13 July 2006


Red Sox have dreams of 2004 title run repeat

It's all just starting to come together for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, just in time to make a serious run at the playoffs and a chance to regain the Cape Cod Baseball League championship they won two seasons ago.

Pitching, hitting and fielding have improved over the past week and have translated into victories as the Red Sox won seven of their last 10 games and improved to 11-11 with a 6-2 win over the Harwich Mariners Monday.

"Well, it's a whole different lineup. We've got the kid from Cal State-Fullerton and the two kids from Rice. I've got the middle of the field covered at catcher and centerfield. We're just a better ball team, now," says Red Sox manager Scott Pickler.

Evan McArthur (Cal State-Fullerton) has bolstered the defense at third base, while Danny Lehmann and Tyler Henley (Rice) have made a significant impact both offensively and defensively since they arrived last week after playing in the College World Series.

What's more, the Y-D pitching has improved. "Our pitching is a lot better now. We were not very good in the beginning of the season, especially our relief pitching," says Pickler. "Josh Field [Georgia] has come on as our closer, and that's helped."

Pitching was especially instrumental in the Red Sox three-game winning streak that started with a 2-0 shutout over Bourne Saturday.

Nate Bowman (San Diego) got the win with a one-hit, six strikeout performance over six innings before David Robertson set up Field for his league-leading fifth save taking down the Braves 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Sunday, Donnie Hume from Long Beach State went 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven to pick up his second win of the season in a 7-1 victory over the Orleans Cardinals.

Monday, Terry Doyle (Boston College) struggled through a tough first inning but settled down to notch his second win of the season as the Y-D beat the Mariners.

"He [Doyle] made adjustments after the first inning. He pitched very well after that," says Pickler.

Doyle walked two batters in the first inning before picking off one and Lehmann throwing out the other on a steal attempt.

Field picked up another save, striking out the side in the ninth.

"He throws real hard. He throws somewhere around 96 or 97 miles per hour. He's probably the hardest thrower in the league," Pickler says.

Hitting is on the upswing

The bats have also come alive somewhat for Y-D during its winning streak.

Although he is only batting .211, Henly has three home runs and nine RBIs in only seven games. His two-run homer against Harwich Monday put the game out of reach.

The Red Sox also got a three-run homer from Mike Bianucci (Auburn), who leads the Red Sox in batting with a .333 average, and Michael Taylor (Stanford).

Y-D's most consistent hitter has been Buster Posey, who at .276 is second in the league with hits with 26.

Luke Sommer (San Francisco) has been consistent, batting a respectable .302, while Brad Emaus has been the most improved hitter on the team.

"He's increased his average by 100 points in the last few weeks. He's made the best adjustments of anybody on the team," says Pickler.

With only 22 games played so far, Pickler feels his team has as good a shot as any other in the league to make a run at the league championship.

"If we keep playing the way we are now, we'll be just fine," he says. "It's pretty bunched up right now. It's pretty even. Orleans in out in front, but everybody else is pretty even. There's a long way to go still."

By George Kostinas