Daily Fog: One More Time

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Daily Fog: One More Time

The last night of the regular season went the same way every other night did when Wareham and Bourne got together.

Earlier in the day, Cotuit tied its season finale 1-1 with Brewster. That put the Kettleers ahead of Wareham by two points for second place in the West. If Wareham could beat Bourne, the Gatemen would tie the Kettleers, would win the tiebreaker and would host a first-round game with Cotuit.

But the Gatemen were playing Bourne, and that hasn't been a good thing for them this season. In five prior meetings between the teams this season, Bourne came out victorious. Every time.

Last night, Wareham led 5-2 going into the eighth. A home game on Friday looked like a strong possibility.

Then things returned to form. Bourne scored three in the eighth and two in the ninth to win 7-5. Stefen Romero (Oregon State), who got off to such a strong start before hitting a serious slump, drove in five of the runs last night, a good sign for a Bourne team that's been getting a lot of them lately. The Braves will enter the playoffs on a five-game winning streak.

As for Wareham, the loss of a potential home game isn't a huge deal, but it could certainly have an impact. The Gatemen went 12-8-2 at home this season. On the road, they were 7-11-4, and only one of those wins -- a July 24 victory at Orleans -- came against a playoff team. At Cotuit's Lowell Park, where they'll play Friday, Wareham went 0-1-2.

More on the playoffs over the next two days.

Elsewhere

Falmouth's Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) did not hit .400. He took an 0-for-4 last night, which will put his season-ending average at .377. But as Cunningham said in the Cape Cod Times, "It's not the numbers that you're putting up – it's the way you're approaching the game, playing the game." He was a roaring success on both counts.

Hyannis came away with a 4-3 victory over Falmouth. Jackie Bradley Jr. (South Carolina), who struggled mightily early in the season, went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, raising his final average to .275. Kevin Brandt (East Carolina) and Jimmy Messer (North Carolina) turned in solid pitching performances for the Mets.

Orleans and Chatham are going to be sick of each other pretty soon. Orleans beat Chatham 3-2 for the second straight night, and the teams will play again on Friday in the playoffs. Hampton Tignor (Florida) and Riccio Torrez (Arizona State) drove in runs last night to lead the Firebirds to the win.

Brewster and Cotuit played to a 1-1 tie. While the Kettleers used six pitchers in preparation for the playoffs, the Whitecaps turned in some solid farewell performances. Matt Lujan (San Francisco) allowed just an unearned run in seven innings and Stayton Thomas (Texas) worked three shutout innings. Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia), who hit a slump midway through his time on the Cape, finished strong last night, going 4-for-5. His final numbers are really good: .323, 5 HR, 18 RBI.

Y-D added to its league-best win total with an 8-6 victory over Harwich. The Red Sox finish with one fewer victory than their 2006 team, which won the title. Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) hit two home runs and drove in three runs and Mickey Wiswall (Boston College) knocked in two for Y-D. One thing that could be of concern: ace reliever Tyler Burgoon (Michigan) came on in a non-save situation and gave up three earned runs. He had given up one earned run all season before last night. For Harwich, Leon Landry (LSU) went 3-for-4.

No games tonight. Playoffs start Friday.

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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.

Thursday, August 6, 2009