Category: Power Rankings

It’s the second-to-last edition of the power rankings, and there’s a first-timer in the top spot.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Cotuit Kettleers	25-12	I’ve been a little slow to get on the Cotuit bandwagon, but I think it’s time. The Kettleers have won 10 games in a row — the longest streak by any team this season — and have won 17 of 19 since July 5. That doesn’t happen by accident. Cotuit has turned into a dynamic offensive team, the bullpen has been outstanding and the players seem to have really embraced this run and the goals it’s brought within reach.
2		Y-D Red Sox	21-17	The Red Sox haven’t been hot for a while now and went 2-2 this past week, but their offense still isn’t slowing down much. The Red Sox are hitting .306 with a league-best 243 runs scored. The reason for leap-frogging Harwich is their pitching. Y-D got three really good starts this week and took hard-luck losses in two of them. If Ben Lively, Andrew Thurman and Alex Gonzalez keep it up, this team will be tough to beat.
3		Harwich Mariners	23-14	Since going 11-2 to start the year, the Mariners have gone 12-12, and it’s catching up with them a bit. Harwich went 2-2 on the week and, with Cotuit scorching, the Mariners saw their season-long stranglehold on the league’s best record finally run out. The Mariners are probably going to break the Cape League’s team home run record — they need just three more — and there’s still a lot of talent here. There are red flags, though. The team is hitting .244, ninth in the league, and has struck out more than any team in the league. The pitching staff saw its ERA rise to 4.49 this week.
4		Orleans Firebirds	21-16	Orleans has had the best ERA in the league all season and it continues to be the team’s defining quality. Even in its only loss this past week, Orleans pitched pretty well. For the Firebirds, it’s not about dominant starters or lights-out bullpens — everybody is just steady, and that’s a pretty good starting point for success. The offense had a pretty good week of its own, scoring 19 runs in three games.
5		Falmouth Commodores	18-19	Last week, I wrote that the Commodores — then mired in an eight-game losing streak — still had in them their strong play from the beginning of the season. This week, the Commodores found it, snapping the skid and going 4-0. The pitching set the tone. Sean Hagan almost threw a no-hitter and settled for a complete-game shutout. Craig Schlitter and John Simms turned in dominant starts, as well, and five pitchers combined on a shutout of Bourne. Provided they make the playoffs, the Commodores are going to be a team whose record you throw out when you evaluate the postseason.
6		Wareham Gatemen	17-20	We’re still waiting for the Gatemen to really put things together, but I still wouldn’t want to run into them in the playoffs, either. The lineup is as powerful as any this side of Harwich. Pitching remains the concern. Wareham actually got some quality performances this week, but the inconsistency was there, as well.
7		Chatham Anglers	17-20-1	The Anglers went 0-3-1 for the week and have won just two of their last 12 games. They’ll have to heat up at the right time if they want to make a playoff run. Their ability to trot out Mike Wagner and Ryan Thompson in a playoff series gives them a leg up on the teams below. Andrew Knapp has been a bright spot on offense, with a .385 average and two home runs in the last seven days.
8		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	14-22	Hyannis dropped below Bourne in the standings thanks to an 0-4 week and they have a tough schedule remaining that includes two games against Y-D. I have no idea who to predict as the final playoff team in the West, but for the purposes of the rankings, Sean Manaea and David Garner give the Harbor Hawks the edge.
9		Bourne Braves	15-22	Bourne took a hit with the loss of Mason Robbins but did go 2-2 for the week. The Braves hold a one-game lead on Hyannis for the fourth and final playoff spot. They got their best pitching performance of the year on Sunday as Jeff Thompson threw a six-inning no-hitter in a rain-shortened game. Still, I’m not entirely sure what to make of this team.
10		Brewster Whitecaps	14-22-1	Brewster had another rough week, going 1-3-1. The Whitecaps have won two of their last eight games and though their offense continues to rank third in the league in hitting, it’s been a tough go overall.

Harwich is back on top in the latest edition of the RFF Power Rankings, but Y-D and Cotuit are hot on the heels of the defending champion Mariners.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Harwich Mariners	21-12	It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Mariners, who finally hit a losing streak two weeks ago and have apparently lost stars Austin Wilson and Grant Gordon for the summer. Despite all that, the Mariners went 4-1 this past week and reasserted all the strengths that had them in the top spot until last week. Harwich hit nine home runs and scored 35 runs in five games. On the other side, the starting pitching — which had struggled in the losing streak — was back on track as the Mariners got at least five strong innings from all their starters. As far as the rankings go, it didn’t hurt that Y-D cooled off.
2		Y-D Red Sox	19-15	From No. 1 last week, the Red Sox drop to No. 2 and are just barely holding off Cotuit. Y-D went 3-4 this week after a 4-0 stretch the week before. Still, the Red Sox did a lot of the same good things they’ve been doing all year. They scored 42 runs in the seven games, but just happened to lose two of them by one run. The other edge Y-D has on Cotuit is starting pitching. The Red Sox got five solid starts, including a complete-game shutout from Andrew Thurman.
3		Cotuit Kettleers	20-12	Nobody had a better week than the Kettleers, who went 5-0 and seized complete control of the West. They’re now up by five games, having won 12 of their last 14. Cotuit now ranks second in the league in hitting and second in on-base percentage. As mentioned above, though, the one concern is starting pitching. In the five wins, only one starter went five innings. The bullpen was outstanding, with a 1.12 ERA on the week, but that unit will have to carry a lot of the weight if this keeps up.
4		Orleans Firebirds	19-15	The Firebirds are still treading water a bit, going 3-4 for the week, but as long as the pitching holds up and the bats don’t go ice cold, that kind of week is probably going to be the baseline from here on out. In other words, Orleans looks solid. The Firebirds lead the league in ERA. On the other side, they’ve scored the fifth-most runs despite a .250 batting average.
5		Wareham Gatemen	15-17	Pitching struggles have kept the Gatemen from putting it all together this season. I wouldn’t say the struggles are behind them quite yet, but the Gatemen arms did enough this week to make me vault them up from seventh. While they allowed six runs in their two losses, the Gatemen got solid performances all around in three wins, giving up a total of eight earned runs in those games. The offense continues to be dangerous, with Mott Hyde catching fire and the middle of the order still mashing.
6		Chatham Anglers	17-17	After a 4-1 week, Chatham slipped back down and went 2-5 this past week, which included a four-game skid. Though I’m still not entirely sure how they keep their heads above water, the Anglers salvaged two wins, are still at .500 and they have a better record than six teams in the league. The team’s 3.67 ERA — second-best in the league — certainly helps the cause.
7		Falmouth Commodores	14-19	The Commodores went 0-5 for the week and have lost eight in a row. When you look more closely at their schedule, you realize they just can’t catch a break. They got two great pitching performances from Trey Masek and John Simms — but they were going up against Sean Manaea and Andrew Thurman, and Falmouth lost both those games. Two of the other losses were by a single run. The Commodores have struggled with the bats, but they still rank third in the league in ERA. Somewhere in there is the team that was second in these rankings not too long ago.
8		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	14-19	Hyannis has been in the nine or 10 spot all summer, but a 4-2 week and some more good pitching has them moving up. Sean Manaea was dominant again while making two starts on the week, and Jeff Hoffman and David Garner were solid again. I like the offense more and more, with Dominic Jose and Brett Michael Doran heating up.
9		Bourne Braves	13-20	Bourne also moves up a spot thanks to a 4-2 week that included a four-game winning streak. While the pitching is still a concern, the Braves got some solid performances. And you just can’t count out an offense that features Colin Moran and Mason Robbins.
10		Brewster Whitecaps	12-15	Brewster went 1-4 on the week and has fallen eight points out of the last playoff spot. The Whitecaps hit well but they don’t have the most productive offense. On the other side, the team ERA has ballooned to a league-worst 4.92.

We’ve got a new No. 1 for the first time this season. A bad week for Harwich, who’s been at the top since week one, coincided with a great week for the Y-D Red Sox.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Y-D Red Sox	16-11	This was initially going to be Harwich by the slimmest of margins, but when you look at the numbers and the 4-0 week, Y-D has just been a little bit better. The Red Sox still lead the league in hitting with a .322 mark that seems to go up more often than it goes down, and the offense has been productive too. Y-D has scored the most runs in the league by a wide margin. The pitching has also been good, with Y-D ranking fourth in ERA.
2		Harwich Mariners	17-11	Harwich had its worst week of the season, culminating in a 16-10 loss to the Red Sox. If not for an ability to dodge raindrops, it would have been a winless week, but Harwich did get back on track with a win over Falmouth last night. The offense is still looking strong for Harwich and could easily heat up again, but the pitching has shown some holes.
3		Cotuit Kettleers	15-12	Cotuit continued its climb with a 3-2 week. The Kettleers were ranked eighth two weeks ago, but have surged to the top spot in the West. They rank second in the league in hitting, and while the pitching has struggled a bit, Kevin Ziomek is as good as anybody in the league, while Dan Slania is emerging as the Cape’s top closer.
4		Orleans Firebirds	16-11	After a 1-5 stretch, Orleans has shown signs of righting the ship, but it was still only a 2-2 week. The Firebirds have continued to struggle with the bats, ranking ninth in hitting, but the pitching will keep them in a lot of games. The Firebirds lead the league in ERA.
5		Falmouth Commodores	14-14	Last week, I wrote here that Falmouth seemed to never have a bad week. Then, the Commodores went and had a bad week, going 1-5 to fall back to .500. In the meantime, Cotuit jumped them for first place in the West. I can’t imagine them being down for long though. They still rank third in the league in both ERA and batting average.
6		Chatham Anglers	15-12	Chatham finally got hot and delivered a 4-1 week to move into the thick of the East race. While the team still ranks last in the league in hitting, there have been some good performances lately. The pitching staff has the second-best ERA in the league.
7		Wareham Gatemen	12-15	Wareham went 2-3 on the week, but the offense continues to show flashes of brilliance. As good a big three as Jagielo, Ervin and Wilson have been in Harwich, the trio of Daniel Palka, Tyler Horan and Kyle Schwarber have been almost as good for the Gatemen. If the pitching ever truly comes around, look out.
8		Brewster Whitecaps	12-15	While Y-D and Chatham caught fire in the East, Brewster had a 2-3 week to fall a little bit off the pace. It’s pretty much the same story, though — this team is not easy to beat. Ryon Healy continues to lead the league’s third-best hitting team.
9		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	10-17	Hyannis and Bourne have flip-flopped in these two spots all summer, and the Harbor Hawks move back ahead thanks to a 4-1 week, their best of the season. Brandon Trinkwon is leading an awakening offense, and the starting rotation is quietly emerging as perhaps the best in the league.
10		Bourne Braves	9-18	Bourne went 2-3 on the week, and it seems like the Braves just haven’t quite hit their stride. Mason Robbins and Colin Moran are pacing a dangerous offense, but the pitching has been inconsistent. Bourne has a team ERA over five, worst in the league.

For the first time this season, it’s not Harwich and Orleans in the top two spots. The Mariners remain No. 1 but the Firebirds’ 1-5 walk puts them behind Falmouth.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Harwich Mariners	16-6	After a rough end to week three, the Mariners quietly got back to their winning ways, going 4-1 in the last seven days. They’re not hitting home runs at the torrid pace they were earlier in the season and their team batting average is only seventh in the league, but they’re finding a way to get it done. Cool or hot, the lineup is still the most fearsome in the league.
2		Falmouth Commodores	13-9	Falmouth never seems to have a bad week. The Commodores went 3-2 in the last seven days and they remain the most balanced team in the league. Their ERA ranks second in the league and their team batting average is good for fifth. Falmouth also had three quality starts this week, with Craig Schlitter and Sean Hagan emerging as two of the best starters in the league.
3		Orleans Firebirds	14-9	Orleans was 13-4 this time last week but went 1-5 in the last seven days. They still have the second-best record in the league so they don’t tumble far here, but it was certainly a rough week. While the pitching staff still leads the league in ERA, Orleans gave up seven runs four times in the last week.
4		Y-D Red Sox	12-11	Y-D still hasn’t really gone on a hot streak yet, but their offensive strength keeps them just outside the upper echelon. The Red Sox are hitting .308 as a team, best in the league. Pitching is coming around more and more, with the Red Sox ranking fifth in the league in ERA.
5		Cotuit Kettleers	12-10	Cotuit makes the biggest jump the power rankings have seen all season, climbing up from eighth last week after a 4-1 stretch. Kevin Ziomek is a true ace for a pitching staff that is starting to get it done. On the other side, the Kettleers hit .381 for the week and they now rank second in the league in team batting average. The week also included two wins over Y-D.
6		Brewster Whitecaps	10-12	The streaks continue for the Whitecaps, who lost two to start the week but won their next three, including lopsided victories over Orleans and Falmouth. Tom Windle is emerging as an ace and the bats continue to shine. The Whitecaps have seven players hitting above .300 and they rank third in the league in hitting.
7		Chatham Anglers	11-11	Still not completely sure what to make of the Anglers. They have the lowest batting average in the league and have lost three in a row. But they also beat Brewster and Harwich this week and their team ERA is still good for third in the league. If they can hold steady and get hot at some point, they’ll be right in the mix.
8		Wareham Gatemen	10-12	The Gatemen had climbed up to fifth last week but a rough week coupled with Cotuit’s hot streak sends them right back down. Wareham went 1-4 in its last five, allowing 29 runs in the four losses. The offense is still very capable, but the Gatemen are having to out-slug people, and that’s tough to do every night.
9		Bourne Braves	7-15	The Braves leapfrog back over Hyannis thanks to a 3-2 week that included a win over first-place Falmouth. Mason Robbins is on fire and Colin Moran is steadily becoming one of the league’s most productive hitters.
10		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	6-16	The Harbor Hawks went 2-3 for the week despite hitting .291 as a team in the five games. Sean Manaea has been lights out and David Garner delivered a solid start this week, but the starting pitching beyond those two has been pretty inconsistent.

Twenty-one days of the Cape League summer are in the books, and the excitement generated by the teams and players in the league this season isn’t dying down. These guys are good.

Without further adieu, the third edition of the RFF Power Rankings.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Harwich Mariners	12-5	The Mariners showed a few chinks in the armor with back-to-back losses to Brewster — including a 19-1 loss last night. We’ll find out if they bounce back, but for our purposes here, those two losses didn’t make the week a total loss. The Mariners started with a victory over Orleans last Thursday and won two more games before hitting trouble against the Whitecaps. They also hit 12 more home runs, and they still lead the league in homers, extra-base hits and slugging.
2		Orleans Firebirds	13-4	The Firebirds lost their marquee match-up with Harwich last Thursday but emerged a game ahead of the Mariners heading into tonight’s rematch. The biggest strength for the Firebirds is pitching. Team ERA’s are way up this year, with nine teams above three. The one that isn’t? Orleans. The Firebirds have gotten a lot of quality starts to go with tremendous work from the bullpen. Losing Trevor Gott hurts, but this team hasn’t shown many signs of slipping. The offense continues to have different players step up every night.
3		Falmouth Commodores	10-7	The Commodores remain in the third spot thanks to a 4-2 week that keeps them looking like the best team in the West. And it was almost a 5-1 week if not for a blown lead against Harwich. Falmouth ranks second in the league in home runs and third in batting average. The pitching is also coming around, with Falmouth ranking second in the league in ERA.
4		Y-D Red Sox	9-8	The Red Sox didn’t have a great showing on the mound this week, allowing 38 runs in six games, but they kept swinging the bats and found a way to win five of those games. Y-D continues to lead the league in hitting, and the margin is growing. Y-D is at .320, while second-place Brewster is at .281. And despite the rough pitching week, Y-D still has the league’s fourth-best ERA.
5		Wareham Gatemen	9-8	Wareham makes a big jump from seventh thanks to a 4-2 week that included a four-game winning streak. The Gatemen beat West rivals Cotuit, Hyannis and Bourne in that span, which has helped them move into second place behind only Falmouth. The Gatemen are hitting .276 as a team and the pitching staff has had its moments despite some rough numbers.
6		Chatham Anglers	9-8	Chatham lost three in a row before bouncing back with a big win over Orleans last night. That’s kind of been the M.O. all year for the Anglers, who have been pretty up-and-down. Their team ERA ranks third but their batting average is tied with Hyannis for the worst mark in the league.
7		Brewster Whitecaps	7-10	Brewster has been probably the streakiest team in the league, but the Whitecaps’ latest streak turned some heads. Brewster beat Harwich on back-to-back nights, winning 8-2 and 19-1 and keeping the Mariners from hitting a home run. They now rank second in the league in hitting.
8		Cotuit Kettleers	8-9	Cotuit held steady with a 3-3 week but losses to Falmouth and Wareham hurt the cause. On the bright side, the Kettleers did finish the stretch with a victory over the Commodores, and looking at the scores of just their four games, it does seem like they might be coming around.
9		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	4-13	Hyannis had its best week of the season, going 3-3 after getting just one win in the first two weeks. The good stretch included a victory over three strong teams from the East — Chatham, Y-D and Harwich. If not for two blown leads against Wareham, it could have been a real turnaround week for Hyannis. Their three losses on the week were by a combined four runs.
10		Bourne Braves	4-13	Bourne and Hyannis are now tied in the West standings and it’s tough to separate them. Both have struggled on the mound and at the plate. I gave the nod to the Hawks because of a good week, but I still think Bourne could end up being the better team. Colin Moran leads an offense that has shown signs of waking up.

We’re back for more power rankings after the second week of the season. Some changes at the bottom, but the two teams at the top did nothing but solidify their spots.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Harwich Mariners	9-2	The Mariners are one game behind Orleans heading into tonight’s match-up with the Firebirds, but statistically, they’ve been really impressive. This time last week, it was a quick start. Now, after hitting 13 home runs in the last five games, it’s looking like Harwich may be the most powerful team we’ve seen on the Cape in quite some time. Harwich also leads the league in slugging and on-base percentage while ranking second in batting average. On the mound, the Mariners rank second in team ERA and second in strikeouts. That makes for a pretty complete team.
2		Orleans Firebirds	10-1	Orleans was in this spot last week because it had a penchant for winning close games. The winning has continued in the last seven days, but the close games haven’t. The Firebirds have blown people away, winning their last five by a combined score of 43-15. The Firebirds lead the league in ERA and have upped their batting average to .252, .54 points higher than last week. Their bullpen has been lights-out, having allowed nine earned runs in 54.1 innings for an ERA of 1.50.
3		Falmouth Commodores	6-5	The Commodores didn’t have a great week, losing three in a row at one point and getting crushed by Orleans 14-0. But the Commodores still look like the best team in the West, and statistically, they’re in the ballpark of the league’s best. Falmouth ranks third in batting average and second in home runs. On the pitching side, they rank fifth in ERA.
4		Chatham Anglers	6-4	Y-D still has the better statistical profile, but Chatham gets the nod here because it now owns a pair of 9-2 victories over the Red Sox. The Anglers had one of those victories in week one and pulled off the same feat in week two. Chatham now ranks fourth in team ERA. The offense has lagged behind with a .225 team average, but the Anglers still managed to score nine runs twice in their last four games.
5		Y-D Red Sox	5-6	Despite a 2-3 week, the Red Sox almost held onto the fourth spot. They’ve pitched and hit as well as anybody in the league and two of the three losses this week were to the Harwich buzzsaw. The Red Sox lead the league in batting average and rank third in ERA. It seems like they just haven’t put everything together yet.
6		Cotuit Kettleers	5-6	It’s hard to separate Cotuit and Wareham right now so they stay in sixth and seventh for the second week in a row. Both went 2-3 this week and are no 5-6 on the year. Cotuit has been in the middle of the pack in both average and ERA. Its three losses this week were to the top three teams in these rankings.
7		Wareham Gatemen	5-6	The Gatemen may be trending in the right direction after a 9-1 last night, but the two nights before, Wareham lost by a combined scored of 19-1. Pitching has still been an issue, as the team ERA is over five. The offense has shown potential, with the Gatemen ranking fourth in the league in hits.
8		Brewster Whitecaps	5-6	Brewster had a rough start to the week but has since won three in a row. The team ERA is the worst in the league, but the offense is coming around. And the Whitecaps are still the only team that’s beaten Orleans.
9		Bourne Braves	2-8	The Braves have still hung around in most of their games, but they went 0-4 for the week, finishing it with a 9-1 loss to Wareham. Bourne has the second-lowest team batting average in the league and the third-highest ERA.
10		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	1-10	The Harbor Hawks got into the win column this week but still haven’t hit their stride. The offense continues to struggle, with the lowest batting average in the league. On the bright side, Hyannis pushed first-place Orleans to 14 innings last night.

It’s early, but we’ve got to start somewhere. Without further adieu, here’s the first installment of the 2012 Right Field Fog Power Rankings.

RANK		TEAM	RECORD	THE SKINNY
1		Harwich Mariners	4-2	This is kind of a gut feeling pick. Statistically speaking, Harwich is in the middle of the pack, ranking fifth in team batting average and sixth in ERA. But in the standout stats, nobody’s been better. Phil Ervin has been the league’s most productive hitter and has powered an offense that leads the league in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS and is tied for the lead in extra-base hits. On the mound, Harwich leads the league in strikeouts and has the second-lowest opponents’ batting average. The team’s only losses have been to Orleans and Falmouth, the next two teams on this list.
2		Orleans Firebirds	5-1	The team that sits atop the actual standings is a pretty close second here, because you just can’t ignore a 5-1 start. The team’s first five games were all decided by one run, so there hasn’t been much separation, but the Firebirds have found a way to win nearly every time. Orleans has the league’s third-best ERA and a dominant closer in Trevor Gott. The team batting average is .198 though the Firebirds have shown a knack for getting the big hit.
3		Falmouth Commodores	4-2	Falmouth doesn’t have the eye-popping numbers of Harwich but has been more balanced overall thus far. The Commodores rank fourth in the league in batting average and second in ERA. They’ve won three in a row and have beaten three teams that look like contenders in the East.
4		Y-D Red Sox	3-3	The Red Sox lost to Chatham 9-2, but they get the edge in these rankings because they’ve been just as balanced as Falmouth. The Red Sox lead the league with a .280 batting average and they have six players hitting over .300. The pitching staff ranks fourth in the league with a 2.63 ERA and sits second in strikeouts.
5		Chatham Anglers	4-2	These last two spots really could have gone either way, and Chatham certainly has a case for fourth with its lopsided victory over the Red Sox. Overall, though, the Anglers are still trying to put everything together. While they rank fifth in ERA at 2.83, they’re hitting only .211. The upside for the Anglers is that there probably won’t be a huge amount of roster shuffling. They’ve got their squad.
6		Cotuit Kettleers	3-3	Cotuit has had an odd first week. The Kettleers lead the league in ERA and rank third in team batting average, yet they’ve been blown out by Wareham and have gotten two of their wins against winless Hyannis. There’s no doubting the pitching, but the offense — despite the high batting average — has only seven extra-base hits and ranks eighth in RBI.
7		Wareham Gatemen	3-3	If the Gatemen can get their pitching in order, they may shoot up these rankings. The team ranks second in the league in batting average, first in runs by a wide margin and second in OPS. The pitching has had its struggles, with the Gatemen sporting a league-worst 4.99 ERA.
8		Bourne Braves	2-4	Bourne has had a rough go of it, but outside of an 11-3 loss to Falmouth, the Braves have been in every game. Their overall pitching numbers should improve, because right now, the Braves have given up the fewest hits in the league while allowing the third-most runs. That can’t keep up. The offense needs to get going.
9		Brewster Whitecaps	2-4	The Whitecaps rank ninth in ERA but they’ve hit the ball fairly well. They out-slugged a slugging Wareham team 13-9 and have also beaten first place Orleans. They’ve gotten three strong starts on the mound but haven’t been consistent there.
10		Hyannis Harbor Hawks	0-6	The best team in last year’s regular season has gotten off to a rough start this year, but I think the Harbor Hawks are better than the first week’s results would indicate. While their offense has struggled to a .188 batting average and 10 runs, both the lowest in the league, their pitching has been good enough to win. It just hasn’t happened yet. The team has lost three one-run games and a pair of two-run games.