Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Random notes, thoughts

Some leftover notes and random osbervations from the Wild Things' 3 exhibition games against Slippery Rock:

* Washington finalized its roster for opening day by trading first baseman/outfielder Jarrod Klausman to Slippery Rock, releasing pitcher Shawn Kerek and putting pitcher Cory Hahn and catcher Ryan Price on the disabled list. Klausman should get plenty of playing time with Slippery Rock.

* It was hard to tell from the exhibition games if Washington is that good or Slippery Rock is that bad. The Sliders had only 14 hits in three games and committed 11 errors.

* Most pleasant surprise in spring training: a tie between pitcher Michael Hauff and pitcher Jeff Michael. Hauff isn't afraid to throws strikes and Michael doesn't look like a guy who had a 6.41 ERA last spring for Ball State.

* Here's betting that no more than a half dozen players on Slippery Rock's roster for the first exhibition game will be there at season's end. The Sliders desperately need some players with experience in affiliated ball.

* Is it my imagination or were there more bats broken in the exhibition games than you normally see in a month's worth of games?

* The 12 pitchers on the Wild Things' opening day roster combined for the following numbers in the exhibition games: 25 innings pitched, 10 hits allowed, 4 runs (3 earned).

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe Slippery Rock is only a one year holding place until another city is the east is established. Does the Frontier League own the Slippery Rock team?
Is the Wild Things ownership interested in owning another team in the league like Gateway and River City before the recent change in ownership at River City?
I don't believe a 1500 seat stadium can support a team financially in this league.

May 23, 2007 at 4:32 AM  
Blogger Chris Dugan said...

To the best of my knowledge, the Frontier League still owns the Slippery Rock franchise.
Yes, the Wild Things' ownership is, and has been for a long time, interested in owning another franchise in the FL. One of the world's worst-kept secrets is that the Wild Things want the franchise to be located in Fairmont, W.Va.
I've been to Jack Critchfield Park and it's a decent FL park. It reminds me of VA Memorial in Chillicothe. The problem with Slippery Rock is not the ballpark, it's the location. The town is too small to support a pro baseball team so the Sliders must draw from places like Butler, Sharon, New Castle and Cranberry Township to be successful.

May 23, 2007 at 12:12 PM  
Blogger Phil Gray said...

"* The 12 pitchers on the Wild Things' opening day roster combined for the following numbers in the exhibition games: 25 innings pitched, 10 hits allowed, 4 runs (3 earned)."

Chris -- how come we get your pitching coach to come to Chillicothe, and you still run pitchers who can put up those kind of number on the field in Washington?

May 24, 2007 at 2:44 AM  

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