the cape league hates second basemen

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

the cape league hates second basemen

All-league teams have been announced. They're available on the official site.

The biggest thing that stands out is that Gordon Beckham was picked as the all-league second baseman. He played eight games there and 30 at shortstop. So, in similar fashion to the all-star selection process, second basemen are getting pushed aside.

It makes sense in a way since second base was a thin position. Putting Beckham there allows Reese Havens to make the team, and keeps the utility infield spot open for Jermaine Curtis, who's certainly deserving.

But David Adams was the best second baseman in the league -- .302 AVG, 17 extra-base hits, 18 RBI. Doesn't he deserve to be recognized for that?

That's my two cents. Here's the team:

1B - Yonder Alonso
2B - Gordon Beckham
SS - Reese Havens
3B - Conor Gillaspie
Inf. Util. - Jermaine Curtis
OF - Dennis Raben
OF - Collin Cowgill
OF - Blake Tekotte
OF - Ben Guez
C - Buster Posey
C - Robert Stock
DH - Allan Dykstra
DH - Jason Castro
SP - Tom Milone
SP - Aaron Crow
SP - Kyle Gibson
SP - D.J. Mitchell
SP - Eddie Burns
RP - Nick Cassavechia
RP - Jordan Flasher
Utility - Shane Peterson

My only question, other than the second base business: How does Dan Brewer not make this team? He hit .297 with seven home runs and 30 RBI for Hyannis. Those are all-league numbers. I guess he was just the odd man out. He played a lot of positions, so maybe that hurt him.

Anyway, that's that. I'm in the process of selecting my own all-league teams just for the fun of it. They will include second basemen.

More summer rewind stuff coming this week.

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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, August 28, 2007