daily fog: hot meets cold

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

daily fog: hot meets cold

The two hottest teams in the league played the two coldest teams in the league last night, and the results were predictable.

Bourne won its fourth straight with a 5-2 victory over Harwich. It was the Mariners' fifth loss in a row. Orleans won its fifth consecutive game with an 8-2 win over Y-D. It was also the fifth loss in a row for the Red Sox.

For both of the hot teams, Tuesday's games were perfect examples of why they're hot. Both Bourne and Orleans got out-hit by their opponents but managed to deliver all the timely hits they needed. On top of that, neither team made an error, and the pitching was solid too.

What you have there is an all-around effort.

For Bourne, the victory meant a lot in the standings. The Braves now sit alone in first place for the first time this season. Their win came on the strength of six strong innings from Nate Reed (Pittsburgh) and a three-inning save from Bob Revesz (Louisville). Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma) had two RBI to lead the Braves at the plate.

In Orleans, Tuesday's game featured another offensive show. Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) and Matt Bowman (Nevada) hit home runs to send the Cardinals on their way. They've now scored 29 runs in their five-game winning streak.

As for the teams on the other end, the sky isn't necessarily falling. Harwich has lost three of the five games by a single run. Y-D is a little more behind the eight ball thanks to a handful of blowout losses, but once things settle down after a lot of lineup shuffling, the Red Sox should be fine at the plate. On the mound, they need more consistency from their starting pitchers.

Elsewhere

Falmouth out-slugged Wareham 9-8 thanks to a three-run rally in the eighth. With two outs, Joey Wong (Oregon State) started things with a single. After Trevor Coleman (Missouri) walked, Jimmy Cesario (Houston) hit a two-run triple. Cesario then scored on an error. For Wareham, Brett Eibner (Arkansas) hit a grand slam.

Cotuit, which had lost eight of 10, broke out of the doldrums with a 5-2 victory over Hyannis. Nick Hernandez (Tennessee), who has delivered time and again for Cotuit, came up with seven impressive innings last night. He allowed one run on six hits and struck out eight to pick up the win. Jason Kipnis (Arizona State) and Jeff Schuas (Clemson) both had two RBI for Cotuit.

What to Watch For Tonight

There's a full slate of good pitching match-ups, and one will come in a battle for first place. Orleans sends Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) to the hill against Brewster's Rob Gilliam (UNC Greensboro). Orleans is one point behind Brewster for first place.

Andrew Carraway (Virginia) will go for Hyannis against Falmouth.

Depending on where you look, Chatham will send either Sammy Solis (San Diego) or Justin Marks (Louisville) to the mound against Y-D's Jerry Sullivan (Oral Roberts).

Harwich will try to stop its losing streak with Billy Bullock (Florida) on the mound against Wareham's Max Perlman (Harvard).

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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.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008