Covering the Cape Cod Baseball League
LSU star Anthony Ranaudo has popped up on the Brewster roster.
The junior was projected as a top-five pick in the preseason but an injury and some inconsistency sent him down draft boards. After going in the supplemental round to the Red Sox, Ranaudo said he would come to the Cape. Brewster is the destination.
As I write this, we are about 72 hours away from the first game of the 2010 Cape League season. Cotuit visits Wareham on Sunday night at 5 p.m.
The forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms. After last year, weather gods, can we just not let that happen? Please? I’m planning on making the drive over to Wareham. It should be a good night.
In terms of the blog, all the early looks are done. There’s a link on the right sidebar to all of them, if you want to do some light (or heavy) reading. Before the opener, I’ll post college stats for every 2010 Cape Leaguer. I’m also planning on writing a general season preview.
After that, play ball. Summer’s here.
According to Jim Kleinpeter of the New Orleans Times Picayune, Red Sox supplemental first-round pick Anthony Ranaudo is planning to come to the Cape this summer.
Ranaudo said he plans to pitch “a few” innings in the Cape Cod wooden bat league since the injury set him back this season.
“I feel like I’m just hitting my stride, ” said Ranaudo, who pitched effectively in his last five outings. “I reassured everybody that I’m feeling 100 percent healthy and I think I proved that the last four or five or six times out that I pitched.
“That’s another reason I’m going to Cape Cod this summer from the development and arm standpoint, get in shape, prove I’m healthy and that I’m still the same pitcher that I was.”
Ranaudo played for Y-D in 2008 and took last summer off because of a heavy workload. He came into the college season as a potential top-five pick but an injury and some shaky outings sent his stock slipping.
No word on which team Ranaudo will play for, or how long he’ll be there. But it’ll be interesting to see him back on the Cape.
Ten Cape Leaguers, past and future, were among the 17 players named Louisville Slugger First-Team All-Americans today.
Indiana’s Alex Dickerson (Wareham ’09 & ’10) and Arizona State’s Zack MacPhee (Bourne ’09 & ’10) played last year and are slated to come to the Cape again. The other former CCBL’ers are Chris Sale (Y-D ’09), Alex Wimmers (Bourne ’09), Cole Green (Wareham ’09), Yasmani Grandal (Brewster ’08) and Gary Brown (Orleans ’08 & ’09).
The other 2010 Cape Leaguers are Danny Hultzen (Hyannis), Paul Hoilman (Cotuit) and C.J. Cron (Cotuit).
Kansas State’s Nick Martini was named the Big 12 Co-Player of the Year with Missouri’s Aaron Senne. Texas Tech’s Barrett Barnes was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Both Martini and Barnes are ticketed for Falmouth this summer.
Martini finished with a league-best .415 batting average. Barnes hit .336 with 12 home runs, 19 doubles and 50 RBI.
Wareham-bound Alex Dickerson was named Big 10 Player of the Year yesterday. In a bit of news that’s not quite as good for the Gatemen, the Wareham web site reports he’s been invited to Team USA trials.
Regardless of where Dickerson ends up this summer, congratulations to him. The honor is well-deserved. Dickerson finished the regular season hitting .419 with 23 home runs, 19 doubles and 73 RBI.
In 46 days, the Cape Cod Baseball League season begins. I’m getting excited.
My plan for the next 46 days is to get the early looks up on a once-a-week pace. Since all the rosters are out this year and we’re not waiting for Chatham and Harwich, I’m alternating between West teams and East teams. Bourne is next, followed by Chatham. Then Falmouth, Harwich, Cotuit, Brewster, Hyannis and Y-D.
I’ll also try to do a few 2010 spotlights a week, looking at the guys who have caught my eye with big college seasons.
Also, once the college regular season is over, I’ll be posting a college stats database for all rostered 2010 Cape Leaguers.
That’s the plan for now. It’s going to be a good 46 days.
For the second year in a row, the Cape League All Star Game will be held at Fenway Park in Boston.
It was assumed that the game would be back there, based on schedules. The league made it official this week. The game will be played Wednesday, July 28.
The Red Sox will include the game on their pocket schedules, which is pretty cool. That’s bound to help attendance.
Good weather would also help. Here’s hoping.
The Cape Cod Times is reporting that the Hyannis Mets will change their name to the Harbor Hawks.
It’s the third name change in the league since Major League Baseball announced merchandising restrictions last year for teams that share a name with a Major League club.
The Bourne Braves, Harwich Mariners and Y-D Red Sox continue to stick with their names.