The clock is ticking
With the clock ticking and the transaction deadline less than 10 minutes away, the only move the Wild Things (as found on the Frontier League homepage) have made is catcher Josh Geric was placed on the retired list and outfielder Rob Vernon, a former Wild Thing, was signed.
Vernon batted .258 last year with 15 stolen bases in 41 games. He was traded in the offseason to Midwest in the Phil Butch deal. With the Sliders, Vernon batted .257 in 20 games and was released. He was picked up by Chillicothe and played 14 games with the Paints, batting only .174 with four stolen bases before again being released.
Vernon will likely be a late-innings defensive replacement and pinch-runner.
Vernon wasn't the only former Wild Thing picked up at the deadline. Pitcher Andy Schon was acquired by Florence in a trade with Laredo of the independent United League. Schon was dealt to Laredo by the Wild Things in the offseason after going 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA for Washington in 2007. Schon was 8-5 with a 4.61 ERA and three complete games with Laredo.
Vernon batted .258 last year with 15 stolen bases in 41 games. He was traded in the offseason to Midwest in the Phil Butch deal. With the Sliders, Vernon batted .257 in 20 games and was released. He was picked up by Chillicothe and played 14 games with the Paints, batting only .174 with four stolen bases before again being released.
Vernon will likely be a late-innings defensive replacement and pinch-runner.
Vernon wasn't the only former Wild Thing picked up at the deadline. Pitcher Andy Schon was acquired by Florence in a trade with Laredo of the independent United League. Schon was dealt to Laredo by the Wild Things in the offseason after going 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA for Washington in 2007. Schon was 8-5 with a 4.61 ERA and three complete games with Laredo.
posted by Chris Dugan at
8:42 PM
14 Comments:
The hardest thing to find right now is pitching that can impact your club. College rookies are usually your only option, and 9 out of 10 of them won't impact you positively.
Meetings, smeetings. That doesn't win games. It's just a bunch of baloney.
The ticking has stopped.
The patient has died.
Arrangements are incomplete at this time.
From the rapidly declining activity on this blog it seems nobody cares anymore.
Could be that, or the fact that Maxx stuck his nose in where it wasn't wanted.
Anyway, this blog seems to have died. RIP
ooops! I meant Mazz.
I was told that the FL plays by all the rules that apply to MLB.
Oh Yeah? There is a MLB rule against making a travesty of the game. This rule was brought on by the old St Louis Browns sending a ‘little person’ (can’t say midget anymore) to bat during a game played in the WW2 era. If the Midwest Sliders aren’t a ‘travesty’ then what would you call them? It is not their fault; it is the FL’s fault. Why should just one team in the league NEVER have the advantage of a home stand or the last at bat? This certainly has to have a very negative effect on the Sliders. Due to fatigue, and the other obvious disadvantages of ALWAYS being the visiting team, this situation makes them easy prey for most of the contending teams. The other teams are not burdened by the same stress that comes with always being the visiting team. No small wonder that their record is so poor.
The fans also lose in this situation because they are entitled to see teams that are as equal as possible. Given the Sliders situation, this is not going to happen – probably impossible. Sure, most ‘home team’ fans like to see their team beat up on the Sliders, but is that what we really deserve as paying customers? Fans that enjoy this brand of competition are NOT true baseball fans. Should there really even be a ‘traveling team’? Of course this is the day and age of inferior teams being in the play-offs (Evansville 2006) and possibly going all the way. I know the rules in effect in 2006 allowed them to participate and, as it turned out, win the championship. No one will EVER convince me that it wasn’t ‘tainted’!
Now that the FL was plans for further expansion, it would seem that the quality of play will, most likely decline. I am not so much opposed to expansion as I am concerned that we will see an exponentially decrement of play through out the League. I hope not. There seems to be, even at the present time, a lack of quality players to fill the rosters of the teams that already exist. I think a ‘go slow’ approach would be better in the long run. But, what do I know? I pretty sure that the FL officials are already pissed off at me, so what’s one more opinion now?
Ron Wilson
Illegitimati non carborundum!
BTW: Why would anybody think that John Massarelli’s participation on this blog would have a negative effect on it? Get a life!
Also, don’t give up on the Wild Things just yet – still a lot of baseball to be played.
D E D.
Sorry, Ron, 45 games is a lot of baseball left to be played.
35 games is a lot of baseball left to be played.
3 1/2 games out of the playoffs with four teams between WT and the Wild Card, with 21 games, that's NOT a lot of baseball left.
the sliders do get home field advantage split between teams
The clock is ticking!
The bull pen is slipping.
4 man rotation the balance of the season.
Fortunately several off days before season end.
I hope our starters can pitch complete games and win. This will be the only hope of making it into the playoffs. As a prime example, the relief pitcher who wild pitched the winning run yesterday even though the loss was with Brooks Dunn. Almost like a blown save.
The only hope is there are quite a few games left with the Sliders who are never the home team and have the cesspull of talent.
By not making deals, it looks like Wild Thing management is giving up on this year and trying to perserve the limited talent they have for next year.
Remember Fred Wreyes, the tall relief pitcher from the first year, he could be the closer on the 2008 Wild Things team.
The Steelers play their next preseason game Thursday night. Stay home and watch the Steelers, on TV. No Dutch, No Bill DiFabio, no Nazi ushers, no blown saves, and no charge for parking. Of course, you will miss Ross serving cookies and milk (the biggest bargain at the ball park).
If you are a true sports fan of both teams, turn down the sound on TV and listen to Randy on WJPA.
Anonymous said...
the sliders do get home field advantage split between teams
????????????
Anonymous said...
"the sliders do get home field advantage split between teams"
Would you please clarify for me what you are trying to say?
Do you mean that the Sliders do have last at bat 50% of their games, or what? I know you can’t be saying they have a home field.
Thanks,
Ron Wilson
Illegitimati non carborundum!
im saying they have last at bats 50% of their games
Anonymous said...
“im saying they have last at bats 50% of their games”
Anonymous – that is NOT correct. All you have to do to verify that is to check the box scores. Why would you pass on information that is obviously wrong?
I spoke with FL officials yesterday and they told me they fully understand the unfairness that the present system causes the Sliders to play under.
Ron Wilson
Illegitimati non carborundum!
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