By Roy Reiss
July 17, 2015
As we head to the end of the regular season, some random thoughts, observations, maybe a little insight on what we’ve witnessed to date and what we may see in the remaining time.
Spencer Gaa lined a single to right to get the win in the 9th. Photo by Brigitte Rec
An unusual thing happened at Doran Park earlier this month that signaled once again how important coaching is. The Kettleers were trailing 3-2 in the top of the 9th with a runner on 3rd and one out. Long time Kettleers fans thought they knew what was coming and so did the Bourne Braves. This was Mike Roberts’ Small Ball time, safety squeeze or even suicide squeeze to tie the game. The Braves infield was in at the corners and playing halfway at 2nd and shortstop. Spencer Gaa (Bradley) was at the plate and everyone was anticipating the exciting bunt attempt. But Roberts allowed Gaa to hit away and he lined a single to right, just out of the reach of the drawn-in first basemen. “I just thought the bunt was a defensive play for our team in this instance and we needed something offensively to get us out of our slump,” explained a happy Roberts after the Kettleers rallied for 2 runs in the ninth to pull out an exciting 4-3 win over the Braves. Just when you think you know everything about a coaches tendencies, they throw you a change up!
Everyone loves to see a home run but it seems as if we’re seeing less and less of them this summer. One of the official scorers at a recent game commented that in all the combined home Chatham games he’d worked, there were only 2 home runs hit by the Anglers while in the one Kettleers game at Lowell Park he scored, Cotuit had hit 3 home runs. Through the first 28 games of the CCBL season there were only 106 round trippers hit and if projected out to the 44 game regular season, there would be a total of 167 for the season, a far cry from 2012 when a record 384 home runs were hit in the regular season.
Was sitting around one day thinking of some of the former Kettleers I’ve seen come through Lowell Park from 2010-2015 (not including this year’s team). Then I tried to come up with an All Star team from that time frame. Here’s my All Star lineup: Tony Kemp (’12) 2B, Bradley Zimmer (’13) CF, Jordan Leyland (’11, ’12) 1B, Logan Taylor (’14) LF, Deven Marrero (’10, ’11) SS, Mike Ford (’12, ’13) DH, Logan Vick (’11) 3B, Mike Yastrzemski (’10, ’11) RF, Aramis Garcia (’12, ’13) C. The utility position would be filled by Danny Diekroeger (’13). Austin Wood (’10 righty) and Christian Cecilio (’13 lefty) would be starting pitchers for the squad, while Dan Slania (’12) and Ryan Connolly (’12) would be the firemen. It’s a fun task and one that’s sure to be controversial as you leave out some pretty good players!
Roy’s All-Stars: (top) Kemp, Zimmer, Leyland, Taylor, Marrero, Ford, Vick; (bottom) Yaz, Garcia, Diekroeger, Wood, Cecilio, Slania, Connolly
Questions, questions, questions …
Is there a more fun day at Lowell Park than the 4th of July with Family Fun Day activities followed by the Falmouth-Cotuit game? … Isn’t it wonderful to see the energy and camaraderie of the Cotuit interns this summer? … Has coach Mike Roberts ever had a team without a submarine reliever? … Did you ever wonder why some of the head coaches coach 3rd base while many others in the league don’t?
The perfect finishing touches at Lowell Park. Thank you, Scott Hill and Stacy Wardwell.
Part of what makes the Cotuit Athletic Association so special is the wide scope of volunteers who help with so many things during the course of the calendar year. Exhibit A is Scott Hill who took it upon himself to buy and plant all the beautiful shrubs and flowers on the magnificent patio between the Kettleers Kitchen and Rest Rooms. It’s the perfect touch for an area that is a “must see” if you’re visiting Lowell Park.
Things that may interest only me …
We’ve seen more home plate umpires this season that have the slow strike call. Wish all the umps would be a bit quicker in calling strikes! … Speaking of the beautiful walkway project, kudos to Cotuit VP Stacy Wardwell who oversaw the entire project … No other CCBL team has as many 50-50 raffle prizes as the Kettleers have, and that’s thanks to the hard work of Janet Logan … Just wondering if Ivan Partridge ever imagined how his “Have a Hit” saying would become the battle cry of the Kettleers and live on forever!!!! We miss you, Ivan.
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.