RIGHT FIELD FOG

The way the season has gone, it was pretty fitting that it couldn’t end last night.

Bourne and Falmouth both won last night, which means they finished in a tie for second place in the Western Division. They’ll meet tonight in a play-in game at 7 p.m. in Falmouth.

That sounds about right in a season full of parity. Nobody’s been able to get separation, especially in the West. It’ll take an extra day to get the last bit of it.

Falmouth will get its shot thanks to a four-run ninth inning in Hyannis last night. The game was tied at 1-1 before the Commodores loaded the bases against Hyannis closer Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt). Joey Wong (Oregon State) then fought through a long at-bat and drew walk to force in the go-ahead run. After another run scored, A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) blew it open with a two-run double.

Over in Wareham, Bourne held serve. The Braves, who came into the game winners of four straight, didn’t waste any time grabbing a lead. A double by Kyle Roller (East Carolina) in the bottom of the first plated Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) for the 1-0 lead. Bourne made it 2-0 in the third on a bases-loaded walk to Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma).

It wasn’t a big cushion, but Ricky Bowen (Mississippi State) made it stand up. Bowen, who’s had some good starts and bad starts, turned in a good one when it counted. He allowed one run on three hits in seven innings and struck out nine. He turned it over to the bullpen in the eighth, and David Erickson (UConn) and Eric Pettis (UC Irvine) each worked scoreless frames to seal the victory.

So now we get one do-or-die game. Bourne comes in a lot hotter than Falmouth, having now won five straight. Falmouth had hit the skids a little bit before bouncing back yesterday. Falmouth lists Nate Karns as its probable starter. Nothing yet from Bourne.

Elsewhere

• Cotuit clinched the Western Division in the morning with a 3-1 victory over Hyannis then decided to keep on rolling anyway. In a game that didn’t matter at all in the standings, the Kettleers beat Y-D 6-3 in the nightcap of their doubleheader. Cotuit used their regulars in the lineup and found plenty of offense. Five different pitchers saw action.

• With their playoff berths secured, Harwich and Orleans didn’t have to worry about much last night, but they weren’t coasting. The Mariners used an 18-hit attack to pound Brewster 12-3. Brandon Belt (Texas) had five RBI to lead the way. Over in Orleans, the Cardinals finished strong with a 9-4 victory over Chatham. Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount), Kyle Spraker (Kent State) and Mike Murphy (Maryland) all hit home runs to power Orleans.

• In the first game of Chatham’s doubleheader, Wareham got the A’s off to a bad start, winning 5-4. Jake Lemmerman (Duke) went 3-for-4 and Raynor Campbell (Baylor) hit a home run to lead the Gatemen. Robby Broach (Tulane) struck out 10 in 5.1 innings and Zach Brewster (Georgia Tech) worked 3.2 scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Bourne at Falmouth, 7 p.m. Everything on the line.

Here are the latest Western Division Standings top four, with the earlier game between Cotuit and Hyannis factored in.

Cotuit	23-18-2	48
Falmouth	22-20-1	45
Bourne	22-20-1	45
Hyannis	22-20-0	44

Cotuit cannot be caught right now. They are the Western Division champions. Their game tonight with Y-D will not have an impact on that.

That leaves two games of consequence tonight — Falmouth at Hyannis and Bourne at Wareham. Falmouth, Hyannis and Bourne are chasing one playoff spot.

Here are the scenarios. With Falmouth and Hyannis playing each other, there are essentially two variables for everything:

• If Falmouth wins and Bourne loses, Falmouth is in with 47 points.

• If Bourne wins and Falmouth loses, Bourne is in with 47 points.

• If Falmouth wins and Bourne wins, those teams will finish in a tie at 47 points, and there will be a play-in game tomorrow.

• If Hyannis wins and Bourne loses, Hyannis is in with 46 points.

So, Falmouth and Bourne are essentially in the same situation. If they win, they’ll get a shot, whether it’s an automatic berth or a play-in game. On the other hand, Hyannis needs some help. Bourne has to lose for Hyannis to make it.

I think that covers everything. Should be an interesting night.

11:10 – I’m listening online and the first pitch was just thrown. Seth Blair is on the mound for Cotuit. Good guy to have out there in a game as important as this. He’s 3-1 with a 1.79 ERA.

11:12 – So just to be clear: Cotuit clinches a playoff spot if they win this game. It is not so cut-and-dry for Hyannis.

11:15 – Blair just got out of a jam in the top of the first. Marcus Jones had a double for the Mets. After Blair got Ben Paulsen, the Kettleers made a wise decision to intentionally walk Chris Dominguez. Curt Casali lined out for the last out of the inning.

11:22 – Will Weidig is on the mound for Hyannis. The sophomore from Brown has been solid out of the bullpen with a 3.48 ERA. This is only his second start. One troubling stat: he’s struck out 25 and walked 20.

11:23 – Weidig allowed a hit to Michael Gilmartin but nothing else. Scoreless after one.

11:35 – First and third again with two outs for Hyannis, with leadoff man Trent Ashcraft at the plate.

11:36 – Another line out to Brett Jackson for the final out of the inning. Through one and a half, still scoreless.

11:42 – Quick inning for Weidig, who is off to a really strong start in this one. After two, no score.

11:46 – It sounds like Blair is laboring a little bit. He’s thrown a fair amount of pitches and he just walked Ben Paulsen.

11:47 – Big strikeout for Blair. After a long at-bat, he caught Chris Dominguez looking.

11:49 – One pitch, and Blair is out of the inning. Still no score.

11:50 – Here’s something to consider as these two starting pitchers continue to put up zeroes. Weidig has been a reliever most of the summer, so he may not be able to go that deep into the game. Meanwhile, Blair leads the league in complete games.

11:53 – Cotuit’s Kevin Patterson leads off the third with a double. I believe that’s the third double we’ve had in this game. Nobody’s been able to take advantage, though.

11:56 – Weidig gets a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Back to Brett Jackson and the top of the order.

11:58 – Jackson flies out. Two outs, Patterson still on second.

12:00 – We have some offense. A ground ball from Michael Gilmartin gets through the right side. Patterson beats the throw home for the 1-0 lead.

12:02 – Weidig gets his second strikeout of the inning to end it, but the damage is done. Cotuit 1, Hyannis 0 through three.

12:06 – Blair has gotten out of some jams so far, but he’ll have to do it again here in the fourth. Back-to-back singles by the Mets have runners on first and third with one out.

12:09 – Well that’ll do it. Blair gets Matt Nuzzo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. That’s the third time this game that Cotuit has gotten out of a first-and-third jam. Blair hasn’t been lights out by any means today, but he’s getting it done when it counts, and he’s got four shutout innings in the books.

12:16 – Weidig strikes out Jason Kipnis, his sixth of the day. That’s six out of 10 outs. He’s giving the Mets exactly what they needed, but they’re going to have to score for him.

12:19 – A perfect frame for Weidig. Still 1-0 with four innings complete.

12:24 – Blair got two quick outs, went 3-0 on Ben Paulsen, but then induced a grounder to end the inning. Best frame of the day for Blair.

12:29 – Jeff Kobernus hits a double to start the fifth. Another scoring chance for Cotuit.

12:33 – RBI single by Robert Stock makes it 2-0. Has anybody else noticed how Stock has been way under the radar this summer? He was such a big story last year because he had skipped his senior year of high school to enroll at USC. Then he was an all-star on the Cape despite being the youngest player in the league. He was not an all-star this year but he’s actually had a real solid season, with a .269 average. He’s delivering at the right time too.

12:36 – Weidig in a little more trouble after a walk to Brett Jackson. Two on, only one out for Michael Gilmartin, who knocked in the game’s first run.

12:39 – Wow. Double steal, and apparently Stock was dead meat at third. But he was called safe. Second and third, one out.

12:41 – Weidig gets a big out as Gilmartin flies out to left, not deep enough to score Stock from third. If Weidig can get out of this jam, a 2-0 deficit is still manageable.

12:44 – After falling behind 3-0, Weidig gets Joey Lewis to ground out and end the inning. Even though they now trial by two, the Mets have to feel pretty good about getting out of that jam. We’ll see if they can build on it. After five, 2-0 Cotuit.

12:47 – So far so good for Hyannis. Dominguez takes the first pitch he sees down the left-field line for a double.

12:51 – Blair gets one out, but then hits Ryan Eden. Two on, one out. The Mets have stranded a lot of runners in this game . . . and they may do it again. Dale Cornstubble swings at the first pitch and pops out. Two down.

12:54 – Blair gets Casey Frawley looking for the final out. That’s eight runners left on base for the Mets.

1:02 – Cotuit goes down in order. We’re through six with Cotuit up 2-0.

1:03 – The Mets have 9-1-2 coming up this inning. If they can get a few on base for the middle of the order, this may be their best remaining chance.

1:05 – Matt Nuzzo leads off with a single, but Blair strikes out Trent Ashcraft for the first out. Marcus Jones at the plate, with Paulsen and Dominguez waiting behind him.

1:09 – Danger time for Cotuit. Two outs, but Blair just walked Paulsen to put two on for Chris Dominguez, the league’s home run leader. He had a double last time.

1:10 – Wild pitch moves the runners up, so first base is open. Cotuit will put Dominguez on. It’ll be up to Curt Casali, the Hyannid DH.

1:13 – Blair falls behind 3-1, but Casali hits a ground ball to shortstop and Michael Gilmartin gets the out at second. Cotuit out of another jam. That’s 11 runners left on base for Hyannis. We’re heading to the bottom of the seventh, still 2-0 Cotuit.

1:15 – Will Harvil relieves Will Weidig on the mound. Weidig pitched well for the Mets, but right now, he’s in line to the hard-luck loser.

1:22 – Cotuit looking for some insurance as Robert Stock gets a two-out hit. A wild pitch allows Stock to move into scoring position with Brett Jackson at the plate.

1:23 – Jackson draws a walk, so now two on with two outs. The Kettleers have taken advantage when they’ve had guys on base. We’ll see if they can do it again.

1:25 – Michael Gilmartin knocks in Stock with a base hit. He gets cut down at second trying to stretch it to a double but the Kettleers get an all-important insurance run. Heading to the eighth, it’s 3-0.

1:27 – Daniel Wolford is on for the Kettleers, after Blair went seven shutout innings. Wolford is apparently better known as “The Wolf.”

1:29 – The Wolf works the quickest inning of the day, getting two of three outs via the strikeout. To the bottom of the eighth we go.

1:35 – Kettleers go 1-2-3 so we’ll go to the top of the ninth with Cotuit up 3-0. Three outs away from a playoff berth.

1:36 – The Wolf is still on the mound. It’s 9-1-2 for the Mets, the same part of the order that came up in the seventh and loaded the bases.

1:37 – Quick strikeout for the Wolf. One down.

1:40 – After a long at-bat, Trent Ashcraft works a walk. That means the middle of the order might get a chance, as long as Marcus Jones doesn’t ground into a double play.

1:41 – Ashcraft moves to second on a passed ball. A 1-2 count on Jones.

1:42 – Base hit by Jones. We’ve got first and third one out, with Ben Paulsen coming up. The Kettleers have a cushion, but the Mets now have a chance with their best hitters stepping to the plate.

1:43 – That does it for Wolford. Closer Drew Storen will come on. He has four saves this season

1:47 – Storen falls behind 2-0 but gets Paulsen to hit a ground ball to third. Cotuit concedes the run as Kevin Patterson gets the out at third. That’s two outs, but Chris Dominguez is coming up as the tying run.

1:48 – Game over. Second baseman Dallas Poulk makes a nice play on a hard ground ball and gets the final out. The Kettleers are heading to the playoffs.

Alright, that’s it for now. I’ll check back in later in the afternoon to break down some of the scenarios for tonight. Right now, Cotuit is in. Hyannis not yet out. Should be an interesting evening.

On a night when the Western Division playoff race got more complicated, the last playoff spot in the East finally got clinched.

The bigger news is who clinched it.

For the first time since 1997, the Harwich Mariners are in the playoffs. They headed into last night’s game knowing they would at least get to a play-in game, even if they lost their final two games of the regular season.

But they didn’t take that chance.

The Mariners beat Orleans 5-3 last night at home to clinch the spot. Chris Manno (Duke) did what an ace is supposed to do, allowing one run on only four hits in seven innings. After Orleans got two runs in the eighth to get within two, Steve Kalush (Santa Clara) pitched two perfect innings of relief to pick up the save.

At the plate, Shaver Hansen (Baylor) went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the way.

The victory means the Mariners will get a shot at the same team they just beat — division champ Orleans. I’ll have more on this series once we get through today’s games.

Elsewhere

• Falmouth had a chance to jump back to first place, but lost to Wareham 5-3 in 10 innings. A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame), who was presented with the league MVP award before the game, hit a home run, but the Commodores couldn’t get much else off Wareham starter Brandon Workman (Texas). He struck out eight to finish the year with 67 strikeouts.

• In a game that lost its playoff implications when Harwich won, Brewster beat Chatham 9-1. James Meador (San Diego) had four hits for the Whitecaps and Buddy Bauman (Missouri State) allowed one run in six innings.

• Bourne got right into the thick of the Western Division race thanks to their fourth straight win, a 5-1 victory over Y-D. Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) improved to 5-0 by tossing six strong innings.

What to Watch For Today/Tonight

• All kinds of craziness. I plan to keep tabs on all of it, and I think I’m about to start a live blog of the Cotuit-Hyannis game. So keep checking.

Dear Chatham, Cotuit and Hyannis,

Have fun tomorrow.

Love,
Rain

If you hadn’t seen it yet, today’s 5 p.m. game between Hyannis and Cotuit got postponed because of rain. That means Cotuit, Hyannis and Chatham (because of earlier postponements) will all play doubleheaders tomorrow, the final day of the regular season.

It was going to be crazy enough anyway with the playoff picture so jumbled. Now, it’s just going to be ridiculous, especially for Cotuit and Hyannis. It looks like if the Mets sweep their doubleheader, they’ll win the division. Same for Cotuit. If they both split . . . I have no idea what happens.

Regardless, tomorrow’s going to be fun. As Nate Sandals mentioned on the Cape League Insider Blog, you could go to the 11 a.m. game in Cotuit, the 4:30 p.m. game at Y-D and the nightcap in Hyannis. That’s a pretty nice little Thursday, if you ask me.

Back in June, when the season was only a week or two old, the Cotuit Kettleers looked like the best team in the league. They were getting good pitching and their offense was significantly stronger than anyone else’s.

But some injuries and key departures left the Kettleers reeling, and for most of of July, they were floundering in the middle of the pack, winning one here, losing one there.

They never went away, though, and now they’re seeing the fruits of that gutsy persistence. Cotuit beat Wareham 10-2 last night for its third consecutive win. And this is a good time for a hot streak. Cotuit sits alone in first place with a one-point lead on Falmouth and two games to play.

It’s a testament to the Kettleers that they’re even in the conversation at this point. Their personnel losses this season included power-hitter Mike Bianucci, hot-hitting infielder Robbie Shields, lights-out reliever Danny Meszaros and pitchers Matt Fairel and Dan Jennings. If you look at Cotuit’s online roster, there are almost as many players in the contract released section as there are on the active roster.

Of course, everyone’s had to deal with losses, but it all seemed more pronounced for the Kettleers, because of the way they started. They were putting up numbers like Y-D’s powerful offense was last year, and then all of a sudden, they weren’t.

But the fact that nobody pulled away in the Western Division set the stage for the Kettleers to stick it out, and they’ve done that. Last night, they rolled past Wareham thanks to three-hit days by Kevin Patterson (Auburn) and Robert Stock (USC) and two-hit performances from Jason Kipnis (Arizona State), Evan Crawford (Indiana) and Dallas Poulk (NC State). Starting pitcher Brandon Cumpton (Georgia Tech), who has an ERA above four, turned in one of his best starts of the season, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings.

All of that was enough for the Kettleers to keep their little winning streak alive.

And it doesn’t matter that it’s little. Because it’s coming at the right time.

Elsewhere

• If Cotuit is getting hot at the right time, Hyannis is heading in the other direction at the wrong time. The Mets lost to Chatham 7-4 last night, their second consecutive loss. They’re by no means out of the picture, but they are in third place now, two points behind Cotuit. Chatham got a big night from Grant Green (USC), who went 2-for-4 with a home run. The victory kept the A’s alive in the Eastern Division playoff race.

• Falmouth got a crucial 5-3 victory over Orleans, which lets the Commodores keep pace with Cotuit. Chris Gloor (Quinnipiac) stepped up with his best start of the summer, striking out nine and allowing only one run in six innings. Ben Tootle (Jacksonville State) went 2.1 innings for the save.

• Bourne is also still in the playoff picture thanks to a 6-1 victory over Brewster. Marc Krauss (Ohio)went 2-for-5 with three RBI and reliever Kevin Landry (William & Mary) came on with the bases loaded in the second inning, got out of the jam, and went on to pitch four more no-hit innings.

• With Brewster’s loss, and Harwich’s 3-2 victory over Y-D, the Mariners have guaranteed themselves at least a spot in a play-in game. Both Chatham and Brewster can only hope to force a tie for second, and that would require the Mariners to lose their final two games.

• Harwich’s victory over Y-D also means the official end of the Red Sox’ dynasty. Now seven points back of second place, they won’t have a chance to catch Harwich. But the night wasn’t a total loss for Y-D. Starter Jeff Inman (Stanford) turned in one of the most impressive performances of the summer, striking out 13 in 7.2 dominant innings.

What to Watch For Tonight

• A big game in Cotuit, as the Kettleers host Hyannis. Will Weidig (Brown) is slated to go for the Mets, with Cotuit’s starter listed as TBA.

• Falmouth’s road to the playoffs gets tougher tonight as the Commodores are set to face Wareham ace Brandon Workman (Texas). The Commodores will counter with their ace, Chad Bettis (Texas Tech).

• Harwich needs one win to clinch a playoff spot, and they’ve got the right guy on the mound. Chris Manno (Duke) and his 2.06 ERA will get the start against Orleans.

Chatham has a chance yesterday to really help itself, or at least to play spoiler.

Instead, Chatham’s opponents helped themselves.

Harwich beat the A’s 4-1 in the afternoon and Cotuit beat the A’s 4-2 later that night to complete the split doubleheader sweep. The losses mean the A’s, with four games left, likely need to win all four and get some help just to be in the playoff race.

Meanwhile, the victories were big ones for Harwich and Cotuit.

The Mariners, who were tied with idle Brewster for second place, now find themselves in sole possession of second with three games to play. They can thank Brandon Belt for being in that spot. The two-way player from Texas made just his second appearance of the summer and his first start, but he was right at home. Belt faced the minimum in his five innings of work and helped himself by going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI.

As for Cotuit, a late rally pushed them into the lead against the A’s and into the top spot in the Western Division. The Kettleers, who have won two in a row, moved into a tie with Hyannis for first place. Evan Crawford (Indiana) helped lead the way for Cotuit with a 3-for-3 night. Matt Zoltak (Clemson) pitched well for the A’s, but the Kettleers got to the bullpen in the eighth. Crawford walked with two outs, stole second and came home on a base hit by Dallas Poulk (NC State). Poulk later scored on a wild pitch.

Elsewhere

• Orleans snapped a five-game losing streak and finally clinched the Eastern Division title with a 5-0 win over Falmouth. All-Star starter Matt Thomson (San Diego) turned in the kind of start you look for from an ace, going eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts. The Cardinals made a winner out of him when they broke open a scoreless game with a run in the seventh and four in the eighth. Matt Bowman (Nevada) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) blasted his seventh home run of the year.

• The loss dropped Falmouth all the way into third place. The Commodores have lost two straight and sit one point out of first, and two points ahead of fourth-place Bourne.

• Bourne is that close because of a 3-2 victory over Hyannis last night. Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) struck out nine and allowed one run on four hits in seven innings.

What to Watch For Tonight

• From here on out, every game is going to be a crucial one in the West.

• Bourne sends Matt Petiton (Tulane) to the mound against Brewster. It’s his second start.

• Hyannis goes with Matt Ridings (Western Kentucky) against Chatham. He has a 4.43 ERA, with most of his appearances coming out of the bullpen.

• Falmouth will look to Chris Gloor (Quinnipiac) against Orleans. Gloor has a 2.78 ERA and has been solid since moving to the rotation.

• Cotuit will take on Wareham, with a yet-to-be-announced starter on the mound.

The first daily fog of the season was all about Nick Hernandez. The lefty from Tennessee was a temporary player, but he got the ball on opening night for Cotuit and went longer than any other starter would for the next week. He was also thoroughly impressive, striking out eight, walking none and allowing only one run in seven innings.

Since then, I feel like I haven’t talked much about Hernandez. It’s about time to change that.

Hernandez picked up his league-leading sixth win of the season last night as Cotuit topped Falmouth 3-1 in another crucial Western Division game. The victory moved the Kettleers to within one point of second place and two points of first.

For a game like that, I don’t think there’s anybody Cotuit would rather have on the mound than Hernandez. He gets lost in the shuffle sometimes because he hasn’t had the flashy starts — the complete games, the double-digit strikeout performances. But when it comes to top Cape League pitchers, Hernandez has to be mentioned in the same breath as Brandon Workman, Andrew Carraway and Bryce Stowell.

His ERA, at 2.54, is a little higher than some others, but his strikeout numbers are right there. And he’s got everybody beat in the wins category. Last year, Tom Milone won the Pitcher of the Year award largely because his six sins separated him from the rest of the pack. I don’t know if the same will go for Hernandez, but he’s certainly got a shot.

Not bad for a player whose name I had to look up for that first daily fog. Not bad at all.

Elsewhere

• Cotuit’s win over Falmouth opened the door for Hyannis, and the Mets stepped right through it. They beat Wareham 6-5 to leapfrog Falmouth for first place in the West. They have a one-point lead over Falmouth and a two-point lead over Cotuit. Reliever Will Harvil (Georgia) deserves a lot of the credit for the win over Wareham. After ace Andrew Carraway (Virginia) allowed four runs in three innings — his worst outing of the year — Harvil came out of the bullpen and allowed just one hit in four shutout innings. The Mets made a winner out of him thanks to a three-run seventh inning. Ben Paulsen (Clemson) scored the go-ahead run on a single by Marcus Jones (NC State).

• Bourne beat Orleans 9-4, the fifth-straight loss for the Cardinals, who still managed to clinch a playoff spot because of other results. Jordan Henry (Ole Miss) went 4-for-5 to lead the Braves, while Brandon Bantz (Dallas Baptist), Ross Wilson (Alabama) and Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma) each had two RBI.

• Brewster moved into a tie with Harwich for second place thanks to a 7-5 victory over the Mariners. Connor Powers (Mississippi State) and Mike Freeman (Clemson) both had three hits and two RBI.

• Y-D’s Craig Fritsch (Baylor) and Chatham’s Kevin Couture (USC) both allowed three hits in eight shutout innings, but they were long gone when the game got decided. Y-D scored two in the top of the 13th to notch a 2-0 victory over the A’s. A bases-loaded walk and an error allowed the two runs to score. Rhett Ballard (Virginia Tech) struck out five in three scoreless innings to pick up the win.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Because of rain the last few days, Chatham has two doubleheaders scheduled this week, and they’ll play the first one today. The A’s will visit Harwich at 2 p.m. before heading home to host Cotuit at 7 p.m. Sammy Solis (San Diego) is scheduled to start game one with Matt Zoltak (Clemson) going in game two.

• Bourne, five points out of first, will try to stay in the race with Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) on the mound against Hyannis, who counters with Colin Bates (North Carolina).

It’s entirely possible that a professional baseball player will end up being this year’s Cape League batting champ.

Entering play Sunday, the league leader was Falmouth’s Jimmy Cesario.

Thing is, Cesario is not Falmouth’s anymore. He’s Casper’s.

Cesario, a 46th-round pick this June, signed a professional contract with the Colorado Rockies soon after the All-Star game. In fact, three days after the All-Star game, he was making his debut with the Rookie Pioneer League’s Casper Ghosts.

But while Cesario is on to the next chapter of his career, the Cape League chapter is kind of still open. Cesario left a .387 batting average in his wake, and he’s going to have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league lead. That number sits at 119 every year. Cesario is ahead of that number just in the at-bats category, which means he’ll have more than enough to qualify.
And that .387 clip is going to be tough to surpass. Cesario’s former Falmouth teammate A.J. Pollock was at .385 heading into Sunday’s action. With five games left, there’s a chance he’ll leapfrog Cesario, but I think there’s a better chance that he sees his average drop.

So we would be left with an inactive player winning the batting title. I don’t know if the league would make some kind of exception and give it to the second-place guy or what, but either way, it’s a weird situation. You can’t say Cesario didn’t earn it. And yet . . . he’s already a pro.

I don’t ever remember seeing anything like this in past summers. Occasionally, a hitter near the top will head home due to injury but in general, if you’re near the league lead in hitting, you’re going to do your best to stick around util the last out of the season.

It’s a different situation for Cesario, who took an opportunity and ran with it. He’s still running, too. Through five games with Casper, he’s hitting .412. That’s a pretty good start, though as far as this season, I don’t know if Cesario will have had enough service time to earn any awards from the league.

But I guess he might get something in the mail.

Youth Is Served

Perfect Game Crosschecker had some interesting stuff up this week. They took a look at the top velocities in the Cape League All-Star game and also came out with a list of the top 20 performances of the summer across all leagues.

One thing you can take from both pieces is that the Cape League pitchers we’ll hear the most about in the next few years are the league’s youngest pitchers.

Of the top 10 radar-gun readings, four belonged to freshmen — Brandon Workman at 95, Sammy Solis at 93, Brian Dupra at 92 and Martin Viramontes at 92. The other feature puts three sophomore Team USA pitchers atop the summer performance list.

That means next year’s draft may be a little lighter than normal on Cape League pitchers. A few will certainly crack the first few rounds, but they may not be among the real upper echelon.

There’s a good chance that changes in 2010. Workman was a third-round pick out of high school, and with his near no-hitter and his tremendous strikeout numbers this summer, he’s been arguably the most impressive pitcher in the league. Much like Missouri’s Kyle Gibson did last year, Workman has used his Cape League summer to put himself way up high on early draft lists.

Solis probably isn’t too far behind Workman, and he’s got the advantage of being left-handed. Dupra has been lights-out as a reliever and he’ll probably get a chance to do big things next spring at Notre Dame. Viramontes struggled in the All-Star game and his first start since then was rough, too, but he’ll be fine. He’s another big kid, and a few bad outings aren’t going to hurt him too much.

And it doesn’t stop with those four. Matt Harvey, Kyle Blair, Seth Blair, Drew Storen, Evan Danielli, Graham Stoneburner, Rob Rasmussen, Robby Broach — all those guys have made an impression.

We’ll see come 2010 how big an impression it is, but for now, we’ve got quite a crop of young pitchers on our hands.

Notes

• Last summer, when the playoffs rolled around, Falmouth could trot out two 2008 first-round picks and a potential 2009 first-rounder in a three-game playoff series. Now? Well, suffice it to say the Commodores are not in first place because of a dominant starting rotation. Chad Bettis has been their ace. He’s got a 2.27 ERA. Reliever-turned-starter Chris Gloor comes in with a 2.78 ERA. After that, nobody in the rotation is under 3.00. And yet, Falmouth has found a way. Starters like Nate Karns, Rex Brothers and Jorge Reyes have gotten the job done when needed, and the bullpen has been great with Ben Tootle at the back end. Mostly, though, Falmouth can thank its offense. The Commodores have scored the most runs in the league.

• Going into Sunday, Hyannis closer Russell Brewer still had an outside shot to break the saves record. With 12 saves and the record at 16, he needs the Mets to go on a winning streak. Though they can’t win too big.

• It should be an interesting final few days in the Western Division, especially for Hyannis. Of the Mets’ last four games, three are against teams that are alongside them in the divisional race. They’ll host Bourne Monday, they’ll visit Cotuit on Wednesday and on Thursday, they’ll close out the regular season at home against Falmouth. If the Mets can sweep those three games, they’ll probably win the division.

• I stumbled across a cool new web site you should check out. It’s called Breaking Bats, and it’s devoted to baseball prospects. I e-mailed the site’s founder, Matt Grabowski, and it sounds like he’s got some pretty big plans. It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on.
  

From June 30 to July 28, the Orleans Cardinals won 18 games and lost three.

They’ve lost more games than that just in the last five days.

The Cardinals dropped a 3-1 decision to Harwich last night, their fourth consecutive loss. Once the hottest team in the league for quite awhile, Orleans now has the longest active losing streak.

But the sky isn’t really falling. Orleans needs to win exactly one of its last five games to clinch a playoff spot. That’s what a hot streak like the one Orleans had will do. It’s hard to imagine them not winning at least one.

So with a playoff berth all but sewn up, the question is how will the Cardinals fare in the postseason? If they continue to hit the skids, they’ll really be backing their way in. Every other team is in a tight race, and whoever makes it will be riding high. That could be a big difference to overcome.

The lineup Orleans is trotting out isn’t the same one that cruised through July. Cole Figueroa and Rich Poythress, two key pieces, are gone, and I’m sure Orleans has felt the impact of their absence. Starting pitcher Eric Erickson has also left, and he was at least a reliable starter.

But as much as there might be an impact from those losses, I don’t think the losing streak is proof of it. More than anything, it just looks like a rough patch. The Cardinals have lost a pair of two-run games in which they pitched well, and a one-run game in which they didn’t. The only blowout among the four was a 9-4 loss to Chatham on Friday.

So it doesn’t seem like the Cardinals have fallen flat. They’ve just slowed down.

They’ve got a week to get back up to speed.

Elsewhere

• Harwich won the game over Orleans behind a strong performance by starter Billy Bullock (Florida), who allowed one run in 6.1 innings. Willie Kempf (Baylor) and Steve Kalush (Santa Clara) closed the door with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Mariners, who are two points of Brewster for second place.

• Also of note from Harwich, an X finally popped up by the name of Dustin Ackley. The North Carolina star hasn’t played since July 13 but was apparently still on the roster until today.

• Falmouth beat Bourne 3-2 in 12 innings in a crucial Western Division game. The Commodores would have dropped to second place with a loss, but are now still clinging to first by a point. Michael Thomas (Southern) won it for Falmouth with a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the 12th.

• Hyannis kept pace with Falmouth thanks to a 2-1 victory over Y-D. Ben Paulsen (Clemson) hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to break a 1-1 tie.

• Brewster beat Cotuit 12-4 for its third consecutive win. Yasmani Grandal (Miami) hit a three-run home run and Ryan Wheeler (Loyola Marymount) hit a two-run single to power a 10-run third inning for the Whitecaps. Connor Powers (Mississippi State), Derek Poppert (San Francisco) and Mike Freeman (Clemson) each had three hits. Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) allowed four runs in five innings and picked up the win.

What to Watch For Tonight

• Another match-up with playoff implications in the West as Falmouth visits Cotuit. It’ll be the fifth consecutive game the Commodores have played against a Western Division opponent. They’ve gone 2-2 in those games.

• Second-place Hyannis will try to keep the pressue on the Commodores as they send ace Andrew Carraway (Virginia) to the mound against Wareham and Max Perlman (Harvard).