Oct

9

An Early Look at Bourne for ‘09

Posted by Dave | Filed Under News | 2 Comments

As pointed out by Wille in another post, Bourne has posted their roster for 2009. I thought I would make mention of that in a new post to give this news more visibility. Thank-you for passing this info along, Wille. To check out the roster, go to:  http://www.bournebraves.org/bourne-braves-roster.html

Unless I overlooked someone, it looks like Pierre LePage (UConn) who was a late-season addition in Bourne this past season, is the only returning player. Drew Pomeranz (Mississippi) was on the Bourne pre-season roster, but did not come to the Cape.   

Notice I carefully avoided use of the name “Braves.” Are they still known as the Braves?  We await that announcement.

Oct

4

Gatemen Make Additions to Roster

Posted by Dave | Filed Under News | 13 Comments

The Wareham Gatemen have added 16 players to their roster. Go to  http://www.gatemen.org/roster.htm to view the complete roster.

One of the new additions in Wareham in 2009 will be Ryan LaMarre, a highly touted sophomore outfielder from Michigan whom the Wolverines coaching staff wanted to see come to the Cape. LaMarre batted .305 as a freshman. He is one of that very small percentage of ballplayers who bats righthanded while throwing lefthanded.

It is no surprise to see Jack Armstrong’s (Vanderbilt) name on the roster.  Armstrong has known since 2007 that, barring unforseen circumstances, he would be pitching in Wareham in 2009.   When the 6′7″ righthander takes to the mound at Spillane Field, it will not be the first time he has done so. In July, 2007, he pitched an inning of perfect relief in the Cape Cod High School Classic. Armstrong’s dad, Jack Sr., starred for Wareham in 1986-’87 before his major league career led him to the Reds, Indians, Marlins and Rangers over the next seven seasons. The elder Armstrong is the answer to the trivia question, ”Who was the first pitcher to start both a Cape League All-Star Game and a Major League All-Star Game?” Armstrong started for the National League in 1990, the same year he won a World Series game while with the Reds.

For a little New England flavor, three UConn players grace the Gatemen roster. Pitchers David Fischer and Matt Barnes will be joined by fellow Huskie, outfielder George Springer.

Sep

30

Outstanding Season for Tim Lincecum

Posted by Dave | Filed Under News | 1 Comment

With their first Cape League championship in 21 years, we can agree that 2008 was a great year to be a Harwich Mariner. The just completed ‘08 MLB regular season was a pretty good year for a member of the 2005 Mariners as well.   

Tim Lincecum put up some astounding numbers for the San Francisco Giants in his first full season in the majors. His 18-5 record only begins to tell the story. He started 33 of the 34 games he appeared in, and his 2.62 ERA ranked him second in the National League, behind Johan Santana. Over 227 innings pitched, Lincecum led the N.L. in strikeouts with 265, while walking 84. His WHIP was 1.17 and he struck out 10.51 batters per 9 innings pitched.

Although Arizona’s Brandon Webb seems to be the favorite for the N.L. Cy Young award, Lincecum is in the mix with Santana and will get his share of votes.

Lincecum was projected to be one of the top picks in the 2006 draft while attending the Univ. of Washington. It seems the only question surrounding Lincecum, has always focused on his delivery which has been described as “violent,” and how this may affect his durability. 

While with the Mariners, Lincecum primarily served as the team’s closer (he started three games) and posted some very impressive numbers. He was 2-2 with a 0.69 ERA and struck out 68 in 39 innings while only walking 11 batters. As good as those numbers are, he seemed to be overshadowed by Steven Wright (Orleans) and Derrick Lutz (Chatham) when talk turned to relief pitching during the ’05 Cape season.

Maybe the Giants are becoming “Cape League West.” Joining Lincecum on their roster are ex-Cape Leaguers Rich Aurilia, Pat Misch, Aaron Rowand, Brian Wilson, Barry Zito (although fans of the Giants don’t need to be reminded of that signing), Emmanuel Burriss and ‘07 Cape League MVP Conor Gillaspie.

Getting back to this year, most impressive to me is that Lincecum accomplished this while pitching for a Giants team that finished with a 72-90 record. Imagine… he finished 13 games over .500 for a team that finished 18 games below .500. His .783 winning percentage was the best in the N.L.

It certainly was an outstanding year for Harwich and for Tim Lincecum.

Sep

23

CodBall Conversation: Veteran Scout, Mel Didier, Tells Us A Story

Posted by Greg | Filed Under Codball Conversations | Leave a Comment

In Field of Dreams, Shoeless Joe tells Ray that if he builds it (the field) they will come.  The Cape Cod Baseball League might as well have a parallel quip, “if the scouts don’t come, neither will the top talent.”

I had the great privilege recently of spending a little time with one of the great scouts, Mel Didier. Mel is currently with the Texas Rangers but also played important roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I don’t know of anyone who has been in more baseball parks throughout the world,” Fred Claire, one-time GM of the Dodgers, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

I ran into Mr. Didier recently in Yakima, Washington, where his son, former major leaguer Bob Didier, was managing the Single-A Yakima Bears of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Over dinner late one night after a Bears game and then the next day at lunch, I listened to Didier tell captivating story after story about players and games I remembered from television or from books.

One story is how he stood in the Dodgers locker room prior to the 1988 World Series game with the Oakland A’s. He looked over at the left-handed hitters who happened to be sitting together, and told them that if they are facing Dennis Eckersley with a 3-2 count they were guaranteed to see a back-door slider. We all know the legend that follows. The injured Kirk Gibson stepped in to pinch-hit. Sure enough, he faced Eckersley with a 3-2 count. Suddenly he backed out of the batters box and told Didier later that he could hear the old southerner’s twang in his head, “look for the back-door slider.”

In a new memoire, “Podnuh, Let Me Tell You a Story,” Didiere tells the story of his rise to prominence in baseball, which began as part-time scout. Didier signed and developed some of the top talent in the game: Andre Dawson, Larry Parish, Steve Rogers, Dave Henderson, Ralph Garr and others.

I especially enjoyed Didier’s account of his unlawful scouting mission to Cuba, where he was only able to escape with the assistance of none other than Fidel Castro.

We have some audio of Didier’s story:

Sep

20

Cape Stars in Hawaii, Arizona Leagues

Posted by Greg | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

Todd Helton, who played for Orleans in 1994, went to play in the Hawaii Winter Base ball league before his Major League days.

Todd Helton, who played for Orleans in 1994, went on to play in the Hawaii Winter Baseball league before his Major League days.

Names familiar to Cape League fans are on rosters for this winter’s Hawaii Winter Baseball League. Kyle Galdeira of the Hawaii League announced rosters this week for its 4 teams. The rosters require approval from Major League Baseball, Nippon (Japan) Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization.

Buster Posey (FL State, Y-D, Giants), Andrew Brackman (NC State, Orleans, Yankees) and Yonder Alonso (Miami, Brewster, Reds) are all on the Waikiki BeachBoys roster.

The Arizona Fall League starts in October and also will feature former Cape Leaguers, including Gordon Beckham and Sean Doolittle,

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