Month: August 2007

East – No. 1 Yarmouth Dennis vs. No. 2 Chatham

Friday, August 10 – Chatham at Y-D, 3 p.m., Red Wilson Field
Saturday, August 11 – Y-D at Chatham, 7 p.m., Veterans Field
Sunday, August 12 – Chatham at Y-D, 3 p.m., Red Wilson Field*
* – if necessary

West – No. 1 Bourne vs. No. 2 Falmouth

Friday, August 10 – Falmouth at Bourne, 3 p.m., Doran Park
Saturday, August 11 – Bourne at Falmouth, 8 p.m., Archie Allen Diamond
Sunday, August 12 – Falmouth at Bourne, 3 p.m., Doran Park*
* – if necessary

Championship
(start date depends on when first-round series end)

Game 1 – Sunday, August 12 or Monday, August 13
Game 2 – Monday, August 13 or Tuesday, August 14
Game 3 – Tuesday, August 14 or Wednesday, August 15*
* – if necessary

LAST NIGHT

• The playoff chase came to an end as Wareham edged Hyannis 1-0 to end the Mets’ hopes of a second-place finish. Had Hyannis won, tonight’s season finale with Falmouth would have been a winner-take-all match-up. Instead, Falmouth clinches the spot.
• Jeremy Bleich held Hyannis scoreless for six innings and Sam Whelan, Jeff Dietz and Chris Hicks combined to keep it that way . . . Wareham’s Jason Ogata hit a solo homer for the only run of the game . . . . Hyannis out-hit the Mets 7-4 and got seven strong innings from Bryce Stowell, but it wasn’t enough . . . Still a great season for the Mets, whose run was improbably to begin with, considering where they stood two weeks ago
• Brewster beat Chatham 9-3 on the strength of 6.1 shutout innings by Erik Davis and mult-hit games from Brian Kemp, Yonder Alonso, David Doss, Ryan Babineau, Danny Lima, Charlie Cutler and Ryan Hanlon.
• Y-D won its ninth game in 10 tries with a 7-1 victory over Cotuit . . . Matt Long hit a home run and Nick Romero went 3-for-4 . . . The Red Sox got a lot of pitchers some work as they ready for the playoffs, sending five to the mound
• Orleans beat Harwich 6-2 in a fog-shortened game . . . Pat McAnaney allowed two hits and one run in five innings . . . Dennis Raben and Brandon Crawford had five RBI

TONIGHT

• Last day of the regular season
• With no more playoff implications, the teams heading to the postseason are gearing up but trying to keep everybody fresh, too. All four playoff teams have TBA listed as their probable starters
• There are still some individual leaderboard spots up for grabs . . . In batting average, Conor Gillaspie is at .355 while Jason Castro is at .344 . . . James Darnell, Gordon Beckham and Sean Ochinko are tied in the home run race with eight apiece
• Tonight’s games will be the last for more than half of the 2007 Cape Leaguers . . . Here’s hoping it’s a good night and here’s hoping they all go on to big success down the road — and remember this step on the path

LAST NIGHT

• Falmouth had a shot to clinch the second playoff spot in the West, but lost to Bourne 4-1, leaving the door open for Hyannis . . . Falmouth is idle tonight, so if the Mets win against Wareham, they’ll be just one point back, which would set up a winner-take-all game Wednesday night between Hyannis and Falmouth
• Ben Guez paced Bourne’s offense with a 4-for-4 night . . . Brian Pruitt had two RBI and Steven Hensley got the victory with six solid innings
• In a day-game at Chatham, the A’s beat Wareham 5-2 behind three hits from Jeremy Synan . . . Zach Putnam allowed one run and struck out seven in five innings

TONIGHT

• Hyannis will host Wareham at 4:30 p.m. in the key game . . . If the Mets win, they’ll be alive. If not, Falmouth will clinch . . . Bryce Stowell will go for the Mets against Wareham’s Jeremy Bleich. Stowell has a 4.26 ERA but has had several solid starts. Bleich has a 2.82 ERA as one of Wareham’s best starters.

I don’t like rankings much, but I thought doing a Top 50 players could be fun. Keep in mind, this is not a Top 50 Prospects list. I don’t really know where all these guys stand in the eyes of scouts. This is a Top 50 Players list, based on stats, impressions of guys I’ve seen and any other random pieces of information. It’s completely subjective, and it means nothing. Feel free to add your opinions in the comments section, and let me know if there are any glaring omissions. This is the second installment of the Top 50. You can find the first one here. I took the last week into consideration, but tried not to put too much weight on it, since there weren’t many games. Names in yellow moved up, in gray moved down. I plan on doing one more of these with the final few games taken into account and one set of final rankings.

1. Conor Gillaspie, Falmouth, 3B – Holding on to average lead
2. Aaron Crow, Falmouth, RHP – ERA went up — to .67
3. Gordon Beckham, Y-D, SS – Avg. dips, but numbers are still impressive
4. Jason Castro, Y-D, C/OF – Now second in hitting and showing power, too
5. Kyle Gibson, Falmouth, RHP – Solid start after solid start
6. Yonder Alonso, Brewster, 1B – Still leads in OBP and fourth in avg.
7. Allan Dykstra, Chatham, 1B – Making big push in power and avg.
8. Dan Brewer, Hyannis, OF – Still near top in HR and RBI
9. Jermaine Curtis, Chatham, 3B – Little to no drop-off
10. Reese Havens, Cotuit, SS – Hot streak got him here and he hasn’t cooled
11. Dennis Raben, Orleans, OF – RBI leader still steady
12. Shane Peterson, Hyannis, IF/OF – Third in avg., first in hits
13. Sean Ochinko, Y-D, 1B – Tied for HR lead and avg. is up
14. D.J. Mitchell, Bourne, RHP – 31 K in last three starts
15. Eddie Burns, Y-D, RHP – Still one of the most consistent starters
16. David Adams, Falmouth, 2B/SS – No XBH lately, but avg. is up
17. Andy Oliver, Wareham, LHP – Now third in K’s, third in ERA
18. Nick Cassavechia, Y-D, RHP/CL – Still the league’s top closer
19. Mike Colla, Brewster, RHP – Solid numbers all around
20. T.J. Hose, Bourne, RHP – Had first bad start of the summer last week
21. Scott Green, Y-D, RHP – K/BB is among the best
22. Collin Cowgill, Y-D, OF – Avg. has slipped, but he’s still key in Y-D’s lineup
23. Tom Milone, Chatham, LHP – Tied for league lead in wins
24. Matt Hague, Falmouth, OF – Good avg. and great OBP
25. Brad Boxberger, Orleans, RHP – Injured now, but still great numbers
26. Wade Miley, Wareham, LHP – Fourth in K’s and leads in IP
27. Kevin Hoef, Bourne, IF – Avg. is still above .300 despite a slump
28. Christian Friedrich, Falmouth, LHP – One earned run in last start
29. Rob Catapano, Orleans, LHP – Finally allowed a run, but ERA still only .48
30. Jordan Flasher, Bourne, RHP/CL – One behind Cassavechia for saves lead
31. Aja Barto, Falmouth, OF – Still hitting well and stealing bases
32. Matt Couch, Brewster, RHP – Leads team in K’s
33. Evan Crawford, Harwich, LHP – 38 K in 25.1 IP, plus a sub-1.oo ERA
34. James Darnell, Hyannis, 3B – Tied for lead in HR, and avg. is up
35. Grant Green, Y-D, IF/OF – Still playing everywhere and hitting
36. Cole Figueroa, Harwich, SS – Coming out of slump for strong finish
37. Kevin Couture, Chatham, RHP – In relief, hasn’t allowed a run since mid-July
38. Ben Guez, Bourne, OF – Avg. dipping but still among leaders in RBI
39. Stephen Penney, Hyannis, RHP – One of the top relievers
40. Chris Hicks, Wareham, RHP/CL – Stuck on 7 saves, but K’s going up
41. Brett Jacobson, Harwich, RHP – Struck out 15 in last start*
42. Lee Land, Brewster, RHP/CL – Third in saves
43. Keith Shinaberry, Brewster, LHP – Most appearances and 0 walks
44. Trevor Holder, Y-D, RHP – Reliever now starting has .90 ERA*
45. Blake Tekotte, Brewster, OF – SB leader has raised average
46. Jeff Dietz, Wareham, RHP – .81 ERA out of the pen*
47. Buster Posey, Y-D, C – Late surge gives him top catcher nod*
48. Rick Zagone, Bourne, LHP – CG shutout in last start*
49. Charles Brewer, Chatham, RHP – Seventh in ERA*
50. Terry Doyle, Y-D, RHP – ERA has come way down, and tied for lead in wins*
* new to the list

Off the list for this week:

Charlie Cutler
Brian Pruitt
Pat McAnaney
Robert Stock
Josh Satin
Matt Daly
Will Atwood

Just missing the cut:

Ryan Perry, Orleans
Dan Hudson, Harwich
Tim Federowicz, Chatham
Jeremy Bleich, Wareham
Aaron Luna, Y-D
Nate Freiman, Orleans
Nick Christiani, Orleans
Garrett Sherrill, Hyannis
Brett Graffy, Falmouth
Josh Harrison, Cotuit
Tony Delmonico, Cotuit
Addison Johnson, Chatham
Ollie Linton, Orleans

LAST NIGHT

• Chatham put up a resounding 10-3 victory over Brewster to clinch second place in the East . . . Charles Brewer struck out six and allowed just two hits in 6.1 shutout innings . . . Allan Dykstra went 3-for-4 with five RBI and two home runs . . . Tim Federowicz, Addison Johnson, Kyle Seager and Trey Watten each had two hits
• Hyannis got a crucial extra-innings victory over Cotuit. Kiko Vazquez hit a solo home run to put the Mets on top in the top of the 10th, and Garrett Sherrill closed out the victory . . . James Darnell had a home run and four RBI . . . With the victory, Hyannis stayed three points back of Falmouth
• The Commodores beat Bourne 12-0 behind six shutout innings from Shooter Hunt and multi-hit games from six players . . . Conor Gillaspie went 3-for-3 to retake the league batting average lead
• Harwich became the first team to score off Orleans reliever Rob Catapano, getting a run in the eighth inning on the way to a 2-1 victory . . . Anthony DiCesare knocked Cole Figueroa in for what proved to be the winning run
• Terry Doyle continued a stretch of solid starts for Y-D as the Red Sox beat Wareham 7-1 . . . Doyle allowed four hits in six shutout innings

LAST NIGHT

• Wareham visits Chatham and Bourne hosts Falmouth . . . The Commodores need to keep winning to keep Hyannis at bay. If Falmouth loses tonight, and the Mets win against Wareham tomorrow night, the teams will be one point apart for Wednesday’s season finale

Chatham posted a 10-3 victory over Brewster Sunday night to clinch the second and final playoff spot in the East. Brewster and Orleans — who had slim chances — are now done.

Allan Dykstra hit a pair of home runs to pace the attack and Charles Brewer pitched 7.1 shutout innings.

A’s clinch with Brewster blowout

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

His last three starts:

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

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

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

Anonymous relievers

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few things of note:

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

Name: Yonder Alonso
Class: 2009
College: Miami
Cape Team: Brewster ’07
Position: First Base
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 215

Summer ’07:
August 5 – Alonso has been one of the top all-around hitters on the Cape, showing the ability to hit for average, hit for power and get on base. Alonso is currently hitting .331 — fourth in the league — with four home runs, 11 doubles and 22 RBI. As he has almost all season, he leads the league in on-percentage with a .466 mark.

Looking Back:
Alonso had a huge sophomore year with the Hurricanes, tying for the ACC lead in home runs and RBI. He also hit .376 and had a ridiculous .519 on-base percentage.

LAST NIGHT

• In a little bit of a statement game, Y-D pounded Chatham 7-1 in what was likely a playoff preview . . . The Red Sox took advantage of five Chatham errors and scored six unearned runs . . . Trevor Holder, who had been a reliever early in the summer, made his third start and struck out five in 6.2 shutout innings . . . Y-D’s Sean Ochinko hit his eighth home run to tie teammate Gordon Beckham for the league lead with eight
• Brewster kept its playoff hopes alive with an 8-1 victory over Harwich . . . Ryan Cook allowed a run over seven innings for the victory . . . Suddenly, things are looking interesting in the East race. The best Brewster can hope for is a tie, but that’s a better possibility than it was a week ago. In its final three games, Brewster plays Chatham twice. If the Whitecaps can win both those games and the season finale, then have Chatham lose its other two, we’ll have a tie . . . If all that happens and Orleans wins its last three, I think we’ll have a three-way tie
• Bourne clinched first place in the West and snapped a two-game skid with a 5-0 victory over Wareham . . . Rick Zagone tossed a complete-game five-hit shutout and struck out 10. That’s just the fourth shutout of the summer
• Falmouth lost to Orleans, opening the door for Hyannis to get within a game, but the Mets couldn’t get all the way through — they tied Cotuit, which leaves them three points back of Falmouth for second place . . . Both Falmouth and Hyannis have three games left, one against each other in Wednesday’s season finale . . . Of note in the Hyannis-Cotuit game, Cotuit’s Josh Harrison went 4-for-5 with two RBI, and Hyannis’ Matt Daly allowed three runs on eight hits in his first start since throwing a no-hitter

TONIGHT

• In the biggest game of the night, Brewster sends Mike Colla to the hill at Chatham, who has Charles Brewer going . . . If the A’s win, they’ll get second place and make the last few days of the season a little less crucial
• In the West, Hyannis visits Cotuit and Falmouth hosts Bourne

LAST NIGHT

• Interesting night, with four one-run games
• With its 6-1 victory over Cotuit and Brewster’s loss, Chatham clinched at least a tie for second place. The A’s have an eight-point lead, and Brewster has four games remaining (you get two points for a win) . . . Tim Federowicz continues to bust out in dramatic fashion. After a 3-for-3 day yesterday, he went 4-for-4 Friday to pace a six-run attack. Federowicz was hitting .186 at the all-star break and is now hitting .260 . . . Tom Milone allowed six hits and one run in six innings, picking up his league-leading sixth win
• Hyannis stayed alive in the West playoff race with a victory over Falmouth, the team the Mets are chasing . . . Shane Peterson scored the winning run in the eighth on a passed ball . . . Dan Brewer hit his sxith home run for Hyannis . . . Andrew Doyle didn’t allow an earned run in 6.2 innings for Hyannis, while Kyle Gibson allowed one earned and struck out eight in six innings
• A great — and long — pitchers’ duel in Wareham as the Gatemen beat Bourne 1-0 in 12 innings . . . Bourne starter D.J. Mitchell didn’t allow a run and equaled Brett Jacobson’s single-game strikeout mark with 15 in eight innings, while Wareham’s Andy Oliver struck out 11 in 6.2 shutout innings . . . The bullpens kept things scoreless until Jason Ogata scored Ben Booker on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 12th
• Y-D’s six-game winning streak didn’t get to seven as Harwich posted a 3-2 victory . . . Dan Hudson worked six shutout innings for Harwich . . . Steve Strausbaugh and Cole Figueroa both went 2-for-3 for the Mariners . . . Y-D’s Grant Green went 4-for-5
• Matt Couch struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings, but the Brewster bullpen surrendered two runs in the seventh as Orleans notched a 5-4 victory . . . Rob Catapano, who still hasn’t allowed a run this summer, went two innings in relief and got the victory

LAST NIGHT

• A likely playoff preview tonight as Chatham visits Yarmouth-Dennis for a 4:30 p.m. game . . . Alex White goes against Trevor Holder in a solid pitching match-up
• Bourne plays Wareham again, trying to snap a two-game losing streak
• Matt Daly makes his first start since no-hitting Wareham July 25 as Hyannis hosts Cotuit