daily fog: breaking the mold

Sunday, June 15, 2008

daily fog: breaking the mold

This time of year, most teams are sending a couple of pitchers to the mound every night, building people up, seeing who looks good, sorting out roles. In the first two days of the season -- five games -- 34 different pitchers took the hill.

Cotuit's Nick Hernandez (Tennesee) had other ideas. Hernandez, a 6'4 lefty who also happens to be on a temporary contract, turned in the best pitching performance so far with seven strong innings on Saturday. He allowed seven hits but struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. He allowed one run in leading Cotuit to a 4-1 victory over Brewster.

Hernandez is coming off a solid sophomore season with the Vols. His ERA was over 5, but he struck out 63 and walked only nine. Judging from last night, that ratio might get better this summer. That's assuming Hernandez sticks around, which, also judging from last night, looks like a good possibility.

Elsewhere

Two-time defending champ Yarmouth-Dennis lost its opener 5-2 to Orleans. The Red Sox had two hits apiece from four different players, including fourth-round draft pick Greg Miclat (Virginia). But Orleans matched Y-D's total of 10 hits and came away with the victory. Nate Freiman (Duke) had two hits, while Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) also had two, including a home run. The Cardinals haven't been hurt too much by Team USA or the CWS and they fielded a lineup Saturday that will probably look a lot like their lineup in August. Not too many teams can say that.

Hyannis beat Chatham 4-3 behind strong performances by four pitchers. Ryan Sharpley (Notre Dame) stood out with seven strikeouts in three innings of relief. Ben Paulsen(Clemson) had two hits and three RBI for the Mets. Chatham's Aaron Miller (Baylor) had two hits and two RBI.

Harwich scored the most runs of any team Saturday in a 9-4 victory over Bourne. Seven different players had hits for the Mariners, with Tim Smalling (Arkansas) delivering three to lead the way. Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt), who played for Falmouth last year, had two RBI for Harwich.

Two recent draft picks were in Cape League lineups on opening day. Miclat, a fourth-rounder, led off for Y-D, while Cole Figueroa (Florida), a sixth-round pick, was batting leadoff for Orleans. Two other first-day picks, Hyannis' Ryan Lavarnway (Yale) and Cotuit's Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) are still on rosters, but haven't yet shown up in box scores.

This daily fog thing should be a daily feature, hence the name. Ideally, it will be up much, much earlier than it is today. I plan to have it up everyday by 11 a.m.

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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.

Sunday, June 15, 2008