daily fog: hitting the break

Saturday, July 26, 2008

daily fog: hitting the break

The three games last night were the last set before the All-Star break, and the league's two first-place teams finished on a high note. Orleans beat Wareham 7-4 while Falmouth topped Harwich 4-2. The Cardinals sit in first place by eight points. Falmouth has a one-point lead.

For Orleans, Kyle Spraker (Loyola Marymount), the starter at shortstop now that Cole Figueroa is gone, went 2-for-4 and knocked in the game-tying run in the top of the eighth. He scored the go-ahead run himself on a wild pitch. Orleans then blew it open in the ninth thanks to run-scoring hits by Nate Freiman (Duke), Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) and Spraker.

The Cardinals used six different pitchers, with reliever Justin Earls (Georgia) getting the win.

As for Falmouth, two All-Stars led the way. A.J. Pollock (Notre Dame) and Trevor Coleman (Missouri) both went 3-for-4 with an RBI and the Commodores scored two runs in the sixth to take a lead they never relinquished.

Elsewhere

Brewster blew past Y-D 11-1 on the strength of a 4-for-5 night from Ty Kelly (UC Davis), one of the East's All-Star reserves. Caleb Cotham (Vanderbilt) took the big cushion and ran with it, tossing six strong innings. He allowed a run and struck out four.

What to Watch For Tonight

All-Star game in Chatham, 7 p.m.

I was going to post a part two of the All-Star game guide, but a change of plans means I actually get to go to the game, which wasn't happening originally. Since I'm going to get an early start, I'm not going to have time to do part two. But I'm going to the game, which is pretty awesome. Everybody else who's going, enjoy.

Prediction: West wins 2-0 on a Chris Dominguez two-run home run.

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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.

Saturday, July 26, 2008