Lyon and Caccomo face off ... with Banker and
DiCesare in the wings
Pitching looks like Davis and Mercado all over again
There they were, the four best pitchers of 2008, waiting for the game to begin. Kerry Lyon, the
defending Cy Young Award winner who is tied for first in lifetime victories with 34, stood with his bright Cubs hat on his
head. Next to him was fastballer Ian Banker whose 3.87 IRA was second best in the league. To his left was Kevin Caccomo, a
3.16 IRA coming in, getting ready for his second game of the year. He was flanked by the all-time saves leader Chris DiCesare
who had a perfect 4-0 record in 2008.
Any hitter who saw this assemblage had to figure that it was going to be yet ANOTHER
pitcher's duel. The Maybrook ballpark, which has been dominated by hitting for many years, was going to remain a
pitcher's haven in 2008. The last five contests had come down to the ninth inning, and none were won by a margin of greater
than four runs. Not since 2004 has there been such a collection of pitching talent. Then there was Timmy Davis and Derek Mercado.
Now, before you scoff at the comparison, read the game review ...
The day began oddly when Mike Lewis scratched on account of a personal committment and Brian
Killeen decided to simply keep score as he had not been feeling well. But Matt DiCesare (who had hit three game-winning
grand slams since June 1st) and Will Incremona - who homered in his only offical plate appearance last year - were
on hand to help form a decent-sized game.
How good was the starting pitching? Lyon and Caccomo allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of
their combined 12 half-innings! Lyon's performance today (2.67 IRA) was almost identical to Derek Mercado's mark in 2005 (2.65)
and earned him his 400th career pitching strikeout (only Alan Lewis' 436 is higher) and made him the first hurler
in league history to reach 550 innings pitched in a career. Showing almost immaculate control, Lyon again matched strikeouts
to walks with 8 of each, increasing his league-leading 2008 KO total to 47. Lyon knew that a victory on this hot July day
would give him 35 for his career, enough to move him out of a tie with Alan Lewis, and make him the winningest pitcher
in the history of the league.
But Kevin Caccomo stood in the way. Caccomo's 3.16 IRA was technically the best in the league,
but he lacked enough innings pitched to qualify for the leaderboard. More telling was that after Caccomo lost three decisions
in 2005, he has since run off four consecutive victories. He posted a 2-0 record in both 2006 and 2007, and a victory
today would make his 2008 record identical. His performance today could only be called Timmy Davis-like. He posted an IRA
of 1.00 (Davis posted a 1.17 in '05) while striking out ten batters and walking just 12. His worst inning of
work was in the first when he wasn't quite warmed up. He allowed his opponents a whopping total of three runs.
And if the hitters thought that when the two of them left the game that they would blow it open
... they were wrong. Ian Banker, in relief of Lyon, matched his third-best 2008 IRA of 3.87. Chris DiCesare, meanwhile hit
his IRA of 5.20 (fourth in the league) on the nose as well in his three innings of work.
The intensity of the game, the sixth consecutive contest that has been decided in the ninth,
and by three or fewer runs, was felt in each swing and every pitch. Hits were at a premium. DiCesare had 55-hit
performance (in 60 AB's) earlier this year with 22 homers hitting for both sides. Today all six
players barely reached 60 combined ... and hit just 15 long balls. And DiCesare was among them.
The returning Caccomo had to be the impact player of the game. Not only did he pitch his team's
way to an eventual 35-34 victory, but he led all hitters with 21 runs batted and 11 extra-base hits. His 8th inning triple
also garnered him the added bonus of hitting for the cycle to go along with his 2nd win - and fifth in a row - of the
season. DiCesare earned his 71st career save in relief.
Lyon suffered the fate of lowering his league-best IRA yet again, while absorbing the loss.
Kerry's teams have won four times 2008, but he still has only one elusive win to show for it. Matt DiCesare and
Will Incremona suffered through the brutal day as best they could. Matt, battling an upset stomach, had his string
of 8 straight games with a grand slam broken. Will, who maintained a positive demeanor all game, didn't hit his first
homer until the ninth inning. But on this day, even the veterans had a tough time of it.
Ian Banker, who last year enjoyed a battle for second place in the home run race, didn't leave
the yard today. His then rival Kerry Lyon managed just 4 on the day to put his half-year total at just over 30 (he broke 100
last year). DiCesare was able to get under a mere three all game. He may not break 100 taters this season, after clubbing
out 200 of them in 2006. Only Caccomo showed decent pop in his bat today with 7 long balls and 21 RBI, but even that
is not representative of what top hitters here have done in the past.
All day long ... there was one grand slam. Kerry Lyon launched it in the 7th inning to break
up DiCesare's potential goose egg. The best pitcher-hitter duel of the day belonged to Kerry and Kevin. Caccomo,
at the plate, fouled off ten consecutive pitches, after an inital 2-2 count (including a foul) before Lyon retired him
on the 16th pitch of the sequence. That might be a new league record.
And what of the future? Will games continue to finish around 1:00PM. Well, it might be a bet
worth taking. Caccomo, Lyon, Banker and DiCesare all plan on returning next week ... and so too might the Year of the
Pitcher.
