12 August 2008

The Cape League’s wild west

By George Kostinas
GateHouse News Service

REGIONAL —

Just as it had been all season long, the race for the Western Division championship of the Cape Cod Baseball League was a tight contest right down to the final game with the Cotuit Kettleers and the Falmouth Commodores battling it out.

Cotuit and Falmouth split the first two games of the Western Division series, setting up a deciding third game. Stay with wickedlocalcapecod.com for updates on the Cape League playoffs.

The Harwich Mariners swept the Orleans Cardinals for the Eastern Division crown.

It was a wild race in the West for the two playoff spots, as four teams traded places, each one occupying first place as some point or another during the season.

Cotuit had jumped out to a quick start in June with an 8-3 record and was scoring an average of 6.6 runs per game.
Falmouth and Hyannis also had solid starts.

Both Mike Roberts, the field manager of Cotuit, and Jeff Trundy of Falmouth emphasized that playing consistently throughout the season was what would make the difference.

But it turned out to be a season of inconsistency and streaks, both winning and losing.

“I don’t know the reason for it. Some people just say, ‘That’s baseball,’” said Trundy.

The Kettleers started losing, Hyannis started winning and the Mets took first place.

Then Hyannis went on a losing streak while in mid- to late-July Falmouth got hot and took over first place.

Bourne managed a short tenure in the top spot late in the season, but then Cotuit went on a winning streak to recapture the lead.

“There are a lot of equal teams. Like I said before, there is not a bad team in this league. A team that might win only 13 games is not a bad team. It often comes down to one player or one play,” said Trundy.

In Falmouth’s case that one player was Jimmy Cesario, who left the team just after the All Star game after signing with the Colorado Rockies.
“We miss him greatly, but we’ve got to move on,” said Trundy.

Cesario was arguably the best player in the league in July as he went on a tear, raising his batting average by more than 100 points, finishing with a league-leading .387 average.
And he was leading the league in RBI when he left.

Rick Robinson, the Hyannis Mets’ field manager said it was a matter of taking control of destiny.

“There’s been five teams in the West who had the opportunity to put two or three teams away and they hadn’t done it for some reason. Cotuit went 0-8; then we went 0-7. There were opportunities for one of these teams to distance themselves from the others, but for whatever reasons it hasn’t happened,” said Robinson.

“The biggest thing I told these guys [the Mets’ players] is you’ve got to do something to win games. Nobody’s going to give it to you. Nobody’s going to let you win.
The Kettleers’ season was as up and down as it gets.

They lost five key players during the season starting with Mike Bianucci, who was leading the league in home runs and RBI when he left to sign with the Texas Rangers.

Then pitcher Danny Meszaros left to sign with the Houston Astros; Mario Holland, a left-handed pitcher had to return to school.

Shortstop Robbie Shields was injured, and late in the season, with only five games remaining, second baseman Matt Holland was lost due to injury.

Roberts’ said his Cotuit team was able to hold together and rally because individual players continued to work hard and get better.

He also said that the pitching staff, led by Nick Hernandez, who led the league in wins with a 6-3 record, was what really made the difference.

“Our pitching was pretty good even when we were losing. It was our pitching staff that kept us in there until our offense and defense came back around,” said Roberts.

Cotuit ultimately took control, winning 10 games with a tie and losing only one down the stretch.

Still, it came down to the last day of the season with Cotuit, Falmouth, the Hyannis Mets and the Bourne Braves all playing for a chance to make it.

The Kettleers won the division by beating the Mets in at Lowell Field.

However the Mets still had a chance to take second place and make the playoffs if they beat Falmouth later that night and if Bourne lost.
Bourne lost, but so did the Mets.

The Commodores’ win then forced a one-game playoff to go to the playoffs with Bourne; both teams ended the season with 23-20-1 records and 47 points.

Falmouth, in a hard fought game that typified the season, beat Bourne 3-2 in a come from behind win.