back and forth: friday, july 27

Friday, July 27, 2007

back and forth: friday, july 27

LAST NIGHT

Cotuit finally snapped its 12-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory over Wareham . . . Reese Havens went 3-for-5 with two home runs
Chatham's win streak ended as Brewster's Ryan Cook, Keith Shinaberry and Lee Land combined for a shutout
Hyannis' Stephen Penney and Bourne's D.J. Mitchell matched each other pitch for pitch through seven but both left with the game tied at one . . . Hyannis went on to the 2-1 win . . . Penney finished with 10 strikeouts and no walks in seven innings, while Mitchell had 11 strikeouts and no walks in eight innings
Trevor Holder struck out nine and walked one in seven shutout innings as Y-D beat Orleans 3-0 . . . Matt Wickswat closed the shutout with two perfect innings

TONIGHT

The two first-place teams play the two last-place teams as Y-D hosts Harwich and Bourne hosts Wareham
Chatham sends Tom Milone to the hill against Orleans, which sits five points back of the A's for second place . . . Craig Bennigson goes for the Cardinals
Hyannis' Austin Hudson tries to keep up with his rotation-mates as the Mets host Brewster . . . Matt Daly tossed a no-hitter for Hyannis on Wednesday while Stephen Penney allowed a run in seven innings Thursday

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as the fog settles in

The left-field sunset has faded. It is chilly now. You slip a sweatshirt on. The stat sheet you hold in your hands almost feels wet, the air is so damp. But the ink doesn't run. You can read it. That kid from LSU is still leading the league in home runs. That pitcher who they say throws 95 -- he's way up on the list in strikeouts.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.

Stop waxing poetic

The Cape Cod Baseball League is the top college summer league in the nation. Plenty of other leagues have cropped up of late, and some are having success, but the Cape League is still the model -- and the pinnacle. In 2006, 198 Major Leaguers had spent time in the Cape League.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.

Friday, July 27, 2007