daily fog: the hoover administration

Thursday, June 26, 2008

daily fog: the hoover administration

The Harwich Mariners have the best team ERA in the league at 1.78. They don't really need another great pitcher.

But they've got one.

J.J. Hoover, a 10th round pick out of Calhoun Community College, made his first start for Harwich last night and allowed one run in six impressive innings. He struck out eight and didn't walk anybody as Harwich beat Wareham 6-1.

The victory moved the Mariners to 5-3, and in addition to the pitching -- which always seems to be there -- this was the team's best offensive day since the first game of the season, when they put up nine runs.

On this night, Brian Kemp (St. John's) went 4-for-4 with two RBI, bumping his average up more than 100 points to .345. Joe Sanders (Auburn) and Shaver Hansen (Baylor) had two hits apiece.

For Hoover, that was more than enough. A 6'4 righthander, Hoover was touching 95 on radar guns this spring, and the Braves made him a 10th-round pick. He has committed to West Virginia, and he could be on the Cape with plans to go to school in the fall. He may also be trying to drive up his price. Either way, he did himself a lot of favors last night.

Elsewhere

The other big news for Harwich is the presence of two players who should provide big lifts. Florida State infielder Jason Stidham made his first start since arriving from the College World Series. Catcher Tommy Medica (Santa Clara), who must have jumped on a plane as soon as he found out he wasn't making Team USA, came off the bench late in the game. And the Mariners, believe it or not, aren't done. They're also waiting for North Carolina's Dustin Ackley and LSU's D.J. LeMahieu.

Wareham's offense continued to struggle last night, and the Gateman may not get the boost they were hoping for. Rice shortstop Rick Hague will take the summer off because of an injury and Indiana catcher Josh Phegley is currently having an MRI. Also, at one point, Blake Dean's status was up in the air. Hopefully, that's changed by now. Dean, an LSU outfielder, was as hot as anybody at the end of the college season.

Brewster had a chance to close out a slugfest victory over Falmouth last night, but instead ended up with a slugfest tie. The Commodores scored a pair of unearned runs in the ninth to tie the game at 9-9, and that's where it ended. On both sides, there was obviously a lot of offense. Brewster, which leads the league in home runs, got two more, one from Connor Powers (Mississippi State) and another from Ryan Wheeler (Loyola-Marymount). Falmouth got two RBI's from Rice's Diego Seastrunk, another arrival from the CWS.

Cotuit moved into a tie for first place with an 8-3 victory over Bourne. Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) hit his second home run of the year and Mike Bianucci (Auburn) went 2-for-3 with two RBI to pace the Kettleers. Bianucci now leads the league in RBI with 14. For Bourne, former Team USA invitee Dusty Coleman (Wichita State) went 1-for-3 in his first game.

What to Watch For Tonight

Thanks to the rain, four of the teams that played last night had taken two days off. Tonight, as we finally get back to a full schedule, Hyannis will actually be coming off three days without a game. The Mets last played on Sunday.

Y-D will visit Cotuit tonight in a battle of the top two offensive teams in the league. They're both hitting above .300 as a team. Last time they played, Y-D won 9-8.

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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.

Thursday, June 26, 2008