Month: August 2007

LAST NIGHT

• In the only action of the night, the wait finally came to an end as Chatham won and got manager John Schiffner his 335th career Cape League victory, a new modern-era record. Chatham had been fogged out on Monday and Tuesday and hadn’t played since the Friday before the all-star break.
• Tim Federowicz broke out of a slump in a big way with a 3-for-3 night that included a home run, a double and five RBI . . . Ryan Hinson allowed a run on five hits in six innings for Chatham, and Trey Watten, Rob Wooten and Jeff Lorick closed out the win . . . T.J. Hose allowed six runs in 3.1 innings, his first real bad start of the summer

TONIGHT

• Back to a full slate for the first time since Tuesday, some big games are on tap
• Hyannis visits Falmouth for a game that could either put the Mets out of contention or right back in it. They sit six points behind the Commodores at the moment. Andrew Doyle goes for Hyannis while Kyle Gibson gets the ball for Falmouth.
• Brewster, which is six points behind Chatham, visits Orleans in a must-win game for both teams. The Cardinals are eight points out of second. Matt Couch gets the call for Brewster against Michael Schwimer.
• Chatham sends Tom Milone, who’s been on fire of late, to the hill against Cotuit and J.B. Shuck
• Y-D will try to stretch its win streak to seven with Eddie Burns on the mound against Dan Hudson in Harwich
• Bourne goes against Wareham with D.J. Mitchell and Andy Oliver taking the hill

Name: Kyle Gibson
Class: 2010
College: Missouri
Cape Team: Falmouth ’07
Position: Right-handed pitcher
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 183

Summer ’07:
August 1 – Gibson hasn’t been quite as good as his college and Cape teammate Aaron Crow, but outside of Crow, Gibson has been the best starter on the Cape. His ERA is 1.13, and he has struck out 43 and walked only nine in 40 innings. At 6’5″, he has the projectible size scouts look for, and he has a lot of room to grow in terms of weight and strength. Both those factors will only raise his velocity — and his stock.

Looking Back:
In his first year with the Tigers, Gibson worked as the closer and had seven saves with a 4.12 ERA. He struck out 77 in 67.2 innings. Gibson was a 36th-round pick out of high school.

Here’s a look at the top freshman pitchers on the Cape. Those with a ‘*’ by their names have been primarily starters.

PLAYER	COLLEGE	CAPE TEAM	ERA
Rob Catapano	North Carolina	Orleans	0.00
Kevin Couture	USC	Chatham	1.04
Kyle Gibson*	Missouri	Falmouth	1.13
Brad Boxberger*	USC	Orleans	1.24
Andy Oliver*	Oklahoma State	Wareham	1.66
Hunter Harris	Texas	Hyannis	2.25
Alex White*	North Carolina	Chatham	2.29
Charles Brewer*	UCLA	Chatham	2.29
Preston Claiborne	Tulane	Falmouth	2.65

In the first installment of this series, Catapano hadn’t pitched much. He’s pitched more now, but still hasn’t given up a run.

Couture has been on fire in a setup role for the A’s. On July 15, he had given up three earned runs. Now, he’s still given up just three earned runs.

The five starters on this list just keep putting up great numbers. White has been impressive since taking over a spot in Chatham’s rotation.

The leading freshman hitters in the Cape league, with stats through July 31.

PLAYER	COLLEGE	CAPE TEAM	AVG
Sean Ochinko	LSU	Y-D	.304
Grant Green	USC	Y-D	.290
Diego Seastrunk+	Rice	Y-D	.286
Joey Wong	Oregon St.	Falmouth	.276
Addison Johnson	Clemson	Chatham	.270
Kyle Seager	North Carolina	Chatham	.270
Cole Figueroa	Florida	Harwich	.266
Blake Dean	LSU	Wareham	.250

+ – limited action

The averages dropped almost across the board from the first time I did this, which maybe isn’t a surprise. They say freshmen always hit a wall in their first college season, so I’m sure they hit a wall in the summer, too. Figueroa was at the top but has seen his average dip lately. Even Ochinko, the new leader, was at .333 last time. Wong and Seastrunk were both late arrivals after the College World Series, but Wong, in particular, has caught up quickly.

Interesting that the top three on this list are all from Y-D. If that trio makes its way back next summer, Y-D will look good once again.

I just looked through 400 or so box scores. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would. My eyes hurt, though.

But anyways.

LAST NIGHT

• More fog in Chatham kept John Schiffner’s chase on hold.
• Y-D won its sixth consecutive with a 3-0 decision over Brewster. In his second start for Y-D, Jerry Sullivan tossed seven shutout innings. Brewster’s playoff chances take a hit with the loss, though the Whitecapes aren’t out of it.
• Orleans and Harwich ended in a tie when the fog rolled in at Eldredge Field. Brett Jacobson turned in a dominant performance for the Mariners, striking out 15 and walking just one in six innings. If you’re doing the math, he recorded all but three outs by strikeout. I’ll try to look this up later, but I don’t remember that many strikeouts in a game this season.
• Falmouth beat Cotuit for the second night in a row and moved six points ahead of third-place Hyannis, which lost to Bourne. Falmouth’s David Adams went 3-for-5 and and had two steals to back Christian Friedrich, who allowed just one earned run in five innings. In Bourne’s victory, four relievers combined for seven shutout innings.

TONIGHT

• No games scheduled as the all-stars travel to Fenway Park to be recognized at a Red Sox game. Should be an awesome night for those guys.