No summer vacation
Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/232220/
Brett Eibner doesn’t have much time for the beach, which makes him unlike the thousands of suntan-seeking summer inhabitants who flock to the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts every year.
Cape Cod is known as a summer vacation spot thanks to its seaside resort towns and miles of sandy coastline, but Eibner is there on business.
The Arkansas outfielder / pitcher is one of five Razorbacks playing in the Cape Cod League, which is considered the apex of the summer college baseball circuit. Every year it draws some of the top prospects in the country, and it is tracked closely by pro scouts.
Eibner and Arkansas teammate Dallas Keuchel are members of the Wareham Gatemen. Instead of enjoying their afternoons swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, they are stocking bookshelves at the local library since most players live with host families around town and take on jobs during the day.
“You get up, you go to work, get something to eat, and then you’re at the field taking [batting practice ] and fielding ground balls,” said Eibner, who is heading into his sophomore season at Arkansas. “You don’t have that much time.”
That’s OK with Eibner. He would rather focus on fine-tuning his swing and raising his batting average after a successful freshman year at Arkansas, where he hit. 298 with 8 home runs and a team-leading 48 RBI. Eibner, sophomore first baseman Andy Wilkins, junior outfielder Chase Leavitt and junior shortstop Tim Smalling are concentrating on developing their offensive consistency this summer by hitting with wood bats rather than the aluminum bats they use in college.
“I’ve been trying to figure some things out in terms of hitting,” Eibner said. “I like the [wood bats ] a lot. When you hit the ball in the sweet spot it’s more pure. There’s more room for error, obviously, but I love it.”
Smalling is sidelined with an elbow injury after earning the league’s hitter of the week honor earlier, but he and Leavitt have been struggling recently on offense for Harwich.
Wilkins, of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, and Eibner aren’t posting glamorous batting averages —. 260 for Wilkins and. 233 for Eibner — but they are among their teams’ leaders in RBI.
“It’s definitely a good start for those guys at that level. Most guys there are a year older, and that’s some valuable experience,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said of Wilkins and Eibner, who are expected to be key players for the Razorbacks next season. “They’ll be able to bring that back to our program this fall and help out some new guys. They’ll be our leaders.”
Keuchel, who is spending his second consecutive summer on Cape Cod, is making the most of his pitching appearances for Wareham. The junior left-hander will play in Friday’s Cape Cod League All-Star Game in Chatham, Mass., after compiling a 1-1 record and 1. 60 ERA in 7 appearances.
Keuchel was in a groove in his two most recent outings, working 17 innings with 15 strikeouts, 1 walk and 1 earned run allowed.
Success in the Cape League, especially for pitchers, doesn’t always guarantee future success since they have an advantage over hitters using wood bats. But Van Horn said he expects Keuchel to be an anchor of the pitching staff after he showed flashes his first two years at Arkansas.
He went 4-3 with a 4. 58 ERA in 2007, entering fall practice as the Razorbacks’ most experienced pitcher and a likely weekend starter.
“I think he knows this is a big year for him, his [draft ] year. We need him to have a big year on the mound,” Van Horn said. “He’s working on development and taking it seriously.”
Eibner is getting a good workout after starting 53 of 58 games in the outfield for Arkansas and pitching 24 innings as a freshman. After a five-day break at home in Texas after the Razorbacks were knocked out of the NCAA Stanford Regional, he had been playing almost every day in the Cape League before suffering a pinched nerve in his back and missing almost a week.
Eibner said he plans to return to the Gatemen’s lineup soon. He’s pitched just one inning this summer.
“Playing every day is a grind,” he said. “It almost was feeling like pro ball, and I really hadn’t had much time to rest.”
Tired and a little banged-up, the Arkansas players said the experience — with or without the beach — could pay off in the next few months.
“Pitchers are better here, so you have to be able to hit different pitches and not sit on certain pitches,” Eibner said. “You have to stay ahead of them.”