harwich 11, cotuit 2

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

harwich 11, cotuit 2

So much for the pitchers' duel.

Half of the marguee match-up I mentioned yesterday didn't turn out as planned, with Harwich's Michael Morrison getting the start in place of Chris Manno.

The other half didn't turn out as planned either.

Seth Blair was on the mound for Cotuit, and Harwich lit him up. Blair, who finished second in the ERA race, gave up 10 runs as Harwich cruised to the 11-2 victory.

When I got home from work and checked the very helpful Cape Cod Times live blog, I thought I was reading it wrong.

But I was not.

I guess after getting shut out for 17 innings, Harwich was ready to score some runs. In all, the Mariners had 16 hits. Jason Stidham, who had eight RBI all season, had seven in this game.

And just like that, Harwich is one win away from a Cape League championship, and, seemingly, one punch from a knockout blow. It's going to be tough for the Kettleers to bounce back from this for tomorrow's game.

They've battled through adversity all season, though, so maybe they're the team to do it.

Back later with some thoughts on tomorrow.

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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, August 13, 2008