Cream of the cream
Cape League All-Stars on display in Hyannis tomorrow

 July 29, 2005


 

  
     All the infielders will be from Barnstable teams when the Western Division takes the field at the start of tomorrow’s annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star game at McKeon Field in Hyannis.

Andy D’Alessio, the Hyannis Mets’ sole All-Star, will be at first base, while Cotuit Kettleers will be at the other infield spots: Brad Boyer at second base, Jason Donald at shortstop and Bryan Harris at third base. Cotuit catcher Sean Gaston also is in the starting lineup, but he will be patrolling right field.



HOME RUN FEVER - Justin Tellam (31) accepts his teammates’ salutes after hitting a three-run home run Wednesday that helped the Hyannis Mets break a 14-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over Wareham at McKeon Field. Tellam will be aiming to clear the McKeon fences as often as possible tomorrow when he represents the CCBL Western Division in the Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Contest prior to the league’s All-Star game.
David Curran/Barnstable Patriot

Kets manager Mike Roberts said the selection committee - the league’s 10 managers - wanted to reward the players who have played the best, and that meant getting Gaston into the starting lineup rather than another outfielder. “He’s just done a very consistent job for us behind the plate,” Roberts said. “He’s a take-charge kind of player. He really helps the coaching staff a lot.”

Kets closer Chris Toneguzzi is the only pitcher from either team to make the squad, though Cotuit starters Josh Johnson (4-0, 1.31 earned run average) and Clay Dirks (2-1, 1.82) also merited serious consideration for the honor. Toneguzzi “has been a very good closer for us, very consistent,” Roberts said. “He certainly deserves to be one of the (All-Star team’s) closers.” Mets catcher Justin Tellam will join Boyer and Wareham’s Josh Copeland to represent the West in the Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Classic. Mets manager Greg King said D’Alessio earned his All-Star selection on the basis of his overall game.

“Up ’til about a week ago he was hitting .300, (but) he’s dropped back a bit,” King said. “He’s been our leading hitter for probably the whole season and he’s probably one of the best defensive first basemen in the league” Consistency was a key for Roberts; he used the word to describe every one of the Kets’ five All-Stars.

Harris was second in the league in RBI through Tuesday’s games, while Donald has overcome missing the start of the season while at tryouts for Team USA, Roberts said.

“Donald has come on as of late,” Roberts said, pointing to the shortstop’s .317 batting average.

“Boyer has picked up from where he left off last year,” the skipper said, noting not only his consistency but his occasional power at the plate, always a bonus from the second-base position. 

The other starters for the West are Falmouth Commodores Jon Still (catcher) and Mark Hamilton (left field); Wareham Gatemen Lance Salzgiver (center field) and Daniel Bard (pitcher); and Bourne Brave Brad Lincoln (designated hitter).

Chatham, in a close battle with Orleans for the top spot in the Eastern Division, earned eight All-Star selections, five of them starters, both tops in the league. Wareham has seven, and Falmouth and Yarmouth-Dennis each have six.

The Eastern Division starters are: Chatham A’s Evan Longoria (second base), Chris Coghlan (third base), Baron Frost (left field), Alex Presley (right field) and Jeff Hughes (pitcher); Orleans Cardinals Manny Burriss (shortstop) and Colin Curtis (center field); Y-D Red Sox Danny Lehmann (catcher) and Jeff Kindel (dh); and Brewster Whitecap Aaron Bates (first base).

Game time is 3:05 p.m., but McKeon Field gates will open to the public at 10:30 a.m., and pregame festivities get under way at 11:15 a.m. The league announced this week that Boston Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster will be on hand, entertaining and mingling with fans from noon to 2 p.m. For a full schedule of pregame attractions, including the centerpiece Baseball Factory Home Run Hitting Contest, see this week’s “Cotuit Kettleers & Hyannis Mets in Action” schedule box. The game’s Most Valuable Player will be selected by baseball scouts in attendance and presented at home plate immediately after the game by league President Judy Scarafile and Commissioner Paul Galop.

The game will be broadcast live on radio station PIXY 103 (WPXZ-FM, 102.9 in Hyannis), Web- and telephone-cast by Teamline (go to www.capecodbaseball.org or call Teamline at 800-846-4700). CSTV, a cable television network that specializes in college sports, will televise the game.

For the third consecutive year, the game is sponsored by the banks of Cape Cod, including Bank of America, TD Banknorth, Citizens Bank and Cape Cod Five Charitable Foundation, as well as the Community Bank and Cape Cod Cooperative Bank. 

As with all Cape League games, admission to the All-Star game is free, but donations are encouraged.

All-Star game parking

The league announced this week that fans coming to the game will not be able to park at McKeon Field. All parking at the game site, including the former Grade 5 school parking lot and adjacent athletic fields, will be reserved for game officials, scouts, media, VIPs and handicap parking. The nearby St. Francis Xavier church lots also will be off limits due to the church’s mass schedule.

Fan parking will be available at several lots within a few minutes’ walk of the ball park. North Street lots are on the south side of the street between Barnstable Road and Sea Street. South Street lots, including the town hall parking lot, are on the north side of the street between Pearl and Ocean streets. The lot by the Village Green bandstand is on the east side of Ocean Street, between Main and South streets. A Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District map showing the lot locations is posted on the league’s Web site, www.capecodbaseball.org.

Fans walking from the lots to McKeon Field can use either High School Road or Old Colony Road (shown on the map with its former name, Old Colony Boulevard). McKeon Field lies directly behind the former Grade 5 school at the south end of High School Road. Entrances to the park will be set up on both sides of the former school as well as on Old Colony Road.

By David Curran
dcurran@barnstablepatriot.com

 


 


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