Rainouts tiring Cape League arms, spirits as coaches discuss change
By Bobby Manning
COTUIT, MA -- Kelly Nicholson labored past Cotuit’s Mike Roberts near the third baseline after a July 11 tie. Nicholson asked about Roberts’ next day off as his counterpart scooped baseballs into a bucket. Roberts tilted his head up to speak too soon. One break in Cotuit’s final 15 days proved optimistic.
Then the sky opened in the hours before their game against Harwich on Monday, postponing an already-rescheduled game until Thursday. The Kettleers now play 10 times in nine days to close the season.
A trio of veteran Cape League coaches want to change the league’s schedule, but disagree on how. The league postponed 41 games through July 22. With five-to-six matchups originally scheduled per week, the managers met earlier in the month to wonder if a 44-game schedule will suffice in future seasons.
“I'm tired,” said Nicholson, in his 15th season as Orleans’ manager. “I haven't thrown a pitch or run a hard 90 or legged out a double, and I'm tired. I'm mentally and physically tired.”
Consolidated schedules complicate roster construction for the Cape’s teams. They rely on college players for the summer, with temporary players replacing those participating in the College World Series late into June.
Most temporaries get released when full-timers arrive. Others remain when expected players don’t show.
“Roster building is probably one of the biggest challenges,” said Roberts. “To build what you think is going to be a pretty good team, and then all of a sudden, boom, you lose a pitcher … it's really challenging. It's a lot of guesswork.”
The Kettleers lost Joseph Nahas to the Chicago Cubs after pitching 18 innings into July. Coastal Carolina coaches ended Zach McCambley’s summer early after 20.2 innings a week later. Both posted sub-2.00 ERAs. UCLA’s Holden Powell pitched one game in June to honor his commitment to Roberts, then bolted for Team USA.
"I'm thankful he's here for a few days,” Roberts said then. “You'd be happy with the little things.”
Nicholson’s Firebirds suffered pitching losses later in mid-July, when it’s difficult to replenish the roster. Rainouts condensed their schedule, requiring more innings from pitchers with fewer rest days. College coaches oversee workloads, and have the final say on when a pitcher’s job is done.
Nicholson wants mandatory days off. He proposed cutting games from nine to seven innings and eliminating extra innings. The league plays seven innings for double-headers. Teams without lights, like Cotuit, routinely finish early due to sunsets three hours after their 5 p.m. first pitch. The league also allows ties.
Baseball’s low intensity won’t elicit much sympathy for the player’s schedules, but there’s more at stake than strain.
“I think part of the experience of the Cape League is experiencing this part of the country and bouncing into Boston on a day off,” Nicholson said. “Bouncing to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard. We need days off.”
Nick Gonzales, Cotuit’s second baseman, said they’ve spent their days between the team’s youth clinics and games. Roberts, renowned for his base-running expertise, lost time to coach extensively in that area. Mason McWhorter, of Georgia Southern, called this season a grind.
Harvey Shapiro, Bourne’s manager, said he started the season with only three pitchers he originally recruited due to the College World Series and USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. He suggested slashing four games.
Roberts wanted the league’s start date delayed to reduce the need for temporary players. Shapiro countered that the end of the season would then conflict with the return to college. This season’s playoffs run Aug. 2-10.
Cotuit’s Christian Robinson arrived late in June due in part to his Stanford University’s three-quarter schedule, as opposed to the common two semesters. Late arrivals get thrown into action immediately on the Kettleers.
“I think the biggest adjustment has been the switch to the wood bat,” said Matthew Mervis, who began his season arriving late from Duke. “Swinging with the metal bat all season, and getting thrown into the first game with the wood, you got to adjust on the fly.”
Temporary pitchers like Beck Way, from Belmont Abbey, benefit from the roster turmoil. He joined Cotuit despite his uncertain status. Unlike full-time players, who get subsidized room-and-board with host families, Way said he paid $105 each week for his spot.
“We play it by week here as temporaries,” he said. “When your name is called it's an opportunity, an opportunity to show yourself to scouts and people here to watch.”
They assume the risk of mid-summer release. Roberts works with players he cuts to find a role elsewhere in the Cape League or another summer league. Mason Dodd, Way’s college teammate, lost his spot with Cotuit and joined the Brewster Whitecaps.
"It was disappointing for him and his family, because we got to know Mason for a complete month,” said Rod Cameron, who housed Dodd for Cotuit. “He told us a lot about his mom and dad, and that they were proud of him to be going after his baseball dreams. It was heartbreaking.”
Disjointedness is part of the Cape Cod Baseball League and perhaps inevitable with so many interests and schedules. Players expect it and managers prepare for it. Nicholson admitted they should not overreact to one year of excessive rainouts. But the managers met to give change a chance.
“(We) talked about what we could do to make this league better,” Nicholson said. “There was a pretty good coach who said there's no progress without change. That was John Wooden. He was pretty old-school. But I think we have to adapt and we have to keep the player's best interest in mind.”