daily fog: a long sunday night

Monday, June 30, 2008

daily fog: a long sunday night

After a week that saw several games end early due to weather or darkness, last night's game between Bourne and Falmouth did not end early.

The game started at 5:30 p.m., but four hours and 15 innings later, it was still going. Eventually, Bourne's Dusty Coleman (Wichita State) hit a two-run home run in the top of the 15th to break a 2-2 tie and give the Braves a 4-2 victory.

It was, by far, the longest game of the summer and it had all the trappings of a wild extra-inning affair. Bourne used six pitchers and Falmouth used seven. Four different players had seven at-bats, with one -- Bourne's Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma) -- taking an unceremonious 0-for-7. All that, and Bourne starter Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) actually tossed six no-hit innings before the Braves went to the bullpen.

Falmouth managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, and from there, the teams traded scoreless frame after scoreless frame until Coleman broke through. Initially a Team USA invitee, Coleman arrived on the Cape last week and made his presence felt from the start. He continued that with his heroics Sunday. He's now hitting .429.

The win moved Bourne to 6-7 and dropped Falmouth to 5-7-1.

Elsewhere

Y-D finally got its first home run of the year, and it was a big one. Tony Sanchez (Boston College) hit a grand slam in the fifth inning last night to lead the Red Sox past Orleans 5-0. Nick Liles added a 3-for-4 day, and Craig Fritsch (Baylor) tossed seven shutout innings for the Red Sox.
Hyannis handed Cotuit its second straight loss and got within a game of the Kettleers for first place. Colin Bates (North Carolina) tossed five solid innings for the Mets.
Harwich got home runs by Joe Sanders (Auburn) and Jeff Cusick (UC Irvine) to blow past Chatham 10-4.
Wareham had one of its best offensive days of the summer, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to tie Brewster 5-5. Four Gatemen had two hits apiece, and Steve Liddle (Vanderbilt) had four RBI. Caleb Coltham (Vanderbilt) struck out 10 in six strong innings for the Whitecaps. Brandon Workman (Texas) struck out seven for Wareham to take the league lead in that category.

What to Watch For Tonight

Only two games tonight. Cotuit will try to snap its losing streak against Orleans, another team that has lost two straight. Harwich will visit Hyannis in the other game.

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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.

Monday, June 30, 2008