daily fog: big guns, big win

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

daily fog: big guns, big win

On a night when three contending teams had to start shuffling their lineups in the absence of All-Stars, the Hyannis Mets kept their All-Stars in the fold.

And they delivered.

As mentioned below, Bourne played without Dusty Coleman, Falmouth played without Jimmy Cesario and Orleans without Rich Poythress. Meanwhile, Hyannis got a two-home run game from Chris Dominguez (Louisville) and a dominant pitching performance from Andrew Carraway (Virginia) to beat Wareham 6-1. The victory moved the Mets to 19-16, one point back of Falmouth for first place in the West.

The fact that Hyannis got those big performances isn't necessarily a sign of things to come. After all, Falmouth, without Cesario, still posted a victory last night. But in a tight race like the one in the West, having a few more big guns in the lineup and having them produce could be the difference.

Dominguez' performance is the big one. Hyannis' hot streaks this year have coincided with his hot streaks. When he had a stretch of five home runs in five days, the Mets were in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

Last night's game marked the second time this season that Dominguez has had a multi-home run game (the first time came when he tied a Cape League record with three in one game). Dominguez now has 10 home runs, which leads the league.

Carraway's performance was equally impressive. The righthander from Virginia struck out eight and didn't walk anybody in eight dominant innings. He allowed one run on five hits. Carraway now leads the league in ERA, and he's second in strikeouts.

Elsewhere

Falmouth got its 6-2 victory over Y-D thanks to a grand slam by Ryan Jones (Wichita State) in the eighth inning. It was the seventh home run of the year for Jones on only 28 hits. The victory kept Falmouth in first place by a point.

Orleans got three hits from Tim Wheeler (Sacramento State) and a strong performance by the bullpen to hold off Brewster 6-5. After starter Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) allowed four runs in five innings, Justin Earls (Georgia) and Adam Wilk (Long Beach State) combined for three shutout innings. Alex Hassan (Duke) allowed a run in the ninth but held on to pick up his fifth save,

Kyle Bellows (San Jose State) went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBI and Evan Ocheltree (Wake Forest) hit a two-run home run to lead Chatham past Bourne 9-4 in 13 innings. Chatham scored four runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game and force extra innings. After the teams traded three scoreless frames, Chatham scratched an unearned across in the 13th before Bellows broke things open with the grand slam.

Harwich lost is fourth straight, a 6-1 decision at the hands of Cotuit. The Kettleers got four in the fourth and two in the seventh, which was more than enough for Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) who allowed one run in 6.1 innings. Daniel Wolford (Cal) allowed one hit in 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

What to Watch For Tonight

Four All-Star pitchers are scheduled to take the hill. Brandon Workman (Texas) goes for Wareham at Y-D. Bryce Stowell (UC-Irvine) gets the ball for Bourne at Cotuit. Buddy Baumann (Missouri State) takes the mound for Brewster at Harwich. Matt Thomson (San Diego) goes for Orleans at Chatham, though that could change. The Cape Cod Times reported last night that Thomson got hit in the arm by a line drive into the dugout during last night's game.

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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.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008