Back in the league

Two former Wild Things pitchers were picked up by teams over the weekend.

Mike Eisenberg, who began the season in Washington's rotation, started Sunday for Windy City against the Southern Illinois Miners. Eisenberg gave up only two runs (one earned) in six innings and was in line for the win until the ThunderBolts' bullpen registered its eighth blown save of the season.

Meanwhile, Jeff Michael was signed Sunday by the Chillicothe Paints. Michael played last year with Washington and was traded late in the season to Evansville. The Otters released Michael several weeks ago.

Story on Travis Risser

This story (link at bottom) about former Wild Things pitcher Travis Risser is one that I considered not putting on this blog for several reasons. The writer, from the Times Herald-Record in New York, didn't check his facts and he apparently exaggerated the truth to make the story better. Thus, he has little credibility left by the time you finish the story.

There are glaring factual errors in the story. There are no 19-hour bus rides in the Frontier League (and this was put in the first sentence). Heck, there are no 16-hour bus rides. I've been to Evansville and the city is anything but depressing. And I don't think anyone would call the ballparks at Southern Illinois and Traverse City, among others, dank and dirty. The minimum pay for a FL player last year was $600 per month. Also, if you've ever spoken to a Wild Things player or coach about road trips, then you know there is certainly AC on the bus. Perhaps the coldest place in the midwest during July and August is the Wild Things' bus when Arnold is driving. And no AC in the hotels. C'mon! I can't imagine the Hilton Garden Inn in O'Fallon, Mo., not having AC.

But, hey, why let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?

But it is a story about Risser, who is now pitching with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the short-season New York-Penn League, and it does mention the Wild Things and some people in Washington.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/SPORTS/806290337/-1/SPORTS

Record setter

When Washington center fielder Chris Sidick steps into the batter's box in the top of the first inning in the opening game of tonight's doubleheader at Chillicothe, he will set a record in the process. Sidick will be playing in his 280th career game with the Wild Things.

Sidick, a Cecil native and the Frontier League's all-time leader in triples (30), currently shares the Wild Things' games played record with Mike Arbinger (2004-06). The Frontier League record for games played is 411 by Fran Riordan, the current Kalamazoo manager.

Sidick could set two records in the doubleheader. He currently has 202 career runs scored, which is one shy of Arbinger's club record.

Starter, momentum suspended

Just when you thought the Wild Things finally gained some momentum and were headed in the right direction, along comes the news of the last two days.

First, there was the outing by starting pitcher Zach Groh on Friday at Traverse City. With Washington having a chance to sweep the three-game series, Groh lasted only four batters, retiring none. Groh left with a sore shoulder and it would seem that he's a candidate for injured reserve.

Then came word during Saturday night's game at Chillicothe that starting right fielder Matt Sutton has been placed on the suspended list. Randy Gore mentioned this during WJPA Radio's broadcast of the Paints' 10-3 victory. Sutton has been replaced on the roster by Tim Alberts, a rookie out of Niagara University. I didn't listen to the entire game Saturday night, so I had to find the information from the archived broadcast on msasports.net. There was no announcement Saturday from the Wild Things about why Sutton was suspended.

There also was more bad news on the injury front. It was mentioned during the broadcast that relief pitcher Ian Heisel has a sore elbow and his status is day-to-day. Also, shortstop Brett Grandstrand left the game with a hamstring injury.

It's always about pitching

The reason for the Wild Things' improved play over the last three weeks can be best summed up in two words: starting pitching.

Baseball always comes back to the starting pitching, right?

This can be seen in the quality starts (at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs allowed) and ERA of the starting pitchers in the first 17 games compared to the last 17:

First 17 games:
Team's record 7-10
Quality starts: 1
Starting pitchers' ERA: 7.06

Last 17 games:
Team's record: 11-6
Quality starts: 11
Starting pitchers' ERA: 2.42

That Washington was able to have a 7-10 record with only one quality start through the first 17 games is amazing. The record should have been much worse.

Quality starts for Frontier League teams through June 26:

Traverse City - 21
Florence - 14
Gateway - 14
Kalamazoo - 14
Rockford - 13
River City - 12
Washington - 12
Windy City - 12
Southern Illinois - 11
Midwest - 10
Chillicothe - 9
Evansville - 7

From Consol to PNC Park

Justin Christian, the guy playing left field for the New York Yankees last night against the Pirates at PNC Park, was making his major league debut. Christian's career began in 2003 in the Frontier League with the River City Rascals.

Christian played four games against the Wild Things in 2003, when he batted .301 in 38 games for the Rascals. Christian didn't fare well against Washington, going 2-for-14, including 1-for-6 in two games at what was then Falconi Field.

Christian began the 2004 season with River City and was signed by the Yankees after hitting .450 through 30 games.

Christian is the third major leaguer who has played at Consol Energy Park. Pitcher Joe Thatcher, who also played for River City, and Imperial native Scott Patterson have gone from the Frontier League to the majors while making stops as Wild Things opponents.

Waterworld

Thoughts and observations from another waterlogged night at Consol Energy Park:

Keep this in mind when reading this post: The thunderstorm that hit Washington and Greene counties Saturday night forced the stoppage at halftime and cancellation of the ProGrass high school football all-star game in Waynesburg; the Wild Things and Traverse City Beach Bums finished their baseball game after a rain delay of nearly two hours.

Something obviously is wrong here. The weather was too bad for a football game to be resumed. On artificial turf.

Yet it wasn't too bad to resume a baseball game on a grass field that was already deluged with rain one night earlier.

If it was asinine for the Wild Things and Beach Bums to play Friday night, what do you call the decision to resume play Saturday? How about foolish? Or just plain stupid?

To recap, the game was stopped after the top of the sixth inning with Washington leading, 3-1. The tarp was put down moments before the strong thunderstorm hit the area. The game was official at this point. Had it been called, the Wild Things would have won a rain-shortened game.

After roughly an hour passed, and with the outfield now a quagmire, Matt Neador (crew chief of the umpires) decided to resume play. There was some confusion as to whether or not Neader first banged the game and then changed his mind or not.

It was Neader's call at this point. Once the game's first pitch is thrown, the decision to stop or resume a game is up to the umpires.

Neader decided to resume play at 10:30 p.m. There was no doubt Washington manager Greg Jelks wanted the game to be called and put in the books. Traverse City manager Jon Cahill, of course, wanted play to resume. Both pleaded their cases. Cahill made a good point that the field had more standing water in the outfield Friday than it did Saturday, and there was no postponement of that game.

So Saturday night's waterlogged game was completed. Traverse City scored two runs in the top of the ninth for a 3-3 tie, but Washington won with a run in the bottom of the inning.

"That was just wrong to play in those conditions," Jelks said. "But the precedent we set by playing Friday caused us to play (Saturday). Cahill's point that the field looked better than it did Friday was valid."

The game should have never resumed. Baseball wasn't meant to be played in those conditions. But don't pin all the blame on Neader. He was just following standard procedure. The problem is the "Bill Lee Rule."

Lee is the commissioner of the Frontier League and a guy who has done many good things for the league. This, however, is not one of them. His mandate is that all games are to be played/resumed if the infield is dry and the weather forecast is favorable. It doesn't matter how much water is in the outfield.

(When telling this story late Saturday night to O-R assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano, his response was "If that's the case, then why don't they just go ahead and start the season in March?")

The outfield at CEP was simply too dangerous to play on after the water from the tarp was dumped in right field. To illustrate, the Beach Bums' Jake Whitesides hit a routine ground ball single in the 9th and ended up with a double because the ball stopped in a water puddle in right field. Washington's Matt Sutton couldn't scoop the ball out of the water and keep his footing at the same time. Or maybe Sutton was just blinded by all the water that was flying.

"It's sad to say, but it's probably going to take a kid getting hurt badly before we change things," Jelks said. "My question is, can't something be done about it before it gets to that point?"

At some point, common sense and the safety of the players has to come into play. In affiliated ball, Saturday night's game would have never been resumed. It wouldn't have been considered. Major-league teams won't risk getting their high-priced prospects hurt playing in such dangerous conditions.

Remember, the football game in Waynesburg (on artificial turf) was cancelled.

* By my count, when play resumed there were a mere 55 spectators in the ballpark. At least a few of these fans had a sense of humor about the situation. In the top of the ninth, when all was quiet between pitches, several diehards stood up and chanted "Let's play two! Let's play two!"

* The chanters were the Pat O'Brien Fan Club guys. "Pat-O-Bri-En!"

* Did anyone who stayed to the end notice that "Take me out to the ballgame" wasn't played at the seventh-inning stretch? Or that Jeff Williams was announced as "Now pitching for the Beach Boys" during a ninth-inning change?

Have you ever seen the rain?

Some notes and thoughts during another rainy evening at Consol Energy Park:

Manager Greg Jelks said after the 11-0 loss Thursday night to Traverse City that roster moves were possible. That didn't come as a surprise because the Wild Things had three players – pitchers Brooks Dunn and Jon Haldis and catcher Phil St. Amant – in uniform Thursday who were not on the active roster or injured reserve. None has been signed to a contract.

The only move announced Friday was that infielder Rene Quintana was put on the retired list.

Haldis, it would appear, is a potential replacement if Chris Rivera (elbow) is placed on injured reserve. The 21-year-old Haldis is classified as a rookie, though he spent three years in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization. St. Amant recently finished his senior season at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.

Dunn is a left-handed pitcher from Mississippi State who spent parts of three seasons in the San Diego Padres' system. One potential problem in signing Dunn, who traveled with the Wild Things during their recent three-game trip to Florence, Ky., is he's classified as an L2 by the Frontier League. Washington is already at its limit of two L2 players. To sign Dunn, the Wild Things must release, disable or trade one of their L2s or Veterans: Chris Sidick, Aaron Ledbetter, Brett Grandstrand, Mike Eisenberg or Pat O'Brien.

* The thundertstorm that swept through Washington around 5:45 p.m. has left Consol Energy Park's outfield with small ponds of standing water in left and right fields. And the tarp hasn't been removed yet. It's only going to get worse when the water on the tarp is dumped in the outfield.

Playing baseball in these conditions is, well, asinine.

* River City defeated Southern Illinois, 7-6, Thursday night on a walkoff home run by A.J. Van Slyke. Yes, he's the son of former Pirates center fielder Andy Van Slyke.

A.J. Van Slyke was signed Monday by River City after being released from the St. Louis Cardinals' system. The younger Van Slyke had advanced as far as Class AA with the Cardinals.

* The tarp is now off. Prior to its removal, Eisenberg amused the fans and his teammates by doing two head-first dives into the right-field pond.

* How's this for bad timing: Quintana was placed on the retired list the night he's the player on the posters given out at the gate by the Observer-Reporter.

* I can't imagine Jelks or Travese City manager Jon Cahill – or any outfielder – is very happy about the decision to play this game.

Oh, Mann

One transaction from Thursday in the Frontier League was Kalamazoo releasing pitcher Sam Mann, a Washington & Jefferson College graduate. Mann had a 1-1 record and 7.89 ERA in his second season with the Kings. In five games (four starts), Mann had allowed 33 hits in 21 2/3 innings. He walked only four but struck out just six batters.

Last year, Mann was 6-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 15 starts.

If this is the end of the line for Mann in baseball, don't feel too badly for him. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate while at W&J and seems to be the kind of person who will succeed in whatever endeavor he pursues.

Risser in New York-Penn League

Former Washington relief pitcher Travis Risser has been assigned to the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Tamp Bay Rays' affiliate in the short-season New York-Penn League.

Risser had five saves in nine games and a 1.64 ERA for Columbus of the Class A South Atlantic League before being sent back to extended spring training. He pitched one scoreless inning Tuesday night in the season opener for the Renegades.

Pitcher Michael Lucas has been assigned to the Bristol Sox of the Appalachian League. I have yet to see pitcher Corey Bachman listed on a roster in the Toronto Blue Jays' system.

More fake grass

Here is a story about an agreement being struck between Avon, Ohio, and National Sports Center to form Avon Baseball LLC, which will own a team in the Frontier League next season.

Check out the story here.

The most interesting part of the story is the new ballpark in Avon will have artificial turf, bringing the total of Frontier League parks with fake grass to four. The others are Chillicothe, Traverse City and Southern Illinois.

Roster filled

The Wild Things filled their open roster spot – the result of pitchers Michael Lucas and Corey Bachman having their contracts sold to affiated clubs last week – by signing right-handed pitcher Zach Groh out of Binghamton University.

Groh (6-2, 205) is from Reading, Pa., and a graduate of the The Perkimen School.

In four seasons at Binghamton, Groh had a 19-8 record and 2.94 ERA. In 235 2/3 career innings, Groh gave up 195 hits and 75 walks. He struck out 251. He was the America East Conference Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore.

Groh is scheduled to start the Wild Things' game Tuesday at Florence.

Washington had played Thursday night with the league minimum 22 active players. Pitcher John leonard was activated Friday to bring the total to 23, one below the limit.

Brett Grandstrand, power hitter

When Brett Grandstrand hit a home run Friday night in his second game back with the Wild Things, nobody was more surprised than the guy who hit the ball.

Grandstrand is known for many things - being one of the best defensive players to come through the Frontier League is one - but being a home-run hitter is not one of them. How rare was Grandstrand's home run, which cleared the back tier of fencing in left field? In his last 688 at-bats, dating back to 2004 in the Pirates' system, Grandstrand had only one home run, that coming last year for Columbus, Tampa Bay's affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League.

"I would have never guessed that my first hit would be a home run," Grandstrand admitted Saturday night, "especially when I haven't seen live pitching since September of last year."

Grandstrand wasn't even expecting to play baseball this year. After being released by Tampa Bay in the offseason, Grandstrand was coaching a high school team in North Bend, Wash., giving baseball lessons and coaching a 15-year-old youth team.

The Wild Things, meanwhile, had kept Grandstrand in mind, just in case they had a need for a shortstop. They also needed a roster spot to open for a player classified as a Veteran - three years or more of pro experience - by the Frontier League.

When Washington released outfield Mike Butia, it opened a Vet spot. Then, a little more than a week ago, shortstop Jeff Beachum's cranky back began bothering him. It landed Beachum on injured reserve.

It didn't take long for the call to go out to Grandstrand. He received a telephone call last week from former Wild Things teammate Chris Carter - now the team's hitting coach - and was asked if he wanted to play again.

"I did miss playing, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to make a comeback," Grandstrand said. "I was happy with what I was doing. But one thing led to another and here I am."

So Grandstrand flew out of Seattle and headed for Washington, Pa. In his second game back, he hit a home run. This after not hitting a homer in 282 at-bats with Washington in 2006.

Grandstrand, the Pirates' 14th-round draft pick out of Coastal Carolina in 2004, made two spectacular defensive plays Saturday night. One was a catch of a throw from pitcher Mike Schellinger at the second-base bag. The throw was a little too far on the first-base side of the bag, but Grandstand made a sprinting catch, and with a runner bearing down on him, fired a leaping throw to complete a double play. The other gem was a sliding catch going to his left to field a grounder, and he threw out the batter to end a River City scoring threat.

"We had the Vet spot open and we were waiting to use it to sign a pitcher," Washington manager Greg Jelks said. "But there were no pitchers out there, and in the meantime our shortstop hurts his back. We had to sign Grandstrand because he really solidifies our defense."

Where is everybody?

There were plenty of things from the Wild Things' recently concluded series against the Southern Illinois Miners that caught one's attention.

There was the impressive four-hitter thrown by Aaron Ledbetter. He looked like the Ledbetter who dominated the league last season, not the guy who struggled at times in his first three starts this year.

There was Washington's impressive power hitting Thursday night in a 16-2 win. When was the last time the Wild Things hit four home runs in three innings? I'm willing to bet that has never happened.

But what was most noticeable was the lack of fans in the stands. The announced attendance of 2,144 Tuesday night marked the second-smallest crowd ever for a Wild Things home game. The only smaller crowd was on June 4, 2002, when 1,712 fans clicked the turnstiles for a game against Chillicothe. It was the fourth home game in franchise history.

The attendance for the series against South Illinois was 7,205 - the fewest fans the Wild Things have drawn for a three-day series.

So where is everybody?

Is the luster gone from the Wild Things? Is the $4 price for a gallon of gas keeping fans away from Consol Energy Park? Are you taking a been-there, seen-that approach to attending a Wild Things game? Are you waiting until later in the season to go to a game? Did the Wild Things' 1-6 start dull your enthusiasm for the team?

Believe me, the Wild Things' officials have noticed your absence. They went as far offering a buy-one-ticket, get-one-free promotion for the current six-game homestand.

I overheard one employee mention that attendance doesn't pick up until Father's Day. There's a lot of truth to that statement, but you can't ignore that attendance is down. The Wild Things are averaging 2,848 fans through nine home games, which is fifth-best in the Frontier League. Through nine home dates last year, Washington averaged 3,191 fans.

Lucas to White Sox

Michael Lucas' stay with his hometown team wasn't a long one – two days to be exact – but nobody was complaining Thursday at Consol Energy Park. That's because Lucas had his contract purchased by the Chicago White Sox.

A Trinity High School and Xavier University product, Lucas never did appear in a game with the Wild Things after signing with them Tuesday. He did throw in the bullpen during the ninth inning of Washington's 9-1 win Tuesday over Southern Illinois.

Lucas (6-3, 215) had a 7-2 record this spring with Xavier and was a first team all-Atlantic 10 Conference selection.

Lucas said he will be joining Chicago's Bristol (Va.) affiliate in the rookie-level Appalachian League. He leaves this morning for a short preseason camp.

Lucas said he had no contact with the White Sox before or after last week's major league draft.

"My only connection with the White Sox was a couple of my teammates at Xavier were picked up by them," Lucas said Thursday night.

The 22-year-old right-hander said he received a call Thursday morning from J.D. Heilmann, his pitching coach at Xavier, altering him to the White Sox's interest.

"I woke up this morning planning to go to the ballpark," Lucas said. "I was hoping to get some innings in and get my feet wet in professional baseball. Then I get the call from my pitching coach from school. He said the White Sox had drafted a couple of pitchers who didn't sign and don't be surprised if they call."

It didn't take long for the phone to ring again.

"I was still on the phone when I heard another beep. My coach said, "Go ahead, answer it.' Wouldn't you know it, it was the White Sox. They said, 'Would you like to sign a contract with us?' This all happened in a five-minute span."

It's the second year in a row the White Sox have picked up a player from Washington County. Last year, Chicago drafted outfielder Duke outfielder Jim Gallagher of Peters Township. Gallagher is batting .249 with 4 home runs in 59 games for Kannapolis of the Class A South Atlantic League.

Lucas is the second player in as many days to have his contract sold by the Wild Things to an affiliated team. On Wednesday, relief pitcher Corey Bachman joined the Toronto Blue Jays' system.

Patrick Stanley update

Former Wild Things pitcher Patrick Stanley continues to dominate in the Atlantic League - the highest level of independent baseball.

Stanley stretched his scoreless streak to 21 1/3 innings Wednesday during a 6-0 win for the Newark Bears over the Lancaster Barnstormers. Stanley (6-0) pitched 6 2/3 innings and struck out six. He hasn't allowed a run since May 31. Earlier this month set the Newark franchise record for strikeouts in a game (15).

As a hard-throwing 6-7 right-hander and dominating in a league that includes many former major leaguers, you have to think that Stanley won't be around the independent circuit much longer.

Blue Jays purchase Bachman's contract

The revolving door to the Wild Things' clubhouse was in full swing Wednesday as the team made a flurry of roster moves.

The most significiant transaction was right-handed pitcher Corey Bachman had his contract purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays. Bachman had a 1-1 record and 2.19 ERA in seven relief appearances for Washington. He gave up nine hits and four walks in 12.1 innings and struck out eight. The league was batting .200 against Bachman, who played last summer for the Cubs' rookie-league team in Arizona and posted a 3-0 record in 13 games, all in relief.

Bachman and Washington starting pitcher J.J. Hollenbeck were teammates at Virginia Military Institute.

The Wild Things also placed shortstop Jeff Beachum (back) on injured reserve and signed a new shortstop. Well, not exactly a new one. Washington re-signed Brett Grandstrand, who was the Wild Things' shortstop in 2006 and spent last season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League.

Trinity grad Lucas signed

The Wild Things made one roster move prior to opening a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Southern Illinois Miners. Right-handed pitcher Michael Lucas was signed and lefty Alan Stidfole was released.

Lucas is a Trinity High School graduate who recently finished his collegiate career at Xavier University. Lucas had a breakout season for the Musketeers this spring, going 7-2 with a 4.15 ERA. He struck out 64 batters and walked 27 in 84 2/3 innings. Lucas was one of only two pitchers named to the all-Atlantic 10 Conference first team.

Stidfole, a former Penn State player, had struggled all season, going 0-2 with a 21.86 ERA. Last year, Stidfole had a 4-3 record in 12 starts last year.

Everything but a win

The Wild Things played their second extra-innings game in as many nights Friday, a five-hour marathon against the River City Rascals that included 14 innings, one rain delay and one - get this - fireworks delay.

What the Wild Things really needed the night to include was a victory.

Twice Washington took the lead in extra innings but was unable to come away a victory as River City scored two runs in the bottom of the 14th on Brad Hough's single to beat the Wild Things 6-5.

Washington battled back from a 3-1 deficit in the sixth inning to force extras tied at 3-3. After the ninth, the game was delayed so that the planned postgame fireworks show could be held before the start of extra innings.

In the 12th inning, Washington took a 4-3 lead when Robbie Knapp (pictured) reached on a two-base throwing error and scored when Matt Sutton drove a ball off the tall right-field wall at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. River City, however, tied it at 4-4 when Jeff Miller homered off closer Ian Heisel.

Two batters after the game was briefly delayed by rain in the top of the 14th, Knapp hit a solo home run to give Washington the lead again, 5-4. But River City responded one more time, winning the game with a double, hit batsman, groundout and Hough's two-run single.

Perhaps the worst part of the night for the Wild Things was that the bullpen was overworked and no starting pitcher has been announced for tonight's game. Chris Rivera, Friday night's starter, went 4 1/3 innings and six relievers were used over the final nine innings. Corey Bachman, Dan Horvath, Matt Maradeo and Kevin Reese combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings. Mike Schellinger (2-1) was the losing pitcher.

Washington's record fell to 6-9 and the Wild Things are 1-3 on the road trip.

Extra helping

Phil Butch scored on Jacob Dempsey's double to right field to give the Wild Things a 5-4 victory over Southern Illinois in 10 innings Thursday night at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill.

The Wild Things overcame a 4-1 deficit to salvage the final game of the three-game series.

Washington started its comeback in the sixth inning when Nathan Messner hit a solo home run. It was Messner's first homer since he was activated from the retired list Tuesday.

Washington added a run in the seventh to pull to within 4-3, then tied the game when it was down to its final out. Kris Rochelle singled with two outs in the ninth and Jeff Beachum followed with a run-scoring double to force extra innings.

Washington misplayed two balls in the bottom of the 10th, but Ian Heisel got two strikeouts with the tying run on third base to end the game.

Maybe the key for the Wild Things is to pitch Mike Schellinger in every game. Schellinger (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief and picked up his second win in as many games with Washington.

From The Southern newspaper's Miners' blog comes this quote from Washington manager Greg Jelks: “It’s a relief. I’ll take it any way I can get it right now. … It’s a positive. Anytime you can play as bad as we played - we had eight errors in the (first)two games - and to come out tonight and play as well as we did … and come away and win the ballgame, that’s something to build on.”

Another loss for Wild Things, record for Ledbetter

Southern Illinois scored five times in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday night to beat the Wild Things 8-3 at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill.

The loss drops the Wild Things' record to 5-8.

Washington starting pitcher Aaron Ledbetter (1-2) took the loss but he pitched very well - 7 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. He looked like the Ledbetter of old, retiring 10 in a row at one stretch and 16 of 17 entering the decisive eighth.

Ledbetter also set the Frontier League record for career strikeouts when he fanned Jake Smith in the fifth inning. The right-hander has 438 career strikeouts. He moved past Matt Schweitzer (434). Ledbetter now holds the FL records for wins, starts, innings pitched, strikeouts and is tied for the complete game mark.

Again, some shoddy defense and a couple of baserunning mistakes hurt the Wild Things. They committed four errors for the second consecutive game. One error led to an unearned run in the second inning. In the decisive eighth, Washington made throwing errors in the outfield and on a bunt. Also, a Miners batter reached base safely after striking out swinging because the pitch went to the backstop.

In the top of the first, Washington's Jacob Dempsey - he drove in two of the Wild Things' three runs - was at second base with two outs when Nathan Messner hit a single up the middle that SI shortstop Mike Scanzano fielded behind the second-base bag. Dempsey never stopped running and tried to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate.

In the seventh, Dempsey doubled home Phil Butch with the game-tying run but was thrown out attempting to stretch the hit into a triple. It was the first out of the inning. Ouch!

From The Southern newspaper's Miners blog comes this eye-popping quote from Washington manager Greg Jelks:

“Aaron threw an outstanding ballgame and we had the situation where I brought my setup guy in and he left the pitch up and then it looked like everything broke loose. I really have to question the heart of my ballclub right now.”

Normal for the Frontier League

It appears Normal, Ill., will join the Frontier League in 2010 with an ownership group led by Mike Veeck (pictured), son of former Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox Bill Veeck, who once sent a midget to bat in a major-league game.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/06/04/sportsextra/doc4845fffba6ba7316518298.txt

You might recall that Mike Veeck almost was an owner of Washington's Frontier League franchise. This is from a story that appeared in the Observer-Reporter in September of 2005:

For quite a while, it appeared the Goldklang Group, led by attorney Marv Goldklang, comedian Bill Murray and Veeck, would be the majority owners of the Washington team. The developers of Falconi Field, Ballpark Scholarships Inc. (BSI) entered into extensive negotiations with the Goldklang Group. Former Rep. Leo Trich, who led the drive to bring minor league baseball toWashington, felt the ownership would be in good hands with the experience of Veeck and the Goldklang Group.

"We were down to the details of the lease and it was within a day or two of happening," said Trich, who is now director of development for the Frontier League. "The Goldklang Group required about $400,000 in local investors and so we were working on that."

This where John Swiatek came in. When contacted by Trich about being a minority owner, Swiatek said he'd like to be a majority owner and would attempt to get a local ownership group together.

Back to the O-R story from 2005:

The BSI board had two options for ownership and, after some debate, a straw vote was taken. The Goldklang Group received the majority vote. Trich called Swiatek with the news.

"Leo said they were going to go in a different direction and I just went my merry way," Swiatek said. "It was a little different from the typical business situation because it was the chance to have some fun at the same time. From that point, BSI's decision was disappointing."

The disappointment didn't last long. The Goldklang Group had problems with the structure of the lease for Falconi Field that would see the payment rise to cover the needed improvements. Goldklang wasn't interested in being held responsible for building parking lots and other needs, so Trich made another call to Swiatek. After talking with both prospective ownership groups, BSI took another vote.

"One of the comments that will always stand out in my mind was when (the late Observer-Reporter treasurer) Ed DeVoge said, 'Whose kitchen table do you want to be sitting across from if there are problems in year two or three?' That made a strong impression on me," Trich said. "It was a choice of going with a group from South Carolina that had a lot of experience but was upset with the lease, or a local group that had no baseball experience but was committed to making it work. By one vote, the BSI board went with the local group.

"The decision thrilled Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee, who had been advocating the local ownership group throughout the negotiations. The Goldklang Group was also operating the Evansville Otters at that time, and the franchise was struggling. Goldklang severed its ties with Evansville following the 2002 season after three years and has no ownership investment in the Frontier League."

Wrong kind of record

So much for the momentum gained from a weekend sweep of Florence and a four-game winning streak.

The Wild Things began their six-game swing to the midwest Tuesday with an ugly 18-3 loss to the Southern Illinois Miners. The 15-run loss tied the record for worst in Wild Things history. To find the only other 15-run loss, you have to go all the way back to the fifth game of the franchise's first season when the Richmond Roosters defeated the visiting Wild Things 19-4 on June 2, 2002.

Such records, of course, only take into account regular-season games. The most-lopsided loss by a Washington team was the forgettable 20-3 loss to Chillicothe in the decisive Game 5 of the East Division finals in 2005.

Washington committed three errors in Southern Illinois' five-run first inning and trailed 13-2 after four innings. Starting pitcher Mike Eisenberg gave up seven runs (one earned) in two innings.

Here is a quote from Washington manager Greg Jelks, taken from the The Southern newspaper's Miners blog:

“It was probably one of the worst games I ever saw. The pitcher couldn’t get the ball over the plate. You go up two-to-nil in the first inning and we come out in the bottom and don’t throw strikes. We can’t get anybody out. We walked guys and the third baseman can’t catch the ball. It was just one of those nights, man. One of the ugliest things I’ve seen.”

Game 2 of the series will be played tonight and will be webcast by the Miners. Click on the link in the post below.

Wild Things-Miners webcasts

The Wild Things' series at Southern Illinois is being webcast at

http://www.ibnsports.com/baseball/miners.aspx

As webcasts go, this one is pretty slick. I recommend checking it out. Then again, you might want to wait until Wednesday. Southern Illinois has an 8-2 lead in the fourth inning. Washington already has four errors.

Alonso released

The Wild Things released first baseman John Alonso. In 10 games, Alonso (pictured) was batting .259 with one home run and five RBI. Alonso missed some playing time last week after suffering a bruised foot. He was signed early in spring training after being released from the Milwaukee Brewers' high-Class A team.

There's a good chance that first baseman Nathan Messner will be signed to fill the roster spot. Messner has been working out with the team since spring training and the plan was to take him on the road trip to Southern Illinois and River City.

Messner originally was expected to miss the entire season and undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Messner, however, received a second opinion and was told there was no tear in the shoulder.

Making tracks

This is a subject I've often thought about and should have blogged about a long time ago. I guess I never thought a post about warning tracks would be timely or the least bit interesting.

The warning track at Consol Energy Park is dangerous. There, I said it. The warning track is very dangerous. Too dangerous by my standards. Probably too dangerous by Phil Butch's standards, too.

Butch is an infielder for the Wild Things who sometimes finds himself playing the outfield in emergency situations. Such was the case Sunday night when Butch moved from second base to left field in the third inning against Florence.

In the sixth inning, Butch tried to to make a diving catch of a ball hit by Florence's Billy Mottram. The ball was hit over Butch's head, and as he raced full speed toward the outfield wall, Butch dove. He got his glove on the ball but couldn't hang on to make the catch. Mottram ended up with a triple.

You can't say Butch didn't hustle and give the play his all. And you can't blame him for not making the catch. Not when his face bounced and skidded across the gravel warning track. Make that rock-filled warning track.

Butch came away from the dive with nasty scrapes on his right cheek and the right side of his head, around his eye. Butch looked like he had gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson during the latter's prime.

I'm not a doctor, but against my better judgement I'm going to play one on the Internet. After talking briefly with Butch after the game, I wouldn't be surprised if he had suffered a concussion, too. A few minutes later, he was taken to the hospital to be checked by a doctor.

This was something that could have been prevented. As I stated above, the warning track at CEP is dangerous. Most pro fields have warning tracks made of crushed lava, crushed brick or baked clay (see picture). The track at CEP was originally crushed gravel chips. It might have been mixed with sand. I assume going with the gravel chips was a cost-cutting measure. It sure wasn't a safety measure.

In the first year or two of the ballpark, the track was passable at best. Over the years, most of the gravel chips have either been washed away by rain or pushed below the surface by vehicles or kicked aside. What's left is some gravel chips, some sand, some field drying mixture and gravel rocks that have risen to the surface. Make that a lot of rocks. Too many rocks. Too many big rocks. I usually find myself kicking some of the rocks aside each time I walk on the track. I don't know why. I could kick from now until November and still not remove half of the rocks.

A baseball field - especially one used by high school players - shouldn't have gravel rocks on the warning tracks. I know I've walked on that track at least 100 times thinking to myself, "There's no way I'd dive for a baseball on this thing."

Phil Butch might be thinking the same thing next time a ball is hit his way.

Great Scott

Right-handed pitcher Scott Patterson, a West Allegheny High School graduate who played in the Frontier League for the Gateway Grizzlies for two seasons, has been called up to the major leagues by the New York Yankees, making him the 15th FL alum to make the big leagues.

During the offseason, Patterson used to work as an instructor at the Bianco School of Baseball near Hendersonville.

Patterson was the final player sent to the minors this year by the Yankees following spring training. He began the season at Class AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre. In 22 appearances, Patterson was 1-0 with three saves. In 23.2 innings he had 22 strikeouts and only five walks.

The Oakdale native is the second player to make the major leagues after playing at Consol Energy Park. Patterson pitched in two games against the Wild Things, going 1-1 in 2003. He pitched seven shutout innings to beat the Wild Things in Sauget, Ill., but one week later gave up 11 hits and five runs in 6.2 innings and took a loss at Falconi Field, er, uh, Consol Energy Park.