������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������ ���������������� �������������������� ��������������� ���������������� �������������������� ����������������� ����������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� 2 SUMMER STARS Thursday, July 27, 2006 From The Cheap Seats It’s Been A Tough Year For The Bourne Braves Back in early June there was nothing but excitement in Bourne. The Braves’ organization could not wait to unveil the new Braves Field at Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, which brought them into the upper tier of Cape Cod Baseball League facilities after endur- ing substandard Coady Field for years and years. The team entered the season hoping to defend its 2005 west division championship and, on paper, had a roster that looked like it should have them right back in contention. Yes, things were looking pretty good in Bourne back before the season began. Fast forward to the latter half of July and the optimism surrounding the club has receded. What looked like it might be the most fun summer of baseball in years has become one that the organization is looking forward to ending. Not only have the losses piled up—the team was 5-19-2 at this writing—but the Braves have also been one of the hardest hit teams in terms of bad weather this year. Down the stretch, the club will have to play a hand- ful of doubleheaders and has only the all-star game to look forward to as an off day. Head Coach Harvey Shapiro, who has tasted both DANIEL W. WEBB good and bad seasons in his many years skippering Cape League clubs, does not want much out of the rest of the year, just to see his team compete day in and day out “I’m not looking at making the playoffs now, I just Loretta Recalls the want to be competitive,” Shapiro said before his team Cape League got on the bus for a road trip Friday afternoon. Shapiro said that last year’s club, in terms of position Page Five players, was pretty close to what he’s got right now. The difference, though, has been the pitching. Last year the Braves were rock solid in terms of starting pitching, with 35 starts (out of 44 games) in which his starter gave him six innings. In 25 games a year ago, the starter went at least seven. Fans Guide to How much things change over the course of one year. Attending the All This year the Braves have had one pitcher twice pitch Stars Page Six into the seventh. The bullpen has been taxed and the club has not been winning. The Braves find themselves dead last in team earned-run average, entering last weekend’s round of games with a combined ERA of 4.30, nearly a full run behind the ninth-place team. “If our Inside the Game: pitching was near where it was last year, we’d have at least five more wins. That might not put us in the play- Pitching Inside offs, but we’d be in the thick of things,” Shapiro said. Ready To Bust-A-Move Page Seven To be fair, the hitting hasn’t exactly been that great either. The Braves are dead last in team batting average (.207), have hit the fewest home runs (four), and scored 3 21 fewer runs than the next-to-last team in that category. MATTHEW BURKE Injuries and roster changes have been a huge reason for the team’s woes. Shapiro said that his team is em- Full Cape Cod League Game Schedule ploying its 11th catcher of the season right now, having Page 10 lost the first two before the year even began, with one accepting an invitation to Team USA and the other get- ting injured during the College World Series. The turn- By the Numbers over, as a whole, has been so big that there have been Pages 12-13 times the coaching staff wondered who some of the guys were on the bus. “It’s just one of those years,” lamented general man- Batting Around ager Mike Carrier. “Half of the players we signed didn’t Pages 11-14 show up, for a variety of reasons, and that leaves you scrambling to replace those players. A big part of being successful in this league is getting all, or at least most, Look for this issue online @ www.capenews.net of your players in for the start of the season and staying healthy.” Last year the Braves needed only two temporary play- ers to remain with the club. This year Carrier said he had On The Cover: Freshman phenom Buster Posey just “lost count” of the roster shuffling they’ve had to do. keeps on getting better. Unfortunately this seems to happen to at least one SportsPix photo by Matthew Scott CCBL team every year; it’s nothing new. For whatever reasons, the team just can’t get the job done and fights through adversity from day one until the welcomed close publisher project manager design services manager of the season. William Hough Chuck Borge Christine Stutzman But there is still plenty to play for, Carrier said. “If I sports editor was a scout, down here watching the Bourne Braves, sales manager design services Rich Maclone I’d want to see what kind of intensity these guys play Steve Krammes Linda Stewart with. I’m looking to see if the shoulders are slumped or photo editor Jill Spencer if they’re still playing with desire and trying hard. That’s sales Daniel W. Webb Julia Balducci what I would look for, because its not like you’re go- Danielle Guay ing to go to the minor leagues and not end up on a bad design & layout press supervisor team someday. It happens, and you’ve got keep playing Tricia Keough Elisabet K. Rodrigues David Pittman hard every day.” Dawn Mitchell Trisha Herlihy Rich Maclone is the Sports Editor for Summer 50 Depot Avenue Barbara Warner nterp Stars and also covers the Falmouth Commodores e E ri Falmouth, MA 02540 for Enterprise Publishing. He can be reached at Nancy Medeiros h s e 508-548-4700 • 1-800-286-7744 [email protected]. Esther Buchanan T Falmouth • Mashpee • Bourne • Sandwich Fax: 508-540-8407 Thursday, July 27, 2006 SUMMER STARS 3 Bust-A-Move AFTER A SENSATIONAL FRESHMAN SEASON, BUSTER POSEY IS STILL GETTING BETTER…AND IT'S SCARY BY MATTHEW M. BURKE has been able to tweak his was going to be used primar- pitch). Hopefully I’ll get back teammates. Three-time National Coach swing on the fly, which is ily as a pitcher in the future. on the mound some next year “The main thing that I liked of the Year Scott Pickler, of integral, because swinging a But Posey wasn’t ready to and see if everything pans about Florida State was I Cypress College, has spent wooden bat is different than give up hitting. He added out.” liked how comfortable I felt nine years as the head coach an aluminum bat. Pickler said that playing short was fun Coach Martin first saw with the coaches,” Posey of the YD Red Sox. He is a that kids can sometimes get last season for FSU. Coach Posey play in the summer said. “For me it’s a good man who can take any good lift in their swing with alu- Martin said that next season of 2004, while he played for location, too. It’s two hours player and make them great, minum bats and hit only the Posey might wind up at third, the US Junior Olympic Team. away from my home, and just and he has proven himself as bottom half of the ball. This a skipper in the Cape League can lead to a lot of popups. time and time again, culmi- He said he has been working nating with a CCBL title in with Posey to use his legs a 2004. little bit more in his swing and At Cypress, a junior college to swing through the ball. in Cypress, California, he has The instruction and guid- seen 12 former players make ance that Coach Pickler has it to the big show, includ- given him seems to be work- ing Rangers catcher Gerald ing as Posey leads the Sox in Laird, Orioles outfielder David batting average, at .298, and Newhan, A’s pitcher Keith is ranked sixth in the league. Ginter, and Padre’s all-star He also leads the league with closer Trevor Hoffman. 37 hits, and stands poised to Buster Posey, a 19-year- earn himself a roster spot at Loretta Recalls the old shortstop/pitcher from the upcoming CCBL All-Star Cape League Leesburg Georgia, is Coach Game that is being held this Pickler’s newest project, and year in Yarmouth on July 29. Page Five under Pickler’s guidance, he “I’m not as polished as has come alive this summer some guys are,” the self-de- for the YD Red Sox. scribed line drive hitter said This is not an unusual while discussing his weak- phenomenon in the CCBL. nesses. “I just need to get up Every year, college coaches there and get more experi- Fans Guide to send their talented players ence. The rest will take care Attending the All and young stars-to-be to of itself.” Stars Page Six the Cape League to finetune Posey hails from a small their skills with a summer’s farm town in rural southern worth of top-notch instruc- Georgia. Leesburg has ap- tion. Posey’s coach at Florida proximately 3,000 residents. State University, Mike Martin, He learned to play baseball Inside the Game: did just that.