by Roy Reiss
January 3, 2013

Happy New Year everyone.  Believe it or not the 2013 season starts June 12 at Lowell Park versus Orleans. As we warm up in the left field bullpen, we present a potpourri of information gathered from here, there, and everywhere.

• One of the major stories of the 2012 Cape League season was the number of home runs hit and the swirling controversy over the baseballs used. For the record 384 round trippers were slugged in the 2012 campaign, as opposed to 159 in the 2011 season, a dramatic 142% increase. What was discovered was that the cushioned cork center (the inside of the ball) in the Diamond baseball was quite different from the 2011 version. It was this way in many of the summer leagues around the country. Projecting ahead to 2013, Diamond has guaranteed to the summer leagues that the baseballs this summer will be similar to the 2011 version. In fact CCBL President Judy Scarafile recently told league officials that a Diamond representative has traveled to China where the balls are made to supervise and make sure the 2013 ball is being properly manufactured.  Guess we’ll find out more June 12th!

• If you’re looking to follow any college players in the next couple of months, check out South Carolina’s roster. The Gamecocks have promised to send 4 players to Cotuit this summer and 2 bear close watching. Freshman All American hurler Jordan Montgomery should help Coach Mike Roberts staff this summer while Freshman All American catcher Jason Greiner should provide plenty of receiving depth behind Aramis Garcia. Both players are sophomores this year.  Meanwhile Coach Roberts is slated to attend the American Baseball Convention in Chicago this month along with 300 other college and high school baseball coaches. It’s a great time to solidify and establish relationships with coaches throughout the country.

• His name is Mark Ottavianelli which probably doesn’t resonate with Kettleers followers. Yet he has a unique and interesting connection with the team. Ottavianelli happened to be the plate umpire when the Kettleers ousted Yarmouth-Dennis in Game 3 of the championship series back in 2010. What does he remember of that dramatic 6-0 victory that enabled the Kettleers to hoist their 15th CCBL Championship? “It was quite a scene and the one thing that stands out to this day was the impressive performance of that pitcher from Stony Brook, Nick Tropeano. He wasn’t overpowering that day but his ball was moving all over the strike zone, up and down, in and out. It never was in the same spot two pitches in a row. What movement and command of his pitches he had that day.”  That from the man behind the plate in blue as he recalled Tropeano’s six and two thirds shutout innings in relief of starter Brady Rodgers on that August afternoon at Red Wilson Field.

• Pretty interesting information in Baseball America as the highly regarded publication listed 4 former Kettleers among the top 10 prospects for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. #3 First baseman CJ Cron (2010), #5 pitcher Austin Wood (2010), #10 infielder Alex Yarbrough (2011), and #4 pitcher Michael Clevinger (2011) are all highly regarded in the Angels minor league system.

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.