Miclat, as well as the leading RBI man, Andy Wilkins. The pitching hasn't yet caught up.

Cool
Brewster (2-4-1) - The Whitecaps have the same record as Y-D, but their numbers haven't been good. A .230 batting average puts them in seventh, and a 4.50 ERA also puts them in seventh. While Ty Kelly, Derek Poppert and Tim Wheeler have hit the ball well, several big guns have struggled. And on the mound, it's been shaky, except for two good starts by Buddy Bauman and some solid relief outings by Chris Lagrow and Rory McKean.

Wareham (2-4) - The Gatemen have struggled, but looking at their numbers, it's kind of hard to tell why. Their pitching has been good -- they have three starters with 0.00 ERA's -- and they've got a couple of guys swinging the bats well. But they haven't been able to put it all together.

Cold
Bourne (3-4) - The offense has been pretty solid, with Kyle Roller and Ross Wilson leading the way. But the pitching just hasn't been good. The Braves have seven pitchers with ERA's over six. Still, Bourne gets a little extra credit for powering through it, and staying just a game under .500.

Ice Cold
Chatham (2-5) - While it's hard to see why Wareham is struggling, it's not hard to see for the A's. Their team batting average and team ERA both rank ninth in the league. Considering my preseason thoughts, I'm still kind of surprised, to be honest, but the team that's been out there -- especially the pitching staff -- is just a shell of the one that looked great on paper.

Alright, that's enough with the weather. Here's some random notes from the season's first week.

• Team USA won't announce its final roster until Tuesday, but it looks like at least one player already knows. Baylor infielder Shaver Hansen, who was with Team USA on its tour of the NECBL, was in the Harwich lineup Saturday night. He went 0-for-3.
  

• Speaking of Team USA, I live in Rhode Island, so I went to their game Thursday against the Newport Gulls. 2007 Cape Leaguer Kyle Gibson was impressive despite giving up some solid hits. At one point, he struck out five. I was also extremely impressed with Tennesse's Kentrail Davis. He was absolutely crushing the ball.

• More Team USA: I flew to Illinois on Friday, and who did I see in the airport that morning? Team USA. They were headed, I believe, to Raleigh-Durham. They were pretty easy to pick out of the crowd, what with the gloves tied to their backpacks. Interestingly, I don't think I saw all-everything pitcher Stephen Strasburg. It's possible I missed him, or that he was taking a flight somewhere else. My wild imagination had me thinking there's a chance he's not going with Team USA, and that he decided to stay in New England and head to the Cape, where he's still listed on the Y-D roster. I think that's unlikely, though. He may have bigger plans: A Pitcher With the Talent to Take On the World.
  

• A couple of other interesting names popped up on rosters the last few days. Oklahoma's J.T. Wise, who played at LSU last year and then on the Cape, is now playing for Harwich. He hit .278 this spring with seven home runs. Vanderbilt's Nick Christiani, who had four saves last summer for Orleans, is pitching for Brewster. UC Irvine's Bryce Stowell, who pitched for Hyannis last year, is on the Bourne roster. Northeastern's Mike Tamsin is back with Y-D for the second straight year.

• Nebraska's Dan Jennings, a ninth-round pick who made one appearance for Cotuit, has signed with the Marlins.

• Anybody know where Jerry Sullivan is? He was my pick for pitcher of the year, but he hasn't shown up in any of Y-D's box scores.
  

• A few other players whose names I haven't seen (other than CWS and Team USA guys): Louisville's Andrew Clark (Falmouth), Indiana's Matt Bashore (Wareham) and Kentucky's Chris McClendon (Y-D).
  

• Greg Miclat is showing why he was a fifth-round pick this month. He's leading the league in hitting, and he has five stolen bases.
  

• Miclat isn't the only one putting up those kinds of numbers. In fact, his teammate Nick Liles is tied with him for the league lead in batting average, and he has six steals. Liles, from Western Carolina, has played both infield and outfield, but has been great wherever he's been. I like it when small-school guys make a name for themselves on the Cape, and with this start, Liles has a golden opportunity.
  

• A lot of hitters came up with some fireworks in the first week, but a few more were just below that level, turning in quietly solid weeks. A few of those guys: Bourne's Ross Wilson (.296), Chatham's Aaron Miller (.304, 2 RBI), Cotuit's Brett Jackson (.296, 1 HR, 7 RBI), Falmouth's Trevor Coleman (.292, 7 RBI) and Ryan Jones (.267, 2 HR, 5 RBI), and Wareham's Raynor Campbell (.296).
  

• And a quick programming note: The first week of the season happened to coincide with a very busy week at work, so I wasn't able to do everything I wanted. In the weeks to come, look for the daily fog feature, as well as a lot of other things.
  

daily fog: getting carried away

(A little late today, but I was flying home from Illinois this morning, so I didn't get a chance to do it.)

It seems that Andrew Carraway is a bit underappreciated.

His freshman year at Virginia, the 6'1 righthander posted a 2.91 ERA. His sophomore year, he went 7-0 with a 3.60 ERA. Then this season, he went 4-3, and though his ERA was a bit high at 4.03, he struck out 87 with just 12 walks in 75.1 innings.

Those are really, really good numbers.

And yet, when the ACC all-conference teams came out this year, Carraway was nowhere to be found. When the draft rolled around, his name was never called. For whatever reason, nobody seems to consider Carraway a top-shelf player.

But people might start taking notice.

Carraway, pitching for Hyannis this summer, turned in another dominant start last night. He went five innings, allowing four hits and no runs. He struck out seven and walked just one. In the process, as Hyannis beat Wareham 4-1, Carraway became just the third pitcher to two wins.

With his first start factored in, Carraway has clearly been the pitching star of the first week. These are his numbers so far: 10.1 IP, 7 H, 0R, 14 K, 1 BB. For a comparison, those look a lot like the numbers you'd see last year in two starts from Aaron Crow.

Of course, Crow raised his stock dramatically and became a first-round pick with his big summer. Since Carraway has been so far off the radar, and since he didn't get drafted at all this year, he doesn't have the profile of someone whose potential rise could take him that high. But this time last year, Crow wasn't that high on draft boards, either.

Elsewhere

• Also of note in the Hyannis win, Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) picked up his fourth save of the year. He has saved all but one of the Mets' wins.
  

• All of a sudden, the juggernaut known as the Cotuit Kettleers find themselves in third place. Last night's 5-3 loss to Harwich, combined with wins by Hyannis and Falmouth moved the Kettleers down two notches.
  

• Auburn's Joe Sanders led the way in Harwich's victory, going 4-for-4 with a double and a home run. Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt), one of the league leaders in RBI, added two more. Starting pitcher Chris Manno (Duke) allowed one run in 5.1 strong innings.
  

• Falmouth won a slugfest with Y-D 11-7. Y-D starter Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) was perfect through three innings before the Commodores got to him. Joey Wong (Oregon State), who's now hitting .346, went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Greg Miclat (Virginia) had three hits for Y-D to tie teammate Nick Liles (Western Carolina) for the batting average lead. They're both hitting .444. Andy Wilkins, a freshman from Arkansas, had three RBI to bring his league-best total to nine.
  

• Bourne improved to 3-4 with a 6-1 victory over Orleans. Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) worked five good innings for the Braves, while Kyle Roller and Stephen Batts, both from East Carolina, each had two hits and two RBI.
  

• Chatham got its second win of the season with a 5-4 victory over Brewster. The A's continued with a patchwork pitching staff, this time getting a decent start from Bobby Hernandez (Barry University) and strong relief work from the USC tandem of Kevin Couture and Brad Boxberger. Boxberger, a starter last summer, picked up his second save so he may be taking on the closer's role this year.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Charles Brewer (UCLA) will make his first appearance for Chatham as the A's host Falmouth. Brewer was great last summer and was slated to be one of the big pieces in Chatham's staff this year. With a team ERA of 4.87, they need him.

daily fog: hot and cold

If you had given me Chatham and Cotuit as options, and asked me to pick which one would be in first place and which one would be in last place a week into the season, I would have taken Chatham as the first-place sqaud and Cotuit as the last-place team.

And I would have been dead wrong. Cotuit pounded Chatham 13-2 last night to improve to 4-1, the best record in the league. Chatham fell to 1-5, the worst record in the league.

That's the way these things go sometimes in the Cape League. So much is different than what was on paper. You just never know what's going to happen.

Chatham's pitching, for instance, hasn't been anything close to what the A's hoped it would be. And Friday night, that was a bad recipe because Cotuit's offense has been everything and more.

The 13 runs were a league-high so far this summer, and it's no surprise that the Kettleers were the ones doing it. Mike Bianucci (Auburn) went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and four RBI. Jeff Kobernus (Cal) had four hits. In all, only one player in the Cotuit lineup didn't have a hit. For the season, four Cotuit starters are hitting .400 or above, led by Kevin Patterson (Aubrun), whose .467 mark is best in the league.

I'll be honest: I didn't see this coming. Cotuit's offense looked good but it looked good in the way that every Cape League offense looks good. I guess the difference is that everybody is off to a hot start.

Elsewhere

• Clearly, Cotuit's offense doesn't need much help, but it just got some. Arizona State's Jason Kipnis, a fourth-round pick in this year's draft, was in the lineup last night for the first time. Kipnis hit .367 with 13 home runs this spring.
• I don't want to forget about Cotuit's pitching, either. Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) had his second straight strong start. He allowed one run in six innings.
• Three Falmouth pitchers combined for a shutout to lead the Commodores past Harwich 1-0. Jorge Reyes (Oregon State) turned in a solid start with five shutout innings, and Shaeffer Hall (Kansas) teamed up with Jonathan Kountis (Ohio Dominican) to keep the shutout intact. Matt Zielinski (Richmond) was solid for Harwich, allowing just an unearned run.
• It looked a lot like last year in Hyannis last night, as Austin Hudson (Central Florida) and Jason Franzblau (Arizona State) teamed up to allow one run in Hyannis' 8-1 victory over Orleans. Both those players were on the team last year. The Mets' offense got going thanks to a 3-for-4 day by leafoff man Ryan Eden (New Orleans).
• Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas) tossed six shutout innings for Wareham, but the bullpen couldn't hold a lead as Y-D battled back for a 10-3 victory. Josh Rutledge (Alabama) led the offensive charge for the Red Sox with three hits, while Nick Liles (Western Carolina) added two hits and three RBI.

What to Watch For Tonight

• A familiar face will take the hill for Y-D as Georgia Tech's Eddie Burns is scheduled to start. Burns went 5-1 last summer on the Cape. Burns just finished his redshirt junior year, but he was a 39th-round pick in the draft this year.

daily fog: saving the day

Three of Hyannis' five games have ended with Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) on the mound.

And that's a good thing.

The Mets are 3-2, and all three of their wins have been saved by Brewer, the league leader in that category. Last night, he notched his first two-inning save as Hyannis beat Y-D 6-4. It must have felt like a breeze, though, because Brewer's first two saves came with one-run leads.

Brewer has done it all without blinking. He has faced two batters over the minimum in his four innings of work and has struck out three.

Sometimes, guys who close in the Cape League aren't closers by trade. Remember Tim Lincecum? But Brewer is no stranger to the ninth inning. A redshirt freshman, Brewer spent much of the spring as Vanderbilt's closer, and he put some impressive numbers. He finished the year with eight saves, a 3.52 ERA and 52 strikeouts against 10 walks in 46 innings.

For Hyannis, Brewer is at the back of end of what's been a very strong bullpen. As a staff, Mets' pitchers have allowed 16 earned runs this summer. The eight guys who have pitched out of the bullpen have allowed four of them. That's one-fourth of the runs, and they've come in exactly one-half of the innings. In addition to Brewer, Drew Muren (CS Northridge) and Ashur Tolliver (Arkansas-Little Rock) have been standouts. Muren has 11 strikeouts in six innings, while Tolliver got the win last night.

Elsewhere

• Hyannis also got some strong performances at the plate last night. Catcher Dale Cornstubble (Central Michigan) broke out of a slump with a 3-for-3 day, his first three hits of the season. Michael Glantz, who plays for Hyannis coach Rick Robinson at Young Harris College, had a three-run double. For Y-D, Greg Miclat (Virginia) and Nick Liles (Western Carolina) had two hits apiece. Liles now leads the league with a .476 batting average.

• Brewster's Nate Lape (Marshall) finally hit something that wasn't a home run. Heading into Thursday, he had two hits and both were home runs. Thursday, he had two more hits, one a double and one a single. He also had two RBI to help power Brewster past Bourne 8-2. An RBI triple by James Meador (San Diego), his first hit in 19 at-bats this summer, broke the game open.
  

• Falmouth got another strong performance from the top of its lineup to edge Chatham 7-6. Leadoff hitter A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) and two-hole hitter Joey Wong (Oregon State) each went 3-for-5. Pollock is now hitting .429 while Wong is at .353. Both were in the middle of a six-run fifth-inning that accounted for most of Falmouth's offense.
  

• All in all, it was pretty fitting that I started this thing with a closer. It was a rough night for starters. In the three games, six starters combined to allow 20 earned runs.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Oregon State's Jorge Reyes will make his first start of the year for Falmouth. Last spring, Reyes was the toast of the town in Corvallis when he led the Beavers to their second straight national championship as the College World Series MVP. But this spring, he struggled to a 7.08 ERA. Tonight at Harwich, he'll have his first chance to bounce back.
  

daily fog: the elusive d. mack

So, last night, I planned on writing about some of the guys on the leaderboard, but I gave up pretty early because the leading hitter was D. Mack . . . and I couldn't find his first name anywhere. Not on the category leaders page, not on the stats page, not on the Y-D roster. He was just D. Mack. A google search netted results relating to Connie Mack, a football player named Darrell Mack, and a MySpace page for D. Mack, male, 24-years-old from the United States who likes to go to movies.

Finally, though, someone knows his name. As noted in the Cape Cod Times wrap-up this morning, it's DeAngelo. He's from South Carolina.
And he's crushing the ball.

Mack went 2-for-5 last night with three RBI to lead Yarmouth-Dennis past Cotuit 9-8. It was the first win of the season for the Red Sox and the first loss for Cotuit. Mack is now hitting .500, tops in the league.

The game was a match-up of the two top-hitting teams in the league and the score certainly reflected that. Y-D starter Greg Peavey (Orgeon State) and Cotuit starter Mario Hollands (UC Santa Barbara) each gave up five earned runs as the offenses got in gear during the middle innings.

Josh Rutledge (Alabama) had three hits and three RBI and Whit Merrifield (South Carolina) added two hits for Y-D. Kevin Patterson (Auburn), Jeff Schaus (Clemson) and Dallas Poulk (NC State) all had hits for Cotuit, keeping themselves in the top 10 in batting average. Mike Bianucci (Auburn) had a home run.

Elsewhere

• Some strong pitching performances last night, with Wareham's Brandon Workman (Texas) leading the way. He tossed six shutout innings and struck out eight as Wareham beat Bourne 6-0. Workman, a freshman, was a third-round pick in the 2007 draft, so he was about as highly-touted as it gets when he arrived in Austin. He didn't have a great spring, though, finishing with a 5.19 ERA. This was his first appearance on the Cape and he made it count. You'll often see freshmen who had shaky springs come back with big summers, and I think Workman is a prime candidate to do that.
  

• Another freshman had a strong showing, as Chatham's Sammy Solis (San Diego) allowed two unearned runs and struck out eight in five innings as the A's topped Hyannis 5-3. It was the first win of the year for the A's, who scored more runs and allowed fewer than in their previous three games. Chatham shuffled its lineup, putting Grant Green (USC) in the leadoff spot. He delivered one hit, while Devin Lohman (Long Beach) smacked a three-run home run. Drew Muren (Cal State Northridge) worked four innings of relief and struck out eight for the Mets.
  

• A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) went 3-for-5 with three runs scored to lead Falmouth past Brewster 8-4. Connor Powers (Mississippi State) had his first two hits of the summer for Brewster.

• The game of the night was in Orleans, where the Cardinals beat Harwich 3-2 in 12 innings. Shaun Kort (Nevada) won it with an RBI double in the 12th. Four Orleans relievers combined for seven shutout innings to keep the game tied. Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt) had a home run for Harwich to vault into the league lead in RBI.

• Chris Dominguez (Louisville), a recent addition to the Hyannis roster, was in the lineup for the second straight night. He's still hitless, but keep an eye on him. He's got all the potential in the world.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Only three games tonight, all involving teams trying to find their way. The Y-D vs. Hyannis match-up looks like an interesting one. Ryan Sharpley (Notre Dame) gets the ball for the Mets. He struck out seven in three innings of relief last time out. He'll try to shut down a Y-D offense that has scored 14 runs in its last two games.

daily fog: perfect with offense

Cotuit and Harwich both moved to 3-0 last night, and that's no surprise, considering the way those two teams are hitting. The Mariners and Kettleers have scored 19 runs apiece to tie for the league lead. At a point in the season where pitchers are generally ahead of hitters, when you can average more than six runs a game, you're probably going to win a lot.

Both teams scored a lot of their runs with one big performance -- Cotuit scored 10 on Monday, Harwich scored nine on Saturday -- but they also haven't scored fewer than four runs in a game.

On Tuesday, Cotuit put up five runs on eight hits in a 5-3 victory over Wareham. Leadoff hitter Brett Jackson (Cal) went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Jeff Schaus (Clemson) was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jackson moved into a tie for the league lead in RBI with five, while Schaus bumped his average to .500, good for a second-place tie with teammate Kevin Patterson (Auburn) and several others.

In Harwich, the Mariners beat Y-D 7-6 in 11 innings on a game-winning sacrifice fly by Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt). Fitting, because Giobbi exemplifies Harwich's early-season success. He's hitting only .143 so far, but he's second in the league with four RBI. That's the way it's gone for the Mariners. Their team average is more than 40 points below league-leader Cotuit, but as noted they've scored the same amount of runs. It's all about clutch hitting and the Mariners have had it. D.J. Belfonte, who had a tough year with Nebraska, has been Harwich's best hitter. His 3-for-5 performance on Tuesday moved his average to .462.

Elsewhere

• Before yesterday, there had been three home runs hit this season. Brewster matched that number with one game. Nate Lape (Marshall) belted two home runs and Ryan Wheeler (Loyola-Marymount) added another to send Brewster to a 6-4 victory over Hyannis. That duo combined for five of Brewster's six hits.
  

• While Cotuit leads the league in batting average, Y-D isn't far behind, sitting in second place with a very good .308 mark. And yet, the Red Sox don't have a win. They're 0-2-1, with last night's loss to Harwich coming by a run and the other loss coming by three runs.
  

• Two winless teams met in Chatham, and Bourne came away with the victory. Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma), Justin Bour (George Mason) and Ross Wilson (Alabama) each had two hits to lead the Braves. Starting pitcher Ricky Bowen (Mississippi State) allowed two runs, struck out nine and didn't walk anybody in six strong innings.
  

• Orleans got two hits from Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) and two from Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) to beat Falmouth 2-1. Kyle Smith (Kent State) allowed a run in four innings of work, while Kyle Kamppi (Georgia Southern) picked up his second save. The Cardinals' pitching staff also continued a recent trend. Four pitchers combined for just two strikeouts. On the year, Orleans pitchers have 11 strikeouts, by far the lowest number in the league. In their season-opening win, they actually didn't strike out anybody.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Four of the five leading hitters will be on the same field as Cotuit visits Y-D.
  

• San Diego freshman Sammy Solis will get the start against Hyannis and try to get Chatham its first win. He'll go against Matt Ridings, who had a tremendous season at Western Kentucky.

two whitecaps involved in truck accident

The Cape Cod Times reported today that Brewster pitcher B.J. Dail was seriously injured late Sunday night when he was pinned under a truck driven by teammate Ryan Woolley. Dail is at Mass General Hospital in Boston, where his condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, while Woolley has been charged with "operating under the influence of alcohol resulting in serious bodily injury, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and minor in possession of alcohol."

I don't really have much to add at this point. Just a real sad story all around. I hope everything works out for both Dail and Woolley.

daily fog: punched out

The biggest sign that pitchers are a little bit ahead of hitters right now? In five games last night, Cape League hitters struck out 94 times. Every game had the teams combining for double-digit strikeouts, with a whopping 27 in Harwich's win over Chatham. The A's struck out 17 times, themselves.

So I guess you could say last night was a good one for pitchers. Wareham's Max Perlman (Harvard) had probably the best night, and I'm sure for him, it felt like it was a long time coming. Perlman didn't pitch at all this spring at Harvard. He saw some action in Wareham's preseason games, but this was his first meaningful start in quite some time.

And he delivered. The 6'6 righthander struck out seven and allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings to lead the Gatemen past Orleans 2-0. Jimmy Saris (Georgetown), Josh Slaats(Hawaii) and Mike Seander (Duke) teamed up to relieve Perlman and kept the shutout intact.

Elsewhere

• If Perlman had the best overall performance, the best strikeout numbers came from Harwich's Ryan Quigley (Northeastern). He struck out 11 in six innings as Harwich beat Chatham 4-1. Quigley struggled mightily this spring for Northeastern, but it didn't show last night.
  

• Hyannis' Andrew Carraway (Virginia), who I really like on paper, made his first start and pitched five spotless innings. He struck out seven, didn't walk anybody and allowed only four hits in 5.1 scoreless innings. Hyannis beat Falmouth 1-0 on the strength of a bases-loaded walk to Casey Frawley (Stetson).

• Brewster and Y-D notched the first tie of the Cape League season. The game ended after the potential winning run was thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning. Buddy Bauman (Missouri State) threw five shutout innings for Brewster, while Craig Fritsch (Baylor) tossed six scoreless frames for the Red Sox.

• Cotuit was the only team that got its offense in gear last night. The Kettleers beat Bourne 10-4 thanks to three-hit days from Brett Jackson (Cal) and Dallas Poulk (NC State).
  

• With two games in the books for everybody, three teams are off to 2-0 starts -- Harwich, Hyannis and Cotuit. Chatham and Bourne are both 0-2.
  

• According to the Baseball America Draft Database, Ryan Lavarnway has signed with the Boston Red Sox. The Yale catcher was slated to play for Hyannis this summer. He was a sixth-round pick of the Red Sox. Initially, some reports suggested he would be on the Cape trying to improve his stock, but that's not the case.

• That's a big loss for the Mets, but they made a big addition, too. Big East co-Player of the Year Chris Dominguez (Louisville) just showed up on their roster. Dominguez was a fifth-round pick of the Rockies but announced last week that he plans to return to school. A slugging third baseman, Dominguez played for Harwich last summer and struggled a bit. I'd expect bigger things this year.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Sean Black (Seton Hall), the highest unsigned pick in the 2006 draft, gets the start for Harwich at home agains Y-D. Black pitched briefly for the Mariners last summer, but is coming off a very good spring for Seton Hall.

daily fog: breaking the mold

This time of year, most teams are sending a couple of pitchers to the mound every night, building people up, seeing who looks good, sorting out roles. In the first two days of the season -- five games -- 34 different pitchers took the hill.

Cotuit's Nick Hernandez (Tennesee) had other ideas. Hernandez, a 6'4 lefty who also happens to be on a temporary contract, turned in the best pitching performance so far with seven strong innings on Saturday. He allowed seven hits but struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. He allowed one run in leading Cotuit to a 4-1 victory over Brewster.

Hernandez is coming off a solid sophomore season with the Vols. His ERA was over 5, but he struck out 63 and walked only nine. Judging from last night, that ratio might get better this summer. That's assuming Hernandez sticks around, which, also judging from last night, looks like a good possibility.

Elsewhere

• Two-time defending champ Yarmouth-Dennis lost its opener 5-2 to Orleans. The Red Sox had two hits apiece from four different players, including fourth-round draft pick Greg Miclat (Virginia). But Orleans matched Y-D's total of 10 hits and came away with the victory. Nate Freiman (Duke) had two hits, while Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) also had two, including a home run. The Cardinals haven't been hurt too much by Team USA or the CWS and they fielded a lineup Saturday that will probably look a lot like their lineup in August. Not too many teams can say that.
  

• Hyannis beat Chatham 4-3 behind strong performances by four pitchers. Ryan Sharpley (Notre Dame) stood out with seven strikeouts in three innings of relief. Ben Paulsen(Clemson) had two hits and three RBI for the Mets. Chatham's Aaron Miller (Baylor) had two hits and two RBI.
  

• Harwich scored the most runs of any team Saturday in a 9-4 victory over Bourne. Seven different players had hits for the Mariners, with Tim Smalling (Arkansas) delivering three to lead the way. Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt), who played for Falmouth last year, had two RBI for Harwich.
  

• Two recent draft picks were in Cape League lineups on opening day. Miclat, a fourth-rounder, led off for Y-D, while Cole Figueroa (Florida), a sixth-round pick, was batting leadoff for Orleans. Two other first-day picks, Hyannis' Ryan Lavarnway (Yale) and Cotuit's Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) are still on rosters, but haven't yet shown up in box scores.
  

• This daily fog thing should be a daily feature, hence the name. Ideally, it will be up much, much earlier than it is today. I plan to have it up everyday by 11 a.m.