daily fog: same old story, part two

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

daily fog: same old story, part two

A few weeks ago, when Cotuit was putting up huge run totals and starting fast, I said I was tired of talking about them. I haven't talked about them in a while now because they're sitting at .500 and are no longer the best hitting team in the league.

These days, Orleans is in the same boat as the pre-slump Kettleers. While gets old talking about the Cardinals every day, they could just as quickly fall off the radar screen.

But it just doesn't look like they will, does it?

The Cardinals used a dramatic ninth inning to beat Brewster 4-3 last night for their third straight win and their 10th in 12 games. At 17-9-1, they have the best record in the league and they are ahead of second-place Harwich by seven points. That's the largest standings lead any team has had this season.

From what Russ Charpentier wrote in the Cape League Insider blog, it sounds like last night had that special feel that's reserved for streaking teams, the feel that a win is always right there. Cole Figueroa (Florida) went out and grabbed it with a walkoff two-run single that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory.

Figueroa has had his share of struggles this season. A Cape League all-star last year, the Florida shortstop was a sixth-round pick in this year's draft. To this point, he has hit only .194.

But when a team gets on a roll, everyone seems to get scooped up along the way. Remember, this was a team that was hitting .178 with three home runs at the end of June. They're hitting .219 now with 15 home runs. You don't get that kind of dramatic shift without contributions from everybody.

Elsewhere

The pitching was solid again for Orleans last night. Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) allowed three runs in 4.2 innings, but Brad Gemberling (Princeton) and Brad Stillings (Kent State) combined for 4.1 shutout innings. For Brewster, Evan Bronson (Trinity) made his second start and allowed two runs in eight strong innings.

Harwich jumped over Brewster into second place with a 5-4 victory over Falmouth. It didn't come easy as the Mariners blew a lead in the top of the ninth and let the Commodores tie it on an RBI double by Michael Thomas (Southern). But D.J. LeMahieu (LSU), who's been hot this week, continued that trend with a bases-loaded walkoff single. He's now hitting .327.

Chatham got the best combination of offense and pitching they've had all year in an 8-0 win over Bourne. Victor Sanchez (San Diego) went 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the offense while Jake Thompson (Long Beach State) turned in his best start of the summer, tossing six shutout innings. Jeff Lorick (Virginia) and David Hale (Princeton) kept the shutout intact.

Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) got the start last night for Y-D and pitched more like he did last year, when he was an all-star. Burns, who struggled out of the gate, allowed one run in six innings as the Red Sox beat Cotuit 7-0. Tyler Marmion (Cypress) went 3-for-3 for the Red Sox.

Max Perlman (Harvard) and Josh Slaats (Hawaii) combined on a shutout to lead Wareham past Hyannis 2-0. Perlman struck out seven and allowed three hits in seven innings. Slaats struck out the side in both the eighth and ninth innings to seal the win.

What to Watch For Tonight

Thanks to his near no-hitter, it's news every time Brandon Workman (Texas) makes a start. Bigger news tonight as he will match up with Nick McCully (Coastal Carolina) when Wareham visits Bourne. McCully has a 1.57 ERA and a five-inning perfect game to his credit.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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 16, 2008