It would be an understatement to say it's been a tough start for the 2025 Cotuit Kettleers. The Ketts have lost six consecutive games, sit at 1-7 (the worst start through eight games since 2016), and are at the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive statistic. Despite the horrific start, Cotuit is determined to rebound and return to being one of the best teams in the CCBL, which it has been known for recently.
"We were better offensively tonight, maybe the best game we've had offensively, so that was a positive. We have to catch the ball better all the way around," Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs said following a 5-4 loss on Sunday. "We're going to keep working and keep making adjustments. There's nowhere else to go, is there? We've got to keep showing up."
After starting the season 0-1 due to a walk-off single on June 14, followed by an extra-inning win of its own the next day. With the roster Cotuit has, while sitting at .500, there was little pressure as many assumed the Kettleers were settling in and would be a good team per usual.
Well, six consecutive losses later, the Ketts have the worst record and run differential (-22) in the CCBL. While it's certainly not the start Hibbs and his team had envisioned, there's a lot of time to make up for the slow start, but it needs to start now. The Script C has looked much better in its last two games, but it still dropped both contests to Hyannis and Bourne.
The message to the team is clear: don't let outside noise affect you, and come ready to work every day.
"We just keep it real. There's going to be times in baseball and life when things don't go well, I think if there's a willingness to listen to outside noise, then it will continue," Hibbs says after Friday's loss to Harwich. "But if there's a willingness to focus every day on being the best version of yourself, then you have a chance to correct things."
It's extremely easy for athletes to get into their heads due to their play or outside noise, whether that be social media, fans, scouts, etc. But the Cotuit skipper wants his team to focus on improving daily to hopefully dig out of this early hole.
The pitching staff has been solid, posting a 3.53 ERA and .206 batting average allowed (No. 3 in the league), but the offense has been dysfunctional through eight games. Cotuit ranks last in SLG, OPS, extra-base hits, runs, and RBIs. To make things worse, the Kettleers are getting on base, but their .091 batting average with runners in scoring position has haunted them in every game this summer.
They did take a slight step up on Sunday, collecting eight hits, tying a season-high four runs scored, and mashing four extra-base hits, but left 16 runners on base. That's a problem. While you could point to many reasons why hitting with RISP has troubled the Ketts, Hibbs points to one thing in particular.
"I think it's guys rush when they get in those situations. We've talked to them about slowing it down," he says. "You have to slow the game down. When the game starts speeding up, it's hard."
Cotuit knows what it needs to fix, and having a rest day on Monday and then getting some work done pregame on Tuesday can perhaps make the proper adjustments. As Hibbs said, there's nowhere else to go from here.
