back and forth: tuesday, july 31

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

back and forth: tuesday, july 31

LAST NIGHT

Chatham manager John Schiffner's quest for the league record in career victories will have to wait another night. Fog crept in to Veterans Field last night, postponing the Bourne-Chatham game until Thursday. Schiffner has 334 career victories, tied for first in the modern era.
Y-D became the first team to clinch a playoff spot, winning its fifth straight with a 9-1 victory over Orleans. Scott Green was lights-out for Y-D, allowing two hits and striking out 10 in six shutout innings. Buster Posey went 3-for-4, with a home run, three RBI and two runs.
Brewster did what it needed to keep its playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 victory over Wareham. The Whitecaps scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth when steals leader Blake Tekotte broke for second in a first-and-third situation. The throw to second got away, allowing Michael Marseco to score from third. Brewster is now four points back of Chatham for second.
Hyannis beat Harwich and Falmouth bested Cotuit in 12 innings, keeping the race for second in the West exactly where it was. Jason Franzblau allowed one earned in 5.1 innings and the Mets scored six runs in the sixth for the 8-3 win. Falmouth's Aaron Crow allowed one hit and one run in six innings and the Commodores got an RBI single by Chris Hopkins in the 12th to win it.
Jason Castro took over the league batting average lead with a 2-for-4 night. He's now hitting .372. Falmouth's Conor Gillaspie took an 0-for-4, dropping his mark to .357.

TONIGHT

Falmouth plays Cotuit for the second straight night while Hyannis hosts first-place Bourne
Chatham goes against Wareham and starter Andy Oliver, who has the best opponents batting average in the league
Brewster hosts Y-D and Orleans welcomes Harwich

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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.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007