Red Sox on a Roll – On Cape, Anyway!

Couldn’t let another day go by without applauding the streaking Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League … these Sox have won nine games in a row, and they’ve now stormed their way into first place in the league’s Eastern Division. They’ve won slugfests (11-8 against Falmouth on Friday) and pitching gems (a no-hitter tossed by Boston College’s Terry Doyle against Chatham on Sunday), and they show no sign of slowing down. Manager Scott Pickler was working the phones for pitching two weeks ago, and it seems he’s found what he was looking for – now the question is whether they can fend off the Brewster Whitecaps and Orleans Cardinals, who trail them by just two and three points respectively.

Was at the Y-D game in Hyannis over the weekend and noticed that the foul ball given to my toddler by a kind-hearted teenager seemed smaller than regulation … Y-D Sox general manager Jim Martin said he noticed the same thing when he opened a new box of balls before the season even started, whereupon he decided to weigh and measure each one. According to Martin, all the balls were within spec, but they did vary noticeably in weight and diameter. Could this be another reason home runs seem to be more common this summer than in summers past?

Seems like a good time to let you know that the Cape League’s All Star Game is in Yarmouth next Saturday (July 29) … the gates open at 11am and the game begins at 4pm, following two autograph sessions and a home run derby. It’s a grand event that features much fun, food, and more scouts than you can shake a stick at (two years ago, I counted more than 70, a large number that takes on even more meaning when you consider there are only 30 major league teams). If you go, stop by and say hello, as I’m scheduled to be there signing books. I’m also slated to speak at the Marstons Mills Public Library this Sunday at 3pm, so perhaps I’ll see you there as well!