CCBL - Christian Colon INF R/R Fr. Cal State Fullerton Corora, Calif.
CCBL - Kyle Gibson RHP R/R So. Missouri Greenfield, Ind.
CCBL - AJ Griffin RHP R/R So. San Diego El Cajon, Calif.
CCBL - Mike Minor LHP L/L So. Vanderbilt Chapel Hill, Tenn.
CCBL - Hunter Morris 1B L/R Fr. Auburn Huntsville, Ala.
CCBL - Andrew Oliver LHP L/L So. Oklahoma State Vermillion, Okla.

The remaining TEAM USA includes:

Kentrail Davis OF L/R Fr. Tennessee Theodore, Ala.
Josh Fellhauer OF L/L So. Cal State Fullerton Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Mike Leake RHP/UTL R/R So. Arizona State Fallbrook, Calif.
Bryan Morgado LHP L/L R-Fr. Tennessee Miami, Fla.
Aaron Senne OF L/L So. Missouri Rochester, Minn.
Jason Stoffel RHP R/R So. Arizona Agoura, Calif.

Cape teams seem to continue to recruit the top talent.  A loss for the Cape but a win for TEAM USA.

On a sunny Friday evening on the UW campus, it felt very much like a summer warm-up on the Cape.  There was Jermaine Curtis (Chatham ‘07) hustling down the first base line after a walk, just like last summer.  There was Ryan Babineau (Brewster ‘07) catching top pro prospect Tim Murphy (Chatham ‘07).  There was Charles Brewer brewing up another win.

Murphy is picked by Baseball America as the 28th top pro prospect. I watched his performance last Friday against the Huskies.  His fast ball topped out at 90 with most in the mid to upper 80s.  He mixes his pitches well, and throws a nice curve for strikes.  He was not dominating.  A lefty, his move to first is good but he did get called for a balk.

Brewer, who is again on the Chatham roster, also topped out at 90 but went 6.1 innings with 5 hits and one run.

The treat for me was Casey Haerther (first base) who will play his first season with the Chatham As.  He hit a towering home run in the sixth inning off Cam Nobles of the Huskies who had been in a tight pitching duel with Brewer.  Haerther’s two-run homer gave UCLA the lead which they built upon for the remainder of the game.

UCLA’s Cape roster includes the following 2008 Cape players:  Garrett Claypool (Brewster), Justin Uribe (Brewster), Charles Brewer (Chatham), Gavin Brooks (Chatham), Casey Haerther (Chatahm), Blair Dunlop (Cotuit), Gabe Cohen (Falmouth), Dan Klein (Falmouth), Rob Rasmussen (Orleans), Erik Goeddel (Y-D).

Also on the UCLA team from the 2007 Cape season are: Brandon Crawford (Orleans), Ryan Babineau (Brewster), Tim Murphy (Brewster), Charles Brewer (Chatham).

HOT:

Joe Saunders (Harwich / L.A. Angels).  4-0 with a 2.55 ERA to start the season.   Hugely important to the Angels rotation which is without John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar.

Chase Utley (Cotuit / Philadelphia).  One of the best players in the game is batting .374.

Pat Burrell (Hyannis / Philadelphia).  8 HR and 25 RBI to go along with a surprising .354 BA.

Lance Berkman (Wareham / Houston).  Off to a solid start with .312 Avg., 8 HR, 23 RBI.

Conor Jackson (Bourne / Arizona).   Named NL Player of the Week on April 21.   Batting .351 while hitting in the middle of the Diamondbacks lineup.

Micah Owings  (Bourne / Arizona).  Not impressed with his 4-0 record on the mound ?   How about his .389 BA ?   Good enough bat to be used as a pinchhitter.   3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday’s game.

Kevin Youkilis  (Bourne / Boston).  .319 BA and a MLB record for consecutive games without an error by a firstbaseman.   Hugely important part of the Red Sox infield with the ability to play thirdbase in Mike Lowell’s absence.

Jacoby Ellsbury (Falmouth / Boston).  Exciting player.   .280 BA with 3 HR and 11RBI, mostly out of the leadoff spot.   Tremendous speed and fun to watch in the outfield.   Hey Greg, I finally got a Commodore in here.

Justin Masterson (Wareham / Boston).   Well, he was hot for one day anyway.   After not pitching higher than AA, threw six innings of one-run, two-hit ball against a good Angels lineup.   Then the Red Sox bullpen came on and tossed some gasoline on the fire and Masterson ended up with a no-decision.   His strong performance earned him a ticket back to the minors but he is on the fast track back to Boston.   It was a lot of fun to stand behind the backstop and watch Masterson pitch at Spillane Field a few years ago.

David Aardsma  (Falmouth / Boston).   OK, he isn’t all that “hot” and this isn’t meant to be a Red Sox post.   This is another shout-out to Greg about another ex-Commodore who has become a serviceable member of the Red Sox bullpen.   1-1 with a 3.29 ERA.   As most everyone knows, Aardsma supplanted the Aaron brothers as the first player listed alphabetically in the baseball encyclopedia.   What does that have to do with anything ?   I don’t know.

Evan Longoria  (Chatham / Tampa Bay).   A .271 BA to go with 3 HR and 10 RBI in only 48 AB.   One of the games future stars for the first place Tampa Bay Rays.   I really just wanted a chance to type “first place Tampa Bay Rays” since I’ve never done that before.

David Murphy  (Wareham / Texas).   A .302 BA while playing full-time in the Rangers outfield.   There is a question as to whether Murphy will hit with power and he has only one homerun so far.

Billy Wagner  (Brewster / N.Y. Mets).   6 for 6 in save opportunities with only one hit allowed in 10 innings pitched.

Tim Lincecum  (Harwich / San Francisco).   Lincecum is one of few players to cheer about in S.F.   4-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 36 strike outs in 29+ innings.

NOT :

Barry Zito  (Wareham / San Francisco).   0-6 with an ERA approaching 7.50.   In the second year of a 7 year, 126 million dollar contract.   Just sent to the bullpen.   Nuff said.

Frank Thomas  (Orleans / Oakland).   Recently released by the Blue Jays.   Brings his sub-Mendoza Line batting average back to the Bay area.

Joe Blanton  (Bourne / Oakland).   2-4 with a 4.07 ERA while giving up 58 hits in 48+ innings.

Carlos Pena (Harwich and Wareham / Tampa Bay).   Coming off his 46 HR season, Pena is only batting .200 but does have 6 HR.

Jason Michaels  (Orleans / Cleveland).   Hey Carlos, can you move over and make room for Michaels ?    Both are perched right on the Mendoza Line.   A .200 BA with zero HR’s won’t get it done for the Indians.

Jensen Lewis  (Falmouth / Cleveland).   Only mentioned because the Tribe would like to see Lewis take over the closer role in Joe Borowski’s absence but there is concern because Lewis has lost 5 mph off his fastball.

Casey Blake  (Hyannis / Cleveland).   Blake is batting .224.   Probably not a good thing when three Indians show up on the “Not” side of “Hot.”   This may explain in part why the Indians are two games below .500.

Brad Hawpe (Y-D / Colorado).   One HR and only 8 RBI.   Probably nothing that a homestand at Red Wilson Field wouldn’t cure.

David Bush  (Chatham / Milwaukee).  Technically doesn’t belong here since he is not in the majors.   His 0-3, 6.75 ERA earned him a demotion to Nashville to clear a roster spot for Mike Cameron.

Jason Bartlett (Harwich / Tampa Bay).   Rays probably aren’t expecting much offensively from Bartlett but he has been offensive with a .207 BA, 0 HR, 6 RBI start to his season.

Matt Murton  (Wareham / Cubs).   .091 BA, 0 HR, 3 RBI may find Murton back in the minors where he has already spent some time this season.

Nomar Garciaparra  (Orleans / L.A. Dodgers).   .226 / 1 / 5 and another trip to the DL.

In the summer of 2005, he did radio commentary for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League. “Yes,” he said, “they do play baseball in Alaska, at least for a few weeks each summer.”

The summer of 2006 found him doing play-by-play for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League, while last summer, after his graduation from Syracuse, he served as director of broadcasting for the Anderson, S.C., Joes of the South Coast League.

This means that Yarmouth-Dennis and Orleans are the only two Cape League teams who have not received this grant. Chatham will use a portion of their money to extend safety netting at Veterans Field. A few months ago, the town of Orleans voted against putting up safety netting at Eldredge Park and that decision may have cost them a chance to receive one of these grants this year.

The Nats may well pull up the rear of the National League this season, but their shimmering new ballpark is well worth visiting.  To be very honest, I loved it. 

I lived in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1994.  For all of those years I would slog from DC to Baltimore — first to Memorial Stadium and then to Camden Yard.  In fact, I was at the first two Opening Days of Camden Yard.  Had the Nationals Ballpark been around in those days, I have a feeling I would have gone into debt fast.  I didn’t have the money to be a season ticket holder back then, but if tickets were aplenty and the journey nothing more than a short Metro ride, I could not have stayed away. 

There is a lot to love at the new ballpark.  It is not one of those retro- urban ballparks that Camden Yard ushered in.  I would describe it as sleek, contemporary, spacious but with intimate sight lines. 

Without a doubt, Nationals Ballpark must have the best outfield scoreboard in baseball — maybe in sports, period.  It is an enormous, gorgeous, bright, high-definition scoreboard with live video, easy to navigate graphics and a great out-of-town scoreboard.  I couldn’t stop looking at it.

A few other highlights/observations of the new park:

• Its proximity to the yellow line of DC’s Metro makes it very convenient.  For a new ballpark, it blends in with the city well.  You rise from the subway into an old neighborhood with a new ballpark.  The Capitol is to your right and the park to your left.  The centerfield entrance looms in the distance at the end of a narrow street.
• The staff was cheery and clearly excited.  (One vendor, though, asked me how many innings there are in a ballgame as the night drug on.)
• Some might think it cliche but I loved the way food stands were given baseball names.  Changeup Chicken.  Baseline Brews.  Slice Down the Line (pizza).
• At Safeco, I can listen to the live action from the broadcast booth but at Nats Park I had a hard time hearing the live action although there are TVs around the concourse.
• The bullpen is not very visible.  You can see pitchers get up from the infield seats but you can’t get to the bullpens as you can at Safeco or some other parks.
• The press box looks like it’s up in the clouds.  I was surprised how high and far removed it appeared from home plate.

The game started as a pitching duel between Bergmann and Scott Olsen but turned into a hitting fest in the 5th inning when the hapless Marlins teed off on Bergmann for 7 runs, two of them homers.  The highlight, frankly, was the Major League debut of Burke Badenhop who retired three consecutive batters in the 9th to get the save.

Readers of CodBall play in the  ballparks that I review, and many more will one day play in them as their careers progress.  Check out my notes from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia and other points of interest.  

Matthew writes that the Orleans Cardinals and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox are the only teams yet to receive a $150,000 grant from Yawkey, a Boston-based foundation that has helped support Cape Cod baseball for years.

Yawkey requires a local community match – or financial support – in order to qualify for its grant money.  It appears that the town of Orleans appropriated dollars for an irrigation system rather than for the protective netting that would help to meet league safety policies.

You’ll have to read Matthew’s piece to sort it all out.  Seems like the protective netting should have been the priority in Orleans.

I started to title this: “Falmouth cuts the ‘C’” to accompany my previous headline, “What the ‘F’?'  But I decided otherwise.

The Commodores will keep its basic look this season.  Falmouth will have three uniforms – the traditional black for the road, white sleeveless for home and a light weight maroon for Sundays and hot days.

Dan reports the team will introduce a new home uniform in 2009.

He also noted the team will hit with pink bats on June 28th against the Y-D Red Sox in support of cancer research.  Both teams will sell the pink bats at auction to raise money for cancer research.  Thanks, Homer!

Beckham is making headlines again during this spring’s major college baseball season.  Sports Illustrated profiled him this past week.  According to SI:

The Bulldogs struggled last season, but Beckham improved as a sophomore, hitting .307 with 13 homers and 51 RBIs. He then provided a peek at what was to come this year when he led the Cape Cod League with nine homers and tied for the lead with 35 RBIs last summer while leading Yarmouth-Dennis to the championship.

“I went up there and said the same thing I did coming into this season, that I was going to go up there and have fun and whatever happens, happens,” Beckham said. “I think that’s been paying off for me.”

It was reported today in the Cape Cod Times that Major League Baseball continues to negotiate with the Cape Cod Baseball League for a license and revenue deal for the merchandise of six Cape league teams bearing the names of Major league teams — the Mariners, A’s, Cardinals, Braves, Red Sox and Mets. 

With all due respect, Commissioner Selig, you’ve made a mistake with respect to Cape Cod Baseball.  You can still avoid the sin of making this amateur baseball league that produces your stars of the future pay anything more than $6 per year to Major League Baseball.  

I am not a lawyer (I’m just an opinionated fan), but I do understand MLB’s need to license its names and logos.  In intellectual property law, as I understand it, he who fails to protect his property loses his property.  So I get the need for the CCBL to enter into a license agreement for merchandise.  But what I don’t understand is why MLB would want to take profits from amateur baseball.  Why not license the team names and logos for $1 per year? 

Why make headlines that reinforce the image of greed in an era of steroids and rampant player contracts (not to mention a nearly $200 per game average cost for a family of 4)?

Rather than allowing it to come to this, you should have deepened MLB’s relationship and support for the six teams bearing MLB logos.  The pride that fans, sponsors, players and parents feel for these Cape League teams is really the heart and soul of your sport. 

Why not call the Cape League commissioner today and say, “sorry, let’s get the lawyers out of this.  Here’s the deal, you give us $6 per year to use our team names and logos.  And because we all love baseball and recognize the vital role of the Cape league, let us know how we can help to support you more.” 

The MLB has shown recently that it is capable of helping amateur baseball in meaningful ways.   The Major League Basebal Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., brought UCLA and USC baseball together with Historically Black College baseball (Bethune-Cookman and Southern) to provide more exposure to great college baseball for low-income and minority kids.  Perhaps the MLB could help more HBC players get a shot on the Cape.

Mr. Commissioner, you serve in a unique position — the top job in the world’s best sport.  Cape Cod Baseball is the best showcase and proving ground for your future.  I encourage you to reject dollars from amateur baseball and instead unleash the creativity of your staff on a more positive course — how to support Cape League baseball.