May

31

Cape Cod Baseball Season Previews and the Pro Draft

Posted by Greg | Filed Under News | 

boston_globe_logo.pngWith just two weeks to go until the first pitch in the Cape Cod Baseball League, time is running out so I wanted to pass along a couple of brief observations.

First off, it has been my intention to write a pre-season team review (complete with predictions), but with Orleans holding out on its roster and my own lack of time, I’ve not had a chance to do the full analysis on who looks strong and looks weak.

But congrats to Don Sherlock of the GateHouse News Service for his piece in the Barnstable Register. Don has a short piece on the tall players of the Y-D Red Sox. He contends the Y-D Red Sox, winners of the 2006 CCBL, will be tough to beat this year with all 9 players standing 6′3″. He points out that Buster Posey (just 6′2″) has decided to return to the Cape despite being offered a spot on the Team USA staff.

I hope to do some analysis in the coming week to present CodBall readers with our thoughts and predictions on the coming season.

Also approaching fast is the professional baseball draft — June 7 from 2-6 pm. Look for it to be broadcast live on ESPN2.

My inbox is filling up hourly with articles and analysis that show the many draftees who stood out on the Cape last season — or in seasons past.

The Boston Globe this week previewed the upcoming draft. It features Red Sox catcher Kevin Youkilis, who played on the Cape and is quoted this week on the role the Cape played in his draft:

“I was disappointed when I wasn’t drafted at the end of my junior year,” he explains. “So I went to the Cape Cod League, and if you can hit there, you can hit anywhere.”

Baseball America this week also features the draft on its cover. “Draft Preview: In what could be a record year for lefthanders, Vanderbilt’s David Price leads the way.”

Finally, it appears there is a brewing argument over hamburgers in Chatham. The Cape Cod Chronicle is reporting that Chatham Athletics Association and the town’s parks and recreation commission are at odds over the food that can be served at games and over kids who will be allowed to attend the team’s clinic free of charge.

Comments

3 Responses to “Cape Cod Baseball Season Previews and the Pro Draft”

  1. Andrew Wirtanen on June 1st, 2007 4:59 am

    That’s pretty funny about Chatham. According to the press release, 20% of the attendees of the baseball clinic are Chatham students. I think they can afford to give nearly all of them scholarships. But if they have a need-based model for the scholarships, then that’s probably what they should use.

    No hamburgers? It’s hard for a big guy like me to have a ballpark dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, never mind just hot dogs. This will probably further encourage people to bring a cooler to the game or eat before. But don’t worry Chatham, I’m really pumped up for the opportunity to win a Hyannis harbor cruise in the 50/50 this year.

  2. CapeMan on June 1st, 2007 5:01 am

    The CCBL website has some of the team previews so check out those pieces.

    Also, I think it is very tough to predict the Cape League. Between now and the end of the College World Series; a lot of things can happen to these rosters. Kids go to play for Team USA, some kids on good teams that make it to Omaha just never seem to get into a groove once they make it to the Cape and there are many, many roster adjustments due to injuries, grades and other issues. I don’t know about other teams but the Wareham site “notebook” has noted a bunch of roster changes in the past couple of weeks; including a couple kids that are no longer coming. I’m sure this is happening to other teams.

    Saying that, I like Brewster & Chatham in the East and Falmouth and Wareham in the West. This is all subject to change of course but I like the rosters on these teams; especially Chatham & Wareham. Chatham wins it 2 games to 1?

  3. Dave B. on June 1st, 2007 1:28 pm

    It is amazing that the two organizations are squabbling over another issue that may not be decided until close to Opening Day.
    I can understand the Recreation Commission wanting to take care of residents’ children. The town board should want to take care of their own. The cynical side of me says that is a popular stance at election time too.
    I find it odd that the Recreation Commission did not seem to have the best interests of the children of Chatham in mind last year when they threatened to not allow the A’s to hold their clinic at Veterans Field. I’m sure much of the allure for those kids is that they are able to play ball on the same field that the Chatham A’s play on. Instead, the Recreation Commission was willing to bounce them from Veterans Field and send them to what would probably be some weed-infested, glass-strewn field elsewhere in town.
    The Recreation Commission threatened to ban the A’s clinic from Veterans Field until just before Opening Day last year. They knew there was no way for the A’s organization to come up with an acceptable alternative on such short notice. Even if there were another suitable site, it would still be a headache having to transport equipment each day, not having the batting cage / tunnel, etc.
    I understand that the Chatham A’s are better off financially than some other Cape League teams. Could they afford to have 20% of their campers attending for free ? Maybe. However, I think everyone would agree that each franchise in the league has a limited number of ways of generating revenue. All ten teams run these camps, so they must generate a decent share of the teams’ income. I am not aware of this issue being a problem for any of the other nine teams. I suspect that at least a few of those other teams would have a problem if all of a sudden they had to provide for 20% of their campers attending their clinics free of charge.
    Geez, I’m really going to miss the smell (OK, and the taste) of those hamburgers at the games this summer. Remember though, you can always wait til after the seventh inning to get a discounted “Dollar Dog” !

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