by Roy Reiss
July 10, 2014
It’s hard to believe we’re heading to the end of the regular season, as it’s been one of those years with odd twists and turns. Seems like when the Kettleers hit in a game, another phase like pitching or defense goes south. And when they pitch well, the bats go silent. Let’s see if we can add some insight and thoughts to this up and down year.
Ian Rice earned his way to the final roster
The Ultimate Underdog.
Someone once said America loves an underdog. For some strange reason I’ve found myself rooting for Ian Rice, the catcher who started the season as a temp and has caught the majority of the games. Not heralded and from a small school (Chippola State) Rice has battled and earned his playing time night after night. Back in June most projected him as the 4th catcher on the team, but through the long schedule of games, Rice has emerged as someone you root for. He’s the kind of player you seldom notice, but need on your roster. In sports terms, most would refer to him as a “grinder”. He’s much like Nolan Clark (Concordia) from the 2013 team or if you go back to 2012 it would be Billy Bereszniewicz (Binghamton). While we always notice the big names and more publicized players, it’s nice to see someone do things the old fashioned way!
whiteboard
Dugout Intelligence.
The beautiful new dugouts at Lowell Park feature large whiteboards that the coaches usually use to post their starting lineups and other notes such as who bats when in batting practice. However, one of the opposing coaches recently posted a brief scouting report on the Kettleers for his team to see. Things like this are usually done in private at team meetings or on bus trips so it was something that caught the eye during one of the Lowell Park home games.
What is it about Fridays?
The Cape Cod Baseball League has a wonderful tradition with its Red Shirt Friday celebrations honoring the men and women, past and present, in the armed services. It’s a great way to show our appreciation. Unfortunately a majority of the Friday Night Red Shirts in Cotuit have been wiped out by rain. In looking back to 2013, 3 of the 4 Friday night Red Shirt games were postponed. And already this year 2 of the 3 scheduled Red Shirt celebrations have been rained out! With those kind of odds, it would be easy to predict another Friday night rainout for July 25th when the Kettleers are slated to host Wareham.
More on Scheduling.
No one ever said it would be easy and surely you could go through the league schedule and find many situations you’d like adjusted. Another oddity appeared when we noticed that all three Bourne home games this season were scheduled for a Tuesday, not normally an attractive date to draw big crowds. With Bourne being such a natural rivalry, it certainly would help if one of the 3 home games were slated for either a Friday, Saurday, or Sunday. Just another reason why the scheduling process needs a human touch.
Questions, questions, questions.
Whatever happened to making fly ball and pop up catches with two hands? Isn’t that what’s being taught in Little League Baseball all the way up? Or have I missed something along the way? … How many players do you think the Kettleers have had on the roster this season? … How many Kettleers starting pitchers have gone at least 5 innings in any start this season? … Is there anyone better than Alan Blanchette when he says “Here come the Kettles”?
Things that May Interest Only Me.
Hope you noticed that the Kettleers turned five double plays in a recent game and wound up in a tie. It’s pretty unusual to see that many twin killings by one team in any game! … Did you see how deep the Harwich outfielders were positioned ? Their outfielders rarely moved to the right or left, yet played as close to the fence as any team in recent memory … Those July 4th items Lise Bourque had in the Kettleers store were really special. Love those Kettleers hats and holiday tee shirts … Coach Mike Roberts may be the most decisive coach in history when making pitching changes … What a great job Joe Cavanaugh does with organizing the 4th of July Family Fun Day at Lowell Park!
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.