daily fog: catching on

Monday, July 21, 2008

daily fog: catching on

And to think, Marc Krauss might have slipped through the cracks.

Good thing he didn't.

Krauss, a slugging sophomore from Ohio University, played four games early in the summer for Harwich. When the Mariners released him, he managed to hook on with Bourne. That kind of switch is common in the league, though Krauss is the only player this summer who has done it.

It's working out for everybody involved. Krauss is in the thick of the MVP race and with his 3-for-4 performance last night, he led Bourne past Hyannis 9-2 and into first place.

Krauss is now hitting .415 with three home runs and 26 RBI. In 21 games since joining the Braves -- he's played in 25 total -- he's hitting at a .443 clip.

Those numbers are impressive, but not all that different from what Krauss has done throughout his career. The 6'3, 220-pound outfielder was a Freshman All-American in 2007, then a first-team all-league pick in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. He was also tabbed as the league's Top Position Prospect. He followed that up with a strong sophomore season that saw him hit .332 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI.

I guess the surprising thing is that a player with Krauss' ability ever switched teams. But sometimes it's a numbers game, and I know Harwich was waiting on a lot of late arrivals.

The move couldn't have worked out better for the Braves, who desperately needed a big bat in their lineup. They've got a slim lead in the West now, and as long as Krauss keeps doing what he's doing, they'll have a shot to stay there.

Elsewhere

This Orleans business is getting ridiculous. The Cardinals beat Chatham 5-4 last night for their seventh straight win. They're now 16-2-1 this month. Last night, Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) hit his fourth home run to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh before the teams traded runs in the eighth. Alex Hassan (Duke) picked up his fourth save in as many chances with a perfect ninth. The victory was also the 100th Cape League win for Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson.

Harwich won't quite go away in the East, which is the only reason why Orleans leads the division by seven points and not more than that. The Mariners won their fourth straight game last night, beating Cotuit 4-3 thanks to two runs in the top of the ninth. Both runs came on a two-run home run by Brandon Belt (Texas).

Wareham rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Falmouth 9-7 for its third consecutive win. The Gatemen put up five runs in the seventh with Shea Vucinich (Washington State) and Raynor Campbell (Baylor) leading the way.

Like Wareham, last-place Y-D made some headway with a 10-6 victory over Brewster. Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) turned in a solid start for the Red Sox, and Whit Merrifield (South Carolina) had two hits and scored two runs.

What to Watch For Tonight

Wareham will visit Cotuit, with each team sending standouts to the hill. Brandon Workman (Texas) is scheduled to go for the Gatemen against Nick Hernandez (Tennessee).

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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, July 21, 2008