Jul

5

Day 23: Bourne @ Hyannis–Game on!

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Games | 1 Comment

Just a quick update live from Hyannis:
The rain seems to have passed, but the Braves secured the lead back in the 3rd. Dusty Coleman (Wichita State) hit a 2-run triple and Stephen Batts (East Carolina) followed with a 2-run double. The score is 5-0 Bourne in the 5th. Hyannis fireworks are still scheduled after the game.

Jul

4

Day 21: Cotuit @ Brewster

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Games | 4 Comments

There was barely a cloud in the sky on Day 21, the day before the 4th of July. It’s still early in the summer season, but it was a perfect day to spend at the beach and then drive to Brewster.

Stony Brook FieldStony Brook Field looks like it is settling in nicely, and the parking around the school was ample for the estimated crowd of 1032 people. Stony Brook, of course, is one of the only three fields without lights in the league. The field is probably best known for its very nice left-field scoreboard. It opened in 2006, and my only complaints are the steep hills in left and right field, which could be better utilized if they were flattened more or plateaued. Lights would be a welcome addition, but most of the crowd seems to be of the family persuasion and they do not seem necessary. Also, like Lowell Park (Cotuit), this field is nestled right in a typical quiet, cozy, Cape community that probably does not wish to be disturbed by the attention that lights would draw.

The Whitecaps ran away with this game 12-3, thanks to some powerful (no pun intended) hitting and some costly Cotuit errors for 4 unearned runs. The star of the game was Connor Powers (Mississippi State), who hit a grand slam to left in the 4th. Powers was assisted by a strong wind blowing out to center field.

Matt Fairel (FSU), CotuitThe boxscore only shows 4 errors for Cotuit, but that doesn’t begin to describe the frustrations they felt in the infield. Even USC star catcher Robert Stock (who we’ve been following) lost a routine foul ball in the summer sun. Skipper Mike Roberts (father of major leaguer Brian Roberts) was also visibly frustrated, as he argued a call late in the game.

The Kettleers didn’t let the grand slam get them down in the 4th, and Jeff Kobernus (California) tried to kickstart the offense in the 6th with a triple. The Kettleers would go on to have the bases loaded, but would only produce one run that inning. Kobernus left his post at third base to pitch the 8th inning, allowing two more insurance runs from Brewster to seal the deal.

Both teams looked very strong at the plate and it’s easy to see why they’re both near the top of their divisions.

Jul

2

Final Rosters Set

Posted by Dave | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

July 2 is an important date for players and coaches in the Cape Cod League.   This is the day team’s final rosters are set.   Obviously, there have been some anxious moments for many temp players over the past few days.   Will I be staying ?   Can I hook on with another Cape League team if my present team can’t keep me ?   Will I be packing up and looking for another team in another league ?

I’m sure this is not a fun time for the coaches and General Manager’s either.   Relationships have been formed over the past three weeks.   Probably one of the least pleasant parts of the job is to have to tell a player who has worked hard that you don’t have any room on the roster for him and you have to release him.

There will still be some roster maneuvering as the season goes on as teams bring in players to replace injured players, or players who leave the Cape for whatever reason.   With few exceptions though, everyone who is coming to the Cape this summer is now here.   Dustin Ackley (Harwich) and Kyle Seager (Chatham) are two players who made their season debuts last night.   Alex White is expected to arrive in Chatham in a few days but his spot is being held on the A’s active roster so he does count toward the maximum number of players allowed on the roster.   There are likely other players in the same situation as White. 

Check the lineups over the next few days and I’m sure you will see quite a few players who were dropped from the Team USA roster, or who’s team went deep into the CWS, playing in their first game of the season.   For others, we will see the dreaded “X” next to their name on the “Team Stats” page.   Here’s hoping that some of the temp players who have been contributors to their teams early in the season are able to stay on the Cape and shine throughout the rest of the summer. 

 

Jul

1

NESN to feature Cape League July 6th at 7 pm

Posted by Greg | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

John Garner from the Cape League sent us a note today informing writers and managers that Matt Bair of the Boston Red Sox reports that their upcoming show on the Cape Cod Baseball League will air on NESN this weekend.

The Cape League show wil air as part of the half hour ”Red Sox Report” on Sunday, July 6th, at 7:00pm on NESN. It will re-air the same night at 9:30pm and 10:30pm as well as on July 8th at 5:00pm and July 10th at 6:30pm.

The show provides a brief overview of some of the league’s history as well as a look into the challenges and experiences that former players have had on the Cape. We feature MLB alumni as well as many players taken in this year’s MLB draft.

We also profile some of the “off the field” aspects of the league are probably second nature to many of you but might not be to the audience who just knows the league for the talent of the players who play on the Cape.

Our cameras follow players to a morning baseball camp and we introduce you to know an up and coming broadcaster on the Cape who is just one of the many volunteers we introduce the audience to.

Finally we take the viewers to two special days on the Cape: The Fourth of July and the All Star Game. As you know the atmosphere of both days is unique and hopefully captured for our audience to see.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy this show that was so much fun working on for all of us with Red Sox Productions from start to finish. Hopefully I’ll run into some of you down on the Cape later this summer.

Good Luck with the rest of your season!

Matt Bair
Producer/Editor
Red Sox Productions

Jun

29

The Cape League Rox (Y-D vs. Falmouth @ Brockton)

Posted by Andrew | Filed Under Games | 3 Comments

Last night, the Y-D Red Sox defeated the Falmouth Commodores 5-4 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA. Campanelli is home to the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League, an independent minor league equivalent to A-ball. The game was dubbed a “Cape League Championship Series re-match”, but we all know that nearly all of the players on both teams are different.

As a side note, Campanelli is hailed as one of the best parks in independent baseball and I’d encourage all Cape League fans to make the trip up Route 24 to see it sometime. Not many MLB players are born in the park (in fact, more big league dreams will fade), but it’s a good place to enjoy a baseball game.

Our report today comes from our friend Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog (see the original post).

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The College Baseball Blog made the trip down to Brockton MA to take in the First Annual Cape Cod Hall of Fame Classic between the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and the Falmouth Commodores. The game was played at Campanelli Stadium which serves as the home of the independent league Brockton Rox.

The Red Sox were able to pick up a 5-4 victory over the Commodores holding off a ninth inning rally as the Commodores had the tying run on third base with two outs but UC-Riverside closer Joe Kelly was able to get Darrin Ruff to ground out to second to end the game.

The Red Sox sent Jerry Sullivan from Oral Roberts University to the mound to take on Commodore starting pitcher Rex Brothers out of Lipscomb University. Sullivan is a 6-4 210 pound right hand pitcher who is able to dominate the strikezone by spotting a low 90’s fastball with a great curveball which makes him very difficult to hit. He had one tough inning on Saturday where the Commodores got to him for three runs in the third inning but was outstanding in his 6.1 innings of work by keeping batters off balance. Rex Brothers on the other hand is a 6′0 185 pound lefty that really didn’t have much on his stuff tonight with a high 80’s fastball and a mediocre curveball.

The biggest star of the night was Jared Mitchell (LSU) of Yarmouth-Dennis who really showed off his talents by being a force on the base paths with a stolen base and scoring on a subsequent single to the second basemen from second base beating the throw at the plate. He was just impressive all around and really stood out on the evening.

The biggest issue I had on the evening was that this game was played in Brockton where alcohol was served at the game. I just think that the Rox should have shut off the beer taps for the evening with a college event going on. I also thought the game lacked the intensity of a game on the Cape as the 1,173 people were spread apart in the minor league facility.

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