20 July 2006

Red Sox, Kettleers lead the way

The season is halfway over and it has been a soggy one. The feel of that new glove is long gone; cleats have been broken in, players have learned how to prepare a field for a game and they have learned that the three main roads on Cape Cod are Routes 6, 6A and 28. This season, no matter how wet, is still the best for players who are winning games.

Sitting atop their divisions through Wednesday, just past the halfway point of the season, are the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (17-12 in the East) and the Cotuit Kettleers (18-7-1 in the West).

Y-D's nine-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night in a home-run battle with the Kettleers, 6-5.

Buster Posey (Florida State, .310), Mike Bianucci (Auburn, .303), Brad Emaus (Tulane, 16 RBI) and Luke Sommer (San Francisco, .303) have led the way at the plate for the Red Sox, who were languishing in last place just 10 days ago.

And Terry Doyle's no-hit effort Sunday against Chatham, the first in the league in four years, was highlighted by his dozen strikeouts. The Red Sox lead the league in that category, recording 243 strikeouts through Tuesday's games.

Players are always adjusting to the Cape League, as the use of wooden bats is especially hard on the hitters. "Hitters are still learning how to hit the ball inside and pitchers are learning how to pitch inside," said Cotuit GM Bruce Murphy.

Murphy felt last year's playoff experience was not disappointing, even though they did not win the championship. "The goal year-in and year-out is to just make the playoffs because you never know what can happen. With every year we hope to advance further and further until we win the championship."

In 2006 so far, the Kettleers are a well-rounded team in both hitting and pitching. They lead the league with a team average of .267 and have scored the most runs with 129. Their pitching has been phenomenal with a league-low 1.90 ERA helped out by six shutouts.

The Kettleers plan to steal more bases in the second half of the season, as head coach Mike Roberts - the father of Brian Roberts of Baltimore - has a knack for implementing steals. The Kettleers have several players who can run, such as Matt Angle (Ohio State), Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount), Tony Thomas Jr. (Florida State) and Tony Delmonico (Tennessee).

Switch-hitting Justin Smoak (South Carolina) and Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount) have led the team in hitting and Jeffrey Rea (Mississippi State) has versatility by not only playing second base but also the outfield. Behind the plate is 2005 MVP Sean Gaston (Notre Dame).

- CCBL intern Chad Burkart

Around the Cape League Horn

Player of the Week: Y-D Red Sox player Luke Sommer (San Francisco) performed solidly at the plate to earn last week's Coca Cola Player of the Week. In six games, Sommer drove in six runs on six hits, including one home run. Sommer's week included a .462 batting average, a .769 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .467.

Pitcher of the Week: Robert Woodard (North Carolina) threw a complete game shutout for Chatham last week to earn Coca Cola Pitcher of the Week. Woodard struck out eight batters July 10, giving up only two walks and one hit.

All-Star Game to be broadcast on National Public Radio: The 44th annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game July 29 at 4 p.m. at Red Wilson Field in South Yarmouth will be broadcast live on WCAI (90.1 FM), WNAN (91.1 FM) and WZAI (94.3 FM), the Cape and Islands NPR stations, and streamed at www.capeandislands.org.

"We're excited about reaching a new audience through our partnership with the Cape and islands NPR stations," said league president Judy Walden Scarafile. "It's outstanding having our premiere event broadcast on such a prestigious medium."

Dan Rubin, Internet broadcast voice of the Y-D Red Sox, will provide play-by-play, with color commentary from the league Director of Public Relations and Broadcasting John Garner Jr.

Forty-six of the top players in the Cape League, 23 from both the East and West Divisions, will be selected by the field managers Tuesday and announced by CCBL Commissioner Paul Galop.

In addition to www.capeandislands.org, the CCBL All-Star Game will also be streamed on www.capecodbaseball.org, along with all 10 Cape League team Web sites, on the Cape Cod Baseball League Network powered by Cape.Com.

MLB All-Stars shine in the Steel City:Seven of the Major League Baseball All-Stars performing in the mid-summer classic in Pittsburgh were Cape League alumni: Jason Bay (Chatham '99), Lance Berkman (Wareham '99), Chris Capuano (Cotuit '97-98, Bourne '99), Nomar Garciaparra (Orleans '93), Mark Loretta (Falmouth '92), Chase Utley (Brewster '98, Cotuit '99) and Barry Zito (Wareham '97-'98) all honed their skills in the Cape League.

Dave Gavitt honored by Big East:Former CCBL field manager and basketball coaching legend Dave Gavitt will be honored by The Big East Conference with a special tribute event for its founder and 2006 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I. Aug. 10.

MLB Scout Days in July:The Cape League will schedule pre-game player workouts for major league scouts during a six-day period known as Scouts Days. They will take place at the following games: Harwich at Cotuit, Saturday; Y-D at Bourne, Sunday; Wareham at Y-D, Tuesday; Falmouth at Cotuit, Wednesday; Brewster at Harwich, Thursday, July 27; and Orleans at Chatham, Friday, July 28. Workout drills include batting practice, fielding practice, and short-distance sprints.