17 July 2008

Red Sox in unaccustomed position — last

By George Kostinas
The Register

REGIONAL —

Mark Twain once said, “Yes, one of the brightest gems in the New England weather is the dazzling uncertainty of it.”

The same could be said about the Cape Cod Baseball League as the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox are finding out first hand.

After winning the Cape League championship the last two years and three of the last four years, the Red Sox appeared to be the model for consistency. But this year things have turned upside down.

Y-D had the best record in the Cape League last season (31-12-1) before sweeping both Chatham and Falmouth in the playoffs to win the championship.

This year the Red Sox are mired in last place in the Eastern Division with the second worst record in the league at 10-16-1.

Just a little more than halfway through the season, they have lost more games than they did all of last season.

Character and team chemistry, not talent, have proved to be the most important factors as Red Sox field manager Scott Pickler has emphasized many times.

“It’s the work ethic. The club lacks leadership. We have too many freshmen and nobody wants to take charge,” says Pickler. “They’re very nice kids, but they lack the work ethic.”

Pickler says it takes a certain attitude and a lot of discipline to come out to the field and be ready to play all out every day.

“We don’t have a guy like Buster Posey. He came to the yard ready to compete every night, and he was picked Number 5 in the first round [of last month’s Major League draft],” says Pickler.

It is that ability to play hard every night, every at-bat and every pitch that makes the difference between winning and losing the close ones.

“We had at least four games that if we had won, we’d be right in the mix,” says Pickler. “Four more wins and we’d be at 12-11.”
Pickler cites inconsistencies in the pitching staff.

The Red Sox are ranked last in the league in pitching, with an ERA of 4.60 and have given up more home runs (20) than any team in the league.

“Our pitching staff is good. We’ve got good arms, but they lack intensity. They don’t know how to focus on every pitch. The good pitchers in this league don’t make mistakes,” says Pickler.

One bright spot has been the pitching of Craig Fritsch (Baylor). “He’s been very good; he’s had very good outings; he actually pitched well enough to win every time he’s been out there,” says Pickler. “He’s been our most consistent pitcher.”
Interestingly, Y-D leads the league in team batting.

Nick Liles (Western Carolina) has been the most consistent, leading the league in hitting at various times throughout the season, is in the top five in batting average and among the leaders in hits and stolen bases.

Tony Sanchez (Boston College) has been solid at the plate and behind the plate at catcher. “He’s a very good catcher, a great receiver and he blocks everything. And he’s a good hitter when he stays within himself. He’s made some adjustments. Now he’s hitting a lot better,” Pickler says.

However the Red Sox lost their shortstop/second baseman Greg Michlat, who broke his finger and was hitting .325.

“One or two players can make the difference between a good lineup and a bad lineup, and we have a good lineup,” says Pickler. “But you’ve got to play both sides of the field. It’s not all about offensive numbers.”

Still, Pickler knows that anything, as with the New England weather, can happen in the Cape League.

“What we have to do is get on a roll and win a couple of close games. We got to get some of these guys to start worrying about their teammates and not to worry about themselves so much,” Pickler says. “We have the talent. It’s at a pretty even level. There’s not really a dominant team. We can play with anybody in this league.”