daily fog: powering a run

Monday, July 14, 2008

daily fog: powering a run

Chris Dominguez may have gone 0-for-4 the day after he hit three home runs in one game, but he has caught fire again.

So have the Mets.

With Dominguez hitting a home run for the second consecutive day -- his fifth in the last five days -- Hyannis powered past Cotuit 6-1 last night. It was the Mets' fifth consecutive win and at 16-9, they now have the best record in the league. They lead the Western Division by four points over second-place Bourne.

It's no surprise that the Mets' surge has coincided with Dominguez's surge. He has six hits in the winning streak, so you can do the math -- all but one of his hits was a home run. That kind of production is rare on the Cape, and it can certainly carry a team.

But the Mets' streak hasn't been all Dominguez. At the plate, leadoff man Trent Ashcraft (East Carolina) had nine hits during the streak, while Ben Paulsen (Clemson) and Marcus Jones (NC State) combined for eight RBI. On the mound, Andrew Carraway (Virginia), Graham Stoneburner (Clemson), Colin Bates (North Carolina) and Austin Hudson (Central Florida) all turned in quality starts, while the bullpen also shined.

That was enough for the Mets to get in gear. The key now will be to keep it going. So far, a lot of teams have gone on winning streaks but not one of them has sustained anything. As a result, the standings have stayed close.

The way things are going for the Mets, they've got a golden opportunity to pull away.

Elsewhere

Orleans picked up its eighth win in 10 games with a 3-2 victory over Bourne. Nate Freiman (Duke) hit a home run to power the offense, and four relievers held off a late rally by the Braves to seal the win.
Chris Manno (Duke) tossed six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and Dustin Ackley (North Carolina) hit a three-run home run to lead Harwich past Brewster 5-0. Ackley now has two home runs and he's hitting .415.
Chatham got three hits from Grant Green (USC) and Kyle Seager (North Carolina) to beat Falmouth 7-2. The A's now have 12 wins, which matches Harwich and Brewster. Brewster still sits in second place thanks to three ties.
Y-D snapped a three-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory over Wareham. Nick Liles (Western Carolina) went 4-for-5 to put his batting average back at .400. Jeff Inman (Stanford) gave Y-D a quality start, allowing one earned run in six innings.

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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 14, 2008