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Aug
20
2007 Cape Cod Baseball Season-in-Review
Posted by Greg | Filed Under News |
A little over one year ago, I wrote my first post for CodBall, a 2006 season in review. Andrew, who was writing about the league on his own blog at the time, I believe remains the only comment on that original post.
Nearly 150 posts (and scores of comments) later, it’s time for the second annual CodBall season review. This time it’s brought to you by Greg, Andrew and Dave.
Like last season, CodBall will look at highlights and lowlights. But since not everything fits conveniently into such a binary positive and negative category we are adding a new section called, “question marks.” We raise such questions as, what went really well, what didn’t go so well and what are we wondering about after this 2007 season.
Here goes and please add your own.
Highlights
- You can’t beat Y-D’s back to back championships!
- The 2007 Cape League All-star game overcame its troubles of last season to re-emerge as a must-see summer stock baseball game. Congratulations to the league and to the host team led by John Wylde and the Wareham Gatemen volunteer team.
Falmouth came from dead last to make the playoffs and then the championship round.- Hyannis kept things interesting by hanging in the playoff race till the last week. They defeated the Cotuit Kettleers to win the Patriot Cup in extra innings (presented to the best Barnstable team by The Barnstable Patriot every year).
- Y-D’s suicide squeeze to win the championship.
- Falmouth pitcher Luke Burnett’s strikeout of HR King Gordon Beckham in the final game of the championship.
- Fried dough and the efficient concession stands at Falmouth.
- The weather, for the most part, was beautiful. There were only 13 postponed games and the league did not have to schedule any double-headers. In 2006, there were 32 postponed games and 8 double-headers.
- Attendance figures reached an all-time high in 2007 (321,373 for regular season games). While the numbers are far from accurate (there are no tickets to games), there has definitely been a sharp increase in crowds (see our attendance chart).
- The new Chatham A’s website is beautiful. The Wareham Gatemen website has a lot of great content and they already have started work on their 2008 roster!
Lowlights
- Josh Phegley was right that he did the stupidest thing possible. The Wareham catcher, after striking out in Falmouth, bashed his hand into the dugout wall — breaking his hand and missing the All-Star game (not to mention the rest of the season). We wish him well and sorry we didn’t get to see him play in the All-star game.
- Hyannis went another year without having lights at McKeon Park. The Hyannis Athletic Association promises to have lights for next season and we can’t wait to take in a game next year with the Hyannis harbor fireworks right after.
- Let’s not be too greedy, but the playoffs only lasted four days and it was impossible to take in two of the divisional games in a day. Last year was a lot of fun driving between South Yarmouth and Wareham.
Questions
- How will the new NCAA academic rules affect the Cape League? We saw good players returning home before the Cape season ended because they need to take summer school courses, a move designed to avoid NCAA sanctions.
The broadcasts of games, clearly a wonderful convenience, are generating demand for higher quality and greater consistency. Can the league and its broadcast partners deliver?- Does the league need to consider a slightly less ambitious schedule in order to conclude on the weekend rather than this year’s potential of running through Thursday? Had Bourne or Chatham won a game and then Falmouth won a game in the championship round we would have concluded on Thursday.
- Will there ever be hamburgers again in Chatham and at other Cape parks? Some of us baseball fans rely on that food for dinner and have a hard time filling up on hot dogs!
Dave, will you get things started with your additions to this list?
Good post guys…I have some additions:
Highlights -
1. There has been some negativity towards Chatham for various reasons, but Coach Schiffner’s record breaking career victories is definately a highlight of the 2007 season.
2. Sticking with Chatham…in went under the radar some…but the fact that Chatham agreed to reschedule a fogged out game against Wareham for 11:00 in the morning to accomodate the Gatemen pitching coach’s wedding that day says a lot about Coach Schniffner.
3. Bourne’s wonderful ballpark that took a tremendous step forward this season and will hopefully get even better.
4. OFFENSE!!! Despite the always good pitching in the league, the offense around the league (except for Orleans and Wareham) was great this year.
5. All-Star Game on NESN….great exposure…hopefully this will be an annual event.
6. How does Wareham do it??? I just clicked over to their site after reading your initial post and there is a recap of their season. It is normally a challenge just to get 22 home games running smoothly but they do EVERYTHING…field renovations, all-star games, Baseball Factory game, Perfect Game Showcase, constant website updates, etc, etc.
7. Up and Coming Falmouth Franchise… the field looked great this year and that we BEFORE Yawkey Grant money is spent. With a renovated field, coming off of a playoff season under Dan Dunn’s first year as GM, I think Falmouth is poised to be a model franchise!!
8. Live video webcasts. Some may need to get better but this was just the first year and you can only assume improvements.
Lowlights:
1. Most teams hardly ever updated the league summary line on Cape.com. I, for one, enjoyed calling in to get scores otherwise hard to come by until the morning and more often than not, it was the same broadcaster or two recording game summaries.
2. League ending too late. It was a shame that Falmouth had only 9 position players for the final game. I think the leauge needs to either start earlier despite using more temporary players, schedule a double-header or two for each team or eliminate an off-day. Too many schools in the South and Midwest start classes in mid-August and I’m not sure the Northeast-minded league exectutives have fully realized that fact.
3. If the rumors are true…shame on the Chatham Athletic Association for considering a new coach!
4. WBZ broadcasts… I know that Fred Cusick is a local legend and I know that the league might be getting Boston area attention, but those broadcasts were “empty”. I would much rather hear the team broadcasters who know more about the league. Rather, you get a general play-by-play that is very boring and stale.
5. Lack of enforcement on tobacco. Did anyone else notice how many players, coaches, fans, etc. are still chewing or smoking around the ballparks? Coaches look the other way and noone is enforcing the no smoking law on school property.
6. Day Games…You guys touched on Hyannis but there are just too many fields without lights. I know that some teams will never have lights and that an afternoon game from time to time is great but there are too many games that were shortened due to darkness and too many working fans that can’t make it to a game because of the early starts.
Questions:
1. The August 15th deadline…. Some kids didn’t come at all because they thought they would sign and didn’t OR signed late. Some kids (Mitch Moreland and Lance Sewell as examples) came and signed during the season. Did this affect the league and how will it affect the league going forward?
2. The College World Series just announced that it will end 2 days later than normal.
3. Is there too much “commercialism” now across the league? I realize that sponsors are absolutely necessary but will some be turned off by the commercialism that, for example, existed at the All-Star Game…or the “Under Armour” All-Star Game?
4. Will the league raise the expansion issue again during the offseason?
5. John Wylde ripped the town of Wareham during an interview with the Falmouth Enterprise..indicating that he questions the future of the Gatemen in Wareham because of the political issues that exist between the team and the town officials. He also indicated during an interview with the Cape Cod Times that his days with the Gatemen may be winding down due to his age. This is something to watch.
Good comment CapeMan…
Lowlight #2: They only ended a day later than last year. I’m all for starting a week earlier though if we can. A lot of the teams are playing scrimmages and in the US military games anyway.
Lowlight #5: I totally agree. I had to enforce the no smoking rule myself when I saw a man lighting up at Falmouth early in the season.
Lowlight #6: I heard a rumor that Bourne was considering adding lights. Is that true? If so, then that leaves only Brewster, Cotuit, and Y-D. And those are the only fields (I believe) that are constrained by bordering houses. That’s fine with me. As disappointing as it is when it happens, games called “due to darkness” have always been a part of baseball.
Question #3: Interesting. Commercialism has always been a part of baseball too, and I don’t see a big problem with it. I could see some people being turned off by it, but I think those people would also be turned off the by the much larger crowds we are seeing at games.
Question #4: I hope so! We can’t have enough drama on the Cape (or nearby). Cape Wind, casinos, sharks, disappearing beach grass and harbor dumping!
I heard that Bourne will eventually add lights as well…which will help their attendance dramatically I would assume.
While the league ended only a day later than last year, I think the problem has existed for a few years and will only get worse. Selfishly, I want to see the best players on the best teams play deep in the playoffs and not have to go home early. I think shortening the season by 2 or 3 days would make a huge difference…perhaps they start 2 days earlier and play one scheduled double-header. This gives them 3 extra days to play with and doesn’t reduce the amount of days off.
Another lowlight…and that might too strong of a word….. The Cape Cod Times, in my opinion, did a great job covering the leauge this season…better than ever. However, I would have liked to have seen a season wrap-up piece that included a look into 2008. Maybe I’m being picky but that would have been a great way to conclude what was excellent covereage throughout the season.
By the way…Did anyone listen to the interview with John Wylde and Head Coach Cooper Farris on the Gatemen website? Pretty good stuff.
Keeping up with CodBall this season was a major highlight for me. I discovered the blog back in the spring (through a random search about the GQ hoax piece) and have been hooked all season. I enjoyed the previews, the recaps, and the insights. Thanks for the great work, guys.
Other highlights:
1. The overpowering, lights-out Falmouth closer Luke Burnett. Just awesome to watch close up.
2. The infield artistry of little Joey Wong, highlighted by his diving stop in Game 2 vs. Bourne.
3. Listening in as the old-timer, long-time Cape League fans compared this year’s crop to the alumni who are now in the majors. Conor Gillaspie stacks up quite well with Kevin Youkilis and Bill Mueller, according to them.
I would place the issue of players needing to leave before the season ends firmly in the lowlight category. It was disappointing that Gillaspie couldn’t be there to provide Falmouth some pop in the final game, and that is sounded as if Aaron Crow would not have been available to start had there been a pivotal game 3 against Y-D. Hopefully that’s something that can be figured out before next season.
I’ll be looking forward to reading your hot stove coverage this winter and to the 2008 CCBL season. Well done, fellas.
Doug, thanks! My story of uncovering the GQ hoax is a funny one I should write up one of these days. USA Today actually cited us awhile back for our sleuthing.
Your comments about CodBall is all the encouragement we need to keep it going. Thanks.
Great coverage guys all year. I cited you guys often throughout the year. Hope it helped out some.
Now it is time to move over to my blog to follow the players through their college days…:-)
Thanks Brian! I’m sure we may be citing you in the off-season. I frequent your blog as well and we really appreciate it every time you link to us.
Brian, I’ve been thinking of convening a few of us who write about college baseball to participate in a conference call we would record for a future CodBall Conversation podcast. I’d love to get you and maybe someone from CC Times or Baseball America. Are you up for that?
Hey guys…I’d love to hear that. In fact, Allan Simpson from PGCrosschecker.com would be a great guest contributor. I’ve seen him do some work for MLB.com at draft time and his website is great. He ranks the Summer Teams throughout the season as I’m sure you have seen.
Good suggestion. I am intrigued by the summer rankings and I heard that also from many others at games this season.
It would be interesting to understand from Mr. Simpson’s point of view how the recruiting is done in other league’s. Obviously, according to his rankings, there are many other teams across many other summer leagues that are stocked with talent. How and why do these kids end up playing in the Northwoods, NECBL, Texas League (although they may be hurting if you haven’t read) and other leagues? Is it a simple matter of luck?