East Division preview, part 2
Midwest SlidersLocation: Ypsilanti, Mich.
Manager: Eric Coleman (2nd year, 29-67)
Stadium: Oestrike Stadium (1,313)
Last year: 29-67, 6th in East
Key returners: P Kyle Kearcher (7-7, 4.35); OF Jonnie Knoble (.257, 26 SB); P Earl Oakes (5-2, 3.94, 14 saves); OF Zach Pace (.252, 26 SB).
Impact newcomers: SS Jonathan Castro (.314, 45 RBI for Edmonton of independent Golden League); INF Gil Zayas (.260 5 HR for Atlantic City of independent Can-Am League).
Outlook: The Sliders finally have a home. After playing last season as a traveling team, the Sliders will play their home games this year at Eastern Michigan University. Having a home field will make the Sliders better. This is basically the same team that played 28 games one-run games last year (losing 21) and 12 extra-inning games. Midwest never batted last in any of those games. Oakes is one of the best closers int he league and Kearcher developed into a frontline starter. Won'take the playoffs but could win as many as 40 games.
Did you know: The official name of the franchise is the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti.
Quoteable: “All the guys are excited about having a home field. It will be nice batting in the bottom of the 9th inning." - Eric Coleman
Traverse City Beach BumsLocation: Traverse City City, Mich.
Manager: Gregg Langbehn (1st year)
Stadium: Wuerfel Park (4,685)
Key returners: P Brett Bostleman (6-5, 3.81); OF Mike Epping (.284, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 38 SB); 1B Kyle Manus (.253, 10 HR, 53 RBI); P David Nathanson (12-3, league-best 2.28); P Jeff Williams (3-4, 3.40, 15 saves).
Impact newcomers: SS James Guerrero (reached high-Class A in Rockies' system); OF Brian Lapin (16 extra-base hits in 55 games in Class A).
Outlook: The Beach Bums missed the playoffs by one game last year and 1.5 games in 2006, so Langbehn was brought in to get the Bums over the hump. Traverse City returns the ace of the pitching staff in Nathanson, some bullpen experience and a top-of-the-order hitter in Epping. The key will be the middle of the order - is there enough doubles and triples hitters to take advantage of Wuerfel Park's huge gaps because home runs are rare in this ballpark. Might be in for another season of this-close agony.
Did you know? Langbehn, like Lake Erie's John Massarelli, was a manager in the Houston Astros' system.
Washington Wild ThingsLocation: Washington, Pa.
Manager: Mark Mason (1st year, 132-155 career in Frontier League)
Stadium: Consol Energy Park (3,200)
Key returners: DH Jacob Dempsey (.310, 31 doubles, 17 HR, league-high 88 RBI); SS Brett Grandstrand (.295, 13 SB); OF Chris Sidick (.311, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 21 SB); OF Matt Sutton (.295, 12 HR, 26 SB in 2007).
Impact newcomers: 1B Ernie Banks (.300, 6 HR, team-record 51 RBI for Jamestown of New York-Penn League); P Jon Lewis (0-1, 1.42, 9 saves for Evansville); 3B Grant Psomas (187 games, 23 HR in Class AA and AAA); P Craig Snipp (8-5, 3.94 for Sussex of independent Can-Am League).
Outlook: After missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year, the Wild Things brought back Mark Mason, a veteran of four seasons as the team's pitching coach, to be the manager. Mason, who was Chillicothe's manager the last two seasons, made a major overhaul of the pitching staff, with only one player (Rick Austin) returning. Jon Lewis was acquired to stabilize the bullpen, which tied for the league lead in blown saves last year. The offense has more power potential but a big season is needed from Sutton, who was suspended last year. Postseason hopes rest largely on how the revamped pitching staff performs.
Did you know? Washington's .610 winning percentage is the best of any franchise that played more than one season in the league.
posted by Chris Dugan at
9:06 AM
7 Comments:
I just heard this morning on WJPA news that two of the county commissioners are proposing to grant Baseball Scholarships $500,000 of the county tourism tax money along with a matching grand from the state to use for putting in artifical turf at the ball park.
This is not right, to use public money to help a for profit organization, the Wild Things. If there is that much excess of money in the tourism tax, then lower it as a way of promotting tourism, plus the state is running billions deficit now and the future which will result in a tax increase all of us.
Plus with grass, or turf, we will still have to pay for parking.
THIS IS NOT RIGHT!
Thriftyone,
MOVE. If you don't like the spending of tax money, vote out your representative. Or if you are too lazy for that, MOVE. I'd rather it go to the Wild Things than to the access cards of Washington County.
Do you even know how the tourism tax is set up? I highly doubt it, so don’t assume. It makes you look like an idiot.
Look at that area where the ball park is located; before the ball park was built, that area was an eye sore. The ball park was the first to go in. Money generated from the visiting teams’ hotel stays, restaurants in and around Washington run special for the fans coming into town, and tourism dollars that are brought into the county on coming to a game, are all thanks to the Wild Things. I have a feeling that the taxes that were generated from the land sales, sales taxes, and property taxes of the parcels around the ball park have greatly eclipsed the money that is to be given to the team for turf. I haven’t even started on the wage taxes that are brought in from the employees of the business’s located next to the park.
Now we have two hotels that are always full of guests, a thriving medical campus, two restaurants, and a minor league baseball team in our town. I think that the contribution to the economy that the team has given to this area warrants the gift.
AND by the way, it’s a matching GRANT, not GRAND you hillbilly.
-Joe
Joe,
Why the hell don't YOU move? Try going the China. I would not insult a moron by calling you one.
Thrifty one is entirely correct.
Liberal people as you are why this County has gone to the dogs.
ALL so-called excess tax monies, and I mean ALL tax monies, should be returned to the taxpayers NOT to BSI, the Wild Things, or any other entity.
Tax money should never be given to anyone especially people that have already proven they can’t manage to find their rear ends with both hands. Why don’t we just have a big community marshmallow roast using the $500.000 bucks for fuel? BSI, and the Wild Things are not long for this town and people such as you want to throw good money after bad. You appear to have been a victim – twice. Once by some poor Washington County education, and then by the dumbcrats. Let BSI and the Wild Things get their own phony grass.
I am already getting to pay other peoples mortgages, own a part of AIG and GM, I am an unwilling partner in the banking industry, and shortly will be paying for somebody else’s credit card. Now you think we should be using tax dollars to help the management of a group of folks that can’t, or won’t help themselves. The people of this area have supported them with several years of sell out game after sell out game. We have stood in long lines to pay outrageous prices for crappy food missing a lot of the play on the field. Had you been to the ball park on Frifay you would also now know they can’t even get a simple thing like parking right. If these people STILL make enough money to arrange for their own financing for turf then – TOUGH!! Let this bunch fold their tent and get the hell outa’ here. There is absolutly NO way they could be trusted with any public funds.
There is one REALLY good reason Burn and Maggi would like to give away our tax money – for their own self glory – not to mention votes. One of the most disgusting scenes every season is those two power hungry men walking around smiling and glad handing people that they hope will vote for them. (I don’t want to forget the other shameless politician Tim Soloby but he is of NO consequence and NEVER will be!). Then there is Leo Trich the failed local politician that urged us all to vote for Mr.Obama.in a letter to the O-R last year. Not only does that show Mr. Trich’s lack of reasoning power it probably also explains why he did not take that proper steps to ensure that the ball park was constructed to the proper standards in the first place. In other words, lack of foresight.
So, now Jo, eggheads like Burns and Maggi want to throw mony after bad. What the hell there is always something else these two to find to tax.. I suggest these two get off the public dole and get themselves a REAL job. Maggi has been running for, or holding, some public office since the Great Flood. for God’s sake.
Jo, I’m don’t think, I KNOW, that you are a brain washed, or is it brain dead, hillbilly
Bill
great comments on the east division preview, part 2.
lots of angry people around here!
that wasn't me...some other clown named bill.... Joe's post makes sense to me...but maybe the discussion is better in the post ABOUT the funding!
Hey Bill (anonymous),
Do you like the Wild Things? Baseball side of it. Or do you not like the entire thing?
-Ron
Bob Gregg said, in part;
“While I recognize that taxes are taxes”
Well Bob, that IS indeed the point and you did not need to go into the long-winded defense of this misuse of taxpayer funds. Of course, you have a vested interest in this ‘backdoor fraud’. Not one dime of taxpayer dollars should ever be given to a privately owned business – they should sink or swim on their own. All of this is legal of course, but morally it is an entirely different matter. People that are residents of Washington should not be charged this 5% tax in this first.
IMHO, the only thing truly historic about Washington Country is the monumental mess the so-called “leaders”
of this County have managed to get it into. Who wants to come to “Historic Washington Country” just to see the trash strewn roadways, dilapidated buildings, drunks walking the streets, and general run down conditions.
The only thing that is compared to these leaders when it comes to being incompetent is their bosom buddies, The Washington Wild Things! The Wild Things have had more things given to them than ANY group of business people
in the history of this county. Most of this is in the form of private individual donations of services i.e.; host families,
free meals for the team, etc. Even with all the community help these people can’t seem to get it together. However, they also seem to have no shame, as they don’t hesitate to take any handout whether it is from the private or public sector. So, the next thing we can expect is for the taxpayers to build them a new ballpark. I can see it now, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Larry Maggi Field!” The Wild Things are just too big to fail. No matter how much it cost the taxpayers – no matter that seniors lose their homes due to the accumulation of all the various taxes the politicians have dreamed up in ‘historic’ fashion in their empty heads in the middle of the night.
Bob
BTW: Why was there was a repost of Joes pro taxpayer money give away message without reposting the other related replys?
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