daily fog: the best so far

Sunday, July 6, 2008

daily fog: the best so far

There have been some good pitching performances this summer, including a five-inning perfect game, but this one tops them all.

Wareham's Brandon Workman (Texas) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning last night and though he lost it there, he still finished with a complete-game two-hit shutout and 13 strikeouts as Wareham beat Cotuit 4-0.

To date, the best pitching performances this year have all come over six or seven innings, so just the fact that Workman put in nine makes it special. The fact that it was almost a no-hitter makes it that much more special.

For Workman, this is pretty huge. A 6'5, 228-pound righthander, he was drafted in the third round out of high school last year but opted to take his power arm to the University of Texas. His first season certainly wasn't as good as he hoped. He finished with a 5-2 record but a 5.06 ERA.

This summer, he's been good from the beginning, but he took it to another level last night. He got through one out in the ninth before Mike Bianucci (Auburn) singled to break up the no-hit bid. Cotuit followed with another hit before Workman buckled down to get the final two outs.

Workman finished with 13 strikeouts and only three walks. He faced four batters over the minimum. The other impressive thing is that Workman did all this against Cotuit, who has been the top hitting team in the league for most of the summer.

Workman now has a 2-1 record and a 1.98 ERA. His 38 strikeouts are tops in the league by a wide margin.

Elsewhere

Workman got run support last night thanks to the first hit of the year by Blake Dean (LSU), an RBI single in the first inning. Ryan Pineda (CS Northridge) had two RBI and Raynor Campbell (Baylor) had one.

Cotuit is no longer the best hitting team on the Cape. Workman's gem dropped the Kettleers' team average to .268. Y-D is hitting .289. Despite a rough stretch, Cotuit is still tied for first place in the Western Division..

Bourne picked up its sixth win in seven games with a 6-1 victory over Hyannis. Bourne's Bryce Stowell (UC Irvine) would have been the star of the night if not for Workman. Stowell went eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10. Those were the first three hits Stowell has allowed this summer. He went six no-hit innings in his first start, but got a no-decision when the game stretched for 15 innings. This time, Stowell got the win and did it against his former team. He played for Hyannis last summer.

Another strong pitching performance carried Brewster past Y-D 4-2. Caleb Coltham (Vanderbilt) turned in his second strong start in a row, allowing one run on two hits in six innings. Brent Milleville (Stanford) wnet 3-for-4 to lead the Whitecaps at the plate.

The Chatham-Orleans and Harwich-Falmouth games were rained out.

What to Watch For Tonight

Brewster's Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) was a closer last summer, a starter this spring and looked like he'd be a closer again this summer. But he will make his first start tonight as Brewster visits Chatham.

Cotuit will host Hyannis in a battle for first place. The teams are currently tied atop the Western Division standings. Mario Hollands (UC Santa Barbara), who has a 5.79 ERA, will take the hill for Cotuit against Hyannis' Alex McRee (Georgia), who's making his second start. He went three innings in his first start after arriving from the College World Series.

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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, July 6, 2008