Dec

4

2009 Schedule Released

Posted by Dave | Filed Under News, Polls | 15 Comments

The schedule for the 2009 CCBL season has been released. To see the schedule, go to:  http://www.capecodbaseball.org/Schedules/schedulelogo2009.pdf

I haven’t spent a lot of time looking at the schedule, but a few things stand out. The teams that met in the championship round this year are matched up in the only game to be played on Thursday, June 11.  Harwich hosts Cotuit that night, while the other eight teams open up the next night.

Some little things I noticed…

Most games in Bourne are scheduled for 6:00.

In previous years, all games in Chatham were scheduled for 7:00. This year, the Anglers will play their Sunday home games at 5:30. (It’s going to take some time to get used to typing “Anglers.”)

Falmouth will “host” Wareham on Martha’s Vineyard on July 9, but as of now, I don’t see any games scheduled for New Bedford or Brockton.

For a number of years, Bourne has hosted Wareham on July 4 at 2:00.   This year’s game is scheduled for 5:30.

There are nine dates where only one game is on the schedule. In other years, other than for make-up games, there have only been a couple days with just one game scheduled.

Is anyone aware of a new playoff format this year? The playoffs are scheduled to begin on Friday, August 7. There is a note that says “Round 1.  1 Game Series.  4 teams most points.”  The divisional series’ begin the next day.  Does this mean the second place team and the third place team in each division play one game with the winner advancing to the divisional playoff? It seems pretty clear that the teams that finish first in each division get an extra day off, but I’m not clear about the rest of the issue. I even thought that since it says “4 teams most points” it may mean that they are taking teams with the most points regardless of which division the teams are in. That doesn’t seem to be the case though, since they still refer to “divisional” playoffs. If my thought is correct  -  that the second place and third place teams meet in a one game playoff for the right to face the winner of the division  -  I’m not so sure I like that idea.  That would be good for the team that finishes in third place; but I wouldn’t want to be the team that finishes in second place six points ahead of the third place team, and then have to beat that team to advance to the next round. That’s just conjecture on my part though because I do not understand what the change is.  Right now the format seems like a cross between NBA playoffs bracketing and knock-out phases in texas holdem tournaments. Your thoughts?

The release of the schedule at least allows us to think “warm thoughts” on a December day.

What do you think of the new playoff format?

  • It's great! It makes it more exciting. (56%, 5 Votes)
  • It's a little worse. (22%, 2 Votes)
  • It's a little better. (11%, 1 Votes)
  • It's bad! It hurts the 2nd place teams. (11%, 1 Votes)
  • Doesn't really matter to me. (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 9

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Comments

15 Responses to “2009 Schedule Released”

  1. Brian Foley on December 4th, 2008 1:50 pm

    All-Star game on a Thursday night…Come on!!!

  2. Dave on December 4th, 2008 2:12 pm

    That certainly is different. I can’t help but wonder if this is being done to allow all ten teams to host weekend games when they may get larger crowds. I noticed that five teams host games on the day after the All Star game (Friday, 7/24)and the other five teams host games the day after that. I’m thinking the teams want those Friday, Saturday and Sunday games on their schedule to boost their attendance. This way, the league still gets a great crowd to the All-Star game and each franchise gets a game at home on a Friday and a Saturday that they otherwise would not have. The day of the All-Star game won’t matter to the scouts because they are all over the Cape that week anyway. It will be interesting to see how this works out. My guess is that the teams will be happy to have an extra Friday or Saturday home game and the All-Star game will still be a great draw.

  3. Andrew Wirtanen on December 4th, 2008 2:19 pm

    Wow, that’s the first thing I noticed. The CPL has their All-Star game during the week, too.

    I don’t know the reasons for moving the game, but this will obviously result in much lower attendance numbers. It should be noted that Thursday is, along with Monday, typically one of the days with less MLB games scheduled. The Red Sox are off on July 23rd.

    That said, I’ll be there (wherever “there” is).

  4. CapeMan on December 4th, 2008 9:35 pm

    I think the All-Star game might be at Fenway Park. I haven’t checked the Sox schedule…if it is out…but this might be the case.

  5. Dave on December 4th, 2008 10:16 pm

    The day of the Cape League All Star game – Thursday, July 23 – is an off day for the Red Sox. They open a series with Baltimore on Friday, July 24.

  6. Greg on December 5th, 2008 12:47 am

    CapeMan, good prediction. How long has it been since all stars were at an MLB site. I wonder if that was a concession of MLB to build some love after their attack on the merchandise.

  7. CapeMan on December 5th, 2008 12:58 pm

    Not sure about a concession on MLB’s part. I think the CCBL has a good relationship with the Red Sox given the ties to the Yawkey Foundation, All-Star recognition night, Fenway tryouts, etc.

    My guess if it happens is it simply a furthering of the relationship with the Sox.

    I actually don’t like the idea. I think attendance will be low given that it is a Thursday and is in Boston where the league simply doesn’t have the same exposure. I’m sure sponsors (UnderArmour) has some influence here but there is something special about cramming all those people into Chatham or Wareham or Falmouth or which ever field it is played. I’m all for promoting the league off-Cape and I’m actually in favor of offering expansion teams to off-Cape towns but I think this is setup for a potential diapointment. I hope I’m wrong. What happens if the Sox use the field that day for a make-up date? What happens if it rains? This is great for the players but I’m not sure if they are biting off more than they can chew with this one…..if it is true!

  8. Wille on December 8th, 2008 3:22 pm

    Some 2009 CCBL players on the initial Wallace Watch List:

    Kyle Blair
    Derek Dietrich
    Micah Gibbs
    Jeremy Gould
    Rick Hague
    Alex Hassan
    Tyler Holt
    Jonathan Jones
    Ben Klafczynski
    Ryan Lockwood
    Seth Maness
    Deck Mcguire
    Mike Olt
    Matt Packer
    Turner Phelps
    Chance Ruffin
    Cameron Rupp
    Thain Simon
    Scott Woodward
    Brandon Workman

  9. Dave on December 12th, 2008 12:08 pm

    For more info on the schedule, go to the league website (www.capecodbaseball.org) and check the story titled “2009 Cape League Schedule Features Action Every Night, Two Added Teams in Playoffs.”
    The story contains information about why the All Star game was moved to a Thursday and clarifies the change in the playoff format.

  10. Wille on December 12th, 2008 1:01 pm

    I agree that a one game crapshoot to advance in a playoff system works for some other sports, but not baseball. Measurement of any team requires at least 3 games to get a look into the pitching depth.

  11. Dave on December 12th, 2008 2:17 pm

    I completely agree with you Wille. I don’t like this format at all. With the exception of the need for a one-game tiebreaker, baseball is not meant to have one-game playoffs.
    I don’t like the idea of a fourth place team being able to knock out a second place team just because the sun, the moon, and the pitching matchup were all lined up in the fourth place team’s favor for that one game.
    In the NHL and the NBA, an eighth place team might knock out the first place team in the first round, but at least they have to beat that first place team four times in order to advance. In major league baseball, a wild card team can beat a first place team that dominated during the regular season, but that wild card team has to win three games before they can move on.
    I’m sure someone will question the importance of winning the CCBL championship. We have had those discussions before concerning whether winning a championship is at the top of the priority list for players. I have talked to enough people to feel confident in saying that winning a Cape League championship has some importance for the players. We may not understand why the playoff format is being changed, but one thing we do know is that it is not being changed for the sake of the players. That makes the question “How important is winning the championship?” irrelevant to the topic of the change in format. I’m sure that winning a title has a lot of importance for the folks who are involved with the different organizations. I just don’t feel that a fourth place team with 36 points should have the opportunity to beat a second place team that accumulated 52 points. Not in a one game “playoff.”
    One positive thing this change does accomplish is that it puts a greater value on finishing first in the division. It’s always good when a first place team is rewarded for a successful regular season. While those other teams are using up their pitching staffs, the first place teams will be well rested.

  12. Joshua on December 12th, 2008 5:12 pm

    I agree with Dave and Wille.

  13. Poll: 2009 All-Star Game : CodBall: Unofficial Blog of the Cape Cod Baseball League on December 24th, 2008 5:56 pm

    [...] 2009 Schedule Released [...]

  14. Emily on February 8th, 2009 5:51 pm

    Quick question.. My boyfriend is a good baseball player but isn’t playing this year in college. Is there anyway of trying out without being invited through a college team?

  15. Andrew on February 8th, 2009 6:07 pm

    Emily, unfortunately the answer is No.

    However, the NECBL (New England Collegiate Baseball League) has a form you can fill out: http://www.necbl.com/prospectform.htm

    The NECBL is a solid summer league and some players opt to play in it instead of the CCBL. Also, I’ve noticed quite a few players spend a summer there and then play on the Cape the next year.

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