The top remains the same, but streaks – both good and bad – have pretty much everybody else on the move.
1. Y-D Red Sox
Record: 8-4-1 (4-3 last week)
Previous Rank: 1
You could make a strong case for Orleans or even Falmouth after both had big weeks – and both beat Y-D – but the overall numbers still favor the defending champs. The Red Sox lead the league in overall runs allowed and rank second in ERA. Starting pitchers Kyle Bubic, Hogan Harris and Tim Brennan all went at least five innings with at least nine strikeouts in the last week. The Red Sox also lead in batting average and OPS. Throw in a league-best 24 steals and the second-fewest strikeouts in the league, and you have an offense that will be difficult to keep down.
2. Orleans Firebirds
Record: 9-6 (6-1 last week)
Previous Rank: 5
The Firebirds have won five straight games, the best streak any team has had this summer. They lead in team ERA by a pretty good margin, with the bullpen looking particularly dominant. The overall offensive numbers are still getting dragged down a bit by a slow start – the Firebirds rank seventh in team average and sixth in runs scored – but Orleans did just put up 13 runs yesterday, so there’s more in the tank.
3. Brewster Whitecaps
Record: 7-6-1 (4-4 last week)
Previous Rank: 4
Pitching had Brewster in the top four last week. Their team ERA went up by about a run this week, but it still ranks third in the league. And all of a sudden, the Whitecaps lead the league in runs scored thanks to 12- and 11-run performances in the last seven days. Mickey Gasper and A.J. Graffanino are both hitting .366.
4. Falmouth Commodores
Record: 8-7 (5-2 last week)
Previous Rank: 9
The Commodores had some good numbers and some ugly numbers after a week. Since then, the good numbers have held pretty steady and the ugly ones have improved. The Commodores still lead the league in home runs and extra-base hits – with Marty Bechina’s league-best six home runs setting the pace – and the pitching staff went from issuing 47 free passes in the first seven days of the season to 17 in the second week. That improvement has allowed their league-best 131 strikeouts to mean a little more.
5. Cotuit Kettleers
Record: 7-7 (3-4 last week)
Previous Rank: 3
The Kettleers haven’t hit their stride again after a 4-0 start but they’ve stayed in the mix, and they beat both Y-D and Brewster in the last week. Griffin Conine has cooled off a bit – he’s forgiven since he basically only had two-hit games for about 10 days – but is still hitting .389. John Cresto has been a big producer in the middle of the order. The pitching has been a little shaky, with the Kettleers sporting a 4.46 ERA and giving up the highest opponent batting average in the league.
6. Bourne Braves
Record: 7-6 (4-4 last week)
Previous Rank: 7
Another week, another hard-to-peg stretch for the Braves. They continued to excel in close games, with Ryan Feltner dominant in the closer’s role. The pitching staff has a 4.28 ERA, right in the middle of the pack, but the offense continues to lack punch. The Braves rank second-to-last in team batting, last in runs scored and second-to-last in extra-base hits.
7. Wareham Gatemen
Record: 6-9 (3-4 last week)
Previous Rank: 6
The Gatemen are the last team to beat Orleans and they did it emphatically with an 11-3 victory. That alone buys them a spot ahead of Hyannis. The Gatemen haven’t hit the ball too well with a .249 average, though they had one of the season’s highlights when Tristan Pompey homered twice in his debut. The team ERA ranks fourth and Justin Montgomery leads in individual ERA.
8. Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Record: 6-7-1 (3-4 last week)
Previous Rank: 10
The Harbor Hawks didn’t have a great week, but a doubleheader sweep of Chatham and a win over Bourne last night are enough to get them out of the basement. Hyannis has tapped into some offense, with Reece Hampton now leading the league in hitting and the team ranking third in batting average. The pitching staff has a 4.66 ERA, which is tied for seventh.
9. Chatham Anglers
Record: 6-8 (2-6 last week)
Previous Rank: 2
The Anglers suffered the biggest drop after a rough, six-loss week. They still have some of the best offensive numbers in the league – even in some of their losses, they’ve been putting up runs – but some of the typical “bad baseball” stats stuck out in the last week. They’ve committed the third-most errors in the league and the pitching staff walked 38 batters over the last eight games. Wednesday, the Anglers out-hit Brewster 9-7 and lost 11-1.
10. Harwich Mariners
Record: 5-9-1 (2-5 last week)
Previous Rank: 8
The Mariners have played great defense (10 errors on the summer) and have pitched OK (a 4.29 team ERA), but they just haven’t hit the ball. Harwich is batting a league-worst .213, .36 points worse than anybody else.
If I knew nothing about roster composition, etc., here’s how I would rank the teams based only on how they’ve done over the last dozen years or so since I’ve been following the league closely:
WEST
1. Falmouth
2. Bourne
3. Cotuit
4. Hyannis
5. Wareham
EAST
1. Orleans
2, Y-D
3. Harwich
4. Chatham
5. Brewster
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the 2017 standings look something like this come August. I know Y-D always seems to get hot in the playoffs, but Orleans and Falmouth have been consistently strong over the years, and Wareham and Brewster have been consistently weak. You could also lump Chatham and Hyannis into to the fairly consistently weak category, although they’ve each had a decent team in the recent past.
You can also almost always count on the East being stronger than the West.
Completely agree with these rankings. Y-D’s dynasty hasn’t featured dominant regular seasons.