By Roy Reiss
July 21, 2014
We head down the stretch of the long Cape season with the playoffs on the horizon. Let’s try and add some thoughts and insights on what we’ve seen and read.
Pitching …
Someone once said baseball teams will only be as good as their pitching. There’s no question that pitching is the most important element to any team. Over the last several years we’ve also witnessed a decline in the overall quality of pitching in the Cape Cod League. Coaches will tell you they can no longer recruit the ace of various college staffs since their college coaches want to limit the innings pitched. And now coaches are saying they’re having trouble attracting the number 2 or 3 hurlers of those collegiate programs for the same reason. Looking specifically at the Kettleers staff, it’s interesting to note that Trey Wingenter of Auburn pitched only 24.1 innings during the long collegiate season. Matt Vogel was a prize prospect from national power South Carolina and he pitched a total of 14.1 innings for the Gamecocks this past season. And Vince Fiori from the same South Carolina program managed to hurl 19.2 innings during the college season. The point is most Cape teams are getting some prospects from big time collegiate programs, but the prospects are “developmental” in nature, not prime time starters. And as a result of this, the Cape Cod Baseball League, once dominated by pitching, has seen the pendulum swing away from pitching!
More Pitching Stats …
With the season 75% complete numbers tell quite a story for the 2014 Kettleers. The pitching staff leads the Cape Cod Baseball League in the number of walks issued with 156 through 33 games. The next closest team has given up 117 free passes. That’s a startling difference. Cotuit pitchers also lead the league in the number of hit batters with 43. Again the next closest staff has 33 hit batsmen. Meanwhile Cotuit is second in the number of wild pitches with 31, just 3 behind the league leader. And the Kettleers staff has struck out the second fewest batters in the league, 217 which is 60 fewer than the league leader. Hard line statistics that explain why the Kettleers have struggled all season long.
Home-Away …
Most coaches in any sport will tell you that their team has to win on the road if they want to reach a championship level. Heading down the final quarter of the long Cape season, the Kettleers have a 4-12 record away from the friendly confines of Lowell Park while they sport a 10-6-1 record playing at home. In an interesting twist, the Kettleers have had trouble with last place Wareham going 1-3 in their 4 games played to date while they’ve had great success against Bourne, the team with the best record in the league, at 3-1.
Follow Up …
Grant Kay continues where he left off. Photo by RicK Heath
It’s always fun to follow players once they leave Cotuit for the minor leagues. Grant Kay (Louisville) certainly made an impression in his short time with the Kettleers. In 6 games played, Kay hit a lusty .536 and capped it off with a walk off home run in his last at bat against Falmouth. The next day the 2nd baseman left to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays which had to be an exciting time. In his first minor league game with Hudson Valley, Kay picked up where he left off as he hit for the cycle, going 5 for 6 with a home run in his first at bat. Quite a debut for the Omaha native and now former Kettleer!
Things that May Interest Only Me …
Jordan Ebert made his presence known. Photo by Stephen Arriz
It seems that every year the Kettleers have the least amount of players making the All Star team, yet they challenge for the Arnold Mycock trophy almost annually. On the other hand Falmouth had the most All Stars last year and this year, yet the Commodores have gone 33 years without a championship team … Jordan Ebert had quite a debut for the Kettleers. The Auburn second baseman made his presence felt with a grand slam home run and run producing single in his first game on the Cape. By the way, the home run was the very first of the baseball season for Ebert who led Auburn in hitting this past season … The Kettleers have defeated every team in the league except Orleans.
Kettleers Korner will be anything and everything that might interest fans, past and present, about the Kettleers. Roy Reiss, who started his career working for Curt Gowdy Broadcasting, was a former sportscaster on Channel 7 and several radio stations in Boston. His son Mike now covers the Patriots for ESPNBoston.com.