THIS
WEEK IN THE CAPE LEAGUE
(26
June – 1 July 2006)
Sorting Out the Pecking Order
Coca
Cola Pitcher and Player of the Week
|
COCA
COLA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
A
Cotuit player was named Pitcher or Player of the Week for the fourth time
this season with the announcement of Jay
Brown (Young Harris) as the Coca-Cola Pitcher of the week. Brown started
in one game and pitched as a reliever in another for a total of 8 1/3
innings pitched this week. In the eight-plus innings, Brown gave up only
two hits while striking out five and walking only three batters. He had
an ERA of 0.00, giving up no earned runs on way to a record of 2-0 for
the week.
COCA
COLA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Justin
Smoak (South Carolina) helped Cotuit stay in first place this week
with an excellent performance at the plate. In five games, Smoak went
7-for-19 with two home runs and five RBIs for a .368 batting average.
He now has eight RBIs on the season to go along with a .406 average. Cotuit
improved its record to 9-3 overall this week and is currently ahead of
Wareham (8-5) for the No. 1 spot in the Western Division. Smoak also scored
four times and had on OBP of .478. By Kevin Wolfe, CCBL Intern
wolfe@capecodbaseball.org
Brewster
Starting to Take Shape
BREWSTER,
Mass. – Following a scary incident days ago, RHP Erik Davis (Stanford)
was back with the Whitecaps on Tuesday. Davis was hit by a line drive
and sustained an eye injury but is on the road to recovery.
There
was a lot of applause for Davis when he returned to the team at the Y-D
game; however, those cheers didn’t carry on when the Whitecaps went
to extra innings to eventually take the game from the Red Sox.
The
Whitecaps played a great offensive game. Michael Fisher (Georgia Tech)
had two singles, and Andrew Romine (Arizona State) had a single and stole
home on the front end of a double steal. But it was Justin Snyder (San
Diego) who hit his first home run of the season in the 10th inning to
give Brewster the 6-5 win.
Great
offense was not the case in the Whitecaps’ make-up game against
Falmouth. Maybe it was due to the weather, but there was no power in the
bats on Wednesday.
The
story changed again, this time for Matt Laporta (Florida), who also hit
his first home run of the season in the game against the Wareham Gatemen.
This is Laporta's second summer with the Cape League – he played
for the 2004 Y-D Red Sox and placed second in the Home Run Hitting Contest
at the All-Star Game that year. This year he was chosen by the Boston
Red Sox in the 14th round of the MLB draft.
Two
other promising players on the Whitecaps' roster are Jemile Weeks (Miami-FL)
and Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt). Both are with the USA Baseball National
Team at this time but could be joining the Whitecaps soon.
Weeks
was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round but decided to
attend the University of Miami. He is the brother of Rickie Weeks, who
is currently an infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Alvarez,
meanwhile, had an outstanding year with Vanderbilt and was just named
an All-American by Baseball America.
Friday
night's game against Chatham gave the Whitecaps another win, putting them
at .500. The team is steadily improving, and with the addition of players
such as Weeks and Alvarez, they will only get better.
By
Johnna DeChristoforo, CCBL Intern dechristoforo@capecodbaseball.org
Rivals
Face Off for the First Time in 2006
CHATHAM,
Mass. – When you think rivalry in baseball, what teams come to mind?
Most people might think Yankees-Red Sox or Dodgers-Giants. The A’s-Cardinals
rivalry doesn’t appear in the minds of most baseball fans, but in
the Cape League, the Chatham A’s and Orleans Cardinals form a great
rivalry. A’s general manager Charlie Thoms calls the two teams “definite
rivals.”
In the
2005 season, Chatham put together an impressive 27-15 record. However,
they struggled against the Orleans Cardinals and lost six of nine games
to their rivals from the north. Two of these six losses were in of the
Eastern Division playoffs. In the best-of-three series, Chatham won the
first game but lost the next two to the eventual CCBL champs. The taste
of defeat was tough to swallow for Coach John Schiffner’s Chatham
A’s, who had a chance for redemption on Monday night.
The
game was played at Eldredge Park in Orleans, where fans reserved spots
hours before game time. Chatham had numerous opportunities throughout
the game, but left 13 players on base and failed to deliver the necessary
clutch hit. The score was tied going into the bottom of the 11th, where
the game would end in controversy, as Chatham’s Justin Segal (UC
Santa Barbara) balked in the winning run. Schiffner vehemently argued
the call, but to no avail as Orleans continued to have Chatham’s
number.
The game sent
Chatham into a frustrating week of play. During the week they went on
to loss two of their next three, their lone win of the week coming against
the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox on Wednesday night. Chatham’s Ricky
Hargrove (Houston) pitched effectively against Yarmouth-Dennis with eight
innings of two-run baseball. Centerville’s Rich Tri (Central Connecticut)
went 3-for-4 and had the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 10th. Adrian
Ortiz (Pepperdine) scored on Tri’s hit and showed off his great
speed by scoring from second base.
The problem
throughout the week was the lack of timely hitting. The A’s continued
to put batters on base but had trouble coming up with a clutch hit to
drive in runners. For the week, they averaged 11 men left on base per
game. They also ran into a number of hot pitchers, including Brewster’s
Scott Maine (Miami) and Harwich’s Tony Watson (Nebraska).
The rough
week left the A’s in second place of the Eastern Division behind
the Orleans Cardinals. They hope to make up ground against the Cardinals
on July 3, when they travel to Eldredge Park once again. If you watched
them play last Monday night, Cardinals-A’s starts to sound more
like a rivalry.
By
Jonathan French, CCBL Intern french@capecodbaseball.org
Day Off Ruin the Mariners' Momentum
HARWICH,
Mass. – Weather has not made things easy for the Harwich Mariners.
After their two days off due to rain, the Mariners’ winning streak
came to an end with a loss to Cotuit. The Mariners were back on track
Tuesday with a win against Chatham, but with an off day on Wednesday came
two more losses to the Hyannis Mets and the Cotuit Kettleers.
The rain, fog
and utterly miserable weather did not stop the fans from coming out to
watch some baseball, though. A couple of special fans were in the stands
cheering on their summertime sons. Jeanne Keefe is in her fourth year
of housing Cape League players and is currently housing Johnny Dorn (Nebraska)
and Antone DeJesus (Kentucky). She previously housed Mariner alum and
current Boston Red Sox pitcher Craig Hansen. Keefe revealed a fun fact
about Hansen some Red Sox fans might not like to hear: he's a big New
York Yankees fan.
Jan and Bill
Wilson were also at the game to support their players, Eric Fryer (Ohio
State) and Brian Oats (Trinity). Both the Keefe and Wilson families said
they try never to miss a game, and that having the players stay with them
is a lot of fun.
When the rest
of the permanent players join the team, other Mariners fans will have
more reasons not to want to miss a game either. This Monday was the end
of the College World Series, and making it to the final game was North
Carolina, a team that holds three of the Mariners’ key players:
Chad Flack, Josh Horton and Matt Spencer.
The Mariners
also have a good amount of players with the USA Baseball National Team,
but within a few days the finalization of the Team USA roster will be
announced. Therefore, the Mariners are looking forward to getting some
of those guys to the Cape soon and get the team situated for what should
be an exciting remainder of the season.
By
Johnna DeChristoforo, CCBL Intern dechristoforo@capecodbaseball.org
Orleans
Welcomes Two Big Bats to the Lineup
ORLEANS,
Mass. – Going into the second full week of regular season baseball,
the Orleans Cardinals’ offense was struggling. They were hitting
under .200 as a team and had only produced a total of three extra-base
hits. Luckily for Orleans, they had an ace up their sleeve – actually,
two of them.
The Oregon
State Beavers weren’t the only team celebrating at the end of the
College World Series. The Cardinals were patiently awaiting the arrival
of Matt Wieters (Georgia Tech) and Danny Valencia (Miami-FL), who were
busy representing their universities in the College World Series. Matt
Wieters had a monster sophomore campaign as the catcher for the Yellow
Jackets, hitting .355 and leading the team with 15 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Wieters arrived in Cape Cod on Saturday and made his debut for the Cardinals
in Monday night’s game against the rival Chatham A’s.
The fans at
Eldredge Park were delighted to see the six-foot, six-inch Wieters positioned
behind the plate and situated in the three-hole of the Orleans lineup.
Wieters hit a number of deep fly balls, but they were caught by the Chatham
outfielders as the game would become a pitcher’s duel between Orleans’s
Ryan Pond (NC State) and Chatham’s Chris Wiman (Abilene Christian).
After 10 and a half innings, the game was tied at 1-1. In the bottom half
of the 11th, Wieters had a chance to be a hero in his first CCBL game.
With runners on second and third and two outs, Wieters stepped to the
plate, but he never even had a chance to swing the bat because Chatham’s
Derrik Lutz (George Washington) ended up balking in Ryan Sontag (Arizona
State) as the winning run. Trey Martin (Tulane) received the win for Orleans
with a scoreless top of the 11th.
On Tuesday night, Orleans faced one of
the league’s hottest pitchers in Cotuit’s James Simmons (UC
Riverside). Simmons, who has not yielded a run all season, pitched eight
innings of scoreless baseball to get the win in a 4-0 victory for Orleans.
The next night would be a coming-out party for Matt Wieters. In Orleans’
11-2 win over Hyannis, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. A setback
occurred on Thursday night with a 6-3 loss to Yarmouth-Dennis, but Friday
night’s game would see the debut of Valencia against the Bourne
Braves.
Coach
Kelly Nicholson placed Valencia in the cleanup spot behind Matt Wieters,
a move that would pay off for the Cardinals. After a RBI single by Wieters
in the bottom of the third, Valencia crushed a triple for two RBIs and
a 3-0 lead. The lead didn’t last long, and Bourne came back to take
a 4-3 lead heading into the top of the fifth. With Kody Kaiser (Oklahoma)
on third and first base open, the Braves decided to pitch to Valencia,
a move they would soon regret. Valencia hit a home run to left field and
Orleans took a 5-4 lead that they would not relinquish. Elih Villanueva
(Florida International) and Brett Cecil (Kentucky) pitched four innings
of scoreless relief, while Eric Surkamp got the win for Orleans.
The win bolted
Orleans into first place of the Eastern Division in front of their rivals,
the Chatham A’s. Orleans hosts Chatham on Monday night as they hope
Matt Wieters and Danny Valencia form a David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez-like
combo in the heart of the Orleans order.
By
Jonathan French, CCBL Intern french@capecodbaseball.org
Finish
to Start
SOUTH
YARMOUTH, Mass. – After seven scoreless innings, Y-D reconnected
with fans as Buster Posey (Florida State) scored on a Brad Emaus (Tulane)
double, which led to a 1-0 Red Sox win over the Hyannis Mets on Monday.
Emaus' double to left center came with two outs, after Posey stole second
on a strikeout. Posey, who finished 2-for-3 on the night, reached on a
base hit slashed off Mets pitcher Alex Hale's (Richmond) glove and towards
the left side of the infield. One run was all Y-D needed to beat the Mets
and end their three-game winning streak.
The win is
no doubt attributed to outstanding pitching, particularly by Auburn University’s
Luke Greinke, who took the win after striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings.
Greinke, normally a closer for the Auburn Tigers, was pleased with his
performance.
“I was
excited to go five innings. At school, I’m used to throwing one
to two innings at the most. I’m hoping to be a starter next year
and I’ll need to be able to throw a lot of pitches.”
Although he
has only been on the Cape for a short time, Greinke has noticed a personal
improvement in his game. “I’ve definitely improved because
I’ve already thrown more innings than I have at school.”
When
comparing the competition to what he and his Auburn Tigers face in the
SEC, Luke acknowledges the extraordinary talent of both his teammates
and opponents in the CCBL. He is already working on techniques to outsmart
such gifted hitters, practicing a new pitch, the cut fastball. Before
this summer he had never thrown the pitch, but with Monday’s win,
it’s clear that it’s working for him.
By Courtney Reilly, CCBL
Intern reilly@capecodbaseball.org
Braves
Watch Week Drip Away
BOURNE,
Mass. – Once again the Braves witness Mother Nature take her course,
as she has for the entire summer. The Braves were unable to complete two
of their games this week due to the immense amount of rain that has hit
the Cape.
The
Braves began the week at an unfamiliar site when they took on the Falmouth
Commodores at Sandwich High School. The varsity high school and American
Legion teams usually occupy the field; however, each year the Cape League
uses Sandwich as a promotional site. Featured as the home team, Bourne
was able to attract the interests of over 1,800 fans in the loss. Bourne
starter Tom Farmer (Akron) was impressive for the fans in his second star,
striking out 10 in 6 2/3 innings of work and allowing one earned run on
five hits. The lone run came on a mistake pitch given to Falmouth’s
Warren Macfadden (Tulane), who struck his third homer of the summer to
relatively short center field. Brian Leclerc (Florida) was able to generate
two of the five hits allowed by Falmouth in Bourne’s losing effort.
Bourne saw
great pitching once again on Tuesday night when Eammon Portice (Highpoint
College) set forth to face Falmouth. Facing Falmouth for the second time
in as many games, the Braves looked to redeem themselves and generate
some much-needed offense. Portice struck out 12 in six innings of work,
allowing two hits and two walks. Braves GM Mike Carrier added, “You
hate to see a great performance like this one be written as a loss; he
certainly didn’t deserve to lose.” All of the runs scored
by Falmouth were unearned and came in the bottom of the eighth, erasing
a 4-1 deficit. Brett Bartles (Duke) and Mitch Mooreland (Mississippi State)
combined for three of the four runs, including two home runs, in the Braves
loss.
After an off
day and a rain out, the Braves headed back home after the two days’
rest to host the first-place team in the East, the Orleans Cardinals.
After trailing 3-0 in the third, the Braves quickly responded with some
runs of their own in the fourth. With the first five batters reaching,
including an RBI single off the bat of Mooreland and a two-run double
by Andy Goff (Wake Forest), the Braves were able to generate four runs
to take their first lead of the game. The lead didn’t last long,
with the Cardinals posting two runs of their own in the top half of the
fifth. Neither team was able to generate any offense in the last four
innings with their impressive bullpens. The Braves saw the last appearance
by Luke Tucker (FSU), who will be headed back to school for the remainder
of the summer to complete an internship. Carrier was sure to add how much
he enjoyed having Tucker for the short time he was a part of Bourne.
With a multitude
of rainouts, Carrier and the Braves are anticipating a grueling few weeks
ahead of them in an attempt to complete the 44-game season. The Braves
are looking to complete their roster with future newcomers Andrew Carignan
(UNC), Bobby Bell (Rice) and Mike Stutes (Oregon State). Carignan and
Bell are expected to arrive by Monday, while final arrangements are being
made for Stutes. The Braves are anxiously awaiting the grand opening of
the field on the Fourth of July when they face the Wareham Gatemen. The
field will hold a mass amount of festivities and games for all the fans
that attend.
Daniel Scalia, CCBL Intern
scalia@capecodbaseball.org
Cotuit's
Chiefs of Staff
COTUIT,
Mass. – The Cotuit Kettleers have flexed their muscles early this
season by putting up incredible amounts of runs in what is supposed to
be a pitcher’s league. Lost in the mix has been a great pitching
staff bolstered by three studs who are among the league’s best.
James Simmons is the leader of the three, posting a 2-0 record and allowing
no runs in 15 innings, while striking out 14 opposing batters thus far.
At UC-Riverside, Simmons was one of the team’s best pitchers, recording
a 9-5 record with a 2.96 ERA and 94 strikeouts.
Along
with Simmons, Dan Delucia has carried his spring success as an Ohio State
Buckeye into the summer season. He has already been named Coca Cola Pitcher
of the Week, and rightfully so. His numbers go like this: two victories,
a 0.56 ERA, 16 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts. As a sophomore with
the Buckeyes, Delucia went 10-2 with a 3.25 ERA and 69 strikeouts.
As a staff
the Kettleers, are 7-2 as of Thursday and they are bolstering a nearly
flawless 1.48 ERA. With this combination of steady pitching and powerful
bats, there’s no telling where the Kettleers can go from here.
Don’t
forget about the recent complete game performance of Jay Brown (Young
Harris) earlier in the week. Brown pitched a gem, striking out seven in
nine impressive innings of work. This past season for Young Harris, the
sophomore was named a member of the all-conference team.
With a staff
that is headlined by these three, general manager Bruce Murphy is pleased
with his club’s consistency. “We’ve got a great staff
across the board; I’m very pleased with our depth.”
Murphy and
head coach Mike Roberts are very happy with the position their team is
in and can’t complain about their mix of great pitching and offense
that they possess. Don’t forget that the Kettleers have claims on
one of the best college baseball players in America in Kellen Kulbacki,
who has yet to begin hitting the ball very well.
Opposing
teams are hoping the home run king doesn’t get going, in fear of
what this already dangerous Kettleers team could do.
By Nicholas Mucci, CCBL Intern
mucci@capecodbaseball.org
Falmouth Living by the Long Ball
FALMOUTH,
Mass. – In Falmouth, balls are leaving the park as much as game-winning
hits are coming off the bat of the world’s greatest player, the
lovable “Big Papi.” The team is leading the league in home
runs with 12 through Thursday; the next team in the standings only has
six.
How are they
doing this, you may ask? The Commodores’ long ball assault has been
led by two sluggers, outfielder Warren McFadden (Tulane) and first basemen
Brett Wallace (Arizona State). Both players have hit three home runs each.
This would put these two alone tied atop the league for most home runs
by an entire team.
Thus far in
their college careers, neither of these two would have been classified
as sluggers. Neither player has had a season with double-digit home runs,
despite each of them having the size and frame to do so.
McFadden,
who hails from Plantation, Florida, has returned for his second season
at Falmouth after hitting .232 and driving in 12 in 17 starts in 2005.
His 2005 season at Tulane was injury-plagued and he wound up using a medical
redshirt for the season. This spring proved to be a more successful season
for Warren, who earned Freshman All-American honors and was deemed Freshman
of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers. Warren led the Green Wave
with a .383 batting average, 91 hits and 24 doubles. Highly touted out
of high school, Warren was a first team All-American and the Tulane coaching
staff feels as though he has lived up to the billing.
Wallace has
also been putting up some good numbers, hitting .370 with four RBIs. Out
of high school in his home town of Sonoma, California, Wallace was a member
of the 2002 Junior Olympic team and was a Collegiate Baseball/Louisville
Slugger All-American after his senior season. Wallace was also selected
in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft in the 42nd round by the Blue Jays. The
freshman has lived up to the billing by hitting .371, driving in 32 runs
with seven homers.
Wallace and
the rest of the Commodores are happy to have the four highly touted players
from Clemson as part of the mix. Hopefully shortstop Stan Widmann, center
fielder Brad Chalk and second baseman Taylor Harbin, who hit back-to-back-to-back
in the lineup, can help the team with its league-leading strikeout total.
How they contribute
is still a mystery, but one thing is for sure. If the Commodores continue
hitting the ball out of the park at this pace, they could be on track
for all sorts of records.
By
Nicholas Mucci, CCBL Intern mucci@capecodbaseball.org
From
the Bottom to the Top
HYANNIS,
Mass. – A lot has changed in a year for 6’5” flamethrower
Charlie Furbush (St. Joseph’s-Maine). Last year, Furbush entered
the Cape League as a temp for Hyannis, only to find himself signing an
official contract with the injury-plagued 2005 Mets. Furbush, whose personal
goal for this season is to pitch in the All-Star Game, impressed both
fans and scouts alike last year ending with 55 strikeouts in 12 appearances.
Furbush, now
being scouted by some of the nation’s top Division 1 programs, including
ASU, UNC, and Oklahoma State University, credits the league for the amount
of exposure he has had, as well as the improvement of his game in the
past year.
He notes, “The
competition here is a lot better than at St. Joe’s. Playing these
games all summer makes me a better player. Having a year under my belt
playing with these guys at the level they play, I’ve learned a lot
about myself as a pitcher.”
However,
fans at Wednesday night’s game against Orleans may have been disappointed
not only by the inclement weather, but also by the pitching. Furbush struggled
at the start of the game, allowing the Cardinals’ five runs in only
four innings, leading to his early exit at the top of the fifth. In the
first inning, the Cardinals hit on their first four at-bats, scoring on
two.
But the loss
was not entirely caused by poor pitching. The Mets offense remained stagnant
until the bottom of the eighth (also the end of the game due to inclement
weather). In that inning, Cardinals closer John Goodman (Georgia Tech)
let up the only runs by the Mets.
Goodman walked
Ryan Flaherty (Vanderbilt) and allowed two singles by Matt Mangini (NC
State) and Brian Juhl to load the bases. A James Darnell (South Carolina)
single allowed Flaherty to score. The standout hitter for the Mets was
Jared McGuire (Boston College), who singled in the third and doubled in
the fifth while walking to drive home the second run in Juhl in the eighth.
The prime benefactor
of the Mets loss was Orleans Cardinal Josh Satin (California), who went
four for five with two doubles, three runs scored and four RBIs in the
11-2 Orleans victory.
By Courtney Reilly, CCBL
Intern reilly@capecodbaseball.org
Gatemen Thrive on Tight Games
WAREHAM,
Mass. – Starting off the week with yet another rainout, the Wareham
Gatemen were looking forward to returning to the diamond after two days’
rest. The close games have been a familiar foe to the Gatemen, leaving
them to rely on the dominant bullpen.
The Gatemen
set out to Brewster on Monday night for the first matchup of the season
between the two teams. Coach Cooper Farris sent veteran righty John Lalor
(Mississippi State) to the mound in hopes of finding his second win. Despite
the valiant effort, giving up only one run over six innings pitched, there
was a no-decision awarded to Lalor and the game was handed over to the
seemingly “automatic” bullpen. After surrendering two runs
in the eighth and moving the game into extra innings, the Gatemen looked
to dominant right-hander Connor Graham (Miami-OH). Beemer Weems (Baylor)
led off the 10th with a single, then advanced to second on a fielder’s
choice and took third on a passed ball. Weems was able to score on another
fielder’s choice that came off the bat of OF Ryan Gotcher (Arkansas-Little
Rock). Graham pitched the last two innings of one-hit baseball, giving
the Gatemen their sixth win.
Coming back
home for a two game skid, the Gatemen were looking to offset the evened
series over two games with the Hyannis Mets. John Ely (Miami-OH) took
the mound in search of his first win in his second start and looked to
the bats of the Gatemen for the support he needed. Ely pitched strong
over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, only allowing four hits while striking out
five. The Gatemen struck first and were able to hold the lead with a three-run
eighth. Once again Weems proved his ability both offensively and defensively,
going 3-for-4 and making an incredible defensive play with the bases loaded
to end the game. John Wylde, GM of the Gatemen, believes that “Weems,
quite possibly, could be the best defensive shortstop we have ever had.”
Facing the
Brewster Whitecaps for the second time in three days, the Gatemen sent
strong and highly scouted Travis Banwart (Wichita St.) to the hill in
an effort to continue his recent success and find his second win in as
many starts. Banwart lasted five strong innings giving up no runs on six
hits and striking out six in the no-decision. Tim Mathews (Baylor) came
in for 3 1/3 innings of relief giving up two runs (one earned) and striking
out four. It wasn’t until the eighth inning that the Gatemen were
able to score any runs. After a leadoff single and two passed balls, Seth
Henry (Tulane) crossed the plate to give the Gatemen their first run of
the game. A rare and unfortunate defensive error allowed the Whitecaps
to score in the ninth, giving the Gatemen their first loss of the week.
The Gatemen
traveled to South Yarmouth on Friday to face the Red Sox in an attempt
to rekindle the success they achieved in their 2005 season series. Wareham’s
starter for the night was LHP Riley Boening (Texas), who allowed five
hits and one earned run over five innings to earn the win for Wareham.
The team scored three runs in the fifth and brought in relievers Martin
Beno (Mississippi Gulf Coast) and Graham, who combined for four innings
of two-hit relief. The two have been the leaders in the bullpen this year
for Coach Farris and his team. The bats began to come around for the Gatemen
when they saw Bradley Suttle (Texas) hit his second homer of the summer
in the second. After trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Gotcher and Steffan Wilson
(Harvard) complemented each other’s RBI singles, giving the Gatemen
their first lead of the game. In addition to the two-hit game, Gotcher
stole two bases in the Gatemen win, moving him to first amongst the league
leaders.
Wylde sees
the 2006 Gatemen team as “a nice group of young men,” adding
that “the general overview of the guys is they seem to want to work
to become better players and listen to Coach Farris for improvement.”
Through Friday, the Gatemen are tied with Cotuit for first place in the
Western Division with a record of 8-4.
Daniel
Scalia, CCBL Intern scalia@capecodbaseball.org
Around
the Cape League Horn
|
Passing of a Umpiring Legend: Robert
“Curly” Clement, a Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Famer
and umpiring legend, passed away early Thursday morning in Hampton, N.H.
The charismatic Clement was an umpire for four decades and was inducted
into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2002 and also the Amateur Baseball Umpires
Hall of Fame. Curly began his umpiring career in the 1950’s and
realized a dream in 1979 when he umpired a major league game at Fenway
Park during the umpires strike, even ringing up Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski
on an attempted steal. Clement was affectionately known as the Candy Man
for settling arguments on the field with a handful of sugar-coated licorice.
Sullivan Tire & Red Sox Are Drawn
Together: Sullivan Tire has again printed Red Sox magnet schedules and
they will be available at all CCBL games.
Home Field Celebrations at Bourne and
Brewster: Playing at their new digs at Upper Cape Tech High School in
Bourne and Stony Brook Field in Brewster, the Bourne Braves and Brewster
Whitecaps will have a special reason to celebrate Fourth of July weekend
on Cape Cod. The Whitecaps host an afternoon-long celebration on Sunday,
July 2 that will involve a sing-along for kids and Wally the Green Monster
of the Boston Red Sox before their game vs. the Y-D Red Sox. The Braves
take on Wareham on Tuesday, July 4 with pre-game festivities at 1 p.m.
and the first pitch at 2 p.m.
Rain, Rain Go Away…Please Don’t
Come Back Another Day: For two consecutive days on June 24 and 25, all
CCBL scheduled games were postponed by rain. Here is a listing of all
CCBL make-up games. The date in parentheses reflects the date that the
game was originally scheduled.
Wednesday, June 28: Cotuit at Bourne
(6-15) at 5 p.m.; Brewster at Falmouth (6-24) at 7 p.m.; Orleans at Hyannis
(6-24) at 5 p.m.; Yarmouth-Dennis at Chatham (6-25) at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 5: Harwich at Bourne
(6-24) at 5 p.m.; Cotuit at Yarmouth-Dennis (6-24) at 5 p.m.; Wareham
at Chatham (6-24) at 7 p.m.; Orleans at Brewster (6-25) at 5 p.m.
Sunday, July 9: Falmouth at Chatham
– two nine-inning games, at 3 p.m. (6-15) and 7 p.m. (regularly
scheduled)
Tuesday, July 11: Bourne at Cotuit (6-25)
at 5 p.m.; Falmouth at Wareham (6-25) at 7 p.m.; Hyannis at Harwich (6-25)
at 7 p.m.
Some Like It Hot: Enjoying a wide margin
in the CCBL batting race so far is Chris Carrara (Winthrop) of Chatham,
who was hitting at a torrid .476 clip after Wednesday’s action.
Tony Delmonico (Tennessee) of Cotuit was next at .400 … Delmonico’s
Kettleers’ teammate James Simmons was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 15
innings pitched, while Y-D’s Chance Corgan was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA
in 14 IP … Early home run leaders were Justin Smoak (South Carolina)
of Cotuit, Warren McFadden (Tulane) of Falmouth and Commodores teammate
Brett Wallace (Arizona St.) with three round-trippers apiece … Cotuit
leads the league with an impressive .322 team batting average and is also
the pitching leader with a 1.48 team ERA.
Mid-Summer Meeting: The next CCBL Executive
Committee meeting is scheduled for Saturday, July 8 at the Comfort Inn
in Hyannis at 8:30 a.m.
John
Garner, Jr.
Director of Public Relations & Broadcasting
(508) 790-0394 johnwgarner@earthlink.net |
Will
Bussiere
Web Editor
bussiere@capecodbaseball.org |
Interns:
Johnna DeChristoforo, Jonathan French, Lauren B. Malone
Adam McGillen, Courtney Reilly, Daniel Scalia, Kevin Wolfe
|